I Swear,

Spring saves my life every year.
No kidding.
Spring is on it's way and it makes me feel like this:






(except, without the head and neck pain afterward).

:)

A Boost

From my awesome mom.

She sent this to me in an email yesterday, to give me inspiration to reach my goals.

It's a good one and I needed it.  Well worth watching, whatever your goals may be:

So What Do You Do When...

You have to perform in front of a bunch of people and you're really nervous?

You play the song AS FAST AS YOU CAN so you can get it over with...






Who exactly was I racing?  Oh well :)  Sam likes to play fast anyway.

1. This was fun for me.
2. The audience was SUPER nice and friendly and smiley (that's always helpful).
3. I made lots of mistakes, and it was okay.  My goal was to have fun with Sam.  And I did!
4.  The video is helpful (thanks, Jerry, for recording it).  I can really see some things I need to work on.


My favorite compliment of the evening:

"You are as good as the 10th place American Idol last year!"

[Yesss!]

CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE: DAY EIGHT

The challenge:  Seeing it through. "It" meaning those stockings.  I don't know what I'm doing!  Did you see my sleep mask?

What can I say, some challenges take more than an hour to complete. Dang.  I like quick results.  :)

In the meantime, here is one of my favorite stories.  It seems like I watch this video every few months or so.  And every time, I am touched and ready to be better.  To be like the older boy:

-Because I have had the same inclinations as the younger boy more times than I would like to admit.
-And because I have been the man with the old shoes in one way or another, it seems, throughout my entire life.






Happy Day!

Giving Up the Gun

One of my new favorite songs, by Vampire Weekend.

I like the video a lot, too:







And now I'm very curious about this book, it sounds interesting:

"Oh, You're Absolutely Fine"

OKAY.  Time to post SOMETHING.  I've left that cheesy poem (that I can't believe I posted) on the top of this page for too long.

Here is a video my friend Leah introduced me to, late in the evening while Sam was out of town last week.   Trust me, you will LOVE it.  The dancing, oh, the dancing... Don't take your eyes off the screen for one second or you will miss something good.

P.S.  Ignore the Youtuber's video title.  I believe it is, in fact, the BEST music video.  Ever.


Please enjoy:

Ellohwell

For those who haven't seen it yet, I hope you will enjoy this Spike Jonze Ikea ad:  it's exactly one minute long.








Ahh...Good stuff.

Because I'm a fair weather cyclist...

(and the weather is fair, isn't it?)

And because I love clever people...
Enjoy!







Did you notice? (tell the truth).

Valentine Goodie, Day #11: Chocolate...

AND A FEW LAUGHS.





Love those girls.

Valentine Goodie, Days 7,8 & 9: One Love and Panamantana

So...I totally spaced Sunday's post. I took a way long nap and I don't regret it.

But now, I have a really sick little girl. I was busy taking care of her yesterday. Those are my excuses for not posting. BUT to make up for it, I have a really great post today ;).

(I really don't have much time to post or proofread though, so sorry if this is really difficult to read.)

***

I have a friend named Ann. (Or as my twins used to lovingly call her: 'And')

She's awesome, for lots and lots of reasons. Including this: Her new blog (click HERE).
You should check it out. If you've been looking for a way to volunteer or donate to something really worthwhile and have an amazing experience, you should check out her blog.

She works with a group called VIDA (Volunteers Involved in Development Abroad). What is VIDA, you ask?

"It is a grassroots humanitarian organization committed to helping developing nations by providing volunteers, supplies, and monetary donations. VIDA recognizes the importance of maintaining the cultural values of the people in the country and seeks to help those who are making an effort to improve their community."

Check it out. You won't be sorry! :)


Also, my mother in law sent me this video. And it's awesome because:

1. It's a Bob Marley song. When it comes to Bob Marley, how can one NOT feel the love?
2. It's played by musicians all around the world. Together. It's very cool.
2. It's a preview of a film designed to spread peace throughout the world through music. I so dig that... can check out more info. (and view other great songs) HERE

Enjoy:

Valentine Goodie Day #2: Sharing the Love...

"Float My Boat"
Great song. Great video. And it's so fitting for the season...
This song is by The Mollies. You can check out more of their music here.



Enjoy!



P.S.
Incidentally, I know the guy in the fridge and he's one talented, music making machine who happens to be in another band called The Happies --you can listen to their music here.

Marking The Beauty: "Her Morning Elegance"

by Oren Lavie.

[Directed by: Oren Lavie, Yuval & Merav Nathan / Photography: Eyal Landesman / Featuring: Shir Shomron]

I saw this last night, and had to watch it again this morning. Love the song and the video.
Thanks Marci. You always manage to find and share the loveliest things!

Enjoy!

