Lost in the Music

What is music to you?

I have been thinking about music a lot lately. It has such a key role in my life (like you'd never guess from my posts) that when I had a conversation with my Other Half a few weeks ago and it turns out that music doesn't really affect him that much, it really shocked me. I don't know why it did, I mean obviously not everyone has the same interests but the fact he didn't even have a go to song when he needed a pick me up...I just couldn't comprehend that!

Music means so many different things to me, I can't understand the 'it's just something to listen to' mentality. I'm sorry if you fall into this category, if the lyrics float over your head and never really connect with your emotions or the thumping bass has never caught in your chest making you feel the beat in your core. No truly I am really sorry because to me music is something that can calm me, it can pick me up, it can move me to tears as easily as it can make me smile and if it doesn't affect you in any of these ways I don't know what to say. I'll just try to sum it up as best I can the only way I can.

For me it's the songs that you cried to as a teenager or the anthem you pumped out to make you feel stronger.

My Anthem!

The songs filled with memories; the ones from our wedding, the song that was playing when munchkin number two was born (there were too many drugs involved with munchkin one to be totally sure!)

Munchkin number two's arrival

Lyrics that mark the end of an era and the start of a new one, packed with memories of someone I miss tonnes.

I was exactly where I needed to be!

Would I have made it through last year without a group of amazing friends who helped me when time were tough? Probably not, and you guessed it there is a song for that too. Every time it comes on I think of them and how grateful I am they are in my life, every time one of us is in need we are there for each other...we're not brothers we are sisters but the sentiment is the same!

Because sometimes we need reminding we are not alone!

Then there is the album that will forever be linked to munchkin one and her first rock concert. The moments and the songs that we shared that will be brought back every time those songs are played. The look of awe and amazement on her face, the huge balloons, the shock form those around us that a kid, a girl at that, could like music like this. I'll admit that I was in my 20's before I got to a decent concert and in my 30's before I got the feeling of being shoulder to shoulder bouncing to the beat and getting lost in the music along with those around you. I am glad my children will have had a chance at that sooner, it is one of the best experiences in the world.

Not my favourite on the album but the first song played so special memories!

Finally there is the huge role that music plays in my writing, even my reading to a certain extent - as my writing group can tell you I have been know to attach songs or even playlists to characters or story/books that I have read....I make no apologies for what my brain does in it's spare time! I have said before that I am very visual with writing and pictures lead to inspiration, well the same can be said of music too. Songs and lyrics lead to characters, scenes, plot twists and lines of poetry even at the most inconvenient moment half way down the motorway!

What is music to me? My memories, my characters, my friends, my tears and my escape. I went to a 30 Seconds to Mars concert in November which was great, but I'm telling you because at it Jared Leto dedicated a song at one point to anyone who had ever used music or been to a gig as a way to escape. It will make sense when you listen to this last song that I am going to leave you with, it is one of my favourites of the moment....no matter what Get Back Up!!!

So while you listen to this one, what is music to you?

Sometimes.....

Sometimes you have to know when it's time to say goodbye!

I have seen friends come and go, some are etched in my mind, a few written on my heart but there are only a couple that have ripped open my soul and changed me forever.

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” 
― Flavia Weedn

Accepting that someones time in my life has come to an end has never been one of my strengths. I wonder, after having read the poem below, if it is because I love too easily. I love my friends, my family and my lover all with as much heart, yet in vastly different ways. Has this love-blindness hampered the clairvoyancey of friendship in me?

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

I once said I didn't think I would ever be as strong as the main character in my favourite book (Brida by Paulo Coelho for those that don't know me). Strong enough to accept that one of her soul mates had fulfilled the reason he had come into her life and that they would likely not see each other again. I'm still not so sure, but I am getting there.

Maybe one day I will find it easier to say goodbye and accept the gift that has been bestowed upon me with grace. Maybe one day it won't feel quite like cutting out my own heart and offering it up on a platter.

In the mean time here are a couple of random verses that don't seem to want to grow up unto fully fledged poems!

Sometimes you meet someone
And they are with you for a season
Never meant to stay forever
Just there for a specific reason.

Sometimes you are mistaken

You are nothing to that someone

Who meant the world to you and more.

Sometimes you search forever

Just to find that special one

Sometimes it takes a while

To realise you were with them all along.

Time to say goodbye.

PS I hope this is the last in what seems like a long line of deep and meaningful's that I will be sharing...at least for a while. I am a member of a fabulous critique group and they are inspiring me to run head long at my ambitions...watch this space as they say!

I do believe in fairies, I do, I do...

Well today we have made some amazing memories, they came at a price of being totally wiped out but they are more than worth the cost. Isn't it amazing how some memories are worth just worth it!!

The hour and half drive, including bickering, just to here the symphony of our family giggles was worth it! Join me in a post of pictures....

We hunted fairies in the rain



















We found them in trees.

    In water too.

Even hanging out by the fence                                        

My favourite has to be Spidy...so cheeky!

 

On the way we even found some fairy houses, but there was no-one home.

There were many other hidden treasures on our forest walk.

One or two dangers

But mostly smiles and giggles

During our hunt we came across a barefoot walk....in the rain....why not?!?

Beware...Bigfoot was here already!!

  Whoa...path blobs, watch your step!

This bit's bouncy Mum.

Any one else thinking of The Golden Child? Nope just me...okies.

 We got mud between our toes :-)

And no that is not me cheating on the gravelly bit!!

Ok so it was....I prefer the the squidgy mud, so sue me.

There was a maze and pretty gardens and playgrounds and flowers and...I felt free, my girls were free and it was amazing!!

Although I was already sold on the fairies and waterlilies.

Oh and a Secret Garden....Such a cool place!

The most intriguing part was the neglected building

It got all sorts of stories rolling around in my head.

In short it was an awesome day full of laughter and being free.

Where did we go you ask? Trentham Gardens....and it was everything I needed it to be.

What did you get up to this weekend?

A bit of 30 Seconds to Mars to play while you comment ;-) ...just because I get to go see them in November thanks to my amazing Other Half :-)

Good Morning Campers

If you told me a year ago the I would be sleeping on an air bed, a sheet of plastic between me and the outdoor world and a hike to the loos, I would have laughed hysterically!! If you told me I would really enjoy it, I would have had you committed!

During the course of the last year I have surrendered the tight hold I have on 5 star hotels and en-suit bathrooms, as a direct result of pester power! Come on parents, you know what I am talking about!! They wore me down.

In the UK we have two bank holiday's in May; one at the beginning and one at the end, giving us two nice long weekends. The first bank holiday saw us borrow a tent, pack off to a site all of 20 minutes away (just in case it was horrific) all to see if I could hack it!! Guess what, I loved it...we all did, the only thing we wanted to change....a bigger tent. That weekend, the rule was NOBODY ROLL OVER!!!!

This weekend we set off for the second time, our own bigger tent packed up, on our way to the seaside! We pitched in the wind, it was actually quite fun and set up our camp....or maybe we landed. Our tent is huge, although saying that there were others of similar girth by the end of the day, which at least limited the embarrassment I first felt when we put it up!

There is one thing I don't think I will get used to....tent envy! The amount of people that stopped by the tent over the three days we were there, just to ask about the tent and admire it....here's a thought, I wonder if I could charge for tours?!?!

Marcus Humongo Maximums (as named by the Happy Campers)

My favourite part of both trips and a must for every camping trip....toasted marshmallows and warm milky coffees. All we need to do is find a site where we can build a proper campfire!!

One thing checked off the bucket list, some wonderful memories made and looking forward to the next trip.


I'll leave you with this, from the new 30 Seconds to Mars album.....because my other half still knows that music makes me smile!!

What have you guys been up to while I have been AWOL? Any ambitions ticked off your bucket lists??

Aaarrrgggghhhhhhh!

I avoided switching on my laptop last night to type today's post in advance and I have been avoiding this empty page all afternoon!!

It isn't that I have no ideas, my ideas are just like little seedlings in a greenhouse; some dozy gardener forgot to come water and feed them! They haven't grown up to be big and strong. And they certainly aren't bearing any fruit!

view original here

How do I kick my lazy ass out of this duvet that I have crawled under? How do I avoid all the interesting things that distract me when I am tucked up warm and cosy? How do I pluck up the motivation to tend my little baby ideas?

I know, I will give myself even more to do. I seem to work well under pressure so here goes!

Challenge time! Who's with me?

Slight deviation from fairy tales....myths! Or legends, I'm not really picky. The rules are simple; find one, favourite or random it doesn't matter, tell me in the comments which one you have picked. Then you have 300 words to re-write it, twist it, tell us what happens next, any or all of the above. Or hell for those who are more artistically minded give us the photographic or pictorial version! Post it and link back here ready for next week.

Lets hope inspiration strikes for my chosen myth....Cupid

Good luck and may the gods be ever with you.

So to leave you some cupid related tunes (because we couldn't find a clear winner...by we I mean me and my Facebook / Twitter friends!)

And yes just an excuse to include some 30 Seconds to Mars

:-D

My weekend in song.

I think I am just going to call Tuesday's 'Tuesday Tunes' given that I never feel particularly jokey or cheery on a Tuesday. Bah!

So today you get the soundtrack to my weekend, or at least the one that has been floating around in the mush of my mind!!

The weekend didn't start well!!

I kind of retreated into music for a while and found this acoustic version of a 30 Seconds to Mars song I love.

But is is funny how a well placed text or message from a friend can help so much and this song made me think of that friend...I only hope she knows how awesome she is and that I help her in some small way too!

So smiling we went off into the woods for a wander and had an amazing day.

So here is hoping that wasn't the end of the world I saw coming and just a little storm. Something a little chilly and rocky at the time but weathered all the same.

What song best describes you weekend or day?

Curiouser and curiouser

Just having a little look back over recent posts and I realised I have been somewhat laxed about including some cool tunes. This seems odd to me because music has been increasingly taking over my life.

It all started when a friend of mine started to try and 'educate' me.....apparently I wasn't listening to some great bands that I should have been! I have to admit I wasn't! What I was listening to wasn't bad, it was just quite limited.

He reminded me of the likes of the Stereophonics to my music library.

Introduced me to the Lostprophets (regular readers will be aware of the minor obsession that sparked) and Stone Sour.

By this point I had headed down a rabbit hole of devouring everything I could get my hands on from any of the bands that I liked even a little. Just as things were starting to dry up a little other friends started stepping in with suggestions of what I should try, so next came Placebo

And still more with Gas Light Anthem, Queens of the Stone Age....

Until my latest obsession popped up in the form of 30 Seconds to Mars:

At this point I started to think I had hit the bottom of my rabbit hole and could happily climb out enjoying all the music I had discovered along the way. Sound in theory, apparently though I jumped into a rabbit hole that dropped me straight into wonderland because at the bottom I discovered Last FM. Now I have eaten and drunk all the things I had to to go through the door into a whole new wonderful world packed with even more musical delights. So I will leave you with Simple Plan...my latest discovery and hopefully not my last ;-)

Oh what the hell I couldn't decide which one to include so you get both, well why not they are good songs!

I hope you enjoyed your trip down my musical rabbit hole; we had to have a trip to wonderland seeing as it was Lewis Carroll's Birthday this week!

What do you think, have I been educated well enough? Are there things in your musical rabbit hole that should be in mine? Let me know, I'd love to discover more!

Not in the mood to laugh Tunes

As I seem to be suffering with a terminal case of the holiday blues today is definitely a Tuesday tunes day and not tickles!!

I thought I might just treat you all to another shot of my latest lyrical obsession and let y'all enjoy a little more 30 Seconds to Mars. The irony of the name is not lost on me given I am typing whilst watching the re-make of Total Recall and thinking about the original Arnie version!

My favourite song of theirs so far is Hurricane, unfortunately I seem to cry every time I hear it. Oh and even the censored version of the video is a little *ahem* Fifty Shades. Yes well if you want to see the extended version, video and all click here. Otherwise here is a PG version of lyrics only for your enjoyment :-)

 

 

What songs make you cry? Is there a reason or did it sneak up on you like this song did with me?

Random Thursday - Best Ever New Year

I have had the best New Year in probably about 16 years. We had no plans, no wild parties, no fire works, no-one else to celebrate with......just us. Now we never make plans and never celebrate with any one but usually end up in bed before the dongs.

I think that is what made this year so special, simplicity!

New Year's Eve: The kids didn't last till midnight (although I didn't expect them to) so a glass of wine, a log fire and New Year's Eve the DVD it was. Corny in it's entirety but I loved every minute!! (my previous best was baked beans on toast al a carte)

New Year's Day: A sunrise, coffee and a note pad. Followed by a family walk on the beach and a hot chocolate to warm up with afterwards...I tell you what the pictures tell the story better.

 

Blue sky and sunshine we could be anywhere, right?

 

Sunbathing like this?? Um No!

 

 

Yep, that's more like it!

 

 

We splashed over the rivers in the sand

 

 

Spotted Nessie (although there was some debate about this one!)

 

 

Click on this one to see a bigger picture and you will realise that we definitely weren't in Kansas (yes it was a little windy)

 

 

Yummy warm up treats and a spot of me time, only a spot though....

 

 

Because Jessie showed up Yee Haw :-)

 

I hope your New Year transition was a magical as mine. What did you get up to?

 

Oh and I have discovered the joys of Jared Leto and 30 Seconds to Mars. I have loved everything I have heard, favourite so far being Hurricane, but had to share this....they have covered one of my all time favourite songs and did it justice :-) Plus the topic seemed to fit given our wander today!!

 

 

 



 

All as part of your Random Thursday's broadcast from Sleepy Joe, linking up with Larissa at Papa is a Preacher (head on over she is cool and loves hot chocolate as much as I do!)