You Are Not Alone

I haven't felt this sad about someone famous passing since Jeff Buckley in '97. Michael Jackson was a huge part of my and my brother's childhood.

He was absolutely amazing as an entertainer. I do not believe any of the allegations against him were true. I do, however, believe he was stuck inside the mind of a 10-year-old, and it was just a very sad thing to watch the degradation of his mental health over the years.

But hopefully somewhere he is now at peace. And hopefully he can somehow sense the outpouring of admiration that has occurred over the last few days. I pulled out my old sticker collection today, and I had a nice pile o' MJ stickers and trading cards. Here are some of my faves-- a Girl Land homage to the gloved one, if you will:

Girl Land 2009 Summer Mix

• Two Weeks (Clip) by Grizzly Bear
  


• Womanizer by Britney Spears


• Sour Cherry by The Kills


• Electric City by Black Eyed Peas


• 24 Hours (The Aston Shuffle A-Bomb Remix) by Terry Poison


• I'm Good Feat. Pharrell by Clipse


• Pearl’s Dream by Bat for Lashes


• Many Moons by Janelle Monae


• Actor Out of Work by St. Vincent


• What a World by Common


• Koop Island Blues by Koop feat. Ane Brun

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Here are my two official faves! Who can tell me where this Koop Island Blues is from?? It was on a show tonight BUTT I love it anyway (hahahaha).



Close second is Actor Out of Work by St. Vincent:



I really REALLY wanted to include French Navy by Camera Obscura because I love them so, but I hate to say that I realllllly dislike that song. I don't know why. Sorry to the C.O. fans out there-- I'm not soured on them, but that song is like nails on chalkboard to me. Let me know if anyone is a fan of any of these songs! xo

Pastel Love

Have NO idea why I tried this recipe yesterday. I am still trying to be good and at least stick to my Nutrisystem during the week. Q enjoyed, and I enjoyed a little TOO much! I must say, however, that Pink Party Popcorn mid-week is delish. I actually just used microwave popcorn and pink candy melts. I am definitely going to use this idea for parties-- think of all the fun color combos to match your event!


Also, picked up some pretties at Michael's. They have a cute preppy collection (the pencils). And I also picked up some pale green fairy wands for the girls at 10 cents apiece.

Contest Winner

So continuing with the lazy tradition, I told Ryan to pick a number 1-8. He chose 7 which was the loverly KAT! So Kat, get a-shoppin', and I will get the goods out tout de suite. And don't forget-- if you come in under $20, I will add some myyyyysteryy prizes. Yay, and thanks everyone! I loved all your ideas. They all seemed to center around shopping, massages, and tropical weather. Ahhhhh. I particularly loved the cabana boy idea tho.

Thanks for playing!!! xo

P.S. I would have had my summer playlist up, but ilike is giving me a hard time and not allowing me to embed the whole thing. Drat!

400 Posts??? I Mean...400 Posts!!!

Contest time! Lazy contest time actually! I'm too lazy to figure out a prize, so we'll do Girl Land bucks for $20 dolla. Wanna win Girl Land bucks??? Enter! Lots of fun stuff to choose from in ye olde shop. If you total less than $20, I will throw in some lil' surprises to make up the difference.

To enter, all you gots to do is comment below. Tell me how you would be lazy if you had a whole 24 hours to yourself annnnnd unlimited moolah. I got to experience this last weekend (well, besides the unlimited moolah), and I got a massage, took a 3 hour nap, shopped, watched massive amounts of TV and ate ice cream (this was after the 2.2 lb gain-- I was in a downward shame spiral).

And link to me from your blog, and you'll get 2 extra chances to win (3 total, yay!). Just be sure to let me know you blogged 'bout me. I'll pick a number old school style (out of a hat) on Monday, June 22. Tell your friends!

Thanks for being my bloggy friends!!! Here's to 400 more posts!!! Ugh, that sounds exhausting! xo

I Still Don't Like Hockey

The Hockey Gods are stickin' it to me. Last week, I dared admit that I was OVER the whole Red Wings hockey thing goin' on here in metro Detroit. Anywho, I received this email from our babysitter this morning:

"IF YOUR CHEWING GUM, SPIT IT OUT NOW. IT MAY JUST FALL OUT OF YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOUR JAW DROPS.

A FAMILY FRIEND OF MINE (MADDY) SAW SOMEONE VERY SPECIAL ...... AT THE WINGS GAME!

JUST TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF.......

If you will excuse me, I need to go cry. Not only because Maddy got to meet taylor, but also because the wings lost the cup :'("

I totally love our babysitter. She actually makes me look FORWARD to having teenage daughters someday.

