Baby Shower Advice: Relax

Gina from the Hiya Luv blog invited me to be part of a virtual baby shower for Mandy of the Mandipidy blog. Mandy is soon due to have her first bebe, and I was happy to agree! At many baby showers, guests are asked to write down a note of advice for the mom-to-be, so that’s what I’m going to do today.

My advice? Relax. Don’t try to plan everything. When things don’t go as you planned, go with the flow. Relax.

My husband and I found out we were going to have our first child when he was in the Army, I was a junior in college and we weren’t anywhere close to marriage. We were completely shocked, overwhelmed and honestly, terrified. I spent the majority of my pregnancy worrying. Worrying about

I won’t say having a baby that way was easy – it wasn’t – and I wouldn’t recommend that method to anyone else. Things were difficult financially and we were trying to figure out who WE were as adults at the same time we were trying to figure out how to parent and how to shape our child.

Now, almost 13 years later, we have a daughter who’s soon to turn 12, and sons who just turned 10 and 4. We’ve been married 10 years, and while those weren’t always easy years, we’re happy and proud to have created a stable, happy family. Our kids honestly rock – they’re sweet, smart, talented, cute and funny. They care about people. They don’t get *everything* a kid could want – partly because we can’t afford that and partly because we don’t think that’s good for kids…and they have been taught to appreciate what they have.

So why the long story about our tough time starting out? Well, because I am now at the age when many of my peers are beginning to have their own kids, and I see them planning away. Sometimes, things don’t go as they planned, and they really struggle with the anxiety and fear that they feel. Even though I am a person who likes to plan things so I can be prepared, I suppose I’m also one who is flexible enough to go with the flow when my plans decide they don’t like me. :) With parenting, so much you plan for isn’t going to happen. Or it will happen slightly differently. Or it will happen . . . two years after you thought it would. And that’s ok. It really is.

Life throws curveballs at us – you as an individual and a spouse must already know this. With kids thrown in the mix, the curveballs seem to come more frequently, or maybe we’re just less able to catch them bec ause our hands are busy changing diapers and pushing swings. You, as a mother and wife, you totally can handle those curveballs. You can! And your family isn’t going to go down the drain if things don’t happen perfectly. If you live in a cramped home for a few years, your kids will be fine. If they have to miss out on camp one summer because you’re moving or there is a death in the family, they will be fine. If the school in your area isn’t the greatest, they will be fine. It’s just up to you as the parent to see what your kids’ needs are, and then fill in the gaps where you can. If their school isn’t the best, you take extra time at home to teach them. If they miss camp one year . . . they may just miss camp one year. If they have to share a room with a sibling, cool – they’re learning how to get along with others.

So, Mandy, relax and let life happen. Plan what you can, and then remember that plans don’t always come to fruition, and that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Teach your kids to be able to handle most circumstances by MODELING that behavior. Teach them to be content with what they have by modeling that. Teach them to get creative when they’re stuck inside due to the weather.

Take a deep breath, remember that people all over have survived and THRIVED in worse circumstanes, and relax. It’s the easiest way to enjoy your family.

Shop Giveaway!

Y'all need to head over to my friend Karen's blog ROT NAIL and enter to win $30 in credit in my shop! You can also get a 20% off discount code.

Karen is a sweetheart living in Korea, she and her husband just adopted the most beautiful little girl from Ukraine. Her blog is full of awesome photos, definitely take a look around while you're over there!

Dance Party Friday! Mix It Up

Today's Dance Party is going to be a mixture of good stuff I've run across, or been reminded of lately. Who knows, maybe you'll be saying Ooooooh...they're playing my song!!

First is a little Blue Eyed Soul...the best kind, from Britain! I was looking for All I Want Is You by Miguel on YouTube the other night, and came across a video of this guy - Daniel de Bourg, who is a great singer. He's gotten YouTube famous by doing tight covers of some great R&B songs, including several where he does all the backing tracks - vocals and instruments - just with his voice. He's cute, too. Anyway - enjoy this song and then look up the rest of his stuff on YouTube.

