Tribute

We always had pets growing up. My mother had two cats, Isis and Max, that were around since before I was born. They were awesome pets, but they were hers. When they passed away my sister and I went to the Animal Welfare Society here in town to see if we might be able to find some cats to fill the void in our hearts. I was 14 or 15 and Kat was about 10. We didn't know what we would find but we went in feeling excited and hopeful, my dad, being a typical dad, was a little less than thrilled. It was understandable of course, we had a family dog that my sister and I promised to take care of (I was like 10 and Kat was 6, oh yeah, the sense of responsibility was flowing) which of course meant mom and dad had already spent a number of years cleaning up and taking care of one animal, why would my father now be interested in repeating this all over again, times two?

But he was a good dad, and my mom told him to suck it up, so there he was with a grumpy look on his face and two daughters who were really excited about the idea of getting new pets.

I really wanted a female cat. Isis was my favorite growing up and I figured a girl was the way to go. I don't think my sister had a preference as long as it was fluffy and snuggly. We also didn't care about the age of the cats, ours lived for nearly two decades, I just knew I wasn't getting anything with a ton of fur, no, thank, you.

At the time the AWS only had one cat room-they were all about dogs then so there was a good chance we were going to walk out of there without any four legged friends. It just so happened that the AWS got a new litter of kittens a few weeks before our visit and all of them had just been spayed and neutered.

My sister found an UBER fluffy, long haired cat she positively adored and I found a few grey and brown tabby kittens that looked a little bit like Isis. I asked the volunteer which of the group were female and after she pointed them out, I picked one up that I thought would be a nice companion. Being tender from her recent spaying, she was not happy about being handled and squirmed and meowed her way out of my grasp. She was not the snuggly friend I was looking for. I looked at the other short haired tabbys from her litter and this sweet, tiny little male cat caught my eye. I picked him up and he sat happily in my arms. No squirming or complaining. He let me pet him and hug him and he didn't try to claw my eyes out or nothin'. He was my guy.

I was getting into art and really loved the works of Norman Rockwell so I decided on Norman. (My best friend, Christine, loved Hitchcock films so she always called him Norman Bates but that was NOT his name Christine!) My sister named her cat Chester, I'm not sure why but the name fit him well just the same.

This is one of the few pictures I have of our two cats together. Norman and Chester as kittens, exploring the yard for the first time. Look how tiny Norman is!

We brought our cats home and the snuggling began immediately.

I mean, look at this guy

How could you not love that face!

Everyone who visited since that day has fallen in love with my Norman. He was just one awesome, laid back kitty. He snuggled like no other but was still independent and did his own thing. 

As I grew up, so did my cat. He and Chester protected the house from "intruders" and they just loved showing off their handy work, like any proud kitty, by laying their "presents" at our front step every once and a while. And, I can't speak for Chester, but Norman was one hell of a mouser!

I went off to college and came home about once a month each semester. Though we didn't see each other often, Norman was always waiting to snuggle with me whenever I was around for a visit. He loved spreading out on "his half" of my king sized bed and was your classic lap cat. He had a meow that would melt your heart too. Even as he got older, his sweet little kitten meow never changed. 

After college, Joe and I got together and when Joe came to live with us, Norman found a new friend. His favorite seat in the house was either on top of Joe's desk in front of his keyboard or on Joe's lap in front of the television. He could sit with Joe for hours and I don't think Joe would have had it any other way because, like Norman, Joe was pretty laid back himself. The picture above is Norman in Joe's office chair, I think he liked to keep it warm for his "daddy".

Norman in his favorite spot....with a packing peanut on his head....thanks Joe.

This cat also had a thing for people's cars. Whenever I'd come home, he'd come right up the my driver's door and try to get inside the car. He did it to everyone, me, Joe, even my friend Dave. Yet this silly cat never actually enjoyed going for rides. One time he climbed into Dave's car just as we were about to run a quick errand. I jokingly suggested we bring Norman along and that poor cat meowed and meowed for the entire 7 minute trip. 