I've become somewhat disenchanted with Jazzercise. If you note my Skinny Girl Land chart to the side, you will see a somewhat sudden and drastic weight gain (2.2 lbs in one week?!) Yeahhhh, that would have been the week I Jazzercised 5 times in a row. Screw that. I went only 3 times the following week, and I lost 3.6. So methinks I'll be sticking with the 3x/week. I don't even care if it was water weight, muscle weighs more than fat, I would have lost more than the 3.6 the following week, blahdiddy blah. I ALMOST WALKED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. That will not happen again.

Final note, almost done compiling my 2009 Girl Land Summer Soundtrack! Tune in later this week...I know you are all holding your breath (heh). Happy week. xo

8 Things Meme & Randoms

This post is light on pics. Sorry. Found this on Jenna's blog today...

8 Things I am Looking Forward to
1…..Giving Ryan his Father's Day gifts
2…..Losing another 25ish pounds
3…..New Moon, November 20!
4…..Retirement (no joke)
5…..True Blood season two starting this Sunday
6…..My birthday! I loves my birthday. 27 days, y'all...
7…..Starting Q in ballet class in the fall
8…..V walking

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1…..Coughed. I think I coughed a lung up.
2…..Watched Cop Land (besides The Fugitive, probably my favorite movie to watch when I'm sick). I stayed home from work if ya can't tell.
3…..Watched some real life MTV show called Fat Camp for two freaking hours. Two hours that I'll never get back.
4…..Watched a really bad movie, Never Back Down. Only watched it because I wanted to jump on Sean Faris. Holy hot. He's like a younger, non-crazy, smaller-nosed Tom Cruise with a super hot beauty mark at the corner of his mouth. And that damn inguinal crease does it to me every time!!!


5…..Drank 7 cups of hot tea with skim milk and Splenda
6…..Actually did take a shower though
7…..Laid on the couch
8…..Took a buttload of Mucinex (did I mention I was coughing?)


8 Things I Wish I Could do
1…..Speak my mind without getting upset
2…..Speak and understand French fluently
3…..Retire
4.....Be rid of my food issues FOREVER
5.....Wear a bikini and look good in it
6…..Be a better mom & wife
7…..Hire a professional organizer to clean and organize my house. I would just sit in a big throne, point my sausage finger here and there, and direct them what to do. Awesome.
8…..Teleport my entire family (sorry, Jenna, stealing from you)

8 Shows I Enjoy (DVR)
1…..Lost
2…..Dexter
3…..How I Met Your Mother
4…..So You Think You Can Dance
5…..True Blood
6…..The Office
7.....30 Rock
8…..Best Week Ever

Miscellaneous random stuff on a Tuesday:

• After the Tony Awards, Diablo Cody Tweeted: "And yes, I’m concerned about Bret Michaels’ fractured nose. An acute sense of smell is essential to his dating process."
  
• Someone I know and like had to get a cancerous mass removed recently. This person doesn't know that I know. I saw this person smoking a cigarette today, and it really freaking pissed me off.
• I wish I were more into cupcakes. They are so cute and pretty and you can decorate and display them in such cool ways. But the stinking frosting to cake ratio is just way too low. (photo courtesy of melisdramatic via Flickr).
• My Twerd posse is growing. Today, we added another Twerd to the mix. If she is going to accompany us to the New Moon premiere in November, that will make 11 of us. Snap.
• I need ideas of how to recreate this cake. I'm thinking I may use dummy layers for the bottom two because I'll only be feeding like 20, but how to make the stripes?? I do not want to pipe that many stinkin' stripes. I'll let you know later why, but you may have guessed. Yes, I'm that dorky.

My Little Flowers

Some peonies...


Columbine from my grandma's garden...


And a Quinnie Flower! I ordered this dress last year from Ses Petites Mains, and it's a 5...good thing I tried it on her because it's almost too small on her! Those dresses run really, really small. I just love her in this dress! She wore it to Grandma and Grandpa's house this weekend.

Hope you all had a nice weekend. I have a chest cold...again...and a bad sunburn. Ouch. xo

Flea Market Sunday

Amy and I went a-flea marketin' this morning. Here's my haul:


The Bo Peep puzzle was for Q. I love it-- it's called a Pizza Puzzle, and I wish I'd bought more cuz she loves it too! The deer planter and S&P are in my shop. The red Dutch folk tin is either going to be listed in my shop, or I'll keep it for my embroidery stuff. Not sure yet. The tablecloth is a maybe as well. It has the prettiest colors-- pink, mustard yellow, brown, and grey. Yum! The pretty kitty is a potholder rack and is already at home on my craft room wall:

Also, look at these lovelies! The Dutch kids one is in also in my shop. The mushroom kids perma-crinkle one (with tag!) may stay with me. Unsure...


