Zombies 2.0: A Musical Year in Review

It's time to post my musical review of last year, last year's playlist was called "Zombie Nights Year 1" in honor of weekly "The Walking Dead" viewings, so keeping with that theme, here is Zombies 2.0.

You can listen to the playlist in it's entirety here Spotify Playlist, or individual songs as listed.

Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers – This Life :This year I was introduced to Jax Teller and the rest of the Sons of Anarchy, needless to say it was love at first sight.
Taylor Swift – 22 :okay, really the parody of this song about being 32 should be here instead of Taylor's version, BUT this song always makes me tap my toes and sing along "You don't know about me, but I bet you want to!!"
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax :Derek! You almost killed the Microneasion Prime Minister! Because there's always room for Zoolander.
The Goo Goo Dolls – Come To Me :This year one of my really good friends got married, and this was a song that really spoke to her, and it made it onto her wedding playlist. Plus the GooGoo Dolls are amazing and really earned their spot on this list.
V V Brown – Shark In The Water :never yell shark at the beach or fire in a crowded room... but sometimes a shark is disguised as a sexy man and you never know when he's going to take a big chunk of flesh from your heart and leave you chumming the waters...
Bloodhound Gang – No Hard Feelings :because really, it's NOT my job to fuck you on your birthday. #sorrynotsorry
Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money :so you better treat us right.
Hootie & The Blowfish – Only Wanna Be With You :Have you seen the movie Ted? If you haven't stop what you're doing and see it immediately. #AEIOU
Salt-N-Pepa – Shoop :Girls, what's my weakness? MEN!
INXS – Elegantly Wasted :there's really no other way to get wasted, am I right?
Sheryl Crow – Easy :this song just reminds me of summer time and working on my tan whether it be beachside, poolside, or in my own backyard.
Montell Jordan – This Is How We Do It :I'm kind of buzzed and it's all because...
TLC – Waterfalls :this song was the soundtrack to the 4th of July last year, while I was chasing fireworks :-)
Cake – Short Skirt/Long Jacket :because we're fast, thorough, and sharp as tacks
Jay-Z – Big Pimpin' :this song reminds me of the girls weekend at the Double Tree Fess Parker Resort in Santa Barbara... we were able to be Big Pimpin' without having to spend the Gs
Save Ferris – Come On Eileen :at this moment, you mean EVERYTHING to me.
Loverboy – Working For The Weekend - Remastered 2006 :aren't we all?
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody :Party on Wayne, Party on Garth.

