nah nah nah nah...nah nah nah nah...hey hey hey....GOODBYE :(

Yes, ladies and gents, the day is here....MTV has officially had their last episode of TRL (Total Request Live). Though I'm sure there are tons of people who are rejoicing, I can't help but be just a wee bit nostalgic. Music has played a MAJOR part in my life ever since I was a kid...i mean, from the moment i bought my first walkman and blasted SWV's "WEAK" during recess in elementary school...to the time i bought my first cassette tape of THE PROCLAIMERS single, "I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)" to the time I bought my first ever Alanis Morrisette album just to rock out to YOU OUGHTTA KNOW...man, music has just been such a major part of my life. I remember getting to my grandma's house after school and just automatically plopping myself in front of the TV to catch TRL on MTV! I'm not gonna lie...I was a fanatic! I remember when N'Sync was on, and Gwen Stefani performed, and tons of others! I remember just...absolutely crushing on Carson Daly when he was the VJ for TRL! And now, it's the finale! Wow! just...wow! It's like the turn of the century kinda. I mean, throughout my time in MCA, I stepped away from MTV and the whole secular music scene and stuff, but looking back, when they show specific clips from the past, I'm like, "Dude! That was totally the day that me and my friends hung out in the science teacher's classroom and I had to get sent to the assistant principal's office" So crazy!

One of the cool things that I think has come out of TRL is not necessarily the artists, though they do rock the house! But as part of a contest, Hilarie Burton was voted to be a guest VJ on the red carpet for and MTV awards show... and afterwards was hired on full time to be a VJ regularly, and then, after seeing her there, the people behind ONE TREE HILL chose her to play one of my favorite characters on One Tree Hill...the emo, music-centric, tortured-artist, Peyton! Gotta admit, if I were to have a female celebrity crush (not in a homosexual way, just in a WOW way) it would totally be HILARIE BURTON...this chick is just phenomenal. I've watched interviews, seen her acting skills, and she just...brings it! Love it! So yeah, I'm gonna miss TRL...but at least I still get to see Hilarie on OTH! :D

Hilarie Burton as an MTV VJ:

Amo's Celebrity Playlist

I was very inspired today as I perused through some various Celebrity Playlists on iTunes, and thought, "hmm...I think I wanna make my own Celebrity Playlist." Granted, I'm not a celebrity, but hey, it's fun! So here's my Celebrity Playlist:

THE EXPLANATIONS:

Track 1: TIME AFTER TIME by Quietdrive > It's a great remix on an old song, and I love those... when artists take a song that's been around and make you love the song all over again. Quietdrive keeps it fresh!

Track 2: EVERY DAY by Rascal Flatts> One of my small group girls introduced this song to me. It's just so inspiring, so full of gratitude and honor... it makes me cry out of joy and appreciation.

Track 3: A NATURAL WOMAN by Aretha Franklin> So I'm not gonna lie, I listen to this song almost every morning when i wake up, while I'm getting dressed. It's totally a girly, wonderful, upbeat, comfort song for me. I could listen to this song on repeat for hours!

Track 4: EVERYDAY by Rogue Wave> No, you're not hallucinating, it's got the same name as the Rascal Flatts song. Ha ha ha hahahahaha! But again, this is just a cute, classic oldies song, made fresher!! The original is real clicky, peppy and whimsical and this one is just so soulful and appealing while still keeping a light heart edge to the song.

Track 5: FLIGHTLESS BIRD, AMERICAN MOUTH by Iron & Wine> I love how this is a cross between a "sea-faring" song and just a very soothing song. It's not about falling in love, I don't think, but it sounds romantical in it's own weird wonderful way.

Track 6: A FINE EVENING FOR A ROGUE by Lydia> A friend of mine just shared this band with me, from another friend's Facebook, and I love their sound! I really wanted to put STAY AWAKE on there, but the site didn't have that particular one, so this is my second place. But I had to get the band out there...they've got a great sound!

