Clementine Start Your Blogging

Hey Friends and Clemen"DUDES",

SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED since our road manager Tammy Smithnwesson made her post about the SNOW that fell until last week in South Dakota. I am sure many of you want to feel compassion for her however...she does choose to live in South Dakota. I lived in Phoenix for years and you know what? It's HOT. Like...the home of Satan hot. And guess what...it's HOT for months in Phoenix. 95 at 7 am. 115 by noon. 95 at midnight. My spidey sense tells me that the North Pole has a lot of snow (even with Global Warming).

But I digress. The band is recording a new EP. We have new management (ALCHEMY HOUSE) and a new booking agent (DEGGY International). We also have signed with Foster Entertainment to distribute the television show "Finding Gina".

We recently met up with our beloved bus driver "BAMA" at the WARP TOUR. He drives the founder Kevin Lymon and we where able to talk about the Squeaky Wheel Tour. Which brings me to the reason we need to get back to blogging. Squeaky Wheel 2008 is only a few months away and we are coming to a town near you.

So brush off the snow if you are in Dakota (or the North Pole) and wipe off the sweat if your are in Phoenix (or the Equator) and get ready because...

IT's Clemen"TIME"!!

What's up with Snow???

We already have snow....why??? I have purchased my very first snowsuit to try and tolerate the cold...got some mighty fine looking thinsulate boots, a nice hood type hat(sure to block any cold air), and I'm working on getting better gloves with the help of my ebay savvy husband. I am not a cold weather person, but have been forced to endure it during recess...WOW!! Why do these kids like the snow??? It is SO COLD??? IT MELTS!!! It makes you WET AND COLD!!! It gets into every crevice of space that you may have left gapping...it freezes you to the bone!!! WHY OH WHY???

So we must look to the positive as we are forced to in life with so many situations....!

SNOW Positives:

1) It looks pretty if you are inside a warm building and your eyesight is good enough to enjoy the view.
2) You can throw your dog into a snow drift to watch it disappear, only to see it reappear again in a few seconds.
3) You see young children put their tongues on metal surfaces only to tear off their skin and bleed profusely and scream in pain. (oh, wait...that is not a positive..forget that one)
4) Santa has somewhere to land his sleigh, but that is only if you believe in the jolly ole' elf, some of us had to grow up.
5) You get an occasional snow day off of school.....YEAH!! (only to make it up again in nice spring weather...boo!..double whammy)
6) You have a reason to wear the snowsuit and boots you bought.
7) You can have a White Christmas.
8) They can gate off the interstate in your state and not let you drive.(only a positive if you don't need to go anywhere)
9) You have an excuse as to why your back is hurting(shoveling snow) rather than just that you are weak, old, or frail.
10) It makes the earth look clean again!!

I guess you can look at positives in whatever area of life you need to. That is how we all survive to the best of our ability. Look to the positive wherever you are going......be optimistic!! There is always a silver lining...sometimes you have to dig to find it, other times you must be VERY CREATIVE!!!

I am signing out for now back to my tundra of snow...back to my mound of blankets...and many layers of clothing....!! (Of course none of the band members would know about this dilema-----warm weather natives that they are)

Don't worry about this road manager...I will stay warm...I will survive another day....I AM WOMAN!!!

Tam out

Back to the real world

for those of you reading this blog... back to the real world is kids to feed, bills to pay, work to be done and missions to accomplish. How do we find space in this real world of so much we "have to do?" It's an ongoing question of balance on the tight rope and try not to fall off one way or another...but we all fall off and most of us get back on.

All I know is that no matter what the most important thing I do everyday is communicate with people I meet that I love and care for them. It's not always that most important thing that is on my mind though when I fall off into my pile of work in that cave of mine that I call an office. People are what drive me and it is the people in my life that I need to focus on even more...

with blessings and a thankful and hopeful heart...

Jannel

For all those who just got their hair did....

If you just got your hair did and are ready for the holiday, smile and look pretty for the camera!

