Monday 30 September 2013

HAIM - The Wire (Official Audio)

Just right for a Monday! 

 These girls, sisters actually, have got everyone in the music know buzzing and, if this song is any sort of indicator, it's no wonder!
  I think this spunky beat is just what I need on this very slow Monday.  My body is protesting after spending so many hours racing my crazytown crew from location to location the past few days.  I spent approximately 13 hours as a spectator to their sporting life, including an hour and a half standing in the cold and windy, driving rain through a football game. (Needless to say, football may no longer be Little Bear's favorite.)
  So everything in me this morning wanted to throw the alarm clock against the wall and just pull the covers tighter around me to block out the world.  Alas, it was not to be!  It is Monday!
  So take a listen and as always, if you like what you hear, head over and buy!  The album will be available any day now!

  Have a fantastic Monday, everyone!

Friday 27 September 2013

Favorite Things ~ TOP...

~ I cleaned out my email's inbox....finally!  Now I just need to reply to all those lovely little 
    letters that have been waiting long enough. (One thing at a time)
~ I have a bit of a thing for beginnings and endings.  I love the start of things.  I love the 
    start of school.  I love the feel of a new t-shirt.  I love new TV; I'm not too ashamed to 
    admit it, I love discovering new characters, now I just need to find more hours in the day       to carry me away to another world!
~ I got a coupon in the mail for new runners.  I love new runners!  I can't wait to try on all
    those brightly colored treats....my feet, knees and the rest of my old-lady body will be
    thankful!
~ I love the simple ways we can make a difference in whatever is going on around us.  Like
    sharing a bag of tomatoes, sharing a smile, extending a hand, a kind word, or a soft good 
    morning kiss on the cheek.  How about sharing a bowl of soup or going out of your way to
    make someone feel appreciated.  How about that encouraging text that can change your 
    day or stopping to catch up with someone you randomly bump into...is it all that random? 
    Or is it just what you needed to take yourself away from the crazy in your own life!?
~ Seeing old friends.  We're back to living at the arena and I love seeing the faces we live 
    with each winter.  It's funny how our circle of people changes when our children change 
    their sports teams.  Well, that is just the way it will be for the next, well, the next many 
    years.  I love catching up with new friends and seeing old ones.  I'm going to do my best 
    this season to not bury my nose in a book and hide behind the pages.  
    I'm going to try!  I didn't say I would succeed!
~  I love that it's getting dark so much earlier.  I feel like it's the more than welcome, 
    obligatory gear-down, and best of all, I've been getting to bed earlier than I have in 
    months!
~ I've surrendered the pretty room and gained a "son".  So far, (since Monday), all is right, all
    is seeming to fit together.  It's hard to believe it's only been a few days of having him in our 
    home.  Hopefully he feels a part of our family soon!
~ I love hearing your stories of the special simple moments in your life; the moments that 
    change the way you look at something.  (Those moments are often what makes us 
    better!)Thanks gorgeous, red haired friend for sharing your special moment with me last 
    night!  Hopefully you know who you are and how you encouraged me with your sharing, and 
    that we will in actuality have time soon for that coffee!
~ I LOVE random moments that shouldn't inspire things but often create the best ideas! 
    Ahhhhhh!  Big sigh!

  Alright, folks!  How's that for a list this week?  
  Have you made your own list lately?  I want to challenge you to do just that!  Find the simple and turn it into a highlight.
  Even in the midst of the chaos that has become all our lives there is so many things that can give us pause, things to make us thankful, things to remind us that life isn't just about us!

  Have a fantastic weekend!  

Monday 23 September 2013

The Mowgli's - The Great Divide

Hey there, and HELLOOO, Monday!
  
  Well, here is something I'm going to say will cause the happy feet syndrome!  I think it may be just what we all need to kick start the early hours of this day and a new week! 
  I hope this happy tune is exactly what the doctor ordered for you this morning!  It feels like summer, sounds like a boatload of fun, and will have you perking up from barefoot-dancing-fancyfree-fantastic-hair envy!
  Enjoy, and if you like, go buy it.  What I've heard of the rest of the album is equally as carefree and fun.

