Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Music Post #2

I'm going to go a completely different route with this one, and may surprise some people...

While I enjoy those 80's songs of my childhood, there is also a place deep down inside that secretly LOVES explicit, dirty, raunchy rap music.  I think going to a "ghetto" high school *cough*Pike*cough* had some influence over this random musical preference.  I mean, come on, I'm a petite white girl who dresses nice, speaks and writes using correct grammar, and teaches the youth of today...NOT someone you'd associate with liking these songs.

WARNING: If you do not want to hear explicit lyrics or hate rap music, DO NOT click on these videos!  Just ignore this post and wait for the next one filled with pictures of Ava. 

For the rest of us...let's get down with our bad selves.

Downloaded this from Napster back in the day, burned it to a CD, and played it in my car ALL the time.  Love Trina's part!

Love this beat!

FAVE!

Yes, I know all the words...

Hahahaha....YES!

Classic!

Another one I definitely burned onto a CD!

Pretty sure my brother was in 5th grade and I was in 7th...AND we knew all the words to this song...

Used to watch this video on "The Box."

Old school!

More old school!

So many other good ones out there...a few I actually chose NOT to put on here (ahem, David Banner "Play" anyone?)  If you love this kind of music, then I hope you jammed to these songs!

Back to my regular blogs next week!



Saturday, August 27, 2011

Music of my Childhood

On the way home from dinner tonight, this song came on in the car...and I JAMMED.


I was a child of the 80's, not a teenager, but I've always loved music and the radio station in my parents' red minivan never changed off of a local soft rock station - and those songs I used to hear on an almost-daily basis are now locked in my memory.  I have a preset in my car for a Sirius XM 80's station and while I sometimes don't recognize the songs, every once in a while a true gem will come on and I proudly sing along...well, unless someone else is in the car with me...
Other favorite songs from the 80's:



Um...who doesn't like this song? 

 
As a really young girl, this was my favorite song.  I have no idea why...I was probably 5 at the time.




And finally, the one my brother and I called the "Christmas light song" because somehow it seemed to always be on the radio when our dad drove us around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.

In no way is this a list of all the songs I loved from the 80's.  I really tried to pick the slightly more obscure ones, minus Hungry Eyes.  I hope this sparked up some nostalgia for others the way it did for me!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Photo Dump

I am good at taking pictures...lots of them.  I am not so good at editing, uploading online and taking the time to write a blog to include all relevant images.  I just can't seem to find the time any more!

So for now, you get a photo dump: the pictures are ready, but the stories to go along with them are way past due.  A post with images and captions is all you get!

Spray Park Play Date

Ava was all about the water, which isn't surprising.  She loves baths, washing her hands, playing with the hose, splashing in her water table, being in the pool...even standing outside in the rain, as we discovered today (although I didn't get any pictures of it).

























Onalee was not as sure about all this stuff spraying at her...














































Onalee did enjoy drinking the water though.






















Ava helped her friend find the courage to face all that water!























State Fair

It was hot...I'm pregnant (yes, I like to use this as an excuse for things), we spent a lot of money...and did a lot of walking.  But, Ava seemed to enjoy herself.

The first thing she wanted to do was eat French fries.


























We visited a lot of the animals.  Ava was cool with them as long as they didn't make any noise or walk toward her.
























And of course we had to share an ear of roasted corn.  This is my favorite part of the entire fair...in fact, I basically agreed to come along just to eat the corn.  Ava loved it as well.

Fun Fest

Last weekend we visited Jeremy's family up in North Manchester for Fun Fest weekend....and the highlight is always the parade that goes through town.






















Those sirens are LOUD for tiny ears...


Ava enjoyed waving to the people in the parade and filling her bag up with candy.



Claire liked the candy too!





















And that's it!  The three major things we've done lately, documented and properly captioned. 

Sunday, August 14, 2011

10 Things You NEED to Know

Ha...yeah, right.  These are just 10 random things about myself that I decided to share on my blog because the always hilarious Elle from This Is Mommyhood tagged me.  And I give in to peer pressure...and surveys...and over-sharing. 

Besides, this is the perfect excuse to write a blog without including any pictures.  Oh, I have pictures.  I have a whole back-log of them just waiting to be edited and shared, complete with the story-telling that comes with them.  But right now, the night before I have to go back to work after a full and wonderful summer off...I just don't have the time or energy to edit them all.  So you will have to wait!

Alright, let's get on with it, shall we?