Relaxing in my Jetta after thoroughly exploring, silly Norman, you can't nap in cars.....

A lot of my friends used to tease Norman about his "sad eyes". A lot of (dumb) friends used to say he looked like he was stoned but one of Joe's friends met Norman for the first time and immediately thought, I still don't see it, that he looked like a dinosaur. He quickly came up with the name Lil D and never called Norman by his actual name after that. 

Roar!

This cat also LOVED boxes, he used to shove himself in boxes that were far too small for him and would, uncomfortably, sit in them for hours, even days. He liked to do the typical cat thing and find one spot in the house to lounge in for an extended period of time and then move on to another completely random (to us) spot. No matter what I was doing, the moment a box or container was open, Norman would find his way inside and did not enjoy having to leave before he was good and ready. 

Oh, you needed this?

I know everyone has or has had a pet that changed their life and for me, it was Norman. He was the first pet that was ever really MINE. And I'm sure his manners and behaviors are very similar to those of other cats, but he was my boy. 

I've had him for half of my life and this week we had to say goodbye. I don't know how to condense 15 years of love into a blog post so I'll end it here. Saying goodbye is always the hardest part and this is one incredible friend I'll never be able to forget. 

He was an amazing first pet. He never caused any trouble and just wanted to hang out and be loved and give some love of his own. Other pets have a come and gone, a lot in fact. But I'll never be able to thank you enough for the wonderful years of companionship and comfort Norman, but thank you just the same. I love you and you'll always be in my heart and the hearts of our friends and family. 

I don't just like you sir, I love you, I will always love you

Hi, welcome to Starbucks

My Dunkin Donuts friends might be annoyed with this one. Well, sorry, this chick didn't receive the "Friends with Everyone" superlative in 8th grade for being choosy or picking sides.

 

I hate coffee. Don't like the smell, the flavor, I don't even eat coffee cake. I go to Dunkin Donuts for the bagels (don't really like donuts either-never bought one for myself, ever.) and I go to Starbucks for one thing and one thing only: The Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino. I have, quite literally, never ordered another beverage from Starbucks.

 

See how happy it makes me?

 

Today, I went to the Starbucks drive thru, all amped up for my delicious liquid treat. I sat in line behind a lovely '64 Mustang that stunk up to high heaven (and we wonder how the Ozone could be crumbling..), but was still SUPER pretty and observed the woman in front of me being handed an ice water and having a little chat with the Barista at the window. I thought, surely she didn't hit up the drive thru for a glass of ice water, that's just silliness. After another beat, the Barista came back and handed her what appeared to be some sort of venti latte, soy and half calf concoction (whatever it is you weird coffee drinkers order) and she drove off with a smile on her face. How nice.

 

Then I get up to the window, pay for my beverage and wait patiently for the frozen cup of yum to emerge from the window. Before my drink was finished, the Barista (a lovely, outdoor/hipster/type gentleman) came back with a cup of ice water in his hands and asked me ever so politely, if I might like to take an extra ice water with me.

 

Now I don't know if ya'll have stepped out on the face of the sun this morning like I did, but it's hot as shit today. I did not hesitate when answering and gladly accepted the complementary refreshment as I knew I would greedily consume it once my Frappuccino was finished. But I thought, wow, how freakin' considerate of them to do that! I was so impressed, I was immediately compelled to blog about it and tell all of my friends :)

 

Then it got me thinking about Starbucks, or at least "the Starbucks I've come to know" over the past decade. I don't know what the standard company policies are. I don't know if anyone has ever worked at a Starbucks ad found it to be the worst job on the face of the planet. I can only go by my own experiences and the experiences my friends have had while working there. From what I've seen and heard, Starbucks is fucking great.

 

 

Sure hate on them for being some huge trendy company. Call them fascists for making a shit ton of money by selling overpriced coffee and having the gall to open locations directly across the street from one another. Is it silly, yes, we know it's silly, but are we in America? Will people gladly stop in the Starbucks conveniently located on the side of the street they happen to be walking along so they don't have to cross the intersection? You bet your lazy American ass they will. So I won't come down on them for makin' moves, it's our fault they get away with it.

