2011 - It's Going to be GOOD!

Today I found my new favorite song.  Lady Antebellum's I Was Here

Here is what it says:
I Was Here lyrics
Songwriters: Burr, Gary S; Scott, Hillary Dawn; Shaw, Victoria;

You will notice me
I'll be leaving my mark like initials carved
In an old oak tree, you wait and see

Maybe I'll write like Twain wrote
Maybe I'll paint like Van Gogh
Cure the common cold, I don't know
But I'm ready start 'cause I know in my heart

I wanna do something that matters, say something different
Something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better with the time I've been given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
Leave nothing less than something that says ?I was here?

I will prove you wrong
If you think I'm all talk, you're in for a shock

'Cause this dream's too strong and before too long

Maybe I'll compose symphonies
Maybe I'll fight for world peace
'Cause I know it's my destiny
To leave more than a trace of myself in this place!

I wanna do something that matters, say something different
Something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better with the time I've been given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
And leave nothing less than something that says ?I was here?

And I know that I, I will do more than just pass through this life
I'll leave nothing less than something that says ?I was here?
I was here

I love this!  I do want to do something more than get up each day and do laundry, make dinner, go to work, spend time with my family.  I want to have my kids remember little things that I do to show them I love them.  I want them to pass down funny little songs and stories from our life and paint a picture of who I am and how I cherished them.  I want to be the best in everything I do.  Not competitive "best" (I don't have a competitive bone in my body) but best for me personally.I want to learn new things this year, see new places, create new memories that will last beyond this life and into the next.  I want to live each day to the fullest and make a difference and let people know I was here.

I'm turning 40 this year.   
The BIG 40!   
I could be very depressed about this but...I'm not. 
I'm excited! 
I have a plan to make this the best year EVER!!!
I read somewhere, on some blog, sometime ago, about a list.
a 40 before 40 list.
I'm going to do it. 
Projects, places, classes, goals, books, changes, oh I could go on and on!  I don't have my list finished yet but I'm working on it and hope to have it done by the end of the month.


I have decided to make " I Was Here" my song for 2011 to go along with my word and my 40 before 40 list.  I told you this was going to be a good year.  I can just feel it!


Now I just have to find the perfect word that describes how I feel and what I want to accomplish this year.  Wish me luck!

credits for me finding this song - Kristi's Marathon Video - It's awesome!

Embarrassing Moment #437

 This picture reminded me of my Dad playing the piano.  He played the piano beautifully and always practiced for church on Sunday.  He played the organ for church services for 37 years and then played for the Primary children until he passed away.  He also played the piano every night after we went to bed so we could fall asleep to his sweet music.

 ******************************************************************************************************

Sunday we went to Miss Amberly's very first piano recital.  She's only been playing for a month and a half but is loving every minute of it.  The recital was something special her teacher thought up called "A Night of Hymns"  It was in her home and it was amazing.  We started out singing a beautiful song and when the song was over Cassidy leaned over to me and whispered...."Mom that was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!"  And it was. 

Amberly was first on the program and before she went up she said to me, "Mom my tummy hurts and I don't feel good."  "Ah baby, that's just nerves" I told her.  When she went up to play this is what she told the audience:

"My name is Amberly.  I will play "I Often Go Walking" This song is about gathering flowers for mother, and that is special for me because my mom especially loves flowers.  She grows many kinds of flowers at our house, Gardenview Cottage."

What a beautiful thing to say!  I melted my heart because I had no idea she was going to say that.  Then she sat down and froze.  Poor thing.  Her teacher had to come help her get started and she did pretty well for having to play in front of 50+ people.  When she was done she came over to me and cried because it wasn't perfect. (she does that - little miss perfectionist)  After a few other students went up and she saw that they made mistakes as well she felt a little better.  We were so proud of her and thought she did beautifully!

Now for my embarrassing moment. Half way through the recital this boy sits down to play a two song arrangement that he did himself.  It was amazing!  Simply put, it took my breath away.  As I was listening to his beautiful music (he's quite gifted) I couldn't help but start to feel sorry for myself that my parents weren't around to play their beautiful music in our home anymore.  Then I started to really feeling sorry for myself that my kids will never hear my dad practice the piano every night for Sunday or learn fun songs from my mom.  We wont have choir practice or voice lessons or singing around the piano on holidays.  All the things I grew up doing.  Then the tears started and wouldn't stop.  I was crying uncontrollably during this boys beautiful song.  I'm talking...the ugly grief cry people with heaving and snuffing and my body was shaking and I couldn't stop.  This coming from a girl who doesn't cry...ever!  To make matters worse I was in the front row and everyone was sitting to the right of me in a different part of the room and they all had a perfect view of my breakdown.  Embarrassing.  My girls were holding my hand, rubbing my arm and just looking at me in wonder because like I said...I-don't-cry. 

Thankfully I was able to compose myself after two songs and apologized to the boy and left as soon as possible when it was over.  I'm sure everyone thought I was nuts.  I am a little nutty but mostly I'm just a girl who misses her parents and wishes she had them back.

Piano

Miss Amberly at piano lessons.

This little chicka loves the piano. 

Loves is an understatement.

I love it because hearing her play reminds me of when my parents played all my growing up years.

