Sugar and Spice

TGIF all!

I went to my counselor yesterday. It was a good session. She's sharp and is not afraid to call you to task. She's the first counselor that I've ever had that has done that. Usually I can use my wit and charm to disarm them and skirt around the heavier issues in my life. Not with this one. She watches every move you make, every rise or fall in your voice. Any change in position and notices when you are avoiding something.

That is what they are trained to do obviously and some people are better at it than others. She's excellent!

She noticed that a lot of the things that I do are for other people (hello co-dependence) and asked me what was I going to do for myself after this session.

"Go home and take a nap?!" said the coy and sly little me.

She just shook her head.

"Um, go home and walk the dogs?!"

"Much better!"

I've been trying to get my ass moving to exercise and lose weight and I just have been extremely lazy about it. One week I will be great - eat right, work out in the yard, take the dogs for nice long walks and then the following week I'm eating crap, lying about the house, surfing the web and feeling like a blob.

I'm sabotaging my own self.

We have a white board in our kitchen and I write all of the things/chores that I am trying to accomplish while I'm unemployed. I've managed to get a lot of things done so far. I also ask M to write things that she needs me to do as a reminder because I'll just plain forget.

This morning on my list of things to do M wrote: 1 task for Sharon 6/5/09. What is she doing for herself today? and added a little smiley face to it.

I loved it!

So the two things that I want to do for myself today is read the book I've started. It's a good rainy day and perfect for book reading and give myself 30 minutes on the treadmill. I need to get moving and if I start a little it will help me a lot.

There is a play list I have on my iPod that I've made just for walking on the treadmill. There are slower songs in the beginning and then the songs increase in tempo as I go along.

The last song I usually play is Trouble by P!nk. I can usually jog through the entire song and I feel pretty pumped up afterwards.

I freakin' love her. She scares me a little but I really like her music.

So for this weeks spicy song I give you P!nk and maybe if you crank it up a little it will get you moving too!



Happy Weekend all!

Peace!

Sugar and Spice

Ooops - sorry I'm late folks.

It was one of those days of endless errands so I was away from the computer most of the day.

The first thing on my "to-do" list was to get a hair cut. I've been doing the hair color thing for about 2 years now. Getting the expensive color and cut. Now that I'm unemployed I've decided to go back to my basic hair cut and to let the color grow out. Since I wear my hair relatively short it doesn't take long to get rid of the color and WOW is my hair white! And you know what? I kind of like it!

So the white stays and I'll save a few bucks too!

I finished all of my errands relatively early and decided - heck...I think a nap is needed!

And so it was - a wonderful 2 hour veg out time. I don't think I slept, but it felt good to do nothing for a little while.

M reminded me that there was one thing I forgot to do today and that was my "Sugar and Spice" post for the week.

She helped me with this week's selection because I wasn't coming up with a good "spicy" song. She suggested "Conflict" by Disturbed first. Um...no. Not my cup o' tea. It just sounds like a lot of screaming and banging.

We went back and forth and we finally agreed to a classic Aerosmith hit.

M's been a fan of Aerosmith for a long time and actually talked me into going to one of their concerts. I have to admit I am not a fan, but seeing them play live gave me a whole new appreciation for the band. That Steve Tyler is a maniac and M thinks that Joe Perry is HOT! (personally I don't get it, but hey - whatever)

SO for this week's SPICE song we have picked Crazy by Aerosmith.

Have a happy and Safe Memorial weekend all and please don't forget those who have served and have sacrificed their lives for our country.



Peace!

Sugar and Spice

Happy Friday for all who get the next two days off to relax and enjoy. I hope you have nice weather predicted.

Yesterday I had all of these things flying around in my head that I was going to share with you for this post, but today all of those thoughts are gone.

Vanished! POOF!

I need to start writing stuff down.

As I am typing I am listening to the racket that a pair of starlings are making. They've decided to build their nest in my vent again. They weren't here last year thankfully, but they are back now! Time to get out the ladder and shoo them away. Unfortunately I've become rather shaky on high ladders as I've gotten older. Maybe it's because if I fall now, I'll probably get hurt as opposed to when I was younger I would have just cursed a little, rubbed it off and gotten back up there. Getting hurt really didn't enter my mind as much.