 

But again, let's focus on the awesomeness shall we?

 

I had a friend in college who worked for the Starbucks a few blocks away from campus. he loved the job. She liked coffee and all of those weird trendy drinks and was a people person so that job was a great fit for her. But I remember her taking about how happy she was, and how nicely they treated their employees and thought, wow, Starbucks sounds pretty neat. She said employees were encouraged to take the old, used coffee grounds home at the end of each shift so they could be used in their gardens and compost heaps. That the company, rather then add to our countries ever-growing waste problem, provided each employee with reusable mugs so they weren't throwing away dozens of coffee cups each day (saving the company money in supplies as well I'm sure). I also heard that some locations give leftover food to local homeless shelters in their area (something other popular food places are doing as well), so thumbs up for giving back to the community!

 

I also had a cousin who worked there for sometime, at one point it was the only job she held and she was thankful that, while so many others were being laid off, or struggling to find some steady work (herself included, she was let go from her full time job), that she held a position at a place who seemed to value her as an employee. Now I know it's not the most glamorous position, essentially retail with scones, but when you're struggling and things seem helpless, sometimes it's that "regular job" that can keep you feeling upbeat and positive about what's to come.

 

For example, I had another friend who worked at a Starbucks in the neighboring town from me and he LOVES hi job! He gets to talk to different people all day, see his friends and drink a ton of coffee (dude loves coffee) each day. He loved the job so much, they started promoting him. First he was a trainer, then a shift supervisor and now a manager. Again, to folks with a 9-5 office job, this doesn't seem like a great direction for one to take in life. But if you're happy with what you're doing and your bills are paid-what's the big deal? I say, thanks Starbucks, for making lots of people happy!

 

Again, I don't know what the national (international?) company policies are, but the fact that they allow their individual franchises to do good within their communities and give back to their employees, makes them stars in my book.

 

So git yourselves out there, order some freakin' weird beverage and throw a coin or bill into the tip cup at your local Starbucks, they appreciate it more then you know.

 

Oh and try one of those Frappuccinos if you haven't tried it yet, I like it :)

The Happiest Place on Earth

For me, that's The Bronx Zoo. Once again I find myself amazed that I haven't blogged about this glorious institution of education and wonder yet. I talk about it all the time to the point where people tease me about my love of this place.

If you mean anything to me, you have been or will eventually come to the Zoo with me. It makes me so very happy. The Bronx Zoo is the one place I can remember going to all the time as a kid. The facility has changed dramatically over the years, all in the name of conservation and education. Last year I finally purchased a membership and visited the zoo four times that summer (the membership paid for itself in two visits!).

This is an image of the Elephant enclosure the way it was decades ago when the Zoo first opened. Depressing isn't it? 

This is how the Elephant enclosure looks now. These two ladies are over 40 years old and have lived together in this spot for awhile. There's no iron bars and plenty of space to roam. I took this from the monorail. It's an electric tram that goes through a section of the zoo. The Elephants don't have to worry about being bothered by folks or having any snot-nosed kids throw peanuts at them or what have you. They just get to hang out, play in the pool and do their Elephant thing. Progress, you can't stop it, and the Zoo doesn't plan to. 

I don't even need to Google images for the place, I've got plenty of my own!

Just look how happy we are

If you live in the Northeast, you have no reason for missing a day at the zoo. They're open from 10am to 5pm and I'm telling you right now, it is absolutely impossible to see everything in that period of time-believe me, I've tried!

Here's a map of the Zoo, sucker is huge!

One thing I must warn you about though, is the Peacocks. Sure they're beautiful and majestic but you will soon discover after walking through the gates of the Bronx Zoo, the Peacocks are total jerks. They can jump really high and therefore are constantly escaping from their habitat. They roam around like they own the place and eat everything they can get in their beaks. You will find them literally everywhere throughout the Zoo.

A few years back one actually got out and was found on the second floor balcony of an apartment complex! What a butthead!

