Soundtrack of my life (well, through my childhood anyway)

Let me take you back to the 80's, unfortunately I don't have a hot tub to get you there, but I can describe to you my childhood memories and the music that helped er, shape me, if you will.

I remember living in the very small town of Walterboro, where the only thing to do on a Friday night is go to a bonfire party and get drunk or drive up and down the main strip to see who else was out and about for the evening. Since I was 4 years old at the time of this story, neither of those were happening to me or my 10 year old sister, so we had to be creative and make up our own stuff to do.

Most times this included us pretending to play "Church" in our formal living room. My sister would play the piano (our pretend organ), I would walk in the room and read from a huge family Bible and pretend to be preaching, (really, the Bible was like 30 pounds - it couldn't be lifted!). I would "HEAL!" whomever was in need that day in our audience, Barbie, a Puffalump, a glow worm or even My Little Pony.

After "church", we would find it appropriate to listen to Madonna's "Like a Virgin" album on our record player. We would dance around foolishly, singing all the words to every song, all the while not knowing what we were REALLY singing about. And really, what were our parents doing buying this for us? The title of the album didn't tip them off that perhaps this wasn't the best choice for children? All I knew is that we wanted to be JUST like her, we even had a white lace glove to wear! My favorite song on the entire album, naturally, was "Material Girl".



Side note: Sesame Street also came out with a similar video around this time called, "Cereal Girl", which I also loved and sang all the time.



During our boredom, we'd also listen to my Dad's old 8 tracks, yes, I said 8 tracks. We'd play Elvis or The Beach Boys as loudly as possible and have a dance party in the den. It was all Soul Train, all the time. We also listened to my favorite album of my Dad's, "The Big Chill" soundtrack; possibly the BEST soundtrack...ever! Every song on the album is a classic, but of course, "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" was my absolute favorite! I never saw the movie until years later, and it was the most depressing movie I've ever seen! Did you know its about funerals?!! How can such an upbeat soundtrack be for such a depressing movie?! The songs like "My Girl", take me back to the Fourth of July, spending time at the Rickenbaker's pool, while our parents sipped on Bartles and James wine coolers and I got fried in the sun (thanks mom for the sun damage).



This leads me to a few years later when I was still listening to Madonna, but had also branched out to the likes of Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, and Wilson Phillips. Oh yes, I "Held on for One More Day" and didn't think "We're Alone Now" for a while! My sister and I would get home from school and video tape each other playing dance party! I remember her teaching me all the dance movies to Debbie Gibson's "Electric Youth", which I mastered perfectly, as proved by the video taped version. Speaking of, I wonder where that VHS is these days?



(Bonus points if you can do the dance!)


That brings me to the end of the 80s, which means I can't leave the decade without mentioning New Kids on the Block. While there were many songs that all of the guys sang (who was your favorite? I liked Johnathon b/c my sister liked him and I copied everything she did). And I can also tell you that I had a NKOTB duffle bag that I got for my b-day from Susan Quarterman, but my sister had the best....it was a denim vest with buttons of faces of each and every NKOTB-er. oh yeah. We kissed the buttons, well, all except for Donny, whom we referred to as "monkey face". Man, kids are so mean!!
While it was hard to pick the one NKOTB song to embed, I'm going with The Right Stuff b/c I had it on cassette tape as a single (other side was "Cover Girl"!!!). Ok, so play this and get up and do the dance, you know you want to!




In 1989, my family moved from Walterboro and it was a sad end to an era. New exciting things were happening in our lives; my sister was growing up and driving, I was still playing with Barbies and entering band. I listened to everything Charlotte listened to, trying to soak in her coolness and hoping it would rub off on me. We no longer had dance parties b/c it wasn't "cool" anymore, but I yearned for the days that she would offer to drive me around town in her new car, (a 4-door Cutlass Ciera). The songs of my youth changed from catchy pop songs to more edgy, even some rap!

In the moment, I really loved "MMMM, MMMM, MMMM" by the Crash Test Dummies. (You Tube won't let me embed, but you can watch it here). Charlotte started listening to things like C&C Music Factory's "Gonna Make you Sweat!" and I started branching off into country music, a la "Achey Breaky Heart".

