You've been hit by a smooth criminal

Cleolinda wrote a very nice memory post about Michael Jackson (I agree with everything she says and have the same memories) and it got me thinking. It is a shame to have lost 2 of pop cultures biggest icons on the same day. While I liked Farrah Fawcett and thought she was a very beautiful woman and seemed like a nice person, I never really saw her in anything other than a Jonathan Taylor Thomas movie. I feel sad for her family to have lost her and wish them well. And now her death has been (momentarily) overshadowed by Michael Jackson's. Hers was, frankly, expected while his was not.

But Michael Jackson was a constant part of my life growing up. He and Madonna are the biggest icons to come out of the same era, even if he started out younger. They are the only ones I can really think of from when I was growing up that seem like peers to me.

My favorite song is Smooth Criminal (maybe mostly since my nickname is Annie) and I love that video. I remember being scared of the Thriller video and would run from the room when it came on. He was undeniably talented and it is a shame that his life went in such a downward spiral. And it is a shame that no one seems to know how or if to honor him for what he was or what he'd become. But I've always said people are who they are even after death. I see no point in sentimentalizing the dead, they were who they were and should be remembered for everything. There is a whole lot more that could be said, but that about sums it up.

A good time was had by all

So we went to visit the in-laws this week. Monday I worked a half a day and my husband picked me up and we had a pretty nice drive to where they live. Traffic was reasonable and the weather was nice. BT's dad and brother had gone off to Home Depot when we got there which annoyed him a little since he was excited to his brother and he wasn't there. Bubs was super excited to the nephew who had just woken up and was less than excited to see Bubs. But they got along relatively well after a warm-up and there were few instances of toddler craziness (they are 9 months apart). There was some confusion on the part of my child since he seemed to believe that my husband's twin brother is his daddy. The whole time he would call his uncle Daddy, but once I asked who was holding him and Bubs called his uncle by the right now and identified BT as daddy but proceeded to call them both daddy anyway. In his defense, they do look identical right now with the same haircut and facial hair and they are at about the same weight now. I had to look twice a lot to make sure who was who.

Tuesday we went to the Audubon Zoo which is always nice except in the bone-melting soul-crushing heat which was well over 100 degrees.
Example tweet from the day:"When in the soul-crushing heat at the zoo, stop often and drink water. Die slower."
We had a nice time but all were sticky and a little smelly (oh you know it's true), but the kids had a good time. Bubs was a little frightened by the dinosaur exhibit but he loves the dinosaur his Noni brought him from the gift shop.


Wednesday we went to an indoor playground which was really cute and they had a good time. We need one of those around here since they were all kinds of toys to play with and a bouncy slide and a jungle maze and a huge playhouse. Everyone else was a stay at home mom so I think we looked a little out of place. And then we left when we got back. The weather was horrid and it rained really hard. We went to my mom's since she hadn't seen the child in over a week (she was out of town) and then went home and went to bed early (well, I did, BT stayed up).

So this morning I didn't want to get up and I regret doing so and I'm longing for my bed right now. But it was fun and nice to be together.

Oh, man I need a drink

I feel like I've been neglecting this blog, especially after BEDA and posting everyday. We have been so busy lately, but for some reason I haven't blogged about it.

Last weekend was crazy. Long ago I told BT that if The Veronicas came to our area then I wanted to go. Well, then I found out they were coming to The House of Blues in New Orleans and I checked the calendar and my friend's wedding wasn't till the next day so I bought some tickets and got a hotel room and all was great though BT said the only way he'd go is if we went down Bourbon Street afterward since we didn't get to go for our anniversary.) Then the wedding invitation came and the wedding was at 2 in the afternoon which, frankly, is a ridiculous time for a wedding and it's too hot anyway. But, whatever, we can make this work. Then my mom decided she wanted to go visit my sister so she wouldn't be around to care for Bubs. So we called BT's little sister to come and she did and I was thankful.

So after work on Friday I go home (didn't get to see my baby since he was napping) and we left for New Orleans. I forgot the tickets at home so we had to stop at the public library and print out new tickets. Thank God for printable tickets and the public library!

We check into the hotel and they have us in a room on the Bourbon Street side, but I didn't think it would be too bad (ha!). Then we walked to the HoB. We knew it was an all ages show but I didn't really think that we'd been the oldest people in line except for the parents taking their teenage child to a concert. *sigh* And since it was all ages no alcohol was served and BT was not happy since it was one of the reason he agreed to go. Oops! The first band was Carney (video not from our show but in Baton Rouge) and we did not like them. I liked one of their songs, but I couldn't tell which one. Also they didn't play the single they were releasing soon or any of the songs on their album, which was stupid. The second band was called The Pretty Reckless and I didn't know it was Taylor Momsen's band (from Gossip Girl) till she walked out and all the little girls started screaming and I was like hey she lookes like Little Jenny and then I wiki'd her and she was and that was cool. She was wearing a slip dress that had lace on her lower abdomen and you could see her black thong underneath and BT was staring at her. So I leaned over and said she's only 16 and he jumped and was like really. LOL So they were really good and their drummer was much better than Carney's. I would buy one of their CDs. She's a pretty good singer and there were only a couple of mishaps.

Then the Veronicas came out and they were awesome and their drummer is freaking awesome and we had a good time. None of those kids really danced or anything which I found strange. Like they were all too afraid of looking stupid or something. Anyway, I love The Veronicas and BT likes them too now and I'm glad we went.

