Matt Nathanson's All Night Noise Tour

This Tuesday, my husband and I went to Matt Nathanson's concert at the 9:30 Club here in D.C. I know, I know, I was supposed to be sick. Well no matter how much self-pity I'm drowning in, I was NOT about to miss Matt Nathanson because I love him and this is my 3rd Matt Nathanson concert and did I mention I love him? So, I took a nap, pulled myself together and off we went. First a quick word about the venue, I really like the 9:30 Club. Apparently in D.C. that is akin to saying I really like kittens because everyone knows it's some super awesome venue, but whatever, I'm not super hip and had never been there. We had seen MN twice before at the House of Blues in Chicago which is a pretty decent venue but even though they weren't too different in size, the 9:30 definitely felt more intimate. If you are in D.C. and have an inkling to go see a concert, I recommend it for sure.

*Not from our show, but I wanted an action shot, you know?

Anyway, onto the actual concert. First of all, fun surprise, Vanessa Carlton was the opening act! I'm actually a big fan of her new record and have really been enjoying it, so I was super pumped to learn right before the show started that she was performing first! My husband was actually also excited, because he and his friends are super-weirdly obsessed with the song White Houses. I have no explanation for that. Anyway, she played some of her new songs that I love (Carousel and Fairweather Friend), a few I didn't know that I will probably download because they were lovely and her original hit, 1000 Miles. She did not play White Houses and Danny almost ugly-cried. Not really and he'll probably kill me for saying that, but he was bummed. However, I think the Vanessa Carlton surprise sighting was almost enough to brag about to his friends. They are so weird.

Next up was Matt. I call him Matt because I'm pretty sure we'd be friends if he ever met me, which is one of the reasons I love him. At all 3 of his concerts that I've attended, I've been struck by how personable he is and how he just seems like a really cool dude that I would want to hang with. He's funny and makes insightful comments about the inspiration for his songs and really responds to the energy of the crowd. I buy all of his records, but I will keep seeing him live over and over again because he is just a really good performer and brings something extra to his already great music. Also he makes awesome singing faces. See below:

 

This is soulful Matt.

This is Matt going "Oooooooooooooo" (See the song Laid.)

This is Matt belting it out.

And finally, this is Tambourine Matt. (That's not really a tambourine but it makes the same sound and you play it by doing the same shaky thing.)

Well that was fun, Thanks Google Images! Just a few additional highlights from the concert other than Matt's awesome singing faces:

• His covers. He always does a few and Tuesday's were amazeballs. First he did an impromtu version of La Bamba, which was both hilarious and intoxicating in that you couldn't stop yourself from hip-jiggling. He also did Whitesnake's Here I Go Again, which was fist-pumping tastiness and then finally he did a gorgeous acoustic cover of Prince's Little Red Corvette with his guitarist Aaron Tap. And let me just say, you hipsters over at The A.V. Club that didn't like this cover? Shut your stupid faces! It was so good and all of your jeans are too tight.

•  His mix of old and new songs. He did a great job of promoting his current record, Modern Love (go buy it now it's awesome) and playing stuff from all of his old albums, which hold a very dear place in my musical heart. When he played Pretty the World (his second song of the night), I about peed my pants with excitement. But I didn't because I'm a lady.

• His band. They are really really good and were doubly impressive because when Matt just decided to play La Bamba after someone cheered when he played the little opening riff between songs, they literally all just picked up the instruments and started joining in one by one. (Dear grammar police, sorry about that run-on sentence.) I'm sorry but that kind of musical ability blows my mind. I have been playing piano my whole life almost and I could not just sit down and start playing La Bamba no matter how badly I wanted to. So good.

In conclusion, I just want to put it out there one more time how much I love Matt Nathanson. He's talented and cool and as I said before, I'm pretty sure we'd be friends. I'm putting it out there like the Secret. Matt, let's hang out, not in a weird, stalker-y crush kind of way, but in a fun, listen to good music, drink beers and talk about pop culture kind of way. I think you'd really like my husband too, you're both cool dudes, so let's make this happen. Ok? Kthanksbye.

 

On Being Sick or as I think of it, The End of the WORLD

Me. RIGHT NOW.

