10. The One with the book that might have changed my life...?

Here's the thing...I promised you another number checked off my list. It didn't happen. I blame myself. (And my sister, Mal...but I'll get to that.) My Thanksgiving break was very full and I just didn't have time to do the thing I was going to do. (I'll work on it, I promise.) I went home for a few days, which was lovely. I ate lots of food, did lots of shopping, watched Jumanji (holla!), made my mom blush in Menard's, and played an insane amount of euchre with my dad and sisters. Cards are a big thing in the DeLacy fam; I just recently jumped on the bandwagon and I. Love. It. When I wasn't doing all those things, I was busy getting hooked on "American Horror Story." Mal is a big fan of it, and thought I would like it so we watched the first episode...and the second, third and fourth. I can't stop watching...which is a problem, because it scares the shit out of me. Seriously. I'm fine when I'm watching it (in broad daylight, with a kitty on my lap) but later on, when my house is dark (like it is right now) and I hear something creaking (which happens all the time), I freak out that there's a ghost walking around in my attic. And I don't even believe in ghosts. I've managed to make it through all but two episodes of the first season, but that's all I'm going to watch. I don't think I can handle another season, even thought it's a crazy-good show. If you can handle scary (or even if you can't), I highly recommend it.

So, I read a book. It was excellent! But I'm unsure if it actually changed my life... One of my college friends, Ashley, recommended it to me. It's called "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. Without spoiling anything, it's about a girl named Hazel who has cancer, but thanks to a "miracle drug," her tumors are shrinking. Through her cancer support group, she meets a lovely guy named Augustus. The book basically follows their friendship, it's evolution into something else, and them dealing with their life circumstances. It was beautiful. I laughed, I cried, I felt their pain, I cheered at their victories. It was really a lovely read...but I don't know if it changed my life. It definitely gave me a different perspective on love. It made me even more thankful than I already was for my good health. It made me appreciate my parents even more (if that's even possible.) But changing my life? I'm just not sure. There weren't any bells. The sky didn't open up and God didn't yell down to me, "Your life is forever changed!" To those of you who have had your life changed by a book, how did you know it changed your life? How did you feel? When did you know? I need some help, blog readers. Please, please, please give a girl some help! I really want to cross this off my list, but I want to know that my life has been changed. So...go! Tell me everything...and suggest more books.

22. Discover a new band

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know I'm a few days early, but by this time on Thursday, I'll be curled up under a blanket in my snuggliest PJs, maybe drinking a glass of wine, definitely in the largest food coma anyone has ever seen. I. Can't. Wait. Anyway, I hope you're all having a lovely week! I've spent the beginning of mine being a mom to not only my two fur babies, but to my three favorite dogs in the whole world. My friends, Elizabeth and Tyler, are on vacation so I'm watching their kids for them. As far as dogs go, they are the some of the sweetest, best behaved I've ever encountered. I mean, just look how sweet!

 

So, I've been loving up on dogs, snuggling my girls, watching ridiculous amounts of "The West Wing," had a Thanksgiving-episode "Friends" marathon with my friend, Erica, had my first white chocolate peppermint mocha of the season and, somehow, had time to clean my house. I'd say every week should be Thanksgiving week.

 

So, I've been mulling over #22 for awhile because I knew it needed to be good. In my opinion, music is a lot like politics. Everyone has their own thoughts and thinks their thoughts are better than other peoples' thoughts. Here's where I stand, because I know you're all dying to know. I like just about every kind of music out there, except for country, bluegrass, and some classical. Ideally, I'd love to hole up in my house and just listen to Sara Bareilles, Coldplay,  and The Fray, but, thanks to a) me being a hip hop teacher and b) having roughly 60 students under the age of 10, I've also learned to embrace Flo Rida, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, and J Biebs. Because music is so important to my job, I usually spend hours searching for new songs for class or recital. So, really, discovering new bands is something I do all the time. I decided to pick my three favorites I've discovered in 2012 and share them with you. Get excited!