@BabylonSista from Twitter was listening to this and reminded me of my love for U2. In high school, a few guys did a lip-sync to this song. One guy who looked like the Edge sat on a chair on stage, with the stage curtains pulled all the way to each side of him, and the other guys stuck their hands out and messed with his face and all that. It was pretty funny. I should note that the next year my friends and I lip-synced to the theme from Shaft and I got to wear a vintage patchwork leather coat and stacked boots. Lots of lip-syncs in my high school years...

Here we have a special request from M. Enjoy, buddy. I really hope you enjoy that U2 song up there, too. :)

Here's a new song by the Avett Brothers, from an online performance on CMT.com. I can't wait for their new album! Did you know I and Love and You was produced by Rick Rubin? It sure was. You can see more "unplugged" performances of Avett Bros. favorites here.

I love the Shins, I love this song. I came across it again recently and have listened to it a couple times a day over the last week or so. So much energy yet kind of jaded and doubting. This is such a great example of indie pop.

This one goes out to Jeanna . . . KNEE DEEP IN THE HOOPLA. I think Grace Slick knows about Joann's Phoenix Jacket Junction, too.

A friend said something about ATCQ's Midnight Marauders album and I said something about The Low End Theory, which is my favorite of theirs. This is a great song from that album. Have I told you the story of how I met my husband? It has to do with us connecting over Tribe. I'll always love them, can't wait to see the movie about them, directed by another favorite of mine - Michael Rapaport. ZEBRAHEAD!!! If you know what that is, I love you. Let's be BFF.

I've just begun watching Sons of Anarchy, an FX tv show about a Northern California motorcycle club, via Netflix. I like it, plan to watch the rest of the series, but wish it had been done by HBO or Showtime. I'd have liked to see what they could have done with the show if they'd had less boundaries. This is the theme song.

If you're a Chicago Blackhawks fan, or a Chicago resident, or a hockey fan, you've probably heard this song a bazillion times. It's what they play when the Blackhawks score a goal and was played ad nauseum last year when they won the Stanley Cup. Heard it recently for the first time in a long time. Good song, great band name.

Any requests?

Small Change mattered to Eboni

Hooray! Another great update from Chicago’s Emergency Fund, the organization I’ll be donating 10% of my Etsy profits to this year. I’m posting some of the stories they send to supporters so you can have an idea of what impact they make in the Chicago area.

* * *

Small Change Mattered to Eboni

Small Change Matters

In our day-to-day lives, it's easy to forget that these three words are true.  But here at the Emergency Fund, we know that small change does matter.  It mattered to Joseph.  It mattered to Roxanna and Lashon. It mattered to Charlie.     

And it certainly mattered to Eboni.  

It was a sunny, March afternoon in Chicago, and seven-year-old Desaree couldn’t wait to get outside. It was the first warm day of the year, and she grinned when she heard the familiar music of the ice cream truck jingling toward her grandmother’s house.

As usual, Desaree finished her ice cream before her sisters and ran to her cousin’s blue scooter while her family sat on the front porch. When the bullet struck her head, she didn’t know what had hit her.

Desaree’s mother, Eboni, was startled awake by banging on her front door. Pregnant with her fourth daughter, she was napping before her evening security shift when she awoke to face her worst nightmare. No one could even tell her where Desaree had been shot.

Eboni waited for hours as Desaree’s condition was upgraded from critical to guarded. She kept vigil over her first-grader’s medically induced coma. She was there every time her little girl woke up from surgery. And when Desaree was released a month later, Eboni knew she would do whatever it took to keep her daughter safe from the gang that had begun harassing her family.

Eboni found a new home in a safe neighborhood – she could pay the rent, she just couldn’t afford the security deposit. Small change for some of us, it was an insurmountable obstacle for Eboni.

That’s why the Emergency Fund is here. We provide the small change that empowers our clients to get back on their feet and keep going. With our help, Eboni moved her family away from the violence and into a safe home.

Small Change Matters for people like Eboni. Whether it’s a bus pass to get to a job interview, or a security deposit that helps a family move into a safe home, when someone is close to the edge a small change can make all the difference.

Please, make a donation to the Emergency Fund today. Together we will make the small change that changes lives.

Donate today and your new or increased gift will be matched* by an anonymous donor!

