Need Help!
I'm trying to put together a mix cd for David's Birthday. Rather than use a bunch of sappy songs (he's not all that sappy), I want to get the song that was topping the charts that day each year. My problem: Some of these songs are so cheesy I can't stomach paying money for them (ie Endless Love, the Macarena or anything by Mariah Carey), others I know he has on his ipod and just want them in order to complete the sequence (ie Queen songs or Mellencamp). Here's the list:
1974--I Honestly Love You - Olivia Newton-John
1975--I'm Sorry - John Denver
1976--Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
1977-Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band – Meco
1978--Boogie Oogie Oogie - A Taste of Honey
1979--Sad Eyes - Robert John
1980--Another One Bites the Dust – Queen
1981--Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
1982--Jack & Diane - John Mellencamp
1983--Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
1984--Let's Go Crazy - Prince & The Revolution
1985--Money For Nothing - Dire Straits
1986--Stuck with You Huey Lewis & the News
1987--Here I Go Again – Whitesnake
1988--Love Bites - Def Leppard
1989--Miss You Much - Janet Jackson
1990--Close to You - Maxi Priest
1991--Good Vibrations - Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch featuring Loleatta Holloway
1992--End of the Road - Boyz II Men
1993--Dreamlover - Mariah Carey
1994--I'll Make Love To You - Boyz II Men
1995--Fantasy - Mariah Carey
1996--Macarena (bayside boys remix) -Los Del Rio
1997--4 Seasons of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
1998--The First Night – Monica
1999--Unpretty – TLC
2000--Music – Madonna
2001--I'm Real - Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule
2002--Dilemma - Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland
2003--Baby Boy - Beyonce featuring Sean Paul
2004--Goodies - Ciara featuring Petey Pablo
2005—Golddigger—Kanye West featuring Jamie Fox
If you can hook me up with anything out of your collection, let me know and I'll invade your space PDQ and add it to the CD. Thanks!
Some things I just shouldn't admit
But where's the fun in that?
How does one deal with 91 packets of writing prompts from emergent sophmore writers? Big ole glass of Good Harbor cherry wine, five gel pens and a soft couch.
Heh. It's all about coping.
Evidence
Can you find the error in this poster for a glass decanter at Target?
This is evidence that I am well on my way to fuddy-duddiness. I even turned down a great chance to go out for drinks Friday because I was tired and needed clean underwear to go to the baby shower more that I needed a glass of Amber Bock!
Sigh. Whatever shall become of me?
What's Meg Been Doing?
Meg's been being a teacher. Meg's been being a girlfriend. Meg's been arguing with custodians and building a $20,000 set with $1000. Meg's been leaving her laundry too long. Meg's been unpluggin' the TV in her bedroom (in there so there's something to do while she straightens up) because her cat tends to rub up against it and turn on infomercials at 3am. Meg's been dancing to Abba at 5:30 in the morning because they're so sunny on a rainy day. Meg's been losing 11 pounds. Meg's been assigning too much homework. Meg's been going to weddings-- anybody have pics of Elan's?
Check this out:
Is such a thing as frightening to you as to me? I must assume an adult was behind this, though it seems like brainchild of a three-year old.
How witty. Midland made a bridge that has three arms to cover all angles of a fork in the river. To communicate the uniquness of the bridge, they created a new title for the structure--a tridge. Get it? So funny you forgot to laugh? Yep, that's about what I thought too.
I painted this! I am especially proud of my freehand-ed cat on the the tail of the "g".
Is that not the most pleasant painting torso you have ever seen? I like the word "torso". I must work it into conversation more often.
A Rainy Saturday
Today was Baby Shower Day. This was nice because lately it has been Wedding Shower Day or Wedding Day. I like both Wedding Shower Day and Wedding Day (especially when I do not have to play toilet paper bride or wear pantyhose), but it was nice to think about babies for a while instead of brides and grooms and Hershey's Kisses tied into little flower favors.
Of course, part of the shocking baby thoughts included a fair amount of thinking about the fact that a scant five years ago they were a brand-spanking-new Bride and Groom of the class that would go well on the top of a wedding cake (BTW did you know you can purchase a personalized bride-and-groom cake topper based on a picture of the aforementioned for a mere $150? You can even choose between standard or bobble-headed).
So here:
Andrea from the back (not very impressive, right?)
The Happy Parents (Suprised? Impressed yet? Geez, you're difficult. Ok...)
She can't even do her own shoes anymore!( How's that? If that doesn't convince yo.. ok, one more...)
Arty Andrea (taken by her aunt, not me) See!?! Little woman, huge bebe! Yikes! Hah!
It was good to be with them.
Sometimes I miss my college world like salt.
My father claims students are carriers of the plague. I'm not willing to go quite that far, but I will say there's always a point in the fall (aka right about now) when the allergy sufferers, the swimmers, the too-tireds, the emotionally distraught and the truely sick all simultaniously develop post-nasal drip and I can't keep enough tissues in the room to save my life.
