Tuesday Tunes - Empire Records Edition

Mood: Confused? Meh.

Time to show the little known, very underrated Empire Records some blog love

Sugar High! Couldn't find a version of the actual movie clip that would allow me to embed but I did find this nice edit without the movie playing and that works too! P.S. I only like the version of this song as it's played in the movie - the actual full version? Is a little too rated R.




I Want Money - Lots of Money - Joe's Money! A tribute to Lucas!




It's Rex Manning Day! Also? Video Killed the Radio Star...just saying...




I could keep going here because this movie is just made of dorky awesome so check it out. Seriously!

So Bloggie friends, what random earworms are travelling about in your brains today? Any movie soundtracks that just get stuck in  your head from time to time?

Freak Out Friday...

Mood: Lazy

Most of the randomness knocking about in my brain today are the creepy and/or freaky variety - So...

1.) Brain Eating Amoebas!

I am not making this up! When  I loaded up the Yahoo home page to check my e-mail last night, the headline was something like “RUN FOR YOUR LIVES BECAUSE THE AMOEBAS ARE INVADING OUR BRAINS!”

Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the exact headline but it might as well have been. My overly worried, OCD hypochondriac self was seriously freaked. Like seriously. Freaked. But then I realized that these nasty little bastards only hang out in warm bodies of water so as long as I don’t go swimming in a lake or pond, I should be golden, right? Wrong. Because it turns out that a young man was killed when he came in contact with the brain eating amoebas from his own tap water.  *Looks at shower* *whimpers* I don’t want my brains eaten by creepy amoebas!* 

2.) Creepy FISH CARS

We have a new neighbor and honestly, he kinda creeps me out. Or, more specifically, his vehicle creeps me out. I get that he likes fishing. That’s great, go fish, be happy. Whatever. But really? Walking out of my apartment building every morning and coming face to face with a giant Bass named Peggy Sue** with some sort of crickety, cockroachy type bug in her mouth makes me all stabby. (I don't even want to talk about the fish skull with the gaping mouth on his dashboard) 

So my bloggie friends, what is freaking you out this fine Friday?

*if my brains are to be eaten, I want them to be consumed by totally bad assed zombies. 

** You can't see it in the picture, but trust me - Peggy Sue is spelled out in sparkly letters on the mounting hardware. 

Tell the Truth Thursday

Mood: Tired and ready for the weekend. 

My truths this Thursday

1.) I totally need to dye my hair. I've needed to do this for the last three weeks or so. I've got massive roots showing* and yet I've been too lazy to actually get it done. I did take the box out of the cabinet and open it so that's something, right?

2.) I've recently discovered the Vlog Brothers. How did not know about the awesomeness of these guys? If you haven't checked out their channel on YouTube, you should totally do it. Now. Also? This has helped clear up some confusion on my part over Maureen Johnson's use of the word "nerd fighter" in her Tweets.** If you're not following her on Twitter you should do that too.

3.) I cannot seem to stop watching all kinds of really bad reality type documentary shows. Hoarders, The Weird Addiction Shows, even a show about people who are obsessed with entering sweepstakes. I suspect this is because these nut burgers are the only people in the world who make me feel even remotely normal.

So, there you have it - what are your truths this week?

*I know, people don't have roots, trees have roots but the point is that my hair is way too technicolor with all the browns, reds and grays. 

**to be honest the term "nerd fighter" kind of scared me at first. I mean, I'm kind of a nerd and I totally can't fight so, yeah. I wasn't looking to encounter anyone who called themselves "nerd fighters". I have now been schooled. 

Tuesday Tunes

Mood: Kinda bleh

It's Tuesday - time once again to share the random earworms that rear their heads at the oddest times.

If I Die Young - The Band Perry
Hauntingly beautiful and sad this is the perfect song for my shiny new WIP idea so it has wandered through my brain quite a lot over the last few days.



Tonight Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae 
This just a fun song - it never fails to make me smile and sing along! *la la la*




Those are the songs that are constantly buzzing in my ears - what about you? Do you have any current earworms that just won't leave you alone?

