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Today is the 35th anniversary of Elvis’ death. When I first realized it was 35 years, I said to myself, “gee that seems like such a long time” and then it dawned on me that I am 30, so the math makes sense. And then I felt old.
Enough about me though, today’s post is about Elvis. Priscilla and Lisa Marie were interviewed on the Today Show this morning and I will be honest… I got a little choked up over my toast while they were talking about the day he died. Lisa Marie always declines to talk about that day in interviews, so this was pretty rare. They were both attending the candlelight vigil at Graceland and I swear, one of these days I’m going to make that pilgrimage. I’m not sure I’m emotionally ready for that though.
Returning to my tradition of Top 10 Things Elvis (only on January 8th and August 16th), today I’m going my top 10 favorite early Elvis songs. In January, I’ll do my top 10 late Elvis songs. The dividing point between early and old is the ’68 Comeback Special. Obviously. In no particular order, here we go…
1. Don’t Be Cruel
2. Follow That Dream
3. Love Me
4. Pocketful of Rainbows
5. One Night
6. Don’t Leave Me Now
7. Baby, Let’s Play House
8. (Marie’s The Name Of) His Latest Flame
9. Now and Then (There’s A Fool Such As I)
10. Trying To Get To You
Normally, I’d show a video of “If I Can Dream”, “Always On My Mind” or “American Trilogy” to fit the emotions I’m feeling today. But, I’m going to play a live version of one of the songs above that shows what an amazing performer he really was. You can’t beat the all leather get-up and his smile at the 2:56 mark makes my heart melt. I flipped through some of the comments below this video on YouTube and this was my favorite:
“Nobody will ever be this great. Nobody.”
To leave you with a bit of humor, my Mom called as soon as the interview on the Today Show started and instead of answering with “Hi Mom”, I answered with, “Don’t worry, I’m watching”. I called her back once the segment was over and we discussed the interview. Her comment, which makes me laugh only because we’re such Graceland pros, was, “I think the Living Room looked really nice this morning, everything was clean and orderly, and it looked really bright in there”.
Last Friday was a day of total geeking out for me.
First, there was a sample sale at WFM, meaning you grab as many supplement samples as you want and you leave a donation for them. I raped this sale. I’ve now got a year supply of protein powder and some really expensive cocoa powder. Antioxidants, y’all!
Second, there was a one-day only sale on salmon going on at the store. I bought 4lbs of Alaska Troll Caught Salmon for 8.99 (before my discount). Ye-ah!
Third, the New Girl Summer Bus Tour came through town and I went. Dragging my Mom of course. If it wasn’t for her, I probably would have gone home empty-handed (aka with no shirt). She won me a pair of glasses, as seen in the pic, but I was able to trade it out for a t-shirt later. You know me and t-shirts.
This is not the first time in my life I wished I had some non-prescription glasses to wear.
My geeking out ended about noon and I was EXHAUSTED. That’s what good geeking out does to you. It also makes the workday fly by. Holla!
Recently, my Mom put in a request that I write something about her. I agreed, but it took me a week to figure out what story I wanted to share. I knew something would come to me and sure enough it did over lunch today. Two months ago, I was helping her set up for her clothes/trunk show (called “ETC”). She put me in charge of organizing the two racks of sale clothes out in their garage, which was bordering on furnace level heat. Is it still child abuse when you are 30?
After an hour of working, I decided to take a small break. I began to look around at the garage and noticed some very interesting objects and object placements. Thinking to myself that this would be great blog material, I snapped a few pictures. In no particular order, aside from the last one being my favorite, here’s a peak at the inside of my parents garage. It’s definitely used more than just for parking cars and keeping boxes of my elementary school artwork and projects (Mom, I promise when I house sit in July I will go through these).
Observation #1: The life size cactus
The Christmas Cactus?
Observation #2: The stuffed chicken in a chair
Just takin’ a load off
Observation #3: The body of a mannequin (side note: when ever you hear the word “mannequin” does it remind you of that awesome 80′s movie about the mannequin that comes to life?)
Close your eyes kids!
Observation #4: Dan’s childhood baseball certificate properly displayed on a shelf
50 years later and we’re still proud!
Observation #5: The chair on a chair in the air
Just hangin’
Observation #6: My Christmas tree fully decorated and under wraps
After this post, there might not be any presents under this tree this year
Observation #7 (my favorite): The doll resting on a trash bag full of something with her leg propped up (I promise I did not do that)
Nobody puts the baby doll in the corner
Just look at the sass… I’m so proud!
