BeBa

Over the weekend we bought a piano! It's just a digital piano – not an acoustic one – but it certainly works the same way! The keys are even weighted to feel like an acoustic piano.

Digital piano

Anyway, I can't really play – I had very basic intro lessons from my grandma (organist) when I was a kid, but I didn't advance very far. I loved to play it and did so often, but I didn't learn much beyond simple melodies that I played with one hand only. My interest is revived though! I've been doing some self-teaching from a book since we got this on Saturday, but I think I might even take some lessons for a little more structured guidance.

We'll see what we can afford for MY lessons after we determine how many kid lessons we need to cover. Hopefully we can get some kind of group rate.

Apparently at least HM and Mir are very musically talented. Their music teacher actually showed up for HM's parent teacher conference last week just to tell me that. I'd been thinking about getting a piano lately anyhow, but that news definitely motivated me to action sooner vs. later.

Mir is very interested in piano lessons – curious to see how she fares. Ironically, she's the most organized and disciplined of all the kids in our household.

HM said she would prefer to learn the trumpet (and that's the instrument she plans on learning in band next year), but we'll see if she doesn't change her mind about piano lessons once she sees we actually HAVE a piano in our house. (The girls are in OH for the first week of their fall break, so they will be surprised when they come home.)

I have no idea about B's interest/aptitude. And plus we're paying for riding lessons for her right now – we can only afford so much eek. I like how having a piano in the house makes learning music so accessible, though! A is taking guitar lessons right now and says that's enough for him. But we'll see.

Stay tuned! (har)

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A with his new guitar

Seemingly out of the blue in January, my stepson A (age 14) decided he wanted to learn guitar.

Since he started taking a guitar class at his middle school, we have really been impressed with his dedication and improvement in skills! He really does seem to be committed and passionate about this. It's fun to see a formerly somewhat grumpy teen having so much fun and showing this much enthusiasm for something.

So he'd been playing Scott's electric guitar to practice on at our house, sans amp. It's worth about $1200 so no way he's being given this one, nor is it even allowed to go back to his mom's or to school or friends' houses, etc.

To that end, we started discussing getting him his OWN guitar that he can transport according to his desires and after doing some research found that you can get a pretty good quality electric in the $300 range. Research also indicated that it was important to get a guitar that the CHILD thinks if fun to play, otherwise they are more likely to lose interest.

So we had A research various makes and models and write the pros/cons of his top 3 picks. Scott also researched and suggested a few others that A might consider. Lots of emails flying back and forth with links, etc. (what a great exercise this all turned out to be in being a smart consumer! He read tons of reviews and whittled down his initial list – based mainly on what the guitar looked like – to several intelligent choices based on quality, value and construction, with looks further down on the list of considerations).

And the bonding, oh the bonding. He loves to talk about guitar.

Last weekend we took him to a guitar store to try out his picks.

At first, he was leaning towards the Schecter Omen 6 Electric Guitar. My goodness, it is stunningly beautiful, too. The photos do not do justice to that gorgeous, intense indigo color.

But then he held this Ibanez (RG3EXQM1 Quilted Maple Top Electric Guitar) in his hands. Then that was ALL he had eyes for.

This guitar apparently has really high quality pickups, designed for lots of the metal distortion A so loves. What he especially loved about it was smooth, fast, narrow neck – none of the guitars he was considering in the $300 price range were made that way. The sales guy personally felt A would probably be better off with the very popular Schecter – more versatile, not as metal oriented. That comment made Scott and me also lean that way, but in the end we let A make the final decision.

We ended up getting him a guitar he LOVED that was initially out of his price range, but was on sale for $239, so he came in well under budget. Everyone is happy.

Awestruck

His little sis, Mir, was MOST impressed by his skill. And she loved the little guitar lesson he offered tonight. A 14 year old boy doesn't have much common ground with a 7 year old stepsister. It was sweet to see them connect like they did tonight.

The guitar lesson

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riend

American Idol this week reminded me how much I love this song. (NOT the Chris Richardson interpretation, though. Yuck.) My fave from No Doubt…

No Doubt – Don’t Speak

Some interesting blurbs about the real-life history that inspired this song. I don't know about you, but it sure makes the song/video even that much more sexy/romantic and interesting knowing the story behind it… (and, no, I never did know about this story until today!)

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Stefani

Other members of the group include Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Stefani had an eight-year relationship with Kanal, which was kept secret from the rest of the band for a while. Kanal ended the relationship because he said that he needed "space."

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Kanal

TonyKanal

Tony Kanal was the long-time boyfriend of Gwen Stefani, lead singer of their band No Doubt. While in the band, they fell for each other.

