music critic, reporting for duty.

I don't claim to know everything about anything.
But I would claim to know something about everything.
.......well, I know something about a lot of things.

I was scanning through radio stations today when I stumbled upon the alternative station.
Score.

And I was happy with the first couple songs, including Chalk Outline, which is the kind of music I associate with the alternative genre.

But then I heard Let's Go and I was like whaaaa? This isn't alternative!!!

AND THEN the DJ announced that after the break, they'd be back with Florence and the Machine. Wha to the whaaaa?! Freaking Florence and the Machine is not alternative.

So when I got home, just out of curiosity, I looked up the current Top 20 Alternative Songs.
And I. am. appalled.

What passes for "Alternative" these days is not what it was back in the day.

Madness by Muse is the #1 Alternative song...which, ok, that's legit. I would consider Muse "alternative".

BUT the #2 song is I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons. ohhhh no. nope. nuh-uh. Mumford IS NOT alternative.

Other artists featured on the top 20 list are The Black Keys (almost alt. but no), The Lumineers (um. no.), Alex Clare (are you kidding me?!), fun. (NO NO NO), and Of Monsters and Men (what the freak?!).

The only artists on the list that I would agree with them being alternative are Green Day, Linkin Park, and Rise Against.

You see, I was a huge alternative aficionado in high school, so I know a thing or two about what alternative music sounds like. When I think about alternative music, I think OK Go, Foo Fighters, Goo Goo Dolls, Jimmy Eat World, and Paramore.

Maybe I'm just stuck in my ways and can't deal with genres evolving, but I don't care.
What the heck.

That's all. Anyone else have thoughts on the subject?

quick takes: things I love

welcome back to the laziest blog in the world.
I'm your host...the topic today is "things I love"
let's get this show started.....

[1]

dressing Abe up.

[2]

Christmas-themed EVERYTHING.

coffee, music, decorations, cookies, etc.

EVERYTHING.

[3]

this video.

and this one.

[4]

leftovers that my roomie left behind.

[5]

PAPER SNOWFLAKES.

did I mention that I love Christmas?

[6]

The Office.

And Parks and Rec.

[7]

ice cream.

duh.

good luck finding better QTs over at Jen's

quick takes (12)

...in which I give you a [not so] rare peek into the life of moi

[1]

Not much upsets me. In truth, I'm a pretty easy-going person and I can let things roll off of my shoulders.

Usually.

But having an interview/debate published IN THE UNIVERSITY PAPER without my consent irked me slightly.

Read if you must.

[2]

NOBAMA.

I'm honestly worried for our country and the liberties we hold so dear to our hearts...but yet have hope that the courts will rule in the Church's favor on the Religious Liberty issue.

Also, it's nice to be able to concentrate on things other than the election once again.

[3]

Today is a sad day...my parents are taking our beloved dog to be put down this evening.

Murphy's been such a loving, sweet, and honestly, perfect dog and he will be dearly missed.

[4]

I keep watching this video and am getting suuuper pumped to go to the 2013 SFLA Conference.

yayyy babies!

[5]

This week has gone by surprisingly fast, but I was able to make it out with some of my favorite ladies on Wednesday night to an Irish pub with live Gaelic music. What a blast! Good beer, good music, and cute old women staying out wayyyy past their bedtimes ;)

Also, Grandma, there were a couple of accordion players there, and I thought of you :)

[6]

I don't know if Veronica will ever post about this, but I just have to share this picture.

Apparently, Anne (pictured) needed to be labelled with permanent marker by her older sister.

Hilarious.

[7]

And finally, I have a prayer request.

I got a call yesterday afternoon from my chaplain at ISU about the need for pregnancy resources for a couple out in BloNo. They're students and she is 6 weeks pregnant...her parents are pressuring her into having an abortion this weekend (at home) and despite both the girl and her boyfriend's desire to not have an abortion, the young woman feels that she has no other options.

Please join me in praying that everyone involved is spared the heartache and pain of abortion!

St. Gianna Molla, pray for us!

Have a fab weekend! I'll be in Peoria for our banquet...check out Jen for some more quickies!

waterworks

When I was younger, I was not a crier. In fact, I would laugh at my mom for crying during a movie. The only exception to my lack of emotion was when we watched "A Walk to Remember"...pretty sure it took twice as long to watch that one because we kept stopping it to calm down...and we went through a full box of kleenex...

