Ask the Reader: New Music Recs

So, I am in a slight music rut. I love music, but being busier than I used to be has eliminated a lot of my music discovery time. So I turn to the very few of you who read this to ask what I should check out. In order to help you with my musical tastes, I'll provide lists of my most recent favs as well as my all time favorites. I'm limiting this to secular songs, as my husband has no problem helping me find new Christian artists/songs. Don't be afraid to suggest older songs/artists either!

New (to me) Picks
"Sea Green See Blue" by Jaymay
"Sleep" by Azure Ray
"You and I" by Ingrid Michaelson
"I Love the Rain the Most" by Joe Purdy
Shotgun (album) by Tony Lucca

Favorites
"Nightswimming" by R.E.M.
"Your Song" by Elton John
"American Music" by The Violent Femmes
"Ticket to Ride" & "In My Life" by The Beatles
"Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones
"Reptila" by The Strokes
"Don't Think Twice" by Bob Dylan
"Fix You" & "Don't Panic" by Coldplay
"Honey & the Moon" by Joseph Arthur

Menu Plan Oct. 5-11

Hey, I'm starting a (hopefully) weekly feature. Mostly, it's to give myself some accountability with menu planning, as that seriously saves money with the grocery shopping. I'm not deluded enough to believe that most of you reading this will actually want to know what we're eating for dinner! Also, you may note that it is Wednesday, not Monday. What can I say? I just decided to do this. We eat pretty simply around here, for the most part.

Monday: spaghetti with meat sauce (ground turkey instead of beef)
Tuesday: chocolate chip pancakes with eggs and sausage (boys had a salad as well)
Wednesday: boiled shrimp, french fries, carrot sticks
Thursday: hot dogs, mac n cheese, broccoli
Friday: BBQ chicken legs, rice, green peas
Saturday: chili with cornbread, salad
Sunday: grilled cheese with chicken noodle soup, pineapple

The Boy

Last Thursday was my husband's birthday. I told him that I was going to blog about him, and then I promptly did not follow through. Well, after the events of this weekend, I decided that he really did deserve his very own blog.

This weekend, Kenn did a family reunion gig at the G-Ville Hilton. On Friday night, he did some strolling magic, meaning that he walked around from table to table doing some magic meant for close up. However, on Saturday night, which I was able to attend, he was booked to perform his full evening show. I had not seen the full show yet, so I was very excited to see his performance.

It is an emotional experience to see the person you love best on the earth do what he loves best. I was so proud of him I teared up a couple of times. He was so happy on stage, so confident and assured. I love him a little bit more after Saturday night, and, in honor of his birthday and fantastic show, I am going to present a top ten list of my favorite things about Kenn Ball.

10. His hip hop dancing

9. The way he laughs when he is laughing really hard

8. His willingness to talk in our special dialect

7. The fact that he was my first Lost friend

6. The way he wants to make sure the boys have tons of fun memories from their childhood

5. His singing to me -- whether it's full versions of country songs that I didn't ask for or songs that he makes up when I go to sleep, he will pretty much always sing to me

4. The way he plays Bible, Disney, and magic trivia with Josh & Caleb

3. That he is WAY better at decluttering and picking up the house than I am. I'm the better cleaner, but he makes sure the house isn't messy.

2. That he has the same spiritual AND political views as I do. That's not all that easy to find around here.

1. That we are each other's best friend. I can always talk to him, about anything.

Happy belated birthday blog post, babe. Love you!

More Things I Want

I don't know what my problem is, you guys. I cannot get it together to post regularly. Sorry. Whatever's going on that keeps me from posting regularly has not kept me from browser window shopping. Here is a list of the current faves in the "I want that" category.

1. Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life- This book is so pretty. I love his illustrations, particularly his birds. And this coffee table book comes with tons of full page size prints, so whenever we have a baby (NOT pregnant, NOT trying), I'm stealing Dooce's idea and using them to decorate the nursery.

2.These earrings - So cute and silver.

3. This wall organizer - No, it doesn't organize your actual wall. It hangs on your wall, and I can organize so many odds and ends with it. Like my passport. And spare keys.

4. This umbrella - Now, I never actually carry an umbrella, so why I feel as though I need one that is $65 is beyond me. But it is adorable. Perhaps more so than the Old Navy one that sat on the top of my blog forever. Speaking of Old Navy...

5. This scarf - I'm not even sure about how I feel about summer scarves, but I feel as though this would add pizzazz to my rather lackluster wardrobe. Also, pretty.

6. This bedding set - So we've only been married a little over a year, and I'm already kind of bored with our bedding. Kenn probably does not enjoy this. Of course, I'm not planning on actually replacing it, but I would love this set if we suddenly came into a windfall of cash.

