Music Monday

This weekend we had a bunch of friends over for a cookout and game night, which turned into game weekend. Since I'm not currently not drinking anything alcoholic, I made a pitcher of sangria using a recipe from my Margarita Mama cookbook (which I *love*). The sangria was a hit - I even had to make a second pitcher! The only downside was that Ben and his friends decided that it was a good time to sing or whistle Sangria Wine over and over throughout the night. So since it's been stuck in my head all weekend, I thought I'd share it with you too. (Gee, thanks, you're probably thinking. Don't tell Ben, but I'm a little afraid the song is starting to grow on me...)

Enjoy!

Music Monday

Ben played this song for me last week, and I didn't really appreciate it until Saturday afternoon when we heard them talking about it on the Ticket. They not only played the remix version I had heard already, but they played part of the original. I really think having some context of where the remix comes from is what makes it good. So listen to at least part of the first clip, then enjoy the second one. :)

Hump Day Humor

For today's Hump Day Humor I thought I'd share a funny story about my dog, Booger, that happened yesterday morning. I had turned on the water for the shower to heat up, and while I was getting ready to get in I was singing this song to myself (and the baby):



I love that song! :) Anyway, the dog comes in, looking up at me and wagging his tail. (He enjoys being sung to also.) Then as I kept singing, he starts jumping up, running in little circles, and whining. It looked pretty ridiculous, but I couldn't figure out why he was acting like that. Then I remembered. The song I had been singing had the word C-A-R in it. Put that word with R-I-D-E and you've got Booger's favorite pastime. I was just singing, but he thought I was asking him if he wanted to go for a ride in the car.
At this point I totally felt like the worst doggie-momma ever, especially when I got into the shower and he's still running around the bathroom and standing so he can see me better through the shower door. And I would have taken him for a ride in the car after that, but by the time I was out of the shower and finished getting ready, he didn't seem interested anymore. :)

Music Monday

This morning feels like an Enya morning. Don't ask why, it just does. Enjoy!

Music Monday

Well, we're back from our anniversary vacation down to Lakeway and Austin. The hotel we stayed at in Lakeway was really nice, and had an adult only pool with swim-up bar (I enjoyed that Ben would swim up to get me an iced tea or water), and a family pool with a giant water slide. Our room had a gorgeous lakeside view, complete with a family of deer wandering underneath our balcony (which I didn't get to see, I was in the shower).

And what trip to Austin would be complete without stopping by the Czech Stop in West on the way home? We picked up a couple of kolaches for my mom as a thank you for watching the dog while we were gone, and a box of jalapeno cheddar biscuits for me. Ohmygosh, let me tell you, those are the best biscuits EVER. I just finished one that I toasted in the oven for a couple of minutes, with a soy sausage patty in the middle to make a yummy, spicy breakfast sandwich. Soooooo good.

Enough about my breakfast I suppose. This morning I woke up with a Flogging Molly song in my head. Not sure why this particular song, but here it is. Enjoy!

Music Monday

Last night we went with a couple of friends to see the Riders in the Sky at the Botanic Gardens in Fort Worth. I'd never been to a concert in the garden, but it was a lot of fun! You can bring a cooler and picnic dinner, then sit and enjoy the concert, and watch fireworks afterward. Casey reminded me that when we were kids the Riders in the Sky were on Pee Wee's Playhouse. I used to love that show!

When they played "Woody's Roundup" from Toy Story 2, the baby started moving around. I think she's going to be a Disney fan just like her momma. :) Oh, and the girl who sings the part of Jessie in the song is apparently from Fort Worth, so she came up and sang a couple of songs with them later on in the concert. Neat!

Hump Day Humor

I came across this funny video on Gordon Keith's blog. My favorite part is how the camera man keeps zooming in on the drummer. Hilarious!

Music Monday

Over the weekend I finally watched August Rush, and seriously, I don't know why I waited so long to see it. Some of my fourth graders had told me that I should watch it earlier this school year, and I had it on the Netflix queue, but didn't move it to the top of the list until about a week ago. This movie is WONDERFUL. The music is pretty good too. :) And according to IMDB, Johnathan Rhys Meyers actually performs the songs that his character Louis sings. Bonus points for that.

This song combines classical with rock, which they do a couple of times in the movie. The two main characters, Lyla and Louis, are musicians. Lyla plays classical cello, and Louis is an Irish rocker. So when they're playing at the same time, their music plays together too. Enjoy!

Music Monday

Ben and I have been watching the Olympics, like I'm sure some of you have been doing. (He even didn't change the channel when the pairs skating came on last night. *gasp*) I love Sarah McLachlan's music, and enjoyed listening to her perform during the opening ceremonies on Friday.