Middle age - blech.

I did some more work around the yard this week. One of my rain barrels sprung a bit of a leak so I had to fix that, I got some planting done and I'm working on building a raised garden bed. My veggie garden is going to be a bit late this year unfortunately.

Yesterday while I was tooling around the yard a group of neighborhood kids whizzed by on various means of transport. One was on a bike, another on a razor skooter, then a lil' dude on a skate board and the last guy was whizzing along on those sneakers with the little wheel in the back of them - roller shoes.

Those are pretty cool I have to admit. If I was a kid I'd be wanting me a pair of those.

Instead we had these:



Later I graduated to these:


(add a pair of striped knee socks and you were a totally hip and happening kind of chick)

Fun times! Scraped knees and elbows - no helmets or pads, just put them on and ZOOM we were on our way! Well maybe not so much in the metal skates - they just kind of did a "scuff, scuff, rool - scuff, scuff, roll" kind of thing.

The skating rinks were big back then too - roller disco! (That's a whole other subject for a whole new series!)

Watching these kids zipping around got me thinking of a particular song and it's been stuck in my head so now I have to let it loose and get into your brains instead of mine!

Brand New Key - by Melanie
(Does anyone remember her?)

She had this shrilly, squeaky kind of voice that kind of went right back to that nerve in the back of your neck and your shoulders would skrunch up and winced - but you probably sang along too. (Yeah...you did, admit it)

So let's pay tribute to the past and remember our first pair of metal skates and looking for that freakin' key that you needed to adjust the things so that they would stay on your feet. We could never find that key when we needed it!

Happy Weekend all!



Peace!

Sugar and Spice

Yikes it's nearly 4:30 and I never posted this week's song.

Forgive me but I was hangin' with a friend today and I was having so much fun talking to a live person (besides M) that I just totally forgot!

I need a freakin' job!

I may have an interview next week - so that is promising - keep your fingers crossed for me please!

Most of the "sugary" songs that I have selected for this segment have what I call the "head bob" factor. When I hear them my head just kind of bobs from side to side along with the beat.

This one qualifies and I also think that Axl Rose got his dance moves from this guy.

Maybe it's me - you be the judge:

The song for this week is Daydream Believer by The Monkees (sung by Davy Jones)



and there is the Axel Rose dance:



Coincidence?

I think not!

Have a great weekend all!

Peace!

Sugar and Spice

Happy Friday all!

We've have 2 days of glorious sunshine here on the east coast. It's been a cold, wet, windy, raw spring this year. I'm not going to complain too much because the rain has been watering my plants and filling up little lakes and ponds in the area that have become so low in the few past years.

The rainy days give me time to get some things done inside that need to be done and the warm sunny days I have been outside working in the yard.

It's all good.

Today's Sugar and Spice song has been stuck in my head for over a week already and so perhaps if I post it here I will get it out and push it on to all of you!

Originally the song came from a musical that made it's debut back in 1967. I was but a wee lass at the time so I don't remember it, but there were plenty of song from the musical that made it to the radio. Among them were: Aquarius, Donna and of course Hair.

But the song that has been stuck in my head for over a week now is Good Morning Starshine!

Oliver climbed the charts to #3 here in the states with his cover of Starshine in 1969 and with lyrics like:

Gliddy glub gloopy
Nibby nabby noopy
La la la lo lo

You can see why!

You can also see the effects of the drugs people where taking when they wrote that song!

I have this mental picture of some guy in a beanbag chair, trippin' out on LSD muttering:

Sabba sibby sabba
Nooby abba nabba
Le le lo lo

Someone in the background saying: "wow, that is like totally cool man. I think that would make a great song."

Far out!

For your spring time ear worm and sugar sweet song of the week I give you: Good Morning Starshine by Oliver (the video kind of sucks so just listen)



Happy weekend all and I hope where ever you are you are getting a nice taste of spring!

Peace, love and all that good stuff!

Sugar and spice

I am going to post this tonight because tomorrow I won't have time.

Me, M, Neetzy and the Semi-Conductor are going to Philly to see the Cezanne exhibit and have lunch. It should be fun!

The song I picked out for this week is on the "spice" side of things.

When I first heard it on the radio I was like: "What the fa is that?"

