Picture Book Tunes For Tuesday

I love books. (Duh.) So whenever there is a holiday or birthday, I always make sure books are part of the gift for my kids, cousins, and friends. My youngest, JD, turned five this month. Along with some Star Wars toys, I gave him two awesome picture books: A New Job For Dilly (written by Rena Jones, illustrated by Lisa Oakman) and Billy Twitters and his Blue Whale Problem (written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex). See the lil guy above with his new books!
JD is a preschooler, so I love the ABC concept of A New Job For Dilly. As Dilly looked for each job, JD would say "Awwww" if a job didn't work out. And when Dilly did find a job, JD cheered for him! If your child interacts with you during the book like that, you know he is interested and having fun.

JD did this as well with Billy Twitters. When Billy received a blue whale in the mail (from a Fed Up delivery man who suspiciously looks like illustrator Adam Rex), JD exclaimed, " A blue whale! In the mail?!!" He loved the pure ludicrousness (yes, this is a word, I just looked it up) that this little boy would actually have a blue whale and giggled throughout the story. He also loved the illustrations. Even on the inside of the book cover, he studied each illustration and asked me a million questions about them.
So do I recommend these books? Absofreakinglutely! And better yet, all these authors are bloggers. Click on the author's names in this paragraph to go to their blogs. Adam Rex shares his early work as a child (with hilarious commentary) and gives sneak peeks on his blog. If you haven't read his Frankenstein picture books, you are missing out. The True Meaning of Smekday was a fun read, too. Rex and Barnett also have a new book titled Guess Again! that I will be purchasing soon. Also, Adam, Mac, Jon Scieszka, and David Shannon and are in the middle of a book tour. See the tour info on their Guys With Books blog here!
Rena's next book is The Marshmallow Man (coming out in December). Rena also is a talented nature photographer, see her recent pics of Yellowstone here.
So I have two tunes for today.
Here's "Why Don't You Get a Job" by the Offspring. There are expletives in this song, so Dilly, Billy, nor other little ones should listen. But I like the Offspring. It seems like their singing is borderline yelling, yet it entertains me.




and indie rocker's Modest Mouse's "Whale Song" is my second tune for the day. Great bass on this one.

Poetry Friday

Today for Poetry Friday I have an original cinquain. The picture is of my puppy, Daisy, on the day we adopted her from the dog rescue. Since then she's grown longer and longer. Her mom was a cavalier spaniel/terrier mix and the father was unknown. Now that we've had her for six months, we are pretty sure the dad was a dachsund. She is SO darn long! And cute. When we were looking at breeds to adopt, my husband wanted a spaniel, but also said he did not want a dachsund. Well, we got ourselves a dachsund it turns out. And he (and the rest of the family) couldn't love her more!

Enjoy the cinquain and check out more poetry links at Susan Taylor Brown today.

HOT DOG

Sunshine.
A patch of light
Encompasses the cold
puppy, now bathed in nature's warmth.
Asleep.

-by Kelly Polark

And the winner is...

Thank you to all who entered my blogaversary contest! I loved reading the captions and comments about my doggies. My fave was “Paws off, he’s mine” by Sherrie! I put everyone’s names on strips of paper to have my son pull one, but my puppy Daisy grabbed one first! So I pulled the strip of paper out of her mouth, and it was Rena! Congrats! Rena, message me with your address, and your prize will be on its way!
Did anyone else watch the Emmy’s last night? See who won here as I won't list them. Who do I look like Giuliana Rancic?
Here’s my usual
Random Thoughts while watching the Emmy’s!
1. I didn’t know Doogie could sing!
2. Too long of a montage before each genre intro.
3. The eye props were a little goofy when showing the nominees of Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
4. Kristen Chenowith is such a cute lil thing! She looks amazing in her silver dress. She won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy and was so sincere and funny.
5. The two women from How I Met Your Mother (one of my fave shows) just had babies in the spring. They already look slim and trim!
6. JT is brunette now? And wears specs? Is he bringing average Joe back?
7. Rob Lowe still looks as handsome as when he was Sodapop in the Outsiders movie…but he’s not terribly funny as a presenter.
8. Okay, the mustache on Sarah Silverman who was nominated was funny.
9. Wow, big names for Lead Actress in a Mini Series! Jessica Lange won!
10. Sarah McLachlin has a beautiful voice. Some very famous names in the Memoriam section…and many I’ve never heard of.
11. Niiiiiiice. Two vampires: Stephen Moyer and David Boreanaz. Whoa! I didn’t know that Stephen Moyer was English! He does the Southern drawl so well in True Blood.
12. Yay! Nip/Tuck is back on next month! (okay, that was a commercial)
13. Sigourney Weaver looks exactly the same as she did twenty years ago. Wow, what a statuesque woman.
14. Woo hoo! True Blood won for Breakthrough Performance of the Year.