It is that time of year when you get together with family and friends and are thankful!!! This year I am thankful as always for my family and for a very blessed year with them. I am also SOOOOOO THANKFUL for my clementine family, we had an amazing journey together during the Squeaky Wheel Tour and grew very close! What an amazing group of people who really get the missing and their families.

I wish you all a blessed holiday and send love to you across the miles! None of us are together this season, but J & J are experiencing the beach life of relaxation! I hope they relax, refresh, rejuvinate and reinvent some memories... : )!!

Keep yourselves healthy, stay warm, and continue to live with a thankful, grateful heart! We are all so blessed!!! In so many ways!!! As always, your road manager, keeping the peace, watching the clock, plotting the course, working the crowd, doing the laundry, and much misc.....with a very grateful heart!!

Love to you all!!!!

Tammy

Back in the swing of life.....wow, that took an adjustment! Waking up in the middle of the night wondering why the bus had stopped, what time it was, where we were, what in the world was Mike doing stopping the bus for so long??? All those questions running through my mind in the wee hours of the morning. This road manager had to adapt to the home schedule. No more worrying about cell phones being lost(although I did receive a call from Jannel looking for her cell phone since I have been home), no more early morning press and radio interviews, waking the sleeping Dana for sound checks, getting the tech crew in gear from a sound sleep, finding a room for BAMA, getting him on the right track before we all drifted off to sleep, getting used to staying put and not waking up in a new city every morning....these are just a few adjustments to be had....!

I am slowly adjusting, missing our bus crew immensely since we got so close over the 19 days. What a wonderful group of people I had to work with!!!

My boys no longer have to bach it at home and are glad to have me back. I have been spoiled by getting the much needed sleep that I lacked while on tour, and being taken care of. They spoil me so! I am back at my normal job answering phones, typing, and assisting in an elementary classroom. I was greeted with a mob of hugs from my kids.

While Dana is off on a cruise, Jeff is mending his one ailing lung, Jannel is deep in the cave, Gary is back to the hide-a-way, singing, and catering, Joe is off mending, cleaning, helping, and hugging, Eli at school, Annie loving those around her, Cristi mending her knee...we have all returned to bloom where we have been planted. Back to life as we know it!

Remember to LAUGH alot and enjoy each moment, hug those around you, and savor each experience....!

PS...If you are ever flung out of a bus bathroom at a terrifying speed, remember that someone, some bunk, or some door knob will be there to catch you!!

Real Men in the Kitchen

I was not aware that Jannel posted a new BLOG and that she placed me in the kitchen as the "Clean Up Crew".

Now let's be clear...the kitchen is a manly place to be. Real men spend massive quantities of time in the kitchen. I lift weights in the kitchen. It is a well known fact that in nature the alpha male of the pack prefers to fight any upstart male pack members in the kitchen.

The kitchen is a place of virility and power. I keep my testosterone in the refrigerator next to the Soy Milk and Tofu.

And for the record, real men drink soy milk. I am smoking a cigar and enjoying a pint of soy milk right now. And where am I doing this most masculine of all activities?

IN THE KITCHEN.

Which is why I cleaned up the kitchen after the tour. It is a man's job that could not be left to the frailer band members, Jannel and Dana. Well, Dana took one look at the mess and left for Mexico. What she doesn't know is that I stole her green card so she won't be coming back to America any time soon. Good thing I actually know all the lyrics to "Stranded". (some nights Dana almost sings all the lyrics correctly).

We are back from tour and our kitchen is in order just like the marines trained me. Did I tell you about the marines? I wasn't actually a marine but my uncle was and he once cleaned our kitchen on leave from Vietnam.

Need a say more?

If you want a ticket to the gun show look no further then the drummer from Clementine in his apron lifting 2 heavy oven mitts. A portrait of raw masculinity.

Jeffrey Wayne

Back at our respective homes and...contemplating "F" words!

