There is this song that Arianna listens to every single day that describes her personality to a tee. The tempo moves about as quickly as she does. Every “dee da dee” and “yeeee haaaa” cracks me up because if you didn’t know my kid, you could get a feel for the pace at which her mouth and brain run just by listening to the song. It brings a smile to my face everytime!!
Now take a moment. Listen. Then imagine trying to work with that next to your ear all day long. Yapping and yapping and yapping! It’s a wonder I passed my July Audit!!!
One of my greatest joys is my husband’s biggest pet peeve. I am so glad to have Arianna home this summer – especially with the endless hours of singing. It’s not just any old singing either. It’s OPERA!!! Take a peek. . .
As most of you know, music is a huge part of my daily life. I can actually set or change my mood just by the music I listen to. I love all kinds of music – from country to classical, to opera to rock and pop to hard rock.
This song represents my childhood and is performed by a fabulous country artist with lots of great songs, Mark Wills.
It’s 4:00 on Saturday and I’m getting ready for a Sammy Hagar concert. After an emotional train wreck of a week I am of course beginning to get Arianna’s cold. I think I’ll take some Sudafed with a glass of wine. Ok, maybe another glass will do.
We’re walking through the casino. What is that rumbling in my stomach? Oh, please not now! We have to fly tomorrow. What could be worse than a stomach issue on the plane? I quickly add Immodium to my Sudafed, wine, wine cocktail. Just let me make it through the concert.
We find our seats and I am relieved to see that the door is in close proximity should I need to run out of the room at any given moment. I look down and feel extremely fat and bloated in my new dress. Maybe I shouldn’t have bought it. The girl in the store looked much better in it than I feel right now. My stomach bubbles, my throat is swelling and my ears are making me aware of their internal connection to my nose and throat. Vodka, please. It slides down easily.
A loud, crazy chic walks in and sits next to me. She compliments my outfit. I feel gross, but thank her and pray that she’ll quiet her voice and stop talking to me. Polite conversation isn’t something I’m up for right now. As I gaze at all the people coming in I overhear her raising her voice at her boyfriend. “I’m never going to compliment pretty girls like that ever again,” she says. Some profanities also leave her mouth and I realize that she is glaring at me. I lean over and tell Lenny that I think I made her upset. Damn. I feel like hell. I hope she doesn’t try to start a fight. I didn’t mean to ruin her day. Vodka, please.
Sammy Hagar comes on the stage and I can feel the music vibrate my chest. The sudden inability to hear anything but music takes the pain from my ears. I find myself smiling, covered in chills from head to toe. During “Standing on Top of the World”, I’m taken away to an innocent time of big hopes and dreams I shared with my husband when we were young. Happy tears cloud my eyes, but I am not crying, I’m glad to be there with him. I am suddenly on my feet, bouncing my head to the beat, swaying back and forth on my feet. My awareness of my body aches has faded and I am now dancing with the girl that I accidently offended earlier. Feeling guilty, I scream over the music to tell her that I wasn’t feeling well when we came in. She hugs me and says, “Sometimes all you need is a little rock and roll, Sweety!”
I couldn’t have said it better myself! (The Sudafed, Wine, Wine, Immodium, Vodka, Vodka mix didn’t hurt either.)
Last night we went to see The Goo Goo Dolls concert with some of our friends. John was the designated driver and I can honestly say that God willing, I will never have to be a passenger in his car again! (Sorry John – Thanks for getting us there and home alive.) We were no sooner out of our driveway when I noticed that there were open containers in the car. Not only were they open, but beverages were being consumed by my very responsible friends. At first I declined the offer of a drink until John rounded the first corner of the road, that he must have mistaken for the Indy 500 race track. It was then that I realized a drink or 10 was a pretty good idea. After learning that their rocket (aka – car) was not equipped with barf bags, I relaxed by trying to figure out how to get the liquid from the bottle into my mouth without breaking my teeth during the turbulence! As we passed some police, I wondered who I would call to bail me out of jail if we all got arrested. Don’t worry – our driver wasn’t drinking.
When we got to the arts center we all stood around and chatted for a bit. As we were laughing and enjoying our night out, a terrible sound and bit of wind jolted me. I looked down at my feet and saw a young, teenage girl had fallen. It took a second to realize that the awful thud I heard was her head slamming into the ground. Security came over and asked me what I thought they should do. Comforting, right? I told them to get the paramedics. The poor thing couldn’t walk straight and was escorted to the grass. Lenny kept whispering my name probably worried that I might scoop her up and take her to hospital myself like all those animals I plop in my car and drive to the Wildlife Rescue Center.
Well that traumatic experience called for another drink. Oh, in case you’re wondering, Stef doesn’t like beer. She must have forgotten that at some point in the night because I know the truth. She not only loves the taste but she loves the smell. . . on me! That woman poured so much beer on me last night I left the concert smelling like a keg. Oh, the plans we made in our obnoxious state. I’m told that Robin and her family and Stef and her family are all coming out to Vegas with us for New Years. Of course, I hadn’t planned on Vegas for New Years but we didn’t let a simple thing like that get in our way. We laughed all night. My left ear is still ringing from Robin’s laughter.
So how was the music? Fantastic! Life House surprised me with a great live performance and the Goo Goo Dolls – well they brought me Better Days so what more could I ask for?
I have always been “into” music for as long as I can remember. One of my fondest childhood memories is sitting in front of our first tape deck with my brother, recording songs like Safety Dance and Total Eclipse of the Heart, off of the radio. Oh, yeah – and waiting on edge by the minute for the first showing of the Thriller video with my Mom. I remember my Dad waking me up in the morning by singing, “Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning to you.” It was a song I loved to hate and I now torture my daughter with it whenever I get the chance!!
Because my mood is greatly shaped by the music I listen to, I keep a few playlists on my computer and ipod (GO APPLE) that can set the tone for the day. Sometimes the playlists are modified to insert new songs, sometimes songs are taken out and some songs I believe will always remain there. Here are some of the songs that inspire me, encourage me, and make me feel pretty darn good about life:
Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
I’m Alive by Celine Dion
If Everyone Cared by Nickleback
Live Like you Were Dying by Tim McGraw
I Dare You by Shinedown (Not sure caught my attention with this one, but I love it)
So, if you need a little pick me up download these and SMILE!!!!
It’s a wonder I passed my July Audit!!!