 

1. Foster the People

I'm guessing most of you have heard of them by now, thanks to a little song called "Pumped Up Kicks," but they were pretty new to me earlier this year. I have my friend, Bryan, to thank for that. Being the lovely friend he is, Bryan let me borrow his copy of "Torches," which I immediately fell in love with and listened to in my car for hours on end. Ok, that's not honest at all. I listened to "Houdini" for hours on end. Once, my sister, Mal, and I were waiting to turn at an intersection and we decided to see how many times we could play that song before we could turn...I think we made it 3 and a half times through. Anyway, I love Foster the People and want them to put out another album now. Right now.

 

 

2. Kimbra

Ok, so technically, it's a "she," not a band, but it's my blog, so my rules. I know what you're thinking, and no, I didn't discover her because of "Someone That I Used to Know." I have my sister, Kaylee, to thank. Kaylee went to see Foster the People in concert this summer (mega jealous) and Kimbra was the opener. I haven't listened to all her stuff yet, but she's quirky. I like her. Bonus: I love this song and I played it in my advanced jazz class a few weeks ago and they LOVED it! Also...this video is wack. But the song is excellent.

 

 

3. Imagine Dragons

This is my most recent love. (Thanks Mal!) I actually listened to these guys awhile ago when I was trying to find recital music, but they weren't quite what I was looking for, so I forgot about them until Mal was nice enough to send me a whole bunch of their music. I like them because they kind of have a Coldplay-ish vibe. Woot. Enjoy.

 



 

So, there you go. But that's not at all. Since I'm such a nice person, I thought I'd share a band with all of you so you're one step closer to completing your list...or something. Technically, I discovered these guys last fall, but who really cares?

 

4. Pentatonix

NBC used to have this badass show called "The Sing-Off." It was an a'capella group competition and, aside, from having a douche-y host (I'm looking at you, Nick Lachey!), it was awesome. I mean, how can you go wrong with Ben Folds, Sara Bareilles, and Shawn Stockman judging? You can't. You just can't. Anywho, Pentatonix was on the show last season (which turned out to be the last season, despite it being one of the most watched shows on NBC...whoever made the call to cancel it is an idiot) and they were my favorites and they won (because they were my favorites.) They are insane...like, I want to BE them. I tried to introduce them to anyone who will listen, and, so far, everyone has seemed to like them. They have a self-titled EP out, and just released a Christmas EP, so check them out! I couldn't pick a favorite video of theirs so, I picked three. The first two are from the show and the last is a cover of "Starships" by Nicki Minaj.

 

 

 

 

 



 

Yay! I hope you all enjoyed. Have a wonderful holiday week/weekend. If all goes according to plan, I'll have something else crossed off my list before Sunday...



17. Be completely silent for one hour

Can I just say one thing before I talk about me shutting up for an hour? I love "The West Wing." Love, love, LOVE IT! Love it. I got hooked at the end of my senior year in college and spent most of my first year as a working adult watching it. There's really nothing negative I can say about this show...Aaron Sorkin is a writing god. Martin Sheen is...perfection. Perfection with a side of chocolate. If President Bartlet was a real dude, I'd vote for him. This show introduced me to Allison Janney and Kathryn Joosten, made me fall in love with Rob Lowe and Bradley Whitford, and makes me extra excited when I see the guy who works at Target that's a spitting image of Josh Malina. I actually went through a period of time where I wanted to be press secretary for the White House. Or maybe I just wanted to be Allison Janney...I'm still not sure. Most importantly, this show turned me into a nerd who enjoys learning about politics. Anyway, this series has been on my "to buy" list for the past three years. I was going to buy it with my tax refund in 2011, but I ended up buying a new car instead. Tax refund 2012 went toward my house...and I never seemed to have $200 just lying around to buy something that would contribute to my hermitdom. (Not a word...definitely not a word. But I kinda like it...hermitdom.) And then something glorious happened... I was supposed to go to Minnesota this weekend to visit some family, but due to an evil germ invasion, a three and a half hour car ride while dizzy seemed like a bad idea. So, I came home from work, slept for two hours, and decided to make a quick run to the store for groceries. As I was leaving Target, I decided to stop at Best Buy and get the next season of Desperate Housewives, since I'd probably be spending most of the weekend on the couch. As I walked into Best Buy, I was ambushed by three employees back to back, asking if they could help me, so I politely said no, and walked down what I thought was the TV aisle, but alas, it was not. I turned the corner into the TV aisle, and there, sitting right in front of me, was one complete series of The West Wing...ON SALE. For $89. Regularly $230. Let me say that again...$230, marked down to $89. I'm surprised I didn't pass out right there in the aisle. I picked it up immediately...then put it back...picked it up...put it back and tried to walk away...told myself I didn't need it THAT much, it's just a show, afterall...picked it up and grabbed the next season of Desperate Housewives...put them both back...and then called my sister, Mallory, to act as my moral compass.  She didn't answer, which I took as her giving me the ok to buy it, but just in case, I called my other sister, Kaylee, who gave me the ok. I bought it and literally skipped all the way to my car. I just finished watching the first episode and I'm typing this as fast as I possibly can so I can get to the second episode. I. LOVE. THIS. SHOW.

