Happy New Year!

 Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year! 

Alright 2022. Let's do this. I need you to try a little harder than 2021, ok?

Stay safe everyone! 

Love you.

xo,

T

Shine Time

 The time to shine is now.

Photo by: Joseph Gray

This past Saturday I was honored to be one of the judges for the finale of "Connecticut's Got Talent." The level of love and appreciation for all of the participants and producers is hard for me to express. I'm reminded of my entire journey and all of its twists and turns, trials and joys. I'm truly warmed by all those who are on a path to inspire others. 

Every single contestant and participant in the production was inspiring. Everyone brought something very special to contribute - something to appreciate and treasure. Competitions are funny. While there is one declared "winner," it is also true that anyone deciding to "win" can do so. What I mean is that we can be at very different stages in our respective development, while shining just as bright.

Click here to see finale of "Connecticut's Got Talent" from Talent Recap on Youtube

I wish us all the ability to be grateful and kind, and share our unique gifts no matter where we are on the road to our ultimate hopes and dreams. We really are all in this together. We all have something to share and something to learn.

Wishing us all a Blessed holiday - and health, happiness and peace of heart in the new year...

Love,

T

Renew!

I asked God for a sign. Then on Sunday, when church was live-streaming, the feed got "stuck" on repeat like a vinyl record on the word "renew." (Okaaaayyyyy...)

I was wondering if that event met the criteria for my request that the sign be "as clear as a bell" when, out of the blue, a text popped up from a friend of mine who is always using the word "renew." (OK again.)

I recently posted a series of videos on TikTok documenting a "vocal journey" in which I spent 30 days running outside while also doing vocal exercises. It was a lot to do exercises and also film, edit and post, so I only posted on TikTok. Consequently a lot of my friends did not see and I'd been considering renewing the journey by posting on other platforms. 

I decided to go ahead and do that. :)

Here's the original "Vocal Journey Explainer." I'll be reposting each of the thirty days. It's become a bit of a lifestyle. Glad to be able to share it with you all.

Love,

T

Pearls

The opportunities for frustration, anger and fear are plentiful. We can lose ourselves and drown in them. We MUST take care to nourish our thoughts, our Spirits, with the opposite of those challenging thoughts and feelings. Find the Love. Hold tight. 

Somewhere, there is a pearl. 

Let's focus on that.

Love,

T

That's a Wrap (Not Really)

Day 30 of the "30 Day Vocal Journey" has been posted:

CHANGE THE BLOG TITLE! 

*adds "(Not Really)"*

There is no way I'm stopping now! #KeepGoing

Will see you all very soon! Have a great week!

Love,

T

Happy Thanksgiving

"Do we celebrate Thanksgiving?"

The question was inspired by an observation of purple lights that were festive for the "holiday" season instead of being specifically for Christmas, and the brief example of different traditions that followed.

I suppose a simple "yes" would have sufficed but...

I know the Disney-fied story about Thanksgiving that many grew up with is not the true story. This time of  year can provide much inspiration to learn...

Click here for: "The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday" from time.com

Click here for: "What Does Thanksgiving Mean to Indigenous Peoples?" from indypl.org

We can always learn and we can always be grateful.

Blessed Be...

Love,

T

Looking Up

 

Remember that vocal journey I started back in October? I've been posting video snippets on TikTok, but maybe I should post them on IG and FB - even Twitter too. What do you think?

It started like this:

I've just put up day eighteen of the thirty-day journey, and another, deeper journey is unfolding. I'm reminded to be grateful and make time for precious moments. 

This week, I'll look up and appreciate the beauty all around.

Thank you all for being here!

Love and appreciate you.

Love,

T

Vitameatavegamin

 There's a lot going on but, with a little humor, I'm making it work. lol

Headed to Vegas, where rehearsals are fun-filled and salads are thirty bucks.

Laughter helps everything.

Have a great week everyone!

Love, 

T

Something's Gotta Give

 Something has got to give, and it's not going to be me. 

The race against time is real, so this is going to be brief. 

I'm going to recharge with some nature breaks and keep on moving! Being busy means taking extra care to stay healthy, hydrated and balanced. We may have to let go of something on the "to do" list, because what can NOT go is our health and well being.

Love you all. Have a great and productive week! Stay healthy. Stay safe. xo

Love,

T

Slug Week

 LOL! WTH is "slug week" ??? 🤣

Earlier in the week, I somehow got a slug stuck to my bare foot - in the house! It must've hitched a ride on my shoe, then I stepped on it by the door.

Photo credit: Omar Ramadan, via pixels.com

It was SO GROSS! 

Click here for snail symbolism on spirit-animals.com

Could it be a message for me to slow down? (Maybe, if I were to allow that kind of thing.)

So the boy and I spent some time hiking this weekend. It was a real effort to make the decision to take the time out from the mountain of work, but well worth it.

I'll carry that lesson moving forward and make sure I make time to just recharge.

Wishing you all the time to relax for a bit, no matter how busy life is.

Love,

T

Inspired Journey

So a thing happened and I may or may not have embarrassed myself in front of millions of people. 

