Monday 27 May 2013

CRYSTAL FIGHTERS - YOU & I ((OFFICIAL VIDEO))

HEY!  Remember me!

  Are you ever able to sit back and have a good laugh at yourself ?  
I will confess, I've been laughing at myself lately!  Well in reality I haven't really been laughing, it's been more like giving myself a break, but if I had the time I certainly would laugh!
  I used to be busy and I wasn't sure how I would fit in more, but apparently there is always room for more!
  I've been so swamped with other things that I haven't had time to sit and come up with anything clever, witty, or even encouraging to say in the past week; in truth my mind has been a fuzzy, loud place with little inspiration and a lot of frenzied activity.
  Sorry!
  I've had an overflowing metaphorical plate that seems to continue to be heaped with "food" I know I don't have the time or the stomach to digest.....
  Anyway, there is nothing really new about this idea, but I find myself thinking about it more and more as I watch the contents of my plate grow.
  It makes me take a moment to wonder who these women are who can do everything.  They have full time jobs, carpool their children, shuffle everyone where they need to be, provide the emotional and physical needs of their husbands and still manage to have their houses clean, their makeup in the right place and their roots blended to match the the ends of their perfectly styled hair, and Oh Yes!! there is a healthy meal on the table at the end of the day and they still have a smile on their face and not a black circle under their eyes to show that there simply are not enough hours in the day to actually accomplish all these things.
  Well that was a rant and what's been on my mind lately.  I don't actually know who these women are, but apparently they are out there.  If you are that woman, tell me your secret, can this be real?
  I am obviously not that woman, you only need to look at my floors, my silver streaks, the shadows beneath my eyes, and how long it takes me to respond to your email....if you're still waiting, I promise someday I'll reply!  

  Okay, enough of that!!
  What I do take the time for is music.  So here is one of the two ridiculous tunes that I just haven't been able to get enough of this week.
  This bouncy sound gave me the energy I needed to go just a little bit further, last a bit longer, and keep that smile on my face and hop in my step!
  Sometimes videos distract me, so in reality I like to turn off the visual and imagine my own scenery...maybe you're like me or maybe you like watching other's creativity unfold; suit yourself, but either way, take a listen and enjoy!  This album is set for release later this week but the tune below is available immediately!
  As always, listen and if you fancy a second run through, then buy!  
  These artists work hard to make music and share their gifts....support them!

  And please be patient with me as I adapt to the new schedule that has become my life!  I need all you beauties and this space to remember who I am, so I won't be far even if I am less frequent!

Monday 20 May 2013

Andrew Bayer - Counting Down

Hello, Holiday Monday....

  I like this track!  It's both soothing and exciting at the same time.  I could use a bit of both this morning.  It's rained here as predicted, and though I'm more than happy to see the lawn grow more green by the moment, I'm feeling a bit of cabin fever.  
  It looks, at the moment, that today will be another day of indoor activity, so this wake up sound is exactly what I need.
  Take a listen, share the love, and have a fantastic day!  



Friday 17 May 2013

Favorite Things...Top Ten- a hodge podge, frenzy filled, abundantly blessed week!

~ I got to spend hours in a vehicle at work the other day.  For many it would suck, for me it
    was fantastic!  Hours alone, listening to my favorite music, and DRIVING!!! one of my 
    very favorite things!  Who would complain!
    (I listened to every song in the menu of my phone that started with the letter F until it ran
     over into G!  Awesome!  Did I mention I sang like a rock star the whole time!!)
~ catching up with old friends.  Whether through email, text, proper telephone conversation
    or sitting across the table and sharing a spread of food, old friends are the best!  I love 
    each and every one of you! You make me better with how you all touch my heart.
~ memory lane!  I'm not usually eager to hop aboard that train, but every now and then the
    good images surface.  A smile crosses my lips suddenly and, you know what? I feel good!
~  I am anticipating the rain that is predicted this weekend.  I'm eager to see my yard turn
    green, my garden sprout up, and to be honest, I'm too busy to remember to water my 
    flowers.  So, yes, the rain is welcome!
~  one of my boys has chosen baseball as his sport this season.  I was hesitant, baseball at a 
    10 year old level is not so exciting!  Also baseball was my sport and it seriously sucked   
    when I had to give it up due to injury.  As a parent I never want my children to feel they  
    are walking in the shadow of my shoes.  I want them to find what they love and work their 
    butts off to be the best they can be.  Not just in sport, but in life.  Watching him play was 
    exciting.  The smile on his face and bounce in his step was worth every agonizingly boring  
    moment!
~ swapping out my winter sweaters for fun summer skirts on the shelf in my closet!
~ running in the warm sunshine and feeling the sun on my shoulders
~ new music
~ the happy-faced flowers next to my computer
~ finding those moments of quiet in my life and savoring them.  Being thankful, and giving
   thanks!


