need new music?

If you're like me, you appreciate any good, new song but tend to stick with what you love -- those few absolute favorites you can turn to time and time again, like comfort food. For Laura, George Strait. For Jimmy, U2. For Kate, Nickelback. For mom, Josh Groban (or dare I say Sandi Patty or Bette Middler???) And for Mere, Michael Bolton, of course.

For me, it's James Taylor, Sara Groves, Patty Griffin, Rosie Thomas, and Snoop Dogg of course. Really anything bluesy, folksy, and mellow. I don't often add favorites to that list. I do, though, enjoy any and all new music I can find that meshes with these genres in some way. I appreciate mellow and good lyrics (which is obviously why I am such a fan of Nickelback) and a nice beat. What can I say.

So I introduce to you today the music of a fellow Starkville native and Starkville High grad, Kelley McRae. She's Mississippi talent, so of course I want people to listen. But besides that, it really is just GOOD music.

Steve Tuner of Paste magazine gave her four stars in his review:

"Part of a new generation of Celtic singer/songwriters working out of Brooklyn and the East Village, Kelley McRae came from Mississippi dragging a guitar case full of rural references. On 'Never Be,' she moves effortlessly from the mournful tones of the plantation to the celebratory swing of the saloon, from songs of loss and decay to hymns of love and grace. A ruminative writer with an attractively vulnerable twang in her voice, McRae has made an assured and varied coffee-house debut that helps put a little Hank into Williamsburg."

She's got one album out, Never Be, and has a second, Highrises in Brooklyn, scheduled for release on August 19. Listen to her music and read about her here. Her music is available on iTunes, as well.

She's really, really good -- I particularly love the songs, "Time" and "Break Us." They are all amazing, though.

Just a suggestion if any of you are looking for fresh, new music but aren't having much luck. These songs are gems.

a good blog read

About a month ago, I discovered a blog that I can't stop reading. I just have to share it with my small readership. The first time I found it, I stayed up until 2 a.m. reading it and crying my eyes out. It's about a family in Nashville and their story of losing a newborn baby. My words can't do the story justice here -- you need to read it yourself.

You'll have to start at the beginning to get the whole story -- there's a link on the left sidebar to take you there. Make sure you have plenty of time and Kleenex. It really is so good. Crosspoint in Nashville interviewed this couple, Todd & Angie Smith, for a series in their church.

If you can get past the (very) cheesy guy with entirely too much hair product, you should really watch this video. It's a little over 20 minutes long, but completely worth it. I don't know if it got to me so much because I'd already read Angie's whole blog, but it was incredibly moving.


Smith Family Story from Matthew Singleton on Vimeo.

If you watch that video, you should really follow it up with this one. Todd sings in the group Selah, and he and Angie together wrote the song in this clip for their daughter, Audrey. It will be on their next album. Absolutely beautiful.



Angie's doing a Bible study this fall, which I really hope to be a part of. She is amazing. I really want to be friends with her -- if I lived in Nashville, I'd definitely sit on her front porch/stalk her until she was my friend. I'm not far away -- I still might.

Anyway, just a recommendation for a good blog read. It's worth your time to check it out.

Have a good Monday :)

i need your advice.

I need to be a little shallow for a moment (as though the rest of my blog is a deep well of profound wisdom...) and ask for your advice, readership, on an issue of decor. Since moving into a new house and significantly downsizing in closet space, I have decided to invest in an armoire for my bedroom.

I have been scouring the internet and the corners of the earth for one that is pretty, unique, and relatively inexspensive. They are not many. I did find a few at a less expensive antique place here in the Ham, and I think I've narrowed it down to one or two. I'm going to post pictures of it here, along with the bed that I need it to go with.

The first three are of the same armoire. It's from England, and the shelves inside are labeled "shirts," "pyjamas," "underwear," and my favorite..."sundries." The last one is more basic, and a bit more pricey.

I don't know anything about armoires, and I need people with better taste than me to give their opinions.

woof

Does anyone else think this is hilarious? When we were leaving fireworks downtown the night of the 4th, we ended up in traffic at a redlight next to this car.

I rolled down the window and shouted to the guy to ask if I could take a picture of his passenger, and he didn't find it amusing.

You'd think a guy who drives around with a giant stuffed dog in his passenger seat might have a sense of humor. I guess not.

I took it anyway, evidently risking my own life and the lives of those in my car. But don't you think it was worth it?

Maybe no one thinks it's as funny as I do, but I sure am glad I have this picture.

my life has changed forever.

This is why.

I've had the same coffee maker since my sophomore year in college - in all its plastic, stained, rickety glory, it has served me well. And still does, actually. I had no intention of replacing it anytime soon.