Doesn't he look comfy? Yeah, that's not his habitat! He's chilling in a section for the Children's Petting Zoo, go home Peacock!

Like I said, you can learn a lot here. Education is extremely important to the folks in the Bronx. For example: did you know mother Rhino's carry their young for 18 months?! It's true, learned it at the Zoo. I also learned that Zoos "lend" out animals to prevent inbreeding. They want to keep the species going, but they're being smart about it. You won't find Tigers making babies with their babies anymore, no siree, that's just icky. So when the breeding season begins, Zoos will trade their animal residents and track the gene pool using a very important and elaborate charting system. Conservation is about quality, not quantity. 

The result of a love connection-baby Giraffe!

This summer brings something all new and super exciting to the Bronx Zoo-Dinosaurs! Visitors are going to get the chance to dig for fossils, ride on an educational safari through time and meet the authors of some very popular children's books about Dinosaurs. Visit the Zoo's website for details.  

If you don't live in the Northeast, please check out the local Zoo's (and Aquariums!) in your area. You have no idea how hard these facilities work to keep the various species (both endangered and domestic) around for everyone to enjoy. No matter how big or small, all Zoos strive to educate the public about these wonderful creatures. 

I took all of these. Ain't the Zoo grand? :)

It's the Final Countdown

My Birthday is on Friday.

I have been asked constantly by various friends and family, what I would like to receive.

I hate this question. A) I don't enjoy asking people to spend money on me for things. B) I want adult presents, meaning stuff that costs money which makes point A even more of an issue. And finally C) At the end of the day, I rarely ever get what I ask for.

This being my blog, however, and being a blog about things I like, here's everything I can think of that I want off of the top of my head. Get your wallets out and enjoy.

Hotair Balloon Ride:

I've always wanted to do this, is there a weight limit for this though? I know there is for Ziplining and Skydiving, as those are also things I'd love to do one day....

I'd also like a boy to give me flowers.

I realize this one is completely do-able as flowers can be easily stolen from a grumpy neighbors yard but still, it's been a girly wish of mine forever. 

It's trivial, but I've never been given flowers by a guy so it'll be a big deal when that day finally comes. For those of you keeping score at home, those are Gerber Daisies, my favorite flower. Just sayin'.

I also want this fabulous ring from Tiffany & Co. I believe I mentioned it in a previous post:

Size 7 :)

I would also love any number of incredible charms made by the likes of Tiffany & Co, Pandora, and Brighton:

I want to be one of those cool kids that gets to feed a Giraffe. Get to work Bronx Zoo:

I would not be upset if Gwen Stefani surprised me this year, and allowed her husband to have a little snuggle time with yours truly, just a thought:

Gavin, call me! <3

It would be awesome to have a wind turbine in my backyard:

A pair of Toms would be awesome, however, there are sooo many to choose from!!

I'll start with these Avengers pairs though :)

And who doesn't love a puppy?!

Being a sunglasses freak, I would die for a pair of Tiffany shades:

When I own my own home, I think it would be baller to have one of these bad boys:

Unicorns are awesome, you should definitely get me one:

I will also require a Unicorn poop-picker-upper to accompany this gift, thanks :)

Somewhat related, I really want to go on one of those carriage rides that are so popular with tourists in NYC:

Gavin, call me ;)

I feel like that's a long enough list for now. Though, don't get me wrong, I could go on for days but that's just rude don't ya'll think? Anyways, my Birthday comes around once each year so if you can't manage everything this go around, you'll have plenty of chances in the years to come :)

Happy Birthday to me!

Hey!

This one is going to be hard to put into words. How do you properly talk about something you are completely obsessed with in a concise manner that doesn't make you look like a raging lunatic?

Duck Dynasty.

I'm actually shocked I haven't talked about this fantastic piece of television greatness yet.
There are movies you can watch over and over again. They're timeless and classic and all of those wonderful descriptive words we associate awesome cinematic gems with. But never with a TV show.

