This new blog has only recently been set up.

We will try and expand it as quickly as possible!

Michael Olatuja has taken be by complete surprise with his debut album. Up until a couple of weeks ago I had never heard of the British/Nigerian bassist (who also happens to be a composer and producer), but I had been hearing whispers that his project was well worth a listen and so I decided to take the plunge and purchase Speak.

Due to the sheer amount of music I listen to, blind (well almost except for a few snippets) purchasing is not a regular occurence over here, however a quick look at his bio information informed me that he has worked with some of THE greats, including Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan, so he had to have a certain level of musicianship (by association). I was in for another pleasant surprise when I took a look at the tracklisting for the album as it features some of the ‘best of British’ on vocal duties, including Eska Mtungwazi, Ty, Terri Walker and the late Lynden David Hall, amongst others. This was enough to convince me it was worth a listen.

Well I think I can safely say it was worth the purchase, and then some. The album blends jazz, traditional Nigerian music, gospel and blues but what really binds the album together is it’s underlying soulfulness and Michael’s ability to craft a great song. Snippets of two of my favourite tracks on the album are available below, however this is one of those albums where to get a true picture, you need to listen to the album as a whole.

For a full review of Speak head on over to SoulCulture, and for more information on Michael check out his website.

The album is available via Amazon and iTunes so you have no excuse

It’s strange now to think there was a time Soapy was concerned that Ty was not the labrador that he should be not least because of his reluctance to swim at the beach or the dog pool (the latter is probably understandable given that we were the responsible pet owners who practically engineered a drowning at his pool debut).

Today, I suspect we bought an amphibian.

What kind of dog tips the water bowl by design, spreads the fluid around the area with his paws and proceeds to belly flop into the shallow pond he has created. This is the SOP for sleeping and lying around.

At the dog run, its the mud pool. No other canine in sight nose dives into the mire like its possessed by some kind of higher sludge demon which wills its victim into covering every inch of its being in brown goop.

Maybe Ty is an alligator masquerading as a labrador.

For two guys that do not seem to be growing exponentially, they sure eat a lot. Who would have known a not unsubstantial part of my income would go towards feeding the two tykes.

And so today I have had to graduate from buying the off-the-shelve dry food packets to the mother packs that weigh more than my dumbbells because the last standard pack I bought lasted us just four days.

I wonder if Noah subscribed to Billie’s mother’s “whatever-you-can-eat-the-dog-can-eat” wisdom. Ark aside, since I’m not yet a believer, my hard-earned cash has been swallowed the gigantic machinery that is pet supplies, which in turn goes into the system which drives the very existence of this nation.

Perhaps the Mother can take comfort that besides the various inconveniences caused to the family, they are vicariously contributing to our GDP or whatever economic savvy term there is to describe their input to the flagging economy.

I think anyone who’s met Ty will agree that this is probably Ty in his element.

I’m not certain what is driving this desire to document the lives of the Mutts. Maybe it is a ephemeral whim which will fade. (Is “ephemeral whim” redundant?) Whatever the case, they have been a wonderful, if not completely draining, addition to our lives and that in itself must justify some sort of documenting.

• 90210 again did really well in the DVR ratings, and Gossip Girl as well as One Tree Hill got bumps, too.
• E! Online has a spoilish interview with Jennie Garth (Kelly, Beverly Hills 90210) on what is and isn’t in store for her on 90210.
• Tiffani Amber Thiessen (Valerie, Beverly Hills 90210) is pregnant.
• Perez Hilton posted pictures of Shannen Doherty at Disneyland Paris.
• Eastwick, starring Lindsay Price (Janet, Beverly Hills 90210) has essentially been canceled.
• Adam Gregory (Ty, 90210) donated money to a fundraiser at his former college.  He also tweeted that he won’t be back on the show.
• In honor of the Gossip Girl threesome, The Daily Beast put together a piece called TV’s Top Three-ways. And one of them even includes Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill).
• The Los Angeles Times has an interesting article on the threesome controversy and what it means for the show in terms of potential ratings and other controversial storylines going forward.
• PEOPLE.com posted the music video for “Somebody to Love” by Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) and MTV has an article on it.
• Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill made another TVGuide.com piece on sweeps highlights.
• James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill) is SoapNet’s Weekly Crush.
• Star News has an interview with Bush.
• MovieWeb and Digital Spy have interviews Lee Norris (Mouth, One Tree Hill). Have you read my newest interview with him?
• Everly, featuring Bethany Joy Galeotti (Haley, One Tree Hill) has a new song available on iTunes.
• In a new SoGoPro blog post, Hilarie Burton (Peyton, One Tree Hill) says she won’t be returning to the show.
• Danneel Harris (Rachel, One Tree Hill) and Jensen Ackles (CJ, Dawson’s Creek) are reportedly engaged.  After the report came out, Harris tweeted “Yes… !”  This will be the first teen drama union since Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill) and Chad Michael Murray (Lucas, One Tree Hill).
• Life UneXpected, starring Kerr Smith (Jack, Dawson’s Creek) will premiere January 18.
• Apparently Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.) dressed as Jay Leno for Halloween.
• The New York Post posted adorable pictures of Cam Gigandet (Volchok, The O.C.) with his daughter.

