#TimeWithRod {review}

When I was asked to review Rod Stewart's latest album Time, I was a bit surprised at first. I thought he was low on the scenes for now, and I didn't know he had been working on new stuff.

I grew up listening to Rod Stewart. My mom was a fan, and my best friend's mom was a HUGE fan. I'm talking traveled the country to see him play. Loved that man. So by association, we were forced to be fans as well. It serves for great memories for us now that we're older. :) 

• Time is his first album of new material in almost 20 years (and his hairstyle hasn't changed one bit!)
• Time, releasing May 7th, 2013, marks Stewart's long-awaited return to his songwriting roots and features 12 tracks, 11 of which he wrote and produced.

The tracks included on the album are:

1. She Makes Me Happy

2. Can’t Stop Me Now

3. It’s Over

4. Brighton Beach

5. Beautiful Morning

6. Live The Life

7. Finest Woman

8. Time

9. Picture In A Frame

10. Sexual Religion

11. Make Love To Me Tonight

12. Pure Love

My favorite track is Can't Stop Me Now. Love it. It's so classic Rod. I love that he hasn't evolved much. In a good way though! He still is classic Rod Stewart that people grew up loving.

GO ahead and buy yourself a copy of the album. You can find it on iTunes or Amazon. Mine is in my car for my anytime listening pleasure.

Disclaimer: I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.

It's OK Thursday #95 + Goodbye!

Well, this is it.

The final It's OK Thursday.

Don't cry. ;)

It's been real, it's been fun, it's been REAL FUN.

Let's let it go with a BANG!

Thank you to every single one of you who ever linked up with us. We appreciate you more than you know. You made this link-up successful for almost 2 years!

And thanks to Neely - the best co-host a girl could ask for. Love you!

If this is your first time linking up, thank you and WELCOME!

All you have to do is type up a post listing what's OK with you, grab the button for your post, and come back to link up.

Let's do it!

It's OK..

..to be a little emotional about this being the last week of It's OK

..to also be a little glad in a weird way - less pressure each week when I write posts ;)

..to have almost 15 posts in my drafts, but still feel like I have "nothing to post or write about"

..to be glad to have my best friend back :)

..to always be taken aback when people IRL mention my blog

..to have panicked when they informed us of our "tornado plan" at work earlier this week

..to be newly addicted to Seattle's Best Coffee

..to need to do some serious filing at work, why do I always let it back up so much?!

..to get angry when I run out of lives on Candy Crush

..to watch Pee Wee's Playhouse reruns & still love it like I did when I was a kid

..to throw together random things to eat for lunch when I need groceries

..to love seeing pictures of new babies on facebook

..to feel like a horrible person when my patience wears thin with patients

..to love that it's iced coffee season!

What's OK with you this week? Come link up and share!

#ToBeLoved {review}

I've loved Michael Bublé ever since a friend of mine introduced me to his version of "Home" way back in 2007. 

When I received the opportunity to review his most recent album, To Be Loved, I was beyond excited. His voice just appeals to me.

And in typical Michael fashion, this one didn't disappoint either. I mean, check out these songs:

To Be Loved Track Listing:

1. "You Make Me Feel So Young"   

2. "It's a Beautiful Day" 

3. "To Love Somebody"

4. "Who's Lovin You"

5. "Something Stupid" (featuring Reese Witherspoon) 

6. "Come Dance with Me"

7. "Close Your Eyes"

8. "After All" (featuring Bryan Adams)

9. "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" (with Naturally 7)

10. "To Be Loved"

11. "You've Got a Friend in Me"  

12. "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" (featuring The Puppini Sisters)

13. "I Got It Easy"    

14. "Young at Heart"

I loved them all. The CD is constantly on repeat in my car. As hard as it was to choose a favorite, I'd have to say It's a Beautiful Day would be it.

"I want to take you on a wonderful journey about love—all different kinds of love," Michael says."The album swings big time: it rocks, it’s soulful, it’s happy, sometimes a little sad. It’s romantic, it’s yummy, and it’s heartfelt."

That's how this album makes me feel. Makes me feel soulful and full of love. It is an album that makes me happy each time I listen to it.

Feel free to go get it yourself on iTunes or Amazon. You won't regret it!

And I don't know about you, but I have a hard time resisting that cute face of his! ;)

Disclaimer: I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the album to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.

It's OK Thursday #94

Hi friends! Today is the next to last It's OK. Next week will be the final goodbye.

If this is your first time linking up, thank you and WELCOME!

All you have to do is type up a post listing what's OK with you, grab the button for your post, and come back to link up.

Let's do it!

It's OK..

..to laugh at Nate while he geeks out over the weather

..to think Binky is adorable trying to stay out of the rain

..to have a new found love for over sized t-shirts

..to hate when I actually end up liking something on TV that I make fun of Nate for watching

..to wish I had the patience to make graphics for my blog

..to be entirely too excited about Hangover 3

..to have a hard time resisting treating myself to a manicure

..to literally cringe when I submit payments for student loans

..to feel like a slacker when I don't post every day during the week

..but to also know it feels good to take a little break every now and then

What's OK with you this week? Come link up and share!

Happiness.

Today's topic of the challenge: Ten things that make you really happy. 

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Love this topic.. :)

Coffee 

• I know, totally unoriginal. I expect to see this on many other lists. But honestly? When it's the first thing that pops into my head when I wake up in the morning (and first thing to pop into my head while I was making this list), it MUST be listed. My favorite time of the day is when I wake up and get to just sit for 5 minutes and enjoy my blissful coffee. It makes me happy, happy, happy ;)

Boyfriend

• This man does the dishes, makes the bed, cleans the bathroom, vacuums (which is my least favorite chore) and so much more. He strives to make me happy without even trying, if that makes any sense. He makes me laugh all day long. Waking up next to him, and coming home to give him a hello kiss has been purely wonderful these past couple of months.