I didn't like it, but unfortunately it has a way of becoming an earworm very quickly. The group quickly rose to the top of the charts and then fell apart just as quickly. Now most of them are more famous for their shennanigans after stardom.

Believe me when I say that this isn't normally a song I would pick for this blog, but it fits the category well so I just couldn't resist. And - you gotta admit, you can't help but "slam it to the left and then shake it to the right" when you here it!

hee, hee, hee!

Unfortunately YouTube has blocked the embedding feature so you'll have to click on the link below to hear the song.

If you dare!

Shazza's Spicy song of the week! <-----Click here!

Happy Passover/Easter/Weekend all!

Don't quit your day job!

Ahhhhhhhhh it's Sunday afternoon. M and I are chillin'. She's watching the Eagles vs. the Cardinals game and interjecting at the appropriate moments while I blog away.

I'm not much of a sports fan. The only football game I really watch is the Super Bowl and then it is my tradition to pick the opposite team that M is routing for just to annoy her. Honestly, I could care less.

At the moment though, the Cardinals are kicking the (B)Eagles tail feathers.

I was in a cooking mood today. M came up with the idea of beef stew for dinner, so that is simmering in the crock pot. It smells wonderful!

Then there is the smell of freshly made date-nut bread cooling on the counter that is making my stomach growl. This is my first time making it so I hope it's as good as it smells.

I grilled up some chicken breasts too so that I can bring some of it up with me to my little cozy home away from home. I just find it's easier to pre-cook food for the week then having to attempt to cook on an electric stove. It also helps me stick to my diet too because I can control the portions better.

So - now with all the cooking done I finally have some time to catch up on my blogs that I've missed very much and post on my own blog as well.

The "Don't quit your day job" series is a bit behind, but I think with this weeks selection you will see why I put it off until the last minute.

Sometimes I just don't understand why actors/actresses who become popular because of a movie or TV series attempt to cross over into other forms of entertainment that they just have no right to try.

Maybe it's the ego trip they are on. They actually BELIEVE that they can sing.

Hey - when I'm alone in my car I think I can sing too, but I wouldn't even try to sing in front of people for fear I would do some damage to they physical and psychological well being.

My pic for the week is a man who while in his "prime" starred as the pastel wearing undercover cop Sonny Crocket in the TV series Miami Vice.

His bio states that he is an actor, singer, songwriter, director and producer. They also mention he was in a "psychedelic rock band called Horses". Maybe it was the "psychedelic" drugs he took that made him believe he could sing.

Believe it or not this song actually made it to #5 on Billboard's list.

I'm still trying to figure out why.

Later he actually went on to record a duo with Barbra Streisand - gag me with a spoon.

So here is your audio atrocity for the week: Don Johnson singing "Heartbeat".



oy.

Peace all, have a good week and I'll see you on Friday!

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Especially in this economy!

From the "what the hell was thinking" category of life I hope this weeks musical torture leaves you all with the same ear bleeding, headache inducing, brain hemorrhage pain that I've had to endure this week.

It's been an interesting time I gotta tell ya!

The first two "weeks" of my job weren't really too exciting. I started on Dec. 22nd. Right before Christmas. Everyone was in holiday mode, many people were out of the office. I kind of cruised along and just sat around observing.

This week has been a bit more intense. I've been trying to get the feel of the "flow" of the office. Getting to know the personalities a bit more and WHOA BABY are there some personalities here!

There is the scary blond, childlike yet grown up version of the Children of the Damned woman who sits with her head set on and swivels back and forth in her chair while her eyes dash wildly from side to side. She totally freaks me out. Don't let her sweet outside appearance fool you, she's a total looney tune.

Next up is the conservative looking, talks way too much woman with multiple animal pictures all over her cubicle (none of them hers) constantly wiping her mouse with a Clorox Wipe up and wringing her hands. I wanted to just sneeze in her general direction to see what she would do.

My "office mates" are like Yin and Yang. One is as quiet as a mouse and doesn't speak a word and the other is an American Flag waving, country music playin', John McCain worshipping, sailor mouthed gal who has the biggest freakin' chip on her shoulder and couldn't find happiness if it came in a processed frozen food container.