Birthday Month: July

• The 4th of July: This year I spent the 4th being lazy for most of the day, woke up with a massive headache and decided to sleep it off... sometime around 3pm I woke up feeling mostly rejuvenated and then headed over to a friend's house to watch movies and binge on Jack in the Box... can't get much more patriotic than that. When the fireworks (both city sponsored and the illegal variety) started it sounded like we were in the middle of a shootout, and my friend's cat went and hid under the bed... I ran outside to see if I could see all the colors light up the sky, what I could view (apartment buildings and trees blocked most of them) were beautiful.
• Reunited with HS Friend: Facebook is a strange and sometimes wonderful thing. Through it I was able to be reconnected with a friend I'm pretty sure I haven't seen since high school. We met up for dinner and a Charmed marathon one evening and had a blast. It was night filled with laughter, stories about crazy exes, and filled in the gaps of what many of our experiences have been since the last time we saw each other.
• Dinner w/ BFF: My best friend and I haven't seen each other in what seems like months even though only about 20 miles separate us. Lives get busy and it's hard to find time that works for everyone, but we made it happen and met for Sushi and shopping one Tuesday night early in the month. We had a great time catching up and she was very excited to share her new business venture with her husband and some other close friends of hers. If you live in the 5 Cities area of the Central Coast of California and are looking for a new fitness center you should really consider checking them out. Their official opening is next month, but you can find more information here on their Facebook page Coastline Strength and Conditioning: Home of Obsidian Crossfit. 
• Birthday Celebrations: I have always done birthdays big. With a family the size of mine one night can't contain all the festivities, so I tend to celebrate BIRTHDAY MONTH, and it's really the best way to do it. The first birthday night was July 16th and the last one will mostly likely be in early August... because why not?
• Spamalot: I was not familiar with the Monty Python story so this play was a complete surprise to me and what an awesome surprise it was, I can't remember a time where I have laughed as much as I did that night. I was near tears from the antics of the players on stage, I don't think it could have possibly been better. PCPA never disappoints, and their Solvang Theaterfest theater was a perfect setting for the show. Earlier in the night my aunt and I had gone to dinner at the Firestone Brewery in Buellton and my only complaint is that we didn't have the time to drink more beers and explore the restaurant a little more, but the food was delicious and the staff was friendly, and my beer sampler was refreshing. This was also the first night of the mini vacation I took from work.
• Santa Barbara Day: The first full day off on my vacation one of my great friends spent the day down in Santa Barbara, we had great food, awesome adult beverages, went to the Art History Museum, and just enjoyed the great weather and each other's company. We didn't really do any shopping, but I don't feel like we missed out on anything, and I'm pretty sure our checking accounts were fairly thankful we didn't open them up in the stores on State Street.
• SLO Day: I had my annual exam on the morning of the 18th (all tests came back happy and healthy), and since the doctor's office is really close to Cal Poly I went to visit a couple of friends who work on campus. I spent about 3+ hours hanging out in the Math department and 30 minutes in Human Resources catching up with some people I hadn't seen in months and it was a treat to spend time with them.
• Baby Date: The Friday before my birthday I had a lunch date with some new friends, one of which is a 4 month old baby, we went to Babies R Us, Applebees, and Joann's and it was a such a fun time.
• Dinner w/ The Grandparents: Friday night lead to dinner w/ my paternal grandparents, we went to Old Juan's Cantina in Oceano, California and celebrated the night with awesome Mexican food and margaritas.
• The Getty: on my actual birthday my mom and I drove down to Los Angeles to experience the Getty Museum. I had never gone before even though I'd driven by multiple times. I was so impressed with the art and exhibits that were displayed, I can't wait to someday go back and to go to the museum in Malibu. 
• The Palace: on the way home from Los Angeles we stopped in Santa Barbara and had dinner at one of my absolute favorite restaurants, The Palace. It's like a taste of New Orleans on the California Coast. I had the Pecan Encrusted Chicken Piccata and we shared a Chocolate Souffle... I have to say they did not disappoint, they even made a special ice cream plate for my birthday with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and they wrote "Happy Birthday" in chocolate fudge on the plate. My taste buds were delighted. 
• House sitting: The last weekend of the month I house sat for my friends with the rat terrier and we had a great time watching TV and just hanging out until it was time for me to go back to my place. 

Santa Barbara Margaritas

Firestone Brewery Sampler

Jumping for June

House sitting: Had the oddest house sitting gig of my life this month... no strange pets to feed/take care of, no delicate plants to water, no teenagers/college students to babysit... pretty much all I had to do was spend one night, bring in the mail and newspaper, and call it a day AND I got to watch regular cable tv (I chose to watch the NBA Finals and cheer on my Spurs! Who did not win, but played well. I consider it a complete score... and I got paid really well. BEST OF ALL WORLDS.
Fake Birthday Party: In order to throw my grandmother off the scent of her big surprise 80th birthday party this month, the local members of the family took her out to dinner at The Swiss, a steak house in Santa Maria...and it worked, because the look on her face when she walked into her surprise party was truly priceless.



surprise!!!!

Surprise Birthday Party: For the surprise party family came in from all over California to celebrate the day with my grandmother, we had dinner at a local Chinese Restaurant, and it was great to visit with family that I haven't seen in a long time, there were lots of laughs and tons of food to share.

Twinsies!

