FTSF: The Most Unexpected Part of Being A Grown-Up

This is an updated version of a post that I shared in September of 2012. Things have changed quite a bit since then, but I thought it would be fun to rework this for Finish the Sentence Friday!

A couple of times recently the Princess has announced, “When I grow up, I will get to do whatever I want!”

I replied to this, “Ok honey, you just keep thinking that.”

And maybe she will, being the confident little thing that she is.

I can’t say that’s necessarily true for me.  In the last few years, as I have gone from preschool teacher to school associate to red cross flunkie to writer/librarian,  I have had several people ask me what I really want to do someday.  The truth is I don’t know.  I have no idea what I really want to do when I grow up!

That’s right.  I’m almost at the big 4-0, and let’s face it, I don’t feel like a grown-up.

As a child and a teen I wanted to be a teacher.  That didn’t pan out well, now did it?  I guess being a published writer is my next goal…  In time grasshopper, in good time.

The Princess has told me on several occasions that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up.  Or a cowgirl.  They’re so close, don’t you think?

The Professor thinks he wants to be a baseball player.  This is new, because up until this announcement he has wanted to be a race car driver like Jeff Gordon.  But then again, he has also informed me that he will take over for one of the school’s fourth grade teachers when she gets too old to teach.  Hmmmm… that easy, huh?

I must admit that I admire my husband for the fact that he has always known he wanted to be an engineer, even though it took him a long time to get there.  I guess that’s how you know you’re a grown up, you know what you want to do?

Therefore maybe I’m not really a true grown-up?

Hmmmm… A lot of grown-ups have bucket lists.  Someone recently asked me about my bucket list.  I guess I really don’t have one.  I have joked about taking pictures of different buckets and putting them on here.  I guess I don’t really have one because the things that I really want to do seem so out of reach.  I’m horribly, horribly practical.  Lack of money can really do that to a person.  If you can’t have dreams, then what is worth reaching for?

Isn’t the bucket list what you want to do before you kick the bucket?  Well I don’t necessarily have a bucket list.  I just have some things that I would someday would like to do.  Horribly impractical and probably will never happen.  But perhaps if I am to be “real” grown-up then I need to have this list!

• I would like to learn to play the cello.  And the guitar.  I’ve tried to play the guitar on my own, but I really need lessons for a grown-up.

• I would like to see another Broadway musical.  Or two.

• There are so many places I want to go.  I want to see mountains.  I just want to drive to see mountains.  I don’t have to stay.  I just want to see them.  But then again there are so many places I want to go.  I want to see Seattle.  I just want to go there.  I think it would be cool.  For that matter, I have never been west of Nebraska, and I have been in a lot of places!  I would like to go back to Maine (where I am from) with my husband so he can see it too.  I want to go back to Chicago (where I lived nearby for a short while as a child) and see all of the museums and Shedd Aquarium.  I would love to go back to Disneyworld, but this time with the kids.  I’ve been there several time, I just want to take them once.  And the biggie-I want to go overseas.  I have never been out of the country except for Canada.  I want to go to Australia and China.  I WANT TO LEAVE IOWA.

• I want to go back to school.  But of course, I have to figure out what I really want to do.  Therein lies my problem…

So that’s really it.  I don’t want much, do I?  🙂

Or perhaps I shall just not be a grown-up at all.

Well said, Mr Depp, well said.
(This is one of many nice quotes and images from Quotes Factory, click on the image to take you to the website.)

The most unexpected part of being a grown-up is… not being able to do whatever I want when I want.

This post is part of Finish The Sentence Friday, cohosted by these very lovely ladies:

Mommy, For Real

Finding Ninee

Can I Get A Bottle of Whine With My Morning Quiet Time?

Janine’s Confessions of a Mommyholic

and special guest host Left Brain Buddha

Please visit one of the wonderful co-hosts.  Maybe you have something you’d like to share just for the occasion?  If so, LINK IT UP!  🙂

Twisted Mixtape Tuesday: Guilty As Charged

This week’s theme came from my own little brain:  Guilty Pleasures:  Songs or Bands You Hate To Admit You Listen To.  It was inspired by my husband, who is well known for blasting some stuff that gets some pretty weird looks.  

