Yesterday I was given a very exciting opportunity to listen to and write a review of Brandi’s new album coming out on Tuesday, October 6th. When I got the email, I was thrilled! I’m sure you aren’t surprised. But then…I got freaked out. I’m not a writer. I don’t have the gift of literary expression that so many others out there do. How am I going to get across to you all what I hear and feel when I listen to this album? I admit that it feels very personal. I identify very strongly with music. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) The lyrics, the arrangement of the music, the little subtleties that you find on repeated listens…these are the things that make listening to new songs so appealing. So, where to begin?

Brandi and the twins have an amazing way with words. (Maybe I should ask them to write this review for me… No? Ack. Ok, fine.) No stories were left untold on this album. Dying Day and Caroline are stories from the road, one longing and one raucous and fun. Insistent love stories like Looking Out…”I close my eyes, I think of you. I take a step, I think of you. I catch my breath, I think of you. I can not rest, I think of you.” And the heartbreaking story of loss in That Year. Brandi’s voice is so versatile as she tells each of these stories. She draws me in. I could sit and listen for hours (and you know I have, lol!). My favorite song lyrically…? It would probably be Pride and Joy. I’ve loved it for a long time. I’ve heard it live many times (it’s totally different live) , and it hits me in my heart *every* *time*.

I find the songs on this album musically diverse. I love the soft feel of Touching the Ground, I Will and That Year. The instruments are so understated, providing the perfect balance for Brandi’s amazing vocals. Then you have songs like Looking Out and Dreams with totally rockin’ drum beats. Holy cow, I dig those drums. I absolutely can not play Dreams without turning it way up, jamming along, and singing at the top of my lungs. Awesome. My favorite song musically is definitely Before it Breaks. Brandi’s voice and the piano are amazing together and *then* the drums come in. The slower sections giving way to that hard driving beat…it’s musical perfection for me.

Brandi and the twins got a whole lot of talented help on this album…Amy Ray, Benmont Tench, Chad Smith, Paul Buckmaster,  Elton John. It is obvious that the band has an extremely diverse list of influences. There is a little touch of country (If There Was no You) and definitely some rock and roll. Anybody get some Beatles in there, too? (Dad…Before it Breaks, Oh Dear??) I am attracted to this diversity. And I am sure that is why I love this band and this album so much. There is a little something for everybody. (Ok. Maybe not Emily… *wink* You know I love ya, girl!) I am never bored listening to Brandi and the boys. And I will tell you, their concerts are beyond amazing. They are on tour now…if you can, go see them. You won’t regret it!! (Check out their tour schedule here)

Thanks to those who listened and commented on my last post. I still would love to hear what you think if you didn’t comment before. And of course I would love to hear your thoughts on this review. Thanks for reading!!

go here…. and listen. And then come back here and tell me what you think. What is your favorite song? What didn’t you like? (and it really is ok if you didn’t like it!! I promise!)

Of course I have a million things to say about the new album. But I don’t want to taint your ears. If you leave your comments, I promise to come back tomorrow and give my full review. Deal? *smile*

And to help you visualize, a few pictures of the Brandi Carlile Band from the shows I went to last month.

The band singing “Oh, Dear”

Tim Hanseroth on the guitar.

Josh Neumann on the cello.

Phil Hanseroth on the bass.

Love this one of Brandi.

The band and the new stage set.

This one is from the second night. Open air theater in the Poudre Canyon. It was so cold, but the band still rocked it hard!

Can’t wait to hear what you think of the new album!

Yeah, I know. I’ve been trying very hard to get some things done around the house before school starts for me, so there has been little time to sit down and do a blog post. If you haven’t already, you could friend me on facebook… Most times I have a little bit of time and will do a short little update there if I don’t have time to do one here.

I wanted to share the biggest project I’ve been working on…Halloween costumes! I’ve got the boys’ costumes 95% done. I’ve got a few little finishing touches I need to get together or make, but I made them try the tops on this morning. Contrary to the look on Tyler’s face, they were all tickled to put these on. They all went running to find swords!

Project Runway will never come knocking down my door, but I am tickled that I made sleeves!!! LOL! My next sewing project is *my* costume…that should be interesting…

A little aside about Benji’s nose… My sweet boy has a terrible habit of picking at scabs. We’ve had to take some more drastic measures to keep his hands off of the scab that is on his nose and his hand. No nose accidents have occurred. *wink* We are hopeful that within the  next couple of days, he will be scab free, and thus nose-band-aid free as well.

