To the King of Pop!

Unless you have been living in a cave, you are well aware that Michael Jackson passed away last night due to cardiac arrest. While his life has had it's ups and downs and many people hated him for the man he became, he was definetely "The King of Pop".

I have always loved his music, everything from "Billy Jean" to "Heal the World". His was a musical genius - he put down awesome beats and his lyrics have the ability to create emotion and strike chords with his fans. He had this amazing ability to bring people together, all races, religions, sexualities and more.

I was thinking about it this morning when I woke up, which made me do this blog post. Elvis Presley to my parents was a music icon, he was the "King of Rock N Roll"! I still listen to his music and he left his mark in history. He too, died a young death and was taken too soon. Michael Jacson to my generation, is like the Elvis Presley to our parents - only Michael is the "King of Pop".

So to a man who not only changed the music industry but was able to bring people together from all around the world to dance and rejoice, we will miss you. You may not have lived the best life is some people's eyes, but it wasn't an easy life either. You will be missed and you have left your mark. I will continue to screech your lyrics at the top of my lungs and dance my ass off everytime one of your songs comes on - and that is the best way I can think of to honor you.

Blah Blah Blah

Do you ever have weeks that just seem to go on and on forever - that is this week for me? I’ve just felt blah all week. I can barely drag myself to the gym and the last thing I want to do is get out of bed. The only thing that seems to make me happy this week is eating, which is bad. It’s one of those weeks where I don’t ever feel like I’ve eaten enough even though I have.

I think my week just started off in a bad place and I haven’t been able to get out of my funk. It started with coming back from HHI, which stunk, and also it was father’s day. Which after almost 10 years I’ve almost become numb to, but it still hurts. Like right now, just even reading that sentence made me tear up. But I do things that still make me think of my Dad and some things sure make me wish he were here. Like, I’ve actually started to enjoy golf and am taking up lessons. He would be soooo excited to play with me and probably would be my teacher for free! But I’ve already diverged from the original topic of my post – which is basically what my week has been all about.

I feel like one of those Cymbalta commercials, where the really sad music plays and the puppy just wants you to throw the tennis ball but you just don’t want to get up to do it. That pretty much sums up my week. I think it’s probably the sweltering heat that’s making me tired and that in turn is making me grumpy. So, when I went to post a blog I didn’t feel like writing about anything, cuase that’s just how it’s gone this week. Get in there, get em done and go to bed.

Just What A Girl Needed

This past weekend we had a girls weekend in Hilton Head Island. It was a much needed weekend away from boys and great bonding for the girls. I must throw major thanks to Heather for letting us stay at her house and Jim and MB for flying Megan and I down and home! KUDOS!

I love these weekends with the ladies because you can just be silly and have fun. Even though they are the people you are with all the time, getting out of town and rid of the boys makes such a difference. Of course there is lots of laughter, some tears and girls being girls.

We basically spent the entire weekend lounging on the beach with lots of yummy beer, turkey sandwiches and great dinners. There was one boy who we allowed to join for a little, Jason - buried in the sand, who was down there with his girlfriend Christine and we couldn't exclude him from the fun. Plus, he carried the coolers and acted as our photographer.

We did enjoy a night out on the town Saturday, and it got a little wild and crazy and was just what we needed. It involved lots of shots, dancing and singing. And that's all I'm saying since my boyfriend reads this blog :)

I love the smell of South Carolina and it was good to be back, even for a short amount of time. I can't wait until the next girls trip and love you all!

XO

Start Your Engines

This past weekend I had the chance to go to the Meijer 300 at the Kentucky Speedway. It was my first NASCAR Event and it was totally awesome!

I went with a group of friends, pictured to the left, except the guy in the NASCAR jersey we just met that day! If you notice the man in the hot denim vest, that's my friend Ben - who made this lovely purchase that day for $5 in the BP parking lot! Funny thing is, not one person even batted an eyelash at this outfit.

It was everything I imagined it to be and more. Lotsa beer drinking, tapered jeans, jorts, cut off T-Shirts, mullets, shirtless men, feathered bangs and much much more! We did our tailgating in the Ramada Inn Parking lot across from the track - sounds classy huh? Nothing like tailgating in a hotel parking lot with a strip joint as your back drop - couldn't have asked for more.

