2015 Fortunate

Is 2015 really only a few days away? Where did 2014 go? There's something about getting older which makes time go faster I think.

I wish there was more I could say about 2014. It was pretty uneventful to be honest. Which I think is good sometimes. I think this year I needed it to be uneventful so I could relax and recover.

But now it's time to get off my butt and get moving again! I don't do relaxation very well for long.

I'm having a hard time thinking about what's to come in 2015 though. Heck, I can't even think of movies and books coming out this upcoming year I'm looking forward to! Which makes it hard for me to dream up of things I think will happen in this upcoming year. In my experience, you never know what will happen. Life throws so many curveballs at you - how can you predict what will happen?

Well... I'm sure some things will happen.

Babies will be born. People will get married. People will go to funerals. Celebrities will make mistakes and shock us all. Somewhere in the world there will be political and social unrest... Sometimes even a little too close to home. A big summer blockbuster will hit movie theaters and a pop song will get stuck in everyone's head to the point where we want to punch something but still jam out to it when we think no one is looking. Sports teams will win and they will lose. Cat YouTube videos will go viral.

Our world is pretty predictable once you think about it actually.

Unless the apocalypse comes of course.

But let's not go there.

Maybe there are some things I can predict, or at least hope for, in 2015.

Facing new challenges and choices. As it has been for the last year, I have a feeling my hunt for a full time job will continue through 2014. With that, I'll meet new people, have a different schedule, learn new things, and discover more about myself while also learning how to balance a new job with the other goals and dreams I have. How do you balance trying to write and participate in theatre and pursuing dreams while also still attempting to pay bills and get rid of those awful student loans?

Joining new theatre groups. There are a few shows I have my eye on in 2015 I'm hoping to audition for. I'm excited to jump back into community theatre and try my hand at new roles and groups.

Writing stories. I'm sure I'll be participating in NaNoWriMo once again in 2015 and one of my big goals is to make writing a priority. A draft will be completed. Thanks to some wonderful writing friends who are helping me out, I have a feeling this prediction could come true.

I'll continue to still be me and learning who that is. You'd think after a certain point in time you'd know for sure who you are. But I'm learning that once I figure it out, I change again. My views are constantly being challenged. My opinions change. My place in the world adjusts and I with it. Who I am at my core remains the same, but everything branching off it seems to constantly evolve.

There's no possible way we can truly predict the future. Life changes in an instant and we never know what it'll throw at us. But still, in a way there are things we can always depend on, and we can always
hope. Which I think is part of what celebrating the new year is all about.

Hope. Hope in knowing the past is gone and something else is coming. That there's always second chances, and we can always begin again.

What are your predictions for 2015?

And looking for Music Monday? Well... We've talked it over and we have decided to end music Monday. It was a fun idea at first, but have decided to have it end. Thank you to those who participated! We loved having you! 

I will leave you with one last song though. One of my holiday favorites and perfect for New Year.

Believe God is With Us

Christmas week is finally here! I don't know about you, but I'm stinking excited. Maybe it's because I'm on Christmas break from the preschool so I get to sleep in for the next couple of weeks. (Even though I still have my other CS job. Oh well.) But I'm excited for Christmas too. I did a ton of gift wrapping over the weekend and I'll be tying up some lose ends in the next couple of days. But overall, I'm more excited to be able to relax at home, see my family, cuddle with Bandit, and enjoy the season.

I also will be (trying) to post something up later this week. I think Bandit and I will do a little blog "Christmas Card." (If I say I"m going to do it here, publicly, I think there's more motivation for me to actually do it! Haha.) But I have been successful in posting a video everyday on YouTube - so it's not like I've been slacking in the social media creativity department!

In the meantime - it's Music Monday! The other day as I was driving around this song popped up on my iPod and just... it always makes me want to cry and gets me in the Christmas spirit. Apparently, in my world crying and Christmas go together.

I blame it on the mean customers who call me working my customer service job.

But these are happy tears - so I guess that's irrelevant.

Anyways. I'm actually going to post two songs because - ITS CHRISTMS AND YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH CHRISTMAS SONG! I post them at least once a year on this blog... but they're so just so good.

The first one is "Believe" by Josh Groban. He sang it for the movie The Polar Express.

The next one is "God is With Us" by Casting Crowns. I feel like this song fits Christmas so well and my pastor was talking about God/Love coming down at Christmas yesterday during his sermon and it made me think of this song.

Proud of Your Boy

It's Music Monday!

So, I was going to share my favorite Christmas songs each week through December because there are just so many that I love. However... last night my pretend celebrity husband, Darren Criss, sang on the 20 Years of Disney on Broadway, and it was fantastic.

