High School Music

Due to various events over the past few days, I have been thinking about the music I listened to in high school. Various events in my life have been intrinsically tied to music and that period was no different.Most of the memories of these songs involve one of two things: singing them in the car or a boy who broke my heart. I guess that was what high school was all about for me! Here is my list of


10 Songs From My High School Playlist

1) Losing My Religion- R.E.M.

2) Stay- Lisa Loeb

3) Pictures Of You- The Cure

4) Tainted Love- Soft Cell

5) All Apologies- Nirvana

6) More Than Words- Extreme

7) This Used To Be My Playground- Madonna

8) Linger- The Cranberries

9) Candy- Iggy Pop with Kate Pierson

10) Tear In Your Hand- Tori Amos

Life Story

Thud has confessed to me that he has been doing a lot of thinking since his birthday. He thinks it is time to share his story with the world. He was been secretly working on his autobiography. I read a second draft and I have to say it isn't half bad- maybe I am just saying that cause I am his mom. Now we just have to shop the thing around! The next step in the process is getting a working title. Here is my list of

6 Working Titles For Thud's Autobiography

1) I'm Two and I Don't Have To Take It Anymore
2) A Boy and His Bike- A Love Story
3) The Well Dressed Boy
4) I'm Not Your Monkey
5) Little Daredevil
6) Slap Happy

Thud 2.0

I can't believe it. My tiny little baby isn't really anything resembling a baby anymore. Today Thud turned 2. He is taking on all of the text book two year old behavior. He is saying "mine" and "no" a lot more. However, he is still the same great little boy underneath the terrible twos exterior. In the midst of a fit he'll do something funny. That's how it works- just in the middle of making me crazy and then he does something that makes me just want to squeeze him I love him so much . Here is my list of

3 Things I Love About Thud (The Reader's Digest Version)

1) The Laugh- that is what most people comment on when they meet Thud. He has had a great laugh since he was about 5 months old. I love it. There are many things I love about him but this one is my favorite!

2) The Tape Recorder Effect- he has this habit of repeating everything we say at home. I mean EVERYTHING. Most recently, I was bringing in the groceries while trying to wrangle him in the lobby of our building. I said "This is a nightmare" while putting 40 lbs of groceries down to wrangle him from the stairs. 30 minutes later I hear "This is a nightmare". I have to say it keeps me honest and I need that.

3) The Element of Surprise- sometimes I don't even know he knows some of the things he says. He just knows stuff. He is even starting to conjugate some verbs. OK, color me impressed!

It's So Easy Bein' Green

Vivi was telling me the other day about her new purchase. No, not a new Iphone or great jeans- new shopping bags that she can take to the store with her! They are made from recycled material and now she doesn't have to use up a million plastic bags either. There are lots of little things we can all do that are easy and earth friendly. Let's face it, you can't argue against global warming anymore. The question now becomes what do we do to reduce it? Here are the LL's


10 Favorite Easy Things You Can Do To Be Green

1) Farmer's Market- you want to but you never seem to get there. Now there is a reason to go!Buying locally grown food cuts down on green house gases produced cause your food had a lot less distance to travel.

2) 1 Napkin Rule- take one napkin when you are out at a restaurant where they have paper napkins. If you need another one by all means take another one. But how many times do you take like 3 and wind up just throwing them all away?

3) Veggie Day-The production and processing of grains require far less water and land than meat. Crazy huh! Take one day a week and go vegetarian. The world and your body will thank you.

4) Public Transportation- here in NYC this is easy to do. In other places though, there are still things you can do to cut down on your use of your vehicle. Try car pooling, walking, biking or taking mass transit. More alternatives to the car mean less pollution, gridlock and urban sprawl. Email local politicians in your area to see what they are doing about alternative transportation.

5) Recycle- simple, I know. If your area has recycling, USE IT!!

6) Off- if it isn't in use, turn it off. This goes for lights, a/c units, faucets, ect. My grandfather used to holler about this kind of stuff all the time when I was a kid. Who knew that he wasn't just a cheapskate, he was an environmentalist!

7) Grandparent's Mentality- adopt your grandparents mentality about wastefulness. My grandparents lived through the depression and they could make anything last forever and they also knew how to use something and not have any waste.

8) Get Rid Of Junk Mail- there are ways to get off those annoying mailing lists. Just read what they are sending you and they usually tell you how to do it.

9) Biodegradable Dish Detergent- regular dish soap is petroleum based! Yuck! I found a biodegradable brand that I like. You can get it at Target so I am guessing you can find this stuff everywhere.

