New Music

These past and next few months are going to be surrounded by all kinds of highly anticipated music. In September we had Demi Lovato, Jake Owen, and a few others. This month we have Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Martina McBride, and Kelly Clarkson at the end of the month. And we can't forget about Taylor Swift's Journey to Fearless DVD coming out next week, and Speak Now Tour DVD/CD coming out early next month. I thought I'd give my short reviews on the CD's I've picked up so far.

Demi Lovato:

Prior to the CD coming out, Demi kept saying how her sound was different, and this album would be different from the others. She described it as more soulful sounding, so I was expecting something like Kelly Clarkson's first album, Thankful. I was a bit surprised when I started listening to it, to find that it was more hip hop/rap. I appreciate all genre's of music, so I'm always open to hearing new things, but hip hop isn't usually my style. However, the more I listened to Demi's CD, and went through each song, I really liked it. She did such an amazing job. The style of music may be different, but her genuine soul comes through in the lyrics. I still think I might prefer her rock edge a little more, but over all I was pretty impressed with "Unbroken."

Jake Owen:

I've always really liked Jake Owen! I've had the pleasure of meeting him a few times, and he's one of the nicest guys around. He writes about what he knows; the country, girls, being out on the lake, and life. He's basically the male version of Taylor Swift (it's a shame those two didn't work out ;) Lol). Awhile back, during the summer, Jake was back in Nashville, and tweeted to his followers to join him out on the lake. They met at the location he said, and spent the rest of the day with Jake on his boat. Now, is that cool or what? I actually had a friend, that I've met and talked to through Carrie Underwood's fan club, that was lucky enough to join him, and from the sounds of it she had a great time. This was the first CD of Jake's I'd ever bought, but I was super impressed. It's a feel good CD, and I highly recommend it.

More reviews to come on upcoming CD's. What are some of your favorite artists at the moment? CD's? Feel free to share on my twitter account: http://twitter.com/#!/ShelbyN92

That's all for now,
Shelby

Quotes I've Found From Twitter

I love quotes, and who doesn't really? I mean, a short phrase or saying that says exactly what you've been feeling or thinking is just an incredible feeling. It's a lot like finding that song on the radio you relate to that just tugs at your heart strings immediately. I follow a lot of quote Twitter accounts, and if I get bored sometimes I start looking some up from my favorite TV shows and celebrities. I thought I'd share a few that are kind of personal to me!

• "Forget what hurt you in the past, but never forget what it taught you."
• "Our biggest regrets are not for things we did...but the things we didn't do."
• "Once you lose yourself, you have two choices:find the person you used to be...or lose that person completely."
• "There's a difference between giving up and knowing when you've had enough."
• "Have you ever wondered which hurts the most: saying something you wish you hadn't or saying nothing and wishing you had."
• "It seems that until I can find someone else who'll love me, I can't move on from the only one who ever has."
• "One of the hardest things in life to admit is that someone you care about has changed or maybe you never really knew them at all."
• "Your past doesn't define your future."
• "Don't marry a man unless you would be proud to have a son exactly like him."

There are way more I could've posted, but these are the main ones.

What are some of your favorite quotes? or accounts to follow on Twitter? Tell me on Twitter:
 http://twitter.com/#!/ShelbyN92

That's all,
Shelby

Only Two Days Into The Week, and I'm Already Ready For The Weekend

Monday:

Class was canceled, which sucks, because I really wanted to get the speech over with. I was also invited to Dancing with the Stars yesterday. Had I known speech would be canceled, maybe I could've worked something out! The Kardashians, Courtney Cox, and a few others were there.

Loving this weather

Birds traveling

Love these jackets!!

Listened to Taylor Swift on my bike ride...that was interesting...

Soup!

Tuesday:

Love this! One of my teachers from high school had it posted on her Facebook

Beautiful fall day

Working on hw, eating lunch (soup, fried cabbage, and hot tea)

Watching a lot of One Tree Hill

The rest of this week is going to be consumed by homework, which seems to be the story of my life right now, but it'll all be worth it in the end. On the agenda for tomorrow : I have 2 classes, have to give my speech on Taylor Swift, and am meeting up with one of my teachers from high school. We're going to catch up and pray, which is always great! I need that in my life.

Peace out,
Shelby

Things That Inspire me

I find inspiration from a lot of things around me: friends, family, places, things, musicians, writers, etc. Here are some of the things that inspire me and help me create what I do.

Concerts

Rainy days

The mountains/countryside

Keith Urban

Taylor Swift

Gilmore Girls

Small towns

Carrie Underwood

Books

Tours of movie studios, especially WB

Nashville

My friends, even other people's friends

Family, even other families

The beach

Black and white pictures

Small coffee shops and cafe's

Blogs! I love reading other people's stories and about their lives.

Traveling

Lady Antebellum

Magazines

Lauren Alaina

Demi Lovato

Kellie Pickler

Hilary Duff

Nick Jonas

There is so much to be inspired by! This world is full of beautiful things to find, explore, and make a story of your own out of it. That's the best part. :)

What are some things that inspire you? You can comment on here or "@" reply to me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ShelbyN92!

The Carolinas

I'm a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks, and I love that his books/movies take place in North and South Carolina most times. I've never been, but from the pictures I've seen and everything he describes, it sounds like a pretty beautiful place. Well, my aunt and uncle just recently moved there to be with my cousin and her family now, and I'm dying to visit them. I'd like to just spend the summer back there with them by myself. I could definitely explore and make an adventure of my own out of it.

Now that I've gotten into One Tree Hill, I'd love to see Wilmington! It looks like a cool little town :)

There was a friend of mine from Tumblr, posting about One Tree Hill and filming in Wilmington, thought I'd share them!

That's all for now,
Shelby

This is What I'll Be Doing The Next Few Days

Just picked up the first season of One Tree Hill! :D

Inspiration

 I'm inspired by a lot of things in life: My friends, my family, things I happen to see at school or walking around my neighborhood, traveling, music, and blogs. I found something from Bethany Joy Galleoti's (One Tree Hill) blog, and it just really struck a chord with me! I love what she says!

Bethany Joy Galleoti:

"Inspiration is an elusive mistress. She strikes at her own whim, she pours out in abundance or withholds for unbearable lengths of time. She is never where you want her to be and seduces you until you are shackled and enslaved to her without even knowing how it happened. You simply wake up one day and you crave her... you need her... you're a failure without her.

The problem with being a creative person is that most of us are driven by Inspiration. We have these massive bursts of energy wherein we create, craft, mould and model and then bask in the glow of our work. And then, we have a drought. We get depressed because we don't feel inspired. So we wait and wait and wait for her to come light a spark. Aside from this, artists love to use the excuse of Inspiration to get away with treating themselves and others poorly.

I do not feel inspired today. In fact, I'm sitting in the car while Michael runs into Home Depot for something and I'm forcing myself to write this right now because I know you all wait for updates and it's not fair for you to be subject to Inspiration's whim. Subject to personal time or illness or holidays or any normal preventative circumstances... yes. But not to Inspiration. I hate waiting for her too, and besides... she's a bitch ;)

So for all of you right-brained kids out there who live and die by the strike of her match, I challenge you to kick Inspiration to the curb-- make her follow YOUR rules for a while. If you're writing a book and you've stopped because you're waiting... just START again. It doesn't have to be good or even fit into your story, but you can take control and choose to be a disciplined person. If you're a songwriter or an artist or a photographer or any sort of creative vagabond-of-the-soul... pick yourself up by the boot straps and get moving! There is a reward in discipline!"

 She's absolutely right!!

Check out Bethany's blog, you won't be sorry:

http://www.bjgofficial.com/