When I was little, being sick wasn't so bad. I got to stay home from school, watch soaps and The Princess Bride (ok, that didn't start until I was like 8 or so because I was afraid of the Rodents of Unusual Size and the Six-Fingered Man until then), eat chicken soup, basically get a free lazy day. My mom would make me a special sick bed on the sofa that I got to feel cozy and snuggly on all day. Aside from the achy feverish feeling, it was kind of awesome. In high school, sick days got even better because by that point I had discovered the BBC's 6-hour Pride and Prejudice mini-series and I watched all 6-hours in their empire-waisted, British-accented, Colin Firth-filled entirety every time. I miss those days.

I also remember when I was younger whenever my dad was sick. My mom would always say, "When your dad's sick, no one else in the world is sicker (more sick?) than him." Well, thanks a lot Dad, because now that's me.

I used to be a trooper when I was sick. I would slurp my chicken soup and quietly watch TV without complaint. I would try to go to school the next day even if I still felt somewhat bad. Well now that I'm an adult, that is OVER.

I am no longer any form of trooper. I hate troopers. In fact, when I'm sick, I hate everything. No one feels as bad as me right now and I hate everyone and everything because of that. I'm like 15% sure I'm dying even though all I have is a low-grade fever and what appears to be some sort of cold, but whatever, it's SERIOUS.

The turning point was when I went to college and suddenly I kind of had to fend for myself when I was sick. I would feel sick, walk into the living room of my apartment and go, "Where's MY SOFA SICK BED?!?" I would walk into my kitchen and go, "Where's my CHICKEN SOUP!?" I'd look at my planner and realize I had a mandatory class to attend and go, "Where's my SICK NOTE?!" Oh right, you need a mom for that. I had a mom, but not with me in post-high school land (ok, so my parents lived 10 minutes from my college campus, but I didn't live at home anymore and who knows what she was up to when her life didn't have to revolve around me and my sick needs anymore!). And sick notes don't work on college professors. And the chicken soup from the dining hall tasted like booboo.

NOT the dining hall's chicken soup.

Then law school came. I lived in Chicago in a small apartment with my cat. Well, my cat was useless when I was sick. Even crappy chicken noodle soup wasn't a 10-step walk away. And so my self-pity during illness continued to snowball out of control.

Now we come to present time where I live in Adult Land. I have a job. I can't just take sick days especially because I'm saving my leave time for holidays, so I have to go to work. I have to wake up at 5:45 in the morning with a fever and mucus pouring out of my face and go to work and get everyone else sick. Suck it coworkers! I have to try and look presentable which is really hard when your face is running. Yeah, my face. Not just my nose because I'm sicker than EVERYONE.

Now I have a husband, so you'd think, awesome! Someone to pity me and take care of me! (He's back in town by the way, yay!) But no. He's a med student. Not that he isn't helpful to a reasonable degree, but he is every bit aware of just how sick I am, which does not match how sick I am in my head, 15% chance of dying. He just tells me drink a lot of water and eat Coldeeze which have a weird aftertaste and I hate them. The problem is, it's not him at all. He's actually great and perfect for a normal sick person. But I am not. I am a sick MONSTER. I don't even know what I want him to do. I just want him to pull an I Dream of Jeannie and do the crossed-arm, head-bob, winky thing and make me better. (Plus, seeing him do that would be priceless.) If I could go home now and have a sick day high school style, I'd probably still be a nightmare because I'm at the point now where my self-pity knows no bounds. Now go away. I hate you. I hate everything. I need Kleenex.

All-Time Favorites: Fleetwood Mac's Rumours

I think I'm going to start a series of posts of my all-time favorites in which I will pay special tribute to the movies, albums and books that have will always have my heart no matter what my fickle heart is obsessing over in the ever-changing winds of pop culture.

For today's All-Time Favorite, I have chosen an album: Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. I realize this may be a cliche choice particularly because Glee just did an episode devoted to the whole album, but I assure you, I have been a Fleetwood Mac fan for a long time. I had a musically hip mom and she exposed me to a wide range of awesome music from the womb. I mean there weren't many 8 year olds singing Evenflow by Pearl Jam on the way home from second grade, but I was one of them. I don't want to sound pompous because I'm not a music snob at all. I mean come on, I've written about Selena Gomez like 3 times. However, I also truly truly love Fleetwood Mac. When I say Fleetwood Mac, I'm referring to the line-up that made the band name truly famous: Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. In albums this takes you from Fleetwood Mac (1975 album) to Tango in the Night (1987).

