A Lesson In Giving

I'm sure you've noticed my playlist (please excuse the Bon Jovi song, oh GOD and the Kelly Clarkson one) is all ready for Thanksgiving, as is my family. We're headed back home to celebrate with my family for the day and looking forward to it as always. I can remember going to my grandparents as a little kid for dinner and eating the delicious food my grama made at the kid's table in the kitchen with my cousin and brother. Then we'd sneak upstairs and work on our booby trap for when our parents told us it was time to head back home. That usually involved lots of yarn, tinker toys and a barrel of monkeys. Lots of good memories of Thanksgivings for me. :)



This month I've been trying to think of something I'm thankful for every day and it's really helped me realize just how truly blessed I am. There were certain days when things weren't going very well when it was a little more difficult to find something to be thankful for, but when I did I was reminded that it's the little things for which I am most grateful. That's especially clear now when there are so many Americans struggling to find work and meet basic needs.

Yesterday while spending a nice afternoon getting a little holiday shopping done, I learned a lesson in true generousity from my daughter Abby. She had brought her own money and found a pretty Christmas ornament she wanted to buy. As the sales person rang up the ornament she asked Abby if she'd like to make a donation to St. Jude's. Abby asked what that was and when I told her it was a children's hospital, she said 'Okay, sick kids.' Then she reached into her purse and proceeded to pull out the rest of her money and put it on the counter. I was blown away, but not at all suprised. Abby has always been one of the most generous people I've ever known and is always putting the needs of others before her own. It made me so proud of her. I hope that as we head into the heart of this holiday season that I can give as freely and from the heart as she always does.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all - I hope it finds you surrounded by the people you love and that you never run out of things to be thankful for!!

New Music Monday 11/23/2009

Last week on one of my favorite shows, 'So You Think You Can Dance' - a brilliant choreographer named Travis Wall showcased a beautiful dance to a song called 'Your Ex-Lover Is Dead' by a band called Stars. Although the song was cut in several places to the point where I personally feel the meaning was a bit lost, it was still a beautiful piece. And I bet a lot of people heard the song and downloaded some 'Stars' stuff. So this week which will be the last week for non-holiday music blogging, I decided to post about 'Stars.'



I actually first heard 'Stars' on the pandora website, which is where I get a lot of new stuff. 'Elevator Love Letter' was the song and it's from their 2003 album called 'Heart.' Since then, I've become hooked and bought two more of their records. Their sound is the perfect mix of soft vocals and rich instrumentation. You'll hear strings, keybords and horns in their songs - but while there's a lot going on in the way of instruments, it's complicated but never sounds overdone. 'Stars' is a canadian group and are also members of the very talented, well known band 'Broken Social Scene.' Both 'Heart' and 'Set Yourself On Fire' have been nominated for the award of Alternative Album of the year. Here are a few favorites from 'Heart.'

'Elevator Love Letter'


'Look Up'


'Life Effect' LOVE these lyrics


It's no secret that 'Set Yourself On Fire' is my favorite album from these guys. :) It's permenantly in my rotation. I feel like they tackle some really great stuff with the lyrics in a lot of the songs, particularly 'Your Ex-lover Is Dead' which is about a one sided relationship gone wrong. All of the tracks on this particular album will resonate with anyone who has ever been able to get over someone and move on, made the wrong decision, chosen to stay with someone despite the fact that they weren't good for them or just been in a relationship period. 'Stars' is for everyone!

'Your Ex-lover Is Dead'


'Ageless Beauty'


'Reunion'


'Soft Revolution' set to extreme skating??? Ha ha!!!


'First Five Times'


That's it for this week! Stay tuned for fun holiday music posts every Monday through Christmas!!!!

New Music Monday 11/9/2009

Technically it's Tuesday, but I didn't have time to post this with all of the fun birthday happenings around here!!! This week's new music is from an LA band (a chick band!!!) called 'Uh Huh Her.' So I guess if you are already sick of my chick band posts, you should move along and not read this one!!! This indie electro-pop band was originally made up of three members - Camilla Grey, Leisha Hailey (played Alice on a show called The L Word and is on some Yoplait commercials... random) and Alicia Warrington.... but Alicia up and quit. Too bad so sad for her!!! If you're a big PJ Harvey fan (if you don't know who PJ is, you must have slept through the 90s) you'll recognize the name 'Uh Huh Her' as it was the title to one of her albums.



'Common Reaction' was released in 2008 and is the only album they have this far. It's a perfect blend of rock and electronica. This album comes highly recommended *by me* to anyone who likes Metric, Esthero, Feist or Tegan & Sara type lady bands. It's an easy listen - smooth yet edgy......

'Say So' - this is the Thom Russo mix which I *heart*


'Explode'


'Not A Love Song'


'Wait Another Day'


'Covered'


'Common Reaction'


All in all, a great find I think. I don't know if there will be more albums in the future or if this was a one time deal, but it's good. Like staying in your pajamas and reading books all day good. ;) Ha ha.

Happy Birthday, Abby!!!

Abby is 7!!! Wow, time flies. As usual on one of my kids' birthdays, I dug out all the old pictures. It's always so fun looking at how much they've changed over the years. Abby has changed so much!! She has always been so much fun. She's creative, crazy and such a kind hearted little person. Here's a look at her through the past seven years of her life......

Happy Birthday, Abby!!! We love you!!!!

I Know It's Not Monday, but Oh my Gawd!!!!

Has this ever happened before??? No! I could wait until Monday to blog about my latest music find, but I physically cannot. As Buddy the Elf would say, "I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!!!"



So, his name is Sanders Bohlke and he's from Oxford, Mississippi. His voice is like butter, I kid you not. He's currently unsigned and I think you can only buy his stuff through itunes and amazon's Mp3's, but you should do one or the other because you will be sorry if you don't!!! I originally heard his song 'The Weight of Us' and I literally stopped what I was doing and said, "who is this amazing man with a voice like butter??" The rest is history. I downloaded every single song of his I could get my hands on and have not stopped listening to them since. The depth of emotion in his music is like nothing I have ever heard. Dude's got soul!!!!!

'The Weight of Us'


That is really the only song of his I could find on youtube that wasn't live, so if you want to hear more you should check out his myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/sandersbohlke

Then go directly to itunes or amazon and purchase all of it!!!! Here's the link his mp3 downloads from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_7?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=sanders+bohlke&sprefix=sanders

Oh, and you're welcome!!!! :)

New Music Monday 11/2/2009

Happy November!! Halloween was chilly here, but tons of fun as usual. Now it's like the final countdown til Christmas. I am super excited to start blogging about holiday music, but I think I should at least wait until after Thanksgiving. I was always one of those people who started listening to Christmas music as soon as November first hits. I love it!! So get ready!! My holiday recommendations will be coming your way shortly!

This week I chose a band called 'Via Audio'. The drummer is actually from the band 'Spoon' and the rest of the band members are all from Brooklyn. Their first and only album to date is called 'Say Something.' I really love the fact that they have the female lead singer with male back ups - it makes for a really great sound. Not one of the most upbeat albums you'll ever hear, but it's not depressing either. It's just one of those nice chill records. Here are some of my favorites from 'Say Something.'

'Modern Day Saint'


'Developing Active People'


'We Can Be Good'


'Presents'


Unfortunately a lot of the other really great songs from the album aren't on youtube, so you'll just have to check them out for yourself! I have no idea if these guys are planning to put out another album any time soon or ever, but 'Say Something' is definately great and I know I'd love to hear more. Good stuff!!!