From Chaos Comes Happiness

Earlier this week, my friend Nicole at Destination Unknown wrote a great blog post about her love of Christmas Music. And if you have read my blog for any time at all, I am sure you can assume that I am, in fact, a lover of Christmas music too. Nicole's blog inspired me to share my own homage to the Sounds of the Season, and as expected . . . there's a story to tell. Christmas music has always been a special part of the holiday season for me. Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald . . . I grew up with the classics, and my love for them has grown even stronger through the years. I knew very early on that Christmas music would always be a big part of me. It makes me sing out loud in seconds, it can bring me to tears in minutes, and it can immediately transpose me to another place and time in my life. I can remember very clearly being a young child and waiting patiently for the radio stations to start playing Christmas music. It was a big deal...

Every time I step out of our bedroom and glance over to Katie's door, I see it. When the outdoor light shines from her bedroom windows, and it catches it just right . . . I see it. If you go up close to it and look at it from an angle . . . you can see it.  Lip gloss covered kisses, from my daughter Katie. Too many to count. Right there, on his nose. That is, Justin Bieber's nose. When I was 12 years old (way back . . . in 1984), I was in L.O.V.E. with Michael Jackson. My parents (who were more into Barbra Streisand and Johnny Mathis) didn't quite get it. My father didn't like M.J.'s choice in clothing, or dance moves (why was he always grabbing his crotch?), and my mom certainly didn't care for him. But me? I LOVED him. His dancing and his songs simply took my breath away. Loved him. I remember my dad coming home from work one day and handing me a poster rolled up in a tube. Not sure what was inside, dad explained that someone he work...

A happy song is playing in my head today. You know the one . . . Three Little Birds , by Bob Marley. I love Bob Marley, a true genius at putting words together with a rhythm and beat that moves my soul. I have always been a fan of his, way before I took that trip to Jamaica in 1995 with a friend of mine. When I hear Marley, my eyes close and before I know it, my body is swaying to the beat with little dips of the head taken here and there. Today, I'm singing his song. Rise up this mornin', Smiled with the risin' sun, Three little birds Pitch by my doorstep Singin' sweet songs Of melodies pure and true, Sayin', this is my message to you-ou-ou Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing, 'Cause every little thing gonna be all right." Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing, 'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!" Oh, how I love that song. A week or so ago, my friend Leslie from "Words o...

I should have been a pianist. Really. I don’t know what happened. Ok, I know what happened. But I think I really could have been an amazing pianist. I had thoughts of playing the piano while at work today. Wondering . . . what if? I started thinking about how similar typing on a computer keyboard is to typing along the keys of a piano. And I am darn good at typing on a computer keyboard, I must say. But piano keys . . . something all together different. I wish I was musically inclined. I can sing like no body’s business (especially in the shower), and follow along with music enough to get pretty close to the notes. But playing the piano . . . it’s like a foreign language to me. And while typing today (which is what my day time job primarily consists of), I found myself in a groove. In a rhythm. Selecting the keys with a pep and jump in my step that had me wonder why I never fell into piano playing. But then I was reminded of my enemy. . . I took piano lessons when I was in ...

"Mom, I love Justin Bieber," Katie told me yesterday, as she taped pictures of him to her school folder, "I'm going to marry him." "Oh, you're going to marry Justin Bieber?" I asked. "Yep. Abby  [her friend from school] says we have Bieber Fever," she continued. "You have Bieber Fever?" I asked. "That's what Abby said," she answered. "But Gabe [a boy who takes her bus] said he doesn't know what Bieber Fever is . . . he said it must be some sort of a sick-ness," she said, "and I told him we didn't have a SICK ness. I told him we have a LOVE ness." A LOVE ness. I love that. Listening to Katie go on about her future husband, reminded me of my crushes. Chachi . . . . (aka Scott Baio . . . LOVED HIM SO!!) The boys from St. Elmos Fire . . . aDORable! All My Children's Tad Martin (aka Michael Knight) circa '80's Mr. "Say Anything"...

