The Get to Know Me Tag

I've seen this tag on a couple different blogs and I decided to steal it cause that's what I do. :)

Vital Stats

Name- Lois :)
Nicknames- Lo-lo sometimes if my family is feeling obnoxious. Peppernut (big backstory there). Lego-lois (like Legolas... get it... it's hilarious... especially if you say it a million times). Lois Lane from my patients because they think it's absolutely hilarious and that I've never heard that one before. I have... too many times thank you!
Place of Birth- Kansas!

Firsts

Award- I'm not sure. Probably something from 4-H.
Sport- Ha! I did gymnastics when I was a kid but never played a sport otherwise except at home.
Real Holiday- I think the first memories I have of holidays would be Christmas but the first one I would have experienced would have been Easter.
Concert- Well there's a special story for this one but I don't actually remember it as I was just a wee lass but I've just heard it many times. Anyways, the local orchestra was preforming and my family was there and we were sitting in bleachers and I guess me, being the bouncy youngster that I was, was hopping between my dad's legs during it and I managed to fall through the bleachers. I hit the cross bar on the way down and my screams upon hitting the ground stopped the concert. I've been a show stopper ever since. ;) Anyways I survived with just a bump on my head and a great story. :)

Favorites

Film- Pride and Prejudice (1995) which is technically a miniseries but if I had to chose an actually movie that was a favorite I couldn't! A few of my favorites that I could watch over and over again though are McLintock, Charade, National Treasure and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
TV Show- Doctor Who
Color- Blue and all of it's variations
Song- Currently I think Celtic Woman's "When You Go". It's addictively catchy. Listen to it!

Restaurant- I don't go out to eat much but I do love Panera. For a real nice restaurant I always loved Macaroni Grill but they got rid of the one close to me some years back. :(
Books- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Currently

Feeling- Tired. :(
Single or Taken- Single
Eating- I had a salad... for breakfast... which was kind of weird but I was craving one.
Watching- Chocolat with my mom.
Wearing- My pajamas. The costume of queens!

Future

Want children? Very much so. But as the old saying goes... First comes love, then comes marriage THEN comes a baby in a baby carriage.
Want to be married- Very much so.
Careers in mind- Well I am currently a nurse and the only reason I see to ever change that is if I become a wife and mother. I always wanted to be a writer but I don't think that will ever happen. :)
Where you want to live- I love where I live. Kansas is a great state. :) Now England, Scotland or Ireland would be lovely too.

Do You Believe In...

God- Yes
Miracles- Yes
Love at first sight- Really? No.
Ghosts- No
Aliens- No
Heaven- Yes
Hell- Yes
Yourself- I believe that I can do nothing except through Christ so I guess no. I believe in God and his ability to work through even me. :)

Want to do this tag? Be a Lois.... steal it! ;)

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Album Review- Celtic Woman (Destiny)

I have never done an album review before but they say try new things. ;)
Celtic Woman is one of my favorite modern musical groups and their newest album Destiny has become an instant favorite with me.
My little sister and I, who are both pretty avid Celtic Woman fans, got horribly obsessed with the music for Destiny on YouTube first and we decided we just had to get it. We went ahead and got the CD and DVD deluxe package.
Unfortunately we haven't made it to the DVD yet, though I think I've probably picked up the gist of it from YouTube. I can't wait to watch it for real though!
Here's a little review of the CD though. :)

1) My Land- Beautiful song with bagpipes, which are a plus. Four stars from me. :)
2) Siúil a Rún- Classic celtic song beautifully performed. Five stars from me.
3) Ride On- One of my very favorites. This is performed by the two newest members and I can't get enough of their voices, especially Eahba's. It's so unique and gorgeous! Her voices blends really well with Mairead making for superb listening. I'm not always very fond of slower songs but when it comes to this one I LOVE it. :) Five big stars from me!
4) The Whole of the Moon- Sung by Susan and you can really see in it that this is where she shines. She has a Broadway voice. It's a fun song. Fours stars from me.
5) Skyrim Theme (Dragonborn)- Another of my absolute favorites! They took the Skyrim theme and added celtic words making it sound so epic! It feels like it should be in LOTR! Five stars!
6) How Can I Keep From Singing- A slower song but it's sung by Eahba and I'm kind of obsessed with her voice so I liked it a little bit more than I might. Three stars but really more like 3 ½. ;)
7) I See Fire- This is the end credits song for The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. I remember when I first listened to it I wasn't that impressed... I thought it was okay. However, when Mairead sings it I love it! Five stars.
8) Tír na nÓg- Another favorite! For this one there is a guest singer Óonog who is lots of fun. This is a really fun song. I may or may not sing along at the top of my lungs to this one. :) Watch their music video and fall in love too!


