Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

I watched this YouTube video few months ago but on Monday night I showed Jason and some of our friends because they never saw it.  This kid lip synchs a lot of different songs and also sings songs - but I do not recommend listening/watching those...its painful.

The kids face expressions kill me!  So funny!  Enjoy!

Here is another one of my favorites - this guy is hilarious!  He definitely would be fun to dance with.

Champagne Super Nova - Oasis

Wow I haven't heard this song in awhile - I'm shocked I woke up with this song in my head.

Champagne Super Nova

Today is our anniversary!  I thought I would wake up with a song that reminded me of our wedding - but no.  Oh well.  I'm gonna post some of my favorite pictures of Jason and I.  Nine years ago in Maui, Jason and I took the plunge.  We got married a month after 9/11 and there were hardly any tourists on the island so we kind of had the island to ourselves.  I'm being extreme but thats what it felt like.

 Before we got married we were both stressed getting prepared for a destination wedding - plus add the fact of the anxiety of getting on a plane a month after 9/11!  The boys all had action plans ready to implement if some craziness occurred.  I think the queue word was 'bull ride'.  Hilarious!  I did feel a little safer that I had Jason, my dad, my brother and my brother-in-law Jamie all on our plane.

I was not nervous at all about getting married until the day of the wedding.  I woke up at 5am with crazy butterflies in my stomach.  Which was so weird to me because this is the moment I wanted so badly.  Thankfully my best friends parents knew that it was normal to be nervous and came bearing gifts of tea and muffins in the morning.  I was so happy to have my best friend Jodie there (my mom calls her 'my blonde daughter').  She kept me laughing and kept me calm all day.  We got to the hotel where we were getting married and staying for our honeymoon and then my sisters came - all was good.  Just needed all my girls.  My mom was under extreme instructions to stay out of my room-she stresses me out (sorry mom).  But her and my dad snuck in to see me which was totally fine...until my dad started to get emotional and then I had to kick him out so my make up wouldn't run down my face.  Didn't really matter though...my dad and I started to immediately cry when he had to walk me down the aisle.  I was so proud of myself too because I thought - wow I don't think I'm gonna cry at all!  We were getting married in a garden and I was walking over the bridge where my dad was waiting for me and I was so concerned with not falling on my face because I had some crazy pink shoes on underneath my dress - then I realize that I'm absolutely going to fall on my face and I look up and say "Dad come get me!"  As I do that I see that he is crying.  I lost it.

My dad walked me up to Jason and he had the most serene look on his face - he was so relaxed.  It totally freaked me out.  I am the one who never really worries too much because Jason worries for the both of us - I am the one calming him down for all the horrible things he thinks will happen.  I said to him "Why are you so calm?  You are freaking me out!"  He just said "I'm having a great day - Mike and I went snorkeling this morning, had champagne with my parents - all is good."  Then I was good - I was so happy Jason wasn't nervous - maybe that's why I was nervous...I wanted him to be as happy as I was and...he was so I was good.

We were married by Jodie's dad John.  It was very special.  There is a picture of us that was taken right after we were married and we looked so happy and relieved.  Our reception was by the beach - it was beautiful!  We were taking sunset pictures on the beach and we kept saying to each other - 'are you kidding me - this is beautiful!'  It was more beautiful then I ever imagined.

All of my closest family and friends danced all night and had a blast!

So 9 years later - we still laugh together, enjoy each other's company, talk football over a nice dinner and I still want to kiss him all the time - I guess I love the guy.  Jason knows the best and worst of me and still wants me to snuggle up next to him - I'm a lucky girl!

We have gone through the hardest times we have ever had the past few years and I love that we still want to spend time together.  I love the fact that I'm still excited to get dressed up for him and want to surprise him.

So...happy anniversary baby!  You are my best friend and I love you always.

9/25/10 - Up All Night Sleep All Day - Slaughter

I'm pretty much going on a week now of minimal sleep.  I'm up all night and all day.  I woke up yesterday morning with Up All Night Sleep All Day in my head and while getting ready I started to think about my sister Tabi.

Tabi loved the hair bands - but so did I.  I'm not sure if she had this album and but I will say whenever I hear a Cinderella song I think of her.  I think I shared a room with all of my sisters and brother at one point in my life.  When my little sister Missy was a baby my dad made a big bunk bed with a trundle bed for us - it was the biggest bunk bed I have ever seen.  He carved our names into the bed and we absolutely loved this bunk bed.  It was so big and sturdy that we pretty much used it as a jungle gym.  It became the Starship Enterprise, a pirate ship, an airplane, a school, an apartment, Swiss Family Robinson's tree house, etc.  My little nieces use it now for their bed and I love it because Addy hangs a solar system she made from the bed and she always wants to show me her room and her bed.  A few months ago I watched the girls and in the morning we all snuggled in the lower bunk bed and I thought it was so special.  I love that my dad made something that we can all use and pass to our kids.  I actually even used it for a bit when I moved out on my own.  I used the top bunk and had my desk underneath to conserve space in my room.  I know my dad loved it.

Funny story about Tabi and the bunk bed.  We moved a lot when we were kids.  I actually liked it because it was change.  I know my sister Tabi liked it too.  When we stayed at a house for awhile - we would get an itch to change things up.  So we would switch rooms, switch the room around or even switch roommates.  I can't remember if Tabi was actually sharing a room with me or not, but she always used to help me switch my room around when I wanted to.  She always gave me good ideas on how I could change things up.  The problem was - the huge bunk bed.  It was almost impossible to move.  Nothing was impossible for Tabi - she was like "We can move it - no problem".  So just for a moment picture two girls trying to move a huge piece of furniture.  I was I think maybe 65 lbs and I was on one side pulling the bunk bed which I know was not doing anything.  Tabi was pushing with all her might and then leveraged herself on the wall so she could push with her arms and legs.  All of the sudden "POP!"  Tabi's butt went through the wall!  We were dying laughing and I helped Tabi to get her out of the wall - then realized 'Oh crap Dad is gonna kill us for putting a hole in the wall!'  Tabi always coming up with something quick decided that I could use a poster she had to cover up the hole.  It was one of those 80's style posters that was a collage of things and the center was a girls face.  My cousin had this picture - it wasn't this bad but you kind of get the idea.  It was also in the most random place on the wall. We thought for sure my dad would notice - but no he didn't.