Tell The Truth Thursday

Mood: Sore (Video Game Barbie is going down - seriously) 

My truths this Thursday:

1.) I'm ridiculously obsessed with the Charlie Sheen saga. I get that his little red choo-choo has gone right round the bend and that's sad but I can't.stop.watching.

2.) I totes want this shirt

3. I've given up nothing for Lent. I'm hoping God doesn't keep really close tabs on things like this.

4. There has been a black garbage bag in the hallway outside the neighbors apartment door for the last 3 days. I have half convinced myself that there must be body parts inside because that's somehow better in my mind than the idea that the neighbor has just dumped her trash in the hallway to rot for all eternity.

So, bloggie friends, what are your truths today?

Tuesday Tunes

Mood: Weary (is it really only Tuesday?)

Lest everyone think that I only watch tv, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share some totally random earworms that have recently infected my brain. Don’t judge me – my brain is a very weird place.

Grenade – Bruno Mars

Dude? If people are lopping grenades at her you might want to rethink your level of devotion. Just saying…but the song is still pretty epic.

Secrets – The Pierces

Okay, so the video is creepy and the whole “kill your friend because she knows your secrets” part of the song is a bit creepy but I still love it. I don’t want to think about what this means.

This is The Day – The The

I seriously love this song – lots of fun and used in the completely awesome but severely underrated Empire Records.

There you have it bloggery friends – my current earworms. What about you? What songs are buzzing against your eardrums refusing to leave? 

Monday in Books - The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker

Mood: Monday (it's a mood)
On the interwebz radio: Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars (*sigh*)

It's Monday and I'm trying something new - you know, actually blogging and stuff. Yay blogger me! Okay, well I'm trying the whole "blog in advance and let it post on Monday" thing but whatever - it's almost the same thing, right? Right!

So onto the next new for me thing - book reviews. I don't usually (read: never) do them. Now don't get me wrong, I'll chat books all day in person. I'll tell you the good, the bad, the ugly and twist your arm to the point of snapping to either get you to buy a good book or stop you from wasting your money on what I considered a monumental waste of perfectly good trees and ink. However, putting those thoughts into actual written words? Not so much.

Until now. As I started thinking about what would make a good book for my very first blogging book review, I didn't have to look much further than my pink haired avi on Twitter for the answer.


THE LIAR SOCIETY by LISA and LAURA ROECKER

Since when do the dead send emails?

Kate Lowry's best friend Grace died a year ago. So when she gets an email from her, Kate's more than a little confused.

To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.edu

From: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.edu

Subject: (no subject)

Kate,
I'm here... sort of.
Find Cameron. He knows.
I shouldn't be writing.
Don't tell. They'll hurt you.

Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace's death was more than just a tragic accident. She teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not-so)-shining armor-the dangerously hot bad boy, Liam, and her lovestruck neighbor, Seth. But at their elite private school, there are secrets so big people will do anything to protect them-even if it means getting rid of anyone trying to solve a murder...
Sourcebooks Fire (March 1, 2011)

My Take

Lisa and Laura Roecker have hit an absolute YA home run with their debut novel The Liar Society.

Sporting pink hair and her best friend's pearls and prompted by e-mails from her dead best friend, Kate Lowry is on a mission to solve the mysteries that haunt the hallowed halls of her prestigious private school, Pemberly Brown, and in the process get to the bottom of what really happened the night her best friend died in a tragic fire.

First, let me say that Kate Lowry has taken up residence right next to Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars in the YA mystery niche of my heart but she has a very special space all her own. In Kate, the Roecker sisters have created a main character that is so real, and perfect in her imperfection that she really is the girl next door - if the girl next door got e-mails from her dead best friend, had a dorky side kick with an undying crush on her and a super smexy love interest who may or may not be involved in the deadly secrets that are buried at Pemberly Brown.

Told seamlessly in a mixture of flashbacks and present day, the story carries the reader along through an adventure that will keep you guessing from one minute to the next.

At a Glance

1. No one dimensional "mean girl" or "rich spoiled kids" stereotypes for the Roecker sisters which I LOVE! The characters are real, flawed, and three dimensional - even the more minor characters - did I mention that I LOVE this?

