This Song, Again?

The prompt: Three songs that are overplayed but you love anyway. 

This one was easy - I listen to the radio almost exclusively in my car (before I make my practice CDs for choir, that is) and my station is the king of the Repetitive Playlist. So, here are my picks.

Feels Like Tonight by Daughtry

Every time I drive somewhere in my car, I hear a Daughtry song. I've tested this. I could be driving from home to the grocery store and hear "Home" and then on the return trip, I will hear "Over You." To my own repetitive shame, I never change the channel on "Feels Like Tonight." There is something about the way the middle of the chorus goes up that feels sooo good in the vocal cords and for one minute, I'm a total rock star.

Pocket Full of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield

I don't even know what half the words are because every time I hear this song, all I can do is imagine how I could create a slammin' womens choral arrangement for it. I'm telling you, it would so rock.

Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp

All John Mellencamp reminds me of my Uncle Kevin, my fabulous late-uncle whose stories of bustin' a move at John Mellencamp concerts still stand out in my mind. I think of Uncle Kevin every time I hear a Mellencamp song, but this one, with the clapping rhythm and great lyrics gets me every time.

Curious George Goes to the Hospital

A hospital is a big scary place for a 3-year old girl. I remember very little from those days of hair loss, travel, and chemo, but I do remember the bright yellow hat. And the little grinning monkey eating the puzzle piece.

There was comfort to be found in those pages. Even though I don't remember getting half as much ice cream as Curious George got.

This Week in Blogs

It's been a tough week in my particular blogosphere. Two of my favorite bloggers have lost aunts - one of them being my own great aunt. Still two others have sick babies. Not just colds and flus, but real serious illnesses. Like stay-in-the-hospital for months illnesses. Still more are moving and others are simply not blogging because real life takes over and blots out the writing.

I am one of those blog readers who isn't ashamed that I get emotionally attached to the blogs I follow. My favorite blogger, the incomparable Heather Armstrong just realized every bloggers dream. She's written a book based on her life - a life carved out of this new medium and now on paper.

Ms. Armstrong's blog is pretty typical of the blogs I follow. Most, but not all, are about moms raising any number of kids. Single atheist moms raising only children, married non-believing couples raising only children with more on the way, blended families with kids from adults to infants, Christian families raising many small children - you get the picture.

I can identify with at least something with each of the blogs I read. As most know, I don't have kids - and although each of those above blogs is about motherhood, all are about making a connection with the reader regardless of child status, marital status, gender preference or even belief. And most importantly, all the blogs I read - whether I am looking for an art fix or fun food reviews/recipes - have one thing in common:

All these bloggers are incredible writers.

Because of this, I find as much satisfaction reading Michael Ruhlman's highly opinionated food blog as I do Tara Whitney's Just Be Blogged or Carol Blymire's opus - The French Laundry at Home.

And see, in my fast paced, busy world where reading one book can take months, I find my writing inspiration here in the tiny whizzing packets on the Internet. All those beautiful writers you knew in high school? The ones that should be making millions as authors but instead are raising families, taking pictures, working at their jobs? They are now (or should be) blogging.

Bloggers don't write for themselves. Well, we do, but we are the journalers who could never get into journaling because ultimately, we want people to read what we write. If you find out your friend blogs, I urge you to find a reader you like and subscribe. Read what your friends write - we want to share our lives with you.

...And We're Back!

A busy month of packing, moving, traveling, unpacking and then a cold has put me out of commission for a while. But now I'm back.

For those curious about our trip to DC...here is a press release detailing why we went. It even includes me!