(You know you want this picture in your house - it's so emotional.  Haha!)

I think a year or two later we were moving up to Santa Maria and Tabi and I didn't know what to do - my dad would end up seeing the hole and we would be grounded for the rest of our lives.  So everything was out of the house and that poster was still there.  We were in the room when my dad took the poster off - we almost died.  We frantically told my dad what happened and all my dad was doing was laughing.  He said "Why didn't you tell me - I would have fixed it?"  We were so relieved and my dad laughed about that for awhile.

Everyday - Buddy Holly

There is a commercial on TV that is using this song and I couldn't get it out of my head the whole day and last night while hanging out with a buddy I heard Stand By Me and I told him that the whole entire Stand By Me album reminds me of a trip I took with my grandparents when I was 9 or 10.  My grandparents took me and four of my close in age cousins to Scotsdale and Tucson, Arizona.

My grandma (aka Tutu) is a very particular lady.  She required that we all matched all the time.  She did this to my dad and his brothers when they were little so she continued on the torture to her grandchildren.  She had 15 grandchildren so stop for a moment to think of the family pictures of all of us kids...yep we were all matching!

Tutu called my mom and informed her of all the outfits that she needed to get for me so I could match my other cousins.  She then told my mom that for the airplane trip I needed to have a white shirt, white sweater, white keds type shoes, hair in a pony tail and pink shorts.  So when we went shopping the good mom she is, she let me pick out whatever pink shorts I wanted.  So I show up at the airport ready to on my first airplane ride and the look on Tutu's face was horror!  I did not choose the right color pink and I looked different than my other cousins.  As you can see at the picture above that my cousins had light pink shorts on and since my mom let me choose whatever pink shorts I wanted I chose the bright pink shorts with the stripes on the bottom - damn I'm hot!  So needless to say the trip didn't start out well for me - Tutu did not like that I was "always trying to be different".  But my cousin Amy Lee didn't put her hair in a normal pony tail - she was rockin' the side pony tail.  Tutu loved it!  Being different for her was ok.  She had no idea what she did to all of us girls.  We had to wear a side frickin' pony tail for the rest of the trip!!!  Thanks Amy!!  Oh another thing to point out in the picture is that we all had to have animal purses.  Summer had the pink pig, Amber the purple elephant, Sarah had I think a blue hippo, I had a yellow dog and I don't remember what Amy Lee had.  My cousin Sarah and I pretty much made fun of Summer and Amber's purses because it was a pig and Amber's elephant trunk would hit people's butt from behind.  Seriously a lot of laughs from that!

The whole trip in the rental car we listened to the Stand By Me soundtrack.  We all sang out loud and giggled at our acting out each verse of every song.  Little girls - they are just silly.  Here are some more pictures of us all matching.

Too HOT for words...right?

One of these days - I believe the yellow dress day - we wanted to wear our hair in a regular ponytail and everyone was too scared to go ask Tutu.  So being the only one that wasn't that scared of her I go and ask.  On my way over to their hotel room I was thinking how dumb everyone was for being scared to ask to switch up our hair - it's a frickin' pony tail!!  Well... I got yelled at.  Even though I explained multiple times we ALL wanted to wear a regular pony tail - she didn't believe me.  "There you go again Chrystal - trying to be different!  You are just like your mother!"  On the verge of tears I said in most respectful voice I could (because I really wanted to scream at her) "Fine we will wear our stupid hair in a side pony tail and... I'm glad I'm like my mom!"  Then proceed to get my ass out of there as quick as possible because her eyes turned red and steam started coming out of her ears.

Now I'm really setting this trip up like it was the worst trip ever - it really wasn't there were some times - believe me.  We spent most of the trip laughing and having a good time.  My cousin Sarah and I were always getting in trouble because we were laughing and making up songs about our other cousins.  Let's just say the most famous song we ever wrote together was following the tune from Belinda Carlisle's song Circle in the Sand.  The song we made up was not very nice...but hey I was raised by a dad that made up songs all the time.  It's in my blood!  All of the fights and getting in trouble drama only lasted for a little bit and everyone was snapped back in a good mood because thats what you do in a big family right?

Here are the pictures of us at our happiest on the trip.  Swimming and going to water parks!  We got to wear our own non-matching bathing suit!  We were in heaven!  Of course I got the raised eyebrow from Tutu because I wore a bikini - but hey as my cousin Sarah says of me "I think you were born with a six-pack - why not show it off!"  We had so much fun at the water parks and swimming at the hotels we stayed at.  One of the tube slides we went down I seriously was going so fast I flipped over the entire tube - I thought I was going to land on my head!  I was completely silent the rest of the ride down.  No more screaming.

This picture is my favorite picture of us and my Papa Roy.  He was so handsome - we all used to tell him that too.  He was the most affectionate with us - Tutu was too sometimes but I think she liked that we would be affectionate with her.  It's funny how sweet he was with all of us when I think about it because he was the oldest of 8 boys and pretty much helped raise them and raised 4 boys of his own - then most of his grandchildren were all girls except 4 boys.  You would think he would not know what to do with all us girls - but he loved us and we all knew it.


All in all great memorable trip.  Enjoy!

Tougher Than the Rest - Bruce Springsteen

This whole entire album 'Tunnel of Love' by Bruce Springsteen is great!  It reminds me of being a kid and working with my dad during the summers.  My dad loved The Boss but I think his favorite album was Tunnel of Love because he listened to it the most.

