a day in the life

I will always love her.

When I was about ten years old, I remember walking around the house, walkman on my head, singing to Whitney. I loved her clean, pure voice. I loved her catchy songs. I saw her "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" video and I got a perm (although it never quite looked the way I thought it would.) I even named a look-a-like Barbie after her. The last time I karaoked, I sang "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and it was every bit as fun as it was when I was ten.

When I was in the eighth grade, I got my hair done in a super cool fish tail braid and danced with the cute boy to "Greatest Love of All." I watched The Bodyguard, and Waiting to Exhale, and The Preacher's Wife...ok, I bought The Preacher's Wife and watched it over and over again. I sang to the album, My Love is Your Love in my car on the way to and from The University of Akron.

    If tomorrow is judgment day (Sing Mommy)
    And I'm standing on the front line
    And the Lord asks me what I did with my life
    I will say I spent it with you

I didn't watch the train wreck. I didn't give her ratings for the bad behavior or the bad choices. I did watch every single moment of her interview with Oprah, hoping her health would be back, but so sad to hear that her lifestyle had all but destroyed that pure voice. 

I watched her so closely. Her beauty. Her nose, how it scrunched up, how she tapped her hand on the mic to feel the beat, her smile that just showed how much she loved what she was doing. And that is what I will remember.

So yes, I am sad. Very, very sad. Probably more sad than I should be for a person that I didn't know, who made so many bad choices and ruined her life and her talent with drugs. It really was inevitable. You cannot live that way and continue on. It will end badly, one way or the other if you do not change-for good and forever. But I am still sad. I am sad because she is the reason I decided that is what I wanted to do. The reason why I wanted to sing.

So I will continue to unabashedly sing her songs. I will tap the mic a few times when I sing. And I will always love her.

The Sing Off

Yes, it is yet another review-and for those of you who haven't seen it yet, spoilers are abundant, so you might want to check back later...

I LOVE The Sing Off. Last year Bj and I started watching it because of Ben Folds-well, I wanted to see if for the music too, but Bj, was all about Ben. Let's just say that Bj is NOT a fan of any kind of reality show (the only member of the Willis/Dillow/Pershey/Taylor clan to NOT watch Project Runway) but this is different. We have more fun watching this show than any other.

Nick Lachey may be Bj's new Robert Goulet. He really doesn't like "smug" people and his da da da dah? da da da dum. up and down speech patterns drive him crazy. But of course Bj can add another impersonation to his resume'.

We quickly realized last year that we are not fans of Nicole Scherzinger. We actually ended up fast forwarding last year any time she spoke because 1. there are no musical comments that ever come from her mouth and 2. there are no intelligent comments...ok maybe a bit harsh, but really Bj gets me laughing anytimes she speaks.

Shawn Stockman is totally the therepist. If someone in the group has an inkling of a human interest story, he is sure to make them feel better and worthy of being on the show. And, some decent musical critics.

Now Ben. Oh how I love Ben. He is witty, intelligent, and gives real musical knowledge. Sometimes he doesn't say exactly what he is thinking I assume, but for the most part he is spot on. Now for a few thoughts...

• After Ben identified who sang which part and talked about the tightness of the moving chords and the troubles with the static chords during The Eleventh Hour's performance, Nicole said...
  "When the beat dropped in and you guys did your thing, I felt the groove. Definitely."
  Wow. That's really helpful.
• The only way Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town should and could get knocked out is when the public starts voting (and this is all Bj) and their fans can't figure out how to text from their rotary phones. I really don't know what is going to happen with them because they are in another league. Plus, they were on Jack's Big Music Show so really, no competing. 
• Ummmm-Berklee? Your professors are all embarrassed that you called yourselves "Pitch Slapped." You deserved to go home solely based on your name, but really you all were trying WAY too hard.
• Ben, you are hilarious. "The cymbals...It's not against the law or anything but in the bridge, when some dude walks in and goes pssssshhhhhhhhhhhh...it's the only thing that takes down the perfect score" Then I loved at the end when the beat boxer and Ben shared a moment after he "cymbal crashed" again.

So all in all, my current picks are

1. Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town because they are amazing. They won't win, but I hope they will have some new interest and have some new gigs.
2. Committed. Wow. Their sound was incredibly rich and their bass was AMAZING. Their balance was a little off-perhaps a little too much bass overpowering the lead, but seriously, those guys are good. Not just thrown together for this show, but adapted their sound for this show. 
3. Groove for Thought. Although I am not the biggest fan of their lead, their accompaniment is awesome. So nice to hear real jazz. Reminds me a bit of Manhattan Transfer which will always be one of my all time favorite groups. But diction lead singer, diction.
4. Street Corner Symphony is Bj's choice. Mostly because their bass looks so much like Mitch Hedberg but they were good too. But mostly because of Mitch (rest in peace...)

Ok so I probably won't do a review everytime, but we do really, really enjoy this show and I am so excited that the overall quality of the groups is so improved. And hello? Whiffenpoofs? There is some amazing history there. Let's just say the whole thing makes this former music teacher and performer very happy...and sad that all I am doing is watching from my comfy chair.

