Ten on Tuesday

Country Songs for Lovers

1. Without You, Keith Urban

2. I Wouldn't Be A Man, Josh Turner

3. You, Chris Young

4. She's My Kind of Rain, Tim McGraw

5. Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Lady Antebellum

6. Get Carried Away, George Strait

7. Love the Way You Love Me, John Michael Montgomery

8. Who Are You When I'm Not Looking, Blake Shelton

9. Love Like Crazy, Lee Brice 

10. When You Say Nothing At All, Alison Krauss version

Friday Finds

In the mood for some extremely cute babykins? Then please meet the Langs.  And now they have another one on the way? Excitement! I originally found the Langs and their blog through their photography, but I stayed for the adorable adventures of Ivy.

No lie, the Elie Saab haute couture 2012 collection makes me swoon. SWOON, I tell you. Swoon.

John Lennon + Thug Life + Rihanna? Does not compute.

Dear Emma, I spent an unreasonable amount of time last night trying to find this hot chocolate for you. I failed. But doesn't it look good?

Why am I not a chef? I have been making scrambled eggs by these guidelines (low heat, stir constantly with a fork, and be generous with butter) for years. I have never been told to do this. It just felt right. And tasted so ridiculously good. Also, scrambled eggs should not be dry or overcooked. That is revolting.

Pat Sajak and Vanna White used to be copious drinkers. And this time I am using copious correctly. So funny.  ~ Thanks to Courtesy Laugh for introducing this necessary information into my life.

Library Loving

I will keep this short and not so sweet. 

Via 

Words I would use to describe this book: Lackluster, pointless, flat, and lacking in emotional connection.  I finished the book because I kept waiting for the climax. The punch. The point. Sadly, I found that even when big things did happen in this story, I still just did not care. 

Read this when: You are desperate for something to read and this is what is available. 

Twinsies!

My dad and his twin brother are entering their somethingith year of life today. Let's look back, shall we?

So pleased that I have this baby picture of them. 

Rock those mustaches Randy Joe and Eddie Jay! Also pictured-Pete and I. 

The twins bookending their mom and big brother. 

At my wedding.  John, Linda, Ed, Nonnie, Randy. 

Ed n Randy at Lucy's Wedding.

And now in honor of all the Scott aging that takes place in January: 

Signs and symptoms that you might be a Scott: 

1. Your ears. 

2. Passive Aggressiveness. 

3. Mild mannered to the mildest degree possible. 

4. You refer to Labor Day Weekend as "Kentucky Lake"  (Where is Kentucky Lake going to be this year?) 

5. You text/email in all caps. 

6. It takes you well over 4 years to obtain a college degree. 

7. You have smart, beautiful, classy daughters. (This one was submitted by my dad). 

8. BUNCO! 

9. You know all of the words to the following songs: Rocky Top, Don't Make Your Home Behind the Wheel, and My List. 

10. You are extremely family-oriented. 

11. You are a sports fanatic. 

Hey fam, please add your signs & symptoms in the comments!!! 

January 24th

This post from The Unofficial Apple Weblog felt like the nail in my extra old coffin.  I am older than computers. If that is not a modern take on the phrase "older than dirt," what is?

This time last year: The One With Today, The One With Pictures

Ten on Tuesday: Lullabies

Lullabies for Grown Ups

1. Dream a Little Dream of Me, Michael Buble

2. Complainte De La Butte, Rufus Wainwright

3. Nature Boy, Nat King Cole

4. Rain, SWV

5. Grace, U2

6. Golden Slumbers, The Beatles

7. You Belong To Me, Jason Wade

8. Dreaming With A Broken Heart, John Mayer

9. Stardust, Nat King Cole

10. Ribbons In The Sky, Stevie Wonder

iPhone Apps

Totally "phoning" it in with the title of this post.

Cara of Lilac and Grey recently posted asking about suggestions for iPhone Apps and since I have a ton of them, I thought I would list out some of my most used apps on my phone.

Starbucks. I store any of my Starbucks Gift Card information on this app and then I never have to find my gift card. I can pay with my phone. It makes me feel extra, extra tech snobby to pay with my phone while the plebeians in line around me must use cash or card. How prosaic!

