Put on lipgloss… and get skinnier. Huh? Read on…

Girls- most of us are VERY hard on ourselves when it comes to our bodies. My friends and I are constantly talking about weight management, excercise routines and healthy diet options and we all make comments sometimes about parts of our bods we just hate. It’s just natural.  I have pretty decent self-esteem but I still talk myself down sometimes and I know that I shouldn’t. But it’s tough not to look in the mirror and see what could be improved… am I right?

Me and around 4 of my girlfriends are roughly the same height and weigh almost exactly the same but our bodies are really different so we find ways to criticize ourselves in comparison to one another. One girl doesn’t carry ANY excess weight in her waist (lucky!) and another distributes is almost everywhere perfectly evenly. Me? I can always tell right in my tummy (I blame beer!) and sometimes in my chest.. ugh! Like I need help there. We all are pretty candid with all of it to each other.

But one thing I am proud of with me and most of my girls…  we’ve pretty much stopped buying into the ‘gimmicks’ for the quick fixes. We do it the right way. We eat healthier and excercise. I’m not really tempted to try the latest ‘pill’ that assures me I will lose massive weight without changing my life. I don’t buy it. I never will.

With that said- once in a while something comes along that is so utterly off the wall that I want to try it just for fun. Case in point- the new lipgloss that is supposed to:

1. Plump Lips    and…

2. Suppress Appetite

Huh? I HAD to check it out… I love lip plumping lipglosses but one that’s supposed to help me not cave in to cravings? Magic! Unfortunately, it’s not available yet but will be sometime in March. The product is called Huge Lips, Skinny Hips and if you want to read the article that drew me, click HERE.

Yeah… call me a hypocrite but I like plump lips so there! All in fun.

Thanks for reading!

Sam

You people are sooo crafty! In discussing tips for saving some cents during these tough economic times we got all sorts of suggestions, including some Do-It-Yourself projects!

Did you know you can make your own household cleaner?  Using vinegar and baking soda is cheaper, better for the environment, and won’t give you that “I-just-inhaled-toxic-fumes” headache! You can find other recipes for homemade cleaning products on this website.

If your kids draw with crayons, you can take those broken bits and leftover nubs and melt them down into crayon candles.  Same goes for the soap leftovers.  As we learned today, you take a cookie sheet and cover it in tinfoil.  Place it on top the stove and let the eyes heat up until the soap starts to melt and get a little pliable.  Then you can squish all those bits together into one big soap block.

Steve’s favorite was the suggestion to make Popsicles from the juice leftover in canned fruit. You can make pineapple, pear, mandarin orange–oh the possibilities!

And then there’s homemade beauty products!  One gal let us know she makes her own scrubs using brown or white sugars (or sea salt), mixing in a cup of olive oil or vegetable oil and adding a fragrance if you so choose.

An esthetician recommended making homemade masks by combining either plain yogurt and a little bit of honey and leaving that on for 10 or so minutes or, whipping egg whites and putting that on your face.  My facialist always reminds me to exfoliate by scrubbing a little bit of baking soda in my normal face wash.  You can get more recipes for homemade beauty products from this site.

And you can even make homemade baby food! Just see this website for more info…

Here are some of the new releases for today: February 24, 2009. Enjoy!

Chris Isaak- Mr. Lucky
Chris Isaak’s most recognizable song is hands-down Wicked Game but he’s got a lot of other stuff going on, too. This is his first non-holiday release in 7 years. If you are a huge fan of Chris you’ll want to catch his show on Bio called The Chris Isaak Hour. Click HERE to link to his page there.

Various Artists- War Child presents Heroes **Sam’s Pick**
War Child is an award-winner charity that helps children affected by war in some of the most devastated areas of the world. This CD is so cool because the legendary artists that were asked to participate chose a song to be on the compilation but didn’t submit their own version. Instead- they selected an artist from the following generation to recreate their song. So you get Beck covering a Dylan tune… TV On the Radio covering Bowie. 16 songs in all. Click HERE for War Child’s homepage. 