You may recall I have written a few posts about my love for American Idol. Last year I commented  here , that if I were 20 years younger, I'd be there . . . auditioning . . . signing my heart out . . . selling it . . . giving it my all. But unfortunately, Idol was just a few years too late for my time . . . so I live vicariously through the amazing group of singers who appear on the show week after week.  Last week, I was speechless after a performance by a young 23 year named Jacob Lusk. Did you catch it? Brilliant, I'm telling you . . . brilliant. I've been humming, singing, jamming to this song since then. PG bought the version off of iTunes for me, and I spend most time in my car with it blasting. A few days ago, I found myself going down my favorite daily road singing at the top of my voice . . . when I looked up and realized my neighbor was driving in front of me. He was waving . . . at me. I new my "Secret Idol Jamming Session" would be questioned,...

While hard at work today, and listening to some lovely holiday music, I started thinking about my dream Holiday concert. If I could have my favorite musicians come together to sing to me, who would it be? Oh, there are so many to choose from. Hmmm . . . let me see . . I love this man . . . I mean, I love him. That's it. Oh, and this man, too . . . I mean, what's not to love about him? Oooo . . .how could I forget? I really really love this man, too . . . I mean, he's just dreamy!!! Oh, then this one really can't do any wrong when it comes to Christmas Carols . . .  I mean . . .he is the originally swooner, isn't he? Yes, I love these men. Who are you loving this season and who would play at your dreamy concert? Any music that warms your heart? Leave me a message, I'd love to know.

Last night, I went on a date. And it was so lovely. No kids. No friends. Just PG and I. It has been a long time since PG and I got our act together enough to go out on a date. Sad, I know, but true. So, last night, we gathered up some goodies, packed up the kids for Grandma's (thanks, Mom!) and headed to a concert at Ravinia . There we enjoyed a lovely picnic of our favorite things (wine) and sat under the trees and stars while one of our favorite bands (Counting Crows) performed. . . it was a relaxing, lovely evening. And one that I desperately needed. It's sort of strange - PG and I haven't been out in a while (with the exception of grocery stores, school meetings, family gatherings, things like that.) I can't remember when we last did this. At first I did the usual people watching - Oh, I love people watching! And you can always find some interesting people to watch at a music concert. (A concert, and an airport. I think those are my 2 favorite places t...

So, last week I ran into my friend, Mary, who asked me if I've purchased the two soundtracks for Glee . I hadn't, and she very enthusiatically told me, "YOU MUST!!!" I knew that I definitely needed some new music in my life (I feel like I've been out of touch with music lately), so during my very next shopping trip to Target, I found myself strolling through the music section looking for Glee. Let me tell you . . . . . I really, really do. I've told you before about my own Glee experiences (click here to be reminded), but I have to tell you . . . having these 2 CD's is just about the most excitement I've had driving in my car in a long time (wait . . .that didn't sound right) But, SERIOUSLY!!! I have become that dorky 30-something Mom who JAMS her music SO LOUD in her mini-van that people are staring. I honestly pulled into the Michael's parking lot today (oh, even MORE dorky . . . 30-something Mom in a mini-van jamming to music while pullin...

Ella has discovered "The Wizard of Oz" and it has been playing, pretty much non-stop, in our house for the past week or so. It's funny how you can know a movie so well that you can recite practically every single line from it, with the same inflection and tone as on the film. It's also funny how a line from a movie that you have heard a million times before can suddenly hit you like a ton of bricks and make you think. Gees . . . I hate when that happens (the thinking.) It always disrupts my rather clueless state! ; ) Today I actually stopped what I was doing when I overheard the Wizard say to the Tin Man, A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others. Seriously. I'm sure I have heard that line a gazillion times in my life. But today, it was almost as if it was the very first time. A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others. So great, isn't it? I'm going to let you ponder that...