App for my bank. Totally depressing app but very convenient for when I want to know the full extent of my poverty. Currently avoiding that app because my poverty is worse than usual. Also, I will not tell you the name of my banking establishment because I am not in the mood to give them any shout outs.

All of the "With Friends" Games. Chess, Words, Hanging, and Scramble. What can I say? I like losing! And boy, do I ever lose! Also, if you are currently playing me in one of these games, wanna go in "Scramble With Friends" because I do not yet have anyone to really play and this may be the ONE GAME I actually might be able to win at against you. Maybe.

Blogger. This app is not so awesome but it works in a pinch.

Pandora. Where would my life be without Pandora? List of my favorite stations: Blake Shelton station, Paul McCartney & Wings station, Madonna Station, Vampire Weekend Station.

This American Life. Fascinating brain food.

Hot 104.1 St. Louis Hip Hop Station's App. I listen to it when I get really, really, really home sick.

Hipstamatic. My favorite photography app.

Word Weaver. Favorite game by far.

Bejeweled 2. The game I play when I can not sleep at night.

Shazam. For finding out the name of songs that got imported into my iTunes as track1 or something equally nondescript.

IMDb. Always comes in handy when having that conversation about that one actor that was in that one movie that one time. You know?! The one guy. With the face. In the movie. With the girl.

Art. And here is where we reach the pinnacle of my snobbery. I like to take the Art quizzes just to prove to myself that I am awesome and can totally tell the difference between a Caravaggio and a Bazille.  Yeah, actually I could not tell you anything about either one if my life depended on it and I got most of the answers in the most recent quiz I just took wrong. However, I love art and learning about art so this app is how I nerd out on my own time.

Star Walk Besides telling me what is going on in the night sky, I love the Picture of the Day. Gorgeous, awe-inspiring, and informative

Dictionary.com which gives me a pop up word of the day. Today's word? Deucedly: adv. devilishly

WebMD. How else am I supposed to feed my hypochondria?

Sephora.  Gotta feed the addiction.

Google Translate. For my Russian.

ESPN Score Center. For my Bulls, Cards, and Eagles.

Those are some of mine. How about you?

Friday Finds

This week's blog is Sara in Le Petit Village. Sara is a Texan living in Provence. Previous to stumbling upon Sara's blog I had read and loved Peter Mayle's books so Sara's blog intrigued me. I love learning about the quirks of the little French village she now calls home and Sara has a knack for story telling.

Aunt Priscilla, if you are reading, this post really made me want to learn to knit.

This tartan dress is super fab.


Baby Panda Bear's First Snowfall. 

Is this too fancy for daily wear?  Because I would totally wear this!

It's Snack Time. What are we having? Snacks.

You might think I have not been completely absent because the Ten On Tuesdays lists have been posting. Those were done months ago and scheduled. I have been completely absent.

I have been in a really dark place because it looks like Little Debbie is not releasing their Cherry Cordial Snack Cakes for the Valentine's season this year. At least, I have not found them yet. I am trying really hard to cope with the loss.

And I keep hearing all this hubbub about Girl Scout Cookies but I have yet to see any Girl Scouts selling cookies outside any Walgreen's here in Tucson which means I also have no Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies that I think are called Tagalongs.

So to review: No Little Debbie Cherry Cordial Snack Cakes + No Girl Scout Cookies = me not posting because I am at home in the dark being the saddest sad person ever.

Okay, honestly, I just haven't had time to go hang at Starbucks and blog. But I am really sad about the whole Cherry Cordial Snack Cake situation. If you see any, would you please let me know where?

Thank you ever so much.


Side Note: The title of this post came from an episode of News Radio that had Jon Lovitz as a guest star and no one ever knows what I am talking about but I quote that episode all the time. It has been stuck in my head ever since I watched it 18 million years ago. 

