this one's for you, blake

Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls"

Dear Blake,

For whatever reason (and I'm sure you can gather some reason), you came to mind while posting today's song of the day. Also, we miss you, and Emory wanted me to tell you thanks for following up and he'll be checking in again. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Love,

your sister, Meghan

ps you all can find this guy at http://binkmi.tumblr.com/

for someone who can't stand hearing christmas music after christmas

it's kind of ironic that he woke up with this in his head this morning.



Yep, John Williams' theme music to Home Alone.

Enjoy! (I know you all will).

this song of the day dedicated to Jessalin...

(author: Jon)

When we were kids, there were certain songs we'd always play on the CD player and dance/lip-sync to. Today's song of the day was my sister Jessalin's top choice for such endeavors. I'll bet she still dances and lip-syncs to this song...




That is right, this morning I woke up singing Edie Brickell's "What I Am."

The lovely Jessalin Beutler can be found at www.jessalinbeutler.com

somewhere from the depths of the nineties...

Somewhere in Jon's brain was this classic number from the 1990s-- quite fitting for a PNW boy.



Pearl Jam, "Black" (unplugged)

back to 2003

OutKast, "Hey Ya!" (starts at 40 seconds)

ps Veronica, 2003 was a good music year.

2-for-1 special

R.E.M., "What's the Frequency Kenneth"

and

Sade, "Smooth Operator"
Yes, you read that correctly.

Jon's internal jukebox has been on fire this week. 80s music videos trump all.

What you didn't expect was a 3-for-1 special, complete with a walking Emory and his adorable rear end in his new slim-leg Levis. (And Ferrari t-shirt, for that matter). The truth is, right after the little man started walking for real, he sprained his knee pretty badly and has just started walking again in the past couple weeks. He's so cautious, it's cute.

Yep, that's my kid and I adore him.

add this to your itunes

The Bangles, "Eternal Flame"

I don't think much needs to be said about this song except that it's been in our itunes for a long, long time.

this is what i meant

Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop"

My plan worked like a charm, and this morning, Jon woke up with a 70s classic in his head. Though neither one of us is crazy about the song, at least it has a great message. So I guess I should have taken Christine McVie's advice when I was left with mainstream pop... because it worked out this time. Now, on to tomorrow...

ps I think my sisters have seen Fleetwood Mac in concert multiple times.

jason derulo, "in my head"

So, we've discovered something. Jon's amazing and unique talent of coming up with obscure songs is thwarted by his stress to now actually have a tangible song every day for a blog post. And let's face it, I'm getting a little sick of hearing what we all hear on just about any non-country, non-oldies radio station. Aren't you? With that in mind, I'm just going to tell him that the song of the day game is over and see what he comes up with for tomorrow. Here's to something real good.

ps Jon's birthday gift in the form of a 15-inch macbook pro arrived today. He's a happy man. Also, his auto photography book of all the cars he sold last year arrived. Celebrations continue!

pps we went on a hot date tonight to our favorite restaurant up north of Seattle, Mambo Italiano Cafe in Fairhaven. We usually get the smoked salmon penne and split the order, but tonight we ventured out of the norm since we recreate that dish in our kitchen. So we split the mambo kitchen sink pizza. It. Was. Delicious. Seriously, the best pizza we've ever had, with the most incredible crust texture imaginable. Yeah, that's what's in my head right now.

ppps I'm not gonna lie and say this little stinker wasn't in my head a little tonight when I didn't get to be the one to sing him to sleep, though we are so grateful for such available and willing babysitters (aka grandparents).

photo by Brent Rowland, December 2010

we're back with a bang

Or a bat, with John Fogerty's "Put me in Coach."

This is exactly the kind of gem I was talking about when I mentioned the 57% of songs I've never heard. Thank you, Jon for making our day better with a little baseball treat.

that's a little better

And, I don't have to disown my husband. Good thing, because I do love him. Today's song of the day: "Little of Your Time" by Maroon 5. Though I'll try to get him to draw from the song bank with tamer lyrics for tomorrow.

