Big Mama’s Fashion Fiesta

11 April 2008 by

I’m hopeful that I’ll have an actual, you know, POST (WITH PICTURES!) up later today for the Fashion Fiesta.

Because I believe in bloggy goals, my friends.

However, I did not meet this morning’s blogging goals because we had a little shindig at our house last night, and as Big Mama so succinctly said in an email yesterday, I’ve been very busy distributing Chex Mix to people.

I also made two pound cakes, and one of them hasn’t even been sliced yet, so may I offer you some for breakfast?

No? Really? Well, suit yourself.

Anyway, for the time being, LOOK! A BLOGGY BUTTON!

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Have fun, everybody!

And adios.

Word.

Filed Under: Bloggity Fun

We Love The Night Life, We Got To Boogie

10 April 2008 by

As a general rule, BooDaddy is not a huge fan of live music unless it’s the live music we hear in the church house on Sundays. I can usually convince him to go see Alan Jackson / Tim McGraw / Insert-Name-Of-Country-Artist-Here once every couple of years, but by and large, I’m sad to say, he is not terribly enthusiastic about a concert.

Clearly we are POLAR OPPOSITES.

I’m pretty sure that his lack of concert-going zeal developed during a trip to L.A. the first year we were married. We were visiting our friend Todd, and the three of us decided to go see a Very Talented Musician play in a Very Intimate Setting.

We were understandably giddy with the anticipation of a Very Memorable, Music-Filled Evening. So once we got to the show, we found a table and waited on the edge of our seats for Very Talented Musician to hit the stage.

But when VTM finally started his show, I knew we were in trouble. First of all, it was VERY LOUD, so loud that I didn’t just WANT a pair of earplugs – I LONGED for them.

Second of all, VTM played the same three very loud notes on a very loud electric guitar at slightly varying degrees of very loud vibrato. And I don’t know if I mentioned it but it was very loud.

And also, third of all: MONOTONOUS.

After about an hour, we couldn’t take it anymore. We left the show, and as soon as we stepped outside, D looked at me and said, “That was the worst experience of my life. That was awful. It made me angry. I did not enjoy it.”

And I was all, “HUH? WHAT DID YOU SAY? SPEAK UP! EARS RINGING FROM LOUD GEE-TAR! CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

Needless to say, the night with VTM has become a running joke with us. And every single time I want to go to a concert, D says something along the lines of, “You know I don’t enjoy live music. It’s too loud. Because REMEMBER THAT TIME IN L.A.? IT’S A WONDER I CAN EVEN HEAR YOU TALKING RIGHT NOW.”

Strangely enough, the loud doesn’t bother him when he’s blowing up aliens in surround sound on the Xbox 360.

Funny how that works.

But over the last six or seven months, there’s been a bit of a turn in the musical tide in our house. D has really liked a lot of the music that people have sent our way, and he’s been much more willing to go to LIVE CONCERT EVENTS as a result.

And really, if you think about it, going to a concert has to be more fun than sitting here in the house with me while I ramble on and on about, among other things, Glory Revealed, Shane & Shane’s Pages, Monk & Neagle’s The Twenty-First Time, Matt Maher’s Empty and Beautiful, and last but not least, Everything Dave Barnes Has Ever Thought About Singing At Any Point In His Whole Life Ever.

And it just so happens that Dave Barnes was performing in our fair city last night.

OH, HOLLA.

So BooDaddy and I, we had ourselves a date. We lined up Alex’s favorite babysitter, unearthed a restaurant gift certificate that we’d forgotten about, and as soon as A. the wondersitter arrived at our house we hopped in the car and blazed down the road at a white-hot, lightning-fast speed of 30 miles per hour.

Not that I don’t absolutely love it, of course, when D drives at the speed of turtles while mamaws pass us on scooters.

Because his whole “stop and smell the roses” approach to ground transportation is utterly charming and endearing.

Really. I’m totally fine with it.

Really.

And after our leisurely two-hour, four-mile drive was complete, we ate supper at a very nice restaurant that had NAPKINS MADE OF CLOTH AND EVERYTHING.

Oh, it was fancy, my friends.

It was also free. And “free” is one of my favorite words in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

We had a lovely dinner, drove to the concert, and took our seats just as the opening act, needtobreathe, was about to start playing. You never really know what you’re going to get with opening acts, but may I just say? The needtobreathe? They were EXCELLENT. D and I both enjoyed them so much (they were loud enough, but not too loud, and apparently that differential is critical for BooDaddy’s optimal concert-going experience). Their song “Washed by the Water” is phenomenal, and I will be downloading it immediately, thank you.

