Tuesday Tunes ~ Thursday Edition ~ Long Hard Times To Come

We took our girls to their first Detroit Tigers game on Labor Day weekend.  They, and we, had a blast. 

Every batter has their own theme song that is played as they come on deck, and every time Andy Dirks was up his song jumped out at me.  So I went home and googled it, and of course, I found it.

"Long Hard Times to Come" is also the theme song to the FX series Justified, and since I couldn't find an official video this Justified-version will have to do.  I love it.  Great song.

Back to School Shopping (The differences between 9 and 15)

Back to school shopping nearly killed me this year.

No, not the money spent, and not the time spent, as we seemed to be very efficient with both.  We used lots of coupons, went online to pre-shop for ideas, and hit stores at good times.  Honestly, it almost killed me by way of a broken heart.  My heart breaks because I no longer know what most young girls like.  At all.

Yes, I go online, I read magazines, I people watch, but every time I tried to suggest something for my almost 13-year-old daughter or my 15-year-old niece I found that I was off.  Way off.  Apparently teenage Stacy would not have thrived in 2013.  And don't get me started with my nine-year-old daughter and her cousin of the same age.  One loves pink, one hates it.  One loves sparkles, one would rather die.  Oh, holy chest pain.

My niece attends private school and has to wear a uniform.  Therefore she looks for any way to add something unique to her solid color shirt and pants.  She had sent me a few texts of shoes she found on Wanelo (again, had to get schooled on that app too) and when we went shopping we found these lovely ladies from Madden Girl.

So she could have some variety in her shoe wardrobe, we also bought these from Forever 21.  Both worked because technically they are solid color and that is a uniform requirement.  There was nothing in the rules about sparkles or studs.

Did I mention that my niece is also 5' 9"?  Did you know (I didn't, but I don't think it's because I am uncool or anything, it's because I am short) that it is VERY hard to find long, uniform approved, dress pants that also meet the requirements of previously mentioned 15-year-old.  They have to be skinny.  They can't have open pockets (odd school rule).  They can't be flared.  They should be khaki or black.  OK, if navy is all they have they can be worn on days when laundry is backed up.  God forbid they have pleats or anything resembling a pleat.  And if she tries them on and says "I look like a boy" then just forget it.  Aeropostale Slim Fit Chinos in a 4 Long.  If they get more in let me know.

Unlike my nieces, my girls go to public school, but they are equally as picky.  My eighth grader had to have jeans that were skinny, yet able to be rolled up like this. 

 

Again Aeropostale to the rescue.  Since she is a wee 5' 3" (at the time of this posting) the regular length works for her.

My girls and I always clean out dressers and closet before school shopping.  It helps to pinpoint what they really need and it helps me display how much of their wardrobe they don't wear.  I can usually select a few items from each closet and say "remember how bad you wanted this?  You just HAD to have it."  Have you worn it?  Ever?"  This year these words seemed to really sink in, because they were both rather selective with their final decisions.  The oldest is even waiting on some new dress shoes like this...

They can't have stretch all the way around, because it bugs her.  So, I have managed to get her to keep shopping until we find ones that won't "bug" her.

What about the nine-year-olds you ask?  Yes, what about them.  My niece wears a full on plaid jumper to school and she loves these shoes and this backpack.  And I would proudly wear them both.

My youngest, who is also 9 and often called Punky Brewster, picked out this shirt from Justice for school, which I think I may have owned it's twin in the mid 80's.  She also picked out these Adidas athletic shoes.

And she wore them together.  Which I would proudly never do.  All of the statements above are the reason why I rarely bring home anything without my kids seeing it first.  Surprise clothes are never wedgie proof, and they usually rub some spot on your shoulder blade, or the side of your knee the wrong way.  Surprise clothes often end up missing in the back of the closet or under your pajamas in the bottom drawer.  And finally, surprise clothes are usually not cool, because Mom picked them out.  And Mom is not cool.

Tuesday Tunes ~ Thursday Follow Up

And here is the full video for Katy Perry's Roar.

Tuesday Tunes ~ Roar

She is teasing us folks.  The whole video is still not released and my very cool children have me addicted to the song.  OK, breathe, I mean roar, I mean be patient... I've got the eye of the tiger...

Tuesday Tunes ~ Boys 'Round Here

I got into The Voice this last season and in that process developed a little crush on Blake Shelton.  Those eyes, that voice.  Oh my.  Love this song too.

