…which is good, because I’m purdy again!
After much hounding nagging threatening withholding begging cheerful prodding, HH finally came through and finished my new digs.
WHADDAYA THINK?!
Yeah, I know! Me too!
My Top Ten Song Covers
September 1, 2009 10 comments »The title is wildly awkward, isn’t it? I’ve reworded it about fifteen times and it is still taunting me. I think I must move on…
A couple of months ago, HH gave me the greatest gift: thirty minutes of alone. Every. Day. He pretty much pushes me out the door as I’m chewing my last bite of dinner and insists that I stay gone for thirty minutes. I’m not sure if he’s spoiling me or protecting himself & the kids from my less than kind personality of late.
Regardless, it’s a beautiful thing.
I take the opportunity to get some exercise and walk around the neighborhood. Despite the obvious health benefits, probably my most favorite thing is that I’m getting reacquainted with my iPod.
Can I just tell you how much I like music? ! I’m in no way musically inclined. I cannot sing. I cannot play an instrument. But I love songs. My favorite songs are songs I already know, which is why I LURVE a cover! So, allow me to share my favorite song covers cover songs songs sang by someone other than the original singer…
oh heck, you know what I mean…
10. Lady Marmalade covered by Christina Aguilera, Maya, Pink, L’il Kim, Missy Elliott. While I’m sure this makes no real music critics top anything, I always crank it up!
9. Darlin’ Nikki covered by Foo Fighters. Yes, this song is disgusting and dirty. And, yes, my love for Dave Grohl makes me listen to bad things sometimes. Sue me.
8. Smooth Criminal covered by Alien Ant Farm. Seriously, try to not get all funky when this one comes on the radio.
7. Killing Me Softly covered by The Fugees. This cover almost made me grow an afro.
6. The Man Who Sold the World covered by Nirvana. I’m the weirdo who doesn’t love Nirvana. Something about this song, though, is hauntingly beautiful.
5. Faith covered by Limp Bizkit. This one may have thrown any credibility I had right out the window, but I think it’s awesome.
4. Hello covered by David Cook. Yeah, I think I kind of broke my own rule here by including an American Idol artist. To me, though, it’s deserving of a little rule breakage.
3. Amazing Grace covered by Chris Tomlin. Don’t let this one get lost in this list. Maybe it’s degrading to call it a cover? I don’t know. I do know that I can’t contain the waterworks everytime I hear this version. What an amazing job updating and maintaining, Mr. Tomlin. I might just cry while typing this.
2. Landslide covered by Smashing Pumpkins and also covered by Dixie Chicks. Yeah, it’s a two-fer. Loved the original. Love the covers. It just doesn’t get old to me.
1. Stop in the Name of Love covered by Jonell Mosser (on the Hope Floats Motion Picture Soundtrack). I loved the music more that I loved the movie and this song got lost in the film. While I love the original, I think you miss the gut-wrenching-ness of the song. I could listen to it over and over. And I do. More than you care to know.
So, there’s my list. For now, I guess I should say. Who knows, Scissor Sisters could cover Stayin’ Alive and my list would get turned over right on it’s ear.
So what about you, what’s your favorite cover?
My First Time
August 23, 2009 17 comments »Ok, the title is making me giggle a little. I know what you’re thinking of, you sick-o, and I am SO not going to talk about THAT.
But this is almost as special.
My first internet purchase. (*Dreamy sigh*)
Picture it. 1997. My friend wears this awesome tank out to a bar. I covet it the entire night. She tells me it was a STEAL at J Crew. (The nearest one of which is four hours away.) I pout. She says no, she bought it ON THE INTERNET. What?! What is that?! The next day I march into my techy boyfriend’s place and demand that he show me what that there internet is all about and did he know that one could buy things on there. He typed some weird words, “.” and “com” and VOILA. Within minutes, I’d staked claim to a darling teal blue striped, spaghetti strapped tank.
I wore the heck out of that thing.
But styles change. The look has gradually changed to longer tops (THANK GOODNESS), and over the years the tank got shorter. (Ok, I got wider. To-may-to, to-mah-to.) I just couldn’t get rid of it. I loved the color. It was still in such good shape. And it was my very first internet purchase.
A few weeks ago, though, I took it out of the drawer and put it in the mail. And, yesterday, I got this:
I was speechless.
