Music Minute: What's YOUR Favorite Summer Song?

Man!  I've got summer fever in a badbad way.  I don't want to be at work at all!  I just wanna play.  I want to be at the pool. I want to sink my hands into God's earth and nurture it by bringing forth flowers and other life.  I want to ride horses, go to the library, sleep in a hammock, dig my toes in the sand, lick the salty ocean water off my lips, go for a sail, snorkel, drink alcohol out of pineapple husks or coconut shells, eat fresh pineapple, see a flip-flop tan line on my feet, take long afternoon naps, stay up late, dance with my hair thrashing and my skin glistening, read a good book or seven, laugh till it hurts, rest my head on the bare chest of the Man I Love, and hear some good music while doing it all!

California Gurls - Katy Perry (<~~~ makes me wish I could wear daisy dukes & a bikini on top and not get laughed at)
Santa Monica - Everclear
Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Fire - Pointer Sisters (<~~ this makes me want to make out with a guy)
Soak Up The Sun - Sheryl Crow (<~~~ makes me ache for a convertible)
Good Times - Chic
Hot Child In The City - Nick Gilder
In Your Room - Bangles (<~~ reminds me of a high school crush that flourished during a summer)
Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers (Yep.  I did.  Sure did.  You read it right.  So THERE!) 
I Can't Stop Loving You - Elvis Presley
Rio - Duran Duran (the video kinda sets the stage, doesn't it?)


On that note, I created my new music list on the page with these songs.  We can pretend to be on vacation together..... 

What are some of your favorite summer songs?

Weekend Reprieve

Things I did not miss this weekend:

1.  Wonder Pets, Suite Life On Deck, Barbie Pegasus and generally speaking, ALL children's programming,
2.  Refereeing,
3.  Waking up before I wanted to,
4.  Evening routines,
5.  Shuttling and shuffling back and forth here and there,
6.  Running behind or late, save for my own fault (what can I say?  I'm not known for being punctual....)
7.  Pushing, coaxing, tricking, urging, firmly encouraging,
8.  Constant "gravity pull":  picking up toys, books, trinkets, crayons, shoes, clothes, towels, costume jewelry, etc. from the floor of the car and/or house,
9.  Consta-control-freakishness,
10.  Antagonizing.

What I *loved* about this weekend:

1.  The generosity of my SIL, the teacher, who offered to keep My Kids,
2.  Much needed and wanted time alone with My Husband,
3.  Accomplishing some long over-due tasks and chores,
4.  Going out with a group of friends on Saturday night, then continuing the party at my house till 1 a.m.,
5.  Taking two uninterrupted naps,
6.  Snuggling up on the couch with My Husband,
7.  Sitting alone, hearing Mass in its entirety - even though the visiting Nigerian priest might've been celebrating his first Mass (poor guy),
8.  Making fewer decisions than usual,
9.  Watching Mr. Grenada dance "Le Freak" on Wii "Just Dance", then sing "Man, I Feel Like A Woman!" on karaoke.  Awesome!
10.  Working on the back yard more (someday we'll be done with the gardening project....)

What I missed most this weekend:

MY KIDS!

+++++++

Looking forward to interruptions, picking up stuff, refereeing, not napping, and all the life those Little Girls give me!

Thanks to my Teacher SIL who, I trust, received lots of good girlie auntie-niece time this weekend.  Love you!

Public Service Announcement: Straws

RR and I have a 'thing' about straws.  I believe KBD, does, too. 

Some straws suck (pun?).  Some don't.

Ohhhh, you *know* what I'm talkin' 'bout. 

Some straws are flimsy.  Some are more round than others.  Some are bendy (bendie?).  Some swirl and twirl and curl.  Those coffee "straws" and mixed drink "straws" don't count as a straw at all.  They have no sucking purpose whatsoever.  And, of course, we can't straw post and neglect the very "Idiocracy" straw:  the cereal straw.

My straw awareness came late in life....  I wasn't always like this.

