Hamilton

When hubs was in San Francisco before I got there, I got a text from him that said ‘Hamilton is here in San Francisco’.  They’re doing a run in SF, and it’s been there almost a year. 

We’ve been wanting to see Hamilton for YEARS, but it was no where near us and the tickets are outrageously expensive.  The price range for Hamilton tickets are $300 - $900.  Each.  I’m not kidding.  And not only that, tickets are incredibly hard to get.  It’s always sold out.  I mean, it won 11 Tonys.  And a Pulitzer Prize.

So he decided to call, just for kicks.  Just to see if they had any tickets, and if they did, how much they were.  And THEN he was going to see if they had any tickets in the disabled seating section because of Xylo.

A short while later, I got a text from him that said ‘so…we have Hamilton tickets.’    WHHHHAAATTTT?!?!?

My first thought was oh my, do I need to get a second job to pay for them?  And then his next text was ‘they were $75 each’.  ?!?!?!?!?.  I was actually speechless.  Apparently he called the Orpheum theater directly, asked them about disabled seating, told them about our service dog and that we would need some extra space, and they said they had 2 tickets available with plenty of extra space.  For $75 each.  I am still shocked.  I’m wondering if they give discounts on the disabled seats???  Because these were GOOD seats.  We were on the aisle.  We had one ‘attached’ seat (like a regular seat), and then right next to that was like a nice chair that could be moved to give Xylo space to lay on the carpeted floor between us.  I couldn’t believe it.  I still can’t believe it!

Taken from our seats:

Anyways.  Back to Hamilton.  We got there, got some drinks (theaters now allow you to have drinks in the auditorium, they sell them in sippy cups), and got settled.

The show was amazing.  I found myself leaning forward and holding my breath almost the whole time.  And I even knew what to expect as far as the songs and the order of the songs.  I’ve been listening to the soundtrack since 2016.  It’s the story of Alexander Hamilton’s entire life.  And the cast of historical characters:  Aaron Burr, a politician, army officer, and vice president to Thomas Jefferson (oh, and the guy that killed Hamilton).  General George Washington, before and during his presidency.  Thomas Jefferson, before and during his presidency.  James Madison, before his presidency.  Hercules Mulligan, the tailor/spy.  Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat and military officer.  King George.   The Schuyler Sisters:  Angelica, Eliza, Peggy.  And Maria Reynolds.

Hamilton the musical is such a big deal because it is unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a live Broadway production.  This is why:

1. It’s the historical account of the founding fathers, a bunch of white men, performed by a completely diverse cast of people of all races. 
2. The cast doubles up on parts.  One actor plays Thomas Jefferson AND Lafayette.  One actor plays James Madison AND Hercules Mulligan.  One actor plays John Laurens AND Phillip Schuyler.  One actress plays Peggy Schuyler AND Maria Reynolds.  Brilliant.
3. The music is all hip-hop/R&B/pop/jazz.

It is extremely fast paced but it doesn’t feel rushed.  The 2^nd half is pretty emotional, (Hamilton’s affair, and the death of his son).  When Eliza finds out about his affair and sings ‘Burn’, her voice cracked a few times and she was singing her heart out as she was literally burning his letters up on stage.  I teared up a few times.

I’ve listened to the soundtrack so many times, but it has so much more meaning now that I’ve seen it:

*Before it starts, King George makes the announcement about turning off all cell phones, and then says ‘thank you for coming to watch MY show’.  Ha ha.

*There’s a part in ‘It’s Quiet Uptown’, the song right after Hamilton and Eliza’s son is killed.  Eliza hasn’t forgiven Hamilton for his affair AND his dueling advice to his son Phillip that ultimately got him killed.  They are walking around, Hamilton grieving and begging for Eliza’s forgiveness.  She finally takes his hand.  And his reaction to that is about what did me in.

*King George plopping down in his chair on the side of the stage in GLEE so he can watch the mess that is the Adams Administration.

