....and it brings back...those old emotions.....

so after 3 years i finally got my act together to start playing with my ipod.

we bought it with the great intentions that it would get me and the hubby moving a little more...as if it was the lack of music in my ears that kept me from going for a run at night! we bought it in the summer of 06 on a visit to canada before we returned to de island. thinking that we may get caught in customs uncle cheese, my brother in law (devin's nickname cause she couldn't say uncle steve) volunteered to upload some of music to the toy so it looked like we had had it for a while...aka bought it in bda. it was a great idea and we had no problem upon our return. i did have a problem when i when for my first outing and popped the buds into my ears. i scrolled around to find something to inspire me....when i realized....i so had the wrong man upload music.

uncle cheese is a HUGE beatles fan and all things related to them. me i am SO NOT a HUGE beatles fan and all things related to them. i can honesty not think of a band that i would rather not listen to ...ever again. i hate the beatles...yup i do....i hate 'em. i scrolled around some more and found that there was 8 .3 days of music uploaded ( i thought it would be a few songs!!) and it was a combo of the above mentioned act, billy joel, elton john, the eagles...can you get the idea? uncle cheese is 9 years older then me and this is very much his music...and very not mine. i can't stand any of it. now don't get me wrong, i enjoy listening to classic vinyl on xm and one of my favourite memories is driving through the mojave desert with cheese singing black dog at the top of our lungs while poor uncle bb (aka my sister in law, aunt karen) was rolling her eyes at us in the back seat. i do enjoy some classic rock but man, i am soooooooo not a fan of this stuff.

so i figured i would just delete the stuff i didn't like and add my own music. easier said then done. being the sneaky and o'so clever gal that i am, i tossed the instruction manual in canada so that those nasty customs officers wouldn't find it and figure out we had unclaimed goods (cause i was so guilty looking and much more harmful then the dope carring dude behind me in line!). finally one night after i put devin to sleep (she wasn't even a year yet) i plopped myself down on the couch and started "getting to know my ipod". i figured out a few things but couldn't find a delete button anywhere....! how can i get the music that i don't want off this damn thing? hmmm....maybe i can get some help online. luckily i found the manual i needed on a site and started to play around. i had an "aha" moment when i realized that i need to have it hooked up to my computer to delete things....i see. now, i won't bore you with the rest of the details, but anyone who remembers those early days of parenthood knows there is NO way you are going to waste those precious hours of childfree time trying to figure out how to delete 8.3 days of music from an ipod..besides who am i kidding? even elton john and almost the beatles was better listening then the damn lullabies that were being played in our house and car. so, the ipod kinda got tossed aside and almost forgotten about...

until a few weeks ago...devin came into the kitchen saying "look mama...look what i found...a breaving string"

i turned around and saw a long white string in her hand, when i looked a little more, i noticed the sting split in two and lead into her nostrils.

flashback....she had walked in a few nights earlier when i had a rerun of er on and asked why the man on the screen had a string coming out of his nose. i explained that it was supplying him with oxygen (once a teacher....) and quickly turned the channel.

apparently my ear buds were providing devin with much needed oxygen via the "breaving" string.

after taking the breaving string out...and disinfecting it...i realized that you know, i got some time these days, maybe i should get to know that ipod a little better....if i could only find it! thanks to a creative game of i spy and a fast little detective, devin located the device quickly and i was ready to get started.

where to start? i set up an account on itunes and started searching. i had tried this in bermuda but bermudian creditcards are/were not accepted (yeah i know, they will allow bermuda to take in guantanamo bay refugees but my credit card was questionable).it took me a while but i did finally delete most of the songs that good uncle cheese uploaded and was surprised to find a little stuff that we had in common...the clash, some hip even a little roxy music!

now onto the next problem. uploading music. when it comes to music, i like a little of everything. my tastes haven't changed that much and yes i will admit there are a few skeletons in my musical closet that i am embarrassed to know all the words to...like...shaggy(blame it on the dark n'stormies hanging out on the boat). i can't say i like one particular band or that there is an album that i could not live with out and i was finding it hard to figure out what i wanted to put on the ipod.
luckily, a friend (recently departed martin streek) posted a comment online around the same time "It really is amazing how a song can take you to a place, a time, from the past and make you feel the way you did back then...no matter how you feel at the present time... maybe that only happens to me...but I doubt it."

hmmm...what a great way to get started. i started think of songs that got me back to some part of my life and stirred up thoughts, memories, feelings...all that good stuff.

so below are a few (no real order, just the first ones i came up with...all over the place really!)of the songs/bands i have uploaded...i have even shared a few of the memories!

joy division love will tear us apart-high school dances, especially cfny roadshows & marty

the beat & specials- dancing & watching the mosh pit with tricia james at the special beat concert

irish rovers the unicorn-st peter's school in milton celebrated st patrick's day as if we were in dublin itself...my dad would take the day off work and take care of the lighting....i don't even remember what we did at christmas or easter....but man st patricks was fun! it is also one of the ones rob sang to my bumps and now the girls

u2 bad- one of the few u2 songs i actually like...camping at the koa with jenn russell

new order temptation-julie huyberts and i buying baseball cards at the 7-11 in bronte

the clash train in vain-driving to connecticut for a teaching practicum

54-40 baby have some faith & one gun- watching this awesome band i never heard of opening for the skydiggers at a ontario place

jerry garcia shining star- driving the cabot trail with rob and howling at stupid jokes

daughter pearl jam-pitcher tuesdays at the snail (wow i actually have memories from that time??!!)

