I'm about to trek out to the grocery store on foot, to gather up the last bit of supplies I need for the baking extravaganza that will commence tonight.
I will be making:
Peanut butter blossoms
mini candy cane cupcakes (this is as close as I could find to what I'm making. Except, Mine will be mini cupcakes made of white cake, with vanilla frosting and very finely crushed candy canes sprinkled on top. So delicious. And pretty.)
Then, the boyfriend and I pack off and go south to Olympia, to spend Christmas Eve and part of Christmas (I work that night) with the fam. All of my 3 siblings are bringing their significant others to stay over. I'm really worried it's going to look something like this: (minus the boyfriend swapping, proposals, mom with cancer and deaf brother, but twice the hilarious hi-jinks!)
Girls used to rock. There were so many awesome ladies in the 90's, and I'm not talking Lilith Fair (although I did own a fair amount of those girls). I'm talking serious kick ass grungy, rock'n rollers. Some of my favorite ladies, who definitely influenced me growing up:
(in no particular order)
Veruca Salt - Volcano Girls
I was a fan of "Seether". That video is also awesome. But when Eight Arms to Hold You came out, I lost my shit. Seriously, "Volcano Girls" is such a ripping song. I wanted to BE Nina Gordan in 8th grade. They definitely influenced a lot of what I listened too in the next few years.
PJ Harvey - Down By the Water
I was a casual PJ listener at this point, not really knowing her earlier albums. But this song/video is what turned me into a fan. All I can say is that this video scared the crap out of me...and I loved it. This song is so f'ing haunting and cool. And look at her! So amazing, I'm almost peeing myself just watching it again.
Hole - Doll Parts
"I want to be the girl with the most cake, i love him so much it just turns to hate". Oh Courtney. You are one bat shit crazy celebrity but your music will always redeem you.
Garbage - Queer
Shirley, Shirley, Shirley. I wanted to wear your a-line dresses and have your perfect smokey eyes and smeared lipstick, but I was never that cool. I was wearing skater polo shirts and adidas and pulling my hair back with matching baby barrettes and ordering from Deliah's in high school. I still yearn to be as cool as you.
Juliana Hatfield - My Sister
I'm actually still a huge Juliana fan. My favorite part of this song is when she sings about going to a Violent Femmes concert. I was also a Violent Femmes fan, via My So Called Life. Remember that episode where Angela danced around to "Blister In the Sun "? I'm not embarrassed. That show pretty defined my life freshman year. I lived and breathed it.
Breeders - Cannonball
Kim Deal. 'Nuff said.
There's so many girls to choose from. That's just a sampling of ladies I adore.
Okay, let's take a break from the made for tv movies, and talk about Christmas. Specifically, Christmas songs. More importantly the 1983 classic, "Do They Know It's Christmas".
This, might be one of the most amazing and hilarious videos and songs of all time. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE THIS SONG. When Boy George starts belting it out, my childhood heart swoons.
But let's get serious. It's sort of ridiculous.
Who the hell is singing first? I'm sorry, I have no idea. And I'm too lazy to research it. There goes my girl (man), Boy George. And poor Sting, he only gets to sing back up to Simon Le Bon and Bono. He looks really sad about it.
I also kind of want Phil Collin's sweater vest.
And the douchebags playing guitar? Is there even guitar in this song? It sounds like a lot of awesome drumming, some synths and a few bells. I'm sure there's some guitar in there somewhere, but there's really no need to act like you're ripping a huge solo John Taylor from Duran Duran.
My biggest beef with this Christmas classic, is why are there no lead girl parts? I mean, they brought in Jody Watley and the girls from Bananarama for the ending chorus, but they weren't good enough to sing lead? Band Aid is such a sausage fest.
Okay seriously. How amazing were made for TV Movies in the 90's? I lived for this shit. A Made For TV movie pre-empted anything else I was interested in watching, and I would kick my little sisters and brother out of the room, just so I could indulge in the over dramatic, "ripped from the headlines" stories, starring actresses and actors from my favorite teen shows. They show a lot of these on Lifetime now, although most were made as a week night special by the big networks. Let's recap a few: (I would also like to state that I don't find murder, domestic abuse, or eating disorders particularly funny, but these movies *are* so snarkable)
Death Of A Cheerleader Otherwise known as, Kelly from Life Goes On stabs the shit out of Tori Spelling in a jealous cheerleading rage. Epic. The person who uploaded this video on You Tube wouldn't let me embed it, but here's a link: You Tube:Death of A Cheerleader
No One Would Tell
Oh Candace. You grew up on Full House, playing our beloved DJ, and then went on to star in a string of bad tv movies, always playing the victim. Fred Savage plays a crazy, jealous boyfriend who stabs DJ (sorry, Candace) to death. That's two, count 'em two, movies about crazy people stabbing people they're jealous of. This one still scares the crap out of me. I will never watch Wonder Years in the same way again.
A Secret Between Friends
Holy anorexia, batman! Eating disorders were a huge topic in made for tv movies. And to be honest, I feel like a lot of these were more enabling than helpful. This one stars a young Marley Shelton, as she and her best friend encourage each other to lose weight in unhealthy ways until one of them is killed. I remember liking it because it took place in Seattle. Doesn't take much to please me.
another ED movie:
Perfect Body
Pink Power Ranger!
Friends 'Til The End
Shannen Doherty. Singing. That's all you really need to know. Okay there's a lot more you need to know. Like there's this crazy girl who wants to be just like her and has since childhood, and manipulates her into letting her join her band, her sorority and then crazy girl steals her boyfriend and basically her life. They showed this one on VH1 a lot. I loved it, I'm not sure why.
I don't really understand Twitter. And that's okay. I mean, I get the concept, I just don't see how everyday people can post anything *that* interesting twenty times a day. Telling all your followers that you went to the grocery story today just isn't that entertaining.
However, when celebrities tweet, most notably comedians...I will follow that.
For those not in the know, Mindy stars, writes and executive produces The US Office. She is amazing. Every Kelly scene has me peeing my pants. And her twitter is unbelievable. She brings the funny. I think I have a crush on her. Some hilarious tweets include: "You know when all your best friends are in NYC without you having fun and you hope the Cloverfield monster strikes?" "In the world where ratty underpants are valued, I am King." "I say, if you love something, set it in a small cage and pester and smother it with love until it either loves you back or dies." "If Prince William doesn't choose Kate Middleton I'm going to boycott England forever" "The temptation to end every script I write with the main character "waking up and it was all a dream" is so strong"
And the sly and handsome Aziz Ansari: Aziz Ansari On Twitter This dude is always the funniest thing in anything he does. Tiny bit parts (ala Funny People), and he totally steals the show. Currently on Parks & Rec with my other girl crush, Amy Poehler. His twitter is full of good band recommendations and funny shout outs to fellow comedians.
The best is when they twitter at each other. Hilarity ensues.
A record store working, 80's ya book collecting, pie making dork who also knits and reads comics. Always on the quest for a perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Prone to listening to bad pop music while cleaning. In college with aspirations of becoming an elementary school librarian.