Enjoy!

Music Monday

Tonight starts my New Year's Resolution, and yes, I know it's a little early. Oh well. I was inspired. (And if you have no clue what I'm talking about, check yesterday's blog update.) One month of cooking from my newest cookbook, How it all Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer. My mom is coming over, along with possibly a couple of guy friends, and I'm making Classic Spinach Lasagna, with homemade Traditional Tomato Sauce from the same cookbook. (Homemade pasta sauce rocks, and is super easy!) I'm also making Easy Garlic Spread and cooking it in some puff pastry to make garlic bread rolls. Yum! I bought some lasagna noodles just in case, because the closer it gets to cook time, the more chicken I'm getting about making my own pasta. We'll see... I might save homemade pasta for another night when I won't have company...

What about Music Monday? Hold your horses, I was just getting to that. I was putting groceries in the trunk of my car today and had a very "hippie" moment. In the Whole Foods parking lot, wearing faux-suede boots and an organic cotton skirt, putting reusable grocery sacks filled with tofu and organic veggies into the tiny trunk of my Beetle...

Needless to say, I listened to some Beatles on the way home.

This is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Music Monday

Today's Music Monday is all about easing you back into the week. Did you have a busy Halloween weekend like we did? Feeling like you need to chill? Then sit back, relax, and listen to some Josh Groban. Trust me, you'll feel much better afterwards. :)

Music Monday

Lately I've been listening to Pandora Radio in the mornings when I'm getting ready for school. I love having this app on my iPhone, because I can put the phone on the counter and listen to music, but I can also see the time...which is great, because I'm definitely not a morning person at all.

Anyway, one of my favorite channels is the Simon and Garfunkel channel. If you haven't noticed, I love folk and folksy music. :) The first Simon and Garfunkel song I really fell in love with was "April Come She Will." I remember listening to the LP that my parents had, and playing this song over and over again. My mom loved that I enjoyed Simon and Garfunkel. I don't know how many times I heard about how they played at Miami when she was in college. (And this is the "good" Miami, the one in Ohio, as my mom would say.)

Music Monday

My husband showed me this last night, and I thought it was pretty much the neatest music remix I've seen in a while. If you like science, space, Carl Sagan, or Stephen Hawking, this video is right up your alley. Oh, and if you're like me, and you enjoy all of those things too, you should check out The Universe. This is pretty much the coolest science show ever. Seriously. Then again, I love learning about space. Maybe I'm just a nerd.

Music Monday

Wow, I can't believe it's so far into September and I haven't blogged! Well here to kick off the month (even if it's a couple of weeks late) is a song from Chicago. I love musicals, but we're playing a medley from Chicago in the Mansfield Wind Symphony for the Mansfield Pecan Festival later this month. So I've especially had this song stuck in my head for a couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Music Monday

Ben and I were in Austin this weekend. Friday night we were at a breakfast-for-dinner party, and Saturday night was game night. Lots of fun times! Yesterday for lunch we went someplace I hadn't been before -- Shady Grove. Not only was the food really good, the scenery was great too. Huge shade trees cover the entire back patio area, which keeps the whole area nice and cool.

The entire time we were at Shady Grove, I had a folk song stuck in my head. I played it for everyone when we got back to the car, and got it stuck in my friends' heads too. This version is different than the one I played for my friends. I played the Jean Ritchie version for them, which I posted in my blog back in June. This version is for all you Dead Heads out there -- Jerry Garcia's version of Shady Grove. Enjoy! :)

What's Going on at Bohemian Rose?

Well thanks for asking! The answer is... a lot! I have a batch of NEW lip balm waiting to be labeled, along with restock of Minty Lavender lip balm. And this afternoon I'm making another NEW lip balm flavor. I just have to decide which flavor I'd like to make next. That's the hardest part. :) Look for two new lip balm flavors to be up in my Artfire and Etsy shops soon!

Speaking of new, I also have some new soap on the curing rack. How about Minty Lavender soap? Smells just like the lip balm, but you can use it in the shower! Amazing! This one should be up in my Artfire and Etsy shops in a couple of weeks. Also coming up soon soapwise - Fall scents!

