Okay, the title is a little corny and makes no sense unless you watched SNL when Joe Pesci was on it. I am a Jersey girl. I was born there, but not raised there. Really you cannot take the Jersey out of a girl--ever. I have that sass attitude that attached itself to me at birth if my mother is to be believed.

I developed the ability to change accents as a protection growing up. A "Damn Yankee" girl living in the south was a ripe target for being beaten up on the playground and bus. So out came the "ya'lls" and long drawn out syllables to blend in. It drove my mother nuts at the dinner table and my older brother and I had to speak "proper" at home. When I would go up north to visit the relatives on holidays and for the summer, I became the target of mockery for my "southern drawl" so I quickly learned to adapt my accent to the south Jersey snappy accent. Talk about split personalities!

I have fond memories of my summers with my grandma and grandpa in Elizabeth, NJ. My grandma would throw me a birthday party in conjunction with July 4th since I was never there on my birthday. I guess I got a little spoiled and I thought the fireworks were all for me ;). My nemesis was my friend Lisa's brother: Little Ricky. Ricky is my age and he has blonde, blue-eyed good looks. He tortured me constantly--pulled my hair, chased me on his bike, and once he even kissed me. I hated him, yet I liked the attention (ah, the eternal man-woman dynamic). Looking back, I do believe Ricky had a crush on me and was doing his best to let me know.

Then there was a boy named Kyle. I adored Kyle and Kyle adored me, but alas, summer loves never last very long. There are probably a few more boys in the mix there, but I am drawing a blank on them.

When I go to my grandma's house (now my cousin Scott's house) and wander the neighborhood, I see ghosts of summers past everywhere I turn. I go see Little Ricky's mother and sister and catch up on the neighborhood gossip. Hell, I might even get to torture Little Ricky some myself when I see him next. Apparently, he has become quite the Lothario! His mother had a wicked gleam in her eye when I spoke with her last. I imagine Little Ricky will be getting a call to come over ASAP when I turn up this weekend. Should be interesting. It was always fun to knock him down a peg or two.

And the food! My god! I do miss the pizza and bagels!!!!! There is the best pizza shop a couple of blocks from my cousin's house, Elizabeth Pizza, and I plan to get a few slices while I am in the neighborhood. I just love the bagels that are the size of salad plates...hmmmm...and a cup of thick sludgy coffee. My stomach is growling just thinking of it. I also love the diners there. Yummy yummy! The south has never really caught on to the diner craze and I think that is a shame...24/7 for greasy food, bad coffee and a place to hang out...what more could you ask for?

I will be spending some time at the shore: Brick, NJ. I lived briefly in Lakewood/Brick area of NJ. I have some fond memories of another boy (and my first love, Richie) in that neighborhood. I won't be seeing him this go round. I will be visiting the cousins on the other side of the family while I am there. Thank goodness I will be close to the shore to absorb some of the beachiness I am pining for.

I am so excited about getting to see cousins on both the paternal and maternal side of the family. It has been roughly two years since I was up there and I had the ex in tow so it was not all that wonderful for me then. This time I am footloose and fancy free and looking for a bit of r&r. My cousin Jen is having a birthday party for her little boy who is turning three. Jen is younger than me, but we look so much alike we could be twins. We even sound alike--despite the faint southern drawl in my voice. You can't tell our voices apart after about 10 minutes of us being together. It is really cool.

Hope ya'll and you'ins have a wonderful weekend! I will be back on Tuesday with some adventures from Joisey.

Labels: accents, crushes, food, Jersey Girl, Little Ricky, NJ