The 90s Were So Cool - Week 1

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE today's music. I am always blogging about it! But there was something so fantastic about the stuff in the 90s. I have a whole HUGE playlist of tunes from back in the day, but rather than upload all 150-something songs I thought I'd post a new one every week. Mondays blow, so look for a new 90s fave every Monday. Most of them will be "alternative", but not always. Enjoy!!!

"Banditos" The Refreshments


This song came out in 1996 (the year before I graduated) and was a big hit for The Refreshments. It's all about how the band (in college at the time) wanted to go to Mexico, but were too broke to be able to afford it. So they were going to rob a convenience store on the way down there for cash. The song was written jokingly one morning over coffee. So cool!!!!

The Music

Here I sit on a very sunny Friday morning at the computer with a hot cup of coffee while my children play not so quietly upstairs. Does it get any better than that?? I think not! Getting right to it, this week's blog about music is about The Music. That is, a band called 'The Music.' These guys are all from Leeds and really only began playing about ten years ago after high school. They quickly became known as the best unsigned band in Britain. The rest is history!



Hopefully it won't go to his head, but my brother who occasionally has good taste in music (ha ha!!!) introduced me to this awesome group. They're pretty amazing!!! Their third album, 'Strength In Numbers' is the only one I own. So I definately need to get ahold of the other two and see what I'm missing there. But the sound on this one is very electronic and has a great beat. What's not to love? Here is a little sample of some of my favorite tracks from 'Strength In Numbers.'



'Strength In Numbers'


'Drugs'


'Vision'


'Fire'


'Last One'


So there you have it! Another great album to get your hands on. It's especially great to listen to while you're cleaning your car, washing windows or any other spring projects. Combine 'The Music - Strength In Numbers' with a massive cup of coffee and you'll find yourself so energized that you will be accomplishing more tasks than you ever thought were humanly possible! But seriously, this is some good stuff right here. Happy weekend!!!!

Never A Dull Moment

The one sure thing about motherhood is that there are rarely any dull moments. I am never bored!!! This weekend was a perfect example! We spent most of Saturday outside trying to enjoy the warm weather before it left us again. Which it did!!! Back into the 40s today. Hey, mother freaking nature - it's April!!! Maybe we could be rid of these perpetual runny noses if it would stay above freezing for more than two days!!! Ugh! So the kids were having loads of fun with sidewalk chalk and playing on the swingset. Abby was being so nice and giving Olivia a push in her swing. Too bad her depth perception was a tad bit off!!! She didn't back up far enough and got smacked right in the chops with the swing! Poor kid. She spit out one of her top front teeth (not a permanent one, thank goodness!) into my hand and the other one is so loose it's bound to follow suit any day now. I guess that's one way to lose your baby teeth!



I think she looks pretty darn cute even if she is missing some teeth!

And then we have Olivia. The strongest willed child ever known to exist! At least to me anyways. She is so darn stubborn. She won't do anything unless it's HER idea, esp if I am the one to suggest it. So you can imagine how well the wearing underwear, peeing on the big girl potty conversation would go over. Not well! So you can also imagine MY utter suprise when this very morning, she tells me that she will wear the cute tinkerbell underwear I had bought her and that she will go on the potty. But there's always a catch... and here it is....



She would only wear the undies if I gave her a "bwa" (aka bra) to go with them!!!!



There are so many things wrong with that, I can't even list them all. But I will do just about anything to not have to buy diapers anymore. So there you have it!!! Never a dull moment!!!

30, Here I Come!!!

How is it that one minute you're playing barbies and the next minute you're graduating? Then you turn around, you have a husband, three kids and you're about to turn 30!? Whoever said that life goes fast was so right. Fast is an understatement!! I have spent the last year being 29 and knowing that every day I was getting closer to being 30. Being in my 30s. I wondered how I would feel about it? I mean, age is just a number and blah blah blah, but really. Should I wear black and mourn the loss of my 20s and youth as I once knew it? I don't think I'm that dramatic. I guess more than anything it's that I am sad at how fast time is moving, not sad that I'm getting older. I don't want to go back or freeze time, but I just wish I could slow the pace a little. You know?

So, bear with me here. While I am not going to have an utter meltdown, I am feeling a bit odd about it so I need to own up to that. 30. I don't want to dwell on the whole getting older thing, but I can't let this milestone go by without at least acknowledging it somehow..... so, I will do as I usually do and change up my little playlist!

You know how you watch a show on tv and there's always that perfect song playing in the background at the perfect moment for that particular character or situation??? How the music totally gets the feeling across sometimes even better than the dialogue does??? Friends and I have talked about those songs we feel would be on our own "life soundtrack." As I have said before, I feel that music speaks more clearly than I could about how I feel and who I am. Cheesy!!! But take a listen, scroll through and enjoy. This isn't just my playlist, it's my life soundtrack. Some songs are old and some are new and there is quite a mixture of genres, but each has its own special meaning to me which I will share a brief note about here. No, it isn't a coincidence that there are thirty songs! :)

- 'Where The Streets Have No Name' U2 - had to start with my favorite song of all time by my favorite band of all time! Seeing them play this live is one of my favorite memories.