Jason and I took a few days off to relax and spent some time with some good traveling buddies.  We sat outside listening to music and our friend was talking about how he has been obsessed with Bruce Springsteen lately.  I asked him if he ever heard the Tunnel of Love album and he said he had it on his iPod but never listened to it.  I immediately changed what we were listening to and changed it to The Tunnel of Love album.  It brought back so many good memories and I was shocked at how I still remembered most of the words of every song.  I was standing there dancing and singing while Jason and our friends sat there staring at what a nut job I was.  I was doing my best Bruce Springsteen moves for everyone and my friend said all that was missing was a crazy gypsy next to me.  I said 'yeah and playing barefoot!'  In the end he agreed with me - it's an awesome album.

This song is definitely not my favorite song off the album but I woke up with it in my head - so...here you go.

Other songs that are pretty darn good is Tunnel of Love and Brilliant Disquise.

Quiet Little Voices - We Were Promised Jetpacks

Love the band name - love the song.

Jason and I heard this song a couple of times this weekend.  One of the times we were headed to go see a friend that just came back into town.  She moved back to Texas to start up a restaurant.  She is so funny - she moves back to El Paso and is already guest hosting a radio show every few weeks, raising funds to save an old mission, and is participating in city council meetings.  Who does this?  Only Maya.  If you are interested in hearing her guest host - she is on the "The Lisa D Show" on KHRO 1150 AM and you can stream it live on www.talkradio1150.com.

I also heard this song before I went up north to see The Dark Crystal with my family.  At the Mann theatres in Oxnard and in Agoura they show old movies - I'm not sure if they do it at all of them.  The movies are every Thursday and they only cost $6.  My sister Tabi told us all about it and we have all loved the movie The Dark Crystal so we decided to make it a family evening.  Of course because I'm a total geek I loved this movie a lot more because it had my name in it.  Anyways the movie friggin' rocks!  It is a Jim Hensen and Frank Oz movie and I love it so much I even like watching 'the making of The Dark Crystal'.  It is pretty amazing.

It was great to see it with my niece Addy and all of my family.  We laughed at all the parts we quote all the time.  Addy was trying to talk to the animals like Keira was in the movie - it was hilarious.  It was funny to see her laughing at the parts we did as kids too.  Towards the end of the movie Addy snuggled up next to me, put her arm around my neck and her head on my shoulder.  She is so sweet and I will always remember that night.

Oh yeah - Aughra - she is hot!!  Jason didn't want to see this movie because he said it was terrifying and would probably give him nightmares.  I will say some of the parts are still pretty scary.
I will leave you with another band that kicks ass!!  The Podlings!  Watch it I promise - you won't be disappointed.

Causing A Scene - Ghostland Observatory

My obsession is back for Ghostland!  This weekend I woke up with 2 different Ghostland songs in my head.  Let's dance people!

This weekend we tried a new restaurant in our neighborhood called Haldi Root.  Amazing Indian food!!  Seriously everything we had was amazing.  I'm not the sort of girl who finishes her plate because I don't like the feeling of being full so I only eat until my tummy feels good.  I stuffed myself with this food.  We started out with an appetizer called Chicken 65 - deelish!  It was spicy chicken with peppers and red onion mixed with a spicy sauce.  I'm still dreaming about it.

For dinner I had Chicken Lasooni which is garlic chicken on a bed of white & red onions and I paired it with saffron rice and garlic naan.  I was in complete food heaven!  Jason had another chicken dish and I can't remember the name and it was good - but mine was better!

They had two belly dancers there for entertainment - which was fine - but the owners 4 year old daughter was the one who stole the show.  She wanted to be out there with the belly dancers as well so she copied all of their moves and when they dropped their little shawl thingy she picked it up and did her own moves.  She was adorable.

We had Chocolate Samosas and homemade pistachio ice cream for dessert.  No pictures for the desserts because we inhaled them.  The chocolate samosas where like chocolate filled wanton's - I actually said that at the restaurant and Jason just gave me the look of 'come on Chrystal - did you really just say that out loud'.  Well - they are!  The pistachio ice cream was pretty good - not as good as the chocolate samosas though.  Basically - you can see how happy I was the whole evening by this picture.

My friend told me next time to try the Olive naan bread.  I love green olives so I think I might want to go back tonight and stuff my face again!  By the way the guy sitting next to me in the picture was by himself and was basically staring and listening to our conversation the whole time - which basically consisted of how friggin' good the food was - but I kind of felt bad for him so I tried to strike up a conversation and invited him to eat with us.  He seemed offended and did not want to carry on a conversation - oh well so much for trying to be nice!

Let's carry on with my other obsession - Ghostland Observatory!  This one is called 'Shoot 'Em Down'!  Enjoy!

Silver City - Ghostland Obsertavory

Last night I drove over to my friends house for a BBQ and I was listening to this song. It was a warm summer night, I had my window down driving listening to a great song. I love summer nights in the valley.

A few years ago Jason and I worked together on a kids movie. It was my first time working on a film and I was nervous - not only because it was my first time working on a movie - but I was going to be working with my husband. I was scared we would want to kill each other by the end of the project. Surprisingly we had so much fun working together and it was sad when the project was over. We actually became closer during that time. I don't recommend that for every couple - but it was nice to know that we enjoyed each other's company even at work. Everyday we would drive down to Hollywood listening to Ghostland Observatory - we both were obsessed with this band.

I love the singer of this band because I love his style - I believe he is 100% American Indian and wears his hair like one. He wears hippie clothes and has two long black braids on either side of his head - love it! Maybe because I have a little Indian in my heritage is why I love him - but ask most Americans - they will say they have some Indian in them as well. My grandpa used to tell me I had small Indian eyes like him. So I liked to think I was more Indian then the rest of my sisters and brother (NERD) and when my cousin had a Disney character party I came as Tiger Lily from Peter Pan because it was the natural choice. I wish I had a picture of that but...I will just show you a picture of the band.

