The Ladies in my Life.....

So, anyone who knows me at all knows that I've been singing ever since before I could talk. There's a reason that during my first job's christmas party I won the award for "who needs a radio, we have Pam.." LOL I swear that if algebra were song lyrics I'd be the next Steve Hawkins LOL

Anyways, I was sitting outside the vocal studio today waiting for my singing lesson, and I was thinking about my musical influences. Every musician/artist has people they looked up to growing up, people they'd listen to over and over and over again and try to emmulate. For me, there's a team of very special ladies that really inspired me as a kid and I thought perhaps I would share them with you....

In no particular order.....

Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE (born 1 October 1935)

I couldn't possibly start this list without Julie.....I have been watching, emmulating, copying and studying this amazingly beautiful lady since before I can remember. My earliest memories of musical theatre are all wrapped up in her gorgeous clear vibrato - in fact the first musical theatre piece I did in an Eisteddfod was "A Spoonful of Sugar" from Mary Poppins and the second was "Do Re Mi" from Sound of Music! I truly thought she was IT - the be all and end all of vocal ability, and everytime I got up on stage I just wanted to BE her. To this day I still tend to take a slightly "british" tone because her annunciation is so perfect. She's just so classy, she has an air of royalty and quality :) 

As I got older I realised she wasn't just an amazing singer, but a truly beautiful soul. When she lost her voice in 1997 it really hit home for me that without my voice, I felt like I'd be nothing. No good for anyone at all. Yet, despite her obstacles she's continued to entertain and amuse audiences in movies and voice over roles, and she still has the most AMAZING smile. Her sense of humour and ability to laugh at herself just makes me glow :) 

Doris Day (born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922)

 Another lady with the most amazing smile! Doris Day in Calamity Jane was a revelation to me! All of a sudden here was an incredibly beautiful girl all butched up and not at ALL interested in romance! She was strong, and independent and confident and I was blown away! I had never seen anyone so beautiful be so not self - conscious about it. Of course in the endboy gets the girl, but its not without its hiccups! I've seen her shine in other movies, but Calamity Jane made me realise that I could be a great female singer without being "wishy washy" or "love struck" all the time.  

In her later years she became a very enthusastic animal rights activist and even has a horse rescue and adoption centre named after her. Today she is 91 years old and still beautiful! 

Marina Prior (born 18 October 1963)

My first in a serious of "Phantom" related ladies! Marina Prior was the first Australian Christine, she played Maria in Westside Story, Lily in The Secret Garden, Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, she's toured with Jose Carreras, she's sung with many Australian Symphony orchestras, she's even played Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins - this lady has done it all. I'm not sure whether its the gorgeous hair, the massive eyes or her piercing higher range, but to me this lady has the classic middle of the range "not quite classical but not fully musical theatre" voice that I always wanted! Proof that brunettes really do have more fun! :) 

Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960)

Ok, the fact I have held off this long before RAVING about the one and only should get me an award!!! The original Christine opposite the incomparable Michael Crawford, Phantom of the Opera was WRITTEN for her - it doesn't get much cooler than that. My first exposure to POTO was watching Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley on RAGE. I was hooked from that moment onwards. Apart from being married to a creepy composer (sorry ALW!) I wanted to BE HER so bad. In fact, watching her as Christine was perhaps the one defining moment in my life where I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be THAT. Unequivocally without any question at all. That dream hasn't really changed, although I guess I'm a little more realistic about it now. I was obsessed - I watched everything of hers I could get my hand on, screeching at the top of my lungs trying to reach her impossible notes in songs like "Wishing you were Somehow Here Again" and "Pie Jesu". Her voice is impossible and beautiful, her coloratura will rip right through your soul and even at 53 she's still got it :)  

 Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969)

  

Ahhh Ethel Gumm. I must have worn out my grandmothers video tape of the Wizard of Oz she taped off the telly, and no part was more watched than "Somewhere over the Rainbow". I sung it in an eisteddfod when I was about 11 or 12 - I didn't win, but I dont think there is a single song that sums up my childhood more beautifully than that. I always felt as a kid like I was escaping into fantasy worlds because my real world was so awful. I needed my fantasies so badly because without them all I'd have was real life, and that was not a nice thought. I was so sure that there was a better life out there somewhere, and that I just had to hold on until I found it. I couldn't understand why everyone around me seemed to be enjoying their lives and yet I was always in a holding cell waiting for this or that to happen before I could finally just breathe out, relax and be happy. The bad news is, my child and young person self never got to learn that there's "no place like home". The good news my adult self did :) 

Of course there's others who as an adult tickle my eardrums - Idina Menzel, Danielle Everett, Maria Callas and Jemma Rix just to name a few but I stuck just to the influences from my childhood. I was going to add Audrey Hepburn to the list, but I can't really considering in My Fair Lady she doesn't actually sing. So for now, this is my list, the ladies in my life, and all I have to do is put on a movie, or a CD, or switch on my ipod and they're there for me, like old, dear friends. Listening to them is like pulling on an old jumper - its warm and comforting and familiar. They got me through a rough childhood and gave me reasons to dream. 

Until next time! 

You Don't Make Friends with Salad...

Or maybe you do? LOL

Lately I've been part of a "salad club" at work - once a week we each bring a salad to share with the rest of the group, providing healthy, fresh low fat low carb options for lunch four out of five days a week. At first I was a mix of enthusiasm and dread - I have always hated salad - its never been something I would choose to eat. But over time, as different salads came in to work every day from different colleagues, I found myself looking forward to it. Knowing that there was something different there every day kind of made me excited, and slowly my taste for it developed.

I then had to go to Sydney last week, so I've kind of reverted back to the quick take out crap i was eating before, but I quickly got really sick of that and found myself craving lettuce and tomatos and fresh dressings....I realised that what I really want for lunch is fresh low fat food. I dont even want sandwiches for lunch anymore, I really want salads!!!

So, perhaps tastes really can change over time. Don't get me wrong, once a week I indulge and I get take out for lunch. But its not something I want to do on a daily basis anymore. Its a revelation to me that I can really enjoy something I always dismissed as gross. It gives me hope that habits really can change. I've also begun drinking a lot more water, and I'm trying really hard to have smaller meals at dinner time too. Sometimes its hard to do these things, but I really don't want it to be a shock when I finally do get the opportunity to get the surgery I need. I am hopefully going to get back into swimming this week, and I'm hoping soon I'll see and feel the effects of these changes. I'll keep you posted.