*Double your impact! An anonymous donor is matching all new or increased gifts. That means that 100% of first-time gifts and gifts from donors who have not given since 2008 will be matched. For those who gave in 2009 or 2010, any amount above the highest annual gift amount in 2009 and 2010 will be matched.

IT'S ALIVE!!

My ability to blog from my phone, that is. I might even be able to post pics! Let's try... Ok, one pic of a downtown Chicago planter - loaded.

Let's try one more and see how that works...coneflowers by a neighbor's garage window.

Time to hit "publish" and flip out when it works!

Dance Party Friday! Harry Potter

Google+ is already doing great things in my life. I asked what today's Dance Party Friday theme should be and got two responses: "Angst. Pure, unadulterated angst." and "Harry Potter, natch."

Though those themes could be intertwined, I've found enough songs to go along with a Harry Potter-only theme that I'm gonna shelve Angst for today and visit it again, maybe next week. So, for all you HP fans, today's DPF is for you! I know y'all are still asleep after catching the midnight show last night, so maybe you can check out the DPF when you wake up this afternoon.

I am a fan of the Harry Potter books. I didn't think I would be, but finally decided to give them a try. By this time all the books had been published and my local library had several copies of each, so I didn't have to wait when it was time to move on to the next book. I gotta say, I really dug the books, especially as I got further into the series and the themes grew more mature. There were some slow or redundant parts, sure, but there were some really funny parts, some really scary parts and some really touching parts. One day I'll read them again, and I'm sure my kids will enjoy them soon.

So . . . here we go!

I love the Eagles, so am happy to kick off DPF with one of their songs. This was a suggestion by Marissa. As are several other songs today. Thanks, Marissa!!

Ok - check it out, there are ALL KINDS of awesome versions of "I Put A Spell On You", so I'm going to do a short DPF within a DPF and do a quick rundown of all the great versions:

Van Morrison

Nina Simone

The Animals

Joss Stone & Jeff Beck

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Thin Lizzy

CCR

She & Him

Ron's mom won't be having this, you guys.

Do You Believe in Magic? You know, Lovin' Spoonful, I'm not sure. This is a long conversation and I'm not sure we have time for it right now.

AIR SUPPLY, Y'ALL!!!


Black Magic Woman - Santana - great old school concert footage (even with the karaoke lyrics)!


Aww yeah, Hufflepuff, you know what's up . . . fun video.


Wizard by Black Sabbath. Dude, I could probably just post their entire catalog for this post. And Stevie Nicks, right?


Magic Potion by Open Mind. I like the mix of 60s fashion, psychedelics and plain weirdness of this video.


Man, oh man. Can a band get more emo? I love you but I've chosen darkness!!! Album title: Fear is on our side.


Add this song title to the name of the next group...


Flying Cars! Get it? Bonus song title on this one.

Alright, y'all. What other songs should be added to the Harry Potter Dance Party Friday?

Kevin tipped me off to a list of 25 Wizardry-related songs. Thanks, dude!

Possibly unusual safety tips for kids

Every once in a while, my husband and I go over safety tips with our kids. I don’t know that the things we teach our kids are that conventional, but I believe in them whole-heartedly.

1. If you’re in an emergency situation – if someone is hurt or is about to be hurt, if something is damaged or about to be damaged, if something really bad is going to happen and you need a way to stop it, it’s ok to break rules. It’s ok to scream in a public place. It’s ok to cuss your head off to get the attention of someone who can help you. It’s ok to interrupt me if I’m on the phone. It’s ok to talk to a stranger.

2. If you’re lost or need help from a grownup, don’t look for a police officer or someone who’s wearing a uniform – find someone who looks like a mom, a grandma, an aunt. Find a woman. Go to a woman with kids. Look, my Dad is a cop, I’m not saying people in uniform are bad. But – I feel more danger from men who would hurt kids than from women. And there aren’t usually people in uniform everywhere you go. But there are almost always women and moms. I know if a kid came up to me needing help, I would do anything I could to help that kid.

3. If someone comes up on you and tells you to be quiet or they’ll hurt you, you scream your head off. Think about it – if you ARE quiet, they ARE going to hurt you. That’s what they want to do. What they don’t want is to be noticed by anyone else. You kick, scratch, scream, bite, anything you need to do, but you do NOT obey.

