The Clock is Ticking

It's been a while since I've done a post on what I'm watching on TV when I get up. It's a lazy morning, so I'll do that.

I've turned on CMT this morning. I really do like to watch music videos. I like to see what other people's ideas about the music. I like to see if my ideas are in line with ideas.

The first one I see is a live performance by Taylor Swift. It's her performance of 'Should Have Said No" on the ACMs this year. I like Taylor Swift because I think she really is talented, and I'm amazed that a 17 year old is doing this. However, I think as a live performer she's not all that great. Her voice lacks quality in my ear.

Hehe..Julianne Hough "That Song in My Head." What a fun song. And she's fun to watch. She's one of the Dancing with the Stars actually dancers (not the celebrity wannabe dancers).

Kid Rock's new one "All Summer Long." I'm not really much a Kid Rock fan, but I sure do like this song. It's my new summer favorite. (ok, so maybe not the part about "smokin' funny stuff")

Miranda Lambert's "Kerosene." I like this pretty girl gone witch. All of her songs are well..anthems for women who've been walked on. I love it.

"Home" by Blake Shelton. I love this sexy man. And this song is great. It's one of those things I can't explain, but it gets to me.

Sugarland's Stay. A song about "the other woman" realizing she doesn't have to lay there and wait for him to choose her--not that she should've put herself in that position in the first place, of course. Jennifer Nettles (1/2 the duo) is an emotional singer. She puts everything she has into what she sings. I saw them when the opened for someone else last summer. Amazing. Utterly amazing. And I love this blackbox video.

Jimmy Wayne..new guy out these days. Song's called "Do You Believe Me Now?" Apparently, the voice in this song had a premonition about losing his girl to another guy who looked at her. She laughed it off And then the guy got her. I like the song. It gives credence to all those who fear that sort of thing.

Alan Jackson "Good Time." Okay, cute song, I guess. I have this fear that I'm being sacrilegious here, I don't like Alan Jackson. Never have. I recognize his now some sort of country music icon, but...no.

Ok..it's a beautiful day. Find me poolside.

This afternoon I went to see The Incredible Hulk. Really, really good movie. Much, much better than the Ang Lee version in 2003. (Which, frankly, isn't too hard to believe. That one really stunk.)

Butt that's not why I'm sighing. No, I've been reminded that I find men who are well-formed bordering on scrawny so damn hot. For example, Edward Norton.

Okay.

Everyone's got that one singer or actor or whatever that reminds him or her of what life growing up was like. That just takes you right back, right?

This is mine. Okay...to be accurate, these are mine.



It would be incredibly appropriate to send me concert tickets for Houston some time soon. *grin*

This is WAY TOO COOL.

This 17 year old convinced his school board to let him take Latin via distance learning. Now, he's posting lessons on YouTube for others. He rocks.

LatinGuy

Trapster® - Speed Trap Sharing System

This is pretty cool. You can send a text message to this system, alerting others to speed traps and red light cameras. You'll also get to receive them. Cool.

Posted using ShareThis

It's Friday, the day when the Friday Five-game goes up at RevGalBLogPals. (Okay, rereading that, I realize how un-awake I sound. Well, duh, it's Friday you nut, when would you expect to find the Friday game? Tuesday? Sheesh.)

Blame it on the coffee being slow and the allergy meds being quick.

Anyway...on to the real show. *grin*

Mother Laura told us about her new beach-close home. And then asks us to take a beach trip..down memory lane and maybe soon!

1. Ocean rocks, lake limps? Vice versa? Or "it's all beautiful in its own way"?
Well, sure, it's all beautiful in it's own way, but I just can't help but pulled to the sandy beaches on the coast. It's the sound of the waves that make it the beach for me. They drown out the noise in my head *wink*

2. Year round beach living: Heaven...or the Other Place?
Well, living on the Texas Gulf Coast (which I know has faired relatively well over the last 25 years), I don't think I could live on the beach during hurricane season. If it weren't for that, I could sure do a near the beach situation, like Mother Laura's, but not on it. I have an aversion to sand--I really only tolerate it when I go to the beach now as it is.

3. Any beach plans for this summer?
Nothing specific, but when you've lived your whole life 20 minutes from a couple decent stretches of coast, you've got the opportunity to call for a beach day when you get up in the morning.

4. Best beach memory ever?
Actually, a fairly recent one. Last fall, there was a meteor shower expected and The Man (my very very bestest BFF) and I drove out to sit on the beach and watch for it. I don't think we ever saw one, though we didn't stick around for the peak hours anyway. It was wonderful to sit out there in the breeze, listening to the waves crashing, and just be together.