I can almost hear some of you giggling about the title of this post. I'm not a quiet person. And my house is almost never silent. I always have the TV on, or music, or am talking to Stella and Charlee. I knew this was going to be a tough thing to cross off my list, which is why I've put it off for so long. A few days ago, I made a list of the things I had left and figured it was time to cross this one off. I also did some prep work to make sure this would go a little smoother. First, I accepted the fact that I was probably going to have to try this several times to get through the whole hour. (Again, I'm just not a quiet person.) Second, I made some tentative plans of things I could do for my hour. (Read, paint my nails, read, make a to-do list, etc.) Then, I got a great idea. Since it's November and Thanksgiving is coming up, I decided to make a list of 60 people/things I'm thankful for. It seemed like a good way to fill the time, so tonight at 6:55, I sat down on the couch, turned off the TV, closed my laptop, put my phone on silent, and set a timer for one hour. I got out my notebook and started to write. The first 25 people/things came pretty easily. For each one, I wrote what made me thankful for them right now. This took up about the first ten minutes. At this point, I started to debate whether or not I should post my list on my blog. Initially I thought yes, I should just post whatever I happened to write in my hour, so you could all have an honest account of my time. And then I started to think, what if I accidently left someone off the list? Or what if someone was upset that they were #46, and I had thought of 45 people before them? And then I thought...it's my damn blog and if people are bitching over nice things I'm saying, they can bite me. I decided to stop thinking about it for a bit and came up with 5 more things. At this point, I decided I needed a snack break, since I was working so hard so I went into the kitchen and got some dessert. I also fed Stella and Charlee...and almost talked! I had just filled their water dish and was lowering it to the ground when I spilled water all over Charlee's head. She was not very happy and I felt bad, but I bit my tongue, and patted her head in apology. I came back out to the couch and checked my timer. I had 29 minutes left. I jotted down some more things I was thankful for, ate some dessert, wrote a few more things, ate some dessert, wrote that I was thankful for my dessert, you get the idea. With 10 minutes left, I finished my list. I was planning to post it, but it ended up being nine pages long, so I thought I'd spare you. I also made a list of who I needed to shop for for Christmas, figured out my budget for the next month, snuggled with Stella, and boom, time was up! And on my very first try, too. I was pretty proud of myself. So proud, in fact, that I may go have more dessert.

Well friends, we are 9 days away from being 75% of the way done with my year. Ahhhh!!! Can you believe it? I sure can't...I'm starting to freak out a little about getting everything done. Here's a quick recap of where I'm at:

Things crossed off my list: 12
Things I've started, but haven't finished: 8
Things I need to get my ass in gear and start working on: 5

Ahhh! Not too bad. I've got a few good things planned, so be on the lookout for new posts soon. And, as always, thanks for sticking with me on this crazy journey! xoxo

