The Wonderful World of Covers.

I've thought about this post over and over again, now I'm going to finally put my ideas to paper... I mean blog. As previously stated I love music, but this blog (and my love) is not just about music but recycled music as well, otherwise known as covers.

There is something truly fantastic about covers, the freedom they bring and how they can make you look at a song in a completely different way. And sometimes when a fast song is slowed down you realize how ridiculous the lyrics really are.

Here are a few of my favorites of artists who not only produce their own fabulous music but have enough brain power to reconfigure other songs:

This is Party in the USA originally by Miley Cyrus (which I can't stand, sorry!) and covered here by Danielle Ate the Sandwich feat. Boulder Acoustic Society.  

Pomplamoose is truly great. After listening to this cover of September originally from Earth, Wind and Fire, you need to go and listen to some of their other covers as well as songs they wrote. 

This is my latest wonderful cover find, by my latest favorite band, The Civil Wars. I'm tempted just to put up all their songs that I love but I think that is another post for another time... for the time being please enjoy I Want You Back originally by The Jackson 5.

Last but not least, The Fray singing My Hips Don't Lie originally sung by Shakira and will forever be one of my favorites. Someone cleverly in the comments wrote "Hips Dont Lie - A Dramatic Reading By The Fray." That's all the warning you get :) 

Enjoy! 

The Half Year Point.

So a quick update on the goals that mentioned in my first blog post:

1) Grow a Garden - The garden is growing! In fact we need to get stakes for the tomatoes plants because they are growing so tall!
2) Get better at the piano - ....
3) Get fit and have fun! - This has been an up and down process but I think I've got into a rhythm now where I'm getting fit and having fun... mostly.
4) Grow my hair out - It is growing! Actually I've been noticing lately how long it has been getting. It's still short according to every hair standard but longer then what it was.
5) Go to BC, hopefully this summer! - We're going next week! Yay!

As you can see everything is going rather well except number 2. Now that I've got this all written out I see that I should really get on that...

Cheers! Here's to another 6 months!

The Absence.

"What are men to rocks and mountains?"
                      - Jane Austen


Winter is over. At least, mostly over. I tend to forget how it affects me. I love being outside. I don't even really have to be doing anything, just being outside makes me feel better about everything. Winter, in my mind, lingered for too long this year and only now have people ventured out.

I took a walk this morning. A long walk that I would have cut short because of the cold wind, but I persevered all the same. Which I'm glad I did because it gave me more time to think. Nature makes me think of God and makes it feel like he is near. Or nearer. The absence of nature during the winter is hard on me. I don't appreciate the cold so I spend a lot of time inside. When spring does roll around, I forget about going outside. I find it hard to "spring" out of hibernation.

Now, when it is winter I don't think that God is farther from me but walking this morning made think about the absence of God. This past year and a bit has been interesting. Interesting is a polite way of saying difficult without conveying all the details. And I'm sorry but that's all you'll get. Because of said interesting events, I feel like I'm all over the place, mentally and emotionally. This has become more obvious to me over the past few weeks as the snow has melted and the grass has become greener.

God has not been absent in my life, in fact has shown his love, grace and power in bounds, but I have strayed from him. I don't want to, but I do. Never far but enough. All of a sudden I realize I have not been with him. I have been absent. When I look he is there but before that moment I was looking for something else to make me feel purposeful, even though he is the one who made me with me in mind.

One day, I won't stray but till then I will have winter in my life where it will hard and I will have springs of revelation where I will return. But I promise I will always try my hardest and give my utmost.

I love story songs and this is one of my favorites. I listened to it on my walk. The end is my favorite part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egl8yQvnkqs

The Middle.