He sang "Proud of Your Boy" from Aladdin and it was so good! I'm obsessed! It's such a great song and I feel like he did a wonderful job. It's a perfect fit for his voice.

Besides... Darren Criss hasn't popped up on here in awhile and I feel like it wouldn't be me if he wasn't here today.

What music have you been listening to lately?

Also, I know I haven't been posting on here lately, but I have been doing Vlogmas on YouTube every single day. So, if you want to see what I've been up to and what I've been thinking about click here and you can watch the playlist of videos I've been working on this month.

Just Believe

There's something about Christmas at brings out our innocence and naïveté isn't there? Suddenly we want to play with toys, listen to kids stories, watch cheesy cartoons on TV. It brings it out in us.

It's why I love the song "Believe" by Josh Groban from the Polar Express soundtrack. We for some reason as we get older let that go away. We stop believing. We stop playing. We need to be adult and do adult things! But Christmas... We find our way back.

http://youtu.be/nZ19mW-TMRk

Baby It's Cold Outside

It's Music Monday - and today we're talking about our favorite holiday songs!

Which... let's face it... I'll probably do holiday songs every week this month.

Today I'm sharing with you Idina Menzel and Micheal Buble's version of "Baby It's Cold Outside." Their cover is so cute! I can't get enough of it. It's tied now as my favorite version along with Kurt and Blaine singing it in Glee. Seriously, watch the video and you'll see what I mean. Cute cute cute!

What's your favorite holiday song at the moment?

And, as promised, here's my video for the day!

Uuuuuugggggg Monday

Weekends go by far too quickly in my opinion. Don't you agree? Mine was wonderful and relaxing, hanging out with my family in Indiana. But it went by way too fast and here I am, Sunday night, squeezing in scheduling my Music Monday post for tomorrow (or today since you're reading this on Monday) before I have to leave for rehearsal because I know I won't have time before work tomorrow morning.

Yeah, Monday morning is already here. Isn't that crazy?

So, I'm trying to think of some sort of music to help with a case of the Mondays.

Ah, here we go. Ever since the soundtrack to The Fault in Our Stars came out I've been obsessed. I re-watched the movie yesterday and was reminded just how awesome the soundtrack is. This one puts a smile on my face every single time.

Just pretend it's not from a movie that makes you cry ugly tears.

Link up and share your favorite music!

Songs Full of Memories

There are some songs which always take you back. The moment they start to play you have a million memories playing through your head.

The song "Never Let Go" is one of those songs for me. I'm fairly certain I have talked about this song before on the blog, but it's just so good! We sang it in church yesterday and it made me ridiculously happy.

We would sing it at the same church when I was in college and I went there for my feildwork. My fellow feildworkers and I loved it and would sing it all the way back to campus and around town. Which is pretty awesome because all of us were musical.

Then it took me back to my first week in Missouri. It was one of the VBS songs and I arrived at the church to start my internship during VBS week. It was the perfect song to make me feel welcomed.

And my favorite memories of this song is from when I did Camp Noah. This is a week long day camp type program the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod provides to areas who have had natural disasters to help kids learn how to process and deal with what they've been through. There is nothing like hearing a bunch of kids from Joplin, MO who have been through a tornado singing "Oh no, you never let go, through the calm and through the storm" at the top of their lungs.

What music is filling your mind this week?

When I Drive

There's something about getting behind the wheel of my little car that I absolutely love. Especially on an open highway where I can put on the cruise control and just go. Over the last few years I've found my car to be a unique place where I can let off steam, let my mind wander, and brainstorm new ideas. I can't tell you how many times I've had a long road trip where I've been able to plot out a book or get character ideas for a story. Or even do some fantastic sing along and lip syncing performances to an audience of me and sometimes my dog. It's pretty impressive if I do say so myself.

I feel like to have a truly good driving around in your car and singing along and dancing, you have to have a fun song. Something that gets your heart pumping and energy going.

I found a few years ago Adam Lambert did that for me.

Yup. Adam Lambert.

His song "If I Had You" has become one of my all time favorite songs to jam out to in the car. Especially if I've had a long day and I need to de-stress.

What's your best driving around song?

Look! It's So Pretty!

Oh, hi there! What's up? How's life? We haven't caught up in forever! Tell me about you. What's going on with you.

Oh, me? What's new with me?

Not a whole lot. You know... same old same old.

Unless you count...

