Windows weather

It's another music blog!
I know, I know... why don't I blog something of substance? Well, because it's summer and it's gorgeous outside and my FAVORITE THING IN THE WORLD is to be driving in some sunny weather with the windows down, blasting some great country music. And I thought I'd share some of my new favorites with you (and give you some lyricage so you can sing along!). :)

** Number Four, Virginia Runnin', is a local band that is about to release "You're Not Alone" as their first single from their first album. They've played at Sidelines in Canton a couple of times and I saw them at Dixie Tavern a few weeks ago, and they are BEYOND amazing. I'm friends with the drummer so I got a sneak peek download of this song on my email last week and immediately put it on my iPod. I cannot WAIT to buy their CD online!! Definitely take a listen to that one if you don't listen to anything else!**

1. Springsteen- Eric Church
"To this day when I hear that song, I see you standing there on that lawn- discount shades, store-bought tan, flip flops and cut off jeans. Somewhere between that setting sun, I'm On  Fire and Born to Run, you looked at me and I was done, but we were just getting started. I was singin' to you, you were singin' to me. I was so alive, never been more free. Fired up my daddy's lighter and we sang 'Oooh'. Stayed there 'til they forced us out; we took the long way to your house. I can still hear the sound of you sayin' 'Don't go.' When I think about you, I think about seventeen. I think about my old Jeep, think about the stars in the sky. Funny how a melody sounds like a memory, like a soundtrack to  a July Saturday night... Springsteen. If I bumped into you by happenstance, you probably wouldn't even know who I am. But if I whispered your name I bet there'd still be a spark. Back when I was gasoline, and this old tattoo had brand new ink. And we didn't care what your mom would think about your name on my arm. Baby, is it spring or is it summer, the guitar sound or the beat of that drummer, you hear sometimes late at night on your radio? And even though you're a million miles away, when you hear 'Born in the USA', do you relive those glory days from so long ago? When you think about me, do you think about seventeen? Do you think about my old Jeep? Think about the stars in the sky? Funny how a melody sounds like a memory, like a soundtrack to a July Saturday night... Springsteen."

2. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye- Luke Bryan

"All we do right is make love, and we both know now that ain't enough. Ain't gonna beg you to stay, ain't gonna ask you what's wrong. Ain't no reason runnin' after something already gone. Take off your leavin' dress, let's do what we do best. I guess everybody's got their way of moving on. Girl, rest your head one more time in my bed. Love me like you loved me when you loved me and you didn't have to try. Let's lay down tonight and kiss tomorrow goodbye. Baby, who we are just didn't work, but maybe we can leave with something out of all this hurt. Ain't gonna beg you to stay, ain't gonna ask you what's wrong. Ain't no reason runnin' after something already gone. Take off your leavin' dress, let's do what we do best. I guess everybody's got their way of moving on. Girl, rest your head one more time in my bed. Love me like you loved me when you loved me and you didn't have to try. Let's lay down tonight and kiss tomorrow goodbye."

3. Days Like These- Jason Aldean
"Ain't no cloud up in my sky, I couldn't worry if I tried. I got an open road just daring me to pick you up and take you for a ride. I got a new shine on my car, the sun is tannin' my left arm. And while I'm waitin' on the red light, I'm burnin' up a little air guitar. Turn it up a little bit louder, turn it up, I love this song. Come on, girl, the world is ours. Let's do something right or wrong. Life is short, let's go live it. Ain't no time for wasting time. Days like these, they go by way too fast. Yeah, days like these, you wanna make 'em last. Rest your feet up on the dash, leave your toe prints on the glass. Sing it like you mean it, baby. Close your eyes and lay your head on back. What'd ya say? What was that? Turn it up a little bit louder, turn it up, I love this song. Come on, girl, the world is ours. Let's do something right or wrong. Life is short, let's go live it. Ain't no time for wasting time. Days like these, they go by way too fast. Yeah, days like these, you wanna make 'em last. Speakers layin' in the truck bed. No, this day ain't done yet 'til the sun goes down. Turn it up a little bit louder, turn it up, I love this song. Come on, girl, the world is ours. Let's do something right or wrong. Life is short, let's go live it. Ain't no time for wasting time. Days like these, they go by way too fast. Days like these, they go by way too fast. Yeah, days like these, you wanna make 'em last."

4. You're Not Alone- Virginia Runnin'
"You cry with the curtains drawn and the lights turned way down low in that empty bed in a house we used to call home. You think you must be weak because you feel so much pain. You don't think you can take it anymore 'cause all it seems to take is a raindrop on a window, a sad song on the radio, a couple holdin' hands, a car draggin' cans to make you remember that I'm gone. But when it comes to being lonely, you're not alone. You spend your days in a room halfway across this rainy old town. Every day you fight back the urge and you put that telephone down. You're a man, but you're not that strong; it's a call you just can't make. You don't know if you should let me know that all it seems to take is a raindrop on a window, a sad song on the radio, a couple holdin' hands, a car draggin' cans to make you remember that I'm gone. But when it comes to being lonely, you're not alone. I down my wine. (Honey, I'm crushing cans.) We're both sitting here with our faces in our hands. I pray for darkness to end. (I can't wait for day to break.) We're both living our lives, but all it seems to take... is a raindrop on a window, a sad song on the radio, a couple holdin' hands, a car draggin' cans to make you...  a raindrop on a window, a sad song on the radio, a couple holdin' hands, a car draggin' cans to make you remember that I'm gone. (Reminds me that you're gone.) When it comes to being lonely, you're not alone."

My Brain at 4 A.M... Welcome.

