Midday Sweetness

Nashville, TN:

In the midst of a busy weekend,

I shared a brief moment with a

laughing,

loved,

little

Lennox.

What a proud Godmother I am!

Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA: So, after returning home from a trip to the east coast, I had enough time to do laundry & repack, finalize a few logistical details and share a few sweet moments with the boy. Then, I was off again, this time to the left, to the left.... all the way to Los Angeles. This one was a quick trip -- arrive on a Tuesday, show on a Wednesday, flight back home on a Thursday -- but I was still able to catch up with a few friends and get a good dose of 'typical LA-ness' in (as in, sitting next to Courtney Cox during lunch at Jerry's Famous Deli).

A few memorable (photographed) moments:

On the plane ride to LAX... I sometimes wonder if those working on laptops would actually put them away if there were an emergency and they were in charge of our safety...

Hotel directly across the street from the mall? Perfection.

Revisiting one of my favorite restaurants anywhere...

Catching up - at that restaurant - with some of my favorite girls from college days

ok, there was SOME work to be done too

and - as a surprise treat - an former co-worker & same college attender actually worked on the show we did!

wait - TWO people I know worked on the show! My head was about to explode from the excitement...

No time to get to the beach, but I was able to catch it on my way out.

Luckily, I'll be back next month, so in the words of Ryan Adams,

goodnight Hollywood Blvd, goodnight,

see ya soon

New York Minute Recap

Nashville, TN: I was intending to do a little blogging while in the Big Apple, but - as Don Henley said best (everything can change in a New York minute) - it did, which meant no time for leisurely typing, only time for updating schedules, watching the clock and praying car services would show up BEFORE the artist walked out of the hotel.

I did find a bit of time to get out and take in the sites (mainly on the way to and from work locations) and with my trusty iPhone camera, I was able to capture a few moments digitally. Here's a quick visual recap of some random moments during CD release week in New York.....

3 little apples in the big apple (thank you, London Hotel)

me to concierge: "is there a Thai food restaurant nearby?"

concierge to me: "it's New York - of course there is!"

(pictured: delicious tom kha gai soup and curry puffs at the local mom & pop Thai joint, a mere 4 blocks away)

a post-dinner stroll lead us to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where we could see New York dancers practicing the latest moves

loving public transport....

stumbled upon a jazz club deep in the heart of the village (greenwich, that is)

oh wait! forgot there was that work stuff too.... AOL sessions & Artist Confidential on Sirius/XM, just to name a few

a facebook/twitter chat using MY computer (the shiny mac on the left)

hopping over to Good Morning America, where Brett (hair/makeup stylist to the stars) does a quick fix to Diane Sawyer's hair in the hot New York summer morning heat


meeting up with GMA producer, Monica, who has been my contact with the last 3 artists I've worked with

a night on the town, catching up with college friend / roommate at a typical New York swanky bar

a thank you in the thank yous...

I heart NY!

it's happening again

Nashville, TN:

late nights,

white wine,

music on a guitar,

lyrics on a laptop,

one REAL songwriter,

one wannabe,

spending time with a boy in a studio...

still so exciting!

Being Myself

Nashville, TN: I was so looking forward to getting some much needed sleep tonight, yet when I burrowed myself under the covers of my pillow-top bed, my mind simply wouldn't let my body rest. Sometimes the biggest challenge of low grade anxiety is the understanding of WHY. Why is my heart racing? Why am I feeling crazy? Why am I stressed at all?

I've been know to fret about the what if's and the if only's in my life, but I feel that some of them have validity. You are supposed to learn from your mistakes, right? Make different choices based on past experience? If you put your hand on a hot stove and burn your hand, ideally, the rational thing to do would be to NOT put your hand on that hot stove again... follow me?

But what about relationships? In the classic scenario of boy meets girl / boy dates girl / girl wants to grown spiritually & mentally and boy doesn't want to be a part of it / boy and girl split & even though girl knows it's the right thing, is still saddened by love lost (what? that's not the classic??), one would wonder WHY IN THE HELL would one even consider entering into the beginning of that scenario again? Didn't that burnt hand teach you anything?

So, I decide to speak out loud (not entirely creepy when you live alone) and ask God, specifically, for an answer. I pause and strain my ears to see if I can make out even the faintest murmur of a voice.

Nothing.

I decide to give God an easier way to reach me (how generous of me) and grab a book on my nightstand. I try again. "God - how about whatever you need to tell me or whatever I need to know, you show me in whichever page I open up to."

Eyes closed, I flip open the book and land on page 59. From the private journal of Henri Nouwen, I open my eyes and stare at my answer: Love Deeply.

"Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful.

Those you have deeply loved become part of you. The more you have loved and have allowed yourself to suffer because of your love, the more you will be able to let your heart grow wider and deeper."

(thanks for the direct answer, God.)

What I'm slowly understanding (an ongoing process) is that me in any relationship (professional, friendship, romantic, etc.) needs to be ME. Instead of trying to act a part of someone who I think the other person wants, I really do need to just be myself.

And the real me is someone who loves deeply.

So, yeah, maybe it hurt that one time (and the time before that and the time before that), but who am I to hold back from giving my heart wholly and fully? I want to know that I've put 110% of the real me into every job, every photograph, every relationship. I want to walk away from each of them saying, "I did the very best I could."

And who knows? Maybe the real me -- the one with the restless sleep habits and late night blogging tendencies and a big, loving heart -- is all someone else is asking for.