2. Kate is not only sassy and sarcastic, which = awesome but she's SMART. Like 'knows Latin' smart. Also, she knows enough to know that when she's heading into a potentially dangerous situation she should probably at least leave a text message for her knights in shiny tin foil (okay, maybe the tin foil thing only applies to Seth and the tin foil was probably in the form of a hat, but still)

3. The "love story". All good books have one and this book is no exception - except that it is. Seth has a major thing for Kate. Kate may or may not have a thing for Liam. It's a nice side story that unfolds in a very real awkward teenage way but it doesn't take over the main story. Which is all kinds of awesome! No pining away for some guy for our Kate! She's got mysteries to solve and butts to kick. She might have time to steal a kiss or two in between but really? That's not her focus.

4. The ending - I'll admit that some might find the ending somewhat unsatisfying but I was not one of those people. I'm okay with endings that are a bit open ended because life is often that way. Not everything gets pulled together in a neat little package and that's okay because, like Kate, we always have the option to keep pressing forward. And she will and I will be there to read it when she does! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mood: Tired but content (and a little stuffed to be honest)

On TV: World's Dumbest - Holiday Edition (watching stupid people do stupid things - the perfect way to end a holiday!)

In case anyone missed it, today is Thanksgiving! It's the day to jump out of bed, turn on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and then eat yourself silly all in the name of being thankful for the blessings in our lives. So, today I'm especially reminded to be thankful for:

• My hubs. He drives me crazy. Seriously crazy. But. I wouldn't know what to do without him. And they make medication for the crazy. 

• My family. Ditto the crazy but, again, I wouldn't know what to do without them. Also? The medication for the hubs crazy works equally well for the family crazy. 

• Car horns. They keep me from having a head on collision with people who are driving the wrong way down a one way street. They also allow me to advise said people of their error. 

• My laptop - I know, shallow right? But I loves my laptop! 

• Friends - both internet based and real life. Without friends I'd need a lot more of the medication for the various crazy in my life. 

• Disposable cookware. * 

So there you have it. Hope everyone has had a great turkey day and that you have many blessings in your lives for which you can be thankful. 

*Don't judge me - when you cook for a huge family it's all about the easy clean up.

Moving on Up?

Mood: Angsty (Just out of sorts and can't settle my mind to anything - even writing - which is what I should be doing)

On Tv: Hoarders (Someone please tell me why I am so fascinated by the amount of filth in which some people are comfortable living?)

Is there anything more fun that getting together with friends and family to move an entire household full of stuff for my mother in one night? No? I didn't think so. So, that's what the hubs and I - and the rest of my family and some friends gathered to do last Thursday night after work.

Some of us were obviously a bit more excited about the upcoming move than others...




At one point in the evening's work, my sister Sarah and I found ourselves left in charge of entertaining our four nephews and two nieces (all under the age of 8) in a house that was nearly empty and devoid of any meaningful forms of entertainment outside two already tired aunties.

Striving to provide entertainment for the restless masses, Sarah and I sang endless verses of Jingle Bells, The Wheels on the Bus and various other half remembered childhood songs - thankfully none of the kids knows how to operate a video recorder so these precious moments of humiliation (complete with the accompanying movements to act them out) were not preserved for public consumption via YouTube.

Through the course of the evening I found myself saying things that I never thought I'd say. My favorites?

*Stop licking your sister (really? Why are you licking your sister?)
*Stop chewing on your feet (although I admire your flexibility)
*Stop chewing on your brother's/sister's feet (Ewwww...just...ewww)
*Don't shove that in your: nose, ears, mouth (because Auntie Rhonda is not going in after them)
*Don't shove that in your sister's/brother's: nose, ears, mouth (ditto on this one)
*Stop throwing your sister's dirty diaper around (Also, I don't need your comments on the contents and/or odor associated with that diaper)
*Stop throwing YOUR dirty diaper around (ditto here)
*No. You cannot eat Styrofoam. (although I appreciate your attempt to provide for yourself)
*No, tossing ripped up Styrofoam does NOT mean it's snowing (but it does mean Auntie Rhonda's eye is starting to twitch uncontrollably).

