2015 In the Rear View

I feel like this year has flown by so rapidly! As I get older, it seems like New Years Eve and birthdays come back to back, hardly giving me time to rest in between. The saying is that " time flies when you are having fun." So, I guess I must be enjoying my life. Well, I can certainly say I have had a good year but it has also had it's not so great moments. For quite some time now, I have tried to keep a positive attitude and go with the flow when ever possible. This year I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do but I did a lot. I am ever so grateful for the great things I got to experience but also for the chaos because it turned into opportunities to bond with my family and friends.

In 2015 I made my first snowman who was actually a snow-woman. She was fabulous! I treated my guy to a Tesla concert in Troy, Ohio. It was my first Tesla concert and our first time in Troy. The city of Troy is beautiful, by the way. I saw Chris Brown, Trey Songz and Tyga in concert with my sister. I started a list of 101 Cool Places & Things in Ohio. I saw the legend,Stevie Wonder,in concert and was surprised by his special guest India Arie. I saw White Snake & Scorpions in concert. I got to hang out with my nephew all summer for the second year.  I took my nephew to his first concert to see Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa where I blushed and cringed at the sight of large blow up joints being thrown around. I grew great tasting vegetables and fruits in my garden and my parents garden. My family took a trip to Orlando and introduced my nephew to Disney World. I saw my grandpa Robinson who I hadn't seen in ten years also while I was in Florida. My sister and I started a sister trip tradition. We spent a weekend in the Cincinnati area where we checked off four places on my to do list: Loveland Castle, Newport Aquarium, Jungle Jim's International Market & Findlay Market on a tour with Cincinnati Food Tours.  I took a meditation class to introduce the art of meditation into my daily life. To end the year I did my second list of residential holiday light displays and it became the most viewed blog post of any of the ChristinaKristin blogs in three days. Yay!

left to right: Frostine the Snow-woman, Tesla concert, Wiz Khalifa, My veggies, Epcot, Disney, Newport on the Levee with my sister, Findlay Market in Over the Rhine & Columbus KTC Buddhist Center

It has been an amazing year, full of love and color and hope. I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store for me, other than a trip to the dentist next week. Lol. I look forward to spending more time with my friends home and away. I look forward to more travel and more learning. I look forward to really living my life and learning to be more independent.

What were your 2015 highlights?

July Concert Wrap Up

Yesterday I did reviews on the three Ohio wineries I visited. This month I did so much. In addition to the wineries I visited, I went to a couple of concerts. I love music as much as I love my wine. So today's post is about the concerts I attended this month.

I have a broad selection of music that I listen to. This year I have seen Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Tyga, Stevie Wonder and Tesla. This month I added Whitesnake, Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa to the list.


WHITESNAKE

My beau loves 80s hair bands, so I went to see Whitesnake with him, his brother and his friend a few weeks ago near Dayton. Songs you may be familiar with are, Still Of The Night, Is This Love and Here I Go Again. I was impressed with the energy of lead singer David Coverdale. He is in his 60s and moves just as he did when I was wearing cloth diapers and Huggies. The band's songs are still being used in the soundtracks of current shows and movies.

The show was great! All though I was not familiar with every song, I still had a good time. I danced, sang along to the songs I knew and drooled over guitarist Joel Hoekstra. I also met a couple who got engaged at a Whitesnake concert many years ago. The husband celebrated seeing his 100th Whitesnake concert that night.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Photos

The Whitesnake Set

David Coverdale

Joel Hoekstra

THE BOYS OF ZUMMER TOUR

I took my preteen nephew to his first concert two weeks ago. It was a festival style concert where Fall Out Boy and Wiz Khalifa were the headliners. It also featured Hoodie Allen and a few other acts I was not familiar with.

It may not have been the best concert to take a twelve year old because of the the glamorization of a certain natural drug that Wiz Khalifa refers to often; no judgement to those who appreciate it. His set even included giant inflatable joints that the crowd tossed around. The concert itself was entertaining and lively. I forgot how many Wiz Khalifa songs I actually knew. We went because my nephew was a Fall Out Boy fan but he left more of a fan of Wiz. Aside from the second hand smoke we inhaled during his entire show, it was a good time.

Fall Out Boy sounded just as they do on their tracks. Their set used a lot of graphics, laser lights and pyrotechnics. I felt like an old lady, jumping every time there was a big boom.  My nephew got a kick out of my skittishness. We sang along to Centuries, Light Em Up, Uma Thurman and older hits like Thanks For The Memories. Hopefully the concert will be a lasting memory for my nephew. You only get one first concert.

LEICA V-LUX 1 DIGITAL CAMERA

The tour banner

Samsung Camera Phone Photo of us at the concert

Wiz Khalifa

Wiz

Patrick Stump & Pete Wentz

Joe Trohman & Andy Hurley

Light Em Up played as we headed toward the exit.

Until next time,
Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!
Kris,

Music is Healing

photo courtesy of  theforeignexchangemusic.com

Lately I have attended more than a few shows. Last night a friend invited me to check out Foreign Exchange. I can't say I was that familiar with the band but I am glad I now know who they are. When I was asked to go, I had to do a little research. Even though I knew I was most likely going regardless, I found myself online listening to their music and reading their background story. The music was jazzy and soulful. It was in the same realm of artists I already really loved like Raheem Devaughn, Musiq Soulchild and Eric Roberson.  Although the venue was small, humid and a little funky with the abundance of mostly brown people, I found myself filled with joy as I danced, sang and laughed. Be it that I am under five foot, I can't say I saw much but that is how I know it was a good show. One of the things I remember was Phonte asking us to repeat the words " music is healing" to the person to the left and right of us.  Yes it is.

Saturday was the K.Michelle concert. That experience was much different from the one I had last night. The crowd was interesting and the venue was less than desirable but once the music began, nothing else much mattered. My aching feet and attitude was forgotten for a short twenty minutes. I can't say it was the best show I'd been to but the effect of it confirms that music really does make such a difference in our lives and moods.

I saw Cher last month and before that I went to the Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson show. Both of those shows made me think about my happy childhood. I remembered what my parents and friends were playing on their stereos before there were iPods and iPads. The shows were also so colorful and full of activity that you couldn't help but force out negative distractions. These shows felt like an escape from the outside world, a few hours of a fantasy or vacation.

Music is healing. It is the only thing in the world that can stir up so many feelings and remind us where we have been, where we want to go or where we don't want to go.  It can
 make us wait in long lines in uncomfortable shoes or sleep outside for a concert. It 
can remind us of our first crush, first dance or favorite vacation. It makes us laugh, cry, happy and energetic. It can make us feel confident and sexy. It can help us through a break up or teach us how to make up.  Music provides a soundtrack to our lives. Music is healing. Yes it is.

After a hard days work and you are driving in your car today listening to your cd, or the radio, think of it as therapy. Think about how the music makes you feel or don't think at all, lose yourself in the music, scream the words out loud and just sway to the beat.

Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!
Kris,