10) Cleaning- clean your bathroom and kitchen with a combination of vinegar and baking soda- use vinegar and newspaper to clean mirrors and windows- dust with a microfiber duster (its reusable, you just throw it in the washing machine)

Bad Badder Baddest

Jane has offered a bit of a challenge to me. She just did an entry on 8 Interesting Things About Me and passed the torch on to me. My problem is that I can't think of 8 Interesting Things About Me since I did my list of 100 Things About Me. I thought and thought all day. Then it came to me in a flash. Today's list is of all the things I am bad at. Pull up a chair and get comfy. Here is my list of

8 Things I Am Bad At

1) Cleaning- I have mentioned this before. I usually am just going for tidy when I am cleaning up. This almost always means that after I clean up I find something left behind.

2) Scrabble and Rummikube- my mom is the master Scrabble player. I have never won a game of Scrabble in my life and I have only won like 4 games of Rummikube. My brain just doesn't work that way I guess.

3) Lying- I don't like to lie so when I do it, I have all the classic tells. I usually get busted.

4) Keeping It In- if something is bothering me, I have to talk about it. I can't just be silent.

5) Making Risotto- I can cook a lot of things, and this isn't one of them. I almost always screw it up. It is either under done and chewy or a mushy mess. I just can't seem to get it right.

6) Running- I still walk a good portion of the running leg of all my triathlons. One day I will really be able to run, I hope!

7) Skiing- never let a Florida girl on a ski slope. It was pathetic when I tried down hill skiing. Little kids went zooming past me pointing and laughing. They even had to stop the tow rope on the bunny hill cause I got caught up in it. Mortifying!

8) Writing- ironic for someone with a blog. Jaybee says it was because I never had to write a lot of papers in college. I just think I never worked out my writing "muscle". Part of why I decided to start doing this blog was to improve my writing skills.

Change The Dial

From songs I like onto songs I hate. Much of my list is stuff from the 90's cause that was when I did the majority of my music listening and hating. I like a variety of stuff so it really takes a lot for me to hate a song. I should preface this list by saying that there is one singer that I will not listen to and that honor goes to Celine Dion. I hate her. OK so now on to my list of

14 Songs I Use Earplugs For

1) Mambo #5- Lou Bega

2) How Bizarre- OMC

3) Life Is A Highway- Tom Cochrane

4) Blame It On The Rain- Milli Vanilli

5) Rico Suave- Gerardo

6) All For The Nookie- Limp Biscuit

7) Toxic- Britney Spears

8) She Bangs- Ricky Martin

9) Cotton Eyed Joe- Rednex

10) Keep Your Hands To Yourself- Georgia Satellites

11) Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm- Crash Test Dummies

12) Summer Girls- LFO

13) Courtesy Of The Red White and Blue- Toby Keith

14) We Built This City- Jefferson Starship

Let It Flow To The 5 Boroughs

I can not remember the last concert I went to that wasn't kids music so when the opportunity came up for Jaybee to go see the Beastie Boys play at McCarren Park Pool, I invited myself along. When I couldn't find a babysitter I decided to take Thud. Despite getting peed on 5 minutes before the show started, I had such a good time! The show was awesome. The visuals on stage were great and the energy level was as high as the crowd. I admit it wasn't the best environment for my 2 year old but he wasn't the only one there in diapers. I did teach him to say "No sleep till Brooklyn". Here is my list of


10 Favorite Beastie Boys Songs

1) No Sleep Till Brooklyn
2) Slow And Low
3) Sabotage
4) So Wat'cha Want
5) Body Movin'
6) Sure Shot
7) Hey Ladies
8) Hold It Now, Hit It
9) An Open Letter To NYC
10) She's Crafty

The People That You Meet When You're Walkin Down The Street

Who would you like to meet? Here is my list of

6 People I'd Like To Have Coffee With

1) Alton Brown- he's entertaining and smart. We have similar interests (food and theater) and I just love his shows. Besides, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't make such kick-ass fried chicken.

2) Lynne Cox- this woman has swam all over the world. Her book, Swimming To Antarctica, is one of my all time favorites. She's an inspiration.

3) Dr Memhet Oz- yeah, he's that doctor that's on Oprah. He is just a fountain of knowledge, I have a list of questions for him. I bet he wouldn't have coffee though, more like white tea with agave nectar. Something weird and healthy like that.

4) Emma Thompson- she is my favorite actress ever. I just think she is brilliant and funny and all that good stuff. Where is her episode of Inside The Actor's Studio?

5) Dave Chappelle- I would like to talk to him about the state of the world and social issues. Sure he is a comedian but I think he is more of a social commentator.

6) Mary Harron- she make wonderful, interesting independent films. Picking her brain for an hour would be an honor.