Additional Releases:
Absu- Absu
Black Lips- 200 Million Thousand
Joe Bonamassa- The Ballad of John Henry
Joe Budden- Padded Room
J.J. Cale- Roll On
Company of Thieves- Ordinary Riches
Norman Connors- Star Power
Shemekia Copeland- Never Going Back
Bill Frisell- The Best of Bill Frisell, Vol. 1: Folk Songs
God Forbid- Earth’s Blood
Green River Ordinance- Out of My Hands
Jonas Brothers- Music from the 3D Concert Experience (Enhanced)
K’Naan- Troubadour
Jeff Kashiwa- Back in the Day
Lamb of God- Wrath (Deluxe Edition and LP available, too)
Martina McBride- Triple Feature: Martina McBride (box set)
Ricardo Montaner- Las Cosas Son Como Son
Willie Nelson- Triple Feature: Willie Nelson (box set)
Jake Owen- Easy Does It
Shawn Phillips- At the BBC (Live)
Pieces of a Dream- Soul Intent
Pink Martini- Sympathique
Project Pat- Real Recognize Real
Idan Raichel- Within My Walls
Tom Rush- What I Know
Screaming Blue Messiahs- Live at the BBC (Live)
Clem Snide- Hungry Bird
Van Morrison- Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl (Live)
Steven Wilson- Insurgentes
Yes- Symphonic Live (Live)
Joe Zawinul- 75

Soundtracks:
Doubt- Original Score (by Howard Shore)
Mr. President (Broadway Cast Recording)
The Unborn (Ramin Djawadi)
The Wrestler

Reissued/Remastered:
Grant Green- Street of Dreams (Remastered)
Isaac Hayes- Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak) (Remastered)
Jackie McLean- Bluesnik (Remastered)
Grachan Moncur III- Some Other Stuff (Remastered)
Baby Face Willette- Stop and Listen (Remastered)
Tony Williams- Spirng (Remastered)

Thanks for reading! Have a great day.

Sam

I just checked the calendar to be sure there wasn’t a full moon today. Certainly felt like there should’ve been one.

The day started innocently enough. I got up earlier than normal because of my renewed focus on my fitness goals. I was planning on doing an hour of yoga and I was ready to get to it. Good mood… energy… the works.

First thing I noticed was my two dogs were acting a little guilty. Uh-oh. Every dog owner knows what THAT means. It only took a second to discover that one of them had indeed had an accident of the poo kind. The other dog had barfed. Sweet! The next 20 minutes I was cleaning up and I though not completely thrilled- I was not defeated. I still had plenty of time to do my yoga which I did- gritting my teeth through the random skip-skip-skipping of the DVD (first time that disc has done that). It wasn’t easy to find something to wear and I’m still fairly disappointed in my choice.

I tried to finish the dishes before scurrying out the door but couldn’t quite get them done… no biggie. I got to work and it just felt… odd. No, nobody was being mean- I wasn’t crabby- some things went wrong but they were completely random and it wasn’t in my power to control them so I rolled with it.

All day long I could’ve sworn I was hearing Twilight Zone music droning from afar… na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na… but of course I wasn’t. Or then again- maybe I was?

I think a change of venue is in order.  Oh yeah… I have to finish the dishes. Shoot. Off I go!

Track by track, here are the songs I played for you on tonight’s Sunday School. Enjoy and as always feel free to email me if you have any questions! sam@alice1059.com
1. Mat Kearney- Closer to Love
Matt’s new CD, City of Black and White will be out May 19th. To order the first single click HERE and if you’d like to hear Matt’s AuNaturAlice recordings plus an interview I did with him a couple years ago, click HERE.

Oh and yes- here is my favorite picture of Matt and me! Isn’t he just adorable?

2. Chris Cornell- Scream
Remember- March 10th is the release date for Scream. Lucky fans that have purchased tickets online to Chris’s upcoming tour will be able to get a digital copy of the new album via secret code. Unfortunately- we haven’t seen a date here but if you’re planning on travelling to see him- click HERE for his tour page. 

3. Jessica Sonner- Be With Me  **Local Artist**
This is from Jessica’s latest.. All We Need. She’s well-known around the Denver scene and even participated in our Almost Famous Battle of the Bands a few weeks back. She has a couple shows coming up soon if you’d like to see her live:

February 27th, 2009 8:30pm (16+)
Moe’s in Denver (Formerly The Falcon)   http://www.moesdenver.com/
3295 S. Broadway
Englewood, Colorado
303-781-0414
Price: Free

February 28th, 2009 9pm (21+)
With Andrea Ball and Dan Craig
Meadowlark Bar   http://www.meadowlarkbar.com/
2701 Larimer St.
Denver, Colorado
303-293-0251
Price: $5

4. The Script- The Man Who Can’t Be Moved
I played these guys for the first time a couple weeks back and the more I hear them, the more I just love their soulful Celtic sound!

