Happy Independence Day!!

Enjoy a childhood favorite--Schoolhouse Rock!



Do you remember watching Schoolhouse Rock? Which were your favorites?

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Psst..Secret Confession Number Four

Just in case you're keeping track:
Secret Confession I
Secret Confession II
Secret Confession III

Now onto Secret Confession IV

I still use hair scrunchies. And I even, on occasion, wear them in public*.

Any shocking revelations you'd like to share? The comments are all yours.



*Please don't judge me.

What Songs Do You Turn Up?

There are certain songs you just have to play loud. Ones you wish you could turn all the way up to eleven. Here are a few of my favorite songs to jam - in no particular order.

Who Are You - The Who
Got My Mojo Working - Muddy Waters
Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
Thunderstruck - AC/DC
Love Struck Baby - Stevie Ray Vaughn
Master of Puppets - Metallica
Nessa Dorma - Luciano Pavarotti
Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
Been Caught Stealing - Jane's Addiction (Though, this is tied with Coming Down The Mountain)
When The Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin
Shadow of the Season - Screaming Trees
Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix
Higher Ground - RHCP cover


Honorable Mention
Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones
A Little Less Conversation - Elvis
Bad Girls - Donna Summer
Even Flow - Pearl Jam
Bitch Better Have My Money - Amg (I hang my head in shame, but I can't deny enjoying this song.)

There are a lot more on my list, but I figured I wouldn't share them all. Leave an air of mystery surrounding me. So, give. What songs make your arm have that involuntary reaction to turn up the volume as soon as you hear them? I promise not to tease you, even if it's Tunes by Englebert Humperdink to Hum in the Shower.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Going To Writer's Paradise

Remember that annoying commercial? No? Then by all means, let me inflict it upon you.



*subtext I hear

I'm really going to get you to hate me by the end of this post, I'm afeared. But I had to share. After all the craziness of the volunteerism gone mad from my life last month, I get to go indulge in my yearly writer's retreat. My local writer's group--whom I love like my youngest Urchin loved Alice Cooper when she was 4--goes away for three glorious days to a beautiful facility close to Pittsburgh. And all we do is write. And eat. And laugh. And then write some more. And it's BEAUTIFUL!!

No taxiing Urchins everywhere. No making meals. No doing laundry. No dealing with parental volunteers and evil principals and buying and creating supplies in the name of science education. No three year olds from my preschool yelling MORE JUICE!!. No glitter.**

**

 Just me and my WIP that I've completely ignored in order to bring outdoor science education to 320 school children in a fun learning environment.(If I say it like that, I'm a little less bitter about it taking over my life. A very little bit.)

Some of my older followers may remember that I got partial requests from Harlequin and Sourcebooks for this one. And you may remember that Sourcebooks sent me a revise and resend for the full. Well, I'm going to revise like sea monkeys vie for world domination. Ruthlessly. (except with much less slime.) I want to make huge progress to make up for all the time I lost in April. Needless to say, I'm pretty damn excited!

The month of May is also turning into author interview month here at Tongue In Cheek. Last week I had the fabulous Melissa Maygrove over for the Sea Monkey Author Interview. I will be having two other authors from my writers' group here--one a week--to answer questions and then traverse through the sea monkey SAT portion of the interview.

So what are you doing this month? How's your writing going? Any insane volunteering going on in your life at the moment? Have your children/nieces/nephews/neighbor children had unhealthy obsessions with 70s rock stars? I wanna know!!


*Hate me because I'm a self absorbed ninny who thinks no deeper than appearances.

AtoZ The 3 R's Writing, Rummaging and Ridiculousness

Helooooooo Atozers! So glad you've stopped by! I'm trying to keep up with answering comments and visiting anyone who stops in (as well as venturing out to others), but please know that this is an extremely hectic time of year for me, which is why I decided to participate for the first time by utilizing reruns. So If I don't get to you now, be assured I will get to you later to share the love and the good karma!

Today we have the three R's of Tongue In Cheek...

Writing Rummaging and Ridiculousness

So, okay, those are the 3 Rs here at Tongue In Cheek. They may not necessarily be your three.

Anywho, here we go.

Writing
Yeah, pretty much nonexistent right now. The oldest Urchin has started up again with what brought her down last fall. And of course, every crazy test the doctors could think of was done to her. So they're at a loss as to what else to try. They just say inane things like, "Stay the course" and "A thousand points of light" and get me so irritated that I switch around everything in their exam room while we're left alone waiting. Yeah, that's right, search for those tongue depressors. Search for them!

Ahem. Sorry.

I've also been sick for the past week, so my drive is not what it should be. Getting out of bed takes so much effort that opening and editing a wip is more than I can stand right now.

