cover me up #4

Tags

covers, music

There are no original ideas left in the world, or so they say. All I know is that right now I am way too fucking tired to do a whole lot of original thinking so I’m swiping an idea from Evil Squirrel. I’m going to share with y’all some of my favorite songs that have had covers done. There’s no real rhyme or reason to the order of these.

I’ve seen Counting Crows in concert 3x, before they sucked. I know of only one other cover they did and released on an album, and I’ll see if I can find it. Anyone, socially conscious song with a catchy beat, what more can you ask for?

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cover me up #2

Tags

covers, music

There are no original ideas left in the world, or so they say. All I know is that right now I am way too fucking tired to do a whole lot of original thinking so I’m swiping an idea from Evil Squirrel. I’m going to share with y’all some of my favorite songs that have had covers done. There’s no real rhyme or reason to the order of these.

Y’all know that Bowling for Soup is quite possibly my all time favorite band. Part of the appeal, for me, is that they’ll take on other artist’s songs and spin them a little. This cover of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemian’s “Circle” is just beautiful.

cover me up #1

Tags

covers, music, shit I like

There are no original ideas left in the world, or so they say. All I know is that right now I am way too fucking tired to do a whole lot of original thinking so I’m swiping an idea from Evil Squirrel. I’m going to start sharing with y’all some of my favorite songs that have had covers done. There’s no real rhyme or reason to the order of these. And away we go…

I’ve probably shared this before, but it’s quite possibly my favorite cover EVAH!!! Charlie Worsham is actually considered a country musician but he’s so much more. He routinely does this whole Cover Challenge thing where he takes a song and plays every part, instrumental and vocal, and masters it all in his apartment. In 24 hours. In all honesty, I had no idea how beautiful this song was until I heard his version and was actually able to *cough* understand all the lyrics *cough*.

my day in a nutshell

Tags

Evie Cat, getting creative, goals, life, lizard love, moods, music, my day in pictures, projects, random shit that falls out of my brain, recipes, school, skin conditions, stress

This is my newest drawing as it looked this afternoon. The outlining is done and all she needs is some color. My intention is to do that shortly. She’s not perfect, but I think she’s beautiful.

I actually started my day feeling pretty decent, except for my legs. I’m very doubtful that I’ll get on the treadmill at all because both of them have cysts that are actively draining and they really rather hurt like hell. Fortunately I picked up two new pair of my special under-pants things this weekend so I’m prepared.

On my drive in to work I heard one of my all time favorite feel good songs…

I do love a little Mercury poisoning first thing in the morning. ❤

Work was good, I got to help Miss K with a consultation, one of my very favorite things to do. We’ll be helping a faculty member with an exciting project in the coming months. And in general it was just a really productive day and that always helps the mood.

Class was an exercise in patience. The assignment we had to turn in today had unclear directions, so we’re not sure if any of us did it right. I know for sure that I completely forgot to do a chunk of it. Fortunately she’s about the progress so she’ll pass our stuff back the following week with comments and such and then if we want to do a revision we can and get full points for it, provided it gets turned in the following week. So I should be just fine. I checked my grades after I got home and, if I’m reading things right, it looks like I’ve only missed ONE point so far. I won’t bitch.

And then, on the commute home, I got to listen to this…

This another of my favs, particularly at the end of a long day. In my humble opinion it’s a toss up as to who played piano better, Warren or Billy Joel. But I digress.

So if anyone saw the post last night about the recipes and wondered, “what does that meatball soup look like anyway?” Well, here ya go.

I made a pot for dinner tonight. Very yummy and I don’t know that food that’s worth eating gets much easier than this. It’s guaranteed to bring out a little of this…

After dinner I started my usual routine of taking care of shit so that the morning will hopefully go a little smoother. In an attempt to do that, I lit this wonderful candle that a certain Bear sent me.

It’s delightful smelling. Then I figured I’d get a sweater out since it’s going to be beyond cold tomorrow. I keep my sweaters in the cedar chest Mom and Dad got me when I turned 16 because it’s the best place I know of for them. Apparently it’s fascinating to Evie.

That’s been my exciting day. Hope y’all had a good day, too!

and I will sail my vessel til the river runs dry

Tags

encouragement, family, love, music

My taste in music is fairly broad and a little eclectic. Lately I seem to go through phases. I’ll get stuck in a Punk kind of mood and listen to nothing but. Then I’ll switch to Folk music and temporarily burn myself out on Mumford & Sons and Peter, Paul and Mary or The Irish Rovers. I’ve even co-opted a little of Josh’s Heavy Metal for my stash and will listen to that now and again. I blame (in the very best way possible) my dad for this.

My dad also had fairly diverse taste in music. I grew up listening to Country, Folk, old Rock & Roll. And from Mom I got Barbara Streisand and Barry Manilow – whatever they’d be considered. We liked what we liked and we listened to a little of everything at the house.

