Blood, Sweat and Tears

They are told it will be hard, possibly the most challenging thing they have ever done or will do. They are told it will be long, 12 to 16 hours to be exact. They are told it will be rough, possibly resulting in cuts, bruises, bleeding, even broken bones or a concussion. They might be scared, but they are ready, and they are strong. They are the amazing people who test for a Black Belt in martial arts, who work hard and use all that they have, their strength, skill, determination, discipline, heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears to earn the rank of First Dan. Today, my brother Austin, 15 years old and 7 years of karate strong, earned that impressive rank, and became Sensei Austin. I am beyond proud of him and I know that rest of our family, as well as his karate instructors, feel the same way.

Austin started karate, excited and enthusiastic, wearing his first gi, all white and with a white belt. Over the last seven years, we have seen his natural talent manifest itself, his skills become honed and his confidence, strength, and "inner black belt" shine. He carries himself with the confidence of someone who knows he is strong, mentally and physically and and as his studio's Student Creed says, with a positive attitude. He has developed into not only a student of his chosen art, but a teacher as well, setting an example for other students as well as for others around him in his everyday life.

After a grueling 2 day test of not only his strength and skill , but his discipline, his desire, and his character, Austin is an official Black Belt, proudly the rank of First Dan. His body is bruised and sore and his mind is exhausted, but he stands tall, proud of what he has accomplished at the age of 15. Proud probably doesn't describe what our parents, grandparents, and other brother feel, but whatever it is that we feel for him today, we all show it with huge smiles and lots of hugs for our newest Sensei.

There is another someone special who is also feeling extra proud today, Austin's teacher, Sensei Amy. She is a wonderful woman, someone I am lucky to know. Amy is an amazing karate instructor, but is so much more to many of her students. As she said at the ceremony today, through tears of joy and pride, her students, the other instructors, and so many of us as well, are like family. She supports her students as well as their families as they journey towards their karate goals. She definitely looked proud to present Austin with his Black Belt today, and I know he was proud to have earned it alongside her.

There may have been more bruises and scrapes, rather than blood, but I know both sweat and tears flowed freely over the last 2 days. Sweat from hard work, sweat of anticipation, tears of pain, tears of frustration, tears of pride, tears of exhaustion, tears of joy. I am so proud of Austin and his accomplishments. He is truly strong in so many ways. Here's to you Sensei Austin!

The Sounds Within Your Soul

Music. A word that has so much meaning, five little letters that together make up something that touches the lives of every person in some way. It is amazing to me! As a true lover of music, I could go on and on and on about what music means to me, which pieces and songs are long time and new favorites. That is not really the discussion today.



Friends are always recommending new music to me, and I love this! Many of the blogs I read put up playlists every so often, sharing what awesome new tunes they are enjoying. I do love discovering a new group, a song that speaks to me in some way (I am a sucker for a good lyric, any day, any time, anywhere). I tend to fall in love with the words of a song, feeling like they were written to perfectly describe the emotions and thoughts that are consuming my life at the exact moment the music wafts to my ears, touching my soul. A good melody, a certain phrase, the rise and fall of a particular movement of a piece, oh the awesomeness! I can convince myself that the composer (probably long dead) put those notes on paper, dreamed that melody into being because it is what I would someday need to hear. (Go ahead, you can joke all you want about this being just another example of it being “all about me,” but if you think about it, we all have songs that speak to us that way.) While we all prefer different genres, different artists, different composers, different arrangements of pieces, different instruments, different sounds in general, the way music speaks to us, to our souls, is something I believe to be absolutely universal.


I have been enjoying some of the new music I hear on the radio, and my Itunes account will definitely show you that. At the same time, I have been going back and listening to songs that are not as current, old school some might say. I prefer to mix my music, to find the most random combinations possible when making a playlist or a mixed CD. I find the putting together of these lists, playing with the combinations of artists and sounds, decades and songs, so interesting, somewhat therapeutic actually. I thought I would share just a few of the artists and sounds I am enjoying right now. Some are old, some are new, some might be your taste and others might make you cringe, but no matter your opinion, I like to share, so leave me your thoughts. What are you currently enjoying? What are your new faves? What oldies but goodies do you find yourself going back to time and again?