And then – AND THEN – the tremendously talented Dave Barnes took the stage with his tremendously talented band. I seriously had a headache because I COULD NOT QUIT SMILING. I smiled and I bounced and I sang and I laughed. And my husband was right there with me.

It was so much fun, y’all.

Even if now I’m probably going to have to pay somebody some licensing fees or something because I posted a clip from the concert.

ONLY FOR YOU, Dave Barnes.

Well, or for Jesus.

But I don’t think he’s touring this spring.

BADABING! ThankyouI’llbehereallweek!

After the show we got to go backstage and talk to Dave Barnes and his beautiful wife Annie for a few minutes. Dave Barnes was warm and funny and gracious and unassuming, and honestly I wasn’t surprised by any of that because he is, after all, a good Mississippi boy.

Keep in mind that I know all about some good, unassuming Mississippi boys, because I married one, oh yes ma’am I did.

And that Mississippi boy I married? He absolutely loved the concert last night. He did!

So thanks, restaurant-with-cloth-napkins. Thanks, needtobreathe. Thanks, Dave Barnes-plus-your-fabulous-band. And thanks, husband-who-occasionally-drives-like-papaw-but-makes-me-laugh-really-hard.

It was a happy time.

Amen.

Filed Under: Family Fun

American Idol – Top 8

8 April 2008 by

I must confess: I’m intrigued by the theme of inspirational songs. But so help me, if somebody tries to break out Whitney’s “One Moment In Time” from the 1988 Olympic Games, I’m out, people. Done. Nothing left to give.

Oh, I kid.

Kinda.

And here we go.

Michael Johns – “Dream On” – ROCKIN’ THE ASCOT for the second week in a row! And I think he did a great job, even though I thought the end of it was a little shrill. Also, DON’T TALK BACK TO THE JUDGES, POR FAVOR. Still, it seems like he’s confident and on a bit of a roll – especially with the audience. I didn’t love it like I loved last week’s performance, but I think it’s good enough to keep him around for another week. Like Simon, though, I really prefer to hear Michael sing more bluesy / R&B stuff.

Syesha Mercado – “I Believe” – I really don’t understand why Syesha keeps picking these songs that are SO identifiable with the person who recorded them. I just think she’s singing such straightforward arrangements that she’s not putting her own spin on stuff. And I wanted to like it. I did. But it was just a’ight for me. And again: DON’T TALK BACK TO THE JUDGES. It’s an evaluation, not a conversation, thank you.

Jason Castro – “Over the Rainbow” – Oh bless heart – did he just get the lyrics messed up? I think he just got the lyrics all confused. Maybe I’m wrong. As far as his performance, I thought the whole ukulele thing was perfect for him, and he sounded great. I don’t think I loved it quite as much as the judges did, but I thought it was really good.

Kristy Leigh Cook – “Anyway” – So at the beginning of this performance I couldn’t help but think that a Martina song was verrrry ambitious. But you know what? That was actually pretty good – the best she’s ever done, I think. Good for her. I feel strangely proud.

David Cook – “Innocent” – It was a little rough at the beginning, but about midway through I thought he found his groove. It wasn’t his best performance by any stretch, but he was still good. And I have to say this or I’ll start to twitch: the jacket was a little weird for me. But the hair is SO much better. I think we can all rest easier now.

Carly Smithson – “The Show Must Go On” – I just think this song was wrong, all wrong. Her voice is beautiful, but she has a tendency to pick these Pat Benatar / Heart / Bonnie Tyler-ish songs, and it’s difficult to connect to those kinds of songs in a minute and a half, ESPECIALLY when she’s supposed to be singing an inspirational song. I think it would’ve been great if she had done something like Faith Hill’s “There Will Come A Day” – and it seems like that’s much more in her range. Anyhoo.

David Archuleta – “Angels” – I really, really love the original version of this song by Robbie Williams. And David A. did a nice job – but the mama in me is worried about him because it seems like he is just worn down and worn out. That being said, I don’t think he’s in any danger of being voted off this week – plus, it was fun to hear him sing something a little bit more contemporary than what he’s been doing.

Brooke White – “You’ve Got A Friend” – PERFECT song for her. My only “issue” is that she didn’t do anything different than the original version – not that she’s required to do that, of course – but there was nothing about the arrangement that made it uniquely Brooke. So in that sense it felt a little bit like a talent show. With a different arrangement, it could’ve been special. But with the arrangement she used, it was just good.

