Stress, Stress, Oh and a little more STRESS!

Well, folks, I am stressed. Or at least I was. Its easing up a little. Let me give you some background. I am a married mother of 2 (boys). My husband travels with work and I work full time and have returned to school. So...with finals coming up and my husband being gone, its a surprise that I have any hair left at this point! (but I do!) Also, Christmas is just around the corner, then the new year and a new semester. My husband either travels to car sales or he guides duck hunts with his friend who owns a guide service (which is a long story in itself!) Right now he is doing some guiding.

With all things considering my study time is not what it should be and I have to pass the classes I am in with at least B's. So needless to say, its been tough. I am not complaining...no one ever stated that life would be easy. But it helps to discuss my issues. This week has been especially hard because I had a huge test last week I studied my bum off for and now I want to relax, but I still have 2 test left! I have no time to rest. On top of that it seems my youngest son is trying to push his bed time back. I will make it clear, I can not study w/ my youngest awake. So with him doing this I am getting less time in. Next semester shouldn't be too difficult, thankfully, the two classes I have to take are on the internet...so its just making myself do it! But lucky for me I should have my laptop soon!

Also, Christmas, which is a fave holiday of mine is just around the corner. I am super excited, but I have one child that refused to leave ornaments on the tree and another one who keeps begging me to put presents under there. First, I do not have any of them wrapped. Second, I have a box that was sent, its presents I ordered thru the internet...my son will NOT leave the box alone and keeps trying to open it. Thus I do not want wrapped presents under the tree--wrapped presents are a LOT easier to open than this box. lol! But the fun is when we are all in the car driving home every night. Both my boys LOVE the lights. My youngest squeals with delight, while my oldest likes to point them all out! It makes my drive home a TON more enjoyable than it is w/o the lights! I love lights too so we generally take longer ways home to view them! Its fun quality time!

I will leave by letting everyone know that I will be seeing Jason Aldean in concert in January! I am super stoked! I got pit seats--even better. Also, I will be in the drawing for the meet n greet! However, my oldest son is obsessed with Jason Aldean, I tried putting a Christmas cd in the player and he did NOT like that...lol...he wanted the Jason Aldean cd in. Also, last night while giving him and his brother a bath he was singing away. About 2 wks ago he was singing a Jason Aldean song and I asked him if he was gonna be a singer. He said "Ya, a Jason Aldean singer" too cute!! I couldn't help but laugh! So I am a little sad I can not take him to the concert, but I just don't think he needs to be in the concert environment just yet. Although, I am sure he would love it---once Jason got on stage. The waiting around and stuff, though, would kill him. He has my patients...which is almost none. lol! Anyway, this will be a fun concert. I am going w/o my sister this time and that's a little sad, but I am going with a girl who has never seen Jason perform so that will be fun!

Forgotten on my list

So I forgot two potential hobbies for myself. I posted the blog and later that night I remembered them. Funny that I forgot to include them on my list since they are 2 things I have really been wanting to learn to do for a long while now.

One is Golf. I want to learn to play golf. Golfing, while boring to watch, seems like it might actually be fun to play. I have have tried to hit the ball around a few times and I am not good at it. I imagine, though, with proper teaching and the right equipment I could get good at it. Besides, it would give me an excuse to ride around in a golf cart and own shoes with spikes on them! :)

Next one is Kayaking. I would love to kayak. We have tons of creeks and stuff and even some lakes around. It looks so peaceful (in non rushing water!) Just you, your kayak, and the water! How fun? I like water and stuff so I do not think it would be that difficult to learn to do. I guess one thing you have to learn is to flip yourself back over if you tip. Oh, and I do not think I want to white water kayak, just simple stuff. I am not a HUGE risk taker!

Hobbies

Many people have hobbies. My husband is a duck hunter, that is his hobby, his life basically! That is fine with me. Its a time when he can forget the worries and stress of everyday life and do something he enjoys. That is what hobbies are all about!

