And a beer in a tree.

Merry Christmas Ya'll!


Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Twelve


Alright, you all knew it was coming. My favorite Christmas song on my favorite Christmas day.

Cause it's Christmas day.

Yeah.

Anyway, it seems like every year I just keep adding versions so, without further ado...

Here is this year's new version, along with all the others....

Bob and Doug McKenzie


That's right it's Strange Brew! Well, sort of. And I love it, I've been jamming to it since October. The video is a bit distracting, but it works.


On to the others:

Straight No Chaser's Mashup



Jeff Foxworthy Redneck 12 Days of Christmas



BoyMongoose Indian 12 Days of Christmas



The Voice's 12 Days of Christmas


that is still a valid turtledove question blake.


and of course my favorite of all time.....

Janice Dickinson's 12 Days of Christmas


I especially love 1:02 and 1:13. No, I never watched the show but I still love her.

As the list just continues to grow I'm sure there will be more next year. Though I don't have any more space in my version. It draws from all of them and it's the one I sing on Christmas day. I'm happy with my version.

It goes like this:

12 Boyfriends Begging
11 Charges pending
10 Minute yoga
9 Years probation
8 Table Dancers
7-11 Workers
6 Cans of Spam
5 Mother F*cking Ugly Men
4 Italian Suits
3 Former Husbands
2 Giant Breasts
and a totally insufficient dowry.



2011 Day Twelve - And a totally insufficient dowry.
2012 Day Twelve - Four Italian Suits, Three Former Husbands
2013 Day Twelve - Twelve...monkeys working...what is it?

Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Eleven

Getting down to my real favorite songs here.


Carol of the Bells - Staring at Lakes


Interesting take on it. Love the accents. Give them a minute, it's worth it.

2013 was the Piano Guys, 2012 was Pentatonix, 2011 was Home Alone soundtrack


Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Anna Kendrick


And see, you think she's just good in Pitch Perfect, but no. She's good on her own without all the effects. Crazy good.

2013 was Christina Perri, 2012 was Xtina with Brian McKnight, 2011 was Judy Garland


Oh Holy Night - Home Free


Yes more from them. Get over it, I bought their Xmas CD as well. It's quite good. Still want to see them live.

2013 was Jordis Unga, 2012 was Hey Monday, 2011 was Glee



2011 Day Eleven - Let all within us praise his holy name
2012 Day Eleven - To the Moon, Alice
2013 Day Eleven - From now on our troubles will be miles away

Wishes I've made, Wishes I might

Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Ten


White Christmas - Lady Gaga


Okay so that wasn't awful. Love the impromptu second verse. She did adlib a bit, but not bad. And she was even dressed tamely. I'm in shock. Not bad.

2013 was Wood and Wire, 2012 was Team Blake from the Voice, 2011 was The Drifters


Welcome Christmas - Ukuleletim


Short and sweet.

2013 was Girls Generation, 2012 was the original Grinch classic, 2011 was Glee


God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - BYU Vocal Point


Not bad. These guys were on the Singoff and have won the ICCA's (International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella) yes from Pitch Perfect, that is a real thing.

2013 was Postmodern Jukebox, 2012 was Barenaked Ladies, 2011 was Glee


Wish List - Alex Zukoff


Not bad for being all by himself.

2013 was Only Seven Left, 2011 was Neon Trees


2011 Day Ten - I just want you, oh darling, I just want you.
2012 Day Ten - Westward Leading, Still Proceeding
2013 Day Ten - "Did you just say your daughter was an Amish dude?" "Honor student, my daughter is an honor student."

If only in my dreams.

Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Nine


Baby it's Cold Outside - Skyler Astin and Briga Heelan


Yes, that is the guy from Pitch Perfect. He stars in this comedy series called Ground Floor. I've seen a few episodes, it's not bad.

2011 was Tallulah Bankhead and Jack Carson - my favorite version - 2012 was She & Him, 2013 was Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lady Gaga


Silver Bells - Doris Day


Love her, always have. Growing up my favorite movie was Calamity Jane, must have watched it a thousand times.

2011 was Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, 2012 was Twisted Sister, 2013 was She & Him


Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - She & Him


I KNOW! It took long enough for me to find one I hadn't already posted. I love their Christmas album, it was the first one I took out to my car this winter. I actually own the physical album instead of just buying it on iTunes. They were also fantastic live.