I couldn't find a better YouTube video with this song. Oh well - Enjoy the song!

American Girls - Counting Crows

I've never been a huge fan of the Counting Crows and I try to hide the fact they I do like some of there songs. One song that I like and I heard this weekend was American Girls. I think what makes the song is Sheryl Crow singing back up with him. I actually never knew she sang with him on this song but my friend Cliff informed me of this when we heard it this weekend.

We actually went to go hear his band 'Out in the Woods' play on Monday night. He plays with a couple of Jason's old buddies. It's funny because when I first met Cliff and his brother Charlie I think they were 15 and 17 years old. When I started to date Jason it was basically me and the boys. I had moved down south and didn't have a lot of friends so they accepted me as one of their buddies. I made Cliff be my honorary girlfriend and he still is down to this day. It is nice to see him all grown up and doing what he loves.

He was a little nervous before the show - so I had to give him some hugs.

Here is Cliff and Ron playing. Since it was a small venue they decided to only have them two play. Click here to check out their songs on FB.

So onto my morning music - American Girls.

Another Year under my belt...

Well I don't celebrate my birfday but today is my birthday. I am (gulp) 33 years old (gulp). Every year when I was a kid my dad would tell me the story about the day I was born and the two weeks before when I fooled them into thinking I was coming. Those were the days when they shaved you before birth and since I didn't come when I was supposed to my mom got a little irritated-which I totally understand. It was August in Oklahoma...my mom is pregnant with an itchy crotch after being shaved. Sorry mom!

My parents were really hoping for me to be a boy because they already had two adorable little girls. My name was supposed to be Jacob Todd. So I popped onto the scene and my dad said he said 'shit' when he saw I was a girl. Then he said "I felt sooo bad that I said that because you were the cutest tiniest thing." Like I said when I was a kid my dad would tell me this story. Most times I would go to work with him and he would say "Hey come over and be my girlfriend" which meant sit in the middle section in his truck. Then he put his arm around me and would tell me the story and then tell me how much he loved me. They named me after my great grandma who my dad was really close to and loved dearly. My mom thought there was something wrong because I was so tiny because she was used to having big babies - my sister Tabi was 10 pounds at birth. But the doctor assured her I was healthy - just tiny.

Well 33 years later I'm still little and never usually on time - some things never change.

I decided to look up a picture for you all to tell you how I feel today.

I know what you are thinking...what the hell is that! It is something from a David Lynch film is what it is! I showed Jason this picture telling him this is how old I feel and he asked me three times with horror on his face "What is that?" "No...really...what is that?" "Chrystal...what the hell is that!" It is an old haggard lady.

Your welcome for the nightmares you are sure to have from this.

Keane - Somewhere Only We Know

Happy Sunday

Who knew Beck was good campin' music?

I just came back from a relaxing long camping vacation. I love camping! My parents upgraded to a 5th wheel trailer so they gave us their old one. It is perfect for us!

Tuesday night I headed up to my parents house with Lucy and listened to Modern Guilt by Beck. Let's start this campin' trip off right!

It was the first time driving with a trailer so I was a bit nervous but I did great! I followed my dad down to Ventura matching all his turns. Dad: "Make sure your turns are wide and slow down before you normally would in your car." My dad does not have a mid western accent at all but whenever my sisters and I recount something my dad has said to us we say it like my dad is from Oklahoma.

We get to our normal spot in Ventura which is a first come first serve campground and it is completely full. AH!!! So we checked out a few other spots and they were all full! I thought school was back in session - geez! We ended up going to Ventura RV Resort which can be seen from the 101 and I always remember saying to myself "Who would camp there?" Well - desperate people wanting to camp by the beach thats who. By the time we got set up at the site we were starving so we headed into town for a quick bite and shopping for the trip. We stopped by Jersey Mike's for a sandwich and I have only been there once before and wasn't impressed. Maybe because I had a wrap and that is not something they specialize in. My dad said "You have to get a sandwich Mike's Way it's amazing!" So being the good daughter that I am I listen to my dad and get a turkey and provolone sandwich Mike's Way and had them add a few peppercini's on top. It was deeeelicious!! I pretty much inhaled my sandwich. I will definitely be returning to Jersey Mike's. During our pig out fest at Jersey Mikes my parents and I were trying to figure out what to make for dinner. My dad suggested burgers and I suggested hot dogs. Then my mom said what about hot dogs and mac & cheese! Our eyes lit up and we all agreed that the best way to start our camping trip dinners is to go the WT way with hot dogs and mac & cheese.

Jason came up shortly after our lunch and met us at the market. I have never in my life been to a grocery store that was locked up like Fort Knox. I mean I understand that some of the liquor is locked up - but even the mixers? I'm not joking...all this store was missing was a metal detector.

Back at the campground we all took a walk to the beach and it was the first time taking Lucy to the beach so I was interested to see how she would react. She ran around like crazy and would follow you close to the water but did not want to be touched by it. It was hilarious seeing her little legs running in the sand - she didn't look like she had any.

We had our first dinner camping and it was so delish! I can't remember the last time I had hot dogs and mac & cheese! Why is camping food so much more delicious than food you cook at home? I guess cause you cook things over the fire...but even the mac & cheese was pretty amazing.

The next day my sister came up from Oxnard with my niece's and we played in the pool and spa. We at first were in the spa with the girls and this guy who worked at the RV Resort came up and the conversation went like this:

Weirdo Guy: "Hey are you guys from America?"

Us: "Yes"

Weirdo Guy: "Do you guys read English?"

Us: "Yes" - I start to realize this guy is being an a-hole so I start to give him the death stare

Weirdo Guy: "Well can't you guys read that children under the age of 18 are not allowed in the spa?"