the stones - you can't always get what you want- playing ucher in high school

nitty gritty dirt band you and me go fishin in the dark- jenny o...sauble beach...such a "talented, multitasking" friend...tee hee.

looking back, if someone asked me what do i listen to, i don't think these songs would jump to mind immediately but they made the cut. this was awesome, i had a starting point that and it looks like it has no end. poor rob is gonna wish i kept to my hobby of drinking wine...WAY cheaper than what the itunes bill will be!

so i put to you...what are your top memory songs? the ones that put you back to "that" place in time? the ones you know all the words to and sing at the top of your lungs with a goofy grin on your face....you know the ones....

now excuse me, i am off to enjoy a little jane's addiction....my most recent addition!

cool shoes

i recently had an acquaintance of mine commit suicide. the shock is slowly wearing off and i am coming to terms with the fact i will not have the opportunity to be in touch with him again and that there were many things i wanted to share with him. with that said, i have decided that i don't want to be in this situation again-one where i never got the chance to say what i really wanted to say to someone, let them know how much i liked them, admired them, enjoyed their company, simply felt blessed to know them. it got me wondering why this happens. i am one who will quickly comment on how cool a stranger's shoes are or how beautiful their child is, but i am not sure if i tell the people that really matter how i feel about them. i think i get too embarassed about putting those sorta feelings out there. sad really, but i am sure i am not the only person who feels this way. i don't mean for this to sound as trivial as it does but it is something looming over me right now. so, if you receive an email from me in the near future and i say i like your shoes, or your kid, have no fears, nothing bad is going on with me, i just wanted to let you know you are important to me for a reason.and marty, i liked your shoes.

sing, sing out loud, sing out strong..

so the littlest baker, deirann, has always had a keen interest in music. granted she is only 19 months old, but during her time on this planet, she has demonstrated an innate rhythm that can't be contained.

now, i have no musical talent what so ever, i can't even play the radio. luckily, daddy rob's dna comes to rescue and provides some skill in this area, he plays the guitar and has quite a nice voice...although i don't think i have ever actually told him! he is able to pick a song up in a heartbeat and strum in out in no time, same talent can be said for the piano. when i was pregnant with both girls, he happily sang away to my bump and often brought the guitar out for a little serenade. so with this said, you can see where deirann's musical abilities come from.

when she was a few weeks old, we realized that a few lines of "hush little baby don't say a word, mama's gonna buy you a .....(insert whatever you can think of here!)" which would quickly quiet deirann down. anytime she would peep a little cry we only needed to get the first few words out and it worked like a charm. even devin realized this song worked and she would join in with her version whenever she heard deirann getting upset.

fast forward a year and a bit to last night. we decided to take the girls to the local ice cream shop for an after dinner treat. once we were home and the ice cream was all done, deirann decided she wanted more....and she wanted it NOW. for such a little, sweet child she has one powerful set of lungs. i was upstairs getting devin ready for bed when i heard the ruckus below start. thankful i had the "easier" child for once, i wondered how long it would be until rob called out for some help. i waited...and waited...but the crying did stop quite quickly. hmmmm....did he take her outside and that is why i can' t hear her anymore? or did he have enough and toss her into the playroom and shut the door? getting a little worried and i started to head downstairs when i stopped suddenly near the spare room.

what is that? is that deirann singing? no, she was screaming bloody murder 15 secs ago and now she is singing?

i popped my head around the corner and saw deirann sitting on daddy's knee looking at the computer screen...

see for yourself......




now if you look real close at the screen, you can see who she is singing her duet with....

yup none other than susan boyle....yes "that" susan boyle from "britain's got talent".

it seems that a few weeks ago when rob was on the computer with deirann on his knee, he clicked on some link that brought him to "the" youtube video and shazamm! a star was born. deirann was mesmerised by this woman, and soon she was singing along to the les mis song the wee scottie was cranking out. thinking it was funny, rob didn't think much of it until a few days later was i was out and he was minding the offspring. deirann was having some sort of breakdown when father of the year remembered the videoclip. he brought her back up stairs and found the clip and sure enough the "baby whisperer" worked her magic and deirann was settled in no time, singing along once again.

as every parent will attest to, when a baby is crying you will do everything to come up with a way to quiet her down. over the years we have been known to take 3:45 am drives along horseshoe bay beach, we have purchased a variety of rocking, bouncing, swaying chairs for infants, invested in a bunch of soothers, even developed a rocking-sway dance sorta thing...you name it, we tried it. anything to settle the cry of our girls. but who woulda thunk a lass named susan boyle would be our new found hero? now, i am still not sure what part i find more amusing, that the baby settles when she hears the crooner or the fact she sings along with her....either way, i gotta say, kudos to my hubby rob for finding this solution! point: rob.