I actually never understood why people bought full DVD collections of tv shows, are you really going to watch every episode, or even single episodes over and over again to the point in which you would actually need your own personal copies? I never believed it was possible. Until the day my life changed forever.

I don't hunt. Never eaten deer or duck meat. I'd make a gag face if you told me squirrels, frogs and crawfish, affectionately nicknamed "mud bugs", were delicious.

But then Duck Dynasty comes along and my world has been expanded.

You can't even see John Luke in the back corner-brilliant!

This is the only show ever to be put on television with the exception of Are You Being Served, Fawlty Towers and Keeping Up Appearances (yes, all British but none in the reality genre) that I can watch, over and over and over again and still be thoroughly entertained. Sure, I was obsessed with certain shows, but would I ever have a desire to watch them all over again on more than one occasion? Nope, not really.

Duck Dynasty. I wish I could really and truly explain it. It just makes me Happy, Happy, Happy. I always tell people who haven't seen an episode that I worry I might be overselling the show, but I genuinely don't believe it's possible to oversell something this spectacular. My mother is a Vegetarian, you could even say hippie, who has real issues with people spending a lot of money on outlandish "toys" and even she enjoys watching the show with me and the rest of our family.

I may not feel the same way they do about certain things, but I appreciate their general philosophy on life, love, education and the pursuit of happiness.

That was Phil, the patriarch and creator of the Duck Call. He started the business over 40 years ago and his sons took over the company, Duck Commander/Buck Commander and made it the Worldwide success that it is. He used to be a teacher and also played football for Louisiana Tech alongside Terry Bradshaw. This is a small compilation of his views on life but the show is way more than that. 

There's one clip in which he compares his plump wife to the marble statues and nude portraits of the Renaissance Era that I wish I could find. It is truly a wonderful clip that says a lot about his love for his wife. It also sums up exactly how I felt, being a big girl, sitting in Art History class and looking at all of these models that I share a similar body type with. Just makes a girl feel good.

The show follows the entire family, including three of Phil's four sons, their families, his wife Miss Kay, his brother Si and some of the companies employees. I could give you a history on all of them but that would be a little much. 

Si has come out as one of the shows biggest and most popular stars. He's over 70 years old and as the saying goes, says the darndest things:

My personal favorite is Jase. He designs the duck calls and runs the shop where they get assembled. Willie is the CEO and tries to keep everyone in line while taking care of promoting everything they do-the man loves making money and how American is that?

There's much more I could say, but you really need to see the show for yourself. I have yet to meet anyone who has watched an episode and not laughed or better yet, become immediately hooked. So if you haven't checked it out yet, go on YouTube and A&E.com for clips and episodes. A&E replays the show constantly too so you'll be able to DVR most of the last two seasons. 

As I said, I neither hunt nor fish, nor do I eat duck or deer. But I do own two of their Duck Calls and a Duck Commander sweatshirt. It's pretty great. 

And Happy Days have come our way....This was my 100th post!!!

Thanks for reading these guys! And if you haven't subscribed yet, please do so and you'll have direct access to my next 100 posts!

My Date with Anderson

Last week I was fortunate enough to get to go to a taping of the Anderson Live show!

I had wanted to go since the show first aired last year but couldn't fit it into my schedule until recently. Then when I was doing my research on the tickets I learned that the show was actually ending this summer! Now I was determined to get my hands on some tickets! 

Thankfully I was able to get tickets to one of the tapings at the end of March and took my dear friend Hannah with me to NYC. 

We were instructed to arrive at the studio at 10:30am and that filming would begin at 12:30pm. We also found out that the guests that day would include Stephanie Meyer and the cast from her recent film The Host!

Stephanie is on the far right and the blonde on the left wasn't at the show.

Oh thank goodness! Some people Hannah knows! I was so worried we'd be at a taping with someone she could care less about like Mike Tyson or Richard Simmons. (I don't think Anderson would have Tyson but Simmons is a definite possibility)

The co-host for the day was Kathy Griffin and while I don't think Hannah really cared about her, she was at least entertained enough to make the experience worth while. 