4. On the other hand, if they tell you they want your money, give it over immediately. Don’t try to be a hero. You just have to use your best judgment – are they trying to hurt you or rob you? If they just want your stuff, give it to them and call the cops afterward. If you’re in a store or bank and someone tries to rob the place, become as invisible as you can and obey the robber. Don’t try to be a hero and don’t try to outsmart the robber. Most robbers aren’t brilliant, practiced jewel thieves like what you see in the movies. Rather, they’re hopped up on drugs or scared they’re going to get caught, and their trigger finger is itchy. Don’t give them any reason to freak out.

I’ve tried to balance safety tips like this with “puppies and unicorns, life is safe and happy” – I don’t want to freak them out unnecessarily . . . but I would rather them be a little scared – and prepared – than naïve and unsure of what to do in a bad situation. Obviously, when we’re in these situations, we don’t always think straight and may not do any of the things we thought we would. But sometimes we can, and those things can make a difference.

Do you have any safety tips you practice, or have taught to your kids?

John couldn’t wait that long

Hooray! Another great update from Chicago’s Emergency Fund, the organization I’ll be donating 10% of my Etsy profits to this year. I’m posting some of the stories they send to supporters so you can have an idea of what impact they make in the Chicago area.

* * *

Here at the Emergency Fund, we know that our promise to provide help immediately and without red tape is crucial to our clients. It's especially important when the person in need is facing a tragedy so unexpected that they had no possible way to prepare for it. That's what happened to John.

Fifty-year-old John is a hardworking father, a man who had proudly raised his children with his wife, Becky. He thought he was done with parenthood and had happily settled into the life of the doting grandfather when tragedy struck.

John's son, Bill, and Bill's girlfriend were killed in a car accident, leaving their three children, ages 11, 5, and 2, to John and Becky. After paying the funeral expenses, John and Becky had no savings left and were struggling to feed their grandchildren.

John worked with a Fund Manager who helped him sign up for food stamps and enrolled the family in a monthly food pantry program. But it can take weeks from signing up for food stamps to actually receiving them, and the food pantry was still weeks away.

John couldn't wait that long.

With the Emergency Fund's help, John was able to feed his grandchildren until more permanent help was available.

Donate today and help the Emergency Fund be there for people who need help right now.

Content from the Emergency Fund website.

Please, make a donation to the Emergency Fund today. Together we will make the small change that changes lives.

Donate today and your new or increased gift will be matched* by an anonymous donor!

*Double your impact! An anonymous donor is matching all new or increased gifts. That means that 100% of first-time gifts and gifts from donors who have not given since 2008 will be matched. For those who gave in 2009 or 2010, any amount above the highest annual gift amount in 2009 and 2010 will be matched.

Couch to 5K – A new start!

Last week I began the Couch to 5K running program. It’s designed to get “couch potatoes”, or people with little-to-no regular exercise, running a 5K (five kilometers) or approximately 3miles, within 2 months. I do have regular exercise, but nothing too strenuous. Monday through Friday, I ride my bike two miles to the train station from my house and I walk a mile from the downtown Chicago train station to my office. Then I walk another mile and bike another two miles going home. Plus dance parties, walking around outside with the kids, riding my bike to the store . . . I’m not completely without exercise. It’s better than nothing, but it’s not making much of an impact. Oh – I have an elliptical machine but I don’t use it as often as I should. I weighed myself recently for the first time in months, and almost cried. I’m my highest weight ever, not counting pregnancies. Not good!

I’ve thought about doing Couch to 5K for a while, so after seeing the number on the scale, I looked up the program and decided to give it a try. The first week is three days of this pattern: you start with 5 minutes of brisk walking, then begin intervals of jogging and walking. You jog for 60 seconds then briskly walk for 90 seconds. You’re supposed to do the jogging/walking for 20 minutes total, which comes out to eight sets of jogging/walking.

My first day, I turned off my alarm. I’d stayed up very late the night before and I don’t operate well with little sleep. So I tried again the next day, and having gotten better sleep, I got up, excited to start. I stretched out a bit and then began my walking and jogging. During my first interval of jogging, I noticed someone walking toward me on the bike path I was on. I felt self-concious about how I looked jogging, and near the end of the minute, long after I’d passed them, I realized that I wasn’t even thinking about forcing myself to keep going, the way I thought I’d feel.

