I have decided to put this blog to rest. I have many other projects that need my focus right now and to be honest it is so much easier to post comments and pictures to facebook. If I feel the need to vent or express I will use that for now. In the future I plan on moving to a more adaptable blog format but that is probably many months from now.

Thank you to all who read, commented and supported me.

Lots of love,
Reba

Commence radio silence...

After a crazy day I came home to a laundry list of things to do. But the sun was shining on what was mostly a cloudy day. I decided I needed a "me moment".

I made myself a "ghetto mojito" (no mix or mint, just lime juice, splenda, seltzer and rum) in my new MBC tumblers. I sat outside with my movie star sunglasses and read a book (Breaking Dawn) for about 45 minutes. This time of day is always my favorite and reminds me of summer. The sun slowly going down, maybe a day at the beach or pool ending, getting ready for fun evening plans...

So I made my own moment yesterday. I enjoyed my own personal happy hour and was thankful for the quiet moments in life. A few hours later I proceeded with my list, a much happier person.

So work has been stressful, what else is new. I took a drive on Wednesday at lunch just to clear my head to focus for the afternoon. I ran into Safeway for a snack and a quick Starbucks stop.

I had entirely took much in my hands when going to the car. As I unloaded into my trunk my drink cup was knocked over. I thought great here we go! But no, thanks to my handy-dandy resusable cup, it didn't spill. I had the top on the closed feature (which never seems to work). Thankfully for some reason, it chose this moment to work. I was ready for a huge mess and my afternoon to go downhill but it didn't.

Again, its the little things that sometimes make or break a day. Moral of the story: reusable cups save more than just the environment, it saved my sanity for the afternoon. :)

This week the artist of the week is courtesy of my brother Jeremy. Late last summer he got me 2 albums from Kings of Leon (his fav band). It was great to hear new music and to hear a band that was really talented.

You can tell they are in it for the music and longevity, not just a trendy one hit wonder. Their fourth album Only by the Night was the first to really register on the national radar. This album is one that works as a whole piece together, not just snippets for singles put together. Listening to their previous albums you can see how they got there. The new album was fresh with a makeover for their slick new videos (If you see videos of them on You Tube prior to Only by the Night, do not be scared by the lead singers freakishly bad haircuts!), and their music on prime time shows like Gossip Girl.

Now maybe I'm a big fan because I love to see musicians develop and change. Normally when a band releases an album that is different from past works, some people really hate the change, well I'm the one that loves it. Who wants to hear the same album, regurgitated 5x by a band. Grow, change, give us something new.

So back to KOL...they are family, brothers and a cousin, and from the south. You can get more bio here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_of_leon

Their music is layered, passionate, haunting and at times really soars like the climax of a movie (Arizona, Use Somebody, Closer). It is rock (Be Somebody), with a twinge of southerness and even blues (Charmer, Knocked Up) and somehow it all works.

I see them as tried and true musicians who I'm sure would be awesome to see live. If you have not heard of Kings of Leon or their first mainstream hit "Sex on Fire". Check them out.
http://www.myspace.com/kingsofleon

Enjoy!

Hi Friends,

I am formulating a creative project in my head and needed some assistance.

Can you please post a few descriptive words that come to mind when you think of me. This can be describing me, my personality, my look or my skills. I'm not looking for anything agrandizing, just looking to create something with words and I needed some help brainstorming. Here are some example: creative, redhead, curly, organized etc.

Thanks!

The other morning I was getting ready for work and dragging big time.

It has been a long week and for that reason was taking things slow. It was a gloomy day and I was having a hard time getting motivated. As I was eating my breakfast I heard a bird singing in our backyard. For some reason it made me happy, flipped a switch and I thought everything is going to be okay.

Either I am crazy or content with the simple things in life.

Short post and a few days past due...

Awesome band I learned to love in my college days. Kind of rock, alternative mix, with a twinge of a celtic influence and phenomenal live. They've had a ton of great CDs since then. I'm a big fan of Indian Summer from 2004 with "Life Less Ordinary" and "What About Everything?"

I still have fond memories of the band singing to me and my friends as we hung out of the bathroom window of the Beta House at HSC...

http://www.carbonleaf.com/
http://www.myspace.com/carbonleaf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_Leaf

I watched the movie on DVD last night and it was almost like seeing it for the first time. In the theater I was paying so much attention to what was or was not in the book. It was great to just sit down, relax and enjoy the movie. And it was great to watch it in the basement with stereo surround.

