What are the last 5 albums you've listened to twice in the last 2 months?

(I tried to answer this question earlier today, but it doesn't seem to have gone through. Yet, if it somehow DOES end up as a duplicate, then . . . have fun comparing how well my memory does over the span of approximately two-and-a-half hours.)

It has been a while since I sat and listened to an entire album because:
1.) the advent of the iPod's randomizing feature has made me impatient for new things,
2.) I spend most of my time listening to podcasts rather than music during my listening hours, and
3.) my kids don't usually let me pick what I want to listen to.

But, given those parameters, here are some albums that I HAVE listened to on a regular, reliable basis recently.

a.) Taylor Swift "Fearless"
As I noted above, my kids push me in certain musical directions. Luckily, this is an album that we can compromise happily on. I enjoy Ms. Swift's lyrics and her musicality isn't bad either. We can all settle on this in the car without much in the way of fights or hurt feelings. And that is sometimes a VERY valuable thing.

b.) Bruno Mars "Doo-Wops & Hooligans"
This is the most recently album that I have purchased. Lynda expressed surprise at its slow jam nature and groovy rhythms, wondering if I had purchased this. But I had, and I was glad that the NPR music review didn't lie. It is funky and smooth . . . just like me.

c.) "Jingle Spells 4"
If its late November, that means I'm listening to the newest charity album of holiday tunes with a Harry Potter flair. For the past four years, Wizard Rockers of all types and the creative folks at The Leaky Cauldron Web site have worked together to produce and sell a holiday album of increasingly good music. Over $50,000 have been raised in this effort over that time. To purchase this unique album for yourself, visit here: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/wizardrock/jinglespells4

d.) Weezer "Hurley"
This is the third-most recent album that I have purchased. This album features the kindly mug of Jorge Garcia's "Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes" on the cover and inside are songs inspired by my favorite Mystery Island drama. When I get back to blogging more often, I plan on providing my own individual interpretations of each song. But that might be a while.

e.) an assortment of Sesame Street albums
When you've got a less-than-three-year-old, you sometimes have to go with the flow . . . whether you want to or not.

Well, that is. There's my answer.

Thanks for asking.

Ask me anything

Saturday afternoon fun

Saturday was such a nice day. It was a gift for being this late into November . . . and I managed to get out and enjoy it for even a brief time before dinner. Grace was disappointed that she wasn't able to get a friend to come over and play and Hannah was getting a bit fussy and needed some distraction.

So, the three of us loaded up on our bikes and hit the streets. After I spent a few minutes pumping up the tires that had gotten flat from some disuse and then hitched up the trailer for Hannah . . . we pedaled off down the street. I let Grace pick the path.

We went down Nicole, then turned right and paralleled Spring Road. Then we hung a right and zipped down the bike path only to make another right and enter into Spring Grove North (the newer subdivision that abuts right up against my older, original neighborhood). We wound our way up and down the sidewalks of these streets, going in and out of cul-de-sacs. Hannah got a few slight bumps here and there as I pulled the trailer on and off of the sidewalk transition ramps and swung around the ends of cars parked near the ends of driveways. But I kept it slow and enjoyed the moderate weather and coming twilight.

Soon Grace realized that we weren't going to be able to hook up to the bike paths from within this block, so we doubled back to parallel Spring Road up the the corner of Country Line. We crossed over and then rode along the north side of County Line, heading past Westerville North High School and toward Sunbury Road. After a bit, Grace took a left and we entered the pedestrian walkways surrounding the High School. We road along and then back behind the school, exploring the sides of the building, the bleachers of the baseball stadium (where I really had a narrow corner to negotiate).

I found a hidden pedestrian walkway that connected the baseball ticket booths to the backside of the school, crossing over an irrigation ditch. But while Hannah and I were game to give it a try, Grace had already decided to turn around and start heading home. She was right, as the sun was sinking and the light was starting to fade.

So, we retraced our path, back to the corner of County Line and Spring, then down and back to Nicole.

When we got home, dinner was just about ready, the sky was dark through the windows, and we were happy to have been outside stretching our muscles.

Waiting . . . waiting . . .

If you have been sitting around, constantly reloading WWYG?! in hopes of getting by blow-by-blow of our recent trip down to South Georgia and Orlando . . . well . . . I apologize for putting you through that.

We have been back home from our trip for a week now and I am firmly enmeshed in the demands of work and the everyday world that was put on hold during our trip. And I absolutely plan to work on a breakdown of the trip--with photos--over this coming weekend.

But you'll just have to wait until then.

I suggest that you follow me on Twitter (really, you should!) or keep watch over on my Facebook feed to find out when I get around to writing again here on the old blog.

I feel that I've really been neglecting WWYG?! and it all comes down to work pressures. But that will end at some point and I'll hopefully find new and interesting ways to waste my time here again.

Thanks as always for your patronage.

(Twitter feed here.)