Name That Song

I'm at my parents' house and when I woke up in the adorable bedroom that I was sleeping in, I miraculously thought, "Hey, it's the 25th...Name That Song day!" I know that my millions of loyal readers wait aaaaalll month for thier special chance to win a prize, so, here you go! Here's a silly old butt rockin' one that makes me smile. Did I just give you too many hints?

The Rules:
1. Please DO NOT guess in the comment section. E-mail me (see my profile page for my e-mail address).
2. I really send a prize, so be honest and fair. (If you can sing it when you read the lyrics, you know it.)
3. Previous winners may still play.
4. Be the FIRST to e-mail me with the correct song title & artist and win.

Good Luck!

This month's lyric is:

I guess this time you're really leaving
I heard your suitcase say goodbye
And as my broken heart lies bleeding
You say true love is suicide

You say you've cried a thousand rivers
And now you're swimming for the shore
You left me drowning in my tears
And you won't save me anymore

Grateful Friday

• When the sun shines through the windows. I like that. It makes me happy.
• Calls from my boy. Better still, hugs from my boy.
• Unlimited minutes on my phone anywhere. It's a good thing.
• Tomorrow the kids and I are headed to California. We can hardly wait. The oldest shortie has been emailing my parents and painting them pictures and packing and literally counting down the days and hours.
• I can download the Backyardagains onto my ipod for the flight. So cool. The littles will love that.
• When the cat sleeps on the bed and uses the pillow for his head like he's a human. It makes me laugh every time.
• Grocery shopping with Cinderella. Even though she had jammies on underneath, everyone reacts to a little princess. (Although she made a very mean face to the nice old man who bagged our groceries when he complimented her)
• sugar snap peas. mmmm.
• I get to go to Carmel with two of my oldest girlie friends and my littles are staying with grammie. I can hardly wait. This trip is going to be loverly.

SPC: Black & White

My mom once told me I was too black and white. I think she felt like I was judging her. Maybe she felt like I wasn’t giving her enough room to be human. She may be right about me. I have a strong sense of right and wrong, and I get frustrated when people don’t act accordingly when I think they should know better. I hold a high standard, especially with the people who mean the most to me.

But I know there are lots of shades in between the two lightest and darkest ones. I know what it’s like to falter. I have felt temptation and given in. I have needed forgiveness and mercy from loved ones and from God. I can not judge; it is not my place. I choose to love anyway. I choose to forgive. I guess that’s pretty black and white too, even though the emotions that go along with it come in all shades of grey.

self portrait challenge

Sunday Scribblings: Crush

When I was in third grade, I had a crush on Craig. (I was tempted for a moment to put his last name, but I’ve learned my lesson.) I used to stare at him with dreamy eyes and take in his blonde hair and clear blue eyes. When our pictures arrived from picture day, we made an exchange, and he gave me one of the large ones. I knew I had him then. When I say I “had him” I mean to say that he had a crush on me, too, for in third grade I didn’t communicate well, and there was no smooching to be had. So dreamy stares and silly giggles were what consumed me.

Then one day I heard that Craig held Courtney’s hand. My crushy world was shattered. Luckily for me, there was Whitney Houston on the radio singing “All At Once.” I still can remember how those lyrics touched my 8 year old heart.

All at once
I looked around and found that you were with another love
In someone else's arms,
And all my dreams were shattered, all at once
All at once
The smile that used to greet me brightened someone else's day
She took your smile away
And left me with just memories, all at once


Oh, Whitney, how you helped me through the hard times. I’ll always be grateful for your depth and wisdom. My tears were shed in the company of your vibrato. My mourning was made complete through your melody. My heart healed while your mouth formed the words of my soul.

I would go on to have crush after never ending crush. I was a professional crusher. I had multiple crushes going on at all times. It sometimes was hard to keep track. There were the celebrity boys, but they were separate from the real boys, and let me tell you, real boys were everywhere. I remember one night coming home from bungee jumping and practically freezing to death, I held the hands of two friends under a blanket in the back seat of a car, unbeknownst to either of them…until the next day—I’m sure, when they were telling each other how they each had stolen kisses with me. Luckily I don’t have to keep track any more. I like love better than loving a crush.

go here for more on crushes.

SPC: black & white

I'm tired. I'm so tired. I'm tired of being sick and taking care of sick children.