I love Rumours the most for a few reasons. First, my very favorite FM song is "Dreams" which is on this album. The presence of that song alone is almost enough of a reason for me. Stevie Nicks is singer/songwriter perfection on this song and it's an ideal example of why she is AH-mazing. If that song isn't enough, the album also has "Don't Stop," which I bet will make you feel better no matter how sad you might be; "Go Your Own Way," one of the best break-up songs ever made; "Songbird," that song from Love Actually, yeah, it's a Fleetwood Mac original and it's gorgeous; and "The Chain" which is just a rad song, and it basically tells the story of all the craziness going on behind the scenes when this album was being made (see below). Ok truthfully EVERY song is good, but those are the best.

Second, the backstory behind this album is remarkable. While this album was being made, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were ending their long-term relationship and John and Christine McVie were ending their MARRIAGE. Maybe it's all that angst that produced such incredible music but I cannot even imagine being mid-break-up and have to go to the recording studio and sing about heartbreak while my ex provided backing vocals. To be a fly on the wall of that recording studio, although probably not, because a fly on the wall would probably get killed by a glass being thrown or something. I mean musician exes working in a tiny room together? There had to be some flying glassware at some point.

Third, and probably least important, I love the album artwork for this record (pictured above). It's Mick Fleetwood who is freakishly tall and Stevie Nicks in all her flowing-dress, ballet-slippered glory. Have you noticed I kind of love Stevie Nicks? I just feel like she made boho-chic beautiful and trendy way before Sienna Miller or that Olsen twin, not to mention, she's f-ing crazy talented. Anyway, everything about this cover is cool, from their Hippie-meets-Medieval costuming to his jaunty ponytail to the font used for the title. Plus the black and white image against a plain cream background? One word. COOL. I'm sorry, it's just the best word for them, end of story.

I mean really?! I want to be her. Not so much the personal life, but the musical talent and style? Yes, please.

So here's what I'm saying to you. If you haven't heard Rumours, then listen to it on Spotify. Then after you've done that, buy the album, because you need to listen to it more than just off of your computer. Preferably on vinyl, which I don't even have, but is very much on my wishlist. Then listen to every song and memorize all the words and appreciate beautiful music made in the midst of complete and total personal madness. God, they're awesome.

Wha???

The following is a list of things that made me go "Wha?" or something similar. The world is a crazy f-ing place.

Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace. AND PEOPLE ARE USING IT LIKE IT'S NORMAL. WHA?

Michele Bachman and Rick Perry are ACTUAL Presidential candidates. Seriously? I mean really, is that a joke? Democrat or Republican, can't we, as citizens of a so-called developed country, demand more from our leading presidential candidates?

According to People.com, 14% of people didn't like The New Girl. That's crazy because EVERYONE should like The New Girl.

THIS happened:

I've never been creeped out by babies before. Until now.

Parks and Rec didn't win any Emmys. That's some boo boo. However, Melissa McCarthy's win was pretty cute, even though she won for Bridesmaids.

I hate coconuts but legit love coconut water. How is that possible?

I'm from Indiana but I have never seen Hoosiers. This is something totally within my control and yet I remain surprised by it.

In the same vein, my husband has never seen Dirty Dancing. I can basically act this movie out as a 1-woman show. Maybe I should trade him Hoosiers for Dirty Dancing and then we'd both be better people.

Elton John's real name is Reginald Dwight! Do you think his husband calls him Reg? Reggie?

George Clooney is currently dating Stacie Kiebler, a former Dancing with the Stars non-Star and before her he dated Elisabetta Canalis, a current Dancing with the Stars non-Star. WHAT IS HE DOING?!?

This was a WTF in a good way:

Note the #1 Sex Champions Banner. Amazeballs.

Oprah's not on anymore. I still don't really believe it and I didn't really watch that often, but it's just something I counted on, like my pillow. What is a world without OPRAH!?

Christina Hendricks' boobs. I love that she's curvy and proud, but her boobs are so big and so emphasized, I can't help but be in shock every time I see her on a red carpet.

The following movies exist: Glitter, Gigli, Battlefield Earth and Death Race. I've seen 2 of the 4. I bet you can't guess which ones.

Snooki tweeted something insightful today. She said that Michael Bolton is a male cougar, which he kind of is isn't he?! But then she followed it up with: they should be called mougars. Also, I follow Snooki on Twitter. Who am I?

Gwyneth Paltrow managed to not look beautiful:

I'm never seeing Contagion.

You're welcome everyone. The world is crazy town and I love it.

