I'm not very Jesus-y but I do like uplifting, bordering-on-spiritual motivational sayings and song lyrics. I heard this song on my cousin's Instagram, where she reposted this guy's video.
Don't let anybody tell you that you're not great Or that you're not fearfully and wonderfully made
You are special, a designer's original It doesn't matter what they say or what they do All that matters is how you feel about you You're amazing, the moment that you think so
So don't you dare say that it's over Until God says that it's done You still have a life to live You still have a race to run And with each step Keep moving forward And He'll be there for everyone And whatever you do Don't forget
You have enough God gave you enough You are enough And you will get through this You have enough God gave you enough And you are enough Whoa, and you will get through
Every single detail about you Your smile, your personality and looks, too Is what makes you such a gift to those who love you By the time that this is done I hope you realize How incredible you are in God's eyes When He made you, I can tell He really took His time
And don't you dare say that it's over Until God says that it's done You still have a life to live You still have a race to run And with each step Keep moving forward And He'll be there for everyone And whatever you do Don't forget
You have enough God gave you enough You are enough And you will get through this You have enough God gave you enough Yes, He did You are enough Ooh, and the truth is You've always been enough
You have every reason to hold your head high, yeah You'll never know what's possible if you never try And it doesn't matter who's against you Once you realize who's on your side I am here to remind you Right here to remind you
You have enough, whoa! God gave you enough Yes, He did You are enough, yeah And you will get through this You have enough, yeah God gave you enough Yes, He did You are more than enough Ooh, and you will get through I promise you will get through Through this
You're gonna be fine, yeah Better than fine Get ready to shine You will get through this
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 2024: Sooner State Wind 2023: Sorry, no post on this day. 2022: Sorry, no post on this day. 2021: Sorry, no post on this day. 2020: Sorry, no post on this day. 2019: Punctuation IS Important
We have a lot of animals on our property - snakes, javelinas, coyotes, quail, hawks, etc. And, this beautiful bobcat.
We don't see him very often but I caught him on camera this time and I love how he just slowly saunters past the front window, on his way to who knows where.
If you're not following The Kabs Family (Tay, Chan, Teija, Maliya, and TJ) you should - you can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. They're a great bunch, currently living in London. My favorite in the group is Maliya, the one who's singing here in this video. The last song she sings is "Somebody Else's Guy" by Jocelyn Brown, a great tune from the eighties. I love that Tay (the father) is teaching her some great old school tunes.
After watching Mali sing, and bringing me back to a time when I was jamming out to these tunes myself, it made me Google the song. Here is Jocelyn Brown doing her song. Sing along with the lyrics below:
Somebody Else's Guy
I-I-I-I... can't get off my high horse
And I can't let you go You are the one who You are the one who makes me feel So real Yeah yeah yeah Oh! What am I supposed to do Oh! What am I supposed to do baby When I'm so hooked up on you Then I realize Oh I realize That you are somebody else's guy Oh yeah Why you wanna do this to me boy? (Ooh ooh ooh Somebody else's guy) Can you remember the times we spent together Sharing our days in the sun Then I found out that you were somebody else's Lover After all the plans we made, now were shattered Still I can't get off my high horse I can't let go You are the one who makes me feel so real Ooh what am I supposed to do When I'm hooked so on you Then I realize that you're somebody else's guy That day in September, I'm sure you can remember That's when all the stuff hit the fan You told me a lie and you didn't have an alibi But baby yet I still cared You know I loved you so baby that I can't let go No, no You are the one who makes me feel so real Ooh what am I supposed to do When I'm hooked so on you And realize you're somebody else's guy You know I loved you so baby that I can't let go You are the one who makes me feel so real Ooh what am I supposed to do When I'm hooked so on you And then I realize that you're somebody else's Guy (Oh I can't get off my high horse and I can't Let go You are the one who makes me feel so real Ooh, what am I supposed to do when I'm hooked so On you And realize that you're somebody else's guy) (Oh I can't get off my high horse and I can't Let go You are the one who makes me feel so real Ooh, what am I supposed to do when I'm hooked so On you And realize that you're somebody else's guy) I, I, I, I can't let you go no See you are the one who makes me feel so real What am I supposed to do When I'm hooked so on you Then I realize that you're somebody else's guy (repeat chorus and adlib to fade)
This week I watched Nobody's Fool starring Tiffany Haddish. I liked the movie - Tiffany Haddish is funny, as expected, but the storyline was cute and it fit right into my love of Rom-Coms.
In the movie, there was a club scene where they introduced the band as PJ Morton and Yebba. They sang "How Deep Is Your Love", the old Bee Gees song. I'd never heard of the group and wanting to know if they were real, I Googled them. They are in fact real people. Above is the video of the song done by PJ Morton and Yebba - she's the girl in the overalls with the cool voice. Both a new discovery for me.