That’s my wrap up! I thought Neil Patrick Harris did a good job as host, he seemed a little nervous at first, but he is a funny, talented actor. My best dressed for the evening goes to two ladies in red: Mila Kunis and Blake Lively. They both looked stunning in red (which is supposed to be a hot color this fall season). Honorable mentions: Vanessa Williams always looks gorgeous too at the awards show, she was in a vibrant blue. Mariska Hargitay looked beautiful in a metallic dress, too. I actually had to look at internet photos of the dresses as during the night not everyone was showcased.

Blogoversary Contest!

Wow. It’s been one year since I published my first blog post. Can you believe it? Sometimes I can’t believe anyone comes by to see what the heck is up with me. So a sincere thank you.
My first post, Here I Am, was a quick introductory post. The first commenters on my first post were my husband, my sister, Rena Jones, Brenda Zirkle, and Jill Corcoran (thanks!). My second post, Paint It Black, was about black fingernail polish. My third post, Crazy B’s, was about a concert I had attended (what a surprise).
Through this first blogging year I have accumulated 155 posts, 11,287 hits, 50 followers, and most importantly several cyber friends I’ve connected through my blog and through reading their blogs.
So as a thank you to you all, I am having a lil contest. A caption contest. Look at the pic below, and give me your best caption (or comment).

What will you win? You will win a pack of recycled pencils and an Ed Hardy notepad to scribble a quick writing idea or a grocery list in. You can be cool and be green at the same time! I wish I could give away more, but it’s a recession, yo.
So give me your best caption (yes, those are my pups)! Contest closes on Sunday. I’ll announce a winner on Monday!
And thanks a million for reading my blog!!!

Saliva Tune for Tuesday

Today’s tune for Tuesday is by the rock group, Saliva. My mom and I saw them live in concert on Friday night. When my husband asked who we were going to see, I told him, “Saliva.” He busted out laughing. It is a funny name. Then I sang some of their hits like “Ladies and Gentlemen” and he was familiar with a few tunes. “Ladies and Gentlemen” seems to be played at so many sports events so that is one reason he knew that song.
Saliva is a platinum album selling rock band from Tennessee. Their fifth album Cinco Diablo came out in late 2008. The band was playing less than a half hour from me on Friday night, and I enjoy many of their songs, so my mom and I decided to go. Unfortunately, the concert started late (at 9) with two bands ahead of Saliva. My mom and I decided to sit and chat at the bar area for the two bands and went inside the concert area at the second bands’ last song. We secured a great spot on the left side in front of the stage even with our late entry. Saliva didn’t play until 11pm (which I’m in bed usually by then), but their energy and cool songs kept me very awake.
Here's my mom and me.

Saliva frontman, Josey Scott, is pretty reserved and stayed at the microphone, but he sounded really good. (Sidenote, Josey is married to an adult film star named Kendra something or other, is that a rock n roll cliche or what?). Back to the concert, luckily for us, we discovered that Saliva’s rhythm guitarist, Jonathan Montoya, was pure entertainment just by himself. Jonathan was like the court jester of rock and roll with his expressions, sometimes lewd gestures. He sang and danced throughout the whole show. He also poured beer all over himself, spit water into the audience (what did I expect with a band name like Saliva?). My mom and I had to turn and duck a few times so we weren’t sprayed too much. We giggled throughout the show because of Montoya’s over the top antics and outrageous personality.
Here’s a few short clips of him playing guitar, but it isn’t even his funniest moments, but still a little crazy.


Here’s also a short clip of “Ladies and Gentlemen” (embarrassingly enough, I believe you can hear me singing along, too).