9) Óró sé do bheatha 'bhaile- A fun celtic song. Disclaimer, I like this one and I really feel like I should like it more than I do. For some reason though I don't connect with this one as much though. Four stars from me.
10) Sometimes a Prayer Will Do- Sung by Susan and pretty but slower and just not one of my favorites. Three stars from me.
11) Bean Pháidín- Fun celtic song! Meahba shines once again in this song along with the rest of the crew. Five stars from me!
12) Westering Home- Beautiful song and bagpipes again! Four stars from me. :)
13) When You Go- I love this song! It might be my favorite off of this disc but I hate saying that because I love so many of them! It's so fun and catchy and I just love it! :) Five big stars!
14) Like and Angel Passing Through My Room- Absolutely beautiful but slower. Three stars from me.
15) Walk Beside Me- A slower song but Meahba has a big part in this song so of course I have a soft spot for it. Still three stars though.
16) The Hills of Ireland- Our favorite fiddler's song. Lots of fun! :) Four stars from me.

Are you a Celtic Woman fan? Have you listened to Destiny yet? If you haven't be sure to go check it out! Most of the songs are on YouTube and I can almost guarantee you're going to love them! This album is a classic! :)

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Me and My Music

I love music! I would say I have a good variety of music I listen to but then again there is still some music I definitely don't listen to by choice. Because I know you really care what music I listen to ;) today I'm going to share about my music.
I'm just going to run down each playlist of mine because that's how I like to separate out my music on iTunes.

Allison Kraus

This is music from a CD that my best friend gave me. I don't listen to it a ton but every once and awhile the mood will take me. One of the songs on the playlist is separate from the disc and I listen to it a lot more often but that's mostly due to fact that it is in my Indulgences playlist also, which I'll get to later. :)

Bach

I grew up on Bach and while he is not my favorite of the classical composers (okay I know technically he is a baroque composer not classical but sometimes I just group them all together so there!). The harpsichord really grates on me for some reason and a lot of his music is harpsichord music. However, I do like playing his music on the piano because it's on the piano.... not a harpsichord. ;)

Beethoven

I love Beethoven's ninth symphony a lot! It's not something I listen to all of the time... normally just when the mood takes me but it is one of my favorite classical pieces (again, I know it's romantic time period not classical but get over it! ;)). I also have some of his piano concertos. 

Bolero

I have one piece by Bolero- Ravel. 

Call Me Madam

This is one of my many musical soundtracks that I have. I was addicted to this one for awhile. As my friends and family know, I normally will be stuck on one song or one CD for a long time, not getting tired of it until long after everyone else is. Call Me Madam was one of those for quite awhile. It has a lot of fun music.

Celtic Woman

I'm a big fan of the Irish women's musical group Celtic Woman. I even got to go to one of their concerts once. I have multiple CDs of theirs. 

Christmas

This is a bunch of instrumental christmas music I got for free for a reason I don't remember. 

Christian

This is my playlist of various Christian music. I have everything from hymns to Hillsong. My favorites on there are When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (to the tune of The Water is Wide), Bless the Lord O My Soul, and Blessed Be Your Name. However, my favorite hymn of all time is Be Thou My Vision... I'd just rather sing it than listen to it. 

Classic Rock

This has a bunch of random classic rock songs. Beach Boys, Frank Valli and the Four Seasons, Billy Haley, a couple Elvis Presley songs and more. This is what I listen to when I want to swing dance. :)

Copland

I don't listen to him a lot but when I do it's Hoe Down... it's a lot of fun! 

Disney

This playlist has a crazy assortment of Disney music! Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid (the story is kind of dumb but the music is incredible!), Frozen, Tangled, Enchanted, one song from Hercules (I hate the movie though) and one song from Mulan. It's always fun to listen to a little Disney music. :)

Doctor Who

This is my odd collection of various Doctor Who music including the show's theme song, the companions' themes, the doctors' themes, and a couple parody songs. 

Dvorak

I'm not quite as big of a fan as my younger brother but I do enjoy Dvorka's 9th symphony. My brother is seriously obsessed with it!

Fiddler on the Roof

The story makes me sad but I love the music! 

Gaelic Music

This is a collection of music by Gaelic Storm and The High Kings, two gaelic bands that I love! I have a ton of favorites in this playlist and I listen to it a lot! Gaelic music is just so fun! 

Gilbert and Sullivan

One day a few months ago I went on a kick and listened to nothing but Gilbert and Sullivan all day! So then I had to upload more of their music onto my computer to add to my collection. They're all in separate playlists by the title of the operetta. This playlist just is a "best of" collection. If you aren't familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan you should be! They were a duo who wrote operetta's together. Sullivan wrote the music and Gilbert wrote the lyrics/play. They're hilarious plays and so much fun and the music is just the same! 

