FLASH BACK august 16, 1977

"there will be peace in the valley..."
35 years ago, today, the world lost the king of rock 'n roll. i was 11 when elvis died. i'm not gonna lie. i have no idea where i was, or what i was doing, when i heard the news. and it would be years before i would realize how much  i love his music (mostly because i love vince vaughn, but that's a whole other story). 
hail to the king baby!!

not so MANIC MONDAY

repeat :)
"a little less conversation a little more action baby..."
FLASHBACK july 2009
one of the first things i notice about jamie, he has an amazing tattoo of elvis on his right ankle. yep. he's an elvis fan. i am a closet elvis fan. i watch his movies when no one is looking. i have a cd with all of his greats. i only listen to it when no one is in the car with me.
FLASH FORWARD today
i am no longer a closet fan. i love elvis. i sing along with jamie every time he comes on the radio (which can happen a lot with sirius xm). not too long ago we watched "clambake"...an elvis great as long as he wasn't singing about "goop". okay. i admit it. sometimes his movies made him look like a dork. but we all know he was the coolest person in the history of ever. even my beloved beatles thought so.
saturday marked the beginning of elvis week. so from today thru the 17th, take some time to unleash your inner hound dog. HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!

                   

WHAT UP THIS WEDNESDAY?

so...it's been a pretty busy week at work...we had a huge sale that seemed to last forever. and i worked ALL day EVERY day of it. i mean AAAALLLL day. EV. ER. YDAY. and working with the public, and grumpy co~workers, takes a lot out of a girl. i've been too tired to think, let alone write a blog. and i'm still tired. so today, you get a quick history lesson and a video. i hope you enjoy them!!??!!

FLASHBACK september 13, 1959

elvis meets and falls in love with priscilla, in germany, while in the army. she was 14....CREEPY!! 

FLASH FORWARD may 1, 1967

elvis and priscilla marry.

FLASH FORWARD february 1, 1968

priscilla gives birth to their only child, lisa marie.

FLASH FORWARD 1973

priscilla begins an affair with her karate instructor and she and elvis divorce. elvis is heartbroken.

elvis never ever wrote a song but, they say, he sang "always on my mind" about priscilla.

FLASHBACK january 8, 1935

 "it's down at the end of lonely street at heartbreak hotel"

elvis aaron presley is born. in tupelo, mississippi. to vernon and gladys. his identical twin brother, jesse, was delivered 35 minutes before...stillborn...he was considered "average" while growing up in tupelo. he received his first guitar at 10 years old. in august of 1953, he walked into sun records to pay for studio time. sam phillips liked what he heard. after that meeting, elvis would release18 number one hits (the first being "heartbreak hotel")...would be declared "unfit for family viewing" by the ed sullivan show...would star in 31 movies...would serve his country for 2 years...would influence other artists, such as the beatles...would marry and divorce only once...and would produce one child. elvis passed on august 16, 1977 at 42 years old...in a statement, president jimmy carter credited elvis with "permanently changing the face of american pop culture"...since his death he has been inducted into FOUR music hall of fames (rock and roll hall of fame, country music hall of fame, gospel music hall of fame, and rockabilly hall of fame)...graceland was opened to the public and welcomes over 600,000 people a year...had countless reissues and remixes top the charts...
HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!

                

NO FLASHBACK just a great cold weather recipe

"beans beans...the musical fruit...the more you eat the more you..."
i look at all the amazing things that happen(ed) today...elvis week begins (in honor of the king's upcoming birthday on january 8), but i've already told you what big fans the bk and i are...it's national bird day, and we all know the importance of birds, but i just talked about the christmas bird count...marilyn manson turns 43 today but, somehow, i feel like i'm the only person that isn't scared by that...the sex pistols performed in the states for the first time, ditto what i said about marilyn manson...and, in 1956, snoopy walked on 2 legs for the first time (what?)...but, why would we want to celebrate ALL these things when we could celebrate one of the oldest forms of protein known to man. the bean. 
BONUS!!! it's such an easy, AND inexpensive, day to celebrate. how DO you celebrate national bean day, pray tell? you simply eat a bean dish! lima beans. baked beans. bean dips. fava beans. refried beans. kidney beans. green beans. garbanzo beans. navy beans. pinto beans. three bean salads. bean soups. green bean casserole. seriously? do i need to go on...and on...and on...and on? here are a couple recipes to get you started:

WHITE BEAN CHILI

ingredients:
2~15 oz cans great northern beans, drained 
4 c chicken broth
1 tbs olive oil
3 lb chicken breast (bone in)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion chopped
2~4oz cans roasted green chiles, drained
1 c water
1tbs ground cumin

warm oil in skillet...season chicken with salt and pepper...place chicken, skin side down, in skillet and brown (4 minutes on one side, 2 minutes on other)...transfer chicken to plate and remove skin...in remaining chicken fat, cook onions and garlic until softened. in slow~cooker, combine beans, broth, garlic/onion mixture, chiles, water, and cumin...add chicken. cook on low about 4 hours. remove chicken, shred and add shredded chicken back to slow~cooker. serve.

BLACK BEAN AND CORN SALSA

ingredients:
1/4 c. sour cream
1~15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1~15 1/4 oz whole kernel corn, drained
1 packet hidden valley fiesta ranch dip mix
2 c. fresh diced tomato (3 med)

prepare dip mix according to package directions. combine with sour cream, black beans, corn, and tomato. refrigerate 1 hour. serve with tortilla chips.