2011 was Toby Keith, 2012 was Brenda Lee, 2013 was Glee Cast


I'll Be Home For Christmas - Tommy Kraft


Acoustic, love the guitar in this one.

2011 was She & Him, 2012 was Kristin Chenoweth, 2013 was Gabe Bondoc


2011 Day Nine - I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me
2012 Day Nine - And the game of golf was invented
2013 Day Nine - In the new old fashioned way

Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down.

Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Eight 


The Christmas Song - Jayesslee


I know you don't know them, but I love them. I posted stuff by them in previous years (also go by JS) and I still keep going back. Check out their cover of Gangnam Style. Not what you were thinking at all, it's fantastic. Here's another one to watch - Bang Bang. The whole one verse of it that is.

2013 was Nat King Cole, 2012 was Mel Torme and Judy Garland, 2011 was She & Him


Blue Christmas - Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) feat. Kate Davis


Love their throwback style. I absolutely love Elvis's version of this song so any sort of throwback is awesome. Looks like I posted something by them last year too.

These guys are the kings of throwback, check out their channel. Here's a:
Hoedown version of Nicki Minaj's Anaconda
Jazz version of Britney Spears' Womanizer
"Grandpa style" of Thrift Shop
Barn dance version of Blurred Lines

Just ridiculous. Subscribing, they're awesome.

2013 was David Thibault (WHO WAS RIDICULOUS and actually performed it on Ellen here), 2012 was She & Him, 2011 was Elvis Presley and Martina McBride


Run Run Rudolph - Steven Tyler and Brad Paisley


Wildly entertaining. Once they started jamming that is, not so much the talking part.

2013 was Kelly Clarkson, 2012 was Cee-Lo Green



2011 Day Eight - Christmastime is here, Happiness and cheer
2012 Day Eight - Blue Blue Blue Christmas
2013 Day Eight - Run run Rudolph, Santa's gotta make it to town

Here's a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note.

Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Seven

Jingle Bells - Mike Tompkins


Love this guy so much. I've posted a lot of stuff by him over the past few years. My favorites are probably Paradise and Misery, and of course Acapella. Another one I would love to see live. He actually toured with Karmin last year, jealous.

2013 was Charlie Parra, 2012 was Sungha Jung, 2011 was Glee


In fact I like him so much that I'm adding another song to my list for this post:

Up on the Housetop - Mike Tompkins


Another song I'm not sure why wasn't already on the list of songs to post. Awesome version, love him. Check out his newest mashup of Shake it Off and Pompeii.


Winter Wonderland/Don't Worry Be Happy Mashup - Pentatonix


While I usually scroll through a bunch of options and pick which one I want to post, I knew exactly which version of this one I wanted to post. If you're only going to listen to one out of this entire list of Xmas music, make it this one. Love it so much.

2013 was the Andrews Sisters, 2012 was Jason Mraz, 2011 was Dean Martin


Please Come Home For Christmas - Ben Haenow


While I haven't seen a single episode of The X Factor - mostly cause I can't stand its creator - I do love this clip. He's great. Oh and look, he won. Congrats. Well deserved.

2013 was Bon Jovi, 2012 was CeeLo Green



2011 Day Seven - Dashing through the melted snow in some untied tennis shoes
2012 Day Seven - If not for Christmas, by New Year's night
2013 Day Seven - Do you want an arm or a torso?

You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile.

Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Six

Sleigh Ride - Pentatonix


Yeah, you're gonna be getting a lot of these guys this year. Get used to it, they're fantastic. They were incredible in person too.

2013 was Jewel, 2012 was Karmin, 2011 was She & Him


Jingle Bell Rock - Billy Idol


Oh my god, it is actually Billy Idol. I thought for sure this was fake when scrolling through Youtube. Upon realization I am posting it. Cause I'm amused. Another fun one to see live. While I didn't see this one - obviously as I did not know it existed - I did see him sing White Wedding at Warped Tour in Denver in '05. It was fantastic.

2013 was Kurt, Max and Macy Kate, 2012 was Chord Overstreet, 2011 was Brenda Lee


You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Tay Zonday


Well, he's got the voice for it...

2013 was Urban Method, 2012 was VersaEmerge (MY FAVORITE), 2011 was the original Thurl Ravenscroft Grinch version


2011 Day Six - Troll the ancient yuletide, Carol!
2012 Day Six - What a bright time, it's the right time
2013 Day Six - Dr. Seuss is my favorite rapper

All is calm, All is bright.

Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck: Day Five

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem - Bill & Gloria Gaither feat. David Phelps


Pretty impressive.

2013 was Shawn McDonald, 2012 was Sinatra, 2011 was Sarah McLachlan


Silent Night - Pentatonix


And they stand there awkwardly...Loved seeing these guys live. Had to buy the new album when it came out. That makes 2 Xmas albums, both fantastic.

2013 was Kelly Clarkson, 2012 was SNL, 2011 was Aly & AJ


What Child Is This - Gardiner Sisters


Pretty talented family. Check out their acoustic covers of Radioactive, and Happy, or their Pirates Medley which is super cool.

2013 was Lindsey Stirling, 2012 was Carrie Underwood, 2011 was Charlotte Church



2011 Day Five - Battle of the Blogs, Gypsy Caroling, Fat Cats, Whom Shepherds Guard and Angels Sing
2012 Day Five - I'll Deck Your Halls
2013 Day Five - Merry Christmas ya filthy animal

You can hardly stand to hear three weasels every year...

Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Four


Deck the Halls - Tenth Avenue North


Loving these guys. Very clever video. Check out their song You Are More, it's catchy.

2011 was Mannheim, 2012 was Pomplamoose, 2013 was Mike Tompkins and friends


Oh Come All Ye Faithful - Mackenzie Davis/Danielle Wilson/Grayson Propst


Pretty good for acapella. They're actually quite good with piano too, check out their cover of Stay With Me.

2011 was Twisted Sister, 2012 was JS, 2013 was Pomplamoose


The Chipmunk Song - Bob Rivers


You could hardly stand us then, now here we come again...

This is the twisted version, it's highly entertaining.

2011 was the Chipmunks, 2012 was Straight No Chaser, 2013 was Glee Cast



2011 Day Four - Joyful and Triumphant
2012 Day Four - Do people actually ask Santa for hula hoops?
2013 Day Four - I want a plane that loops the loop

That some day it would lead me back to you...

More Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck: Day Three


Christmas Wrapping - Front Bottoms


Okay so they're nuts, but they don't sound bad.

2011 was The Waitresses, 2012 was The Donnas, 2013 was Save Ferris


Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Im5


Yet another boy band. I especially love their cover of NSync's "It's Gonna be Me" Looks like they lost a member somewhere along the way. They also have a cool mashup of Christmas music here.

2011 was Glee, 2012 was Michael Buble, 2013 was Cimorelli


Let it Snow - Hannah Cho


Okay so she's a bit awkward, but her voice is crazy good. Check out her Frozen cover or my favorite, her cover of Maroon 5's Sunday Morning. Incredible.

2011 was Michael Buble, 2012 was Frank Sinatra, 2013 was Christina Perri



2011 Day Three - You Better Not Pout, I'm Telling You Why
2012 Day Three - You Mean You Forgot Cranberries Too?
2013 Day Three - Darth Vader follows me on Twitter

That mourns in lonely exile here...

More Christmas Music that Doesn't Suck 2014 Edition: Day Two

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer - Home Free


this bud's for you...

I absolutely love these guys and all their adlibs. Acapella country man. They're wonderful, I wish I could see them live. Speaking of the Sing-Off is coming back next week!

2011 it was Elmo and Patsy, 2012 it was them 30 years later, 2013 was Jesse Hite


Little Drummer Boy - Dave Days


Okay so the baby Jesus is creepy, but these guys are pretty good.

OH MY GOD, do you remember that awful song "Friday" by Rebecca Black? The only anti-music-rec I ever posted EVER?! He made a "Saturday" video with her. Oh my god. Well, at least it's better than Friday.

2011 it was Sean Kingston, 2012 it was Kevin McHale, 2013 was Pentatonix


Santa Baby - Ashanti


Oh my god I totally forgot about her! To be fair it's been like 5 years. She's that chick that sang Rock Wit You and Foolish and Rain on Me. Then disappeared. Now apparently she's making a comeback. If you call collaborating with Rick Ross and French Montana as a comeback that is...

2011 it was PCD, 2012 it was Eartha Kitt, 2013 was Megan Nicole


Alright, I'm adding another song just because I can. Not sure why it wasn't on the list to begin with but...


O Come O Come Emmanuel - Christina Grimmie


That's right, it's my Voice pick from last year! Still got it, very cool. And all acapella, very impressive.