I admit I have some things that I’m not proud of.

Like the fact that if I have ice cream I have to get something salty to go with it, like french fries or saltine crackers.

Or that I not only have to match my bra and underwear, they must also be in the same color family as the clothing I’m wearing.

Then there’s some of my music.  You know what I’m talking about-there are certain songs that are like musical skeletons in our closets.  Those groups or songs that you listen to and enjoy, but don’t want anyone else to know about.

So today I’m coming out of the musical closet and revealing to you some of my very own guilty pleasures… these are all actual songs and/or groups that I have in my music collection this very minute that I even listen to!

So go hide in your room and watch some of these videos…

I dislike Kanye West.  However, there are a couple of his songs that I will admit to owning if torture is involved.  This particular example has to do more with the amazing video than anything else…

Love Lockdown-Kanye West

And what better to follow a Kanye West song with than a Taylor Swift song?  Make fun of her all you want, we own all of her cds.  *AHEM* The males in the house own all of her cds.  I just steal from them.

I really, really like this particular song.

Mean-Taylor Swift

What’s so embarrassing about the Backstreet Boys?  Nothing, unless you’ve spent a lifetime trying to reject all boy bands.  I didn’t like them when they were popular, I do now.  Sick sick sick…  This is one of SEVEN songs that I have SPENT MONEY ON, and listen to regularly when I work out.

I Want It That Way-Backstreet Boys

And *gag* I also own two Spice Girls songs.  I bet you can’t guess what the other one is.  Really, don’t try, k?

When Two Become One-Spice Girls

I am guilty of owning not one but three Mariah Carey CDs. I know, shameful.  But on the other hand, it’s pretty awesome to belt one of her tunes out while you’re alone in your car.

One Sweet Day-Mariah Carey featuring Boys II Men

This last one I am so ashamed of having downloaded in the last month that I almost didn’t put it on here.  But hey it’s catchy… and if that video with the light up private parts I’ve share previously didn’t offend you then this one just might.

Blurred Lines-Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell

Come on, you’ve got some guilty pleasures too, I know you do!  Feel free to share in the comments.  Better yet, link up your post to My Skewed View, and tell her how pretty her blog looks when you’re there!

Fly on the Wall February 2014: The Party Animal Edition

Welcome to this month’s edition  of Fly on the Wall!  11 other bloggers and I are simultaneously offering you a glimpse into our homes.  Read on for the mayhem that ensues each month at my house, then when you are done be sure to check out some other blogger’s residences for more entertainment!

I have a confession to make: the last two months I’ve been very confused.  Last month I had everything ready to go, and luckily someone pointed out to me that the fly posts weren’t  actually posting until the NEXT Friday.  Thank goodness she said something!  This month I was thinking it was a week later than it actually was!  It’s a good thing that this family is cute AND interesting so I can dig up some fun things pretty quickly!

As it turns out, this past month’s story can be told about much easier in pictures than words.  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words!

We don’t get to eat out nearly as much as we would like, and usually we end up doing fast food.  It’s always a treat when we get to go someplace different.  One of the coolest places around here where we live (central Iowa) is Black Market Pizza.  There are so many different pizzas to choose from, and a giant chalk wall!

Me to the rest of the family:  “You guys had better get on it and start saying some interesting things because I need material for Fly on the Wall!”

The best part of waking up is a warm kitty on your butt…

The Princess:  “I’m thirsty.”
Me:  “You can have some milk.”
The Princess:  “That’s ok, I’ll just drink the water in the shower.”

Look very carefully, can you tell why The Princess is wearing her “Crap, I’m busted.” face?