MY NEW BLOG DESIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't it sooooooo pretty? (If you are reading this through an email or a reader then come visit the actual site so you can see it too!) I can't get enough of it. FOREVER ago my bloggy friend Sarah and I had started talking about her redoing my blog for me and we started to throw around ideas. Then life happened. We both quit our jobs, moved to new states, and started our lives over again. We messaged back and forth a bit still planning and plotting, but we just never got around to the actual redesign. Then a couple of weeks ago Sarah emailed me and was like "LET'S DO THIS!" So we did and I couldn't be happier! It's even different than we had first imagined and SO MUCH BETTER It looks more professional but also uniquely me.

Feel free to poke around, explore, etc. I'll be updating the site as time goes on such as putting new content in the "About Me" page and things like that. So pardon my dust as those details get changed around. But beyond that - the new blog layout is here! If you have any questions on where to find something just let me know!

Thank you SO MUCH Sarah for all of your patience and hard work! If you like what you see, you should check out her design page by clicking here. She not only does blog design, but also makes the cutest prints and cards EVER.

Now, moving onto Music Monday!

Do you know what's awesome about today? (Other than my new design of course.) Taylor Swift's new album just released! It's already on my iPad and it's downloading to my computer as we speak. Or... type.

I'm not going to claim I'm a die hard Taylor Swift fan. I have two of her albums and they rotate in and out of my iPod depending on if I'm in the mood for her music. I'll be honest, I had but drama back in the day and Fearless got me through it.

 I have been SO EXCITED for her new album. I even got some cool points over at the extended care where I work for playing "Shake it Off" on my ukulele. I'm definitely going to be jamming out to 1989 on my way to work this morning.

So... in honor of Miss Swift, here's "Shake it Off!"

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Gypsy Life

It's not really a secret I love Lady Gaga. It's one of those things where I used to be embarssed about it, but I just can't be. I love Lady Gaga. There are some songs I could take or leave, but there are some songs of hers I just LOVE LOVE LOVE. Whether it's a fun dance song I can jam out to in my car or some of her more personal and powerful songs.

Okay yeah... she has some issues. I won't deny it.

But she posts more photos of her dog on Instagram than I do and you gotta love a girl who loves her dog, right? Right.

I do truly love how she stands for being an individual and letting your inner weirdness (or "monster") shine. Is it just an act or simply the "brand" she's given herself? Maybe. But it's one I can stand behind so I'm okay with it.

Naturally... I wanted to learn a Lady Gaga song on my ukulele. That's pretty much where all of my music inspiration has been coming from lately. I decide I want to learn to play a song and then I basically just live and breath that song until I have it down.

The song I chose was "Gypsy" which I feel like is the best song on "Artpop." It's a love story about people who have wanderlust and leaving everything behind but still wanting someone to love.

What music have you been getting inspiration from lately?

I'm also linking up with Mingle Monday!

Are You My Mummy

I feel as though everyday I get more and more into the "fall" spirit. This weekend there was perfect fall weather with the sun shining but a slight chill in the air, the NaNoWriMo site is officially up and running for this year, and yesterday I spent all day with some friends at Six Flags for Fright Fest. (I only got scared by one of the actors once!)

I can't even remember the last time I've been to Fright Fest. I think it was in high school. It's so much fun though. I love watching all of the actors in costume walking around scaring people and the ridiculous/corny/slightly creepy decorations the park has up everywhere. My favorite costumes I'm pretty sure were the old time soldiers with gas masks It was very Doctor Who. I tried to take a picture to post with #areyoumymummy but they were walking too quickly. :-(

But there is also this amazingly cheesy show called Love at First Fright and it was my favorite part of the day. They sang all of these songs and threw in as many pop culture jokes as possible and it made my heart happy. So, now I have "Time Warp" stuck in my head. Which... isn't too bad. I love "Time Warp" and it's a perfect Halloween type song. 

Music for Leaves, Hot Chocolate, and Sweater Weather

I think we can officially say fall has arrived. This weekend was the first time I had to bundle up with both a sweater and a jacket and I've been rocking my scarves and boots like hipsters in July.

When it comes to autumn, I can never think of a single song which makes me get in the mood for the season. (Unless it's Halloween songs!) However, I do love exploring 8tracks.com for playlists for each season. Here are a few of my favorites to help you get in the mood too.

for cuddling up with cocoa from edgarallanpoehler on 8tracks Radio.

Autumn Walk from Arnomius on 8tracks Radio.

autumn leaves from yoselena on 8tracks Radio.

What are your favorite songs for autumn?

Music Monday!

Okay friends, it's going to be a quick one because I'm still recovering from my sister's wedding on Saturday (you can tell by how scratchy my voice still is). You can see some of my favorite pictures on my Instagram by clicking here. You should follow me too if you don't already. ;-) Hehe yay for shameless plugs!