Us: "No, sorry we didn't see the sign."

Weirdo Guy: "Well I guess we need more signs."

In the meantime my niece Addy books it out of the spa and is already in the pool and Mia is holding onto my sister for dear life because the guy looks like a chester. Then he proceeds to tell my sister how much he loves little girls! Creep a-hole!! For the rest of the trip my nieces didn't want to go anywhere by the pool because that creepy guy might be there. Ergggh! I was pissed so I taught my niece Addy to put her fist up and say "Why I outta!!" My sister thanked me later because Addy was using that statement on her later on. Oops!

That evening Jason taught the girls how to marinate tri-tip - he is such a good uncle. The tri-tip was amazing and we had corn on the cob and baked potatoes. Can I say again how great food tastes when you are camping?

Unfortunately Jason had to go into work on Friday so my parents and decided to spend the day up in Ojai and exploring the area. I'm getting Lucy ready to get into my dads truck when a lady and a little girl with a golden retriever and some little dog came walking by. I had just let go of Lucy's leash to pick her up when she ran over to the dogs barking. The little girl got scared and picked up her dog. My dad picked up Lucy and apologized and the older lady was glaring at me. First of all she was the one with the golden retriever and should she really be worried that a dachshund chihuahua is going to hurt it? Anyways she wouldn't stop glaring at me while I'm putting Lucy in the car. If you have read my previous blogs you will know that I have a hard time holding my tongue when morons are around. So I screamed "What are you looking at!!" She looked horrified and finally looked away. I then apologized to my parents for the outburst and my mom was just laughing. She said "you sound just like your father." My dad just said "hey I apologized I don't know what else she wanted." No harm done with the parents so we were free to have a great day.

With that said...a little more Beck to keep the partying going.

We headed to Ojai for breakfast at Cafe' Ojai Emporium and my mom and I shared a breakfast burrito. It was really good - if you are in the area I would recommend it. We then stopped by Bart's Bookstore which is an outside bookstore that my mom and my sister have been raving about for years and I have never gone there. I ended up buying 5 books.

1. Boone's Lick by Larry McMurtry (the guy who wrote Lonesome Dove - which I want to read as well)
2. Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes (My mom said this was a good book and I got this for 50 cents)
3. The Wildfire Season by Andrew Pyper (hey I live in California)
4. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Jason rolled his eyes when I showed him this purchase)
5. How the Irish Saved Civilization (My dad read this book a few years ago when we went to Hawaii and said it was a really interesting book)

After burning in the hot sun looking for books we were ready to explore. We headed up to Wheeler's Gorge to check it out because not only have we camped there when we were kids but my dad did and even my grandma camped there when she was a little girl as well. It brought back memories but there definitely was not a lot of water in the river. We were driving over a bridge that is usually covered up with more water and my dad stopped to show us a rock that he and his brother Tim took a picture in front of as kids. Next time I will be better with pictures.

We then headed back for the big family BBQ at the campsite. Both my sisters and their husbands were coming and Jason was coming back up after work. This time we made London Broil, Seely potatoes (which are to die for) and the famous Aunt Julie salad. Seely potatoes are prepared by putting onions, garlic salt and butter (oh and potatoes) in foil and then they are cooked over the fire. Deeeeelish! Basically again I was in food heaven! It was a family get together that went well! None of us started to fight, scream, leave crying or anything - good times!!

The next day we packed up and went to Buellton to camp. Weird place to camp right? No. It is a genius place to camp. When you check in they give you 4 warm chewy cookies and if you have a dog they give you dog treats. They have 'Make your own ice cream sundaes' on the weekend from 3-7:30pm (they have every fixing you can imagine). They have a pool and spa where children are allowed. Right down the street you have the Hitching Post and A.J. Spurs. This place also offers Wine Tasting tours where they will pick you up at 11 and you visit 4 wineries, have lunch and they drop you back off at 4:30. Sounds pretty darn good to me!

Saturday night we ate at The Hitching Post because it is amazing and we always go there with my parents nowadays. They have one in Casmalia that we usually visit, which I like a little bit better because it really has a down home feeling more than the one in Buellton. But the food is amazing no matter what location. We devoured two marinated artichoke hearts with 'magic dust' in I think if you count out the talking time - maybe 5 minutes.

My mom's side of the family is a card playing family and all of us girls adopted this right away. So card playing is essential when you go camping with my family. My sister Heather taught my parents this game Slappy Seconds which is soooo much fun to play! Even my dad and Jason play it. I don't feel like explaining the rules - but lets just say all you do is laugh (or if you are my mom pee your pants cause you are laughing so hard).

Sunday my parents left to go back home but my sister Missy stayed and we laid by the pool and then we all went wine tasting in the afternoon in Solvang. The first place we went to is called Presidio and I noticed right away that I knew the guy who was helping us because we went to high school together. Of course no one remembers me because I looked like I was 10 years old in high school. I said did you go to Righetti? He said very quietly 'yes' - which I thought was kind of weird. Anyways, long story short I told him we went to school together and he didn't remember me at all so I felt like a loser and then to top it off he thought my husband was 8 years younger than me. So not only does he not remember me but I am the old hag (cougar) with a younger guy. Then he proceeded to hit on my little sister and I will say he was taking an interest in Jason as well. Missy and I were arguing who he was into more - she thought Jason. The second winery I loved even more because you are allowed to bring your pets there. Carivintas Winery works and donates to non-profit organizations like rescuing animals and every bottle of wine has a picture of the animal that they or the organizations they donate to have rescued. The wine was delicious but the hit of the day were these brownies that had a thin layer of white chocolate on top...oh lord they were so good! We ended up buying a few bottles a wine at each place.

I was really sad to leave Monday morning and return to the grind. On the way home I was listening to Beck feeling really relaxed so I leave you with this song. Kind of a bummer song - but...oh well. ChemTrails.