Friday 20 September 2013

Favorite Things another week of simple blessings

~ pie delivered to my door, in beautiful hands, filled and overflowing with generosity and
    love!
~ watching the people in my life bloom with new found joy! It truly is a blessing to watch. 
    There's a sparkle in their eyes that is new, gorgeous, and so incredible to watch.
~ conquering fears, whether small, medium or large, it's a big deal!
~ we have love to share, more than we know what to do with in reality, so why not share it,
    and our home.
~ wise words from the most humble woman in my life.  When we are honest with each other,
    share ourselves with sincere gentleness, everyone benefits, and SURPRISE - grows.
~ AHH! Routine!  How I love you and hate you all the same!  You are good for me.  You
   make me crazy when I see how full, jammed packed and exploding, my calendar is.  I love 
   knowing what's happening; I love a plan.
~cleaning out my closets.  Why do we have such a need for stuff?  I have no clue, but I do 
   know, when I look around at the clutter, it makes me crazy and less productive.  (I do 
   realize that I live in an environment that requires many different seasons of clothing.....it's  
   where to put everything when the season is over that is the problem)  
~ Tomatoes, anyone? They are abundantly jumping out of my garden and landing in a
    massive bowl on my counter.  I've chopped more, sundried more, and froze more than I 
    need, yet it's oh so rewarding to know I produced them, and can share them with the ones
    I love!
~ I'm especially thankful for the past few weeks.  I feel as though they have been too good to
    be true.

  This is all a mishmash and I know I've said very little with many words.  Some days are like that.  I'm thankful for the crazy whirlwind my life is; it's stretching me, growing me, and turning me into something, hopefully, that is better and more well equipped for the future!
  It's Friday, folks!  Another week can be stamped in the books.  
  What are you thankful for?  
  Make a list, try for 5! Go on, you can do it!
  Ponder on those things and be thankful.  It's the little things that make all the difference, because the little things are the everyday living!

  Cheers to a fantastic weekend!
  

Monday 16 September 2013

you can't grow if you're stuck in the same place

I declare this past week BANANAS!

  I feel like I haven't synced my new schedule with my life yet, so bear with me.  Bare with me?  Bear with me.  Oh boy, that's the way it's been this week!  
  Are any of you feeling like I am? -getting ahead of yourself by anticipating fall even as you mourn the loss of summer, scrambling to catch up with everything that fell by the wayside the minute the last school bell rang or the temperature soared past 20 degrees.  I'm even feeling the pressure of needing to flip my closet by packing away all those cute summer cottons for heavier woolen knits.
  I'm feeling a little scrambled, as if you couldn't tell!
  I always love this time of year, it's my favorite, I think, (though my mood sways my certainty all too often).  The days are still warm enough to pull off a tank top, yet the evenings require being wrapped in soft, fuzzy, scarf optional-but always necessary for me, layered outerwear.  There is even something in the air that begs to be nurtured outdoors by the roaring warmth of a fire.
  
  Here's a story of catch up for you to go with this new, early Autumn, panicked mood I've been feeling this past week.
  I have exhausted telling you how I love music.  I know that.  You know that.  So let's move on.
  Here's my shocking, stunning, silence inducing confession: Not so much!
  There was a time when I didn't listen to music AT ALL.  I got caught up, by my own choices, in working hard to be something I definitely was not, which is a whole other story unto itself.  Then my babies were small and, let's be honest, some things just have to give.  
  There is a large chunk of musical time that I lost.  Now I'm playing catch up.  I hate the idea of being a bandwagon jumper.  So because I feel that way, I refuse to feel that I am on that type of train.
  I'm merely playing catch up!  And as luck would have it, I likely have a greater appreciation for the old tunes I'm only now discovering.  I feel pretty great about it actually!  I get to listen more objectively to a larger catalogue, discard the tunes I don't have the patience for and embrace enthusiastically those that I am able to fall in love with, and there is a lot I'm falling in love with.
  There are also sounds I wouldn't have been too keen on 5, 7, or even 2 years ago, that I absolutely can't get enough of today.
  Discovery, whether of self or new and exciting things is always good; at least that is what I believe, because the universal truth that you can't grow if you're stuck in the same place, is undeniably, notoriously TRUE!