2011 Day Two - "That's just Joe's Finger and Pandemonium"
2012 Day Two - So hurry down the chimney tonight.
2013 Day Two - "I have to work to keep this figure." "You don't work very hard."

And from Taco John's...

Since my last post was ginormous I'll try to keep this one short.

Fun things from this week...hmmm...

My favorite hockey player got to be the hero yesterday. He scored in a shootout and won it for us! And of course it was an away game so I wasn't even there to see it, ugh.

Went out to eat with Mom and Oldest Sister. Had Greek potroast, it was fabulous. Mom gave me money for new clothes for Christmas so Oldest Sister and Second Sister are taking me shopping tomorrow.

That should be an adventure...

You should be so proud to know that I've already started working on my New Years Resolutions.

If you read my previous post you probably already know one - yep, it's time to actually work on getting in shape.

Queen of the Known Universe and I are gonna work together on this one so we can push each other. That means no more junk food, less burgers, more broccoli. Except I hate broccoli so I'll have to find a substitute.

I have been working on meal plans and am making a grocery list. We're not officially starting until January 3rd though so I'm holding off on buying the stuff.

We figured you're doomed to fail if you start before the holidays, plus we have to have time to clean out the fridge and cupboards...you know, eat the rest of the cheesecake and all that so we don't have to later.

I'll have to add blogging more to the resolution list since it makes me happy.

I'm sure there will be more later.

Holidays are coming up which means Christmas music is upon us. As is the blog tradition, here is......


Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck: 2014 Edition

DAY ONE:

Originally Day One started with Pat-a-Pan but I've ran out of good versions to post.

2011 was Mannheim, 2012 was David Archuleta, 2013 was some random choir...

Literally, the rest on Youtube are just too suckish for me to post, so I'm replacing it with Feliz Navidad. This year you get Michael.

Feliz Navidad - Michael Buble and Thalia


the only problem with this is at the end I always have to throw in a "and from taco johns" from those damn commercials from the 90s that stick with you forever.


Auld Lange Syne - Mariah Carey


she's still got it...though this was from a few years ago. she's gotten questionable since.

2011 was Lonesome Travelers, 2012 was Lea Michele, 2013 was Martin Tallstrom


Happy Christmas (War is Over) - The Fray


what happened to these guys? haven't heard anything out of them lately...

2011 was Maroon 5, 2012 was Christina Perri, 2013 was Charice



2011 Day One - Happy Christmas, War is Over
2012 Day One - Don't piss of Pamela Landy
2013 Day One - So this is Christmas

Hot Babes Getting Hotter: You'll See Less Of Us Soon

They're bringing book-it back.
All of us readers know just how to act.
Hit the library, pull books from the stacks.
Pass up on those by literary hacks.

None of them abridged!

Go ahead, read more of it.


Why yes that was a spin on a Justin Timberlake "classic."

Sorry, nerd.

But yes they're bringing it back. Apparently even as an adult you can get free pizza. Did anyone else do that in grade school? You read so many pages and then you get free stuff from Pizza Hut. It was awesome. Will have to look into that.

Dangit...now that's gonna be stuck in my head all night. Moving on.


Interesting couple of weeks with lots to post about. Will attempt to cover them in some semblance of order.

First up: Leadership Award

So, remember when that library patron was having a stroke and we had to call 911 and all that? If not, go here.

Superwoman decided that we handled it well so she nominated me for this leadership award. I didn't win - not that I was expecting to - but I got to go to this luncheon and be honored and all that. She wrote up a very nice summary of what happened and other stuff I'm involved in and they read it all outloud.

It was fun - I got free food, woohoo! Plus Mom came up which was nice. It was amusing cause afterwards Superwoman was like "I thought we had it in the bag!" and Girlscout after asking if I won said "well, did anyone else save someone's life?!"

Really not that big of a deal, but entertaining that they were so passionate about it.

Honestly I'm just glad he came to us and we were able to get him help, I can only imagine what would have happened if he went somewhere else.

Anyway, it's nice to feel appreciated every once in a while. Plus it was a good opportunity to meet people who also work for the city/county and hear their stories and all that.


Next up: Motley Crue/Alice Cooper/Raskins

I don't know what it is with us and concerts lately, but there's been a lot of drama. See this.

