by popular demand... video proof!

You asked!  And here's the video proof I mentioned in my last post.  Also, my family's Christmas card from a few years ago.  (Isn't my family the greatest?)  You're welcome.  Enjoy!

Explanation for the videos:
My best friend (and roommate at the time) and I both love HSM.  One day, it was such perfect weather, we decided the best thing would be to have an HSM dance party in the volleyball court.  (One thing we liked to do was sync up our ipods and have dance parties with our headphones in.)  So, the first video shows how we'd sync our ipods.  The second video shows one of our favorite parts of all the songs, all the movies.  The third video is my brother recording us from his apartment.  We didn't really think about how other people could see us or might've been paying attention, so we were completely surprised when he showed us the video he took. :)  We might be crazy, but you have to admit, we're also a lot of fun.

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She's just a teenage maniac [with her] heart out on the dance floor...

"Frequently Baby"

Mêlée

High School Musical and me

"What?" some of you may be thinking.  "How can this even be a post?"

Oh, it can be.  

As some of you may know, I love High School Musical.  All three of them.  I own a shirt, lunchbox, dishes, board game, jacket..... with HSM logos on them.  I own all three soundtracks and movies.  The first movie came out when I was a junior in high school.  I remember there being a ton of hype on the Disney Channel when it came out, and when I first saw it, thinking, "That was fine."  Then as the weeks went by and I watched it more times, I fell in love.  You better believe I was watching when High School Musical 2 premiered on the Disney Channel during my senior year.  I went to see High School Musical: The Ice Tour when I was a freshman in college.  High School Musical 3 is the first movie I ever paid full price to see in a movie theater twice.  The first time was at midnight.  I will never forget how exhilarating it was when the beginning of "Now or Never" started, screen still black, and then all of a sudden Zac Efron's face popped up.  The entire theater screamed.  We were the oldest ones there who weren't chaperoning.  It was AWESOME.  My dream is to see a high-quality High School Musical 4 come out.  

Anyway.  When I was at Girls Camp last week, I learned that many of the girls shared my love for High School Musical.  It was so great.  Impromptu HSM singing, dances, skits, quotes... We spent the entire car ride back listening to the soundtracks - yes, I had them all with me.  So.  Girls.  This post is for you.

My best friend and me during intermission of HSM: The Ice Tour, right after we bought these SWEET jackets.
I'm telling you.  It was so exciting.  It was the only time I've ever been thankful for obese children.  Without them, we could never have bought size 3XL in this jacket designed for young children.

We kissed the tour bus.  That's real love.
Also, Kenny Ortega is so great and his name was on the bus.

Check out that jacket.  IT'S SO GREAT.

We dressed up on High School Musical Day: The Day HSM3 Came Out.
(Remember in HSM3 when Zac Efron's wearing an exclamation point shirt?)

I also took an HSM lunchbox to school that day.

I've never claimed to be good at nail art.
It says, "Go Wildcats."

You guys.  Get a best friend who loves High School Musical.

If you're working at a movie theater the night High School Musical 3 comes out,
shouldn't it be a requirement that you can take a good jumping picture?

I was Gabriella for Halloween.  Check out my necklace!  It's Carrie's.
She's David Bowie, by the way.

That time our best friend sent us HSM paraphernalia from his mission in Denmark for Christmas.
Isn't this what you look like when you're singing "Bet On It"?

My scrapbog.  (It's Danish, remember?)

I have videos, too, but I think I'll save them for another day.

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"Maybe we're being punked.  Maybe we're being filmed right now...  Maybe we'll get to meet Ashton!"

High School Musical

six is the number that's on my mind

It's our anniversary!

Or, it was recently.  When our internet was down.

But, happy six years, Joel!

You're the best husband for me ever.

I would write more, but that's for a love letter and not a blog.

For those of you curious,

check out the proposal story!

It's pretty great. :)

(Photo credit to Little Boy)

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If I have something I want to say that is too difficult for adults to swallow, then I will write it in a book for children.

Madeleine L’Engle

10 favorite "calm down" songs

I'll offer the same intro as I did to my last list of songs - This isn't a comprehensive list of "calm down" songs I love, but these are all really good.  Give 'em a listen.

