I Want, I Want, I Want!!!

Ah, Christmas!  That season when you hear the sounds of "I want", more than any other time of the year. Young and old alike can be seen and heard coveting any number of things they feel are certain "must haves" on that special day. Sadly, it seems Christmas has become more about commercialism, rather than it's intended purpose of celebrating the birth of Christ.

The trend seems to get more out of hand every year that passes.  At some point, I guess, the old adage, "if you can't beat them, join them", comes into play.  With that said, through this post I'm officially "joining" the masses and announcing to one and all what *I* want this Christmas.

There's actually A LOT I want; so much that this post would take the rest of the year to write.  I know that sounds selfish, but if I'm going to be honest, then that's the truth.

For the sake of getting this post written however, I've decided to focus on the three things I want the most this year.  I'm thinking, if I get what I want, then the rest of my wish list will be filled as well.

This Christmas I want:

 Gold.  Any gold is fine, white gold, black gold, yellow gold, all of the above. In fact, the more gold, and the more varied kinds, the better.  My ultimate gold want though is this:

  I want at least two things that are rarities.  I'm hoping these rarities are something I can share with others, who in turn can share them with more people; then maybe they'll become more common.  In this case, common is better than rare.  My two ultimate rarity wants are:

  I want the magic of this season to last year 'round.  Every second, minute, hour, day, week and month of  every year.  This is my third want, only because if I get #2 on my list, I'm pretty sure this third want will also  come to fruition.  This is the magic I want:

And there you have it, my "I want", "must haves" for Christmas 2013.  Even if I only get one of these precious items, I'll feel like the luckiest person ever!

"Tate Stevens"--Tate Stevens

To be honest, I've never watched a single minute of "The X Factor"; so I had no idea who Tate Stevens was, or that he'd won the second season.

My introduction to Stevens, and his music, came via the Bull's overnight show, where I heard his debut single, "The Power of a Love Song" for the first time.  I liked what I heard, but still just kind of had it in the back of my mind.

It was actually one of my own little quirks that got me to buy Stevens' self-titled debut CD.  I have a favorite songwriter, and when anyone records one of this writer's songs, I'll buy the CD. In this case the songwriter has two songs on Stevens' CD; so off I went in search of another addition to my collection.

It's funny, because I almost passed by the CD in the store.  I saw it, however, before reading the title, I saw the photo and thought the person was Chris Cagle.  Not an exact match, but at a glance, it was close.  I then realized it was Tate Stevens, so I bought it, and popped it into my CD player as soon as I got in my car.

From the first track, to the last, Stevens is definitely a country singer.  It's as though old school, 90's and new country were all tossed into a blender and pureed into what Stevens delivers to listeners.

Several times while the tracks played, I was reminded of other artists and songs.  For instance, "That's Where We Live" had me thinking of similar Craig Morgan tunes.  It speaks of small towns, families, and other staples of the country way of life.

 "The Last Thing I Do", is a song I've heard before, first by Brooks & Dunn; then James Otto, and also Montgomery Gentry.  Stevens' rendition of this tune is almost spot on as good as B&D, yet still different enough to stand on it's own as one of his songs.   

There's also humor in some of the tracks; subtle little things, like describing the car in "El Camino" as a "car with a bed".  Or "Sweet", where the singer is telling his mama about the girl he found.  He compares his love interest to being "sweet like a Cadillac, sweet like a stack of cold hard cash," and "sweet like a diamond bling dangling down from a belly button ring".  Honestly, how many songs can say that and still convey how much the guy really does love the girl?!

While I truly like every song on this CD, my favorite has to be the true country ballad, "Ordinary Angels".  Again, it reminds me of other songs and artists I've heard, yet is still totally unique to Stevens and his style of singing.

Though as I stated at the beginning of this post, I'd never heard of Tate Stevens until recently; though from the sound of his debut CD, I'm pretty sure this isn't the last any one has heard from this man.  "Tate Stevens" is definitely a CD worth buying!

Brett Eldredge @ The Bing Lounge-3-21-13

Brett Eldredge.

You may not know the name now; however, in time that's bound to change.