Last time it was "I will shoulder a 12-year-old for you, that's love."
This time it was "I would punch that girl in the face for you, that's love."

I took off work early so we could get there with plenty of time to check in to our hotel and find our seats. Hotel room was nice, had a hot tub and all that, huzzah.

Then when we got to the concert we found our seats and watched the first band. People starting filling in around us and suddenly we hear this girl say "they're in our seats." We double check our tickets and they're correct so we assume she's talking about someone else. Suddenly the usher shows up wanting to see our tickets. He confirms they're legit and goes back to the girl. Hers also say the same seats. Turns out she had booked that entire row for her family and we were in the middle of it all. The usher made us get up and go to guest services. We went and they claimed they can't do anything without both sets of tickets and that there's no possible way to have duplicate tickets if they're legit. Since the other people with the tickets didn't come with us they wrote down different seat numbers on the tickets and told us to sit there. They were just a few seats down, but still in the middle of the family. When we pointed that out and that they had that whole row booked the lady said that those two seats were unsold so that wasn't possible.

I assume that means the error was on the family's end if the event center has no record of them having all the tickets, but whatever.

We went back to our section and on the way ran into that girl. I asked if she would go to guest services, she said no and walked away. When we got back to our section we told the usher. He confirmed there were people in that entire row and offered to go to guest services with us. After talking it through with the usher there to back us up they moved us to the opposite side of the concert. Meanwhile we're missing Alice Cooper - not that I'm a huge fan, but the boyfriend missed a song he liked. When we got to our new seats there were people in those too! That meant getting yet another usher who kicked them out and we finally got to sit down and watch the concert. We were glad to be way on the opposite side as that family, but our seats were right behind the exit so there were constantly people standing up in front of us going in and out.

But whatever, eventually it calmed down and it was a good show. Lots of pyrotechnics, though my favorite part was when Tommy Lee and his drumset went into the audience.

Look at this:



See that lighted box toward the left attached to the red bars? That's him strapped on to his drums, doing flips and drumming upside down.

Cool right?

Here are some of my other favorite shots.














After the madness that was the concert we got back to the hotel, ordered pizza - so did everyone else getting back from the concert according to the woman on the phone - and relaxed in our hot tub watching Pawn Stars 'til the pizza arrived.

After having a hot tub in that hotel and the Luxor I have decided that once we're married and have a house our first major purchase should be a hot tub.

Sounds reasonable, right?


Third is a visit from one half of P Squared. 

So after a weekend filled with all of our teams losing we have come to the conclusion that we are no longer allowed to watch sports together. Went to the hockey game and we lost against our rivals. Went to the Husker game and we lost to Minnesota. Watched the Bruins play and they lost to the Canadiens. The only team that did win this weekend was the Blackhawks and that was because - you guessed it - we didn't watch it. So no more sports for us when we're together. Otherwise we'll have to start rooting for teams we don't like so they'll lose. Hmm... Was good to see her though. With the exception of a random lunch a few months ago it's been years since we've hung out which is weird cause we used to all the time. She's a friend from back home and by back home I mean when we were little on the farm. Used to ride the bus together every day. Got separated in high school but still did every New Years together. Yes she's one of P Squared who I did all the New Years, Dance Dance Revolution, running around the house with sparkling cider and shooting it all over the place at midnight with. But I've already rambled to you about that. Was good to hang out though especially now that she's got this fancy new job and is moving yet again. Crazy!


Fourth is Mockingjay Part One. 

When putting together our schedule for this year's TAB events the first thing on their wishlist was to do a Mockingjay party like we did for Catching Fire last year. I got it cleared so we went and it was great. Went to the library early, set stuff up then we all met at the theater. We were in the new one with those fancy seats - I don't know if they have these at your theater or not but in this one they're like barcaloungers. You can put your feet up and they've got cupholders and all that. Just ridiculously cool. The movie was great, then we walked back to the library for trivia, games and snacks. For trivia this year I added something special - if you got your question right you had the opportunity to shoot an arrow at a target for more points. The team that won hit the bullseye twice so in the end it wasn't even close. The string obstacle course was Level 2 compared to last year - much harder. I think I posted pictures of that last year - here's the one from this year.



Much more challenging. Not a single kid made it through without knocking down a string. The rule was you can touch them but if you knock one down 10 seconds was added to your time. The one who got through the fastest was one of mine so I was proud. While some were doing that others were eating snacks and discussing book vs. movie. I was proud that most of them had read it, which made the trivia a lot better cause most of it was from the book instead of the movie.