 

Yet another Flash Mob

Why share this?
1. Because no matter what, flash mobs always make me teary.
2. Because they used the Glee Soundtrack.
3. Because my Dad shared the link with me (shhhhhhh don't tell him I read a forward)
4. Because it's OHIO STATE! And now everyone can see how cool OHIO STATE is (Adela-yes, shout out #2)

Ten on Tuesday

1. Am I becoming a broken record of Ten on Tues...Wed...yes. I will try to do better next week.
2. Still not enjoying this shift return thing. At all.
3. I have a Photo a Day in May to the left. Check it out.
4. Lily got her costume (her $80 costume) for her dance recital. I literally can not figure out how everything is supposed to go on. Plus there is this giant feather thing I am supposed to attach to her head. Let's just say there are green feathers everywhere and her $37 costume was much cuter last year.
5. Charlie is talking so much these days. The other day he said after Bj invited him to eat breakfast "No, Daddy. I'm playin' with cars." And then he said it again, but YELLED it.
6. Charlie also LOVES the song Animal Crackers in my Soup and sings it all the time. It is very cute.
7. Lily has started doing real math problems. Honest to goodness addition problems. I do not remember doing math this young. I do not look forward to the day when I can no longer help her. Luckily her Daddy is a math whiz. Whew.
8. I love Glee and think I may have to go on a Glee Soundtrack shopping spree. I am picking and choosing from the soundtracks but seriously, such good stuff.
9. This is a boring post.
10. And it is late. Goodnight.

Ten on...pictures

Well we all know that I kind of missed Ten on Tuesday this week, so I am going to make it up to all of you with ten random pictures I haven't shared...but should have. Oh and I have "fixed" my Typepad double spacing problem. How? I have to SHIFT RETURN to start a new paragraph and not cause everything to double space. That is the fix? Irritating.

1. One trip back to Ohio...forever ago, Lily got to have a playdate with Maya and Julie. Oh she was in heaven-as you can see here. 
2. Charlie and I went on a fun trip to Gettysburg Explore and More Museum. He had a BLAST. He kept saying over and over "I like it! I like it, Mama!" And I think this was actually his first real sentence.
3. Lily suddenly starting posing like this-every single time I took her picture. How cute is she. Unrelated story...Lily was walking up the stairs this morning and fell and got a nasty goose egg on her leg. After the tears stopped she got up to walk. She would take three steps and fall DRAMATICALLY. Again and again. Funny, funny, overly dramatic girl.
4. I had a New Moon party a few weeks ago and yes, I go OVERBOARD. Twilight themed snacks, drinks and decorations. I even had Jane visit the party. But this, this was totally unplanned. I was moving the candle to put some more food on the table and I accidentally dropped the candle and spilled wax all over my hand. After I got over the burning pain, I noticed how perfect my accident was.

(Oh and for the record, I am Team Jacob and had a sign for him too.)
5. Lily had Crazy Hair Day at her school last week and was VERY excited to wear pink in her hair. (And so was her Mama ;)
6. Bj plays guitar around here a lot and now Charlie has started joining him. Ah my little music nerds :)
7. I went on a little photo date with my photographer friend Tina. This is one of my favorites. My boots, Tina's legs.
8. Apparently "tree caterpillars" are very common. And apparently I am amazed in seeing them for the first time. There was a whole mass of them, but as I don't want to gross out any readers who may not want to see a mass of caterpillars, here is just two.
9. I love it that empty laundry basket + books + children related to the Willis sisters = cute children reading in laundry baskets.
10. And because he is SO STINKIN' CUTE, one more of Charlie. At least once, but more like ten times a day Bj and I will comment on the extreme cuteness of Charlie. He is cute in pictures yes, but even cuter when you spend time with him. How he is SO excited when he sees us across a parking lot or when we come home that he giggles this funny little low giggle. How he hangs his head or closes his eyes when he gets shy. How he gives the best hugs. How he is talking in more and more complete sentences like "Binky fell on the floor, Mama!" How he loves books, music, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, but not necessarily the ABC song (yes, SAME) and how he can't WAIT to pick up "Wiwy" at school. OH I love this kid. Even if he isn't the biggest fan of going upstairs for naptime.

Ben and Straight No Chaser

As many of you know I am a musician. A musician on hiatus, but a musician just the same. I have spent thousands of hours practicing, listening, singing, performing. I miss it. A lot.

Last night there was a show on called The Sing-off. Bj and I watched it together (a miracle in itself as Bj hates all form of Reality TV.) We totally watched it for Ben Folds. Although I really do love A Capella singing, I really could just listen to Ben Folds talk/sing/play the piano for two hours for the next three nights. Seriously. I even love the way the man talks.

