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  • Happy anniversary to me!

    Happy anniversary to me!

    Bill and me today!
    Bill and me today!

    I’m delighted to report that after eleven years of marriage, I still feel like saying “Happy anniversary to me!”

    My husband Bill and I were married on a rainy Saturday at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The date was November 16th, 2002. It was Bill’s second trip down the aisle and my first. It’s hard to believe all that has transpired since that fateful day eleven years ago. For the most part, time has really flown. I love Bill more today than I ever have. Every day, I find new reasons to be glad we found each other. In the spirit of my celebratory mood, I have decided to write a post about the music that has meant a lot to me in my relationship with Bill.

    The Ceremony

    I will never forget planning our nuptials. It was a stressful time, mainly because for half the time leading up to our wedding, I was finishing graduate school. We were also really broke. Nevertheless, I determined that I would choose music for the wedding that meant a lot to us. Bill and I are both of Celtic descent. I have more Scottish ancestry, while he is very Irish. I wanted our wedding to be kind of Celtic, while it was also military. No one wore a kilt, with the exception of the guy who played the bagpipes during my walk down the aisle. I chose to eschew the usual “Bridal Chorus” in lieu of a beautiful piece called “Highland Cathedral”. “Highland Cathedral” was composed by two Germans in 1985, yet it sounds like it could be an ancient Scottish piece. The first time I heard it, it was 2001 and I was at a kirk’in of the tartans in Columbia, South Carolina. I was moved to tears and determined that I would use that piece in my wedding if I ever got married. Sure enough, I used it to great success.


    This is a video I made after Bill and I visited Scotland for our 10th anniversary. I used Phil Coulter’s version of “Highland Cathedral” followed by Amy Grant’s very different version of “Highland Cathedral”.

    At my wedding, we had an organist and bagpiper play “Highland Cathedral” together and it sounded something like this…

    Other music used in our ceremony were basic hymns. I also had people sing hymns for us, since I am always singing for them!

    Love songs

    There are quite a few love songs that make me think of my relationship with Bill. Our first dance was to “Someone To Watch Over Me”, a classic Gershwin tune.


    Amy Winehouse singing “our song”.

    But there are plenty of other mushy songs that make me go weak in the knees when I hear them. For instance, I gave serious thought to us dancing to this song by Lyle Lovett…


    It captures my sense of humor, but doesn’t really reflect the truth…

    A better song might have been this one by Beth Nielsen Chapman.


    “All I Have” is a gorgeous wedding song, but harder to dance to.


    My version of Beth Nielsen Chapman’s pretty love song.

    Other songs that come to mind are Judy Collins’ version of “In My Life” and Don Henley’s “Taking You Home”, both of which I recorded recently.


    Judy Collins singing in 1966.


    I covered Judy Collins’ cover of the Beatles’ “In My Life”.

    There have been other, less lovey songs that have inspired Bill and me. While we are in love with each other, our marriage is really more like a great friendship. And we do a lot of things that great friends do together, like drink a lot of beer.


    This video includes “King of Beers” by Too Much Joy and “Beer Run” by Todd Snider, as well as photos of Bill enjoying our favorite pastime.

    In any case, I feel pretty sure tomorrow we’ll have a great time. We usually take trips for our anniversary, but this year’s move and my recent dental woes precluded that. I have high hopes for next year, though! Have a great weekend, y’all!

  • The X Factor USA Recap: Season 3 – And Then There Were 12

    X Factor elimination

    Oh X Factor. Why can’t you do anything right? And how much of this is to blame on Simon Cowell? Well, from a technical perspective, it’s not his fault that there was a technical slip-up, but this is his baby and the Mickey Mouse mistakes will all direct back to him as the face of the show.

    If you had invested two hours into Wednesday’s show like I did and then saw on Thursday that you weren’t going to get what was promised, which was an elimination, did you even bother with Thursday’s show? I don’t see why you would’ve. According to the ratings, no one did.

    The rhythm of the show is off. After eliminating someone tonight, they’re eliminating two people tomorrow. I wish the show was more organized. You have to think that this is probably the last season of the X Factor in the USA.

    X Factor Elimination

    Carlos Guevara was eliminated surprisingly. It made sense in that he was a great story, but when it came time to deliver, he didn’t deliver. Still, from a human interest story, they have to be disappointed that he was the first elimination. They could’ve told many more stories about Carlos.