5. The One with the Crappy Cupcakes

It's 7:45pm on a Friday and I'm totally ready for bed. I suppose the glass of wine sitting next to me isn't helping matters, but hey, what can you do? Yesterday was a long day. Thursdays are always long because I have preschool in the morning, a short lunch break, and then teach three jazz classes. But last night, we had our recital theme reveal party AFTER my three jazz classes, so I'm totally wiped. Our recital themes are a huge deal. Like, bigger than Twilight. Our last recital was June 2, and the girls were asking what this year's show would be on June 1st...and every day since then. See, we don't do typical dance recitals like "Shoot for the Stars" or this one that I found today, "Songs That Are Inappropriate, But Awesome"; we put on actual productions. Each year, we choose a show for the ballet "half" and a show for the tap/jazz/hip hop/modern "half", which is the half that I work on. We work out our own storylines, assign classes to parts, audition for soloists, pick out music and costumes...and that's all before October! Anyway, since revealing the theme has become such a big deal, we have started having a "reveal party." Our dancers come to the studio after classes are over and we announce the shows and watch clips from whatever we are using as inspiration. There's snacks and ice cream...it's a blast. This year, we had 86 dancers sign up...yes. 86. Thankfully, not all 86 showed up, but it was still a long, tiring night with the 50ish dancers we did have. All in all, it was a blast and a huge success. By the way, since I'm sure you're dying to know, our ballet this year will be "Sleeping Beauty" and my half will be "The Wizard of Oz." I'm beyond excited...which means you'll definitely be hearing more about the show as time goes on.

As I mentioned, Thursdays are just horribly long days. By the time I get home, I usually throw together something that resembles dinner, curl up on the couch, watch "Grey's" and "The Office," and go to sleep. The end. Last Thursday, however, I sacrificed my super awesome (lazy) evening for "Pad Thai and Cupcakes" with Tyler. Let me just say this: I love Tyler. He will eat literally anything I put in front of him and tell me it's awesome, even when I know it's not. (Ty, if you're reading this, I'm still sorry for that awful pasta carbonara I made last year.)

Here we are. Yes, I know...we're adorable.

 

Anywho, I owed Tyler cupcakes for his birthday and he told me he'd make pad thai if I checked out Pinterest, which I've refused to do (and actually forgot to do...oops.) So, we decided to do it all in one night. (That's what she said...but seriously.) Ty requested pumpkin pie chai cupcakes, so after hours of perusing, I settled on a pumpkin pie cupcake recipe and chai buttercream frosting. Things didn't get off to a good start...and by that, I mean, Tyler bitched about the frosting not having cream cheese and that it wasn't going to taste good. What a whiner. But once I started mixing up the cupcake batter, he shut up.

Pad thai goodness!

 

Mixing up some pumpkin cupcake goodness...or so I thought.

Cupcakes!

I ate an obscene amount of this. Obscene.

 

The food was ready before the cupcakes were, so Tyler and I settled in with Modern Family and ate...a lot. I had put the cupcakes in for the maximum amount of time, but when the timer went off, they didn't look done. I put them in for more time...still didn't look done. So after ten extra minutes, I took them out. Then, I proceeded to make the frosting. Now, I'm not a tea drinker. I love chai tea, but I just have the chai tea stuff you keep in the fridge and mix with milk. It's lovely. Anyway, I used that instead of brewed tea which, in hindsight, was a mistake, but hey, you live and you learn. I decided to double the amount of chai and scale back slightly on the amount of milk in the recipe to even things out. I added the butter and powdered sugar and started mixing. I ended up with something that looked a lot like milk or soup or...well, I won't go there. So, I added a little more powdered sugar...and a little more...and a little more, until I'd added about 3 more cups. Then, it finally resembled something close to frosting so I decided to be done. I frosted 2 cupcakes and brought them to the living room so Ty could finally have his birthday cupcake.

 

It all happened so fast...the middles of the cupcakes weren't quite done, but weren't raw either. The recipe had called for me to spray the muffin papers with cooking spray, but the cooking spray made the papers pretty much melt into the cupcake...thus, I consumed a good deal of pink muffin paper. The frosting was pure sugar and still a little runny. Ty said they were good and I'll admit they weren't terrible, so naturally we had seconds. I packed up half of the cupcakes for him and kept the rest for me. I tried to eat one the next day, but it was mushy and I was afraid the cupcakes from the night before would come back up, so I threw the rest out. Tyler told me yesterday he ate two of his, but that the frosting had separated (ewww!) And he ate them anyway. That's why I keep him around...to make me feel better about my baking. Needless to say, I will NOT be making these again. Maybe Ty was right...cream cheese would have fixed everything.