Category: MusicIsLifeIsMusicIsLife

The 2013 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 8

by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Blog Projects, Fitnesslicious, Mommydom, MusicIsLifeIsMusicIsLife, My New Life As Me

Day 8: List 5 passions that you have.

1. Writing. Writing. Writing. Writing. It’s all I really know how to do except write. I write all my feelings in letters that I never send. I write in cards instead of canned sentiment. I write for a living. I write this blog. This is all I know how to do & sometimes I even do it well. Sometimes. But writing is my true passion in life.

2. Faith/spirituality. I am very passionate about learning to be a better person, discovering God’s plans for me and my family and where all of it will take me. I’ve taken some flack from readers because of my strong pro-LGBT stance and my Christianity, however, I like to point out that I choose to focus on Jesus’s words on the subject, which are none. I enjoy my church, the community, and the messages I’m getting from the sermons. I try to apply to my daily life, try to be nicer, kinder, better.

3. Music. I love music. It makes me feel better, I listen to what affects my mood, etc. I love everything about music. Just for kicks, here’s what I’m listening to right now:

playlist

4. Self-improvement. I’m not a person who enjoys remaining stagnant. I want to grow, evolve and change. Whether it’s tearing apart my house and repainting the whole thing to make it happier, to yoga to improve my body, meditation to improve my mind, I will always continue to try and expand my horizons and grow as a person. It’s very important to me to continue to learn and grow as I wander through life. These things are important to me. I don’t want to become complacent and end up screwing up everything in my life because I didn’t follow through, etc.

5. Corporate Law. Surprisingly enough, I actually enjoy the work I do at placement…not so much in class. There’s something about actually doing it and watching the mergers and such take place that is really fascinating! I enjoy my firm, the people I work with and how it all comes together.

The 2013 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 5

by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Blog Projects, Celebrity Fluff, Dorkdom, Mommydom, MusicIsLifeIsMusicIsLife, My New Life As Me

Day 5: name 5 things that make you happy right now.

Most things make me happy. I’m a generally happy person. I live a blessed life: I have three amazing children, awesome friends. I have a church community that is welcoming and allows me to grow spiritually. I’ve been blessed with many talents. I enjoy my work @ my law firm & my magazine. But I’m sure there are five things that make me happiest:

1. My daughters. Durr.
2. Maroon 5. I saw them last night & they were amazing. Adam Levine is smoking hot live & Owl City was an amazing opening act. All good things.
3. Drew. My best friend always makes life awesome.
4. The sun. I’ll like it more when it’s warm.
5. Paint. My living room is finally being painted, which will make my house a little more “mine.”

The 2013 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day Four

by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Blog Projects, Dorkdom, Douchers, MH vs Dating, Mommydom, MusicIsLifeIsMusicIsLife, My New Life As Me, Relationships, Seriously WTF?

Day Four: 10 Things you would tell your 16 year old self.

1. True girlfriends are hard to come by & you’ll likely never have more than two at a time. Some “girlfriends” will do all of those things you see in teen dramas. This never changes, even as adults. Hold on to the true girlfriends & mad love for your guy friends & your gay friends.

2. There’s no shame in being nice, even to people who hurt you. Always treat people the way you want to be treated.

3. There’s someone out there for you. When I find them, I’ll let you know.

4. Don’t keep trying to be perfect. You’ll never be perfect. Just be you.

5. You’re gonna interview Amanda Marshall. It’s awesome.

6. You’ll always be the good girl. You’ll always love & get your heart broken. You’ll never just put out without love. You’ll never be selfish. That’s okay. Don’t let anyone tell you there’s anything wrong with being the good girl. You’ll be the role model for your daughters.

7. Good music fixes everything.

8. Don’t stress when you put on weight. You’re still pretty & you were too thin anyway.

9. Geese will never stop being scary.

10. Life never gets easier. It’ll always hurt. People will leave. They’ll crush you. Sometimes you’ll wonder what’s the freaking point. The point is that you’re amazing & the people who truly matter will know. You’ll become a mom (& a good one), a writer & you’ll be alright. You’ll do amazing things. Just get through the crap by loving the good.

The 2013 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 1

by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Blog Projects, Celebrity Fluff, Dorkdom, MH vs Dating, Mommydom, MusicIsLifeIsMusicIsLife, My New Life As Me

Blog challenge

We did this last year and it was fun, so we’re going to do it again this year. I was going to wait until the first of March, but I don’t feel like it, so we’re starting today! Enjoy!

Day One: List 20 Random Facts About Yourself

1. I will only use one brand of makeup. Allegedly they test on animals. My friend sends me photos of dead bunnies and I cry.

2. The only time I ever wanted to write poetry was after watching 10 Things I Hate About You. I thought if my person & I ever had some tragic, Shakespearean falling out, I could write something similar and it would open the doors of communication and we’d work it out. But I’m a horrible poet & chances are Heath Ledger would have taken his guitar & run with it.

