"Strong" Girl Songs

Today's "thirteen" is a list of my favorite strong/tough girl songs (in no particular order). We listen to them when our hearts have been broken, when we're facing trials, or when we've been hurt - physically or emotionally. Sometimes a song can help us know we aren't alone in our situation and that we can get through it. Some of the songs are a well worded story of the type of revenge we'd like to take but would never, ever really do but they make us feel stronger or they make us laugh in a " ha, serves him right" kind of way.

1. Independence Day - Martina McBride
2. A Broken Wing - Martina McBride
3. Whatever You Say - Martina McBride
4. Gunpowder & Lead - Miranda Lambert
5. Real Live Woman - Trisha Yearwood
6. I'm the Only One - Melissa Ethridge
7. Bring On the Rain - Jo Dee Messina
8. Why Don't You Stay - Sugarland
9. Harden My Heart - Quarterflash
10. The Last Word - Mary Chapin Carpenter
11. For Herself - Reba McIntire
12. For My Broken Heart - Reba McIntire
13. Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood

** Check back in two weeks, on Valentine's Day, for a list of the 13 songs we wish a guy would sing/dedicate to us! Feel free to make suggestions for this list in my comments.

Salt Dissolves

You know how sometimes you are reading something, or listening to something, and it causes a random chain of thought that results in an aha! moment? Well, I had one of those today.

For as far back as I can remember, when it was raining, or I was going to get wet some other way that I didn't really want to, Daddy would tell me "you won't melt"- a common saying. He would finish, though, with "sugar melts - salt dissolves". I never could decide if that was a nonsensical comment, an insult, or a compliment. As a child I mostly thought it was silly. In the midst of typical teen angst I thought he might mean I wasn't sweet, which, if you knew my Dad, you'd know how ridiculous that thought was since he was always encouraging and proud of us.
As an adult, he would still occasionally say it to me and I always puzzled over exactly what he meant. Asking would have been a great, logical idea - but I never did. I'll have to wait until I join him in Heaven to ask now (he's been there several years) but today something occurred to me as I was reading how we are supposed to be the salt of the Earth. Daddy thought I was salt! Not sugar which melts (disappears, loses outline or distinction) but salt that dissolves (causes to disperse, clear up, pass into). Not sugar that tends to add to or cover up the natural flavor of something, but salt which preserves, accents, and heightens the natural flavor of it. Daddy knew that my personality was not sweet (I'm not unkind or anything, but no one who knows me would say "she's so sweet"). And, just maybe, he saw in me what I would later find out was one of my spiritual gifts - discernment (clear up). I'd like to think so. That means all along it was a complement and/or a blessing and/or a challenge. He knew my "don't tell me I can't do something" (as in unable to, too little to, not strong enough to, etc.) attitude very well.

Obviously I don't know for sure what he was thinking or why he said it. All I know is, that since it dawned on me that it may have meant something really significant and encouraging, I'm having trouble not running around like Rudolph when he finds out Clarice thinks he's cute. Inside I'm running around going I'm salt, I'm salt, he thinks I'm salt!

Meme about me

I've been tagged with a meme by my friend at 2nd Cup of Coffee My assignment is as follows: The rules for this meme are: (1) Link to the person that tagged you. (2) Post the rules on your blog. (3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. Not sure I know enough other bloggers to tag but, then, tag was never a game I was very good at.

• I'm an organization nut(although, not a neat/clean freak). I want everything in its place or at least in an appropriately designated pile. My clothes in my closet are sorted by type (ie. dress, work, play, exercise) and color (think Goodwill). My shoes are in their little cubbies, also sorted by color.
• I'll go out in public without make-up or even run to pick up something we need in clothes with paint all over them in the middle of a project but I will not leave the house without my earrings on. I keep a spare pair in my purse in case I should somehow forget to put a pair on at home.
• I can't stand for someones shirt/sweater/jacket tag to be sticking out. It just drives me crazy. Unless you are a complete stranger, I will have to either fix it or tell you about it so you can fix it.
• I can "pop" my nose - like people pop their knuckles. I don't know why I can. It may have had to do with a bicycle accident when I was little or maybe I was born this way. I know I discovered it in second grade and was fascinated and kept scrunching up my nose to pop it and in doing so got in trouble for making faces at the teacher.
• I like peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. My husband thinks that is totally weird and disgusting. He'll eat about anything, but he won't try a PBB.
• I won't drink out of plastic glasses. I prefer glass glasses. I can drink out of the flimsy plastic disposable ones just fine. It is just the "hard" plastic ones (like they use in a lot of restaurants- give me a straw at least) or the ones like they give away at sporting events, fast food restaurants, or that you can refill at the gas/convenience station. I don't like styrofoam ones either.