Now that I'm up to my 90's years, I'll leave that for another time. Isn't it funny that a song can take you to a certain time and place?

I heart Spring!

Has anyone heard the horrible rumor that the United States Postal Service *might* not be delivering mail on Saturdays anymore?! What will I do with myself? Everyday after my long drive home from work, I walk to the mailbox in anticipation of care packages, cards, hand-written letters, bills of course, and my personal favorite...catalogs!

While I get a Victoria's Secret catalog in the mail every other day (honestly? I need to be reminded that my body isn't perfect that many times in a week? AND how many times you can rearrange the pages to make me interested in the same stuff?), I also receive Athleta, J Crew, LL Bean, ABC, Bits & Pieces, West Elm, etc. you get the idea. My all time favorite catalog has got to be Pottery Barn!


My spring Pottery Barn "teaser" catalog, only a mere 60 pages, showed up on Monday this week in the mail. It included beautiful photos of decorated bedrooms and pretty bathrooms. I immerse myself in the photos, studying every detail, wondering how I too can put up a plant in my teeny tiny shower or mimic the look of a treebranch coming out of a vase to make my bedroom look really serene and "outdoorsy" all at the same time.

But this week I had a super treat as I went back to the mailbox on Tuesday and got the official Spring Pottery Barn catalog!! a Full 165 pages of blissfulness! YAY!! Mini cartwheels in the yard! (watch for dog poop!) OOOH what to look at first?! Ok, yes, I want the trinket box and I'm going to fill it too with starfish and old post cards! OOOH OOOH, I bet I could hang the life size fork and spoon replicas in our dining room! Wonder if they make a spork instead? I always want the jute rugs as well, to go under my perfectly made sleigh bed, with the monogrammed pillows.


What I want to know though, is who are the people who have all of this outdoor furniture with full on pillows, cushions, umbrellas, curtains, and tea sets? They have full on outdoor area rugs too! How are these things not getting wet and molding!? They even have an outdoor buffet! I hope to have a perfectly decorated outdoor living room like these people...one day. But first I must decorate my indoor living room!


Some of the decorations make no sense though! I mean, who could use the life size abacus in their office? I have a hard enough time trying to use my computer's calculator, must less having to get on a ladder to move around beads! But you can pick up one of these nifty accents for your office to complete your Pottery Barn look for only $249, +S/H!





Side Note: Pottery Barn describes this abacus as this: "At four feet long, our grand wall abacus with movable beads is a sculpture that invites the touch" (invites the touch? hahhaha) Click here to order.



Ok, so you MAY or may not find an abacus in my house next time you visit, but rest assured, you WILL find a lived in couch, (secondary couch seating as well since we have YET to get rid of it), no rugs, loud paint colors such as green and orange, a large slobbery, hyper, dog, sand (brought in on our feet from the beach), and mis-matching bedroom furniture. I dream of the day that my house will resemble the entire looks of a Pottery Barn catalog, but until then, I'll settle for a just a page.




Things I heart about Spring:

Pottery Barn's new catalog, windows open, pinky blushes, pencil skirts, opening day of Baseball season, laying in the hammock, Spring sweeps on my favorite tv shows, Cadbury eggs, being able to wear white and pastels, open toed shoes, pedicures (gotta book one of those pronto!)


Things I DON'T heart:

Pollen, pollen and more pollen, hayfever, getting used to losing an hour of sleep


Things that keep me up at night:

Ok, what is the deal with Victoria Secret's new "The Nakeds"? Clearly, the models are NOT naked and the bras look exactly the same as Body by Victoria!


There have been a few articles out recently that coconut can help "cure" the symptoms of Crohn's disease. Would I be willing to eat coconut even though the mere thought of eating it makes me want to vomit? for a cure, yes...must get more research on this subject. Can't I just slather myself in coconut oil and bake in the sun for a cure?


Call me crazy or cautious, but as I get older, I tend to start seeing the bullshit, if you will, in other's a lot faster than other people do. I just sit back and wait for others to notice it too. I thank my mother for this nifty little skill.

Why is the game Bewjewled SOOOO addictive?!


OK ..time to catch up on tv!

xoxo, Bec