*King George asking the audience to sing along with him (la da da da da, ya da da da da ya da da, etc.)

*Hamilton getting all worked up, then turning to the audience and saying ‘Oh I’m sorry am I talking too loud?  Sometimes I get overexcited and shoot off at the mouth.’

*Hercules Mulligan throwing flowers at Alexander and Eliza’s wedding.

*Thanking the audience for coming to the Cabinet meeting, and then the use of rapping microphones during Cabinet Battle #1.

*The attitude and flamboyance of Thomas Jefferson.

*The amazing stage presence of Hercules Mulligan.

There were just so many moments!

The choreography is amazing.  Part of the stage is circular and in constant motion for most songs.  Which means not only is the cast moving, but the stage is moving as well.  And there are no ‘prop’ people.  The cast moves the props off and on the stage.  But they do it so subtly (yet quick) that it just seems natural.

My favorite song of the musical is Wait For It, sung by Aaron Burr.  He is singing about his determination, despite Hamilton’s rise to power.  Burr is convinced that his time to shine is coming, so he’s hanging on and waiting.  Wikipedia worded it so great “the song finds sympathy for Burr’s chronic caution; with a legacy and reputation to protect, he can’t risk as much as the ambitious Hamilton, and what will become a murderous rage begins here as mournful jealousy over his rival’s ability to openly work for what he wants and believes in”.  After this song you kind of feel yourself rooting for Burr (briefly).  Google this song…it is amazing. 

Lin Manual-Miranda was quoted saying that Wait for It and The Room Where it Happens are two of the best songs he’s ever written.  The lyrics are what make this entire musical.  They are amazing.  If all history could be taught in this fashion, we would all learn (and retain) a lot more. 

It was hands down the best musical I’ve ever seen.

Colorado

We took a short little vacation to Denver last weekend.  We left on Saturday around 8:00, and arrived around 2:30.  Denver is not a bad drive, about 6.5 hours.  Here is my recap with a few travel tips thrown in.  😊

We first checked in to our hotel.   We stayed at the Hyatt House Denver Tech Center in Englewood.

TRAVEL TIP:  Price check, price check, price check.  We were going to try to find an Air BnB, but in this case the hotel was cheaper.  And it was a GREAT hotel.  Our ‘room’ was more of an apartment, with a separate bedroom and a full kitchen.  It’s so nice to have a large fridge/freezer/microwave when traveling.  I had packed a bunch of snacks (yogurt, fruit, nuts) so it was convenient to throw those in the fridge and put my ice packs in the freezer so they would be ready for our drive home.

ALWAYS check the amenities of the place you are staying.  Like free wi-fi.  A lot of hotels advertise free wi-fi, but they only offer the free wi-fi in the lobby, and then charge you for wi-fi in your room.  Check the details of the breakfast.  This hotel served a hot breakfast every morning complete with an omelet bar.  There are a lot of hotels that offer free breakfast, but most of them are cold cereal, fruit, pastries, and make-your-own waffle type breakfasts.  And there’s nothing wrong with that!  But if you’re expecting a hot breakfast and find cold cereal, that might be a tad disappointing. 

After we checked in to our hotel, we found a local tavern that hosts Husker fans every game Saturday.  It was so much fun!  It’s nice to be in a roomful of people rooting for your team.  I had their version of a Runza.  It was not the same.

Sunday morning I found the nearest Pure Barre and took a class.  It was a pretty full class (compared to what I’m used to).  It felt good to MOVE after driving for 6 hours on Saturday.

After Barre I went back to our room and hubby informed me that he got tickets to the Bears/Broncos game at 2:25 p.m.  YAY!!!  I showered, we relaxed for a couple of hours and then got back in the car and headed to Mile High Stadium.

