As you’ve come to expect, there will be a Ginormous, Over the Top, Much too Much Holiday playlist of gargantuan proportions here at Music Savvy Mom.

Soon.

But, this is not it.

This is a recycled post from Vacuity which I first posted on December 23, 2008. I’m pilfering myself (oh, my, that sounds naughty!) because I am absolutely snowed under this weekend.  (Well, okay, not LITERALLY …it’s in the mid 50’s and sunny, but you get the point.) Thanksgiving  over, guest gone, Christmas cleaning/reorganizing/decorating in full swing.  Ho -ho, Yo.

I’ll get back to work presently.  In the meantime, enjoy this aural hodgepodge and maybe drop me a comment about some stuff you’d like to see show up around here.  I’m lacking both focus AND inspiration, lately.

(What exactly do I PAY you people for, again?  Honestly!)

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My three favorite Christmas Songs, for your holiday enjoyment.

I’m nothing if not diverse…

1. Pueri Concinite: Jean Baptiste Maunier and the Vienna Boys Choir

(Go ahead – don’t get chills. I double dog dare you. I’m just sayin’…)

Lyrics in Latin:

Pueri concinite Nato regi psallite Voce pia dicite Apparuit quem genuit Maria Sum implenta quae praedixit Gabriel Eia, Eia, virgo Deum genuit Quem divina voluit clementia Hodie apparuit Apparuit in Israel Ex Maria virgine natus est Rex!

Lyrics in English:

Sing together, children, sing songs to the newborn King; in pious tones, say: He who was born of Mary appears. Now we see fulfilled the word of Gabriel: Eya, eya! The Virgin has given birth to God, As the divine mercy willed.

2. Merry Christmas from the Family: Robert Earl Keen

(Lest anyone be confused…THIS is the original. Robert Earl Keen wrote it. The Dixie Chicks, Jill Sobule, Montgomery Gentry and whoever else desecrated this gem with “covers” should be patently ignored.)

Lyrics

3. Fairytale of New York: The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl

I can’t hear this without singing the chorus at the top of my lungs. (Usually followed by beer. Often preceded by beer too.) RIP, Kirsty. Happy Christmas, Shane.

Lyrics

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Not Your Average Single Momma.

Nope.  No, she’s most certainly not. She’s not your average ANYTHING – this lil’ ball of spitfire and expletives is one in a friggin’ million.  At turns, she’s hard as nails and I truly believe WOULD “cut a bitch”…then just as sweet, empathetic and thoughtful as they come. (Although it’s likely she’ll want to cut ME for letting you in on the sweet part.) And the REALLY fun thing is that when you land on her blog…you never know what you’re gonna get.

(Wait.  That would make her like a box of chocolates then, wouldn’t it…?)

Ah, whatever – this is a blogger who uses her life experiences to empower others.  She shares the raw, the scary, the emotional and ends every post with victory.  She’s committed to spreading that feeling to those who feel powerless.  She fights against Domestic Violence. She shoots from the hip, tells it like it is and takes little to no excrement about it, yo.  She revels in her inner bitch. She’s a crusading, soul-baring blogging Dirty Harry.

(Seriously, how can you not LOVE a chick like this?)

But, don’t take my word for it…check out her take on “What Makes Her Not Your Average Single Momma” and then read “Dear 16 Year Old Me“. Uh-huh.  See?  Told you.  Can’t help but love her like a Vegas Lounge Lizard loves a good toupee, am I right?

Oooh, and added bonus:  She brings RAP, which has been a sorely lacking genre around these here parts.  Check it, then swing by and show her some love!

Alright so heres the deal….its my turn to shuffle….I’m not gonna lie. My shuffles depend entirely on my mood (and how much xanax is in me) Todays mood: pretty damn good! I feel like dancing…I feel like a naughty girls weekend is WAAAY over due…I miss my besties and the chaos we could create. Did you know, I’m currently still banned from 2 bars in Iowa? Yeah…I am. Stupid friggin’ Iowa and their lack of a sense of humor! Lighten the fu*k up–lets dance!
#assslap

“NYASM’s Back-in-the-day Assshaking Good Tunes Playlist”

*Inner Circle: “Sweat”
I la, la, la, love this song:)

*Real McCoy: ‘Runaway”
I remember dancing my ass off to this song Sunday after Sunday at the “teen dances”

*INJO: “Love you down”
I loved playing this song ridiculously loud in the car—mostly cause i cant sing

*K7: “come baby come”
I can still here TP say to me “Hey, turn on that baby come song’ and I remember looking at her like “WTF did you just say about baby come?!” *Come* is a funny word when you’re 15 ok…shut it.