Luckily my sister Amanda and her husband showed up before they started making snow angels in the living room.
Next time? I'm going to take a page from my brother's book and just give them some cash to behave.

Jury Duty Again? Really?

Mood: Happy (My brother is home for keeps from the USAF! The best words ever? Honorable Discharge! Well, that and free chocolate.)

What I'm Watching: The Soup (All the celebrity crap I didn't have time to keep up with through the week. What could be better?)

I? Am officially the local government's biotch. For the second time in as many years I've been summoned for jury duty. This time it's for grand jury duty which means I'm on deck for 18 months. That's eight.teen months! Luckily we only meet when necessary so hopefully it won't be an every week thing but knowing my luck every single felon in the entire county will choose this as the perfect time to commit a crime.

On the plus side, I'm getting a good look at how the court systems around here work so if I ever decide to branch out and write a book about a fat, 30 something year old woman who totally loses her mind after being called up for jury duty one too many times...well, I'm totally covered.

Look What I Found Under My Blogging Tree!

Mood: Exhausted but content. (Long holiday week/weekend has left me worn out but happy!)

What I'm Watching: Keeping Up Appearances (I've said it before and I'll say it again...British comedies rock!)

Current Word Count: UGH! (Which is a nice way of saying that the holiday season has interferred w/ my writing efforts to the point where I might have actually started leaking words from my manuscript.)

Carol over at Carol's Prints (seriously, have you checked out her blog yet? She's amazing!) has presented me with another sparkly piece of blog bling!! WoooHoooo!!! It's totally like Christmas gifts for my blog and I completely love it!

Here it is! And what's not to love? It's an award that looks like a bookshelf and acknowledges my tenuous status as a "blogging writer" (even if it does take me forever to pound out the words).

Like all awards, there are requirements...near as I can tell the requirement for this one is to pass it on! And I will, I promise, but it's been a while since I've blogged so I'm going to set aside the passing along portion of the award ceremonies for a future post. :)

In the meantime, a snapshot of what's been happening in my world:

1.) Christmas bay-beee!!!! I love all things Christmas. The shopping, the carols, the 24 hour marathon showing of A Christmas Story, the food, the gifts and even the eggnog (okay, maybe not the eggnog so much). And this year? We all got a very special gift in the form of my little younger brother who is active USAF. He hasn't been home for Christmas in years and he surprised us all by coming home this year. We're so happy to be able to share the holidays with him!

Here are a few pictures of my Christmas season:

First, the hubs and I dressed and ready for his office Christmas party.

My sister Sarah helping our nephews Max and Maddux with their Christmas gifts. Lots of fun!!!
                                                                                                                                                   

That's me. No make up, hardly any sleep, and a horrible camera angle for this picture....but I'm still posting it. Why? Because if you look closely you'll be able to see the tape overwrapping my gift. My little brother helped mom wrap it. He used one and a half rolls of tape to "secure" it. The irritated older sister side of me? Wants to bop him upside the head. The smartass side of me? Is incredibly proud that he thought to waste all that tape just to annoy me. Sigh. They grow up so fast! 
    

My niece Miley sleeping through her first Christmas with the family. She's surrounded by boxes and wrapping paper and snoozing away!

Finally, the results of Christmas dinner carb overload! He's completely crashed, half on and half off of the corner chair, complete chaos going on all around him. It's a testament to both my restraint and the fact that we've missed him so much all these years he's been off serving our country that we left him sleep and didn't succumb to any jackassery like decorating him w/ tinsel and lights or at least pulling the old shaving cream in the hand trick. He might not be so lucky next time around!!!

Okay, so I've bored you all enough with Christmas pictures. Santa hubs was  nice to me this year and I've got gift cards for clothes and, even better, for books (yay!!!) so I'm looking forward to doing some serious book shopping to feed my book addiction soon!