This is the song which was stuck in my head when I woke up this morning. I know it's totally overplayed - but I can't get enough of it right now!

If you can't see the video above here's the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCkvCPvDXk

Cause you know I'm all about that bass about that bass no treble....

What songs have been stuck in your head lately? Link up!

Music Monday- Wedding Style!

My life has been completely taken over by my sisters wedding. If you were to walk into my house all you would see are flower arrangements, bride and maid of honor t-shirts, flower pots, glass jars for the candy table, etc. It's wedding central here in the Hornburg household. My poor dad. He told me the other day "I can't wait until everything is back to normal."

Sigh. Me too.

Don't get me wrong. I'm excited for my sisters wedding and it's going to be a great day. However, it'll be nice to be able to actually use the kitchen counter and table again for something other than centerpieces.

What I did do though this week is prepare a playlist of music for the day of the wedding. The hair stylist and the bridesmaids are arriving bright and early on Saturday morning and I want to be sure we have the perfect mood set for the big day.

Here are 10 of the songs I have on the playlist:

I love the movie About Time and this song from it is so sweet and perfect for weddings.

Because obviously you can't be getting ready for a wedding without this song going through your head.

Times like this I just can't get enough of old classics.

This is their first dance song. So awesome!

A modern song- but perfect for saying "I Do!"

So... does this song remind anyone else of the TV show Growing Pains? Because I remember when Mike was going to get married he had cold feet and his dad told him about this song which helped him when he was going to marry the mom. Whenever I hear this song that's what I think of and since it was about getting married obviously it has to go on a wedding playlist.

My sister and I LOVE Disney and there's nothing quite like a great Disney love song. I found this medley for the ukulele not long ago and I've been trying to learn how to play it because it's so perfect!

Say what you will about Taylor Swift - I love her and I love this song. You don't? Oh well. I'll just shake it off... shake it off..

Obviously I have to have a song from a musical on the playlist, and "All I Ask of You" is one of my sister's favorites.

Falling Slowly

One of the things I've loved the most about learning to play the ukulele is that I'm seeing songs in a new way. Or maybe the way I used to when I played instruments regularly that I'm getting back to. My big goal when learning to play a song is also getting it memorized so I can pick up and play whenever I want to. I want to have a decent size repertoire in my mind so when asked to play, I don't have to be all "well I need to go find my music for that song..."

In memorizing music, you see it and hear it differently. You learn the ins and outs of the words and melodies. You figure out your own way to play it and sing it. Making it your own. You notice different things about the piece you never noticed before. I've learned I listen to the song over and over again so I can be sure I get the right feel for it and know exactly how it should be.

You'd think after awhile I would get tired of these songs - but in fact it's the opposite. I learn to love them even more. I've even been learning some I never would have though of before but now that I've decided to play it - I'm in love.

One of the songs I've been trying to learn is "Falling Slowly" from the movie and musical Once. It's such a beautiful and simple song and I love everything about it. I'll share two versions. One is the original from the movie, which is amazing. The second version is from the musical, which is the version I usually listen to.

What songs have you been listening to lately? Link up!

Disney Music Monday

It's Music Monday again!

Since I'm a terrible blogger - I didn't get this up last week. It was Labor Day... so it's okay... right? No? Darn.

Anyways, since I missed last week I'll do the monthly theme today. Disney music!

I know everyone is probably sick and tired of Frozen and the song "Let it Go." We've heard it a million times and it's overdone. I get it. But guys... I just can't get enough! I still love it! Especially when one of my favorite youtubers did a cover of the song not long ago. She has a fantastic voice and I'm totally in love with her cover of the song!

Also- I still say this song is the theme of my life at the moment. 

What Disney songs can't you get enough of? Or what are you listening to at the moment? Link up and let me know!

The Kings of New York

So... apparently the VMAs were last night.

I didn't know this until I was already watching the finale of Rising Star (Go Jesse!) and mourning Newsies and their final performance on Broadway. (WAH!) Womp womp.

Oh well.

Apparently Beyonce was awesome - so go her. And Taylor Swift can't dance... neither of these things are new I don't think. So... I didn't really miss much, right?

Sadly though, with it being Music Monday and all, it probably would have been an awesome way to get material for today's blog post. Whoops.

HOWEVER I do have a Newsies song to save the day! (Or seize the day as the case may be?) This show has been running on Broadway since 2012 and I went to see it that year and it was AMAZING. It has it's final performance yesterday and I know a lot of people are sad to see it go.

But there's good news! Newsies is going on tour and I have full intentions of seeing it here in Chicago when it arrives in December/January.