Speed Up That Day...

About 5 years ago, when Eddie was in kindergarten, I checked out a video of Martin Luther King Jr's. "I have a dream" speech and also the last speech he gave before his assassination.

My boy had been learning about MLKjr. at school and I wanted to show these speeches to him and see them again for myself.

I was moved, once again. But more interesting to me, was how it affected my young boy. He asked to watch the speech again. It really, really moved him.

This is good, and will take less than four minutes to watch:





Have a Great Day!

Will I See You Waving From Such Great Heights?

I'm in a Ukutopia Craze, what can I say? (Though I have yet to pick my Ukulele up since making my resolution...hmmm....)

For your viewing and listening pleasure:




Hope this makes you happy. It made me happy.
The End.
~M

Marking The Beauty: The Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest

Last year, while looking for Ukulele tutorials on Youtube, I stumbled upon this video of a darling college student who was submitting her entry to the Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest (click here to watch Julia Nunes' aweseomeness). Seriously, she's a fun girl. She's done covers from the Beach Boys, to The Killers, to Kanye West. Go ahead and watch it, I'll wait....

Okay, so she totally won 1st place and she continued submitting songs on YouTube. Long story short, she basically became YouTube famous, selling CDs and even OPENED FOR BEN FOLDS ( I know, how awesome is that?).

And so to mark the Beauty of the Ukulele (4 reasons follow):

1.

Ukulele = Beauty.
The sound invokes in me a feeling so mellow and happy. There is no sound like it.

You know that scene in Lilo and Stitch, when Stitch is completely wild and out of control, and then Lilo strums the Uke once, and he instantly melts onto the ground? It's a funny scene. And it's just like that for me.


2.
People who put themselves out there and create great music = Beauty

Here is a beautiful case in point
(These girls are this year's 1st place winners)

Go ahead and watch it - you'll be so glad you did!

3.

The Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest Exists and that, is a Beautiful Thing.
Check out the winner list and their videos here

4.

Being Inspired to Make a New Resolution = Beauty:

I RESOLVE to learn one song, on my Ukulele, each month this year. YAY! That will be 12 new songs to add to the 2 I know now ;).

*January's song: Jason Mraz's I'm Yours (That's for you Uncle Ed. I expect you to sing it once I learn it.)

Happy Day!

Who's That Coming Down the Street?

Are they shovels or are they feet?

Lean and lanky, skin and bones,

With clothes a scarecrow would hate to own...

I first saw the movie The Adventure's of Ichabod and Mr. Toad when I started dating Sam back in high school. He used to hum and sing these songs all the time, which I thought was adorable.

(Now, guys might not think that's a manly enough compliment, but trust me, it is. I wanted to kiss on those comely lips every time he hummed a tune. My guy is not only dashingly handsome, he's fun and quite charming).

Back to the subject at hand- Here's a clip (just under 3 minutes long):

Sam bought the movie and we watched it with the kids tonight. They loved it. I highly recommend it. And while watching, I (re)learned three things:

1. Hearing my kids' laughs are about the most delightful sounds I have ever heard.

2. I don't know how I managed to hook Sam, but I'm so glad I've got him. He's fun!

3. Though we have different frames, Ichabod and I are kindred souls. (This is slightly disconcerting).

YOU KNOW...
If you want a REAL treat this Halloween season, you should read the original short story; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I promise you, you won't be sorry.
Washington Irving is magical with words.
Delightful.
'Tis the Season!
I'm tempted to give a copy of that story out to every Trick Or Treater for Halloween, in lieu of goodies, I like it so much.


::: (imagining a pumpkin bowl full of books) :::

COME to think of it -
I'll stick with the fun size candy. Heaven forbid that I be put in the same category as those lame dentists and health nuts -- who attempt to subdue the cheap, sugared profligacy that is trick•or•treating -- by giving out the likes of toothbrushes and raisins... EEK!
That's a scary thought

WW

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LAST WEEK: Van Detail: Super Check!

Okay so I put it off until yesterday. Other than a little spot cleaning here and there I don't think I've ever thoroughly shampooed my interior. I've had this mama-wagon for FIVE years (five years of camping trips, wet winters, toddlers)...

That thing was nasty. I rented a carpet/upholstery cleaner and I just couldn't believe how gross even the seats were! (I expected the floors to be bad, but Ewwwwww.)

It took 5 hours (I had to take some breaks, for meal prep and yelling at the kids and stuff). I took out the seats, and even unscrewed the plastic base plates in order to clean out all that junk. Ew. Ew. Ew. I'm SO glad to have that over and done with.

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE
is going to be music centered.

