As I mentioned on Monday, I have decided to dedicate a few days each week to a particular theme. Wednesdays will now be “Workout Wednesday.” On Wednesdays I will post a song that you will find on my workout playlist, and that I hope that it helps you get motivated for your workouts.
This song has been a constant on my workout play list since November, but before you listen to it, I want to give you an explicit language alert. I have to admit that when my daughter first shared this song with me months ago, she wondered if I might not like it because of that, but I find this song incredibly motivating. Who doesn’t remember how it feels to be young? The answer (although we hear the F word multiple times) just seems fitting. 🙂
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful and amazing daughter!
I remember this day – 22 years ago – like it was yesterday. Cassidy made me a mom and the moment she was put in my arms … I fell instantly in love! Hard to believe that was 22 years ago today! Happy Birthday to my sunshine girl. Double 2s today!! I love you to the moon and back! ❤
This song was just released today by Mat Kearney, who is probably one of my very favorite artists. I absolutely love his music and his incredible, emotion-filled voice! This is a great new song and I thought I would share it quickly so you can check it out on the day of it’s release.
I have seen Mat Kearney live an amazing five times, and had the opportunity to meet him about five years ago in Dallas, Texas. He is such a great talent and just a fabulous guy … and I love his signature hats. 😉
I have been following him and his music since 2005 and always get excited when he releases something new. He has been known to combine all types of music, including rap, hip-hop, folk, rock, pop, and now a little electronic mix. I really like it and hope that you enjoy this new song. If you have not yet had the opportunity to see him perform live, I highly recommend it.
Meeting Mat Kearney – Dallas, Texas, September 2012
Today’s song is from a young band that I saw live back in March 2015 while they were touring with Mat Kearney. They were so exuberant on stage and their energy was contagious!
Joining Mat Kearney on stage for an energetic performance! NYC – March 2015
In the two years since I saw Judah & The Lion live in NYC, they have really made a name for themselves and get more and more popular all the time. They have been dubbed “one of Nashville’s most genre-bending bands” and their style is hard to describe. They originally started as a folk rock band, but they have combined that folk tinge with other styles, creating a cool hybrid style.
In February of this year they were named by Rolling Stone as one of “10 New Artists You Need To Know.” They have grown their huge fan base through constant touring and live shows. They opened for the huge Twenty One Pilots tour earlier this year, and it was immediately following that run that they started touring as their own headliner.
Today I want to celebrate my little sister on her birthday. On birthdays, I like to look forward to the year ahead while celebrating the year that just passed. That is why I chose this song today for her birthday and as my wish for her to have joy in the upcoming year. It has been a crazy and challenging year, but I know that the future looks good. 🙂
Having sisters is a gift and I was blessed with 3 of them! I am the third of four girls, and my little sister was a distant fourth … almost 5 years younger than me. For her birthday today, I have to share (probably to her horror!) one of my favorite music memories of her.
Back in the day, my little sister lovedMadonna and Michael Jackson. She loved the song “Beat It” SO much that she recorded it on a cassette tape over and over again. I did not know this until we got into the car for a family road trip. As we sat in the back of the van, on this fabulous bed that my dad had built, she blasted on the boom box “Beat It” over and over and over again. I can tell you that I wanted to BEAT her. I am not sure that I ever really liked that song again after that trip. To be honest, I am not sure she did either. 😉
As for today’s song, OneRepublic is probably one of my very favorite bands. I don’t think there is anyone quite as cool or talented as Ryan Tedder, and there is not a song that I don’t like. This song is from their 2016 album, Oh My My.I have been lucky enough to see OneRepublic in concert several times and they never disappoint. They are truly even better live than recorded.
I have always been a fan of Mike Mains & The Branches, but it appears that he is no longer with The Branches. 😉 Three years ago I posted one of my favorite songs by them – “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” I have always found their music to be uplifting and fun. They are currently on tour and are coming to NYC this week. If I can get home in time … I will be there!
Not much to say today other than Be Happy and I hope things are going your way today. Happy weekend and enjoy the song!
It’s Throwback Thursday! Today’s #tbt song is from one of my all time favorite albums of all time – Tapestry by Carole King, released in 1971.
I grew up on Carole King. I was only a very young child when Tapestry was released in 1971, but in my early youth it became one of my favorite albums and it has stayed on that list. I love every song off the album and I can sing the words to all of them.
I did not know until years later that Tapestry was one of the most highly celebrated albums of all time. The album won four Grammy Awards, including the biggest awards of the year – Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Carole King also won Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female and Record of the Year. In addition, the album is ranked #36 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. It definitely has staying power and is probably loved by even more people today than it was back then. Carole King is a music legend!
