Jeff's card deserves it's own post

Haulin' Housey

I should just say, right up front, that I am very lucky.

I have amazing family, family-to-be and the most amazing upbeat fiance that I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. He keeps me going.

Now with all that mushy stuff out of the way ... 

Look at all the stuff I got!!!

Let's see if we can get it all... I'll go rightish to left.

Memory foam pillow (Jeff) ...  Six in one suitcase (my Aunt J) ... Reed diffuser (mom) ... Obama 'Hope' shirt (Jeff)* ... ESPN ornament (Jeff) ... towels (mom)... Winter hat (Jeff)... pajama pants (Jeff) ... Red Sox pajama pants (Jeff) .... Earmuffs (Jeff) ... wireless mouse (my brother Mike) ... Cookbook (mom) ... Toothbrush (mom)... Christmas coupons (Jeff)** ... Christmas card (Jeff)... M&Ms (Jeff) ... Camera case and Camera (Jeff) ... Paul Pierce jersey *** (Jeff) ... Laptop rester (Mom) ... Garlic Press and Peeler (mom) ... 'The Office' calendar (Mom) ... Coat hangar 'E' (my aunt J)... Gift certificate for 5 personal training sessions at my gym **** (Mom)... Baseball cards (Jeff) ... Mobil giftcard (Jeff's parents) ... Card and check (Grandpa)... Wall-E (Jeff) ... Coldplay CD (Jeff) ... Extras Christmas special (Jeff)... Celtics championship DVD (Jeff) .. 30 Rock second season (Jeff's parents) ... Saved by the Bell ***** (my brother Mike) ... 'Emily' apron (Mom)... Chipotle mustard (Jeff)... Chili's giftcard (mom) ... Dunkin Donuts Giftcard (Mike)... Starbucks giftcard (mom)... Wall-E Ornament (Jeff)... Notepad (Mom) ... Yoga mat (Jeff)... Penguin stuffy (Jeff) ... and some socks, from my mom and Jeff, which got cut off (there are like six pairs)

Phew!

*So excited Jeff got me the Obama shirt. I'd seen it, but never around, then asked Sabrina about hers and she said she got it in Cali. Searched online ... nothing. So glad Jeff got it!

** The Christmas coupons say things like "You get control of the remote tonight" and "Redeem for one free back rub"... I'll let you know if Jeff keeps up on that.

***Paul Pierce jersey! After Green 17, I had been searching for an upgrade on my Paul Pierce t-shirt. I wanted a jersey, but all they had for women/children were Garnett jerseys. I wanted Pierce!

****Wow, I am so excited/scared for the personal training sessions. They are just what I need to kick-start the post-holiday plunge! Thanks mom!

*****Well, my brother outdid himself. One year, it was Grumpier Old Men. Now, seasons 3-4 of Saved by the Bell. I NEVER know what my brother will give me, but I'm always laughing when I get it ... in a good way.

Yah, I know I'm spoiled.

Back later with more.

Xmas eve rundown

I wanted to get something up here, as the last blog post isn't much into the Christmas spirit. 

Here's what you need to know since we last chatted:

* Drove a little over 800 miles in a little over 13 hours on Tuesday with Jeff and my brother. The destination? Summerville, South Carolina a.k.a. my mom's house.

* Jeff's parents come in, via train (yes from upstate New York) at 5 a.m. I'm up by 6:30 to greet them.

* Everyone goes out to Charleston for historic carriage ride. I stay home and work. Scowling ensues. 

* We head off to church. Jeff puts me in a good mood by joking with me in church. Of course in between serious Christian reflection, we also admire the various haircuts of the residents of Summerville. Also -- clothing choices. 

I watch the man in front of me pick his wedgie a different way each time he gets up. The one leg slider-outer, the leg wiggle, the grabbing the back pocket maneuver. You ain't foolin' me!

Re: Jeff singing in church. He was really utilizing the falsetto. For instance:

Jeff: "I got the Amens here."