But, I'm leaving on Friday morning for the New Jersey Romance Writer's conference. If I ever look up the directions on how to get there, that is. I attended two years ago, and found it worthwhile. Even though the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night at the hotel. So hopefully going to the conference will get some of my writing mojo to return.

Rummaging
I am a rummage sale junkie. I love a good rummage sale like stink bugs love my underwear drawer.

Whilst arriving early to a particularly good one late in the summer, I eyed the crowd. They were a feisty looking bunch. Frazzled moms with fidgety children, little blue-haired old ladies with huge shopping bags made of recycled plastic (you know, the ones with the sharp, pointy corners), unkempt, overweight, sweat pant wearing men with stringy comb overs.

Yes they were a well seasoned, yet motley crew of hard core rummage maniacs. This is the kind of crowd where the little old ladies will run you over with their wire baskets-on-wheels as soon as look at you. The unkempt men will use every available body odor in their human stink arsenal to clear a section they want. And the mommies will sic their little mucus encrusted darlings on your ass before you can say viscous liquids.

Hard. Core.

All they needed were some eye patches, peg legs and a touch of scurvy, and they'd be the masters of the Seven Seas.

So as I walked down the sidewalk, eyeing the line of competition, and receiving the hairy eyeball in return, I busted out my best professional wrestling announcer voice and yelled, "Let's get ready to RUUUUUMMMAAAAAAAGGE!!!!"

Everyone gave me a lot of room after that, leaving me to browse sections at my leisure. (I owe all my psychological warfare tactics to the sea monkeys.)

Ridiculousness
No, that last section wasn't the ridiculousness. Sheesh. This will be some random ridiculousness.

I found a dead, dried out, cracking apart stink bug.
In my underwear drawer. EEEEEEEEWWWWW! All right, that was more like the "What's Grosser Than Gross" jokes that permeated the early eighties. (You all remember those, right? What's grosser than gross? Finding out your brother's scab collection is missing after eating a bowl of Cornflakes.)

My Reign as the county 'Possum Queen is soon coming to an end, and I'll need to attend the Moonshine and Fried Possum Carnival in the first weekend of November to hand over my crown of taxidermied 'possums with rhinestone accents to the next queen. Ahh, the memories I'll be taking with me after this year of excitement. If you haven't accompanied me on the journey and missed it, check out the 'Possum Queen category to the right and catch up on all the 'possumy goodness this year has wrought.

So I'm off to get my annual haircut today for the writer's conference. My hair is ridiculously long. It reaches my waist. Time to get a few inches off.

So tell me. How are your writing, rummaging and ridiculousness going?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, y'all! I love that they put these three together for this song. Classic!



Enjoy your day!

The New Computer Came!

I'm using it right now! All the keys on the keyboard have their letters on them. (Several of the keys on the seven year old laptop I'd been using were completely typed off.) It opens a w.i.p. on a dime and will give you nine cents change.

Best of all, no more swirling beach ball! I'm psyched.

It's almost completely set up with the documents and applications I use. I've imported my email settings, but lost my folders, so I need to go through and organize them a little better. But other than that I'm good to go.

So to celebrate, I'm calling an "All Skate". So grab your friends and lace your roller skates. And enjoy your choice of skate song.

Freeze Frame


or Double Dutch Bus


What good stuff's goin' on wit' y'all?

Be Still My Geeky Star Wars Heart!

Behold! A Death Star jack-o-lantern!

pic from fantasypumpkins.com

A Death Star jack-o-lantern! Nothing says Happy Halloween like this. Except maybe THIS!

pic from geek.com

My Urchins are deluded in thinking that I can pull off a carving like one of these. But it doesn't keep them from begging incessantly for it.

Happy Halloween, citizens!

Urchin Star Wars Viewing Update

When last we left the Urchins, they were still firmly entrenched in the enraptured bliss of watching the original Star Wars IV.  (Click to view crazy back story that will explain some of the jokes to follow.)

Last night, The Man went to his part time job (yes, he has a full time job too.) So I asked the girls what they'd like to do. A resounding vote for Star Wars from each of them still has my ears ringing today. I was totally down with that, since as has been established previously here at Tongue in Cheek, I'm a total geek girl and am raising two as well.

So last night we did it up right. Popcorn was popped. The Oldest Urchin brought down her build a bear that plays the Star Wars Theme when you press its foot. (Like mother like daughter- I still have the Star Wars soundtrack on vinyl.) And snoogled up on the couch for some classic Star Wars viewage.

The Oldest Urchin is now beginning to appreciate the humor of Han Solo. In her first viewings, she was righteously indignant on Luke and Leia's behalf at any remarks he made towards them.

The Youngest Urchin, who's now six, is no longer asking what Chewbacca and R2D2 are saying. No. now she's telling me what she thinks they're saying.  Throughout the entire movie.  Yet one thing hasn't changed. When I tell her she's incorrect and what R2D2's really saying is,"Tell the Youngest Urchin to stop talking during my movie." She still makes some very Chewbacca-like noises at me.

