Let's Talk A Little Food & More Music Too!

I'm sitting here on a lovely sunny Sunday morning, once again avoiding my organization project. I'll get to it, I will, I promise. Right now, though, I'm watching cooking shows on Food Network and oy ve! I sure love food! Some people eat to live, I live to eat! I don't cook that often anymore, to be totally honest, I don't find it as enjoyable as I once did, but watching these shows makes me want to get in the kitchen. One of my new favorite cooking shows is Claire Robison's 5 Ingredient Fix and though I'm not watching her right now, I did just see a marvelous 5 ingredient fix side dish--Couscous w/ Remalade! I saw Remelade on a menu the other day and I had forgotten what it was--today I was remined! It's lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and S &P. YUM! Anyway, you take couscous, put a little EVOO in it, let it cook, and then mix it with freshly made remalade! Hello? Easiest side dish EVER! So fresh, so fast! Couscous is probably my favorite grain and my favorite brand is Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Couscous--I could (and have at times) live on that stuff for days! I love Couscous because it can go savory or sweet--and it is literally the EASIEST thing ever to make! You take 1 Cup of Couscous, 1 Cup of Water--bring the water to a boil (add some EVOO--or butter--if you'd like! Pour the boiling water over the the couscous, cover, let stand for literally 5 minutes....uncover, fluff with a fork and add your ingredients--whether it's savory w/ that remelade or sweet w/ dried fruit and nuts. You can dried herbs, fresh herbs, spices, more butter, more EVOO, or nothing at all. It's just PERFECT!

Last night my mom's friend got $100 worth of groceries for FREE! He doesn't cook and literally eats to live, surviving on 5 foods--I'm not kidding. So he gave the groceries to us! How incredibly sweet! I literally got $100 worth of food (2--3 weeks worth!) for FREE!!! See, that's God providing! That is food that I love (he actually did a really job picking it out, we did give him a list!) and will eat and use, that I didn't have to go pick out, pick up, load into a car and/or pay for! See, God is good, He provides--and the kindness and generousity of others is truly astounding, I am so grateful! Yay!

So, last night, Colin and I went to Red Lobster and had a lobster dinner! It was on the cheap (we had a coupon & it was Lobster Fest!) and oh Lordy, was it ever good! I find it odd that Lobster used to be a pauper's food (poor mans) and now it's relatively expensive. Well, not last night, but still! All we had was a lobster and a salad--but you know what, oh my goodness, beyond delicious! It's weird to me to be eating Lobster in warm weather, because normally, the 1 time a year I do get to eat Lobster is my birthday, in the wintertime in December! So, that was a nice change of pace! I feel really lucky I got to have a lobster dinner last night and then come home to FREE groceries! I am truly blessed!

After dinner and unloading the groceries I sat and listened to music. It was SO much fun! I had more fun channel surfing the radio, Playlist.com and DTV"s Satelite Station than I could have had a concert--truly! I listened to it ALL....jazz, blues, country, folk, rock, classic rock, classical, New Age....you name it! I was thinking about how I've ALWAYS loved and adored music! Yesterday I talked about the need for peace & quiet, and yes, I do need my time in quiet...I NEED time to decompress and have total silence occasionally--but I also LOVE to just sit and listen to music! It's one of my most favorite things to do--especially when I get to listen to new or old music--so cool!

I was thinking about how music changes moods more than anything else. It can brighten, uplift and inspire. It is amazing. The fact that I am blessed enough to hear it is just awesome! Hearing music and the sound of our loved ones voices is the best part of being able to hear! Anyway, I was thinking about how different music makes me think of different people. Smooth Jazz and Classical music is MY music--no one else in my circle of friends/family really adores it the way I do--and it's one of the few lyric free generes that I really enjoy! I actually listen to Classical A LOT (everyday) in my car--I just love it! And I listen to Smooth Jazz too! I listen to those when I want to clear my mind, visualize or think on a deeper level! I never really liked classical until last year, but now I love it! It's so soothing, and quite moody actually--it can go from quiet, danty and serene to dark and deep and heavy--it feels comfortable to me, familiar, like home! I did play Violin for a few years when I was younger so perhaps that's why I love Classical so much now! Smooth Jazz just SCREAMS romance to me, it's a modern way to just unwind, and I really enjoy it! I listen to that a lot when I'm alone in the house, just wanting to mellow out! I like these two genres also because I don't have to disect lyrics, I'm a lyric person, I'm a writer for goodness sakes, so I can't hear music with lyrics without totally disecting the lyrics that I'm hearing.