In Appreciation of Manners/Friendliness

I realize I may be aging myself with this next question but what happened to manners? What happened to common courtesy? What happened to good old-fashioned friendliness? I was raised in a casual household but I was also raised with a heavy emphasis on being polite and kind. At 27 (almost 28, not too many shopping days left people), I find myself appalled at how many of my peers ad my elders seem to have gone without these very important lessons.

I mean really, is it THAT MUCH of an inconvenience to wait an extra 2.5 seconds to hold the door for a young lady with her arms full of groceries? Is it that hard to say "You're Welcome" when someone thanks you? Let me pull a me-in-grade-school and answer before you get a chance to: NO. IT'S NOT.

That's the thing about manners: they require minimal effort and, bible, those of us that use them can attest that the benefits outweigh the extra 5 minutes of time one spends in a day to be polite. People respond more warmly to you; you're setting a good example to those around you (particularly children); sometimes  you even get stuff for free, especially when those good manners are directed at an under-appreciated person who is serving you food or beverages, hello on-the-house dirty martini! I find this especially is the case if you are kind and understanding about a delay or a simple human mistake and let me tell you, i prefer a free cocktail to being a biatch any day.

I think part of my sensitivity to this manners/friendliness drought is that I moved from the Midwest to the East Coast. Now I'm about to say some not-entirely-positive impressions of the East Coast but please just hear me out East Coasters. For all the WASP-y upbringing of the many clean cut preppies that inhabit the Eastern seaboard, overall East Coasters just aren't a friendly bunch. Of course I've met plenty of friendly people out here individually but on the whole, Easterners seem to be colder, more isolated and less likely to go out of their way for another person than people from the Midwest. I'm sorry guys, but it's true and if you spend any length of time in the Midwest, even a big city like Chicago, you'll notice the difference too.

My husband and I went back to the Midwest for a week this summer to spend tie at my parents' lakehouse in Michigan and to visit friends in Chicago. We were honestly thrown off by how friendly people were. We had gotten so used to the collectively chilly attitude of D.C., we were borderline suspicious by the kind and attentive Midwesterners with whom we interacted at restaurants and stores. They'd say something really sweet like, "You two enjoy this beautiful day now," and we'd reply "Ok, what's your angle, lady?" In our heads, but still. This revelation that I was wary of kindness honestly depressed me a little bit. I'm a proud Hoosier, cornfed, love-thy-neighbor kind of girl! Have my 2 years out East really hardened me that much? What the French, toast?!

So from here on out, I'm on a mission to kill 'em with kindness and to really appreciate the people who are also nice and polite, rather than questioning their motives. Let's bring manners and friendliness back like Minnetonkas, big hair and bodysuits, but more like Minnetonkas and big hair because I'm actually not a bodysuit fan and I doubt that trend is all that long-lasting. Smile. Hold the door. Say thank-you. Oh and one more thing, read this post on Apocalypstick about being early, because being early is also good manners. You all enjoy this beautiful day now!

Interlude Post

So here's the thing, I just got back from Salt Lake late last night and I'm tired. Ergo, I'm also feeling lazy. I actually did work on a post in my journal on the plane which I will publish tomorrow, but for today, I'm just going to say a few things.

First: Salt Lake City is so beautiful. I think some people can be wary of Salt Lake because it's in Utah and there are certain cultural implications that people tend to make when they hear that. It is honest-to-god one of the prettiest places I have ever been in my whole life and actually a really cool town with lots to do. This weekend Danny (my husband), my father-in-law and I went up to Snowbird Ski Resort where they were holding Oktoberfest but where they also have all kinds of non-ski activities. Danny and I took the tram to the top of the mountain and the views were unreal. Here are some pics and please excuse the fact that they are all of me, I blame the photographer.

Seriously, the views were unreal. I love mountains.

Holy close-up. This was our sweet ride to the top.

Can you believe this awesomeness is only 20 minutes from Salt Lake?

So I also mentioned that this was Oktoberfest at Snowbird, which wasn't a huge thing, but you know I obviously had a tasty beer and a soft pretzel to celebrate Germany because I've got some German somewhere in my European-mutt ancestry, so obviously just doing my part with carbs. However, the BEST part of the fact that it was Oktoberfest was this:

Yeah, that's right. Tiny Lederhosen. Best. Outfit. Ever.