In honor of the show, here is their amazing Tony Awards performance from 2012. Featuring one of the loves of my life - Jeremy Jordan (Jack Kelly), the incredible dancing of Ryan Steele (Specs), the loveable Andrew Keenan-Bogler (Crutchie) and the rest of the original cast.

Now, pardon me as I go wear my Newsies cap, watch the movie, and go through my book about them and cry.

The Soundtrack of my Life

I don't know about you, but I feel like I always have background music going in my life. It's almost as though there's a soundtrack to my life. For example, whenever I hear "If You're Not the One" by Daniel Bedingfield or "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana (odd combo... I know) I will always be transported back to the summer before my senior year of high school. Long summer nights with one of my close friends, spending every minute together, talking about everything, and reading Order of the Phoenix to each other. Or "Saide Hawkins Dance" by Relient K and "Rawkfist" by Thousand Foot Krutch are the anthems of when I was in youth group.

Do you have those songs which seem to be in the background of your life? The ones where if someone made a movie about you, you know they would need to be in the soundtrack?

Music is always there in the background for me. In the car, blogging, reading, writing, etc. I even have music for my characters which when they pop up on my iPod I can't help but start plotting and getting into their heads.

I think that is part of why I was drawn to instruments like piano and guitar. They're the ones which are staples in all types of music. They're always there in the background.

I started to play piano when I was in fourth grade and I loved it. I can't say I was the greatest piano player ever, but I wasn't bad. I stopped taking lessons at some point, and that put a stall on my increasing my skills. However, by this point though I had picked up the clarinet and I was deep into band in high school and singing for choir. The clarinet is awesome and I love it, but it's not one you usually pick up to play with friends and jam or something.

However, I also had decided to pick up the guitar. When I was in 8th grade I bought one with my confirmation and graduation money thinking it would be a great way to learn how to play more popular music and maybe even try to write my own. I tried to take lessons, but for some reason it just didn't take. For years my guitar has been sitting to the side untouched. I think it's because the instrument itself it too large for me. It was bulky and my fingers weren't strong enough to get the chords.

So I kind of gave up on finding that perfect background instrument. The one I could just pick up and play.

Then, a couple of weeks ago I was watching a Carrie Hope Fletcher video on YouTube. She's one of my favorite YouTubers and she was playing a song wither her ukulele. I thought "I could totally do that."

So... I did. After some awesome encouragement from my friends via Facebook and Twitter I went online and ordered a $50 pink ukulele.

I haven't been able to put it down since. Trust me, putting it down to work on my blog is a struggle. I love playing it! I was nervous it might be the guitar all over again. I was worried my fingers wouldn't be strong enough or long enough to get everything.

But it's been awesome! It's only been a little over a week - so I might be jumping the gun a bit. But I feel like I've finally found that background music I've been searching for. Even the first weekend of getting in delivered to my door I was sitting around on the couch lazily playing as I hung out with people. It's something I can just carry around with me and play whenever I feel like.

It's like finding the soundtrack to my life.

Any song suggestions for me to learn?

I'm also linking up with Mingle Monday!

Music Mondays Kick Off

Today is the first link up for Music Mondays with Brittany and Teh Megan! 

I'm pretty pumped. 

Today's theme is "Your Favorite Song on the Radio Right Now."

To be completely honest, I haven't been listening to the radio a whole lot lately. I listen to a morning show on the way to work because I love the hosts, but they don't play a ton of music and the music they do play is okay, but not my favorite. However, I have been loving the song "Human" by Christina Perri. I'm not sure if it's really on the radio "right now" but it is a pretty recent song. So I think it counts. 

I first heard it on Dancing With the Stars when Amy Purdy and Derek Hough danced to it, and it was amazing. So, here is that video so you can see/hear it too. There is an introduction for why Amy chose this song particularly and her rehearsal process. If you want to skip that go to 2:35 in the video to see the actual performance and the song. 

Now it's your turn to link up and share your favorite song on the radio right now! We'll be having Music Monday every week and scheduled topics the first Monday of the month. (So, this week we have a topic. Then next week we don't!) Link up below!

Also- Vlog Every Day August (VEDA) has begun! If you want to watch my videos you can check out my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SnowWhitegrl and to learn more information you can go to http://weblogwevlog.com/.

AND one more thing. Remember my friend Leslie and her daughter Charley that I wrote about not long ago? (You can read my post by clicking here.) They got the phone call for the transplant last night ON CHARLEY'S BIRTHDAY and are prepping for surgery as I type this at 8am this morning. So keep them in your thoughts and prayers today!