Monday Means "What the..."

I went to Primm, NV over the weekend to see Melissa Etheridge in concert.  She is my husband's favorite musician, and I LOVE going to concerts and am usually game to see anyone.  In fact, we saw Melissa earlier this year and she put on such a good show we wanted to see her again; hence, our trip to Primm.

For anyone who has ever been to a concert knows, especially a ROCK concert, that people typically stand up, dance, sing along, cheer,  yell, wave their hands in the air, etc.

I am one of the many people that do just that at concerts.

To my surprise though, the crowd in Primm, NV was not.

Seriously, the crowd sat during almost the entire thing with the exception of the people in the very, very front.  Our seats were off to the side.  We weren't on the floor.

One of the best parts about a concert is when the artist comes on stage for the first time.  It's typically a time when everyone gets up on their feet and cheers.  Like normal people, my husband, our friend and I all stood up when Melissa first walked on stage.  It was awesome, and I was really enjoying her opening song.

While I was getting into the groove, I noticed my husband and friend talking about the people behind us.  I didn't realize it at the time, but the guy behind my husband started to yell at him and eventually punched him in the shoulder and told him we needed to sit down.  My husband just looked at him and said, "Really?" as if to suggest "Really, fat ol' man, you want me to sit down...sit down at a rock concert?"

"What the...!"

We eventually did sit down because the alcohol was flowing all around us and the last thing I wanted to do was get into a big argument with someone.

But, I made up my mind while I was dancing to the beat (sitting down) that I would stand up at the end, after she played her last song and into the encore.

And we did just that.

And it was awesome.

I took the time to glance behind me and once we stood up the people behind us left.

What nerds.

Okay, so the moral of the story is, if you go to a rock concert you cannot except people to sit down the entire time.  It's a rock concert.  If you want to have a nice, relaxed evening go see Yo-Yo Ma.

Monday means "What the..." (On Thursday)

There's a commercial for Arby's on TV these days that inspired my "What the..." for the week.  It starts out with a guy falling asleep at the wheel because he's apparently not getting enough Arby's.

Some of my readers may know that over 14  years ago my husband (then 16) was in a horrible car wreck.  He and his sister were driving along a two lane highway in Wyoming when a semi-driver fell asleep at the wheel and hit their car head on.

While my husband escaped the crash with minor injuries, the impact of the crash killed his sister, Shannon, immediately.

Our society spends so much time cautioning us against the dangers of drinking and driving and now texting and driving; however, drowsy driving seems to be getting the shaft, so much so that companies like Arby's think it is okay to use it as a marketing tool to sell their over priced, not so great sandwiches.  I mean, can you imagine any company making light of drunk driving to sell a product?  It's absolutely appalling, and the same standard should be set for drowsy driving.

Not everybody drinks.

Not everybody texts.

But, everybody gets tired, making drowsy driving extremely dangerous and completely under rated.

My mother-in-law is boycotting Arby's until the commercial is off the air.  I will be doing the same.  If you or anyone you know has been the victim of drowsy driving, please consider writing Arby's a complaint.  Or, share this post on your blog, or on Facebook.

Let's make the streets just a little bit safer by demanding smarter advertising.

"What the..."!

P.S. I couldn't find a video of the commercial to post here, so if anyone can find it, please let me know!

Monday means "What the..." (on Tuesday)

This week's "What the..." was a no brainer, and the reason why I'm a day late posting about it.

Yesterday, our car was broken into.  The SOBs broke our back door passenger window and stole our portable DVD player and some DVDs.

The portable DVD player was a generous gift given to me by my in-laws for my birthday last year.  

And, the DVDs that were stolen?  Oliver and Company, Baby Beethoven, Baby Monet, Hotel for Dogs and Merry Madagascar.  Notice a pattern?  That's right, they're all movies for kids.

The freakin' idiots that decided to steal from me didn't actually steal from me at all.  They stole from my two year old daughter.

This is the first time I've ever been robbed, and I realize things could've been a lot worse.  I, along with my daughter, can live just fine without the DVD player, and all the DVDs can easily be replaced. 

No, the worst part really is that I looked over my shoulder all day yesterday.  I double checked all the windows in my house because going to bed.  I kept lights on in the house when I wasn't using them.

I doubt this crime will make me a paranoid person, but the fact that they stole from my kid AND made me change my behavior just a little bit really makes me mad.

What the...!!  is all I have to say!!

MONDAY means "What the..."

In an attempt to update my blog more often, I am going to start doing a weekly theme post.  Out of all the themes I could choice from, leave it to me to choose to post about something that bugs me.  The point is not to be a complete Debbie Downer.  The point is to just vent for the sake of venting.

I'm calling my weekly posts "What the..."  because I say that phrase basically daily and it just sums up the point of all this fun-ness so perfectly.

So, here we go.

But first let me start with a little bit of background so we're all on the same page.

As stated on my side bar, I'm a Mormon.  Or, I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Or, I'm LDS.  Like other Christians, I go to church every Sunday; however, my Sundays are a bit different than other Christian churches I've been to in that I go for three hours.  Yes, three hours.  Within those hours are three different meetings, the last of which is called Relief Society.  Relief Society is an organization just for women.  On Sunday, in Relief Society, we have lessons on a variety of different topics.  We also sing hymns.   And, we also have a chorister to lead during the hymns.   My calling (my job in the church) is to be the chorister.

