Thursday 13 – Week 26

….and who knows what week it is for me? I’ve forgotten. I’m certainly not at week 26, though!

Our recent vacation required quite a bit of time in the car, and therefore required a fail-proof playlist. As I was going through my music looking for just the right songs for the trip, something jumped out at me: I have a LOT of cover songs. I can’t help it. I know most people hate the idea of a cover song, but not me. I *love* seeing how different a song can sound when done by a different musician. (Or not, as some covers don’t venture very far from the sound of the original)

Without further ado, here is my contribution for this week’s Thursday 13: Some of my favorite covers, with links to listen to a sample or a youtube vid featuring the song (if I was able to find one). Including several from the same bands/musicians and tribute albums!

Thursday 13 – the cover song edition:

1. Smokin’ in the Boys Room – Motley Crue. This came out when I was about 14. I recognized the song immediately because as a little girl, I would listen to my aunt’s copy of the Brownsville Station original on her record player. And of course I recognized the band, because they were my favorite band for the longest time! I listened to this song over and over and over again during the summer of ‘85, and dropped whatever I was doing to watch the video whenever MTV played it.

2. Hair of the Dog – Guns N Roses. A favorite song, done only the way GNR can. Everyone was all over Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, but in my opinion, this one is much better.

3. Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? – Revolting Cocks. I had actually forgotten all about this one, somehow, until Starr posted the video a while back. I haven’t stopped listening to it since! I always thought the Rod Stewart original was L-A-M-E, but this cover rocks. If you have time, you definitely need to check out the video, too.

4. L.A. Woman – Billy Idol. When I first heard about this, I admit I thought it was blasphemous, even though it was Billy Idol. Still, I loved it. It’s just your basic cover, without rearranging or adding a lot of additional sounds.

5. Cinnamon Girl – Type O Negative. I never even knew this was a cover until I’d read it in an interview with the band. I’m not a big Neil Young fan, so I’d never heard the original. Type O has such a distinctive sound, and they’re one of my favorite bands so obviously I much prefer their version to the original. (Note: This isn’t the copy that I have; this sounds more like an industrial mix. Or maybe it’s just a version I hadn’t heard.)

6. Hard Luck Woman – Garth Brooks. Surprisingly good; to me, it sounds very much like the original.

7. Midnight Rider – Willie Nelson. I love everything Willie does. Period.

8. Uncloudy Day – Willie Nelson. I love everything Willie does. Period. Even southern Gospel.

9. Mustang Sally – The Commitments. I always thought the original was done by Wilson Pickett, but according to WikiAnswers.com, that one is a cover as well.

9. Strutter – Extreme. Unless you’re an Extreme fan, you probably don’t realize what a great band they really are. Mainly that Nuno Bettencourt is one of the most underrated guitarists ever. They also have a very distinctive sound, and their spin Kiss’s “Strutter” is one of the better and more unique cover songs I’ve ever heard.

10. Blitzkrieg Bop – Rob Zombie. Another of my very favorite bands covered by one of my very favorite artists. When I first heard about this, I got so excited because I love everything the Ramones have ever done, and love everything Rob Zombie touches. It sounded almost exactly as I imagined it would. I listen to this about as much as the original, because it is so vastly different.

11. Do You Wanna Dance – Ramones. Speaking of the Ramones, they’re known for doing quite a few covers of their own. And this one is my very favorite

12. Wildwood Flower – Mike Ness. I can honestly recommend ANYTHING covered by Mike Ness and/or Social Distortion. This is my favorite at the moment.

13. Purple Haze – The Cure. Perhaps the most unique cover I’ve ever heard. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the entire song ANYWHERE, and the Amazon sample track doesn’t even take the song out of the instrumental intro. It DEFINITELY sounds more like a Cure song than your basic Hendrix cover, and is, in my opinion, worth a listen.

To see more of this week’s TT, head over here.