More Birthday Parties: The last weekend in June was filled with birthday parties for little ones. One of my best friends (that I've known since 7th grade) had a party for her two year old twins, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. There weren't any major toddler meltdowns. The weather was semi-cooperative (was a little hotter than I would have liked, but no rain, so that's nice), and it seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves. All in all, a successful party. The following day I went to a birthday party for a 5 year old that used to live with one of my really good friends (he's her former roommate's son) that made a request that I attend his party. There was pizza and face painting (although I didn't stick around long enough to get mine done) and lots of little ones running around. I think the highlight of the day for me was watching the kids play with light sabers made out of pool noodles. I wish I had taken a picture of them because it was so creative, and the kids could smack each other around with them without getting hurt.
Long Lost Friends: I am REALLY regretting that I didn't take pictures when I got to visit with one of my really good friends from college this weekend. I haven't seen her in years and years, and we're only really able to keep up with each other via facebook... and I had my phone with me the whole time, no excuses! But we had a great visit at Avila beach, saw some dolphins and seals frolicking in the ocean, and splashed around in the surf with her daughter. I'm hoping that I'll get to see her again sometime next year when I travel to the east coast for a friend's wedding, even if we just get to grab coffee (although I think where I'll be and where she lives is at least a 4 hour drive if not longer, so we'll just have to play it by ear).
Movie Nights: This month I went to the movies much more frequently than I normally would, I saw Star Trek: Into Darkness, This is the End, and Monsters University.  I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, even though there were many moments where just myself and the group of people I had seen the movie with were the only ones laughing. For Star Trek and This is the End, I can blame it on the adult beverages, for Monsters University? It was mostly because so many parts of the movie struck so close to home and I was there with a good chunk of my family. This is the End was a movie I didn't really have high hopes (no pun intended... I don't do that) for but it pleasantly surprised me and even scared me in a couple spots... who would have thought an apocalypse movie with that particular cast could have some scenes that would make a grown woman scream... then snort with laughter a mere seconds later. Good job guys.  Star Trek had a lot more emotion than I would have expected from an action movie, there may or may have not been a moment when I wanted to yell at the screen "For all that is good in the world, Kirk stop crying already, I'm uncomfortable with your man tears!"... again it really could have been the wine... and I'm hoping it was a whisper and not a whisper shout.  Monsters was everything a Pixar movie can be, it had enough humor for the adults to get a kick out of it... maybe more than enough because there were moments when my cousin (he's 11) would tap me on the arm and say "Lauren, you KNOW only our family is laughing at this... right?" Which would usually make me laugh harder... because it's not my fault the rest of the theater doesn't get the jokes.
Hazard Canyon With Mom: On Saturday the 15th my mom and I decided we would go for a hike/walk in the Montana de Oro State park, specifically at Hazard Canyon, neither one of us had been there in years (for me it was pre-driver's license, British Knights wearing days) and I wanted to give my camera a good workout. The weather was the right temperature, but it was a fairly overcast day. The ocean and coastline were gorgeous and just what I remembered. You can see some of my favorite photos here. 
Glasses: Woot! Finally got in to the eye doctor and found out that prescription I've had for years is not correct for my vision and that I need new glasses...which is good, because the glasses I've had went MIA about a month ago, and will most likely only reappear when I'm wearing my new frames. They're so stinking cute I can't stand it, and while I won't receive them before the end of the month, they've been sized and ordered and I think can be included in this post.

We're half way through the year folks. Next month is birthday month and I can't wait to share the shenanigans that usually surround July. Stay tuned.

You Know How I Know We're Old?...

My friends and I have this on going joke about "you know how I know we're old" then follow up with something that wouldn't have bothered us when we were in our teens/twenties that drive us crazy now... it's based on jokes from The Forty Year Old Virigin and if you haven't seen that particular flick, stop whatever you're doing and watch it. Prepare for lots of laughs. I plan to update this post as frequently as we come up with them, so check back.

at Yogurt Creations a build your own dessert chain where you serve yourself and pay by weight after you've filled your cup with frozen yogurt and toppings...

"You know how I know we're old?... watching that teenager eat her yogurt before weighing and paying is pissing me off... younger Me would have thought it was a fantastic idea"

at girl's night getting ready to watch a movie
"You know how I know we're old?...I just called the DVD player a VCR and the conversation never paused"

after girls' night when I was sick with vertigo
"You know... when Carrie has to hold your arm and walk you to your car so don't fall down"

...actually having vertigo might be an indicator too...