Me: ::Rolls eyes::

A-men. A-men. A-men.

Jeff: "Nailed it."

* Home for ice cream ... and for me a few more minutes of work. Wrapped a last few presents, signed some cards, felt sleepiness set in. Tomorrow: Christmas morning. Expect a full report.

Some pics:

The families merging. Blurry (left to right): My brother, Jeff's dad, Jeff's mom, Jeff's mouth.

Me, for most of Dec. 24. Working. Blech.

In front of the tree, before church. Love.

Merry Christmas!

Feeling Resolute

I remember the first time I ever felt fat.

Growing up, I didn't really have a weight problem, though I was aware of them as many members of my family and friends struggled. But I kept mostly active as a child, playing soccer and softball -- and a short-lived stint on my middle school's track team, where I was without a doubt the worst member (I think my best-ever mile was 9:10). 

In high school, I stopped soccer, but continued cheerleading (basketball), which despite what you think about the sport, kept me in AWESOME shape. I seriously had a six pack.

But after freshman year I quit cheerleading, and went from about a 1-2 to a 3-4, obviously still in the 'thin' category, but I wasn't really paying attention. I'd never had to think about my weight.

Junior year, I got a boyfriend. Not my first boyfriend, but my first 'real' boyfriend. Since there's not a lot you can do with a high school boyfriend, a lot of the 'dates' involved going out to eat. In the summer, we'd go out for ice cream every night. We found a pizza place that made an amazing buffalo chicken calzone. During the school year, I'd ride the bus to his house and raid his fridge, then go home to eat dinner.

It made him sick. It made me fat.

Still, I didn't notice.

I didn't even really think twice when I went school shopping senior year and the size sixes didn't fit. Neither did the size eights. Oh well, I guess I'm a 10 now. No worries.

Then one day ...

I happened upon the first-draft of the school yearbook. Like many schools, we had one of those those pictures on the inside pages where the entire senior class gathers on the front steps to take a picture. Where was I? There I am, up in the corner.

Ugh. What? When the hell did I get so fat?

It was pretty jarring and the feeling came only from me. Still, I wanted it gone. I had finally gotten my braces off and discovered contacts ... and now I was just going to be fat instead?

No way. So I started dieting. I would eat a normal breakfast (cereal, oatmeal). At school I would have a package of peanut M&Ms and a bottle of water for lunch. For dinner I would have whatever square meal my mom had made. And I limited myself to only hot chocolate for dessert. For exercise, I spent an hour every night walking at a very medium pace on our treadmill and a few minutes doing crunches. Not the world's greatest fitness plan, but it worked.

When I weighed myself at the beginning I was 142 pounds. (Side note: the scale I used to weigh myself was the one outside the nutrition store in the Warwick Mall. Yeah, the one you put a quarter in and it prints out your weight on a little slip of paper. I was so dedicated to that scale I once drove in a blizzard just to weigh myself there. Sad.) 

I started in January and by April I was down to 133. I felt gooood. I wore tighter clothes. I bought a bathing suit from the Victoria's Secret catalogue. I stopped worrying about my weight.

I maintained that peace until middler year of college. I had broken up with high school boyfriend a year before. Jeff and I had started dating, then broke up. I decided to be done with 'relationships' and do 'the college thing.' I drank. I ate cheeseburgers. I got fat again.

I was up to 158. Katie, my best friend and roommate who had been doing 'the college thing' with me, and I decided to get serious, join the Y and lose the weight. So I started dieting again. I exercised 3-4 times a week. And I lost 14 pounds. 

Since then it's never left my mind. I monitor my calories at all times, feel guilty when I go over, when I don't go to the gym.

I really bottomed out this past winter. Living with Jeff's parents, unemployed for six months, too poor to join the gym, I ate and sat around. I ballooned. I weighed 163 pounds when I finally got to the gym in May.