- 'Ode To My Family' The Cranberries - we played this song at our wedding for the wedding party dance, so it will always have a special place in my heart. I love my family.

- 'Everything Is Alright' Motion City Soundtrack - hilarious, upbeat song about being an absolute freak show. It's all about being an ADHD nervous wreck. Gee, for some reason I identify with that!!!

- 'Stop This Train' John Mayer - ugh. I remember the first time I *really* listened to the lyrics of this song and how they made me feel. I was driving home from visiting a very sick dear friend at the hospital and the words hit me like a ton of bricks. There just isn't enough time. Life goes by too fast and I wish I could slow it down. Watching my kids grow up so fast, seeing parents age, not knowing what lies ahead and the worries that go along with all of that. Life can be so overwhelming and you just wish it could stay just the way it is now. Amazing song. Love me some John Mayer. Even though he makes some weird a$$ faces when he plays the guitar.

- 'The Story' Brandi Carlile - chic rocker. I am slightly irritable that this one has become so popular as of late, but love it all the same. It's sappy, cheesy, etc but totally how I feel about my husband. We have been through some serious crap and we still sort of like each other. ;)

- 'Whatcha Want' Beastie Boys, baby!!! - I have an attitude problem. Always have. So there. This is my jam. ya, you can't front on that!

- 'How The Day Sounds' Greg Laswell - awesomely happy song about getting a new perspective!! I feel like it's about how you thought you knew what love was and then you had children. My kids have taught me so much about myself and what love really is. Once I had them, there was no question about why I was here or where I belonged. He says 'it's well worth the time that it's taken to get here now.' It so is.

- 'Needs' Collective Soul - this could be the poster song for America right now. We have spent far too long living for tomorrow, thinking only of ourselves, talking the talk and just digging deeper into despair. The singer asks "am I a poison? am I a thorn in the side?" Meaning, am I a part of the problem or a part of the solution? I think a lot of people who listen to this might miss how much this is about God. If we can just get past the other crap, figure out where we need to be in our faith ("the depth or doubt", love it) and realize that God and each other are all we really need. I'm still working on that.

-'Circles' Soul Coughing - or now known as Mike Doughty. We saw these guys at the Aragon Ballroom in 1998 and they were so great. Sometimes I feel like I am walking around in circles and not really getting anywhere. I know. I'm super deep.

-'Into Your Arms' The Lemonheads - awesome 90s band - saw them at Guinness Oysterfest in the streets of Old Town Chicago back in the day. Sweet song about having someone who loves you and who you can depend on.

-'Celebrity Skin' Hole - oh, Courtney Love. You are such a hot mess. But I get you and your trashy ways! If you don't own this album, you should. It's really good!!!

-'Everybody's Changing' Keane - I have never been a fan of change. It freaks me out. I am so stuck in my ways! Love this song because I think it sums up perfectly how sometimes it feels like everybody else is moving on but you don't want to.

-'Take Me to the Ballroom' Moonbabies - I found this band a couple of years ago and I just love them. They're swedish and I can't even understand what they're saying half the time, but that's okay. This song is about being young and stupid!!!

- 'High & Dry' Radiohead - I'm not sure you could have been around in the 90s and not have a faves list with Radiohead on it. Love them.

- 'Great DJ' The Ting Tings - Kevin makes fun of the repetativeness of this tune. I just like it!!!

- 'The Luckiest' Ben Folds - this is the most beautiful love song ever. Period.

- 'Fast As You Can' Fiona Apple - another messed up chic singer here, but one I can fully identify with. It's a song basically telling a guy to get out while he still can before she messes him up. Poor Kevin, he didn't do that.

- 'Iris' Goo Goo Dolls - this has got to be THE most overplayed song in music history. Or pretty close to it! But before it got mega popular from the movie 'City of Angels', it was our wedding song. There isn't a song that would have fit more perfectly for us at that time. I still make Kevin dance with me when this song comes on the radio!

- 'Just Like We Do' Eisley - more sappy!! Did you even know I was this sappy??? This was one of Olivia's fave songs when she was a baby and will always have a special place in the rotation!! She never cared if I couldn't sing it as well as these girls do!

- 'Strange Condition' Pete Yorn - just love this song!!!!

- 'Let Go' Frou Frou - I am letting go of my twenties!!!!

- 'My Eyes' Travis - this is my favorite Travis song. The lead singer wrote this for his new baby about all his hopes and dreams for who he/she would be.

- '1979' Smashing Pumpkins - I love this song. Hearing anything by SP makes me think of high school and this song title is the year I was born.

- 'The Middle' Jimmy Eat World - these guys got real popular when Ethan and Abby were tiny, but I remember both of them in the back seat of the car singing this tune at the top of their lungs!!

- 'Everything to Everyone' Everclear - saw these guys live when we lived in Chicago and they continue to remain a favorite (even though the chip on my shoulder isn't as big as it used to be). Their albums are awesome to listen to when you're ticked off!!

- 'Twentysomething' Jamie Cullum - no longer 20something, this song does not apply to me!