Track 7: LIVE YOUR LIVE by Ti featuring Rhianna> I don't usually listen to a lot of hip hop music, but this is my guilty pleasure. First of all, it has the Nooma Nooma intro that cracks me up, and then it's just so catchy and always makes me wanna dance, or pretend I'm a hip hop dancer...which...I should never aspire to be...cause I dance terribly! Ha!

Track 8: FAST CAR by Tracy Chapman> Okay, so I know it's a sad song because of the story it tells, but this song is just always stuck in my head. When I was in 2nd grade, my teacher would always take time out of our class time to sit around and play her guitar for us and sing to us. She was so fun. We did songs like MISS AMERICAN PIE and THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR...and this is one of the songs she sang to us, and had us make up an end of the year song to this tune.

Track 9: CAPRI by Colbie Caillat> First of all, I love Colbie's voice. She sings so beautifully. This song is sweet. It's like a lullaby to a baby that's still inside the womb. And it really inspires me to either name my baby Capri so I can sing her this song, or make up one just as sweet to sing to my baby to let him/her know at such a young age...like fetal ages...ha... how much they mean to me and how precious I think children are.

Track 10: YOU'VE GOT TO HIDE YOUR LOVE AWAY by The Beatles> The Beatles. Need I say more? This is one of my favorite songs by The Beatles! It's fun, sweet and catchy. I remember seeing it in the movie HELP! and I just was hooked!

Track 11> HURRICANE by Lisa Loeb> Again, a tragic song, but such a great lesson. It's a song about the people who try to "fix us" when they're messed up with some of the same things themselves, and usually leave us more broken than before. I sing this to myself all the time and I just keep reminding myself that people are fragile, and I might not have all the answers to help them heal, but you can't break people from being a good listener.

Track 12> HOME by Michael Buble> A feel good song all the way! Having moved 4 months ago to Seattle, I do find myself missing home a lot. This song takes me back and reminds me of the happy reunions I'll get to have when I go back to visit.

Track 13> CRIMINAL by Justin Nozuka> A great song about cause and effect, and the ridiculous things that keep us up at night. It also poses a statement about how sometimes things just happen, and you can't run away. Just face it.

Track 14> FEEL THIS by Bethany Joy Galeotti (feat. Enation)> A fun song! The beginning sounds so sudden and right in your face, and then as you delve into the lyrics, you get this awesome, positive message. Plus she plays Haley on One Tree HIll, which is my fave TV Show, so it makes me even happier!

Track 15> SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES by The Platters> This song is old. Like, really old, but that's what I love about it. It's a song. It's real lovey dovey, and just a purely wonderful, whimsical love song. This is like my mom's favorite song, and it always reminds me of young pure love, just so beautiful.


Well, that's my list!! Hope you enjoyed that!!

I'm brining EMO back

Okay, so not really, but I do think that if you've known me for some time, really in-depth, you know that I am a completely EMOtional, thought-filled, passionate person. And as I was organizing my iTunes yesterday, I realized how much my music tells about me. I mean, I really have a lot of interesting songs, most of them are very emotion filled. Growing up, it's funny to see the differences between my siblings and me. My brother loves Rap and HIp Hop, and on his iTunes you might find Master P., Bone Thugs and Harmony, Coolio, T.I, and a bunch of those guys on there. My sister is more mainstream pop, which I've actually found myself plugging into more just to offset my emo-ness. My sister could be perfectly happy in a world blasting the tunes of Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilerra, and Katy Perry. I for one think it's amazing the vast differences in personality that exist between my sis, my bro and me. And it's not like, oh, we disagree on a couple of things...but like....ALMOST EVERYTHING...we disagree on. hahahahahaha! (makes you feel sorry for my parents, eh?)

