So lame

Yeah, I'm super lame. I keep promising more content then life keeps getting away from me. I'm still trying to get a hold of this new work schedule. It's difficult for me to find time to watch dramas nowadays and lately I have been spending way too much time watching The Ellen Show on YouTube. That stuff is way too addicting. I apologize for my lameness. I will try my best to figure out a way to fit everything into my schedule.

We are NERDS!

Once again, my family went to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. This time we took my mother and my sister with us. My mother enjoys the shops, which annoys my daughter. While my mother was shopping, I managed to catch a bit of a Scottish drum group. I couldn't actually see much of the show but I could hear the drumming and it was pretty awesome. At first, I thought they were using regular Yamaha Drums but when I got a bit closer, I could see that the drums were HUGE. It made me wish I had actually made time to go see the show. Perhaps they will come back around next season.

Updating the Wardrobe

I really need to buy some new T-shirts. As I was looking through my closet this morning, I noticed that almost all of my wearable (meaning there are no holes in it) shirts are anime-based. While I like anime, I'm not quite the anime geek I once was. I'm not really creative enough to make my own custom made t-shirts so I'm asking you guys for advice. Where you do buy cool yet sorta geeky t-shirts?

Movie review: Pitch Perfect

My husband and I managed to catch an early release of Pitch Perfect, the very hysterical comedy about college acapella groups. Barden University has four acapella groups. However, only two of them are actually good. The Barden Bellas is the all-girl group and The Treble Makers is the all-guy group. The Treble Makers are the Inter-Collegiate Champions, thanks to a vomit-filled performance by Aubrey. When the new school year begins, only two of the Bellas are left to pick up the pieces. Unfortunately, the only girls willing to join them are the oddballs. Among them is Beca. She wants to move to Los Angeles to become a DJ but her father makes her attend college instead. Her musical mash-up skills become crucial to The Bellas.

I have become a big fan of Rebel Wilson. She has quickly become one of my favorite comedic actresses. My husband, meanwhile is a fan of Anna Kendrick. Luckily, both actresses are awesome in this movie. Actually, everyone is awesome in this movie. There isn't a single character that I would get rid of. Adding to the awesomeness is the soundtrack. All of the actors did their own singing and the movie is better as a result. If you don't believe me, just search for Pitch Perfect on YouTube and watch any of the trailers. Then get yourself to a movie theater on Friday, when the movie goes to a wide release. As a warning, there is a running gag involving a large quantity of vomit. (I didn't know this and almost tossed my own cookies.) If you can get past that, you'll love Pitch Perfect.

Ah yes, the fall

Ah, fall is indeed coming. These are the days where it is in the mid-70s during the day and the low 50s at night. Where my entire body revolts against the quickly changing temperatures. Where you are never quite sure what clothes you should wear - long sleeves and pants to deal with the chilly mornings or short sleeves to deal with the warm afternoon. That is pretty much a nice way to say that I managed to get sick. My head is all stuffy and it's hard to think straight. I would really like to crawl back into bed but that just isn't possible today. Hopefully I'll be better by the weekend. Being sick over the weekend just sucks.

Fall is coming

The first day of fall is this coming Saturday. It's already kinda cold in the morning when I go to work but it's still nice and warm by the time lunch comes around. I am not a fan of the colder months. I wish that it could stay just like this - warm enough to enjoy the afternoon but not so hot that my husband complains. (Though I, personally, prefer the hot months.) Instead, it'll be freezing soon. And, from what I hear, this winter will be pretty awful. Maybe I should buy a set of Crescent Moon Gold 12 Snowshoes for those times I have to dig my car out of a snowbank. Erg, the thought of that makes me shiver. Can it be summer again?

It's WEDNESDAY?

Holy crap, it's Wednesday already? What happened to this week? My daughter joined Girl Scouts this year. For the past few years, the meetings have taken place on days that she had dance class. Somehow the scheduling gods came together this year so she can do both. It's a little weird for me because I was a Girl Scout for about 9 years and so much has changed since then. (Yes, I know, I'm old.) But I'm excited to see where this journey goes. It's quite possible that she'll only do the scouting thing for one year. At least she'll have that experience under her belt. I hope she has lots of fun.

Sound system recs please!

Does anyone have any suggestions for a decent portable sound system? I need a new sound system for my Zumba classes. I'd like to have something that isn't too difficult to transport around (since I don't have my own studio yet) and would sound decent in a basketball court-sized gym. I've been looking around at various websites (where I tend to get distracted by best effects pedals and stuff) but I'm not sure what would be ideal. I've asked other Zumba instructors and, of course, they all recommend something different. Help!

The Great Allentown Fair

Every year, I take my daughter to at least one concert. Over the past few years we've seen Miranda Cosgrove perform. This year, we went to The Great Allentown Fair to see Victoria Justice. (Chances are, if you don't watch Disney Channel or Nickelodeon, you don't know who these people are. That is OK.) For some reason, I expected the fair to be on the smaller side. Boy, was I wrong. There were tons of rides, even more food stands, and even a bunch of sideshow attractions. (My sister paid $1.00 for my daughter and I to see the "world's smallest horse." It was a Shetland Pony.) Both my sister and my daughter got wristbands so they could ride all the rides they wanted to. Unfortunately, spinning rides tend to make me nauseous so I didn't get to ride anything. To be honest, I'm not all that upset about it.

The concert itself was just OK. Max Schneider was the opening act. While he is a very competent singer, he was doing this jump/dance thing that looked weird. It kinda looked like he took dance lessons from some boy bands. Boy band dancing is OK when there is a group dancing. When it's just one guy, it looks goofy. Victoria Justice was a bit more entertaining but she doesn't have the same stage presence that Selena Gomez does. Her part of the concert seemed like a big commercial for her television show (almost every song was from the show) or her new movie (her tour bus was plastered with it) or her charities (there was actually a real commercial for this on the screen while she was changing clothes).

I know that you are probably saying "Hey, this is a concert aimed at pre-teens. What did you expect?" I have now sat through enough of these concerts to know that these performers are capable of more. Selena Gomez's concerts are engaging and fun. Both of the Victoria Justice and Miranda Cosgrove concerts felt like they were just singing at us. (For what it's worth - Gomez is a Disney kid while Justice and Cosgrove are Nickelodeon.) I know that a lot of people write off kids (tween/pre-teen/younger) but there's no reason to treat them like mindless bags of cash. Yes, they will still scream and cheer for their favorite singers either way but try to make it fun for them. They are the next concert-going generation. We don't want to scare them off with bland, boring shows.