So what's your favorite part of Star Wars? Which is your favorite character? And twenty thousand imaginary bonus points to you if you have the Star Wars soundtrack on record or 8 track. You may redeem them in my imaginary shop, Pitchforks 'n Things a.k.a. The Angry Villager.

I'm Still Tired

But not of this. This never gets old.



Madeline Kahn was such a fantastic comedienne. And Mel Brooks knew just how to work with her.

My favorite part of this song is at about 2:20 where she sings just slightly off key to fill in. What's your favorite?

I'm Going Against The Mainstream, Here

But what else is new?

Do you all remember the show Mad About You with Paul and Jamie Buckman?

Here's a quick refresher for you.



I enjoyed this show. There was one episode in particular that I've been thinking about lately.  They were both having terrible days and  kept trying to get to "The Feel Good Movie of the Year" and were thwarted at every turn until and act of kindness by the film projectionist at the very end of the show saved the day.

Right now, I really want there to be a Feel Good Movie of the Year. Everything that has come out recently seems to be either post apocalyptic or base humor that flaunts bodily functions and/or tears others down.



Are there any feel good movies out now? One that is light and funny and even, dare I say it, a little uplifting?

Help a gnome out. What do you recommend for lighter fare in the movie realm?

This Couple ROCKS!!

These guys are frickin' awesome!



I love this clip!

I Detest Springing Forward

Especially when I've been up every night with puking children and need all the extra hours of sleep I can get!

Girls Night In at Chez Quinn

The Man, God love him, works full time teaching and part time on the camera crew for the local AHL (hockey) team.Which means he works for them on weekends.

Which means the Urchins and I get to do special Mommy girly things. Now if you've been around here for a while, you know several things. A) I'm not right in the head. 2) I'm not very girly (I get a haircut once a year and ride a motorcycle for crying out loud.) III) I work hard to not be my demographic. I run around yelling SKEW! SKEW! wherever I go. It's my goal in life to be that one outlying statistic that throws off everyone's data.

So it will come as no surprise that Girls Night In was quite different than what poor unsuspecting people who stumble upon this blog might think. But as we all know, Tongue in Cheek is not for the faint of heart or the uninitiated.

To the question, "What do you want to do for girls night in?" I receive the instantaneous and deafening duet of "STAR WARS!!!!!!!!!!" (yes, it needs that many exclamation marks to really get across the decibel level that was reached.)

And so it was that after an all-Urchin request dinner of peanut butter sandwiches on potato rolls and new England clam chowder. Washed down with peanut brittle and fruit leather. (I abstained from the fruit leather.) We snoogled up on the couch under copious blankets with each other and our stuffed animal of choice and watched the original Star Wars.

The oldest Urchin, who is eight, watches in enraptured and reverent silence for the duration. With only a few words of praise for the cleverness of Princess Leia and the dreaminess of Luke Skywalker.

The youngest Urchin, however, cannot last more than a minute without asking something. It's mainly, "What did R2D2 just say?" Or the closely related, "What did Chewbacca just say?" To which after 100 askings I replied, "He said, 'tell the Youngest Urchin to be quiet.'" Which elicits some very Chewbacca like noises and a brandished fist from the five year old.

But a good time was had by all. And the next morning, I initiated them into the wonderful world of Mark Hamill on The Muppet Show.



I thought the oldest Urchin was going to keel over from laughing so hard. A girl after my own heart.

I have to admit, I am of an age where I saw the original Star Wars and this episode of the Muppet Show when they came out. And they made a big impression on me. But now, hands down, my favorite viewings of these were this past weekend.

So what are your fondest Star Wars memories?

Merry Christmas!

I really wanted to be posting the 2012 TiC year in review, because I can't get rid of this crappy year fast enough, but I realize it's still a bit early for that.

So in honor of the holiday, I offer you this. (Just ignore the commercial at the end.)



And if your tendencies lean even further into the ridiculous-like mine- you'll appreciate this one.



Have a peaceful and joyous holiday!

Whatever Happened To Menudo?

I spent some time the other week with my young teenage nieces and got a full-on education about the newest boy band, One Direction. (As did my five and eight year old. I could have done without that.)

To really show my age, my first boy bands were The Monkees (Peter was my favorite. The bff's was Mike. Whenever she'd watch the show, she'd do so with a knit winter hat on her head. Which explains a bit why she's the bff.), Menudo and a little later New Edition.

Don't remember Menudo? I don't know how you could ever forget them. (I suggest you not watch the entire clip. They have the same effect as polka, and I'd hate to have to stage another intervention.)

Note Ricky Martin in the pretty turquoise outfit on the end.