3. I have a freakish obsession with pancakes.

4. I currently think the Imagine Dragons are the best new band in the history of everything.

5. Nothing can be wrong in the world when Lifehouse is on my stereo.

6. I named one of my children after a minor character in a horror movie.

7. I often wish I could change my major to Social Work. It’s why my blog’s content has gravitated towards self help.

8. I abhor the smell of vanilla.

9. I don’t own a copy of Le Petit Prince, not in french nor in english and that makes me totally sad.

10. I have a bigger TV set than anyone I know and I never watch it ever. I use it for digital music and video games.

11. I’m a huge Zelda nerd & I have never finished the game Majora’s Mask.

12. I hate planning things for myself. I hate anything that makes me the centre of attention, so my birthday plans start out with me attempting to plan, then forgetting and realizing three days before that I’m not doing anything.

13. I walked out on a date after 20 minutes because the guy told me he didn’t see the value of higher education.

14. I love Maroon 5 and Adam Levine more than anything, but I still think Songs About Jane mostly sucks.

15. My three year old has tried to teach me to understand football. She explains it better than most dudes that I know.

16. I still listen to boy bands and contend that *N’Sync was far superior to the Backstreet Boys.

17. My one goal in life is to report from a war zone. The closest I’ve come is live tweeting Dawna playing Call of Duty.

18. I have been trying to quit consuming caffeine for a month now. I have gone zero days without it.

19. I suffer from insomnia. Whenever I’m stressed or hurting, sleep is the first thing to go.

20. I’ve avoided Walmart for three weeks and will continue to do so for the next two.

Trip

by maryhelenc, posted in ASH General, Celebrity Fluff, Dorkdom, Mommydom, MusicIsLifeIsMusicIsLife, My New Life As Me

I was talking to my good friend over at the Gleason Table about a theory that I heard that you can tell what kind of a person you are by the top songs on their iPod/iTunes/Sound Cloud/Spotify/Groove Shark/Songza.

I said I bet you can tell what someone is thinking the same way (something a teacher suggested once). He thought it was pretty legit, so I thought I’d share it with all of you! I’ve even posted my own iTunes Top 25 for all of the armchair shrinks (or to mock my musical tastes. Whatevs).

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Interesting, huh? Likely not so much. Of course, knowing what I’m listening to is fairly easy, as the title of every blog post is the song I happen to be listening to at the time, my Twitter & Tumblr boast my #songoftheday & I proudly admit I get lost in the music & end up singing in public.

This wouldn’t work for everyone, but for those of you who, like me, are emotionally connected to music, you’ll be able to look at your playlist & go “Hey…seems legit!”

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Are you listening to a lot of high energy music? Maybe you’re excited about a project. Do you identify with lyrics, feel like they’re torn from your mind? What are those lyrics saying to you? Perhaps it’s a clue that you need to make a change. Listening to a lot of break up/make up songs? Maybe you’re not where you want to be in a relationship. If you’re emotionally connected to your music, then perhaps your playlist is telling you something.

Regardless of whether it does or not, it’s a kind of fun little project that can be amusing and maybe helps us look inward a little more. I’m always trying to learn new ways to get to know myself better in my quest to be the best MHC that I can be. There’s no harm in becoming more self aware, in fact it only helps us become better to ourselves…& each other.

*puts headphones back in*

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PS: If there are any songs on my list unfamiliar to you, be sure to check them out! They’re all phenomenal!

Famous Last Words

by maryhelenc, posted in ASH General, Dorkdom, Just Fun, MusicIsLifeIsMusicIsLife, My New Life As Me, Relationships

As we say goodbye to 2012 & enter 2013, we’re all gonna make a series of resolutions, promises, etc.

We won’t keep a single one.

We never do. It’s human nature. So, instead of resolutions, I’m going to list a bunch of lessons I’m gonna apply to my life in 2013. Perhaps they’ll help you too.

1. Always forgive those who have hurt you; intentionally or not.

2. Pride holds us back from where we belong. Swallow it.

3. Words said while angry may hurt, but binding yourself to them instead of admitting you spoke too harshly will cost you.

4. Never stop fighting for what you feel is worth fighting for, even if it means laying down your weapon & taking the blow.

5. The greatest lies are the ones we tell ourselves; stop.

6. If its all you seek, it’s all you want. Claim it

7. The bravest admission you can make is that you were wrong.

8. What’s right is rarely popular. What’s popular is rarely right.

9. Be yourself, even if you’re a weirdo.

10. Love survives the coldest winters & the harshest storms. If its worth it, you’ll endure the hurricane for the calm.

That’s it. That’s all. I’m going to apply all of these in the hopes that I’ll continue on the road to being a better MHC. Otherwise, have a safe & happy 2013 from the ASH team!