On rewatching it, I liked it even better. This is the kind of movie that is made for people who like romance and believe that you can fall in love quickly. It is not made for cynical people who don't like that kind of thing. Luckily I believe in fairy tales so this was right up my alley.

The movie stayed true to the plot of the book although a few conversations took place in different settings for the sake of time. That didn't bother me as much as I thought it would because it still conveyed the essence of the book. They did a great job showing the Edward-Bella romance and the backgrounds of the characters. Some of the scenes were artfully shot, like at the end where Edward has to save Bella, and I really like that.

It was also cool to see where the music was used in the movie now that I've listened to the soundtrack like a gazillion times.

My biggest pet peeve( that I don't know if I will get over) is where James bit Bella-on the wrist. In the book it was on her hand and in the rest of the books there are multiple references to the cold scar by her thumb. Maybe I'm a bit OCD but I think that was an important detail that there wasn't a reason to change.

So my Twilight friends, you know who you are, any thoughts on the movie?

I've decided that for this phase of my life I'm a diet pepsi girl. Growing up I was a fan of Diet Pepsi, mostly because my aunt drank it so I thought it was cool and could normally smuggle one when I wasn't allowed it.

In college and post college it was all about the DC (diet coke). It got me through many all nighters and hung-over mornings.

Lately, since I'm admittedly back on the caffeine after an almost 3 month break, I'm liking diet pepsi again. For some reason it just tastes better to me now, not as overly sweet. Not sure why I flip flop but after all a girl's allowed to change her mind. :)

And there you have it folks, my random musing/moment on the week...

Perhaps I am feeling nostaglic as I prepare for my 10 year college reunion (Go Squirrels!) but I was listening to Pat McGee yesterday. I was listening to an awesome bootleg of a 2003(?) concert of Pat playing accoustic somewhere in Philly.

Those who knew me in college knew I was a HUGE Pat McGee Band fan. Perhaps because they had a song "Rebecca" I was a little biased. But I had a blast listening to the music, going to concerts and even meeting band members once or twice. Throughout college and a few years after I have seen the band or the lead singer live probably a dozen times. It was pretty much the sound track to my college years and early 20s.

The band went through a few changes, life got busy and I stopped going to a lot of live shows. Their last release I know of was in 2007; These Days. It is a solid album with great songs that makes me wonder why they never made it big. I probably haven't seen the band live since 2004 (?) or earlier. Right now the lead singer Pat McGee is touring on his own and with some other groups.

At any rate the music is great and even better live. The summertime Wolftrap show was an event! Their early stuff is still great years later and These Days stands up as a great Pop/Rock CD that could easily be played on VH1 or AC radio.

So take a listen for the first time or again. My personal faves are: Rebecca (obvious), Fine (reminds me of meeting Rob), Passion (awesome live), Hero, and Come Back Home (shows the songwriting is better than ever).

You can find the music on itunes or hear Pat solo on the myspace
http://www.myspace.com/patmcgeeband (must listen to Rebecca)
http://www.patmcgee.net/

They even have a wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_McGee_Band

(As a side note one of the ex-band members actually leads the band at my church, I have not yet confessed I was a groupie. Let's keep that a secret.)

Today is a day where it is actually cool to have red hair.


May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

The other day I received a very nice comment to my "Will Anyone Read This?" entry. It was well written, encouraging and there was something familiar about it. But it was signed "Peter John" and the user was anonymous.

I told Totty this morning it was a nice entry but kind of creepy because I had no idea who it was or how they found my blog. At that point I'd read it a few times and figured it was a nice person googling on the internet that may have found my post on Kelly Clarkson.

Later in the day I was chatting with my Dad. He said hey, did you get the comment about your blog that I sent? I said no I didn't (assuming it was email). We hung up and I went to double-check my email and then the Aha moment!

Peter John seemed familiar because it was the encouraging support from my Dad! I called him back and said "Was that you?" Turns out Peter John was a pen name he used for writing in highschool or college.

So there you have it, not all my moments of the week will be sappy. This one was very much "aha"!

So often our weeks go by in a blur, just rushing to get the next item off our checklist and get to the weekend. (or maybe that's just me.)

In my latest attempt to slow down, I've been trying to stop and focus on those moments that we usually miss but when they register make an impact.

On Fridays I am going to share my "Moment of the Week". This could be a sentimental moment, a strange happening or something that tickled my funny bone. I would love to hear yours...

For this week...