So as I was going through my iTunes, and looking at my most listened to songs as of late, I wanted to share with you guys some new music that has been on Repeat big time...and I think that if you listen to them, you kinda get a feel for what is going on in my head. I mean, being emotional and a hopeless romantic, a lot of them base on love, affection, relationship, etc. (which is part of the reason I'm having to come face to face with the "Itis" lately (as Joy would say). And then some are just deeper than that, but evoke strong emotions. But because I know music plays a major part in who I am as a person, I've learned to make myself be real and honest about what they mean to me and how my life is affected by them, and even sometimes doing a reality check to make sure that music doesn't have the last say in the things I do...which I'm pleased to say doesn't. But something about these songs still touches a chord for me in life. And I wanted to share with you.

Now for those of you who worry that I'm falling into a flood of emo-driven depression, you can stop. I'm totally a happy person, with a full heart, with a lot of laughter and sunshine to hand out. I just wanted to open myself up honestly in this blog post just to give you an even deeper view of who I am as a person.

Without further adieu....CUE THE INDIAN! (jk)

Here's some new music that's been flooding my mp3 player:

This first one is by IRON AND WINE, and the song is called FLIGHTLESS BIRD, AMERICAN MOUTH. Originally, I heard Iron and Wine because of my awesome friend Josh Curtis. He gave me a link to BOY WITH A COIN...which is also a fave, but decided to post this one instead. This song also happens to be on the Twilight Movie Soundtrack. So that is why there's twilight pics on this vid...because they don't have a video on youtube yet of a clear recorded version that was worth posting:


Next up is LINKIN PARK'S song LEAVE OUT ALL THE REST. And I will just say now that I don't condone buying albums with EXPLICIT lyrics at all. This song is a CLEAN song and is just really good. I also should add that I don't really commit to buying full albums from any artist- just individual songs that strike me as being worth it. :D


And then there's JOSHUA RADIN'S song VEGETABLE CAR. And this song isn't really EMO at all, it's just a fun upbeat cute song...and it's one of my faves because the reference to Lisa Loeb glasses cracks me up!


Then we move on to CHRIS CORNELL'S song LONG GONE, which I LOVE...love...love. His voice rocks! and I actually like the techno feel to it.


And now for the ladies (who i'm sure, should have been first, but oh well) hehehehehehe

SARAH MCLAHCLAN just rocks it out on her song STUPID. I love it! I think I'm one of those kind of people who has seen so many "norm" defying relationships. You know, the kind where people are like, oh there's no way it's gonna work out for them...but it does. and I love it! And to me, this song just kinda serves as a reminder that you know what, it's not what other people see in the person you love that determines who you should give your heart to. It's your heart, and yours to give, and yes you listen to their advice, but ultimately, you choose and you work things out...hopefully for happily ever after. And yes, it's true, I've never dated, but that doesn't mean that I'm devoid of emotions on the matter. hahahahahahahaha And I realize I could be WAY off on the song meaning, but that's just my interpretation.


And last but not least: SET FREE by KATIE GRAY
Again, a sad song, but a freeing song.


Well that's all for today! If you want to share some of your favorite songs, artists, meanings, etc. feel free to comment here, my myspace or facebook! Love you guys!!

This is My Birthday Song...It Isn't Very Long.... (but in reality it kinda is)

Okay, so now that I've won the award for longest blog title, let's move on!

First of all, a great big huge THANK YOU to everyone who made my birthday special! From the phone calls to the texts, to the cards in the mail, to the FB and Myspace comments...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Even if you were a day late or a few days later, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I am realizing more and more how truly blessed my life is because I have all of you who are such an important part of my life! :D

Well, I must admit, for not having all my friends and family around, this birthday was pretty amazing! I actually had a spectacular birthday weekend & day!

