A New Chairman of the Board

When you hear the name Harry Connick Jr., what comes to mind?  Gorgeous blue eyes?  Talented actor? Talented musician and singer?  Personally, I think of all that and more, a real renaissance man, a modern day Frank Sinatra.

Thanks to my affiliation with One2OneNetwork, I had the pleasure of listening to Harry's new album, Your Songs, before it's official release on September 22.  Each time I listen to it, I melt.

Your Songs is filled with Harry's take on familiar songs.  It is a smooth, mellow throwback to a different era.  It transports you back to a time when the Rat Pack reigned supreme.  I grew up listening to all kinds of music, including the oldies.  I can honestly say, Harry Connick Jr. is as good, if not better, than Ol' Blue Eyes himself in his heyday.  Between Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Buble, a whole new Rat Pack era could be ushered in.

Album Tracklisting (Originally performed by):

  1. All The Way (Frank Sinatra)

  2. Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)

  3. Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis Presley)

  4. And I Love Her (The Beatles)

  5. (They Long To Be) Close To You (The Carpenters)

  6. Besame Mucho

  7. The Way You Look Tonight

  8. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)

  9. Your Song (Elton John)

10. Some Enchanted Evening

11. And I Love You So (Don McLean)

12. Who Can I Turn To? (Tony Bennett)

13. Smile (Charlie Chaplin)

14. Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole)

My favorite tracks on the album are All The Way (#1), Can't Help Falling In Love With You (#3), And I Love Her (#4), Close To You (#5), and Your Song (#9).  Actually, I really liked every song on the album with one exception.

Harry Connick Jr. puts his own touch on all the songs on the album, he arranged and orchestrated the entire project.  Most of the songs already fell into his genre, that smooth jazz/big band sound.  His arrangements of The Beatles And I Love Her, Elvis' Can't Help Falling In Love, and Elton John's Your Song, are pleasant and unique twists on well known and loved songs.  He has made those three songs sound like they were written as jazz classics, he has made them his own.  Unfortunately, I can't say the same for his take on Billy Joel's classic Just The Way You Are.  It may be my own prejudice as a huge fan of Billy Joel, but I was really disappointed with this song.  Unlike with the other 13 songs, I just couldn't sing along with this track.  My mind kept trying to "hear" Joel's version.  I couldn't let myself go and just enjoy Connick Jr.'s take.  But hey, to love 13 out of 14 tracks on an album, well that's almost unheard of, a real testament to Harry Connick Jr.'s talent.

If you were a fan of Sinatra, jazz and the big band era, this is the perfect cd for you.  If you just love music of all kinds and want a change of pace, pick up this album, you won't be disappointed.

You can catch Harry Connick Jr during the following television appearances:

9/25 – Oprah “Live Friday”

9/28 – Today Show

9/29 – The View

9/30 – Imus in the Morning

9/30 – Letterman

10/1 – Today Show

Week of 10/5 – Rachael Ray

For a behind the scenes look at the making of Your Songs, click here

Paid Attention

I don't know about you but I really don't like pop-up ads on the internet or for that matter commercial breaks during my favorite shows. I realize advertisers need to get their messages out there somehow but how about paying me for my attention?! My time is worth something and I don't want advertisers stealing it. Luckily, I have found two sites that do indeed pay me for my attention.

The first is YouData. This is strictly an advertising site. You sign up, enter your two validation codes (one is sent to your email the other is sent to your cellphone via text, they only send one text, they do not spam your phone at all), and fill out your MeFile. They then match your demographics to advertisers and pay you to view ads tailored to who you are. You get only ads that are relevant to you. YouData pays every Friday via PayPal, you don't have to submit a request and wait to be paid. Based on your demographics, you may not get a lot of money, but atleast you are getting paid for your attention. If you are interested in joining, please use my link to check them out: Join YouData  (it is a referral link and I will get credit if you join through it)

The second is Spotwinner. After registering on Spotwinner, you view regular television ads and answer one question to verify you watched it. In return, you earn entries into sweepstakes drawings and Spotcash. Spotcash can be redeemed for a variety of giftcards. Each week, the sweepstakes prizes change. Since joining, I personally have redeemed for Amazon gift cards, won extra Spotcash in the sweepstakes, and I have won a Sony portable dvd player worth $180. They are a legitimate company willing to pay you for your attention. Again, if you would like to join, please use my link (it is a referral link and I do get credit for you joining): Join Spotwinner

Saturday Night Visitor

We had a special visitor Saturday night...the Toothfairy. Nick lost his first tooth Saturday afternoon. He was very brave about it. He came in, handed me his tooth and asked for some salt water to rinse his mouth....my how grown-up! He placed his tooth in a special cup on his dresser. Sunday morning when he woke up to find a dollar in the cup, he quickly checked to see how many more loose teeth he has! I am sure he has the money already spent in his head; new Transformer here he comes.

The start of a new school year

Well another school year is under way. Can you believe Matt and Steven are juniors this year? Or that Chelsea is a freshman? And Nick, loving every day as a new kindergartner!

Matt is enjoying his Health Professions track. He is taking a Sports Medicine class and has to put in some hours as a trainer. He has done one football game and is scheduled to work a volleyball game today and another football game soon. He is still planning on playing tennis this Spring so he is taking part in fall practices on Mondays and Wednesdays. He spends a few classes at another high school now and loves it.

Steven is back in FFA this year and drama too. In fact, I am proud to say he has the lead in the fall play. He is playing Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow.

Both Matt and Steven are taking one dual enrollment class to get some college credits under their belts. Steven has his heart set on UC Davis. Matt isn't sure yet but he is paying a lot of attention to SUNY Buffalo!

Chelsea is settling in to her first year in high school. She thinks she wants to play softball this Spring.

Both Chelsea and Matt are volunteering at the hospital. Steven is volunteering at the animal shelter.

Nick is loving kindergarten and after a rather rocky start, has got the routine down pat.

I thought I would really enjoy it when all 4 of them were in school but I find myself walking home near tears almost every morning after dropping Nick off. Once I'm home and get involved in different things, I'm fine. In fact, usually by the time I need to head out the door to pick Nick up, I am wishing that kindergarten was a full day!

So I fill my 2 hours and 50 minutes each school morning doing household chores and my computer stuff. And I guess now I will be using some of that time to write this blog. As of now, I am planning to use it to keep everyone up to date on the goings on here and share some of the deals, reviews, and earning opportunities I come across. Who knows maybe someone other than Dad will want to become a BzzAgent!