I had always told myself that I wouldn't be fat for my wedding. That as soon as the ring went on my finger, I would drop all the weight or I would never forgive myself. I figured I had about 30 pounds to lose, but would be happy with about 25. I started going to the gym 4-5 times I week. I tried to alter my diet the best I could stand.

I've lost 10 pounds -- 153. No longer holding the title 'the fattest I've ever been' but still far from where I want to be. 

After New Year's Day -- I will begin anew. I have seven months -- more like five -- to lose 20 pounds. I want it to happen so bad. I will cut out some of the crap from my diet -- no more coffee, nothing but water, no eating after eight -- and no dessert more than once a week (I have it every day now.)

I know some people don't believe in New Year's resolutions, but I do. In fact, every time I've ever lost weight it's started at the New Year -- and bottomed out around April.

It's hard not to be obsessive and over-critical while you're dieting, but I'll have to be. 

Jeff's sister's boyfriend Rob said to me over Thanksgiving that what does it matter what my weight is, if Jeff loves me the way I am.

Well, he does. And that helps. But it's not about him. It's about me. It's about not having any regrets.

And it starts Jan. 1.

*Contented Sighs*

Jeff just gave me an early Christmas present.

"Twas the Night Before Christmas" picture book.

He can't wait until we read it to our kids.

We read it to each other instead, for now.

I can't wait to be his wife.

Party of Five.

Oh man, I just giggled at that title. :P

A few weeks back (maybe just one week, I don't remember, it's running together), Meggie suggested a holiday dinner party to be held at her and her husband's beautiful downtown Boston condo. Well with Friday also being Katie's birthday it was a perfect time to kill two birds with one stone.

I got switched to a Friday shift at the last minute, but got an 8-5, which normally would be my ideal shift, but I was a little tired in the morning... quickly solved with an iced coffee. The e-mail system wasn't working and blah blah, it was a bad shift with good company. I was rushing around the apartment to get ready because I was sure we'd be slammed with traffic going into Boston (about a 45 minute drive with no stops) and I didn't want to make everyone wait for us. I got off at about 4:45, went to pick Jeff up at work (side note: HE FINALLY GOT A HAIRCUT. And we have that 100 square feet of our apartment back!).

Well, there was no traffic. Who knew?

Usually when I go into Boston I park by my old apartment on Mission Hill because it's easy parking, even though it's sort of a longish trek to Meg's downtown apartment from there (about 35 minutes with walking and T). Well, Meg suggested I park at her apartment building instead -- I'm not sure how much it cost, only that Meg and Troy took care of it for me and that it was a VERY nice change of pace. In the morning the valet guy delivered the car ... high class. Thanks guys!!!!

Ok enough of the boring how we got there stuff. Since we hit no traffic we were a little early (45 minutes -- oops!) Meg and Troy were still hard at work in the kitchen. They are so cute. They had a lot of friendly banter about the cooking times of the meals (Meg wants to keep the food IN the oven, Troy wants to take it out). In the end, everything was perfect!

Right before dinner, Jeff and I gave the group their presents (a food dehydrator for Katie, which she wanted, and some DVDs for the married couple.) Jeff also made everyone cards, it's his new favorite thing. They were so cute. He also burned three Christmas CDs, and made a cover for them. It read: "A Werschaible Christmas" and he superimposed a picture of us onto an ornament, and put Christmas hats on our heads. I wish I had taken a pic! It was pretty funny.

So what did we have...

Along with some cheese, hummus and crackers, we had these cheese and ham puffs and some spankinopia (OK, I don't feel like looking up the spelling, but you know the spinach pastry things). I think I was on my third glass of wine before dinner...

Cornish hen with stuffing. Squash and bacon risotto. Snow peas. Yum!!! I especially loved the risotto which I was skeptical of, but it turned out sooooooo good!