I've wanted to go to the Anderson Live show for awhile because it seems like he has a great connection with his audience, sometimes going right into the stands to meet and greet with those there to see him. He even has this photo booth set up on the side of his sound stage for him and his guests and he'll occasionally take pictures with audience members too.  

While that didn't happen for our taping (the schedule was extremely tight), I was fortunate enough to get to meet Anderson's executive producer Terence Noonan. 

Now, if you're not someone who watches the show regularly, you won't consider this a big deal. But Terence is a huge part of the show, often times being seen bantering back and forth with Anderson about silly things. I just love Terence! 

When I tried to get my picture with him, my cell phone had died. I asked Hannah if she could take a picture of us with her phone and before she could even get the thing in her hand, Terence said "Oh your battery dead? That's okay, just use my phone and I'll send you the pic"

Excuse me, what?!? This guy who's super powerful and on TV is actually okay with sending his fans something with his personal cell number attached?!? Holy crap! 

So we take the picture, he sends it to me and we leave. I was so blown away! As we were leaving I quickly texted him saying "thank you!" and confessing my love for him (I found out later I spelled his name wrong-so embarrassing ) then saved the picture and deleted his text and with it his phone number. We left and I thought nothing more of it. 

We spent the rest of the day walking around the city, stopping at the Central Park Zoo randomly, picking up boxes of Sprinkles cupcakes and then making out way to Grand Central for the train ride home. 

As we're getting on the train, my phone buzzes. It's a text from Terence saying "Great seeing you at the show"!!!! What a flippin' sweetheart! I mean honestly, how many times do you hear about a "celebrity" doing something so simple and thoughtful for a fan? I mean this man sees over 200 different faces each day in that studio yet he still thinks nothing of taking a moment to send a text back to one of them. It really left me feeling like the luckiest person in the whole world. 

I can't wait to see the show again and hopefully get another picture with Terence and maybe even this time, Anderson! I'll make sure my cell phone is completely charged though! Don't want to get a reputation as "that fan that never has a working camera phone"!

Here's a shot of me in the audience! I made the TV mom!

Sorry, it's a bad picture taken of my tv but you can clearly see me (I look tired) in the bottom left hand corner!

If you've never seen the show before, definitely check it out! It airs Monday through Friday at noon (check your local listings). The man has two other shows on CNN as well so I can't be mad at him for cancelling his daytime show-when does he sleep?!

Relatives

Mine are amazing.

My cousin is never on Facebook. She's hates it actually, refused to join. Her friends made a page for her and she still hadn't touched it for years.

Today she posted the following:

Don't go on FB much, but today I'm on a soapbox! Don't get me MAD!


Our United States Constitution says that everyone is created equal. Jesus hung out with prostitutes and lepers and ALWAYS treated them with the utmost respect - read your Bible - he washed their feet. Would you? Our new Pope Francis HAS. Mary let her Son "consort" with them - "those people". 

If married Catholics can have a divorce rate of 54% (and only have an 18% annulment rate - go to the Catholic register), what is the problem? Mike and I have been together for 30 years. We've been married for 24. I see couples break up their marriages before that, while "those other couples" surpass that. Seriously? My religious beliefs shouldn't be above what Jesus dictated in the New Testament - read it. It's not about any of my narrow beliefs - it's about Jesus' big picture of "can't we all just get along?" Our Bible says we're all made in God's image. So YOU'RE saying GOD was wrong? You really think you're that almighty????

To all of my gay friends in happy relationships - welcome to our fresh relationship hell! (Y'all know what I mean!) We all know the Bible says marriage is for procreation - that's always the big talking point they use to prove that being gay is wrong; But, if you are married and decided not to have children or can't, then you are wrong in the eyes of the Church, right? You shouldn't be married if you can't have a child, right? Again, seriously? If you use artificial insemination are your children then an abomination?  Really? NO! Each life is a blessing. And every child that has a parent to love them is truly blessed. That is what I have learned from reading my Bible. 