See, what had happened was... I was asked to participate in a segment being filmed for an online channel with millions of subscribers, with a vocal coach who has millions of followers.

I am a professional singer. I've coached professionally and produced singers in high profile situations. I am hired to sing. I show up, sometimes last minute, tired or not, and nail it.

For this segment, I showed up. I sang. My voice cracked. It cracked a lot.

We had a lovely on-air chat before I sang one of my original songs from my album released about ten years ago. It was recorded before my son was born, before all the physical therapy, before the surgeries. I had decided the night before that I would sing "Everywhere," mainly because of its relevance to current world happenings.

I didn't preface the whole performance with how tired I was. Singers do that all the time. It sounds like an excuse to me. It doesn't matter how challenged my days are. It doesn't matter how stressed out I might be. It doesn't matter how sore my abs are from pulling off a pushup challenge duet with a body builder who came up on my TikTok feed. As a professional, you're there on time and you just do it. 

In keeping with that spirit and energy now... oh wait! Did I skip the part about the pink boxing gloves? Let me go back to the segment: The next thing I knew, I was wearing pink boxing gloves and going through a sort of vocal exercise boot camp, where I was running and jumping in place while holding my diaphragm and trying to repeat the voice warmup routine.

I sang my song again afterward, without all the cracks. :)

In keeping with the spirit and energy of a "no excuses" mindset, I decided to seriously step up my vocal exercises. It's important to understand that I work out a lot - six days a week usually. My schedule is completely packed as a performer AND full-time mom. I made a commitment to work on vocal exercises WHILE doing my workouts everyday. I began to record my vocal journey.

As I write this on day four, my voice is fatigued. I've decided to be on vocal rest until I see my doctor tomorrow. I will pick up right where I left off when I am cleared to use my voice again. Good health is an absolute must.

I'm planning to record a thirty day vocal journey. It's important to me to persevere and to hold myself accountable. Determination pays off and there is always something to learn and something to improve. These are new times and the world keeps changing. We all have got to grow and evolve. Also, my son watches every move I make. Teaching him by my example is crucial. 

It doesn't matter if I make mistakes. It will not be perfect. What's important here is the effort, the determination, the dedication. I need to make myself proud. 

Tremendous thanks to Cheryl Porter, Talent Recap, and Billy Blanks Jr. for everything, especially for inspiring this journey!

Click here for Talent Recap on YouTube

Click here for Cheryl Porter Vocal Coach on YouTube

Love,

T

Mental Health Break

To be honest, I'm a bit overwhelmed right now. So instead of staying up too late and stressing out writing this blog, I'm going to look at lovely and peaceful videos we took of some deer in the neighborhood. 

Care to join me? This week's blog is going to be my mental health break.

This was from today:

From Saturday:

Saturday when a little one appeared:

I found these so relaxing to watch. This was a much needed, little time out. 

Wishing us all a little more time to relax this week. Hope you all had a good holiday.

 

Click here for "Indigenous Peoples' Day, Explained" from The New York Times

Click here for "Goodbye, Columbus? Here's what Indigenous Peoples' Day means to Native Americans" from npr.org

Click here for "Tribal Organizations" from the National Congress of American Indians

Love,

T

Surround Yourself

The neighborhood high school was having a marching band event. We went to check it out. We weren't there long and kept a safe distance from all others, but it had a profound impact.

When Zachary came home he immediately went to his instruments and began marching around. He found a mic and did announcing just as they had done on the field. He said he wanted to be in the band when he's a big kid and asked his dad what marching band was like. (Russ played several instruments with his marching band when he was in school.)

I was reminded how important it is to focus on and surround ourselves with the things we want to do. They lead our minds and Spirits in the direction we want to go. News stories about social media and algorithms drove the point home. We need to make a conscious effort to direct ourselves where we want to be, not just be guided by what we like to complain about. Zachary and I spent a little time watching some marching bands and it opened up a whole world of thoughts and actions. More of that please. 

Blessed week...

Love,

T

Rocket People

We hope your week is out of this world! 

We made a rocket ship cake.

We collected some Cosmos seeds...

and watched E.T.

There is a giant cardboard rocket ship sitting in my living room in the process of being colored. 

If that's not a theme, I don't know what is. 

Wishing all you shining stars a fantastic week!

Love,

T

Boundaries

Someone needs to hear this.

Churches often teach about selflessness and living in service to others. Unconditional Love can be a tricky thing to understand. As I sat listening to a mass this weekend, it occurred to me that the words could take on a very different meaning to someone in an abusive relationship. 

Healthy relationships have boundaries. Loving someone does not mean you need to stay with them when it undermines your own self-esteem. Walking away is not anything to feel guilty about or ashamed of. Setting boundaries and sticking to them does not mean you love people any less. You can love someone from afar. You can love yourself first.

I looked up the Catholic Church's' stance:

Click here for "What the Catholic Church Teaches About Domestic Violence" on catholicsforfamilypeace.org

There's a lot of information on how to identify abuse:

Click here for ways to identify abuse and support others on thehotline.org

There's much to know and understand about emotional abuse:

Click here for "What is Emotional Abuse?" from verywellmind.com

Unconditional Love can be misunderstood.

