Answers To My Questions
by Jenners • 02/27/2009 • BB/The Little One, My Take On... • 33 Comments
On Tuesday, I asked you to help answer some questions I had. I must say that I was amazed at your thoughtful responses! Your answers were quite helpful, so I thought I owed you a follow-up post to let you know what I found out.
Does perfume go bad?
Yes — in the sense that the scent will change over time. If you have good perfume, you should keep it in the refrigerator. However, if you still like how it smells in its “changed” form, you can certainly continue to use it. However, I have decided that since I have not used the perfume I have in 7 years, I will be getting rid of it. Anybody want a 7-year-old, hardly used giant bottle of Clinique Happy? (I might have exaggerated about the “jug” bit — it is quite large but it is NOT Jean Nate, which was a staple of my Mom’s bathroom for my entire childhood and came in an enormous plastic bottle!)
What are two or three of your favorite songs?
I asked because I recently won a $15 iTunes gift card from Jennifer P. at The Petersons Go Public and was having trouble thinking of songs I wanted to get. Whenever I get a gift card, I freeze up about what I want to use it for. Your suggestions were wonderful and gave me some new artists to check out, but did you know that three artists were mentioned at least three times? Considering ALL the music out there and the relatively small amount of people reading this blog, I was surprised at this. The top three were Tom Petty, Michael Buble and Jason Mraz. And Earth Wind and Fire and Duffy also got two votes each. Interesting, huh?
Well, when I went to get my songs this morning, this is what I ended up getting. Let me say, this little downloading spree started with me wanting to get a song by Jane Siberry — that was the only thing I had in mind when I started.
- “Everything Reminds Me Of My Dog” by Jane Siberry – This is such a happy, bouncy funny song and I had remembered that I had been wanting to get this. This song led me to remember…
- “Birdhouse in My Soul” by They Might Be Giants – Another quirky, funny, happy, bouncy song, which then led to…
- “If I Had $1,000,000″ by Barenaked Ladies –Another quirky — are you seeing the theme here? These three songs would make a great mini mix CD. I then remembered another song that I had been wanting to get so I downloaded…
- “Sugar Hiccup” by the Cocteau Twins — Really beautiful, fun strange song. The song title reminded me of the Sugarcubes, so then I downloaded…
- “Birthday” by the Sugarcubes — This was Bjork’s original group, and this song is the best! I hadn’t heard it in years and really wanted to get it. This then reminded me how much I miss my Tom Tom Club CDs so I downloaded…
- “Genius of Love” by the Tom Tom Club – This is a brilliant song to which the Little One took an instant liking. (If you aren’t familiar with the group, the Tom Tom Club is basically the Talking Heads without David Byrne — literally). I then remembered how much I loved the soundtrack from “Romeo and Juliet” (the one with Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio) so I got my favorite song from the album…
- “You and Me Song” by the Wannadies – This is the song I WISH I had gotten to dance to at my wedding but we could have never pulled off. I adore this song and find it very romantic and realistic in its sentiments. This song reminded me of…
- “First Date” from the Wall-E soundtrack — This is the song that plays when Wall-E and Eve go on their first date and I dig the sound so much I downloaded it even though it is only 1 minute long. This somehow lead to…
- “Just Dance” by Lady GaGa — This is a really recent song that I always hear at the Little One’s karate classes and I just liked it. Since I was now in a dancy mood, I remembered two great dancing songs I keep meaning to download so I got…
- “Canned Heat” and “Virtual Insanity” by Jamiroquai – Great upbeat dancy tunes with awesome lyrics. Then, inexplicably I remembered that I wanted to get a song by Beth Orton because I think her voice is amazing so I ended up getting…
- “Oooh Child” by Beth Orton — This woman can make ANY song sound sad. You probably know the original but you gotta hear this version. Amazing. This song put me in the mind of a childhood favorite that also has a melancholy feel to it…
- “Ode to Billy Joe” by Ashley Gearing — This is not the original version (I couldn’t find it) but it is pretty damn close. This song still gives me the shivers. I love it. And my final download was…
- “It Ain’t Necessarily So” by the Bronski Beat – I think I was thinking of my whole struggle with the Creationism vs. Darwinism thing and this song popped into my head because of the line “Things that you’re liable/to read in the Bible/Ain’t necessarily so.” Catchy tune.
Strange little musical journey isn’t it? I don’t know why I felt I needed help … once I got started, I just took off.
What is the meaning of life?
Although a few of your took on this one and did pretty good, only three of you couldn’t resist referencing the number 42. (From The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in case you were scratching your head.)
How did the first person come alive?
This was a question put to me over breakfast the other day by the Little One, and I was stymied how to answer it.
Let me first say that I do believe in God and have faith in a higher power. I was raised Roman Catholic but began questioning much of the church’s teachings in college and have not been practicing since then. I took several World Religion courses in college in an attempt to understand my own faith better but never ended up practicing another formal religion. I really struggle with how to reconcile the two sides of my personality — the “faith” side and the “thinking/practical” side. I think that came across pretty clear in that post. It is something I still work on — especially now that I have a child. But I certainly wanted you to know that I do have a type of spirituality in my life. (This concludes any religious discussion on this blog; I know that is not why you are here.)
I appreciate all of your thoughtful and helpful advice. But perhaps the best advice I got was to ask the Little One what he thought. I was glad I did this as it helped to clarify what he had in mind and the level at which I need to remember to talk to him about stuff like this. (I WAS totally overthinking this — he is only 4!).