*Kriss kross: “Jump”
Im not sure why wearing your clothes backwards would ever be a good idea….who cares. I like to say “wiggity wiggity wack”

*Ini kamoze: “Hot Stepper”
INSTANT attitude adjuster-singing “im a lyrical gangsta” can brighten any day

*Vanilla Ice: “ice ice baby”
Oh knock it off. Dont act like your not bobbin your head too

*Sir MiX Alot: “baby got back”
Say it with me now….”Oh My GAWD Becky-look at her butt”

*Wreckx N Effect: “Rump Shaker”
All I wanna do isa zoom zoom zoom anda boom boom

*Naughty by Nature: “OPP”
I dont even know what the hell OPP is and i dont really care…..TRECH-nuff said

*Snoop dogg & Tupac: “Gangsta Party”
Aint nuthin buta gansta partay—mmmhmmm—I must say, I prefer gangsta rap to newer rap about chains hanging low. Quite frankly whats hanging low…sounds like a personal problem

*Dre: “keep the heads ringin”
THIS song was playing when a fabulous girlfight broke out at the bar….which may or may not have something to do with Iowa….just sayin

With that said—Im outta here~Catch ya on the flip side…

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…and I’m taking a bit of a “Pondering Hiatus”.

Could be just today…could be the rest of the week.

Depends on how many Worlds I plan to conquer and how quickly I can assemble my Crack Team of Experts to help make that happen.

Pre-Emptive Answers to Questions that could potentially be Asked Frequently

• YES, it has to do with this site.
• NO, the Guest DJ Shuffles aren’t going anywhere.  (If you’ve sent yours, it’s going up soon, I promise. )
• YES, they’re good ideas.  Sheese.
• NO, they don’t include sharks with frickin’ laserbeams attached to their heads.

In the meantime, I urge you to COMMENT HERE to enter the drawing for the Five for Fighting CD Giveaway, and then maybe go check out Liam’s latest All Request Shuffle HERE.

And then, there’s this…

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In the interest of complete transparency, may I just say that I don’t believe you shall EVER see me do another CD review on this site.

So…that means you’d better hie your little tushies to The Buzz to catch my opinion of Five for Fighting’s Slice with the quickness of Mercury and his hot lil’ winged feet!  ‘Cause babies – it may not happen again.

Now, let me be as clear as crystal:  I gave my ABSOLUTE HONEST review, and bear nothing but love and respect for all the good folks at One2One Network, who provided me with this opportunity.  They’re a great organization and a pleasure to work with.

I just don’t feel comfortable with reviewing, evidently, unless it’s my own idea.

Yes, I’m the one who dipped my toe in the water and made myself available for solicited reviews.  I wanted to see how the process worked, and my experience has been one that was conducted very professionally.  I have absolutely NO complaints whatsoever on that score.

For me, though – and this is just the way I’m wired, and not meant in ANY WAY to cast the slightest aspersion on bloggers who successfully navigate the “Review Waters” - for me, any review…good or bad…has to come from me spontaneously and organically, or I’m not happy.  I think it’s the control freak in me.

I just told my husband that, and he choked on laughter and responded “Oh, ya THINK?”

So, there’s my extra disclosure on my disclosure, as it were.  (I’m so friggin’ neurotic…*sigh*) But, seriously – just because I suck at reviews doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t check out Five for Fighting’s Slice for yourself…because you TOTALLY should.  I mean, really – what the hell do I know?

Um…we shall return to our regularly scheduled programming on Tuesday, wherein I will either regale you with more of my pithy blathering, or put up another kick ass Guest DJ Shuffle.  You’re just gonna have to swing by to find out!

xoxoxo

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It’s Voting Day here in Virgina!

We’re workin’ on a new Governor…among other things.  So, as I get ready to head over to the Baptist Church on the corner to exercise my rights as a citizen of this glorious Commonwealth, I thought I’d pull out my FAVORITE post ever.

(Yes, AGAIN.  But hey, it’s the first time you’re seeing it on MSM, so hush.  I’m adding a very loosely themed government/voting playlist so it “fits” here.)

I wrote this for Vacuity on November 4, 2008.  If today follows a similar pattern, I’ll be sure to let you know…

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Ah, Democracy and Capitalism! They go together like beer and burritos, don’t they?

I was up before dawn. Brian and I had a plan, you see – he’d get to the polls when they opened at six, vote, run back home and shower while I went to vote, and we’d both be done before he left for work – well before Liam awoke. Ha…we really are cute, aren’t we? I pounded two large cups of coffee while Brian was gone in anticipation of my turn…

…but the line was already wrapped around the building when he got there.