Click here for "Unconditional Love: How To Give It & Know If It's Healthy" from mindbodygreen.com

Praying for survivors everywhere. May all the help and support needed - be found. 

Love,

T

To Act

Honestly, the days keep rushing past in a blur and I'm hardly able to remember what I had for breakfast, let alone the entire week's worth of happenings. Most of the time though, something stands out. Some thought or memory bubbles up through the murky fog and lingers on my mind. This week, it was a passage read at church. I believe it was James 2:14-26. I hope that you'll appreciate the point, even if your Spiritual practice differs. It's all about faith and action (works). 

"My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food, you shouldn't just say, "I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat." What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!"- James 2:14-17 (Contemporary English Version)

How many times do we wish others well and even pray for them as indicated by our emojis online? How many stories or posts do we "like" or "care" about? Then what do we actually DO to ease someone's suffering? Obviously we have a limited amount of time and resources, but I'm challenging myself to commit to more action than a simple click. 

We don't have to make a spectacle of it to be effective. Maybe we can make a small donation to a cause. Maybe we can make a phone call. Maybe we can take a little time to learn about the subject of interest. We can DO something. We can help someone.

Here's wishing us all an opportunity seized! Here's hoping we all are able to feel good about an action we take, to make someone else's world a little brighter.

Blessed Be!

Love,

T

Getting Comfortable?

What a great time I had with Rick James' Original Stone City Band this weekend! They always bring a smile. I absolutely love the whole SCB family. What an amazing group of beautiful and talented people! It's truly a Blessing to know them and an incredible honor to be with them on stage.

With Mark

With Lanise

With Oscar

There was a lot of driving for me this week, but we are finally home and looking forward to getting settled back in. Maybe I shouldn't speak too soon though, because look at this guy:

I believe it's a male "Halloween Pennant" dragonfly and it was waiting for me when I got back. 

"In almost every part of the world, the Dragonfly symbolizes change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization. The change that is often referred to has its source in mental and emotional maturity and understanding the deeper meaning of life." - Google

Fine. Bring it on! (Just as I was about to get comfortable.) Might as well have an adventure. 

Hope you all had a lovely holiday!

Love,

T

The Road

A lot can happen in a day, a week, a year...

Here's to the journey! Here's to launching ourselves out there!

And to finding simple joys along the way...

Here's wishing us all some peace and well deserved comfort. May we improve our ability to go with the flow and enjoy the present moment as much as possible.

:)

Have fun with it.

Love,

T

The Unfolding

 Sometimes...

you just have to...

let things...

unfold...

Happy Monday everyone! :)

Here's hoping your week is filled with sunshine.

Love,

T

Grand Funk

I was in a grand funk. Russ was busy and school's out for summer. I have a mountain of tasks and I'm not going to lie - IT'S IMPOSSIBLE. I may have a panic attack just thinking about it. 

Full-on anxiety took hold for a couple of days and THEN, as if I wasn't busy enough, the phone rang. It was a gig. There was a last minute emergency and could I be 107 miles away by 6pm, fully glammed up - singing for someone's wedding? 

No. No I could not. I was on my way to the yard waste facility, with bags of mud, weeds, dirt, and potato bugs in the back of the car, along with Zachary. We were both a mess and attempting to clean up the driveway before we got some type of citation for junking up the neighborhood. Our bags of debris had been sitting so long in the rain that they broke, and we'd been shoveling their dusty remains in the sweltering heat. I also had no babysitter.

I hung up the phone, defeated. "I can't" are not words in my vocabulary, but there was just no way. There is a show next month with the same entertainment group, so I called the sitter to confirm that date. I thought maybe that would give me some kind of hope for the future.

Not only did the Angel who is my babysitter confirm next month's show date, but she was available that day as well and could come over anytime! WHAT??!! There was help??? I quickly called back for the job I had just turned down, "A sitter just fell from the sky. Do you still need someone?" Yes. Yes they did.

I can't even completely remember the whirlwind that followed, but I think I have never cleaned up so fast in my life. I was like a tornado, but I was straightening and organizing, putting away toys and papers, packing alcohol wipes, snacks, gloves, shoes, throat spray, electronics and a mic stand, all while cleaning up, curling my hair, letting the dog out, watching Zachary and doing my makeup.

I reviewed songs in the car on the way. The next thing you know, I was parking on a hill next to a cow and running toward an outdoor pavilion from which I could hear the sound of an amplified guitar. The bandleader met me by the driveway and told me not to rush and that all was well.

Life is better while the music is playing and I am doing what I do. There were fine and talented musicians, happy smiling people, and beautiful countryside views. 

I am here to tell you that the impossible can be done! Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!!! Huge thanks to all the people who have stepped in to help when I've felt overwhelmed. Thinking back... there have been so many Earth Angels who carried me just when I thought I couldn't make it. When we can't do it on our own, we still CAN with a little help. My grand funk turned into some kind of wonderful.

It's a miracle to lose hope and find it again. May we see light just when we need it and be light when someone else needs - especially now in these days of extreme hardship for so many.

With Love and gratitude,

T