Digital Mix Tape

I LOVE music. Music defined how I saw myself in high school, has helped me choose friends, and often expresses my innermost joy/sorrow/thoughts.

I was one of those girls in high school AND college who made mix tapes for my friends. I spent hours pouring my love and affection into each playlist and then more hours designing the covers.

This past week The English Geek wrote a post about her current playlist and encouraged her readers to do the same. I loved it and decided to do the same.

I spent some time thinking about this playlist, and a few more deciding on just the right words to express just what I love about each song. This isn't a list of my favorite songs, just a list of what I'm listening to right now. The heavy hitters, the songs in current rotation. Enjoy:

1. "Crazy Eddie's Last Hurrah" by Reckless Kelly. Who knew that a song about breaking up, drunk driving, and double homicide could be so much fun? I can't really explain why I love this song so much, but it might have something to do with all of the clever rhymes to "and I'm never getting over Joely".

2. "Empty" by Ray LaMontagne. The bleakness of this song moves me. I love the lines "I never learned to count my blessings,I choose instead to dwell in my disasters". I hate to admit it, but that perfectly sums up my feelings way too often. I'm a huge fan of LaMontagne, and this isn't the song that I love most by any stretch, but it is the song that's speaking to me right now. (But if you want some good stuff check out "Let it Be Me" and "Hey Me, Hey Mama" or "Shelter" AMAZING.)

3. "Hey Soul Sister" by Train. I'm a little bit embarrassed by this one, but I'll suck it up and share anyway. I can't explain they dichotomy of placing this effervescent pop song next to the dark and wistful "Empty" but there you have it: me in a nutshell. There's something about the way he sings "Hey" that gets me moving. I imagine myself dancing a quickstep to this every time I hear it and it puts a smile on my face.

4. "Sea Lion Woman" by Feist. This song gets me moving. It makes me want to clap a beat and stomp my feet. It's also one of the songs I have on my "working out" playlist. It's a great song to get you running/walking/moving, and Feist's a genius.

5. "Hotel Song" by Regina Spektor. "I have dreams of orca whales and owls, but I wake up in fear, you will never be my, you will never be my fool." Ahhhhhhh. We'll just ignore the part about illegal drugs, yes?

6."Silver Lining" by Rilo Kiley. There's something about the line "I was your silver lining, but now I'm gold." that gives me a little shiver of delight. Oh, and the girl can sing.

7. "Mouthwash" by Kate Nash. I love the happy piano at the beginning. I love that you can tell she's from London. I love that she sings about freckles. I love this song.

8. "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane. Do I need a reason? It's just beautiful. The music, the lyrics, I love everything about this song.

9. "Island in the Sun" by Weezer. This is the ultimate summer song. I got to see Weezer in concert when they were first starting out. "Buddy Holly" had just hit MTV like a storm and they were playing the Utah State Fair Grounds. Tickets were cheap, my roommates and I decided to go. My brother and some of his friends drove down from what was then Ricks College (now BYU Idaho). The band ran onstage to the theme song from some 80's tv show (Magnum P.I.?) and had a plywood backdrop of the now famous Weezer W with holes drilled out for Christmas lights to poke through. They were young, raw, and I'll admit it: we left early. I'm ashamed, and will be forever. My brother stayed there 'til they closed the place down. I left. Who knew that those guys with the funny video would still be around all these years later? I certainly didn't, but I sure am glad they are. I'm sorry for doubting you Rivers, and thank you for writing this song so that I can celebrate the end of every school year.

10. The Old 97's. This band has been on pretty heavy rotation for a couple of years now. I love them. They speak to me. I love that my 8 year old niece Bethany and I can sing every word of "Question". Their music is fun without being cheesy, dark without being depressing. And Rhett Miller is dreamy.

11. "Grace Kelly" by Mika. If this were my niece Samantha's list "Lollipop" would be on this list, but it's always been "Grace Kelly" for me. There are so many reasons why I keep coming back to this one, but I won't bore you with them. Instead I'll just say, listen to it. I dare you not to like it.

12."Like a Prayer" by Madonna. When this song first came out, Pepsi paid Madonna a ridiculous amount of money to have the rights to play her video on commercial tv. I don't know why they were surprised that her video was controversial. I loved it. I still do. I love dark, curly haired Madonna. I know she's not the icon, but I love her. Plus, this song makes you dance in your seat. You can't help it. I am always happy when this song comes on when I'm at a red light and I can really get down.

