Lovin' Norah Jones

As my family and I have been working on returning to "normal" life and healing from the hurts of the last 4 months, we have turned to music over and over again to help us heal. Sometimes we choose praise and worship music when we need to feel Jesus by our side. Sometimes we choose fast and upbeat dance songs, so we can help our hearts to feel happy again. Sometimes we choose silly kids songs to help us think about other things. And sometimes we choose slow and mellow, for the times when we are exhausted from just putting one foot in front of the other.

This week we added a new album to the slow and mellow category. Norah Jones' new album called "Featuring".



I have always loved Norah Jones' smooth voice. It's so relaxing to listen to. Her new album features songs that she has collaborated on with other artists, including some of my favorites: Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, (can you tell I love classic country?) and the Foo Fighters. All of the songs are smooth, mellow, and delicious. I love how all of the songs have a slightly different feel and flavor, depending on the collaborating artist.

This album has been my companion this week as I have worked up to facing a major holiday without my Dad. When I've needed to calm and center myself, Norah has been there to help. Music has always been a central part of my life, whether through band, various choirs, or just listening to my favorites on my iPod (or Walkman back in the day!) It's what I turn to to deal with emotions. I am thankful to have found another "go to" CD.

For more information on the album, you can go to:
The Norah Jones Site
Norah Jones on You Tube

Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of Norah Jones' "Featuring" by the One 2 One Network.

Romance and Music

Today is the 1st of February. As soon as I turned the page on the calendar and saw the name of the new month pop up, I of course thought of the big day coming in two weeks: Valentine's Day!

I used to hate this day. Really, I probably still would if I were still single. It's a hard day to get through when you are an I and not a we and the whole country is talking about love. Since I met Jeff though, it has been a happy day for us to take time out of our busy lives to remind each other we love each other, and that we feel very blessed to have found each other. It is especially nice for me, as it comes smack in the middle of tax season, right around the time I am beginning to forget what Jeff's face looks like.

We never do anything big on V Day. We both hate fighting crowds at restaurants, and that whole thing seems rather contrived anyway. We like to just take time to sit and talk, without the kids or the TV to distract, and reconnect. Oftentimes we do this to music. My favorite Valentine memory was the V Day right after Charlie was born. He was not quite a month old, and I was overwhelmed from being a new mom without Jeff around very much (tax season again. Have I mentioned lately that I hate it?!) We managed to get Charlie and Evan off to sleep AT THE SAME TIME!! We poured ourselves some wine, put some music on the stero, and just talked for a long time. It was so nice to feel like myself for a couple of hours, instead of just a mom. Don't laugh too hard, but the CD we listened to was Stevie Wonder's Greatest Hits. It's what I had asked for that V Day. I love his disco stuff.

This Valentine's Day, the One to One Network introduced me to some new, AWESOME romantic music. It's called the Yanni Voices. It includes Yanni plus four awesome singers: Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Leslie Mills, and Ender Thomas. Check out the website-the music is SOOOO relaxing and romantic. My favorite track is Before the Night Ends. It's the one thing I am asking for this V-Day!!! The CD is going to be released on March 24th. You can also check them out in a PBS special on March 2nd. (Jeff agreed to watch it with me, cause he's an awesome husband!)

How are you celebrating Valentine's Day this year?

I Love E.L.F

About a week ago, the awesome Christi sent me an email about a new website she had found called E.L.F. As Christi always knows what she's talking about, I visited the site and discovered we weren't talking about Santa' little helpers, but instead about one of my favorite things, MAKEUP! ELF stands for Eyes, Lips, Face cosmetics.

One of the things I regret most about not having little girls is that I won't be able to play with make up with a daughter. I love new colors, new makeup trends, and new products. One way I motivate myself to get up in the morning is by thinking about how much fun it will be to do my makeup!

So imagine my delight when I discovered I had found a new line of makeup. I went a little wild, and ordered all of this:



But that's okay, because get this-I only spent a total of $25!! Most of the products offered by ELF are only $1.00. Yes, you read that right-$1.00. Go ahead-I'll wait while you pick yourself up off the floor.

Now, I admit that I was a little skeptical at first. I thought maybe the quality would be terrible, or that the sizes of the products would be miniscule. But when my box arrived on Wednesday night, I was delighted to find full sized products. And I have loved playing around with them the last few days, and the quality is wonderful.

Here is a shot of just the makeup portion:



My favorites so far are the all over face brush, and the luscious liquid lipstick, although the bath set is wonderful too. I got the peony scent, and I am in love with the body butter.

So-go check out ELF and treat yourself while saving yourself a dollar or two at the same time. You'll be glad you did!!

PS-Just as an FYI, no I did not receive any free samples from this company, nor was I asked to use them. Just wanted to pass on a great product-we girls need to stick together, right?!