Vinyl Revival

I read an interesting feature on USAToday.com about how vinyl records are making a comeback for the holidays. Um, I thought that happened years ago. In fact, a few years ago, Derrick's first Christmas gift to me was a turntable and some records. It was the sweetest gift ever because I'm a sucker for nostalgia. The recent article made me remember Christmas 1984. I was four years old and my dad gave me a turntable and an entertainment stand for it (I'm not sure if it was for me or really for him at that time). My very first record? New Edition. I also have this album on iTunes, but Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike and Ralph just don't sound the same. I loved that turntable and as a child of the 80s, I did try my hand at DJing by scratching records. I'm surprised I didn't ruin them.

Occasionally, we shop around for records. It's a fun way to spend some time together, we don't do it nearly as much as we used to. We mostly stick to the old stuff, the stuff we grew up on and stuff our parents listen to. I can't imagine buying Lady Gaga on vinyl. It just doesn't seem right. But so far we've got some John Coltrane, Heart, Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, The Allman Brothers and even Grease on vinyl, and we really have enjoy listening to them (well maybe it's just me who enjoys listening to Grease). I bet Christmas music would sound divine on vinyl. We may have to check that out.

I thought I would go ahead and include a little something to brighten up your Friday and take you back to the ol' school. What's in your vinyl collection?

Thankful Again

So my 30 days of Thanksgiving was an epic fail. I guess after Day 8, life started getting a little crazy. That doesn't mean I haven't been thankful these past few weeks. So I compiled a list of 22 things (in no particular order) I have been thankful for as we lead up to the end of the year.

22 - My wonderful furbabies, Beasley and Stella. They are getting into the Christmas spirit by playing with the ornaments and chewing on the Christmas tree.


21 - Our home. We've been in our house for a year and it's been fun doing little projects here and there. It really feels like it's our home.


20 - Spending Thanksgiving with my BIG extended family. Bless Derrick's heart. Since most of my extended family is from out of town, Derrick doesn't get to see them as often. So we had run through pictures and go over names before we made it to Thanksgiving dinner.

19 - Saturday coffee talk with my mom. Since the wedding, my mom and I decided she would come over the first Saturday of every month and have coffee. It is just a time for us to spend some quality time together.

18 - I survived my first 5k. I am thankful I didn't keel over and die after running that thing. Unfortunately, I haven't ran since so I need to get back into it. But I'm still glad I made the effort and proud of myself for how I did.


17 - My gas oven. Even though it's retro (I think the brand is Hot Spot or something and it came with the house), I love cooking with it.

16 - I can cook. I am thankful for this because if I didn't, we'd probably starve.


15 - Changing seasons. I am not a fan of cold weather, but I am thankful that the seasons do change. It lets us know that time goes on, things change and so do we, hopefully for the better.

14 - The little things. I am thankful for a friendly smile or a helping hand. Even if the teenager at the drive-thru window tells me to have a nice day without throwing my food onto my lap, I'm pretty content.

13 - My book club. This is one of the best group of girls you'll ever meet. They are supportive, hilarious and just good people.


12 - Anti-aging cream. Yes, I have started using this stuff. Might as well slow down the signs of aging, right?

11 - Our leaf blower. This has been a godsend this year. Last year we just left piles of leaves all over the yard throughout winter. When spring came, we had large circles of dead grass. This year, we invested in a leaf blower/vacuum/best invention ever.

10 - A job to go to. It's been a rough couple of years for some folks. I thank God every day that I have somewhere to go. And while every day may not be the best day at work, as long as I have a job, I will always be grateful.

9 - Multi-colored pens. They keep me organized and make my notes look pretty.

8 - K-State and MU going to bowl games. This makes our household very happy.


7 - Amazing friends. Between the both of us, Derrick and I have a great group of friends and we cherish each and every one of them.

6 - The storms in life. When it rains, it pours but eventually the sun comes out again. Believe it or not, I'm actually thankful for bad days because I always learn something about myself and they only make me stronger.

5 - Only 10 days until Florida. I can't wait to get to some warmer weather and little mini vacay with the hubby.

4 - 19 days until Christmas break. I need a break in a major way.

3 - A free Saturday. We spend most of our fall traveling to football games, but every once in a while we get a Saturday to do absolutely nothing. I love those days.

2 - An amazing year. It's been a great year filled with lots of changes and exciting things. I'm looking forward to 2011.

1 - My husband who is my world and my best friend.