My appreciation for a good, round, solid straw has grown (insert sexual innuendo).  I'll spare you and I both the rest of the details, thereby robbing this Public Service Announcement of its full intent.  I'll cap it off by saying this:  Just trust me on this.

So....*drum roll*

Here's the first three of My Favorite Straws:

1.  Twisted Root - clear, sturdy, long, wide - a true straw among straws (yet another fine reason to go to the Best Burger Joint On The Face Of The Planet)  OH! And did I mention that the straws are eco-friendly?  They're made from plant materials. 
2.  Chick-Fil-A - also clear, less sturdy, not as along, average size hole - a contender
3.  McDonalds* - (no comment beyond this for protest reasons)

If you've never paid attention to this finite detail of life, try it.  You'll notice that not all straws are the same.

I will keep you abreast of any updates as needed.

Go forth and suck.

*I abhor that Mickey D's is on my list, but I can't deny the Awesomestraw. 

Brown Goes Green

So proud of My Eldest!
Bridging from Brownie to Junior Girl Scout ~ June 2010

It's Almost Father's Day.... Again

I miss my dad every day.

Every day I miss my dad.

World Cup Fevah

You know I gots it!

Ocean Punch

For My Little One's birthday back in March, I made a punch that fit into the mermaid theme we had for the party.  Before I forget the ingredients, I have to document the recipe.  It was pretty neato because the punch came out looking blue, sort of like the ocean.  Feel free to give it a try...

One 4-pack of blueberry Jones Pure Cane Soda
One 8 ounce can of frozen Minute Maid limeade
One 2-liter of any lemon-lime flavored soda

 Then I put some bath toys in it:  whale, fish, duck.

I wish I had a picture to show you but I didn't take any.

However, I did take this:

Mix Tapes

I was listening to Billy Squier's "My Kinda Lover" one morning last week on the way to work, kinda thrashing my hair around while belting out the chorus at the stop light in between taking glances in the tiny sunvisor mirror applying lipstick and mascara when The Captain called.

The Captain and I have been friends for over 20 years, and are the same age (he would remind you that I'm older than he is by about nine teenytinyweelittle months).  So, we are 80's Babies.

Now, I'm not the kind of girl who hangs on to 80's music.  Sure, I prance at Duran Duran but that's about it.  It's nails on a chalk board to me when Flock of Seagulls or Aha come on the radio.  I'm just so over "Blister in the Sun", "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Come On Eileen".  There are some stand-out classic bands such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, The Cure...DURAN DURAN!  But for the most part about 80's music, a resounding 'meh' from me.

Anyway, Billy Squier has a few good songs that fit a mood, such as (you guessed it) "My Kinda Lover".  And yes, I was in That Mood.

Captain:  What're you doin'?
Me:  Me and Billy are jammin'.
C: Billy?  Billy who?
M:  Billy Squier!
C:  uhhhh....you...realize you're dating yourself.  Right?
M:  Yeah.  *laughing*  But it rocks!  And it's perfect for my mood right now.

Thus was the genesis of Mix Tape Talk.

The Captain and I did the Old Person Thing:  reminisced.  I can't believe I'm old enough to 'reminisce about the good ole days', but alas, I am.  We goofed on each other about making tapes for babes (or workout music, or I'm feeling pissed at the world and these are the songs I need to hear, or wow, I'm really borderline suicidal so in order to push me over the edge, these tunes will seal the deal). 

Then I posed the question:  What do kids do NOW?  Do they even DO this kind of stuff anymore?  The equipment is totally different.  The media range is unlimited.  So we goofed about what today's equivalent might be until The Captain arrived at his meeting.  After giggling so hard I almost peed my pants and finishing up the final touches of my lipstick, I headed up to my office.

Since this conversation, I've been taking an informal survey.  Here is my über-important, society-changing, high-definition, freshly roasted, multi-platinum, organic, gluten-free verysoscientific finding:  Kids today don't make mix tapes. 

Brilliant, huh?  Think it's because they don't have to spend hours in their room loitering by the radio, one index finger on the 'record' button, one index finger on the 'play' button, waiting for the sliver of a second between when the DJ quits talking and The! Perfect! Song! starts?

