'Cause somebody told me
That's where dreams would be
Gonna sell my car and go to Vegas
Finally see my name upon the Palace marquis

Gonna quit my job and move to New York
'Cause somebody told me that's where
Dreamers should go
Gonna quit my job and move to New York
And tattoo my body with every Broadway show.

Listen up now honey, you're gonna be sorry
Can't get out from under a sky that is falling
And you say
No fame no money I'm nobody
The way I'm running has sure got me down on my knees.
But next stop, Vegas please.
Gotta get to Vegas
Can you take me to Vegas?

I'm gonna lose my mind and sail the ocean.
'Cause somebody told me there were
Cherry blue skies
I'm gonna fix my mind with a final destination
And have a deep sleep upon a sweet dream
I'll never realize...no

Listen up now honey, you're gonna be sorry
Can't get out from under a sky that is falling
And you say
No fame no money I'm nobody
The way I'm running has sure got me down on my knees.
Next stop, Vegas please.
Can you take me to Vegas?
- Sara Bareilles

Love this song. This song is my theme song right about now. Car issues are the worst. Maybe I'm on the other side of it now, though. Also experiencing major league burn out. Must. Have. Vacation. Soon.

Birthday shout out to my pal Lauren! I hope you have a great one!

- Amy

Or your all night restaurant
- SheDaisy

I’m in a cooking mood lately. I’m by no means the world’s best cook, despite that Food Science class in college that Holli made me take. Just kidding, you know I loved it – green muffins and all. But for some reason, lately I’ve had a huge interest in teaching myself how to cook. The problem is that I don’t have great instincts. I can find a recipe and follow it and be ok, but I have zero imagination.

So I’m working on it. I have to give props to the Pioneer Woman and her cooking blog for giving an average cook like me hope that good food doesn’t have to be super difficult. (Side note, Pioneer Woman is awesome. I love her blog, you should read it). I made her lasagna and am proud to say that it was very good. And hey, guess what, the Internet is GREAT for finding recipes and such, so I really don’t have any excuses anymore, right?

I’ll keep y’all posted on my cooking progress, too. Why, you ask? Well, I guess because it gives me something to blog about and as you can tell, I’ve had a huge writer’s block lately.

Now, does anyone have any suggestions (other than the obvious Chicken Marsala) on what to do with chicken and fresh mushrooms? I’m listening. Let me know.

-- Sara Bareilles

I could have been a meteorologist. No seriously. I think I could do it. What other job is there in the world that you can be flat out wrong 99% of the time and still stay employed? Oh wait, maybe a politician, but I digress.

The point is, if a runner up from The Bachelor can double as reporter and weekend fill in weather girl, I could totally do it. And I love weather. It is interesting to me. (Yes, Justin, that is my mother calling right now to ask me if I’ve checked the weather). And growing up where I did, I have a healthy respect for it. But all seriousness aside, pretty much any woman out there could do the weather.

Here’s why – our hair. No really. I can tell in the morning by my hair if it going to rain or not. And I’m right just as many times as those balding weather guys are. Who needs to study the Jet Stream and learn about wind shears and such? A girl with straight hair will tell you on days the humidity is up and/or days that rain is likely, her hair will try its best to curl. And on the other side, on days the humidity is up and/or days that rain is likely, girls with curly hair like me will find there somewhat lackadaisical curls will either refuse to curl at all or hyper curl into a Shirley Temple cut. These are facts, people. And this doesn’t even cover “big hair” days. Ladies, am I right?

You can put me out on the street
Put me out with no shoes on my feet
But, put me out, put me out
Put me out of misery
- The Rolling Stones

I’ve been meaning to tell y’all this for months as I know how much you love the randomness that makes up my life.

First of all, let me explain that somewhere along the way, I became flat out OBSESSED with “Beast of Burden.” Such a great, great, song. Lately the “put me out of misery” part seems to speak to me for some reason. Hmm…Anyway...

During football season, I typically go to Tuscaloosa the night before the game and stay with my parents in their RV. (They have a really nice one and color me surprised to learn that I actually enjoy it, despite my claustrophobia). Towards the end of the season I was finishing up getting ready and the RV next to us started playing “Beast of Burden” so naturally I got really into the song and had to sing along, loudly. My mother walked by and caught me doing something to my hair while singing:

You’re a pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty girl
Pretty, pretty
Such a pretty, pretty, pretty girl

She promptly patted me on the shoulder and said, “Yes, you are a pretty girl!”

Too funny.

Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad! 38 years - WOW! Congrats!

love you,
Amy

- The Buggles

Modern radio pretty much sucks. I think we can all agree on that, right? And please note, I’m just talking about regular old run of the mill free radio. Not XM or Sirius that you rabid fans tell me about every day. (I know - I can’t believe I don’t have it, either).

Anyway, point is, the music industry is changing big time and I’m personally no longer relying on the radio to tune me into new music. In fact, the radio is the last place I’d go to hoping to find something new and cool. But that’s really a whole ‘nother conversation.

But for today, here’s a fun little group activity for us, though. Let’s fashion a list of songs that radio has effectively killed for us. I’m not talking about songs you just hate, but songs that radio has played so many times that you find it hard to enjoy them anymore. Songs that they have run into the ground and then broke off. Songs that you hear EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. THE. RADIO. IS. ON. Come on, it’ll be fun!
(In no particular order):

1) Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
2) Every song every made by Elton John
3) Most any song by Billy Joel
4) You’re So Vain – Carly Simon
5) Power of Love – Huey Lewis and the News
6) Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffet
7) I Want To Know What Love Is – Foreigner
8) Love Shack – B52’s
9) Pretty much everything by James Taylor
10)Most everything by Chicago

There you go – I gave you a starting point. Jump on in, people.

