Sleepy...

I have decided I'm not a fan of the short week. In theory it means less work, but in reality it's just the same amount of work packed into fewer days. It made this week really long, I'm sleepy tonight, that's all.
Smiles =)

Things I Love Thursdays: The Music of the 90s

I had not planned this for this week's "Things I Love Thursdays"; I had planned to write about my favorite cookbooks (which is interesting to me and it's my blog so :-P), but I feel like I'm supposed to discuss 90s music this week.

Last weekend was "Throwback Weekend" on my hometown top40 radio station (XL106.7 out of Orlando). All three days they mixed classic 90s pop and hip-hop with their current radio mix. Then this morning on the radio they briefly mentioned that the lead singer of LFO (aka the Lyte Funky Ones) or "the guys who sing the Abercrombie and Fitch song" passed away. See the video below.

I actually remember the first time I ever saw/heard of LFO. My Dad took a friend and I to see and N*Sync concert in Orlando and there were these three guys and a local radio DJ on top of a bus throwing t-shirts and what not at people. It was right before "Summer Girls" started getting radio play and absolutely no one knew who they were, but they were nice to everyone and totally up beat. At least that's what I remember.
I've actually been thinking a lot about the 90s lately. It is the music from my childhood and I miss that whole era of music. There isn't anything on the radio today that compares. Don't get me wrong I love  music from the 70s & 80s (thanks Mom & Dad), but their is just something about classic 90s that makes me smile. I'm sure there is a point to all this somewhere, but I'm feeling pretty stuck in nostalgia. Anyway on with the list:

My Top Ten Songs of the 1990s:
10. Hold On- Wilson Phillips (Wilson Phillips/1990)
9. I Want it That Way- Backstreet Boys (Millennium/1999)
8. Wonderwall- Oasis ((What's the Story) Morning Glory?/1995)
7. One of Us- Joan Osbourne (Relish/1995)
6. Wannabe- Spice Girls (Spice/1996)
5. Smooth- Santana f. Rob Thomas (Supernatural/1999)
4.Learn to Fly- Foo Fighters (There is Nothing Left to Lose/1999)
3. One Week- Barenaked Ladies (Stunt/1998)
2. Don't Speak- No Doubt (Tragic Kingdom/1995)
1. God Must Have Spent a Little More Time On You- *Nsync (*Nsync/1998)

These are mostly in order and they are mostly all songs I loves as a child of the 90s. There are a few that I didn't appreciate until much later, but I forgive myself since I was a freshman in high school in 1999. I was not one of those cool middle schoolers who was listening to Nirvana and not Nsync and honestly; I'm okay with that. I still <3 JustinTimberlake!

Movie Night: The Other Guys

Went to see The Other Guys tonight. Overall I thought it was a good movie; standard humor though the "big case" was a little hard to follow. I'd say it's a solid B-. More details and a full review tomorrow.

September 7, 2010: 358 Days To Go

I don't have much to write tonight. well actually I don't have the energy to write much tonight. I have a pretty terrible migraine and today was my first day back at work with "the boot." I'm almost 10 days into this and I feel like I've had more days when I'm writing because I have to rather than because I have something I want/need to say. Hopefully this changes soon...my life isn't all injuries and maladies. This is very disjointed....I will improve.
Goodnight.

Happy Labor Day!

For a lot of people I think Labor Day signals the end of the summer, but living in Florida our summer will stretch out for at least another month (possibly closer to 6 weeks). So I spent my much welcomed day off relaxing, resting my ankle, and having a Friday Night Lights marathon (thanks Netflix!). BFFMandy and I did have hamburgers to keep with Labor Day traditions; although we did buy our from 5 Guys. All in all I'd call it a good, though not very productive day. 
Smiles. =)
(I will get the bowling pictures from PZ's birthday up sometime this week. Promise!)

PZ's Birthday!!!

