Today I went to the Statue of Liberty for the 4th time in less than a year. My best friend, Deb is in town and it was number one on our list of touristy things to do in the city. I recalled my first trip to Lady Liberty and the wonder, amazement, and majesty I felt in its presence. But somehow, after a few more trips, hours of standing in line, boarding and exiting the crowded ferry, and countless aching muscles, the thrill has begun to dwindle. Regardless, it's impossible not to feel some sort of twinge of excitement and curiosity at the Ellis Island Museum when gazing upon the old, blown-up, black and white photos of past immigrants traveling to their new home. On our final ferry ride back to New Jersey, I was amused by the little girl seated in front of us. She was maybe 4 or 5. I couldn't pinpoint the foreign dialect of her or her parents, but I guessed it was an Eastern European language of some kind. Despite the long tiring day the little girl no doubt experienced, she ...

Often the bus from New York City back to Jersey is so crowded, people are forced to stand the whole way because all the seats are taken. I could tell this would be one of those times. Luckily, I was early enough in the boarding line, that there was still a seat or two left. I took the nearest open seat to the door which happened to be next to an unassuming gentlemen, captivated in the music of his iPod. We didn’t exchange a greeting of any kind. I wasn’t even sure if he was aware that someone was now sitting next to him Somewhere in the middle of the 30-minute bus ride, the man took out his earphones, turned to me and said in a very thick exotic accent, “Excuse me, are you a model?” After I processed what he asked, I let out a snicker through my nose and chuckled, “No.” I’m pretty good at reading when people are hitting on me, but I really didn’t sense that from him, which was even more flattering. I explained that I was a musician and he told me that he helped organize several events...

Today was my third EP pre-production meeting with Modern Vintage Recordings . We’re very early on in the recording process and so far, have only laid down guides for each song. A guide is a simple piano and vocal track that sets the tempo and key before the real recording begins. From these guides, we’ll come up with an entire instrumental arrangement for each of the 5 songs. After that is recorded, the next step is to record vocals. And finally, everything will be mixed and mastered to perfection. My last meeting didn’t go so well. I was nervous, distracted, and had a difficult time playing my songs in time with the electronic click track. I realized a few days later that we completely forgot about one of the songs, “Throw Some More Dirt,” and when I reminded the production team, they called me in again to lay down a guide for it. Thank goodness they did, because today went fifty bazillion times better than last time. So much better in fact, that after we laid down “Throw Some Mo...

I recently started attending open mic nights around the city to gain a little more experience and confidence in my performing. It’s a little bit of a process. The night begins at 6 pm when we leave our house an hour and a half before the sign-up starts, allowing time to fight through the rush hour traffic. Once we find a parking spot, plug the meter, and walk several blocks to the café, restaurant, or bar, I stand in line to draw a random number. I’ve done open mic nights in North Carolina, and in Lincoln a long time ago. There were like, 5 people willing to brave the stage. But in New York City, the anxious, artistic crowds are so numerous, the line is backed up out the door. Some nights, I get lucky and draw a number under 20, other nights it can be as high as 50. And at 8 minutes or 2 songs per person, that adds up to a late, late night of waiting your turn. At a recent open mic night, Eddie and I sat at our small, round table drinking water and feigning interest for hours.  A...

Thank goodness I have so many videos from the Play Me, I'm Yours project. I've committed to One Magical Moment Per Day, but to be honest, there are days when it's difficult to find that moment. There are days when I can't remedy my "blues," and conjuring up a fluffy paragraph or two just seems hypocritical. But when I look back at some of my videos, I can pull out a memory to share with you all and hope you see something in it that makes you smile for a moment. So here is a "blues" song from Gansevoort Plaza in Chelsea. I love the depth of this song by Ray Charles and I wish I could do it justice. Hope you enjoy.

As I walked Joy, she drew the normal amount of attention from strangers cooing over her sweet, innocent face. I paused on the sidewalk to speak to a mother whose tiny baby scooted on his stomach on a blanket covering the grass. I kept Joy on a short leash so she wouldn’t scare the baby, but soon let it go lax as I got caught up in conversation. A mere moment later, I looked down in time to see that the little baby had scooted himself to the edge of the blanket and pulled himself up onto his hands and knees. It took all his strength to hold up his wobbly frame. Joy saw him, and though she was practically bursting with excitement and her tail wagged so hard it nearly knocked her over, she instantly dropped to her stomach just a few inches from the baby’s fascinated facial expression and inquisitive large blue eyes. She now was the same height as the baby and slowly inched herself straight towards him as he continued to fearlessly crawl towards her. There they were, both on all fours an...

At a lovely picnic area on the small Army base of Fort Dix, you’ll find well-landscaped grass, a sparkling pond, and lots and lots of groundhogs. My husband’s Reserve unit held a family picnic today after a Change of Command ceremony, to which I hesitantly attended. Big social gatherings, plus people I don’t know, equals some anxiety for me. Plus I still feel weird being a new civilian around military. This morning at the ceremony, I snapped to attention when the General entered the parade field, then quickly looked over my shoulder to see if anyone noticed the Army spouse in flip flops and a sundress make a fool out of herself. At the picnic area, I soon found myself relaxed as I walked Joy around the pond. That was when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye scurrying across the ground, then got very excited when I realized it was too large to be a squirrel and too small to be a dog. I inched closer to examine the critter. It was one of about 10 groundhogs I would see thro...