A few weeks ago, I was listening to the Seventies station on Sirius radio. It’s a preset button on my dashboard, along with the Eighties and Love Songs and Broadway channels, cementing my place in the Music Dork Hall of Fame.
The Seventies station often plays songs I remember from my childhood; they are songs my parents listened to before I was old enough to sit in the front seat and take control of the radio. On this day, I switched to the station right as Afternoon Delight came on.
It is a song you probably know even if you don’t know the name or the artist (Starland Vocal Band). The group was a one-hit wonder in 1976, and I inexplicably had the album in elementary school. The lyrics were conveniently written on the paper sleeve that held the album, and I belted them out with gusto.
I did a lot of belting out songs in my bedroom as a kid. I totally got away with singing at the top of my lungs into my toy microphone; in retrospect I can’t imagine how my mother put up with the noise.
Afternoon Delight was one of my favorites. I can’t remember that my sunglasses are on the top of my head, but I can remember the words to a song I learned over thirty-five years ago, so I cheerily sing along with the Seventies station. As I’m singing, I am both horrified and amused at the lyrics, which I now fully understand.
Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight
Gonna grab some afternoon delight
My motto’s always been “When it’s right, it’s right”
Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night
Hmm.
Thinkin’ of you’s workin’ up my appetite
Looking forward to a little afternoon delight
Rubbin’ sticks and stones together make the sparks ignite
And the thought of loving you is getting so exciting
I remember Little Dana in her knee highs and corduroy knickers, singing about rubbing things together and getting excited. I can’t get through the second verse because I am laughing too hard.
Started out this morning feeling so polite
I always thought a fish could not be caught who didn’t bite
But you’ve got some bait a waitin’ and I think
Like nibblin’ in a little afternoon delight
Oh, Dana. I thought I was singing about fishing at the pond on a delightful afternoon.
*****
Last week, I got away with my family for our biennial beach Thanksgiving vacation, combining outlet shopping with lots of relaxing. It was the first time Gwen was home from college for more than two days, and I was basking in the glow of having both my kiddos under the same roof. The basking ended when I tried to wrangle them for our holiday photo. Wouldn’t a family picture on the beach be lovely? It wasn’t, and we will not be sending out holiday photos this year.
*****
I’ve got a way with online shopping; I take pride in being able to find the best deal. Cyber Monday is my main event, although I’m finding that many online stores continue the savings into December. If you still have shopping to do, I have a few tips:
1. Use Ebates. I’ve mentioned it before, but it takes time to get into the habit of using it. You’re missing out if you don’t, though. You’ll be surprised by how many sites participate (Groupon and Etsy, for example). Sign up with my referral link here and we both get $10 cash back.
2. As an alternative to Ebates, try Giving Assistant. It works the same, but you can opt to donate a percentage of your choosing to charity. Comparison shop the two sites, since the cash back percentage sometimes differs. Sign up with my referral link here and we both get $5 cash back.
3. Sign up for Amazon Smile. You designate the charity of your choice, and when you shop through the smile link, Amazon will donate 0.5% to that charity every time you make a purchase. I never remember to shop through the link, so when Catherine mentioned Amazon Smile in her post earlier this week, I set mine up and added a bookmark to my toolbar.
4. Even if you ignore my first three tips, do this: Google the item you plan to purchase before you click “buy.” It takes a few seconds, and you may find the same item for a lower price on another website. There are all sorts of fancy apps and sites that claim to find you the best deals, but just sticking with an old-fashioned search is the simplest way to make sure you’re getting the lowest price.
*****
While this appears to be a random, rambling post, it is actually my way of tackling the Finish the Sentence Friday prompt. I’m co-hosting this week, and I came up with the sentence, but then I couldn’t think of a way to finish it. Instead, I took the prompt “I totally got away with…” and approached it from three different ways: got away with (escape punishment), got away with (traveled), and got a way with (good at something).
So what did you totally get away (or a way) with? Feel free to link up with us, or tell me in the comments.
I never knew what Afternoon Delight was about either🤓. It wasn’t until they perform Ed it on Glee that I got it. Your parents must have loved listening to little Dana sing that song.
thank you so much for the shout out! have you done a price compare between black friday and cyber monday? i actually shopped on both days and didn’t notice a difference.
Ebates is awesome! Had to laugh about the song lyrics. Too funny 🙂
I would never ignore your tips! eBates and Amazon Smile, check.
Afternoon Delight makes me giggle! As well as that “Downtown” song.
Also, that picture! I know it’s funny but Gwen is as lovely as ever.
Aw, thanks. We just don’t have time for another photo shoot before the holidays, and I think the kids would kill me if I tried!