Today I picked my oldest up from school (she's finally back after missing an entire week), and went to pick up some new contacts (among other things) from Sam's Club. Only my prescription had run out. And I've been wearing two Left ones for the past couple days. That can give one a head ache (and I've had enough head aches for one person in a month). The bakery was closed, and that means no free sample cookies for little people, and that set them off on all kinds of tantrums (not only are they hungry (and slightly addicted to sugar), they are also sick, so don't judge too harshly right now while you're imagining a cart of 3 children complaining rather loudly that none of the free samples are good enough and they just want a cookie.) So I had to drive 20 more minutes (with a huge carton of blueberries for the littles to snack on) to my eye doc so they could give me a "free sample" for my right eye so I could last until next week when I have a new eye appointment scheduled. Then we went to get some groceries as there is a Nor'easter a comin' (a big snow storm for you west coasters) but by the time I got to the parking lot, I was just so tired...and the youngest was screaming and the middle one had a fever and was listless and the oldest was asleep (and when she's awakened from a sleep, LOOK OUT!), so I just sat there in the parking lot trying to figure out what to do. Finally I just drove home with my head pounding and my little one squirming and screaming and the middle one listless and the oldest sleeping. Until we got 2 minutes from home and the oldest one woke up and started screaming too.

My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia. (That's from Alexander and his Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. One of my personal favorites, but my kids are sick of it so I never get to read it to them any more.)

So, there must be some good things to talk about, even though I just want to go to sleep and wake up in the spring when we're all healthy and I feel fresh and my head has finally stopped pounding...hold on, let me think for a sec...

Oh yeah! I've got the perfect thing. Something wonderful: Hubs and I are headed to NYC this weekend--just overnight, but still--and we get to just be us, and go out to eat, and watch a show on Broadway dressed up fancy and stay in Times Square and sleep in the next morning. Doesn't that sound great?

More black and white here.

Meme Monday: 4 Things

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Great Harvest Bakery
2. Park City Sport (free season pass)
3. Counselor, Redcliff Ascent
4. Business Owner, Cottage Road Designs

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. A River Runs Through It
2. Sleepless in Seattle
3. The Saint
4. Gone with the Wind

Four places you have lived:
1. Massachusetts
2. California
3. Utah
4. New Hampshire

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Grey’s Anatomy
2. Scrubs
3. Nova
4. Bob Ross

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Hawaii
2. Caribbean
3. Carmel, CA
4. Park City, UT

Four favorite foods:
1. Salad
2. Fruit
3. Grilled Yummies
4. Baked Yummies

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Health
2. Spring
3. a clean house
4. anywhere with my boy (of course, referring to my sweet hubs.)

coming up for air

Well, we've been dropping like flies, and this thing is miserable and is lasting a good 7 days, but I thought I'd say hello while the medicine is strong...

If anyone is interested, I've posted a couple new journals in my online boutique, including the one pictured above.

xxoo

SPC: Black and White

I'm sick again. Seriously. We're having problems here. My daughter caught some virus and passed in on to me. Stuck in bed. I had to reschedule a doctor appointment because there was no way i could make it out with three children in this condition.

On the other hand, I get to watch my husband be my hero. I get to catch up on PBS kids. I get to watch my feisty 2 year old put on princess dress after princess dress and write with green marker all over her mouth. Maybe she thinks it's glamorous? I get to just lay here by the wood stove soaking up all it's warmth. I get to wear jammies all day. every once in a while that's a good thing.

Just not quite so many times in one winter.

other black & white self portraits here.

The Good, the Bad and some Poetry

• Esther, a saintly woman who has lived a beautiful and long life has come down with stomach cancer. She will live out the rest of her life at home with her family surrounding her. The women in our church group are making a quilt for her—each one her own square as a gift of love for our friend. When it is done, Esther will wrap it around her and feel the love snuggled all around her. I think that’s a lovely thought.
  
  
  
  
• I’ve been going through the process of figuring out what to do with ADD problems about my daughter with her doctor and teacher. I am frustrated with the stigma attached to ADD. I don’t think most people are educated about it and make unfair judgments. At this point I watch what she is going through and it breaks my heart to know from experience how she is being affected. Her desk is separated from the other children and scooted right next to the teacher’s desk, and her class work is still not being completed. Her confidence is waning. She doesn’t understand why she isn’t able to accomplish what is asked of her when she wants to please her teacher and everyone else around her seems to be able to do what she can’t.
  
  
• I think we get to go to California during February break. I’m already looking forward to seeing mi familia. It will be nice to see some live plants, too!
  
  
• I’m going to order pizza for dinner and take the night off (from cooking). Then after the kids are in bed I’m going out to the barn to create. I can’t wait. Wanna join me?
  
  
  
  
  Here’s a poem for poetry Thursday. It’s by Mary Oliver, again…I just love her poems!
  
  Praying
  
  It doesn’t have to be
  the blue iris, it could be
  weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
  small stones; just
  pay attention, then patch
  
  a few words together and don’t try
  to make them elaborate, this isn’t
  a contest but the doorway
  
  into thanks, and a silence in which
  another voice may speak.