He has been telling me I need to find some hobbies myself. So I have decided a few things I want to start doing. One is going to concerts. I love the live atmosphere and all the action. Plus music has a way of helping the soul! It clears my mind and takes me to another place. Its wonderful! When you go to a GOOD concert you come out feeling good, you feel calm. Its euphoric in a way. It just makes you happy. There is a concert coming up in January that I am DYING to go to! Its, of course, a Jason Aldean concert! He is having Eric Church and JaneDear Girls opening. I like Eric Church and hear his live show is awesome. Not sure about the girl duo though. But I am not worried about them! Concerts are a time of fun and laughter and losing your voice and hearing! While these are just ordinary people on stage, same as us all, they sing great songs! Songs that can speak to you or songs that can just help you let loose!

I told my husband this past week that I wanted to take up bow hunting. Why? Because I feel that shooting a bow is a bit more challenging than shooting a gun. You have to be super precise with a bow and you have to let the animal get closer to you. It seems like a challenge and am up for that. Sitting in the woods enjoying God's handiwork! Maybe getting a good animal to bring home and eat. But even if you don't get the animal you get to be surrounded by nature! My ultimate goal would be to get a moose! I LOVE moose! I am not sure why, but I do! They just amaze me. I would love to get one. Granted I would have to become REALLY good with a bow to kill a moose!

I would also like to get back into the duck hunting thing. I have been a few times in the past, but I know as my boys (I have 2) get older they will be going with their father to duck hunt. I think this would make a great family outing! I just need to brush up on my shot gun skills. Meaning I need to start practicing with clay pigeons! This is something I would like to do so I can have some ultimate family time and good conversations. I want us to be a good family unit and nothing wrong w/ bonding over a decoy spread waiting for the ducks to come in! :)

Of course, being a girl, I LOVE shopping! Its a great hobby! Just cost money! However, shopping does make me happy! My favorite part is seeing how good of a bargain I can get! I love shopping sales and then telling everyone how awesome of a deal I got! I have gotten pretty good at it too! So if you need advice on shopping and getting the best deals I am usually a good person to talk to! Generally I have a hard time paying full price for things. Yes, I do on occasion, but it can be hard to let go of that money when I think I might be able to get a good deal later on!

Those are a few hobbies. I hope that a few of them I can start working on soon and the others I hope to continue! I do have a busy schedule but I am sure I can work on it! Just gotta get my mind set on doing it! Also, after I learn some of this stuff I can help teach my kids. Its all about creating that family time!

CMA Recap!!

Ok, so last night was the CMA's. I was super excited! Thrilled to be exact. I love award shows...as stated in my previous post. While I was BUMMED that Jason Aldean wasn't nominated for anything, I have to say, I wasn't all that disappointed in last night's events.

First off, I will say, Carrie and Brad are wonderful host. They kept me laughing throughout the entire show! Miranda Lambert was the big winner of the night. While I think she is great, I was a little disappointed that in several categories she had 2 nominations. In Song of the year and Single of the year she had both "The House the Built Me" and "White Liar" nominated. Personally, I like "The House that Built Me" so much more than "White Liar." Anywhooo, Miranda walked away with Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Female Vocalist of the year, plus some. She did GREAT. Although, her performance was a little off! Blake Shelton FINALLY won an award and it was Male vocalist of the year! Way to go Blake. I have been loving Blake for many years now and he is finally getting some recognition! LOVE IT! Brad Paisley got Entertainer of the Year. While I love Brad when he is being goofy...which is most of the time, some of his songs just aren't hits for me. I don't know...But I do imagine he would put on one heck of a show!