Me: “I’m going grocery shopping tomorrow, do you need anything besides creamer?”
Evil Genius: “I need deodorant.”
Me: “Ok, I’ll add it to the list.”
A little while later I was rummaging around in the bathroom and exclaimed “Hey what a coincidence, I need deodorant too!”
Evil Genius (yelling from the bedroom): “Our armpit cycles are in sync!”
You can’t make this stuff up…

You may have a man who cooks for you, but do you have SUPERMAN cooking for you?

I was minding my own business in the shower this afternoon. Suddenly The Princess burst in yelling “Mommy you have a phone call! Animal Planet is calling you!”

I actually hurried through my shower because I wanted to see what Animal Planet wanted. Then I was really bummed because it was just some random phone call. No animals of any sort. They didn’t even leave a message.

Animal Planet would have definitely left a message…

Alien kitty is after you!!

Evil Genius is tossing and turning in bed.  It’s pretty obvious that he isn’t going to be able to sleep.  I asked him “Honey, do you need to get up and kill something?”
I meant video games, not REALLY killing anything…

Superbowl Sunday. I’m not sure if the princess is practicing for her modeling career or what…

Thanks for joining me this month for Fly on the Wall!  Don’t forget to buzz on over to some of the other blogs below and see what life is like in their houses!

http://www.BakingInATornado.com                          Baking In A Tornado

http://www.therowdybaker.com                                  The Rowdy Baker

http://www.justalittlenutty.com/                                Just A Little Nutty

http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/                          Spatulas on Parade

http://followmehome.shellybean.com                            Follow me home . . .

http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com                           Searching for Sanity

http://www.menopausalmom.com                                 Menopausal Mother

http://dates2diapers2.blogspot.com                              Dates 2 Diapers 2

http://stacysewsandschools.wordpress.com/                Stacy Sews and Schools

http://thelazymomcooks.com/                                   The Lazy Mom’s Cooking Blog

http://spinstersnacks.com                                         Spinster Snacks

The Day The Lights Went Out At Target

I have this recurring dream.  I’m at a store, and all of the lights go out and I’m totally in the dark.  This isn’t really a terrifying dream, unlike the ones I have where we have a tidal wave.  Totally unlikely as we live in Iowa.  If that ever happens, I’m moving.  More realistically, I also have lots of dreams about tornadoes.  And being naked, but never naked in a tornado.  Or a tidal wave.

Something like that is coming our way… must go to the store!

Because we have yet ANOTHER snowstorm coming our way, I popped into Target quickly to pick up a few things in between work and the 3000 other important things I needed to do.  As I have shared before, Target and all other civilization is in a nearby town.  I was in kind of a hurry, but never in too much of a hurry to check out those fabulous end caps with 30% off, 50% off, 70% off, and NINETY PERCENT OFF!

As I was making my way from the Valentine’s clearance to the shampoo aisle, this happened:

That’s right, suddenly I was in complete darkness.  The lights went out completely. This was followed by a few moments of awkwardness. Then a light, then two, then ten, because smartphones!  Then the back up generators came on and were accompanied by… that’s right, the fire alarm.

What’s so amazing about that?  People, that’s what.  You’d think that 1) complete darkness followed by 2) a really loud fire alarm might get people moving.  But people kept shopping.

No, no, go ahead.  If there’s a fire you’ll burn up, that’s all.

This really, really bothered the former cashier in me (more than ten years in retail and no strange diseases contracted, thank you very much).  Hellooooo…. no one will be able to ring up your stuff.  Cash registers run on electricity people!

It wasn’t until some of the employees had to come around and assure people that while nothing seemed to be wrong other than the entire block shrouded in darkness and chaos,  they would have to leave since the fire alarms were going off.  They could put their names on their carts if they wanted to come back later.

I looked at my cart with a bottle of Miralax, a large bottle of ketchup, Craisins, my diet pop,  and two Valentine items that were 90% off and asked myself if it was really worth it to try and come back in a little bit.  It wasn’t.  So I left.

My kids were fascinated by this tale.  When I told them why I didn’t get anything in town today that was all they could think about.  They must have asked 1000 questions.
“Why did the lights go out at Target?”
“Were you scared?”
“Was there a fire?  Were the toys okay?”
“Did you die?”