"You know... We actually know that Romeo & Juliet is a tragedy not a love story"

"You know... Chelsea Handler isn't even 10 years older than us, and that bitch is old"

"You know...parents actually trust me to chaperone their kids on overnight school trips"

"You know... we're older than the cast of Old School (when the movie was released)"

"You know... I just thought that an icy hot rub down on my shoulders would be amazing right now"

"You know... This song is totally about me: http://youtu.be/YSnDJ7exSO0 (it's a parody of T. Swift's 22, called 32)

"You know... we carry white wine into the movies for "girl's night" at 3:45 pm"

"You know... I now look for sunscreen with an SPF in the double digits (and we aren't talking teens), cover my face when out in the sun, and the first sunburn of the season is a disappointment and not the goal of the weekend"

"You know... two glasses of wine and I'm drunk... and have a massive hangover the next day"

"You know... I no longer look forward to staying up all night, I'd rather sleep in"

"You know... my idea of a great birthday party no longer includes going on pub crawls and expensive dinners, take out and a bottle (or multiple) of wine with great friends and being able to actually have a conversation with the people I'm with make for a fantastic evening."

"You know... it's taking more concealer to cover up the dark circles under my eyes and harder to pass off the grey hairs as platinum highlights."

"You know... I remember when Oregon Trail was a black screen with green dots, and there were no Matrix references"

"You know... I used a typewriter at my first job"

"You know... I know that "blow on it and try again" isn't always a sexual innuendo" (original Nintendo/Duck Hunt ftw)

"You know... when I hear someone mention "The Breakfast Club" I think of the John Hughes movie and not a sandwich at Jack in the Box"

"You know... these kids didn't just forget about Dre, they don't even know who he is outside of a Dr. Pepper commercial"

"You know... these kids didn't know that Michael Jackson has a famous sister, Janet... Miss Jackson if you're nasty"

"You know... these kids didn't know that Gwen Stefani was part of No Doubt BEFORE her solo career"

Zombie Nights-Year 1 a playlist devoted to Girls' Night

 

 

Early February marked the "Friendaversary" of my Girls' Night buddies. I made a play list as party swag, and because it was so awesome I thought I'd share it with the rest of you... as usual, you can find the playlist in it's entirity on Spotify at this link:

Zombie Nights-Year 1

 

Or just scan through it here.

 

Jace Everett – Bad Things - Soundtrack Version
The Karaoke Studio – Better in a Black Dress (in the Style of Katie Armiger) [Karaoke Version] okay, so I have the real version of this song on the discs I burned, but this was the best I could find on Spotify.
Jennifer Paige – Crush
Billy Idol – Dancing With Myself - 2001 Digital Remaster
Kenny Loggins – Danger Zone
Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls - Single Version
Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Kanye West – Gold Digger
Letters To Cleo – I Want You To Want Me
Madonna – Like A Virgin
Bon Jovi – Livin' On A Prayer
No Doubt – Looking Hot
Beck – Loser
Pat Benatar – Love Is A Battlefield
Third Eye Blind – Semi-Charmed Life
LMFAO – Sexy And I Know It
Michael Jackson – Thriller
The Bangles – Walk Like An Egyptian (Album Version)
The Cranberries – Zombie


November in a Nutshell

It's been another busy month, lots of shopping hanging out with friends and the boy, family time and the beginning of the holiday season. So without further ado here is November in a nutshell.

• The Elections: This was a supercharged election year and there were lots of people who were passionate on both sides of the playing field, and even now still some that are upset/glorifying in the outcome of the race.  The incumbent was re-elected and we shall see how the next four years go in this great country of ours. Whether your side won or lost if you exercised your right to vote you made your voice heard. You may not always get your way, but as long as you do your part to make your opinions heard, our country will continue to be great. 

• Veteran's Day Weekend: Veteran's Day is a day that we say thank you for all the sacrifices that the men and woman in our United States Armed Forces have made for us to keep us free and safe. It's also a three day weekend (for a lot of people, not so much me) in which I house sat for my aunt; took a day trip to Camarillo for to go shopping with my sister, my father's girlfriend, and he came along as well; and my boyfriend came to visit. I found an awesome pair of sunglasses to replace all the scratched ones I have in my collection and the cutest jacket. I had some great laughs with my sister trying on silly hats and getting to spend time with family that I don't normally spend much time with.  Getting to see the boyfriend was a special treat, he wasn't planning on coming to town that weekend, but he was able to get things finished up at school earlier than planned and was able to share his long weekend with me.
• Baby Date: This month I got to visit my friends who had twins about a year and a half ago, I haven't seen them in awhile it was great fun to see how much the boys had grown since I saw them last (I think it was sometime in May or June). It is so neat to get to watch them grow into their personalities and become little boys instead of just babies.