As for Lady A...I like Lady A, they are great. They do great all the time. They won Group of the year. That was to be expected. Mainly since Rascal Flatts have fallen very flatt (pun intended...lol) lately. What happened to them? They used to be awesome...now they are so so. Their performance wasn't all that great, the song isn't all that great. I think they do much better with the slow, sad stuff. Oh and what is up w/ Kenny Chesney? He didn't look all that great last night. His song is so so too. I guess a lot of people like it though. Sugarland I have MAJOR mixed feelings about. They performed "Stuck Like Glue" and while its a very catchy tune, it sure isn't country. Its flat out POP! And Jennifer Neetles was wearing white spandex pants...yuck! But I did like the glittery top! They won Duo of the Year. Go figure! I miss Montgomery Gentry. They have been under rated as well! Zac Brown Band won New ARtist, which is weird for me. I didn't think they were all that new! I was rooting for Luke Bryan myself. Don't get me wrong I like MOST of Zac Brown Band's stuff, but they aren't new! Let's give credit to the REAL new artist!

Gwyneth Paltrow, well, she sure didn't impress. The sad thing is they hyped her all freakin' night long! GET OVER HER! She isn't country and her voice isn't that great! come on guys! Let's drop the whole "Gwyneth Paltrow is a country star" act! I am over it. Taylor Swift sang a new song something about December. Seemed like a good song, I just can't get over the fact that she is so famous. My question is why? I mean, she is a GREAT role model for young girls...no gyrating on poles and stuff...like a certian pop singer/former disney girl. But let's be honest, she can NOT sing live. She can't, her voice always sounds horrible live! I guess at least we know she isn't lip singing! Her voice is pure studio magic. I will give her props...she is a good song writer! Carrie Underwood performed some song at the beginning, if I could hear what she was saying I might have liked it. But Keith Urban and Brad Paisley drowned her out w/ their guitar playing. She then came back out and sang "Mama's song" which is a nice song, just rather slow. I will say, though, that her purple dress was AMAZING!!

Ok, guys here is goes. I am gonna commit the ULTIMATE country music fan sin. I HATE George Strait's song "The Breath You Take." If you listen to the words its a happy song, but oh my goodness, the way it is sang and the super slow beat make it sound like its super depressing. I am sure there is a way to liven it up a bit! George is way better than that!! Please someone re-do it! So, Kid Rock was there. He is a nut, a fruit loop. I think he gets confused on what kind of music he wants to sing. That being said, I will admit, I like Kid Rock. Weird, I know! Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow did a tribute to Lorretta Lynn...why they chose Sheryl Crow, I will never know. Why wouldn't they actually chose a country singer is beyond me! But in this day and age nothing surprises me anymore.

I save the best for last! That's right folks Jason Aldean! He did perform his duet w/ Kelly Clarkson and it was nothing short of AMAZING/AWESOME/WONDERFUL...and any other adjectives that fall in that category!! Ok, so I do not lust after Jason, like some might think. I just REALLY like his songs and his voice..and he seems to be a nice guy! (What you might call a good 'ol country boy!) His performance is what I was looking forward to all night long! He didn't let me down. I was also very impressed that he was given a standing ovation...but Gwyneth was too, so not sure what to think of that.

So I might of left things out, but this is my blog and I will talk about what I want to so...lol. I would love some feedback/opinions on what you thought of the show! On a side note, I am looking forward to the American Music Awards! Jason is up for Male Country singer and Country album (for "Wide Open" which is an amazing album) It airs in Dec!

~~Also stay in touch, more from my thoughts to come! Never know what will pop in my head! :)

CMA Awards

So today, I am gonna discuss the CMA awards that are set to air tomorrow (November 10.) I love watching award shows, generally, we (fans) get to see the stars we love reap the benefits of being awesome. However, I am starting to get a little ticked off when the SAME select few people get nominated for EVERY award. I am not saying that those particular performers don't deserve credit, but I think we need to broaden the horizon!