Right now I’m in the midst of a Country phase. The CD in the jeep’s stereo right now is Garth Brooks and this morning I heard this on my way to work…

…and it really got me thinking about my parents. They have always encouraged me to dream big (it doesn’t cost extra, why not?) and to go after what I wanted. I was told as a very young girl that I could be and do anything I wanted to, if I wanted it bad enough and was willing to work hard. Their unconditional love and support, and that constant encouragement that I could do anything, got me through the very worst times in my life so far.

Even if Country music isn’t your thing I’d encourage you to listen to this one. The message is phenomenal. And so are you. You really can do anything you want to. I believe in you.

Friday night excitement

Tags

Evie Cat, family, life, love, money, motivation, music, projects, work

I had every intention of blogging much earlier today, I really did. But then work this morning was just a little too fun (since there was hardly anyone around), and once I got on a roll I wanted to finish what I was working on, and then Josh got off work quite a bit early and Miss K very purposefully turned her head while I snuck out behind her to go do some Christmas shopping.

I am very pleased to report that there are only a few small, and hopefully quick, errands to be run tomorrow. Part will be groceries, part meds, part craft supplies for a few projects I’ve lined up, and a few last gifts to get. I’m hoping it won’t be as ridiculous as it was today, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

The good thing, really, about both of us getting off early today and needing to run errands was that we didn’t do them together and that meant we had time to shop for each other. Neither of us is any good at all at wrapping things for the other, never have been, mostly because neither can wait for the other to get their gift. The light in here is utter shit right now so I won’t bother trying to capture the loveliness of the two blouses and the jewelry Josh got for me. (the man is a whiz at finding the good stuff on clearance racks) I also can’t get a decent shot of the guitar strap I picked up for him. (he also got strap locks and a variety of picks)

This evening, Mom’s last at home until next Saturday, was spent with the “kids” working on a Christmas puzzle while I made dinner and did more laundry.

Evie got in on the act as well.

I also spent some time going through my boards on Pinterest, partially to find ideas for over break, partially to weed out the crap, and partially to find even more ideas to share with you for our monthly simplifying ideas. I have a small confession to make, well, maybe two.

One, I’ve been doing something of the simplifying things myself already. This is partially because I know I’ll have a little more time the next few weeks and partially because I want to test run a few things. I will tell you that I have every intention of putting out the whole year’s worth of ideas at once so that other folks who have odd schedules can do the same.

Two, I’m going to be seriously curbing my spending next year, but the key phrase there is next year. So today I went and bought myself six new shirts and a sweater, all pieces that are suitable for wearing to work and are a brand that I know will hold up well. And, in my defense, I got those 7 pieces plus a really pretty snowflake necklace plus a really pretty crystal dragonfly hair clip for E for ~$100. I don’t think that’s too damn bad. I purchased those pieces because I looked over my work wardrobe with a super critical eye and identified a gap that, if filled, would do an awful lot to stretch what I have right now and make it that much easier to not buy any new clothes next year.

Anyway, Josh is entertaining me with music I’ve not heard before and I’m loving it. I mean really, where has this guy been that I’ve never heard him?

Mama is no longer M.I.A.

Tags

family, kids, life, love, music, random shit that falls out of my brain, school

Sorry folks, that tiny absence was far longer than I anticipated. The last time I emerged from my hole was on Thursday when I showed off many of the things I have created in the past which were either knit or crocheted. Good times. Friday I took the day off work to try to get caught up on school bullshit. The best laid plans of mice and men, and all that rot. So here’s what actually happened…

Thursday night I absolutely had to turn in some kind of draft for the group project even though the girl hadn’t done shit. I emailed her and told her I was just doing her fucking part myself and that, interestingly enough, got her immediate attention. I had something, mostly shitty, to send off by 8:15.

Friday morning I got up and got back to work again. Unfortunately Josh seemed to think I needed company so he kept texting and interrupting me. In spite of him I did manage to make some really good progress. But then Evie got sick.

It’s not all that unusual for her to puke, but she just kept at it. I called the vet’s office and got the first available appointment. It turned out that her anal glands were full of yuck and needed to be drained and she’s got another bladder infection. She got a shot of antibiotics and is doing much better.

Friday night Josh and I went and saw a Beatles tribute band and had a really nice time. I was amazed that in the entire 2 1/2 hours I only didn’t know 2 songs. Yay me!

Are we really only up to Saturday? Damn…

Mom and I got up early Saturday morning and headed out to breakfast. From there we went to a craft show that was put on by her old boss’ wife. It wasn’t terribly large and a lot of the artists had similar stuff, so that was kind of a bummer. I did get a beautiful wire wrapped necklace, a pair of funky earrings with skulls, a sugar skull journal for the kid, and a tiny canvas piece featuring her initial.

