Ahhh music...

I don't know about you, but there are some songs that the minute I hear them, I'm taken back to a time in my past. I can remember vivid details about these times, simply by listening to certain songs. Here are a few that bring back memories:

Anything from the Blue album by Weezer- When I hear these songs, I'm taken back to 1994/1995 at MSU walking along the Red Cedar River on campus. I used to carry my cd player with me as I walked to class (this was long before iPods and cell phones with mp3 players built in). Anyway-- play me something from the Blue album and I'm transformed back to MSU.

"Forever Your Girl" by Paula Abdul- When I was a sophomore, my cousin Jessica was a junior and helped me get around Glenn (my high school) by introducing me to some of her friends. One was a guy named Kevin Tomacheski (butchered his last name). I remember driving to downtown Detroit in his red truck so I could see a prostitute (I had never seen a real one on the streets). I remember him blasting Paula Abdul... and this is the song attached to that memory.

"Baby I Got Your Money" by ODB (Old Dirty Bastard)- I think of Spring Break 2000 in Panama City Beach, Florida with Caroline, April, Amy, Andrea, Kati, Jen, Elise, and of course, Gabby. Every bar that we went to played this song, and it became the spring break anthem. Everytime I hear it I think of the wonderous week on Spring Break in Panama.

"Out of the Woods" by Nickle Creek- I had heard of Nickle Creek because my friend Kristen Adamski was obsessed with them. I had never heard any of their music though, until I met Steve. On one of our first dates, he made me a mixed cd, which was funny because I had made him one too, and one of the songs he put on mine was "Out of the Woods." I won't give too many details, but we did spend one evening laying in his bed and we listened to the songs that he put on the cd for me. I will always remember the moment that this one came on, and he started singing it to me. It was very, very sweet. When I want a happy memory-- this is the first song that I play.

"If You're Not The One" by Daniel Benningfield- Now... on the opposite side of a happy memory... this song makes me think of a person that I wanted to be with so badly, but he didn't feel the same about me. He was with someone else while seeing me... and foolishly, I allowed myself to be used. Anyway, at the time, the words to this song were perfect and fit exactly into my world. Thank God that's not the case anymore!

"Epiphany" by Staind- My ex-husband used to play this song and tell me that it was saying exactly how he felt. He went through a transformation of sorts while we were still married, and this song reminds me of how absolutely fucked up things were at the time. I remember listening to this on a mixed cd that I had made for a trip to Phoenix to see Dave. I remember driving on the freeway listening to this and looking at my ex and asking God to help our marriage. When we returned from the trip I moved out and he filed for divorce.

"Pictures of You" by The Cure- This song makes me think of Jason Schrock. He was a guy that when I was in junior high I dated his brother Ryan. Actually, Ryan was my first love. He ended up dumping me the night of the 9th grade dance, because I was just a 7th grader and didn't want to be seen with me. Talk about a heartbreak. A year or so later, I ended up befriending his younger brother Jason. We "dated" for a month or so and then their family moved to South Lyon. Thinking that I'd never see them again right... wrong. I end up seeing Jason at a basketball game (Glenn vs South Lyon) while I was cheering. He recognized me and we ended up spending the night talking and laughing. We hooked back up at Rainbow (Catholic youth conference)... and I decided to end things with Andy and start seeing Jason. I had a picture of him... anyway, long story short, when I tried to break up with Andy, things went wrong (as they always seemed to) and he and I stayed together, but he made me rip up the picture of Jason. When I hear "Pictures of You" that's what I think about.

"Stray Cat Strut" by The Stray Cats- Makes me think of the vacation that my family took out west to see the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park and then we went and saw Dave (he was at Camp Pendleton for Marine basic training). My Uncle Ron was cuddling up to my Aunt Karen and he made a cat paw and hissed... it was funny. Anyway, I saw it and so did Scott and then we became "Top Cats" and our salute was the paw and hiss... and this song became our anthem. Silly I know.

Room For Squares (Entire CD)- This was the cd that was playing as I drove to Steve's for our first date. I ended up missing the exit and panicked, but he calmed me down and it was just amazing. Anyway-- when I hear songs from this cd I am instantly taken back to the day of our first date. I can recall the nervousness... and anticipation and excitement to finally see him! We had been e-mailing and IMing and talking on the phone for a month or so and I just couldn't wait to finally meet him in person. I knew that he was the one... I just needed to get there and see him. I was instantly comfortable with him, and didn't want to leave. Our date was 24 hours long and I remember not wanting to leave... he kissed me on the cheek before I left and I think it was like 15 minutes later I called him from the M-14 and Ford Road exit to tell him that I was thinking of him and couldn't get the grin off my face. :)

"Nineteen Something" by Mark Wills- This song was playing on the car radio as Steve and I headed off to church on our very first date.

"Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt- What a song. Andy and I celebrated our first anniversary in Grand Rapids. He had this whole thing planned for months... before things started to go sour. Anyway, from the day that we left it was bad (he told me that people at work were teasing him and Angie about being together)... anyway, the weekend was awkward and sad. We used to go to my parent's cottage up in Reed City often, and while driving up we'd pass the Thornapple River and the cool golf course that's right on the river. I always wanted to golf that course. Well... for our anniversary we did. When we left, I had this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that things were never going to be the same (and they weren't). This song was on as we drove back to Ypsi. I remember sitting there with tears running down my cheeks as I listened to the words. It was 100% true and very, very sad. When we got back to Ypsi, I remember him telling me that he had doubts before we got engaged and even bigger doubts before we got married. Which made me so sad because as a friend, if someone told me they were having doubts, I'd NEVER let them get married. Way to listen to his instincts... it could have saved so much pain and hurt.