Click HERE to learn more and I highly recommend watching the video for The Man Who Can’t Be Moved!.

5. James Morrison feat. Nelly Furtado- Broken Strings
This is from the album Songs For You, Truths For Me. Click HERE for James’ official website.

6. Skyfox- Run Away **Local Artist**
January 8th, the boys of Skyfox signed their record deal and are now a part of Crappy Records (Bowling for Soup).  HUGE congrats to Jonny, Matt and Johnny!! Now we just have to wait for the EP they’ve been promising us.

If you want to find out more about Skyfox including some upcoming shows click HERE.  

Trivia: This song was used in one of our Alice Commercial submissions last year. Won best viewer’s choice!

7. Stars Go Dim- Come Around

8. Fine Young Cannibals- She Drives Me Crazy  (Tonight’s History Song)
From their album The Raw and the Cooked and was a number 1 song in the USA in April of 1989. Dolly Parton has a cover of the song on her recent release Backwoods Barbie. It’s merely title Drives Me Crazy though.
The four following bands are all bands that will be performing this Friday (Week 7) at Herman’s Hideaway for Alice’s Almost Famous Battle of the Bands. Come down and cheer for your favorites this Friday! Click HERE to be directed to the Almost Famous Myspace page and you’ll find out all you need to know. Click on the band’s name for direct access to their MySpace pages:

9. The Threatened- The Enemy **Local Artist**

10. Random Hero- Pull The Trigger **Local Artist**

11. Random Friend Generator- I Have Faith **Local Artist**

12. Lost Point- Calling Cobain **Local Artist**

Thanks for loving music!

Sam
 

It was the second day I had owned my new iPhone. Me and the boyfriend were coming home from a fun night out. I was holding my new treasure in my right hand while I awkwardly twisted around the doorknob to fling open the front door.

 As the door swung open my grip on my new phone was momentarily lost and it went sailing down the entryway. I watched in horrifying slow-motion as it skipped on the floor… once, twice… and landed perfectly in the dog’s water bowl. I couldn’t move but Eric sprung into action- diving for the phone and pulling off the protective cover and the battery in a split second. I hadn’t even taken a step yet and he all ready had a towel around it, feverishly drying it off.

Miraculously- my iPhone survived the incident without any damage. I’ll admit, at first I was VERY skeptical because I’ve lost two previous phones to liquid. The first one was just a dumb accident… well, sort of an accident. I was out with a group of friends and we were all goofing off and having a couple of brews. Someone had tossed a piece of popcorn into someone’s beer and in retaliation, that person grabbed a set of keys and dropped them into a drink. Next, my friend Ned snatched up my cell phone and PLOP… dropped it into my nearly full pint. That phone did not survive. Thanks Ned… at least he bought me a new one.

A couple years later I was sleeping. My phone was on my nightstand and I had set the phone’s alarm to ensure I got up on time. When the alarm buzzed- I groggily reached over and in trying to grab the phone I just brushed it with my fingertips. It slid off the top tier of my nightstand and I heard a SPLOOSH. Yup, right into a glass of water. That phone did not survive.

But my iPhone survived and I believe it was due to the lightning fast actions of my oh-so-smart boyfriend. Today I did some research on what the best thing is to do in such a situation should it arise again. (who am I kidding.. with me, it’s just a matter of time.)

Anyway- I actually found a decent places with advice. So, read about it or watch a video and prepare yourself for the inevitable. And remember, if your phone goes into a BIG source of liquid (ie: ocean, vat of boiling oil.. etc) it’s ALWAYS best to just let it go.

Click HERE to read what to do.

Click HERE for video on what to do. I warn you the video is pretty corny.

Thanks for reading… remind me next time to tell you of the time I lost TWO cell phones in one month and got one of them back a year later. Cool story involving an Alice listener from Lakewood.

xo,

Sam

Here are some of the releases for today: February 17, 2009.  

Morrissey- Years of Refusal **Sam’s Pick**
This is Morrissey’s first album since Ringleader of the Tormentors (2006) and was the last album the late Jerry Fin produced. Morrissey continues his influence with yet another great collection of tunes. Also available on LP.

Annie Lennox-The Annie Lennox Collection  **Sam’s Pick**
This is a greatest hits collection from one of my favorite female singers. Includes her big hits like Why, Walking on Broken Glass, No More I Love Yous and many more…There are two brand new recordings on the release as well. Go for the bonus version because it includes a DVD with some vids from Annie.