Prairie Mama sewed it up for me. She takes your old tanks and tees and turns them into stylin’ dresses, rompers, or tops for your little one. Obviously, there wasn’t enough tank to make an entire dress for Bug, so she asked if it was ok to add some purple fabric. It turned out so great! I’ve already pulled aside two more tees from the yard sale pile to send to her.
And, yes, I’m totally lame and forgot to take a picture of the tank before I sent it to her.
Check out Prairie Mama’s etsy shop here.
Hat tip to Steph, who did this first for her Ivy. You can see her dresses here.
I Miss My Blog
August 22, 2009 7 comments »Where did it go? I’m pretty sure it’s sitting on this table right beside me, somewhere in the vicinity of the laptop that no longer connects with the internet since my 13 days in the wilderness. But why sit around and bemoan the loss of my crappy computer when I sit here before you (well, kinda) typing away on a lovely new-ish loaner Macbook?
Why? Because I can’t do a cotton pickin’ thing on here! I do have a mouse now, so the whole right click thing has been righted. (If you knew how long it took me to learn to use a mouse, you’d understand why I just can’t let it go!) But I cannot upload a single picture. Kind of makes is hard to post about Bug’s first birthday or Wog’s first day of preschool, don’t you think?
I guess it’s kind of wrong to blame the decline of my blog on a Macbook, huh? I mean, shouldn’t I be doing the funky chicken while running, naked, around my house in broad daylight because I’m blogging from a Macbook? (Ok, that might have happened.)
If the Macbook is not truly to blame I guess I could say that I’m just looking out for my bloggy peeps. All 5 of you. You mean so much to me that I wanted to spare you from this blah-ness that has set in deep. I really don’t think you want to read about the mound of dishes in my sink that never goes away. Or that I’m not really enjoying being a mom these days (DISCLAIMER: LOVE MY KIDS, NOT LOVIN’ THE BUTT-WIPIN’, THE CONSTANT SCOLDING, AND THE TANTRUMS, THOUGH). Or that my husband makes me so mad sometimes I want to punch him in his teeth (he didn’t really want to hear that, either). Or that trying to buy a house makes me giddy. Then it makes me cry. Then it makes me throw up. Then I’m giddy again. Then I throw up…
So, if you’re reading this, it’s your fault that I’m not blogging. I was just trying to shield your sensitive selves from the ugly.
Ok, so it’s not really your fault.
And, now, you have had to read about all that.
I’m sneaky like that. (Insert conniving super-villain laugh here.)
To be honest, I do feel like all I post about is why I’m not posting. (Say that three times, fast!)
So, what do you think about this:
WILL BLOG FOR SHOES: A Blog about Why I Don’t Blog
Has a nice ring, no?
“ALL” The Winners
August 5, 2009 2 comments »Congrats to the two winners of the ALL Small & Mighty giveaway:
#8 Rachel
#22 Stacey
I’ll be emailing you two in a jiffy to get your addresses!
ALL Small & Mighty Laundry Detergent: A Giveaway
July 28, 2009 23 comments »
I am way overdue in telling you about a great product that the folks at ALL and Momselect gave me the opportunity to try… ALL Small & Mighty laundry detergent. I guess I should tell you first that I’m a laundry nerd. I spend what seems to my husband like ages on the laundry aisle every time I have to replenish my detergent. I smell everything. I calculate price per load. I smell everything again. I buy store brands, big-name brands, all-natural brands, one for grown up laundry, one for kid laundry… whatever the mood (or coupon) dictates.
With all the product love, my laundry room/pantry/storage room got a smidge out of hand, so I decided to go with one detergent for the whole family. Much to my smellgood lovin’ heart’s dismay, it had to be a fragrance -free. I settled on using the big brand’s “free” detergent and was satisfied with everything about it… except the price. I was stoked to find that the ALL Free & Clear got my clothes just as clean as the big brand and the price makes my budget a whole lot happier.
Now, while doing some price research for this post, I noticed that the ALL Small & Mighty costs more per load than the regular ALL 2X, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me since the only difference is the higher concentration and smaller container. I’m all about a smaller container taking up less room in my way too junky laundry room, but it wasn’t that much smaller than the 2X concentration (the Small & Mighty is 3X concentrated). Regardless, they both work great and they are both priced a good bit below the big brands.