My little sister

• My little sister is one of the only people in my life that I trust with everything I have. The one who I know I can go to at any minute of the day. She's truly my soulmate. The one who knows everything and will drop anything to have my back. She makes me proud to be her big sister. Makes me so happy to know that I have a true friend for LIFE with her.

Being told I'm cheery/happy/perky

• When my patients or co-workers, or even random complete strangers for that matter, tell me it makes them happy to see me because I'm always so chipper, smiley, energetic, etc. Well that just makes my day. It makes me feel like my job here is being done. I strive to make others feel good and give them a smile so that if they're having a bad day, maybe I can turn it around for them. 

Old people

• As you most know, I work with elderly patients. They (most of them) make me so happy. They mostly have such a sweet demeanor and will sit and tell you the most amazing stories from their past with you if you'll let them. It makes them feel good to have someone to chat with. I like to be that person for them. My grandparents are the sweetest people I know, and having them in my life and having phone calls catching up on life just makes me so happy. So much more happier than they know.

My best friend

• My best friend. She's like my sister. She knows me better than I know myself. She gives the best advice. And even on weeks we don't talk a lot, I still know that she will always be my best friend forever. We've gone through too much together, good and bads, but all of those things? Hold a special place in my heart. We learned a lot about life together, and we're still standing. 

Babies

• Is there like a way I can have a baby to chill with all day and then give back to their parents? Oh? that's called babysitting, isn't it?! I am SO NOT READY for children right now. But, I sure do love babies. I love watching them learn, play, grow, say new words, find new things. A baby's innocence mesmerizes me.

Parents

• The fact that I call my mom every single morning for a chat on my way into work, and by the time I've made it to work I have a text from my dad saying "I love you" makes my world go round. Each and every day. I couldn't imagine a life without my parents, and even thinking of it makes me sad. The relationship and closeness I share with these 2 amazing people who created my life sure makes me happy.

Wine

• Mmm, wine. You guys knew I wasn't going to leave wine off the list. ;) No but seriously, a glass of wine after a hard day, when all you need is to just kick your feet up on the coffee table and watch crap TV sure can turn your day around. So basically wine = happiness. I mean, we're all in agreement, correct? ;)

Laughing

• This one is kind of a DUH to me, but laughing is my favorite. Hearing jokes, telling funny stories, laughing until I can feel ab muscles forming, those laughs. Those memories. That's what makes me happy. 

Binky

• This dog shows me unconditional love like I've never felt before. He gets excited with me, he comforts me when he knows I'm upset, and the happies he shows when I come home from work? Too damn adorable. And, make me feel loved and needed. 

What things make you MOST happy?!

The Story of My Life

When I saw Jenni was doing a "blog every day in May" challenge, I was immediately intrigued, yet intimidated.

I wanted to challenge myself to do it, but at the same time, I tend to cave under pressure. Meeting a deadline, I guess you can say. I love most of the topics though, so I've decided to do a few of them on my own anyway. :)

The first day's topic is: the story of your life in 250 words or less, or one paragraph

Me at 3 years old, feeding pigeons at the zoo

I was born on a hot summer Texas day in July of 1987 to the greatest set of parents I could've ever been blessed with. However, I didn't have the perfect childhood. My dad was an alcoholic and my mom did the best she could. I still love them more than ever. I was lucky enough to find my true BFF at 9 years old. She's like another sister to me. I grew up in a teeny tiny town where my graduating class was only a mere 20 people. In high school, I was very outgoing and participated in every extra curricular activity I could get my hands into. After high school, I dabbled in college (and still continue to do so) and I've also had my fair share of heartbreaks (from those icky boys!). I met the love of my life, online, when I was 21 years old. Afterwards, I attended medical assisting school to get my registration and to get my foot in the door of the medical field. I've been working as an MA at an internal medicine practice for almost 3 years now. I enjoy my job, but I crave more. I live in Dallas, TX with my sweet boyfriend and our yorkie dog. I love coffee more than a normal person should, wine like an alcoholic, shopping like I actually make money or something, blogging and hanging out acting silly with my boyfriend, family and friends. I am a happy, determined, awkward, high strung kinda girl. Let's be friends, yeah?

BOOM! 250 words. Count 'em and weep. ;)

It's OK Thursday #93 + {announcement}

Hi friends, happy Thursday!

Announcement time:

It's OK Thursday will be coming to an end along with the end of May.

Don't be sad; we just felt like it has ran its course over the last 2 years.

Please enjoy the next few weeks, and don't forget to link up with us :)

If this is your first time linking up, thank you and WELCOME!

All you have to do is type up a post listing what's OK with you, grab the button for your post, and come back to link up.

Let's do it!

It's OK..

..to be overly excited when blog friends share good news

..to never get tired of Family Guy reruns

..to think Binky has the cutest bark around ;)

..to eat tuna sandwiches for dinner one night like kids

..to ask for prayers for my mom - she put down her 17 year old cat this week

..to be grateful for all the birthday wishes from you guys for my sister yesterday

..to kinda wonder what I'll blog about on Thursdays now, ha!

..to be disgustingly addicted to Candy Crush, I drain my phone battery every single day

..to think OPI has the best nail polishes evah!

..to have typed up this post in 3 minutes flat ;)

What's OK with you this week? Come link up and share!