Grieg

I love Grieg's piano concerto and the piece "Morning". 

Haydn

He has some great symphony's that I should probably listen to more than I do. 

Home for Christmas

This is Celtic Woman's Christmas CD. I just didn't want to put it in the same playlist as their other music as it's Christmas music. 

Indulgences

This is the playlist I'm probably most embarrassed to admit what songs are in it. This song has the widest assortment of songs. I called it Indulgences as it has music that I feel are indulgences.... duh! However, it's morphed into favorites/music I don't know what playlist to put it in. It started out with three songs and has now grown to 25 songs but it's fluctuated a lot. For example, I used to have my Piano Guys music in there but I moved it out when I got so much of it I thought it deserved it's own playlist. So what am I embarrassed about in this playlist? My pop music. It's dumb music I know but it's so catchy that I get sucked in! I don't listen to the bad pop music never fear, it's just dumb. I do have some classic country music in there as well such as Devil Went Down to Georgia. I have a lot of parody songs in here too. I also have one Julian Smith song and one Rhett and Link song. The majority of the songs in this playlist are in my top twenty-five most listened to songs. I just listen to this playlist a lot. I'm trying to get away from that now. 

Mendelssohn

I have his Midsummer Night's Dream music as well as his Songs without Words and The Hebrides. I love them all! 

Messiah

Meaning Handel's Messiah. I don't think I need to tell you that this music is amazing! 

Mozart

Probably my favorite classical composer! I have a lot of his music. 

Music Man

I love the music from this musical but the storyline is kind of dumb! I was definitely on a kick with this one for awhile. 

My Fair Lady

The music in this movie is amazing!!!!! And it's a hilarious movie. :)

Opera

This playlist has a wide assortment of opera music. This is definitely a playlist that I have to be in the mood to listen to. I'm very selective about the opera music I listen to as well because some of it is just boring.... I'm sorry opera lovers. 

Orla Fallon

Orla is a former member of Celtic Woman and this playlist contains one of her Christmas CDs. 

Pachebel's Canon

This is a CD that has a million different variations of Pachebel's Canon. 

Paganini

I listen to his music every once and awhile. I have his violin concertos.

Patsy Cline

I have a deep love for Patsy Cline's music. It's kind of an indulgent music. It makes me feel sentimental and romantic. :) My Dad is actually a big fan of Patsy Cline as well which I found funny. 

Pavarotti Christmas

You know Pavarotti? Famous Tenor? Yeah, well this is a collection of him singing Christmas music. 

Piano Guys

Here's my collection of music by the group Piano Guys that I mentioned earlier. They're music is a lot of fun and is great for listening to when I'm studying because it is pretty much all instrumental. 

Pirates of Penzance

One of the aforementioned Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas and probably my third favorite. :)

Praise and Glory

A CD full of instrumental hymns that are beautifully arranged!

Rhapsodies Enesco/Liszt

This playlist contains a collection of rhapsodies by Unesco and Liszt... if you couldn't gather that from the title. ;) Rhapsodies are tons of fun to listen to. :)

Rubenstein/Rachmaninov

I'm not sure why both composers are in the same playlist but I'm going to assume that it was because they were on the same CD. They have great piano concertos.

Saint-Saens

Some beautiful piano concertos.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

My favorite musical! It's just so hilarious, fun and quirky and the music is great! 

Singin' in the Rain

Probably my second favorite musical. The music is classic and the movie is hilarious! 

Smetna

So I'm looking at the music in this playlist and wondering why it's entitled Smetna. There is only one Smetna piece in it and the other three songs are by different composers. I'm just going to assume that they were all on the same CD again. 

Sound of Music

Another musical! :)

Soundtracks

One of my favorite playlists and a great one for when I am studying as all the music on here is instrumental except one song. Now you may be asking the same question my brother did, "Why is this one called Soundtracks when you already have separate playlists with soundtracks from musicals?" Good question. This playlist has soundtracks to films that aren't musicals. It contains lots of LOTR and The Hobbit music as well as music from period drams such as Little Dorrit, Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Pimpernel and Lorna Doone and then additionally has some music from John Williams such as the music from Jurassic Park, Indian Jones and Star Wars. 

Tchaikovsky

Probably my favorite composer from the Romantic time period. I love his 1812 overture, Capriccio Italiano and Marche Slave. I also have his music for Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. Additionally I have his piano concerto and violin concerto, which are also great!

The Gondoliers

Probably I shouldn't have "The" in front of that title, which is why it got alphabetically placed down at the bottom of the list as I didn't for any of the others. However, there we are. The Gondoliers has my favorite music from Gilbert and Sullivan. It's so beautiful, fun and catchy. 