Dear Whoever is reading,

It is clear that the Squeaky Wheel tm Tour is over, however, I still have boxes, bags and suitcases all over the house to the contrary. Am I slow to clean it up because I want to relish every last moment or am I just lazy. Jeffrey put away everything in the kitchen. I asked him not to because I wanted to film all of the stuff that came off of the bus. It is hard to believe that all of this, plus everyone's equipment,luggage and personal effects were housed on that bus along with the 9 of us...but it and we were all there. 19 days for 5 of us and 21 days for 4 of us.

Dana was back at work all week making her clients beautiful. Her birthday was yesterday and she is now off on a wonderful cruise vacation. Jeffrey is still recovering, however, the doctor said (he did visit the doctor ordered by me and Tammy ; ) if he feels like doing something he should do it and if he doesn't...then, rest. He has compiled all the tapes for "FINDing Gina" and placed them in order of the tour, so he can begin putting the pilot together. Gary is back performing and catering in Dallas. We miss him when he is in Dallas. Eli, the youngest member of the crew with story ideas miles long is busy working on completing all the homework he has left due to missing 15 days of school. Annie, creative videographer and artist, is in Virginia spending time with her boyfriends family for the holidays. Cristi-the always happy lead videographer-is back with her family, working and recovering from her knee injury. It looks like she may not have to go into surgery...she simply needs to stay off of it...baby it..take it easy...what a concept! Difficult to do on the road...for sure. Tammy, my sister and tour manager is back at work, church and family...periodically waking up wondering why the bus is not moving, where we are supposed to be, when she has to wake us up and where is Jannel's cell phone? We even call her to ask her what we are supposed to be doing now that mother hen has left the bus. I am back at the computer in the cave (as Jeff calls it) contemplating what mess to clean up first. The one I left before tour or the ones made from the tour.

There was so much going on during the tour: meeting with the families of the missing, press meetings, filming, setting up for shows, money concerns, last minute booking, schedule, hotels, meals, daily struggling to find time and then hopefully logging on the Internet or phone to make sure other SWT artists, families of missing and event organizers were communicated with. I remember thinking I need to take every moment of this magical trip in tired or not and focus on having fun. Tammy and Dana seemed to have a real handle on finding the time to create fun when they bought dolls: Jenny and Tanisha and created a whole puppet video about it. I have to say I was slightly annoyed when they first started as I was too tired to appreciate the moment they were creating for themselves. I now have to say that they were an inspiration to me to have fun no matter what. Laughter and fun- the great release.

A couple of days ago, I heard Mike Myers of Austin Powers fame recall his father saying, "It's not that bad if you can laugh at it." His fathers sense of humor has been his inspiration. Simply putting together a tour to gain attention for missing people has a whole lot of sad. Going on that tour has a whole lot of sad and intense emotions. The reminder here is that I have learned to focus more each day on what I have FOUND and not what is missing. Some of that FOUND is very funny. Laughing takes us to the other side of crying creates health and lightens the load. Jeffrey has been around to teach me about laughter for a very long time. Jeffrey makes a joke out of everything. He is well crafted at it. I still have a lot of learning to gain from his approach. Tammy and Dana create their own fun. Something I so need to pay attn to. Annie just loves everybody no matter what and finds fun and happiness wherever she lands. It is what she focuses on. Joe is peace, tranquility, wisdom and had no problem enjoying every part of the tour. Eli found fun with his confessionals and stories he shared with everyone. Gary got into Tammy and Dana's fun by egging them on with props for Jenny and Tanisha...at one point I thought he was creating a monster, but it turned out to be beautiful one. Cristi created her comedy relief in trying to get a chance to drive the bus and going back and forth with Bama on film about the challenge. I don't remember doing anything particularly funny...but I enjoyed watching the others create their moments. My nature is to work, get things done and make things happen...but this tour reminded me once again to create, acknowledge and find time for laughter and fun no matter what the circumstances.

I would say we all have pain we can focus on if we want to. I know I do, but I don't wants to anymore? It doesn't make my life better and if something doesn't make my life better then what's the point?

Today I am choosing to focus on "F" words: FOUND and FUN!

I am off for a walk with Jeffrey, his jokes and my sweet loving dog Micha. How much more fun could I FIND!

Love, Love...Annie LOVE...

Jannel