   
     
    Have a fabulous weekend folks!! Savor the simple, take pleasure in the company of those you love, turn your face up in those moments when the sun calls!
Happy Friday, everyone! Cheers to this lovely May long weekend!


Wednesday 15 May 2013

Mid-Week what have you....

  I know I've mentioned previously that over the past two years I've been plagued by the most ridiculous sports injuries imaginable.  It has truly been a string of hurts that refuses to let go and is pursuing me unrelentingly.
  Well, today is more of an encouragement than an elaboration on those sad but true obstacles in my life.  I have a beautiful woman in my life who loves to run as well, and she too has run into the valley of injuries recently.  I have a gorgeous neighbor who is undergoing surgery to repair a foot injury that has kept her sidelined for a while.  And yet a third beauty who, though she's been healed for a while from a more serious knee injury has been away from the running game. 
  Like all three, I run.  I love it.  I need it.  It fuels me.  On a run my spirit is nurtured and my body is freed from the chaos of every day life.  Dramatic?  I don't think so, but you can judge for yourself that one.
  Well I haven't been able to run consistently for over two years now.  It hurts, both physically, mentally and spiritually to be held back that way.  
  So I've had to diversify my outlet.  I have incorporated biking to my routine.  In truth I bike 3x's more than I run.  Do I love it the way I love to run?  Absolutely and definitely NOT. But I do it.  It's a test you see; if I give up in the midst of struggle what does it say about my character.  It comes back to perspective I think, maybe even balance.  So I bike.
  This morning during my love/hate relationship with my ride a song popped up on my playlist and my mind began to play games.  
  Why is my body still hurting if I'm caring for it?  Why is it not getting better?  Am I doing something wrong? Moving my legs too far bent in or too far bent out?  Not eating enough protein to shoot its healing power to the aching areas?
  Then my thoughts took me to deeper and darker places.
  Am I not doing enough as a person to deserve healing?  Did I miss an opportunity to love the people in my life.....  Did I take too much selfishly?  Have I overlooked something that I need to understand in order to be whole again?  Essentially, am I being punished for something?  Isn't this the big WHY we always ask ourselves when something goes wrong?
  This was not a good game, at all. 
  Do you ever do this to yourself?
  Thankfully the song pulled me out and gave me a new perspective.
  I've done lots wrong, that is a simple truth.  But am I being punished for my wrongs?  No.  That too is a truth.  Our minds can play tricks on us, our bodies betray us, we all struggle from time to time in all areas.  
  
  Here's my encouragement, to the beautiful women in my life who are struggling, and to all of you out there who need a tender word spoken into your heart.  
  We all fall, we all need to get back up.  Will it look the same once we've put the pieces back together as best we can?  In many cases, no, sadly it won't.  
  But here's the hope!  We need to shift our perspective, change the angle at which we approach what we love, in order to overcome obstacles that land in our way.  And that's what they are, simple obstacles, nothing more.

Here's what we need:  
  Patience is necessary. 
  Grace is required.  
  Kindness is essential.
  Attitude will guide your vision.
  And forgiveness?  Can you forgive yourself for being human?  Can you give yourself a break?  You are likely your harshest critic (if you're anything like me).
  We are human, and if we need to understand anything, it is that we are adaptable.  We actually need CHANGE.  We don't necessarily like it, but it's also a truth.

  So be encouraged!  It's a new day!  Turn your face to the sun and give thanks for what you do have.  All the little blessings in life add up to equal abundance!  



Monday 13 May 2013

Hello there!  
How was the weekend, busy, full, fun and fantastic?
I'll get right to it!  I love this song! I haven't had a chance to have a good listen to the rest of the album, but I have no fears, it will be great!
Take a listen, buy this tune or the album, and add it to your playlist....
Start your week with a dose of delight from this happy song!

We'll catch up soon! 





Monday 6 May 2013

Crazy Love - Ray Charles & Van Morrison

Hey there!  
Good morning and Hello Monday!

