Tax Returns...

So every year I splurge on one thing for myself and usually use the rest of my tax returns to pay bills. The past couple of years the splurges have been ink, shoulder and calf tattoos. This year, because I actually have a job that lets me pay my bills, and have some left over (YAY for NOT living quite paycheck to paycheck) I think I'll continue the tattoo tradition (I have about 6 that I have plans for. I already have 5), but I've also just taken advantage of my Amazon Prime (Best gift to myself, EVER!!) and bought myself one of the BEST (albeit, underrated) TV series. All 5 seasons, 2 days shipping, for under $100.




I remember being really excited when I first learned about the show, Chuck, it was during a time when everything on TV seemed like it was either a spinoff of CSI/Law and Order or yet another craptastic reality dating/surviving show. There were other awesome shows that came out in 2007 Big Bang, Reaper,Torchwood but there were some real clunkers too, K-Ville, Anchorwoman, Viva Laughlin.
Chuck wasn't going to be another cop or hospital drama (not that those are all bad shows), it was a spy show... and I've always kinda digged on some spies, Just call me MoneyPenny. Plus it had Adam Baldwin in it! How could you go wrong? In my opinion Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski's chemistry was perfect! Joshua Gomez's character, Morgan, was one of my favorites, because I could identify with being the needy, clueless best friend. LoL And you had recurring character actors like, Tony "Candyman" Todd, Scott Backula (Quantum Leap, another one of my all time favs), Matt Bomer (what a hottie), Linda FREAKING Terminator Hamilton.

I'm not saying that there weren't bad episodes, I vaguely remember thinking that the finale was a cop-out, but, even the bad ones are worth the watch. So if you don't hear from me after Monday for a few days, just know that I am fine, just catching up with an old friend, Mr. Charles Bartowski. Anyone wanna make a party of it?

Supernatural - Safety Dance (We can dance)

I am posting this for my friend Emily...

WATCH THIS!!!  Miss your face!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvCE1pPbXUo

Broken Radio (Take 2)

I finally broke down to see what all the fuss was about Tumblr and have decided to use it to launch my newest blog attempt. After what happened with my last Broken Radio in My Head blog, I think a change in venue will be good, and it's about time to pick it back up... I will stay here for my Ramblings, and if I decide to do the year to...whatever it will be here as well. But check out my new "Music" blog at


http://spookylou.tumblr.com/

"Crazy" by Gnarls Barkely Cover By Phillip Phillips & Churchill

This is actually footage from the concert that I went to... This isn't my video but I just wanted to share with everyone!!!  This is the finale with Churchill.  It is Gnarls Barkley's Crazy  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0LUvOWFWPk

If You're Gone - Matchbox Twenty w/ special appearance by Phillip Phillips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAJ8yzfY83o

Do Unto Others...

Sorry for this religious-y post!

A few weeks ago I got unfriended by someone on Facebook because I made the statement that if you don't know me, then please do not put me in religious/political groups or invite me to events that I might not be interested in, because you don't know me, you don't know if it would offend me... The reason for the post was that I was put into a religious group that was anti-gay marriage, anti-Obama, anti-abortion, anti-alcohol,very Pro-Baptist. As we have already established, I am very much pro-gay, pro-life, pro-alcohol and don't care if you're Baptist, I'm not, so don't try to save me... And don't even get me started on my political beliefs because I don't have enough time in the day.

In a previous post I mentioned, I refer to myself as an Episcopagen, I'm more Wicca/Druid than Episcopalian (which is what I grew up as), throw in some Buddhism and some Gandhi and you're on the right track. I believe in Nature, and I am now trying to follow that path more steadily.

The reason for today's post is that it has happened again. Not the unfriended thing, but the being invited to an event meant to "save" me. I declined the event, and have posted/liked every non-Christian post that has gone through my news-feed. And So far I have bit my tongue about being added to those kind of pages again. I do try to respect others views on religion and politics. I am accepting of a great many thing. But when it comes to those who disrespect my views is when I get mouthy. I know it shouldn't bother me as much as it does, especially when I try to "practice what I preach" with the tolerance thing, but for some reason, the fact that this continues to happen, irks me.

I think my new philosophy is going to be that if it's done to me, I'm going to do it to them. I wonder how many of the people on my friends list would enjoy being added to some Pagen/Wiccian event?

That's all for now. I'm sure there will be more to come on this topic later. :)

Churchill - Change

This was the opening band for the concert last night...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im8zYhFB0JA

Phillip Phillips Concert

A couple of weeks ago I got a message on FaceBook from my friend, Anthony, that I hadn't seen since high school, *cough 20 years ago *cough. He asked what I was doing on the 18th, and when I said that I didn't have plans, he told me that I did now. I am SO glad that he did, I got to experience a TERRIFIC concert last night. We were 6 rows back, center stage. And it was... EPIC!!! I was a fan of Mr. Phillip Phillips from the moment he took the audition stage on American Idol! I Love that Dave Matthew-sy sound, always have. And I was an avid voter for Phillip throughout that season. I even did the Happy dance when he won, you can ask my old roommate, she was there.


