Run, Forest! Run!

It's January....a new month. New year. New decade. Seems like a good time to figure out new (and more constructive) ways to deal with the general stress, anger, sadness, and frustration that pops up now and then.

I did 3.17 miles on my treadmill this morning. I even managed to squeeze in 4 sprints at 6mph for 40 seconds and NOT drop dead. Whoopee!

And I'd like to thank some people who kept me company while I accomplished this great feat of athleticism......The Beastie Boys, Green Day, Simple Plan, Maroon 5, Pink, OutKast, and The Black Eyed Peas, to name just a few.

Oh yeah, and I'd like to thank the creator of the iPod by planting a big sloppy kiss on his/her cheek. Truly, without my iPod, I wouldn't run 3 feet, much less 3 miles.

And I'd like to thank the Academy.

Wait. Wrong speech.

So in the interest of inspiring you to run or walk or shake your groove thang, here's a list of songs that never fail to light a fire under my backside:

(PS. They're in alphabetical order. Not because I'm a huge anal-retentive dork who alphabetizes her music. Honest. It's because the iPod lists them that way.)

"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet

"Basket Case" and "East Jesus Nowhere" and "Know Your Enemy" and "Minority" and "Nice Guys Finish Last" and "Peacemaker" by Green Day (Psst. In case you're wondering, I love these guys.)

"Black Cat" by Janet Jackson

"Blister in the Sun" by the Violent Femmes

"Bust a Move" by Young MC

"Copacabana" by Barry Manilow ("Her name was Lola. She was a showgirl....")

"Cowboy" by Kid Rock

"Eat the Rich" by Aerosmith

"Fight For Your Right" by the Beastie Boys

"Gives You Hell" by The All-American Rejects

"Gold Digger" by Kanye West (featuring Jamie Foxx) (Don't look at me like that. I am a klassy person in real life....that doesn't mean my musical tastes are equally klassy.)

"Hey Ya!" by OutKast

"Hollaback Girl" and "Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani

"How Far We've Come" by Matchbox Twenty

"Ice, Ice, Baby" by Vanilla Ice (I give you permission to cringe. Even I can't defend lyrics like, "If there was a problem, yo, I'll solve it" or "I'm cookin' MCs like a pound of bacon.")

"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers

"I Gotta Feeling" and "Pump It" by the Black Eyed Peas

"It Takes Two" by Rob Base

"Just a Friend" by Biz Markie

"London Bridge" by Fergie (In my next life, I will have her abs.)

"The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World

"More Human Than Human" by White Zombie

"Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry

"Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) by The Offspring (As a testament to how often we listen to this and how much we love it, Rachel walks around singing, "Give it to be me, baby! Uh-huh, uh-huh!")

"Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind (I could listen to this every. single. day. and not tire of it.)

"Shut Up" by Simple Plan

"That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings

"U + Ur Hand" by Pink

"Wake Up Call" by Maroon 5

"Whiskey in the Jar" by Metallica

"Without Me" by Eminem

"You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive

"1985" by Bowling for Soup

I will soon be downloading "Hot Mess" by Cobra Starship and "Lola" by the Kinks.....

As you can see, my musical tastes swing wildly into many different genres. My iPod selections have Nick scratching his head and seriously reconsidering this whole "til death do we part" arrangement.

Nicholas, too, is finding out that Mom is missing some crucial marbles.

I filled his iPod with any music that was "safe" enough for his 9-year-old ears. He came down the steps from his room and asked, "Who put BARBIE GIRL on my iPod?!"

Nick's reply: "That would be your mother."

* * * * * * * *

So, my peeps......Give me one song that makes you wanna shake what your Momma gave ya. I'm always open to suggestions!