Tree Swings

Where we live, there are tons of trees. Seriously, tons. Even with a recent thinning out a few days ago there are still at least 100. I've never taken the time to count them all, but I really don't think that's an inflated number. Well, one of the things that I've been meaning to do with all of these trees is make a tree swing. Nothing fancy. Just a board tied to the tree with some rope. How hard can that be, right? So, maybe, just maybe this week I'll hit the Home Depot for some rope and a few boards. :)

BTW, this gorgeous tree swing pic was found on Syracuse.com.

For your listening enjoyment, here's the video of the day.

Being A Girl

I love being a girl. Okay, maybe I no longer have time for the nail painting, the hair styling, or the leg shaving. ;) But there are other ways of being a girl. Letting a guy do things for you is always a nice way. It's not that I act dumb (well, *that* dumb). It's not that I can't do things for myself (I can, it would just take a bit longer). It's just that if there's a guy standing around wanting to do something for you, you may as well let him. He'll feel all happy that he's helped you. You'll feel all happy that you didn't have to do it yourself.

Guy favors can be anything from him washing your car, to him changing your oil, to him mowing your lawn. The list is endless. It can be whatever needs doing, you know? Anyhow, I remember guys would always do things for me when I was happily single. Hmm. Is there a refresher course out there somewhere?

Anyhow, back to my point... Last week a friend was kind enough to come out and install some speakers in my vehicle. It's hard to tell they're there because of the kind of music I normally listen to. It's not as if I drive around thumping or anything. However... I recently borrowed someone's CD and... wow!

This is probably my favorite song from the whole CD. I probably listened to it 5 times just this morning!



So, if you enjoy listening to music and having it actually sound good, I highly recommend getting a sound system put in. What I have isn't the biggest, nor is it the best. But, boy, does Beyonce sound good! :)

Confessions

"We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones."
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680)

This explains a lot!

Video of the Day: Not Gon' Cry

I've always loved Waiting to Exhale. The story is terrific. It's great how these women (all wronged by their good-for-nothing men) all end up getting something good by the end of the movie. Not to mention, it has a terrific soundtrack! Here's one of my favorite songs. Sing it, Ms. Mary J.

Updated on 3/23/2009 to change the video to that of a live performance. The video that went to the movie had the audio taken off for legal reasons.

Video of the Day: Over You

Are you getting sick of these videos? :) I'd love to post other stuff, but it's been super busy. So, in the meantime I'll keep taking mental note of songs that mean something and keep posting them here. At least it's not sucky music, right? Although it is a bit eclectic! Today's song isn't my usual style, but it still rocks.

Daughtry's "Over You"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvnUdbE-tVY

Video(s) of the Day: A Hard Day's Night

Good news... Although I really can't afford to replace anything my pretty pink camera, at least I have a laptop again. No more having to make-do without online access. Now I can do schoolwork and other fun stuff at home again. Yay!! Of course, it's not as nice as the one that was lost, but it will definitely do the job. :)

Video of the Day: Nada

Juanes. The music video to this song is too sad. Here's a nicer live performance instead!

Good People

You know how they say that bad things can happen to good people? Well, then my family and I must be very good people for all the bad that's happened to us. That's a good thing, right? If anything, it shows the true nature of the people around us. Some who we considered friends and felt to be family didn't live up that name. Others who we did not quite consider as such have stepped up and have proved invaluable sources of support and assistance.

Remember when I said that our family was now smaller? Over the past week, it's actually gotten bigger. Some family/friends may actually be moving in with us. They've been staying with us for the past week, so it already feels as if they've moved in. Now, instead of a quiet home on the mend, we have a home that's full of laughter and positivity. This hasn't left a lot of time for studying, but then again, after recent events I no longer even have a computer at home! Not to mention the loss of my beautiful pink Kodak. That's fine, though. Material things can be replaced. True family and friends are priceless.

Video of the day:

Video of the Day: Tu Me Salvaste

This song is dedicated to my beautiful, big-headed (or is that pig-headed?) daughter. Things are a bit rough right now, but we're making it. She's amazing and she's a true inspiration. She helps me find meaning in each day. She's saving me.

Video of the Day: Shake It Off

This morning I stumbled across my baby girl's birthday mix CD. It has this song on it. It seems like an appropriate song for today, this week, this month, whatever. Mariah says it all. Just shake it off.

Mother-Daughter Outing #2

Tonight A. and I went on MD Outing #2. This time we went to the O'Reilly Auto Parts Autorama in Dallas Market Hall. We were joined by my BFF and her freespirited daughter. (That's a discreet way of saying that in addition to being as sweet and precious as can be, she's also amazingly energetic, with her own mind!) The cars were pretty and the time spent together was fun, but the show was not nearly as exciting as it normally is. There weren't too many people there, probably due to it being the Friday right before Valentine's Day. Usually when we do things like this we go on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, when there are lots of things to see and people to do. Or something like that.

Anyhow, A. took tons of pics of the cars and bikes. They were just gorgeous. It's inspiring to see how an old, junky car can be turned into a beautiful, sparkling showpiece. Amazing. It makes me want to go out and restore a car myself. Or... perhaps it would be better if I can just get my own car into driveable condition again. That would probably be a more sensible idea, right? :)

A New Camera

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. In the meantime, though, guess what?? My sweet baby, A., and my folks got together and got me a digital camera. It’s a cute little camera that takes great pics. Woohoo!! I’m so happy about this. Now I can start taking pictures of all the fun Mother-Daughter Outings that A. and I will be having.

Just the other week we had Mother-Daughter Outing #1. I enjoyed it, but she complained about standing. Yes, can you believe it? It was a rock concert at a local church, what do you expect? Okay, so maybe we won’t be doing many more rock concerts from now on. Or maybe we will, but I’ll just force her to wear comfy shoes! Hah! That will show her. :)

Video of the Day: Vive y Dejame Vivir

Banda Cuisillos is just great. This video is so funny. It's nice to see him going for a big girl, too! :)

Love and Laughter

“We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.” – Agnes Repplier

How funny. As deeply as I loved my husband, we never really laughed together. He would seem to get annoyed by my joking and general silliness. He would also fuss whenever my daughter and I would be silly together. Can you believe that he would say that there should be less joking and more respect? Whatever. We used to call him Mr. Grumpy. I always wanted to get him a t-shirt with Mr. Grumpy on it, but could never find one. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough?

Oh, yeah, even though our relationship was not as close as it should have been, my beautiful A. and I could still always find something to laugh about. Whether it be a broken toe (a hallway race gone awry) or fart contests (not real ones, except for the one that started it all). Now she and I are much closer. We need to keep finding more reasons to laugh together. Hopefully more farting won't be involved.

99 Things!

I just saw this on Sweet Jessie. I was feeling kind of down, and bam! There it was. :) Anyhow, here goes...

Rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo - just not in public!
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - no, but I've watched one over a lake. It was beautiful.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - is cross-stitching an art?
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked - I've had good experiences and one almost-bad one!
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - of course, when I was younger.
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted - does a caricature count?
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - not intentionally. Really.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - I was 16-17!
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

So, I've done 32 out of 99. That's like 30%. Hmm. :)