But truly, ask anyone...I did not cry.

That all changed when I left for college.

All of the sudden, a commercial like this would come on...

...and I would be a blubbering mess.

Thus another one of my manymanymany theories about the mystery of life.

I have a theory that when you leave for college, or move out on your own, something changes inside of you. Emotions are high, there are a lot of changes that you have to deal with, but at the same time, you want to be grown-up and mature and so you bottle those emotions as best you can. However, they're still there and you have to deal with them in some way and that's when the whole crying-for-no-reason phenomenon comes in.

Hey, don't take my word for it...there are plenty of people who I can point your towards to back my theory up.....actually, I only have one other person who I know that this theory is true for, but whatever. I'm juuuuust saying....

Now excuse me while I pull myself together....that Jif commercial really did me in...

Quick Takes (11)

splendidly less-sleep deprived for this week's edition of takes!

[1]

Easily the highlight of my week was that the SFLI headquarters office now has a coffee machine. wootwoot! I didn't buy Espresso one time this week and although I have recently acquired an aversion to Folgers, buying grounds is significantly cheaper than my $4.50 large frosted pumpkin mocha.

score.

[2]

Another highlight of my week was Halloween...I actually forgot several times that it was Halloween, but finally living in a house again where we had TRICK OR TREATERS!!!! was super exciting. My favorite munchkin was this tiny lion who tried to come into our house...she was maybe 2 and I had to restrain myself from telling her dad that if they ever need a babysitter, they know where to come.

[3]

On the topic of Halloween, what is with kids dressing up as bloody people? I don't get it. And I don't think it's because I'm Catholic and think that miniature St. Francises and Mother Theresas are freaking awesome, but just because I don't think that it's necessary. Whatever.

But, in case you were wondering, yes I was that person who refused to give two kids candy because they were dressed up as "myself" and "guy in white". Nice try. Maybe next year I'll take that for a spin but instead be "tipsy-23-year-old-begging-for-free-candy".

I'll let you know how that turns out.

[4]
I bought the new TSwift cd this week...and while I only really love 8 of the 16 songs, she's still got "it"...whatever "it" is....

[5]
I'm still upset about the Jemily breakup. So much so that I stopped following Emily on Insta.
#teamJef

[6]
One extra hour of sleep this weekend. That's what I've been looking forward to since we "sprung forward" all those months ago.

[7]

Any thoughts on the whole Disney-buying-Star-Wars? I'm not a trekkie or starry or whatever they're called, but I do enjoy SW and have enjoyed the banter between concerned fanatics.

click on over to Jen's for more QT's! :)

thrifty thursday

Goodwill has ruined me for every other clothing store.

It's the both the best and worst thing that could happen. Because I went to TJMAXX which is basically the cheapest clothing store around here (unfortunately, we don't have ROSS) and not only was there really not too much that I found appealing, but I now have a hard time justifying paying $12+ for a top! Even $10 is pushing it...I mean, I'll do it, but I better REALLY like that top.

Plus, the whole time I was browsing, all I could think was "I could find cuter clothes for MUCH cheaper at Goodwill"

And so I went.

And score I did.

Before I brag about my amazing finds, I would just like to give a shout out of thanks to my mother who never placed importance or worth on brand names. Growing up, if you liked it and you would wear it, it didn't matter if it came from a department store or if it was hand-me-downs...as long as it was reasonably priced. And buying $100 jeans just doesn't make sense. So thanks Mom :)

So yes. There are such cute clothes at thrift stores! AND CHEAP! Plus, it's eco-friendly. I think...

Here we go. I found 3 tops that I'm TOTALLY happy with...and the estimated retail value of similar products can be found below.

Izod sweater: $64

Abercrombie and Fitch Cardigan: $58

ELLE shirt: $36

The Goodwill price for each item? $2.99
Yup.

For those of you who need a calculator to figure out my savings, I'm way ahead of you. By "buying green", I saved about $149. Not that I would ever buy the brands showcased above unless the prices were slashed, but my point is that I was able to buy chic, well-made clothing WAY below the original price simply because I'm not a snob when it comes to where my clothing comes from.

So thanks Mom, and thanks hipsters for making thrifting "in".