  I've been going through a bunch of old music in the name of research (and pure pleasure).  It's been more than merely listening to some stuff my parents listened to when I was small, I've been revisiting memorable tunes that shaped my own opinions of music and bring some very odd memories rushing back.  My memories are usually vague and very random.  To be honest I remember the most bizarre things and forget what everyone else deems important.  That is just the way my head works!  
  Anyway, memories are funny things, and when I create a new character I feel like I am visiting their memories.  I see their life as if it were a movie from the beginning, I know every small detail about them.  How they intermingle with other's stories that never make it to the paper, and wherever their stories take each of them.   My own memory becomes laced with those in my imagination, and my life milestones are remembered in my characters journey and I remember where I was when their moments happen.  
  Yep, probably too much information from this suddenly crazy sounding lady!
  So back to the music!  
  I come back to this one over and over, though to be honest I don't recall any memory of it.  I just love it and so does my new friend; I can't wait to write the scene with this song.  It makes me want to turn up the sound, and swing my hips like I've suddenly got rhythm and soul!  Maybe above all, it makes me want to hear more.
  So take a listen and enjoy....



Friday 3 May 2013

Here's to the Ridiculous

  I've been growing my hair out and cutting it short in proper routine for years now, ever since I can remember actually.  It's a love hate relationship, a never ending cycle and, in my mind, the creative right I have as a woman.  Yet am I ever satisfied?  No!  Straightened or Curly, Long or Short, Bangs or No Bangs, and don't even bring up the fact that my shiny mane has become heavily laced with silver strands that shimmer in the sunlight.
  Though this tangent I'm on is fun, it isn't what I'm getting at today.  
  So recently I've surpassed any length I've ever approached in the past.  I'm talking looonnnggg.  Like caught in my jacket's zipper-long, can't roll over at night because my hair is caught-long, I always think there's something crawling up my back because my hair is tickling me-long, every time I lean forward I'm eating hair-long.....  
  This is long, for me anyway. 
  There are things I didn't know about this elusive, coveted, long haired state of beauty, and being the sharing sort of gal I am, it would be a squandered opportunity to not share what I've learned.
  Here is the ridiculousness of what my hair has taught me.
1~ I now know what a ponytail headache feels like.
2~ There is hair everywhere.  Who knew it was possible to loose so many hairs in one day 
      and have any remain on your head. So gross.
3~ You know that picture of the haircut/style/general texture you've been coveting?  Well,
      sorry to burst your idealistic bubble, but it's not real hair! Toss out that image because no
      one's hair is actually their hair any more.  No Seriously, it's not their hair!
4~ It is very interesting how hair encourages you to perceive yourself in different ways. I
     know.....chew on that one for a while. 


  Okay, so what was my point?  I didn't really set out to make one.  I think this was just my very quirky or bizarre way of saying we always want what we don't have and we're actually rarely, if ever, fully satisfied.  I think this principal bleeds into most areas of our lives, and now that I've said this, maybe I do have a point.  
  Now before you get all crazy and your reflex to argue perks up, hear me out.  
  I'm not generally one who feels I need to keep up with my neighbor to be cool, or be noticed, or find value, or whatever other reason people work so hard to try to keep up.  In all honesty, I don't really care that much about stuff like that, life's too short to want someone else's life, right? Furthermore, it's plain and simply exhausting to work at being something you're not, correct?
  Well now that we've covered that, it should be simple, shouldn't it?  
 My point is ultra cliche....we always want more than we have, the grass is always greener on the other side.  So in order to remedy this more is more life, what we need is a massive dose of contentment and thanksgiving....even if it's about a simple thing like accepting that I'll never ever have beauty queen hair!
  Using the words of the great and cuddly Winnie the Pooh, "sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."  Wise, wise words oh small, chubby, cuddly bear!  We have so far to go!
  
Top Ten
  
1~ the smell of rain.  There isn't a whole lot more refreshing than a cleansing rain.
2~ being an encouragement and lending an ear
3~ homemade beef barley soup on a chilly rainy day
4~ the scent of BBQ in the air
5~ sleeping with the window open and waking to hear the birds
6~ the excitement and tingles of having your work validated
7~ answered prayers
8~ pizza
9~ taking advantage of teachable moments with your children
10~ forgiving yourself for not being the perfect person you imagined you'd some day be

  There it is.  Take it or leave it.  At the end of the day these words are no more than the ramblings of a girl trying each day to be better than the one before.

  Cheers to the weekend all you beautiful people!