I snapped this pre-bedtime pic of Gamma’s nightstand the last time I visited. I guess visits to grandmother’s house aren’t as innocent as they used to be…
A couple months ago (seriously behind on the blog), I attended an arts fundraiser with the folks where the main entertainment was a Beatles cover band. They were legit. I tried to withstand the peer pressure of getting up and dancing with my parents and their friends, but there’s only so long you can hold out when it’s the Beatles. I was easily the youngest there (on the dance floor), but I for sure held my own.
The following quote from the movie “Sliding Doors” easily rings true for me… I’m one of these babies:
James: Everybody’s born knowing all the Beatles lyrics instinctively. They’re passed into the fetus subconsciously along with all the amniotic stuff. Fact, they should be called “The Fetals”.
For reals.
I’m in the process of writing a new list of my favorite songs (you’re welcome) and decided to skim through the Beatles catalog on my iPod. I think it’s virtually impossible to pick out one Beatles song as being a favorite. I know all the words to basically all of them and they each elicit a different emotional response… I love them all.
[Lightbulb] I need to create a favorite Beatles playlist.
Have I ever said how much I love making lists? Lists make me happy and that’s probably why I get/love the movie High Fidelity so much. No one may give a rats a__ about my lists, but it brings me joy to make them, so that’s that.
Oh, I just realized the night of the Beatles concert was the night Whitney Houston died. Let’s take a moment and remember her…
Or not.
I found this last week while going through old photo albums at Gamma’s. Look how I tooted my own horn TWICE in this thank YOU note. In the words of my sister, “What a brat!”.
Clearly, I write going downhill… doesn’t that mean something? Like I am depressed?
I also find it comical how I always used to sign my last name, too. As if Gamma and Pop had another grandchild named Emily to whom they gave money, “pant’s” and a shirt to for her birthday in October. It’s like when I call my Mom and leave a message saying, “Hi Mom, it’s Emily”… as if there is anyone else that calls her “Mom”?
Last comment… look at that giant exclamation point at the end. I was really a Proud Panther.
I love them. Now that I don’t receive 15 Elvis calendars a year for Christmas, I have to venture out and find my own. Last year my daily calendar was The Office. It was always entertaining. This year, I’m going with one from Urban Dictionary. I typically only learn new slang words and phrases when Jamila visits, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to expand my street vocabulary.
Today I learned that I have a “people voice”. Here is the definition:
The voice someone uses when talking to people who aren’t their friends. This voice is automatically happy, nicer, and sweeter than their normal voice; it is also often more high-pitched. This is the voice people use when answering a telephone, talking to their boss, or when working in retail”.
It’s really true. I have a people voice. I expect my friends would agree. In high school, I used to get made fun of when my Grandma J called and I answered, “HI GRANDMA” in a super high-pitched voice. What makes me do it? Who knows.
A couple other phrases have also hit home…
“That’s crazy”. The perfect response when you haven’t been listening at all; it works whether the other person has been saying something funny, sad, infuriating, or boring. I’m totally guilty of this.
“Frunk”. To act very drunk when you have not consumed as much alcohol as you said, to fake being drunk. Don’t hold it against me, but when I was a kid and my Dad would let me have an O’Douls, I would totally frunk. I thought it was funny. I still do.
On Christmas Eve, my sister busted out some new Xbox dance game. You watch the screen and try to emulate the dance moves. It’s pretty much hilarious watching anyone do it, but it’s even more so watching Lance. Because he takes it really, really seriously. Here is my Christmas gift to the readers of my blog…
Lance dancing to “Soulja Boy”. Pay attention to the end. He waves one of his hands in front of his face (I guess to signify his routine is over)… it’s my favorite part. Also, please excuse the giggling/laughing from me.
I don’t know how many people get a party thrown for them when they retire, let alone one as nice as the docents at the museum threw for my Mom. They are such a fantastic group of people and it was fun to be able to attend the party!
Here is the cake they had made for her. It showcases only a handful of the exhibits the museum has had during her time at AMOA (Austin Museum of Art).
But, my favorite part of the party, aside from seeing them all dressed as my Mom in sweater/skirt combos, was the song they performed. It’s to the tune of “Born in the USA” but called “Tours at AMOA”. Pretty special. I just need to learn to keep quiet when filming anything. I can hear myself on here giggling like an idiot.
All of the docents had such nice things to say about my Mom and have officially declared her as one of the legends of the museum. Believe it or not, I even cried at the party.
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