Yesterday I spent four hours at the car dealer waiting for them to do my 40,000 mile check up on my car. I knew it would take a while, but I was thinking two, three at the most. By 1:30 I asked how much longer they thought it would be. He told me that ETA was 2:30... So I called my amazing friend Alana, who had just finished up with teaching the flute sectionals at band camp. She lives about 8 minutes from the dealer, so she came to pick me up and we went to lunch. By the time the dealer called, it was after 3:00. That's a crazy long time! Good thing I brought things that I needed to work on, otherwise I think I would've had cabin fever about an hour into it. Even though it took a while, Rusty Wallis always does a great job with their service. All the service guys are great, they do a wonderful job, and they're (usually) pretty fast. Plus, my car is all shiny and clean now. Bonus!

So since I missed it yesterday, here's Music Monday for your listening pleasure -- some dueling banjos arranged for mountain dulcimer.

Friday Feature

Last weekend when Ben and I went down to Austin, we went ahead and bought my birthday present, even thought it was a week and a half early. I had asked Ben for a mountain dulcimer, but since he had absolutely no idea what it was in the first place, I did some research and found exactly what I wanted. We could either have it shipped directly from McSpadden Dulcimers in Arkansas, or, since we were going to be in Austin anyway, pick it up at a folk music store, Fiddler's Green, that sold them.

This is the type of dulcimer that we bought. Cherry back, and redwood top -- it actually looks much darker in color than in the picture. While we were paying for my dulcimer, several other customers were admiring the pegs, discussing what high quality they are. I know I'm still a beginner dulcimer player, but the sound quality is very nice (and I did try out all of the dulcimers they had in stock). If you're looking to buy a mountain dulcimer for yourself (and why wouldn't you be?!?!), you can't go wrong with a McSpadden Dulcimer. Or if you're in the Austin, TX area, head on over to Fiddler's Green. The guy who helped me was very knowledgeable and helpful. If I lived in Austin, I'd definitely go back for lessons!

Hump Day Humor

In honor of today being my mom's birthday, I thought I'd post something she'll think is funny. Happy birthday, mom!

And Finally... Part III

So you saw that I was out in Lubbock taking a two week class, and then you stuck around to read Part II about Orff Schulwerk. Now, the thrilling conclusion... Part III, all about Kodaly!

Before I tell you about Kodaly, let's start with how to pronounce it. It sounds like "co-dye" with emphasis on the first syllable.

Alright, now that you know how to say it, let's get on with the show. The Organization of American Kodaly Educators has a wonderful outline of everything that is Kodaly. In a nutshell, the Kodaly Concept is that singing is the foundation of musical learning. The voice is an instrument we all have, and that we can use throughout our lives. Through singing, children learn how to read and write music, improvise and create. In a Kodaly elementary music classroom, children use folk songs, singing games, and chants to have these experiences.

Zoltan Kodaly was a Hungarian composer who spent much of his life advocating music education in Hungary. He believed that if people are well-educated musically (starting in early childhood), they become more informed and appriciative listeners of professional musicians. Kodaly also saw folk music as being important for continuing a culture's traditions. Along with Bela Bartok, another Hungarian composer, he gathered folk songs from villages all over Hungary. In fact, many of his compositions were inspired by Hungarian folk songs.

In my opinion, music teachers don't have to, and shouldn't, see themselves as solely "Orff" or "Kodaly." Both can and should be used in the elementary music classroom. In my own class, for example, I use singing games, rhymes, and folk songs. But with these songs, I also have my students play on Orff instruments, create, and move. All of these activities together make my students well-rounded musicians. Yes, they enjoy playing singing games to learn musical concepts, but they also love playing instruments. Why should I deprive them of one or the other, just so my teaching falls into someone's strict guidelines of what an ideal music class should be?

"Shady Grove" is one of my favorite folk songs, and is one that often will randomly pop into my head. Here it is as sung by Jean Ritchie, who sang many, many folk songs for children on her mountain dulcimer. Enjoy!

Where Have You Been, Bohemian Rose?

I've been to your Art Fire and Etsy shops, and they're both on vacation! Where did you go???

If you're asking yourself this oh-so-important question, you've come to the right place. Both of my shops are temporarily on vacation for two weeks, until Sunday, June 21. So never fear, they'll be back up and ready for your soapy needs in another week!

Right now I'm in the very flat city of Lubbock, TX, taking a two week elementary music education training. This summer I'm taking Kodaly Level I. There are all together four levels of training to take before I can say I'm Kodaly certified. My roommate is taking Level II this summer... Here's hoping I can stick it out to the bitter end!

If you're asking yourself, what *is* Kodaly anyway? read on.

There are two major schools of thought in music education - Orff Schulwerk and Kodaly. (As a side note, I'm already Orff certified. You'll see how Orff and Kodaly go wonderfully together in the classroom.)

Check back later for my gripping part II to find out exactly what Orff and Kodaly entail!