Vivaldi

I love his four seasons. I have a variety of his music. :)

So that's all the music I have! :) I wish I had Gilber and Sullivan's "The Mikado" on my computer but though my family has the CD I have't gotten ahold of it yet to put it on my computer. I also need to get "The Phantom of the Opera" on my computer.

Please don't ask what songs are in my top 25 most played because I'm too embarrassed to admit to them.... especially the top one. However, I would find it humorous if you guys commented and tried to guess them! If you guess enough right I might even admit to them! I'll be impressed if you can guess, which pop songs I listen to.

I hope you found this post interesting! Do you listen to any of the same music I do? Do you have some music recommendations for me?

With all these reasons to comment, you really don't have an excuse not to... just saying. ;)

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Top 5 Favorite Christmas Songs (With Honorable Mentions!)

I hate making top lists. I always realize later that I left a favorite out! However, here, with the best of my ability and memory, are my top five favorite Christmas songs in no particular order. I've provided links to some of my favorite versions but there are several of them that I haven't just because I can't think of a version I've seen on YouTube (or at least one that really stuck out to me)… though I'm sure there's some great ones out there.

1. Oh Holy Night- listen to Celtic Woman's version here and here (I honestly can't see any difference in these, just different performances… but why not listen to it twice?). Orla Fallon and Méav ní Mhaolcatha (previously of Celtic Woman) had an incredible version they did as well but I haven't been able to find it on YouTube recently. 
2. The Hallelujah Chorus (that's considered Christmas right?)- listen to this great production of the  timeless classic! 
3. O Come, O Come Emmanuel- Listen to Orla Fallon's version… absolutely captivating! 
4. Angles We Have Heard on High- There's the Piano Guy's version… but they don't exactly sing it. :) 
5. Go Tell it on the Mountain

And because I feel like that list is severely lacking… here are some honorable mentions. :)

• Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
• The Littel Drummer Boy- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• What Child is This- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• Winter Wonderland- listen to Celtic Woman's version here and here! 
• Ding Dong Merrily on High- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• Joy to the World- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• Hark! The Herald Angel's Sing- listen to Celtic Woman's version! 
• Carol of the Bells

And, I never used to like this song but Celtic Woman made me like it…. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. Listen to their version here. 

Also, kind of a joke but… The Twelve Days of Christmas. You have to admit, you feel an amazing sense of accomplishment after signing that whole song. 

By now I'm sure you've seen the Celtic Woman theme… yeah, I'm kind of a fan. :)

Linking up with Mama Kat!
Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Family and Music

     My family bonds in many ways, one of the most obvious being that we are, well... family.  However, one of the most fun ways we bond is through our love of music.  My siblings and I were brought up by my parents listening to Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and many other great composers of the Baroque/ Classical/Romantic time period.  We also enjoyed some Louie Armstrong, Prairie Rose Wranglers (cowboy music), and of course musicals.  As my siblings and I have grown older we have branched out more and learned to enjoy bluegrass, some country (mostly my older sister), folk, Celtic music (Gaelic Storm and Celtic Woman!!!!), and I personally enjoy Patsy Kline.  Most of the time there is music running in the house, either in our family CD player or on a computer.  We all, for the most part, enjoy listening to whatever is playing, and sometimes my older siblings (with far better voices than I) will start singing along.  However, one can see my family's love for music reaches its peak when my older brother and sister sing songs (sometimes duets) from Gilbert and Sullivan while they do dishes.  Nothing is more entertaining then watching and listening to them as they sing a fast exuberant song or a slow sad love song as the keep on with their washing and drying of dishes.  The sparkle in their eyes and the beams on their faces is enough to tell anyone of the enjoyment they are having.  

     Looking back over my life I am very grateful that my parents had us listening to great music as children and I hope to someday do the same for my children.  

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Celtic Music- Catchy tunes, Beautiful lyrics, and Great Heritage

My heritage flows back to a lot of German, a bit of English, a trace of American Indian, and a nice enough dollop of Irish and Scotch to make me feel justified in loving all things Irish and Scotch.  One of my favorite things is the Celtic music.  There is nothing I love more then sitting down for some writing while I listen to some Gaelic Storm, Celtic Woman, Orla Fallon or High Kings, or if I am listening to it on my Pandora station, a whole slug of other bands that I have no clue who they are.  What I love most about the Celtic music is the fun and catchy tunes, the beautiful and sometimes quite hilarious lyrics, and the great heritage they make me think of. I just can't resist tapping my foot on the floor or my fingers on the keyboard as I listen to the lively music. Of course there is nothing more fun then when the bands sing the lyrics in Gaeilge and I feel transported back a couple hundred years.  If you have never listened to a fun Celtic tune then I highly recommend you do. It beats a hard rock "song" any old day.
I heard a quote once, "There are two types of people in this world, those who are Irish, and those who wish they were." :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.