That didn’t last long. I did pretty well through the first half of my intervals and then had to push myself in intervals 5 and 6. And then I wanted to quit! I didn’t want to fail and I didn’t want to have to admit I’d failed (I’d told people I was doing the program) so I made myself slog through the last two intervals. I only ran about 50 seconds of the last two 60-second jogs, but I figure that’s better than quitting altogether. I finished, and felt great. I was dripping sweat and took some time to cool off before getting cleaned up and ready for work.

My second run, two days later, was the opposite. As soon as I started, I wanted to quit. OH MAN I wanted to quit. I told myself, you CAN do this. YOU CAN. And you WILL. And . . . I did! There was even one point where I began my jogging interval, I stopped, began walking, was going to quit, and I said, No, you better do this. This isn’t torture, it’s just jogging, stop acting like you have no strength and can’t deal with something unpleasant! So I started up again, and felt good at the end.

I was talking to my husband about this and remembered when I first started riding my bike to work a few months ago. I was miserable. I felt every incline no matter how slight, every bump. The seat hurt my butt, my legs cramped. Sometimes I got off my bike to push it up hills rather than ride it. This lasted a few weeks and I’m surprised I kept up with it, because it didn’t get much easier during those weeks. I was in lots of pain. Then one day, I got home from work and realized I hadn’t spent the ride home wincing and breathing hard. I was just home all of a sudden. From that day, the pains decreased, my speed and stamina increased, and now I absolutely LOVE riding my bike twice a day. My hope is that running will be this way for me, and I’m going to use this comparison to keep going when it sucks. Yes, it hurts, it sucks, you feel like you’re going to throw up, you feel like you’re just dragging along, your shins hurts . . . it will get better. One day, you might even like it!

Dance Party Friday: Guest Edition

My friend Alicia from Iowa City is visiting me today while her husband gets a tattoo at the Chicago Tattooing Co. Alicia and I are a couple of those crazy people that knew each other online before meeting in person. She and her husband are about to embark on an exciting adventure - selling all their stuff and traveling the world for a year! Then they're gonna come back and become sheep farmers . . . or something. Anyway, she's in town, we had a yummy lunch and now she gets her very own Dance Party Friday!

Here are her picks . . .we're going with a country/Americana theme. Did I mention it was Alicia who introduced me to the Avett Brothers? Oh yes, it was.

She says this was a major part of her childhood.


This is written by Greg Brown, but these lovely hipsters have the best video of it on YouTube. :)


Here's Marrow, sung (and probably written by) William Elliott Whitmore and Jenny Hoyston - from their Hallways of Always album.


Creepin' In - Dolly Parton and Norah Jones! Alicia just said her band covered this song, it has some "sweet banjo licks" - yes, Alicia plays banjo! Long but endearing intro. Note, this is a song by the late, great June Carter.


Alicia says this is one of her favorite videos of all time, but come on, isn't this one of EVERYONE'S favorite videos? I've seen a great basement party performance of this with Alicia on the banjo . . . wish I could share it with you but it's on facebook lockdown. Alicia loves the camp of this video. Me too!


This is Alicia's friend Katie's band, the Awful Purdies. They have a new album coming out, so Google the heck out of it and buy it! Now.


This one has neat flood pictures, if you like that sort of thing. Which I do. The female vocalist is Alicia's uncle's ex-wife's step-daughter. If you're wondering about Ferris Bueller's health status, she can probably tell you.


Dave Moore is an Iowan artist who plays a mean harp. He is also known to be a swell dude.


Horse Feathers! Alicia just saw them a few weeks ago, she (and the rest of the audience) got to sit on stage with the band for the performance. They also have a Tiny Desk Concert which Alicia says automatically makes them cool.


Great performance in LA's Knitting Factory. Alicia is famous by proxy because last week he gave her a high five. She knows this dude! She & her husband Tony have a design/printing business and they did a really cool concert poster for Will a while back. Check it - and their other wares, out, at Cicada Grove.

The end!!

