check out my boy

Y'all have heard me talk about Marc Broussard - well, check out this video/commercial he shot to promote the NBA All Star Game:

tomorrow, tomorrow

Well, the fam is coming in tomorrow night! I am SO excited! We're having Mom and Dad, Brad and Kari (my brother and SIL), and precious Braden (my nephew) over for Thanksgiving! Tuesday we're spending at Disney, Wednesday night we're eating at Rainforest Cafe and then taking the Wishes Fireworks Cruise, Thursday is turkey day, Friday is shopping, and Saturday...well, we might go to a corn maze or something. We're gonna have a great time!

In other news, tomorrow is my first day teaching elementary music at Lake Mary Montessori. I'm nervous, excited, and stressed. I'll keep you posted!

happy birthday brad!!!!

I'm coming to you live from my parents' house in Kentucky! I arrived in Columbus (Ohio) yesterday and Mom and Dad picked me up from the airport. Then we went to Max & Erma's and met Brad, Kari, and the precious and wonderful Braden. He is just the most amazing thing I've ever seen. He repeats everything you say, but he also just notices every single little thing in the world. If you have the tiniest little cut on your hand, he points to it and says, "Aunt Sis has an ouchie." It's the cutest thing! And he just thinks up funny things to say! Like, he just got all worked up and said, "I NEED some GWWWW-APES!" (grapes, but he doesn't always get the 'r' in there!) LOL Anyway, it was a wonderful time and I wish I could put Braden in my pocket and take him with me. :-)

So today was Brad's birthday and he's 29. Yay! We sang to him last night and Braden thought we were singing to him, of course! So cute. Anyway, happy birthday to my fabulous brother! I hope you enjoy the last year of your twenties!

Today I got up and Mom and I walked around the yard (me in my pajamas, of course) and talked about all her flowers. Then Dad and I went for a long walk in the neighborhood. The weather here is PERFECT. It's my dream weather. If I could live in a place where it was like this every day, I totally would. It's like 76 degrees or something, sunny, with a cool breeze. Perfect for shorts but not really hot.

After the walk we fooled around here and then Mom and I went through some of the clothes in their closets. Then I showered and we had lunch, and we got Dad in on the closet cleaning action. We have a nice big bag for Goodwill and hopefully we'll have more tomorrow. Then Nan and Pops came over for dinner. Mom cooked BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, homemade cornbread (she makes the BEST) and...GREEN BEANS! And not from a can either. The fresh green beans are my FAVORITE EVER and she cooks them in the pressure cooker. Yum!

But the highlight of my day was going to Barbershop practice with my dad tonight. My dad directs the Singing Kernels, the barbershop chorus here in Ashland. They sounded great! I saw more old men wearing shorts with white socks and black shoes than ever before!! HAHA! And one guy had on shorts and dress shoes (like wing tips!) with no socks! LOL But they really did sound wonderful. My dad is a fabulous director and I'm always amused when I watch him with any of his groups. They'll be singing, and I'll think, "Wow, the leads really need to watch the pronunciation of the word heaven." And they'll finish the song and Dad will go, "Leads, careful with the pronunciation of heaven!" LOL We think alike in a lot of ways about music. :-)

While I'm on the subject, I'll just brag on Dad a little more. He also sings lead in the Barons quartet. The Barons won the international championship in their division in 2003. I'm so proud of my dad and proud to be from a family with rich musical heritage. Now I could go into Dad's family and all their musical escapades and adventures, and tell you how his parents met at a singing convention, but I won't. It's late and I'm tired. Anyway, here are the Barons. Dad's on the left in the back, the one with the biggest smile. :-)
After barbershop, we came home and fooled around some more, and then Dad and I played a game of Gin rummy and Mom went to bed. Dad beat me, but I ALMOST made a comeback! But I still didn't win. At one point, he had like 400 points and I had ZERO, and then I scored THREE points, and we had a huge big laugh about that. After the game we talked about how we've always played games (cards, especially) and how it's hard for me to understand when people tell me they didn't grow up playing games! That's just about all we did - we played games and sang a LOT - and I'm so glad. We still spend the holidays playing millions of games (and singing a lot, too!) I love it. I love my family. :-)

marc broussard

Guess what - Marc Broussard is coming back to the House of Blues on July 3!! I'm so excited, I cannot wait. He has a new CD coming out June 26. Of course, I've already pre-ordered it! I'm SO excited!


(Just adding this pic to use in my profile.)

boy can SANG!

OK, if you haven't heard Marc Broussard, you must rush to iTunes and download his records. Right now. This is one of the most talented singers I've ever heard. And he's 24!! The concert on Monday night was excellent. It ranked right up there (if not even better) than the Harry Connick concert! I know it's shocking for me to say that. While Harry is dripping with talent, he's suave and controlled. Marc is just overflowing with soul. I mean, he feels every word he sings! He's just amazing. I'm definitely a huge fan now.

If you go to his site, click on "launch music player" over on the right and you'll be able to sample some of his stuff. His music is a mix of blues, soul, R&B, and funk. It's awesome. A few months ago, Brian and I were about to go to sleep and I was flipping channels in bed. I saw this guy singing on VH1, so I hit "info" and it was the 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction show. Solomon Burke, Leela James, and this white kid were singing "Mustang Sally," and this kid was blowing both of them out of the water! I was IMMEDIATELY in love with his voice. It was Marc Broussard. Check him out!

Here's a pic of Brian and I waiting in line for the concert. It was starting to blow up a little rain. :-)I'm going to Vegas TOMORROW! I'm nearly finished getting everything together, and now I just have to put it in the suitcase. I'm off to do that now so that when Brian gets home I can hang out with him!

i am not my hair

Have you heard this song by India.Arie? First of all, I love her. I think she's ultra-talented and a lot of her songs have a very positive message. Lately I've been hearing a lot about looks and how important they are. Sometimes when I'm watching TV I'm just amazed at how skinny some of the celebrities are. I told Brian the other day, "She's so small, it doesn't seem like there would be room for her insides!"

I wish our society didn't put such an emphasis on looks. I wish I could go out in shorts and a t-shirt with no makeup and be treated the same as I'm treated when I have on a nice outfit and my makeup is done. But the reality is, how I look is directly related to how I'm treated. It's interesting. But sad. Anyway, here are some of the lyrics to India's new song:

I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations, no
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within.

Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend?
Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?
I am expressing my creativity.

Cool, huh? This is the same girl who, a few years back, sang:

Sometimes I shave my legs and sometimes I don't
Sometimes I'll comb my hair and sometimes I won't
Depending how the wind blows I might even paint my toes
It really just depends on whatever feels good in my soul.

I'm not the average girl from your video
And I ain't built like a supermodel
But I learned to love myself unconditionally because I am a queen.
I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be India Arie.

When I look in the mirror the only one there is me
Every freckle on my face is where it's supposed to be
And I know my creator didn't make no mistakes on me
My feet, my thighs, my lips, my eyes, I'm lovin' what I see.

Once again, awesome lyrics. We need more of this these days. Especially our little girls, who are growing up and learning that the most important thing is to be pretty and skinny.

Give India a listen.