5. Fantasy beach trip?
Hm..someplace quiet...like a cottage with a private stretch of beach. I'd love to have a couple of my closest friends with me, lounging around with umbrella-decorated fruity drinks and some wonderful books. But I just love vacations that allow for solitude.

Bonus: Share a piece of music/poetry/film/book that expresses something about what the beach means to you.

Okay, I was trying to find a still shot from the movie City of Angels of just the angels at sunrise on the beach, but I guess I'm not looking hard enough. So, imagine that Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage aren't in this picture. *grin*

Couple with these words from the GooGoo Doll's song Iris. (Which is on the City of Angels soundtrack.)

And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life

And I don't want the world to see me Cause I don't think that they'd understand.

When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am

(Line spacing and arrangment is mine. It means something to me like this.)

To see what others have done on their mini-vacation beach trips today, check out RevGalBlogPals Friday Five for this week.

Okay, so I saw this over at Miss Judy's, who found it at Apartment Carpet's. It sounds like fun, and is certainly a different take on a meme.

And well...I've got some free time.

Here's how it works...

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name


And here it is ....

Mosaical Meme,originally uploaded by jaynemarche

I know it's small..sorry. My Flickr skills suck. Just click the name to see the big one. *wink*

So, let's see, I've been practicing being still for 10 days now.

It's not been easy every day. But it is getting increasingly easier. If you'll recall, there's a five- minute morning meditation, and then a one-minute hourly meditation. I don't do the hourly meditations as much as I would like. It's a little hard to stop mid-lecture in summer school and be still for a minute. 14 and 15 year olds look at you funny. And then they start talking, which would totally destroy my stillness.

I've been mad at myself that because I don't feel like I'm doing it right. Then, a few days ago, I found this quote..

To be is to do. (Immanuel Kant)

I collect quotes all the time. And it seems that I run across quotes all the time that speak to something important in my world at that time. Do you see where I'm going with this?

In order to be still, I need to do still.

So, I realized that part of my problem was that I was trying to work off of an imposed schedule. And that's why I was feeling bad--I couldn't keep to the schedule. And geesh, we'd even been given permission to not worry about the schedule.

So, I decided to alter what I was doing. I get up and do the morning meditation. And then, when I think about it. I've a tendency to fiddle with things, so I put a ponytail holder around my wrist. Every time I mess with it, I stop, focus, and pay attention to my breathing. I just let myself stay still. And it's working.

Anyway, 10 days into it, I'm feeling more calm, all the time. I'm sleeping better, which tells me that being still is having an effect on my blood pressure and heart condition. Obviously, that can't be good. Things aren't getting to me as quickly---not that things that don't bother me at all, but I'm slower to frustration.

I really feel like this is making a difference. I'm so glad Sharon turned me on to it. Thanks Sharon!

I think my mother's cat is possessed.

He's always had this "tail" thing going on. Sometimes he'll be lying there, seemingly asleep, and his tail is awake. Just his tail. It starts doing this thumping thing that you can hear in another room (big cat=big tail). Before you know it, he's attacking his own tail. Sometimes he won't stop until he draws his own blood.

He's been relegated to a strictly outside cat lately. His younger sister (who he normally dotes on) is scared of him. He's jumped her a couple of times. Like he wants to wrestle, not like he feels the need to be incestuous. No kidding. It's like some freakish kamikaze leap with a yowl that's only heard in horror movies. She now cowers in the corner if we let him inside (she's strictly and indoor cat because she gets lost and can't find home.).

We've suspicioned that this might in fact be hormonal on his part, as he's not fixed. But since he'd always been and indoor/outdoor cat, we figured he took care of his needs elsewhere.

This morning, I'm sitting on the back porch, quietly sipping at my coffee, a small WonderDog curled up next to me, and enjoying the quiet. Suddenly, I hear 2 cats sending warning rowrs at each other. There's a neighbor cat (Lucky, the one-eyed cat) who comes in the yard from time to time, but unless food's involved our big guy and Lucky get along just fine. I went to see what was going on, because I'd just put food down and I don't believe in serving a buffet for the neighborhood felines.

It was just the big cat. Both voices were coming from him. And that tail was just a thumping to beat the band. (For those of you who were in marching bands in other lives, it's like listening to a soft thump on bass drum #4, if #1 is the smallest one...freakish.)

What do you do when you think your cat might need an excorsism and you're not Catholic?

I've laid out a couple weeks, because school/work stuff got the better of me. And yesterday, well....I laid on the couch for a few hours after dealing with my parents banged up car (what a way to start a vacation..I'll tell you that story some other tim). But, today, I'm really into the prompt. It seems, to me at least, to go hand in hand with the my wanderings while doing the Stillness Experiment this month.

And so, Sally, over at RevGalBlogPals says:

This week I took some time out to stop and walk and take in the view; my son Chris is studying in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, too often we simply drive up there, turn around and come home! This time Tim and I took time out to take in the view. It occurs to me that we need to do that more in life....

