Songs That Define Me

Miss Helene is hosting one of the best, best, best linkups today!

Ya know those songs that you hear and you're instantly reminded of a specific time in your life? Those songs. Songs that represent a specific time in your life. Songs that have a memory in between the lyrics. Songs that you'll never forget.

Songs that define you.

So here's a quick Top 10 list of songs that have defined my life and a little blurb telling you why.
Ps. This list could be forever long! But I just picked the first 10 that came to mind because I figure they must've impacted me the most.

This song is old school and reminds me of the boy who introduced it to me. I made tons of bad decisions with this boy and along the way learned a ton of things about myself and about people in general.

 

This song, specifically the version in the YouTube clip above reminds me of my baby sister for reasons no one other than my family would understand. Also the move Pure Country.

 

This song was played at a funeral I attended in October of 2009. Everything changed in that one weekend and I'll never forget it. I cry every time I hear this song. 

 

This song was played during the opening credits of One Tree Hill and come on, you already know how I feel about One Tree Hill. Also, there's a local band who plays this song a lot and every time I'm at their concert I call my sister and sing it to her. Every. Time.

 

Oh there's so much I could say about this song. But instead I'll leave you with this picture. A boy wrote that and attached it to a rose and gave it to me. And this song sort of became our song. Precious-ness I tell ya.

 

This song takes me back to my very first real boyfriend in Junior High. This was "our song". HAHAHAH, oh young love.

Pretty much every NSync song has a memory attached for me. But this on in particular. Reminds me of a life defining friendship.

 

This reminds me of Senior year of high school and these girls and laughing until we couldn't breathe. 

 

Odd, but I'll probably start to cry if I talk about what this song means to me. The best summer I've ever had, ever.

 

You probably don't even know this song, but it reminds me of being 21 and 22 and makes me smile every time. Also, this is a hometown boy and I've been to about 95 of his concerts. That's not an exaggeration at all. And 9 times out of 10 we rock the front row. Duh.

So there you go. A little trip down memory lane for me with songs full of memories.

Man Candy: Actors Edition

Well I may have stayed up a wee bit too late last night reading the Blogger Book Club book. Me Before You is hard to put down, it's entirely not my fault. This means I don't have much of a pep in my step this morning. I'm tired and I have a mountain of work sitting next to me on my desk that has got to be done TODAY.

Life is so unfair.

Anyway, this means that today is going to be an easy post. All about my favorite Man Candy: Actors Edition. Yes, you heard me. It's sort of like #ManCrushMonday on Instagram, except that it's Tuesday and this is a blog.

Just go with it.

Without further adieu, I'd like to introduce you to my boyfriends (all twenty four of them, in no particular order) and some of their greatest hits, besides me (ba dum ching!).

1. Zac Efron - If you didn't know that he was going to be on the list, then you don't pay close enough attention. He's my main man, since High School Musical. I love every movie he's in, because well, he's in it. Charlie St. Cloud is a winner, as is The Lucky One. Hairspray is a classic and his new movie Neighbors looks extremely promising.

2. Dave Franco -My new lover. Discovered him in Now You See Me, which is a must see. He's also going to be in Neighbors with my man Zac and I've already mentioned I'm pumped about that! 

3. Steven R. McQueen - The little brother in The Vampire Diaries turned Hottie McHottie.

4. Kevin Zegers - The hot sidekick in The Mortal Instruments. Don't recognize him? Remember Air Bud? Now do you see it? Yep. Adorable.

5. Skylar Astin - If you haven't seen him singing and dancing in Pitch Perfect, then you need to stop what you're doing right now and go watch that immediately. Also, 21&Over. He's just adorable. Also he's filming a new movie Caveman, that I'm going to need to see.

6. Justin Timberlake - I refuse to explain why he's on the list. You better know. Hits: Friends With Benefits and Trouble With The Curve. (Remember this is the Actor's Edition)

7. Drew Van Acker - Hot, mysterious, and sort of creepy big brother on Pretty Little Liars.

8. Shia LaBeouf - Little Even Steven grew up good! The Transformers movies being my favorite featuring him. But he was excellent in Lawless and I have a soft spot in my heart for Disturbia.

9. Ross Thomas - First discovered him in The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold and then saw him in Soul Surfer and it's been love ever since.

10. Channing Tatum - Do I need to explain this one? No. The answer is no. Coach Carter, awesome. She's The Man, fabulous. Step Up, amazing. Dear John, adorable. The Vow, sweet. Magic Mike? YEP. If you need explanation on the last one, please view this clip. (clip not suitable for children)

11. Liam Hemsworth - First spotted this cutie in The Last Song, before Miley went all cray cray. Then he was super hunkie in The Hunger Games. And now I'm probably going to need to see Paranoia, because well, he's in it.

12. Matthew Goode - My 14 year old self fell in love with him in Chasing Liberty. Then in Leap Year, such an under-rated feel good movie! I laugh so much, it's so cute!

13. Bradley Cooper - In love with this guy. I mean, of course The Hanover, hello cutie. But I fell in LOVE during The A-Team. Obsessed with that movie. Oh and Silver Linings Playbook, I'm just in love. Have I mentioned that?

14. Shemar Moore - Criminal Minds. He plays a badass, which makes him a smidge hotter.

15. Ian Somerhalder - I'm #TeamDamon all day, every damn day. He's one of the reasons I started watching The Vampire Diaries in the first place! This guy, ugh *swoon*.

16. Aaron Paul - I'm addicted to Breaking Bad like Walt is addicted to his money and crackheads are addicted to his pretty blue meth. And I have an unhealthy crush on Jesse Pinkman. Daddy would not approve.