As far as church callings go, this one is a cinch, especially when it is widely known by all members of the LDS faith that NO ONE, seriously, NO ONE, watches the chorister.  Their heads are usually glued to the hymn books.

I'm not 100% comfortable leading music, but I have a musical background, so the process makes sense to me.  Plus, no one will be looking at me, right?

Well, actually, there is one person that should be watching me.  That is the pianist.  After all, I'm the one leading the song; therefore, she should be watching me for the tempo, right?

Well, not so much.  And here comes the "What the..." portion of my post.

I learned the hard way that the pianist doesn't watch me, but everyone else does.  So, instead of leading the music, I'm essentially following the pianist trying to make sense of her less than steady tempo.  Instead of waving my arm in a seamless, perfect stride, it's going all over the place in less than a desirable way.

All the while everyone who is NOT suppose to be watching me is watching me.

Yesterday, after church, two elderly women came up to me and told me I was getting so much better at leading  - that I was finding that "down beat" almost all the time.

I know with all my heart that they didn't mean absolutely any harm and that all they wanted to do was compliment me on my apparent progress of (unbeknown to them) "following the piano."  It took all my strength not to correct them, to tell them I knew exactly what I was doing and if the pianist would follow me I would be on the "down beat" every single time.

But, I didn't.  I wished them a happy day and then vented the crap out of my husband about my adventures in piano following.

This is SOO not how it's suppose to be.

WHAT THE...!

my SOUNDTRACK

I felt like making a mixed CD tonight, so I asked Karen if I she would like it for her blog swap package.  She accepted, so I began the fun task of choosing only 18 of 2487 songs for what I am now referring to as my Blog Soundtrack.  You can even preview it here if you're interested.  Most of the songs are available for a 30 second preview.

I hope whoever gets my CD loves it.

currently.....

My friend Karen once suggested I write a "currently" post.  At the time, I thought it was a great idea, so now, at least 3 months later, I'm getting to it.

CURRENTLY.....

Reading:
Wicked.  Yeah, I'm a little behind the times when it comes to reading popular books.  I'm enjoying it, but I'll admit I'm excited to finish it and move on to my next book.

Listening to:
My most recent iTunes purchase was "When I'm With You" by JJ Heller.  It's a cute little song, and my daughter loves it and has already started to memorize the lyrics.  She's 2.5 and loves to sing.

Watching:
We don't have cable.  No, we're not those kind of people that think TV is bad.  We don't have it because it's expensive, especially when you pay for 200 channels but only watch 3.  We're thinking of getting it again, but for now we watch all our favorite shows via the Internet or Netflix.  Anyway, our current queue is filled with seasons 1 of The Middle and Modern Family.  Great shows!

Addicted to:

Farkle.  The oh so exciting dice game that has a free app and allows me to play with complete strangers as often as I want.  It's a game of complete chance and virtually no skill is needed to win, but I still feel great when I'm the first to reach 10,000 points!

Drinking:

Water and Dr. Pepper.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I get the water from the Dr. Pepper.

Loving:

That my daughter was just invited to her first ever friend birthday party, cooking dinner, and being unemployed by choice.

Looking Forward to:

Seeing the play Sleepy Hollow, my brothers wedding and seeing Melissa Etheridge in Nevada.  These are in chronological order, by the way.  For sure I am MOST looking forward to the wedding.

Surprised by:

How busy I am.  Luckily for me, it's all fun things like going out to eat with my friends, bridal showers, baby showers and birthday parties.

In desperate need of:

New clothes.  I choose comfort over looking good almost always, and I imagine my husband would love to see in me in something besides jeans and a t-shirt.  There's gotta be more comfortable, yet fashionable clothes out there, right?

Thankful for (besides the obvious of family, friends, jobs, etc.):

The changing of the seasons.  Not only do I not have to use my A/C anymore (hence, a lower utility bill), I get to enjoy the beautiful fall colors.  It's the best time of year!

Wanting to change:

How many times I log into Facebook.  It's sort of losing it's appeal, isn't it?  Who's with me?

Favorite time of day:

8:00 pm - my daughter's bedtime.  Enough said.

Wanting to buy:

A computer desk.  We're currently using a night stand because we haven't been able to find a desk we like.  The limited room on the night stand is starting to get old.  IKEA, here we come (hopefully)!

Hopeful for:

That I can jump start this blog again and get lots of comments!

the INEVITABLE BLOCK

My goal for this blog has gone horribly, horribly wrong.  I rarely post and when I do post, it seems as though my writing lacks "umph."

I've decided this all stems from the reason why I began this blog to begin with.  I was living in Idaho, a new(ish) mom, and I remember feeling this need for "more."

So, I started this blog in hopes of finding "more."

And, now, over a year later, my life is a lot different.  I'm in a new state, a new house, new friends, closer to family, etc., and it seems as though my need for this blog is no longer there.

I've expressed interest in closing the blog down completely, but a few people have encouraged me to keep writing.

So, to my 1 or 2 readers, I need help.  Help me decide what to write about.  What sorts of posts do you like?  Does my blog need a theme, or are random thoughts good enough?

Any advice or thoughts are appreciated.