As far as music careers go, singer/songwriter Eldredge's time in the spotlight has been short, compared to most; garnering him attention in just three years.

On March 21, 2013, Eldredge was the most recent visitor to the Bing Lounge, courtesy of 98.7 The Bull.

In addition to telling the audience about his experiences in the business, Eldredge also told the stories behind the songs he sang that day; two which he's recorded himself.

"Raymond" was Eldredge's first song out to radio, in 2010.  It's the story of a woman with Alzheimer's who thinks one of the caretakers is her son, Raymond.  It's a haunting, touching tale, told in Eldredge's deep, unique voice and tone.  He explained the song was close to his heart, and was written for his grandma, who suffers from Alzheimer's.  There *is* a video of Eldredge's performance in the Bing Lounge, however I couldn't get it to work here, so I've put the official video in it's place.  Go to 987TheBull on YouTube for the live performance.

Eldredge currently has a song on radio titled "Don't Ya".  He joked that doing the video for the song was "difficult" and he "had" to keep doing the kissing scene over and over, to get it right.

Though the set was short, Brett Eldredge showed those in the Bing Lounge why his star has been steadily rising.  Here's hoping to a long climb.

Buttons' Big Adventure

 

It's been awhile since my mommy, Nola, has written anything on her blog; so I decided *I'm* going to write something for her.  Since it is my post though, I've taken the liberty of changing the title of her blog to one that suits me better.

As the title of my post states, I had a big adventure the other day.  Usually my mommy goes to work and leaves me home. Yesterday though, she took time off, but still went to work; and took me with her!

We got up really early and got ready, then mommy put me in the car and we left.  Down hills, and on straight roads mommy drove while I rode in the seat next to her.  We were going along quite nicely, when all of a sudden mommy had to stop.  Lots and lots of other cars were stopped too.  Mommy said there was something called a "wreck" and we were stuck for awhile.  I knew then I should have went potty before we left, like mommy said.  I was a good boy though, and didn't have any accidents.

Once we got past the traffic, mommy drove the rest of the way to a place she said was called "Gateway".  I don't know what that is, I just know we got out of mommy's car, then got on something even bigger that also moved; mommy said it was a train.  I got to sit next to the window and watch out the window.  It was definitely faster than sitting like we had earlier.

We rode on the train until mommy said it was time to get off.  That's when I finally got a chance to really stretch my legs and walk.  It was kind of scary though, because it was dark, and there was lots of noise and things.  I was brave though, for mommy; I didn't want her to be afraid, so I pretended I wasn't.

During our walk, we met lots of nice people, including a man who had a really cool squeaky toy.  He talked to me and told me I was cute.  I heard that a lot throughout the rest of the day; not that I didn't already know I was, of course.  It was nice hearing it from other than family though.

When we got to mommy's work, she picked me up again and carried me; I guess it's frowned on to let puppies walk around in the building; oh well.

We visited a nice man named Earl, and made him happy because we stopped by.  Then we went to mommy's department and waited for the rest of her team to show up.  I got to meet everyone, and though I was a bit shy, really I was having a lot of fun. Who wouldn't love getting lots of attention from everyone they meet?!  One of mommy's co-workers even shared his water with me, because I was thirsty; that was so nice of him.

After a little bit, mommy took me outside, but I was too excited to take care of business; there was just so much to see and do, I didn't want to miss any of it!  We met a lot more friendly people while we were outside; I think mommy must have told them my name, because they all seemed to know it.

We went back to mommy's department, met some more people, then took a walk to another building downtown.  That was a little scary, because there were so many more cars than earlier, and lots more people.  Again though, I was brave, for mommy.  I pretended to play, so mommy wouldn't know I was afraid.

In the new building, we met mommy's friend, Patty.  Again, I was shy around her, but I didn't bark or growl at her, and eventually I did let her pet me.

When we left, mommy and I went back to where we'd gotten off the train earlier, to catch one back to mommy's car.  On our way, we saw the same man that had the squeaky toy, and he remembered me!  He even called me by name; it made me happy and I wagged my tail at him.

