Month in Music: February 2015

Each month, I make a Spotify playlist with songs that I'm feeling for the month. Follow me on Spotify to see these lists as they are made. At the end of the month, I'll post the playlist here, with some explanation for the songs that have been filling my speakers, and how they relate to my life.

Wake up, it's March! This year is one sixth over; this is no time to be slacking. February was a short month, which means it's so much more motivating to set February goals than New Year's resolutions. For me, the second month of the year is when I set my goals. You saw my post about my blog goals, and I had also been trying to get a job like a madwoman. So my music needs to help me out -- by pumping me up and making me sing out loud.

Let's have some fun this month with my February playlist!

Hitting That High
Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons - Stay
Misterwives - Reflections
Borns - Electric Love

Baby you're like lightning in a bottle. I can't let you go now that I've got it. - Borns

Hitting super high notes is kind of a challenge, but these songs are just way to much fun to not sing along to. Singing gets my mind off whatever challenges I'm facing, and this month these songs definitely distracted me from my job hunt and a rough ground delay before flying to Florida.


Girl Power
Kelly Clarkson - Heartbeat Song
Katy Perry - Firework
Florence and the Machine - Shake it Out

I can feel it rising, temperature inside of me. Haven't felt for a long time. - Kelly Clarkson

Motivation! This month was all about buckling down and really setting my mind to getting things done when it came to job searching. And guess what? It paid off! I start a new job next week. What better place for that motivation to come from than some fellow women who are really showing us all how it's done?


Get Up & Dance
Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk
Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia
Michael Franti & Spearhead - I'm Alive (Life Sound Like)
New Politics - Harlem

Everybody wants me to who they want me to be except you. All I wanna do is be with you. - Michael Franti

Most of the time, I listen to songs that I like to sing along to. This month, with the chilling temperatures and crazy cabin fever, I picked some songs that really made me want to grab my puppy's little paws and dance with her! So put these tunes on and really jam out.


Lighthearted Love
Us the Duo - No Matter Where You Are
Thurston Harris - Little Bitty Pretty One
Betty Who - Somebody Loves You

Somebody misses you when you're away. They want to wake up with you everyday. - Betty Who

The relationship between me and The Boy has been taking a slight hit with my unemployment. We're not sure how my new job is going to affect things, especially with his weird hours. In February, these songs reminded me of The Boy when he was out of the house working or we were traveling separately. However, the happy and upbeat nature of these particular love songs kept my head in a good mood, even when we had to be apart.


Calm & Happy
The Avett Brothers - Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise
Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox - Shake it Off

If you're loved by someone you're never rejected. Decide whatt to be and go be it. - The Avett Brothers

After long days of job searching, cover letters, resume editing, and interviews, I just wanted to relax and unwind. These slower jams definitely helped me do that, but their positive nature sent me some good vibes. Now, I don't know if it was the music, but I did get offered that job, so it certainly didn't hurt!



Full Playlist

Every Valentine's Day So Far

In the early days, we would decorate brown paper bags with cut out hearts. Mine were never symmetrical. I still can't draw a perfect heart, but I've learned to find beauty in imperfection. Then we'd spend an hour on Heart Day passing around store-bought cardboard cards with cartoon characters, terrible puns, and a bite sized Snickers bar. So no one was left out, we each brought enough for the whole class.

A little older, I would obsess over those chalky candy hearts with the sayings. I'd dump out each box I had received and use the phrases to write silly songs and poems, such as this instant classic:
Be mine/ All mine
Kiss me/ So fine
Be mine/ So true
Love me/ Miss you
Be mine/ So fine
Why not/ Cutie pie

In middle school, the days of cards for every classmate had ended. Instead, secret notes were tucked inside lockers, taped on top of desks, and passed down through a series of giggling girlfriends until they made their way into the hands of the crush of the week. We'd dress up in ruffles and kitten heels and hit the school gym. Friends of her arranged with friends of him the next slow dance. At the end of the night, more hearts were broken than hung from the ceiling.

One year, I hand made cards for each member of my family. I painstakingly cut (slightly better, but still crooked) hearts from construction paper and came up with my own witty phrases. I was the only one to deliver Valentine's that year. The next year, I made none, and each of my parents and siblings gave me a card instead - surprise! Love's not only romantic, especially when you're a preteen.

Flowergrams were the big thing in our teens. We'd buy them for friends, donating the funds to heart disease foundations. Yellow meant friendship. Pink meant crush. Red meant forever. On one, I quoted a mutual favorite song and never signed it. I never should have pursued that boy anyway. The dances still happened, but the dancing was closer. So were the chaperones. We left in groups, girls heading home for sleepovers and all-night gossip sessions about the boys they danced with.