Haha, I’m imagining little Dana singing about grown-up things and having no idea!
Thanks for the shout out, glad to have introduced you to Giving Assistant. And thanks to you I have Ebates!
Yay!
I will look into ebates and I will for sure use your link if I do it!
Thanks Nina!
My aunt and uncle named their boat “Afternoon Delight”. I thought it was about enjoying a sail on Saturday after lunch. Ha! Now I know better.
I had a toy microphone too (Barbie, actually, pink and white with a little black antennae thingy that would let my voice carry over the speakers of my radio. Fabulous!!!) Perhaps this month’s Who I Am project can be “cringe-worthy memories”.
I love the beach photo because I’m happy to see that somebody else’s daughter doesn’t revel in hugs from Mom and Dad.
Thanks for the shopping tips – I can use Amazon Smile to donate to my son’s much underfunded magnet school. Thank you for the reminder and the bookmark tip. Setting it up now…
Have a great afternoon! 😉
Happy to give the tip – I always forgot to use the Smile link, so now it’s set up to give to the SPCA each time I shop.
Yes, the expression in the photo was a common one, but can you believe she said it was okay for me to use it? She’s always surprising me.
I shop Amazon a LOT!
I didn’t know about Amazon Smile &
I have SO MANY charities I LOVE!!!
Thank you, dear! x
My pleasure! You can switch your charity whenever you want too, so you can spread the love.
So substitute the soundtrack for GREASE for “Afternoon Delight” and I’m right there with you. My sister and I would belt out “Greased Lightning” among other things. I could never figure out why a wagonful of cats had anything to do with that car. And why they were talking about an insurance card “breaking” in the back of the car. When the 30th anniversary of the movie came around, they played it again in the movie theater. My sister and I went and we thought, OMG, this movie is totally dirty! I can’t believe our parents let us watch it over and over and over again, let alone sing along to the soundtrack. Jump ahead to about 2009, I had received free passes to see MAMA MIA (the movie) and I really wanted to go, but no one to watch Ducky. I thought, she’s 9, that part about the main character sleeping with 3 men within days of each other and having no idea who the father of her child was, went right over her head. Along with everything else. It’s still one of her favorite movies… And a tradition is passed along to the next generation. 😉
Exactly! I saw Grease when I was under ten years old – and all those lyrics went over my head too. But I thought I was getting away with seeing such an adult movie because of the mooning scene!
My parents took me to see Starland Vocal Band perform at White Flint Mall in the ’70s. They played the song in front of a record store. Remember record stores?
My sister worked at Sam Goody – I loved record stores! My favorite was Record and Tape Traders – got my used Journey’s Escape cassette tape for a steal there. I love that you saw Starland Vocal Band.
OMG that song! It’s actually in the movie Good Will Hunting (my favorite) or else I don’t think I would know it. My husband sings it to bother me b/c it’s just too gross. I know I’m super immature but, really? Ugh.
Love that photo because that is real life!! I have a similar one I’m using as part of our card this year and I will be posting on the blog. #keepingitreal
And yes – always Google for the best prices!! I also use Amazon Smile b/c we can donate to our school. Can Amazon get any better? I think not.
Amazon is pretty much perfect, I agree. I would definitely add that photo to our card if we were sending one, but I was surprised that Gwen gave me the thumbs up for using it on my blog. I guess she knows less people will see it here than they would if I mailed it out!
I’m on board with anyone who knows to go to Lynn Canyon vs Capilano Suspension Bridge, so you had me at “I have a few tips …”
And yes, that family photo? Hmmm. Has me thinking you were perhaps there for an intervention … Classic.
I love that photo – she is trying to ignore our dorkiness and stay calm. The facial expression is priceless.
I still have fantasies of getting another (one???) great holiday photo because hello, it’s only December 1 and we have LOADS of time. But I love that Gwen’s eyes are glinty closed, because that’s all of ours too. You’ll get a better one.
Also Afternoon Delight is in my head and that’s NOT A THANK YOU. A HEM. Gross. I can almost forgive you for reminding me of Knickers because OMG they used to not just be some brit way of saying underwear and I’d totally forgotten that. I LOVED AND LIVED in my knickers.
No time for a better photo – by the time she comes home it will be too late! Oh well. Maybe we should do a new year’s photo with all of us wearing knickers? The non-underwear kind.
I used the pic I took of my girls in Disney for our Christmas card this year as I truly couldn’t stomach trying to take more pictures or waiting at Target for someone to take them of my kids. Oh and I did both Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping here, as well.
I hope you’re almost done your shopping, Janine!