P.S. I promise to add pictures next time. :)

Sleepyhead - Passion Pit and an extra one for ya

I've had this song in my head for a few days now - but I will add one in at the end that I woke up with on Saturday morning.

I'm jealous. My sister saw them recently and I could have seen them last year with my friend and of course like an idiot I didn't.

This brings to mind a video I recently saw from my friends post on facebook. It was a wedding video that this couple put together and I guess there were a lot of people giving them crap about it and being mean. People are so dumb. I thought it was the most adorable and creative wedding video - I loved it! What a nice thing to share to their kids, grandkids, etc. What do you think?

On Saturday morning I woke up with the Randy Travis song "Forever and Ever Amen". When I was little this was another song my dad used to play all the time. My sister Heather danced with him at her wedding to this song...then my grandpa cut in. But maybe because he didn't have any daughters to marry off he wanted the experience. Plus Heather was his first grandchild to get married. Ok he is forgiven.

A few years ago my family celebrated my sisters 10 year anniversary with her by going to Oahu for 2 weeks. It really sucks huh. Anyways we stayed in a huge house on the North Shore which was amazing (but the huge bugs in the house were not). We ended the trip by staying in Waikiki for a few days. The first evening there my mom, my sister Missy, Jason and I all went down to the bar to watch people sing karaoke. The great thing was that my mom was getting hit on by the guys at the bar. It was amazing to see my mom get all giggly and I know what she was saying in her mind (mom correct me if I'm wrong) "Yeah baby! I still got it!" Needless to say this was the first time in my life that I saw my mom get tipsy. I mean - she had a shot of tequila. It was hilarious and we had a blast. Then Missy and I decide to sing a song for my mom - Love Shack by the B-52's. We put in our name and Missy decides to start telling everyone in the bar that we are going up to sing and that they really need to cheer for us. The place was packed - she literally talked to everyone. People were stopping by us at the bar saying "Hey! We can't wait for you guys to get up there!" Butterflies in the stomach and I might either throw up or... Thanks Missy.

Let me start off by saying that the only time I sing is in the car because music drowns out my horrible voice. The DJ calls our name and we start heading up to the stage - people are all clapping and screaming. So I decide to put on my best man voice and take the guy lyrics and then I realize Missy is just standing there laughing while I'm singing. She said "I forgot the lyrics"! Read the lyrics biatch! The best thing to do when you suck is to dance around and act like you meant to be horrible. Anyways we just ended up jumping around dancing and singing - we had a blast. We even had people dancing in front of the stage. To top off the great evening I get a text from Missy later on saying "Mom can't stop laughing and farting! Best night ever!" Good times.

The next day we decided that we needed a repeat of that night and this time we were gonna bring dad and sing a song for him. We head down to the bar for karaoke and there are hardly any people there. Now I really want to throw up - but we brought our dad so we put our name in to sing Randy Travis "Forever and Ever Amen". It definitely was a repeat of the night before that Missy just stood laughing while I sang my best man (with a country twang) voice. But this time she said "I don't know the lyrics!" Again, we started dancing around - this time amazing western style jigs. Even though I wanted to die I had a good time and my dad loved it!

I hope y'all had a great weekend!

Mutha 'uckers - Flight of the Conchords

I can't tell you how much I love this show. I will say that the shows towards the end of the season weren't as funny as the ones in the beginning. A few weekends ago Jason and I were headed back from hanging out with friends and he said play whatever you want. This is a treat because he likes to be the DJ in his car and my car. So I decided to play a few songs I wanted to hear then switch it to some silly songs we haven't heard in awhile.

Enjoy.

By the way...is anyone as excited as I am that Flipping Out is on again? Jeff Lewis is my kind of sarcastic humor.

Electric Blue - Icehouse

Oh wow! I'm taking you guys back to the mullet days of the 80s! You know you love it! So last night Jason and I were sitting at dinner and this song popped in my head. I have no idea why because I haven't heard this song since I was a kid. I decided to embarrass my husband and started to sing the song to him at the restaurant. He just said, 'Oh, I think I remember that song.' Nothing shocks him anymore.

I think my sister Tabi had this tape when we were kids. At least I thought of her when the song popped in my head. Now I had a lot of nicknames as a kid - but Tabi had the best name of all to insert to any song. My sister Heather and I would be listening to whatever song and insert Tabi's (or just 'Tab') name into the song. One of two things would happen:

1. Tabi would have dead pan face trying not to smile

2. Tabi would have dead pan face and think of how to beat you down in the next 5 seconds

If the second option came into effect you needed to run your tush off to the bathroom because it was the only room in the house (except my parents room) with a lock on it. You DID NOT want to get caught by Tabitha because she would make you feel sorry.

Bed Intruder Song

My friend Sasha posted this amazing news clip yesterday on Facebook. It is hilarious! The subject of course is very concerning but the girls brother is amazing. I think most people have seen it by now as it is an internet sensation. But if you are the few that have not seen it yet please click here NOW!

As I said yesterday we went to visit some friends in El Segundo. We had a great time and we of course had to watch the YouTube clip on their TV to get the full impact of the humor. We then found this video where these fine young gentlemen turned this news clip into a song.

Enjoy. I know this song will be in my head for DAYS!

We Own The Sky - M83

Don't have much a story for this song. Jason showed me this song on one of our trips up to see my parents about a year ago. It's a great song. The part I woke up with in my head was after 3:00 on.

We are headed out to breakfast then over to El Segundo to visit some friends. The last time we hung out with them I had that weird experience when that lady put her foot in my stall and started rubbing her toe. If anything crazy happens you will be sure that I will tell you guys!

Have a great day everyone!

