Retro Fridays ... Bizarre Love Triangle

What's a retro Friday without a tune by New Order!

Ahhh ... Bizarre Love Triangle. This song sparks so many stories from my college days. Two in particular come to mind.

The first of which is the first formal dance we had in college ... which was a night that turned out to be a comedy of errors, all sparked by one gentleman, who we'll just call "J" (who thank goodness was not MY date).

His two most memorable actions of the night were as follows. 1.) serenading ME, and dancing all over me to the song Bizarre Love Triangle (did I mention that he was NOT my date). I just stood there thinking ... what ARE you doing?

And then 2.) pissing my friend T off on the bus ride home, so much so that she leaned over her date to punch J, missed J, and punched HER date instead. (Which caused me to spend the ENTIRE next day patching things up between T and her date, and clearing up the punching misunderstanding! But no worries, T and her date ended up getting married!)

(us circa 1989 ... lol)

Nice couch, huh?

The second Bizarre Love Triangle moment occurred at another dance Freshman year. This dance was affectionately referred to as a SYR dance ... Screw Your Roommate. You were supposed to set your roommate up on a blind date (and I guess you were supposed to "Screw Your Roommate" with a bad date, but we never did that).

So my friends set me up with this guy that I had a HUGE crush on! We had a great night, but the funniest thing happened. We are out on the dance floor (what is it with me and dance floors??) and Bizarre Love Triangle comes on and he starts dancing all crazy ... flailing his head around ... and he says "This is how we danced at my High School." Oh boy ... what have I gotten myself into!!

We still laugh over that today. Whenever Bizarre Love Triangle comes on, my friend K and I look at each other and say, "This is how we danced at my High School!"

Good times!

Okay ... enjoy a little New Order ... and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Cheers!

Retro Fridays ... The Waitresses

Seeing as this Friday is not only a Retro Friday, but also Christmas eve, I'm going to do a Retro Christmas song!

Who didn't love the 80's Christmas favorite by The Waitresses ... Christmas Wrapping?! What? You've never heard it! This is definitely worth a listen!

Christmas Wrapping is a fun 80's song, with a good story to it ... and great for dancing around the living room.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Couldn't miss this one this year! (Click here or on image to hear song!)


The Waitresses were an experimental new wave band from Akron, Ohio. The group was led by guitarist/songwriter Chris Butler, with lead vocals performed by Patty Donahue.

The Waitresses were best known in the UK for their holiday song Christmas Wrapping, which still gets airtime on the radio every Christmas. In the United States they had some success with the song I Know What Boys Like, from their 1982 debut album Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful.

Here is I Know What Boys Like ... (Click here or on image to hear song!)

Cheers ... and may you have a simply wonderful Christmas! And in case I am off the grid next week, best wish for a happy, healthy, and blessed 2011!!

Throwback Thursday ... Catholics vs. Convicts

In light of the upcoming Notre Dame/Miami rematch at the Sun Bowl, my Throwback Thursday will be a look back at the 1988 Notre Dame vs. Miami football game, known to most as the "Catholics vs. Convicts" game. Both teams were undefeated when they met in South Bend, and Notre Dame won the fiercely battled game by a final score of 31-30.

The name "Catholics vs. Convicts" was created by an enterprising Notre Dame student, Patrick Walsh, who printed t-shirts carrying the slogan prior to the legendary match up between the two teams in 1988.

The two teams met on October 15, 1988, at Notre Dame stadium, with both teams being undefeated. Miami, the defending national champion, came in ranked #1 holding a 36-game regular season winning streak while the Irish were ranked #4. The game, which started out with a pregame fight between the two teams in the entrance tunnel, was named by USA Today as one of the greatest college football games of the period 1982-2002.

Near the end of this tight scoring game, Miami scored a touchdown with 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter to pull within one point of Notre Dame, 31-30. Instead of kicking the extra point and likely ending the game in a 31-31 tie, Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson decided go for the two-point conversion, later explaining that "We always play to win." However, Steve Walsh's pass on the play was knocked down by Pat Terrell, and Notre Dame snapped Miami's winning streak and won 31-30.

Notre Dame would finish the 1988 season 12-0, beating #2 Southern California 27-10 on November 26 in the last game of the season and #3 West Virginia in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl 34-21 on January 2, 1989 to win their 11th National Title. Miami would win the rest of its games and finish #2 behind Notre Dame in the polls.