Who gives up just like that
Oh no, no
-- Blondie

I can’t take it anymore. I’ve got too much stuff. TOO MUCH STUFF. Too much stuff in my house, in my car, in my office and really too much in my brain. I’m sick of it.

I’ve always been a pack rat. Oh yeah, totally have. I have the ticket stubs from almost every movie and concert I’ve been to since I was sixteen. I had this grand idea of one day fashioning the stubs into some really cool art piece. But guess what? They are all in a bag in a box on top of my dresser. Nothing cool about that.

I go over to you people’s (you friend types that read this) pristine houses and see pictures online of your new houses and I think to myself, wow, I bet they don’t even have a junk drawer! Who needs a junk drawer besides me? It’s ridiculous. I see you people have a proper place for every single little thing and I doubt that any of you have bottles of shampoo and conditioner under your sink. You know, those ones you buy on sale, or only buy because they smell good? The ones that end up leaving your hair looking like a wet dog?

Now let me explain, I am not a hoarder or whatever. Not even close. I just tend to have things in closets that I should get rid of – things like the box my iron came in and an old UA flag that is cracked. But the biggest issue I have is paper. Who knew that grown ups could acquire so freaking much paper. If I had a dime for every piece of junk mail I get, I’d be sitting on a yacht in the Gulf right about now.

So what am I going to do about it? Well, I started by buying a shredder and I just went totally nuts on a bunch of stuff in my other bedroom. It’s a starting point. I’m going to go through my files and get rid of all those top halves of bills from 2004 where I wrote the check number and the date that I paid the bill. I’m going to get rid of my old apartment lease and just get rid of stuff in general. If it isn’t nailed down, or if it doesn’t have extreme sentimental value, it’s a goner.

Besides, it’s not like I have television to watch anymore at night, right? (I hate the strike, all making me productive and stuff. Geez.)

- John Mayer

I cannot believe I forgot to include Knocked Up on my movie list and Mad Men and Friday Night Lights on my TV list.

That's it. For now...

Amy

-- Matt Wertz

I couldn't let 2007 slip away without posting an Awesome in 2007 list. Here are a few of my favorite things in music, TV, film, etc. over the past year. I'm sure I'll leave some stuff out, but I'll add to it later as needed. Please hit me in the comments with your own personal Awesome in 2007 lists, too. I'd love to know what y'all loved this year. (Oh, and I make no excuses for anything on here, we all like what we like and I'm sure you'll laugh at some, but what else is new, right?)

In no particular order...

Television:
1) RIP Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars. Both ended their runs in 2007 and I miss them a ton.
2) How I Met Your Mother. This is hands down the funniest and best show that you aren't watching. If you think the sitcom is dead, you ain't watching HIMYM. Put it at the top of your Netflix queue right now. Thank me later (after you've watched "Slapbet").
3) Chuck. Chuck is such a fun little mix of comedy, drama and spies.
4) Gossip Girl. XOXO, Kristen Bell rocks even in voice over narraration. And this is the new OC. A guilty pleasure at its finest.
5) Desperate Housewives is really good again. Who would have thought?
6) Grey's Anatomy will always be a favorite.
7) Dirty, Sexy, Money. Bad title, great show.
8) Pushing Daises. To think, I almost resisted this charmer. What a shame it would have been to miss out on such a fun confection.
9) Ugly Betty. Amanda singing "Milkshake" backed by an organ at Wilhemenia's wedding? And the Emmy goes to...

Live Music:
1) Keith Urban. Hands down, Keith is probably the best performer I've ever seen.
2) The Bangles. Seeing them was an awesome trip back to the 80s and guess what? They were freaking awesome.
3) Matt Wertz and Dave Barnes. Killed it, they just killed it.
4) Colbie Caillat. She's such a newbie and I loved that she just did her thing with no frills. She sounds exactly like the record and with Pro Tools, that's nearly impossible these days.
5) The Bridges. Coming soon to a CD player near you.

Newly Discovered Music:
1) The Bridges. They opened for the Bangles and I am hooked. Tight harmonies, interesting lyrics and a unique sound have me anxiously awaiting their first record.
2) Matt Wertz. This kid is awesome. I love his voice and he's just fun. Plain and simple.
3) Josh Kelley. So I wasn't on the "Amazing" bandwagon, but wow am I a fan now.
4) Amy Winehouse. There's no denying the power of her voice and her ability to write catchy, bluesy, 1960s era tunes.

Favorite CDs:
1) Introducing Joss Stone, Joss Stone. Love it.
2) My December, Kelly Clarkson. The girl went out on a limb and this particular fan loved every note of it.
3) It Won't Be Soon Before Long, Maroon 5. No need to wait so long between records next time guys.
4) Coco, Colbie Caillat. If you think you know all about Colbie just by "Bubbly" you so don't. The girl is amazing.
5) Everything In Between, Matt Wertz. Ain't nothing wrong with some feel good music.

Movies:
1) The Bourne Ultimatium. Matt Damon = awesome.
2) Enchanted. Patrick Dempsey as a modern day prince? Sign me up. And Amy Adams is awesome. For any of you girls that grew up loving Disney musicals/cartoons, see this one - you'll love it.
3) Becoming Jane. A tearjerker, but a great movie.
4) Transformers. Yes, I'm a chick and I really liked it.

I'm sure I've left out a ton of stuff. And I'll post again as I think about it. Now it is your turn. Comment away!