With that in mind I offer you this weeks Friday Five:

1. How important is the "big picture" to you, do you need a glimpse of the possibilities or are you a details person? I think seeing the big picture is my goal setting opportunity. I need to see where I'm heading, even if I'm fully aware that the picture may evolve as I work through whatever it is.

2. If the big picture is important to you how do you hold onto it in the nitty gritty details of life? Depends on the project/experience. I'm a planner, so a lot of times at work, I'll make a chart or a list with the big umbrella being the final goal, the big picture. Then all the detail stuff I'll put underneath (I know you've seen these things before...they're SUCH an English teacher tool--hmm...I was an English major.). It helps me to see where my little detail fits in the big picture. And then there's the whole sense of accomplishment as I see the details being wiped out!

3. Name a book, poem, psalm, piece of music that transports to to another dimension ( one....what am I thinking....) Hm...Luke., as in "The Gospel of." I think it's because I feel like, him being a doctor and all, he's the most detail-oriented. Then the chorus "Sanctuary." That one gets me most every time. (I don't like the voices in this one, but you'll get the idea).




I get seriously caught up in Gone with the Wind, too. Okay, so darn near anything Southern, to be honest.


4.Thinking of physical views, is there somewhere that inspires you, somewhere that you breathe more easily? Yes, actually. I breathe more easily when I'm outside on a cool, quiet morning. I've been soaking it in the last few days, being off a week before the summer sessions start up. What's even better is laying out under a tree in the cool grass. The kind where you can feel where every blad of grass is touching your body. It's heavenly.


5. A picture opportunity... post one if you can ( or a link to one!)



Borrowed from AllSpice1's Flickr stream. Thanks!












To view some other thoughts inspired by the view, visit RevGalBlogPals Friday Five for this week.

So, I'm off this week, allegedly preparing to teach summer school. Actually, I am supposed to be prepping for that, but since I've done the same thing content-wise for the last 3 years, I'm not especially worried about it.

Instead, I'm doing the Stillness Experiment and planting vegetables on my patio. (And GLOATING about the vegetables.) I can feel a real surge in my writing coming on, because I find myself looking more closely at words and quotes lately.

So, because I see anything that encourages my writing as a blessing, I'm going to count the quotes that have stuck in my head the last week or so as my blessings this week. These are the words I am thankful for.

1. Some have been thought brave because they were afraid to run away. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

2. Faith and doubt are needed--not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve. (Lillian Smith)

3. The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery. (Anais Nin)

4. Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity. (R. I. Fitzhenry)

5. Never fear shadows...that always means there is a light shining somewhere. (Jonathon Santos)


6. There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. (Albert Einstein)

7. Einstein was a man who could ask immensely simple questions. And what his work showed is that when the answers are simple too, then you can hear God thinking. (Jacob Bronowski)

8. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)

9. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. (Randy Pausch)

10. And then, this song. Gary Allan--mmm...definitely about him *wink*.



Song lyrics | Like It's A Bad Thing lyrics

The Peace Globe project began in the fall of 2006 with a simple post from one blog, Mimi Writes. The post ignited a flame in the blogosphere. The flame became a passion. The passion became a movement. It amazingly traveled from blog to blog to blog across the globe. Bloggers wrote passionate articles on what peace means to them, along with the promise of three Latin words scribbled on a globe - Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace) - branded with the integrity of their names or blog names. It was positively inspiring to watch. And it began to happen all over the world - from Singapore to China to Afghanistan to Brooklyn. It was simple. And powerful.

Won't you join us?

How To Get Your Peace Globe

Here's how to do it in 4 easy steps!

1.Choose one of the four Peace Globe in this post. Right CLICK and SAVE in JPG format.

2.Sign the globe using Paint, Photoshop or a similar graphics tool. Decorate the globe anyway you wish. You can even include the name of your blog. Click here for hundreds of inspiring examples from previous BlogBlasts.

3. Return the peace globe to Mimi email ~ mimiwrites2005 at yahoo.com and sign the Mr. Linky below on her post. Let her know your blog's name and url by leaving a comment here. Your submission will be numbered and dated in the official gallery . Your globe and post will be listed on the Official BlogBlast For Peace website and The Peace Globe Posts page.

4. On June 4, 2008 DISPLAY YOUR GLOBE IN A POST. Title your post "Dona Nobis Pacem". This is important. The goal is for all blog post titles to say the same thing on the same day. Write about peace that day or simply fly your globe. Click here for examples of peace globe posts from previous BlogBlasts.

I will meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. -Psalm 119:15

Today, I was supposed to start, whole-heartedly, the Stillness Experiment. First, let me give you some background.