Okay, I'm only tagging one person - hope you don't mind Queen of Trailerland

Politics Unusual

I just have to say that I am already fed up with the presidential race. I don't know which frustrates me more, the lack of a clearly electable, reliable candidate or the news media's biased, opinionated coverage of everyone. Between some of their histories and some of their antics it is hard to know who to support. The media has created a racial spin that I don't think existed before they ran with it and the N.Y. press has blatantly attacked Giuliani. The media these days almost makes me embarrassed to admit I have a degree in journalism. They are quick to point out the downfalls and anything that anyone might be uncomfortable with in every candidates background.

Now, I don't want to shock you, but none of the candidates are perfect! Nor have any of our past presidents been. There is a small part of me that thinks we might be better off with less information instead of every unimportant or tawdry detail.

Here's the good news though!!! After a brief discussion with my sister, she has convinced me to support her candidate wholeheartedly. Following you will find her well thought out comments on why her candidate is the best choice:

Frankly I am ready to vote for Mickey Mouse. He seems to run his kingdom pretty well. Everyone gets along in his Small World, he has good knowledge of the space program, and the sea environment, he knows how to bring in the money, and as near as I can tell Minny hasn't had an abortion and Goofy is weird but not gay.

I told her I was willing to jump on that bandwagon and I thought we should volunteer for his campaign committee. She responded:

If we get Mickey elected maybe we can get lifetime passes to Disney World.

DON'T BE PICKY VOTE FOR MICKEY!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, I'm all in for Mickey!!!

Dinner Time

Appetizer How many times per day do you usually laugh?

I laugh quite a bit. It's okay to laugh and joke around where I work which is great. Other places I've worked thought you couldn't be productive if you were laughing/happy. My husband has a great sense of humor and a contagious laugh and then there are the dogs who are always doing something amusing.

Soup What do your sunglasses look like?

Now my regular glasses tint with the sunlight but when I wore contacts all the time I had lots of sunglasses. I'd lose or break them regularly so I'd buy several pairs at the dollar store. Before that I had my favorite pair which I kept for an extremely long time for me. They had red lenses and I just loved them. They distorted the color of things slightly and made everything look brighter and happier. They really were my "Rose Colored Glasses".

Salad You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go?

This is an easy one. I'd go to Washington state. I really want to take this trip by train leaving from Chicago. It would also allow me to mark off several of the states I'm missing on my goal to see all 50 states before I turn 50. (Pretty sure I'm going to have to modify that to 60)

Main Course Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city.

I like that it is a mid-size city without all the big city traffic but with easy, within an hour access to the big city events, culture, and restaurants. I also like that it is flanked by several small towns with all the small town charms and festivals.

Dessert If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best?

Pink! I'm not really a big pink person but I think the sky is beautiful when there is a bright pink to orange and pink sunset. Besides, they've proven that pink is calming and a little more calm in this world couldn't hurt.

Ladybugs

For today's thirteen, I present my ladybug collection. Most of these are in my office at home. Many have been gifts from family and friends plus a few that I just couldn't resist buying myself. Thirteen pictures - many more "bugs". Click on the picture for a closer view.

Time out chair and timer for the grandkids.

This is a very dark picture of my desk.

The red shiny spot near the bottom is my ladybug mouse.

My ladybug jammies and slippers.

Common Courtesy

When the person behind you in the grocery only has 2 or 3 items - Why not let them go ahead of you.

When someone is clearly waiting on your parking place - Why not pull on out before putting on your seat belt, adjusting your radio, checking your cell phone, makeup, etc.

When it's cold or raining outside - Why not stop and let the people crossing the parking lot or street go first.

When there is snow on the roads and deep ruts have been made, if you have a 4WD vehicle- Why not drive on top of the snow to break it down so people with a lower profile vehicle can get down the road more easily.

When you see someone with a stroller, with hands full of bags, or trying to hold on to several children- Why not wait and hold the door open for them.

When you see a parking meter that has run out - Why not put a quarter in.

When did these common courtesies become passe' - - - Why not bring them back one person/opportunity at a time.

MANIC

Monday has fit its "manic" description as I continue to play catch up from being off work so much of last week. Since I'm still not 100% healthy I did take it pretty easy over the weekend. We pretty much hibernated on Saturday as the temperatures dipped to single digits - did some cleaning, had a fire in the fireplace, and watched a couple of movies. We went to church on Sunday and did some reading. We were invited to our daughter's house for dinner which was very nice and enjoyable. Overall, it was an extremely laid back weekend for me. Being sick and not getting to see my granddaughter is no fun but we did get to see ultrasound pictures of the new grandson to come!!!! Yeah!! The cousins will be almost exactly a year apart which should make for some really entertaining holidays in a few years. With one of each the future holds both tea parties and bug hunts - dolls and trucks - all the fun of both. I can't wait.

Eat up...

Appetizer What is your favorite beverage? I do the Dew!

Soup Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.

