Treasures From the World of Secondhand Stuff

I make it a habit to shop for used stuff as much as I can. Not only does it make me feel like a good person when I save stuff from a landfill, it also works out nicely because I am poor. Well the last two places I went yielded absolute gold! First I went to Stuff, Etc. and found this on the DVD shelves:

Oh heck yes!!! I ADORE the Lizzie McGuire show. I can’t wait to bust this out on a Saturday and have a marathon! Also, I only paid $3.71 for it!

Then yesterday I went to the library book sale while I was home visiting my parents. It was pretty convenient because they live across the street from the library. I wasn’t expecting much because I had been to one of their other sales and was not all that impressed. I literally squealed out loud and embarrassed my sister when I saw this hiding among the videos.

OMG!!! My personal quest in life is to accumulate all of the original Baby-Sitters Club videos. I used to watch them all the time when I was little, but only the ones that my hometown library had….and I don’t think I have ever seen “Jessi and the Mystery of the Stolen Secrets!” I have no doubt that this will change my life…I haven’t watched it yet because my parents don’t have a VCR.

But that is not the end of the story…..a little ways down on the table I found this:

Now my collection includes all of these titles–

Jessi and the Mystery of the Stolen Secrets
Stacey Takes a Stand
Dawn and the Haunted House
Mary Anne and the Brunettes
Dawn and the Dream Boy
Claudia and the Missing Jewels
The Baby-Sitters Special Christmas

So, who’s up for a marathon. Now, just because I can, here are the opening credits from one of the shows to bring back fond memories for all of you (and get that song stuck in your head).

Jen

I Heard the Word “Blustery” 10 Times Today

I don’t know about everyone else, but the past two days have been really terrible weather-wise in my neck of the woods. It has been cold and windy and miserable. Every other person who came into the library described it as “blustery.” What a funny word….I think it has been years since I have heard someone actually use that word. Whenever I hear it, my mind automatically jumps to Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.

If you would like to know what my afternoon was like, trying to run my errands, just picture me as Piglet in this next video.

Aaaaaahhhhh, Piglet……so adorable! Totally made my exhausting day so much better!

Jen

Embracing unique awesomeness

Inspired by Amber’s post, I am embracing my own lack of coolness and turning it into unique awesomeness.  I am also the type of person who hides out in corners and smiles silently (except when hanging out with awesome nerdgirls – thank goodness for them!)  Here’s tonight’s evidence of why I’m a nerd and don’t fit in the cool kids (and am ok with that).

Tonight I’ve discovered more of Michael Buble’s music, which I enjoy – possibly because sometimes I’m a 45-year-old woman (other times I’m 12 or 83, but that’s another story).  The one I’m currently in love with is called “At This Moment” and it’s a cover of an ’80’s song.  The song reminds me of my childhood, and I think it’s because I associate it with Time Life Music infomercials – WHICH I LOVE!

Seriously, Time Life Music infomercials are awesome.  My parents don’t have cable, so those infomercials are what came on late at night.  I have definitely sat and watched an entire half an hour episode(?) before.  I have a vivid memory of one night in high school(?) working on homework one late night in the living room while my dad “rested his eyes.”  The tv was on and I couldn’t turn it because of course that would wake him up so I left it and a ’60s one came on.  Fabulous.  I love the old music video or singer/band clips, the songs flashing on the screen, the testimonies from customers who are so happy that they have all their favorite old music in one great collection, and the “famous” musician hosts.   I love finding out who the singers are if I don’t know (that’s gotta come up on Jeopardy sometime, right?) and counting how many songs I know.  I’ll pretty much watch any of them, but the best ones are probably any related to the ’50s and ’60s.  I wonder if they have a ’90s one yet…

Am I alone in this unique awesomeness?  Either way, that’s what I’m calling it.  🙂

– Jill

Are you this awesome? Because I am not. But I am awesome enough to appreciate this awesomeness.

That is my new daily affirmation.

So sometimes I feel bad for my husband (yeah, I said HUSBAND–I am totally married now. maybe I’ll post about it later…) because his friends’ girlfriends are SO MUCH COOLER than me. Like really. I totally feel like I come off as Fregley when I’m around them (I have to remind myself “please don’t show the freckle please don’t show the freckle”).

How I appear when I'm around cool people.

Trust me. I know. I have hung out with these cool people and I usually sit in the corner and smile silently and hope that they won’t even remember that I was there and that I blurted out something random about my wand while they were discussing their latest poetry project or something (hmm when they read this, they will probably be like “what poetry project?! but that is how I choose to remember it. sidenote: I took a poetry class once–I wrote a poem about Buffalo Bill’s brother being buried in the Long Grove cemetery. big surprise.)

ANYWAYS the whole point of this post was to show you the proof of their awesomeness– –awesomeness that I appreciate, mind you– –as in I saw this video on facebook made by one of Steve’s best friend’s girlfriend’s best friends for Steve’s best friend’s girlfriend and clicked the “LIKE” button:

AHHH I know. totally adorable and brilliant and… like really high quality, right?!

Not to say that the video of me filming Lindsay doing the States of Matter Dance wasn’t high quality, but it is obvious that it wasn’t. (Still being used in middle school science classes around the country BOOYAH **high five with Lindsay** ELBOWS )

Wanna know what I’m thinking right now? I’m thinking that the sounds in the car commercial playing on the TV in the other room sound like the beginning of Britney Spears’ song Stronger. LOVE that song.

Amber