Oh how I loved going to sleep at night listening to my Daddy practice.

Music does bring a special kind of peace into the home 

and I'm so thankful to have someone who has inherited my parents love of music.  

(in fact....since Tom's done with school he's thinking of taking lessons too!)

My New Favorite Song

I've been hearing this on the radio a lot the last few days and it makes me laugh so hard!!!  I love it.  I'm sure we have all felt like singing this song to someone at some point in our lives.  Have a good laugh - I sure DID!!
It's by: Jaron and the Long Road to Love

Makin' Music

The other day Cassidy informed me that she needed to buy a recorder because she had a concert she was doing at school. She wanted to practice so she wouldn't be embarrassed. I was dead tired, Tom wasn't going to be home until late, I had no idea what I was making for dinner and all I wanted to do was crawl into my nice cozy bed and go to sleep. However, being the good mother that I am I gave in and went to the music store.

Yes....I should be rewarded with major points - read on........

We get there and Abby informs me that she too wants a recorder to play with her sissy. OK fine I say - mostly because I was too tired to argue the issue and they are only $5.95. So Abby picks out a pink recorder and Cassidy picks out a bright green recorder and all the way home they played to their hearts content!

Yes, I know what you are thinking!
I DID have a headache about 20 seconds after my purchase but do you know what?
I didn't mind.
I knew my Mom was proud of me for indulging the girls musical wishes,
I knew the girls were having a blast writing out songs and learning how to play together,
and I knew that moments like these are precious.

So headache, tiredness and a tad bit of grouchiness
dissolved when I watched the girls enjoy themselves all night long!

They really were very cute! Cassidy wrote out music notes on a paper and they would play it at the same time. I was quite impressed!

52 BP Week 33

My Blessing:

Music

What would life be like without music!

It can lift you up

help you out on a long drive

set a romantic mood

put a baby to sleep

make a movie scary

help you feel the spirit

recall memories

make you want to get up and dance

helps you sing a little better (or a lot!)

heal a broken heart

put a smile on your face

bring a tear to your eye

and best of all it's something everyone can enjoy!

Life is better because of music!

(thanks to all you bloggers who let me hang out on your blog just so I can hear your music!)

Saturday Fun

Today was a fun filled day of a whole lot of nothin'. Gotta love those kind of days.
Tom was going to be gone all day so we did our chores then spent a few hours out by the pool. The water is still cold but if you get in when it's warm outside vs. 8AM to bathe it's quite refreshing.

I then talked the girls into going to look at model homes. I LOVE doing this and so do they. No I am not looking for a home per say but I love getting new decorating ideas. And model homes have the BEST decorating ideas. I only wish my house was as clean and clutter-free as the ones we looked at.

The girls crack me up because the first thing they do is go find the bedrooms and decide which one they will get (like we are buying or something). I do have to say I saw some darling kids rooms - I was drooling big time! Did you know wallpaper is back in style? It is in the models! One bedroom had all four walls covered with white wallpaper covered in little bright yellow and white daisy's. Then the bed had crisp white bedding with bright yellow pillows and two big pictures over the bed that had daisy's on them. I mean it was the cutest thing and it took my breath away when I walked in. Cassidy quickly claimed that room before I could! I'm so sad I didn't bring my camera.

We then had to stop for a treat at Bahama Bucks for some shaved ice. I asked if they were going to build one closer to us but she didn't know. We would go there more but it's kind of far. (I'm so spoiled now that I have so much so close to me).

It was a beautiful day and tonight was just the perfect temperature. I finished my book and made the girls a bedtime CD from itunes. Hopefully this will help with Abby's nightmares. Some of them are songs from my childhood, some are new and one is a song my Mom always sang to the girls and I can't believe I found a copy! It made me sit here and have a good long cry (sniff, sniff).

Here is my Bedtime song list in case you wanted to make one for your kids:

1. You Are My Sunshine - Elizabeth Mitchell

2. Goodnight Irene - Raffi (this is the song my Mom sang to the girls but you have to have the Raffi version only because the other versions are about a barmaid - don't ask)

3. Twinkle twinkle Little Star - Elizabeth Mitchell & Lisa Loab

4. Daughter of a King - Jenny Phillips

5. Baby Mine - Alison Krauss

6. Puff (The Magic Dragon) - Peter, Paul and Mary

7. Catch the Wind - Donovan

8. Capri - Colbie Caillat

9. Fireflies - Faith Hill

10. Oh Susanna - Elizabeth Mitchell

Hope you all had a fun Saturday!

Fun - New - Free - Music

My brother Jones told me about this fun little website. Pandora. It's free and it's fun! What you do is pick a few artists that you like and they compile a list of songs for you based on those artists. I typed in Nora Jones and wa-la! I had hours of great tunes that were soothing yet up-beat! I then typed in Nickelback and wa-la! I had a few minutes of some hard rock! (I changed that real quick like!)

Anyway, Jones said that he hasn't ever gotten anything bad from this site, no spam, pop-ups, viruses. He also listens to it everyday at work, right on his computer. So today I did too and loved it! It really helped my mood while I made 16 bookmarks for book club!

Hope you like it too! I'm also learning to like a bunch of new random artists.