That night I sat and looked at my dwindling supply of diet pop and flirted with the idea of driving all the way back to town to retrieve my precious Diet Sunkist Lemonade at the low low price of 3 for $10.

Nah…

Later on today when we are sitting at home in the middle of the next blizzardpocalypse I may very well regret that decision.  I’m lucky though because t least I’ll have some entertainment this evening.  Ironically, tonight at 8:30 pm EST there is a very special event going on. Got snow?  Got kids?  Want to gripe about the snow… and maybe the kids too?  Click on the image below to be taken to a magical place-the Moms Who Write and Blog website!

PS-If there is some kind of award for writing posts with Target as the subject I so think I need it…

Twisted Mixtape Tuesday: A Colorful Mix!

Welcome to another Twisted Mixtape Tuesday.  It’s another week where we can share whatever we damn well please. Do you know how exciting that is to me?  Do you?  DO YOU??????

Now comes the hard part-whatever shall I choose?  There must be a theme, for I am random about everything except my music.   How about colors?  Everybody likes colors!  How about songs with a color in the title, or bands with color names.  Yes, let’s do that.

First a short little something for the kids…

Three Primary Colors-Ok Go

This next is an amazing video.  Interesting fact: Garth Brooks almost froze to death filming this.  Sorry about the subtitles, it’s the only version I could find.

The Red Strokes-Garth Brooks

http://vimeo.com/52882904

What rhymes with orange?  Nothing.

Orange Crush-REM

Really I just wanted to share a bunch of Coldplay songs, but this was more fun to share color songs, so that’s what I did.

Yellow-Coldplay

How about a song by a group with the color in it?  Don’t mind if I do…

Good Riddance-Green Day

And we must have a twangy country song.  There are so many country songs with the word blue in them… I lost count.

Blue-Jewel

Hey remember the 90s?  I had to get indigo in here somehow…

Closer to Fine-Indigo Girls

I promise, no more Coldplay songs today, at least after this one.

Violet Hill-Coldplay

You can’t help but like P!NK.  If you don’t, she’ll beat you up.

(Pssssst-I’m doing you a favor by putting a P!NK song in here instead of Pink Floyd, because I want you to stay awake until the end of this post).

So What?-P!NK

Strange video, good song.

Black Hole Sun-Soundgarden

What’s a color countdown without a little Billy Idol in it?

White Wedding-Billy Idol

Still one of the best Cyndi Lauper songs.

True Colors-Cyndi Lauper

What are your favorite songs with color titles in them?  Or bands with color names?  I’d love to see your picks in the comments!  Got some tuneage you’re dying to share?  Make a mix and link it up to http://jenkehl.com

Speaking of tuneage, if you missed my misheard song lyric post from awhile back, you can catch it HERE.  Come see how silly I really am… I hear stuff wrong!

I Got The (Insert Really Long Phrase Here) Blues

Oh yeahhhh… play those blues…

I got me a blog
Ain’t wrote in awhile
This thing called life
It cramps my style

Should I just give it up?
Should I stop for awhile?
Should I eat that bowl of frosting
And then go walk seventeen miles?

Don’t mind me I got the I’m-a-mom-who-works-outside-of-the-home-and-has-a-house-to-clean-and-is-trying-to exercise-and-sleep-occasionally-and-maintain-a-blog-that-I-don’t-get-paid-anything-for blues

I’ve been writing a teensy bit, but sure not much.  I don’t just have the blahs, I have the blogging blues.  And maybe a bit of it’s just too damn cold blues.  I’ve been doing something besides just sitting on my couch.  Just what exactly have I been doing?  Pardon me while I do a sort of rant…

Damn you FACEBUTT!!!!

I’ve spent plenty of time being frustrated.  Like with Facebook, they keep changing the rules.  Yet that’s the only place I really see any interaction with the exception of a couple of private groups I’m in.  I love posting something and only getting 11 views out of 777 people that like my status.  I can share something that someone else posted and sometimes get lots of views, but it’s so inconsistent.  What a bummer!