13. "Pretty Girl from Annapolis" by The Avett Brothers. I was introduced to these guys by Melissa and Danny a couple of years ago, but I didn't really fall in love with them until I saw them perform this song on Ace of Cakes. Yeah. They have a series of "Pretty Girl from...." songs, but this is my favorite. I love the lines "My dreams fly me to a place near Baltimore. And I love this moment we're in, though we might never see this moment again" The lyrics may be about a boy who can't commit, but they remind me of a New Year's Eve spent in Annapolis with two of my favorite people on earth. I loved that moment we were in, and we never saw that moment again. But isn't that the point?

14. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson. I recently got a 80's compilation (mostly because I was in the mood for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler) and this song was on it. I'd forgotten how good he was. This was my favorite song in the fourth grade (when I had NO idea what it was really about) and Thriller was, hands down, the most played record in our house that year. This song took me back to the pre-creepy, pre plastic surgery Michael that I had a crush on. Through all of the creepiness I'd forgotten just how good he was. What a talent.

15. "California" by Rufus Wainwright. This song is simultaneously silly ("Thousand surfers, whiffs of freon and my new grandma Bea Arthur")and derisive ("Life is the longest death in California").


Sooooooo, what are YOU listening to? Tell me in the comments section, or blog about it yourself. If you do blog, let me know!

If you want to do more than read about these songs, I have my playlist posted on the blog under the title Digital Mixtape.

Things I'm Thinkin' 'Bout

1. This is right next to the most adorable thing I've ever seen:



and fyi, this is NOT how Austen reacts to being fed. When I feed Austen, he walks over, looks at his food and then at me as if to say "Mum, do you fink I'm gonna eat that rubbish?" (remember, my dog has a tough British accent) Then, he moves his food one kibble at a time to the other side of the rug and then MAYBE, if I'm lucky he eats it(If I'm not lucky I step on soggy dog food with my bare feet.).

2. For eleven years I've told my students, "Pick up that backpack. I don't want to trip and fall." or "Push in that chair, I don't want to trip and fall." It's just one of those things you say as a teacher, I don't think I ever really thought I'd ever trip and fall. Well, no more. Last week I did exactly that, and in case you're wondering, yes. I was wearing a skirt. Yes. It flew up. No. I didn't die of embarrassment. Yes. I did hurt myself. My left foot to be exact. Yes. That left foot. No. It's not broken, just really bruised and painful.

It was one of those moments when I realized, once again, how happy I am to teach the kids I do. At either of my previous schools that story would have circled the school twice by the time school was done for the day. At mine? Not a single kid mentioned it ever again. Maybe the whole skirt flying up, visible teacher's underwear experience was so emotionally disturbing, that they all silently agreed to never speak of it again. One can hope.


3. Two weeks ago, there was an episode of Glee guest starring.... wait for it..... Neil Patrick Harris and directed by Joss Whedon. Does life get any better than that? Maybe for other people, but for me? Not really. (I am one sad spinster.)

4. Next Wednesday my sisters Jennifer and Christy, and my niece Alyssa are coming to stay with for for a few days. I'm so excited that I can hardly stand it. I'm planning our activities and clearning out the guest room for them. Austen's very excited, or he would be if he understood anything that I say to him.

5. I'm in the middle of buying a home for the first time in my life. I've put it off for various reasons including mind numbing fear at the thought of that much debt and the desire to move away from Las Vegas, but I made some realizations. 1. I'm not getting out of here until the economy improves. 2. Housing prices in Las Vegas are currently ridiculously low. 3. Might as well own if I'm going to stay here for awhile.

I have an accepted offer right now, but it's a short sale at it's going to take awhile and the bank could turn the offer down. I'm trying to be patient. We'll see how it goes.

6. Another video that puts my dog parenting to shame:



I'll bet that dog doesn't put down his ears and crawl into his owner's lap when given a command. Hmmmph.

7. Summer is three short school days away.

My Saturday

How I spent my Saturday:

6 am: Woke up, rolled over, went back to sleep.

7:30 am: Woken up by Austen shaking his collar and snorting like a pig.