I will now get off my liberal Jesus (just read about Him, He was the FIRST Liberal) soap box and deal with all of my "friends" who will quote me inane passages telling me how wrong I am. How I need to reevaluate... Haters will always be around to "help" us. Just ask the slaves.... oh wait... that Liberal Abe Lincoln stopped that. Huh... 


This is who I'm related to. These are the type of people who made me who I am. I have never been more proud. Go Kris, go-you are the best!

Sidenote: I spell-checked this for you, love you baby!

Give a little bit

We all know about the tragedy in Sandy Hook, CT, about 20 minutes from where I live; and the damage the events of that day did to the community of that small town. We've heard about the various charities and groups formed to assist those who lost loved ones, and organizations set up to handle the memorial and restructuring or rebuilding of the school. But what most people don't know, is that in addition to those families, there were other victims that day, the surviving students who witnessed first hand, the attack on their  classmates and members of staff.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I never thought about the bystanders, the "casualties" if you will. Maybe it's due to the fact that the media focuses solely on the victims, meaning those who had either been killed or wounded and their families; but again, there are other victims in all tragedies like this.

I won't single out any of these children or their families as they've asked to be kept out of the spotlight, but thankfully The Sandy Hook Healing Fund was created to assist these folks in anyway they need. Providing child advocates, connecting families with therapists should they need any one on one care, and even helping with the small, day to day tasks like providing groceries or arranging activities for the kids. Again, I won't go into specifics, but these families could really use our support.

The group has already received some donations, but they just went public and could use some extra help. 

If you would like to donate, or are interested in picking up one of the charity's wristbands, please check them out on Facebook or visit their page on the EverRibbon website. 

(just click the links to be connected directly to their pages)

Don't Call it a Crush

It's love. Pure, absolute, gushy love!

Ya'll know about "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore; at least, you should know about it. Well, I'm obsessed with this silly song and recently Joe sent me a text that read "Go on YouTube and check out "Same Love" by Macklemore, have your tissues ready", the dude gets me, what can I say.

Sure enough, I'm curled up with my iPad a few minutes later and crying my eyes out.

Later on in the week Joe played the rest of the album for me and I just cannot help myself, the man is a God to me now. He's handsome, can rap-and raps about stuff that MATTERS, believes in the same stuff I believe in, and has a sense of humor. How can I not be in love?

Here's "Thrift Shop" for those of you living under a rock:

So fun!

Here's the song Joe told me about that lead me to fall head over heels, "Same Love":

"I might not be the same, but that's not important. No freedom til we're equal, damn right I support it"

I wish more rappers would put this kind of stuff on wax. Yes, there are plenty of important issues that rappers wave the banner for, but those songs usually get overshadowed by the hits about bitches, hoes and rims. I wish songs like "Same Love" could get the same kind of radio play that songs like "Back That Ass Up" gets. Just sayin'.

I like that he collaborates with different people and again, while he raps about important issues, also takes the time to have a little fun. 

Here's a song I found while creepin' Macklemore's YouTube videos. It's not his, but it's funny, smart and obviously supported by my man Ben (that's Macklemore's name ya'll). "Pot Shop":

Now, I'm not saying he's the greatest rapper of all time or anything like that, but he makes me smile. I hope he blows up in a big way so he can get his positive messages out there. I know Lady Gaga is all about equality, but I personally feel like the more support certain issues receive from a diverse group of people, the easier it is to spread that message to every corner of the Earth. 

Check out his album, The Heist, he has some other really nice songs about childhood memories, and also some silly "typical" rap songs like one where he talks about everything being gold or the one about his castle.  

Oh my goodness, how I like him!

And he's my age! Ben, call me!! <3

No shoes or nothing'

It really is insane how happy this makes me. Just can't stop!

PS-Going to the Die Hard Marathon tomorrow! Five movies!! #BruceWillisAllDay!

It's Only Paper....

This past year has brought a lot of stress but also a truck load of awesome. I've traveled, spent more time with friends, spent more time doing stuff I'm interested in and slowly started getting my financials on track.