So for entertainer of the year you have 5 people/groups: Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band. Not saying that those aren't great performers, just saying that every single one of them is nominated in other categories. Miranda Lambert for Female vocalist, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Video of the Year, heck she is even in musical event of the year. Now I have been stating that she had been severely under rated, but just b/c now you decide you like her doesn't mean she needs to be in every category. Brad is in the Male vocalist of the year. Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown are in Best Group. I just honestly think that if you are in the entertainer of the year category you should NOT be allowed in the Male/Female/Group/Due of the year group. I mean, we obviously know that you had a rockin' year or you wouldn't be in the Entertainer of the Year category. Now I understand that Entertainer and Vocalist are different, but honestly if people didn't like the way you sing, then you wouldn't be that great of an entertainer, right??

I guess I am just frustrated b/c these shows are super predictable and no one new every gets nominated. Heck they even put people in the Best New Artist category more than once. There are a few performers I do think they left off...of course we all know who I like best...Yup, Mr. Jason Aldean. He is absent from any category even though his album sells were better than most this past year. He isn't up for a darn thing, not song, not album, not entertainer, not vocalist. Where is the justice in that? Where is Eric Church, he had some great songs out this year! What about Toby Keith, they always leave him off! He is like the black sheep of country. He is country, but they sure don't want to show him off at all. Heck they even left off Tim McGraw. He has been doing good lately too! (He has his ups and downs w/ me)

Now one thing that is REALLY upsetting to me is the commercials for the CMA awards. They do not know how to advertise for the country fan. Its like they don't care if I watch, they only care if everyone else watches. What I mean is that they are hyping Gwyneth Paltrow. She does ONE movie where she PRETENDS to be a country singer and now she is suppose to be a big country star! I don't care if she has a good voice, I don't care how sweet she is, she is NOT country, nor will she ever be. So why would they hype up an actress? First off I have never been a Gwyneth Paltrow fan, Secondly, she seems to be a know it all about everything.This is a lady that named her kid Apple for goodness sakes! Lets stop hyping her up, she already has a big enough head. Also, Jason Aldean is suppose to sing his new duet with Kelly Clarkson off his new cd. (see cd review in previous post) So a commercial came on for the CMAs and what do they say..."and a duet with Kelly Clarkson." They didn't even mention Jason Aldean's name! WTF--that is what was going through my head! Why can't they say "and Jason Aldean will perform a duet with Kelly Clarkson?" Why do they feel the need to hype Kelly Clarkson more than the actual country singer?

Well, many many things I will never understand. I am just hope that someday it will all get back on track! Who knows though! I am not saying that these performers do not deserve recognition...Miranda Lambert was very much under rated for a long amount of time. One thing I will say thank goodness for is the fact that Taylor Swift is only nominated in ONE category! She is a great role model for young girls, but she can not sing live at all. Her voice if purely a studio voice! She has talent as a song writer and her stuff is catchy, but less country than it used to be.

OK, I think I will take a big breath and let out slowly. I am done with my complaining for now! And for those of you that are new...I do not complain all the time. However, getting this is the perfect forum for getting things off my chest!! If you have any opinions on this topic please feel free to comment!

The Prius

So I am going to throw a b*tch fit today and complain about Prius drivers! Prius' are the cute little hybrid Toyota's that are suppose to get good gas mileage, nice and safe for the planet. A symbol of your status as an environmentalist.