Wine Tasting at Rancho Sisquoc



I made these Turkey Treats for the Big Day

• Thanksgiving: This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with good friends of our family and their family. We did the same last year, and I'm hoping this becomes our new tradition. We have such a great time together and there is very little drama that often surrounds big family events. My boy also came home for this long weekend. He celebrated the day itself with his family, but the Saturday after the holiday we went to a big breakfast at one of my favorite local restaurants (Kay's Country Kitchen in Old Orcutt, if you get a chance you should check it out), visited with his grandma a bit, then went wine tasting at Rancho Sisquoc and Kenneth Volk Vineyards. It was such a nice and relaxing day, something to be really thankful for.

• The Wizard of Oz: While this technically happened on Thanksgiving weekend too, I felt that it needed it's own bullet point. Every year since I was about 5 and was old enought to attend plays at PCPA my mom and I have gone to see their Christmas show. This year was no exception and we saw one of my favorites: The Wizard of Oz. The production was a lot different than in years past in that they used puppets for the munchins, flying monkeys, winkies, the great and powerful Oz, and Toto. It was really interesting to see what they could do with the dolls and how they could bring them to life. The actors who played Dorothy and Crew were phenomenal as usual. PCPA never fails to entertain. I'm so glad that I live in a place where I have amazing theatre in my own backyard.

 



 

Thanks for reading, and until we meet again, I hope you have a safe and wonder filled holiday season.

My October Wrap Up

Its that time again, I promised you all that I'd get this up sometime this weekend so here is the monthly wrap up for October.



Morro Rock, Morro Bay, CA

Woody Car Show @ Wavelengths Surf Shop

Harbor Festival: The first weekend in October I spent the day in Morro Bay with my mom at the annual Harbor Festival. There was a Woody Car Show, lots of booths displaying artwork, local breweries/wineries, and awesome people watching. The weather couldn't have been better, was warm breezy, and there were amazing views of Morro Rock. This was my first trip to the festival, even though I've lived on the Central Coast my whole life. I'd like to think that attending will become a new tradition.




Mai Tai at the Elephant Bar

Old Town Saloon

The Big Fresno Fair

Long Weekend in Fresno: The following weekend I took a day off work so that I could have a long weekend visiting my boyfriend in Fresno.  While he was in class on Friday I met up with my aunt who lives in the Valley for lunch at the Elephant Bar and a little shopping near the River Park area in town.  Friday night we attended the Big Fresno Fair and saw the band Chevelle in concert... well most of the concert anyway, we stayed for the songs we knew, then wandered through the fair exhibits for the rest of the evening. Saturday we had a little football party at his apartment to watch the Fresno State game, but if I'm going to be honest here, and why wouldn't I be, my allergies were so bad that day that I ended up going to bed at half time and didn't wake up until many hours later when the guys woke me up to go to dinner... oopsies. After dinner it was time to head to Clovis for dancing at the Old Town Saloon. It was an experience I won't soon forget. The dance floor was packed all night and the DJ was amazing, I don't think he played a bad song all night, and the boy was a dancing machine, I'm not sure he left the dance floor for more than a few minutes at a time all night... eventually it was closing time and we decided to take the party back to his place... and it lasted until after we went to sleep sometime around 5am.  Needless to say Sunday was a day for sleeping in and relaxing, and then I made my way back home that evening.

Girls' Nights: Our weekly girls' nights have continued throughout the fall and we've been watching The Walking Dead, we're all caught up to the current season that's airing on AMC right now, so instead of watching on the TV we all snuggle around the laptop and stream it from the internet. I have to say I'm really thankful that I've gotten to know these girls this year, we've had a lot of good times and I know that I've found some friends for life.