So, when I asked the Little One what he thought, he said “I think maybe there were Lego people and then they grew up into real people.” This totally gave me the giggles. Then he said, “But I guess that can’t be true because people aren’t Legos. So I think there was a little baby in a house and she grew up to be a girl and she had a baby and it was a boy so he was the dad.” So, you know what, we are just going to leave it at that for now and we’ll fill in the details later!
Wow…that took a little longer than I thought. I was going to post more of the Bad Writing entries today but I think I’ll do that tomorrow and leave them up all weekend for you to check out. They are totally hilarious so be sure to stop by and read them if you have a moment. I guarantee they will make you laugh.
BTW, my post that included Genius of Love also included this: because he’s freakin’ Tom Petty!
Because freakin’ Tom Petty is awesome!
OMG! I hadn’t heard of Bronski Beat in 20 years!! Do you have any of the TMBG’s for kids for The Little One? Genius of Love? One of my favorites! Even included it in a blog post a while back! Good songs all around! I think your iPod would be the best to listen to because your musical taste is just across the board.
That was a great idea for how the first person came alive! I’m mad that I didn’t think to say that because I totally would have done just that with my nieces had the asked me! *slaps forehead*
Count me as another vote for Tom Petty! I’ve been listening to our classic rock radio station lately and loving it.
You always have to remember 42 (and the Friday high five) {*grin*}
My day isn’t complete without stopping by. I’m glad all of your most difficult questions have been answered.
Oooh! Oooh! I LOVE They Might Be Giants!!! The album that came from is called “Flood” and it came out in 1990. I know EVERY SONG BY HEART!!! My favorite one is “Particle Man” or maybe the theme song at the beginning…
“Why is the world in love again?
Why are we marching hand in Hand?
It’s a brand new record for 1990
They Might Be Giants
Brand New Album Floooooodddd!!!!”
Blessings!
Oooh Child! I’m gonna be singing that now!
I like that you answered your questions…..and I love Jenni Jiggity!
Oh dear God, Jean Nate!
I saw it EVERYWHERE when I was a kid! It was to older women what Love’s Baby Soft was to high school girls!
I love the Barenaked Ladies. You should download their whole Rock Spectacle album, as well as Stunt. Good times!
I liked how your conversation with the Little One went. He came up with some clever creation ideas!
Thank you for the feature, Jenners!
I featured you back!
I think I have the Ode to Billy Joe original, I’d have to look. I hadn’t heard of most of your songs though. Boy am I outta the loop or what?
Jenners you are so funny! When I saw that bottle of Jean Nate on the blog roll I just had to come by! Too funny. I just ordered a Zen mp3 player with my mucho Thank You points and it is on its way. I think I will reference your list when it is time to buy some music. The answer about Legos is so precious and so 4! I am glad you took that advice ;-} I will definitely check out Jenni’s site. I can use some help myself in the long winded department. (Former English teacher. That’s my excuse.) A site that I like is http://threebeautifulthings.blogspot.com/
I love the short snapshots of a life filled with gratitude.
Enjoy the day Jenn! And thanks for such a great and inspiring post!
Erin
Jean Nate…..now that brings me back to junior high school!
Great spot light. I adore Jenni!
Awesome post
coming from Jenni’s site so cool that you have featured her, she’s awesome 
I like your music picks, it’s been a long time since I listened to The Sugarcubes so I had to go look them up on YouTube!
And your little boy is a genius. Legos!
I like your song list. I’m glad to have some new tunes to check out! What a great idea to have your Little One share his thoughts with you. It always terrific to let your kids feel that their view is important too! He came up with a very creative and thoughtful answer. Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I always look forward to reading your comments
great music, great answers and, of course, the answer to life is: 42!!
“If I had a million dollars” – can’t hear this song without thinking of Heather and her best friend Brooke singing it – always brings a smile
I love your music picks! I’ll have to listen or relisten to all of them.
Birdhouse in My Soul and If I Had $1,000,000 are two of my favorites that bring back great memories of high school and my time as a camp counselor. Thank you for mentioning them this morning!
I think that is a great way to handle that question with your little one.
Oh, now I have “If I had a million dollars” stuck in my head!! I LOVE THAT SONG!!
somehow I missed your questions but that’s ok, cuz I wouldn’t know how to answer them.
Love the music list! I am off to iTunes to check it out…they should probably send you a commission for all the linky love they’ll be gettin’ from you today!!!
I love coming here:) I always leave in a fit of giggles!
P.S. Thanks SO much for that link in your comment back.. I've gotten Narrative but didn't know about the P&W blog. Thx!!
OH MY GOSH! You have made me giggle. I totally should have known the 42! My husband has made me watch that movie so many times. He even has it on blu ray. If I have to hear the song “so long and thanks for all the fish, we never thought it’d come to this…” one more time! It is in teh dvd player in our bedroom and I swear I go to sleep each night dreaming of dolphins, lol!
Loved your answers…especially the Little One’s Lego theory…Hilarious!
I was hoping you would post your answers. Off to say good morning to Jiggity Jigg.
Thank you for the follow up! “Canned Heat” is one of my favorite songs on my iPod. Loved your little one’s take on where the first person came from…and, I love Jiggity Jigg!
I LOVE Beth Orton’s version of “Ooh child” and I’m proud I was one of the three (42) – yippee!
Off to check out your featured reader! (Secret is in the Jenners?)
I hope I can be a green Lego girl
ok, we must be the same age… we have the same taste in music.
Love your little one’s answers. Maybe it was even 42 legos. Funny!
Those are some great answer. I love where the “where did people come from” discussion went. I didn’t see that one coming.
And clearly your readers have great taste in music – yay for Tom Petty!