On the train, instead of setting on my own seat, mommy let me sit in her lap.  I tried to stay awake and look out the window, but a couple of times I did doze off; but not for too long.

When we got back to mommy's car, she said we were going home, but first she had to get gas for the car, and food for me.  I really didn't care what gasoline was, but I definitely wanted to be sure mommy got my food!

Mommy got my food at this store that lets you bring puppies in, and mommy doesn't have to carry me; I love that store!  Mommy got my food, and on the way out, she said I'd been such a good boy that I could get a new toy; YAY, I love toys!

This is the toy mommy bought me; his name is Moo Cow.  I love Moo Cow, because he squeaks a lot.  He's my new favorite toy and he's all mine!

When we got home, I wanted to play some more, so mommy played with me, and then mommy's "Josh", (that's what mommy calls him), came home and he played with me too.  Lots and lots of play for me yesterday!

Then all of a sudden, I woke up.  I don't remember going to sleep, but when mommy noticed I was awake, she called me "Sleepyhead", and asked if I'd enjoyed my long nap; as a matter of fact, I did!

I got to play with Moo Cow some more; then I took another nap, this time in mommy's lap.  I was such a sleepy puppy, but oh what fun I had on my adventure that day!

Puppy Update...

(Today's word will be in red and bold.)

My last post was about the new puppy I got from SW Washington Humane Society on December 30th.  At that time, Buttons, (my new name for him), had to wear a cone, because he'd been neutered.

Last Friday we were able to take Butttons' cone off, so I've taken another photo of him, to show is adorableness.  (Well, he is to me anyway. :)  )

In my last post I also mentioned that there would probably be more posts about Buttons; I'm pretty sure *this* one isn't the last either!

We've noticed, since Buttons isn't wearing a cone anymore, he's got a little bit of an attitude.  He's a bit bolder about some of the things he does, and we're working on teaching him not to do certain things.

For the most part, our newest little addition is being a normal little puppy; and learning fairly quickly.  He's already learned to fetch his toy and bring it back to be thrown again.  Yes, I'm as easily entertained by this routine as Buttons is!  And he knows his name now when he's called.  Still working on potty training; and there has been improvement.

Over all, having been only a little over a week since coming to live with us, I'd say Buttons is progressing quite nicely.

Buttons, Buttons, Who's Got the Buttons?

(Today's word will be in red and bold.)


 I realize that some may think the title of this post is an error; that it should be "Button" and not "Buttons".  In this case however, "Buttons" is the correct word.

Then there's the answer to the question posed in the title of this post:  Me!  Yep, after four months without a pet, a new little semi-fluff ball has come into my life.

The photo here isn't the best, however, for now it will have to do, as it's hard to get Buttons to sit still when a camera is aimed at him. I'll also have to get a pic of him when we can take his cone off.  Right now he needs it to keep from tearing his stitches from being neutered and micro-chipped.

Buttons' history is a bit of a mystery, as he was a stray at the SW Washington Humane Society.  We know he's four months old, and part poodle; beyond that there are no answers.

At the humane society Buttons was known as "Coco".  I wasn't crazy about the name, so that's how he became Buttons, because of his little button nose.

He can be a timid pup, though once he gets used to something, he's fine; and he's a quick learner.  He's only been with me since Sunday, and already he let's me know when he wants down, or outside.

He's a stubborn little guy though too, and we're working on that.  Oh, and already he's very protective.  My son hadn't been with me when I got Buttons.  When he finally got to meet Josh, Buttons growled and barked at him.  It wasn't until I said it was okay, and showed him Josh was family that he stopped.  They're buddies now.

Since it's been less than a week, that's really all I can say about Buttons for now.  I'm sure there will be plenty of stories in the future though.

(Buttons does have eyes, you just can't tell in this pic!)

Happy New Year!

(Today's word will be in red and bold.)

It's official, 2012 is now history, and what history was made during the year!  So many things, good and bad, that mark the highs and lows of any given year.

Now it's a new year though, a time for a fresh start, and new beginnings.  Whether they're big or small, here's hoping to more good than bad in this new year of 2013.

Happy New Year everyone!