Saliva played their hits (my favorite of the night was "Always") and some cool new tunes from their new album. A great concert. We even ducked out a door with the roadies to get to our car first, so we didn’t even have to fight traffic leaving. A fun night out with Mom.
Today's tune is my favorite Saliva song, "Rest in Pieces," which they did play at the concert in honor of 9/11. The video doesn't do the song justice, it's a little crass for a beautiful song. In fact I don't like the video (and it's not suitable for children), but I love the song! Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue/Sixx:A.M. cowrote this song, he has a cameo in the video.

Saliva - Rest In Pieces
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Bloody Good

Yes, yes, yes. I’ve been sucked into the vampire hype. First, I started watching HBO show, True Blood, last year. Wow. It’s campy, it’s funny, it’s suspenseful, it’s graphic. I love that show. The second season ends on Sunday, and I am so disappointed that I won’t be watching new episodes after Sunday (which I'll actually watch Monday because we are having people over for the Bears game Sunday night). The characters are such….characters! Sookie is strong and unique. Vampire Bill is such a protective Southerner. Eric the Nordic vampire somehow got even better looking this season. Jason is a riot. Tara has the most athletic body I have ever seen. Mariann was perfectly cast. I could go on and on. If you haven’t seen it, start with the first season DVD.
I actually just finished the first book this series is based on, Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. (I’m holding the book in above picture. Do you like my Tru Blood t-shirt?) Great book, but I do wish I’d read it before the series. I always like reading the book first then the movie, this is no exception. I do think the series does the book justice and even elaborates well on other characters. But I will try and catch up on the books before the next season hits.
I read the Twilight series in February and March of this year. My sister just recently read through the four books in a week! I did enjoy the series. Eclipse was my favorite. And I’m Team Jacob. I’m a dog lover, and he’s just not as controlling as Edward. Not that Edward isn’t dreamy… The movie was good, not great, but good. I will go see New Moon in the theaters this fall!
Also, I will watch the new fall show, Vampire Diaries, to get my vamp fix. In fact I'm going to watch it after I post this blog. I know it won’t be as good as True Blood. But it will have to do.

Like my other vampire tshirt? If you can't read it from the pic, it says, "Only vampires can love you forever." Here I am holding not a vampire book, but Prada and Prejudice by Blueboarder Mandy Hubbard! I won it on Tabitha’s blog recently. Thank you, Tabitha! I have actually never read any Jane Austen. I am going to read Pride and Prejudice then this book. Just in case there are any fun parallels. I’m looking forward to it!
Are you into vampires too?

Tune for Tuesday/75 Bands

Blog follower and fart poet, Murph, asked a good question last week that left me to ponder a while. How many concerts have I been to? This made me think, look back at some old pics to jog my memory, and look at ticket stubs (yes, I collect them, but I don’t have all of them…).
My first concert was REO Speedwagon/Survivor in 6th grade with my parents. Then came a wave of hair metal in the late 80’s. Then I went to a few concerts here and there, but I really picked up again after I became a stay at home mom. I love being at home, and family is my life. I'm a homebody, and really, usually I'm home. But sometimes I just need to get out and let loose and sing songs at the top of my lungs. So I started going to concerts regularly again. And again and again.
I really don’t know how many actual concerts I have been to, but here is a list of musicians/bands that I have seen live. Since most concerts feature 2-3 bands, I am guessing I’ve attended at least 50-60 concerts, and I’ve seen over 75 bands live.
Here’s a list.
30 Seconds to Mars, Aerosmith, Christina Aguilera, Avenged Sevenfold (2), Bad Company, Pat Benatar (2), Black Eyed Peas, Blondie (2), Bon Jovi, Brides of Destruction, Buckcherry (4), Mary Chapin Carpenter, Chevelle (2), Chicago, The Connells, Creed, Sheryl Crowe, Def Leppard, Disturbed, The Donnas, Dovetail Joint, Duran Duran (4), Eve 6, Foo Fighters (2), Great White (2), Guns n Roses, Hoobastank, INXS, Billy Joel, Elton John, Juke Kartel, The Killers, Kiss, LA Guns, Bret Michaels Band, The Monkees, Motley Crue (4), Vince Neil solo (4), Nelson, Our Lady Peace, Ozzy Osbourne, Panic Channel, Papa Roach (2), Poison (2), Prince, Queensryche (2), REO Speedwagon (2), Rick Springfield, Rockstar Supernova, Saving Abel, Scorpions, Seven Mary Three, Shinedown, Silvertide, Sixx AM, Skid Row (2), Slaughter (3), Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Squier, Styx (3), Sum 41, Survivor (2), System of a Down, Tantric (2), Third Eye Blind (2), Three Days Grace, Justin Timberlake, Trapt, The Tubes, Van Halen (2), Velvet Revolver, Warrant, Weezer, Whitesnake (3), Winger (3), Weird Al Yankovic