Part of this new found awesome has been hitting up the movies as often as possible. I'm going to be starting a new blog in which to focus solely on movie reviews and once that baby is up and running I'll post the link here so ya'll can check that out. I currently write movie reviews for the newsletter at work but it only gets published once every four months, as you might recall me mentioning a few posts back. So I thought it might be nice to have little more room to write up these reviews and the blog will make it much easier to post on a more regular, "real time" basis so people might actually be able to look to my reviews before heading out to the box office. I average about two movies per week so you can also look forward to some actual-consistent postings on that blog (cough, sorry this one sucks, cough).

But this past year has also made it possible for me to "dream big" or at least "have more realistic hopes". I can now afford to pay bills, save a little cash and occasionally treat myself to some material goodies. Nothing crazy, a few $20 items here and there, but enough to make me feel a little less like a pauper and more like a princess. While this is completely shallow, I know, I also think it's important to treat yourself every once in awhile because frankly, there's nothing wrong wit looking yourself in the mirror and saying "Hey you, nice job kicking life in the ass, here's a little something to acknowledge how well you're doing".

Back at Christmas time, I posted a picture of a gift I received and mentioned that it was something I had wanted for quite some time. A friend commented and asked why I simply didn't buy it for myself at this point. Here's the deal, I'm poor and live paycheck to paycheck. From 2006, after I graduated college to the present, I was laid off twice and for a number of years could only get part time work. The bills kept coming and I could do nothing to get myself out of the mountain of debt that had amassed. I understand a lot of people don't have the same problems, but I was so annoyed by my friends post. Buy it for myself? I'm sorry, I don't have the luxury of dropping nearly $100 bucks on myself "just because".

But thankfully, my new job has made it a little easier to breathe. So I'm managing my budget, working on getting my life back on track and can now "dream" a little bigger. So, since this blog is called "Lizz Likes It", here's the list of "gifts" I'd like to give myself sometime in the near future. Every year for Christmas people ask me what I want and I always say "Oh don't worry about me" or "Oh you know I like anything" well darnit not true, here people, here's what Lizz actually, seriously wants.

I've joined the "Pandora" band wagon in a major way and found this little beauty for 40 bucks. Yeah, what nerdy girl wouldn't want this one their bracelet?

Tickets to the Newsies on Broadway. It's my favorite musical of all time (not a fan of musicals at all really) and when I heard they were finally turning the movie into a real live production, I seriously cried buckets of fanfilled tears. 

A super kick ass laptop. As I don't know which laptop I'll eventually be getting, I simply typed in "Super Kick Ass Laptop" in Google and came across this sweet baby. All I really require in my personal robot is that it allows me to play Minecraft and can hold all of my pictures (girlfriend has a lot) and can finally get me every song I've ever desired. Ever. 

More Diamond Candles. Yes. I'm still obsessed and they have too many damned scents that I just MUST discover!

Fossil handbags. This Christmas I discovered the amazingness that is Fossil accessories (they make way more then watches people) and for the first time, I find myself drooling over handbags that cost a stupid amount of money. I'm not going to go nuts though, Ebay will still be my go-to for these babies, girlfriend may like to shop but she doesn't like to spend unnecessary amounts of money.

Toms. I don't care that they're "trendy" or "hipster" fashion or whatever. They are super cute and work for an incredible cause. So call me a yuppie, but also make a point to compliment my super cute shoes.

A boat-load of XBox games. Seriously, I'd play and possibly get better if these babies weren't stupidly expensive. I mean I'm seriously interested in playing but just cannot justify the cost!

Here's another item I've wanted for years and am still pining away for. Tiffany & Co.'s Silver Interlocking Ring. It's $200 bucks and there's certainly no way I'm spending that on myself. Also checking EBay every so often for this one.

A new car. Yes, it's a Chrysler 300 and yes, I have been told time and time again from my lovely mechanic Mike, that I must not buy American. But dammit I freakin' love this baby and he comes in 4WD! I wanna be the female Jay-Z of New England!

Big Pimpin' baby!