Obviously, if that adorable little boy's outfit is any indication, it was a magical weekend. It really was. I got to hang out with my in-laws including my super awesome sister-in-law, catch up with friends, eat some super great food (including dinner at Danny's Italian grandmother's house), and of course, I FINALLY got to spend some time with my adorable husband. All in all, a wonderful weekend. Also, Danny gets home in 6 days, yay!  I'll be back with some cohesive thoughts tomorrow fools.

More from the Cloud or, alternatively, how pretentious am I for naming the interworkings of my brain?

Things are a little hectic right now, so my ability to focus and write a well-planned and structured post is severely limited. I'm going to visit my husband this weekend, so I'm getting ready for that (seriously, this distance thing is ridiculous) and my cat has killed four (4!) mice in the past 2 days, so obviously that's a problem I need to deal with. Anyway, other than the feeling that mice are crawling all over me, here are some things that are on my mind right now:

*You know how when you get on a workout kick and at first you can see what a difference it's making almost every day? I love that feeling. But now, I'm in the part where I kind of plateau and I have to either kick it in and workout harder or change something else like my diet, with which I have a real problem. Seriously? Does my body even know how much motivation I had to work up to start working out in the first place? Now I need to find more? I think I need Jillian Michaels to come to my house and start berating me otherwise that's just not happening.

*Beyonce's song "Love on Top" is awesome. Here's the thing though, I don't know if I actually really like the song or I like the fact that every time I hear it, I think how cute pregnant Beyonce was with Jay-Z at the VMAs. I think that might be it.

*I've been watching a LOT of chick flicks lately because my husband's out of town and I can. I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm almost at the point where I'm ready to watch some action or sports-themed movies now. Instead of crying, I think I'm ready to watch a movie and yell at the television "Get out of the WAY! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!" or you know, something sporty. Although, sports movies usually make me cry, but whatever, my point is, I think I need an injection of testosterone in my movie watching, for a limited time only.

*Looking at the photos of the New York Fashion Week shows has made me really happy. You can check out My Tumblr to see some of the pretty clothes I really like. Of course, on the flip side of the coin, there are a few things that make me sad. 1) I will probably never be able to buy/wear any of these clothes because I am not in the yacht-owning tax bracket and 2) Models are too sickly thin. They just are, I'm sorry I can't get over it.

*I had a Peanut Butter and Jelly Pinkberry not too long ago and I'm not kidding, it was the most amazing frozen treat ever. It honest-to-god tasted like a really well-made PB&J sandwich. You know, perfect PB to J ratio but it was also creamy and had these crunchy lightly-sweetened crouton-like things on it too. Oh. My. God. If you have a Pinkberry near you and they are still making this taste explosion, go get one.

Probably the most hilarious part of ordering this was the Pinkberry employee immediately telling me that the Peanut Butter yogurt was NOT non-fat. I was all, it's cool, I just want this in my mouth.

*Shows like The Lying Game and Pretty Little Liars and really any show that takes place in high school now make me wonder if teenagers actually get that dressed up for high school now. I mean, I remember the days when it was simple, you wore a non-imposing outfit from American Eagle, finished it off with a pair of Doc Martens, preferably the Mary Janes and called it a day. Now the kids on these shows are wearing dresses that I would consider too fancy for a cocktail party sometimes and unreal high heels! Hello? You are not going to be able to run to class and make it before the bell in those. I'm so old.

Seriously? This outfit says "Pre-Calc" to you? *Side note: Just realized how much I say seriously. SO Grey's Anatomy of me. Sorry about that folks and yay blog self-awareness!

*I seriously can barely wait any longer for the iPhone 5 to come out. My current phone is the original model, the one they don't even sell anymore, not even at a super discounted price. It freezes a lot, especially when I play Words with Friends, which makes owning at that game very difficult and I'm convinced that I will get better service with a newer model because Danny's iPhone 4 definitely does. That said, I wouldn't trade this phone for any other phone out there because Apple has me brainwashed and I'm ok with that.

*There is no better clothes-related feeling than trying on a new pair of pants and having them fit you like a glove. Actually scratch that, it has never been my experience that gloves fit my hands exceptionally well, so let's just say they fit like really awesome pants. I've been fortunate enough to have that feeling with the past 2 pairs of pants I bought and it almost makes me get over the 4 dead mice in 2 days thing.

Alright folks, my brain is empty now, see you after my weekend out West! (I'm going to Salt Lake City, by the way, yay mountains!)