And if you haven't gotten enough yet, check out some video highlights of the game here!

Comments (and memories) on the game are always welcome!

Cheers!

Scared of Santa?

Wordless Wednesday

Got a good caption for this one? haha

Cheers!

My Life as a Soundtrack

My apologies for all of the music posts as of late, but some days I think that my story can best be told through music, rather than through words.

I've been reflecting lately on Offspring #1's upcoming adventure into the realm of dating, and all of the excitement and heartache that goes along with that. Boy, I have no desire to relive those teenage years again. Even though it did come with a lot of memorable, exciting, happy, blissful moments ... it also came along with it's fair share of heartache and tears.

All of those boys/young men, that I thought were "the one" who turned out to just be a fleeting moment of happiness, and then a crash and burn of heartache. It was all worth it, truly it was ... but as a Mother, you want to shield your child from all of that heartache ... even though you know that that heartache is the path to finding "the one." It is still not the most pleasant of journeys, but necessary I suppose!

So I leave you with a little 80's, adolescent teenage heartache music for today ... So In Love, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark.

So In Love ...

Talk to me,
don't lie to me
Save your breath

Don't look at me,
don't smile at me
Just close your eyes

I was so impressed by you
I was running blind
I would fall for every trick
Every twist of mind

Heaven is cold
Without any soul
It's hard to believe
I was so in love with you

Don't say your prayers,
don't build your hopes
Just walk away

Don't phone me up,
don't call around
Don't waste your time

You were so in awe of me
You were so divine
You would do just anything
To still be mine

Heaven is cold
Without any soul
It's hard to believe
I was so in love with you

All the things you said to me
I was so obsessed
You were always talking talking
God I did my best

Heaven is cold
Without any soul
It's hard to believe
I was so in love with you

Cheers!

Manic Music Monday

Did I mention how much I love music? I do. I absolutely love music. I love how a certain song can bring back a memory of an event, a person, or even a specific time in our life.

This particular song does just that. Fool in the Rain, by Led Zeppelin

I love the movie Almost Famous. Maybe that's because I can kind of relate to Penny Lane's characters ... as my "bestie" from college and I were somewhat groupies (Band-Aides) of this local college band that shall remain nameless.

The band was a pretty decent band. They played some of their own music ... and then a mixture of cover tunes from classic rock bands and some current music. They had a very unique sound, and they were a lot of fun to watch. Plus the guys in the band were easy on the eyes, and that didn't hurt either.

So I'm in the car the other day and Fool in the Rain comes on the radio ... and instantly this band we followed in college pops in my head ... because this is one of the songs that they used to cover. What a great time in my life this was. My Senior year of college. So much fun. So much promise for the future. It's funny how a song can conjure up such warm, happy feelings!

So enjoy ... Fool in the Rain ... light of the love that I've found!



And I'll also leave you with one of my favorite quote from Almost Famous ...

Penny Lane: You're too sweet for rock and roll.

William Miller: Sweet? Where do you get off? Where do you get sweet? I am dark and mysterious, and *pissed off*! And I could be very dangerous to all of you! You should know that about me... I am *the enemy*!

Cheers!

Firework

I have been cleaning house all day, as we're having a Christmas family gathering at our house tomorrow ... and I find that the time goes by much quicker with the radio blaring!

So I keep hearing this catchy song, and then figure out that it is by Katy Perry (which honestly, it does not sound like her at all) ... and, I really dig it.

And then I listened a little closer to the lyrics, and I dig it even more!

So here it is ... Firework. Here are the lyrics, and follow this link to see the video, which is pretty cool too!

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot
across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin'
down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the
doors are closed
So you can open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time,
you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot
across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors
burst Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin'
down-own-own

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon,
moon It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your
worth Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em going "Oh, oh, oh!"

Hope you're having an awesome weekend!

Cheers!

Retro Fridays ... Blondie

Yes, I am a child of the 80's. I grew up in Los Angeles listening to what I guess you would call alternative music on KROQ, the ROQ of the 80's ... what some now call retro music.

In the mid-90's, there was a bar in St. Louis that did "Retromania" on Thursday nights, where they would play all 80's music all night. Totally. Rad.