Threes

Three Books I've Read Recently

1. Columbine by Dave Cullen
2. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
3. The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

Three Movies I've Seen Recently

1. Star Trek (yes, the new one)
2. What Happens in Vegas (I didn't say they were good movies!)
3. RENT (Filmed Live on Broadway) (not technically a movie, but I saw it on a DVD)

Three Things I've Gotten for Free

1. 20 bottles of 10 calorie Vitamin Water
2. a set of 4 photo coasters for my grandmother's Mother's Day present
3. 1 Schick Intuition razor

Three Words To Describe Me

1. awesome
2. legendary
3. humble

Books I've Read/ Movies I've Watched

This is mostly just a housekeeping post. I'm currently reading and watching movies quite regularly, and I like to remember what I've read/watched. This is the easiest place for me to keep it, so sorry for the boring stuff.

Since mid-August, I've read/watched:

Books
The Ugly Duckling by Iris Johanssen
I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren W.
Stacey vs. The BSC
Stacey's Broken Heart
Weep No More, My Lady by Mary Higgins Clark


Movies
Capote
Deep Impact
National Treasure
Interview With the Vampire
Black Snake Moan
High School High
Superbad
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Gone Baby Gone
Far From Heaven
American Beauty
Across The Universe
Derailed
Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Been A Long Time Gone

So, I've been gone for awhile, and it is certainly time for an update, as my friend Leo helpfully reminded me. I've thought about posting several times but haven't because of one thing. I'm getting married May 31st. And planning the ceremony and reception, while not quite the HUGE ORDEAL it's stereotyped to be, does occupy a large portion of what's going on with me right now. So, I've refrained from posting because I can just picture all four or five you reading and saying, "I don't care about your hunt for a red guestbook! What is with THE FOOD?" Answer: shrimp and grits, candy buffet, appetizers, etc. Guestbook still not acquired.

In other news, I have decided to become that crazy lady who never pays full price for anything. You know, the lady who shows up to some social function or such carrying a really cute bag, and you compliment her on it, to which her response is some frenzied version of "ON SALE! A BILLION PERCENT OFF! FREE SHIPPING!" I would like to be like her, only less shouty. So, warning, I may occassionally do the blog drive-by like "khaki cloth napkins, seventy cents apiece at Kohl's." (True story.) Any other bargain hunters should check out Want Not, a blog that is all about what is on sale where. I thought that this new....all right, obsession would make me all spendy, but I've actually been resisting more impulses to buy things. I actually needed a new blanket-- I got one for $5, free shipping (GLOATING). I have a pair of black shoes, a pair of brown, and a pair of tennis shoes. I honestly don't need anything else. I have two great bags, so no spending unnecessarily because it's so pretty, and also on sale! (Though I am tempted, believe you me, at times.)

And now it's time for the random list segment of the blog!

1. Movies seen in 2008 (at the theater): Juno, The Bucket List, The Legend of the Water Horse
2. Days till Season 4 of Lost starts: 7!
3. Kenn and I have to decided to host our own awards show, The Kacis. More details will be forthcoming.
4. I procured a phone from Ebay that had not previously been dropped into a cup of Coke. My brother, in related news, inherited a cell phone that had previously been dropped into a cup of Coke. I went all fancy (five years ago) and won an old Blackberry. I bought it a new battery just in case. I love it. It is blue, so technically it is a Blueberry.
5. Sherry has left NGU. I am quite sad

Movies I Want To See, In List Format

Inspired by Heather, here's a list of movies that I want to see before 2007 be done. And read on for there is a surprise after the list... (Sherry).

1. Lars & the Real Girl
2. Across The Universe
3. Martian Child
4. Fred Claus
5. Enchanted
6. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
7. Love In the Time of Cholera
8. Bella
9. Gone Baby Gone
10. Atonement
11. Alvin & The Chipmunks (I know. I don't care.)

Let me know if you've see any of these and whether you liked them (please don't spoil the ending). And now for the surprise...the long awaited Ask The Readers #2! Beowulf. Do I see it or not? Why?

Book Sale!

Yesterday, I woke up at 6 a.m. On a Saturday. Why? Because the Greenville Literacy Association was having their annual Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale. And it is all of those things, unless you want new hardbacks. Those will run you from $5 to $10 a pop. I took $20 to the sale with me. I knew that the vast majority of that budget would go to trade paperbacks. I spent $1 at the classics table for 2 books, and $1 at the used hardbacks section for 1 books. I got 9 books from the trade paperbacks section for $18. (I actually have no idea why I'm giving such a rundown. Oh well. It's already typed.) Want to know what I got? Sure you do!

• The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith
• Life of Pi, Yann Martel
• The Good Husband, Gail Godwin
• Atonement, Ian McEwan
• Notes On a Scandal: What Was She Thinking?, Zoe Heller
• The Hours, Michael Cunningham
• The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
• Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Suskind
• The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx (this was the used hardback)
• Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
• Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy

So, if you've read and enjoyed any of these, let me know what you think. I'm currently about halfway through The Talented Mr. Ripley. I'll most likely post a quasi-review of each after I finish them, mostly to make myself read in a timely manner.