I've had a headache all week and I think it's because of the country music. I am surrounded by country music lovers.

They ain't kidding when they call Pennsylvania - Pennsyltucky.

I feel like I'm in a totally different world.

I keep telling myself that it's only temporary and once this training is over you can work from home and not have to bother with this anymore.

It's only temporary.

Just a temporary thing.

You can DO this!

Oh...and the drama going on in the office. Holy Crap!

I hate office drama. It drives me insane.

It is very hard not to get sucked up into it though, but I am trying.

Then I got a freakin' cold on top of it all. Nothing like feeling like crap, listening to crap and watching crap going on all around you.

It's a fucking crap fest over there.

:::breathe Shazza...just breathe::::

:::inhale:::

:::exhale:::

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...much better.

Oh...did I mention that I'm staying in a little apartment during the week that has no Internet and no TV?

Ok, well the TV I can live without, but no Internet? Oy vey!

This past week I've had enough to do after work that it didn't really bother me too much. I spent Monday night at Target to buy a few things for my little home away from home. I came down with a nasty cold Tuesday night. I had dinner with my ex-roommate that never was on Wednesday , and I watched Hellboy on DVD on Thursday..

I kept myself busy.

Next week we have a "sales meeting" from Monday through Wednesday so hopefully that will keep me entertained most of the time.

After that though...I'll probably read a lot, maybe watch a few DVD's (feel free to recommend anything) and sleep when I can.

And I can get NPR on the radio which is mildy soothing for some reason.

For now I'm back home with M and the boys!

Life is good!

The cold has pretty much left the body except for an annoying and occasional cough and an unfortunate snore that M has to deal with, but she's coping!

This week I thought I would treat you to another reason why some actors should never try to sing.

Mr. David Soul

Some folks remember him as "Hutch" from the fairly popular 70's TV show: Starsky and Hutch.

There is a part in this song that his voice just reaches a "shrill" quality to it that I think is kind of unnaturally for a man, unless you are one of the Bee Gees. It's kind of like nails on a chalk board.

Now I know there are some actors who are true entertainers who can sing, act and dance, but I don't think David Soul is one of them.



Enjoy the rest of the weekend all. I'll be back next week!

Peace!

Musical Musings

I had some really terrifically horrible songs to post today, but I just can't do it.

I don't have the strength to watch them again. Some of them are that bad.

Sooooooooo, you'll have to get by this week with a song that I heard on the radio on my way back from Connecticut.

This one is classic 80's new wave. I haven't heard it on the radio in many, many years. They only had a few songs that hit the mainstream, but if you visited any college campus at the time they were pretty popular.

The lead singer Dale Bozzio must have been an influence on Gwen Stefani with her blond and pink hair and wild outfits. Not to mention the squeaky voice.

Missing Persons was big in the LA new wave scene for a while, but then the band broke up after Dale and her husband Terry Bozzio broke up.

I remember doing the slam dance to this song at some point in my life. The details are a bit sketchy, but I have occasional 80's flashbacks!

Here to start your weekend off with a funky fun song is Missing Persons - Walking in LA!



Have a good one all!

Peace

Musical Musings

I have seen some really horrible videos while I've been in bloggerland.

There was the Fabio and Sandra Dee video backed up by the dancers of satan. Thanks to Kat for that one!

Then we had Jesus is My Friend. A Christian Polka. ZAP! Thank you Kari! :)

Neil Sedaka and his "tight" jeans, glitter shirt and long chains. He's SO BAAAAD! Oh...make a woman swoon Neil.

You never think things could get worse, but oh...yes, they can!

I found this next gem on BitchPhD.

I wasn't really sure what I was watching at first. Was it a movie clip? Or a video? Maybe a porn musical?

Nope.

I couldn't really put it into any category.

The singer looks like the anorexic younger brother of the Nelson twins:

He's definitely living out some kind of fantasy.

Maybe he was a big fan of Excalibur or something, but he's got that whole medieval thing going on here.

The cheesy mustache was taken straight from the props of the Pink Panther with Steve Martin.
Then there's the green guitar. Something kind of phallic going on there I think.

I guarantee your jaw will just drop and you won't be sure what it is exactly that you are watching. It's just beyond words!