Then we went and ate at Acme Oyster House and it was too loud in there so we texted each other across the table. Then we went down Bourbon and got a Hand Grenande then BT knocked mine out of my hand by accident and I was sad, but we got some dairquis and they were awful. So we were tired and went back to the hotel. BT went and got us some food but I fell asleep and he woke me up and I ate a 2 burgers (Krystal!) and fell back asleep. It was a good time.

I'll tell you about the wedding some other time.

Next time I have a kid (names)

I just read a blog that a teenager girl did on future baby names and I'm too old to comment on it, but it got me thinking. I don't know about every girl but I know that my sister, one of our cousins, and I have always talked about our future baby names (like we talked about our weddings). I honestly do not remember the names that I had picked out as a kid. My favorite cousin, Kia, liked Zyla when she was little (like 6) and announced one day that was what she was going to name her daughter. Recently, I told her I would give her 1,000 dollars if she did it but she just laughed. Kia has always like unusual names. One of the most memorable is Paisley (I know) . I begged her to NEVER do that to her child. But now she's moved on to Liberty, which I actually like, for a girl, and Magnum for a boy, at which I laughed long and told her I'm calling him P.I. if she does that. That is a horrible name. But no matter what she names her daughter (if she has one), I'm calling her Bunny. (I'm setting up a joke)

My sister, on the other hand, has always been a traditionalist and made lists of names she liked. She has forbidden me from ever using the names Mariah (family name) or Alexander even though it is doubtful she will ever birth a child of her own. I wouldn't use Mariah but I like Alexander.

Of the three of us, I am the only one to birthed a child. And his name is not one that I ever picked out when I was little. It is a trendier name that is sort of popular now, but I'm hoping unique enough that there won't be 50 in his class or anything. Also he has a nickname...which is actually more common than his real name. My husband picked Bub's name but I agreed to it. BT's family is very traditional in that all the kids have long names with short nicknames. Even our nephew's follows this pattern. Bub's has BT's initals and my husband did that on purpose since I refused to do a Jr. name. I hate those since I think children deserve their own names and their own identities. I wonder why men feel the need to pass their names on so much. It's like they all want a boy so that kid can have their last name and also since dads like sons (they like daughter too but there's something about a son for a guy).

I digress, for a girl, I've always like Juliet. I love love that name. And my husband likes Sophia (nickname Sophie). But I think he will let me pick the name if we have a girl next time. Right now I love the name Calder for a boy, but BT is not so crazy about it, but I am determined. BT named the last kid so I think I should name the imaginary future child. Calder William(family name) so we can call him Cal (eh) or C.W. which would be cool since I have a great uncle who was called C.W. But anyway, I like Calder a lot and Alexander.

Hey I know, we need to give the next kid my initals for symmetry. Hmm...I wonder what starts with an A for a girl...

Cake is SRS BSNS

Okay, I let me explain the cake thing at my work. Supervisor buys for employee, and it apparently very serious business. I didn't even want to be a part of it, but they LOVE their cake so whatever. I got away with doing cake but not having to do lunch on my birthday which was nice. And I'm going to continue to avoid lunch even though my supervisor keeps asking since we didn't go and my PT assistant demanded it on my birthday. But if you understood the extreme awkwardness of both my assistants AND my supervisor and how deadening spending an hour in a social situation with them would be, you'd forgive my meanness. I'm trying to avoid situations where I want to stab myself with a fork. That is why I quit my old job.

So my PT assistant's birthday is at the end of the month. He has apparently already demanded of MY supervisor a cake and a lunch. I was just asked if I was going to do either or neither or one. I said I'd do the cake but not lunch. We don't have the cash to be flinging around on a lunch (which I've been told might cost a lot since last year he got lunch for himself + dessert + dinner for both he and his mom + dessert for the two of them (he has NO social skills and doesn't understand that it's not right to do stuff like that)) and the horror of lunch with them is just ... NO... just NO.

I like a workplace that doesn't force birthdays down everyone's throat. It's nice to do stuff like that with people you like and because you WANT to, not because you HAVE to. My old job had three really good friends and we did cakes, but rarely lunches or anything like that. But it was nice and I know that they did it from the heart and not because they felt forced.

I worry actually about the cake obsession at this place. It is not healthy to stress that much about cake.

Burn Notice + Royal Pains

Burn Notice's new season started last night. We love this show and last night was so good. It's going to be a different show from here on out since Michael is on his own now without the Agency "protecting" him. But Michael Weston is just awesome so it'll be great!

Favorite quote from Burn Notice: "This would be a great Michael Weston story if people were allowed to tell Michael Weston stories."

We also watched Royal Pains since it came on after Burn Notice and I wanted to see if it was any good. I loved it too. It was funny and I laughed out loud several times. It was a little tedious with the doctor constantly saying that he didn't want this and he was going back to his pathetic life in New York, but we all knew he wasn't or there wouldn't be a show. His brother was funny and the kid he saved was hilarious. I hope that kid is on the show more. Also I don't know how realistic the doctor's getting fired was, I 'm not sure they could do that. Anyway.

Okay Is it just me?

I'm reading The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines and I am enjoying it. The rumor mill had Miley Cyrus, Megan Fox, and Lindsay Lohan starring in the movie but that would be completely awful.

But I'm looking at the cover and this is what I keep noticing.

Does Snow White look exactly like Michelle Trachenburg or it is just me? I could get behind that casting in a heartbeat.