Happy Valentines Day, Every Day The Fourteenth. (Outkast).

                                               ...via LeLove.

Embrace it.

Listening to...

Ice Cream, Sarah McLachlan.

I'll Believe In Anything, Wolf Parade.

Inspiration.

June Parry.

...my Grandmother is my ultimate inspirational figure.

Has literally traveled everywhere - India, Turkey, China, Russia, Nepal (climbed to a base camp of Mt. Everest no less), Western Europe, Egypt, rafting the Colorado River, Peru...

Owns a pair of Salvador Ferragamo heels in every color and is, even in her 70s, the best dressed, most stylish and elegant person in the room.

Quality Over Quantity. Her taste is impeccable.

Eats blueberries every day.

Cultured beyond belief, taking us to every museum opening, ballet and orchestral event that comes to Oklahoma.

Life-long learner. Currently taking classes on the weather and classical literature.

Loves books on history.

A professional at all of the following: piano, nursing, tennis, rock climbing, skiing and bridge.

A prolific listener of classical music, she also love, love, loves Patsy Cline.

Sends me letters.

The most generous of spirits.

Watching my Grandpa's old movies of when my mom was about 4 or 5 and they still lived in upstate New York, I got to glimpse a black and white moment that encapsulates her character:

They lived in snow-covered upstate New York at the time and the kids are sledding in the backyard. Then my Grandmother, in this gorgeous outfit with old Hollywood hair and makeup, gets down in the snow on her hands and knees to sled with her husband and three children.

My Music.

Favorite Songs, Bar None:

Atlantic City. Bruce Springsteen. 

Layla. Eric Clapton. 

I'll take the electric or acoustic. Classic "my sisters and I used to dance on Dad's feet to this" song - every little girl should have one of those. 

Half Acre. Hem. 

I will walk down the aisle to this.

Bruised. The Bens (Ben Folds, Lee and Kweller). 

I could have made it to the moon and back again on the amount of times I've listened to this song.

The River's Gonna Run. Buddy and Julie Miller. 

Sends shivers up my spine.

Moon River. Frank Sinatra.

For perfect moments.

Catform. Rogue Wave.

Sweet Thing. Van Morrison.

Favorite lyrics:

And I will drink the clean, clear water for to quench my thirst

And I shall drive my chariot down your streets and cry, hey, its me, I'm dynamite and I don't know why

Other Favorites:

4th of July, Asbury Park, Bruce Springsteen

Brings the scene to life.

The River, Bruce Springsteen

Beautiful. Sad.

Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen

I am constantly yearning to be freer...I am constantly hungry. Not really sure how to describe that feeling, but this song does it perfectly.

Born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen

The reverberation in his voice on this...Plus, Meg hates that I love this song.

Fields of Gold. Sting.

Sexy.

Crystal Village. Pete Yorn.

This is my European traveling song - earphones in, listening on a bus, plane or train with your head leaning against the window.

Wonderful Tonight. Eric Clapton. 

Duh. 

Radiohead. Go To Sleep. 

The intro is perfection on Earth.

Hurt. Johnny Cash.

Powerful.

Sondre Lerche. Counter Spark.

The Animals. House of the Rising Sun.

Haunting. Ambiguous lyrics that allow me to create multiple story lines. When my Dad was in college his roommate listened to this 24/7, so the song gives him horrible flashbacks. 

Rusted Root. Send Me On My Way. 

Joyful. For some reason, this song makes me excited to have fun with my own children someday. 

Lucifer. Jay-Z. 

I'm blown away every time.

Jolene. Dolly Parton.

Coat of Many Colors. Dolly Parton.

My favorite voice in all of music-dom.

Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl. Broken Social Scene. 

Sharp.

Broken Arrow. Rod Stewart.

I blame my Mom for overexposing me to Rod.

Better Be Good To Me. Tina Turner.

Again, my Mom's influence. Tina had to make this list.

Hallelujah. Jeff Buckley.

I'm not a big fan of Jeff Buckley's voice in general for some reason, but this song is genius.

Roxanne. The Police.

Werewolves of London. Warren Zevon.

Kate. Ben Folds Five.

Because everyone needs a song that feels dedicated to them.

