How I love warm weather...

I just love when the weather begins to turn and I wake up to sunshine and singing birds outside my window.

I love it because it makes me feel motivated to go out in the world and live my life.

I love it because it means I can put on a skirt or a sundress and feel the wind against my shoulders and ankles...

(by the way I meant to post this yesterday - I woke up today and it was chilly and rainy...but the warm weather was here all weekend and the beginning of this week - it will return!)

Song quote for today: "And the sign said, 'long haired freaky people need not apply'" - Five Man Electrical Band

Today's weather was more like Cardiff...

Two weeks until tour!

Okay the countdown has officially begun...

We are exactly two weeks from the real kick-start of my tour.  I play in New York this coming weekend, but then have another week in the lovely state of Pennsylvania before I hit the road for real.

Let's go over all of the things I'm excited about for this trip, shall we?

#1. 8 Shows, 8 different cities. 

Rockin.

#2. One show in particular....

The Florida Music Festival!

I'm playing Friday night at FMF this year in Orlando, and the bill (as in, same night, same stage) includes Paul Doucette from Matchbox 20.

Rockin.

#3. MD 

Back in Dundalk to the very welcoming people at Village Coffee and Tea!

#4. NC

Treading into Tar Heels territory...

I'm looking forward to bringing up childhood vacation memories in NC.

"Carolina, where have you gone? Nights when the moonbeams shine so strong.

And all of my days were filled with song..." - lyrics from my song "Find Myself"

#5. Visits!

I am visiting SO many wonderful people that I haven't seen in much much too long. They are being awesome and letting me crash on their couches/pull out beds/foutons/use their showers and bask in the glow of their awesome company. 

#6. Disney! 

I may spend some time there at one point or another...with one or two crazy great Disney performers who live much too far away from me. 

Rockin.

#7. Georgia

I love Georgia - it's a beautiful state, and I really enjoy being there. Plus, my oldest friend lives there. And she's Rockin. (Not oldest as in she's the oldest person I know. We've just been friends since we were born.)

#8. Nashville 

Never been. Well, that's not true. I was in the airport once for an hour and a half once on a layover. That doesn't count.

#9. Kentucky

I have a few wonderful people to visit here too :)

#10. Pittsburgh

Still love my home state. 

#11. Family

Visiting some extended family in multiple states - you know who you are ;-)

#12. Philly

I'm ending my 3 week tour in Philly with a show at a currently undisclosed location.

That's because I'm not sure what it'll be yet.

But it's going to feature some awesome performers...like my band (yeah!), Alfred James, Jacob Mathew (of Lighthouse).

ROCKIN.

Check back daily starting on May 11th for updates!

(Love Park photo by Charles Kevin Mauer)

April Fool's Day

Happy April, ladies and gentlemen! Usually April 1st is a day of pranks and tomfoolery but I have to be perfectly honest - I've never been a huge fan of the whole idea. True, it can be a fun to pull a small little prank or joke on a friend or family member, but most of the time I find a lot of "jokes" to be kind of mean...and so I'll refrain from potential hilarity.  

That's not to say that I've never participated.

By far the best April Fools Day prank I ever played on anyone was my freshman year of college - it was a retort to a good friend of mine who had REALLY gotten me earlier that day.  In response to his prank, I staged an argument between myself and my roommate, getting our other roomie and the RA involved. We had pre-packed boxes and duffle bags full of trash, staged a shouting match, then had my RA show up in our neighbor's room (the previous guilty party) and tell the boys that I would be moving to a different dorm - ASAP. We enlisted their help carrying my "boxes of belongings" to a different dorm.  I stayed silent and seemingly furious, while the third roommate (uninvolved in the shouting match) sobbed hysterically. Added genius on her part. 

Four city blocks and 6 flights of stairs later we arrived at a dorm room door that had a sign on it that read "April Fools!" He dropped the box and said "I deserved that" and walked away. 

We've never April Fooled each other since.

(To be honest, I haven't April Fooled ANYONE since...it's not my thing...but if you get me, you best be careful...I will return the favor :)

(This freshman year prank session was between myself and my good friend Ryan who you might recognize from pictures of my cd release show - the fabulous bassist dressed in black in this photo. He and Nathan - producer and drummer dressed in white - and I all lived on the same floor freshman year of school at the University of the Arts.)