songs i'd cover

...just like the thing on facebook, only the bloggy youtube version.

songs i'd cover if i had/was in a band:

Lilac Wine:
i like nina simones version best, but no video: listen to it on dizzler.
jeff buckleys version:


Blue Moon:
the mavericks:

billie holiday:

...but no one does it quite the same way i sing it, lol.... i change part of the lyrics to say, 'you heard me sayin' a prayer for, just one thing i could live for... then suddenly there appeared before me, the only One my heart could ever hold, i heard Somebody whisper, please adore Me, and when i looked the moon had turned to gold...'

Colorful, by the Verve Pipe:


Cry (if you want to):
holly cole:

... i think she gets a little too 'happy' for the song, in this performance, tho!!! lol

Don't give up:
i first heard this song on the 'streams in the desert' cd (christian), can't find a youtube version of it, so here's the original by peter gabriel and kate bush...


more to come, i think! :D

pauperty

The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.

Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue. It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.

Content makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor.

~quotes attributed to Benjamin Franklin

in a world of dollar store 'deals', i'm a bit of an oddity. mom always said i was 'just like my dad' in that i would go for quality before price. (she thought that was a good behavioral trait to inherit from my dad - because she would just 'make do' forever, rather than buy anything!)

i don't like junk. there is a time and a place for buying something that you know is not going to last, but buying a cheap piece of crapola and expecting it to last is just.... hoping for the best, though unlikely. well, uncommon - it has happened to have something of good quality for a cheap price... just not the norm.

case in point: as it was payday last week, and now i don't have dreads and a scalp itching to be brushed, i went to go for a new hairbrush at wally world. i thought, 6-7 dollars for a cheapish brush would be ok.... just to replace the cheap brush i had that has been losing it's little ball tips, making for a very scalp-scratching brushing experience, indeed. so i'm like, i'll probably wind up with something cheap that won't last either, but hopefully it would last longer than a dollar store brush...

....i wound up choosing a hairbrush that cost me $17, lol. it's got copper bristles, that is supposed to clear up dandruff, and the ball tips of the bristles are part of the copper bristle itself, so will never fall off. aaahhhh, a very good detail, indeed. and so i'll postpone for a month the (potential) purchase of anti-dandruff shampoo and see how this does in the meantime, in conjunction with tea-tree oil added to my shampoo (which is actually just liquid soap, no chemicals... but i digress). so i averted another purchase (for this month) with this purchase. and it's much less scratchy on my scalp. hopefully this is a case of quality vs. scam, which is always possible... :P

another case in point: bar soap. i cannot/will not buy ivory or whatnot - there's always something in it that triggers my asthma, and most soaps are full of phony (chemical based) ingredients... so while it's inexpensive, it is, in my estimation, crapola. you get what you pay for. instead, i buy a pure-olive-oil bar soap, that has no junk - especially no fragrance (which is 99.9% of the time from a chemical source) - and does my asthma no harm. ...and while it's a lot more expensive, it's *real* - not a cheap petroleum based product. you get what you pay for.

so back to the three quotes. i read the first one a coupla weeks ago, and it's stuck in my head since. as i was looking for a copy of it to quote here, i came across the other two as well. they all speak well to my battle against a 'poverty spirit' - a poverty mindset... when my Daddy, who is taking care of me, has all the riches of the universe at His disposal?! yes, it's true. i can forget that, and feel so damned poor. and like the second quote, feel "deprive[d]... of all spirit and virtue. It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright." discouragement... even a hopeless feeling.

so it's finding the balance between quality and wise/healthy purchases, and seeking to find contentment with what i have... without having to feel like a pauper who must go without anything and everything (and forgetting that the King of ALL is my Daddy!!)

crackola-me-uppa

revisiting radical recycling of... mice!

found this video, it's too cool. i love it!

non-gore intro:


full verion (ie. more of the taxidermy)

a makeover

inspired by the $5 Fashionista, and considering i'm feeling rather butchy (and old) with a growing-in buzz cut, i thought i'll have a go at gettin' purdy.