I've never had a small hen like that before, so I didn't really know the best way to attack it. Well, by the end, as Jeff put it "it looked like a cherry bomb went off in mine." Meanwhile, Katie was absolutely surgeon-like, it was amazing. (I took pictures of this, but decided it was sort of unappetizing to look at, so you can just imagine my poultry carcass in your head.)

After dinner we talked and laughed etc etc ...

... Jeff and I taking a lovely photo (this one for the Christmas card maybe? :P)

... and an artsy photo from Katie ...

...Katie and her finger tambourines. Don't ask....

... and I showed Katie some of my yoga moves, and then she showed me some of hers ( did I mention there was wine?)...

... and then dessert!!! Mini-chocolate trifles. Yum! I was so full!

We chatted a little more then went to bed. In the morning, (seriously Bressette's, 6:45 a.m. is not awake time on a Saturday ;) Meg made bacon and eggs and apparently is single handedly trying to ruin my diet. 

Jeff and I planned to go see a movie but we stopped at TWO movie theaters and nothing good was playing! We were bummed. But it gave me a chance to take Jeff to Whole Foods. We sampled for lunch, bough a lot of expensive food (everything there is so tempting), including sushi which I hadn't had in forever. I love it, but I wish it wasn't so pricey!!

We came home, I napped. I woke up and Jeff and I are just enjoying the night together... we watched Elf and he just went to get some more Mad Men DVDs. Two perfect nights :)

Confessions of a TV addict.

Most people who know me know how much I love TV. Seriously, I'm one personal Dunkin Donuts in my kitchen away from never leaving the house. But there are some things I need to get off my chest...

MAD MEN

Jeff rented the first DVD the other day, even though we hadn't really discussed it (I say that, because when Jeff chooses a DVD without me, bad things happen. See: Cape Fear, 27 Dresses and Running with Scissors). I had tuned in for about 15 minutes of this show sometime last year, and it didn't interest me much, but I thought I'd give it another go.

Fifteen minutes in, my skin was crawling and I was asking my friend Steve online "Why shouldn't I break this DVD in half?" while Jeff was insisting "It's a period piece!" 

Look, I know how it was for women in the 1960s, but that doesn't mean I enjoy thinking how awful it was back then. I remember my mom telling me growing up that she had three options for work: 1. Teacher. 2. Secretary and 3. Nurse. Now, clearly nothing wrong with those professions, what's wrong here is the lack of choice. 

Sure, they give some women on here a brain, but to what extent? 

Joan -- Hot red headed secretary who I'm pretty sure has Jeff drooling every time she's on screen (he has a thing for redheads that he better KEEP TO HIMSELF). She's quick witted, but her ahead-of-the-times behavior only seems to extend to her social/sexual life. Oh, and she sleeps a married man, who is also her boss. Can't say I look up to that.

Peggy -- Cute (?) new secretary. She seems like she has her wits about her, but it takes her a whole day before she makes a move on her boss and sleeps with her soon-to-be-married coworker. In the last episode I watched, she said some bright things that might lead to a short copywriting position, which her bosses said "was like watching a dog playing the piano." Grrr.

Betty -- Don Draper (main guy's) wife. I actually like her the best, despite the fact that she plays into most of the stereotypes. She at least reads as a real person to me, not a cartoon character.

The off-the-cuff comments extend past sexism to racism as well, and Steve playfully pointed out to me that I watch plenty of violence and don't get up in arms, but I guess this just rubs me the wrong way. 

That being said ....

I do like the show and am into it. The acting is good, the chemistry between characters is good, I like the subject matter of working in an ad agency. I love the clothes and costumes on both the men and women. It's a good show, no doubt, and it's not the show's fault that "that's how things were." I'm sure it's an accurate, if not generous, description of the times.

But that doesn't mean I should brush it all aside and ignore and say, "ah well... it's just TV." We still have a long way to go.

::Steps off soap box::

THE HILLS

How do you like THAT transition? OK, confession time.

I watch the Hills. I WATCH the Hills. I watch the HILLS. My name is Emily and I WATCH THE HILLS.

