Song Challenge, Fourth and Final Week

The final installment of the song challenge. It's been fun!

23. Favorite song from your wedding: At Last by Etta James was preformed live by some good friends of ours.

24. A song that you want to play at your funeral: Pig by Dave Matthews Band. It's about really enjoying your life, not complaining about what you have, not wasting your precious time here, and celebrating- all things I want my life to encompass. "Wash out this tired notion that the best is yet to come".

25. A song that makes you laugh: Ladies of the World by Flight of the Conchords. "Hermaphrodite Lady-man-ladies/ Oh you sexy hermaphrodite lady-man-ladies/ With your sexy lady bits/ And your sexy man bits too/ Even you must be in to you ooo ooo" it doesn't get any better than that!

26. A song that you can play on an instrument: Mary Had a Little Lamb

27. A song that you wish you could play: Dodo by Dave Matthews. Or how about just about anything by Dave Matthews or Dave Matthews Band.

28. A song that you feel guilty for liking: Dick in a Box by The Lonely Island. Okay, so I don't feel that guilty- Justin Timberlake seriously missed his calling as a comedian.

29. A song from your childhood: Good Vibrations by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Oh ya :)

30. Favorite song at this time last year: Viva la Gloria by Green Day. It was just about the only song that really calmed Aven down when she was crying in the car. I would play it and sing along over and over on the way to work.

Vs.

There's just something otherworldly about black and white that I can't seem to get enough of, but at the same time I know those color pictures are going to be a comfort in the dead of winter.

Song Challenge, Week Three

Week three of the song challenge. Enjoy, and think of your own picks- it can be a fun trip down Music Lane:

15. A song that describes you: Once in a Lifetime by The Talking Heads. I often feel like life is flowing past me and sometimes I look at my life and wonder "well, how did I get here?".

16. A song that you used to love but now hate: Firefly by Owl City. After hearing one of my 7th grade students with a whiny grating voice sing it in class every day for two weeks I just can't listen to it anymore.

17. A song that you hear often on the radio: Help I'm Alive by Metric. Starting to get a little tired of this one.

18. A song that you wish you heard on the radio: Tribute a.k.a. The Greatest Song in the World by Tenacious D. The regular fare on the radio could use a dose of humor.

19. A song from your favorite album: Dancing Nancies by the Dave Matthews Band album Under the Table and Dreaming.

20. A song that you listen to when you’re angry: Bullet with Butterfly Wings by The Smashing Pumpkins. This song can get me fired up or can allow me to blow off some steam.

21. A song that you listen to when you’re happy: Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional. Such a sweet little song about new love "my hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me, so won't you kill me, so I die happy".

22. A song that you listen to when you’re sad: Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. I find it impossible to feel sad while listening to this lovely little song.

One more week to go . . .

Front Yard Flowers

Song Challenge, Week Two

Here I am with week 2 of my song challenge. It's been fun thinking about all these questions, especially since listening to music has always been such a big part of my life. This challenge has actually got me listening to stuff I haven't listened to in years, which has been incredibly fun.

8. A song to which you know all the words: The Party Song by Blink 182. It's a lot of fun to sing along to this one.

9. A song to which you can dance: Promiscuous by Nelly Furtado and Timbaland. I would like to see you NOT dance to this song!

10. A song that makes you fall asleep: Such Great Heights by Iron and Wine. It doesn't put me to sleep, but it is one of the most calming songs I can think of. It really takes the edge off.

11. A song from your favorite band: Two Step by Dave Matthews Band and The Adventure by Angels and Airwaves. Don't make me choose a favorite between those two bands. I love them equally.

12. A song from a band you hate: Every Rose has It's Thorn by Poison. I really don't like 80's metal. At all.

13. A song that is a guilty pleasure: On a Boat by The Lonely Island (pretty much any Lonely Island song would fit this category- some more guilty than others!)

14. a song that no one would expect you to love: OMG by Usher feat. will.i.am. I'm not usually a lover of R&B but I can't get enough of this one.

Two more weeks to go . . .

Memory Grove

Trying to take lots of pictures everywhere I go and also trying to return to my roots of making black and white images. There's just something about black and white that transports you to another time and place.

Black and White

I recently came across a fabulous blog (Jest 18:17) that I am in love with. It's all about photography, my number one artistic passion, and it has inspired me to really get back out there and take more pictures. I took some today while Ian and I were at the Farmers Market and Gateway Mall:

Found a great quote on "Jest 18:17" to end on:

"To keep things going for a long time, you just have to carry on taking photographs. By taking photographs you make discoveries about yourself and come to realize various things. If you're constantly reminded of things, this gives you the impulse to carry on. You learn things through taking photographs; photography is your teacher. The main thing is to keep on taking photographs for ever and ever."
-Nobuyoshi Araki

Song Challenge, Week One

I recently saw a cool song challenge on a Quirky Pickings, a blog I read from time to time. It was designed to be done one post a day for 30 days, but I have decided to do one post a week for four weeks. It was a lot of fun to think about and while I realize I could come up with literally dozens of different answers for each question here's what I came up with at this moment in time for the first of four posts:

1. Favorite Song: Call to Arms by Angels and Airwaves. "When the thousands of stars come out thousands of times/ you can go only if you believe" need I say more?

2. Least favorite song: Lady by Styx. I'm sure I could think of a song I dislike even more, but Lady annoys me enough that I'm going with it.

3. A song that makes you happy: Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap. I love the vocalist and the lyrics are super-sweet.

4. A song that makes you sad: A Little's Enough by Angels and Airwaves. It makes me sad in a good way. I was listening to this song a lot when one of my best friends became a foster parent and was dealing with all of the difficult emotions that go along with that position.

5. A song that reminds you of someone: Time by the Alan Parsons Project. It always makes me think of my uncle Mark who was killed in a helicopter crash 21 years ago. We played it at his funeral. I can't listen to it without experiencing a deluge of tears.

6. A song that reminds of you of somewhere: Fair by Remy Zero. We listened to the Garden State soundtrack a lot while we were on our honeymoon in Hawaii, so just about any song on that soundtrack brings back wonderful memories.

7. A song that reminds you of a certain event: You're the One That I Want from the Grease soundtrack. I had the Grease CD playing in my truck when Ian and I went on our first date.

More to come next week!

Conifers Close Up

I've been wanting a macro lens for my Nikon d40x for awhile. Ian wanted to get me one for my birthday, but they cost several hundred dollars. Instead he got me a filter that screws on to the front of my standard 18-55 mm lens that gives the same kind of effect for a lot less money. I haven't had the chance to spend too much time with it, but it's a lot of fun and I've managed to get a few nice shots:

Pinecone of a Douglass Fir

Juniper Tree

A very abstract photograph of a Douglass Fir Bough

I can't wait to take some photographs with this filter up at Red Butte Garden. Who knew i'd ever be this excited to take pictures of flowers?