Skirts vs. Blouses

Sometime in the last year I bought a bunch of skirts and dresses from the thrift store (there’s a massive one a few blocks from my house and it ROCKS), with the intention of turning them all into blouses, and using leftover fabric for stuff in my shop or whatever. It’s taken me forever to get started on this project, but I finally did!

 

 

 

First, let me show you just a few of the things I bought – most cost $1-$3 each. I’ve got at least 15 more skirts/dresses/large blouses that will be turned into tanks/blouses. I bought a pattern for a wrap-top blouse, but am such a newbie seamstress that it’s confusing and I decided to just wing it.

 

Pillow sham that will be used somewhere in my daughter’s room.

So here’s how I made one skirt into a breezy tank:

The original skirt – not the accordion-folded fabric straps that are supposed to be belted & tied around the waist.

I took out the zipper on the side

And removed the white cotton underskirt/slip

I pulled the skirt up on my torso (inside out) to see where I wanted it to fit, and folder over the side of the skirt because it was too big for my torso. I pinned it in a couple places along the fold, took it off, and stitched up the side of the skirt to create a new seam. Then I cut off the excess fabric on the outside of the new seam.

 

I opened up the seam on the other side of the skirt at the top by the waistband (remember, I’d done the same thing by removing the zipper). I opened those seams enough to create holes for my arms.

Then I folded the waistband over toward the inside and sewed it down to create a small white piece across the top of the blouse.

 

Then I trimmed the extra waistband fabric from the inside.

I sewed up the seams of the “armholes”.

I took the “belts” off of the skirt and used that fabric to make 2 nice, thick straps for the top. I’d have sewn the straps to the corners (where the armholes start) except I wanted something cover my bra straps.

The finished product! This actually took me quite a while to do, but now that I’ve done it I know what steps I can skip, what to look for, etc.

Do you ever make clothes out of other clothing or objects?

Meet Deborah’s Divas!

Time for an update from Chicago’s Emergency Fund, the organization I’ll be donating 10% of my Etsy profits to this year. I’m posting some of the stories they send to supporters so you can have an idea of what impact they make in the Chicago area.

* * *

Lashon at Home in the Courtyard at Deborah's Place

Lashon and Roxanna know what it’s like to have nowhere to go. Like every woman living in the Rebecca Johnson apartments, they were homeless before they came to Deborah’s Place. For Lashon, moving into the apartments three years ago really was coming home, “My grandmother lived in the building across the street when I was growing up, so I knew the area well.” Now, Lashon works alongside Roxanna and the rest of “Deborah’s Divas” to ensure that every woman who moves in feels that she, too, has come home.

Each of the 90, single-occupancy units in the building is small but comfortable. While the layout and size differ, each has a private bathroom and a small kitchenette, leaving enough room for a single bed, a chest of drawers, and a small table.

When a woman moves out of Deborah’s Place – always in her own time, there are no limits to how long a woman can stay here – maintenance goes through to ensure that everything is clean and in working order. That’s when the Divas get to work. “We’re the unofficial welcome crew,” says Roxanna. “We make it feel like home.”

On the day that we visited, the Divas had just finished preparing apartment 403 for a new tenant. Walking into that warm, welcoming room would make anyone smile. The light, white quilt they had chosen for the bed was turned down at the corner to reveal cheerful blue and yellow striped sheets. Pots and pans stood at the ready in the kitchen, and two jade knick-knacks perched on top of a chest of drawers caught the eye. A candle on the bookshelf promised a citrus scent, and the stripes theme continued in the bathroom with a freshly-hung shower curtain.

But without a doubt, the first thing the new tenant would notice would be the table. The napkin-wrapped silverware sat next to the new, cream-colored dishes. Everything was meticulously placed, a perfectly set table for two that promised afternoons of conversations with friends new and old.

As I looked at the Divas’ handiwork, I tried to imagine the woman who would move in. A woman who had had nothing of her own for at least two years – the time it took to move to the top of the waiting list. Living in and out of shelters, staying with friends when she could, forced to sleep on the streets when there was nowhere else to go. Until now.

Finally, finally, that woman would have somewhere to go. She would get her own keys to her own place, open the door, walk into this room, see what these women have done - and realize that that place is home.