My “weekend” does, anyway, and not a moment too soon. I haven’t worked six days in a row in …. I can’t really remember when. I would say that I am positively gleeful at the prospect of not having anywhere to go or anything really to do, but……yeah. I do have things to do. Errands to run, groceries – including about a million dollars worth of household supplies – to buy, a yard which needs lots of work, and a house that needs even more. And after getting home from work around 10:30 tonight, I was given an additional task to complete.

::shrugs::

That’s me, shrugging it all off. I’m staying up LATE tonight (well, early this morning) to read. I am sleeping in late. I do have all those things to do, but I’ll get to them….eventually. I want to read a bunch of blogs, and find some new ones to visit. I want to leave lots of comments. I want to get photos of my recent thrifted dish finds, and post them. I want to nurse my daisies and miniature roses back to health before they’re completely dead. I want to watch a lot of HGTV. And maybe even some LMN. Or some movies with my boys. They’re leaving this Friday to spend the dreaded (for me) month with their dad, after all.

What I’d really like to do is take the three days I’ll have off and go visit my parents, but there is simply too much to try to get caught up on here. I think I will be asking for a few days off toward the end of the month, though. I haven’t seen my family since Christmas!

I’ll worry about that later. For now, I have a gorgeous vampire waiting for my attention.

The constant going, going, going, that is. I haven’t even hit forty yet, but I feel most days like I’m about 80 years old. When did I completely run out of things to say? I mean, I’ve never been a provocative blogger, but I still managed to hop online and type out a whole lotta nothing. These days? I’d rather read blogs than update my own – and it shows.

When did I start requiring this much sleep? When did I begin appreciating rest and relaxation? When did I start cherishing the notion of “peace and quiet”? This is so not the person I was even three years ago at 35. I can’t just go and go and go and do and do and do, and all on as little as three hours of sleep per night anymore. I’m not sure if I like it!

Okay, I *know* I don’t like it. I have too much that needs to be done! I have too much work to do here at home once I get back from my actual job. BTW, my hat’s off to you ladies and gents who actually do HARD work for six to seven days a week, sometimes working two jobs. I worked my butt off when I was younger – key word here being ‘young’ – but no more. I’m nearing the end of a six day work week (tomorrow is my last day of this particular stretch, yay!), and feel like I’ve been worked over in the worst way.

Perhaps it just takes some getting used to?

Well, don’t count me out yet. I’m still around! I’m still doing stuff. I’m even thrifting again (and will post pics of my scores here one of these days)! But who knows when?

And I guess I should get going, since time is quickly running out before my shift today starts, and I still have to feed dogs, water plants, put away dishes, dry clothes, and shower beforehand. Let me go finish my breakfast of leftover fettucine alfredo while a sinus infection continues to work its lovely magic.

Day three of my six day work week has just come to pass. I’m tired beyond belief, and having to put other things on hold while I learn to re-structure my time. But you know what I’ve come to realize? I actually like working weekends. We’re so busy we’re totally swamped for most of it. These 7 & 8 hour shifts are passing by so much quicker than the 4 hour morning shifts I used to work.

It’s nice to have more money, too. We have to get April’s shots started and Buddy’s surgery taken care of next. At least Mini didn’t need Rimadyl, though. I was kind of worried about that when the vet told me she had some ligament dislocation issues. But he said those would be corrected through weight loss and exercise. Yep. My little ten pound dog ideally should weigh around 7 lbs. And now we’re trying to get April whittled down to the right size. She’s growing, so she’s not so chubby anymore. But we still really have to watch her, and make sure she doesn’t eat Mini’s food when we’re not looking!

Also, I’m looking forward to Green Day and another trip to Six Flags towards the end of July, since I didn’t get to ride everything I wanted to ride. And yeah, we still need another stove. I’ll make it all happen somehow!

In the meantime, I’m doing good just to make sure the family has bread and sandwich meats to feed themselves while I am working. It’s not a money issue so much as an I’m-not-here-to-cook issue, and microwave dinners and convenience foods disappear FAST ’round here. And since I generally work from mid-morning till mid-evening, they are all responsible for all their meals.

