If My Life Was a Playlist

So I thought of this idea the other day and thought it could be a fun post. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to condense my life into a playlist. Probably should have seen that coming, but whatever. Anyway I set strict parameters for myself, so I didn’t over think this assignment. I broke my life up into four sections: baby, child, teenager and adult. Then allowed myself to pick four songs for each section. Maybe I will add to each list later on but for right now this is what I came up with(the full playlist will be at the end of the post if you want to listen to it):

~baby

• Precious and Few by Climax– this is my Dad and I’s song. He has told me numerous times that I was not a great nap taker as a baby and that the only way he could get me to fall asleep at all was by singing this song to me.
• Jesus Loves Me- my Mom would sing this song and Jesus Loves the Little Children(substituting my name for “children”). There are so many videos of me singing this song! If there is even the remotest chance of me singing a song on tape(which being totally honest even as I child I was always singing) I will be singing this one.
• I’m a Believer by Smash Mouth- I know strange pick, but let me give you a little back story. We watched a lot of movies growing up: Disney, Dreamworks, etc. And we knew all the songs to all the movies but none like the songs from Shrek. My sister and I(and my older siblings too) could do the whole end credit performance form Shrek complete with the choreography. We were known to randomly belt out “she’s got a big butt” in the supermarket.
• Veggietales Theme Song- like the afore mentioned song we also knew every Veggietales song. We had the Christmas tape and various other tapes of their songs. My brother and I performed a pretty entertaining duet of “sport utility vehicle”. We drove our poor parents insane!

~child

• Indian Reservation by Paul Revere& The Raiders- the next four songs all play a very important part of my childhood. They remind me of a summer, when my brother, younger sister and I lived outside in our family’s garage. My Dad would blast the old records from his teenage years and we would ride my Mom’s swivel chair up and down our inclined driveway. I actually have a whole playlist on my phone called “the summer of 2004” with these songs listed and the numerous others I didn’t have the space to include. It’s so cool how a song can instantly transport you back in time.
• Never Been to Spain by Three Dog Night
• More Than a Feeling by Boston
• Livin’ On a Prayer by Bob Jovi

~teenager

• The Phantom of the Opera- so if my Dad taught me 70’s rock’n roll my Mom taught me show tunes and musicals. Fiddler on the Roof, the Sound of Music; but her favorite and the one we blasted in the car on the way to the store was the Phantom of the Opera! We listened to it so much the CD broke and we had to get another one. When I was a teenager and started making my own money I bought other musicals: Les Miserables, Secret Garden, Anastasia, etc. And I love musicals to this day.
• I’m a Believer by December Radio- if I could have just one song that incapsulates me this would be it.
• Thankful by Caedmon’s Call- or this one.
• Strong Tower by Kutless- I mentioned this one in a post two weeks ago(here). It takes me back to my freshman year of high school(as mentioned in the above linked post) and reminds me just how great and faithful God is.

~adult

(Just a precursor- this section is still evolving. I don’t know which songs will stay with me for years and which are just here for a time. So my list might change rapidly but I picked songs that I felt showed where I am now)

• First Burn- it’s song covered from a musical. And it’s beautiful.
• Shut Up and Dance by WALK THE MOON– is it wrong to want to play this song at my wedding(ya know if I ever get married)? This is one of the handful of songs on my “I-will-dance-in-public-and-freak-everyone-out playlist”(which doesn’t actually exist anywhere but in my head) This song just makes me want to smile.
• Believer by Imagine Dragons- I am a big Imagine Dragons fan, while kind of. There are some of their songs of which I am not a fan. They are however on my short list of artists I would like to see in concert.
• Vienna by Billy Joel- so I picked this one, cause I felt like it describes where I am right now and how I view my life… In a way.

Anyway I hope you guys found this interesting. I’m curious what would be on your “life playlist”? What songs take you back? And let me know if you would be interested in me doing another post like this. Until next time!

Lots of love,

Tally

music.apple.com/us/playlist/if-my-life-was-a-playlist/pl.u-V9D7mRks3V4lgqP

Two Empty Sweaters

With seven days off to be with my whole family the Christmas season was looking bright and care free. But life rarely turns out so simple and carefree. To start with my parents 16 yr. old yorkie took a turn for the worst the week before Christmas and they eventually made the decision to put her down. She’d lived a long and good life and it was time. Still her sudden change of health came, if not at a surprise than at least at a fast.

Everyone was of course sad for her lose, but we never dreamed that just two days later my sister’s three old Havanese, Dot would bolt from the house. After a five hour search through the dark, cold Illinois night we eventually had to wait till morning to search again. (I ended up getting an awful had cold because of the fridge temps) By morning we searched again for hours and found no sign. Flyers went up along with Facebook pages and ads in the newspaper. As of this writing(seven days later) Dot is still missing. There’s a small chance she’ll be found and returned to my sister, but that chance gets smaller everyday.

Bella and Dot…

My parents(since my youngest sister still lives with them) went from having three dogs to just the one in less than a week. I know they’re just dogs and they don’t live forever, but these darling fur-babies grab hold of your heart, don’t they? We may never know what became of Dot, or where she ran too, but I do know that God is in charge of even this. It hurts and it sucks, but He loves Dot even more than we do(He created her after all) and He knows exactly where she is and who she’s with.