I feel better. 

Look, I know it's a stupid show. It's beyond stupid. It's absolutely vapid. There is no merit, boring repeated storylines, terrible dialogue and dead-behind the eyes (thank you Joel McHale) characters. (Side note: Is Stephanie the least interesting reality show character of all time or is it just me?)

So why do I watch it? I don't KNOW! I mean, I don't tune in when it's on, because Jeff wouldn't stand for it. I usually catch it the next day or a few days later. Maybe it's my addiction to gossip sites (no better) that fuels a mild interest. 

Maybe I secretly enjoy the clothes and atmosphere of LA. It can't be because I like any of the people, because I don't. Maybe I watch it just to hate on them, which makes me feel even worse about it.

I don't know. I'm sure the show will be over in the next two years, and then the main players in the tabloids for a few more, then everyone, including me, will lose interest.

Until then.

HG TV

I have been watching an inordinate amount of HG TV lately. Jeff had been watching it for a while, usually Saturday and Sunday morning before I woke up. Eventually, I caught on. 

Our favorites are House Hunters, My First Home, Property Virgins (don't know the difference really between the last two), My House is Worth What?, My Big Fat Renovation, Designed to Sell, Buy this House, and Hidden Potential.

Yeah, it's quite the slate.

So when and why did this happen? I can't help but feel like it's a side-effect of getting old (did we start around my 25th birthday Jeff?) I mean, with wedding comes house hopefully. We both hate renting, but we sure as heck aren't designers or renovators. We're more likely to end up on Clean House then My Big Fat Renovation.

I'm not creative with design or handy. I am at least two years from purchasing a home. So I don't know. I'm not saying only old people watch these shows, I just would love to identify WHY I enjoy them so much, and so many!

****

So what TV do you watch that you can't understand exactly WHY you like them? I can't be the only one who is ashamed/astonished by what they watch. Spill the beans! Come out of the woodwork! Tell me I'm not alone!

Still in the running.

I've been waiting for days to be able to do this post, so that's why there's been such a lag. I kept thinking, "Oh, I'll get them tomorrow, so I don't want to post today." Them being ... my professional Running of the Brides pics!

I'm a leeetle disappointed, mainly because I'm sure she took more pics than the ones she sent me, and I really wanted to be able to show you guys some of the super ugly dresses I tried on. And since I already shared the whole Running of the Brides experience with you once, I won't bore you with all the details again, and will make this post picture heavy.

Team Werchaible, minus Katie and her mom. This was probably around 6:30 a.m., which ... explains a lot.

Yeah, there were lots and lots of dresses!

Me meeting the president of Filene's, which quickly turned into awkward time and ended with a kiss. Yeah, clearly surreal.

This was NOT the one. Didn't love the skirt portion.

My mom's friend Bev was the BEST at seeking out dresses for me... she was a pro!

Yeah, it's stuff like this that best friends are for :)

This was exactly the kind of dress I thought I wanted before I went. Lacy-tank-ish top with a simple skirt. And looking at the picture, I wish I had tried it on again without the stuff on underneath, but I'm trying to remember my first impression -- "I look beefy."

Me being a ham which is a surprise to absolutely no one who knows me.

So this was the runner up. And my mom is going to make a face when I say this... but I actually think this looks nicer on me then I remembered. I like how the buttons trail down the back and I think it frames me nicely. It was also the kind of dress I had originally wanted. However, it had sleeves, which despite people's claims that they could be taken off, I was wary of that. Also, I didn't feel like it defined my waist and felt sort of plain. I like how it looks here ... but I still like my ACTUAL dress better.