Happy Things This Week(end)

Happy Things This Week(end) by carlyvg featuring vintage necklaces

My Teenage She-roes

I have two amazing 17-year-old women in my life. One is my sister-in-law, Lizzie and the other is a young lady that I tutor in English, Kelsey. These girls give me faith in the younger generation because they are smart, down-to-earth, confident and amazingly drama-free for teenage girls. They are a step ahead of their peers for sure. Of course they have emotions and worries and problems like everyone else, but it's in the way they deal with those problems and don't let them affect their personalities or relationships that make them so wonderful.

First my sister-in-law Lizzie. She's seriously one of the coolest people I know and by cool I mean, truly cool without even trying. First of all, and this is by no means the most important thing about her, she is a great dresser. She wears clothes that are relaxed, fashion-forward and age appropriate all at the same time. Her awesome dressing ability, however, is a reflection of her great personality. She is also astoundingly busy for someone her age between school, sports, volunteering and other extracurriculars, but it seems like she still always invests a lot of effort into the people she cares about, her family and friends. She's got her priorities straight at 17, a feat that I still struggle with at 27. Of course she's still learning about herself and her place in the world, but I feel like I can learn a lot from her too. Oh, and she's gorgeous and tall, so she's pretty much the total package. I'm stoked that my children will share genes with her and look to her as a role model because she already makes a good one.

Danny and I with my siblings-in-law. Seriously, how cute is she?

Kelsey is another young woman from whom I've learned a great deal. Honestly, if she and Lizzie knew each other, I'm pretty sure they'd be friends because they share many similar qualities. I began tutoring Kelsey last year before I got my current job and needed some extra money. Now that I have a full-time position, tutoring isn't really essential financially, but I have no intention of giving it up because I genuinely look forward to my time with Kelsey. I love working with her because she genuinely likes learning. She's also outgoing and fun and enthusiastic, but my favorite thing about her is her curiosity and hunger to learn. I love talking with her about her assigned books from English and seeing her think of something in a different way or suddenly realizing a new point that she hadn't before. Honestly, I also think my working with her has indirectly led to my writing on this blog. She's helped me rediscover my love of expressing my thoughts in writing because I've been helping her do just that for the past year and watching as she genuinely grows to enjoy it as well.

Basically these two young ladies have been inspirations to me and no doubt to the other people around them. These girls are going to do great things, and in fact, I think they already have, just by being themselves. Thank goodness for these girls and others like them, because the world can use every amazing woman it can get.

The New Girl or My Girl Crush on Zooey Deschanel

Seriously, how cute is she?

So unless you've been living under a rock the past few weeks, you've surely seen some of the intense marketing push for Zooey Deschanel's new show The New Girl. Based on my past experience, TV or movies that are marketed this heavily are usually a disappointment and I was worried that this would be the case for The New Girl. However, when I saw that they had made the pilot available for free on iTunes, I had to check it out.

Much to my surprise and delight, I discovered that The New Girl is an adorable and charming show! Huzzah!

I always knew that I loved Zooey Deschanel, but I think this show is going to take my girl crush to a whole new level. She's kind of my hero. She's married to the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie, which is one of my husband's favorite bands (I like them too, but I liked Postal Service better). She's an actress, musician and co-founder of what is quickly becoming my favorite website, hellogiggles.com. She frequently pulls off outfits that I wish I could pull off myself. And now, she is the star of what I think may become one of my new favorite shows. I know, I'm gushing, but seriously I want to be her.

Anyway, back to The New Girl. The show made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions. The pilot contained multiple references to Dirty Dancing, which was enough to secure my loyalty alone. The supporting actors were pretty good for the first time out and I feel like they will gel even more now that they can find their groove. The character Jess, played by Deschanel, is quirky to say the least. She has awesome nerd glasses and frequently makes up theme songs for herself, a talent which I wish I possessed.

See? Freakin' cutest nerd glasses ever.

So to sum up: I love Zooey Deschanel and everyone watch The New Girl so it stays on television and doesn't get cancelled like Running Wilde. Kthanksbye!

The Cloud: Also Known as the Inside of my Head

Since I'm just not in the mood for a traditional and possibly too-wordy post (sorry about that readers, I'm working on it), here are just a few random musings I've been having:

 
*It's listed on the sidebar of my blog, but I want to talk about it more because it's that great. HelloGiggles.com is such a triumph for female voices (but there are awesome men who write for it too!) This website's articles make me think, laugh and, twice so far, cry. I feel empowered to put more of myself out there because of this wonderful forum and it's my goal one day to submit a post and get it published on this site.