Anyway if you guys can be please praying, especially for my sister. Two sweet puppy Christmas sweaters went unworn this year and it tares at my heart.

Lots of love,

Tally

Closing Thoughts on 2019

The decade is ending and a new one is just beginning. A lot has happened since 2010. I’ve coasted through my teen years, muddled through high-school and graduated(crazy!). I got my first job and quit my first job. I got my dream job and moved away from home. I’ve flown across the country and across the world. I’ve bought two cars… Which sucks. I’ve been blessed with an Izzy Ellen and a George.

Look how little George is… he’s a baby fish.

I’ve started a blog(crazy again) and gone on some crazy adventures because of it. I’ve made friends and lost a few. I became an aunt!! I’ve cried over things I can’t remember and laughed so hard with loved ones that I’ll never forget. I’ve become obsessed with coffee and sitting in coffee shops. I’ve seen eight broadway musicals(I could literally die!)

I would like to say I’ve learned a lot; like being more comfortable with who I am and content with where I am(well not all the time, but I’m only human). I would like to say I’ve learned to know when to fight for myself and when to let things slide. That I’ve stretched myself out of my comfort zone and made myself participate with people. (Yuck! Just kidding) But most of all I want to say that I have grown closer to God and have learned more about Him. And I think the most important thing that I have learned in the past decade is no matter what, God is in control. He will do what He wants, when He wants to do it. And it‘s always more than I could have even thought of, or dreamed of having, or doing. Or how could that possibly turn out for good. Sometimes I miss out on something I think I surely should have and I may never know why. I guess what I am trying to say is God is all that matters. I don’t, my wants don’t, my timetable doesn’t- Only Him.

So yes the world around us is crappy and it is only going to get worse, but God is good and He never changes. So bring on 2020 and let His will be done.

Let’s do this!

Lots of love,

Tally

Christmas Diary 2019

Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to all of you!! I hope you had an amazing holiday and are excited for the new year and the new decade. I have two very special posts going up(one of which I have been working on all year) in celebration of 2020! But first I thought I’d give you a quick blow by blow of my Christmas break with my family.

Sweet Pupper kisses 😘

The break began with a bang. We went Christmas food shopping and as my sister said, “Our cart is very fun.” Not a healthy, fat free thing was to be found. Mostly butter and chocolate. All in all we had a great time. The night however ended horribly when my sister’s dog ran away… we still haven’t found her. I’ll write more on this later, because I want this post to be kinda upbeat. (I don’t want to cry right now)

The next day brought so much Christmas cookie baking. My family apparently can’t do anything half way, so we did like six or seven different kinds of cookies…

It was very exhausting.

The day after that was family picture day and a crap ton of pizza, hot chocolate bar, puzzles and the Mandalorian! Again we can’t do anything by halves.

We’re looking fly!

Mercifully Monday turned into a day of rest(I had an awful head cold my entire time home… figures) and I literally just bummed around… it was glorious.

Christmas Eve carried on our family tradition of all day junk and snack food with board games. My sister and I took my Mom on in Scrabble(her favorite game) We we were shocked when we both beat her. Were we really that good??? Yeah no. The next game she creamed us. Beating us both by a margin of 140 points… she then proceeded to tell everyone how badly she’d beaten us.

Christmas Day started with my dad’s famous French toast and bacon, then presents, more games, naps and a ham dinner. I apparently was so lazy I didn’t take any pictures… oh well!

How was your Christmas? Does your family have any Christmas traditions? What was the highlight of your holiday? Please leave and comment below and don’t forget to subscribe!

Lots of love,

Tally

Where’s Tally?

So what happened? Where have I been?

(Do not own this picture)

Well my work schedule kinda got a tad bit crazy and then my brother came home! (After an 8 month deployment) Which required two back-to-back trips home. (A 4 hour drive for those of you who don’t know) Anyway I didn’t have the time to work on any new content, but I’m more than ready to get back to a normal-ish schedule. (Cause I mean what’s normal?)

My sister Tay, my brother Jake and me!

Looking toward the future my spring and summer are already filling up with busyness, but I am going to try very hard not to lower my level of content again. (Just to see if I can do it) This might involve writing emergency content ahead of time to post when I don’t have the time to actually create something new. However life happens, so who knows! 

Izzy dog! 

I do know we’ll be wrapping up our series on Nannyhood and starting a new series on Creating a Signature Style. Plus covering: my upcoming London trip, daily nanny life and adventures, etc. etc.

Izzy’s sister(Tay’s dog) Dot!

Just thought you guys would like an update. Speaking of updates Blogger (the platform I use for my blog) recently updated the comments section. Because of this I know some of you haven’t been able to leave comments. I’m not totally sure why this is but will be looking into. Also the subscription box on my home page isn’t working… Ugh! I will also be attempting to fix this. Until I get these problems fixed (I’ll let you know when I do) please feel free to leave any comments or questions on any of my below social media accounts and follow me on any of them to stay updated on my latest content. (Facebook and Instagram are normally the first to know)

Lots of loves,

Tally

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