I have just spent the most wonderful summer of my life taking care of 3 little boys in Canada. I've explored Toronto, I've been to Niagara Falls. I've had an awful lot of adventures, and it has changed me forever. But I must admit... When I'm old and grey, my fondest memories of my summer as an au pair in Toronto will be of sitting on the porch in the sun licking melted popsicle off little fingers and laughing and telling stories about frogs and balloons and Thomas the Tank Engine.
Sometimes I like to turn out all the lights, close the curtains and crawl under my duvet so that I'm in complete darkness. Then I stick in my earphones and drown out the silence with music. It is the best way to really hear a song, I find. I'm in my own little world, nothing else can get my attention. All I can focus on is sound.
Sometimes I lie like that for hours in the darkness, letting the music envelope me. It creeps right into my heart and my mind. I listen to the stories of the musicians, I take in every word. And through the melody, I really feel the intensity of their emotions. Sometimes, I even cry. And you should keep that part a secret. ;)
Sometimes I blame music for my enthusiasm for life, because I feel like I am learning and experiencing so many different things just lying in my bed listening to these songs.
I was in Canada less than 2 weeks when I felt inspired to write this song. I guess that shows just how wonderful this family is. It's a very scary thing to pack up and move to another country on your own, even if it is just for 4 months. But Denise, Mike, Zachary, Liam and Marcus have made me feel so welcome in their home since the moment I arrived. I've been here a month, and already the thought of leaving them chokes me up. But that's life. This is an incredible experience for me, and when it's over I will have to move onto the next one. But oh goodness, I will miss them.
The song is a mixture of little images that portray my time in Canada so far. And when I wrote the song, I was thinking a lot about growing up. I came to Canada alone to travel and work, which is a big step in my own growing up. And while I'm here I am so privileged to witness the little steps of growing up for each of these boys. I was here for Marcus' first laugh. Liam is learning new words all the time (his favourites at the moment are 'purple', 'crocodile' and 'cockadoodle-doo'). I was a part of Zach's 5th birthday, and he is constantly asking questions about everything and anything, and every time I get to pass on knowledge to a child, my heart wants to burst with happiness. :) It is an incredible thing to be a part of teaching a child about the world he lives in. This learning and growing along with exploring Canada is where the song came from. And it's not much, but the stories and memories behind it will always mean a lot to me.
Well, that's it I guess. :) I'd love it if you'd subscribe here. :) Oh, and if you feel like a cupcake right about now, then you should really check out my friend Valerie's blog... She's new to the blogging world, so she'd appreciate a warm welcome. :)
I could write about how I love the morning sunshine streaming into my bedroom, and the fresh air through the open window. How I enjoy my breakfast of fresh fruit, and I sit and ponder all of life's precious offerings. I would be lying. And I would never lie to you girls. Truth is, I look a bit like this in the mornings:
I am not a morning person. At all. In order to avoid the morning blues, I have to come up with ways to wake myself up as pleasantly as possible. So I have come up with a 'Morning Lullabies' system, whereby I set my alarm every night with a happy song to wake me up. Music calms me, and helps me to start the day as best I can.
So, you guys know I love my music, right? I mean, I love it almost as much as I love babies and nursing... Yeah, that much!
So, this past January my friends convinced me to start a YouTube channel. I mostly play covers of songs I like, and I've posted one of my originals too. And a few goofy videos as well, of course- I mean it wouldn't be my YouTube channel if it was free from all dorkiness.
It's just a bit of fun really, and Kate (also known as 'Mildred' in the videos) and I have great fun making the videos! All these pictures are freeze-frames from the videos, by the way. :) And I have to say, I feel pretty weird posting photo after photo of myself... Hmm.
So, why am I posting this here? Well, my lovely friends, I have a favour to ask. Dun dun dun... Feel free to press the esc key now haha :) I would really love it if you could go to my YouTube channel and show your support- I'm feeling pretty lonely over there without you guys. Maybe you could subscribe to my channel, rate my videos, or leave a comment or two? It would make me so happy if you could do that. :) Here's one of my recent videos:
Of course, you can tell me that I'm very cheeky for asking, or you can ignore this post completely! But I know that I can count on a few of you at least to wander over to YouTube and let me know what you think. :) Thank you everyone! And of course if I can do anything for you in return, you know you can always ask!
I don't know about you, but I have music to suit my every mood. That's why my iPod is so jam packed with different playlists. Right now, the beginning of Spring is leaving me feeling relaxed and inspired...
Have you ever felt so inspired and full of ideas and creativity that it all just crashes together, explodes and leaves you with absolutely no idea what to do with it all? No? Wow, I think there is something wrong with me. I am so full of energy right now, and I have this overwhelming urge to blog, but I have no idea what about! I just need to get this cheerful, crazy energy out of me somehow. Hmm... How about a pick and mix blog post? I will give you a little taste of what is going on in my head right now, what is making me so crazy and incoherent. Ready? .....Okay.. GO!
"This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time" ~Narrator, Fight Club
"Among all the fairytales, I choose Shrek, because that's where I learned that even the imperfect people can have happy endings" ~Unknown
"But better die than live mechanically a life that is a repetition of repetitions." ~D.H. Lawrence
My new song, 'Postcard'. Tell me what you think of it, and please subscribe to my YouTube channel. :)
So there you have it. A brief look at the inside of my head. It is going crazy, and I feel like dancing around the kitchen, or running down a hill, or baking brownies, or... Sitting. In silence. And just appreciating the fact that right now I am able to smile, and say that I am feeling happy. I want to savour the moment, because sitting with my puppy curled up beside me, the fire lighting, a mug of hot tea, and Imaginary Friend playing on iTunes- I am happy. :)
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and if you're not having a great one like I am, then I hope you have an utterly fantabulous week to make up for it. :)
I have been given the wonderful gift of a chest infection this week. Not fun. That is until you find ways to make it a bit more interesting...
Things To Do When You're Sick +Drink hot tea +Watch The Ellen Show +Attempt to sing, and laugh at the 'noise' it makes +Sleep for a while +Read lots +Blow bubbles +Colour +Watch a really old movie that you haven't seen in years +Write in your diary +Make a 'Sick and Tired' playlist on iTunes +StumbleUpon on your phone- kept me amused for hours! +Walk around with a blanket like a cape +Look through old photos and home videos +Eat an entire box of chocolate fingers without feeling guilty +Paint your toenails +Repeat the same word over and over until it sounds ridiculous +Watch Youtube videos +Sport the no make up and ponytail look +Text a friend and annoy them for a while +Have a bubble bath
I am obsessed with Youtube. I have found many of my favourite artists on Youtube. People sit on their beds recording videos of themselves singing wonderful songs with beautifully real voices. Their personalities win my heart, and I find myself drawn back to them over and over. Here are a few of my favourite covers from my favourite Youtubers. :)
First up- The wonderful Kina Grannis singing Coldplay's 'Fix You', one of my all time favourite songs. I was lucky enough to actually meet Kina after her show on February 1st, 2012! I will never forget it. This girl is amazing. Incredibly sweet, incredibly talented, and incredibly down to earth. Please, go fall in love with her music.
Jayme Dee singing 'I Will Follow You Into the Dark' by Death Cab for a Cutie. Such an unusual voice, but incredibly addictive. If you have any doubt as to how great this girl is, watch her Bath Tub video- she's so cool!
Sarah Crummy's cover of 'Jar of Hearts'. Wow, this girl will win you over instantly, be it with her phenomenal musical abilities, or her endearing personality. I adore every song she posts, without exception.
Ally Rhodes singing 'Give Me Everything' by Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer. I hate this song. I mean, I really hate it. But I cannot help but really really love Ally's version. :)
Imaginary Friend's version of 'Fly Me To The Moon'. Beautiful man, beautiful music. His voice is just haunting, I could listen to him all day. I only wish he had more songs...
Drew Tabor's cover of 'Superbass'. Just watch it. :) I was shocked! It made me like the original. Drew Tabor is one of the quirkiest musicians I follow on Youtube. If you're not used to her, then the start of this video might confuse you, but please just listen to her singing.
So that's it! I know that no one will watch all of these anyway, so to give you some chance, I will leave it at that for today. I will most likely be doing a few more posts just like this one, because I love to promote these wonderful, hidden talents.
This week was endless cups of sweet tea and lovely chats with wonderful friends.
This week was being dorky in public. Practicing our British accents, playing in shopping trolleys, skipping and being pirates. Why ever not?
This week we had flowers on the table. Red carnations. A little pop of energy and fun, one of the simplest of pleasures.
This week was celebrating birthdays. Shout-outs to Mam, David, Eva, Emilia, Niamh and Jane. I hope your birthdays were positively wonderful!
This week was trying very hard to promote my blog and Youtube account, and being over the moon with every new comment, subscription and view! You are wonderful for reading this, and when I see your one extra view in my stats I will instantly want to hug you. :)
It always happens that everything will be super calm and slightly boring for weeks on end, and then all of a sudden everything happens at once. Am I the only one? Well, not to worry, because I have just had the most exciting 2 weeks!
On the 1st February, I met one of my biggest musical inspirations ever.
You don't know who she is? What? Oh my goodness. Here!
You can of course skip these videos, and pretend I never posted them. You would be very silly to do that, and you would be missing out on hearing a musical genius at work. Just saying. :)
So yes, that's what happened on 1st February 2012. Kate and I traveled all the way across the {tiny} country to watch Kina Grannis play live and to meet her afterwards. We were exhausted, and Kate ate a very questionable burger before the show which meant while I had butterflies listening to Kina sing, Kate had food poisoning. BUT- it was all worth it! Sorry Kate, I know I said I wouldn't mention that...
And what else happened in the last 2 weeks?
Well, I may have mentioned before that I have the best friends in the entire world. Better than the best! And I may have mentioned a couple times that I'm turning 18 this week? Well.... My fantastic, amazing, incredible, wonderful, perfect, super duper friends brought me to Paris for my birthday!!!
Yes, they really really did! I told you- Best. Friends. Ever. Wanna see pictures? No? Keep scrollin'...
My new boyfriend.
This is Laura's zebra. He will travel the world with us, and we will take pictures of him everywhere!
Kate is an absolute genius, I love her! She got us all the way around Paris and safely back to our hotel, and we didn't get lost once! Everyone, please clap for Kate.
We bought teddy bears at Disney Land! Thumper is mine, Nala is Kate's, and Eeyore was bought for Kate's beautiful niece and God-daughter Anna Jane, who is 3 months old on Thursday. :)
Sorry for the photo overload there- I had to narrow it down from 703 pictures, I thought I did well! So that was my amazing birthday present from the best friends in the world. :) And I will leave you with this video....
