You get your history from the Union Jack

I'm a terrible saver - I mean really terrible. My life (more specifically, my car) has a way of popping up with unseen expenses to take care of any good saving I may have been doing, anyway. Thanks, life!

But every once in awhile something comes along that really motivates me to save. Summer can recall the great lengths I went to save the money for my first guitar during eighth grade. I even went so far as to team up with my friend April who was strict about only eating exactly half her lunch every day. I ate the other half and saved my weekly allotment of lunch money to "feed the piggy" - bank, that is. I'm not sure I ever told my parents about that but there you go.

I don't remember how long it took me to save up the $250 I needed but it seemed like forever. I collected spare change from friends and saved every penny I found on a sidewalk. So with those memories running through my head this week, I thought I'd bust out with the modern day equivalent.

This November Jeff, Carrie and I are heading over to London for a week. I like to consider it a refresher course for the blog. A necessary expense as it were. I've been doing a little saving, but why not hit up my friends, too?

So over there on the right you'll see a little donation button. In just a couple clicks you can help make the Sad & British tour a reality. C'mon, think of how good it will make you feel to help send a blogger to the home of all her inspiration. I'll also throw this out there. If you donate $100 or more I'll post a photo of the three of us in front of any place of you choice in the London metropolitan area. Wouldn't that be a dream come true?

Really, though, this is about fun. Toss me a buck or two and we'll see what it all adds up to. Who knows, maybe it will be enough for a full pint of beer!

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Keeping with the British theme, today's album is one I was never going to own. I had given up on Britpop kings Oasis after their really awful album, 2002's Heathen Chemistry. In my mind, the band I had loved was dead, never to make good music again.

Ah, but minds always change. Jeff talked me into going to see them play in Cincinnati in March and then hooked me up with their new album Don't Believe The Truth. I'd heard the plodding first single "Lyla" and didn't have high hopes for the rest of it. I gave it a listen, though, and was pleasantly surprised. It's not earth shattering. It won't change your mind about Oasis, but Don't Believe The Truth is good! My hope was renewed. Maybe this band has a future after all.

"Part Of The Queue" and "Keep The Dream Alive" are as good as anything the band has ever done. It also seems like a little (just a little) of their sneer is gone. Maybe that's not good for a band built upon pure bravado, but maybe it will help them see when they're making terrible music. If there are any lapsed Oasis fans out there, I officially declare it safe to head back to the record store.