My Love of Music

It was brought to my attention yesterday that I never fulfilled my promise of "writing a blog post with allllll these ideas I have in my head"!!  So sorry, but here is one!

So, for those of you that may not know, I am slightly music obsessed.  I know lyrics and artists and the release year of about a million and a half songs.  I don't know how I have the space for them in my head!  On top of the fact that I just know so much music, I also associate so many songs with different friends or times in my life.  This is posing a problem with wedding music.

We are lucky, and will have a fabulous DJ.  I know that if I just give him a little direction for what to play during cocktail hour (90's pop and country, Motown, and some 2000's country), he will make an awesome playlist.  I know this because Nick used to work weddings with him, and I happened to have a CD or two that was made for cocktail hours and they are AMAZING.

On the other hand, I will have to decide what song to use for many different things.  What kind of music do we want to have at the ceremony?  How will we pick a song for the bridal party entrances that will make sense for my friends and for his?  What song will we have during the cake cutting?  I have a ton of ideas and don't know how I will narrow it down!

The good thing is that we have had "our song" since we began dating in 2005.  We have known pretty much since then that it would be the song we would have a first dance to at our wedding.  But, guess what?  I am now thinking that I want to use a different version of the song, just to mix it up a bit.  Nick doesn't really care, so it looks like I will get my way on this one:)  Nick and I also know what songs we would like to have for our Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dances.  My Dad actually picked the song that we will be dancing to.

I guess I will leave you with a couple of youtube videos of songs that I know I want to have used in our wedding, I just don't know where!

Day 19 - A Talent of Yours

I don't know if this really counts as a talent, but it's something I can do that I think is pretty darn cool! I know lyrics. lots of lyrics. And not just lyrics, but song titles and artists.

Ever since I can remember, I've known lyrics. Friends of mine can say a part of a lyric and I could probably tell you the song (and if you're really lucky, the year it was released!). I generally have a great memory anyway, but songs are the thing I remember most. A friend's boyfriend once tried to test me out (with music playing at a restaurant). I was able to I.D. all of the songs. He was pretty shocked. I mostly listen to country music, but I know lots of pop, rock, oldies, and even Christian songs. My Dad asks me often when I am going to try out for The Singing Bee and I think I could do just as well on Don't Forget the Lyrics! For now, I will just use my skill to rock at karaoke (I'll pretty much sing anything!).

Day 16- A Song That Makes You Cry (or nearly)

Music makes me VERY emotional, and always has. I can remember in the 4th grade, shortly after my grandmother passed away, having to sing very sad song in music class and having to leave the room crying. Then in high school after a break-up there was a certain song that always got myself (and my empathetic little sister) crying, every time. I tend to associate music with everything, and I pretty much have a song that I think of for lots of different times in my life. Since I primarily listen to country music (and Hanson! ha), I find that a lot of the songs are super emotional, sometimes I just can't help but cry!

I figure since I am a musical crier, I will write about the song that made me cry most recently. I saw a post on WeddingBee the week that Nick and I got engaged talking about father/daughter dance songs. I am pretty sure Daddy-o and I already know what we will dance to when that time comes (he has a favorite), but I still gave this song a listen. "Walk With You" by Edwin McCain is one of the sweetest songs I have ever heard. Maybe it was the fact that I had just been proposed to and all things wedding related were making me a little weepy, or the fact that my Dad had just moved far away from me for the first time in my life, but I cried big fat tears when I first heard this song. I am such a sap.

Day 6- 20 of My Favorite Things

I sort of feel like Julie Andrews writing this post, but I promise that "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" will not make the cut;)

1. My engagement ring (it's new, so it's the first thing I thought of!)

2. mark. makeup

3. Mom's spinach lasagna

4. Dad's Chili

5. Grandma's ceramic roosters

6. the color purple (the actual color and the movie!)

7. sweater weather

8. my knee high riding style boots

9. my 2008 Ford Fusion

10. goofing around with Nick

11. Savers

12. watching football games with friends

13. Sam Diego's bean burrito with queso sauce

14. flip flops

15. summer nights

16. Bay Path College's One Day a Week Saturday Program

17. Hanson

18. Spending time with my Sisters and Brother

19. baked brie with apricot preserves

20. seemingly effortless friendships

Day 1 - Your Favorite Song

Well, this one is kind of tough for me. I love music, all kinds. I would probably have an easier time telling you what my favorite song from each of my favorite artists is instead of picking just one.

But, if I had to choose, then it would be "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" by Pearl Jam. I just think the lyrics of this song are so beautiful, and I love Eddie Vedder's voice when he sings simple songs.

The Great 30-Minute Clean Up!

Ok, so maybe the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but I did actually get some cleaning done yesterday!

Nick was away on Tuesday and Wednesday night and although my original plan was to clean on both nights, that didn't quite happen. Tuesday night wound up being me sitting on the couch watching "The Young Victoria", which was a wonderful movie, but long and distracting! So, I decided that Wednesday would be the day. Driving home on my hour+ commute I made a game plan. Since it was Cinco de Mayo and I had been having a serious craving for refried beans, I decided that I would make some bean dip, and spend all the time that it was in the oven cleaning!

I got home and put the thing in the oven and had another idea. I decided that music would really motivate me, so I put together a 30 minute playlist of the most upbeat songs I have in my iTunes. I told myself that I would clean (really clean), for the 30 minutes that the music was playing and go from there. And you know what? It was actually fun! I found that loading the dishwasher was much more enjoyable while "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by The Temptations was on, and scrubbing the stovetop to "All I Wanna Do" by Sugarland kept the pace of my scrubbing aerobic! The most interesting part of the playlist was "All My Life" by the Foo Fighters. It was the last song that was on, and I had moved to the bathroom at this point and all you could here in my house was "done, done and on to the next one...".

And I was done! The kitchen was clean, and the bathroom (aside from scrubbing the shower) was done, too! I rewarded myself with some delicious bean dip (my horrible eating habits are another mess for another time) and this month's issue of Real Simple Magazine (which, by the way, had a whole bunch of ideas from people that hate to clean on how to de-clutter their homes...so really, it was more like research, ha).

Today, I am feeling accomplished and think that I can for sure put aside time on most days for the 30-minute clean up (or even 15-minute in a pinch)!