From there we went to another craft show at the church where A goes to pre-school. That one was huge and much more traditional. I picked up another wire wrapped necklace and a pot of lip balm for Josh. Mom got me some gorgeous dichroic glass earrings. After that we grabbed a quick lunch before A’s birthday party. That was pretty well a non-event for the big people, but E had asked if I would go and I can’t disappoint either of those girls.

After the party we went to the mall closest to the house in an attempt to find some clothes for the little girls. I was able to find a giant giraffe for E, some new special pants for me (with a super amazing coupon), and Mom got me a Hello Kitty t-shirt (it was a whole $5, the right size, and “says” Nebraska without having a damn thing to do with the fucking Cornhuskers).

Our last stop was at Target, which is always dangerous for me. But I actually did better there than at the first craft show. I got the rest of what I needed for the little girls’ Christmas presents, bags for their gifts, and a Nanoblock Giant Panda. I really do need a retail intervention at this point.

And no, I haven’t taken any pictures of any of that because today I’ve been getting house stuff taken care of. I didn’t clean everything last week because of the kid being here and running around with my BFF all day on Saturday, so today I did all of it. It seems like I end up doing laundry damn near every day now anyway, but today I’ve done more than that. Plus Josh decided that he wanted me to connect his tower directly to the internet instead of using a wireless dongle and that took some work. Plus Mom wanted to run to Michaels to get a patch for E’s pair of pants that have a hole in the knee. While we were apart, Josh got me a Christmas present.

Yes, that is a Brother label maker. Yes, I am grinning like an idiot. Oh, and yes, that is the Hello Kitty shirt. And lastly, yes, I am spoiled.

and so it begins

Tags

christmas, music, nano poblano, team pepper

I’ll be decorating the office for Christmas today so I decided to relent and lift the ban on Christmas music. That bit above is an incredibly funny story, not really a video. But totally worth the 23 minutes to listen to all of it.

If you’d rather go with something a little edgier, give this one a try. (the video for this is ridiculously funny)

I may try to post some pics of the office later, we’ll see how it goes.

mood music

Tags

mental health, mental illness, moods, music

Music can do a lot to help, or hinder, my moods. It has also been known to enhance my productivity, both at work and at home. Music actually does a lot of things for me, except put me in The Mood. (never have figured that one out)

Pissed Off

Something best played loud, with a good beat – doesn’t even need words. My all time favorite song to listen to when I good and pissed is “Because I’m Awesome” by The Dollyrots. Just something about Kelly’s voice and the lyrics, works every time. “Gives You Hell” by All American Rejects is another good one.

Stressed Out

I prefer something more towards the instrumental side when I’m stressed. Scale the Summit has an album called “The Migration” that is amazing, and it’s great when I’m stressed. It’s instrumental metal, but not too heavy. It also makes for really nice background music. I’m also fond of – I know, I’m odd – bagpipe music when I’m stressed. Don’t ask me to explain it.

Happy

When I’m happy I’m not really picky EXCEPT that I want something I can sing to. Could be anything from the Steve Miller Band to Van Morrison to Pink to Bowling for Soup to Garth Brooks to Fountains of Wayne… The list goes on. Something with clear lyrics and a nice hook. Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” is an all-time favorite that always makes me smile. Of course, so is Georgia Satellite’s “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.”

Productive

When I need to get work done, I turn on the tunes. Often it’s something a little less intrusive, more of a background kind of vibe. Mumford & Sons is great for that, as is much of the Celtic music I have. Something that sounds pleasant but doesn’t demand attention.

Creative

When I feel like being creative I like to either have total silence or something really funky. Weird Al is perfect for when I feel creative, as is some of the weirder Bowling for Soup, Barenaked Ladies, and Fountains of Wayne.

Those are some of my picks for different moods, how does music affect your moods and what are some your favorites when you’re up/down/sideways?

for your amusement

Tags

humor, music, random shit that falls out of my brain, shiny things

Oh I do love when I need to make a new banner…

I doubt that I’m quite ready to be back to “business as usual” around here, but I do want to start nudging myself in that direction. To that end, I’m going to try to take advantage of the evenings Josh is at school to schedule some goodies for y’all. Wednesday was “weird” day for awhile, but when I got to thinking about what I could put together for y’all this time, the idea of distracting you with shiny things came to mind. At any rate, I’m going to see how this goes and we’ll take it from there.

One of the faculty members I worked with recently is teaching a course that deals with Native American culture and media, and she introduced me to Powwow Shades of Grey. It’s a novel that was written entirely via Twitter and it is hilariously raunchy.

If you’re not familiar with the comic genius that is The Oatmeal, I cannot recommend visiting the site enough. Matt, the brains behind it, has a totally sick sense of humor that I find delightful. Everything he puts out is awesome, but I must say I find his “Horrible” greeting cards exceptionally awful.

Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer with an Ode to the Commode.

I leave you today with a watercolor pencil drawing that Josh did for me awhile back. Hey, even I can’t do snark all the time.