If you want to see the BIG screen version click here: http://chrisdaneowens.com/video/Shine_large.html

Random rants

Wow there are just too many things I want to post about and I'm having a hard time keeping them in any kind of order.

Actually, there is no order to them it is the chaos that is my brain the past few days. I'm in hyper drive.

Things that are wrong with the holidays.

Turkey Shaped Ice Cream Cakes.

Putting up Christmas Trees when Thanksgiving isn't even here yet. Here is a picture of the festive tree in our office building.

Nice balls eh?

Holidays - bah hum bug. I love them and hate them at the same time. I like to play Christmas songs while I'm decorating the tree, but no one helps me so it's just for myself anymore. It kind of loses it's umph.

It makes me happy to see a nice little Christmas tree all lit up so I do it year after year.

I'm irritated by the whole bailout thing. I know it's needed, but I don't particularly like it. I don't think the auto industry should get any extra money. They should ask Exxon/Mobil to bail them out, they have a few hundred billion laying around.

Now I'm worried about deflation.

What is Twilight and how come I never heard of it before? All of a sudden there is all this hype about a teenage vampire movie previewing this week. I LOVE vampires! I guess since I'm not a 13 year old girl I kind of missed the marketing eh?

I heard two really cool songs on XPN and NPR this week, but I can't find any good recordings of them to share with you. So you'll have to take my word for it.

The first one is called Femme l'a Dit by Feufollet. They are a Cajun group from Lafayette, LA.

Click here to give a listen: http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=97089876&m=97109998

Kind of makes me want to put on a swirly skirt and just kind lazily dance around. Now if you know me at all, you'll know I don't wear skirts so that's saying a LOT about this song! It definitely conjures up a dimly lit smoky little bar in Louisiana where people listen to the song but still carry on quiet conversations with each other while sipping on a beer out of the bottle, tapping their toes.

Fun!

The next one I heard while driving into work and it was just what I needed to wake me up. I was bopping in my car and having a lot of fun with this song.

It's called Borneo by Firewater and I did find a YouTube video for it, so click HERE if you want to give it a listen.

I love finding new music. I have over 3500 song on my iPod and believe it or not I get sick of hearing the same things over and over again.

Last night on my way home however I heard and oldie but goody. M and I had been singing it because one of my blog buddies happens to have wife named Sylvia. (Hi Vic) Now every time I see her name I keep thinking of the song "Sylvia's Mother" by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show.

Now Vic, I hope you don't get made at me for this, but it's just a little glimmer of how my brain makes associations. Mostly with music.

Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show also sang the fun song: The Cover of the Rolling Stone

Both songs were written by Shel Silverstein. My son and daughter both read some of his poems when they were kids and so did I. I think he is hilarious and fun to read.

This weeks Musical Musings go out to my blog buddy Vic Hubbard over at Tumblewood and his wife Syliva who I am sure is very happy with Vic! After all they have that 1o second kiss they do every day! :)

Do you think they were just a little bit stoned when they recorded this? HA!

Happy Weekend all. M and I will be off to see my niece play in the Junior Symphony on Sunday. That will be a lot of fun!

Random thoughts

When you are in your car...

by yourself...

alone...

for 8 hours...

it's amazing the things you think about.

Here are some of the random shit that ran through my brain today - in no specific order:

There is a reason they call it the "practice of medicine"

I want to be adopted by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

It will be at least another 30 years until I can retire - unless I'm adopted by Brad and Angelina - how freakin' depressing is that? ugh

When people drive real fast and get right on your ass, step on the brakes and watch their reactions! (As they pass you and flip you the bird, give them a big toothy grin)

Don't listen to slow mushy songs on the last 2 hours of your trip - it's a disaster waiting to happen.

DO Listen to hard rock - it wakes your ass up!

When Jumpin' Jack Flash comes on - do the Mick Jagger dance in your car. It kind of looks like this.

DON'T drink a large coffee, a cappucino and 3 bottles of water when you are on a long trip. You never know where the next rest stop will be.

