I was able to spend a few glorious days with my 2 nephews, Ethan and Zach. Each visit is just like we've never been apart, but every goodbye seems so sad. And after only a few days together, I have more "magical moments" stored up than I can count! This one made me laugh. Ethan (4 years old) asked me to draw him a family of hamsters. And since the boys know that whenever Aunt Beth visits, she'll do whatever they want, I got the crayons out. I wasn't sure how to begin drawing a family of hamsters, but I gave it my best shot. After a few minutes, there was a mommy hamster, a daddy hamster, and a baby hamster. I thought we were finished until he asked me to draw the grandpa and grandma hamster. Of course! His Granny and Papaw are such a big part of his little life, he couldn't imagine a world without them. So, off I drew. I held up my final masterpiece for Ethan's approval, when he made it clear that something was horribly wrong.  "The grandpa hamster ...

I love this video! It's a "Booyah!" moment. And it reminded me of my own booyah moment... Years ago, back when I was an eager, young ROTC cadet, I competed in an event called the German Armed Forces Badge of Merit Proficiency. The competition consisted of 7 physical challenges over the course of 3 days. At the end, depending on your score, you qualified for either the Gold, Silver, Bronze, or  no  badge. There were over 60 soldiers competing and only a handful of them were females. I was the only female from my school to attend. On the first day, I came across 2 active duty Army captains. Like most young, females in the military, they found me to be an easy and visible target. And like most young, naive females, I said nothing as they took their shots.  They made light of the challenging physical activities and teased, "Why did we bother to prepare if they have  females  competing? This should be the easiest thing we've ever done. What a joke." Etc. Si...

My best friend of nearly 20 years,  Deb , now has 2 small kids of her own. The oldest, Zoey, is turning out to be quite a ham, just like her mom! I have memories of Deb and I in 5th grade making complete fools out of ourselves in public, and enjoying every second of it. Once, we thought it would be absolutely hilarious to call random strangers Elvis Butt. I don't know why we thought that, but ya know what? It  was  hilarious.  Recently, Deb, Zoey, and I were sitting in her living room when Zoey (only 3 at the time) said the word, "Ice cream Butt." It caught us so off guard, that before Deb realized it, she had let out a snicker. Immediately she caught herself and threw a stern look at her daughter. But it was too late. Zoey realized she found a word that made us laugh, and so she took advantage of the situation, incorporating it into every sentence possible. And strangely enough,  every  time it was funny. Finally Deb tried to crack down a little harder, ...

There is an episode of the comedy TV show,  30 Rock , that I find has become quite relevant to me when recording for my album. The finished product of a song is flawless, perfect, smooth. But the road getting to that outcome is a  very  different story.  In this episode, Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), records a business presentation. His staff watches the segment and is impressed with his impeccable deliverance of the lines, his eye contact, and his overall demeanor. They praise him as a "natural" on camera and ask him to make a guest appearance on their live TV show, to which he agrees. However, they get a hold of the outtakes from his recording session and are immediately terrified of how he will do on live TV. Click here for the hilarious clip of before and after. There are days when I've had to record one word of one lyric a half dozen times or more, just to get the pronunciation right, or the pitch just perfect, or the timing right on. But you'd never know it l...

There are a couple running routes that Joy and I tackle. The 3 main ones I choose from are the Long route, the Short route, and the Hard route. The Hard route is full of hills. And just when we think we're done with our work out and we're home free, there is one last enormous hill to conquer. A hill so steep, long, and winding, that the sidewalk has been turned into stairs for pedestrians. But once we've made it to the top, it feels so good. I praise Joy and tell her what a good girl she is. I just think it's a great way to finish a run. Not an easy way. But then again, most things worth doing never are. (This is the first half of the hill, the second is beyond that curve)

This is a video from Jazz Night at Soule Restaurant in Brooklyn. I played there last week and had a great time. They invited me back to play June 10th! Enjoy!

Don't mess with a Mamma's babies!  "The watchful mother tarries nigh, though sleep has closed her infant's eyes."   -John Keble Happy Mother's Day, all you Mammas out there!