I have done some independent research on them recently. One thing I found out is that they would not work for me. Basically, unless you live in a city and only drive in a city they will not actually do you any good. It will cost you more to own this thing than it will actually save you. Ok, so I drive a lot of highway miles, I usually cruise between 5-9mph over the speed limit. I know, not good, but I am generally running late all the time or I just want to get to where I am going. Anyway, it never fails no matter what I get behind a Prius driver! Let me tell you, these people do not know where the gas pedal is or they don't know how to use it. I complain because this happens very FREQUENTLY. I get it, you want to save the planet (although your prius wont do it--another story for another time) but some of us have places to be. Anyway, I have driven half way cross country and everywhere I go, these prius drivers go slow. Heck if they would have driven this slow in their previous car they prob would have gotten the same fuel mileage. So what bothers me even more so is the fact that these same prius drivers feel they need to cruise at a snails pace in the FAST lane. I don't know about you, but I get terribly frustrated when I am cruising a good speed in the fast lane and then you come upon a car that is going slow...you say "get over get over get over" before you either have to go around them in the slow lane or you have kick your cruise control off. Well, in my case, that slow car in the fast lane is generally a prius! Get the dang thing outta my way. My only guess is that they hate me since I drive an SUV. Maybe they want to force me to slow down because they think my carbon footprint is too big. Or they are just retarded drivers that have no clue how to drive or what lane is what! I will let you decide! I am not oppose to people driving the prius, although in this area, they seem too expensive for what they actually do. I am all for people saving gas and thinking they are actually saving the planet. I just want those same people to retake their driving test to see if they actually know how to drive! I am sorry if you are prius driver and like driving your prius or if I have classified you wrong. My point is that the MAJORITY (hint: not all) prius drivers like to drive obnoxiously slow.

I write this with a heavy heart today because, once again, I got stuck behind a prius going too slow. We understand that you, the prius owner, wants to do good by planet earth. But what I am really trying to say is if you are in a "planet saving" prius please please please stay outta the fast lane unless you actually plan on driving at a decent speed--and NO 5mph lower than the speed limit is NOT a good speed!


Ok, I think I am done complaining. I do feel better letting it all out--and thanks for putting up w/ the complaining!!

First Post = CD Review "My Kinda Party" Jason Aldean

Ok, so my first post will be a cd review. We all know I mostly listen to country music! One of my favorite artist is Jason Aldean. He just released a new cd on November 2, 2010. This is Jason's fourth cd. I loved his cd "Wide Open" I know all the songs by heart, wished he would have released more songs off the disc, however, I know that more than just him decides what to release and when. So now we have "My Kinda Party" out and the title track has already been out for some time. "My kinda Party" is a good song, not great, but just some good fun. I have been listening to this cd non-stop since it has been released. There are some songs that stick out in my mind. The first song is "Dirt Road Anthem" it is written by Brantley Gilbert (same writer of My Kinda party) and Colt Ford. This song is most definitely NOT your average/traditional country song. Jason sings the chorus and "raps" the versus. While I am generally not a fan of rap in a country song, it seems to work with this song. I especially love the chorus. It has a nice tempo to it and is so easy to follow along with. This song pays homage to living in the country (which is my specialty.) I don't know how this song would actually do if released on the radio just because so many people can be close-minded to rap in the country world. I say if you get a chance just listen to it. Not one time but multiple times, you will see what I mean! The next song that sticks out to me is "Church Pew or Bar Stool." It talks about life in a small town where your either in church or on a bar stool. Now, personally, I grew up in a dry county, but we were on record for having the most churches in our state. Generally people drank their beer or did their shots at home though. But I can definitely relate. A few others that stick out in my mind are "Tattoos on this Town," "Fly Over States," "Country Boy's World" and "Days Like These." They all have great melodies, are easy to follow along to and just work out great! One song that is being pushed is Jason's duet with Kelly Clarkson, #12 on the cd called "Don't You Wanna Stay." Honestly, I do like the song a LOT, however, there is just something about it I don't get. I mean, I don't know if its just Kelly Clarkson, who has a great voice, but on this song it throws me off. I am not sure if its just because I am partial and just want to hear Jason sing or what...I will say the song itself it good, Jason does great with it and Kelly does too, but I am still just not sure about the two of them together! I will say, if you get the chance to listen to this cd, please do, however, I am still torn on if its better than "Wide Open." But the disc does fit Jason's style of rocker/country singer! Oh and I will say that I have seen him two times in concert and he does a GREAT job at getting the whole place going! I have been lucky enough to have great seats at both concerts. I hope I am able to go to more concerts, maybe even meet him, who knows. For now, though, I will just keep listening to his music.

Also, please stay tuned, never know what is to talked about next! Oh, and feel free to respond to me! I would LOVE feedback!