You can see more pics on my Flickr page.

Don't Forget Dad!

Don't forget! Father's Day is Sunday, June 21. I just shopped a bit today, and I thought I'd share some of Girl Land's Etsy picks for some great gifties for your fave hubby, pops, or grandpa.

Top to Bottom, L-R:

1. Lotion bar by Portland General Store
2. Sunflower and Pistachio Toffee w/ Milk Chocolate by Vintage Confections
3. Custom Golf Bar Marker by Autumn Leaves Jewelry
4. World’s Greatest Husband vintage mug by EclecticaMiami
5. Robot Tee by Happy Family
6. Vintage Wooden Box for Polishing Shoes by Val Bolen
7. Half Pint of Prose for Fathers by Inspired Letters
8. Instant Vintage Office Set by River Bazaar
9. Gourmet BBQ Spice Rub Kit by Purpose Design

My dad will be receiving the golf markers from the girls that says, "We Love Grandpa Jim". Ryan will be receiving the robot tee, a nice trophy from the girls, and a card featuring a Father's Day interview I found by Let's Explore via The Crafty Crow. It was actually for Mother's Day, but I modified the questions. Best Q answer so far:

"My Dad always tells me, 'Let's listen to the Talkin' Heads'."

Speaking of Q, here are some other recent Q-isms that have made me laugh:

During a thunderstorm at 2:00 am-- "Mom, can you please turn down the thunder???"

After her dad startled her-- "Daddy, you just scared the poop babies outta me!"

With her arms out, shaking her head, naked from the waist down, "I have NO IDEA where my underpants are."

That is all. Off to watch SYTYCD that is being Tivo'ed as we speak!

Goings on in Girl Land

Stuff I'm liking as of late...

Jazzercise. I’ve been going at least 3 times per week and Sunday I went at 8:30 am (a real feat for me being the hater of early rising and exercising that I am). Are you sick of hearing about this yet? You don’t know how ecstatic I am to have found a form of exercise that I can not only endure but actually enjoy.

New Moon Trailer. Typically, huge muscles aren’t my thing, but WOW, Taylor. Just wow. Good thing the shirtless pics of Rob just came out because I might have been like, “Edward who?”.

MTV Movie Awards. Whatev, Eminem. Like you weren’t in on the Bruno thing. At first, I was unsure, but after watching it again, I am convinced. No such thing as bad publicity, right? It was a very Twilight night too which, of course, is always good. Rob in his disheveled glory and KStew in her awkward, award-dropping, finest. Other highlights were Andy Samberg’s naked opener and poor Leighton Meister who was accused of being a closet gas-passer. Good stuff.

MTV Shows

Up. Q had her first successful full-length, in-the-theater, movie-watching experience. Ryan took her to see Up, and she was only slightly antsy towards the end. My big girl.

Challenges. Work is having a weight loss challenge and Jazzercise is having an attendance challenge. I’m all over both. I had a dream I had Charlize Theron’s body last night. Ok, ok—a *bit* of a stretch, but an inspiration nonetheless. I’m feeling healthier and stronger every day. Weight loss has been consistent albeit slow, however, I can tell I’m feeling more tone for sure. Check my left sidebar for progress! I’m thinking I need to start documenting my measurements.


Glee. Have you seen this show??? Must watch it now!!! I’m in total and utter love. I’ve watched it three times now. Cutest thing ever. We’ve all had “Don’t Stop Believin’” stuck in our heads all weekend. Q keeps asking me to sing this line to her, “He took the midnight train going anywhere…” Bummed we have to wait until the fall to see more.

Alone Time. This weekend, Ryan is taking the girls to see my in-laws. And he told me I could stay home. It’s about 30 hours to myself (ahhh, heaven), but I’m planning my time wisely. I currently have a massage scheduled and flea marketing with Amy too. So far, so good!

Girl Land Summer Mix 2009. Starting my annual compilation! I can’t promise you there will be all high-quality songs (I can forewarn you that there will be a Britney tune), but hopefully I don’t lose the small amount of credibility I may have. A good mix, I say. Perhaps some new Camera Obscura, The Dirty Projectors, Bat for Lashes, etc. Shall be coming within the next couple weeks. Holding your breath, no?

Power the Librarian. My friend's son made this movie for a contest to win some money for my hometown library. That's his sister, Jessamy, in the film. And I THINK it may be Zac himself as the freaky Power dude. Leave a comment and tell the judges how deserving they would be of the prize money!!!

Are we glad Monday's over? Yes! Do we hate Tuesdays even MORE than Mondays? Yes! Boooo. xo