World In My Eyes - Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode has to be my all time favorite bands. I loved them since I was a kid. It is still something me and my older two sisters bond over. The last time they came into town we all called each other and planned to see them. At another time I will tell you a story about that concert. Let's just say at the end of the night my husband said "You completely lost it". Feel free to refer to the 7 things about myself I listed a few days ago to get a little insight about how I feel about being trapped.

On with today's blog.

Depeche Mode was my first concert. It was actually supposed to be Erasure but my mom saw an MTV News update where they were dancing around the stage with tutus on and she freaked. My sister saw Erasure later on (after she left home) and said they weren't as good in concert but it was still fun. I was so happy that Depeche Mode ended up being my first concert!

Let me set up the story for you. I was 13 years old and completely in love with David Gahan - I even sent him a fan letter with my 7th grade picture. DORK! Anyways I even remember what I wore. I wore black shorts with a little black belt and a white rayon shirt with huge buttons (oh good lord)! That shirt quickly was replaced by the DM t-shirt I quickly purchased at the concert. I curled my hair and tried to look super cute at all times because you never know if Dave Gahan has eagle eyes and could see me all the way in the yellow section of Dodger Stadium.

Anyways this concert experience still makes me smile. Right before they were going to come on it started to rain and everyone started to scream louder for them. So right when the music for World In My Eyes starts a friggin' bolt of lighting streaks through the sky right behind the stage. Everyone in Dodger stadium went ape shit. I'm not joking. At 13 - this moment was the most exciting point of my life. I felt like crying, but I didn't because I am super cool. The rest of the evening I screamed my lungs out to every song and danced with my sisters. My sister Heather at one point leaned over to me and said "You know all the words to every song! I didn't know you like them this much! You are cracking me up!" I looked at her like "DUH! Of course I know all the words!" Then I immediately went back to snapping my fingers and singing my heart out to Dave Gahan!

Enjoy!

I also wanted to give a shout out to my girl Rhonda! She shared her morning music with me and I love it!! It's the Munchkin Land song from Wizard of Oz. We were chatting this morning and I said "Remember when you had to wait to see this movie on TV?" It was always a family event for us. I think they showed it around February every year (I could be wrong). But I remember one year my grandparents came down to watch it with us. We would make popcorn and get blankets and eagerly wait for it to start. I loved those days when you had to wait for movies - they made them so much special.

If you guys have morning music - please share!

Side note

Hi everyone! This is not my normal update but I have to tell you what I have been waiting for and STILL have to wait for! MAC has partnered up with Disney and will be coming out with a Villians Collection! Woo-hoo! The villians featured are Cruella De Vil, Evil Queen from Snow White, Maleficent, and Dr. Facilier (I haven't seen the movie with him though). This collection will be available this September and I will definitely be buying a few pieces in the collection! The names alone are amazing, "Sinister", "Strange Potion", "Bite of an Apple", "Dark Deed", "She Who Dares", "Briar Rose", etc. That Malificent mineralized eyeshadow duo is calling my name! And who has the best red lips ever - the villians! Can't wait to try this stuff out! Here are some pics!

The Dress - Blonde Redhead

Well sorry kids, I love this song but it is kind of depressing. I was obsessed with this band about a year ago and could NOT stop listening to them. I am very excited though because they are playing at the Music Box (aka Henry Fonda theatre) in November. Anyone wanna go with me?

My deepest fear has always been that once people get to know me they will not like me. It's something that I have had to face and deal with. Now if you don't like me I could care less! I think that is the good thing with getting older - you realize you don't have to put up with bull crap and find relationships you want to nurture and grow and others that can be thrown away in the trash. Sounds kind of harsh but true. My thirties have been a roller coaster but I have found that even though I can see things that I can improve about myself - I like who I am.

Anyways this song reminded me of my insecurities and how life, experience and the support of good friends (and a good man) can help you get over them.

Thoughts on the video?

Blog Award!

Hey everyone I was given a blog award! Woo-hoo! Thank you Danielle from 'So Here Is What You Missed' for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award! To my 8 followers - if you are looking for another funny and interesting blog - please check her out!

So here is the deal, once I get the award I have to do the following:

1. Thank the award giver.

2. Share seven things about myself.

3. Nominate new award winners and let them know.

Again, thank you Danielle for the award! I will take you out of for a cupcake sometime soon!

OK on to the seven things about me. Why do I find myself stumped? Hmm...ok here we go.

1. I LOVE football! I can't tell you how excited I am that football is almost here. Just to know that training camp is starting I get butterflies in my stomach. This is the kind of person I am at football games and sometimes watching the games in the comfort of my home. Sorry mom.

I lumped this into my love for football. My dream job = NFL/ESPN reporter. Come on, be honest, I would be SO much better than this chick! Of course I have to pick the worst picture ever. I actually really like her but I just want her job. :)

2. I have an obsession with make-up and skin care. My friend calls me a product junkie and she might be right, but there is a reason why people ask me when they are looking for a new mascara or foundation. I've tried almost all of them and I won't steer you wrong. No wasting your money with me baby! I've already wasted my money!

3. Tell me a good fart or poop story and I will be happy and laughing for days. Sorry it's the truth.

4. I still have my Bitty Beans and I will NEVER get rid of her. I think she was my first doll. She had a little opening on the back to show her butt- so cute! I had her packed away for a long time and when Jason and I moved I found her again and I realized something - her eyes are the ones I doodle all the time! For as long as I can remember when I am bored (school, work, conventions, etc) I draw eyes. I picked her up out of the box and I was like 'Oh my gosh it's your eyes I have been drawing all these years!' Weird huh. I love her.

5. If you trip and fall in front of me most likely I will want to laugh. I of course have learned that is really mean so I will wait until I know you are OK.

6. I am extremely claustrophobic so if you are ever trapped in an elevator with me you need to beware because I will most likely windmill punch everyone until I feel like I have enough room or until I pass out.

