C is for...

Clap Your Hands...They Might Be Giants, 2002

The time has finally come when I ought to celebrate the aughts and the music they brought for the a-z challenge this year

I have to give my husband credit for finding some great music for us to listen to as a family. There was sort of a limbo period when we started to outgrow Raffi, Tom Chapin and Red Grammar, but at least one of us wasn't ready for pop music all day long. The first They Might Be Giants album intended specifically for children was No! We were hooked immediately. Try to resist this beat...

B is for...

Breakeven...The Script, 2008

The time has finally come when I ought to celebrate the aughts and the music they brought for the a-z challenge this year

By the time today's song was released, I had refined my chauffeur skills. I was increasingly outvoted for music selecting rights. Top forty pop music was often the order of the day. It was fun to taunt unsuspecting passengers with the first line of the chorus - loudly and with feeling. Now that both kids have left for college, that question on its own, "What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you?" has crossed my mind from time to time. I suppose the entire chorus, outside the context of the song, has taken on even more meaning as our car drives away.

No Fooling - It's A-Z Time!

It does seem like a pretty decent April Fools' prank to suggest that I am going to breathe some life back into this blog. I guess we will just have to see what happens tomorrow, and enjoy today in the meantime. We've had some fun singing our way through a few decades to pass the Aprils away. There is one other era we ought to do...aughts to do! The approach of Y2K had people all fired up - especially those of us who were just over five months pregnant when that ball dropped. Partying like it was 1999 looked exhausted with a less than extensive, or stylish, wardrobe. Yes, the new decade brought our second child and our first minivan. As was the case with several other things, I increasingly lost control over what songs we listened to.

I am going to start this year's a-z off right...with a cheat! That should take a lot of pressure off if this thing actual sticks for the rest of the month. Our first song was released in May of 1999, but Shrek gave it the ogre bump in 2001.

I wanted to show you why All Star will always belong in the aughts for me. Within ten minutes I found three different versions of proof, and I know more exist. This...this is what will always play in my mind when I hear this song.

Bag of random

I was busy trying to decipher the ingredient list on these red bean cakes (gross sounding, no better looking...and totally addicting) when we were distracted by the packet. DO NOT EAT THE PACKET! FEAR THE PACKET! (totally wanted to explode the packet)

Alas, that wasn't the only dessert we had the other day. We also had this bag of...

...um...

 ...yeah, I'll just leave that there. We can look ahead to spring - it might come - perhaps March will come in like a lamb?

Or just a complete abomination of such? A sheep in a floral hoodie? Shower cap? Why can't I get past this? I am not typically one to stay stuck on something or let things linger...

 ...Oh, that? The wind has completely disrespected our barn swallow foil deterrent! I have no explanation for why I haven't taken that down. I could say that it's because we don't use the front door much this time of year, but I suppose the fact that I hung out in the cold to take the photo does nothing for my argument. Stay classy friends, and be shiny!

Question for the random

If you blog it, will they read? That is the real question these days, Kevin Costner!

Now that you are here, I have to wonder if earlier today you were asking yourself...

 And now that good fortune has manifested itself in my return? I am not going to bore you with flowery explanations of what I've been so busy doing, or flimsy excuses. 

(everything was awesome)

Instead, I will bore you with a few tidbits I've been saving just for you. To start things off, I think you should know that if you don't live in an area where you can grocery shop at Wegmans, some would say you are at a disadvantage. However, if you are in a geographically favorable location, but your Wegmans doesn't have a Godiva shop near the pharmacy, you are still doing it wrong.

These are the kind of delicacies I find myself taunted with when I stop elsewhere for provisions...

...meatloaf does not need help to look less appetizing. (I am not hating on meatloaf, as I am a fan, but come on.) The scary tomato eyes are just making the whole thing look like a muppet massacre. Now here is an absolutely necessary serving suggestion that makes perfect sense.

Do not just drink the food coloring, nor squirt it on just any old food. You're welcome for the advice!

With any luck I will  be back soon...provided I can remember even one of those several post ideas I had when I was too busy assessing whether things sparked joy to sit down and write.

Not playing around

Hey there! Just a quick check in as we enter the holiday home stretch. I have made an effort this year to make time for things I want to do, instead of the often employed strategy of just saying  there isn't enough time. Does this mean there are some things that should be done that are falling through the cracks every now and then? Maybe we should direct that question to my nearly empty refrigerator or the growing laundry piles.

Of course I have been out shopping, which has proved somewhat alarming on various occasions. I know there are people out there wandering this earth who like to pop pimples, but do we need to start the fascination so young?

Do five year olds need to be whispering that the cashier looks like that guy in their Pimple Pete game? No, no they do not. 

Next up, evidence that I am nowhere near familiar enough with the internet...

...as I know nothing about this "sensation". I did not pay attention to the price tag on this item, but seeing what the contents of the box are, anything over five dollars is ridiculous. I suppose I am going to have to ask the google to explain this one to me, despite knowing I will be sorry. Perhaps not as sorry as I was to visit that toy department another day when this was in the middle of the main aisle...

...WHY?!?! I might not even have any words for this one. That shit is terrifying!

Is there some sort of metaphor here regarding a desperate need to use bright colors and fancy packaging to make crappy stuff seem like fun? Is this the epitome of "you can't polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter"? 

Top O' the Mornin' to Ya!

The other day somebody asked me what my grandmother's ancestry results said. The notion that one person out there reading was curious, of course led me to believe that the other ten of you are probably on pins and needles as well! Spoiler alert: I did promptly put this ornament of hers on our tree...

During the several weeks of processing time, I did occasionally wonder what the results would say. My biggest fear was that the report was going to come back "inconclusive due to mishandled and/or less than adequate saliva." Instead, we found out at least one thing we suspected was true...

...she is, indeed, 100% Blanche. The only thing alarming about this number is that I quickly deduced that I am 25% Blanche, and that just seems high. Let's get down to some more specifics...

Pour me a blonde Guinness and get that corned beef cooking! In the meantime, how about a crepe? While France was not mentioned in those recent video clips, it was always in the reports she gave me when we were both much younger.

I admit that this is one of the first things I did... 

 ...so that confirmed Iberia was a thing, but did not offer me much of a sense of where to find it.

Ah! (Admit it, you weren't sure either. You're welcome!)