TRAVEL TIP:  If you’re going to a large event, like a football game, do NOT attempt to find parking near the stadium.  It will be impossible and lead to loads of frustration.  So we drove to the nearest ‘box store’ parking lot in proximity to the stadium and parked there.  And then from there, we took a Lyft to the stadium.  It was soooooo nice.  Free parking at Target, and then a $5 Lyft ride to the stadium, where we got dropped off pretty much at the front door.  After the game, we did NOT attempt to get a Lyft back to Target.  Lyft’s prices go by supply/demand, so their prices skyrocket after events like football games and concerts.  So we started walking away from the stadium towards Target (it was 2 miles maybe?)  About halfway there, we found some Lyft scooters.  Basically, if you have the Lyft app (which we do), you scan the barcode on the scooter and off you go.  It was fun, and slightly scary at times ha ha.  So for about a mile, we rode the scooters back to Target.  The scooters charge by the minute.  I think our rides ended up being $4?  Totally worth it!

Now let’s talk about the football game.  Oh my.  I have NEVER in my life been so stress out about any football game.  First off, we paid a LOT for our tickets so I was really, really, really hoping for a Bears win.  And all looked great up until the last 2 minutes.  There were SO many things that had to happen just right.  First, the Broncos attempted point after kick to tie the game.  The kicker missed, but there was a penalty against the Bears.  So then, the Broncos decided to go for 2, which would put them one point ahead of the Bears with 30-some seconds before game end.  And they made the 2-point conversion.  At this point, I was heartbroken because I figured it was over for the Bears.  The Bears had just a few seconds to get the ball down the field in field-goal range.  At 2nd down and a bunch of yards, the Bears QB couldn’t connect with anyone.  At 3^rd down, he connected with his receiver who got down the field a bit further.  And then the clock ran out.  And Broncos players and coaches started running onto the field thinking the game was over.  BUT…the Bears had called a time-out with one second remaining on the clock.  ONE SECOND.  One field goal attempt.  A 53 yard attempt (not easy).  Everyone lined up, the kicker kicked and I swear it felt like the football was going in slow motion.  And he made it.  Game over.  BEARS WIN!  It was fun because we had Bears fans right behind us AND in front of us so we were all celebrating and high-fiving as the disgruntled Broncos fans were making their way around us trying to leave.

What a game!!!

After parking our Lyft scooters (you can just leave them wherever) and retrieving our car at Target, we headed back to Englewood and found a meatball restaurant for dinner.  Yes, a meatball restaurant.  It was delicious! 

Monday was Ikea.  We took our time in the morning, had a long breakfast, packed up our stuff and the car and checked out around 11:00.  And then drove to Ikea, which was only about 5 minutes away.

I don’t really have any Ikea tips, except HAVE A LIST.  And try to stick to it ha ha.  Ikea is like a wonderland of good quality cool stuff for cheap.  The Ikea employees are extremely helpful.

We pretty much stuck to our list.  We got a white shelving storage unit for my mother-in-law.  Light blocking curtain panels for our sunroom for the super hot summers.  A couple more bookshelves for the library.  And misc. odds and ends.

After Ikea, we packed up the car.  My trusty CRV.  I should have taken a picture with the Ikea boxes, bags, and our luggage all piled up.

And then we headed back downtown (ish) for the entire reason we went to Denver.  Of Monsters and Men!!!!  I got the tickets a couple months ago, pretty much as soon as they released their tour dates and cities.  They are an Icelandic band and they put out an album every 3-4 years.  So this is only their 3^rd album.  I kicked myself for not going to see them in 2015, so I did NOT want to miss them this time around.

They played at the Mission Ballroom, which is a relative new concert venue in Denver.  It was a really nice place.  It was a sold out concert, I’m guessing there were maybe 3,000 people there? 

TRAVEL TIP:  Again, when going to a large event like this, don’t count on parking near the venue.  I found a really cool parking app which lets you reserve a parking spot in a secured parking garage for WAY cheaper than event parking.  I paid $5 to reserve a parking spot at a parking garage about 6 blocks away from the venue.  I reserved it from 4:30 p.m. until 1:00 a.m.  When we got there, I just whipped out my phone, held it up to the little scanner at the garage and the arm magically lifted and let us through.  IT WAS AMAZING.  Especially when we got to the venue and saw they were charging $20 to park in the lots nearby. The app is called ‘BestParking’.  I’m a fan.