Fifth is a family reunion.

My cousin just retired after 20 years in the airforce and is making the rounds. Was the first time I've seen him in at least a decade. I can't even remember the last time which probably means it was a funeral back in 2003. He missed out on our Vegas trip a few years back cause he was God knows where. Was good to see him and actually amusing because he flies military airplanes and the boyfriend makes parts for them so they had plenty to talk about.


Sixth is a visit from my favorite team - Stars at the library! 

Two players came for storytime and read hockey picture books to the kids. They even danced and signed posters for them. It was super cute and the kids got really into it. I took a bunch of pictures for the website and then of course had to get a picture with them myself. Not a stalker I promise, though I was wearing my signed jersey. It was awesome. Posted that picture to my Twitter, now one of them follows me, the other one favorited it, and it got retweeted by the team. Then this morning I learned that the team's official Twitter starting following me. Take that Bembridge Scholars.

Don't ask.


Seventh is the Code Word. 

I've been doing a bunch of training lately for two of our new employees. I explained to them our code word to get away from the desk and told them some of my horror/amusing stories from the past. Most notable being "likes ass or jazz" and the double emergency when Queen of the Known Universe coded me so I could get away and then the same guy latched on to her and I had to code her out too. Soon after telling them about the code I was talking to the female security guard and a guy came up to her claiming he was a musician and needed a security guard to escort him around the library so he wouldn't be mobbed by crazy fans. I didn't recognize him but Wordie did and said he was full of crap. Soon after she returned and said he did it to get her alone cause he asked if she was single. Cheesy but slick, I can dig it.


Eighth is Thanksgiving/Day After. 

Did lunch with his family and then afternoon/supper with mine. Lunch was good. The restaurant was packed but I'm glad we went because the other part of the family that was planning to come couldn't make it. After lunch we headed to my sister's place where we watched football, looked through Christmas ads, and then he slept cause he went to work that night afterwards. Voluntarily. Cause he's crazy like that. I stayed over at the farmhouse and the next day set up the trees. I took a break mid-tree to eat lunch with mom and my great aunt at her nursing home. They did a baked potato bar and then had the game going for the residents that wanted to watch. The staff there was quite passionate about the game, chanting the Go Big Red cheer, leading the wave (regular and slow motion with the residents), playing the fight song over the loudspeaker, and then singing Kum-ba-ya when we were doing awful. It was highly entertaining.


Ninth is a list of miscellaneous stuff that I found amusing or interesting:

The Queen of Awesome and I have decided to start eating healthier. We're calling our diet "Hot Babes Getting Hotter: You'll See Less of Us Soon."

While stocking supplies last week I stopped by third floor. I passed our new Supply Queen and told her "I'm here to steal your kleenex's." She paused and then said "All I could think of in response to that was 'blow me' but I didn't think it would be appropriate." I told her I would have given her a thumbs up.

Have done a plethora of exciting displays at work recently. Turned a triangle display into a turkey:



and then a snowman:



And then upstairs we had Movember - I stuck mustaches on books with faces on them -




and Readbox - made up of books that were turned into movies.



Election day came and went. My coworkers and I discussed how many people were running unopposed and my boss said that her daughter is a hardcore democrat so if there were any republicans running unopposed instead of voting for them she was going to write her mother's (aka my boss's) name in the box. I decided that was entertaining so I wrote her in for county sheriff. As that's basically what she does here.

A TAB member told me she learned how to parallel park from a video on Youtube. The problem? It was a British video so she had to learn how to do it backwards.

Got my hair dyed and one of the first people to notice was a security guard. Even before the boyfriend who has yet to say anything about it. It's darker red with blonde highlights. Working away from the fire engine red hair even though I miss it...But it was hilarious, the guard comes up to me, does a double-take and says, "you changed your hair." "yep." "it's red." "yep." "and short." "yep." "looks nice." then walks away.

The boyfriend and I finally watched Jersey Boys.

Was excellent, loved the music, though I fell asleep during part of it. Scale of Awesome says 7/10.

We also watched A Million Ways To Die in The West

It was interesting...had its moments though they were few and far between. People die at the fair. Cameo by Doc Brown. That's about it. Scale of Awesome says 5/10.

