Personally....Mother's Day and Red Balloons for Ryan

So I wanted to post yesterday, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to do it. I thought maybe I would keep it funny and share my favorite Mother's Day song (Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake- Motherlover). Or maybe I would go the overpersonal, whiny route. My in-laws kinda crashed the last minute plans my husband made when he realized he'd forgotten what day it was (so yeah.....no presents for me), and my mother-in-law plans on crashing the other plans we made for a date night later this week (seriously). But in the grand scheme of things, it all seemed trivial to me. Something has been weighing heavily on my heart, and it made me feel selfish to be upset.

Early last week I was doing my usual early morning Instagram check and I kept seeing these pictures of an adorable little boy with beautiful red hair with the hashtag #redballoonsforryan. Of course I went searching the tag, wanting to see what was going on. Eventually I learned the heartbreaking truth, he had been hit by car and passed away the Friday before. It broke my heart, and I have no connection to the family at all. And then I got pissed off, because while the majority of comments were nothing but supportive, I saw negative ones too. People that blamed the parents because they had let their little boy play in the front yard. Because they let him live.

The Internet can be equally a grand and awful thing. So many businesses came together to make specialty items celebrating Ryan's life (like this Mulberry Press Co print), with all proceeds going to his family. There were funds set up, auctions held; all to help pay for whatever the family needed. Of course, you should always donate with people you trust, because there are people that can take advantage, but the generosity was overwhelming. Most of the auctions and special product orders ended yesterday, but Indie Nook is still donating a percentage of the sales of their Red Balloon shirts indefinitely to Ryan's parents. There was far more positivity than negativity for this little boy and his family, and that was heartwarming. It restores some faith that people still want to help others, that people are still kind.

So now you know why I felt so selfish because I didn't get a present. I still have my children, and that's more than enough. I can't even imagine what this family is going through, its truly devastating.

From @babyboybakery's Instagram. This is how she spent her Mother's Day.

Sending red balloons into the sky in Ryan's memory, instead of hugging her little boy.

Here are some links to get a better understanding:
*Baby Boy Bakery - Jacqui's (Ryan's mom) blog
*Diary of an Addict- Alissa Circle's (Jacqui's best friend) blog. Ryan's story is here and here.
*CBS Los Angeles reports about his accident, and the out pour of support from online.

Hug your loved ones always. Never go to bed angry. Unplug and be present. Do what makes you happy. And annoyingly enough- YOLO. Because its true.

Monday Mix Up #16

Happy Monday Everyone! Here's a little mix of things to help procrastinate your way through Monday.

DIY Nerdy Nails 

Justin Timberlake- TKO

 

Justin Bieber's mugshot from Miami. 

He looks way too happy to be in jail.

These Avengers gowns by Kelsey Michele.

Found on GeekxGirls.

Ben Savage and Danielle Fishell answer some questions about Girl Meets World. 

Anyone else hoping it's going to be as great as Boy Meets World?

Super sad that my 49ers didn't make it to the Super Bowl this year.

Enjoy Colin Kaepernick's tattoos as a consolation prize.

Pictures from GQ.

Jimmy Fallon and the guys from Full House. A great combination.

It brought back so many memories lol, I loved that show.

There's a fun article about it here.

Poppin' Off Early Edition- Best Albums/Singles of 2013

Purely based on my musical preferences alone, here are my top albums of 2013.

Miley Cyrus- Bangerz. 

Favorite songs include: Drive, FU ft French Montana, 

Do My Thang, 4x4 ft. Nelly.

Eminem- The Marshall Mathers LP2

Favorites: Berzerk, Rap God, The Monster ft Rihanna.

Justin Timberlake- The Complete 20/20 Experience

Favorites: Don't Hold the Wall, Tunnel Vision, 

TKO, Amnesia, Only When I Walk Away.

Childish Gambino- Because the Internet

Favorites include: Telegraph Ave (Oakland By Lloyd), Sweatpants, 3005.

The Lonely Island- The Wack Album

Favorites: Go Kindergarten ft Robyn, Hugs ft Pharrell Williams, 

YOLO ft Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar, Spring Break Anthem.

And the best singles are:

Tyga  ft Justin Bieber- Wait  for a Minute

Panic! at the Disco ft Lolo- Miss Jackson

Fall Out Boy- My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)

Kid Ink ft Chris Brown- Show Me

Natalia Kills- Problem

One Republic- Counting Stars

What are your top albums/singles of 2013?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a great and wonderful day! Here are some video snips of some of my favorite Christmas things. 

Didn't I tell you you'd be seeing this again this month? 

Troy and Abed's Christmas rap. 

Dick in a Box!!

Schweddy Balls!

This is a little long, but A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my most favorites. It goes from when Linus explains the meaning of Christmas, all the way to the end. I tried to find a clip of my favorite line "Hark! Then Harold Angel starts to sing," but was unsuccessful.

Other favorites include:

*How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the cartoon original, not the Jim Carey one)

*Homelessville (Justin Timberlake and Will Forte SNL sketch)

*the commerical for Norelco with Santa riding an electric razor

*the original Coca-Cola bear commerical (they started as a Christmas only thing)

*All I Want For Christmas with Ethan Embry (when he was Ethan Randall) and Thora Birch. 

*Carol of the Bells- favorite Christmas song ever! I once had a playlist dedicated to different versions of this song....but then my computer crashed and they all got lost...

And one not so favorite:

I'm sorry Kmart, but I thought this was kinda gross. Guys shaking their balls around like bells? Not cool. Would you have ladies shaking their boobs around like that? Probably not. 

