My life in song

Happy Saturday!

Today I'm excited to announce that Funny in My Mind at In My Mind It's Always Funny and Krista McLaughlin at The Jelly Beans of Writing have both presented me with the Kreativ Blogger Award! Many thanks to them for thinking of me! Be sure to check out their amazing blogs.

The rules for accepting the awards are a bit different, so I'm going to go with the ones I received from Funny in My Mind, since she was the first to present me with the prize:

1. thank the blogger who nominated me and provide a link back to his or her blog;

2. share ten things about myself; and

3. nominate six other bloggers for the award, then inform them of their win.

I already share a lot in my blog, so I thought I would change things up a bit with this award. Instead of giving ten facts about myself, I've decided to post a playlist of songs that represent ten important times in my life. Some of the songs are from the time period they represent, and others are not, but they all showcase the things that I was thinking and feeling at the time. Enjoy!

1. Day I was born: "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan

This song was number one on the day I was born many, many years ago. I wasn't listening to much music in those early days, so I'll admit that I'm not very familiar with this song. Still, I wanted to include it because it does represent the day that everything began.

2. Childhood: "Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M.

I chose this song because I feel lucky to say that I had happy growing-up years, and to me, this song represents that lightheartedness.

3. Junior high: "The Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera and "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago

These two songs remind me of my junior high boyfriend, Matt B. (You might remember him from this post.) Both songs came out during that time period and were popular at our school dances. I remember one time when Matt tried to get the DJ to dedicate "You're the Inspiration" to me. He didn't succeed, but he tried hard. :) It's funny I remember that after all these years.

4. High school: "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison; "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi; and "I Remember You" by Skid Row

All three of these groups were big during the years I was in high school. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and "Livin' on a Prayer" were songs I really loved, and "I Remember You" was our senior class song. Here's an embarrassing tidbit about the Skid Row song: When my classmates and I were voting on songs and "I Remember You" was nominated, I asked everyone in the room if they really wanted our song to be sung by a band called Skid Row. I mean, skid row... It kind of seemed like an omen to me, I guess. Everyone just looked at me, and one of the girls said something like, "What do you want then? Something by Tiffany?" So embarrassing. That's just one of the many moments in my life when I wish I'd kept my mouth shut. :)

5. College: "Run-Around" by Blues Traveler; "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana; and "No Rain" by Blind Melon

These were just three of the many songs I enjoyed when I was an undergrad. For many reasons, "Run-Around" will always remind me of my college boyfriend.

6 and 7. Graduate school and the summer thereafter: "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega; "Dreams" by The Cranberries; "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette; and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day

These songs also remind me of a guy, this time the one I dated in grad school. He loved "Tom's Diner" and would play it most mornings as he got ready to head to the college. It quickly became a favorite of mine, too. (Of course.) "Dreams" was a song I remember hearing in a bar when I went out with some girlfriends. Things between me and my boyfriend weren't going well, and I always think of that time when I hear the song. As far as "You Oughta Know"... Well, if you're familiar with the song, I bet you can guess what was happening in my life at that time. Still, I'll always consider my years at grad school to be among the best of my life, hence Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life").

8. My first job: "Crazy Train" and "Mama, I'm Coming Home" by Ozzy Osbourne.

I love Ozzy! I was working as a college English and journalism instructor, and my students could never quite believe that their teacher adored the Prince of Darkness. "Crazy Train" and "Mama, I'm Coming Home" were--and still are--two of my favorite Ozzy songs.

9. Meeting my husband: "Breathe" by Faith Hill

This is a beautiful song. It always reminds me of when my husband and I were just getting to know each other. We met in a chat room and spent a lot of time talking on the phone before he flew across the country to see me. The rest, as they say, is history!

10. My life right now: "What a Wonderful World" by Louie Armstrong

I love my life: my kids, my husband, my friends. Writing. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I'll echo Armstrong's sentiment: "What a wonderful world!"


Thanks for indulging me in this little journey through my life. You're all great, so instead of nominating six people, I'm going to invite anyone who wants the award to grab it. Please let me know if you do. I'm looking forward to reading your responses!