This is definitely one of my favorite shots! My mom's friends, Bev and Jan, came with us to ROTB (that's Jan on the left, my mom in the middle and Bev on the right). They wanted to come because they both had sons and didn't get to participate in the whole dress buying experience. They were SUCH good sports and SO excited to be there, so they just made the whole day more fun. They've been friends for almost 40 years, along with another woman, and they're like Aunts to me. They used to get together once a month on a Friday for "Girls Night" at rotating houses. It was so much fun because my mom would try out new recipes for the girls -- before I was banished upstairs for the night. It's a pretty amazing story of friendship, and I'm pretty sure they are the only people who can tell my mom the truth and get away with it. She listens to them and fully trusts their judgment.

HOWEVER -- hehehe -- they could not convince my mom to like my dress. I love this pic because Jan is tearing up at my gown, and although I can't HEAR her, I feel like Bev is telling my mom in this pic, "Now Barbara, it's HER wedding day." They were all bridesmaids at my mother's wedding and were trying to harken back to those days. 

In order to ensure that the dress I chose was THE one, I had to take off my undergarments and try it on. Not exactly the easiest task in a giant room of people, with cameras, with men. And it's not like my dress just slips on, it's sort a "wiggle-pull-wiggle-pull-zip-adjust" dealy. So here's my lovely group holding up a blanket around me while my best friend and awesome MOH Katie gets me into the dress. 

I have quite a few pictures of me in THE dress, but I can't post them because of Jeff. If you wanna see them though, drop your email in the comments (unless I have it already). There are also frame-by-frame shots of my infamous slow-mo dance from the ROTB video I posted a while back.

Ahh, so much fun. I suspect sometimes it's difficult for brides to have so many around while they are picking out dresses. I had the opposite experience. I couldn't have had such a fun day without every person that came. It's a story I can tell forever -- and probably teased about forever. I wouldn't change a thing about it!

We couldn't wait to get outside the world

I got an iTunes card for my birthday from Jeff's parents, and I started thinking about what songs I wanted to download (of course this is a serious decision.) I had a ton of music on my first college computer, when Napster was still 'legal' and you could download as much music as you wanted. There are so many songs I used to listen to on repeat that I lost when that computer died. It seems with every computer I've gotten since then I've lost more and more music.

I wanted to reminisce a little here, to songs that meant a lot to me when I was younger, enduring puppy love, battles with friends (I couldn't figure out fast enough that friends that fight with you aren't friends worth keeping. I get it now), when I thought I was a bit cooler than I was and was often too angsty for my own good. I downloaded 10 songs (I want to save a bit of the card for later!).

Songs in order of the period of my life, from youngest to oldest.

Artist: Sublime

Song: April 29, 1992

Comment: The first CD I ever bought was Sublime, Sublime. I used listen to this thing over and over and over and over. I think I still know every word on the album by heart. For some reason, this was my favorite song. (Side note: Has anyone been watching Celebrity Rehab? Seeing Rodney King on there is so surreal and sad. He was such a victim of circumstance and he hasn't really been able to get his life back together since. Sort of unfair.)

Favorite lyric:

"But if you look at the streets it wasn't about Rodney King,
It's bout this [expletive] up situation and these [expletive] up police.
It's about coming up and staying on top
and screamin' 187 on a [expletive] cop.
It's not written on the paper it's on the wall.
National guard
Smoke from all around"

Ok sorry for the explicitness there. I'm not embarrassed to say I loved this song, but I do want to make it clear I wasn't attempting to be 'gangster' or similar to the people who lived through the LA Riots. But maybe I was rallying against the man... just a little. Hey, I was 15!

Artist: Notorious BIG

Song: Juicy

Comment: OK remember what I said before about not trying to be gangster? Well, maybe I was a little. I *think* this was the first rap song I ever heard, or registered. I specifically remember listening to it on a cassette tape. I still know all the lyrics.

Favorite lyric: "If you don't know, now you know" Yeah, that's right. Oh man, what a punk I was.

Artist: John Lennon

Song: Working Class Hero

Comment: Oh, I went through a hard-core John Lennon phase. I'm not sure it's over yet. I definitely felt 'cool' knowing and listening to this song. (Side note: If you're a Beatles/John Lennon fan and you don't own the book 'All we are saying' which is basically a novel of his final interview ... go out and get it now or ask for it for Christmas.)