The Middle by Bebo Norman

It's as if you could find me anywhere 

That I could go, to try to hide my thoughts from you, 

But just like some runaway I'm leaving here 

With half a mind that hopes, of getting caught 

So we can just drive home in the dark where we'll let our feeling fly 

they'll cut like shame to break me down again 

Until there's nothing left but for me to tell you I'm sorry 

But I dont wanna go home now 

Stuck here in the middle alone now 

Everybody's singing their song now 

But I'm still reeling 

I'm not trying to run away from 

this beautiful life I've been given 

I'm not looking for freedom 

Maybe just a little meaning 

Here in the Middle 

It's as if there's a word uncovered by the break of day all these miles away but for a better view 

of what's left in the aftermath of all these years 

It's just so hard to know who I am in you 

So I don't wanna go home now 

Stuck here in the middle alone now 

Everybody's singing their song now 

But I'm not ready for this 

I'm not trying to run away from 

this beautiful life I've been given 

I'm not looking for freedom 

Maybe just a little meaning

 Here in the Middle 

Alright, everybody says I'll be alright 

Everybody says it's a good fight 

I'm not seeing it now 

All I know is I swear this 

It feels a little more like a secret 

And I don't know if I should just keep it to myself, but my Love, my Love 

I don't wanna go home now 

Stuck here in the middle alone now 

Everybody's singing their song now 

But I'm still reeling 

I'm not trying to run away from 

this beautiful life I've been given 

I'm not looking for freedom 

Maybe just a little meaning 

Here in the Middle 

Here in the Middle

The Reflection.

I've thought about writing a thousand different entries. Ones describing how I'm feeling lately. Ones talking about how maybe I haven't been so faithful following the the list of things I want to accomplish. Ones talking about anything and everything, about growing up, insecurities and why sometimes I just don't want to write at all.

But I was looking at a friends blog the other day and it dawned on me: My blog doesn't have to be an account of things I do or don't do. It can just be about me, the things I love and those things I don't like very much. Her blog was centered around photography because that is who she is. So, I've decided to think differently about blogging and why I'm even throwing my thoughts into cyberspace at all.

I love music. I know a lot of people love music but music is more then just words and melodies. It's the way God and I communicate. So despite what you might think about music (categories, labels, etc.) I see God in most every song.

And how good is Adele? Kudos must go to her new CD. I can't get this song out of my head:

The Way it has Been.

What kills motivation the fastest?

Sickness.

Being sick has put a little damper on my exercising, especially because every time I moved I felt like throwing up.  Still don't feel quite like myself but that may be because we stayed up late last night and I'm bone tired.

One thing I am having trouble with is finding time to play piano. Maybe I should be a little more honest and admit that I haven't even tried yet. Wait, I did once, for only 10 minutes and then I was done. I'm worried. I feel like I'm losing interest in the things I love: music and just generally being creative. I use to paint more. I haven't touched my art supplies since we moved eight months ago. I want to, I do. I just, don't. Is this the time in life where you end up just not doing the things you love anymore and just shrug it off as "growing up"? It could be that I'm just lazy, or that I actually have no talent for any of it, or... I just need to try harder.

In any case, I'm trying out my new breadmaker and I hope in a few hours I can drown my sorrows in warm, buttery-bread goodness.

The Search for Inner Motivation.

This morning I had thoughts about getting up early and working out (working out = wii fit) but upon waking I discovered I was still tired so I postponed my efforts till before bed. This might seem strange and some might consider it procrastination but I assure you, my motivation is pure. I even just told my husband about it because I know he will in the very least remind me about it later.

This is the terrible part about having goals and lists. The very moment you make them, you start to want to avoid them. They rattle around in your brain and pop up just as you are about to enjoy that seventh chocolate-y goodness square of a Caramilk bar, reminding you that you were only going to have one. Sheesh. All they do is nag at you and nag at you until... well, until you either actually start doing what you said you were going to do or scrap it all and eat an entire tub of ice cream. The worst part about it, is that you can't blame anyone else because that voice nagging you is you. And despite all of our efforts (see facebook, tv, and other distractions) we can never hide from ourselves.

The ice cream tub is a tattle-tale.