So many of the groups were eh, some were just plain screaming and out of tune, some were just entertaining, I totally called the Mormans, and the Puerto Ricans should totally win. They were the tightest and had the best harmonies. We both agreed that the girl from the Pussycat Dolls is kind of a complete idiot who was completely passive aggressive all night. "For a group of just girls, that was good." "For a group of housewives, you did pretty well." And on and on. We were also in agreement that we were so glad that Shawn Stockman from Boys II Men was part of the judges because they were really are the epitome of a quality sampling of A Capella music. For a pop group at least. We both laughed out loud at his comment "It's going out of tune-hey look over there!" Funny.

But again, Ben? I could listen to him talk all day. He seriously sings when he speaks. What a great voice. There wasn't a "mean" judge so he did sugar coat much of what he said, but there was real constructive criticism there, perhaps a little poetic and watered down for people those who probably haven't really spent a whole lot of time in music classes, but still, good solid critics. I hope those groups actually take what Shawn and Ben say and apply it. And I hope they realize they should completely ignore everything what'shername said. Again we found ourselves laughing out loud when he told the Mormans "Yeah it was good, but there could have been a little more cussing." Solid critic Ben.

So this brings me to Straight No Chaser. I can't remember who tipped me off to them-Daddy perhaps? I absolutely love this arrangement of The Twelve Days of Christmas.
And I was very excited to see they have come out with a full studio album of Christmas music. You can listen to the whole album here. It's entertaining, funny, and really, good A Capella singing. Check it out.

Ten on Tuesday

1. 365 is updated and oh my goodness there is only one month left. Whatever will I do with myself when this is over?
2. Tonight I suddenly got a whiff tonight of Charlie. This sweet, yummy, wonderful scent. But, Charlie was already in bed. So what was it that tickled my nose? Kettle Corn Popcorn. So now you know what Charlie smells like. :)
3. I think I may attempt to blog every day for the rest of the year. Because it sounds so impressive. We shall see.
4. Thanksgiving was absolutely wonderful around here. It was so fun to cook and cook and cook, and then have room on my counter to put it all. Oh and this? AMAZING.
5. I have worked almost the entire day getting caught up and finishing up clients for 2009. I will be scheduling soon for 2010!
6. I am almost completely done with Christmas shopping for this year. At least that is what I am telling myself.
7. This is what Charlie and Lily looked like last year. Wow have they grown.
8. Scrubs is back. I haven't decided if I am excited yet or not as it was all wrapped up with a nice neat bow last year.
9. Anyone have any new Christmas music selections? Not remakes as I really like the old classics, but brand new. And yes, I already have Sufjan Stevens.
10. And with that...I am going to bed.

Get up and dance

Ten on Tuesday

1. It has come to the point in the summer when I am done with the crazy heat and I just want to wear jeans and light sweaters and well, not sweat to death walking to the mailbox. Is it that time for you?
2. I am scrapping with Tina tonight-you know what that means, digi! I hope that she can teach me how to get rid of the number boogers coming out of Lily's nose. And yes Katherine I laughed OUT LOUD when I read that.
3. Anyone out there have a biter/hitter/pincher? Any advice? I'm not so happy to see this coming out of my sweet baby boy. So far I have tried "gentle, gentle;" "NO!" and yes, even the trouble chair.
4.Tina is now here and look what I did!  

No number boogers! And yes, it is slightly different, but I like it anyway :)

5. I also worked on a project for Elizabeth's FREE class over at Big Picture. I am doing a mini book with one side being all of our guests this summer and the other side being fun things we have done. So far I have two pages done. (I still can't believe how sick I was)

6. I got an itunes gift card for my birthday and really can't decide what to get. Any suggestions to make my decision near impossible?

7. And suddenly Typepad is double spacing. AND did anyone else try updating their "post to facebook" option? Seriously I love Typepad, but good heavens, test things before you release it-good thing they are quick responding to tickets...

8. Today I was at Target and a woman was in the electonics section playing "Heart & Soul." As my students will remember, that song was banned from my classroom when I was teaching as it is my personal goal to wipe that song from the music world. And it has been in my head All. Day. Long. (As I am sure it is now in yours.) I think when I go back to teach I will affix some plexiglass to my classroom piano with some easy song for the students to practice when they sit down at the piano. ANYTHING but Heart & Soul.

9. My computer is running slow as molasses. I have a lot of work to do to make some space on this baby.

10. There will soon be some exciting things happening with A Day in the Life Photography so check back next week! There may even be prizes involved!

Small World

Today Lily and I once again ventured to D.C.  today-this time to take in a show at the Kennedy Center (oooo I love saying that :) We piled in the car with all the girls and arrived with just enough time to walk around oooing and aaahing over the fountains, the ducks, the lights, the flags and the general architectural beauty. When we sat down I looked at the program and was excited to see a friend from college. I immediately "facebooked" his wife to see if she was there too. She wasn't, but oh how I love coincidences, going to free shows at the Kennedy Center and of course technology while waiting for the show to start.

Know what else I love? My NEW CAMERA that arrived just as I was packing up the car to go today. I promise-many, many, MANY photos to come!