Favorite lyric: There's so many good ones here, it's hard to choose!

"When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear"

Obviously, John Lennon wasn't much of a proponent of the public school system, and while I'm not as cynical as he was (Hey, I have friends that work for public schools) I see what he's driving at here.

Artist: A Perfect Circle

Song: Three Libras

Comment: I loved this song mostly for the vocals, I thought they were so smooth, though I'm a little embarrassed to put this one on the list -- but I loved it and I still do!!

Favorite lyric: "Here I am expecting just a little too much from the wounded." How's that for angsty lyrics! Haha oh man. I wish I could go back to my high school/early college self and slap myself in the face and yell, "GET OVER IT!"

Artist: Blink-182

Song: Stay Together for the Kids

Comment: I used to joke that this was the divorced kids anthem. Not every line rings true, but the message is really strong and I related to it.

Favorite lyric: "If a stupid poem, could fix this home, I'd read it every day." I absolutely love that line and still do. Not because I had any specific relation to it, but I was growing up in the age where people coddled you in these situations. I was always looking to have real feelings in real situations, I didn't need anyone to pander to me.

Artist: Pearl Jam

Song: Jeremy

Comment: Oh man, I listened to this song at least 10 times a day when I was a freshman in college. This was another great vocal performance. I would channel my inner Eddie Vedder and belt it out.

Favorite lyric: "And the boy was something that mommy wouldn't wear." Again, I couldn't relate to this line or anything (not trying to send any messages here!) I just thought it was smart and sharp.

Artist: Blink-182

Song: Adam's song

Comment: Another Blink-182 song! I wasn't a huge fan or anything, but did they write really powerful teenage anthems or was it just me?

Favorite lyric: "Please tell mom this is not her fault." Obviously, this is a song about suicide. I was never suicidal as a teenager, but I had some people close to me that I worried about sometimes. It would break my heart listening to this song and that line would hit me every time.

Artist: Tom Petty

Song: Crawling Back to You

Comment: This song was all about me feeling sorry for myself. I love Tom Petty more than most people I think. I always thought this would be a perfect movie song for the scene where someone is driving along the road, sad. Lame!

Favorite lyric: "I'm so tired of being tired. Sure as night will follow day, most things that I worry about, never happen anyway." I still love this line without the sadness attached to it. It's true.

Artist: The Killers

Song: Mr. Brightside

Comment: I'm just barely slipping this in as a "teenage song." It was released in September 2003, which would have been a month before my 20th birthday. Coming off a harsh break-up and entering a new relationship, I would rock out to this song regularly.

Favorite lyric: "I just can't look, it's killing me. And taking control." Wah, wah, wah. This is definitely another, 'Emily get over yourself' song memory.

Artist: Gavin Castle ton

Song: Bad Rabbits

Comment: Oh guys, remember our Gavin Castle ton phase? I know at least three of you reading this went through it. I used to think this guy was God's gift to music. I abruptly STOPPED listening to him when he tried to screw over Andrew and the band. Not cool dude. But I just spent 99 cents on your song, all's forgiven?

Favorite lyric: "Don't look at me like that. I want your old face back." I'm pretty sure Jeff got sick of this song pretty fast :P

-- Well, that's it! Hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane :P I might add some songs later, maybe one at a time, because it was hard to remember some of the ones I wanted. And of course, I listened to stuff like Nysnc and all sorts of pop music when I was a kid, of course I did. But we're talking about songs I actually wanted to download now. Oh, and I also owned an Eminem CD and a Limp Bizkit CD. I'm not sure who of those three groups is the most embarrassing.

I could be sort of a sad person growing up, and I think I put that all behind me when I graduated college. All I know is that I definitely feel like a different person than I was when I listened to these songs. But I can still enjoy them in a different perspective.