Additional Releases:
Above and Beyond- Anjunadeep, Vol. 1 **Sam’s Pick**
And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead- The Century of Self
The Appleseed Cast- Sagarmatha
Beirut- March of the Zapotec and Realpeople Holland
Death- For the Whole World to See
Alela Diane- To Be Still
Faunts- Feel. Love. Thinking. Of.
Get Up Kids-Something to Write Home About (Limited Edition LP Record)
Alex Harvey Band- Live at the BBC
Robyn Hitchcock- Goodnight Oslo
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit- Self-titled
Tommy Keene- In the Late Bright
Steve Kilbey- Painkiller **Sam’s Pick**
Living Things- Habeas Corpus
Eleni Mandell- Artificial Fire
Mishka- Above the Bones
Mountains- Choral
N.A.S.A- Spirit of Apollo
Willie Nelson- Willie and the Wheel (Deluxe Edition)
Obscura- Cosmogenesis
Psyopus- Odd Senses
Darren Rahn- Talk of the Town
Sam Roberts- Love at the End of the World
Asobi Seksu- Hush
The Sleeping- What it Takes
Dr. Lonnie Smith-Rise Up!
The Soul of John Black- Black John
Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat- Tijuana Bible.
Thursday- Common Existence
Various Artists- Dark Was the Night
Various- Glitter & Gold: Words & Music by Barry Man & Cynthia Weil
Various- Hard to Find Jukebox Classics 1958: Rhythm & Rock
Various- Hard to Find Jukebox Classics 1958: Pop Gold
Vetiver- Tight Knit **Sam’s Pick**
M. Ward-Hold Time
Weather Report- Tale Spinnin’
William Elliott Whitmore- Animals In The Dark
Charlie Wilson- Uncle Charlie

Soundtracks/Karaoke:
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Halo Wars/Game Official Soundtrack
High School Musical 3:Senior Year (Karaoke CD)
New In Town (by John Swihart)
Transporter 3

DVD:
David Sanborn- Live at Montreuz 1984

Reissue/Remastered:
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Soundtrack (Remastered)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Soundtrack (Remastered)
Raiders of the Lost Ark Soundtrack (Remastered)

Thanks for reading!

Sam

When I look at photos of myself in high school or college- I tend to feel a bit horrified because of my frighteningly casual attire. I wore a lot of too-big tee shirts and jeans. I think I was a bit self-conscious back then and tended to hide in my clothing.

I started to realize as I got into my 20s that I wanted more from myself in the fashion sense so I started trying to spice it up a bit. I think I really started hitting my stride a few years back. After years of being a mediocre dresser I finally felt like I was lookin’ pretty put together!

But… recently I began noticing that I was less interested in going clothing shopping. Plus, I’ve really been going through a change in the way I dress myself. I started pondering what could be going on with me! The girl who loved her clothing so much suddenly was becoming apathetic about them? I’ve even lost a lot of my interest in shoes. Ahem- what is WRONG with me!?

I’ve come up with a couple guesses as to what might be happening! Could it be possible that I’m slowly starting to forget how to dress my own shape… I wonder if other women go through the same thing at various points in their lives. As things change and weight fluctuates a bit- might we lose sight of what looks flattering on us? Could be I guess.

The other reason that entered my mind. – maybe I’m having a tougher time rationalizing spending money on clothing and shoes because I’m feeling a bit of more frugal because things feel uncertain right now? That’s a possibility, too.

 I guess I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this ebbing and flowing of fashion sense? If so- how did you fix it? How did you answer the question as to what may be happening? Input is much appreciated.

Sam

Here is the Sunday School track listing for February 15, 2009.

1. Alterbridge- Watch Over YouThis song is on the band’s 2007 release, Blackbird.The guys also have a live DVD in the workings… in fact, we’re just waiting for them to complete the editing process. Mark and Myles are keeping busy this month playing some acoustic shows around Texas. Click HERE to visit Alterbridge’s official site.

2. Plain White T’s- 1,2,3,4From their latest album Big Bad World. Right now on our website you can customize the video from 1,2,3,4 to include you and your Valentine! A very cute and fun gift and it only takes a second. Click HERE to put yourself in the Plain White T’s video! 

3. Angel Taylor- Make Me BelieveThe EP Love Travels is available now in online stores and the full album will be out on April 7th. She’s currently touring with Brett Dennen and you can bet we will have them here soon! If you’d like to get to know Angel- click HERE. 