Another Indiana Football Weekend

Attention Football fans of Indiana, Purdue and Notre Dame:

First, much love to Danny Hope and the Boilermakers for their win in the Big House against an overhyped Michigan team. Not taking anything away from the win, Purdue accomplished the 2/3 of the trifecta to coaching longevity in the Big Ten. They are in no particular order Beat U of M, Beat OSU and Beat your rival; two down and one to go!

Danny Hope has given a glimpse of (no pun intended) of hope for what Boilermaker football could be in the future. Once they get a consistent quarterback in place and a few key pieces on the defensive side of the ball this should be a team worthy of competing in the Big Ten.

As for ND, have you doused the Charlie Weis contract in gasoline and burned it yet. I give Charlie one thing, If I were starting a sales organization, he is the first person I would call! His ability to con the ND administration into a contract extension was brilliant. Maybe he missed his calling and should think about becoming an agent! It is time for a change Charlie is a fraud, ND football is mediocre at best with NFL caliber talent.

Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, and Armando Allen all deserve better as they prepare to leave South Bend for the riches of Pro Football. ND fan ask yourself one question are you better off today than you were with Ty and Bob? Let us look at facts, Bob Davie was 35-25, Ty Willingham was 21-16 and your person Charlie is currently 35-24 as head coaches for Notre Dame. A loss is loss is a loss….I do not care if you lose by 10-20 or 40. It is still and “L”.

Davie was reportedly let go because of the growing frustration of losing Bowl Games, Ty was fired because of lackluster recruiting….Pleeeease…his leash was shorter because he was black. So why are you keeping Charlie around? What are the ND faithful trying to hide?

Hey, ND fan Bobby Bowden will probably be available after this year!

IU….well you are still Indiana and we are still losing football games and yes Bill Lynch is still on the sidelines. The same sidelines that he (Coach Lynch) roamed while leading Ball State down the same sorry highway of lackluster preparation, conditioning and results. For those with a short memory, this same Bill Lynch took his Ball State team to Manchester Kansas in 2000, lost 70-0, and did a masterful job of coaching BSU to a sparkling 0-21 record from in 1999and 2000 seasons!

I am glad Basketball Season is starting, Good Luck to Coaches Stevenson, Painter, Crean , Brey and Simmons as they embark on a great year of Hoosier Hysteria at Butler, Purdue, IU, Notre Dame and Evansville!

I could tell you the sad story of how my computer ate this article, about the spinning circle of death, and how I had to retype it and that’s why it’s been so long since I have written, but those are excuses…on to the post.

So the Gribble family likes dance. We like to dance. We may not be good at it, but we like to do it anyway. We like to watch it on TV, we like to dance at weddings, we have even danced in church plays (crazy, dancing Baptists!) and most of all, we really like to dance in our living room, in front of our big window with no blinds or curtains.

Sometimes we dance to happy music. Sometimes, it’s sappy love songs. (Mark and I have even been known to slow dance without the kids around.) We often wonder what the neighbors think about us as they walk their dogs or jog down the street. But, we dance with reckless abandon because we just don’t care.

A few weeks ago when it seemed to rain EVERY day, therefore preventing any outside playtime, the kids needed to burn off some energy. We had been watching the TV show So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD), or as it is known in our home, The Dancing Show. So, Ty suggested we re-create The Dancing Show at our house. Great suggestion!