It’s fun, though. I’m just trying to learn how to manage my time better so that I don’t have to completely give up the other things I love. A challenge, but I’m up for it!

I’ve been talking for some time now about planning a vacation for the boys and I this summer, but I never got around to blogging about where we were going. Well, that vacation has come and gone, and we spent the day at Six Flags Over Georgia!

So what if our entire vacation was a drive over and drive back, one day activity? It was fun, and I was able to finance it with our saved rolled coin for the past few months and my work-from-home pay. My favorite summer memories from growing are of driving up to Memphis and spending the day at Libertyland (which, sadly is no more). Anyway. I never got to experience that with my boys, but we’ve talked about going to Six Flags for a few years now.

So….we drove over early Monday morning. I listened to my music while the boys slept, and we made good time despite our one-hour-later-than-planned departure from home. We even had time to stop for a drive through breakfast and still make it to the park before opening!

First thing when we got inside, we lined up to go on the Georgia Scorcher. We got as far as to be strapped in when they announced the ride was temporarily disabled due to technical difficulties. NOT something you want to hear when strapped and locked into a coaster seat with a not-so-soft bar between your legs! Not to mention the heat. But hey….at least we weren’t suspended going up the track or something horrible! They FINALLY let us out, so we went on the Log Flume to cool off. From there, we wandered around some, and my teenagers were NOT amused with my excitement over the characters in the park. Therefore, no pictures of ANY of us with any WB characters. That’s a shame, because I wanted my picture taken with The Riddler. He was hot!

We didn’t get to ride NEARLY all of the rides I wanted to ride, so I am thinking next time this needs to be a two day adventure. Or we at least need to get a park map upon entry, something we didn’t do this time, and plan our day around that.

We did wait about 45 minutes to ride Goliath, the tallest and fastest in the park! (click here for some awesome pics!)

I love a good coaster, but I was closerthanthis to just stepping through the seats and walking out the other side down the exit ramp by the time I got to the front (yes, we almost ALWAYS pick the front seats) and saw that only a steel bar with a plastic semicircular “bar” across the lap would be my restraint. There wasn’t a definite front wall of the train like there is on most coasters, and for the three or so seconds when the front of the train is just suspended at the top of the first drop – which appears to be STRAIGHT DOWN! – I was worried I’d faint. BUT….my kids goaded me into it anyway, and asked me not to ruin their fun. I’m so glad I got on it now, because that is one bad-ass ride! The first drop pretty much IS straight down, but we didn’t have to dangle for as long as I thought. It was amazing and fast and fun and such a smooth ride. Unlike Ninja, which I stepped off of feeling like I’d been beaten. If you click on any of the links to these rides, and watch the virtual video, let me just say that those in no way do the rides justice! But you probably already knew that.

Only one other coaster in my life has ever made me just about pass out at the thought of riding, and that was Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Viper. At the time (early 90s), it was billed as the world’s largest looping steel coaster. Just looking at it scared me, and the only reason I even got on it was because I waited in line for two and a half hours, and I knew I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t. While I love Goliath (and many others), my heart still belongs to Viper. I think that one has ruined all coasters for me

So…back to our day at Six Flags. We left there hot, exhausted, battered, slightly sunburned, and possibly concussed, (and in my case, bitten by some vicious flies) but very happy! There aren’t many pics. Teenagers don’t like their pics taken, go figure. And my purse and camera were locked in a locker for the duration of a good bit of our park exploring, since loose articles are not allowed on the bigger rides. But I do have a few! Click on the pics to go to my flickr page for larger!

Gotham Public Works:

Batman the Ride:

The first coaster we saw on our way into the park. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to ride this one. We never even found Gotham in the park! (like I said earlier, we should have gotten a park map upon arrival and planned better)

Georgia Cyclone:

We’re sporting bruises from this one!

Superhero Capes:

Entrance to Skull Island

We didn’t go on, but looks like lots of fun!

It’s a beautiful day in Metropolis Park:

Superman Ultimate Flight:

That’s my sons in front of the lemonade stand in front of this massive ride. Shhh. They don’t know I took this one

The very awesome ride in action! After about an hour of waiting in line, this one quit working as well. So we didn’t ride this one, either.

