...music is a great healer...

I've discovered a new love on the internet.  It's called turntable.fm.  


For those of you who've never heard of it, you're missing out.  It's still in beta right now, so, you've got to have a facebook account and a friend that uses it for easiest access.  But, the general premise is as follows: 


In any given "room," there are five DJs playing music.  They take turns, down the line, playing a song from their queue, one song at a time.  Whether you are a DJ or just a listener in the room, you then get to like or dislike it.  (In turntable terms: "Lame" it or "Awesome" it).  If enough people dislike a song, it is skipped. Otherwise, if you like it, you just rock out with your little avatars bobbing their heads away.    

A typical turntable room.  That's my queue along the side. 

Turntable has a pretty great collection of songs already uploaded, but should you find them lacking a particular song you are jonesing to play, you've got the option of uploading it yourself.  There are established public rooms that can have over a hundred people in them, where you'll find it is nearly impossible to get any DJ time.  So, fun if you want to just listen.


However, I prefer the small, private rooms myself.  Hanging out with a few "real life" friends listening to music and surprising each other with your picks.  


Sorry, I should have mentioned the best part about turntable before now.  You can't see what anyone else is going to play.  So, it's always a surprise!  The site is quickly becoming my favorite site for listening to music.  Mainly because, unlike pandora or last.fm (which I also enjoy), you can actually discuss the music you're listening to with other people.  For me, that's a blast.


Haha, I realize I sound a bit like an ad for turntable, which is not my intent.  It just happens that it coincides with something I've been thinking about a lot lately.  The power of music.  To mend, to uplift, to help you wallow - to somehow, beautifully, do all three at the same time.


An example of this kind of song, for me, is The Talking Heads' This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody).  (Okay, I cannot NOT mention this.  In a strange turn of events, that some might find interesting, I've got last.fm playing in the background right now, and this *exact* song just started playing...as I was typing it.  What a strange and lovely coincidence!).  

So, firstly, Naive Melody helps me wallow, because I never really listened to The Talking Heads before I met Dos.  Of course, I'd heard Psycho Killer and Burning Down the House before.  Can you live on this planet and NOT know of those songs?  But, other than a few of their popular tracks, I wasn't very familiar with this awesome, quirky band.  Naive Melody in particular makes me think of Dos in nostalgic terms.  It was on the mix CD he gave me, on our first date ever.  It became one of "our" songs.  So, wallow wallow wallow.


But, secondly, it's uplifting too.  When they hit those three part harmony Ooo's, a little part of me melts.  Plus, home IS where I want to be, so how can I not love this song and feel good about it?  


I really love those musical moments when the harmony is just so, or suddenly strings sweep in, or a great backbeat starts pumping, etc etc etc.  You know, when the music really just grabs you.  Sigh.  The other wonderful thing is, it's different songs for different folks.  I love most kinds of music, but screamo, polka, and heavy metal have never really done it for me.  But, how great is it that there are people out there screaming, oompa-pa-pa-ing, and thrashing along?  Music moves us!  Whether it's Dr. Dre, Imogen Heap, Katy Perry, The Chemical Brothers, Mumford and Sons, Frank Sinatra, The White Stripes, Damien Rice, or anything and everything in between, it gets us.  Sometimes when no one around us does.  And, when we are hurting, it heals us.


I think the 'healing' bit is pretty obvious, but I'll expound anyway.  (It's how I roll...).  A few months ago, I could not have listened to Naive Melody without tears, tears of the my-heart's-being-ripped-out-and-shredded-before-me variety, and all of the snot and runny mascara that entails.  But look at me now -- my heart has miraculously returned to my chest, beating with only a slight arrhythmia and a couple of Band-Aids.

So, along these same lines of healing and moving on, I thought I would give an update on where I'm at goal-wise today.  

As of today, I am 183.4 lbs.  That's a total loss of 16.6 lbs in 47 days.  Not too shabby.  

My weight loss chart from myfooddiary.com to date.

But, as anyone losing weight and getting healthy knows, it's not all about the scale, right?  So, here's a quick breakdown of inches lost as well.  (If I'm going to toot my horn, it might as well be a bullhorn...):


Waist: 5.7 inches
Hips: 3.0 inches
Chest: 2.6 inches
Thigh: 2.5 inches
Calf: 0.5 inches
Bicep: 0.4 inches


That's 14.7 total inches lost.  Hooray.  Let's have a party, a "yay me" party! 


I've been doing various workouts, instead of sticking strictly to the Jillian Michaels DVD. I get too bored with the same video over and over.  So, thanks to Netflix instant streaming, I've been changing it up with Pilates, "Dancing Off the Inches" (a little goofy, but a fun way to get in some cardio when I'm bored with the other stuff), and some beginner yoga.  Also, I've thrown in a few Turbo Jam DVDs now and then.  Fun, but I notice strain on my knees more with this set of workouts than any of the others.  


Also, we've got a pool.  Hallelujah! So, I try to swim every day, or at least every other.  Many days, I'll wait until the little ones are settled down for the night (around 7:30/8:00 or so) and the bigs are watching a movie or playing a board game before bed to get in the pool.  I love the pool at twilight, when the fireflies start blinking around the yard.  Another great healing time.  I *need* to move some music playing device out there, so I can combine the two!  (I'll work on that. Haha.).


Hmmmm, what else?  Oh, yes.  Other than one small hiccup, I am still off the cigarettes.  Whoo hoo.  


So, really, the only goal that I am slacking on right now is the creativity-harnessing.  I haven't sent out any stories yet.  Part of that is the reading fees for most online submissions.  But, part of it is time as well.  Perhaps a bit less time on turntable and a bit more time submitting is in order?  


Also, I'm still practicing away on the guitar.  I'll record one of my new songs soon.  But, here's a confession...I kind of want to be thinner before I post anything more to youtube.  Ha, is that so wrong? 


In the interim, I thought I would post a link here to a song I wrote and sang for the band Sainte Croix.  (It was a band started by Dos and I, as well as a few other family members and loved ones that is now pretty much defunct.).  So, enjoy - hopefully - this song, Paul's Sorrow.


So, it's another new week full of promise, lovelies.  I hope you all feel the same.  Have a wonderful, blessed week.


All love, 


nik*