So, Liam and I made our way in to our neighborhood polling place late this morning, and I did my best to explain to a 2.5 year old that Mama was going to vote. He looked at me intently, then nodded and said “Oh, WOW, Mama – that’s wunnerful!” I beamed at my obviously Ivy League bound son, so proud that he had quickly grasped this powerful tenet of our society at such an early age. We both waited with anticipation to be ushered from the queue in the hall into the “Voting Chamber”, and as we entered, Liam began to sing:

“Saywing, Saywing, ober dee oshun bluUUUUEEE!!”

…and then he stopped and turned to me, loudly and indignantly demanding to know WHERE all the boats were. Boats. Votes. Okay, so we may have to settle for a State School…

We waited in line a bit, and I chatted with the woman ahead of me blithely, all the while itching to get my fingerpads on that damn touchscreen. FINALLY – after the nearly two year run of “The Campaign Show”, I was going to cast my ballot and have my voice heard. When I was finished and returned my little electronic voter card thingie, I felt deflated. NOW what? I had built up the voting in my mind so much that I definitely had a let-down between the act itself and the results later. Oh, sure, I’ll be all fired up on the sofa, eating popcorn, drinking Scotch and yelling at the TV screen in my jammies tonight as the returns come in, but…what to do in between?

Enter Capitalism. On the way out the door, I was offered my choice of lovely “I Voted” stickers. My mood immediately brightened – (a) because I, like any OTHER kid, love a sticker and (2) because I remembered all the free stuff I could get with this little paper oval! Woot! Free Krispy Kreme Doughnut! Free Starbuck’s Coffee! Free Chik-Fil-A Somethingorother! Free being the operative word. Free. Yeah, right.

Here’s how the day went down from there:

Krispy Kreme. Haven’t been there in years. No other reason to go but this damn doughnut. Got it…gave it to Liam, and couldn’t resist the fresh, hot glazed coming out of the oven right before my eyes. Bought a dozen, a coffee and a milk. We sat at KK and indulged. Liam is now hooked on “Doo-nuts”, and I’m pretty sure he actually snorted some sprinkles. And I dropped almost nine bucks. Krispy Kreme got me on the Upsell.

Starbucks the First. Convieniently right near KK. I whip through the drive thru for my free coffee, and see that they have their “Pumpkin Spice Better than Sex” Blend out now. (I dunno what it’s actually called, but Pumpkin Pie Spice is one of my favorite flavors on the planet.) I am weak. My brain is already jumpy from the fresh sugar glaze on the Doo-nut. I order the Venti Pumpkin Sex thing, and drop five more bucks. Starbucks got me on the ol’ Bait and Switch.

Chik-Fil-A. By now, it’s lunchtime, and I know I need to feed the Kid before I dare to run into the grocery store. Chik-Fil-A just happens to be in the same parking lot as Farm Fresh, so it’s a win-win, right? We get in a ridiculously long line in the drive thru, and the chant of “chicken/fries” goes on loop in the back seat. Finally I get to the speaker thingy, and order the damn Kids’ Meal. (Yes, by this point, my sugar high is waning and I’m getting a caffeine headache from the gallon of coffee I’ve consumed thus far.) At the end of my order, I casually thow in “Um…yeah, and I voted, so I believe you’ve got a Chicken Biscuit or something for me?” I’m ever so politely told that oh, no – the OTHER franchise in the OTHER city over is the one advertising that. So sorry. Well, lovely. I’m stuck in this line, my head is beginning to melt on the inside, and I need food. I irritably throw a Chicken Sandwich on the order. My total? Eight bucks. And Chik-Fil-A gets me with the Fine Print.

In we go to the grocery store, where I rip through the aisles, mumbling under my breath at my own idiocy. On the way out, I catch a whiff of that heavenly scent to which I fear I have become addicted. Coffee. Enter Starbucks the Second – the large kiosk found in all Farm Fresh Supermarkets. The perky little barista, Callie, waves to me and points to my “I Voted” sticker, asking me if I’d like my free coffee. Well…I hadn’t actually cashed that one in yet. Yes, by God, I was going to ignore those erratic heart palpitations and the involuntary Palinesque winking and get my promised free Starbuck’s coffee! You betcha!

Have you been counting? That was my fifth cup. (Sixth, if you count the Venti as two.) It was only 1:30 pm. Hence, the shakes.

And with that, I’ve covered both our System of Government and our Free Market Economy in one fell swoop. Not bad for a blog that started out talking about toilets, eh? *wink*

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