  So maybe a week that has sent me through the woods and over the hill way past crazytown is exactly what I need to un-stick myself from treading water in the same spot!
  I don't see next week or the week after being any less bananas, but if I break free from the glass walls I often find myself trapped behind (because I put myself there), I can push forward, stretch and grow from the experience and, if I'm super lucky, come out the other side a better, well rounded and less fearful-of-the-unknown type of person.
  I want to stretch and grow even more this season than I have through any other I've weathered.  I'm ready to swing with confidence at the change-up and curve-ball the Pitcher throws my way!  And like I already told you, Autumn is my favorite, so why not embrace and run wild, see where you might land once you've come out the other side. 
  Being stuck in the same place will never get you where you want to go!

  It's Monday, and this is goose bump, inspiring stuff!  Let's start off this week with courage, inspiration, an encouraged spirit and an attitude that is ready to blaze a trail!
  That's all!  Now get out there!
  We'll chat soon.  



Monday 9 September 2013

I'm On Fire - Mumford & Sons (Lollapalooza 2013) [HD]

Annnd they're off!!

  School!  School!  School!!
  No grumbles here this morning....from any of us!  The boys are thrilled and so is this Mama!  The bus came bright and early to reunite them with their friends and whisk them off to the land of learning and a consistent routine!
  Wow!
  Where did the summer go?
  There are a few things I am absolutely sure of; although it was a CRAZY juggling act, it may have been the best one yet!
   What would this recap catch-up time be without a little chit chat about the weather?!  Temperatures soared and the humidity was dense, when the rains finally came, it cooled and felt more like fall.  But never fear!  The heat returned and there was a second wave of beach days, sprinkler dancing, Popsicle licking, shade-seeking reveling in the sun. 
  Ahh!  Summer is grand but I'm ready for evenings by the fire to stay warm, my woolen sweater, even my slippers and sleeping with only my nose peeking out from beneath my heavy blankets.

  Summer began and ended much the same way for me; with a surprise!
  The first was from my sweetheart.  He took me away, made all the plans and indulged me with his time.  It was a celebration and a marvelous time spent together.  Some of my favorite moments of that time is the memory of walking down street after street, my hand joined with his, with nowhere to be but lost with each other.
  The finale was a very last minute adventure.  It was one of those things on my list.  The list that I had tucked away for a while knowing the timing wasn't right, my circumstances at the moment would prevent it, and the gap between me and making this one a reality, miles and miles of distance from my finger tips.  But low and behold, something happened!  A few somethings actually.
  A spontaneous girlfriend, who took care of the details, bless her!
  A host of called in favors.
  A hope I held on to, like a hope in the darkness!
  A few tanks of gas and hours of endless road, a pillow to rest my head, a few bites to sustain my body, a spontaneous spirit that would not back down because a few obstacles blocked my path.
  You know I love music, I surely don't need to tell you that at this point of our journey.  I adore words, a fancy tune doesn't hurt, and when combined with a splash of this and a sprinkle of some sort of magical talent, for me, you get Mumford & Sons.  Each song has a morsel of truth for my spirit which can often bring me to my knees or in the very least remind me of what I value and find infinitely important.  
  They are my favorite.
  I went.
  They played.
  I cried.  Yes, I know......
  I'm still speechless days later and wonder if it actually happened or if summer delirium has set in and conned me into believing it happened.
  But I have proof!  A bunch of really bad pictures, a T-shirt, and a portion of my hearing I'm sure is permanently gone...(yes, I admit, I'm old, or it may be the sinus cold I brought home with me!)
  They exceeded my expectations (it's shocking that they could sound better live than recorded) and I will do my best to try and see them again and again and again, and YES, again!
  I am useless if picking a favorite moment is what you're after, though the quiet acoustic moment on an alternate stage and a piano interlude will not be forgotten; start to finish it was pure and spectacular enjoyment.
  Here's a little sample of what I saw and heard, though I want to believe they were much better in the show I saw!




Just in case you needed that piece of proof that it happened!  
Pardon the camera work,
though you already know I'm no technician!

Enjoy, and cheers to a beautiful new week, 
the upstart of school,
a beautiful blond girl who encouraged
the spontaneous side of this planner,
and
a small piece of what I need to
awake my soul and inspire me for months to come!