The venue was really nice.  There were bars and bathrooms everywhere, so there were NO LINES EVER.  It was general admission.  Meaning…there are no seats.  On the balcony level though, there are ‘tiered’ steps to sit on though if that makes sense.  So that’s where we sat.  Which was nice because we got to sit down for the majority of the concert.  It was mostly the older people in the balcony so we fit right in ha ha.

The concert was AMAZING.  It exceeded my expectations.  They sang every song on my mental list that I hoped they would, with the exception of one on their new album (Stuck in Gravity).  They sang maybe 20 songs?  They played for an hour and a half.  It was just amazing.  They didn’t do a lot of talking in between.  They speak English (obviously), but with heavy Icelandic accents.  After each song Nanna (the female lead) would say ‘thank you’.  It was so cute.  😊  They did introduce about every other song.  One of my favorites, Lakehouse (from their 1^st album), they introduced by saying ‘this song we wrote reminding us of summers in Iceland’.  And another one they introduced by saying ‘if you’re an awkward dancer, then  you will dance great to this song’ (Wars, from their newest album).  😊  They’re just such a great band.  It was an all-ages show, so it didn’t get crazy or anything.

They didn’t go on until about 8:45 and ended around 10:15.  We waited until a lot of people had cleared out before we left.  So we got back to our car around 11:00.  And then we started the drive home.  We had to drive home after the concert because hubby had to be in Santa Fe on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.  I did the driving so that hubby could sleep.  I took my time (no speeding!), stopped for gas 2 times, ate a gross Arby’s sandwich at 3:00 a.m. (I was starving and it was my only option!), and listened to ‘Into Thin Air’ on audio.  Hubby slept.  We rolled into Santa Fe around 5:00 a.m.  I found a grocery store parking lot, parked the car, and looked at my pictures and videos on my phone while hubby slept.  I woke him up around 6:30.  We found a Starbucks, got cleaned up (thank goodness for disposable washcloths), had coffee, and then I dropped hubby off at the Santa Fe office and I headed home (he caught a ride back to ABQ with his co-workers).

It was a great trip.  Kind of a whirlwind, but we packed a lot in.  It’s so important to get away every now and then!

Sundays

Sundays are sure busy around here, but it's also my favorite day of the week.  I love to see how much I can get done quickly.

Today I was out of the house by 8:30 and on my way to Wal-Mart to get groceries.  I had written out my list Saturday night (going off of my meal calendar).

Today was a somewhat easy meal plan/prep day.  I only made one thing in my Instant Pot.  The other dinners for the week weren't really the type that could be made ahead.

I made potato soup out of a new cookbook I found at Costco:

We had it for dinner tonight and it was really, really good.

That was the only dinner prep I did.  The rest of the week we are having hamburgers, chicken marsala, a chicken pasta freezer meal that I made a few weeks ago, and leftovers.  I almost made the chicken marsala, but I thought it would be best to be made fresh as chicken tends to dry out when you reheat it.

As you can see from my messy menu calendar....I make a lot of changes.  The highlighted stuff is what I actually made.  

It's messy.  But it works.  I spilled some water on it today too, but that's okay.  It still works.  So today I bought groceries for the current week, and wrote out the menu for next week.  Again...I'm sure there will be changes.

Then I did breakfast and lunch prep.  Since we did salads last week, this week I made freezer sandwiches.  I follow a handful of 'frugal' instagrammers, and they all do this.  So then I Googled, and apparently it's a thing.  You can do it with PB & J, and also meat sandwiches.  I made turkey and cheese sandwiches. The trick is to put the condiments in the middle of the cheese and meat so that the bread doesn't get soggy (from the condiments).  In the morning, (according to the online folks) you just pull one out, stick it in your lunch bag and it's thawed by the time you eat lunch.  So I made 10 sandwiches, 5 for him, 5 for me.  They're different though of course, so they are in separate bags.  Hopefully they work out!  Because, boy was it easy.