2.) An attempted terrorist attack on a Detroit bound airliner. What.the.hell?!? Seriously. Luckily the explosives didn't go off as the terrorist has planned and the other passengers jumped in and took the crazy ass bastard down. Gone are the days where we sit silently and wait for someone to save us. We are rising up against those who would harm us and declaring that we will not go quietly into that good night. You want to take my ass down? You're going to have to fight for it! This is also where I have to admit that I'm a bit shocked by my sadistic side because I expect that if I managed to take this guy down I probably would have thrown in a couple of extra punches just to "be sure" that he was really down...and I might have decided that his burns needed to be hosed down with copious amounts of alcohol to ensure that he really felt some serious pain his wounds didn't become infected.

3.) Crazy woman attacks the pope for the second time? On Christmas Eve? Really? I admit, I'm not Catholic. I'm Lutheran by baptism, Baptist by employment and generally a fan of sleep which means that my hiney doesn't often warm a pew on Sunday morning. But still. The Pope? On Christmas Eve? No. Just...No. He may not be my head Holy Guy but he's A head holy guy and I've got to think that attacking a head holy guy on Christmas Eve has got to be something that is going to get you on the permanent naughty list...and I'm not just talking about Santa's list. I'm talking about THE list. The big list. The one that St. Peter reads out when you're standing at the Pearly Gates. Also? This woman did the same thing last year on Christmas Eve. Maybe we need to do something about the amount of crazy being allowed near the Pope? Just saying.

Blogs and Birthdays

Mood: Excited (was stressed but that was before Carol over at Carol's Prints posted my interview w/ my main character...now I'm totally squeeeee!!!!!)

What I'm Watching: Hoarders (It's a train wreck and I can't help it. Also? Am suddenly overcome with the need to clean out my closets)

Current Word Count: A funny thing happened on my way through my current work in progress. I realized that the environment in which I had placed her was not conducive to the story line. So...it's another re-work in progress before I can go forward.

First things first!!!

Squeeeee!!!! (and not in the Ned Beatty, "paddle faster because I hear banjos" kind of way). If I haven't already mentioned it (I totally know I have but indulge me okay?), I've contributed my very first guest blog post for Carol over at Carol's Prints!!!

Carol is a fantastic writer, a supportive blogger and twitter writing friend and all around amazing person (seriously suspect she has a shiny super hero writer type cape that she dons as she sweeps through the internet).

And now, the rest of the story...(in bullets)

My Birthday:

• I turned 36. Sigh. That's right. 36. Now when I get those stupid surveys I've aged into the next box up. Now instead of being in the 26 - 35 age group, I'm in the 36 - 50 age group. 36 - 50?!? Really?!? Now I'm lumped in with people my mother's age? What's next, hot flashes and chin hairs?

• People who wished me a happy birthday before my husband? 90% of my FB friends, many of my twitter friends, my family (even the littlest ones), Scott's sister, the delivery guy who delivered flowers from a wonderful friend, the UPS guy (who saw the flowers), the two people working at the DMV, all my co-workers and several people from the church where I work. At 3:05 pm I finally got a call from the hubs..."guess what I forgot..." No, really?

• Had to spend the lunch hour on my birthday at the DMV getting my license renewed. Note to self: do NOT chew gum when getting your license photo taken. Green gum stuck in teeth? Not an attractive look. Also? Am totally in love w/ the guy at the DMV because he totally acted like he believed me when I said "sure, that weight listed there is the same". Seriously, he didn't even crack a smile...the man deserves an Oscar!

In other news

• Am trying to prepare for the annual decking of the halls in the Cowsert household. Unfortunately this involves the hubs cleaning up his electronic "tech" area in the livingroom. Sigh. Am starting to fear that I'm just going to have to toss some tinsel over his soldering station and power supplies and call it a day.

• Also? Looking at the hubs "tech" area? I realize that he looks suspiciously like a uni-bomber type person. On the other hand? He's dead handy at fixing stuff around the house.
  
  

Random Blogginess...Again.

Mood: Blah. (Have to go back to work tomorrow morning)

What I'm Watching: 2012: Startling New Secrets (Quick! Everyone panic!)