I’ve got one more week before school starts and about 983,210,198,723,048 more projects. If you don’t see me here, don’t worry. I will be back a week from tomorrow to let you know how my first day goes for sure. Have a wonderful week!!

from the internet this weekend. After the stress of last week, I just needed some time to gather myself and have a weekend of hard labor to work things through. *wink* Wade and I have been working on the house again this weekend. We are *this close* to being done. The baseboards are in. They need to be caulked and touched up with paint, but they are in. Eleven days. We have eleven days before out of town company comes in…we’ll have it done.

So…Friday, I spent some quality time with my friends Emily and Ronda in a local quilting store. Gah! I really didn’t need to know that there was a specialty fabric store that close to me. Could be seriously dangerous… I decided that I need a new bag for my new back to school adventure. (oooh! Tomorrow is pre-registration…more on that later!) Ronda loaned me a totally cute Amy Butler pattern and I got some awesome fabric.

Originally, the pink “olive” fabric was supposed to be the handle and the green was the inside, but more than halfway of cutting the green fabric I realized that I got it mixed up. It was totally a happy accident. It came out much better the other way around. Must have been my crafty subconscious.

The inside, I ended up doing some machine quilting. The first time I’ve done quilting more than a simple X on a square. I love how it turned out!

By Sunday afternoon…I was totally finished!

The flowers are from a different Amy Butler purse pattern that I just had to have. My next project is that pattern. I had a *blast* making this bag and I want to make more!! Here’s a little close-up…

Tomorrow, I am going to carry my new bag and get pre-registered for the first five classes in my new venture. I could not be happier!!

(p.s…I know I owe some of you an email. I promise I will get back to you soon! xoxo)

If you know me, you know that I am not one to stir the pot. I do not like confrontation. It makes my stomach hurt. But tonight, I can not get to sleep. I am wound up so tight that I am shaking. Not so sure why this issue has struck a chord with me…or maybe I do know. It really has become personal. I know people that are affected. And I am worried for them.

Today, I posted the following as my Facebook status…

“No one should die, go blind, or be crippled because they can’t afford health care. No one should go broke because they get sick. No one should be unable to change jobs because of a pre-existing condition.”

For that, I was called a clueless communist and told that I should just move to Russia. Ok…*I* was not told that *personally*, but all of us that think this way were labeled as communists and it was suggested that if that is what we really thought that we should just leave.

Hear me now. I am not claiming to be an expert at what is being proposed in Washington. I am NOT saying that I agree with it either. What I AM saying is that health care in this country is broken. BROKEN. There are elderly people TODAY that are being denied health care by their INSURANCE COMPANIES. There are cancer patients TODAY that are being denied medical treatment by their INSURANCE COMPANIES.  There are people TODAY who cannot get coverage from an INSURANCE COMPANY because they have a pre-existing condition. There are hardworking, productive people (this is where it gets personal for me) TODAY who cannot afford INSURANCE for themselves and their children because it costs too much money. The system is broken. BROKEN. We have to fix it. And burying our heads in the sand and thinking that everything is ok “because *I* have insurance” is not ok. NOT OK. These are people. Your neighbors. Your co-workers. Your friends. MY friends.

If believing that my fellow American should have the same opportunity that I have to maintain a healthy life is communist…maybe I *am* a communist. And if having compassion for another human being makes me a communist and you can not be my friend because of it, I can accept that. I am not sure that I will understand it, but I will accept it. And to end it on a hopefully lighter note (although maybe not…hmmmm)…to quote Izzie Stevens “What would Jesus freaking do??”

I love you all.

Can’t do a long post now…gotta run to Sams Club. Why do those boys insist on eating?!?!?

But I also know you guys are waiting on pins and needles….

Check it out!!!

from the other direction…and without dust in the air. oy. (This is obviously not the final floor plan, either…we need to do the baseboards before final placement of furniture.)

Wade finishing up the last rows under the fridge.

Kitchen with table and chairs (and messy counters…)

One last spot that needs to be done. Next weekend….

Time for chores!

First of all…thanks to all of you for the sweet comments on the home improvements! I can’t believe that we are *this close* to being done. Our plan is to start pulling up lino and carpet Thursday and Friday and then start tackling the hardwoods on Saturday. It’s going to be amazing!