Speaking of frustrated, I seem to get pretty much the same number of pageviews regardless of what I’m doing.  I’d like to thank the pervs looking for pictures of women peeing their pants.

The workplace: Where paper cutters roam and attack without warning.

There is work.  The PAID JOB.  While my job is interesting and flexible and all of that jazz, it does take a lot of my time.  AND some weeks I like it better than others.  This week, not so much (mostly due to the fact that it has been too cold for kids to go outside=loud noisy kids!)  I spend way too much time analyzing what I could have done differently or better after each session, while I should just jot down a little note and move the heck on!  So the brains?  Nowhere to be found!

To some of you this may not be that impressive.  But to me this is a new start.  I have a condition where my muscles get knots in them as well as having chronic back pain.  Exercising this past year has been very difficult.  Add to that the fact that I literally try to hibernate in the winter.  This getting out and to the gym when the weather is so darn cold is really a challenge.  So far, so good!  I’m sure it will get easier come spring because I really hate walking indoors.  Having a motivating playlist on my Iphone has helped make it easier, but I still want to be outside!

Magnum ran a 5K. I looked at pictures of him running a 5K…

Also, as you can see Evil Genius has been running.  He’s actually been training for a marathon.  His first 5K was the last day of January.  While I’m not moved to run any sort of marathon, I would like to at least compete in a 5K!  He has been doing really well with his training, and that is motivating me too!  While I’m still just walking, I’m walking further than I have in a long time and that is what counts.

And of course, kids.

And I’ve been trying to find the stuff in my kitchen.  I’ve been both blessed and cursed by this pantry.  The pantry is wonderful because not only does it give us space that we otherwise didn’t have to store our food, it also is the entrance to our “secret passage”.  However, the shelves are pretty deep and not very much space between them.  The containers I had would fall off the shelves and we’d be ankle deep in the mess!  So new containers that are long and skinny, new labels, and it’s looking pretty snazzy! It is close to completion now, at least that phase.  There are other things going on with the organizing too…

Behold the nicely organized spices!

So if you wonder why a) I haven’t been blogging my little heart out b) I haven’t been reading your blog b) I haven’t been sharing your blog c) on Facebook but don’t seem to do anything but post a bunch of silly Valentines that I have spent way too much time trying to find (like you see it, HA!), then hopefully this will give you an idea of why I’ve been so… bleh.

(I’m sure you probably haven’t even noticed… but I’ve got this thing called anxiety so I do…)

Have you had the blogging blues?  Have you had things that have been taking precedence over writing?  What is your kryptonite when it comes to blogging?

Twisted Mixtape Tuesday: Dairy Free Love Songs

 

This week’s theme for Twisted Mixtape Tuesday is love songs. 

While I’m not a big fan of the whole mushy sappy love thing, I do appreciate a little thought and romance from time to time.  A note, a gesture, an acknowledgement that I’ve done something besides take up space in my house…

That’s right, in case you couldn’t guess my husband and I have been married for almost 15 years.  Although we’re not exactly in the honeymoon phase, I do try to let him know on a regular basis that I still love him.  I tell him every night, I leave him notes, I let him live. Over the years of our marriage I’ve created him various “mixtapes” (um… cds) of music for various occasions.  I know there have been a few romantic mixes in there too. And I’m sure if I looked hard enough I’d find some of them.

Truth be told these days if I wanted to make him a “love mix”, outside of being able sneak into Pandora and make a secret station that automatically plays what I tell it to, I would have to create a playlist on Itunes.  Only he doesn’t really have Itunes.  I mean, he has it, but when he tried to download it a lot of questionable stuff came with it.  So instead he’ll have to settle for listening to this edition of Twisted Mixtape Tuesday.   It’s dairy-free, which means NO CHEESE!

(I once burned three whole CDs of what I consider full fat music-and appropriately entitled it “Don’t Forget The Cheese”.)