Something that's taking our time lately: Grand Prix Motors, LLC.

as california as i get

The title isn't true actually, because I really like California. The two times I visited the state in recent years have been with Jon, and I've loved it more each time we've been. Our first trip there was filled with the spontaneity of being newly married. Jon picked me up after work and told me we were headed on a date. I figured out after a little while that the destination was Las Vegas, and when I suggested a couple days later that we go visit his grandfather in Newport Beach, plans further evolved. Then, when I graduated from BYU, Jon suggested we take a trip down the Pacific coast to celebrate. So that summer, with Paisley still a kitten traveling the roads with us, we spent a week after we visited family in Washington driving and visiting friends and family in Oregon and California. One of our main destinations was San Francisco, while staying with Jon's aunt and uncle in Napa. We took the ferry over to the city from Vallejo, and spent a day in what became one of our favorite cities.

After spending not even two hours on Highway 1 after the 101 gets a little boring, we bagged it and headed back to I-5. The road proved so windy it made Jon, who was driving, sick. And with me as the pregnant passenger, you can only imagine the results of a windy road.

The next photos are some classic scenes from our day trip to San Fransisco, June 2009. I never expected it to be so cold, so when you see my pregnant belly, silly beneath the clumsy zipper of my non-maternity jacket, that explains it all.





We took the next series of photos on our "boat tour" of the bay. We obliged the fisherman advertising his boat for cheap tours, and all was fun and games at first, as we putted out towards Alcatraz and over to the sea lions. Then a cigarette boat flew past us, creating such a huge wake which caught our captain off guard, that our boat literally almost tipped. We honestly still can't believe that we didn't end up in the drink, our precious camera included.





As the ferry pulled away, we definitely felt sad, but also felt like we could live there. I think it really reminded us of Seattle. And we've wanted to go back ever since.

ps today's song of the day is Katy Perry's "California Girls." I told Jon that if Katy Perry comes up on the jukebox tomorrow morning, I'm going to have to disown him.

today

Jon woke up with a song in his head, alright. Unfortunately, I just won't condone the music or video here. You know, Katy Perry's, "Teenage Dream." It's really too bad that it's so dang catchy and plays on the radio as often as it does because it's also so not appropriate.

Anyway, in other news, the Verizon iPhone is finally here, and we couldn't be more excited about it! February 10, folks. Good things come to those who wait. Like us, because we've waited three years for this moment. Emory is of course, also thrilled, and had to check it out for himself after he got up this morning.

ps this kid is obsessed with computers, unhealthily so, and I don't know how to stop it since we use them so much. also, he looks like such a big boy sitting in front of it, typing on the unplugged keyboard.

what's a birthday without a cake

A dark chocolate cake with layers of dark chocolate and chocolate cream, topped with chocolate cream and roasted hazelnuts.

Only the best for my love's 27th birthday.

We celebrated Saturday, just the two of us, by shopping several thrift stores between Camano Island and north onto Whidbey Island, including our favorite store we found the day after we were married. Then yesterday we celebrated with family and a delicious dinner of seafood chowder and sourdough, thanks to my mom, the outstanding chef. I'm so glad Jon was born because I really love him, and that he's my age again.

And this morning, we were unfortunately still in a food coma when Jon mentioned his song of the day because now neither one of us remember it. (For the record, I don't even remember being told at all, but I'm told I said, "niiiice," when I heard the title). Apparently, it was an obscure song because Jon hasn't found it on repeat all day. Song of the day today = fail. Check back tomorrow.

today was maybe a repeat of yesterday

but then Jon's amazing internal jukebox hit next track and this is what he came up with:
Amazing Grace – Joshua James Song Lyrics

ps I know Joshua James; he dated my roommate when I was a sophomore in college. We spent many a night playing and laughing together. Also, I may or may not have his CD entitled Tree-side Memories, which he made before he got famous and became part of my itunes purchases.
pps I love Joshua's version of "Amazing Grace".

i really like this video

"Animal" by Neon Trees

funny story:

So this past summer, Amber came to stay with us for about a month. We had a blast having her with us, really, most especially Emory. And perhaps one of the best parts for us about having a teenager around was breaking out of our stiff adulthood shells to appreciate some lighthearted fun. So, she finally convinced us to watch the Twilight movies (mostly because the first one was on tv and she hadn't seen the second one yet either), but not without warning that they're bad. And cheesy. And so on. So watched we did, after years of wondering why on earth there would be so much hype about vampire flicks/ books. Duh, they aren't about vampires. They're about teen romance. I hadn't a clue. After watching the movies, Amber insisted the the books are better and loaned me her copies to read. So read I did. And I won't lie, I enjoyed the stories, literary genius aside. I guess I can appreciate the classics and thought provoking literature, but I can also appreciate a good storyteller within the contemporary world of pop culture. Anyway, Jon teased (still does) me mercilessly about actually enjoying the books. Though he'll admit to enjoying the movies, particularly Eclipse, which thank goodness has much better graphics, though still only one decent actor.

But about the song, when I first started hearing it all the time (another bonus to having a teenager around is becoming introduced to new music--I know this doesn't seem like it should be hard to do on one's own, but I never listened to the radio), I sang along with what Jon insisted were the wrong lyrics to the chorus, "Oh, oh/I want some more/Oh, oh/What are you waitin' for?/Take a bite of my heart tonight." He told me that it wasn't about vampires and that I was just too caught up in the SAGA. Then while Kendal accompanied me during Christmas shopping, the song came on in the car, and I told her about my lyric suspicions. So she looked it up and sure enough, I was right. I called Jon immediately and told him, victoriously. And now we laugh about it every time we hear the song.

the above photos were taken on our family camping trip to La Push last August.
to prove that the Twilight tour was not the reason for our trip, I'll include a shot of Jon and me on the beach in La Push from August 2005, long before pop culture ever made that part of the world famous.
it's an outstanding camping spot that's now overrun by touring Twilight fans from all over the world.

ps don't we look young in that last photo?

pps I'm totally team Jacob.

because who doesn't need a little tina turner?

"What's Love Got to Do with It"

ps I've always hated Tina Turner

"the little things"

by Colbie Caillat
watch the video here, if you wish.

today's song of the day was extremely influenced by Jon's alarm to go photograph a car at sunrise this morning. usually influence doesn't exist.

please don't judge him too much...he is using Kendal's old cell phone, after all.

we're still holding out for Verizon to get the iphone before we give in to att.

ps Jon's smile is one of my favorite things about him. it always has been.
above photo taken summer 2008, most likely on the San Juan ferry

all about jon

When I first met Jon way back almost 7 years ago now (seriously, we met when we were 20, and now we're much older--where does time go?), I found myself totally confused when his family called him Erick and he called his parents by their first names, Jon and Joy. Then he explained to me that he was named after his father and his parents always intended for him to be Erick, but when he started school, he wanted to be just like his dad, thus the reason the rest of the world calls him Jon. I used to be really awkward about calling him by name or referring to him around his family, but we pretty much have the hang of things by now. Apparently I say "Jon" differently when addressing my husband than when I address his father. And referring to my husband as Erick while around his family has become second nature to me.

Anyway, my Jon's 27th birthday is this coming Sunday. To celebrate him, I want to share with you one of his talents, and I'll be sharing part of it Monday through Friday for the month of January. Now let me explain the talent: it's not like anything I've ever encountered before, and it's most likely just unique to him, it's just that quirky. Jon wakes up every day of his life with a song in his head. Sometimes he wakes up singing the song in an incomprehensible way, sometimes he just tells me what song it is, sometimes he keeps the daily treasure to himself, sometimes he sings it throughout the day, about 57% of the time, I've never heard of the song. In all the time I've known him, I haven't known of any repeats. We've wanted to document this talent for a while now, and I figured there's no better way to do so than to share it with all of you. Without further ado, I give you today's song of the day, "The Only Exception" by Paramore:

ps Jon really likes cars. Especially Ferraris. Above photo taken last July at the Ferrari Challenge Race held at Miller Motorsports Park.

pps For the first time that I've known in the history of Jon's song of the day, he actually woke up with 2 songs this morning. The second was "Say I." But after googling it (remember that about 57% of the time, I haven't heard of the song), I'm not sure that one even exists. Correct me if I'm wrong.