17. Michael Weatherly - Cute and funny and he's aging well. Check, check, and check! And he ROCKS as Tony on NCIS. Love this guy!

18. Jesse Williams - My new doctor obsession on Grey's Anatomy. Those eyes!! I die.

19. Will Smith - A few months ago my brother was making fun of me for my secret love obsession with Will! I don't know why, but I love him! Fresh Prince, Men In Black, Wild Wild West, Hitch, Bad Boys! What has he done that I haven't loved? It'd be a shorter list.

20. Chad Michael Murray - I mean, I've mentioned my One Tree Hill obsession (discussed here), so obviously he's the best. Also A Cinderella Story, I could watch that on repeat all day. He's also going to be in Caveman with Skylar Astin. I'm way overly excited about that.

21. Chace Crawford - Cute little Nate on Gossip Girl. Wish he would do more movies/tv so I could stare at him more!

22. Josh Duhamel - Decided he was my boyfriend way back when he was Tad on Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! Then I loved him in the show Las Vegas. Also Life As We Know It, Josh with a baby, adorable-ness. And how could I forget Safe Haven? Love!

23. Jensen Ackles - Zac is my main man, but Jensen is a very close second! He is one of THE most under-rated actors ever! The way he plays Dean on Supernatural blows my mind. He's so good! And I've seen enough interviews with him to know that he's a genuinely great person! All I need to know! Oh and Jensen in Ten Inch Hero, hilarious. And the movie he fell in love with his now wife during. So it's adorable.

24. James Lafferty - Again, I've mentioned my One Tree Hill obsession. He's the reason I love the number 23 and the reason I love the name Nathan. Boom. #sorrynotsorry

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

So there you go. I'm glad we could take this time to introduce you to my boyfriends. They're the best.

Over and out.

Mom's Birthday, Athletic Events, & A Beautiful Sunset

Happy Monday? I. Am. Tired.

A long weekend of athletic events (aka work) has me totally wiped out today. And sore. I'm really, really sore. But I have exciting plans with my bestest friend tonight, so I just need to get through this work day. This long work day. Sigh.

So here's how my weekend looked!

Friday:

First of all, how awesome are my parents? I don't have a washer and dryer at my apartment, so I still take my clothes to their house to do them. I had planned on finishing my laundry the next morning, but my mom said she might go ahead and do it that night. And she did. And then my stepdad folded it for me too. Holy heck, they rock.

And also, I find it so damn cute that my stepdad called my mom "his sweetie".. Freaking precious.

We went out Friday night for my mom's birthday dinner. Yep, we went to a bar and had pizza and strombolis (possibly strombolies, not sure about the "e") and drinks. We got to sit outside. The IU pep band and IU cheerleaders marched up and down the street playing and chanting for the football game the next day. And we spent the evening quoting Dazed and Confused, Pitch Perfect, and NCIS as a family. Welcome to our life.

Then I went home, drank wine, and watched Now You See Me and 21&Over. You NEED to see Now You See Me. You just do. Loved every damn second of it! Also, Dave Franco? Hello. And Skylar Astin is in 21&Over and that's the only reason I need to give you to see that. It was a decent movie too.

Saturday:

Saturday was my Momma's birthday! Yes, that's the same woman in all of those pictures.. with different hairstyles. Her hair has been every color, every length, straight, permed, etc. And she's looked stinkin amazing with all of them! I have the most gorgeous mom around and I know it! Happy Birthday, Mom!

I didn't get to celebrate my Mom's birthday, however. Because I was here. IU Football. All day. Period. And then we lost.. so there's that.

Sunday:

Sunday morning was rough. I was not having a good morning and I was at work with people who were testing my patience with every breath they took. So I texted one of my coworkers that I might have to injure someone. This was our conversation. I love her. (yes, she's Daughter in my phone and i'm Mum in her's)

After my rough morning I wasn't in the mood to work a 2nd soccer game that day, but I did and I'm so glad because this happened. There's no filter, no editing on this photo. Straight from my Camera+ app on my phone. That's it.

Beautiful night..

The Beginning of Blogger Book Club

First of all, HAPPY FRIDAY! I know it was only a 4 day week, but it just seemed way too long.

Since it's Friday, I'm here with a surprise!
Well, if you follow me on Twitter (shameless plug) it's probably not that big of a surprise.

Myself, Jen, Miranda, Amy, Melissa, and Stacie

 have teamed up together to create a Blogger Book Club!

*cue geeky, teenage girl screaming*

At the beginning of month the six of us are going to chose a book and then at the end of the month whoever read the book can post a review about said book and link-up together.

ALSO I've created a Blogger Book Club page on Good Reads. This is open to anyone and everyone! On this page we can create discussion boards each month about each book and well, discuss them. I may even ask specific questions just to get opinions flowing. To access the Blogger Book Club page you'll need to create a free goodreads.com account and then join the Blogger Book Club (here). On this page you can also give suggestions for future book club books.

Other bloggers (including Jen, Miranda, and Amy) have posted book reviews on their blogs before and that's how I've found several of the books on my "To Read" list! So this is a really fun way to maybe find books that you wouldn't normally read or books you've never heard of!

AND in case I haven't made it clear, we want YOU to read the books with us and we want YOU to write a review and link up with us too! We want YOU to discuss with us on the Blogger Book Club page. YOU. It's open to EVERYONE!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Now that I've gotten your attention..
The 1st Blogger Book Club read is going to be..

Good Reads description:

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

Amazon.com Link: Me Before You
Barnes&Noble Link: Me Before You

The link-up with be hosted on Friday, September 27th.
However the discussions will be open on the Blogger Book Club page all month long, so you can feel free to add a topic or ask a book related question and people can answer as they finish the book.

Happy Reading!