Goliath!

Not the best photos, but I took ones of the coaster’s elements which really stood out to me. I linked to some awesome photos of Goliath at American Coaster Enthusiasts above. You should check them out if you get a chance!

LIFT HILL:

200+ feet, and this isn’t even all of it!

WITH PEOPLE THIS TIME:

The cars each hold 36 people. That’s a huge coaster!

UNDER GOLIATH, IN THE SHADE:

Rockin’ Rollin’ Parade:

BUGS:

DAFFY, TWEETY, & SYLVESTER:

A TINY ONE OF MARVIN, FOGHORN, & TAZ (cropped from the back of another photo):

MR. SIX:

Due to the previously mentioned vicious flies, I ruined a great shot of the Justice League. Damn flies!

Cooling off:

My oldest.

My youngest. Shhhh. I don’t think he knows I took this one.

“Who is this woman, and why is she sitting so close to me?”

Myself.

HUGE hanging basket, under the arbor.

We had so much fun, and can’t wait to go back!

I’ve blogged about all THREE of our new babies, and showed you all a pic of April before we got her, and a few of Buddy. Pretty Boy’s a lot harder to catch for a photo. I got several frames with just grass while I was trying to catch a good shot of his eyes to show off. No dice.

Here he is:

Pretty Boy. Our ‘other’ Beagle – lost/abandoned hunting dog who wandered up here.

I was trying to get a pic of his above-mentioned unusually pretty eyes, but he was too fast for me.

And here are two of April since we brought her home:

Chewing/pulling on the camera strap. She’s so spoiled!

Sleeping. Just look at that fat little puppy tummy! (yes, I am well aware that she needs the puppy equivalent of Solo Slim or something, but in my defense — she came to us that way, and we’ve been feeding her according to puppy food directions! I don’t think she’s that roly-poly anymore!)

I haven’t been thrifting in forever, but apparently this lagging economy has affected even my favorite thrift stores. I went today (it’s a weird way for me to burn off some nervous energy, and if I happen to pick something up to add to my vintage dish collection, I never feel like I’ve overspent). Sadly, there is hardly anything out there anymore. And of the ‘hardly anything’, hardly any of that is worth having.

I did score a saucer to match a cup I already had, and a Bacardi bat-looking Halloween candle holder for my patio table in one store, and a small platter in a pattern I LOVE in another. All for $1.50. Pics once I get the stuff cleaned up.

I did spot an AMAZING, long, retro dresser which would be perfect for my tv. I mentioned a dresser before, which I talked myself out of. It was okay, but I balked at the price. Then, after I thought about it some more, decided against it altogether. Now? This one is PERFECT. In good shape, sturdy, the look is perfect. I *would* still have to convert the drawers to shelves, but I’ll have to do that regardless of what I get, unless I come across something which could be used as a tv cabinet.

Maybe I will get it next week if it is still there. The thought of getting it any sooner, perfect as it is, still makes the “DON’T SPEND IT!!!!” alarms in my head go off. And…it’s part of a bedroom set that is in pretty good shape, so….it likely won’t even be there. But, if I am meant to have it, then it shall be mine, right?

Today was an awesome day to have off. All sorts of exhausting stuff is happening now. I think I’m gonna need to get my drink on later….

I have two days off this week – today (what’s left of it), and tomorrow. I am so ready for it, too! Now that appointments are completed and errands are run and dogs are fed and exercised and the house is cool and quiet, I am ready to settle down for a bit and probably chill out with some HGTV. Just what I need to be watching when I already have a bad case of the “I want!”s where my home is concerned, huh?

That’s exactly what I’m going to do for a while, though. Because I am going to be working and busy well into the early part of next week. These days, I feel like I need some sort of ephedra product just to make it through the week! I can’t complain too much, though. A peek at my first paycheck since working more hours has made it all worthwhile!

The gnome, that is. Though the lantern one next to it is pretty, too!