Highlighted at Y105

Today Chris Farber at Y105 highlighted Erik and me on his daily blog!

Whenever we are home in Dubuque, we love to come by the station. I love working with Chris on the morning show as well as writing and recording commercials. Erik helps fix things and works with Andy, the station engineer. Erik and I have learned so much about radio from Chris, John, Jeff, Ken, and everyone else at the station. Thanks for teaching us and letting us continue to learn!

Read Chris' full post of Meet the Cast...Part 3!

Today's song is a highlight of one of Chris' favorite songs that Erik and I have released: "Battle Hymn of the Republic" from As American As Jazz.

Veteran's Day: God Bless America

Today I walked outside and there were flags lining the neighborhood for Veteran's Day!  The local Boy Scout troop puts them up.  I love it!

Thank you to all our veterans and those who are currently serving in the armed forces of The United States of America.  I am so grateful for all you have given and continue to give.

In 2012 I released As American As Jazz: A Patriotic Celebration of the USA.  I love patriotic music!  In honor of Veteran's Day, check out "God Bless America" from the album.

Home

Above is a banner that greets everyone who goes to the Dubuque Regional Airport.  I love it!

Today my older brother, Keith, went home to Dubuque after his vacation visiting us in Utah.  We had fun while he was here.  Of course, enjoying BYU sports was almost a daily occurrence!

So today's song is "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" from my album As American As Jazz.

Constitution Day...A Day Late

Yesterday was Constitution Day and I did not write about in on my blog so I am making up for my oversight and writing about it now!

I'm so very grateful for the Constitution.  What a miracle it is!  All the law students, myself included, found on our carrels a pamphlet with the entire Constitution in it.  What a great gift for law students!  What a great gift for everyone the Constitution is!

To celebrate Constitution Day, albeit a day late, here's "The Star Spangled Banner" from my album As American As Jazz.

Patriot Day

I love the USA!

In honor of Patriot Day, here's my rendition of Lee Greenwood's modern classic "God Bless the USA" from my album As American As Jazz.

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!  I love patriotic holidays and celebrating our country!

Even though I spent most of my day studying, I still celebrated in my heart.  To help you celebrate too, here's "America the Beautiful" from my album As American As Jazz.

Patriotic Breakfast!

Happy Independence Day!  I am so grateful for America!

I'm also grateful for breakfast food, especially French toast.  And the best French toast is made with Texas Toast, which is cut especially thick.  It's classic!

Fresh berries, whipped cream, powdered sugar, and syrup always dress up this simple dish!

I just love America and with gratitude, here's "Amazing Grace" from my album As American As Jazz: A Patriotic Celebration of the USA.

FRENCH TOAST

8 slices of Texas Toast bread
4 eggs
2-3 tablespoons cold water
dash of ground nutmeg
splash of vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons butter

Toppings:
Fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
Whipped cream (today we tried Reddi-Wip® Fat Free and it was great)
Maple syrup
Powdered sugar

1. Whisk the 4 eggs in a medium bowl.  Add water and whisk.  Add nutmeg and vanilla.
2. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a non-stick skillet each time you cook a batch of French toast.
3. Heat the skillet over medium heat.  Once butter is bubbly and skillet is hot, it is ready to cook the French toast.
4. Quickly dredge both sides of a slice of Texas Toast bread in the egg mixture and put on hot skillet to cook.  (Do not soak in the egg mixture.)  Turn over when first side is done.
5. Serve warm with fresh berries, whipped cream, maple syrup, and/or powdered sugar.

Patriotic Flowers...and Songs!

I just love to celebrate the USA!  That's why I couldn't resist this cheerful, and colorfully themed, bouquet of flowers we got to welcome Amy home for a visit last weekend!

Here is my version of "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" from my album As American As Jazz: A Patriotic Celebration of the USA as my contribution to help celebrate the USA tomorrow!

And in case you missed it, here's a review about As American As Jazz.

S'mores: What a Wonderful World

Last night we made s'mores in our backyard fire pit!  It's a classic summertime food.  The combination of graham cracker, chocolate, and roasted marshmallows is sublime.

Here's one of my favorite songs, "What a Wonderful World," from my album As American As Jazz.

Memorial Day and Scrabble

Memorial Day is for remembering those who have sacrificed their lives and served as well as those currently serving in the armed forces to protect our country.  It is also a day to take time to be grateful for our families.  Playing games is one way the Chaston family spends time together!

Scrabble is a favorite game of the Chaston men.  Erik won today's game!

To close out Memorial Day in gratitude for the United States of America and the freedoms we enjoy, I am sharing "America the Beautiful" from my album As American As Jazz.  This album expresses my love for my country, God, and family.

You're a Grand Old Flag

This is the flag in front of my house today!  I don't usually add effects to my blog photos but thought I'd try it this time given my new interest in photography!  I just love our flag!

Every year the local Boy Scout Troop puts flags up in our neighborhood for each national holiday.   I think the yearly donation per household is $30.  What a small price to pay for a neighborhood of flags as we celebrate The United States of America!