Interestingly enough there is no song that is entitled “I Had To Marry the Interesting Guy” or “It’s So Nice When You Are Conscious AND In A Good Mood”.  So naturally the list contains other songs that I deem appropriate for such a playlist.

Or any song that contains this quote from Iron Man 3…

Maybe I’m amazed that I’ve let him live this long?  Nah…

Maybe I’m Amazed-Paul McCartney

I’ve never had anyone write me a song.  Maybe that’s a good thing?  I’d be kind of scared about what might be written.  I’m not totally ruling that out, you know, just in case you want to write me one, honey…

Your Song-Elton John

This song still makes me all twitterpated.

All I Ask of You-Cast of Phantom of the Opera

While I’m not a big Dierks Bentley fan I do love this song… I stuck in because yeah, I just like it…

I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes-Dierks Bentley

Considering on which school of music you hail from, this might fall under your dairy category.  I don’t care, it’s Journey, dangit!  (Cut to the scene from Scrubs that I can’t find where Carla says to JD “Nobody loves Journey as much as you do…)

Faithfully-Journey

I’m saving you from the world’s longest music video… get it? I saved… oh, forget it, just listen to the song.

You Save Me-Kenny Chesney

What love songs drive you crazy?  What love songs do you consider dairy free?  I’d love to hear about them! 

Aw love… it’s swell. Quit staring at my boobs, will ya?

Owl Be Damned: Hootness and Cuteness

Don’t listen to what they say about Valentines, we know it’s ALL ABOUT THE CANDY anyway!

The Princess recently announced that we should hand make all twenty three of her Valentines this year.  Aw, doesn’t that sound nice?

What do you mean “WE”, little girl?

Seriously, I was really on board.  Making your own Valentines saves money, right?  Therefore it’s totally worth it.  Yes, we were going to totally rock the homemade Valentine world this year!

After perusing online for awhile and finding out that my child pretty much wants everything on the internet, she settled upon making 23 of the paper owls in the picture below for her classmates.  Because they were “soooooo cuuuuuuuute”! (her words)

http://KidsActivitiesBlog has great step by step instructions on how to make these cute little owls. So simple and cute, right????

Before we proceed, keep in mind that this little girl always has her very own ideas of how she wants things…

After said conversation I visited the dollar spot  at Target and purchased a $1 package of scrapbook paper and some glue sticks.  Her plan also included not putting holes in the bottom for straws or suckers. We planned to make feet for our little owls.  Because we can’t give candy, we must give FRUIT SNACKS!  FRUIT SNACKS that are shaped like hearts!

(We totally CAN give candy, she just doesn’t want to).

The instructions said to make circles on the paper, and the blogger had simply used a cup to trace the circles.  So I grabbed the first cup I saw, which was The Princess’s heart cup, and hurriedly made circles, and then cut them out. Doing this used up about half of the scrapbook paper.

This was when I realized that these were going to be teeny tiny little owls.  Normal people would trace around an adult cup.  ADD people trace around the first cup they find that isn’t dirty.  The cup I grabbed happened to be her favorite.  And small, very small.

She also set her heart on using google eyes instead of making the eyes out of paper.  I guess maybe I should have bought some more eyes!  It became apparently quite quickly that the eyes we had were either gigantic or teeny.  Nothing in between that wasn’t completely goofy.  The Princess was very disappointed in this. Instead I showed her how to make the eyes out of paper circles like in the picture.  She was not very impressed.

And why write your own cute little sayings when you managed to pick up a bunch of conversation heart stickers last year in the Valentine Clearance?  So now instead of an owl with a note that says “I think you’re a HOOT!” or -insert owl reference here-, we have an owl with a heart emblazoned with the word “Kisses” on its tummy, holding on to a bag of heart shaped fruit snacks for dear life.

So after an extended period of cutting and folding, and making eyes, the Princess decided she was done. Or rather, I was done.  How many had we made?  One.  I had made just one little owl for her as an example.  She snatched it and fled to her room to make it a place to sleep.  She is going to keep it and name it “Kisses”.

