30 day song challenge - Day 15

Day 15 – A song that describes you

My song. And only my song. It was obviously written about me. And only me. Other girls need to find a different song. As my Courtney would say - "MY SONG!!!!!!"

Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl from Maya M on Vimeo.

30 day song challenge - Day 14

Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love

The swearing is prolific. The message to women is sketchy at best. The 'man' hating is front and center. And this song is on every running playlist I've made. Actually, 10-12 Jay-Z songs rotate through my running playlists. This is my favorite.

This is my second favorite slash tie-for-first. I posted it just because it's not as well known. Go for a run. Seriously. You'll feel like you're flying.

30 day song challenge - Day 13

Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure

Love me some Pitbull. His sideways smile/snarl, his attitude, his heritage.... Yum.... I wonder if "Mr. Worldwide" has discovered the west side of Cleveland....

You listened to it twice too, right?

30 day song challenge - Day 12

Day 12 – A song from a band you hate

Ugh. So many to choose from!! Can I choose a person and not a band? Well, it's my blog, and it's my challenge, and it's still my birthday, so yes. I can.

Sorry, Julia. I hate Justin Bieber. No, I don't hate all music or artists gears at the "tween" age group. I actually like that there are young people who can be positive influences to 5th and 6th graders. I think Selena Gomez (Justin's gf. Yes, I actually subscribe to People Magazine and, yes, I await my Friday mail delivery like Garfield waits for lasagna) is really cute. I never minded Ashley Tisdale, Demi Lovato or even Miley Cyrus. I just really hate Justin. I think his rise to fame and his UBER popularity has been completely blown out of proportion. I think he's going to be in therapy by the time he's 20 (a whole 3 year away!) or in rehab before that! I think he's a little jerk who can kind-of-sort-of dance and maybe-in-the-shower sing.

And since I really only know the name of *one* Justin Bieber song, that's what I'm being forced to post. So, here ya go. Gather your 6+ year old children around - they'll love me. (and I just threw up in my mouth a little when I saw that this video has been viewed 557+ MILLION times) Sigh....

30 day song challenge - Day 11

Day 11 – A song from your favorite band

Picking my favorite band is like picking my favorite song. It depends on my mood, my age, the time of day, how many cocktails I've had.... Today, it's my birthday. And I'm picking Phish. I started listening to Phish in high school as most of my friends did. The band is from just across the lake from my hometown of Plattsburgh, NY and I like to think that *we* knew about them before anyone else. Well, us and the entire student body of UVM... My dad told he met them once, before they were 'famous' at a philosophy convention since some (all?) of them were philosophy majors at UVM. That made my dad cool. For that day. Phish got me through high school. my early college years, the summers between college years....

I've fallen off the Phish wagon in the recent years. They announced their retirement, but like all the greats (and no-so-greats) they're back on tour this summer. I wish, in a way, I could go to a show. But, I don't know if I even would go if I could. I really like my memories of my 10+ shows, the friends I had at those shows, the drugs that were ingested, the memories created. I think I'll let those past experiences be just that - *past* experiences. I would hate for my 34 year old self try to live up to or change my 19 year old self's memories.

So, one of the first songs I was exposed to that was performed in my lovely hometown at one of Phish's first multi-day festivals, The Clifford Ball. I was in the crowd. Can you see me? Just kidding. I was there though.... Enjoy.

Phish - Slave to the Traffic Light

30 day song challenge - Day 10

Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep

I have listened to music to fall asleep since I was about 12. I learned the beauty of the 'sleep' button on my alarm clock and, with the help of technology, have been able to fall asleep using headphones, tv's, iPods, etc to fall asleep. I love it. This song, the whole cd actually, is one of my favorite relaxing songs. I still have it on my iPod and listen to it while drinking wine in the bathtub. The cd was played out, literally, in my Sony Discman while at Camp Mason. (Skip to about the 1:30 mark in the video, unless you want to hear him, and his hair, speak in his crazy accent.)

30 day song challenge - Day 9

Day 9 – A song that you can dance to

I do like to dance to this song. But I actually 'danced' to this song. In a choreographed routine with two friends at my 7th grade talent show. It was awful. But we thought it was phenomenal. I was mouthing the words and the dance moves were emphasized by our awesome Au Coton skirts and opposite colored suspenders. But the song is still good. I guess.

30 day song challenge - Day 8

Day 8 – A song that you know all the words to

I worked at YMCA Camp Mason in Blairstown, New Jersey for 6 years through high school and into college as a camp counselor. It's like a fraternity or sorority - you're in it for life. And the people you meet there are in it too. And you talk about it all the time. The funny stuff, the not-so-funny stuff, you share pictures, you share names and addresses. Camp Mason taught me a LOT about life, about love, about friendship, about food poisoning, about everything. This song reminds me of the summer of 1992, I think. The summer of my first big, HUGE crush, Mark, that I got into trouble for since he was a counselor and I was not, (only a CIT at that point), the summer I figured out that I could be whoever I wanted to be when people didn't know me (since my high school experience sucked, and this was 8 hours away from high school....) and the summer I decided that I wanted to be a camp counselor. For a long, LONG time.