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS>

Friday was Halloween, and Westside Church hosted an event called CANDY ZONE for all the neighborhood families...and it was so much fun!! I dressed up as a nurse/doctor and worked the Welcome table with a new friend named Anna-Karin Roo! She dressed up like a Hershey's Kiss and it was so cute! I got to talk to Vanessa on Halloween, and she was putting on her Cinderella Costume...and she goes, "What are you going to be for Halloween?" and I was like, "I'm going to be a doctor." and she was like, "A doctor?" and I said "Yeah, a doctor" and she goes: "I want to be a doctor for Halloween!" so cute!!! But since I had sent the money home for them to take her costume shopping and she had all her Cinderella stuff, I said, "well, maybe next year. This year you can be Cinderella, okay, my pretty pretty princess?" And she said okay! I LOVE THAT GIRL!! :D Candy Zone rocked! It was so fun to be around all the kiddos and make them smile and it was awesome to connect with new people at Westside! And, as I was waiting for the bus, thinking about all the crazies that ride the bus on Halloween night, Deborah Siers (the worship pastor's wife) pulled up to the stop and gave me a ride home!! We had such a great conversation! I love her!
This is a pic of me and Anna Karen:



SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER>


One of my birthday presents from my Aunt Olga was a $25 gift card for Barnes and Noble, so Saturday, I went downtown and watched a movie and spent hours at Barnes and Noble! And bought some new books: Twilight, Sybil, and The Boy In The Striped Pajamas! Yes, I know, all movie books! hahahahahahahaha! While I was downtown, I also got some new stuff from Old Navy and Urban Outfitters...including...a new rug to go in my room!! And it's lime green to match the decor!! woot!

SUNDAY MORNING>


Sunday was such a great day! I had some a sweet quiet time at Loyal Heights Elementary while I was walking and praying through the park. :D Then I got to church and got to sit next to Annie, who is amazing and one of my coolest new friends at Westside! The message was really good and I was glad to get to see everyone...and some of the kids from kids church came up and gave me hugs before they went downstairs for kids church! so sweet! Then, I went home and made some lunch and got ready to head downtown for my big BIRTHDAY PRESENT to myself: THE MISSY HIGGINS CONCERT AT THE SHOWBOX down at Pike Place Market!! I had soooo much fun!!! And I got to meet new people and laugh all night at ridiculous concert commenters!! Joshua Radin opened...and he has such a good voice. :D And Missy and her band rocked the night!! Here's come pics and some video from the night...it's all borrowed cause my phone didn't capture the best footage and pics due to the crowd noise levels and the lighting. :D Enjoy!








And here's some video footage! She seriously is one of the most beautiful, talented singers/songwriters I know! And her stage presence is amazing! I got to stand at the very front of the stage...it was AMAZING!!!

Missy Higgins: SCAR


Missy Higgins: SUGARCANE


Missy Higgins: WHERE I STOOD


Missy Higgins & Joshua Radin: LONG RIDE HOME (cover of Patty Griffin song)
*by the way, the person filming this was right behind me...i'm the one with the dark hair with all the bobby pins standing in front of Joshua Radin!


Overall, it was such an amazing night! I got a new Missy Higgins shirt and a Joshua Radin tank top! So fun! I went home smiling so big and just replaying it all in my head!


MONDAY, MONDAY>



Was my actual birthday!! And, the first call I got that morning was from....MY DADDY!!! all the way from Iraq!! It was soooo good to talk to him!! He told me my birthday present was dinner at Cheesecake Factory on his Check Card! So that's where I'm going for lunch this Saturday! :D Then my mom called, a few more friends called, and I even got to talk to P.Dizz my Nizz for a while, which made me super happy! My facebook was flooded with well wished and it was just a super awesome birthday!! My boss even got me a CACTUS-GRAM for my birthday! And so far, it's still alive! :D And I got some great birthday cards and other gifts that were so amazing!! It was such a fun day!! And then, to top it off, I had small groups at Westside that night, and we had a fellowship night and everyone wished me a happy birthday and Kim Normand baked me a cake!!! And everyone sang Happy Birthday to me and the Vodegel's gave me a ride home!! What a blessed day it was!!!


Again, I am just so thankful for everyone who is a part of my life! I probably don't say it enough, but you guys are all such amazing people and I'm so glad you're part of my life!!

So now I'm 27 and though I am older, I still feel so young at heart and so happy!! It's been an amazing journey so far here in Seattle and God has blessed me in so many ways through it all! Love you guys! Until later...peace out!