10 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me

1.  When I was in late elementary school - either 4th or 5th grade, I think it was, I got this harebrained idea to jump off the roof of our house.  Out of my bedroom window was a small, flat area which then slowly sloped down to the gutter.  Underneath was a thick bed of tall bushes, so really, it wasn't a long way down.  I'm not sure why I wanted to do this, but I had a plan in my head.  I waited until my parents were asleep, then I crawled out of my window, sat in the freezing night air - in my nightgown - and waited for the courage to jump.  And...I did it.  It really didn't hurt too badly and I only suffered minor scrapes and cuts from the bushes.  But there was a flaw in my plan: how was I supposed to get back into the house?  I ended up ringing the doorbell and convincing my parents that I had been walking in my sleep.  Sorry, Mom...

2.  I have a sleeping disorder.  Nothing diagnosed, because I am convinced I'm the only person in the world with this problem: I cannot stand the sound of someone breathing/snoring while asleep.  It has caused me so many issues throughout my life as I've struggled to find places to sleep alone on vacations or at sleepovers.  I have slept in bathrooms and closets, I've used fans and earplugs...a lot of people don't understand this problem because like I said, I feel as though I'm the only one!  Thankfully I have a supportive husband who tolerates us sleeping in separate bedrooms.  He doesn't like it, but he does it for me.  Otherwise he'd have to deal with the wrath of a sleep-deprived wife...  And I can't even tell you all the comments I've gotten over this, but the worst was when my OB-GYN chuckled and put his head down when I told him that Jeremy and I don't share a bedroom.  One of a few reasons I switched doctors...

3.  I went through what I call a "rebellious" stage in high school, not in the form of drinking and drugs, but shoplifting and sneaking out.  It was "trendy" in my high school to steal clothes; we even had a name for it - Free 99.  I got a lot of free stuff, got caught twice, grounded twice, and then those stealing days ended.  As for sneaking out, my friends and I just didn't want to stop hanging out after curfew...so we found ways to get back together just to watch movies, chat, and enjoy our teenage "nightlife."  We often hung out in someone's basement or drove around or went to the park or grabbed milkshakes at Steak 'n Shake.  I have to admit, I miss those days!  Sneaking out was fun

4.  I had horrible strep throats as a child, and therefore had to get my tonsils taken out at age 9.  Everyone promised me popsicles and milkshakes when it was over, but instead I was puking blood and had a scab on my throat.  It was not as awesome as all the doctors said it was going to be...

5.  Childbirth was one of the best experiences of my life.  I absolutely loved my labor and delivery experience.  My water broke while we were at childbirth prep class, my contractions were easy to get through before my doctor urged me to get an epidural, and I only pushed for about 20-30 minutes.  The nurses were wonderful and the entire time seemed to fly by - well, it was only 6 hours from water breaking to Ava arriving!  I am hoping for another great experience, but not expecting it...you can't get that lucky twice, right?  (and let's just forget about the 3rd degree episiotomy, shall we?  no, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows...)

6.  I long to be a stay-at-home-mom who does educational activities with her kids, who keeps her house clean, who is super creative and is constantly making new things, who cooks healthy meals each night, who maintains a positive attitude in almost every situation.  Oh wait, this woman doesn't exist.  Well, I still want to be her.

7.  I am addicted to Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. 

8.  I read every single night before I go to sleep...this is why I have to be in bed an hour before I want to start trying to fall asleep.  So when people give me grief for going to bed during the school year at 8:00pm, what I should say is, "Well, I start getting ready for bed at 8pm, read for about an hour, toss and turn and finally fall asleep around 10-10:30."  Have I mentioned I have issues with sleep?

9.  I'm a very nostalgic person.  I wish I could time travel or re-live some of the great moments of my childhood and teenage years.  I still have boyfriend boxes in the closet of my childhood bedroom, for pete's sake.

10.  I was a good student and made mostly A's and B's, but senior year second semester pre-calculus did me in.  I was already accepted to Butler University and my grade in that class was falling uncontrollably, so, on the final, I admitted that I had no idea what I was doing, had already been accepted to the college of my choice and that I was sorry.  And I turned the test in with no math problems worked out.  Needless to say, it was the only F I ever received in my life for a class.  But...I don't regret it.  Sometimes, a grade is just a grade and it's NOT going to hold you back, nor does it really matter in the grand scheme of things. 

I know a lot of people don't have time for these, and really, I follow a lot of blogs but the blogger probably will never read this, so...I am only tagging two friends.  Don't feel bad if you don't have time to do it!

1.  The Ring Family

2.  Go Long! Go Green!