We then went to the race and enjoyed an awesome concert by Pat Green! We danced, sang and polished off some tall boys to get ready for the race. We took our seats and sat for 29/300 laps. It was SOOOOo loud and only entertaining for the first few laps. If you ever go to a race, make sure you get headphones so you can hear what is going on, if not, it will just be cars going in circles and really really loud.

Then, we went to head back to our hotel. A group of us had a bit of a detour, as we hitched a ride from some shady folks and ended up an exit beyond the track (kids, don't do this in Sparta, KY where it's just you and the woods). But after being rescued by Crystal we were driven back to our hotel to meet our friends! Not the smartest decision ever made by us, but it made for a good story and details that can't be shared here.

We hung out and parties some more in the lot until going to bed in our smoke filled hotel. I mean, this hotel smelled like they had cigarette potpourri pumping into it- it was gross. We had 2 Queen beds and an air mattress in the middle to make one giant bed for the 6 of us! So it was not the best nights sleep.

The experience was awesome and we had a great time. At the end of it the only thing I wanted to do was get home and shower!!!

Crazy Media

I used to be heavily involved in Media and everything that evolved around it. I mean, the Digital TV Transition was all I ever heard about, but now it's 2 days away and if it weren't for those annoying TV commercials I wouldn't know a thing about it.

Don't get me wrong, I still read the media blogs and constantly read up on digital and innovative media, that's part of my job and I enjoy it. But Upfront Buys, Radio Stations, Print Buys, etc. pretty much a thing of the past for me other than what the general public knows or cares about it. I may still dabble in them now and then, but not keeping too current on the trends.

I received this link to the following YouTube video spoofing Media and that Media has died. It is a response to the Wall Street Meltdown Video. The video is funny and the whole "bye bye Big Upfront Buys" may be true, but media has not died. There have just been some shifts.

Consumers are more picky and more likely to shop around. With the Internet at our fingertips, price shopping no longer consists of driving to the store and figuring who has the best deal. Get a product in consumers hands before they shop, priceless. Or, like SparkPeople, receive testimonials from users which are even more priceless. Word of Mouth marketing is the best form of advertising for any product or company.

Digital spend has been consistently increasing since 2002. According to emarketer, Q1 2009 is the first time in over 7 years that digital has not seen year of year (YAY) growth, can't say that about every form of media. The economy is hurting marketing budgets everywhere, so even digital has to take a hit sometimes. But that doesn't mean media is dead.

I know we all hate TV commercials, Radio commercial and sometimes get annoyed by all the ads thrown at us. But without them it would be hard to know the brands and know the deals. Plus without media, who would have ever know about the Snuggy?

Kicking Off Summer the Right Way

This past weekend we had our first official Gigglemoor trip of the summer to celebrate my 28th birthday. I was a little uneasy at first because of my teeth, but come Friday evening I was feeling much better.

As usual the weekend was filled with great food, laughter, friends and all sorts of fun! We shot potato guns, played whiffle ball, went wake boarding, jet skiing, hung out on the dock and much more.

One of my favorite moments from the weekend was my birthday dinner on Saturday night. We cooked pork tenderloin, shrimp, veggies and much more and it was delicious!!! I have the best boyfriend who planned it all and even bought me a surprise outfit to wear for the night! Plus, my friends were the greatest and surprised me with a nice gift as well.

After all this, had to make room for the birthday cake complete with sparklers and all. We popped a little champagne and enjoyed! It was a great birthday and a total surprise to have the nice additions.

I can't wait to go back. I posted a group photo above as well as some snaps of the birthday cake! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday surprise!

Getting To Know A Little More About Me

It's been a crazy week, getting my teeth pulled and heading off to Gigglemoor for the weekend. I will definitely make a post about my birthday surprise, but first, how would you like to get to know a little more about me?

We have a new blog series at SparkPeople where we highlight the SparkPeople staff every so often. This week, they are featuring me!!! So, instead of post some of the same information here, I thought you could check out the DailySpark blog about me and learn some interesting facts. Being interviewed about yourself is harder than you think!!