DOUBLE BONUS!! eating beans may reduce your risk of certain cancers...AND they are good for your heart...
and, if you have a certain little tune playing in your head and are concerned about that last line(?)...no worries...tomorrow is national pass gas day!
HAPPY EATING!!

                                            

^happy birthday elvis^

^happy birthday marilyn manson?^

^dance snoopy dance!^

FLASHBACK 8 dec 2012

 i wake up and post a blog. i realize what day this is in history...a glimpse around our apartment will tell you this is a true statement...yet i post about the history of christmas trees. i get a text almost as soon as i post. "i'm surprised your blog isn't about john lennon today". i thought about it but it's also jim morrison's birthday so i was torn. "yeah, i get it". bridgette KNOWS me...she may not always UNDERSTAND me, but she knows me. so, then, it bugged me all. day. long. so i came up with a solution. two...two...two blogs in one. and a day late...so neither of them can haunt me over picking one over the other...
FLASHBACK 9 oct 1940
"you may say i'm a dreamer..."
john winston lennon is born. in liverpool, in wartime england. to julia and alfred. though he lives with his aunt and uncle, julia visits often. she introduces him to elvis records and teaches him the banjo. first song he learned to play? "ain't that a shame" by fats domino.
FLASH FORWARD 8 dec 1943
"no one remembers your name...when your strange"
james douglas morrison is born. in melbourne, florida. to clara and (future rear admiral general) george. when jim is 4, he witnesses a car accident in which a family of native americans dies. he considers this the most formative event in his life and will mention it in spoken word (dawn's highway) and song (peace frog and ghost song). as a navy brat, he will spend his childhood moving from base to base. he loves to read and is greatly influenced by philosophers and poets.
FLASH FORWARD february 1964
beatlemania strikes the united states. formed in 1960 by john lennon and paul mccartney, the beatles also include george harrison and ringo starr. they will become the most successful and critically acclaimed act in the history of popular music, releasing 12 albums and producing 20 #1 hits in the united states. all of the members will have successful solo careers.
FLASH FORWARD the summer of 1965
jim morrison forms the doors after graduating ucla with a degree in film. in june of 1966, the doors are the opening act at whiskey a go~go...opening for van morrison's them. van morrison will be an influence on jim's stage performance. the doors receive national recognition in 1967, when they sign with elektra records. and the single "light my fire" (ps...my least favorite doors song) spends 3 weeks at #1 on billboard's hot 100. 
FLASH FORWARD 3 jul 1970
jim morrison joins the 27 club. he is found dead in his paris apartment bathtub. with no evidence of foul play, no autopsy is performed. he is buried in pere lachaise cemetery in paris and his grave is one of the cities biggest tourist attractions.
FLASH FORWARD 8 dec 1980
returning to his new york city apartment at 10:50p, john lennon is shot in the back, four times, by mark david chapman. he is pronounced dead upon arrival at roosevelt hospital. 11:07p. his ashes are spread in central park, where the strawberry fields memorial is later created.
FLASH FORWARD december 2007
the boys are playing with a ouija board. they swear they have talked to frank zappa. now they try to talk to jim morrison. the spirit keeps asking to speak to "sofa mama". who the heck is "sofa mama"? duh doy!! i'm a mama! AND i'm sitting on a sofa. he wants to speak to me. so i do. andrew and i sit on either side of my coffee table. the only lights are from the glow of the christmas tree. we stare into each other's eyes and ask the lizard king questions about rock 'n' roll heaven. cody stands above and tries to follow the planchette, repeating back the letters it points to. we get really strange and poetic answers. also, the lizard king hits on me. and, seriously. i. did not. just make that up. 

                                        

                                        

FLASHBACK august 11, 2012

  "and who woulda thought, it figures"
i know, i know. that was only 4 days ago. but...still a flashback. every night i go upstairs and wash my face before bed. maybe i do it a couple hours before. maybe just a couple minutes. every night i reach under the sink and grab an up&up clean cloth (target version of olay...works just as well and less than half the price) to remove my makeup. every night. this night is no different. pull the hair back. grab my clean cloth. take a swipe across my cheek. this feels weird. this smells weird. O...M...G!! THIS IS NOT MAKEUP REMOVER!!! i just wiped my face with a disinfecting cloth i use to clean my counter and toilet! epic. fail.
FLASH FORWARD today

today is national failures day. today is a day to embrace all your epic failures. everybody has a moment of failure, even some of the most successful people: babe ruth struck out 1330 times.  michael jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.  jerry seinfeld froze and was booed offstage the first time he performed. marilyn monroe was told she wasn't pretty enough to be an actress/model and should become a secretary. elvis was fired from the grand ole' opry (after one performance) and told he was going nowhere. and cardinal attempted to wash her face with a disinfecting wipe.

  

     

FLASHBACK july 2009

"a little less conversation a little more action baby..."
one of the first things i noticed about jamie, he has an amazing tattoo of elvis on his right ankle. yep. he's an elvis fan. i was a closet elvis fan. i would watch his movies when no one was looking. i had (have) a cd with all of his greats. i only listened to it when no one was in the car with me.
FLASH FORWARD today
i am no longer a closet fan. i love elvis. i sing along with jamie every time he comes on the radio (which can happen a lot with sirius xm). last saturday night we watched "clambake"...an elvis great as long as he wasn't singing about "goop". okay. i admit it. sometimes his movies made him look like a dork. but we all know he was the coolest person in the history of ever. even my beloved beatles thought so.
yesterday was the beginning of elvis week. so from today thru the 18th of august, take some time to unleash your inner hound dog. HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!