And I have since discovered that you can listen to all of the great retro tunes on KROQ2 ... their HD2 Station that plays all of the ROQ of the 80's tunes! Even more totally. Rad.

So I'm going to start doing a blog post every Friday on my favorite retro tunes from the 80's.

Today's featured artist ... Blondie.

Oh how I love Blondie. All of their music was totally fun. Get up out of your seat and dance fun. Who doesn't love Heart of Glass, Rapture, The Tide Is High, Rip Her to Shreds, Hanging On The Telephone, One Way or Another, Call Me, Dreaming ... LOVE it! If you don't have any Blondie in your music collection, I highly recommend the Best of Blondie disc ... great stuff!

So there it is, my first installment of Retro Friday's ... hopefully there will be many more to come! Have a wonderful Friday folks!

Cheers!

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Ahhh, mornings. My favorite time of the day.

Really, you ask? Okay, okay ... so I am not particularly a morning person, but as I've gotten older, I have really come to appreciate mornings. With all of the hustle and bustle that comes with being married, and being the Mother of two beautiful children, I have really come enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with early morning. I've always been the first one up in my house, but these days I make a conscious effort to get up at least a half an hour, if not more, earlier than the rest of the people in my house.

I have found that this makes such a difference for me. Just that extra 30 minutes to do a load of laundry, catch up on the news, check e-mails, or just sit quietly with my coffee makes a huge difference as to how my day goes. I find the mornings (usually weekend mornings) when I sleep in a bit, and am not the first one up ... I just feel so behind the eight ball. Like I am already behind on all of the things that I have to do during the day. And even though I hate getting up early on weekends, the day ends up going so much more smoothly if I do!

So here's to coffee ... quiet mornings ... beautiful sunrises ... and happy days!

Cheers!

With Childlike Wonder, Part 2

My first "with childlike wonder" post was in relation to my absolute love of Notre Dame Football. This one actually involves a "child!"

I try to expose my children to all sorts of diverse activities ... and the latest thing I've introduced them to (well, latest as in throughout the last year) is horse racing. For each of the three Triple Crown races, as well as the Breeder's Cup race, I invited the children to sit with me and watch the lead-up to the races, along with the actual race of course ... and gave them a little background about each race. They seem to have enjoyed it, especially my daughter. Heck, what little girl doesn't like horses!!??

So last Friday night I took my daughter and her friend to see the movie "Secretariat." Neither one of them really knew anything about the movie (my daughter did a little bit ... her friend not at all), and they weren't really all that excited about seeing the movie, but I just knew they would like it.

The movie started out a little slow, as far as 11 year olds are accustomed to, but once it really got into the story, they were all in. When Secretariat ran the first race of the Triple Crown, both girls were sitting on the edge of their seats, and my daughter was holding her breath!! After Secretariat won the first race she looked at me, smiling and watching her, and said, "You know how this ends, don't you??!!" And I said, "Yup!"

They both absolutely loved the movie!! How do I know this? The entire 25 minute car ride home they kept saying how that was "the best movie they had ever seen!"

I just love to see that "childlike wonder" ... it really makes me feel young again ... and renews me from the day-to-day grind!

What "childlike wonder" have you seen lately??

Cheers!

Real Fans?

So what exactly makes a fan ... a "real " fan?

An extensive knowledge of the sport? Or maybe an extensive knowledge of the sport AND of the team they pledge their absolute devotion to? The ability to argue intelligently (and to the bitter end) with a fellow fan of the same or opposite team? A mind filled to the brim with stats and win/loss probabilities? And I guess my real question is this ... is a guy more of a "real" fan than a girl??

Why is it that guys automatically assume that because you are a girl, that you could not possibly know as much as they do about said sport. That there is no possible way that you could be so devoted to said sport that you'd even follow recruiting. Recruiting? What girl follows recruiting?

All some guys see is a pretty face, dressed in a cute tee or jersey, and cannot wrap their brain around the fact that the girl in that cute tee or jersey may actually know more about said sport than they do.

All I'm saying is this. Don't just assume that a pretty face is just a pretty face. Just ask the guys that I play Fantasy Football with (*cough* ... first place), or the guys on the recruiting web site that I frequent ... "just a pretty face" assumptions can often end in embarrassing results.

Here's to all of the football mavens ... and Puck Bunnies ... who are WAY more than just groupies or trophy wives!

And boys ... beware!

Cheers!