Day 8 - I Am Thankful for Our Stories

I've always known my dad to be somewhat quiet. He doesn't say much, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a lot to say. Thanks to e-mail, my dad has become quite a writer. He often will write a story about something he experienced and how it relates to the e-mail conversation. From childhood experiences to being stationed overseas, he seems to have a story for every situation. Last week, he saw my tribute to veterans and wrote a wonderful e-mail about his time in the Air Force. I've gotten e-mails about everything from first loves, first houses and marriage to stupid things he did as an "indestructible teenager." They are always fun and entertaining.

When Derrick and I went to his hometown for the weekend, he got to spend some quality time with his grandpa, who was a WWII veteran. Although there was a highly anticipated football game on, he decided to sit in the kitchen and listen to his grandfather as he told stories about his time in the Navy. Derrick said that really put things into perspective for him. He valued that talk with his grandfather more than any football game.

As I get older, I value those e-mails and chats more and more. My dad's stories and Derrick's grandpa's stories become our stories, too. I'm actually in the process of going back through old e-mails and saving them so I can print them off and compile them. It would be wonderful to have for our children and there children and so on. I will cherish them forever.

What's your story?

Day 7 - I am Thankful It's Friday

I had a super awesome, touching post for today's edition, but I'll save that for another day when I'm in a super awesome, touching mood. For now, I'm just glad it's Friday. Enough said.

Day 6 - I am Thankful for All Who Served

"The willingness of America's veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude." ~ Jeff Miller

On this Veterans Day, I salute my dad, my uncles, various family members and the men and women who bravely served our country. Thank you for you all you have done and all you do.

Day 5 - I am Thankful for Getting Lost Every Once in Awhile

Last night, Derrick and I decided to go out for Mexican food (his all-time favorite cuisine). I insisted that we go somewhere we normally eat at, but Derrick was feeling adventurous and wanted to try something new.

The first place we decided to try was Don Chilitos. When got to the general vicinity of the restaurant, we couldn't figure out how to get into the parking lot. So there was a lot of pulling in, backing out and driving through dark alleys with vicious-sounding barking dogs. Finally, we parked the furthest away from the restaurant by a creepy dumpster. When we got to the door, we looked inside and noticed it wasn't anything like we were expecting. We typically like to sit down and order our food, but this place had a line you go through like Chipotle and we didn't want to make the effort. Besides, if we wanted that experience, we would have gone to Chipotle across the street. So we got back on the road in search of our new favorite Mexican restaurant.

Derrick decided to use his new nifty Verizon Droid X to find a place to eat. He came up with El Rancho. He used the GPS to guide us to our destination. After about 20 minutes of winding through a dark neighborhood, the voice on the GPS told us our destination was on the right. The only thing that was on the right was a duplex. There were duplexes in the front, on the left and behind us. We were in a subdivision. The GPS lady lost some major cool points with me and further perpetuated the stereotype that women are not good with directions.

As the driver, I was highly frustrated, not to mention extremely hungry. But leave it to Derrick to see the silver lining. When I finally figured out how to get out of the subdivision maze and back onto the main road he said it was kind of fun getting lost. We did have a good laugh about the whole thing and we managed to not argue.

As it turned out, we ended up going to one of our staple Mexican restaurants but I had a great time with my husband in the process, and that, to me, is priceless. I'm sure that won't be the only time we get lost, but at least I know, together, we'll always find our way.

Day 4 - I'm Thankful for Getting Over this Cold

My last couple of thankful days have been more monumental. This one doesn't seem as big, but still is something to be thankful for. I rarely get sick and when I do, I usually bounce back fairly quickly. This cold in particular has been kind of weird. I've had it since October 20. The only reason I know that is because that was the day I had a doctor's appointment and got a flu shot. I was already sniffly and stuffy then and the nurse said the shot would have nothing to do with me getting sick or sicker.

It seemed as though things were clearing up, but I still had some coughing and sniffles the last couple of weeks and then I felt like poo on Sunday after a cold night at the football game. Last night I had a coughing fit as I was going to bed. But it was a dry, heaving cough and that usually lets me know that I'm getting better. It's the kind of cough you have when you take a deep breath and all you can do is cough to exhale. Anyways, I woke up this morning feeling better than have in the last couple of weeks.

So I'm thankful for my health and that makes everything better. I know that it's always a possibility for these things to take a turn for the worse, but I feel like I'm coming out of it. I wonder if that glass or wine (or two) helped last night :)