And 2-3 times every summer, I learned the words to a song to teach my cabin (sometimes with other cabins) to perform at the session's talent show. Sometimes I performed with them, other times I was perfectly happy to sit and watch. This was one I helped to perform. Complete with awesome dance moves. Fit for the 9 year olds that agreed to use this song. Poor girls. And it became kind of my 'theme song' for that summer. You know the words too. Sing with me.....

30 day song challenge - Day 7

Day 7 – A song that reminds you of a certain event

This song reminds me of moving to Florida. I was finally living in a real 'city' with real radio stations and I heard this and thought I'd gone to heaven. I got a job the first few weeks living there as a bank teller and had to drive from New Tampa to Largo (about 60 minutes one way) for training. 5 days of sitting in rush hour traffic going to and coming from work. This song would play at least once on the radio. And if it didn't, I'd be disappointed. Thank goodness it seemed to be on a good rotation!

I've always loved dance/techno/house/trance music but when I heard this, I needed more. I started hearing about Ybor City and the dance clubs there. I eventually *went* to a few of the dance clubs and would have lived there if it hadn't been for jobs or college. Humph. Stupid responsibilities. But I thank Cheryl and Pete and eventually Dave for going to The Amphitheater with me all those weekends. I miss it sometimes.

The video has MUCH to be desired. Unless you're on ecstasy. Then it might be really cool. Enjoy!

30 day song challenge - Day 6

Day 6 - A song that reminds you of somewhere.

Easy. Honeymoon. Scotland. Driving on the wrong side of the road. Loved it. Not a huge fan of the song. But it reminds me/us of Scotland every time. :)

30 day song challenge - Day 5

Day 5 – A song that reminds you of someone

I know a lot of people. A lot. Not that I'm uber popular or shallow, but I can seriously tell you how I know all 400+ people on my facebook page personally. This made today's challenge especially hard. I thought of a song and then the person(s) I think of because of that song. I thought of a person and then the songs that I associated with them.

Last night's post got me into the high school mode. And who better to remember than my friend Lisa. She and I were peas in a pod in high school. We each had other friends but it seemed we always found each other on the weekends, random Tuesday evenings, over the summer, between jobs, etc. We got into trouble together, doing practically nothing, and were model students together. We partied, drove drunk friends around, took offices in the French Club. Mostly though, we drove around. And around. And around. We both had access to a car, not *our own* car, but a car. And we drove. We figured out the school bus to trailer ratio in Peru, we had picnics on abandoned house's lawns, and we drove. For hours. And this song, on a mixed tape of mine, was played a LOT. We'd often drive around until this song was over. Like around the block. 5 minutes late for curfew was standard. And it was Lynyrd Skynyrd's fault. Hope you don't have anything to do for the next 10 minutes. Ha!

30 day song challenge - Day 4

Day 4 - A song that makes you sad

When I was 16, this song played continuously. This was my teen angst song. One, it has the work "fuck" in it a million times which pissed my parents off. Two, there's a love/hate thing going on. At the time, I was hoping that someday, some guy would love me so much that if/when we broke up, *he'd* play this song continuously wishing he hadn't fucked things up.

I'm on the 'wait list' for Anthony Kiedis' book where it supposedly says this is a song written after Sinead O'Connor blew him off after he professed his love to her. I love that crap. See? Even rock stars don't get everything they want.

Why does it make me sad? I picture my hormonal teenage self trying to figure things out and this song seemed to be the answer. This song?! I picture Kiedis (total crush then and now) sitting, writing, no - scribbling! - these song lyrics wondering how he could screw up so royally. Sad, sad, sad.

30 day song challenge - Day 3

Day 3 - A song that makes you happy.

I love this song. It was used in a VW commercial in 2002 and I just chalked it up to a cool commercial. Years later I heard it used in a Jim Carey movie trailer (get to googling, geeks!) and started investigating. I found out about the band, the song and it actually became one of my very first true 'downloads'. This song is on EVERY running playlist I've ever made. I put it on repeat sometimes so it plays 3-4 times in a row. And I smile every. single. time. Enjoy.

And because I love VW that much (yes, I'm a freak) here's the commercial. Rad, no?

30 day song challenge - Day 2

Day 2 - Your least favorite song

I'm not afraid to admit that I hate country. I know a LOT of people who do like it - the old country, the new stuff, the pop country, etc. Ever since Shania Twain and Miley's dad "crossed over" into the pop world with their feel-like-a-woman-achy-breaky-hearts, I've hated country. Fast forward to this generation of pop country stars. Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum and the country pop princess herself, Taylor Swift, have disturbed my top-40 listening pleasure lately. Not that there aren't terrible top-40 songs out there (just wait) or artists. And I know that everyone has their opinion, and this is just mine, but Taylor Swift drives me INSANE. I don't like her voice, I don't like her songs, I don't like her videos, I don't like her. I think she writes perfect songs for the 16 year old that she is. I think she has terrific people promoting the sh*t out of her and her music and - poof - a pop star. Her lyrics drive me crazy. Her teen love angst is overrated. Yes, everyone feels like that sometimes, but then I turned 18 and actually realized that *everyone* feels like that and I wasn't a leper and moved on. I turn the channel (tv or otherwise) when she's on. Bleck. There. Least favorite song? Of Taylor's there are so many to choose from.

