Eight Albums Everyone Should Own

Tom Petty once said that sequencing an album is just as hard and important as writing and performing the songs on an album. That's why he is anti single-song downloading. He says you often miss the bigger picture by listening to individual songs. If an artist masters the album well, it can tell a story - even without being a concept album (which I'm addicted to). I totally agree with what he's saying, although I still love the shuffle feature on my MP3 player.

So, I thought I'd share eight of my favorite albums. From start to finish, they rock, which makes them excellent examples of Tom Petty's point.

* Pearl Jam - Yield
* Lonestar - Lonestar
* My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade (concept album)
* Seven Mary Three - American Standard
* Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum
* Weezer - The Blue Album
* Highway Companion - Tom Petty
* Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack (this is a stretch, but it's my list, so it counts)

What's your favorite album?

Gross.

I just realized I've been legally driving for half my life.

As Requested.

Before.After.

I Have a Baby - Not a Disease

OK. I have to warn you, this post might get a little b*tchy. At the bare minimum, it's going to be very crab-apple-y. I apologize in advance.

I have a baby. An adorable, 9-month-old son. He's cute. He's hilarious. He's thisclose to walking. He can be frustrating at times, but he can also make you laugh with just a look. He's convinced me that God exists - and he's proven that I don't need 8 hours of sleep every night (although I'm still fighting him on this one).

He doesn't have cooties. If you touch me, you won't get pregnant. And, I can carry on conversations that don't revolve around him (although he is the cutest thing ever). In fact, since his birth, Billy and I still find time to read (we just don't finish books as fast as we used to). We still go out to eat (although we have to time our outings a bit more carefully). We still watch sports (BB has been to three Mud Hens games, one Indians game and one Ohio State football game in his short time on earth). We still watch movies (although Netflix is more our style nowadays). We still watch TV (Glee rocks). And Billy and I both still work.

All of those things add up to lots of conversation material. So ... why don't you invite us out anymore? Sure, we don't have many babysitters in town, but we have some. Sure, I can't drink, but I never really did before. Sure, we can't close the bars down. But, we can still go out. We are the same people we were a year ago, we just have a little person waiting for us at home now.

All I'm asking is that the next time you think 'Oh, I should invite Amber and Billy, no wait, I can't, they have a baby,' just ask us - and let us decide if we can come or not. I'm pretty sure we'll jump at the chance to get out of the house sans the cutest baby in the world for a few hours.

Happy Halloween!

I had to jump on the 'let's show old Halloween pictures' bus - mostly because my dear friend Wendy forgot to post this one on her blog. This was taken in BG in 1997, the first year I ever dressed up for Halloween. It was a last-minute thing, so I threw on my friend Ben's Army shirt, my dad's camo pants and my black Docs and hit the road. Wendy was Billy Corgan. (She was pretty much obsessed with him.) As you can see, we didn't go the 'sexy' route.

It's On (Like Donkey Kong)

Billy and I are once again attempting our own little Biggest Loser challenge. May the best WOman win!

Dr. Pepper and Crack Don't Go Together

Hi. You know how McDonald's puts crack in their Coke and that's why it tastes so good? Well, they have Dr. Pepper now - and it doesn't taste so good. I just tried it and I wouldn't've have had a clue that I was drinking Dr. Pepper if I hadn't ordered it myself.