Enhancing Your Performance

I am sitting here listening to the radio and they are talking about A-Rod and all the things going on with this mess. In my opinion it is a joke what is going on. Last night he got beamed and the pitcher didn’t get thrown out of the game when it was definitely intentional.

Now, I agree with the pitcher and think they should all do it until he quits the game. Not even his organization seems to want him playing. He just needs to quit the game and let it go, I mean how bad does he want to tarnish his name. He has already ruined any chance to get into the Hall of Fame. Again this is just one big joke.

With that being said, have you ever noticed how the big name players don’t seem to get busted until they are no longer a factor? In other words, once they stop bringing in the ratings and the money to the sport they play they get busted. Look at Mark McGwire, they had to know that he was juicing but he was bringing in the ratings and making people money hand over fist. It wasn’t until he was done that they finally let it out. The same can be said for Barry Bonds, or Lance Armstrong. Think about it, Lance Armstrong is the reason many of us gave the Tour De France any attention at all so why would they bust the only person that brings in the ratings.  There are many, many names that we could talk about on this subject and we could analyze them all.

It is my opinion that they will find Michael Phelps, and Usain Bolt guilty of something when they stop performing and bringing in the ratings. And there are many other names you could put on this list also. I hope I am wrong, I really do, but there is a lot of history on this subject. It seems that the only way an athlete can compete these days is to “cheat”, find that extra edge to be bigger, faster, stronger than they ever have been. And it seems as long as you are making money for the league they are going to leave you alone. Even when players do get busted they are getting suspended for a while then they come back and make millions again. Why don’t they just ban all offenders forever? Ratings that’s why! We all watch to see if they can still play after their suspension.

In my opinion, if they get busted then they should be banned. I am a Tigers fan and I don’t care if I ever see Jhonny Peralta play again. But at the same time I love watching Cabrera, but who’s to say that he is not taking some kind of enhancement drug. Right now he is a giant in the game of baseball and obviously bringing in very high ratings. I don’t know that he is and I sure hope he isn’t but I do know if he is, you will not know for several years. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it come out in the near future that Albert Pujols was using. He seems to be declining and not the big attraction he used to be so if things hold true then he will be in trouble soon. Anyway, just remember this is all just my opinion.

Tuesday Tunes ~ Blurred Lines (What Rhymes with Hug Me?)

I don't love this song as much as I did a month ago, but it still makes me wanna move.  The video, on the other hand, is something I just decided to investigate.  It cracks me up, and I just can't believe that this is Jason Seaver's son.  #Thicke

 

My Claim to Review Fame

Once up on a time, when I was in the middle of my mid-life crisis I was the Chick Lit Examiner for the National edition of the... umm… Examiner.

During that time (May 4, 2010 to be exact) I wrote a lovely review for Jen Lancaster's My Fair Lazy where I said, and I quote, "My Fair Lazy does not 'suck it'.  It rocks it. And it's available today."  Well, lo and behold, flash forward to earlier this year.  It's late at night and I am reading, my husband is snoring, and I start perusing the back of Jeneration X.  And I see it.  "My Fair Lazy does not 'suck it'.  It rocks it", was written on the back of the book, and it was attributed to Examiner.com.


"Gosh, that sounds familiar," I said to myself.  So, I did a little Google searching on my phone and I found my original review, and the last line of my article is the line on the back of the book.  O. M. G., I am quoted on the back of Jen Lancaster's book!  Me!

I woke Cory up but I don't really think he understood what I was talking about, and it all seemed really crazy anyway and eventually I went to sleep.  I thought about the quote from time to time and shared it with friends, but it wasn't until late Spring when a friend told me that Jen Lancaster would be appearing at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor for a signing that I got excited again.  Not only could I meet her, I could also tell her it was me that wrote that review!

The day of the signing my life was overwhelming as usual, and I almost didn't go.  I left work late and drove the 30 miles feeling that there was no way I would make it on time.  Not only that, I totally forgot my copy of Jeneration X to have signed (and my pearls that everyone knows you should wear to a Jen Lancaster signing).  But I did make it on time, and after I met up with my friend and the seat she had saved for me, I walked up to buy my copy of The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog.  I made my purchase, returned to my seat and began looking over the book.  And there it was.  My review!  On the back of the new book too!

Short story long, Jen was hilarious and we had a lovely time waiting in line to meet her.  She laughed when I pointed out my review on her book, but we didn't spend much time chatting.  The line was long and my friend and I headed for the exit.  But as we looked at the our the pages she signed I chuckled as I saw what she wrote.

