The party went great on Saturday!  About 11 people ended up coming and between us, we drank four (4) gallons of Bahama Mama!  Much to my surprise, I was not hungover on Sunday, I was tired and lazy, but not hungover.  Of course, you know Sunday could not go all good, so Ashton came home from my mom’s running a slight fever, which escalated to a bigger fever this morning.  That poor kid is always sick.

Anyways, I thought I would share the best piece of info that came from Saturday’s party.  Apparently, Noxema is the absolute best feminine wash, according to Nadine, who declared herself an expert in that category (NOTE: Nadine had already consumed 5 glasses of Bahama Mama when she decided to share this info with the party).  If you use Noxema to clean your girly parts, not only will you be VERY fresh and clean, but it gives you a nice little cool tingle to let you know it’s working!  It just so happened that I have some Noxema on hand, so I decided to test Nadine’s hypothesis on Sunday, and I have to say that the tingle was nice!!!  So ladies, go out and buy you some Noxema…cause it is the new “clean” in feminine wash! - I laughed my ass off when she told us this!!!

I posted a couple of pictures from the evening in the extended post.

Since my good friend Dena brought up Grace Sherwood in my previous post, I though I would post Grace’s story today.  Grace is sort of a local legend around Virginia Beach, as she was known as the “Witch of Pungo.”  This is her story:

The Witchcraft case of Grace Sherwood is one of the best known in Virginia, with the early court records on file to back it up.  Witchcraft was a very serious and real thing to the colonists during the early 1700’s and everyone was constantly on the lookout for witches.  Grace was accused of bewitching a neighbor’s crop in 1698. 

Grace Sherwood was the wife of James Sherwood and the mother to three sons. They lived in the late 1600’s - early 1700’s. Grace was an unusual woman for her times.  She was said to be strikingly attractive, strong-willed, and a non-conformist by nature. These traits were resented by her neighbors, who began spreading rumors about her witch-like behavior.  Being a very tall woman, she was threatening to many. She wore men’s pants and did not wear dresses. This was not heard of in those times.  It is easy to see how this got her into trouble. After eight years of slander from her neighbors, Grace was charged with witchcraft.

A jury of women were ordered to search her body for suspicious or unusual markings, thought to be brands of the devil himself, and naturally the jury found, “marks not like theirs or like those of any other women.” However, neither the local court nor the Attorney General in Williamsburg, would pass judgment on declaring her a witch. It was finally decided that Grace, “by her own consent, be tried in the water by Ducking, (dunking).” Water was considered to be the purest element and the theory was that it would reject anything of an evil nature. Based on this theory, the accused was tied up and thrown into the water. If the person drowned, he was declared innocent of witchcraft; if he could stay afloat until he could free himself, he was declared a witch.

On July 10, 1706, Grace Sherwood, was marched from the jail (which is located near the present day site of the local Old Donation Church) down the dirt road (now the every day traveled Witchduck Road), tied and cast into the Lynnhaven River.  This portion of the river has since been named Witch Duck Bay in memory of the occasion.  As predicted by her accusers, Grace managed to stay afloat until she could free herself and swim to shore. She was jailed and awaited trial for witchcraft for nearly eight years, when the charges against her were dropped due to the softening of her accusers hearts, and she was set free. She moved back to her Pungo home.  Her husband had died in 1701, so her children had been sent away to live with relatives.  She lived in the Pungo home until her death at the age of 80 which was so rare in those days.

The original foundation and chimney still remain from Grace’s house and every Halloween, like clockwork, people gather there.

Music is a VERY big deal in our household and has always been a big deal for both Todd and I even before meeting.  We are constantly picking up new (and used) CD’s and attending live shows, whenever we can!

I have never been one to listen to radio Top 40 and have always loved harder music.  I remember when I was in Junior High and my sister was in love with Huey Lewis and New Kids on the Block, you could find me in my bedroom listening to The Misfits, The Circle Jerks and Minor Threat.  In high school I liked bands such as 7Seconds, Fugazi, Youth Brigade, The Bouncing Souls, AVAIL and Face to Face.  I remember going to see these bands at hole in the wall joints such as the Peppermint Beach Club and the Kings Head Inn and having so much fun - and I always stuck out, cause I was never one to “dress” like the music I liked, in fact, most people that meet me, would never guess that I like such music!

My musical taste does not just lean towards hardcore punk music, I also like some old blues and swing (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Otis Redding), some reggae (Bob Marley and Steel Pulse), some female singers (Tori Amos and Fiona Apple) and some harder metal bands.  I guess I am most interested in original artists.  Artists that possess a talent and do not rely on someone else’s writing, mixing and editing to make them sound the way they sound. 

Now, I love bands such as Tool, Mudvayne, FLAW, The Deftones and I still love listening to Minor Threat, The Misfits and Face to Face.  Hard music is not for everyone and some of the harder stuff that my husband likes, I cannot listen too for more than five minutes.  But music itself is very important to keep in your life.  It was important enough for me to stand for four hours, two days before giving birth to see Tool live and two weeks before giving birth to see Mudvayne and Slipknot play together.  My kids love listening to music, Kaiden especially.  I hope that both of my children grow up learning to appreciate different kinds of music and to respect the artists that make that music – because their mommy and daddy did and still do!

What does music mean in your life?

The Blogathon is over.  TJ did awesome.  I cannot believe I am having troubles sleeping right now.  Anyways, here is an “after the fact” button for anyone who sponsored and who wants it.  Please right click and save to your server.

This is a shot of the Dry Erase board hanging on the wall in my office.  It is quickly filling with people who piss me off.