The album has been getting a lot of play time at our home after we went to see the musical, “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical” on Broadway a couple of weeks ago. Wow! What an incredible show. I was not the only one who was singing along as the show progressed through Carole King’s repertoire of fabulous music. If you get a chance to see the show, I would definitely recommend it. I loved it!
This is such an incredible song and I love the powerful message. I hope that it might spark you to crank those old Carole King tunes again too.
I had a wonderful weekend with 3/4 of the family home. We missed my son who stayed at school for the holiday weekend, but I am sure he was happy to stay in warmer weather.
It was miserably cold outside this weekend! In fact, Monday morning registered at -17 degrees with the windchill. That is nasty! I don’t know how you feel about those kind of temperatures, but I have absolutely NO desire to step outside when it is that cold.
So, I got lots of indoor gym time this weekend and I am posting one of my current favorite workout tunes for you to enjoy today. It motivated me many times this weekend!
This song is by Cash Cash, an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) group from New Jersey. Their music has also been labeled as pop or house dance music. I label it as great “move me” music! 🙂 The group consists of two brothers – Jean Paul and Alex Makhlouf, and Samuel Warren Frish. The three men write, produce, and mix all of their music together. Bebe Rexha, who performs vocals for this song, is a young singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. This song is the group’s highest charting song thus far.
Well, I am sorry, but I am jumping on the Taylor Swift bandwagon with today’s song. I honestly have been singing this song since the first time I heard the sneak preview on October 20 from Ryan Seacrest. I love the sound (very 80s) and it just seemed like the perfect theme song for my current life adventure.
Almost a month ago we got an apartment in NYC. As you know, we had some major life changes over the past few months and quite unexpectedly my husband and I became empty-nesters a couple of years earlier than anticipated. (We keep saying that we are either doing something very right … or something very wrong. My daughter left home at 16 to attend college, and then my son left home at 15 to attend a golf boarding school. Holy cow!) Anyway, I realized that the sudden change was going to be more than I could stomach. I just could not imagine myself sitting out in our big, quiet home all by myself. Moving into the city seemed like the perfect plan for a new adventure.
The minute I saw our apartment, I knew it was where I wanted to be. I love the view and I love being in the thick of the action.
I love New York City! I love the energy, I love the diversity, I love the chaos, I love the excitement, and, of course, I love the music. I guess that I would have to say I understand the thrill of the city that this song exudes.
I went to visit my son for his 16th birthday a few days before we were scheduled to move into the apartment and his first comment to me was, “Well, it sure didn’t take you long to replace me!” Ouch! Obviously he understood my reason for heading into the city was in part due to the loss of having him at home. He wasn’t far off, but as it turns out, it has been much more than that. My husband and I have been having a fabulous time. We are certainly enjoying this new adventure together even more than we thought we would. We still have not exactly figured out the logistics of our life, but I am sure that will come. 😉
I have not been very good at keeping up with my blog over the last few weeks. Funny how life gets in the way of things.
Amazingly, I have been at this blog now for an entire year! It has been such an interesting adventure. What I thought would be an easy undertaking was not always quite as easy as I thought it would be. Sometimes it became overwhelming and I have to admit I avoided it, but mostly it has been a fun experiment, a great way to share and explore my passion, and an incredible learning experience. As I evaluate the blogging experience of the last year, I can now begin to set new goals and work on improving.
Thank you for sharing this adventure with me. I hope that you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have, and I appreciate you hanging in there with me. New things are on the horizon. I can’t promise how quickly they will come, but they are coming … just as soon as I get this thing called life under control. 🙂 Speaking of which … so much to share with you in my next blog posts.
I am sharing a fabulous song with you today. It is one that I have liked for a long time from Oklahoma native Samantha Crain‘s 2013 album, Kid Face. I love her voice and her natural sound with that guitar. The words to this song are perfect!
Last weekend I made a very spontaneous decision after learning that my husband’s flight would be coming in late. I grabbed my purse and walked down the street to see a concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. It is a renowned venue in the city and one that I had not been to yet. A show was playing there that night that I had wanted to see and so I was glad that I got the opportunity. Samantha Crain was the opening act and she was delightful. She is a small person and it was just her and her guitar on that huge stage; however, she was able to warm up that audience with her humorous stories, great songs, and fabulous music. Her music was captivating and enjoyable. I loved hearing the songs that I already knew and I heard many new ones that I can’t wait to have released. Enjoy.