Ty’s musical choice was All the Single Ladies by Beyonce. (Don’t ask why…he just likes the song.) In the spirit of SYTYCD, Ty says “Cue Music” starts his routine. Being the BOY that he is, the dance had lots of Jedi and martial arts moves…much kicking and thrashing (see photo). When he gets done with his 3 minutes and 13 seconds of “dancing” he flops down, tired and sweaty and says “I’m tired now”. Ya think? We were tired from just watching (and laughing).

Lily’s turn was the more mellow Love Story by Taylor Swift. She of course being all GIRL included lots of twirling and spinning. Someone taught her to “shake her booty” (bad idea, we know!) so she was shakin’ it all over the room. NOT what you want to see your 3 year old daughter doing, but entertaining nevertheless.

We kindly suggest that they dance together for their third dance and Ty knew just what to do. He steps up, extends his left arm like a gentleman and they adorably dance together for another song. So freakin’ cute.

So, where am I going with this? Yes, we all know, I do think my kiddos are cute. That is my job as their mama. But, as I reflected on our evening I was overcome with the freedom that kids exude when they dance. It’s just beautiful and uplifting to watch. They dance without a care in the world. They don’t worry how they look, how good the dance is, what we are going to say. Life is full of lots of pressures (even for a Kindergarten kid) and to watch them dance without a care…awesome. Wouldn’t we all like to have a few minutes each day where we could be so free?

It reminds me of the old Lee Ann Womack song Dance. I love the message of the whole song, but these lines are so true:

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance.  I hope you dance.

It has been an interesting couple of weeks for me personally. I have had some hills and valleys (thankfully just a few valleys). But, while in one of those valleys, I needed to see the freedom, joy, love, happiness, and giggles.  I needed to be reminded to dance without a care in the world…literally and figuratively.

Thank you God, for providing us these precious children for me to care for. We often think it is our job to teach them everything but I am learning SO much more from them each and every day.  Thank you for my precious little blessings.

The Denver Broncos just bolstered a secondary that already had the likes of Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins. They add veteran CB Ty Law.

That makes for one of the most storied secondaries in the NFL.

Denver signed Law to a one-year deal that’s worth $800, 000, and has incentives that could earn him an extra $400,000.

Law is expected to join the team, and maybe even play this week. He did the same last year with the Jets and ended up covering Randy Moss in his first action.

This move restores order in the NFL with Jeremiah Trotter coming back with the Eagles, Junior Seau coming back for some extra graduate work with the Pats, and now Ty Law with the Broncos for the year.

I dag, fredag 6. november, spiller afrofunkhelten Tony Allen på Oslo World Music Festival. Her er min anbefaling av hans Homecooking-album.

Tony Allen
Homecooking
Comet/VME 2002
4/6

Tony Allen er ingen smågutt. Han var trommeslager i Africa ‘70, ensemblet til afrobeatlegenden Fela Kuti, og har i ettertid fått mye ære for sin rolle som ryggrad og dirigent i bandet.

Da Allen hoppet av Africa ‘70 erstattet Kuti ham med hele fire trommeslagere, og gjennom 1980-tallet og 1990-tallet slapp Allen enkelte soloplater og spilte ellers mye i world music-hovedstaden Paris. Med Homecooking vender Allen seg i større grad mot Storbritannia, og albumet er produsert av hiphoperne Unsung Heroes, og har med gjestestjerner som rapperen Ty og Damon Albarn fra Blur. Og albumet ender opp som en stilig hjemmemiddag; god mat og hyggelige gjester – selv om noen av rettene lukter svidd og de storslåtte gastronomiske opplevelsene uteblir.

På sitt beste klarer Allen å surfe på de siste års afrobeatbølge og samtidig oppdatere lyd- og rytmemønsteret. Selv om Ty til tider er vel imponert over å jobbe med Allen og «namechecker» ham i overkant, flyter han fint over Allens komplekse rytmemønstre. Og det koker bra når Allen hiver seg ut i reinspikka afrobeat, som i «Kindness» og «Crazy Afrobeat».

Men samtidig har deler av albumet dette noe r&b-og jazzfunkglatte preget afrikanske musikere gjerne får etter for lang tid i selskap med europeiske produsenter. Noe som fortsatt gjør platene til Fela Kuti og Africa ‘70 til en helt annen fest enn dette.

Słyszałem, że obietnica rezygnacji z czegoś (negatywnego) złożona komuś jest niedobra.  Chodzi mi o to ze rezygnacja np. z palenia papierosów dla kogoś to coś nie trwałego. No cóż przyjdzie mi się przekonać niebawem bo taką obietnicę złożyłem, właściwie 2

I teraz co ? Czy mogę se spodziewać “upadku” w chwili kiedy uczucie jakie jest teraz między nami stanie się powszednie  ?