All These Things That I've Done. The Killers.

What's better than the surprise of, I've got soul but I'm not a soldier.

Wonderwall. Oasis.

I Want You To Want Me. Cheap Trick.

Senorita. Justin Timberlake.

I love the call and answer part.

L'estasi dell'oro. Ennio Morricon.

Rocky Mountain High. John Denver.

Play it when you're in the Colorado mountains and it lifts your soul up.

Wandering. Ben Folds.

For the piano solo.

Learning to Fly. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

Mary Jane's Last Dance. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

Free Falling. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

Because they never ever fail to put me in a better mood.

Pretty Good Year. Tori Amos.

Cornflake Girl. Tori Amos.

Lay, Lady, Lay. Bob Dylan.

Sexy.

Paperback Writer. The Beatles.

Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Belle and Sebastian.

Rag Doll. Aerosmith.

I just love its rockstar cheesiness.

Don't Stop Believin'. Journey.

Infectious.

Summertime. Janis Joplin.

The energy she put into her music is insane.

Nina Simone. Sinnerman.

Before her time.

Favorite Albums, meaning every song is as great as the next:

Blue. Joni Mitchell.

Blood On The Tracks. Bob Dylan.

Graceland. Paul Simon.

American Water. Silver Jews.

Room for Squares. John Mayer.

Summer Teeth. Wilco.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Wilco.

A Ghost is Born. Wilco.

Impeccable.

White Ladder. David Gray.

How to Grow a Woman From the Ground. Chris Thile.

Punch. Punch Brothers.

Tapestry. CAROLE KING.

Every song on this album is a famous, sing-it-in-your-sleep hit.

Funeral. The Arcade Fire.

Songs For Christmas. Sufjan Stevens.

Come On Feel The Illinoise! Sufjan Stevens.

Gimme Fiction. Spoon.

Kill the Moonlight. Spoon.

I love their sound.

The Reminder. Feist.

Trio II. Dolly Parton, Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris.

Seriously killer combination.

Favorite concert experiences:

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

In the pouring rain, Austin City Limits.

Oasis.

Austin City Limits.

Arcade Fire.

Both times, Austin City Limits.

Norah Jones.

She has so much soul-it transcended the Ford Center.

Dashboard Confessional.

Because I was with my best friends. And Martin drove us down. And we visited the best 7-11 in the world afterward.

Right now, songs:

Sex on Fire. Kings of Leon.

Black River Killer. Blitzen Trapper.

Let It Rock. Kevin Rudolf and Lil Wayne.

Mostly because I love OU Basketball right now.

Right now, albums:

For Emma, Forever Ago. Bon Iver.

Santagold. Santagold.

Slumdog Millionare Soundtrack.

Note: Trying to describe music that you just absolutely feel...it is impossible. I feel like I failed miserably.

Birthdays are a BIG DEAL.

Whitney Caldwell, aka Mate:

Roommates in the Theta house through four consecutive semesters and three awesome rooms. Not living with her next year...unimaginable. Nope, I literally can't even think about it. 

Together, we have our own way of doing things. For instance, spending a restless Thursday night biking to two separate locations for the unbeatable combination of a cupcake and a beer on the patio.

And to have someone in your life that just gets you, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I could use 3,000 adjectives to match the 3,000 inside jokes, but I'll limit myself to five.

Freeing.

Purifying.

Courageous.

Encouraging.

So unbelievably cute in everything she does.

So, in summation:

Happy 22nd Birthday to my inspiring South African social worker!

Quote 2.

...not sufficiently conscience of being a "Future Wife and Mother" in perpetual capital letters. And girls who had never been kissed, with shocked expressions on their plain but not particularly wholesome faces...these girls had gone east or west or south, married and become "people," prophesying that she would come to a bad end - not knowing that no endings are bad, and that they, like her, were by no means the mistresses of their destinies.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and the Damned

Quote 1.

A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain while the clock ticked on the wash-stand and the moon soaked with wet light his tangled clothes upon the floor. Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with an oblivious embrace. For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy's wing.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Twang.

I love following Chris Thile's career, no matter the name the music's being played under. 

He's so talented it makes me ache.