At home there are pictures of the kids and the dogs, my ladybug lamp (my mouse is a ladybug too), and a Post-it with a list of words. The words are from a thing where people were supposed to describe you in one word. I keep it there to encourage me if I'm down and to keep me striving to be the positive things people think I am.

Salad On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?

About an 8 1/2. I try really hard to always be honest but I also don't like to hurt peoples feelings.

Main Course If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?

I'd change the name of Atlantic City, N.J. to the town of Despair. It is the only place I've ever traveled to that I couldn't wait to leave. It was like their was this cloud of heaviness and gloom over the whole city. When we walked through one of the casinos, even the lady who was winning at the slot machine wasn't smiling and was looking over her shoulder like someone was going to take her money or accuse her of cheating or something. Then we walked along the boardwalk and saw the people who'd obviously slept on the benches and the one guy under the wood walkway to the beach who I assumed was passed out and not dead. We stayed in the city less than 12 hours (that includes the time we slept in the hotel) and it was more than long enough.

Dessert-double dip What stresses you out?

Being late, angry people, reckless drivers, being micro-managed.

What calms you down?

Music/singing/dancing, being outdoors (especially in the woods), holding my granddaughter, working a jigsaw puzzle.

Accomplishments

Here are ALL the 13 things I accomplished while sick for the last three days (reference Monday).

1. Got dressed each day- assuming that sweats count.
2. Posting on this blog - once.
3. Walking to the mailbox to get the mail - once.
4. Sleeping past 8:00 a.m. - a real feat for me.
5. Using an entire box of Kleenex.
6. Doing laundry - one load of the sheets off my bed that smelled so much like Vicks that there wasn't an option not to do them.
7. Putting clean sheets on the bed - necessary so I could get back in it.
8. Updating my husband's resume - life must go on after all.
9. Letting the dogs out, and in, and out, and in - again, life must go on.
10. Feeding the dogs - once. (Don't worry, my husband fed them the rest of the time.)
11. Talking to my sister in Florida after she'd ridden around Daytona Speedway at 140 mph. (I am so happy for her and so jealous all at the same time.)
12. Watching Oprah - all three days since around 4:00 p.m. seemed to be when I was most awake and most coherent.
13. Making a list of all our bills with payment dates, amounts and balances - why not, I was already sick....

January-under the weather

Monday is anything but manic. As was the weekend. This is Indiana in January which equals gray clouds, snow, ice, wind and 4,000 different viruses to choose from. I'm not sure which one I have (or is that which one has me!) but my throat is sore, I can hardly talk, and if I try to it usually brings on a round of coughing that hurts my entire body. I had my flu shot so this is clearly one of the other 3,999 options. In my manic mind I hate sick days when I'm off work and, therefore, at home and feel so bad I still can't so any of the hundred thing on my "Things to do at Home" list. Then there is the constant knowledge that when I go back to work all of today's work will be there to greet me along with tomorrow's and possibly the next day's depending on when I feel well enough to go back. Since my job includes being a salesperson it is really tough to do without a voice. So, here I am, at home, blogging. And coughing. Being sick is one of the hardest things for me and my type "A" personality. I don't know for sure what the "A" originally stood for but I think it's for ALL. I want to do it all, see it all, finish it all - all today, if possible. Even when I'm sick I'm trying to figure out something I feel well enough to do. By 10:00 a.m. I got dressed - not because I needed to for any reason other than that I couldn't stand to be so unproductive as to stay in my jammies all day.

Dinner is Served

Appetizer What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?

My middle name is Jo. I wouldn't change any of my names now but I sure would have in Jr. High when Debra became Dee-bra ( as in the undergarment).

Soup If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?

My practical side would lean toward comfortable, easy to care for fabrics. I love jewel tones - bright, vibrant colors - especially reds, blues and purples. I would want to design styles to help girls and women of every age and size look good. I am highly opposed to the clothes out for little girls that I don't even consider appropriate for adults. That would be what my daughter correctly refers to as "prosti-toddler" clothing.

Salad What is your least favorite chore, and why?

Cleaning the toilet.....why seems obvious.

Main Course What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?

I really can't think of anything that always frightens me. There are circumstance where I become frightened but not any overall thing. I used to be afraid of heights but have made myself get over it by climbing fire towers, lighthouses, going up in the St. Louis Arch, and other things like that.

Dessert Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.

I'm sitting at my desk and can see the photo of my granddaughter, the cute little sink and tub that my daughter-in-law and son got me that hold my business cards and paper clips, and the picture/painting on my wall of a European street corner with an outdoor cafe.

Meanest Mother in the World

I thought sure I held this title. I even had an article that my mother gave me that I later showed my kids about how proud I was to be the Meanest Mother in the World. However, I think I have to relinquish the title. Go Iowa Mom!! It's encouraging to know there are still parents out there who know how to, and want to, be parents. Check this out.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22578679/from/ET/

DO YOU REMEMBER?

