best/worst 2009

i wanted to make one of those "best albums of 2009" lists. but it ended up that i really wasn't jazzed about too many things this year. so i made a more general best/worst of 2009 list. enjoy!

3 best shows i saw in 2009:
-THE MUMMIES @ southpaw in brooklyn, ny
-nobunny and rock'n'roll adventure kids @ cafe bourbon street in columbus
-the 2 wizzard sleeve sets @ horriblefest 4 (tie)
-the zero boys @ wcsb halloween show (tie)



3 favorite music releases that came out in 2009:
-the cave weddings ep
-the flying trichecos 7"
-wizzard sleeve "make the world go away"




(we were at this show. josh ended up getting hit in the head with a beer bottle and bleeding profusely. we go to these kinds of shows all the time. i think some people would be surprised at that. ha.)

3 most fun adventures i went on in 2009:
-nyc and back in 24 hours
-exploring the backwoods of west virginia
-running amok in buffalo/canada

3 proudest moments of 2009:
-being there when my cousin amy had charlotte
-quitting a job that was ruining my life
-maintaining a wonderful relationship with my dream boy (today is actually our year and a half anniversary!)



3 coolest experiences of 2009:
-pajama party at the house of one of the dead boys
-dj'ing the radio station halloween party with the zero boys on the bill (WHILE dressed as a bloody sharon tate!)
-getting accepted to be published in a book! (will be out in early 2010! i haven't spilled the beans on this one yet BUT I WILL SOON!!!)



3 new friends i made in 2009:
-laura
-kelly
-erin #1

3 previously unknown bands i was pleasantly surprised by when i saw them live in 2009:
-love collector
-box elders
-the points



3 musical acts i never thought i'd see that i saw in 2009:
-THE MUMMIES!
-little richard
-baseball furies



3 low points of 2009:
-being unemployed and feeling useless
-feeling physically old for the first time
-being poor

3 awesome blogs i read religiously in 2009:
-gonked, glooked and slurped!
-tattoo tales
-the dainty squid

christmas 2009 recap

christmas 2009 was nice. i hope it was the same for everyone. ready for a recap of my busy weekend?

the holidays start on christmas eve for my family. i had the day off, but while i waited for josh to come home from work i tortured my poor kittens and made them dress up in this santa outfit. none of them would let me put their legs through the holes, so i just sorta set it on their heads and fastened it on. they hated me.







when josh finally got home, we exchanged gifts. yay!



josh is a wonderful gift-giver. i think that is an important quality that says a lot about a person. haha, no seriously. i like it when someone really puts thought into something rather than just doing something to get it done. i try really hard to pick things for people that i know they will really love. josh knows me so well, he knows exactly what will make my heart smile!

here were the goodies from my stocking:



he got me a james brown mugshot magnet (ha!), a card with a picture of chippewa lake amusement park on it, some jellybelly jellybeans, some extra chains for all the pendants i have, and a fortune-telling fish :)

he also gave me these killer vintage rhinestone cat eye sunglasses that i was drooling over in MAB jewelry's shop a few months ago :)



he picked out this 2-disc cd set of vintage sex songs, with artists like wynonie harris:



and this awesome vintage halloween decoration from the 40s. i love vintage halloween decorations and want to start collecting them, but i need to get a job before i can start doing that!



he got me this elvis book and cramps cd,:



this book of shag art,:



this 10" record by one man band dead elvis and his one man grave,:



and finally, gift cards for my favorite record store and book store in town!:



holy cow! best boyfriend ever!!!

i got josh this hair grease made by one of his favorite musicians, bloodshot bill. i also got him a bloodshot bill tshirt:



i found him this awesome old fashioned-style letterpress postcard in yee-haw industry's etsy shop. i put it in a frame and gave it to him since he wants to make biscuits and gravy for breakfast every weekend, being the hillbilly from west virginia that he is :)



i also got him this zombie movie featuring hasil adkins. i'm glad i did because it's my new favorite!!! it comes highly recommended if you like cheesy horror blood and guts, ridiculous monsters like "coconut head face man!", inappropriate sex jokes, naked girls, superhero outfits with capes made of human flesh, fart jokes, and sleazy rock'n'roll:



while doing a search for "hillbilly" on etsy, i also came across this great vintage trucker cap for josh. haha i did NOT plan the setup for a photo like this, the most hillbilly christmas haul EVER! minus david hasselhoff, of course. he is in a category all of his own:



the cats had a ball, rolling around in the wrapping paper and tearing things up:







it was very lovely :)





next we went over to my parents house for the traditional chinese dinner on christmas eve. then we all opened gifts there. i have never seen so many presents under one tree before!