Photo of this nifty tool was taken from this nifty blog



I love to sing. I love to play (the piano, the guitar, the ukulele) but I do this thing, where I struggle to learn just a few songs and then I stop learning. Every "practice session" becomes a playing session, where I play the same things over and over. I'm sick of the same old songs. And I'm getting worse instead of getting better.

So here's what I'm going to do EVERY single day (for this week anyway)

GUITAR

1. At least 10 minutes of scale practices and finger exercises each day.

2. Learn 5 different scales (I only know 2 basic scales, barely).

3. I will use the metronome at least 1 time through for each song I "practice".

4. Guitar TLC:
* New strings
*A little tweaking of the saddle (let's hope I don't seriously mess things up here) AND
* Cleaning: (The inside of my guitar currently contains various pick pieces and a dead moth...seriously!) Again, this challenge is small, but perfect because it's something I just never get around to.

Potential distractions include:
---A propensity for idleness, AND
---I'm currently trying to learn a song on the Ukulele called, 'Henehene Kou'Ana'. I love this song!


Here's a Youtube version of the legendary Iz singing this fun song:

===-===-===-===-===

Word of the Day: GARRULOUS (click for def.)

example: Melissa's garrulous nature is revealed in her never-ending blog posts.

While reading this morning I had to look up this word. I laughed because of the torrent of wordy entries this week.

Starting now, I'm challenging myself to limit my entries to about 60 words.

Which means I'm done blogging today!

Speaking of words-

"The One Semester of Spanish, Spanish Love Song"
Enjoy!

Famous People and Kindred Spirits (a post that is sure to embarrass my husband)

It's currently fundraiser time in the world of PBS...

I discovered this as I was absentmindedly flipping through the channels and saw Donny and Marie singing "It Takes Two". It was their 50 year anniversary concert. Awesome.

Watching this reminded me of a time I embarrassed myself.

Donny and Marie came back to TV land about 9 years ago, which was about the time my oldest was born. Being home during the day and motivated by a sense of nostalgia- (my mother used to watch the original show when I was young)- I found myself frequently tuning in to watch the Comeback Duo.

Okay, so how did I embarrass myself (besides writing this post)? In a nutshell; I saw Donny from a distance at a Jazz game several years ago. We made eye contact. I waved and shouted "Hey!" like we were buds. His expression reflected no recognition and I was surged with sudden clarity (and a red face). I realized then that I desperately needed to cut a clear line between TV land and real life. I decided I would turn the telly off for good (I have yet to do this).

So, what does this have to do with.....anything?

Well, call me crazy, but every once in a while I "run across" a famous person and think, "Yea, I totally get what they're about". And it's not just the Mormon ones either. Let's call them "Kindred Spirits of Hollywood". (hmmm....)

Oh. You want examples? Okay, but I'm not going to explain MUCH about why I picked these people. I tried, but I had to delete my reasons. Any conjecture I have comes across as pathetic and just plain loony because, as Mr. Osmond's body language so plainly expressed, I don't actually know these people.

A SHORT LIST OF FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH BFF POTENTIAL BASED UPON AN UNEXPLAINABLE, INTUITIVE HUNCH

MOVIE STAR:
Juliet Binoche

Maybe it's the accent. Or the fact that she was in a movie where she made out with Johnny Depp and made chocolate for a living...that could possibly be it.

MUSIC ICON:
Jack White of the White Stripes

We'd be peas in a pod, I'm sure of it. Of course, he'd be the big-juicy-talented-genius pea, and I'd be the small-somewhat-dry-shriveled-up pea-but we'd be in the same pod. I'm just sure of it.

YOUTUBE CELEB
(which has all but replaced television for me):

Julia Nunes

I wouldn't say Julia and I are exactly kindred. It's just that she would be the funnest friend ever. She's so cool. She's completely uninhibited and unfazed by criticism. She's so unlike me.

Technically she's not famous. Though she is popular on YouTube (for good reason). I discovered her while looking for Ukulele tunes to learn. She recently won the "Bushman World Ukulele Contest". You can view her submission below.

You're gonna love this girl once you see it. And even if you don't, I am convinced this video will leave you smiling.

ENJOY!

What I'll be doing tonight...

I know I've been absent for a while, and I could write about my job, or how the kids are doing, or about family coming into town (so fun) or the fact that I feel totally out of whack these days. (I still haven't changed the calendar on my fridge to March...)

But instead of doing anything productive, I will- at my dear Hubby's request - spend the evening re-learning "White Sandy Beach" on the Uke.

I think the warmer weather has given us some serious spring fever. At any rate, he's decided he really likes the Mando-Uku combo (I do too). It sounds completely happy and mellow :) Perfect for the milder weather...

Here's a helpful karaoke video in case anyone would like to learn this sweet song...



Ahh...the white, sandy beaches of Hawaii :)