In Memory of the Best Dog Ever

This post is quite late in coming, but I decided to still do it. A few weeks ago my mom and step dad had to put our 14 year old dog, Carmel, to sleep. 14 years is a great run, especially for a big golden retriever/chocolate lab mix. We got him on my sister's 8th birthday and our house was never the same! I remember opening the door when my parents came home and screaming when I saw that cute little puppy in a cardboard box. We had been asking for a puppy for years and they totally surprised us with him. Our family went through quite a few tough years after we got him, and he helped us through them all. He was always super excited to see us, even if we had only been gone a few minutes. And he was a terrible bed hog. Some nights I would wake up crammed in the very corner of my twin bed and have to spend several minutes trying to get him off of me. He also loved to sit right by me and lick my tears when I had one of my many teenage crying spells. Dogs are the best at making everyone feel loved. I think we humans have a lot to learn from them. We miss you, Carmel!
These are 2 pages out of a scrapbook that my sister made a few years ago. She made copies for my mom and me. As you can tell, we love our dog :)

Mash Up Project

So during Christmas last early I (Matt) read an article about how to create your own song mash ups using a free program called Audacity. I challenged one of Michelle's cousins to a mixing contest and I submitted my final versions on Wednesday. Now, for a limited time only, you can also enjoy the two songs I created (limited to the first 10 downloads only and both files will disappear in 90 days). so here are the download links:

Let September Be

Here is what the judges from American Idol had to say about "Let September Be":

Randy: “You know what I love about you dawg…is that you come out here every week and you bring it dawg. It got a little pitchy there in the middle and I felt like you rushed it a bit at the beginning but you are the man..I love it”

Paula: “That is your style, That's your niche, You look sexy, hot…cool!”

Simon: “Look…I don’t know what you want me to say…it was an indulgent choice and it was one of my least favorite performance{booing from the audience} of the night, sorry!

Train Wreck

Here is what the judges from American Idol had to say about "Train Wreck":

Randy: “Look dawg, this song was all over the place, it was the wrong song choice and I just couldn’t get into it..sorry man.”

Paula: “It’s the colors of your talent that I really love. I want you to know that I've never been drunk. I have never done recreational drugs. Just look at my 20-year career. Tell me someone who is into partying and or doing drugs that could have done that. {takes a sip from her Coke}You’re just a beautiful person.”

Simon: “I never want to hear that song again. I cannot stand it. I'm allergic to it. If your lifeguard duties were as good as your singing, a lot of people would be drowning. I think that you are in trouble this week.”

Let me know what you think!