I also live in deadly fear of contracting said post-nasal drip and a develop a slight phobia of anyone who asks for tissues.
I just don't want to use sick days yet.
All this to say, I had a weather headache today and you shoud have seen me sucking down the zinc. Good grief!
And this is my nightmare:
Eat a Roach and Be the First in LineBy Associated Press
Thu Sep 21, 4:34 PM
GURNEE, Ill. - Why wait in line when you can just eat a cockroach? That's the question Six Flags Great America is asking its thrill seekers during its Halloween-themed FrightFest. The amusement park is daring customers to eat a live Madagascar hissing cockroach in exchange for unlimited line-jumping privileges.
The promotion, which has Lake County Health Department officials shaking their heads, starts Oct. 7.
Anyone who chows down the entire 2- to 3-inch horned cockroach gets a pass for four people to cut to the front of ride lines through Oct. 29.
Park officials insist it's safe to eat the crunchy critters, but health officials are cautioning participants.
Consuming live roaches might increase risks of gastrointestinal illness and allergies, according to Bill Mays, Lake County Health Department's community health director.
Cockroach eaters will have to sign waivers and still pay admission fees, said Six Flags spokesman James Taylor.
The bug buffet continues with a cooked roach eating contest Oct. 13 _ Friday, Oct. 13.
Taylor says he's hoping someone can beat the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records feat in which a British man downed 36 cockroaches.
"I've heard people say, 'Wow,' 'Ew,' a lot of one-worders," Taylor said. "A lot have said that they wouldn't eat a cockroach, but they sure would like to see someone else do it."
To all of this I say, oh, nooo,
no!
NO!
I am so glad this isn't happening at Cedar Point where I am taking my boyfriend for his birthday.
Arrgh!
It be International Talk Like A Pirate Day mateys! I wish ye well on yer seafaring ways and prey thar't ye'll find time to spread the greetin's amongst swabbing thee deck and hoist'in the mizzen mast!
I fret well. Here I sit and fret about custodians and cat collars, brake repairs and powdered cheese and work and budgeting and my, but I am good at it.
I shall fight the power! No more fretting today!
I Can Believe It's Not Butter
I'm not really one for "diet" food products. I usually prefer a smaller amount of the real thing but I miss butter. Real, creamy butter on bread. On Cream of Wheat. On Ralston Whole Wheat cereal. On Oatmeal.
Obviously, the craving trend is morning foods. And those of you that have seen me try to function before coffee can probably imagine how well self control goes at that point.
So I've been looking into alternatives. Powdered Molly McButter is gross beyond words. I do not have adjectives at my disposal to throughly communicate the utter grossisity. Margarine is nearly as bad as butter.
As I was standing in Meijer pondering this quandry, much to my suprise, I noticed a butter-like product that was advertised as "Fat Free". My mind reeled in shock and amazment-- how can this be? A fat substitute with no fat. This is very, very wrong.
I picked up a tub and started to read. Five calories. A fair amount of other gunk. I mentally shrugged and put it in my basket.
Two conversations about the product:
Me: So I found this butter stuff with no fat.
Amy: Huh?
M: Yeah, it doesn't really melt but otherwise is a lot like butter.
A:Are you still gonna
eat it?
Me: I bought "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" with no fat.
David: So what
is it?
M: I think it's gelatin. Like butter Jello.
D: Jello?
M: Yeah, it kinda jiggles and bounces back when I touch it.
D: That's just wrong.
M: I know, but it's still good.
D: So you
CAN believe it's not butter.
M: You're so witty. And smooth. Like butta.
D: Or Jello butta.
So yes, indeed it is a good butter-like substance that I will not eat too much of so I will not have three children sharing one torso. Yes, indeed I can believe it's not butter.
What a Weird Transition.
I've become accustomed to bridal registries. I wander in with plenty of time, grab the list(s), and politely decline an explanation from the teenage employee who's worried an older lady like myself might not know how all the new fangled bar code/description/asile numbers coordinate. I giggle mentally and wander off to see what my friends have chosen to feather their nests with. It's fun. Mostly.
Somewhere around wedding 20, I couldn't stand to walk into Target or Bed, Bath & Beyond again. My gifts got a little weird for a while. I'd like to take this moment to publicly apologize for giving Angie and Jeff the six month subscription to a pasta sauce service.
Around 25, I went back to the registries, but tried to do themes. I had to stretch for some. Jenny does the theme well. I get sidetracked. I came up with an undersea theme for a wedding gift that involved seafood forks and lobster crackers. My wackiness does not always serve me well.
Now we're around 30, and I've been trying for the heart-felt, well-thought-out gifts. With a special touch. Or doing something that will give the couple a memory rather than an object. And I've discovered something.
I suck at it.