Some mornings I'm up early enough to see the boy scouts running down the street behind the scoutmaster's truck, stopping to put a flag in front of each house.  It just makes me so happy to see diligent and cheerful boy scouts line our street with flags.

Usually, I don't put my own music in my blog, but today I will.  Last year I released my patriotic album As American As Jazz: A Patriotic Celebration of the USA.  In fact, the flag on the CD cover is one of the Boy Scout flags.  So here's "You're a Grand Old Flag" from my album As American As Jazz.

The Joy of Singing

Last night was definitely a night to remember!  Big Band Night was a success--again!  Pictures soon to follow...

I loved being able to participate in honoring those who currently serve and have served in our military forces with some great music!  I sang two of my absolute favorite jazz songs, "Alright, Okay, You Win" and "Cry Me a River."  I thoroughly enjoyed interacting informally with the audience on the dance floor in between everyone--including me--dancing to live music!

With tomorrow being President's Day and Big Band Night being yesterday, I think it's totally appropriate to have "Battle Hymn of the Republic" from my album As American As Jazz as today's song!

The Quest for the Perfect Pair of Heels

One of my favorite pairs of dressy heels

I love to wear heels!  I absolutely, positively LOVE to wear heels.  Yes, I know the strain on my knees is there but I love to wear heels and I do so with wisdom.

Anyway, I've got a problem.  I have my dressy heels and then I always have a pair of "everyday" heels.  My everyday heels have given their all and they won't last much longer.  And I simply can't find another pair to replace them!

I've looked everywhere and either the heels are too thin (not good for everyday walking) or the angle hurts my knees or the heels are just plain ugly.  I would never wear an ugly shoe, so ugly heels are just out of the equation.

So I continue my quest for the perfect pair of everyday heels.  Until then, I'm resigned to wearing flats--albeit very cute flats--but they just don't have the same pizazz that a good pair of heels has.

To con-"sole" (he he) myself as I wear the flats while shopping for my perfect heels, I think about how noble my quest is...okay, it's not noble at all.  But, I do like noble quests, and because I like noble quests I enjoy the song "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)."  Here's my version from my album As American As Jazz.

Singing the National Anthem

Waiting to sing the national anthem

Today I sang the national anthem for the BYU Women's Basketball vs. Pepperdine game.  The BYU Women won 68-42!

I always love to sing the national anthem.  I feel great respect for my country and the flag.  I wish I had more opportunities to sing the national anthem at events!

I also appreciate feedback on my performances and today's was all good!  One of the BYU assistant coaches took my arm and told me, "That was really good!"  The director in charge of BYU sports-related auxiliaries (like selecting people for the national anthem) emphatically told me that I "killed it."  And a woman on the front row said to me as I was returning to my seat, "It's a consensus.  That was amazing!"

I hope soon to have the recording of today's performance up on YouTube, but since I don't have it yet, here's "The Star Spangled Banner" from my album As American As Jazz.  I know I posted it yesterday, but it is the national anthem, so it deserves a second day!  I love the USA!

Gandalf: The Snow Storm?

Does anyone else think it's just a little weird that a snow storm has the same name as a fictional J.R.R. Tolkien character?  Is it mere coincidence that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is currently in theaters and an active snow storm is named after a main character of said Hobbit movie?

Anyway, despite the pop culture references that have obviously infiltrated even the most benign of subjects--weather--I'm still enjoying the snow storm.  Admittedly, I didn't have to drive in it today, so I don't have a reason to enjoy the snow less.

Though I do have to drive in snow tomorrow on my way to sing the national anthem at the Women's BYU vs. Pepperdine Basketball Game in the Marriott Center at 2:00 p.m. MST.  So hopefully, Gandalf (the storm not the character) will have moved on by then...

In preparation for tomorrow, here's my version of "The Star Spangled Banner" on my album As American As Jazz.

FREE SONGS and Labor Day Adventures!

In honor of Labor Day I've put six--yes, SIX--of the songs from my latest album As American As Jazz: A Patriotic Celebration of the USA up for free download! All you have to do is like my Facebook page, click on the My Band tab, and share the music to download SIX FREE SONGS!

What else have I done for Labor Day? Actually, it's been a pretty relaxing day!

I got up and made wheat bread and rosemary focaccia breads with my sister and my mom. We already knew the focaccia would be amazing as we've made it many times before.

The wheat, also amazing, turned out well...even though Amy, my sister, had to mix the wheat dough by hand since we didn't have a bread hook attachment for our mixer!

These amazing recipes came from America's Test Kitchen, my new favorite cooking show! I even have the complete recipe book...an incredible buy!

I also played Ticket to Ride Europe with Amy, I think, a total of five times. As a family, we love Europa board games. They just have so many different elements. Definitely have lots of replay value!

Tomorrow school starts up again. It was nice to have a break...even though I've only been in school for five days. But sometimes that break is still nice when I am longing for the fun of summer!

Actually, the way I relax is to knit. So I also knit a Harry Potter-look-alike scarf!

As you close out your Labor Day, enjoy downloading any or all of the six songs available free to you!