I also bought a bag of Cara Cara oranges and peeled them.  If I pack an orange in my lunch bag unpeeled there is NO WAY I will eat it at work.  I don't have time to peel an orange.  Well, I DO have time, but I don't want the mess and the sticky fingers.  But if they are pre-peeled?  It will definitely get eaten.

The last thing I did was prepare our eggs for breakfast.  Did you know eggs can be scrambled in the microwave?  I've been doing this for a while.  I crack two eggs each into little glass jars.  I add cheese, salt and pepper.  In the morning, I take my jar and stick it in my lunch bag.  I don't eat breakfast until I'm at work.

Hubby eats breakfast at home though.  He can just take the jar, dump it in a bowl (NEVER microwave it in the jar...it will overflow) and microwave it for about 90 seconds or so.  Stir it up and you have nice, cheesy scrambled eggs with no mess.

Again, ours are different because I use different cheese (stinking' Weight Watchers!).

All of this took maybe 2 hours after I got home?  I kind of lost track of time.  I was playing my music from my Iceland playlist in the kitchen (we have a bluetooth speaker in there).  I discovered a new Iceland artist that I LOVE....Ólafur Arnalds.

Laundry got done, sheets got changed, hockey got watched.....and now it's 7:38 and I am going to shower and go to bed so I can read.  

Sundays are busy in the morning/early afternoon, but I have such peace of mind knowing that we're ready for the week.  :)

Random

*Did you know that London is one of the most expensive cities in the world?  Like…more expensive than Paris?  We are only staying 2 days and honestly I don’t think we could afford to stay longer than that.  Geez. 

*Sometimes after work I will run an errand or two.  I ALWAYS try to remember to take my work badge off or tuck it into my pocket when I go into public places.  Why?  Because I can’t tell you how many times I have been stopped at Target, Petsmart, the mall, etc. with this:  “Oh you work at Major Hospital?  Can I ask you a question?” and the person proceeds to pull out their medical bill from their purse (who carries these around anyways?  People just hoping to run into a random employee??) and then starts asking me questions about their bill.  I’m never rude and sometimes I always try to help, but mostly I can’t.  I politely tell them that I’m not in the Billing Dept. and direct them to the customer service number located on their bill.  Ugh.  I know I should have a better attitude about it, but really?    I AM NOT IN THE BILLING DEPARTMENT.  My favorite question?  “This says ‘THIS IS NOT A BILL’.  What does that mean?”  Um….it means IT’S NOT A BILL.  Yes, I know it’s confusing and I’m still not 100% sure why insurance companies send these out.  I just tell them to keep it for their records and wait for the real thing to come along (and believe me, it will).  

*The month of April is nutso, hence my lack of blogging.  Sorry.  It's been crazy.  May probably will be too.    

*A few days ago, the Apple IOS 8.3 update came out.  I updated my phone, and then my Target Cartwheel app wouldn’t work.  This happens sometimes.  Sometimes apps need a few days to catch up to update themselves after the general software update.  Anyways, I was AT Target, the app wasn’t working, but at least ¾ of the stuff in my cart would have been discounted on the app.  It was mostly Market Pantry (Target’s generic food brand), and Up & Up (Target’s generic ‘everything else’ brand).  Anyways, I asked the register clerk if there was a way that I could call customer service with my receipt  info to see if they could at least give me credit within the app of my purchases (the more you save, the more ‘spots’ open up in the app for your cartwheel items).  She said she wasn’t sure and so she called her manager over.  The manager said the only way to get me the discount was to manually type in the discount on all eligible items (about ¾ of my cart).  Now, if there were a line of people behind me, I wouldn’t have had them do this.  But Target was dead (I went on my lunch break) and they insisted it was no problem.  The clerk asked me how much the discount was on these items usually and I told her it was at least 5% off Market Pantry and Up & Up brands.  And the manager looks at the register clerk and says “give her 10% off just in case.”  !!!  Reason #46,798 why Target is the BEST.  They gave me 10% off most of my cart.  Then I got an additional 5% off for using my Redcard.  Target = great customer service.