(This is one of my awesomely horrible pics I took)

The opening act was a group called Churchill, and I will say that of all the concerts I have been to, some of the best performances were from the starting acts, these guys were no exception. They Rocked!! I even bought their CD and got their autographs. :) The drummer, when he was playing looked like a BLOND Norman Reedus (YUM!)




While one of the announcements at the concert was that photography and recording was prohibited, I swear that 99% of the audience (And about 60% of that was women that were well older than me, so I don't feel as bad for being Cougar-esque about my infatuation for Phillip) had their phones out and shot away. I admit, I too am guilty, but as usual my pics/vids aren't anything worth sharing, as demonstrated above. Here is a link to someone else's video of one of the songs Phillip sang, I wish that the footage of the concert we went to last night was even 1/2 as good as this persons. [THIS IS NOT FROM THE CONCERT I WENT TO, THIS WAS TAKEN MONTHS BEFORE]

http://youtu.be/fSxJuyPqp8I

For some reason YouTube isn't cooperating and posting the vids as usual, but PLEASE CLICK the link to hear a groovy mash-up of Lollipop/Lose Yourself/All We Do Is Win. (Anyone who knows me, knows my secret obsession with Eminem, so this was a real treat to hear in the concert.

We even got a copy of the set list from the show...Stacy, the rocking chick that was with my group went up afterwards and asked one of the security guys if we could have it.



The one titled New Song can be heard on this link, but again YouTube and Blogger aren't playing nicely today...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6KD-DSwyf4

About 1/2 though he kept commenting about how sweaty and hairy he was, and that did start an impromptu version of "It's getting hot in here" I think that if a person could actually get pregnant though sexy thoughts, 95% of the women, and maybe even some of the men, in that arena would be having kids in 40 weeks. Whooo it was sexy sexy.

Well I could probably ramble on about how amazing the show was for several more hours, but I will stop now. Leaving with one more statement. If you get a chance to see Phillip Phillips and/or Churchill in concert GO!!! I have been to several concerts in my time, (Audio Adrenaline, Blues-fest featuring BB King, Blessed Union of Souls, Cake, Pearl Jam--probably the worst one I've been to, which is sad because I loved them, Vedder was drunk the entire set and it was just not worth watching!, Augustana, Goo Goo Dolls, Maroon 5, Counting Crows...) and this was one of the best ones I've seen.

Pics and Ideas

I'm just playing around with the idea of doing the yearly tribute and seeing how hard it would be to add pics and media.
So it appears that Blogger isn't that hard to upload pics onto. These are my babies, Loki (cat) and Abigail (dog). I will attempt non-YouTube videos at another time.





I've always been a cat person. Seriously I cannot remember a time that we didn't have a cat in the family. They are so much easier to deal with than dogs. You don't have to walk them, play with them (yes I play with the cat but he isn't as demanding at the dog), pretty much make sure that the have food, water and a clean litter box and you are good. I was convinced that I would never own a dog, but since I got Abby 3 years ago (I've already gotten into the reasons for this in earlier posts), I have officially become a dog lover, and have actually considered getting another one! LoL

Sooooo... My research shows that there are 154 episodes of Gilmore, 170 of Supernatural, 202 of X-files, close to 800 Doctor Who and King has published something like 73 books. I think Doctor Who, while I love it, is out because there are so many, and so many that aren't available. The other series, there are to many to do weekly (King is closest, but while I've read 95% of his books, and I read fairly quickly. I'd have to reread some of them to contribute, and some of them it would take me longer than a week to trudge through *Cough Dark Tower series, *Cough The Stand *Cough) but not enough to do daily...so I could double up and hit multiples. (Combine X-Files and Supernatural, I'd have some leftovers but I could stick with a theme) I could do the baking/cooking thing but that is done so much that I am afraid to venture into it, and the ramifications of baking that much would increase my weight/bp/cholesterol all of which need to go down instead of up. This leads me to the idea of healthy recipes or even tracking gym time. But honestly being a gym bunny doesn't appeal to me (I enjoy running but where I have murdered my poor ankle, that's just not an option anymore) and most of the healthier recipes I've seen involve foods that I have no desire to eat. (Beets, Artichoke, Peppers, YUCK!). I'll ponder some more. But seriously, if there is anyone out there that wants to chime in, feel free.

My Year Of...

I've started reading a blog by a wonderfully sweet lady, I've met her twice, and both times she was great. Sadly to this day, I will always kinda dislike her, even though she has never done anything to me, just because she got to marry the ONE... Sigh...