And There's Something About Mary

Another one of those movies that my brother and I would have left to get popcorn during the awkward parts. It's amusing that we're similar like that. I just can't sit there and watch when people are in awkward uncomfortable situations, it makes me cringe. If I'm by myself I will fast forward but if I'm with others I'll just leave. Scale of Awesome says 6/10.

And Old School

Interesting to see Ellen Pompeo in this one since I'm so used to her as Meredith. Like a flashback to her college tequila days or something. The boyfriend loved it. It had its moments. Scale of Awesome says 7/10.


Last is: The Voice

Finally we're to the finals. Here's where my top 20 stands.

Damien - Adam - won battle – won knockout - survived 1st/2nd/3rd/4th lives - WILDCARD WINNER
James David Carter - Blake - won battle – won knockout - eliminated in lives
Kelli Douglas - Adam - eliminated in battles
Anita Antoinette - Gwen - won battle – won knockout - survived 1st/2nd lives - eliminated in 3rd lives
Luke Wade - Pharrell - won battle – won knockout - survived 1st/2nd/3rd lives - eliminated in 4th lives

Toia Jones - Pharrell - stolen by Adam – lost in knockouts
Maiya Sykes - Pharrell - eliminated in battles
Joe Kirk - Adam - eliminated in battles
Jessie Pitts - Gwen - stolen by Blake – won knockout - saved by Blake in 1st lives - eliminated in 2nd lives
Taylor Phelan - Pharrell - won battle – stolen by Adam - eliminated in lives

Chris Jamison - Adam - won battle – won knockout - saved by Adam in 1st lives - survived 2nd/3rd lives - saved in 4th lives
Mia Pfirrman - Adam - won battle – won knockout - eliminated in lives
Fernanda Bosch - Blake - eliminated in battles
Beth Spangler - Adam - stolen by Gwen – eliminated in knockouts
Matt McAndrew - Adam - won battle – won knockout - survived 1st/2nd/3rd/4th lives

Taylor John Williams - Gwen - won battle – won knockout - survived 1st/2nd/3rd/4th lives - eliminated in 5th lives
Katriz Trinidad - Pharrell - won battle – eliminated in knockouts
Jean Kelley - Gwen - stolen by Pharrell – won knockout - eliminated in lives
Troy Ritchie - Gwen - won battle – lost in knockouts
Taylor Brashears - Blake - won battle – won knockout - eliminated in lives

Damien got eliminated but then brought back as the WILDCARD! Awesomeness! So not bad since I have 3 out of the 4 remaining. I would have all 4 but for some reason I switched out Craig Wayne Boyd from my top 20 even though his was only one of the few blind audition singles I actually bought.

Even though I'm happy for Damien I'm guessing either Craig or Matt will win. Most likely Matt, but maybe Craig. Right now I'm happy with whoever.


On to the music, here are my rec's for the week:

Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars


new theme song for the Queen of the Known Universe...fitting for our Hot Babes Hotter plan. love mark ronson. reminds me a bit of Ladies Night or James Brown.


Lips are Moving - Meghan Trainor



the more i hear from her the more i love her. she's more than all about that bass, honestly, look into her other stuff, it's fantastic. dear future husband, close your eyes, title, and now this. i'm stoked for the new album coming out soon!

in fact i think she has officially reached Current Top 5 Favorites status, bumping out Eminem cause I don't like his new stuff.

that puts us at:

1. Maroon 5
2. She & Him
3. Lily Allen
4. Karmin
5. Meghan Trainor

and guess what, SHE'S TOURING this spring!! so exciting. now if only Lily Allen were to come back to the US sometime soon....this time not as miley cyrus' opening act...honestly i would have gone to see her and then left before miley. she's too much of a wrecking ball for me.


Hanging Tree - Jennifer Lawrence


heard this in mockingjay and haven't stopped singing it since. totally haunting moment but complete momentum shift in the storyline.


God Only Knows - Matt McAndrew


was so excited since it's one of my favorite songs from my youth. he covered it very well.

i grew up on their music, and mr. tom and i listened to it many times while i was doing my practicum internship. lots of beach boys, eagles, and halloween music playing in the background, it was highly entertaining.


Back Home Baller - Saturday Night Live


i just have the "bowls, bowls, all type of bowls" part stuck in my head. driving me nuts but i love it!


Alright that's all I got. More soon. Already planning out my 12 Days of Christmas Music That Doesn't Suck - woohoo!