The Boy Comes to Town: The weekend after I went to Fresno to visit him, he came home to get some work done on his truck and to visit me. There weren't as many epic adventures this time around, but as long as we're spending time together that's what is really important.  Friday night we went to a local wine tasting room for a couple glasses with his mom and friends, Saturday night we went to dinner with my mom, then met some friends for drinks at a bar in the Village of Arroyo Grande, then capped off the night in the hot tubs at Sycamore Mineral Springs.  It was such a relaxing night that I almost fell asleep in the tub, and no I was drinking and passing out, I was just that relaxed and tired. Sunday was all about football and family day, we went to his dad's house for the morning games, then I left to go to my parents for laundry and Sunday dinner, then he came back to my house for one last visit before he had to go back to school in Fresno.

Carving Pumpkins

SoCal Halloween: This year the weekend before the holiday I deviated from my usual Halloween extravaganza in San Luis Obispo to go down to Southern California and try it out Hollywood style.  The original plan was to get all dolled up (pun intended, I was a ventrilaquest dummy) and go to Bootsy Bellows, David Arquette's nightclub in West Hollywood.  We had been in touch with the club for the past couple weeks trying to see how to get reservations and if we needed them.  According to whoever answered the phones and emails, they weren't necessary, all we had to do was show up and we'd be in.  That was the same story 90 minutes before we got to the club. Somehow in that hour and a half everything we had been told had been thrown out the window and they were now a "reservations only"venue. Odd. I even was holding a tweet from the man himself (who was out of town) saying that he hoped I had a great time and that he didn't want me to have any trouble at the door. After about 45 minutes of standing in line the doorman told us we were wasting our time because we weren't getting in and we should probably find something else to do. Awesome. Never fear though, I had also been in touch with my cousin who lives nearby most of the evening and he came up with an even better plan. We met up at his place for a glass of wine then he took us to a super cool spot called Harvard and Stone in Thai Town. The music was fantastic, it was all old tunes that everyone could sing along and dance the night away.  It was such a better experience than we would have had in the Hollywood club.  I won't be surprised if Bootsy doesn't last much longer to tell the truth, we got there shortly after they opened and there was a steady stream of disappointed faces coming out of the club all night. If you get a chance, blow off the Sunset scene and make your way to Harvard and Stone, the atmosphere is friendly and the music will keep you on your feet all night.


Halloween Day: Since Halloween was on a weekday this year I couldn't go far from home to do anything that night... however, it worked out because we planned our Girls' Night that week to dress in costume and hand out candy to trick or treaters. Worked out perfectly... now if only there were more kids to give out treats to... we saw a lot of teenagers that did the bare minimum for costumes "hi I'm a guido from the Jersey Shore" said the kid in basketball shorts and a t-shirt "Duh, I'm a witch" said the girl in jeans, a sweatshirt, and a pointy hat. So I was stingy with their treats... only fair right?

Random: This month (on the 26th) marked the 3 year anniversary of getting hired at my place of employment. I've had some good times and bad times, but for the most part I really like my job and who I work for.  It was such a welcome relief to work for people that I can actually respect and learn from.
Mid-month I had lunch with a couple of my girlfriends who I hadn't seen in months, we went to the Natural Cafe and caught up on each others lives. I think the main thing we got out of it was that we really need more than my 1 hour lunch break to hang out.  They're both excellent photographers and bakers and I think we can all learn a lot from each other, as well as have a lot of laughs.  Check out their work Forever Moore Photography and Behind.The.Foto
I think I may have made my last Walmart trip, at the very least the Walmart in Santa Maria. I had gone there to buy some windshield wipers for my car as the weather is starting to change a little (very little, it was in the mid 90s today on the Coast). Anyway the store was crowded and filthy... How filthy you might ask? Let me break it down for you... I slipped in a pile of puke and there was no one around to clean it up... and since the smell had dissipated before I stepped in it, chances are it had been there for awhile.  After I slipped I noticed that the funky smell that wafted throughout the ENTIRE store was indeed vomit. Coincidentally there was a display of Lysol disinfectant spray near check out so I sprayed down my shoes before I left.  I even had my prescriptions changed to the local Target so that there really isn't any reason for me to go back. I'd rather spend a little more money somewhere else and not have to worry about the plague.