challenge: top ten

for this top ten (it can count as your monday post if you want) chose the top ten most memorable or influential songs of your life and put them in a play list (go to playlist.com to create one). then write a little bit about a few of the songs. here's mine in chronological order:

1. a better son/daughter by rilo kiley: i listened to this song a lot after my brother died. it is sort of an anthem for me: things are going to get better. the drum really drives that feeling.

8. amazing grace on the bagpipes: my mom absolutely loves this song and bagpipes. to me, it represents her.

9. what a wonderful world by louis armstrong: my dad loves "sachmo" and would always sing this song when i was growing up.

10. el shaddai by amy grant: when my family went on road trips we would always bring along the collection of amy grant tapes. this is one that i remember sing along to a lot.

the other songs all held meaning at different times in my life. no children by the mountain goats was the song that got me hooked on them :]

i can't wait to hear yours!

10 things to get for someone going to paris

1. an umbrella - (preferably black with white polka - dots) because it's classy
2. sleeping pills - they'll need 'em after all the café
3. a money belt - rick steves swears by them
4. a french-english dictionary - self-explanatory
5. a neck scarf - because it's classy
6. big black sunglasses - see numbers 1 & 5
7. a t-shirt that says i'm sorry - if they are american
8. a sleeping mask - see numbers 1, 5 & 6
9. a big canvas tote - to carry all of the souvenirs they are buying for you
10. a book - it's a long plane ride

11. a wine guide - lots of drinking!

so cool!

top ten reasons to love halloween

1. pumpkins!!! pumpkins everywhere! lit up on stoops, in giant bins outside of grocery stores, in your cheesecake, lattes, bread, muffins... pumpkins all around.

2. candy corn. also, candy pumpkins (see above). especially when your future mother-in-law, who is always laughing at your boyfriend for being weird, tells about how just last week she was hanging out with her friends and put candy corn "fangs" in.

3. leaves. in many colors. blowing around like multi-color confetti in the wind. speaking of wind, it turns out it's something the tri-cities specializes in.

4. candy everywhere. all the time, all over the place. chocolate, nerds, caramels, suckers. everything. everywhere.

5. costumes. of course. the best part is being able to wear jeans to work. :) and, of course, it's the one day a year that i don fake eyelashes.

6. corn maizes!!! !!! !!!!! ah, the flashlight fun. the costumed weirdos stalking you in the middle of nowhere with toy chainsaws. the corn cobs flying through the air. the way, when you're done, you can no longer feel your ass because your choice to wear the costume with the mini skirt was a very very poor one. i love love love corn maizes.

7. parties. including and especially drinking. alcohol. especially since the calories gained by the candy aren't nearly plentiful enough.

8. trick-or-treating. i hear it's so much fun. getting candy for free from strangers. the one time i've gone, my favorite part was being able to see into people's houses and see how they live and decorate. yes, i know i'm twisted.

9. cute kids in costumes. because there's not excuse enough to dress a baby up as a bumble bee.

10. BEING ABLE TO CELEBRATE IT!!!!! kicks ass.

i love autumn!

i had to stop a minute and take this picture on sunday before heading out to my mom's. it was just so quintessentially fall.

signs you are sick

1) sneezing - i mean repeated sneezes, like five in a row, every hour

2) hot flashes - normally you tend to run cold, but when everyone else in the office is freezing, you're comfortable

3) suddenly cold - just after a hot flash, you're all of a sudden freezing. not just cold, but shaking

4) you're cranky - yeah, the person on the other end of that phone call may have terminal cancer, but damnit! they need to pay their bills just like everyone else!

5) loss of appetite - normally you could eat all day, but not when everything tastes like cardboard

6) tiredness - at 8:30pm on a saturday, you - 25 and single - are already in bed

7) cough - the kind that makes your head feel like it will implode and keeps you and your neighbors up at night

8) apathy - you don't care what the hell is going on in the world - you just want some f-ing peace and quiet!

9) red nose - after countless hours spent blowing your nose with cheap office tissue, you are mistaken for a drunk

10) addiction - every four hours to the second you reach for that bottle of thick sweet syrup

mario andretti: concluded

he found a new home with a little girl who loved him from the start. :)