College nights meant fancy meals at the dining hall, with pink, heart-shaped pancakes one year. A later year, the night was Chinese take-out and watching the Olympics on a tiny tv in the corner. Sometimes, I'd see people in movies get dressed up to go on elaborate dates. I wasn't sure anyone did that in real life. I'm still not totally convinced.

Last year, I got a puppy. She cured my lonely mind and curled up in my lap. This year, I spend the evening with her in my arms again. The Boy is working late, but it's okay. There's no need to send a photo of the pup that says "Life is Ruff," because he'll see her when he's home in a few hours. We'll all hug, and eat homemade ice cream on the couch. We'll get up together and make breakfast.

I'm pretty sure I've perfected Valentine's Day, finally.

Month in Music: January 2015

Each month, I make a Spotify playlist with songs that I'm feeling for the month. Follow me on Spotify to see these lists as they are made. At the end of the month, I'll post the playlist here, with some explanation for the songs that have been filling my speakers, and how they relate to my life.

Oh January. To most people, you symbolize a fresh start. In musical terms, you represent finally getting The First Noel unstuck from my head. Between the Holiday Season recovery, winter weather warnings, and going into hibernation mode with far too many carbs, I like my January music to be relaxed, but not so much that it makes me want to crawl back into my cozy bed.

Only You - The Platters
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
5 Years Time - Noah and the Whale

"I'm always pretty happy when I'm just kicking back with you"


This year, the first month has represented a bit of a change for me, but not exactly in the resolution sense. For the first time, my boyfriend and I are actually living together, without traveling every other weekend for holidays, family, and sporting events with friends.

We are trying to mesh our lifestyles together, and sometimes that's harder than we make it look. We grew up in very different families, and it's time for us each to decide what aspects of our childhoods we want our lives to include. And we're also making those decisions together. It's easy to forget why, so a few love songs can put my mind back in place.

Super Rad - The Aquabats
Get Ready 2 Rokk - Freezepop
Hand in My Pocket - Alanis Morisette

"And what it all comes down to, is everything's gonna be fine, fine, fine"


Finances are a big part of our lives right now, along with budgeting. While I'm unemployed, we don't want to spend any unnecessary money. One paycheck in this part of the country is just not enough for luxuries. However, we find ways to treat ourselves when we have to.

During my job search, motivation is extremely important. It's easy to get distracted by the internet, and it's tough to face rejections. I'm finding motivation in my music, either by listening to the words, or singing along. When it comes to these songs, I'm not looking for something that will get me up and moving, like a workout playlist, but just some tunes that get my mind into the right frame

The World Spins Madly On - The Weepies
New Slang - The Shins
1,2,3,4 - Feist

"I watch the stars from my window sill, the whole world is moving and I'm standing still"



I spend a lot of time with myself out here. Days when the Boy works, it's mostly just me, Tessa, and my computer. I find myself with a lot of time to think, write, and work on projects. I also find that there are times when I don't want to do any of those things, and I am just trapped in my own head.

These relaxed, and somewhat sad, songs give me company. They exist on a plane that is the same as mine, and in that moment that I am listening, they are a friend. And really, isn't that what music is supposed to be overall?

But wait, there's more ...

That's not the entire playlist, just the songs that are really resonating with me. I'm always listening just for the sake of good music as well. And I'm constantly trying to expand my musical horizons. Check out the entire playlist below:


Please leave me music suggestions: What have you been listening to this month? Any particular reason?

On Writing

Writing about writing feels so meta, that it's nearly impossible to do without sounding pedantic, but I'll try my hardest to make reading this enjoyable. After all, isn't that a writer's job - to entertain an audience? Sure I can say all day that "I write for myself," but how true can that possibly be when my outlet is on the internet?

Holy 2014, Batman!

I've never been big on resolutions. Why should January first be the day for me to reinvent myself? There's a natural progression in which I'm reinvented on a fairly regular basis. Anyone who has known me for more than a few months understands that.

100 Posts!

So I noticed yesterday that my french toast recipe was post number 99 - which means today's post is the first real milestone of this blog: Post 100!

While it's more within my personality to celebrate a Disney number (and thus making tomorrow's 101 an even bigger deal) I figured, let's start with one that everyone can relate to. So for my hundredth post-iversary, here are some of my favorite posts that I've written in this blog so far. Enjoy!

2,252

It all happens so fast.