“When you’ve been living in shelters or on the street, and then you put that key in the door and see that you already have dishes and towels, that the bed is made – that says it all,” Lashon says.

Content from the Emergency Fund website

Please, make a donation to the Emergency Fund today. Together we will make the small change that changes lives.

Donate today and your new or increased gift will be matched* by an anonymous donor!

*Double your impact! An anonymous donor is matching all new or increased gifts. That means that 100% of first-time gifts and gifts from donors who have not given since 2008 will be matched. For those who gave in 2009 or 2010, any amount above the highest annual gift amount in 2009 and 2010 will be matched.

Dance Party Friday! The 90s Rocked! Cheah!

Yesterday Miss Allyson from The Sweatshop of Love tweeted someone else's mention of the 90s Pandora station, and a song they loved. This instantly made me think of 2 other 90s rock songs . . . which led me to look one of them up and now we have today's Dance Party Friday: 90s rock version. I'm almost certainly going to have to do another one on this same theme because if I include all the songs I want to, the Dance Party would never end! Here we go


First, the song mention that kicked this all off: Vertical Horizon's "Everything You Want". Man, oh man. I was hooked on this song! You know how every once in a while you get a new favorite song, and even if you don't listen to the radio much, you find yourself scanning the stations every time you're in your car, hoping and praying that they'll play it? And suddenly you like the fact that top 40 radio plays the same 10 songs every hour because it means you get to hear it once an hour and it's even worth listening to that stupid _____ song every hour too? Yeah, that.

Honorable Mention: Vertical Horizon, "Best I Ever Had"



Splender's "Yeah Whatever" - I got this CD in 1999, maybe 2000, and listened to it like whoa. Underrated band, in my opinion. HUGE honorable mention: "I Think God Can Explain". A couple others from this album: Space Boy, Supernatural, Monotone (the chorus is what really shines in this one, especially the last time when all the instruments drop out - I love that).

You guys - this song? THIS WAS THE FIRST SONG I EVER PUT ON MY MYSPACE PAGE!!!! That's right. It was there a long, time, too. And when I learned how to put a whole playlist up, this sucker was definitely in there. This song deserves a spot on last week's Dance Party, the one full of songs that are guaranteed to make you deliriously happy.


One of these days I'm going to do a ska/reggae-ish DPF and have been thinking of saving this for then, but dangit, I want to post it today! Got to see this band live, with 2 Skinnee J's who had a fun song called 212-718 or 718 or something. It was about how the NYC area code changed from 212 to 718. "You lived in 212 but now you're 718! Yeah! 718!" Something like that. I don't know, dude. We jumped around, we moshed, we danced, we were young and free and silly.


OMG LOOK. BEHOLD, THE INTERNET. I love you, internet.


I believe this song is what prompted me to buy this CD, but if not, this is still a badass song. Honorable Mention: Under You.


I mean, do I really need to say anything about how great this band is, and how amazing this song is? Really? (Or how hot Dave Grohl is?)


Ok, this song is actually from the early 2000s, so what? It's outstanding.


This may also be early 2000s. SO. WHAT?


Ok, this song is solidly in the 90s. Dada!! Honorable Mention: Timothy.


Aw yeah. I can't even tell you how many times me & my BFF Elanor listened to her Candlebox CD . . . after listening to her Dada CD. After listening to the Indigo Girls and Led Zeppelin. But they get their own dance parties. Honorable Mention: Far Behind on Letterman. Man. This is a great performance!

Ok, if I go any further, I'm just going to have to do a grunge edition. And a 90s alt-rock edition. Man. The great thing about all these genres and sub-genres is: Dance Party Fridays FOREVER!

REQUEST TIME:

J asked for some PM Dawn . . . here you go! Is this really rock? I guess even if THEY aren't full-fledged rock, this song could fit in the pop/rock category. I believe Mr. Jordan Knight recently sampled this song for his new single. So that makes 3 songs in one - Spandau Ballet, PM Dawn and Jordan Knight.


Shanny requested this song and she better know I love her because I'm not a Hootie fan! Not sure why - the songs are pretty good themselves, and Darius Rucker is a good singer, but . . . I dunno. Maybe I got sick of the hype and just decided to hate them. Anyway - a couple high school friends of mine sang this at our senior musical.