So, PG had to leave super early today for a business trip to Atlanta (sniff sniff) . . . I'll be pulling out the ol'Starbucks Amore mug this week (sigh). The alarm went off at 3:30 AM, he was showered and out the door by 4:00 AM, and I was staring at the ceiling at 4:15 AM. . . . with a little song in my head. It goes like this . . . Over the ground lies a mantle of white, a heaven of diamonds shine down thro' the night, two hearts are thrillin' in spite of the chill in . . . the weather. Do you know that song? It is actually the opening verse of "Winter Wonderland" . You know - the "Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening. . . " song? Most versions do not include that little beginning verse. But when I was back in GLEE (eh-hem, I mean, my High School Show Choir), we performed the song with that little opening part. . . harmonies and all. And it was pretty much - perfect (I know, I don't like to use that word bec...

While folding laundry this weekend, the song "Put a little Love in Your Heart" started playing in my head, and I began singing. Ella was in the family room, and came in to see what brought my sudden performance on. She stood there watching and listening to me for a few seconds. When I finally turned to her, she had the biggest grin on her face and said, "Good Girl, Mommy. That is a good song." Think of your fellow man Lend him a helping hand Put a little love in your heart You see it's getting late Oh, please don't hesitate Put a little love in your heart And the world will be a better place And the world will be a better place For you and me You just wait and see This song, written and sung by Jackie DeShannon, was released in 1969. DeShannon also sung the familiar "What the World Needs Now is Love" song (that also appeared in my head ysesterday.) DeShannon was quite a visionary, wasn't she? 40 years ago - she got it. She knew that this mes...

Katie loves to dance. It's in her soul. She hears music, and her body must follow. I absolutely love that. Friday afternoon, she came up to me with such a defeated look in her face. "Mom, we have a problem," she said to me. "What is it, honey?" I asked (praying that it didn't have anything to do with school or telling stories. If you recall, we've been doing alot of work on that in our house.) "Well," she said, "I have no room to dance in my bedroom, Mom. The bed is right in the middle of the room, and I can't dance around it. I had to go into Ella's room to dance right now. Mom, can we PLEASE move my furniture in my room so I can dance?" she asked. "ABSOLUTELY!" I said. So tonight Phil, Katie and I moved everything around in her bedroom so that she had enough space in the middle of the room - to dance. Of course, we had to position her mirror so that she could see herself dance. (I mean, what fun is it if you ...

Last night I had the privilege of attending the U2 Concert at Soldier Field in down town Chicago. I say "I had the privilege" because when you are in the presence of such an amazing group of musicians/artists/poets/humanitarians (i.e., U2), whose wish is to send hope and peace out there, and who is giving back to its fans with a performance that actually brings you to tears, it is a privilege. I've always been a fan of U2 (Phil even more so), and we are so lucky that we have seen them a couple times before. Each time, they make me feel as if they are performing for ME (I swear Bono looked directly at me. . . even though I was a thousand feet away from him and there were probably 65,000 other people there.) Tonight, it was just he and I . . . seriously. And it was there, in the middle of the show, that I had an epiphany. It all was clear. During an acoustic version of "Stuck in a Moment." If you don't know the song, listen to part of it here. If you do know ...

Tonight I was in the kitchen cooking dinner, as Phil checked his email on the computer downstairs, and both girls were up in Katie's room - dancing and jumping around to music they had blarring on the radio. I found myself stirring Sloppy Joes to the sound of (gulp) . . . Hannah Montana . . . and it made me really really happy. Yes, Hannah Montana:The Movie soundtrack, to be exact. Me, 38 year old well-rounded music lover, bee-bopping to this little pop star music that my girls LOVE. And I stopped for a minute and chuckled, because this CD, this soundtrack, is honestly The Soundtrack to My Life (right now). Now, let me tell you - this is probably not something I would share with everyone (ok, wait a minute . . . "Then why are you writing about this here?" you ask? Because this, here, is ok. It's therapy. I digress.) The truth of the matter is that I absolutely and totally LOVE this CD. Seriously. Most of the "Hannah" songs are ok (typical pop song), but st...