Czy może przy pierwszej okazji kiedy coś pójdzie nie tak usprawiedliwię się właśnie tym, że coś siw wydarzyło ?

A może powinienem pomyśleć inaczej – UDA SIĘ !!!

Niezależnie od powodu rezygnacji z pewnych rzeczy mam zamiar dotrzymać złożonej Tobie obietnicy.

Kurwa jest 3:14 powinienem już spać, a potem się dziwie, że jest tak jak jest.

Trochę nie na temat, sekret działa – wypatruje słonia

Negatywne myślenie ma siłę sprawczą.
Innymi słowy, możesz kochać drugą osobę bez lęku czy obaw tylko wtedy, jeżeli Twoje poczucie własnej wartości nie jest od niej zależne.

znalezione u zenforest

Kurwa, co za w dupę kopane łącze jest w okolicach miasta. I jak tu porozmawiać ?

No, really. I dug and dug.

I’m so excited!  This weekend my husband, Ty, took me to the biggest, craziest thrift store I’ve ever seen.  I got to dig through the thrift-junk and filled a cart full of old photo albums, paper and terribly abused books to renew!  This is a Foto Book called The Cat.  I made it using a dilapidated photo album, a ripped-up and scribbled-on Cat In the Hat book and some old cardstock!  It’s one of my favorite pieces so far.

Flowerflip Recipe Book

I also made this cute little recipe book.  I found some old recipe cards in a box that looked like they were from the 1970’s, all yellowed but in great condition.  I used the box for the cover, drilled some holes and bound it all with an old metal coil binder.

Rummaging through items that most would deem garbage, turning it into a great new thing and sharing it with all of you is so fun!  I’m like a plastic surgeon for paper.

I’s like to thank my husband for spending his weekend (after working a 60 hour week,) with me rooting through the thrift store.  Wonder if he’ll go again next weekend?

Taeyang’s only promo performance for Where U At was performed on last night’s Inkigayo. Fans & curious onlookers were all gunning for Taeyang’s special performance especially since there wasn’t going to be any promotion of the song at all.

The comeback special featured two dancers, like the MV, and of course a hot dance break that led up to the climax of the performance.

Although there’s no more news on other further promotions, almost everyone is glad that we got to see it once.

I was ready, I was ready, I was waiting and I was ready….I waited some more.  I wandered around and watched for the time they would need me.  It never came!  I was standing on the sidelines watching 30 or more construction workers building an Extreme Makeover Home Edition house in Kokomo.  It was exciting to be there in person and see how this monumental task of building a house in 7 days really happens.  All throughout the four hours I was there, I marveled at the amount of organization and managing of details that had taken place to reach that point.  It takes many, many people, each doing their job the way they’re supposed to, working together to accomplish it.  The great thing about it is that each person is happy to be there helping.  They’re eager to use their skills and talents to contribute and be a part of the outcome for a deserving family.  No one was doing things half-heartedly.  There was a lot of energy in the air.  I was wishing I had more construction skills so I could actually do something.  We did get to form an assembly line at one point to help unload a truck.  There were so many volunteers, each of us wearing our blue Extreme Makeover t-shirts and white hard hats, standing along the sidelines that they didn’t need all of us.  I guess that’s a good problem!

How I wish the Church operated the same way:  people eager to use their skills, to get in there and get going, working together, excited about being part of the outcome for people who deserve to know about Jesus.  Wouldn’t it be awesome if there were so many people ready to help that people lined up along the sidelines, just waiting and listening for someone to say, “okay, we need five people over here!”  Then they would rush over together with smiles on their faces, thinking “I get to help!  Finally!”

I guess in a way the pastor is like Ty, running along the row of workers, yelling in his bullhorn, “Come on!  Let’s get going!  Let’s get this done for the family coming home soon!”  Everyone else chips in and uses their skills:  the people gifted with hospitality walk among the others with trays of food and warm words of encouragement, those skilled at teaching show others how to work even more efficiently and effectively, those who are skilled with creativity would help design the project and figure out how to make it most beautiful, those gifted with faith would speak words of hope to everyone else and keep their hearts turned toward the goal, those gifted with works and service would be hard at work putting their hands to the job, those gifted with people skills and a heart for evangelism would be telling everyone around the neighborhood about the project and bringing more to see it and join in.   Before you know it, we’d see results and there would be joy as we watch God “move the bus” and show what He’s been doing through us all the while.  I’ve got my hard hat on, and even my blue shirt.  I’m ready to help.