You're welcome Jen Lancaster!  And hopefully I can write another review that you can quote on your next book.  Thus extending my 15 minutes of fame to 30.

Heather Wells in The Bride Wore Size 12

I knew this was coming.  But for my own sanity and the ability to sleep, I had to put it out of my head.

I love Meg Cabot, and I have read most of her adult fiction books, and a few of her books for younger people (Allie Finkle, The Princess Diaries).  But her Heather Wells mysteries, starting with Size 12 Is Not Fat, are my FAVORITE.

When I saw this cover photo on Heather Well's Facebook page I gasped with glee.  Finally!

I will do my best to wait until September 24, but just a tip- if you also like Heather Wells on Facebook, you can preview an excerpt from The Bride Wore Size 12.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Tuesday Tunes ~ Made For Love

At my day job.  Yes, as an un-cool Mom who recently entered the land of ages that start with four, I have a day job.

At my day job, I have connections to some music and this song and I are connected.  I would also love to be connected to John Legend, but I don't see that happening.

"Made to Love" can be heard in a super suave commercial for the Chevy Impala.  Or you can hear it in Mr. Legend's very interesting, official music video below.  Sometimes, listening is enough.

Girls + American Girl + Crafts = American Girl Crafts

My youngest daughter, almost nine-and-a-half, has a creative side that I completely envy.

On more occasions than I can remember she has raided the recycle bins in the garage and created a masterpiece of epic proportions.  No box is tossed without careful consideration of it's potential usage and if you are a cardboard insert, watch out, you will be drawn, painted, or glued on at some point.  It is her creativity and love of learning that keep her going all the time.

So, when I saw that House Party had an American Girl Crafts party on their list, I knew I had to apply. I also knew I needed to promote my interest to increase my chances of being picked and luckily for me, and for my daughter, I was.  Ummm... we were.

The party pack itself was freakin' amazing.  Look at all of the items we received from House Party and EKSuccess Brands!

The main item is the American Girls Crafts My Life Scrap and Stuff Book.  It has 30 pre-designed pages for you to write about yourself, your family and your favorite things.  It's adorable all by itself, but then we received an enormous amount of embellishments.  Stamps, stickers, letters, clips and design tape were all in the box.  Needless to say my daughter was super excited to have this party and share with her friends.

We prepared some simple snacks for the party and set everything out on the table for our crafty guests to see when they arrived.

Upon arrival everyone got down to business and had no trouble making their books their own.  Some took their work very seriously.

    

Friends of many ages (and one boy) enjoyed making their own scrapbooks.  Their Moms enjoyed the coupons, and I was once again impressed with the creativity of small people, and with the generosity of a good brand.

Disclosure:  I applied and was chosen to be an American Girl Crafts party host.  I was given a party pack by EK Success Brands and House Party in exchange for hosting the party.  All opinions are 100% my own.

Gleeks in Mourning

There have been many times in my life when I was caught off guard.  Taken aback.  Stunned.  I felt that on Monday, July 15th when I heard that Cory Monteith had passed away over the weekend.

 

I was on vacation, our annual trip to Michigan's Drummond Island, when I heard the news courtesy of a SiriusXM radio channel with DJ's in L.A.

I instantly shared the news with all of the young people around me, because they certainly would care as much, if not more, than me.  I assumed this since they are teenagers, and I am in my not-thirties.  But I think it bothered me more.

Maybe because Cory is my Glee-Crush, and yes I still crush.  Not to the level I crushed on Kirk Cameron (ugh, I know) in the 80's and not with the sophistication of which I crush on my husband-in-an-alternate-universe Ben Affleck.  But with the clarity of knowing that 20 years ago I would have moved to L.A. to find Cory, but now I know how absurd that would be so I just have dreams about him instead.  Good dreams.

I even had a dream just last week where I told him off for being stupid, and that he needed to fix his mistake.  It was very vivid and quite dramatic.  And of course, odd.

It's just so sad.  A real tragedy for someone who was such a bright, shining, star.  Of course I feel horrible for the people who actually knew him, but as a Gleek I am sad for me and the story lines I won't see finished, and as a Cory Monteith fan I am sad for the roles I won't see him play.

I pray that those who loved Cory find peace in their hearts and the strength to move on, and I hope his death can be a wake up call for others who maybe struggling with their own addictions.  Being dead, is not cool.  Rest in Peace.