Here is our poor “Kisses” the owl, rescued from the Princess’s bedroom while she slept.  I’m not sure how Kisses got so darn dirty.

So, will the Princess actually start making her owls for her friends?  Will we have future episodes where The Princess decides to keep going forward with Operation Valentine’s Owls?  Or perhaps a post about me running frantically to the store to grab one of the two boxes of Valentines that are left on the 11th hour of Vday?

It would have been so much simpler if I had just showed her all of the character Valentines there were while we were at Target.  But no, I had to encourage her creativity!  What is WRONG with me?

The Professor, on the other hand, was perfectly happy with whatever.  I brought him home a box of Skylanders Valentines and he was set.

So, several days after the fact,  just how IS our little owl project going?

Guess what?  She told me to go to Wal-Mart and pick her up a box of My Little Pony Equestria Girl Valentines… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Some of our perusing for ideas resulted in seeing some ridiculously cute stuff.  Just hook me up with this site, I’ll order all of my Valentines’ gifts and be on my merry little way…

http://www.personalcreations.com/

Aren’t these just the cutest things ever?  And I’m the mean mom who gave my kids weird names.  What’s wrong with that? You can’t just walk into a store and find personalized stuff for them.  Damn me.  http://www.personalcreations.com/valentines-gifts-kids-PVALKID

I thought it wise to mention that I did not receive any sort of compensation for plugging Personal Creations and Kids Activities Blog, other than a nice virtual high five.  That and the reaffirmation that my daughter wants everything cute that was ever made.

Twisted Mixtape Tuesday: Music That Makes Me Move For More Than Ten Seconds

Demetri Martin on exercise:  I go the gym and I try to run on the treadmill and I listen to music but it doesn’t motivate me enough. So I’m going to get a recording of a pack of wolves gaining on me. People would be like, ‘Why is that guy crying on that treadmill over there?’ ‘I don’t know, but he’s been yelling, ‘help’ for like 20 minutes. He’s getting a good workout.’

In case the previous quote didn’t cue you in, this week’s theme is a mix to get motivated to do, well, anything.

Trust me, I need all the motivation I can get these days, especially in the exercise area.  While I haven’t gained any weight according to the scale, I am certainly gaining what is known as the middle age spread.  I am not planning on subsisting on ten calories a day or eating nothing but cabbage for six months, so instead I am simply trying to spend more time at the gym.  I already lift, but I hate cardio.  My schedule doesn’t allow me to attend fitness classes like I used to, so I’m just trying to walk whenever I can.

So here is a sampling of the songs on my Iphone that motivate me to get moving.  And I behaved myself this week and stayed as close to five as possible.  Are they working?  Ummmm… sort of.

Did I mention I saw these guys LIVE in CONCERT?  What?  I did?  A few too many times?

Let’s Get Rocked-Def Leppard

Blame Percy Jackson…

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark-Fall Out Boy

Fun to sing, especially in the shower.

As If-Sara Evans

I really don’t think I need buns of steel. I’d be happier with buns of cinnamon.-Ellen Degeneres

The video to this song is probably going to cause me to lose my “family-friendly” rating here.  So do me a favor, if you watch it a)  Don’t be offended-because trust me, this particular group has made waaaay more offensive stuff than this.  b)  DO NOT watch it with children in the room, unless you want to field some uncomfortable questions.  “Mommy, why is that guy’s crotch like a light bulb?”

Now, forget all of that and please listen to this very motivating song.

Danger! High Voltage-Electric Six

Moving on…

Viva La Vida-Coldplay

I’m not a huge Britney Spears fan, but good lord that girl sings some catchy stuff that makes you want to move!

Til The World Ends-Britney Spears

I should work out. It’s hard to find time to work out when you really don’t want to.-Jim Gaffigan

I love this song.  I don’t know why…

DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again-Usher

Hell yeah Josh Turner, I’d go with you.

Would You Go With Me?-Josh Turner

What songs motivate you to do stuff?  Check out the links over at My Skewed View to see what gets other people motivated!