- 'Life In Technicolor II' Coldplay - to me this is one of the best Coldplay songs ever. *love*

- 'Learn to Fly' Foo Fighters - love the Foo.

- 'Now' Mates of State - great song.

- 'I Will Remember You' Sarah McLachlan - ok, why end with such a sad song?? Because to me it's not a sad song. Ok, maybe it is a little bit. But more than anything I think it's about all the memories you have and the people we meet who make this journey so worth it.

There are so many people who mean so much to me - family, my husband, my kids, friends both old and new. Friends who I see often and some that I don't see as much as I would like. You all mean the world to me. I am blessed in every way possible. Not to say that there haven't been some rough patches and immeasurable losses. But my experiences both good and bad, have all taught me something important about life - about who I am and who I want to be. And as much a turning thirty feels a little surreal, I am glad in a way to let my twenties go. One of my favorite quotes is by Ralph Waldo Emerson and it goes "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." I truly believe that. The past and the future aren't really all that important as long as I am in the right place right now.

Anyways, I still have a couple of weeks to be 29 but I had to get this out there and off my heart. So to speak. 30, here I come!!!!!

Take A Listen

It's Monday. Was this weekend unbelievably short or is it just me?? Easter was great, but here we go with another week! Here I sit while the kids are playing with Kevin upstairs! It's been awhile since I've posted some new music so I thought I would blog a little bit about one of my new faves - Pete Yorn.



Pete is just your average guy, except he's awesome. Oh, how I love the sound of Pete Yorn! You may be familiar with one of his songs 'Strange Condition' from the exceptional film "Me, Myself and Irene."



Pete Yorn is quite the underrated artist in my opinion. Not to mention yummy to look at!! Hello?! He reminds me of Kevin when he had long hair. Back in the day. In high school. When we were young and not about to turn 30. Ahem. Anywho, back to Pete.....
He's also in his 30s and was born in Jersey. He attended Syracuse University and got his start performing at a local cafe. A film producer liked him well enough to use some of his demos on several well known movies and shows like "Me, Myself and Irene", "Felicity" (Gawd, I loved that show!!!), "Orange County", "Spiderman", and "Shrek 2." After all this wonderful success, Pete put out his album called 'Music for the Morning After' which a totally recommend. Here are some highlights from that one.....

'Just Another'


'Black'


'On Your Side'


'EZ'


'Nightcrawler' is a newer album that is equally as good as the first album, but for different reasons. Here are a few of my faves from that one.......

'Undercover'


'Maybe I'm Right'


'For Us' - some guy named Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) is plays drums on this track. Woo hoo, I love me some Foo!


'The Man' - duet with Natalie Maines from Dixie Chicks LOVE this song!


'Bandstand In the Sky'


It's really hard to pick only a few songs from Pete's albums because they're all THAT good. Sort of pop, folky I guess. One more album and while it's a good one, it isn't the best of the three here. You should still get it, but get the other ones first. He sort of sounds like Eddie Vedder a little bit on some of the songs with 'The Day I Forgot' and I am not a fan of Eddie, so I was a little disappointed. But here are a couple of great songs from this album....

'Crystal Village'


'Pass Me By'


So, in summary. If you have no cds by Pete Yorn, you should start out with 'Music For the Morning After' for sure. Then get 'Nightcrawler.' And then get 'Day I Forgot.' He's got another album due out in June of this summer, so I will be excited to hear if it's as good or better than these! I know it's been awhile since I posted new music, so here it is!! Jason Mraz is next on the list!!!

Creative Kids

It's been too long since I've posted! We've been really busy trying to tie up a few loose ends around the house (understatement) before the weather gets nice (if it ever gets nice) and we have outdoor things to do. So that's why I've been so MIA!

This weekend the kids were involved in an art show for our homeschool group and it was so fun! All of the students really put a lot of work into their pieces and it showed. The idea was to choose some form of art medium - painting, sculpting, sewing, etc. Then they selected an artist or piece to study and recreated their work.


Ethan chose Pieter Bruegel's 'Hunters In the Snow.'





Abby chose Georgia O'Keefe.





Olivia just did her own thing while the kids painted!!



A couple of shots at the Art Show....










I got a little creative myself and gave laundry room door a new look. It was just a flat white prison door that lead from the laundry tomb/room to the garage and it needed help. It was always getting all scuffed up and looking like doo doo. So I decided to use up some of the green paint we had and give it a face lift. Then I painted the inside section with chalk board paint and Kevin added some trim around it. It looks way more interesting and now we have a fun little message center for the kids to draw on and Kevin to leave me dirty messages. Nice.



We also hit the jack pot at World Market in finding a good deal on a new kitchen table. Our old one was too small and we couldn't seat our family let alone have other people over. So I sold it on craigslist and we spent last weekend putting the new one together.





The kids love the bench. It also has a pop up leaf which will be great for family gatherings. Like this Easter!!! We had to rearrange the family room to accomodate the new larger table, but I like it so much better. We're building out the fireplace to hold the tv right now, so I will post pictures of that little project when it is officially done. All in all, we're making good progress here!!!

Have a Happy Easter holiday and I will hopefully be posting more as the month goes on!!