I am a Sucker for…

Posted on 26th February 2010 in Glee, Lists, Meme

My sister Lindsay did this, and called me out to do my own list as well! I think it’s a splendid idea, so here, for you, is my list of things that I’m an absolute sucker for. Ever want to bring me joy or cheer me up? These things will do the trick.

1. Letterpress Items
Weather it’s invitations, business cards, product tags… if it’s letterpress I’m doomed to love it.

2. Banjo or Fiddle Reels
Played in a happy bluegrass reel, either one of these instruments bring me to another level of happy.

3. Campfires Under The Stars
There really isn’t any other place where I feel so at peace with the world. The smell, the sound, every single thing about being by a campfire warms me inside and out.

4. Musical Theatre
Both the spontaneous dancing and the fabulous musical numbers… going to a musical will leave me feeling on cloud 9 every single time! Spamalot was a particular favorite… which included another thing that I’m a sucker for… Monty Python.

5. Songs with Pedal/Vamp/Drone
Okay, this one takes a bit of explaining. Years ago I started compiling a playlist of all the songs that made my skin tingle the most. I called it my “Life Soundtrack.” You know the types of songs… the ones that give you that feeling like you’re floating, your arms become covered in goosebumps. That musical ecstasy feeling. My list of songs is an odd mix of artists, but each song made me feel that same tingling feeling.

One day Steve was perusing my list and told me that every single song had one thing in common: Pedal Tones. The term comes from classical music, when an organ player would hold one note on the foot pedal throughout the entire song. In modern music, it’s sometimes done as a one-note drone, but the same effect can also be achieved with a Vamp. Basically it’s an underlying repeating phrase or drone in the music that lies beneath the melody, and doesn’t change, even as the chords change around it. (Think bagpipes, which I also love.) It can be quite prevalent or very subtle. It gives songs such an etherial magical feel. It’s easier to hear it than describe it, so here are some of the songs on my list that are good examples of Pedal Tones:

6. Anything Apple or Nikon
This is where the geek in my comes in full force.  New Apple products? I’ll want ‘em. Nikon cameras and even more… Nikon LENSES? Drooool….

7. Fondue
Melted cheese? Melted chocolate? I mean, COME ON. If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life it would be Fondue. Oh, with Wine, of course.

8. Faces on Inanimate Objects
You’re sure to get a gleeful giggle out of me if you put eyes onto a stapler. Or washing machine. Or pop can. Or tissue box. Or scissors. Or [insert any object here].

Perfect example of this:

9. Chick Flicks
What? This shouldn’t surprise you. I want a love story, some comedy, and a happy ending. Is that too much to ask?

10. Gymnastics
It’s a sport that consumed hours and hours my life from age 5 to age 16. Still to this day, I yearn to be in the gym, to swing around the bars, flip across the floor, throw myself at the vault, and curse at the balance beam. It’s something I’ll miss forever, and I’ll watch live or on TV every single chance I get!

So how about you? What are you a total sucker for? Make your own list, and post a link!

Best and Worst of 2009

Posted on 31st December 2009 in Meme

I did this last year too, and I think I’ll make it a regular annual thing. So, here it is… my completely random Best and Worst of 2009 list:

Best drink: White Zinfandel.

Best overall victory: Paying off every penny of debt, including our car, and saving oodles of cash over the summer.

Best online tool: Facebook

Best gift: Nikon D5000 (Steve’s birthday gift to me.)

Best “fun” purchase: The lenses and flash I bought for my D5000 shortly after.

Best blog: I’ve been loving reading The Girl Who. That wins.

Best new Christmas song: “Must be Santa” by Bob Dylan.

Best footwear: “nurture” brand bootie boots from Dillards.

Best photo technique I’m likely to continue to overuse in 2010: Jumping Photos. You’ll see many more people/objects airborne in the year to come.

Best coffee drink: Cinnamon Dolce Latte from Starbucks. (2nd consecutive win!)

Best project taken on in 2009: Project “build a house”.

Best new TV show: Glee. No contest.

Best canceled TV show: I was really sad to see “Privileged” go.

Best movie (overall fave): Tough one! I loved so many. But I’ll say a tie between New Moon and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Best movie seen more than three times in theatres: 500 Days of Summer.

Best sushi: Everything I’ve ordered at The Blue Fish in South Jordan has been amazing, but when Kenji the sushi chef makes it? Even better.