Ten On Tuesday: Year 2008

My Year 2008 as curated by Kaylan: 

1. You Rock My World, Michael Jackson 

2. My Love, Justin Timberlake

3. Dance, Dance, Fall Out Boy

4. You Found Me, The Fray 

5. Run It!, Chris Brown

6. Superstar, Lupe Fiasco

7. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage, Panic! at the Disco

8. Yeah, Usher

9. Summer Love, Justin Timberlake

10. What I've Done, Linkin Park 

Ten on Tuesday: Everything Gonna Be Alright

Songs that convince you that everything in life will be alright:

1. Learning to Fly, Tom Petty
2. Feelin' Good, Nina Simone
3. Island In The Sun, Weezer
4. Let Go, Frou Frou
5.Still Standing, Monica
6. Ain't Nothin Gonna Hold Me Down, Men At Work
7. Heart of Life, John Mayer
8. Days Like This, Van Morrison
9. Joy Inside My Tears, Stevie Wonder
10. Just Fine, Mary J. Blige

Library Loving: Maps of the Imagination

Maps of the Imagination: The Writer As Cartographer, by Peter Turchi

The only way I know how to describe this book is "brain food." It changed the way I will view literature in the future.  It had a lot of interesting analytical insight without turning analysis of literature into nothing but a mathematical equation. Although there was some geometry involved.

There was a whole segment on perspective and since the author was comparing writing to map making he included an "upside down" map of the world created by New Zealand mapmakers that totally fascinated me.  Take a close look here and see if it does not shift your world viewpoint a little bit.

Another highlight for me was an explanation of the methods Edgar Allen Poe claims to have used to create "The Raven."

Low lights would be when the geometry got a little intense and complicated.

This book also was a bit of a vocabulary lesson for me.

Scylla & Charybdis: sea monsters from Greek Mythology.

Elision: the omission of a vowel, consonant, or syllable in pronunciation

Aphorist: An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a concise and memorable form

Cacophony:  unpleasantness of certain sounds of words or sentences

Bildungsroman: coming of age story

Verisimilitude: appears to be true

The Most Illogical Things You Read On This Blog Last Year

Limited knowledge of vocabulary may or may not mislead people to believe you have a drinking problem.
This is the post where I admit that I was using the word copious completely wrong and even worse, I was using it in reference to the amount of alcohol I drink.

The one that is 1 part sweet stuff about my Nonnie and 1 part me being confused by the simple difference between Raisin Bran and raisins and bran.
This is the post where I try to duplicate one of my Nonnie's recipes with mixed results. Also, this is the one with the awesome comments section.

The one where Brie and I develop an ingenious business plan.
How are we not millionaires yet?

Simple Arithmetic
And by simple, I mean, it would be simple if someone else was doing it.
I have turkey issues. Here and here.

And then there was the time that I set off the alarms at the grocery store, repeatedly.
Don't go into the grocery store with alcohol in your purse. Sound advice from me to you.

Because This Is My Life: 2012

I do not "do" New Year's Eve so I made the "resolution" to be asleep before midnight.

Also, I had not a thing to do or place to be on the 1st of January.

Woohoo! Party time! Took a whole sleeping pill instead of a half and threw myself in bed at about 10:30 and did not set an alarm to wake up in the morning. 12 hours of sleep here I come!

Yes. That is my definition of party time.

But when I got into bed, I heard fireworks go off. And maybe a gun. And then I started thinking about being killed by a stray bullet at midnight.

And then I started praying that I please hurry up and fall asleep so that I die in my sleep and not be awake when the stray bullet hits me. Also, I started thinking about getting under my bed. But I restrained myself.

And then I could not fall asleep.

I finally fell asleep at about 11:45.

Only to wake up because of all the fireworks (and maybe guns) at midnight. But because of the sleeping pill I drifted right back off to sleep.

And then I woke up at like 8:00 AM. And basically did nothing the entire day. Certainly not the dishes.


All of this to say, the year may have changed, but that is about it around here.

Ten On Tuesday: Blue Light

The Blue Light Mix as curated by Jeremiah Major:

1. You ~ Jesse Powell
2. I Gotta Be ~ Jagged Edge
3. Someone To Love ~ Babyface
4. All Cried Out ~ Allure
5. 24/7 ~ Keven Edmonds
6. Enchanted ~ Taylor Swift
7. Sweet November ~ Troop
8. Looking For Love ~ R. Kelly
9. The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind) ~ Dru Hill
10. The Beautiful Ones ~ Mariah Carey feat Dru Hill