*My most favorite band ever is Of Monsters and Men.

They are from Iceland.  There is just something about their music that is so DIFFERENT and it makes me want to go climb a mountain or something.  On Wikipedia, they are labeled as ‘indie folk pop’.  That’s probably accurate I guess.  The gal (Nanna) is the lead singer, although the guy (Raggi, the one to the right of Nanna sitting down) sings just as much as she does I think.  Their first album ‘My Head is an Animal’ was awesome.  It’s funny though, the song they’re known the most for (“Little Talks”) is my least favorite (the radio version anyways…they recorded a live album where they slowed it down and sang it practically without music and that was really cool).  But the rest of the album is great.

Their next album, ‘Beneath the Skin’ is going to be released on June 9^th.  I cannot wait!  They’ve already released their first song from the album, Crystals, and it is amazing.  I downloaded it from iTunes immediately.  They are going on tour this summer, but nowhere near New Mexico, pooey.  I even looked on their website to see if I could catch them in Europe when we’re there, but the dates didn’t work out.  That’s how much I love these guys, I was willing to stalk them in Europe ha ha. 

If you’ve never heard any of their music, go to YouTube and search ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty trailer’.  One of their songs, ‘Dirty Paws’ was featured in the trailer:

*Have you seen ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’?  If not, please stop what you are doing and go watch it.  It is a GREAT movie.  And if you hate Ben Stiller (a lot of people do I guess…I’ve always liked him though), watch it anyways.  This is not a typical Ben Stiller movie.  It’s just REALLY good.  AND a good portion of it was filmed in Iceland.  You won't be disappointed!

*That's all for now.  I have a talk tonight in French that I need to practice some more.

My Seeester and The Piano Guys and a Really Cool Bracelet

I've blogged about my sister before and I'm about to do it again.

I love her so much.  She is amazing.  She knows me inside and out.  We have the same tastes in books, movies, and most music as well.  Aren't we cute?

Today, this package came in the mail to me from her.  Did I mention how thoughtful she is and she gives the BEST gifts!!?!  I was giddy as soon as I seen it.  I knew it would be good, because they always are!!!

A peek:

Eeeeee!!!

The very first thing I opened was from my nephew Micah.  He made me a super cool bracelet in the Seattle Seahawks colors!!!

I love it!!!

Next, I opened this:

Agreed.  I love it!!!  And it's true.  :)

Next, I opened this:

A few weeks ago we got to talking about music, and she mentioned a group called The Piano Guys.  She told me to check them out.  So I did.  Via You Tube.  And then I proceeded to pretty much watch everything they had ever done.  They are a group of four (there are 5 on the back of the CD, but there are 4 on their website....yes, I've looked at their website) who play the piano and cello.  Occasionally they will throw another instrument in, but for the most part it is strictly the piano and cello.  Which happen to be my two favorite instruments (especially the cello).  And they do covers.  They cover everything from Elvis to One Republic to Adele to Coldplay and more.  

They.  Are.  Amazing!!!

And I was just about to buy the CD, and she sent it to me today.  She knew!!!!

Here's my favorite song on the CD (A Thousand Years, a song by Christina Perri):

And I am not a One Direction fan, but this video of their cover of What Makes You Beautiful is simply amazing.  I mean, they are playing the INSIDE of the piano people.

I love this cover as well, it's Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.  It reminds me of our honeymoon when we were sailing in Hawaii somewhere between the islands of Maui and La'nai. (the song was playing on the tiny radio on the boat)

And this one 'Cello Wars' is awesomely good and funny:

Check them out.  They are amazing.

And so is my seeeeester!!!!!!