“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.  If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.  If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”  Romans 12:4-8

Ok, so maybe I was never really “on the wagon”. But I used to be a really avid blogger. I find something I like & I stick with it….well, at least for a while….ok, so as long as it usually lasts. I was trying to keep up with blogging on myspace, posting sessions here, twittering along, facebooking it, my website, and fan page…. WHEW! I dont think I can really do it all…but I tried. Did I mention that I work full time and have 2 boys at home with 2 dogs and a cat?? Ok, so I was juggling a bit much. I dont myspace anymore, I am going to start back on my blogging and just incorporate it on here with my sessions… HA! kill 2 birds with one stone… now THAT I can do! My twittering? Well, facebook has a really nifty feature that automatically updates my twitter when I update my status on facebook….now, talk about best thing since sliced bread! I know.. I know, I am probably boring you to tears, I am pretty good at that. Trying to multi-task as usual. While I type this I am also editing, uploading, checking email, facebooking & waiting on the boys to get home from church. Oh, and I have a load of laundry in the washer to put in the dryer and need to start another load!~~~~~~> 20 minutes later- Put clothes in the dryer, started another load, boys are home and in the bath tub– Just finished 2 family sessions! Whew… I have accomplished quite a bit tonight. Gonna leave you all with a few pics to enjoy!

La música no tiene límites ni fronteras. En el siguiente video aparece el maestro de mi maestro (Hollving Argaez): Pandit Shubhendra Rao (Sitar), Gao Hong (Pipa) y Ty Burhoe (Tabla) demostrando, una vez más, que vivir a través de la música es una experiencia única.

If your name is Manfred or Valfrid, then today is your day!

Weather has been sooo cold. High of 30 on saturday, 40 on sunday, and today we hit 50. Have had lite intermittent drizzle but 70% rain tomorrow. Not wheat sowing for sure.

Was in Arizona last week. I went with Sally to dog sit for her daughter Richea. Dog is a 98 lb. boxer named Tyson. It was a great week. Flew out sunday afternoon on a small 50 seat jet. I hate those small planes. We lived in a gorgeous town home. Loved it. Went to a great spa called Dolce Salon and Spa. On monday we each had a Swedish massage. I cannot put into words how great it was. I have had many massages and this was the best ever. Then we returned on wednesday for facials, shampoo, and style. Great facial but the worst, absolute worst shampoo and style ever. I looked awful. Awful. But I felt great!!!

Also last monday I got to go to IKEA. I never thought I would ever get near one. It was awesome to be there. If I had money and was not flying, I could have spent a fortune. We ate lunch there of Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy, lingon, and Princess Tårta. Awesome.

We did lots of shopping last week. Mostly Sally shopped for Richea’s house. We seemed to be lost much of the time but we saw lots of the city!! And the city is truly gorgeous. I cannot wait to return.

Enjoyed Tyson. He is a cool dog. I cried when we said goodbye.

Got home last friday at 1am. Returned to find a dead battery in the car. Last weekend was the Hyllningsfest in Lindsborg. I had planned to attend the parade on saturday, but………….it was too cold (30F), I was too tired, and I always went with Mom. Just the thought of sitting there along without her made me cry. Then I went into work at 11am and worked until 430pm. I rarely sat down for a second. Constantly on my feet giving tours. I thought  would die.

There were cousins here last weekend from Denver and Minnesota. They never emailed/called/texted/ etc. to let me know they were coming or that they were here. I was and still am extremely hurt to be blown off so rudely. Would have been nice to even just have coffee with them but they were not interested.

Today I had a hair appt. and got rid of any traces of the horrid hairdo of last week. Looks so much better.

Met John and Rodger for supper. Rodger is the current artist in residence at the Red Barn. He also went to class with me.

Back to class tonite. Classmate Ty shared a flavoured water with me. He is the nicest guy I have met in a long long time. The movie we watched was Fat Girl. Very very disturbing French movie with a horrific ending that had me spooked all the way home.

Violence is never the answer.

Go Seattle SoundersFC!!

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Julie-Ann den 12/10/09                      Hemlängtan för Sverige!