The summer is almost over for the boys. Wednesday is the first day of school. They’re ready…but they’re not. We are trying to fit in a few more fun things before it’s back to the old grind. This past Monday we took advantage of some free tickets the boys earned from their summer reading program and took them to Lakeside Amusement Park. This is the first year that the boys have all been tall enough to ride the “big” rides. (Except for a few that Benji was still a smidge to short to ride…) Talk about excited! My boys are adrenaline *junkies*! There was not a ride that they did not ride. Wade and I got ride bracelets too. Can’t let the boys have all the fun! The park has all of the old standbys…the spider, the scrambler, the ferris wheel…and a few crazier ones too…the ‘tower’ and the spaceship 2000. The ‘tower,’ as the boys called it, is one of those strap-you-in-take-you-up-and-drop-you type of rides. The spaceship 2000 has you leaning up against the wall and spinning so fast that you slide up the wall with your feet dangling. You know that one, right? Crazy fun! You want to see pictures???

Me and Benji at the top of the spider ride. He giggled like a schoolgirl the entire time we were going!

Wade and Avery…

Logan (the boys’ bestest friend) and Tyler…

The boys on the tilt-a-whirl…Tyler, Logan, Avery and Benji.

How do you spell trouble?? You’re looking at it!!

My fave shot (not including the boys). I took this with the ‘little’ camera. It kind of makes me wish I had taken my ‘big’ camera and shot some artsy amusement park shots.

Off for the night!!

Ok…first you have to forgive the mess in the house. It’s summer you know! The good news is…

Our flooring is here!!!!!!! We went and picked it up today. I can’t believe it! I just had to take a few planks out and take some pictures. lol!

Check it out!! What you can’t really see all that well is the handscraped loveliness. I love it!

23 boxes of flooring. In my living room. For the next 10 days. We have to let it sit and ‘breathe’ for a bit before installing. Not to mention there is a whole heck of a lot research to do on how to install, how to take out the existing flooring, what to do with said flooring. But, fingers crossed, we should have a new floor installed by the end of the month!

I know you all have been waiting patiently for pics of the rest of the improvements. Here are some pics of Wade’s handiwork. Our new blue walls and our new crown moulding. (We need new lamp shades…on my to-do list for sure.)

A little more of the living room. Our new curtains. I am working on a valance right now. That’s why there is a piece of wood over the window. *wink*

This is the fabric for the valance.

Another view toward the stairs.

The wall into the kitchen. You can see our new metal art piece.

I fell in love with this piece at the Renaissance Festival in Georgia, and when we found it at a booth here in Colorado at the Ren Fest, we just had to have it! Here’s a closer look… The blue color is not a reflection of the walls…it’s actually a finish on the metal!

And here’s the kitchen! Cabinets done. Backsplash done. Can’t wait to see it with the floors!

I have got to go get some sleep. I taught three classes in the last two days, and I am beat!

Double digits!!!! I can’t believe it has been ten years since this little guy came into our lives…

Just unbelievable.

Tyler wanted his big ten year birthday at Water World, and that’s what we did. We got these super fun straw glasses, and everyone got into the fun! The birthday boy!!

Avery’s glasses were a little weird, but we got them straightened out eventually. haha!

Don’t know what this face was all about, but I promise there was nothing but water in Benji’s bottle…

Logan and one other friend came to enjoy the Water World fun. (I didn’t get permission from the other guest’s mom to post his pics…so I had to do some creative editing on some later pics…) Here is Logan having fun with his glasses.

Yes…even the grown-ups got silly….Wade is a fun daddy.

This is me and Robin (Logan’s mom) in our (supposed to be) pink glasses. heehee Us girls were totally outnumbered at this shindig.

Pizza!!!!

Tyler picked out this X-games ice cream cake from DQ.

I think Tyler only got to blow out three candles…the wind was a factor…

Da boys.

And the requisite crazy bunny ears picture.

Tyler checking out one of his presents….

After the presents we all headed off to play in the water. Slides, play areas, and wave pools. The boys all had a grand time. A perfect 10 day for our perfect 10 boy.

I haven’t really been posting about my training for the BolderBoulder. I guess I was a little afraid of failure. I was afraid that I would have some sort of injury and not even make it to the start line much less the finish.

This was me today…rounding the bend to the finish line. My first 10K race since college. And I finished in 63 minutes and 34 seconds.

Bed is calling….