Back-story: I started college, auditioned and was cast for my first play, meet a guy and fell head over heels for him.
Me being the socially awkward chicken that I am, said nothing, became friends and watched as he dated girl after girl. He eventually started dating a good friend of mine, T. They were together for YEARS, a decade, maybe. When they finally broke up, he reconnected with me and told me that he used to joke with T, about how I was the one that got away. WOOHOO!! Really?!?! I was ecstatic.
He and I went out a couple of times, (dinner, movies, nothing else) and then I don't know what happened. He just stopped calling me. Many years later I found out that he had heard from another source that something he had only told a couple of people (including me and this source, who also had a thing for him, and she was friends with the person that told the story...) had gotten out. He believed that I was the one that had talked. Thing is, back then, I didn't know anyone anymore, and I certainly didn't talk to anyone. I would have walked across a desert of broken glass, barefoot, picked up tarantulas for him (anyone who knows me, knows how TERRIFIED I am of spiders!), so there was NO way I was going to betray him by saying something he asked me not to. Not to mention, at the time I was living with someone (Please don't read, HO, here. This relationship was already busted up and we were actually just living together more as roommates than actually dating, but if HE would have asked me to be his girlfriend, I would have moved out in a heartbeat), so my life with this guy was 100% a secret.

Ok, you're thinking enough of that, back to the point...

The sweet lady's blog is about her love of the Sci-Fi series Star Trek, (My Year of Star Trek) She has dedicated a year to watching all of the series and is keeping a current blog about it. I'm only a few posts in, but it's fabulous.

It made me think of all of the other people I have witnessed that have taken on this task of devoting themselves to something for a whole year. It's become almost a fad... The movie Julie/Julia is about a woman that decided to cook an item from Julia Child's cookbook each day of the year. One of the Pins that I found posted on Pinterest is from a woman that had a different crock-pot recipe for each day. Another one of the things I keep up with on Facebook is called A Year In a Kilt. The guy decided that on his 50th birthday, he would start wearing a kilt everyday, just to see if he could. His year is just about up and he has now decided that he might not go back to wearing pants. It's awesome to see his pictures and read the posts about the "looks he gets because he's an old man in a skirt." I might be bias, because I have a thing for Scotsmen and Kilts, but I wish more men would start wearing them.

Again, my point...

Sitting here, I'm trying to decide if I could even attempt some yearly mission. I, who, can't even commit to posting the BS daily status on Facebook/Twitter, let alone quasi-regularly to my blog. And if I did, what on Earth would I write about? My love for Gilmore Girls? Supernatural? Doctor Who? X-Files? Stephen King? Cooking??? Dare I try to take on Rachel Rays cookbooks, or make my own Pinterest cookbook? 365 days of desserts I've made from Pinterest. I can just imagine how much weight I would gain on that project. The thing about these kind of blogs is that eventually it's supposed to help you grow, but not necessarily from side to side LoL. Maybe I could go weekly instead of daily. 52 posts seems much more manageable than 365ish.
Baby steps... Thoughts??

Enough Rambling for one day...

I was a lonely soul, but that was the old me...

He is seriously amazing and I realize that I've posted this multiple times, but I cannot get enough of this guy! Much Love to the AWESOME MIKE TOMPKINS <3 <3 <3





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvmi9yL5Fdw&feature=share&list=PL9D4A5DB3211B4D27 

What Dreams May Come

A friend posted on Facebook today about a conversation she had with one of her customers about death and what comes next. This is a topic that my friends and I have gone rounds over.

There are so many religions out there, who are we to say that one is right or wrong. Having said that, and I do believe it whole-heartedly, I refer to myself as a Episcopalian Pagan. I lean more towards Wicca and Druidism, but grew up going to the local Episcopal church. I had a crisis of faith after my priest committed suicide. His death all but tore my church apart, and I have struggled with organized religion since then. I took a couple of religion classes at college and learned that I am more spiritual than religious. I still occasionally go to church with the family, but I don't fear that I will burn in Hell (not that the Episcopalians ever preached that) because I sleep in on Sundays now.

I am a firm believer in reincarnation and karma. How else can you explain ghosts/spirits and deja vu? I have made several HUGE mistakes in this lifetime that will doom me to coming back as a slug/dung beetle or something equally as gross in my next life. Maybe I will get it closer to perfection the next time.

I cannot commit 100% to Heaven or Hell, but do believe in the path to enlightenment that will hopefully reunite us with ...(fill in the blank here), who knows, I like the idea of stardust. I have no desire to believe that there is a place where my loved ones might not be with me in the "afterlife" (If I've lived a great life and ascend to Heaven, but my best friend turned up in Hell, that's not the idea of a perfect place for me. I'm also talking about my animals, for they are my children, and I have been told by many that there aren't animals in Heaven. Bah.) While death is inevitable those loved ones are always with us in our hearts, we live, love and grow because they were in our lives. And just maybe they will be there again. This to me is why we have instant connections to certain people, because in someway that person is/has always supposed to have been there. Kindred Spirits as Anne Shirley said.

Now I sound like a crazy person that is just rambling and I will stop.