current favorite playlist

practicing self-care by taking a moment just for me while she naps

As the to-do list grows over here, I have been observing the ways that I do and do not take care of myself. My observations always tell me that I have to slow down and bring awareness to my day or I will lose my way. While Ellie naps or when her babysitter comes so I can get work done, I try to remember to also notice how I am feeling and what I need. Warm baked goods right from the oven are making that list. As is rest in the form of laying down for a few minutes and reading or closing my eyes. And then there is the music. In my world over here, there must always be music, and I especially like it when I can sing along and dance dance dance. 

Here is playlist that is currently on repeat this weekend:

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) :: The Proclaimers

Get Out The Map :: Indigo Girls

Son Of A Son Of A Sailor :: Jimmy Buffett

Get Back :: The Beatles

Kiss On My List :: The Bird and the Bee

Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man :: Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn

Bus Stop :: The Hollies

Midnight Train to Georgia :: Gladys Knight & The Pips

Stop Draggin' Around :: Lenny Kravitz

If I Had a Boat :: Lyle Lovett

Via con me :: Paolo Conte

The World's On Fire :: The Housemartins

Let It Be :: The Beatles

Born Feeling :: Sara Tavares

Better Life :: Keith Urban

I Want to Break Free :: Queen

Rock With You :: Michael Jackson

You Got to Me :: Neil Diamond

Loves Me Like a Rock :: Paul Simon

What Next? :: hello mtn

Antarctica :: The Weepies

Little Bird :: Jonatha Brooke

Fast Car :: Tracy Chapman

Brian Wilson :: Barenaked Ladies

The Gambler :: Kenny Rogers

I Hope :: Dixie Chicks

C'est Si Bon :: Eartha Kitt

The next few days are sure to include some Christmas music, but it was nice to sing along with these songs as I hammered and wire-wrapped and wrapped packages and took time to twirl with the beana.

And you? What are you listening to these days?

a soundtrack for a very specific 24 hours in june.

 

while we were waiting . may 31, 2010

almost four weeks ago now, we walked into a hospital ready to meet our child knowing we probably had quite the journey ahead of us before we would see her face. and oh how we journeyed. (deep breath) i learned that i am braver and more powerful than i truly ever thought i could be, and i have never been so proud of the person who is me who has walked to this moment in her life. and together, we learned about another layer of our love and how strong we are when our hearts are open and our hands are clasped.

over the next few weeks, i plan to share pieces of that journey and moments from this next chapter that we have just begun as we get to know our daughter and learn even more about love and bravery and strength and being present.

this evening, i want to share the soundtrack of part of this journey. the following songs (and these songs too) were sung (with my amazing doula and her incredible apprentice, jonny, and the [really i was so lucky to have them] nurses sometimes joining in), danced to, breathed through as i experienced each contraction every minute or two for almost 24 hours...they were the soundtrack that kept me centered and focused and grounded and holding onto something real and beautiful and true.

yes.

i share them knowing you might need to gather a few for your soundtrack as you walk on your path.

Galileo (Indigo Girls)

Have a Little Faith (Michael Franti & Spearhead)

Caravanserai (Loreena McKennitt)

Under African Skies (Paul Simon)

End of the Line (The Traveling Wilburys)

Virginia Woolf (Indigo Girls)

Walking in Memphis (Marc Cohn)

Everything (Michael Buble)

Caravan from Chocolat (Rachel Portman)

White Sandy Beach of Hawai'i (Iz)

Brave (Stephanie Dosen)

Brand New Day (Joshua Radin)

I Got Love for You (Michael Franti & Spearhead)

Home (Marc Broussard)

Dreams (The Cranberries)

Power of Two (Indigo Girls)

Stolen (Dashboard Confessional)

Have a Little Fain in Me (John Hiatt)

Peaceful Easy Feeling (Eagles)

Watershed (Indigo Girls)

Say Hey (I Love You) (Michael Franti & Spearhead)

Graceland (Paul Simon)

These Photographs (Joshua Radin)

Hallelujah (k.d. lang)

for the journey...

seattle sunset, august 08

did you say you were headed out...on your own...on a journey? i think you mentioned that. i think you mentioned you were on your way...headed around a new corner, walking down a different street. i think that is what you are up to. i think you mentioned you were doing something just for you these days...thinking about focusing on yourself for a bit. leaning forward into life and love and hope.

is that what you are up to these days?
yes?

well, i'd like to share some songs i am taking along with me. i thought you might want to listen to a few. maybe even all of them.
in this very order.

i think they might give you exactly what you need. right now. because i think you just might need a dance break, a few songs for singing, a song to sing to one you love, a song to sing to you, a song for twirling, a song or two for remembering, a song to remind you that you are not alone, a song to tuck you in at night, a song to keep you going and to make you laugh and to let the tears gently fall....and...of course...some tina turner.

*****

the old apartment. barenaked ladies
don't ask me why. billy joel
raspberry beret. prince
mother and child reunion. paul simon
stop, stop, stop. the hollies
ob-la-di, ob-la-da. the beatles
galileo. indigo girls
songbird. fleetwood mac
army of one. cass fox
orbiting. the weepies
goodnight elizabeth. counting crows
if these walls could speak. nanci griffith
let me touch you for awhile. alison kraus and union station
sweet baby james. james taylor (one man band)
louisiana woman, mississippi man. conway twitty & loretta lynn
ruby don't take your love to town. kenny rogers
kentucky woman. neil diamond
blackbird. the beatles
three of us in a boat. jackopierce
sometimes a fantasy. billy joel
can't slow down. lionel richie
better be good to me. tina turner
kiss. prince and the revolution
somewhere over the rainbow/what a wonderful world. iz
power of two. indigo girls
a brid flies out. deb talan
joleen. ray lamontagne
i play music. rosie thomas

songs overheard this morning

flower burst at metropolitan market, 12 november 2007

the "if you find yourself needing to breathe in goodness and exhale calm while a dentist drills in your mouth for 2.5 hours" playlist*:

"the lucky one" by allison krauss and union station
"dandelion" by antje duvekot
"like a star" by corrine bailey rae
"fly away" by the indigo girls
"traverse city" by daytime volume
"a bird flies out" by deb talan
"most of me" by mandy moore
"easy silence" by the dixie chicks
"everything" by michale buble
"we walk the same line" by everything but the girl
"songbird" by fleetwood mac
"johannesburg" by the housemartins
"these photographs" by joshua radin
"just remember i love you" by firefall
"extraordinary" by mandy moore
"closer to fine" by the indigo girls
"once upon a time there was an ocean" by paul simon
"walking in memphis" by marc cohen
"tenderness" by deb talan
"main title" from the american president
"landslide" by fleetwood mac
"let it be me" by rosie thomas
"anything at all" by sarah olsen
"brave" by stephanie dosen
"wartime prayers" by paul simon
"twilight" by mary chapin carpenter
"virginia woolf" by the indigo girls**
"i hope" by the dixie chicks
"everything'll be alright (will's lullabye)" by joshua radin
"simple life" by the weepies
"white sandy beach of hawaii" by iz

*i suggest playing it on shuffle so you can always be surprised as to the next song
**it had been a few months since i had heard this most favorite of songs. and tonight, i listen to it again and slip it on like a comfortable old sweater...

overheard while walking in circles, week 3

Deb Talan reminds me:
Now you only dream in peaceful blue
The morning doesn't even scare you anymore
You are a phoenix with your feathers still a little wet
Baby, the ashes just look pretty on your eyes.

The Cranberries picks up the pace with:
Oh my life is changing everyday
Every possible way

Frou Frou sings:
So let go, jump in
Oh well, whatcha waiting for

Keith Urban keeps me going with:
'Cause days go by
I can feel 'em flyin'
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by
Yeah it's all we've been given,
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by.

Kelly Clarkson invites a little grin with:
But since you've been gone
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so movin' on
Yeah yeah
Thanks to you
Now I get
What I want
Since you've been gone

Dashboard Confessional sings a few of my current favorite lines:
I watch you spin around
In the highest heels
You are the best one
Of the best ones

Tina Turner does what she does best with:
Cause I don't have no use
For what you losely call the truth
You better be good to me

The Dixie Chicks remind me of the truth:
Well, I fought with a stranger and I met myself
I opened my mouth and I heard myself
It can get pretty lonely when you show yourself
Guess I could have made it easier on myself

But I, I could never follow

Paul Simon sings his sweet song:
I figure that once upon a time I was an ocean
But now I'm a mountain range
Something unstoppable set into motion
Nothing is different, but everything's changed

the "no one is going to stop me (not even me)" playlist

"Ashes on Your Eyes" by Deb Talan
"Let Go" by Frou Frou
"Days Go By" by Keith Urban
"Since You've Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson
"Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional
"You Better Be Good to Me" by Tina Turner
"The Long Way Around" by the Dixie Chicks
"Once Upon Time There Was an Ocean" by Paul Simon