Now, listen, before you start coming down on me, this is MY opinion. If you want to do this challenge and pick a Taylor Swift song for EVERY SINGLE CHOICE - have at it. I won't b*tch about your opinions. Don't b*tch about mine. Kthxbye.

30 day song challenge - Day 1

Ok. Fine. I'll just start. I have been thinking about it and actually putting MEGA pressure on myself to really do it EVERY DAY and to stick with it, blah, blah, blah. You know what? I'll start and if I skip a day, I'll catch up. And if I skip a few days, I'll catch up. I've got 2 young kids and a (probable) November half marathon to train for. Busy is an understatement....

Day 1: Your Favorite Song

This changes daily. Weekly. Monthly. Yearly. So, here it is for today.

I like her. A lot. This was the first song I heard and knew it was Adele. It prompted me to find out about her and listen to more of her music. Love. Her. Lots.

Should I?

Maybe getting back into blogging would be a good thing. Maybe it would be too much. I've thought about it, but I've often thought I need a 'reason' to blog. People have goals, Julie & Julia, The Crockpot Lady, RLAM, etc. all have clear 'reasons' to blog. Me? I bitch, I moan, I sometimes quip... but a reason? Not usually.

Maybe I just found one. A 30 day blog challenge. I'm still undecided, but if I get started, I'll let ya know.

Challenge Info:

Day 01 – Your favorite song
Day 02 – Your least favorite song
Day 03 – A song that makes you happy
Day 04 – A song that makes you sad
Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 – A song that you can dance to
Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 – A song from your favorite band
Day 12 – A song from a band you hate
Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 – A song that describes you
Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 – A song from your favorite album
Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 – A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 – A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 – A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 – A song from your childhood
Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year

Yeah - I'm crazy

I'm testing out the blog-o-sphere again. We shall see what happens....

Snot

Yes - this picture is posted twice. It's to honor my two darling girls who have enough snot coming out of their heads for the entire population of Madagascar. Katie, my older daughter, is 2.5 and can take some OTC meds that help a bit. But they make her groggy and lethargic. My little one, Courtney, is almost 5 months old. Which means NO meds of any kind. So the lovely blue sucker bulb,



which is a tried and true device of torture, will have to suffice.

My poor girls. And their poor mommy and daddy. Let's hope we ALL feel better soon!

I want to.....

..... be doing more of this:

Workin' it out

I've had a touch of the baby blues lately. I've come to realize that I am not going to be at my job, which I really like(d), for YEARS and that I've become a full time mom. I love being a mom, but I was a working mom for a long time. Now I'm a mom. And a mom. Oh - and a mom. That's it. That's how it felt/feels right now. So, I decided to use my time wisely and get back to the gym!

When I was home with Katie before I went back to work, I really enjoyed going to the gym. They have a great daycare/babysitting room that is included in our membership. The people that watch the kids are friendly and follow a pretty regular schedule so the same people are usually there around the same time. They'll give the babies bottles and keep the older kids occupied with activities, crafts and a cool playground. And if things get too crazy and staff member will come and find you to help alleviate any temper tantrums or the like. But, they don't come and get you unless they REALLY need you. The staff are very good at trying just about everything to settle a kiddo before they hunt you down. They know that this may be your only hour alone. They had to get me one time for Katie and it was because she had pinched her finger in a door and wouldn't calm down.

So, I signed Courtney up last week and headed to the gym today! I timed it out so she had just eaten and needed a nap. I packed her in the car where she promptly fell asleep. She stayed asleep the whole hour-and-fifteen-minutes I was there. Pretty nice.

I'm also happy about working toward my goal of a 5K race. I was doing a program called Couch to 5K before I was pregnant with Courtney. I had made it to week 5 when I saw the double pink line. I tried to keep up the program, but pregnancy kicks my butt physically and I opted for naps on the couch rather than the treadmill. Well. I'M BACK!! I'm using our old, 1st generation iPod and have downloaded all the podcasts that help me along. The program is a series of walking/running intervals that slowly condition your body. In about 9 weeks you'll have enough stamina to run a 5K in about 30 minutes. Not bad! So, today I completed the first day of week 1. I about died, but feel good and will do it again on Wednesday. I'm really hoping to keep going and run in a real, honest to goodness 5K sometime in the late summer or early fall. I want to pin a number on me and everything.

If your even remotely interested in running, you should try this program. I AM NOT a runner. and *I* can do this program. The workouts are short - between 25-45 minutes each - and the program is flexible. They recommend doing each workout 3 times a week with at least 1 day of rest in between. As the workouts get more challenging, I do them more than three times. The week 4 workout took me 6 times before I felt like I could go to week 5. No stress. Nobody's yelling at me because I need one more shot before I feel comfortable. It's on my iPod so nobody snickers "Ha ha! Look at her. She's doing the SAME workout 7 times." I like it!

So wish me luck. I'll try to post my progress as I move along and when I do my 5K I'll definitely post pictures and everything! Happy running!