A bit of a back story. My husband and I are very driven people (some might say OCD). During the week we are focused on work, getting things done around the house and typically hit the ground running in the morning.

This morning the hubby and I didn't just jump out of bed and start talking about our schedules for the day. We just laid there quietly for a few minutes. It was nice to take a few minutes to just stop and "be still" before racing around to start the day. I just soaked it in, was thankful for that moment and am hoping it will keep me centered today.

Of course a few minutes later it was, "I have an 830 meeting, hope traffic is not bad", "what are dinner plans", "laundry to do tonight" etc. But for that small time it was great to have a "moment".

So I have blog with random postings now what?

I guess I have to get readers. I recently read an article about social media, mostly about twitter, that said the more you give the more you get. If you get feedback, respond to readers etc.

Well I don't exactly have readers or an exact theme for my blog but I'm working on it.

Those who know me, know that I tend to get explosive bouts of creativity where my brain goes round and round on lots of ideas (typically after lots of caffeine). And of course I love to talk and share these thoughts. My thought is that this blog will be an outlet for those thoughts, whatever might arise.

The trick is how to share and blog without being self-aggrandizing. We'll see how it goes...

Now off to a day with too much to do and to little time, blah, blah blah....

Finally, Kelly Clarkson's new CD is out. I have a been a fan of hers since the early days of American Idol. There is no one who has seen her sing "Stuff Like That There" on big band week that didn't see a star. (As a side note, I was lucky enough to see her sing it on person during her Two Voice tour with Reba. So awesome!)

Straight up Kelly can sing, we all know that but what I love about her is she has heart. Even though My December was panned for not being "commercial" enough, it is a wonderful album. Her songwriting on there shows tremendous growth as an artist. Some of the lyrics to songs like "Sober" (about a a breakup and staying Sober from an ex) are up there with the best singer/songwriters of all time. She shares very painful experiences (Sober), insecurities (How I Feel), but can laugh at herself as well (Chivas). "Sober" and "Maybe" are two of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs. And I actually think My December is currently my favorite Kelly Clarkson album.

So this week is the release of "All I Ever Wanted". It is her first release with new management and all the hoopla that went down after her last album. The first single "My Life Would Suck Without You" is pop/rock fun.

At first listen, All I Ever Wanted is Definitely more poppy and commercial than My December. But the lyrical depth is there. Kelly wrote 6 of the 14 songs and the album goes through various musical styles from rock, punk (whyyouwannabringmedown), reggae like (Ready), to piano ballads (If No One Wants to Listen).

Standout tracks on the first listen are: Already Gone, Save You, whyyouwannabringmedown, and My Life Would Suck Without You.

I'm excited for my second listen. And for those of you who wrote her off after American Idol, check her out again. She is so much more than "Miss Independent."


www.kellyclarkson.com
http://www.myspace.com/kellyclarkson

I'm steeling an idea from my brother's possibly defunct (?) blog (http://amanandhisrock.blogspot.com/). He had an artist of the month. Since I am music-crazy I'm going to attempt to do an artist a week. It will atleast encourage me to post.

For this week it is Brendan James. He was featured over a year ago in a column on ew.com on the new male singer-song writers. After a couple listens of his songs on his myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/brendanjames), I had to buy his album "The Day is Brave". I've been listening to it for over a year and really enjoy it. I don't understand why we haven't heard more about him.

His melodies are rich and his lyrics are insightful. Sometimes deeply reflective, sometimes joyous and then there is the funky, R&B "Dirty Living" with an almost "preacher-like" message . The storytelling reminds me almost of James Taylor.

The deepest song on the album is "Hero's Song" about a soldier in Iraq. It lead's off the album "Body of War: Songs that Inspired an Iraq War Veteran" alongside Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, John Lennon etc. It's brutal honesty is heartbreaking and drives me to tears. I could try to explain how it alludes to the emotional toll of war and all of they gray areas but just take a listen.

Brendan James is an really talented artist that is more enjoyable after multiple listens. Check him out.

I posted my LJ link on my Facebook profile. Not sure if anyone will look out but it certainly feels more public amongst my 181 (at the moment) friends. Certainly way more than my 2 loyal readers, my aunts.

So we shall see if I am more or less inhibited by my public status. :)

This was a response to a question on LinkedIn and I wanted to share.

I am inspired a lot by retail spaces such as Ikea and Anthropology. I enjoy window shopping at clothing or furniture stores. The colors and patterns always help to spark a new color palette. The store layouts always inspire new ways to look at arranging a space whether in a room or on a page.