That's enough for tonight... maybe I'll do this again sometime soon. Hope you enjoyed...

>^..^<

Music: "Irreplaceable" Beyonce
Mood: Headache

So the last time I posted something it was just before Christmas. That'd be more than a week ago. Where did the time go?

We went shopping with dad on the 24th and that was enjoyable (as it always is) and then we came home and enjoyed our 50 inch plasma :)

We got up relatively early and opened our stockings. I had some Sour Patch Kids in mine and some chocolate and of course gummy bears. Then we opened presents... I got a 20 inch flat-screen monitor (it came as a complete shock) and it's incredible. I also got a 2G mini card for my Sidekick and now I can store a butt-load of songs and pictures on my raspberry (what I'm calling my SK3). I also got some CDs and some DVDs and some books. I also got some shoes, clothes and Bath and Body Works stuff. It was a very good Christmas!!

My mom came over around 1pm on Christmas day to start cooking the meat and I made the pumpkin rolls (later to discover that the eggs that my mom brought over were like two months old--gross I know). Then Scott came over and so did Dan, Fr. Terry and his sister Maureen. It was a really nice evening.

Tuesday was the day after Christmas, and we did our annual Day-After-Christmas shopping trip to the mall. For my gift I got the Danity Kane CD and Talladaga Nights DVD. Steve got two CDs for his gift. After we shopped we went to Applebees for lunch. I had a $20 gift card and so did my mom, so the meal wasn't very much after using them.

Wednesday we got up and packed and then drove down to New Paris to spend some time with Steve's dad. We got there around 4ish and gave him his Christmas presents (a picture of him and Sue Ann that he loved, and two Civil War books that he totally loved). Then we went to Applebees (lol-- again) and met Sue Ann for dinner. It was pretty tasty. We came home and then gave Sue Ann her gifts (a nice candle and some body stuff). She left and then Steve and his dad got to talking about family stuff. Steve's dad asked Steve how he'd feel about him asking Sue Ann to marry him... I TOTALLY CALLED IT!!! LOL. He said that he wants to propose around Valentine's Day or so. Anyway... it was very sweet. Then they got to talking about his dad moving in with her and selling the house. We're going to take the kitchen table.

Thursday morning we got up and had breakfast at Bob Evan's and we were supposed to help his dad move furniture to Sue Ann's, but that didn't work out. On the way from the store to his house he asked Steve to be his best man (so cute). We grabbed our things and headed back to Michigan. Before we left New Paris, we went to the cemetary and went to Steve's mom's grave. It looks really nice (the headstone). It has her name and his dad's name and then on the back it says, "Our Children" and then it has Monty and Steve. It was very touching and caused us both to tear up.

We got home around one and then I took a nap. Beckie arrived around 5ish and we had dinner (BBQ chicken) and headed to Joey's for Jerry's birthday shin-dig. It was nice to see everyone from work. I didn't really talk to anyone, as I was sitting at the end of the table with some parapros that I don't really know, but the comedian was funny. After the comedy thing we hit Taco Bell and Kroger.

Friday B and I went to Max-n-Erma's for lunch and then we went to JoAnn's for the things to make warm fuzzies. We then came home and started getting ready for the purse party. The lady called to say she'd be here between 6 and 6:30 and she ended up coming at 5:20. They set up the living room and kitchen with purses and stuff and I was able to pick out all the stuff that I wanted (ahead of time). I didn't have as many people come as I expected (I was told that like 15-20 would be coming and only 6 showed). Anyway, I was able to get the $400 in sales and Amy Youtsey booked a party from mine. So next month I'll be going to her party and I'll get a $50 credit.

Saturday came and B left to go back home. She's flying to Phoenix... but she's here until after New Year's. It was nice to see her and I do miss her. I hope she comes back to Michigan to live. :)

Steve called Mitch and Jess to see what they were doing and invited them over... and they came over around 6ish. We went to Mongolian BBQ for dinner and then went to IKEA. Steve and I got two frames, a picture of two giraffes (it's super cute) and then he got a new lamp. We came home and watched tv.

Sunday morning Steve and I went to McDonald's to get breakfast for everyone and then shortly after Mitch and Jess went home. We cleaned the house a little and then my mom called to see if we wanted to meet everyone at Amantea's for dinner. We got there and had dinner with Fr. Terry, mom and dad, and Mary Breeding and her friend Francine. I had mostacholi motzarella and it was absolutely fantastic.

We didn't do anything to ring in the New Year. We just hung out upstairs... then midnight came and we watched the ball drop and kissed. It was relatively uneventful. LOL.

Monday my mom came over and we went and saw "The Nativity Story" and it was so good. We also had lunch at Logan's Steakhouse. We came home and got dinner ready and then dad and Scott and Fr. Terry came over for dinner.

So that takes us up to today pretty much. Today I had lunch at Ram's Horn with mom. I cleaned the kitchen and then Steve came home and we had dinner. Today is the one year anniversary of his mom passing away. It's funny how things can change in a year. I looked up some rings for his dad and he looked at them and said that he found one that he liked... and he'll think about whether or not he's going to buy it. Regardless, an engagement is coming. They've got December 28th reserved as their wedding date. Should be exciting!!

I'm tired now... I'm signing off until next time!
>^..^<