So yeah... I can't sleep.

I wake up every night (and by every night I mean every single effing night) at 3:30 and am usually up for at least the next hour. Someone please remind me to go back to the doctor about this!

... AFTER I get back from Florida!

Last night was an interesting night.

I don't usually complain, and so I won't for very long, but this is Real Talk.

Keep me in your thoughts because I'm having a really. difficult. time. here in Canton.

Or anywhere, really.

I cannot find a good friend to save my life when it comes to people-I've-met-post-high-school. Seriously. My best friend lives an hour away, and we each have our own stuff going on, so I don't just easily get to drop everything and drive to Chatsworth for the day by the pool with Tabitha. When you have kids it's just not easy to do. So I've been trying to make friends that are in the area, like Tyler's friends' wives/girlfriends and things of that nature.

And I swear to the good Lord I have not met ONE decent female that came out of Jasper (with the exception of Chase). I know this sounds terrible and judgemental and it sucks, but it's true. I've had three other "good" girlfriends besides Tabitha since Tyler and I got married. One was a pill head, one chased her boyfriend around her apartment with a knife because she was a cuh-ray-zee bitch, and the other turned out to be a few knotches under a prostitute.

Chase Newton is my only other "best" friend, and she lives 40 minutes across Highway 20 in Cumming. Even though she grew up with Tyler, we aren't "Jasper" friends. Her ex-boyfriend used to live with me and Tyler (she dated Tim for like 5 years, if you're a Mine reader), but we didn't start hanging out on the reg until last February, and we never hang out IN Jasper. Anyway, that's not my point.

She also has a job where she works til 6:00 every day. Again, not easy to just get together and chill when there's other things going on and you're looking at an hour and a half total drive time.

Am I crazy to just want another mom to have playdates with and chill by the pool with our kids?? Like, surely to God that isn't SO hard!! I am struggling here, friends. The people I have met so far have just sucked. Now that I'm away from Jasper I'm hoping I can meet new people and find new faces. Preferably a few that are moms, too.


So anyway, when you find a good friend, I feel like you should appreciate them and tell them how thankful you are for them. True friends really are hard to come by.
Here's my favorite picture ever of my two best friends. Aren't they awesome?
:)

Sorry this was mostly rambling :/ It's just how my brain works and I have no idea how to stop it!

Recital Time

Greenleigh's first dance recital was this past Saturday, on the five-year anniversary of my last bow at PAU. I don't think I've ever been so proud or excited or anxious or emotional in my life. I could never describe it in a million years, but once you've danced at Performing Arts Unlimited, you know... we are a family, in our own way, and we are family in a way that time does not touch. We are all tied to one another and that is why recital will always hold a kindred place in each of our hearts. So, the opportunity for my daughter to become a part of something that was so important in my own life- it's awesome. Beyond words. She's going to be grandfathered in, just like Brylin was, just like Rayne will be... and she will become a part of this amazing family at PAU. As a mother and as a PAU alumni, I am bursting with pride here. I smile from the inside out when I see her practicing or doing flips because it's something she loves to do. I'm super proud and honestly a little teary. Here's a sneak peak at some of the pictures coming to Facebook soon:


Getting her stage ready

**Side note: Can I just intervene right here, as an afterthought? I'm 23 years old. It's not seventeen, but it also isn't old. I usually consider myself young. Not yesterday. Yesterday I was a Dance Mom. Talk about a reality check. I mean, don't get me wrong, being a mom is not a big deal, I've pretty much got that down pat by now. But a Dance Mom is an entirely different thing. Suddenly I'm learning how to French braid hair so it will stay out of her eyes during gymnastics. I'm getting a Cinderella dance bag and going through a checklist twice to make sure she has everything she needs for her routines. I'm learning how to apply mascara to a three year old who has no idea what the real meaning of "Be Still!" means. And then yesterday, I'm hearing myself talk her through her routines backstage, and watching myself bobby pinning her hair, and seeing myself spraying her entire head with a can of aerosol hairspray and I realize: this is REAL. I am a DANCE MOM. Holy crap.
So then of course I start getting all emotional for all sorts of reasons, like remembering our own senior routines that these kids STILL come unglued about, or missing the days when we were the ones in competitions and when we'd all go eat together after awards, or random adventures while we would skip pointe class and then trying to learn the entire routine in three weeks... was this not just us yesterday? NO, friends. I am no longer on that side of the fence. Now I am that crazy mom squatting on her knees in the front.**



Going back to her place after her turn in gym

I was anxious about which kid Greenleigh would be on stage. There's always the Kid that Cries the Whole Time, or the Kid that Runs Around in Circles the Whole Time, or the Kid that Plays with Her Piece of Tape on the Floor, or the Kid that Just Stands There... You get the idea.
Greenleigh kept complaining about her hairpieces pulling her head. They really were in there kind of tight, but they had to be! Anyway, every time she would do a flip during her gymnastics routine, she would immediately reach up and grab her pigtails. It was hilariously cute. I think at one point they finally pulled because she started looking like she wanted to cry, but she never did. It's funny; in the video, you can see her composing herself and then finishing the routine. She is so precious.



My "Boogie Baby" singing on stage

I can't wait to post this tap routine video. :) That's all I'm gonna say about that.

I have never been more proud of my child. Dance is not just something that I want her to do. She asks to go all the time. As we were getting backstage to get ready Saturday, she looked around, looked up at me and said, "Mama, I can't WAIT to go dance!" :)
I can't WAIT to post pictures and videos today! She was adorable. Thank you Tabitha for being my personal photographer- ilymtl <3