7. I used to HATE to be picked up as a kid! I was so tiny in school that other kids used to pick me up and run around with me. It made my blood boil. Funny thing is that when my family would go on trips and we would get back late I used to pretend that I was asleep so my dad would pick me up and put me in my bed. It was one of my favorite things. Nothing like a good daddy.

I pass this Versatile Award onto the following:

From Beneath the Butterfly Grove

Anything Fits A Naked Man

Carahamelie Writes

Turn This Mutha Out - MC Hammer

Umm you don't want to know why I woke up with this song in my head. I think this came out when I was in sixth grade - I'm not sure, but me and my friends and school would practice MC Hammer dance moves on the quad during lunch. Are you slowly realizing I might be the coolest chick you know?

I Wanna Be Your Man - Zapp & Rogers

Oh yeah baby - this takes me back to my high school days. After leaning like a cholo at North side Santa Maria parties we would bring it on down and dance to jams like this. The guys at these parties weren't embarrassed to sing to you while dancing with you. I remember the first time we went to a North Side party, we were certainly not dressed appropriately and it was different than any party I have been to. I loved it though! I remember thinking I love that they are playing all this old music!

We lived initially on the South end of Santa Maria (or Orcutt/O town) and then ended up moving right outside of Santa Maria to a little place called Tanglewood (or the Wood). You would never think this little small agricultural town was so gangsta. Most of the parties we had gone to played all the new music like C&C Music Factory (oh yeah baby gonna make you sweat) and head banger hits of the day like Metallica and Nirvana. But if we were having parties my sister Tabi and I would always try to bring it back a bit and throw in some 80's hits and people would stand there staring at us while we and some of our good friends were the only ones dancing. So I appreciated going to parties where people loved old songs. That is how the North side parties were. They listened to all the songs my Aunt Mo used to listen to when we would go visit her and her friends.

My first slow song with a guy at a North side party was Always and Forever and he starting singing. At first I was like wow this guy really likes this song. Then I looked at him and he was staring at me singing the song! AHHH! I was not ready for that! This is the dancing I was used to - you barely talk to each other because you are embarrassed that you are that close to each other and if you make eye contact, you quickly look away. Ok so...it may have been my nerves but I was never really comfortable getting close because I felt like a nerd. Don't get me wrong I loved slow dancing because I was not allowed to date until I was 18 so any chance to touch boys I was all for it! But I have to be one of the most awkward people known to man if I like someone or if I think they like me. Ask my husband. To top off the weirdness during this dance his breathe was getting progressively worse because he kept trying to get his face closer to mine. I started to lean my head away as far as possible and looking for my sister Tabi to give her the "HELP" face. But Tabi - Ms. Comfortable in every situation was chatty Cathy was some other guy she was dancing with. Thanks. But bad breath and all I always had a blast.

This song also reminds me of one my favorite comedies - Pootie Tang. If you have ever seen the movie you are probably saying "That is the dumbest movie in the world". I don't know but I think it is funny. Especially the part with this song. I cant' find the clip of it on YouTube - but I will show a little trailer for Pootie Tang So dumb - but kind of genius?

This is the Day - The The

This song always reminds me of my sister Heather. My sister has always been a big influence on me growing up. She was my idol - everything she did, I did. If she was wearing her a hair a certain way I would do the same. I used to love when people would call me "Little Heather". She never thought I was annoying or irritating - she is such a good sissy. I swear to god our 8th grade spring pictures we look almost identical - even though it was 4 years apart we were wearing a similar shirt and hair style. Of course Heather looked more put together, I was always a little frazzled looking. Probably because I had just finished playing kick ball.

Like I said in a previous blog update she used to make us tapes of the music she was listening to. She was always thinking of us or my parents. She is our family organizer. If we are going on a trip we can sit back and relax because we know Heather will pretty much plan everything. I know she gets irritated at that sometimes but, honey you do it so well!

I remember the year after she got married she planned to do a video for my parents anniversary. We helped her get pictures together of my parents and us, although I don't really remember doing much. She planned it all out, putting the pictures in order and to what music. Danielle, do you understand now why you remind me so much of my sister! It was the best thing I have seen and heard. The music really made the video. The songs she used was:

- Maggie May - Rod Stewart

This is my parents song. The video showed pictures of them as kids and them together when they were dating - which was not very long. Horn dogs!

- Cherry Bomb - John Cougar Mellencamp (the Coug)

This part of the video is showing when they had Heather and moved out to the mid west when they were 19.

- We Are Family - Sister Sledge

Of course showing the three older girls - Heather, Tabi and finally ME!

- Young American - David Bowie

This song was dedicated to my younger brother and sister. They seriously have the cutest baby pictures! Jake looked like a doll! He was the only one of us that got my dad's big blue eyes. His baby girl Ava looks just like him - she will be a beautiful girl. Missy on the other hand had these big red lips as a kid and she was never in clothes. So her pictures consisted of maybe a diaper, her 'nene' (blanket) and her big red lips. Quick story about Missy's lips. She went to spend the day at my Grandma's house one time and my Grandma got mad at her because she thought she put lipstick on. My Grandma was rubbing the crap out of her lips to try and get the lipstick off and Missy was yelling "Grandma it's just my lips!" So funny!

- This is the Day - The The

My sister ended the video with this song with pictures of her wedding. James was now a new member of the family and I think for me watching this part of the video I felt our life was changing because all of us were getting older and we were going to start moving on with our lives and adding more people to our family. I remember thinking, "We are gonna need to add to this!" Now to think about then to now our family has gone through many many changes and it is still changing. Man, I think we need to do an updated family video! We can leave out the assholes along the way though.

The thing that has been constant is that we all still love each other. I was watching a show with a lady who has a bunch of brothers and sisters and she said "We fight a lot and we love a lot." I thought that was very true. My sister Heather said something very similar about us, she's a smart lady.

I leave you with this song to enjoy.