And the winner is...

April of 1015 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! (That's right, for those of you regulars around here, April now has her own blog!!!) April (as well as quite of few others) knew that this line was from "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" by Georgia Satellites. Thanks to NerdDad who sent this link to some misunderstood lyrics from the same song.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here's this week's lyric. For some reason, this has always been a favorite song of mine. Of course, that fact will probably not help you figure out the answer, even if you know me.

I got a little change in my pocket going jingle lingle ling

What song is it from? Who sang it? Send your answer to me and I will post the winner and a link to their blog late Friday.

New Blogs

I've been meaning to introduce you to some of the blogs I've been reading of late.

As I mentioned in a previous post, friend and loyal reader April finally caved to the pressure and started a blog which she may or may not ever post to, but already has several times. Yea April!!! Read her blog 10:15 ON A SATURDAY NIGHT here.

You can also read de do do do, de da da da (which, incidentally, is quite difficult to type) by friend, reader, and April's husband: Hale.

Family Jules belongs to another friend and reader, Jules. She's currently got a very funny video you can check out over there. She also has a weekly movie line contest that I lose every Friday.

I've been reading Shlog by Shaun Groves. He is neither a personal friend nor a reader. At least not yet anyway! He's always got great thought-provoking stuff there.

While I'm sharing some blogs I've been reading, I thought it might be fun to find out what my readers read. So, what is one blog, other than mine or your own, that you read on a regular basis?

I Had A Dream

I had a dream of a blog post. I would tell of how I went to the Central Coast for a few days and got to hang out with sis, bro-in-law, and nephew. And most of all, I would recount the excitement of the kayaking my sister and I did. I would include a picture or two of the shore taken from out on the water. I would tell of the interesting sea life I saw and I would tell you how much fun I had paddling along and how sore I was the next day. I would... but... they wouldn't rent us kayaks because it was too windy!!! Both of us were SO bummed--we were so looking forward to kayaking together. Well, we got to hang out together anyway. And we discovered a new drink with classic taste and rebellious temperature: 20-degree Below Hot Chocolate.

I also had a fun time just hanging out with my fam and seeing my baby girl play in the sand for the first time. (She thought it was tasty.)

You can see some more pics at The Barber Shop here and here.

And the winner is...

This week's honor goes to NerdMom of NerdFamily. Congratulations to all those who correctly answered "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

You have until Sunday:

All the old paintings on the tombs
They do the sand dance don't you know

What and who? Mail your answer here.

Treasure Hunt

You know the classic question: "What would you do for a million dollars?" Last week I learned my answer to a variation on that question: "What would you dig through the trash for?"

Monday I realized that I thrown out UPC codes I needed for a free offer I was going to send in for. Not only had I thrown them in the wastebasket, but my husband had already emptied all the wastebaskets (including diapers) into one big bag and deposited that into the big canister outside, where many similar looking bags already resided. The offer was worth a net $22, and I decided digging through all that wasn't worth $22. (ThiswillworkMan AKA IcanfinditMan thought it was.)

Q - Would you dig through the outdoor garbage can to find $22?
A - No

On Wednesday, my stepdad was looking through my newspaper for a ($13 value) coupon he wanted. He didn't find it and I suggested that maybe it was in Tuesday's paper, but I didn't see it lying around. A few minutes later I opened the recycling can in the kitchen to toss something and saw Tuesday's paper buried under various cans, bottles, boxes, etc. I decided to grab a couple sections and search for the coupon which I quickly found.

Q - Would you dig through the indoor recycling can to find $13?
A - Yes

Now, would it have made a difference if in the first case it had been cash, instead? Maybe. I don't know. So what about you: What would you dig through the trash for?

And the winner is...

... no one. So sad. No one won this week. This one is from one of my all-time favorite songs, but obviously it is unmemorable to many: Asia's "Heat of the Moment". This next week's will be easy. I promise. Really.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Here we go again. Another week, another lyric. Again I have tried to make this just the right level of difficulty. Here it is:

I never meant to be so bad to you
One thing I said that I would never do

What's it from and who's it by? Email me with your answer (or guess for that matter). Have fun and good luck!

Swim Lessons

For the past seven weeks, my 2-1/2 year old son and I have been taking Mom-and-me swim lessons. Every time he has had to put his head under water he has absolutely hated it and firmly declared that he is not doing it again. This last week, though, everything changed. He didn't resist. He didn't cry or complain. I think he may have even liked it. Needless to say, I was so proud of him! Way to go my boy!!!

Monday Blues?

Monday got you down? Check out HappyNews.com, a news site that only publishes happy news. Seriously. It's real news, just minus the stories that are at all depressing.

And the winner is...

NerdMom!!! Congratulations on your victory NerdMom! Visit her at NerdFamily, a blog I read quite regularly. This week's lyric (or verse, as the case may be) is from Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love". Tune in next week when I promise I will use a line everyone should get.