everyone in my family went together to get josh a new guitar like he's been wanting. i don't think he had a clue!



i got lots of nice stuff, including a bunch of BOOKS! yay!



i also got this game that i played during a hangout session with lacey and phoebe..i can't wait to play it again!



i got lots of other great things, like bacon bumper stickers and those bump-its for your hair. whee!

my little brother proposed to his girlfriend while we were there, so i also got a new sister-in-law from santa! i won't go into detail about how my heart was so sad because that's exactly what *I* was hoping santa would bring me...so i'll just move on.

on christmas morning, we went to visit josh's grandma and her boyfriend. then we went over to my family's house and we had all the extended family over. it was the first year in a long time with a baby at the holidays, since amy and matt had little charlotte this year!



we ate lots of yummy food and exchanged gifts, and then it was off to josh's family's house. phew! hung out there for a while and exchanged more gifts and finally made it home in one piece. by the end of the nite, we could barely stay awake (and as you can see, josh didn't even make it to the bed before passing out!)



on saturday i caught up with some friends that i don't get to see often because we're all off doing our own thing. we had a late chinese dinner, then came back to my place to watch silly videos and laugh a whole lot. today josh and i laid low and got crafty; he started taking up painting, while i began a new project for FRENZY! that i'm excited to unveil in a few days.

it was a long, exhausting, wonderful weekend.

:)

happy holidays

merry christmas, everyone!!


grandma's tree, 1952

gettin in the spirit

tonite will be the christmas edition of hot trash radio! so if you're into 2 hours of unconventional punk/rock'n'roll christmas songs, your butt should be parked right here in front of the computer! you can go to the hot trash myspace page for all the times and places and info...or if you're really on the ball, you can just tune into the live stream at wcsb.org! that's tonite from 11pm-1am est with your host, ME!

and just in case you aren't in the christmas spirit yet, here are some video clips to help you on your way.

anyone remember the muppet christmas movie, the christmas toy? it was one of my childhood favorites!



who could forget the pee wee's playhouse christmas special! little richard is in it, ice skating and bein sassy!



here's a little gem. sorry everything has been from the 80s generation so far, but that represents my childhood :) this one is ridiculous for so many reasons! namely:

a) donny's pants that look like sweatpants
b) when arsenio joins in the rap
c) when joe says the line about santa burning his butt
d) the fact that you can't find jordan's bellybutton ANYWHERE



this one is a new favorite i didn't find about about until last year when i worked at the thrift store and someone donated it. what's better than a cute muppet otter celebrating christmas?? a cute muppet otter celebrating christmas by starting a jug band!!!



i wanted to post the "christmas carols" skit from one of my favorite sketch comedy teams "stella" but it was nowhere to be found! instead i found this live skit singing different christmas carols. it's inappropriate, but DAMN are they funny!



here's a jam you'll hear if you tune in to hot trash tonite:




i hope everyone is getting excited about christmas...i know i am!

how-to: holly cookies

my mom has been making these since we were kids, and they have become something of a legend in the family. it's just not christmas without holly cookies on the table! not only are they adorable and yummy, but they are super easy to make!

ingredients:

1/2 c margarine
1 10 oz. package of large marshmallows
1 tsp green food coloring (add more if you like a darker green)
6 c corn flakes
candy cinnamons
wax paper



(i doubled the recipe in my photos so i could make enough to take to our radio station party tomorrow. feel free to double your recipe from the one above, as well!)

1) in a large saucepan, melt margarine over low heat.



2) add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.







3) remove from heat. stir in food coloring. keep adding til desired shade of green.











4) add corn flakes. stir until well coated.









5) quickly drop spoonfuls onto wax paper using 2 spoons.



6) dot with cinnamon candies.



that's it!







this works best if you have two people, one to drop the cookies and one to add the cinnamon candy before the cookie hardens. the quicker you drop them, the easier they will be to work with since it becomes more difficult as the marshmallow hardens.

you can make the cookies as small or as big as you want. you can also substitute the cinnamon candies for dried cranberries to make the holly berries. i did that one year and they looked just as cute (and tasted just as delicious!)

when you store them, make sure you layer the wax paper so they don't stick together.

enjoy!