I also look alot at home furnishing/decorating catalogs that come in the mail such as Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs, and West Elm. Sometimes the room layouts can be overwhelming but it is a great opportunity to examine spacial relations; what is the focus of the room is parallel with the focal point of your layout in design, white space is applicable as well.

The bottom line is I am always observing color, form and space in whatever my surroundings might be. I find I get the most inspiration from those unique settings that challenge me to look at space differently.

This is an exercise from facebook but I wanted to share...

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click post.)

25 Random Things

1. I am a very, very lucky person. I don't want to say my life is perfect but it is as close to perfect as I think it can get. Great husband, family, friends, faith and career. This scares me a little because I know it won't always be this way.

2. My husband is my best friend. I have no idea how we were so lucky to find one another (but I'd like to believe we would have found each other no matter what paths our lives took). I love him but most importantly we have fun together and enjoy being around one another. We challenge each other to be better and are always trying to work better as a team. I personally think we'd kick-ass at Amazing Race (or have a major meltdown).

3. I love my family. I am so lucky that God gave me the family I have, immediate and extended. I am friends with my siblings, I have fun with my parents, I am close with my grandparents and I love family reunions.

4. I have an awesome mother-in-law. I'm not sure why people make such a fuss about in-laws. Tam is the kind of person I'd chose to spend time with even if I weren't married to her son.

5. I am an eternal optimist. I believe the glass is always have full and sometimes consider myself a bit "pollyanna like", there is always some to be glad about.

6. I am spilt right down the middle with type A & B personalities (thanks Mom & Dad!). Sometimes I am superorganized and structured, other days I let it all hang out, stay in my pjs all day and leave the "to do" list untouched.

7. I don't know what I would do without my treo 700p. My "To Do" list, contacts and color-coded calendar help me keep it all together as I try to fit too much into my schedule.

8. I am trying to commit to less and slow down (see #7). It is a challenge because I don't ever want to miss out on things but I remind myself it is quality and not quantity when it comes to time with friends and family.

9. I have learned recently to not be so hard on myself. I am not perfect and shouldn't try to be. I can only strive to be what God made me.

10. I have a bad temper that has surfaced in recent years. I am working on it (see #11).

11. I try to pray and do yoga every morning. So far I'm averaging about 3 times a week.

12. I am excited to be growing in my faith through my church and small group fellowship.

13. I enjoy volunteering at my church and getting involved. It is a Catholic Church that has a welcoming atmosphere to people of all faiths. They are committed to challenging us to grow in Christ and make the world a better place.

14. I think most of what is wrong with the world can be explained by people who allow (or don't allow) others to merge in traffic and whether someone waves or does not wave when you let them in. Working together, respect and consideration for your fellow man. It might be over-simplifying it but it is something to thing about.

15. I am excited for the future of this country. I voted for Obama which surprised some people because I am Catholic. I read up on the issues, prayed and thought very hard about who I would vote for. In the end it came down to faith and a gut feeling that he understands what this country needs. I am hopeful that people in any party or religious affiliation will take him up on the challenge to be involved, work together and make positive change despite having differences in opinion. It is not about you or I, it is about us. http://www.whitehouse.gov/

16. I am not a fan of the "two party" system. I think there are always multiple solutions to a problem. We don't gain anything by arguing about how right one party is over the other. With only two predominant parties people draw lines in the sand. Different perspectives on an issue is a great thing and we can learn from one another through dialogue.

17. I never thought I'd say this but I miss the learning environment of college (mostly Art History, the knowledge is fading). You learn on the job but its not the same.

18. I miss my college girlfriends. We are still close, something about the drama that goes on living on the same all-women's campus for 4 yrs creates really strong ties. But with the distance its not the same.

19. I am very happy with my career (even if I struggle with office politics). I enjoy creative work, developing marketing concepts, managing a department and meeting with clients.

19. As much as I love what I do, I sometimes wonder if I was called to do something more serving of others, like in the non-profit field.

21. I am a big fan of wine and wish I knew more about it.

22. I enjoy reading whatever I can get my hands on, mostly historical fiction and of course Harry Potter. And I love the Twilight book series and am not ashamed to admit it.

23. I have been a bridesmaid or MOH 8 times. As busy as it makes me, I love being a part of someone's special day.

24. I consider myself pretty dorky and am okay with that. (see attached photo)

25. I am confident in myself and because of that am okay with being an open book. Because of this I sometimes over share so I hope this list isn't too much.