i mean, i am a girl, right?

so i got a pack of waterproof mascara with a freebie eyeliner thrown in, $8, walmart. it's my self-nurture expenditure for the month, i guess. (...even i know better than to get makeup from the dollar store, lol!)

before:

after:

quite an improvement, don't ya think?

awww, wet kitty!

wrinkled genius

sheer utter ridunkulousness, that turns into artistic genius around the 7 minute mark..... cracks me up... ...amazing how effective paper and pen-marks can be at creating a mood....

be ok

love the ukelele!!!!!

a dream

woke up from a funny dream this morning.

we had a potluck at church, and not too many people came, but there were several new families there - i think 8 in total. and the 8 men from the new families all decided to wear their team t-shirts from highschool or college, and ....they were all the same - orange t-shirts with some kind of (identical) logos (a bit worn from time), as well as matching orange sport cups.

and what did the t-shirts reveal? they all moved here from Los Angeles!!!! lol. weird... a whole bunch of guys from the same team, and their families, all moved here from LA, together?!

and i got all excited and jumped up and down and wanted to inform everybody in church that hey, people weren't LEAVING terrace, they were immigrating HERE, from the Big City!!!!! on PURPOSE!!!! and coming to OUR church!!!! how COOL is that!!!!

lols

Day of Grace #4

• the freshness of snow.
• a spring south wind.
• sunshine and beautiful cottony mountainous clouds.
• my 3D (real-life) friends.
• my online friends.
• instant coffee.
• onion bagels.
• cream cheese.
• my laptop, and a friend's lapdog
• artistic expression.
• life.
• being able to breathe.
• a break from chaos.
  

all i can say

my favorite song right now

the jolly green bandwagon

to be honest, i could give a rat's party hat that it's st. patricks day.... but i'll jump on the bandwagon for two reasons: i too, darci, love lol cats, and i love 4 leaf clovers.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

why do i love 4 leaf clovers? read it and weep.

Day of Grace #3

• i have friends who understand and/or accept me the way i am.
• i can struggle and still be loved by God.
• i don't have to achieve... anything... ever. He puts no expectation of coming through on my shoulders.
• i don't have to complete this list, unless i want to. i'm not going to crucify myself if i don't get to it, or the gratitude does not flow easily....
• words are not the only way of communicating. it's a good thing, because often i don't have words... especially verbally.
• i see blue sky! :D it was snowing heavily just a little while ago....
• i was born in just the right era for who i am... the era of computers and communication and information. of silent oppression being spoken of and recognized as unacceptable - in the church and out. of freedom of thought, and the means to do so, and ability to learn beyond what is 'state propaganda', so to speak. God knew what He was doing! :D
• i also know that if i was not born in this era, God would have been knowing what He was doing too.... and i would have the same kind of gratefulness for various things from that era, too. my contentedness/happiness is not based on society, but on God, wherever He places me!
• for a while i was so far down in the valley i was underwater and drowning.... now i'm on shore and can *breathe*.... phew..... everything is tolerable if it is above the lowest depths of one's pain.
• my Papa holds the purse strings to all the wealth in the universe.... what can i lack, if He sees i need it? ....i have about $6.00 right now, milk money. if i need more, He'll provide it. therefore, if i only have $6.00 right now, it's because it's all i need right now. tomorrow i might need more... but if i do, He will provide. for now, i have ALL I NEED.... and His presence to boot.
  

Day of Grace #2

• i have good friends.
• people love me.
• God is awesome....
• i feel understood today....
• i got to play piano today @ church, unexpectedly. when i got to church, it was like, hey, wanna play?! lol...

short and sweet today.....

Day of Grace #1

well, i thought i'd try the daily grateful-for-little-gobs-of-grace trend, when i saw this one(for more info on this particular meme, click on the 365 Days of Grace icon on my sidebar). ....like a daily gratitude list, but i like the idea of writing them down in terms of how God has 'graced' me... and how i live in His Grace. i may or may not do it every day, but i'm gonna number them and try to make it to 365, Lord willin'!