The band I’ve seen the most is Motley Crue/Vince Neil (Vince Neil sings Crue songs anyway when he’s solo). Bands I want to see live and haven’t yet are My Chemical Romance and Incubus. U2 would be awesome live, too. I’ll add Saliva to my list this weekend, too!
Today’s tune for Tuesday is from a band on my list that I haven’t played on my blog yet. Here’s another hair metal cutie. Listen to Slaughter’s 1990 hit “Fly to the Angels.” Good tune, except for the lyric, “And flowers bloom in your name.” That’s just plain goofy. Oh, and that’s lead singer, Mark Slaughter, me and my hubby’s cousins a few years ago in the top left photo.
Grab your hairspray and crank it!

Slaughter - Fly To The Angels- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Whateva Pic

1. Ray Veen of Big Plain V posted a meme to post ten pictures of whatever from your hard drive. Look at his link to find the rules. I'm not going to post them, because I am not really following them closely. (I'm such a rebel!)

My photos are 1000 to 1 family. Then I have some of rockstars. And a few cool scenery shots I guess. I haven't really saved many photos for book research yet, but for my blog I've saved musician photos and some logos. As I perused my photo files and I came across this one that I saved years ago. I think it is really cool. So I am going to post it for my Whateva photo. But I'm going to break the rules and talk about it.

This is an illustration from Virgin Digital that depicts 75 different band names. For example, see the roses and guns in a vase? That would be for the band, Guns N Roses. The green square on the calendar? Green Day. And so on. I have never found all 75, I believe my number was 50 something. But I thought it would be fun to share with you all. What band name (s) did you find?

Here is bigger picture of it with a list of the answers. But seriously, try to find as many as you can before looking! I haven't even checked the answers, because I want to keep looking!

2. Kim Kasch nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award!! Thank you, my dear Kim! I appreciate the pat on the back! And since I am breaking rules today, I am going to give you a link to my seven things here!

3. I received good news this week. Ladybug magazine accepted a poem of mine to be published in a future issue! I was seriously close to tears when I read the email (I know, I'm a sap!), but I had been submitting them for a few years with no luck. I feel so honored to be able to say my poetry has been (well, will be) published with the Carus group.

Tune for Tuesday

I’ll close my weeks of late 80’s nostalgia with one of my favorite musicians from high school. Winger. Yes, the band that Beavis and Butthead laughed at. Yes, the singer that used to study ballet. Yes, the lead singer with the long hair and hairy chest (oh, wait that’s most 80’s bands). Yes, that's a picture of me putting up my Kip Winger poster in my dorm room my freshman year of college. I did get teased for that. In college, music was going more alternative, but I was still a headbanger. And I guess I still am!

I've seen Winger live three times. I first saw them live the summer after I graduated high school. I was gaga over Kip Winger. I thought he was the cutest guy ever. During the concert, I pointed at him in time to the music, then he pointed back at me! My friend next to me exclaimed, "Kip Winger totally just pointed at you!" I was so excited. Of course my other friends didn't notice, and they teased me for thinking that Kip Winger pointed at me. But he did! At least I think he did. Even today I still get teased by family or friends and they'll say at a concert, "Oh, look! So and so just pointed at you!" :)
My favorite Winger song was "Headed for a Heartbreak." Their most popular song was "Seventeen." Today's tune is the 1989 song with the illegal sounding chorus, "Seventeen." It's deliciously eighties!






Due to somewhat popular demand, I've added some more recent pictures of Mr. Winger. Thanks to Rhonda for emailing me the first one! And I found the other one on the web. We all don't look seventeen anymore I guess. But he still has a roguish charm to him! I think I'm going to watch "Headed for a Heartbreak" again and go tease my hair.

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