7:31 am: Let Austen climb up into bed with me.

8:45 am: Finally woke up to Austen standing over me and staring.

9:00 am: Took Austen out to do his business.

9:30 am: Went grocery shopping.

10:45 am: Ate breakfast.

11:00 am-12:30 pm:Sat on the couch NOT cleaning my house.

12:30-12:35 pm: Had a staring contest with Austen.

12:45-2:30 pm: Took a nap.

2:30-3:30 pm: Avoided cleaning my house again.

3:30-3:35 pm: Had a staring contest with Austen

3:40-4:55 pm: Replaced the sheets on my bed and washed my old ones, cleaned my bathroom and organized my make-up. Took out the trash, folded laundry

4:55-500 pm: Another staring contest with Austen. In the middle, realized that I hadn't fed him breakfast.

5:01 pm: Fed Austen extra food. In bad dog mommy circles we call this a "guilt helping"

5:00-7:00 pm: Watched a couple of episodes of Toddlers in Tiaras. I know. It's horrible, but I can't help it. It's like a train wreck, and it has the added bonus of making me feel better about myself. Sure, I forget to feed my dog, but I don't put a wig and fluffy dress on him, slap fake teeth in his mouth and then make him parade around in front of a bunch of crazy pageant people, now do I?

7:15-7:30 pm: Wrote this post.


See why I haven't updated lately?

Tuesday Musings....

1. KSL.com classifieds have 94 listings for beanbag chairs for sale. There's an entire category in furniture for beanbags alone. I don't know how I feel about that.

2. I know it's bad for the envirnonment, but Diet Coke tastes soooooo much better from a styrofoam cup. Add in crunchy Sonic ice and it's seriously over the top.

3. Bob's peppermint candy canes are the best peppermints ever. Hands down.

4. Butternut squash is delicious.

5. Las Vegas after a good long rain storm is clean and bright. I didn't know that was possible.

6. I'm pretty stoic about the rumors swirling that Brangelina are breaking up.

7. I'm taking great delight in designing groupings of pictures/items to hang on my wall.

8. I'm going on an Alaskan cruise this summer with my sister and parents. Even though it's months away, I'm getting really excited about it.

9. The computers in my classroom are out to get me.

10. I really need to go to the dentist. But I keep putting it off.

11. I find Zachary Levi from Chuck absolutely endearing.

(Oh look! My musings go to eleven.)

What happens on Nevada Day....

It's Nevada Day, everybody!! Every October 31st (or the closest Friday or Monday to it) every government organization shuts down for the day in reverence of the day that Nevada became a state.

I can't decide whether the day is supposed to be a celebration of the state or an apology to everyone who has the misfortune to live here. Kind of like, "Hey. We know you don't really want to be here, but would it make it better if you got a day off at the end of October? Yes? Good. Happy Nevada Day."

Either way, I love it. It's really my favorite thing about living in Las Vegas. Although, that's like saying that the steam facials are your favorite part of living in Hell.

Whatever. It's a day off. It's a day off that means I never have to work on Halloween, my second to last favorite day as a teacher. This is my first Nevada Day actually spent in the state. Last year I went to California to visit Jillian, and the year before that? I think I went to Utah. Anyway, today I'm cleaning my house, running some errands, and enjoying my fancy new TiVo. It's a good day.

It's Nevada Day, and it makes living in Nevada 1% more bearable.

4 Things, Maybe 5

1. Quantum of Solace was only ok. But Daniel Craig did things for polo shirts that I thought impossible.



2. Bronx Mowgli Wentz? Really?! Did they lose a bet or something?

3. This week was American Education Week, and a teacher at my school always gives the kids an assignment to choose a teacher to write a thank you card for. I got about 6 this year, and they were really sweet. One in particular said that I was the most inspirational teacher she'd ever had. It made me cry and feel all warm and tingly inside. It's nice to know you make an impact.

4. I'm through fighting it. I'll go and see Twilight. I'm sure it will benefit from abridgement. I think I can handle two hours of on screen teenage angst. I deal with the three dimensional version every day.



(Robert Pattison and his handsome hair don't hurt the cause. Of course, in my heart he'll always be Cedric Diggory.)


5. I realized that I haven't mentioned my boyfriend Toby for awhile. Hey everyone, I love Toby Stephens!