• i have amazing friends who came over on their own time and worked a miracle in my disaster zone. i am in humble awe and thankfulness.
• i am learning to not feel like dirt when i need help... and with the patience of friends, i'm learning how to ask for and/or recieve the help that's needed.
  
• i am grateful for the ability, even in my messy messed up state of mind, to bless someone i love dearly in a small way.... it blesses me to be able to help someone else, especially with how ...useless... i've been feeling lately.
  
• i live in canada, which has an awesome healthcare system, despite it's flaws!!! - if i lived in other countries it's quite possible i wouldn't have as (medically) good of a life as i do.
• i have a friend that comes whenever i need help, and recently saw me through one of the worst moments of my life... *sniffs*
  
• i have a hot coffee already made, sitting there waiting for me to get off my behind and go get it... [gone an done it!] ...yum!!!!
• i got some yummy artisan focaccia(sp?) bread today - and i got it for free! :D
  
• a small thing.... cuz my house is amazingly tidy now (thanks, darling friends), i finally got up the guts to try turning off my gas fireplace pilot light (easy peasy! what was i so afraid of?! lol).... and have now moved my computer right in front of the ugly glass of the fireplace, and my puter scene is now graced with a purdy tiled mantle. sweet. a very small thing, but i've wanted to do that for a long time....
• there's a lady's craft day tomorrow (really, an excuse to get together and hang out! lol)... and i just *may* dig out my easel and paints and try something out... but mostly i'm just looking forward to being with my friends.
  
• i have a friend who was MIA for over a week, but just this morning was located... thank You, Lord. i hope she is well.....

there are so many things that God has done or is doing in my life that i could go on and on forever if i were to try to cover everything.... i'll hit on the points that are standing out to me this day - from whatever point in life they were from, if they bless me to this day, it may show up on here. even if it was years and years ago....

when my friend decides to stop hoarding no longer needs the use of my camera, i hope to start doing the 365 photo challenge ... but that one would be (at least trying for) every day... i need the motivation to get a wee moment of creativity into my day, however wee it may indeed bee....

creepy but important

am i useful?

The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, remember:

Noah was a drunk,
Abraham was too old,
Issac was a daydreamer,
Jacob was a liar,
Leah was ugly,
Joseph was abused,
Moses had a stutter,
Gideon was afraid,
Samson was a womanizer,
Rahab was a prostitute,
Jeremiah & Timothy were too young,
David was a murderer,
Elijah was suicidal,
Isaiah preached naked,
Jonah ran from god,
Naomi was widow,
Job went bankrupt,
John the Baptist ate bugs,
Peter denied Christ,
Martha worried too much,
The Disciples fell asleep while praying,
the Samaritan was divorced,
Zaccheus was too small,
Paul was too religious,
Timothy had an ulcer...AND
Lazarus was dead!

Remember: We aren't the message,
we are the messengers.

my wii age

i am 35 years old, 100+ pounds overweight, and most definately out of shape.

i hopped on the wii fit today over at a friend's house.

it checked my bmi and balance and whatnot...

as i was calculating my wii age, i guessed...

62.

wrong.

i couldn't believe my eyes.

my wii age is only 27. what?! how can that be?!

oh, but it's true.

according to the Great and Wise Wii.

wonderbar.....

taser tazer

got this in an email, just had to post it...

Pocket Taser Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Taser for their anniversary submitted this:


Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000 volt, pocket/purse sized taser. The effects of the taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety.... WAY TOO COOL!

Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing!

I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs.

AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what t hat burn spot is on the face of her microwave. Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right?

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and taser in another.

The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.

All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5 inches long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, 'no possible way!'

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.? I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, 'don't do it dip shit,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and . . . HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . . . WHAT THE HELL!!!

I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs?

The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.

Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three second burst would be considered conservative?

*(^%#@, THAT HURT LIKE HELL!!!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs.. I had no control over the drooling.

Apparently I shit myself, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my nuts and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!!

P.S. My wife loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it!

LOLs!!!! :D