Here it goes, the oldies:

1. Neil Diamond
2. Queen
3. Billy Joel
4. Janet Jackson
5. ABBA
6. Ben Folds Five
7. Simon and Garfunkel

And, the (somewhat, in comparison) newbies:
1. Lady Gaga
2. Joshua Radin
3. Lady Antebellum
4. Brandi Carlile
5. Pink
6. Black Eyed Peas
7. Ray LaMontagne




This is not a complete list of who I listen to, and of course many single songs, not by these artists are current faves. Perhaps next time you talk to me my list of who is playing most often in my life will change, but for now, this is just a glimpse into the music in my head. I won’t specify songs, but of course, there are faves there as well.


Whatever you prefer to listen to, put on those headphone, turn on the radio, crank up your Pandora and breathe in the music, let it touch your soul in whatever way is right for you.



“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul” ~Plato


“Music is an outburst of the soul.” ~Frederick Delius


“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” ~Berthold Auerbach

Currently in November...

As I have said before, I am a big fan of lists of all shapes sizes, content and length. I am in the mood for a list, and my good friend Amy at JustaTitch just posted a great one. She has kindly allowed me to "steal" it. Visit Amy over at http://justatitch.com/ see how awesome she is! Her writing and insights are amazing and as a person, well, she just generally rocks! Now, here's my current list:

Current Books: A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby and a great novel a good friend of mine is working on. Check her out here: http://mommachase.wordpress.com/ !

Current Playlist: I just saw Joshua Radin this weekend so listening to his CDs. If you haven't heard him, I love love love his music (and he's easy on the eyes ladies), so check him out: http://www.joshuaradin.com/. I am also enjoying Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Reba, Neil Diamond, and a plethora of others. You never know what you are gonna find me listening to. Also, I heard a great new artist last night, Jessica Staveley-Taylor, one of the members of the group The Staves. Love her! Check them out: http://www.myspace.com/thestavesmusic .

Current Guilty Pleasure: Watching ice skating on TV... oh, and eating Tootsie Pops.

Current Color: Red and purple, although not together...

Current Drink: Tea, hot or iced. Hot cocoa season is upon us, which is exciting as well!

Current Food: Mexican, soup, and anything homey that my mom makes

Current Favorite Show: As always, I am a sucker for Law and Order: SVU and House. Enjoying the current seasons of Top Chef and Project Runway, too.

Current Wishlist: A new ipod, digital camera, some CDs, and of course some new boots!

Current Needs: For my tummy not to be so angry and to kiss my Bubby and Katie Bug Bug on their lil' heads....

Current Triumphs: I am trying to be a strong person for my mom and I would like to think I am succeeding, at least somewhat....

Current Bane Of My Existence: Fall Product and Cookie Chairs who are needy and other people who I shall not mention here....

Current Celebrity Crush: Matt Bomer from the new series White Collar and since I just spent an evening looking at him, Joshua Radin, once again.

Current Indulgence: Real lemon and honey in my tea, chips with dip and time for me

Current Blessing: Good friends who can be supportive and fun all at the same time and old friends who just know....

Current Slang: Hmmm, not sure. All I know is I say "Really?" a lot and Freaking A

Current Outfit: Plaid pajama pants and a navy blue Top Gun t-shirt

Current Excitement: A great, much-needed, fun Saturday with Kevin

Current Mood: So mixed-up so how about some eh with a side of happy, a dollup of blah, a sprinkle of sadness and anger with some sleepy on top

Current Link: Well, since I included a few of my faves earlier in this post, how about the exciting new Girl Scouts of Central Illinois website: http://www.girlscouts-gsci.org/ . WOOHOO!