Monday Mix Up #12

I've had Christmas on the brain ever since I saw the Christmas decorations sitting on the edges of the Halloween decorations, like they were ready to pounce and have a good old fashioned holiday throwdown. There will probably be a lot of Monday Mix Ups from now until Christmas Day dedicated to all things Christmas. So here's the first of many :)

These are some things I've been eyeballing for my personal Christmas list:

These locks from Marla Aaron Jewelry. I love how they're just carabiners, but fancied up. And those heart ones are super adorable.

Kawaii Marvel Leggings from welovefine.

This camo Hello tee by Hello Apparel. 

One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book
 Found on Amazon (I've also seen this in the notebook section at Target); a fun, low key way to keep track of life's little happenings for five years.

The 20/20 Experience: The Complete Experience
 I love me some Justin Timberlake.

What's on your Christmas wish list?

Monday Mix Up #6

Its baaaack. Or is it? This week's Monday Mix Up is a small list of videos that I currently love.

*Hashtag with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake. I love these guys. Love.

*Kid Ink ft Chris Brown- Show Me. This is an audio only video. I like this song. And I like Chris Brown as a performer. Sorry.

*Miley Cyrus- Wrecking Ball. Say what you will about her as a person, but I like the song. And, maybe shes acting out because her relationship ended?

*Childish Gambino- Freaks and Geeks. This video is a few years old, but this song right here is the reason why I love him as a rapper. I like to say that he is a rapper for intelligent people. The references in his songs are amazing.

*Eminem- Berzerk. He became big when I was in high school, and this song reminds of his stuff from back then. I've been a fan of pretty much all his stuff though. He has a lot of talent.

*The best pick up line from Raphael De La Ghetto aka Jazz on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. This is kind of a running joke in my house (and I couldn't have all my videos be music videos lol).

I hope you like my video picks and goodbye September!!

The Only Performance That Mattered At The MTV 2013 VMAs

And here is the Justin/N'Sync performance. For some reason, I couldn't add it to today's Poppin' Off post. Enjoy!!

Poppin' Off: Recap of the 2013 VMAs

Oh boy. What a show the VMAs turned out to be. I have to say....I kind of loved it (and thats all thanks to JT).

First off, that Lady Gaga opener. I'm not so much a fan of hers. I liked her earlier songs and then she just got a little too political for my taste, and it reflected in her music. Anyway, I liked her performance. I thought it had a slow start, and that weird nun outfit was a little much, but the song is catchy. And, her seashell bra and G-string bottom? Get it girl! I respect that she isn't stick thin and still has the confidence to rock that outfit. I think thats something the tween set, and even many adults, need to see (maybe not the buttcheeks, but the message). Body image has been so mutilated thanks to modern media; I thought Lady Gaga's outfit was a nice display of confidence and wasn't trashy.

And then there was Miley. She was a little (meaning really) trashy. I didn't have my children in the room with me while I was watching the VMAs, so I don't have the parental rage that so many seem to have. She pushed a lot of boundaries, but I don't think she did it to glorify that lifestyle, I think she was just doing it for attention. People weren't paying attention to her when she was just being herself, and crazy trashy seems to sell these days (Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan anyone?), so its a smart PR move. I like the song, and I liked when Robin Thicke came out to sing Blurred Lines. Sure, it may be 2013's rape anthem (according to my sister in law), but that song is catchy. Also, I wasn't paying too close attention to Miley while Robin Thicke was singing, so I didn't see all the nasty things she was doing with that foam finger.

Before I get to Justin Timberlake's a-maz-ing performance, I'd like to point out some things that bothered me about the VMAs. First off, Taylor Swift's jab at her ex One Direction boyfriend was so immature. I used to be a huge fan of hers, and I still like her songs, but with the constant boyfriend hopping and the lack of maturity she displays.....it makes her kinda icky. At least Miley keeps consistent with one guy. Also, what was up with the 24/7 shots of her and Selena Gomez all night long? Sure its fun to see celeb BFFs, but I would've liked to have seen other audience members. Something else that bothered me were Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's acceptance speeches. They deserve every award they got, no doubt about it. But they had the longest speeches of the night, and they always seemed to thank their featured singers (Ray Dalton and Mary Lambert) who were up there onstage with them, as an afterthought. Which I thought was disrespectful because without Mary and Ray, those songs would be incomplete. Also, news outlets reported that One Direction were the only act to be booed that night, but I could swear that at the beginning of Lady Gaga's set, she was getting booed too. Did anyone else hear that, or was that just me?

So Justin. Justin, Justin, Justin. His performance was amazing. Perfect even. He sang all my favorite songs by him and he looked like such a cutie. Its now a life ambition of mine to see him in concert. The only thing I didn't like was that the N'Sync reunion was like five seconds long. The hype leading up to it made it so disappointing. But you also have to take into account that it wasn't a Video Vanguard for N'Sync, it was for Justin as a solo artist. Even Jimmy Fallon's intro and rambles before giving Justin the award were cute ("I'm talking Sexy Back! I'm talking Dick In A Box! Dick In A Box!") Justin's performance was the highlight of the night, no doubt about it. I imagine that next year's VMAs will pale in comparison, just because they won't have the Justin performance (and also, I'm sure MTV will have to vigilant about their performances, thanks to Miley's twerking escapades.)

Since I can't find any good YouTube videos of the performances, here are the official videos for Applause, Blurred Line and We Can't Stop.