...i just read that what i ate at dairy queen today made the top ten list of the worst foods for you in 2009.

thank you, internet.

3.14.09

I have to say, thusfar today has been a pretty good one. My best friend from home who is going to grad school in Maryland came back for the weekend, and we snagged her to run to the hill to see if we couldn't get our hands on those fabulous su shirts from the uconn game the other night. We had read in the paper that there was a window from 12-2 that the bookstore would be open, and when we arrived at 12:15 it was so crowded that we had a hard time finding the shirts. When we finally did, we realized it was nothing more than a large card table, with only small and maybe... 3 mediums (yay us, boo for all the dads out there). So needless to say, I changed in the car on the way back from the campus.

Then we headed to the mall for a quick shoe shopping trip... it was fun, a grand opening at a famous footwear where they give a 30 second shopping spree to someone every hour. You can pick up as many shoes as you want in that time period, and that to me sounded great. I didn't win, but I did get some new sandals for Texas, and I got a mint oreo blizzard. Things like that just make my day.

Afterwards I've just been hanging around the house, trying to pack and clean up the place before we leave on Tuesday. I've been working my butt off to try and get as many projects done for work as I can before I leave, so it's been kind of nonstop lately.

I also did something I've never done before as a musician, and I'm kind of pumped about it. After signing with Cherry Lane a few weeks ago I decided to follow one of their writers prompts and write a pop song for submission. I started it when I was in Nashville, and in about 3 days I had actually written one that I thought was worth recording. So literally the next day, I gathered up Kiel and Kaleena and we put the song together and I sent it out that night. It all happened so quickly I found myself listening to it the next day as if it were a dream, going "Wow, did I really do all this yesterday?" Music is something I always want to do no matter what happens with tse or anything else, but the prospect of being a songwriter; writing for people other than myself to sing, is something that I have always aspired to do. I love having the opportunity to try my hand at that, and I am so grateful and thankful and excited. It's definitely kind of fun to write pop songs, and I'm learning a lot from trying out different genres and such.

Tonight we're off to dinner with some old friends of the family, and then my night will be devoted to the game tonight. 6 overtimes thursday, 1 yesterday... let's just get it done without any tonight.

Let's go orange!

3.9.09

Holy crap, where does the time go.

I just got back home from Tennessee this afternoon, and all of a sudden I feel like I have been immediately sucked back into the daily grind... and I'm so not ready. So much work to do, so much writing to do, so much relaxing that needs to happen or else I'm going to be stressed all over again.

Oh yoga, I miss you already.

Pluses:
- A week in TN (yay!)
- getting to see Memphis, and AMAZING vegetarian Creole cookin'
- cupcakes in many cities
- boyfriend (!)
- anniversary
- getting a massage (holy wow... why haven't I done that before??)
- sunshine and warm weather

So, at least for the next 10 days or so I'm going to try and remain high on life from that little list right there. I love vacations, but at the same time I feel like having them so sporadically placed in time right now it's like going from one extreme to another. Trying to refocus a busy life when you suddenly have nothing to do and nowhere to be almost makes you over analyze and then you're... not refocused, you're actually more confused and stressed and everything just seems more daunting. Agh, oh well. < / rant >

Big week, I suppose. Practice tomorrow, show in Fredonia on Wednesday, show in Auburn Friday, and maybe some recording going on. Not tse stuff, just some project work perhaps. Then, SXSW Monday. Horray for structured days ahead, full of classes and panels and music! (oh school, how I miss thee...)

Pictures from the trip to come, maybe after some sleep...

3.1.09

So today Kaleena and I finally finished tracking the 4 song demo we will be taking with us to SXSW. It is a glorious day, and we finished right on the wire with it. The show was amazing last night, I don't necessarily believe it to be our personal best, but oftentimes I feel that way if the monitors aren't working in our favor (or working at all, in this case :) ). But man, every time I've played in Syracuse lately I feel more and more humbled by the amount of people who come out and support us, friends and 'newbies,' high school friends and college friends, high school acquaintances and college acquaintances, etc. You were wonderful. As was Lights and her band, they said they remembered meeting us when they played in Fredonia, and I half believe them. They were very kind, and the waffles were as always fantastic.

Also, a personal first at that show: I wore pants, and I was barefoot during the performance. Both things I suppose I could get used to. Not that I'm usually pantless at shows... you get the idea.

Leaving for Nashville tomorrow to spend a week with Michael. It should be great, the weather should be warming up (and should be well over what it is here any day), and we might take a trek to Memphis, and neither of us have ever been out there. I also might meet up with my cousins, and maybe even do a little songwriting work if that works out. Keeping those fingers crossed once again that I'll run into Taylor Swift and she'll want to be my friend, or that Nicole Kidman asks me out for coffee at some point.

I just found this on youtube today. This is one of my all time favorite songs, I think, and sung by most definitely one of my all-time favorite musicians. sigh.

2.24.09

I'm typing this from the studio; we've been tracking for the past 4 or 5 days now to get a demo done before SXSW next month. We're doing a total of 4 songs (3 brand new), so within the next week or two we will hopefully be having them on our myspace page, etc. Good stuff.

My (and my sister's) birthday was on Sunday, where we had the bandmates and a couple other friends come over for a dinner and dress-up 'Oscar-themed' party. I was pumped because it gave me an excuse to make a cake again, and it ended up being the best vegan chocolate cake I've ever made (and..only vegan chocolate cake I've ever made). So much fun; sushi, sesame tofu, 3 cakes... yay food :)

At one point, the band came out with a 'cake' for me that ended up being my old guitar tuner in jello a la 'the office.' They then presented me with a new boss tuner (they always hated my old tuner whose brand shall not be named). So... even more good stuff.

Off to Nashville on Monday, then SXSW a few weeks after that. Looking forward to what's ahead, as usual.

2.12.09

So, back from Grandma's in Zephyrhills, and we are finally getting ready to start demoing new songs... We are so excited and cannot wait to start this process.

Speaking of excited... One day, whilst at grandma's, I got a phone call from my boyfriend, saying his brother heard us on vh1's "tool academy." Obviously, at first I had my doubts, but we tuned into it's rerun that evening (switching back and forth between the Grammy's), and sure enough, "Winter" was featured on it. I am absolutely ecstatic about it, and seriously, what a great surprise.

Onward and upward! Expect new demos soon!

02.06.09

Well, we have reached the beginning of February, and although there is nothing spectacular to report, I have managed to fly twice in two weeks: once to Nashville, and now I am typing from my Grandmother's house in Zephyrhills, Florida.

My laptop was in need of repair after one of the hinges fell off of it mid-January, and thanks to the Geek squad at Best Buy, my laptop had a free trip to Louisiana for 3 WEEKS. Not having your laptop is something I have never gone through before, and yes, it is as bad as it sounds. I had to download photoshop to computers I had access to in order to do work; I went on vacation WITHOUT A COMPUTER. But strangely enough when I got it back, I kind of got that sinking feeling, similar to going back to college the first day back from break.

Nashville was fantastic, it included a trip to Gigi's cupcakes (my...favorite place ever.), a Lucero show, seeing a friend from Fredonia, and a trip to the Loveless Cafe (my just about favorite place ever). Now I'm taking in all of the glory of Florida in early February (which is record lows and freezing temperatures overnight). We'll be here until Monday though, and the weather is supposed to get into the high 70s. Stoked.

So, February. I've got a birthday, a show, and hopefully a lot of recording going on for the duration of the month. Here's to hoping things start to materialize this month.