4. 16 Frames- Back AgainThese guys are fairly new.. to the effect they don’t even have their bio posted yet on their Myspace page and their official site is still under construction.Click HERE for their Myspace page. 

5. Katy Perry- Thinking of YouThis is Katy’s latest single from her album, One of the Boys. She’s currently touring and selling out club shows all over the place. She’s currently touring overseas but will be back this month and we’ll let you know if we get a stop. Click HERE for Katy’s official website.

6. Joshua Radin- I’d Rather Be With YouThis is one of those songs that women go NUTS over… and when you hear it, it’s obvious why. You may have heard Joshua’s music on many of your favorite t.v. shows like Grey’s Anatomy. He’s got a couple shows coming up…the 23rd of this month at the Belly Up in Aspen and the 25th at Black Sheep in Colorado Springs. In between those shows,  we will have him in our studio for an Alice Artist Spotlight so make sure and check back in a couple weeks for that!

7. OAR- This TownThis is O.A.R.’s latest single release from All Sides.Click HERE for O.A.R.’s official website.

8. Aerosmith-Angel (History Song) 

Note: The four following bands are all bands that will be performing this Friday at Herman’s Hideaway for Alice’s Almost Famous Battle of the Bands. Come down and cheer for your favorites this Friday! Click HERE to be directed to the Almost Famous Myspace page and you’ll find out all you need to know. This is Week 6’s lineup:

9. M.T.H.D.S- Wicked StyleStands for Music That Heightens Different Senses.

10. Debajo Del Agua- Cambio

11. Swankstars- Fly Away 

12. JD Feighner & Mellow Ride- Wavy Baby

13. Ryan Star- Last Train HomeRyan is one of our most recent in-studio performers. We have a video in production right now so you’ll soon be able to watch him as he performed. He had two songs featured in Superbowl commercials this year and he’s currently on tour with David Cook!His album 11:59 will be out soon… no, I don’t have a date yet!Learn more about Ryan HERE. 

Thanks for loving music!

Sam

Here are the new releases for today, February 10, 2009.

Lily Allen- It’s Not Me, It’s You
Lily claims that she’s grown up a bit with the writing/recording of her second album. This one features some firey tunes- including one written for our last president that gives the album an explicit content rating. A clean version of the album is also available.

Pink- The Lowdown Unauthorized
These discs are normally interview discs and though there is not much information on these discs- they are not highly rated but for the huge Pink fan, something you may want for your collection.

Ben Folds- Way to Normal: Stems and Seeds **Sam’s Pick**
This release stemmed from Folds’ fans desiring to have a less slickly produced/compressed version of his recent release Way to Normal. The album is loud but this new release is more dynamic and a bit more old-fashioned. One disk is a remix, remaster, re-sequence of the entire original album with some additional tracks. The other disc is comprised of stem files which allow the fan to mix the album themselves- options to turn the drums or vocals off will allow audiophiles to really have some fun.
Additional releases:
2002- A Word in the Wind
India Arie- Testimony: Vol. 2, Love and Politics
Dan Auerbach- Keep It Hid
John Caparulo- Meet Cap
Alex Cline- Continuation
Nels Cline- Coward
Guy Davis- Sweetheart Like You
Dexter Romweber Duo- Ruins of Berlin
Jimmy Hall- Brothers of the Southland
Jon Hassell- Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street
Buddy Holly- Memorial Collection
Kari Jobe- Kari Jobe
Jorma Kaukonen- River Of Time
Ben Lee- The Rebirth of Venus
Ryan Leslie- Ryan Leslie
The Lonely Island- Incredibad
Roger McGuinn- Live at the Basement (DVD)
Amaia Montero- Amaia Montero
Moody Blues- Inside the Music (DVD)
Michael Martin Murphey- Buckaroo Blue Grass
Napalm Death- Time Waits for No Slave
Miranda Lee Richards- Light of X
Bobby Valentino- The Rebirth
Various- NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack

Soundtracks:
Coraline

Reissue/Remastered:
Beastie Boys- Paul’s Boutique (20th Anniversary Edition/Remastered/LP or CD) **Sam’s Pick**
The Cars- Heartbeat City (Reissue)
Alice Cooper- School’s Out
Hall & Oates- Live at the Apollo with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick (Remastered)
Emmylou Harris- I’ve Always Needed You (Reissue)
Leo Parker- Rollin’ with Leo
Johnny Winter- Live Bootleg Series, Vol. 4 (Remastered)

Thanks for reading!

Sam