Don't read your e-mail on your Crackberry while driving...that is another disaster waiting to happen. (Hey...at least I wasn't texting while driving)

When meeting clients for the first time a version of Murphy's law will happen and one of the following will occur: You'll grow a volcano of a zit on your face overnight and notice your clients can't take their eyes of it. You'll forget the one piece of information that they really wanted to see. You'll get an embarassing itch. (don't ask)

Pokey little chin hairs are very distracting. (on me AND on my client)

I don't like John McCain - what a pompous ass!

Wow - what a cool picture that would be...damn too bad I don't have my camera.

Someone should come up with an invention that enables you to take a picture with your eyes. (how cool would THAT be?)

Last one - it's amazing how many times you can listen to a song and never really listen to the lyrics. This happened to me today. I made a playlist of a bunch of songs on my iPod and then put them on shuffle. This one song came on and the following lyrics came up:

"Now youre climbin to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can't ya see there'll come a day when it won't matter
Come a day when you'll be gone

I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind. "


Hmmmmmmmmmmm....yup, that's what I want. Peace of mind.

So...for this weeks song I will give you a "Peace of Mind" by Boston





Happy Weekend all!

Be well.

Musical Musings

Hey ohhhhhhhhhh!

What's happening all?

Another Friday, another weekend, another song to get you started off on the right foot.

I picked this song simply because as I was driving home from Philly last night it came on my iPod and I cranked it up...opened the windows and sang along!

Now I don't know how many of you sing along with your radios, but I was the "sing into the hairbrush" kind of girl growing up. At one point in my life I even took vocal lessons because I had wanted a career in theatre and realized that in order to hit some of the notes correctly I needed to learn how to "sing from my diaphragm!"

It's not as easy as many talented singers make it look. It took me weeks of choking and gasping before my diaphragm was strong enough to hit the note and sustain it without cracking. Even if you don't like opera, you have appreciate how much work it is that they do with the instrument they have. Just like playing the piano or guitar or violin, it takes a lot of practice and you need to learn so many different techniques to obtain that kind of quality.

My kids used to beg me NOT to sing when they were little - so that tells you how much my vocal lessons did for me. I can keep the pitch, but I sound like a wounded animal.

It doesn't stop me though, I keep on singing because it makes me happy!

And out of all of the kinds of singers and styles that are out there, I am in awe of a good solid "belt it out from the heart" blues singer.

When you here a good one, they can move you to tears or make you jump up and down and just go crazy. (well, they do me anyway)

The version of this song that I have on my iPod is by Three Dog Night, but it - like many other great songs has been covered by quite a few artists. Since I couldn't find that same version on YouTube I picked my second favorite version of this song done by the Commitments. (GREAT movie by the way, I highly recommend it).

I checked on my buddy Dive's site to see if he and his band of merry men have a version, and I didn't find one, but I get the feeling that this is a song they may have played a few times.

This past few weeks have been quite a ride haven't they? The debates, the economy, the stock markets, the bail out plan...er "rescue plan"...it makes your head spin.

So...if you feel a bit weary...just "Try a Little Tenderness".

Open up the windows and sing it like you own it!




Happy weekend all!

Peace

Musical Musings

It's friday!

Woooohoooo!

I've just been so gosh darn busy this week I'm glad there is a weekend to rest and relax a bit.

Ha! Who am I kidding. Since it rained all last weekend and I couldn't get out to take care of the yard, my grass is about knee high now. And the back yard where the dogs go to do there business, I don't even want to think about. Time to hire a pooper scooper service.

Last week I had hoped to have M pick a song for my Friday music posts, but unfortunately we were both having a senior moment and neither of us could remember the song she had wanted to put up.

This week I am picking a song that I know M likes. It is one of her favorites and I gotta tell you she plays a mean air guitar to this song!

It was #1 in the US in October of 1987 and I only know this because M told me that it was #1 the same year that my daughter was born. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_100_number-one_hits_of_1987_(United_States)

The group - Whitesnake is not quite my taste in music, but after 11 years of being with M, I've grown to like the song. Probably because I get a kick out of her air guitar, which she usually plays left handed for some reason.

The song - "Here I Go Again" is definitely a heartbreak song and I think when this one came out M was going through a bit of a heartache so it became even more significant to her. It's about saying screw it all to love and just drifting through life alone.

I came along a few years later and put an end to that. I could be wrong, but I think she's happy about it. :)

This one's for you M! With me around you won't ever have to go it on your own!


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