How many of these things do you remember?

1. I had one of these. I think it was for Brownies. I don't know if that is how the camera got its name. I just know I never really did figure out how to get it to work.

2. My sister and I both had one of these. Hers had dark hair like her and mine was blond like me. Hers always looke neat and clean like her. Mine's hair was always a mess and she looked like she'd been out making mud pies with me. (Remember making mud pies by the way?)

3. There are still a couple of these in our area and we still can't wait each Spring for them to open. Nothing tastes like rootbeer in a frosty mug!

4. Cameras with flashcubes! High technology at the time since you didn't have to change the hot bulb for each picture.

5. Gum wrapper chains - you know, the ones you were supposed to make as long and your boyfriend was tall. I never did get mine done even though my boyfriend was an average height.

6. I liked these but my boy cousins liked them better. I preferred to build with #7.

7. I loved tinker toys. You could build things that sort of looked like other things, like chairs or windmills. The picture is of the newer plastic ones but ours were all wood.

8. Meet Topo Gigio. My favorite part of the Ed Sullivan Shoooooow.

9. Oh yeah, these. The old fashioned way to fling ice cubes all over the kitchen floor. The down side to the convenience of icemakers, though, is that you can't freeze Coke in them with little marachino cherries in each cube.

10. 45 rpm spindles for your record player. For playing those singles instead of albums (33 1/3's).

11. Most people had one of these on their wall. I remeber when Coke came in 16 oz. bottles and my sister and I were allowed to split one one night a week - usually we saved it for Friday in case we also got to order pizza.

12. Go go boots!! You know, the ones you put on and suddenly morphed into someone who was soooo cool!

13. 1967 Camaro - the first car I drove in pretty teal color. I was supposed to be my Dad's car but Sister #2 drove it to college, then sister #3 drove it, then me. It was just an old car by then, not considered an antique yet, but it was still cool. It's still in the family and was the car we all borrowed as adults when ours was in the shop. Every time I borrowed it some guy would stop me to see if I'd sell it.

Appetizer: When was the last time you received a surprise in the mail, and what was it?

I recently received a book as a thank you for a donation I made to a charitable organization.

Soup: If you could have a summer and/or winter home, where would you want it to be?

I'm thinking wintering in Maui would work for me.

Salad: Pick one: pineapple, orange, banana, apple, cherry.

Cherry

Main Course: Describe the nicest piece of clothing that you own.

My winter dress coat which is black wool with a furry collar.

On me it is almost floor length.

Dessert: If you could forget one whole day from your life, which day would you choose to wipe from your memory?

The day my cousin (who was also my best friend) was killed in a car accident when I was in Jr. High. I remember all the details of that evening. My parents were having a Euchre club party and I was in their bedroom watching Mark Spitz swimming on TV.

Thursday 13 Ridiculous Myths/Sayings/Ideas

1. Blonds have more fun? (Why? When? Where? Than Who?)
2. The ideal height and weight for women is 5' 6" and 120 lbs. (the average American woman is 5"4" and weighs 152 lbs.)
3. Time heals all wounds. (Time may ease the pain but only God heals)
4. Diamonds are a girls best friend. (I need friends, I don't need diamonds)
5. If you can't beat them, join them. (doesn't that just mean give up?)
6. Time is money. (That would imply that money is also time - last I checked you can't buy time and once you lose or waste it, you can't earn it back again.)
7. All is well that ends well. (No, not necessarily. Things can turn out well because someone else saved your sorry behind, or forgave you for your means to and end, or planned and prepared when you didn't.)
8. I'll be happy when...(no you won't-no person, thing or situation can make you happy-happiness is a choice.)
9. Some people have all the luck. (More likely "some people" plan, prepare, work hard, follow through, and make it look easy so it seems like luck.)
10. I can't help it. (Yes you can, you just don't want to.)
11. If I can do it, you can. (Maybe, maybe not. We all have different talents and different physical abilities. My son can dunk a basketball. At 5"2" I cannot, ever, no matter how hard I try.)
12. I have a bad temper. (No, you lack self-discipline, among other things, and that is just your excuse for acting like a two year old.)
13. Trust me. (If you have to tell someone that you've probably proven yourself not to be trustworthy. If someone tells you to trust them, DON'T. If they were trustworthy they wouldn't be needing to convince you.)

Wordless ? Wednesday

A few highlights of the end of the year - 2007.

Granddaughter with
the afghan I made her.

The oldest and the youngest "fighting"

over the Advent calendar (house) goodies.

Saturday mornings with Grammy!

Did you get one? Did you get one?

Wii

The Rotts - Grace (on left) and Mercy (center) are ours.

(My husband says he's going to get a big male Rott and name it Repent.)

Sammy (on right) is our son's and was visiting.