It's more a matter of getting all the pieces together than the idea. So if you get back from your honeymoon and are trying to fingure out why I chose to get you a pair of napkins and a pineapple fruit bowl off your registry, just be glad I didn't temporarily lose my mind and fill it with fruit. There's no more sense to it than that. My new goal is to make my gifts truely unremarkable--let them just blend in.
But I digress.
Now that I've become comfortable with bridal registeries, I had a shock of a moment this evening when I went to he Babies "R" Us website and really looked at Andrea's baby registry. All of a sudden the image of her with a high chair and her husband up in the middle of the night with a bottle just kinda whacked me upside the head. Wow. Drea's really gonna be a mommy. For the rest of her life. And she needs things like breast pumps. Good grief!
Procreation. How did it not occur to me that all these weddings were going that direction? Maybe it was the emphatic order from the priests this weekend to establish a family or the direct mention of it in a parental speech that set my wheels turning.
Actually, Andrea's not nearly the first. But somehow it's hers that makes it all real.
These Topics Will Be Covered
1. Thank Yous
2. Congratulations
3. Musings on Politeness
4. Musings on Communication
5. Weight Watchers
6. Bridesmaid Dress Snafu
7. Start of School
8. 42nd Street
9. The Big Greek Wedding
I have so many ideas for blogging today! Where to start, where to start? Oh yeah, I just made a numbered list:)
First things first: Thank you all for your kind advice about dog care. It honestly didn't occur to me to ask a friend up here to help out. I just kept thinking that we didn't know anybody well enough down in Cinncinati to ask them to do it. ANd then all your wonderful offers and ideas came foraward and in no time Grayson had a place to stay! Thank you Peter and Jenny for taking the time to care for a large and lovable gray doggie. Second, thank you to those who were willling to house us in GR. I find myself blinking back a few tears that we couldn't see everyone and feeling so cared for.
Second: CONGRATULATIONS TO HOLLY & JOEY!!!!!!!!!!! The Next Future Mr. and Mrs. Corr! 'bout time people! May you be mightily blessed!
Also, Congrats to Elan and David--newly married couple of fall #1. Lovely wedding.
Third: I apologise to thouse whom I am unwittingly rude to. I have a tendency to overcommit my mind and believe I will remember all the things I think I will remember then discover I only remember after a reminder that I did indeed forget. I do not intend to be rude, but flightly lack of follow-through is just as bad as an intentional snub. I apologize for my lack of proper etiquette as a friend and recipient of favors.
Next: David and I have different communication styles. I walk away from conversations wishing I had said less. He wishes he'd said more. Extrovert, introvert. This makes for some interesting situations, but overall it's ok. When it's just us, I have a hard time getting a word in edgewise. Still, if left to ourselves out with others, it's so much eaiser for us to each go to our strengths... he smiles and nods or lets his mind wander, I talk. We had two interesting moments this weekend that highlighted this particular dynamic. In the first I got a taste of knowing I wanted to keep a conversation going with some old friends and being tongue-tied (Amy saved the day), in the second, I was trying to change the direction of the conversation to include him but apparently I was so subtle I ended up carrying on an inane conversation (mostly with myself) for several minutes before giving up and then really wished I could turn back time and shut myself up. I think you've all witnessed me do this. Sigh. Pray I'll get a clue!
Furthermore: I had a spiritual moment at WW in Cincinnati a few weeks ago. A woman shared a story about her weight. About a year ago she was six pounds away from her goal weight (she now needs to lose about sixty).
She worked at it and got really close to her goal-- people were complementing her, telling her how great she looked, how gorgeous her new clothes looked. And she started listening. She knew she had six more pounds to go, but she started to believe she was fine without the goal weight. Just fine.
She gave in to that outside affirmation--let her own inner voice die down to a whisper. Stopped food journaling. Had extra treats. Didn't bother renewing her WW memebership when it ran out. She regained more than she'd lost.
I think I'm like that with weight (hence the rather direct post a few weeks ago. It helps to know you expect to see loss, but it still needs to be my thing), but it's also so easy to do it with spirituality. Do all the right spiritual things, let people admire my walk, assume I'm doing great and eventually I'll believe them and let it slide. It's a cycle.
I was thinking about that especially since a year ago I was relying so heavily on the bible study to keep me in the word and studying. Once it dissolved, or I was too busy to get to it, I began to take more personal responsiblity. Nobody was going to check on me. A good habit to get back into. As for WW, I forgot to go this week. Last week I was up 2.5. Part of that's bloating I'm sure, but it's still what the scale says.
Sixth, my bridesmaid's dress for Emily's wedding is in. The top fits nearly perfectly, but the skirt came in an entire size too big. I can literally stand in it and it falls around my ankles. I can pinch six to eight inches out of the side before it fits. Silover lining: Em's sis is pregnant--she may need the extra material. God's funny like that.
I'm too tired to cover 7-9, but I expect you're tired of reading too. I'll save a little sweetness for later. Kisses all!