But then, as I was meandering through a parking garage one Sunday afternoon, I came across a massive Macy's "garage sale" where tons of kitchen appliances were on sale for nearly nothing. Compared to original prices, anyway.

It didn't take me long to stumble across the life altering machine you see to the left. It was beckoning to me. Calling my name softly in the June breeze. And I couldn't resist.


I've never had that feature on a coffee maker where you can program it to both start brewing and shut off on its own at a certain time. I've waited on pins and needles to open up this brilliant appliance until after the move. Last night I did the test run, and this morning is the part that changed my life forever. I woke up to the smell of fresh coffee wafting into my bedroom from the kitchen.

"Someone's making coffee....wonder if they will let me have some...." I thought as I rolled over in the bed. I got up, put on my glasses and stumbled to the kitchen, where no one was making coffee. I remembered with glee that I now have a coffee maker that makes it FOR me! I think I did a little pirhouette across the kitchen.

It makes excellent coffee, too. If you are a coffee lover, this is definitely a worthy investment. I'm thinking of taking Old Faithful to my classroom in August. But then, I don't know that I'd ever stop drinking coffee during the day. Caffeine might replace blood in my veins, actually.

Anyway, just wanted to share my newfound love. Hope you're all having a good Tuesday!

I LOVE SUMMER!

Today is my first REAL day of summer vacation since the writing project with nothing to do! YES! I do have to go clean and tie up a few loose ends at the old house, but that's it. Moving is over, writing project is over, and I am free for the next three-ish weeks. Hallelujah.

I do have some interesting stories for you, but I will have to deliver them in moderation. I can't find my camera right now, so the really good stuff will have to wait until I find it, as there are essential pictures to go along with it.

Until then, here are a few pictures from the past few weeks:

We went to hear the Alabama Symphony in Highland Park. It was all music from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, ET, Abba, etc - Ivan & Courtney and the two of us took a picnic, ate, and watched in awe and moderate horror at all the people who showed up in frighteningly accurate character attire.

This is from our beach trip in early June -- such a good time! I found a dead jellyfish lying on the beach that was LITERALLY the size of a football. How'd you like to jiggle some of THAT jelly?

Below you will see Suzanne, my friend that I followed around at the lake this weekend because I want to shave off her hair and put it on my head. I love this color!! This is me trying it out on my head. Think this could work? I might just take her with me to the salon for a consultation -- thoughts?

Here's Jimmy at the lake, right after he decided out of no where that he should try to swim the width of the lake twice. For his traithlon training, of course. If you could have seen the distance I'm talking about, you'd have been as concerned for his life as I was. He was already tired from skiing. Our friend Sarah, who is a lifeguard, went with him :) Don't you LOVE his swim cap?

Here he is right after the long swim -- he climbed onto the dock and immediately collapsed, like this:

I really thought he was dead. I absolutely love this picture.

Playstation anyone?

I feel like I've really accomplished something today--I listed my first item for sale on ebay! I bought a used Playstation2 for Jimmy for his birthday, only to discover that he'd been "permanently loaned" a Playstation3. Woof. So anyway, I have a Playstation2 and two games, Madden NFL '06 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour '05 plus memory card and TV and wall cables for sale ($50) if you know anyone who would be interested.

I doubt anyone who reads this blog is really into Playstation, but I thought it might be worth a shot.

Putting it up for sale on ebay was really kind of fun--hopefully I won't start selling all I own just for the thrill of watching for the high bidder.

WEDNESDAY is the big move day. Boy am I ever ready for it to be here and over with, even though that means it'll be the 4th of July even sooner--and that is the beginning of the end of summer. I don't feel like I've had a summer yet, and that's kind of scary. If I start the year in August being this tired, I'll be burned out NO QUESTION by October.

The AC is out at our house, so basically I'm living and packing in a microwave. It's terrible, not gonna lie. The writing project ends on the 3rd (the day after we move!) so in a few days, all this will be behind me, I will have a house with AC, and some days to sleep and lay around and really get rested for August. I do have to move into a new school, though, which brings me to some more news....

I found out a few days ago that I'll be at Phillips Academy next year. 8th grade English. This is what I've been hoping for--it's another k-8 school in bham city. It's a magnet school--zoned kids automatically go there, but most of the kids have to test in. I'm thankful to be there for my 3rd year--I was really getting ready to crash and burn. Luckily, I had a few well-connected people in the district who recognized that and worked in my corner to get me over there. I'm very relieved, excited, and ready for a different kind of challenge.

So within a three day timespan, I will be finishing up the writing project, moving my classroom (which exists in my basement right now) into a new school and moving to another house.