Even better, TWO of you can win a full size ALL Small & Mighty laundry product of your choice. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling me something laundry related. What product(s) are your favorites? How often do you wash clothes? Is your washing machine fabric softener thingie as gunky as mine? Whatever…just leave me a comment! You can also earn extra entries by tweeting about the contest (make sure to include @willblogforshoe in your tweet). You can be also earn an entry by updating your Facebook status to include the word “ALL” (all caps & quotes, please). You are not limited to the number of times you can do either and you will earn an entry per tweet or status update!! Don’t forget to leave me a separate comment to let me know about your extra entry (or entries). Leave a separate comment per extra entry, please!
Winners will be notified via email on Tuesday, August 4th.
Disconnected: A List
July 21, 2009 6 comments »Sunday night storms
Broke my teapot
No power for 4 or 5 hours
Tree branch down
Cracked windshield
Flat tire
No internet for 9 days
And counting
1 stomach bug on Monday (me)
Emptied one can of Lysol
1 more stomach bug on Wednesday into Thursday (Wog)
Finished off another can of Lysol
Broke my pepper mill
Another stomach bug yesterday/today (HH)
Night spent on my parents’ couch with 2 kids
Next week will be better. Right?!
Help a Sistah Out
July 10, 2009 15 comments »I haven’t posted in a sweet forever, because my comments were jacked up on my last post. I think I’ve cleaned them up, but I want to make sure the problem is fixed.
So, could you do me a solid and leave a comment?
Pretty please?!
FRF: Chocolate Chip Cookies
June 26, 2009 2 comments »
I’m so excited to get to participate in Family Recipe Fridays over at Vanderbilt Wife. Jessie’s been hosting it for a few weeks now, but I haven’t been organized enough to get a recipe posted. Plus, I don’t have a lot of passed down family recipes. I come from a long line of amazing cooks, but there aren’t a lot of recipes floating around. My mema learned from watching her mother-in-law (her mom died when she was very young), my mom learned from watching my mema, and so on… When I ask for a recipe for something, I usually get a laugh.
And while I’m using trial and error to recreate some old family faves, I am building up a little repertoire of favorites for my little family of four. So, I thought I’d start with sharing the most requested by my peeps:
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 6 oz package milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (yes, it’s expensive, but it makes a difference)
Cream shortening; add sugars and cream together until fluffy. Mix in the egg. Add flour, salt, and baking soda and mix. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla. Drop by tablespoon (I use this medium cookie scoop) on baking stone. Bake approximately 13 minutes (probably less if you’re using a cookie sheet).
This doesn’t make a terribly large amount of cookies. You’ll want to double the recipe if you’re baking for more than just your family.
For more fun family recipes, head on over to Vanderbilt Wife.
I Actually Felt Inspired to Write
June 21, 2009 14 comments »So, if anyone asks, you can say that you read a very inspired post today.
This post by Oh Amanda really made me happy. I love the whole back to basics blogging thing. I love the standards she has set for herself. It’s so easy to get caught up in your stats and what companies are sending which bloggers to random exotic locations. It’s enough to make those without the moxy to self-promote quit blogging. (I should know. I quit.)
I am definitely not knocking those bloggers who are well-oiled, finely tuned marketing machines. It’s part of the mix. Just as the photographers, the comedians, and the inspirers are. What shouldn’t be part of the mix is all the hatin’. Mommy bloggers versus those who are “something more”… whatevs. Posers versus the real deal… whatevs.
We can’t all be the same.
I will never be as funny as Boomama. I’ll never be as crafty as Candace. I’ll never be as pure of heart as Amanda. I’ll never be as cool as Steph. I’ll never be as gosh darn cute as Trina. I’ll never be as talented as Carrie. I could go on. I probably should go on.
Ok, maybe I’ve gotten away from my original starting point. Let’s pretend I just constructed this kick-butt transitional sentence in which I have both sufficiently proven the last couple of paragraphs were relevant and brought you back to my original though, shall we?
My “manifesto” is this. (It’d be grand if you could pretend to care. K, thanks.)
1. I’ll review a product if I think it’s something I’d like to try or have tried.
2. I’ll offer a giveaway every stinkin’ chance I get. It’s just WAY fun to me.
3. I’ll sugar coat my thoughts only when I feel that *I* need to in order to maintain my sanity. (Or to prevent profanity.)
4. I promise to never give a red rat’s beehind about my stats. (I don’t even know how to monitor that sort of thing!)
Basically, I’ll be me. Maybe you’ll like it. (I won’t even lie, I desperately hope you will). But maybe you won’t. And that’s ok. (Oh, heck, who am I kidding? It’s really not ok, but I’ll manage).