1. "Easy" - Lionel Richie + Willie Nelson

2. "Sort Of" - Ingrid Michaelson

3. "Oh, Sweet Lorraine" - Green Shoe Studio

4. "Some Things Are Meant to Be" - Little Women

5. "She's Gonna Find Me Here" - Mêlée

6. "The Call" - Regina Spektor

7. "Little Wonders" - Savannah

8. "If Love Were All" - Rufus Wainwright

9. "Fire and Rain" - James Taylor

10. "Rope Swing Over Rogue Valley" - Rogue Valley

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Lawyers, I suppose, were children once.

Charles Lamb

10 favorite "good mood" songs

Let it be known that these are not my top ten, nor is this anywhere near a comprehensive list of my favorite "good mood" songs.  I'm still trying to regather the favorites lost when Grooveshark disappeared.  But these are fun. 

1. "Shut Up and Dance" - Walk the Moon

2. "Popular Song" - Mika + Ariana Grande

3. "Rockstar" - A Great Big World

4. "Black and White" - Royal Tailor

5. "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" - Stevie Wonder

6. "Blonde" - Bridgit Mendler

7. "Elle Me Dit" - Mika

8. "You Make My Dreams" - Mêlée

9. "Fun, Fun, Fun" - Pharrell Williams

10. "Do You Believe in Magic?" - The Lovin' Spoonful

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“Why is it that so many of us blame ourselves for things that we can’t ever fix, but we blame others for the things we can?”

In the Land of Second Chances

the day the tower fell over

I wrote this a few months ago and it's been sitting in my "Drafts" box ever since.  I was afraid to publish it, not because of embarrassment, but because I didn't want to get - as weird as this might sound - encouraging comments.  I purposely waited until months after the day passed to even think about posting it.  I've always been a very dependent person, and while I do ask for help when I need it, I didn't want this to sound like a desperate plea.  I'd rather it sound like "I have bad days, too."  It's also a little more personal than I sometimes post, and that was another reason I held back.  But the idea of being authentic keeps showing up in what I've been reading and listening to lately, so now's the time.  There are wonderful, wonderful things about my life.  There are also intensely difficult things.  My life is a beautiful mix of both, and my blog's pretty representative of how I really am.  But here's a taste of the harder side of my authentic.

play dates

When you become a mom, you learn the phrase "play date."  What is a play date, you might ask?  Just what it sounds like - a set time for 2+ kids to get together and play.  Parents call / text other parents and set up times for their kids to play with each other.  

Every time play dates come up in conversation, part of my brain does a little freak-out and thinks, "Play dates.  This is so dumb.  My mom didn't set up play dates for us.  We just went to our friends' houses!" (or called them, which can be weird now because so few friends have home phones.)  Let's be clear - my mom did set up play dates if the friends lived far enough away that we needed a car to get there.  But if you lived in the neighborhood, we usually just showed up.  

I get that the world is a different place now.  People are busier with sports, dance, gymnastics, and other classes; more paranoid about kids walking around alone; and often more involved in their children's lives.  But that doesn't mean I don't wish I could say, "I don't know if your friend can play, go knock on his door and find out."

But watch out, world!  We're bringing it back.  Spontaneous playing, I mean.  Meaning, if you've ever told me, "Stop by anytime!" I just might.  We've already done it to a few of you.  We'll come at a normal time of day.  We'll probably stay an hour or less so we don't accidentally become rude.  Maybe we'll bring donuts, like we did today.  Maybe you won't be home or you'll be in pajamas, like also happened today.  I'll probably apologize because I'm afraid some of you will think I'm rude instead of awesome.  But someday when we're feeling bored and ready to play, don't be surprised if you get a knock on your door!  If you don't want to play or you're busy, tell us so (or just don't open the door).  No hurt feelings.  I get that people are busy.  But I also know that we're not the only ones who sometimes need a spontaneous change of routine.  And who knows!  After we leave, you might just go buy your own pack of UNO cards and start taking it around the neighborhood.  :)

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For it so falls out, that what we have we prize not to the worth whiles we enjoy it; but being lacked and lost, why, then we rack the value, then we find the virtue that possession would not show us while it was ours.

Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare