Divas in Dallas

Had to dish on my latest travel adventure...

I teach scrapbook classes at a local store called Signed Sealed Delivered. It's a classy gift store and a scrapbook store...a two-for-one very cool place to be. Our gift side was nominated by our vendors and sales reps as one of the top home accessory stores in the nation.

And so a bunch of the crew headed to Dallas for the gala celebration. We were told it would be an Emmy-like night, with the red carpet, the glitz, and the glam...and it was! From the posh hotel room to the unbelievably beautiful reception hall to the gastronomical feast with gourmet fare, we partied the night away. It would have been a blast anyway, but top it all off, we won the prestigious award!

I had to post a picture of me all dolled up. Formal gown, glam jewels, high heels and cute little handbag...it was a once-in-a-lifetime event. I'm glad I got to share it with my SSD scrapbook buddies. Girls' weekend out, and we were the bomb!

Two Quick Happy Thoughts

Two things that made me happy this afternoon...had to share!

First is my long-time book club. The third Thursday of every month at noon finds us lounging at someone's home, reveling in shared sisterhood and a love of literature. Good friends, good books, good discussions, and good food (which is reason enough to come!) I'm in two book clubs and love them both, but this one has been going on for several years, and I have to give a shout out to the gang. We may not always agree on our feelings for the book, but we are always agreeable and we leave well fed, physically and mentally.

Second, it's been too long since I had a manicure, and my hands are still in heaven. I'm headed to a black-tie, red-carpet, fancy-schmanzy event in Dallas this weekend and wanted to spiff up my image, so I treated myself to a mani. Nothing like having someone massage my carpal-tunnel-weary hands to reinvigorate my spirit. Plus, anything that makes my short little nails look pretty is worthy of mention. (Now if only my floor-length black velvet dress and strappy little high heels will do the same for the rest of me!) No time for a pedicure today...and maybe one day I'll get the full-body massage I dream about. I have to have something to look forward to, hey?

Something I Can Dance To

Can I just tell you how much I love 80's music? Especially the stuff you could really dance to. Don't laugh, but Tears for Fears will always be my #1 favorite group. (Roland Orzabal could sing the phone book and I'd be happy.) They're followed closely by Erasure, Yaz, Howard Jones, Pet Shop Boys, Journey, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (OMD), Depeche Mode, U2, ABC, Alphaville, Yes, Dead or Alive, and all those pop synthesizer bands that you probably like to make fun of and tons of awesome one-hit wonders (and lots of other groups that don't come to mind right now because it's late at night). I don't care. It's all happy music to me, evoking memories of walking across the campus at Brigham Young University, earbuds to my Walkman plugged into my head as I jammed my way from class to class, to work and home and the corner grocery store, walking everywhere because I didn't have a car for the first three years I was there. It's the soundtrack to my fading teenage years and my early adulthood. 23 years later, I'm still bopping to it. And it makes me so happy right now to listen to it that I thought I would share the joy.

There are lots other groups and artists I love from the 80's, and I hate to leave anyone out, but this post isn't a discography lesson and I could go on forever and ever. I love just about anyone but those heavy metal hair bands. (Okay, I'll admit to liking Def Lepard just a little. A little.)

Look at my music collection today, and it's an electic walk through time and texture in the sonic medium. From Tschaikovsky (my favorite classical dude) to jazz (old and new, thanks Michael Buble), to religious (Cherie Call, Jericho Road, and EFY compilations among the many) and new age (Kurt Bestor and George Winston, anyone?), to Broadway (Phantom, Les Mis, Wicked..) and what David calls "Jolly Rock," which is anything trendy and non-country. Oh, and kids' music (you HAVE to listen to the "Philadelphia Chickens" CD written and illustrated by the talented Sandra Boynton...over and over again) and my latest greatest unbelievable group...the rockapella wonder Eclipse. Six guys and their microphones, and you won't believe what they can do. Must hear. And okay, I'll admit to learning to love country thanks to my husband (Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, and Brad Paisley deserve a shout out). Oh yeah, and I love movie soundtracks...the orchestral kind, James Horner being my favorite modern composer(Titanic is only one of his many masterpieces)...and while we're at neo-classical, it's Josh Groban and Il Divo for the cultural set. Get the picture?

There are over three hundred CDs sitting in my entertainment center and scattered throughout the house and our assorted vehicles. Probably more. I've never bothered to count. My MP3 playlist mixes Styx and Pat Benatar with All-American Rejects, the Fray, Celine Dion, Taylor Hicks, Gladys Knight, and the Backstreet Boys. Among others. 'Cause it has a lot of room for groovy tunes. Of course.

Forget the fact that I have three kids and a husband. Most of the music in this house is mine. And they've all learned to love it or put up with it. (More the former than the latter.) They will request Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (go Donny Osmond!) in the car just because they like it. But on the flip side, I can sing all the words to both High School Musical CDs, standing on one leg with my eyes closed (okay, not while I'm driving.) And I like that, too!

While I'm at it, I should introduce you to one of my favorite sites on the web...yourmusic.com. For $6.99 a month, you get a CD mailed to you. No shipping charges, no monthly minimums, cancel when you're done. $6.99 and that's it. And they have a pretty good selection of music, especially older stuff. So I've filled my CD coffers with some amazing albums I've had for years on tape, or some greatest hits collections of artists gone by. The only drawback is that if you don't have anything in your shipping queue, they will still charge you. But who wouldn't have a long wish list, with all the greatest hits collections they have, on top of the regular albums? They don't have everyone, especially some of the newer artists, but plenty to choose from for the price. And I make no commission...just thought I'd pass on a hot web pick for the day....www.yourmusic.com. Tell them Kristen sent you.

So as I sit here typing, I'm rocking out to the album 90125 by Yes, one of the greatest classic albums of the 80's. Some amazing vocals and synthesizer work..."Leave It" is one of the coolest songs ever written, probably one reason I love rockapella and beatboxing still so much today.

Loud and proud, I'm plugged into my MP3 player (or is it the other way around?) and David has to throw a sock at me from the clean laundry pile to get my attention. Apparently, I have it up so loud I can't hear him yelling my name. Awesome. Rock on!

(Did I mention I love music?)