Yeah, me too. 

I was relieved to know that the actual act of expressing love (or, at least, a big crush) towards another has not fizzled with the fizzling of the cassette tape.  The love's (or crush as it were...) still there, it's just expressed in the form of loading up an iPod, downloading iTunes and burning to a CD or some other wayfreakineasy way of accessing music.  There art of recording music from putting your tape player close to the turntable or radio is gone.  Gone are the days of passing an Act of Congress to edit commercials, overlaps of song, DJ voices out of the original tape onto a new tape with songs specially arranged.

Me? I was partial to Sony or Maxell. or the see-through kind (a.k.a. the kick-ass marketing that got the best of me).

What I could've done with one of these!  *dreamy sigh*  Ohhhh all you boys (ahem...young men) that I loved sosoSO much, you would STILL be listening to my mix tape TODAY!

In what seems to be a grass-roots green effort (maybe?) the cassette tape has other functions:

Lamps
Lamps
Skeletons (Hey, at least it's educational!)
Ummm...wallet
Home "decor"
Or the very ironic and seemingly conflicted iPod holder

*goes back to thrashing my hair around to My Kinda Lovah*

Stunning Song: Jewel's Satisified

Gawd...I wish I could sing well!  This kind of music, with words like these, just makes every nerve in my soul raw.

"Cuz if you did, hon, then you've lived some, and that feelin' inside...that's called satisfied"

~

"We were born to love."

Yep.  Good stuff.

~Whoosh!

P.S. It's even more amazing (as if that's possible) with just her and a guitar. I am not a fan of posting to Perez Hilton but I saw there's a good video of her singing it accompanied by a guitar.

Music Minute: LOVEDRUG

LOVE DRUG or LOVED RUG?  Anybody's guess, really.....

Theo's Adult sent me the MySpace link earlier this week in an email that contained the subject line "afternoon jam".  I immediately started searching for peanut butter hoping for a goodie-good snack, but I got something better (and healthier):  good music!

So far my favorite is "Pink Champagne".

Enjoy.  And thanks again, Theo's Adult!

My Thoughts on the BP Oil Well Leak a.k.a. Environmental Travesty

First of all, it's a massive leak NOT a spill! It's an out-of-control blown wellhead (insert sexual innuendo here).

Secondly, it's an international problem, impacting world economy NOT a Gulf of Mexico issue, or a Louisiana issue or an Alabama issue or a Florida issue or a Texas issue or any state issue.  It's a GLOBAL issue.

Thirdly, it's not "Obama's Katrina".  Katrina was a natural disaster that tragically impacted one key area of our world.  If one must equate the BP oil leak to something, equate it to "Bush's 9/11".  9/11 impacted world economy.  9/11 impacted lives around the globe.

Why isn't Obama DOING MORE?  He should be just as proactive and interventionist as Bush was during 9/11.  Is he afraid to be affiliated with Halliburton?  What is holding him back?  Who is in control of making decisions for actions taking place in this environmental travesty?

As you already know, I work for an oil and gas production company.  I don't beat my chest and pretend that I know everything about the industry.  I am not a petroleum engineer.  But common sense tells me - us - a thing or two, right?  Doesn't common sense tell us that this is an international problem?  Doesn't common sense suggest that the President and other international leaders from government and the private sector collaborate to take care of this ongoing problem? 

And I don't care if Halliburton and Transocean are players in the maintenance of the well, BP is the operator.  As operator, you own the majority of the well, pay revenue, pay the expenses, bill out the expense accordingly, market the product and ASSUME LIABILITY!  As operator, BP is responsible for overseeing all vendors.

Should be interesting to see where this goes, and it'll be tragic to see the ripple effect into the next generation.

Proper Gardening Attire

1 pair of purple (Made In China) Dora the Explorer gloves
1 pink cowboy boot
1 yellow rain boot
1 pom-pom partially pink ponytail (on top of your head)
1 heart-string necklace complete with faux amythests
1 hand-me-down flowy yellow with pinkishpurplish flowers dress
1 supersmile




Happy Gardening!