About a year ago when I was commuting 40 miles south to Mission Viejo every day to a job that was in a less than positive environment, I started doing Fancy Coffee Friday. Instead of drinking the free coffee at work, I’d detour to the Starbucks on the way to the office, get a medium mocha with no whip cream on top, sigh, and pat myself on the back for making it through another week.

Now, a year later, I’ve kept that little ritual going. Except now I’m doing a job I love with zero commute (except for the occasional drive to L.A. for a meeting), and with the prego-ness I’ve made the temporary switch to Fancy Hot Chocolate Friday. It’s nice that the ritual has a happier tone to it now, a more “YAY it’s the weekend!!!” and less “Good god how am I going to do this again next week” feeling.

Do you have little weekly rituals like that, and what are they? Happy weekending everyone!

ok so admittedly the ipod brought up stinkers i passed over this morning on the way to work, but it DID come up with some really good stuff! if you haven’t heard some of these songs you should download em stat!

“triple track” by dance hall crashers

“a kiss is not a contract” by flight of the conchords

“faithfully” by journey

“rang dang” by bloodhound gang

“opposites attract” by paula abdul (this is awesome, family guy completely altered this song for me. now when i sing along and get to the chorus instead of singing “cuz opposites attract” i sing “cuz i’m dressed like a cat”.)

“gett off” by prince

“all my rowdy friends have settled down” by hank willams jr. (i started cracking up bad when this song came up directly after “gett off”… cuz that one’s a song about one night stands and whatnot… and this one’s about how none of the dude’s friends go out and party anymore.)

“the new you” by the vandals

“coming clean” by green day (that dookie cd will always hold a special place in my heart… it marked me at 17 just starting to listen to kroq and more rock and punk and blah blah blah. i still love dookie. shut up.)

“uptown girl” by me first and the gimmie gimmies (ok check it out, billy joel came up earlier in the mix but i forwarded past it because it was too sleepy. then the me first and the gimmie gimmies comes on and i’m all YEAHHHHHH BILLY JOEL! KICKASS!!)

“waiting” by cake (cake is awesome awesome rainy day music. if it’s pouring when i head home i’m just gonna set the ipod to shuffle through all my cake cds and it’s gonna rock my socks off)

the end!

lots of mornings on the way to work i’ll hook up my ipod, pick a particular somethin’ to listen to and that is it.

other mornings, i set the ipod to shuffle through my schizophrenic music library and pick some gems for me for the 40 mile drive – this morning’s playlist was killer! your homework is to check out any of the songs you’ve never heard before:

1) “take me with u” by prince and the revolution
2) “happy rap” by junior senior
3) “talk dirty to me” by poison
4) “the other way of stopping” by the police
5) “rockabilly” by the mavericks
6) “like a virgin” by madonna
7) “interlude… the set up” by foxy brown
8) “fat bottomed girls” by queen
9) “she’s automatic” by rancid
10) “won’t get fooled again” by the who
11) “heaven must be missing an angel” by tavares
12) “only the lonely” by roy orbison
13) “dick lips” by blink 182

i saw this car on the drive home last week; why is it that anytime i see amazing airbrushed artwork on the road there’s no way i can get a decent picture?

this one was elvis – the other two airbrushed treasures i’ve seen were a scene of the last supper and a montage of pics of selena with her name in a fabulously scripty font!