Music

I love music, as most people do.  However, I don’t listen to it as much as some.  Some people turn on the radio when they get home, have it playing while they clean house, etc.  Not me.  I enjoy the quiet at home more than I enjoy music.  However, I still listen quite a bit.  In my car (always).  At work (mostly).  And occasionally at home, if I’m getting ready for a date night or something.

I get all of my music from iTunes.  The last ‘real’ CD I purchased was ‘Prism’ by Katy Perry, and the only reason I got that is so that my husband and I could share it (instead of us each purchasing the album from iTunes).  But before that purchase, it had been YEARS since the last time I bought a ‘real’ CD.  Thank goodness for iTunes!

I like everything mostly, except for most country and, you know, polka.  Ha ha.  I have a bit of everything in my iTunes account.  I tend to gravitate towards the typical ‘top 40’ songs.  Pop, alternative, indie, r&b, etc.  But I also have a lot of soundtracks (Hunger Games, Midnight in Paris) and Broadway tunes.  Phantom of the Opera.  The Lion King.   Les Miserables (both the Broadway version and the movie version from last year).

It’s amazing too how some songs can bring memories flooding back, or make me think of a certain tv show episode or something like that. 

One of those moments happened on the plane somewhere over the Atlantic (almost to France).  I had been sleeping, and my sister woke me up because the flight attendants were starting to serve breakfast.  We were a couple hours away still.  So I woke up and was still in that groggy state, however very excited.  I looked out the window and the blue water of the Atlantic was below us and I put in my ear buds, turned on my ipod on Shuffle and thought to myself, ‘whatever song comes up first, THIS is the song that I am going to remember as I’m flying to France.  I hope it’s a good one.’  And it was:

So now whenever I hear that song I immediately start thinking of that plane ride and the excitement I felt as I ate my fruit and croissant, knowing that just in a couple hours we would be in Paris.

 Whenever I hear ‘Forever’ by Chris Brown, I think of this scene from The Office:

 (sorry for the poor video, it was the only one I could find)

Whenever I hear ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica, I think of riding in the car with my brother through the twisty roads of southern Missouri in the Ozarks on our way to Silver Dollar City.

Whenever I hear ‘The Man that Got Away’ by Judy Garland, I think of this wonderful scene from Gilmore Girls, when Luke and Lorelai get back together (poor Lorelai, all alone eating her sad Chinese food):

And don’t even get me started on Parenthood.  There are AMAZING songs in that show every single week.  I don’t know how they do it.

Here are a few of my overall favorites:

Of Monsters and Men – I listen to their album on repeat and it never gets old

Imagine Dragons – Radioactive, Demons – great music.

Katy Perry.  I could probably do an entire post on Katy Perry.  I was never really a big fan of hers until I watched her movie/documentary ‘Part of Me’.  It sheds a whole new light on her life, how she got started, how her marriage fell apart, and what kind of person she is.  It is really good (it’s on Netflix streaming if anyone is interested).  It follows her around on tour.  Yes, she’s an oddball.  Yes, she’s quirky and wears weird clothes and wigs.  Yes, her music videos are funny and she definitely doesn’t take herself too seriously (Roar?  She paints an elephants’ toenails, brushes a crocodiles teeth and names the tiger 'Kitty Purry').  But her songs are good.  She writes a lot of her own music.  My favorites?  Firework.  Roar.  (listen to those two if you’re having a bad day and feeling bad about yourself).  ET.  Dark Horse.  The One That Got Away (the acoustical slower version):

One Republic

Pink – her Truth About Love album is great

My favorite artists to exercise to: 

LMFAO, Maroon 5, Madonna, Katy Perry, The White Stripes, Macklemore, Robin Thicke, Chris Brown, Dr. Dre, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, The Killers, Michael Jackson (Billie Jean), Pink

My favorites for relaxing:

Adele, The Civil Wars, Birdy, Coldplay, The Lumineers

Those are just a few of my favorites!