So who were your favorite boy bands? Or the ones you most enjoyed making fun of.

I've Done Been Tagged

Susan Gourley, awesome fantasy author and all around wonderful person, tagged me over at her blog, Susan Says. I'm still lamenting the fact that I missed her book signing at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore yesterday. Not only didn't I get to catch up with Sue, but The Midtown is probably the best independent book seller in the area. So that's a double whammy of goodness that I missed out on. In my defense, I have had no voice and a wicked cough for three days now, so I haven't gone much of anywhere- not even out into the blogosphere.

Sue was tagged last week and answered a different set of questions. Be sure to head over to her blog to check out the answers she gave.

Anywho, here are the questions that Sue tagged me with. And my understanding is that I must answer truthfully. Hmmmm.

1. Are you a Kindle, Nook, Ipad or other? Or none?

Other - I read ebooks, of which I own more of than traditional books, on my laptop.

2. Who is smarter, you or your phone?
Me. Definitely, since my phone only makes calls. I am an openly admitted Techno Freak

3. Do you like two story or one story homes?
I grew up in a three story home, I currently live in a two story home, and as I age I'm definitely seeing the benefits of a one story. So, I guess my preference depends on the day.

4. Country born and bred or city slicker?
I'm originally a city slicker who has come under the influence of country, however unwillingly.

5. Cereal, toast, eggs or just coffee for breakfast?
Cereal. I have eaten Cheerios for breakfast almost every day of my entire life. Yes, I can be that boring.

6. What new show on TV has caught your interest this year?
Burn Notice. Absolute GOLD! I mean, Bruce Campbell? Come on! And Gabrielle Anwar as a former IRA who deals arms internationally? And Jeffrey Donovan is something very nice to look at, dontyouthink? Great stories, good acting, and tons o' fun. Plus. BRUCE CAMPBELL!




7. Have you ever bought a celebrity book? About whom?

Okay. Fine. It was the eighties, and I was truly going to marry him. It was fated. Tiger Beat Magazine's celebrity compatibility quiz foretold that he was my optimal celebrity match. And a little piece of me will always belong to him. *sigh* John Schneider.



8. What is your favorite guilty snack?
Do I have to pick just one? I guess it would be rippled pototato chips and good dip.

9. What was your favorite cartoon character growing up?
Again, just one? I did an entire post dedicated to my favorites.

10. Do you pack your lunch or carry it?
I eat at home. Peanut butter and jelly, just about every day. Again, sad answers when it comes to the food.

11. What book have you read over and over again?
Mostly children's books to the Urchins. I have many a Sandra Boynton memorized as well as My Good Night Book, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. (I've always loved her illustrations)

So there you go! I now will tag two more unsuspecting bystanders who must answer these three questions! WHAT is your name? WHAT is your quest? WHAT is your favorite . . . Oops, wait, I strayed off into Monty Python and the Holy Grail again. I hate when that happens. Here are the real questions.

1. When is your favorite time to write?

2. What would you like to change about the place where you write?

3. Who is your favorite villain?

4. Which do you prefer, Mel Brooks movies or Monty Python's?

5. Who is your favorite character from The Princess Bride?

6. If you could meet anyone living today, who would it be?

7. What is your favorite dish that your mom used to make for you?

8. What song are you really into right now?

9. If you had a kickass Halloween costume party to go to, and you had unlimited resources to prepare, what would you go as?

10. Who from your past would you FB stalk, but never want to see in real life?

So there they are. I personally, think #4 is the hardest of them all. So go on over to

Misty Simon's blog

and

M. J. Fifield's blog

to see how they answered. Because TAG they're it!

The Wollman Test of Reality

About three years ago I posted a rant. (Don't be so shocked. I can rant if I want to!) In that rant, I referenced an article I'd read in Reader's Digest many years ago. I think I was around fourteen years of age when I read it, and it made a lasting impact on me.

I got some of the details a little mixed up, but the message was clear. In life, is this a problem or an inconvenience?

Well, a wonderful woman left a comment saying she was looking for the same article and if she ever found it, she'd let me know. I had looked for a while, but came up empty. Well, Maureen contacted me today saying she found the original article. And here it is, very appropriately on Thanksgiving, in all it's glory.

The Wollman Test of Reality

Go and read it. You won't be sorry.

Bizarre Conversation In The Back Seat

Oldest Urchin: Look, Mommy, there's a Mini Cooper. That's your favorite car!

Youngest Urchin: Speaking of Cooper, did you know I like to dress up like Alice Cooper?

I'm not making this up. I mean, really, how could I?

image from networkawesome.com

Was I The Only Person

Who watched this show? I'm pretty sure it came on after Land of the Lost in my area.




Even creepier than Mr. Pufnstuf. Amirite?