    Performances of the night

    It was 80s night. This was both good and bad. It was good in the sense that most of the songs were fun and recognizable. But being recognizable made some of the acts try and change them up too much.

    Khaya Cohen performed Madonna’s Borderline, which was the perfect performance of the night. She has that Amy Winehouse twang. To me, it’s one of Madonna’s most fun song and Khaya’s performance was fun as well. However, she has the chops to sing it better than Madonna ever could.

    Rachel Potter and her legs performed Heart’s Alone. It was a diversion from her country style, but it worked well because it showed off her vocals and stage presence. She was once booed on stage, but now she’s getting those cheers, deservedly.

    Rion Paige sang Pat Benetar’s We Belong very well. She’s such a ball of fire.

    Duds of the night

    Tim Olstad just doesn’t have it. He redid Phil Collins’ Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) and if I closed my eyes, I’d think he did a pretty good job. But in watching him, I had to see how uncomfortable he was (which made me feel uncomfortable) and since this is a TV show, he just doesn’t have it. Demi said it best. He doesn’t have the X factor.

    No one else really did terribly. Even though Carlito Olivero is a mess on stage, I found his energetic performance of Rhythm Is Gonna Get You fine. Can you really do an outstanding performance of that song, or is it supposed to be a clusterf***?

    Who are the front runners?

    At this point, my girl Khaya is the best singer. Simon is propping up Restless Road as the best thing since Wonder bread. And Alex & Sierra to me, seem to be the best mix of solid vocals, excellent stage presence, and creative versions of the songs they’re singing. Either that, or I just dig me some Sierra. She’s the baddest girl in his history of this show.

    I wasn’t a fan of Josh Levi’s version of Straight Up, but he’s got a mini-Usher vibe going. Everyone’s favorite grandmother, Lille McCloud took a step backward by doing Chaka Khan, but she’s still really good. I still think Rachel Potter has her work cut out for her, no matter how well she’s done so far.

    Who goes home?

    I think Tim is done. He’s like Old Yeller after getting rabies. We just have to shoot him out of his misery.

  • Veteran’s Day…

    Veteran’s Day…

    I know yesterday was Veteran’s Day, but I was spending that day with my favorite veteran…

    I come from a long line of veterans. My father, most of my uncles, and quite a few cousins are vets. I think the only service that hasn’t been represented by someone in my family is the Coast Guard. I am married to a soldier who will finally be retiring next year after thirty years of service. The military has its problems and some may think of it as a job no more honorable than any other job. And maybe, when we’re at “peace”, that’s true.

    Anyway, in a few days, my husband Bill and I will celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. For most of our marriage, the United States has been at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bill went to Iraq for six months in 2007. Somehow, he has avoided other deployments, though he has friends who have gone downrange over and over again. They leave behind family members who worry about them all the time. Many times, they survive their deployments just fine. Sometimes, they don’t. I wanted to dedicate a post to all the veterans and their families out there.

    Rhonda Vincent and the Rage is one of my favorite bluegrass bands. They have done a couple of great songs for vets.


    “Till They Came Home”


    “God Bless The Soldier”

    Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler famously sang “The Ballad of the Green Berets”.


    I’ve always thought this song was kind of hyperbolic, but it’s definitely a song for veterans.


    “Dogface Soldier” by Russ Morgan

    This first time I ever heard the song “Dogface Soldier”, I was at a dining out with Bill and some old veteran got up and sang this. The guest of honor happened to be Captain Dale Dye, a highly decorated Marine who went on to consult on military affairs in Hollywood. Dale Dye was a really good sport and gave the veteran the sharpest salute ever!

    In 1990, Hank Williams Jr. famously sang a song for the late Saddam Hussein, who had just invaded Kuwait…


    This song kind of cracks me up now. It’s full of bravado and bullshit.

    Like something a little edgier? Sammy Hagar has you covered.


    “Remember The Heroes” by Sammy Hagar

    Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever heard this song. I give Sammy Hagar props for this. It’s nice to hear a rock star singing something for the troops.

    Want something even edgier than Hagar? Check out “Don’t Tread On Me” by Metallica…


    This’ll get you out of bed for PT…

    A woman I used to work with was in the Army for a spell. She said her daily workout sessions with her unit started with this song…


    I’ve always loved this song, but never thought of it as a military song until my former co-worker pointed it out.

    Veteran’s Day is over now and so is this post. I’m grateful to all the veterans in my life… and the day off my sweet veteran enjoyed yesterday.