One night, you're lying on the couch, queuing up the next episode of Doctor Who, passing the minutes with crosswords puzzles and computers games, and the next, you're thousands of miles away. Or at least, that's how it happened for me.

Cloudy Nights and Meteors

Somewhere, above the clouds, thousands of tiny, ephemeral bolts of light are streaking across the sky, and I can't see them because of the clouds.

I've never successfully photographed a meteor or a starscape.
Enjoy these random photographs instead.

I am in love with meteor showers: spreading out a blanket on a dark night, lying on your back, or with your head on someone's chest. You can hear only yourselves breathing - the soundtrack to a perfect summer evening. When suddenly, a flash darts across the sky. You nearly blinked; you nearly missed it.

20 Something Reading Troubles

I love reading, and pretty much whenever I have a spare moment that's not being spent writing, I've got my kindle in hand, and I'm reading - alone in the coffee shop, while waiting for the bus, over my breakfast.

However, the more options I seem to have, I'm finding it harder and harder to find really good books to read.

June in Review

Wow. Can you believe that June is over already. It's July, and 2013 is halfway done, which is completely crazy to me. Time is a strange phenomena. It's amazing how quickly and slowly it can go at the same time. Thinking about that always reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

Texas Sheet Cake! My favorite summer picnic dessert. Yum!

“When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.” - Albert Einstein

Friday Five Things [06/28/13]

Pretty much the summary of the weather up here. 

1. Wait, hold on. Is June already almost over? Wow! I hope the rest of this summer goes by that fast. Summer's not exactly my favorite seasons, but I've been keeping myself super busy with blogging and online classes and obviously adventures. There are more adventures to come: I'm going to California, down to DC, and maybe I'll finally learn to drive. (Yeah, yeah, I know).

On Intro and Extroversion

The Boy is an introvert, loud as he can be.

He needs to go home and recharge by himself playing a round of Civ 5 or watching the Cubs game. I'm not like that. I like to be surrounded by people. While I tend to tip toe over the line between introvert and extrovert (sometimes, I just need a breather from large groups) being with one or two select people actually helps energize me.

Songwriting: Part II

It was 3:30 am when inspiration struck.

This is not unusual. Sometimes it'll be triggered by a phrase someone says, a post on Facebook, a season finale of a television show, or the most unrelated event you can think up. But when it happens, when my mind suddenly gets full of ideas, I have to write them down.

Friday Five Things [05/10/13]

My nails this week: Wet N Wild Ebony Hates Chris and an accent in Revlon Radiant and Sally Hanson In The Spotlight

1. A year ago, I was finished with my undergraduate studies at college. I didn't walk in my graduation, so I don't have that huge moment, but walking out of my last class on May 16, 2012 is pretty much that victory for me. I cannot believe it's been a year, and really what a wild year it has been. I might think of doing a year in review or perhaps starting up monthly reviews for this blog. Hmm...

Chasing Waterfalls

I love nature.

Don't get me wrong; I'm a total city girl. I fall asleep better to the sounds of traffic than to the sounds of crickets. 

Beginnings of Things

It's always easier for me to write when I'm stressed out, or tired, or if something is bothering me.

Empty playing field before the game starts

So talking about new relationships ends up being pretty tough for me, if for no other reason than that I'm happy. So instead of telling you how this started or how I'm optimistic and really trying to do things right this time, I'll just tell you about the baseball game we went to.

Thinking About Boys

I write a lot about my life.

I may have turned my exes into aliens ...

I write about my friends, adventures we go. I write about things I've made or things I've baked. I write about classwork and homework and working or lack thereof. However, I tend not to write too much about relationships.

Surnames

(Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday and Tuesday. First, I spent all day in bed feeling awful, and then yesterday I had to pick myself up to go to my college's career fair. It was awful and I couldn't get myself to sit at the computer at all!)

I'm not a huge fan of my last name.

B, M, and me!

I use it when I have to - on Facebook, so that my friends from lives past recognize me, on job applications, so that my degree and professional experience can all be listed under one name. However, in general, it's just not that great.

Thinking and Walking

I was thinking today about how people get inspired to write. Novels, short stories, plays, songs, blog posts - honestly if done correctly they all tell some sort of story. But where do those stories come from?

So I decided to go for a walk the other day, because that's how I think.

In Like A Lion

One of my favorite things about March (And I'm reaching here, as March is probably one of my least favorite months ...) is that old phrase that it "comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb."

I probably only like this phrase because it mentions lions, and I've always sort of related to lions in a strange way.