My friend PZ celebrated his actual birthday a few weeks ago and today he and his boyfriend, J-Dubz, came to Tampa so BFFMandy and I could celebrate with him as well. Our initial plan was to have breakfast at First Watch and then go to Venice Beach. But due to the weather the day didn't turn out quite as we'd planned. 
BFFMandy, C-Dawg, and I met PZ and J-Dubz at First Watch. It's one of my favorite breakfast/brunch spots. I actually don't think I know anyone who dislikes going there. Anyway the restaurant isn't far from the house or the interstate; so we met there and had a great breakfast. I had biscuits and gravy. It was quite good; the biscuits were hot and fluffy with just a bit of a crunch on the bottom (which is how I prefer my biscuits) and the gravy was smooth with nice chunks of savory sausage. After breakfast we made our way to Publix (the best grocery store on the face of the planet) to forage for beach supplies. I picked up PZ's birthday cupcakes; more on that later. We gathered chips, dip, ice, and we attempted to buy drinks too, but were unable due to the fact that it's Sunday.
 Eventually we (PZ, BFFMandy, J-Dubz, and I, C-Dawg had to work) made our way to the beach. We made a valiant attempt to enjoy the "last beach weekend of summer" but a thunderstorm cut our sunny day short ; PZ, BFFMandy, and J-Dubz did get to spend some time in the water (myself and my injured ankle stayed on the blanket and read). We actually attempted to go to another beach, but  to Blackberries and an iPhone later we accepted the storm covered pretty much the entire gulf coast in our area. After the beach be came home (where it was not thunderstorming) and spent the afternoon at the pool. Many hi-jinks and freeze pops were had. 
The pool was followed by some brief iPhone research and plans for Pit Boss and bowling. Pit Boss is a BBQ restaurant in New Port Richey. The BBQ is fantastic smokey and meaty. You can see the smoke billowing from several miles away and smell it as soon as you walk in the front door of the restaurant. The staff is friendly and helpful and the french fries are always hot and crispy. BFFMandy have actually gone out of our way to go to Pit Boss. The name of the restaurant is also the cause of some not common sense on both our parts (see below):

Me (25minutes into my first visit to Pit Boss, just noticing the decor): Oh, Pit Boss...like Vegas and gambling...


Today:
Me (defending my initial lack of common sense): Yeah, but there's that show on the Discovery Channel called Pit Boss...
BFFMandy: What's it about?
Me: BBQ...
PZ and J-Dubz: (laughter)

Fabulous birthday dinner was followed by bowling. We went to Lane Glo also in NPR. 

Bowling was a much more interesting experience with only one foot. As you know, I was "booted" earlier this week and PZ's birthday excursion was my first outing. I actually did pretty well, I managed to get a strike and not to come in dead last at least one game. Plus, we all had fun.

Me and PZ, All Smiles!

                                             

Strike!

 

 

Kissing the ball for Luck!

And Bowl!

Birthday Boy Bowls!

J-Dubz looking for a strike!

After bowling we returned to the house and had cupcakes. I usually would've made cupcakes, but I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to be on my feet long enough. I texted PZ earlier in the week and he asked for white cake and plain buttercream. Since I know Publix cake is fabulous (it's one of the reasons Publix is better than every other store on the planet) and I know PZ likes their frosting I ordered him a half dozen cupcakes. They were darn good.

Smiles. =)

Pain in the Ankle

Apparently I have flat feet. I actually already knew this, but iy is the root of the crazy intense pain I've been having in my ankle. Wednesday morning I woke up and the inside of my left ankle hurt, but it went away as a moved around and started to get ready for work; at the time I figured I just slept crooked or that it was related to a new pair of shoes I got last weekend. Thursday morning when I woke the pain was about the same, but it didn't go away. I limped around at work all day long hoping that it was just a strained muscle and that it would work itself out. I stopped and bought an ankle brace Thursday night and spent the evening with my ankle propped up on pillows. Friday, when I couldn't limp anymore because the pain was so bad (and it was driving me crazy…the limping I mean) I finally went to the health clinic at work. The initial diagnosis is that my arch is getting flatter and shifting the bones in my foot/ankle; all of this is causing a tendon in my ankle to stretch. I have to wear a boot/walking cast for somewhere around 4 weeks. After that I'll have to be evaluated for inserts for my shoes. Worried would be the wrong way to describe how I'm feeling. Tired, frustrated, and irritated are all at the top of list and I'm hoping that will get better as I get used to the boot. I am worried that I'll have to wear orthopedic shoes for the rest of my life. That would be awful and I'm not sure I can do that. 

Night, All

September 3

I have a litany of complaints tonight; the top being my ankle hurts and wearing the boot feels like wearing shoes to bed. Goodnight.

Things I Love Thursday!

Thursdays are going to be all about things I love, things I’ve bought, food I’ve eaten, and places I’ve been.  This week it’s the iPhone app edition of Things I love. People who know me (and people who encounter me casually) know that I am one of those irritating iPhone people. You know the people, the ones who are constantly figeting with their phones and not making eye contact with the real world. I find that my phone is a huge time-waster/life-sucker and I LOVE IT! Anyway in all the time I’ve wasted on my phone I’ve found some super cool totally awesome apps.