Anyway, I also listened to the Blues which ALWAYS make me think of my Dad, Joe! Each and every time, we have attended the Portland (Oregon) Blues Festival together quite a few times and whenever I hear any type of Blues Music, I automatically envision my Dad. I also think of him every time I hear Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Van Morrison and Lois Armstrong's "What A Wonderful Word" because that was the song we danced to at my wedding! That was such a sweet moment--one of the best of my life, actually. I have always loved Louis Armstrong, I still do, and he still has the BEST version of that song EVER!

While I'm thinking about Louis Armstrong I'm also thinking about how much I like vocalists who have really distinct voices. Rob Thomas, Darius Rucker, Louis Armstrong, Celine Dion, Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire, Elton John.....when you hear those people, you KNOW it's them. There is no second guessing who it is you're listening too! Being married to Colin has expanded my musical horizions in a big way, and it's honestly one of my most favorite things about him! He's a singer--a really, really spectacular singer so he listens to music on a whole different level. I may not always love the greatest singers in the world, but I do the love the ones who are totally unique! I'm really glad that Colin came into my life and made me listen to music in a different way--it's such a gift!

Anyway, so back to different music making you think of different people! Barbra Striesand, Celine Dion, Elton John, Michael Buble, Ray Charles, The Byrds, The Bee Gees and George Strait always make me think of my mom! The Boy Bands of the 90's make me think of my best friend, Tessa! My grandma, as much I love her, was never really into music, so I don't really have music that reminds me of her! And while I'm admitting to things concerning music, OF COURSE certain songs remind me of past loves. Good times, nice memories. I think EVERYONE has at least a song or two that makes them think of a past love. Trisha Yearwood was SO right "The Song Remembers When"!

I get asked alot why I always come back to Country Music. And I always do. I really love most all types of music now (except rap & metal--no thanks!), but at the end of the day, I always come home to Country. There is just an honest about it I don't find in other generes. As much I enjoy other genres, I just don't get the purity, cleanliness, and genuineness from them that I get from Country. Country music has a realism to it, it's about real life. Songs like 'Highway 20' ride by the Zac Brown Band (which by the way, I think are the best thing to happen to Country Music in a LONG time!) that make grown men cry and express the turmoil of parenting while divorced--THAT'S why I like country music. Yes, it's cheesy, yes it's kind of hokey and no, I don't agree with EVERYTHING they sing about! But, it is my home. When I hear Country Music, I feel like I've come home. Like I said, it's honest, it's real--it's true to life lyrics w/ amazing simple melodies. It's clean, and pure and wonderful! What I get out of Country Music is the soundtrack of my life! And if people would let down their misconceptions about it, they'd probably come to love it--Colin did! When I met him 3 and 1/2 years ago, he hated it, now, he turns it on ALL the time! I KNEW I'd convert him. As for misconceptions about other music--I have them too. I still don't like rap, but I can honestly say I've given a chance now. Colin has made me look at the lyrics and really listen to a variety of rap songs--and I can appreciate the lyrics, the good beat, the poetry--I still don't like it, though. And metal, well, I KNOW that takes some kind of talent to create, I can totally respect the crafting of it, I just can't stand to listen to it because I still think it envokes an angry, dark feeling that pretty much sounds like noise! And also, no lyrics--and as I said, unless we're talking about Smooth Jazz or Classical--I need lyrics! That's another reason I love Country Music so much--the lyrics are what make it! 110%!

Anyway, I'm done with this entry. I've said what I came here to say, I just felt compelled to write! I really am going to go tackle my closet and bathroom now--and listen to great music while I do! Wish me luck! Thank You, Lord, for this glorious day and the very best Saturday yesterday that I've had alone in a LONG time! It was absolutely, positively blissful and one the very best days of my life--EVER! Thank You for that, so much, and for today--to be awake and breathing--writing and thinking--loving and living!

In Light N' Love,
-Sarah Liz :)