Current Word Count: Le Sigh (I've been out all weekend so no real writing has gotten done)

• After my week from hell, the hubs decided it would be fun to kidnap me and spend a nice evening at a hotel complete w/ hot tub in the room. He gets points for trying, but let's face it friends, anyone who actually reads my blog knows that this simply cannot end well. Let's just say that the evening culminated with a show down in the lobby at 12:15 am as I explained to the desk clerk that sleeping on a sheet that was covered in someone else's *ahem* bodily fluids and excrement was NOT an acceptable state of affairs. (let's not talk about the fact that I'd already sat on the sheet before I realized it's soiled state...not enough hot water in the free world for me to feel clean again!) I also had to explain to him that the appropriate response to the issue was not "we don't have any housekeeping staff here right now but here's a clean sheet set for you, just go change your sheets."

• I'm all for recycling. Really, I am. I mean, I'm too damn lazy to really do too much about it but I whole heartedly support those who aren't as lazy and uncommitted as I am. However, even I have my limits and this weekend, I discovered them. People? The hubs and I went into a Christmas store and there, on display at the counter, was a tree covered in "recycled" Christmas ornaments. Not a bad idea, right? Until you realize that they were recycled from elephant poo! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, deck your halls with boughs of elephant dung. Right under the tree? Christmas Cards made from recycled cow poo. Nothing says "hey, I love you and want you to have a great holiday season" like sending your friends and family a card made from a big old pile of cow shit.

• This 2012 stuff is really getting out of hand. Maybe the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012. Maybe the Mayan's really did know something that we don't know but really? I suspect that the guy who was writing the Mayan calendar just got freaking tired and figured that 2012 was far enough in the future and that the next poor bastard could finish the damn thing. At any rate, I'm toying with the idea of planning a Christmas/end of the world party on December 21, 2012...we'll have to wait til the end of the evening to see which way it goes.

Late Night Random Blogginess

Mood: Tired and Frustrated (This week at work has already lasted a year and there's no end in sight. Also? Having issues getting plugged in to my writing. The story is there but the energy to write? Not so much).

What I'm Watching: Oprah (I know, I know, I'm so NOT an Oprah person but it's the Mackenzie Phillips interview and I sense a train wreck coming up)

Current Word Count: 9, 497 (Better but not great. Need to get buckled down and start really working the novel or it'll never get done!)

Since it's late and way past my bedtime I'm just going to be hitting some mini-random blogginess.

1.) Aphids. I'd heard of them. Had some vague notion that they were probably some really nasty looking things that had a million legs and would eat me if given half a chance. In reality? Our town is currently overrun with the little buggers and they are tiny little bastards that swarm every freaking where. I can't even walk from my house to my car without being covered with them. According to the experts they're not dangerous to us but I have to say that I've inhaled enough of them that I'm sure it can't be healthy. I have visions of tiny little aphid colonies being formed in my lungs. *shudder*

2.) Camping. I love camping. My husband loves camping (the 'in the woods, in a tent, primitive type camping'). I even bought him a new tent for Christmas last year. So why is it that every weekend we've had free this summer it has either rained or been way too hot to go out camping. We were hoping to go this weekend but we've been hit with the double whammy of forecasted rain and those aforementioned aphids. Spending the weekend inhaling thick swarms of bugs isn't my idea of a good time. :(

3.) Slightly unnerved by the killing of an entire family in a nearby town. Crazy killer? Still on the loose.

4.) Your Kid Ate What? Really? This is a show now? Anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis knows that I'm partial to reality tv but isn't this really just scraping the bottom of the barrel? A show about the weird things that kids have eaten? Don't all kids eat weird things? Hell, I once swallowed a penny. My mother didn't call a television crew, she called the doctor who said "this too shall pass". It was cosmic payback for the time that she swallowed an old school camera flashbulb when she was a kid. Amazingly, my grandmother called the doctor, not a television crew.

And there you have it. All the random thoughts currently running through my tired, semi-empty brain. Off to double check the door locks, kill a few stray aphids that followed us into the house, check the weather forecast for the first weekend in October and call my sister to ensure that should one of my nephews eat something gross, dangerous or just plain interesting, she calls the television crew first and the doctor second.