My Top Ten Fav Apps (In No Particular Order):

1. Facebook: This does not really require an explanation. I find myself using this app much more since they blocked facebook at work.

2. Shazam/SoundHound: These are both music recognition apps and they work pretty much the same way. When you hear a song you like at a restaurant, bookstore, on the radio, pretty much anywhere you have cell service you open either of these apps point the speaker of the phone in the direction of the music and in roughly one minute you have the title and artist of the song. Both apps provide you a link to iTunes (of course) and both store your previous tags so you can review them later.

3. Words with Friends: Scrabble on crack. This is how I described this to BFFMandy not too long ago. It’s basically an extended Scrabble game. You begin a game with a friend (or a local opponent that the game matches you with) and you play until someone wins or resigns. You can have multiple games at one time and you can play a game in a day or over a few weeks depending on how fast you and your opponent respond to one another.

4. Urbanspoon: You’ve probably seen this app. It was featured in a set of iPhone commercials awhile back. I love love love love this app. It hasn’t really located much but chains (There’s a Chili’s…in Tampa…I had no idea…) but I went to Phoenix earlier this summer and it located a TON of great local places to eat. I keep checking it and hoping that more independently owned restaurants get added for the Tampa area.

5. Epicurious on the Go: I love to eat and I like cooking. This app compiles all (or at least most) of the recipes from epicurious.com. There are lots of recipes for this I’ll never make, but there are also some really cool recipes too. My favorite thing about this app is that the recipe collections change seasonally; you can always search for a specific ingredient but the app gives you recipes for what’s seasonal upfront.

6. Trivial Pursuit: I’m a trivia fanatic so this app is right up my alley. There are two games “Classic” with the standard round board and “Pursuit” which includes a collection of long narrow boards. You can play against yourself, an opponent (real or over Wi-Fi), or the computer.

7. Colorized: Another totally addicting game. This one includes a screen full of tiny blocks in six colors. The goal is to turn the whole screen one color in 25 moves or less. You lose if haven’t completed the round in 25 moves…oh and it’s timed.

8. ESPN ScoreCenter: A must have for a sports fan. You pick your sports and your teams. This app shows you all the past and upcoming games with scores, stats, and line-ups.

9. Groupon/LivingSocial: These apps are both abbreviated versions of the daily websites and e-mails. Each app shows you the daily deal for your current city and how much time there is left to purchase. My favorite thing is that you can switch cities, so if you have family in other areas or an upcoming trip you can see what available.

10. Pandora: I really like Pandora and I have several radio stations that I rotate, usually at work. This app lets me play them on the go. My favorite thing is that I type in who or what I like and it plays that and usually some music I have never heard before.

I’m always looking for interesting new apps. These are my favorites so far.

Smiles. =)

A Year in the Life

Back in college, but before The Bucket List, I started a list of my own. It's saved on my computer as "100 Things to Do Before I Die", but the list is really more of a collection of life goals than outlandish things I want to do before I die. Some of the goals I've already accomplished (getting my Master's degree), some of my goals are actually a little outlandish (Drive from coast to coast without taking the interstate), some of my goals are actually aspirations (Be influential), and most of them relate to travel of things I want to do (Visit every Disney Park in the World, Beat my Dad at Trivial Pursuit). One of my goals is to journal everyday for a year (it's #50).  

I'm actually a lifelong journaler; well I'm a lifelong journal abandoner. I've started and stopped probably close to a hundred journals since I was a kid. I usually start with the intention to journal regularly, even once a week, but I usually stop after a week or so. I keep journaling when I'm mad or upset or sad, but eventually even that stops. I decided to meet my goal of journaling for year with a blog for several reasons: 1. Blogging is free and eco-friendly. There a 365 days in a year and if I write a page-ish a day that's a least to paper journals, 2. A Blog is Public. My thoughts and words will be out there for people to see, hopefully that will make me more accountable, and 3. I've always liked the idea of having a blog and now I have a reason.

I considered starting my blogging project when I first started the blog itself back in August, but I felt like I needed a clear timeframe. I've decided to make today the first day of my blogging project to give myself that timeframe. September 1, 2010 to September 1, 2011. There are no rules about what I have to write; a post can be one sentence or one hundred sentences. My only self imposed stipulation is there has to be words; no unaccompanied cartoons, photos, of video blogs allowed. So here's to a year in my life!

Days to Go:364