In an interview Gwen Stefani stated that Tony told her that they couldn't date because they were in the band together. Tony eventually fell in love with her, but they had to keep it a secret. Tony told VH-1's Behind The Music, "It was pretty much an unspoken rule that nobody dates Gwen. You know, you had her older brother in the band and he was real protective. It was almost like a bunch of brothers and our sister." Gwen and Tony kept their love from the band.

Kanal broke up with Stefani prior to the recording of No Doubt's breakthrough album Tragic Kingdom. Many of the songs on that album were written by Stefani about the breakup, most notably the hit "Don't Speak." Many years later, Stefani also wrote the song "Cool" about their relationship as friends.

Kanal is dating the American actress Erin Lokitz.

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amy steinberg – must be the moon

This song is EXACTLY right.

Click that link and read along with the lyrics for your morning dose of inspiration and self-love.

Exactly

i am exactly where i need to be
i need to be exactly where i am
i am a blessing manifest
i can undress the moment
naked time unwinds beneath my mind
and from within i find the kind of beauty
only i can find
i am exactly where i need to be
i need to be exactly where i am
i am surrendering so willingly
to be the perfect me inside this now
and truly how else could it be
destiny she blesses me
when i try to fight or run
i only wind up back at square one
when i think i know what’s best for me
fate she takes me back
to exactly where i need to be
i am exactly where i need to be
i need to be exactly where i am
i am divinely timed and shining brightly
yes i believe that there’s a purpose just for me
yes i believe that we are light
and we shine infinitely
i am exactly where i need to be
i need to be exactly where i am
i am not aimlessly existing see
i am in perfect harmony with universal energy
and i am truly free when i accept my own divinity
look at me look at me closely
what exactly do you see
if you are paying attention you will now begin ascension of the mind
why, because if you look at me just right you will see a kiss
for it took a kiss to make this breath exist
the intersection of my mother’s and father’s lips
to touch twist and perfect what came next to produce me
look at me and you will see the breeze
the breeze it took to shake the leaves to make
my mother’s hair move, my father dare touch it and say
please may i have a kiss
yes the breeze made me exist
and if you want to get even deeper into this
when you look at me you will see a cloud
the cloud it took to form the storm to shake the leaves to
inspire the liplock – yes a raindrop will pop up out these words
you heard me right
if you look at me close enough you will see a dark stormy night
and what is night without it’s polar opposite of sunlight
so if you watch the way my hands sway
you’ll see the light of day
and everyday is a testament to the sediment of the earth’s core
it’s ever spinning enormous force so if you look at me just right
you will see a spark of the source
but the most fascinating thing about this, and it’s true
is that if you look at me close enough, you see you
it’s only what you perceive how you believe the space between
you and me
that creates reality
so when i sing you can feel it
when i cry you can heal it
when i speak words you can be the words i speak by singing with me
peace love free
peace love free
peace love free
and when i am alone and full of fear
i just remember the rising sun always appears
everyday miracles that i see
well they take me back to exactly where i need to be

(from http://www.amysteinberg.net/)

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I can't believe I haven't seen this movie yet! I sure enjoyed this brilliant performance, though. HOT! Beautiful ladies.

Dreamgirls Perform at Oscars 2007

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Hmmm – if I could sing like anyone, I also wouldn't mind having her pipes.

Christina Aguilera's Candyman video debuted Thursday. I love the nostalgia trip of this recording!

The whole package is a tasty, unexpected treat. The big band sound, the clever choreography and editing (in an Andrews Sisters shout-out, there are three versions of pretty Christina performing – blonde, brunette and redhead), the costumes and the dozens of little retro-touches (like when Christina-as-Rosie-the-Riveter flexes her bicep and the jazzy scat) – it all just makes me smile.

Oh, and I love me some swing dancing.

Happy Friday!

Christina Aguilera – Candyman

Note: Lyrics are not suitable for children!

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Audio: If you could sing like anyone, living or dead, who would you choose to sound like?  Share a song of theirs.
Submitted by aa

Oh, I can't pick just one. Either:

Patsy Cline – Walkin’ After Midnight

Or:

Karen Carpenter – Top Of The World

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Audio: Share a song that reminds you of a current or past relationship.

See yesterday's entry.

Apparently, I'm psychic!

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Thinking (sentimentally) of my wonderful hubby as Valentine's Day approaches:

Indigo Girls Power Of Two

You know the things that I am afraid of
I'm not afraid to tell
And if we ever leave a legacy
It's that we loved each other well…

…Adding up the total of a love that's true
Multiply life by the power of two.

>> Full lyrics

I love you, sweetie. I thought you might enjoy this romantic song – it even has a little math geek twist!

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