*They're remaking Footloose. My current position on this is somewhere between indifferent and disgusted. However, it inspired me to watch the original last night. ZOMG I love this movie. I danced along with about 5 scenes. Also, Kevin Bacon is a pretty tiny guy in this movie and still SUCH a stud. Good work KB.

*Don't you hate when something about a person annoys you and then you're alerted to that annoyance so that they annoy you at an intensity that increases with each interaction? I need to do some kind of voodoo mind trick on my own brain so I desensitize myself to these tics.


*Why do I own so many fancy (aka purchased at Sephora) lip glosses when I primarily use Cherry Chapstick? Seriously, do I need 3 different kinds of Lip Venom?

*Sports fan is never really a phrase used to describe me, but lately I've been getting interested in football. Not just in the final score either. I'm paying attention to actual plays and you know what? I'm kind of riveted. Running football plays is not unlike executing a well-blocked scene in a theatrical production and that warms my Theater-major heart.

*I appreciate my husband for lots of reasons, but one that's been cropping up a lot lately is that he makes me want to cook for him. Now that he's gone, I don't have that inspiration. Cooking for one is really difficult to get motivated for, especially because I'm kind of a leftover snob. One more reason he needs to come home soon.

*My latest DVD purchase was Season 3 of Parks and Recreation. I told my husband we had to get it for the betterment of our marriage because Ron Swanson brings out the best in each of us.

Not from Season 3, but come on guys, BREAKFAST BUFFET.

*Do you have those things you wish you liked but no matter how many times you try them, you just can't? For me, those things are running with no other purpose (i.e. not soccer or basketball or something with a goal other than getting to another place), coconut, American Idol and any type of shorts on myself, even if they're considered "flattering for my body type." I have changed over on some former items in this category however, so who knows, maybe in 10 years I'll be a marathoner. HA! I seriously just laughed out loud at the thought.


*Finally, I titled this post The Cloud because I still don't have a very accurate understanding of what the Cloud is. In my head it's just a bunch of Internet thoughts floating around out there somewhere in a pretty blob that in my version includes glitter and/or sparkles (See below for a loose approximation). This post (and really, my blog in general) would be a good example of my idea of the Cloud: stuff I like out in the land of Internets.

 

In Appreciation of My Parents

I've been away from the Internets for the Labor Day weekend and I missed it, but I didn't. The main reason I did not really miss the Internets is because my parents came to visit. I'm just going to get this out of the way and sorry if it sounds too braggy, but My Parents Are Awesome. For real, they are two of my best friends (and that's not because I have no other friends) but they still manage to be parents too in the support me all the time, give me candid advice and not spoil me rotten kind of way. I love them and not just because I have to.

My dad is hilarious, generous and protective without being overbearing. My mom is truly kind, fun and is my willing sounding board whenever I need to vent, which is often. I should also mention that I'm an only child, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Not because I get everything I want and am super spoiled but because we are a team, the three of us. I'm sure siblings are awesome but I didn't feel like I was lacking anything from not having them when I grew up other than a well-developed pain tolerance. (No really, I immediately cry when I get smacked on the butt. It happened twice in high school. Twice.) The reason my childhood felt so full is because of my mom and dad and the choices they made in raising me and the people they are as role models.

This weekend when they came to visit, it was like vacation even though I was technically the hostess. That's because with my parents I have lots of fun, eat great food, laugh a lot and feel completely myself all the time. It's not stressful. Well, it's not stressful except when I'm trying to figure out what to order at the next awesome restaurant they take me to. Did I mention I eat really well when they visit? Thank god my mom and I went to hot yoga too!

The last part that's great about my parents is that I'm self-aware enough now where I can recognize I get some of my best qualities from them. My mom passed on her passion for music, movies and television. I am a pop culture junkie thanks to her. My dad passed on his ability to make people laugh (which I like to think I do) and a desire to entertain. I have my mom's smile and blue eyes like my dad. I sound like my mom when I laugh and talk (so I've been told, a person never really knows what they sound like to other people) and I have inherited a lot of my dad's mannerisms. From both of them I've inherited the abilities to be fiercely loyal, to give really good hugs and to be passionate about what I love. They are the best parts of me and I feel so lucky that I have two such extraordinary people to call Mom and Dad.