Best cool place discovered: Young Living Lavender Farm.

Best injury: Chipping my tooth with an orange tic tac.

Best snack/addiction: Orange tic tacs.

Best vacation spot: Cococay, one of the berry islands in the Bahamas.

Best old TV show newly discovered by us: Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Best color: Tiffany blue.

Best spontaneous & random thing done during lunch break: Breaking into Rio Tinto Stadium with coworkers with armfuls of Rock Band gear for this photo.

Best sports victory: Utah’s win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in January.

Best actor crush: Rob Pattinson. (2nd consecutive win! What can I say?)

Best smell: Fresh Linen Wallflowers Plug-in Air Freshener from Bath & Body Works.

Best fish pet: Schilling # 5, my work pet.

Best photo taken: This photo of Matt and his day-old daughter Amelia is my favorite picture I took all year.

Best midnight snack: Sourdough toast with butter.

Best reunion: Meeting with Stephie, Michelle & Morgen.

Best product discovery: ssscat.

Best concert: Yann Tiersen.

Best winter wear: My old green upholstery coat that I’ve brought out of storage.

Best summer wear: Flowy shirts with jeans and heels.

Best triumphant moment: The moment I realized we were actually going to be able to sell our condo and build a house in Daybreak.

Best discovered hole-in-the-wall restaurant: Toaster’s Deli.

Best Youtube video: This one.

Best condiment: Balsamic Vinegar.

Best camisoles: Aeropostale’s Solid Basic Cami.

Best “happy” song of the year: Petey’s Song by Jarvis Cocker.

***

Worst painful experience: Stomach Flu after Thanksgiving.

Worst worry/stress: Mortgage interest rate “wait and see” game, including project “loan officer swap”.

Worst movie: The Vampire’s Assistant. I’m easy to please when it comes to movies, but this was unforgivable. I want my eight bucks back.

Worst failed attempt at something: Waiting in line for FIVE hours at the Health Department for a Swine Flu shot early in the flu-season, when the supply was low, and the demand high. I waited with thousands of others for five hours in the cold, and got to the very front of the line, and they ran out just before my turn. FAIL. So frustrating.

Worst Oops: Flooding our new house in the first 3 days of living there.

Worst Plant Failure: This poor recently-deceased poinsettia from Christmas 2008. Sorry, dude. RIP.

Worst weather: Icy winds (2nd consecutive win! Will probably win every year.)

Worst political whack-jobs: Gun freaks.

Worst annoyance: Too-dry feet or arms with no lotion in sight.

Worst loss: Sadly, we lost both Steve’s Dad Bill Bauman, and my sweet Grandma Doris MacDonald this year.

Worst condiment: Horseradish.

Worst talk-show host: Jay Leno. Why do we have the Jay Leno Show? That show sucks.

Worst sore-winner: Max Hall of BYU.

Worst idea that I was sure would be good: Using a hand disc-sander to sand spackle indoors. Dust EVERYWHERE. Even in my ears, and inside kitchen drawers.

Worst celebrity: Megan Fox. Ew.

Worst makeup gimmick that doesn’t work: Maybelline Pulse Perfection Vibrating Mascara. Doesn’t coat evenly, doesn’t thicken lashes at all, and the vibrating brush  does nothing more than make my eyeballs jiggle & tickle when putting the mascara on, which results in eyes watering, and ruining mascara. Epic FAIL.

Worst service at a restaurant: IHOP in Murray.

Worst insect: Every spider living in the basement with us over the summer. A new spider bite every night.

Now, what’s your list? Make a list of your own, and post a link to it in the comments! Happy New Year Everyone! Bring it on 2010!

Something Special

Posted on 18th February 2009 in Meme

So, we’re packed and ready to go on our trip. With a sigh of relief and anxious excitement, I sat down at my computer to read up on my daily list of blogs before we embark into non-wi-fi land.

Anyway, I came across my cute friend from my old neighborhood Sarah’s update today, and she did this cute meme on her blog. I think it’s the most fabulous meme I’ve ever seen, so, I’m doing it too!

Here’s the deal: The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It’ll be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it’s going to be. It may be a story. It may be photography. I may sew or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same deal to 5 of your own lucky blog readers. So, the first 5 people to leave a comment telling me they are in win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Aaaaannnnd…. GO! See ya’ll next week!