80's Lyric - Round 2

Apparently I managed to make this contest even MORE difficult. I apologize for stumping everyone. So, instead of giving the answer away, here is round 2: same song, same line, but the entire verse:

Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying
I don’t wanna lose you
I could never make it alone

Email me your answer here.

80's Mystery Song Lyric

Thanks to all who gave me feedback on this feature and how to make it more fun. More is always welcome! The general idea I got was: Make them a little easier and non-searchable. I'm not certain, but I think this one fits the easier part. Still working on the non-searchable part.

This week's lyric:
Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret

First one(s) to email me the correct title and/or artist will be listed here later tonight. Good luck!

My Verse

I've heard a lot of Christians mention they have a "life verse": a particular Bible verse that is meaningful to them. A couple of years ago I got rather distressed over the idea that I should have one and I don't and is it because I just haven't found it yet or is it because I can't commit to one verse to cover my entire life. I gave up and forgot about it really. Until the other day. I read this verse that so resonated with me. It states one of my core life philosophies (something I didn't even know I had until I typed this sentence). I knew it was a "Christian" idea but didn't know it was really in the Bible. Deuteronomy 15:10 says:

Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

I've seen this to be true in so many people's actions and even in my own life. When you give or serve freely, God blesses you; not just what you have given, not just the aspect of life out of which you gave, but blesses you in all aspects of life. My philosophy has always been: If you see something that needs to be done, do it. If someone needs help with something, do it and have fun doing it. Is it going to mess up your schedule? Yes. Is it going to cost you money? Yes. Does it matter? Somehow no. Somehow, maybe not immediately, but at some time, you look back and realize you're in a good place and that you couldn't have arrived there without the giving and serving. And you don't miss what was lost. Reading this back it sounds cheesy and rather cliche, but I'm just saying I've found it to be true. So does that work for a "life verse"?

Goodbye Ace

Tonight's American Idol bottom three were a bit of a shock: Ace, Paris, and Chris. And Ace went home. As April commented on the last post: Kellie has a huge fan base for her to be in the upper four after such a poor performance. Very interesting. We'll see what happens next week!

American Idol

It's been a few weeks (well, two) since I've commented on American Idol. Overall, tonight's performances were really good, but boring to me. (Not my kind of music.)

My prediction for the three with lowest number votes:
Elliot
Kellie
Paris

Who I think will win:
Chris

And the winner is...

...Brad, AKA ThiswillworkMan! He correctly answered "Jump" by Van Halen. Based on rumors I hear, he may or may not have used the help of an internet search engine. And he may or may not have done so in order to impress his wife. Since that is not against any rules (there aren't any), especially when attempting to impress a spouse, I officially declare Brad this week's 80's mystery song lyric winner. Congratulations ThiswillworkMan! Unfortunately he doesn't have a blog so I can't provide a link for him. The sad trend (of blogless winners) continues.

On the subject of this weekly contest I would love some feedback: Have they been too hard? Too easy? What would make it more fun? Please leave a comment or, if you prefer, email me. Thanks for your input!

80's Mystery Song Lyric

I think I've got an easy one for you this week. When you've got it figured out email me here (title and/or artist). Now let's show April she's not the only one who knows 80's music. Here's the line:
I've got my back against the record machine

Some Assembly Required

I live in an abnormal household. Well, I suppose we are abnormal for many reasons but I will expose you to only one in this post. We recently bought some new furniture for our office: a computer desk and two bookcases. They came in pieces. You think that's a bad thing, but, see, this is where we're abnormal: We love this stuff. At times, my husband and I have actually argued over who was going to put something together. Other times I've assembled things before he's had a chance to in the name of being "helpful." I love to assemble things quickly. He loves to assemble things correctly. This difference only caused a few problems for us this time.
First of all, we were at about step 12 of 28 when I picked up a portion of the desk to get it into position and didn't give it the support it needed, ripping the particle board at the places it had been connected. Ouch. It looked bad. But not to worry, with his cordless drill and bottle of Gorilla glue attached to his duct tape belt, ThismightworkMan (my husband's new superhero name) arrived on the scene! In no time he had the sub-assembly back in order. The next problem we encountered was a shortage of screws. This desk literally had 15 different types and sizes of screws and bolts. I sorted and organized them so they would be easy to find at each step. But we were missing two of one type. No problem-- not for ThismightworkMan who found a spare screw with smaller head and a washer to work for one replacement. For the other missing screw he used his favorite special power (air compressor + cutoff wheel) to shorten a spare screw that was the right size but too long. Finally we had all the pieces assembled! We slid the file-sized drawer into its opening. Why wouldn't it close? It was stuck on something. Something on the sides of the drawer weren't allowing it to close properly. The screws holding the slides on the drawer were getting caught because...you guessed it: They were the missing screws! But would ThismightworkMan be thrown by such a discovery? Of course not! With some smaller spare screws and a few drops of Gorilla Glue he had the entire desk together and working as if his silly wife had never touched it. If you're out there ThismightworkMan... Thank You!!!