Should go: Either Carly or Syesha – both of them have had about six weeks now to show us what makes them “tick” musically – and so far I don’t feel like either one of them has really set themselves apart from the pack. And I mean that in the nicest possible way, because it makes me a little disappointed for them.

Will go: I don’t think anybody will go because during “Idol Gives Back” don’t they do that whole thing where nobody goes home this week and then they eliminate two people the next week? So I think everyone is safe for the time being.

Best of the night: To be honest, I really don’t have a favorite – it was sort of an “eh” night for me. But if I had to pick anybody, I’d probably pick Michael Johns – up until he did the whole falsetto thing.

If you’d like to add your American Idol post to the mix, just add a link to your specific post – not your general URL – in the Mr. Linky below.

Filed Under: TV Is My Friend

Hello, I Have Some Music News

8 April 2008 by

All righty, internets – three things:

1. Dave Barnes (have I mentioned him before? I wasn’t sure) is going to be in Birmingham (Alabama, not England) tomorrow night at WorkPlay. He has two shows – one at 7 and one at 9:30. You can get ticket info here.

2. Trent Monk (from Monk & Neagle) is going to be performing in Birmingham (Alabama, not England) Thursday night, April 10 – you can email me for more info if you’re interested.

3. And Emma Kate asked me to tell y’all that Trent will also be in Tupelo, Mississippi on Friday night, April 11 at The Church at Trace Crossing. The show starts at 7, and admission is whatever you want to give. I’m not even kidding. So if you need more info, click here.

I believe that’s all.

As you were.

Filed Under: Rambling

La Fiesta De La Moda En El Interweb

8 April 2008 by

See that title?

It’s in SPANISH, Y’ALL.

Como estas?

Estoy enferma.

Estas enferma?

Si. Con la gripe.

Did you see what I just did? I pretended that you asked me how I was doing, and then I said I was sick, and you were all, YOU’RE SICK? And I was all, Yes. With the flu.

I’m not really sick, by the way. But I learned that little bit of dialogue in 9th grade in Senorita Calderon’s class. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, internets.

And I hope you weren’t distracted by the fact that I didn’t use any accent marks or upside down question marks. My only excuse is that I have not yet mastered international typing.

But now that I think about it, I may have just saved your life. Because if you ever find yourself lost in a Spanish-speaking country and unable to communicate with that country’s citizens, you can, at the very least, tell everyone you meet that you have EL GRIPE, and I bet eventually someone will help you get to a hospital, where you may be able to find some sort of computer. And then you can use the Google to get directions.

I’m telling you: Google can fix everything.

Anyway. I digress.

My sweet friend Big Mama is having a bloggy party this Friday, and I just wanted to help spread the word.

Except that I think every single person who reads my blog also reads her blog, so I’m really probably not spreading much of anything aside from some really elementary Spanish.

But still. I like for the internet to be aware when there’s a fiesta on the horizon.

Or, I should say: UNA FIESTA EN EL HORIZONTE.

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It’s gonna be fun.

Hasta luego, y’all.

Filed Under: Bloggity Fun

Matt Maher! And Free Music!

8 April 2008 by

Edited to add: all the CD’s have been claimed – thanks so much for your great response! And if you missed out on the freebie, you can still get a really good price ($8.97) on one here.

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So there’s a worship leader named Matt Maher who has a new CD (random bit-o-trivia: Matt actually wrote “Your Grace Is Enough,” which was recorded by another guy named Chris Tomlin – I think I may have mentioned him once or forty-thrice times).

Well, Matt’s new CD is called Empty and Beautiful, and I cannot even tell you how much I ADORE IT. In fact, the first time I heard the whole CD from beginning to end, I knew it was going to be in what I like to call “the rotation” for a really long time.

I’ve blogged about the CD a good bit over the last couple of weeks, mainly because I can’t seem to stop listening. There’s a song called “Great Things” (which Randy actually told me about when we were in Africa) that I think a lot of us will be singing in our churches in the next year. And the lyrics to the title track are so beautiful that I get all teary-eyed when I hear them. I could go on and on.

And guess what, internets? I have some mighty fine news about a mighty fine CD: if you are a blogger who has at least 50 unique visitors a month, you can claim your FREE copy of Empty and Beautiful right here.

But you’d better hurry. Because there are only 100 free copies, and TIME’S A WASTIN’, MY FRIENDS.

Y’all are going to love it. So go!

GO!

(And if you get one, come back here and let me know. We can hug and squeal and stuff. It’ll be fun.)

Filed Under: Jesus Music
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