I love discovering new music through movies. And this version of a familiar song is really great. My love is deep.
Yesterday I was scrolling through Twitter, as I normally do nine-million times a day, and I came across a tweet that led me to this Instagram post by Tracee Ellis Ross (Diana Ross's daughter):
The song is by an artist named Lizzo. Who is this Lizzo? I've never heard of her. Not surprising, since I don't really keep up on music as much as I should - I listen to more podcasts than music when I'm driving - so I started to do some Googling.
And I'm now a fan.
The song in the Tracee Ellis Ross clip is this one, called "Soulmate".....I'mma marry me one day. Here's the video, with the lyrics. Sing along!:
Now I'm going to save you some time and post all the videos of the songs I listened to so you can binge-listen like I did. You don't have to YouTube 'em yourself. You're welcome. Let's start with "Good As Hell". I heard this song in the movie I watched the other night and it was very catchy. "Hair toss...check my nails...baby how you feelin'?..feeling good as hell..."
In this song, "Cuz I Love You", her voice is astounding. If you don't get chills listening to this QUEEN belt out this song, you better check yo damn pulse. "AHM CRYIN' (huge inhale) cuz ah looooooooOOOOooooOOOOOOOOVE UuuuuuuuUUUUUuuuuuuUuuuuuuuU" Mother Jones magazine compared her to Beyonce.
Then we come to "Juice". So snappy. So joyful. So fun! "Ya-ya-ee, ya-ya-ee, ya-ya-ee, ya-ya-ee"
This next video is called "My Skin". Lizzo sings, "I woke up in this. I woke up in this. My skin." Wow. Fantastic lyric.
This is what Lizzo said about this song: "This is a summoning of bodies: all shapes, sizes and shades to unite in their pride, and wear their skin like the gift it is. My Skin literally matters. It matters because it’s the largest organ on my body. Because it’s my exterior. It’s been stretched, sunburnt and covered in glitter. It’s the first thing you notice about me. My skin is dark brown, but if you asked someone they would say it’s black. My blackness is my largest assumed ‘accessory.’ Not my gender, religion or wealth. Because of it, I’ve experienced countless misconceptions from people— neck rolls and gratuitous gestures, overt southern dialects superimposed onto my own voice, perceived “ghetto-ness.” I laugh it off because it’s seemingly harmless, but when we think about where this originates it’s actually poisonous.
Being black in America is a unique experience. All people have a unique American experience, but I can’t speak for all people. I can only speak from my unique experience as a black woman. The “African-American” myths that cloud non-black people's judgment are taken from the worst part of our struggle and paraded as fact. I could write this essay trying to debunk “black-on-black crime” and fill it with pleading persuasive prose, but I’d rather just tell you what I know."
I'll leave you with one last one I like, called "Scuse Me". You can YouTube the rest.
Last week when Ed and I were in Atlanta there was an R & B concert (Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Keith Sweat) on Valentine's Day that we almost attended. We wound up not going, but talking about the artists got me thinking about the music I listened to growing up. I was a hardcore disco and R & B fan. Babyface and Keith Sweat were only part of my collection. While perusing YouTube for slow jams, I found the video above - "Always and Forever" by Heatwave. I loved this song. They always played it for during the slow skate portion of the evening at the roller rink we went to. They were known for two other songs around the same time - "The Groove Line" and "Boogie Nights".
According to Wikipedia, after Rod Temperton, one of the founding members quit the band, he "continued writing songs for them but became better-known for his songwriting for other artists. He penned award-winning songs for some of funk's biggest names, including Rufus, The Brothers Johnson and George Benson. He also wrote for Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones, but his most famous partnership remains the one forged with Michael Jackson, writing three songs for his 1979 Epic debut Off the Wall – "Rock With You," "Off the Wall" and "Burn This Disco Out", and three songs for the 1982 Thriller LP, including the title track."
Statue of Ferenc Rákóczi II, the Prince of Transylvania, in front of the Parliament Building in Budapest, Hungary
We have come to the end of another wonderful year. We traversed the country, working when we needed to, playing when we could. It passed quickly but the last few months were just spectacular. 1. What did you do in 2018 that you’d never done before? I was interviewed for a podcast. I visited Organ Pipe National Monument on our way to Puerto Peñasco, a place I hadn't been in 40 years. I finally hosted my best friend when she came out from Nashville for a visit, the first time she's ever been out to Arizona. I discovered the Family History Center Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and did some genealogical research - what a great time that was!! After 14 years on the road, I finally went to the Jubitz Travel Center in Portland, Oregon. What a cool truck stop and travel center that was! We moved a priceless art exhibit. And I finally went on that European river cruise I've been dreaming about!!! I flew Business Classto get there. Took a high speed trainfrom Amsterdam to Paris. Went to the Louvre Museum and saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and so many other amazing works of art. What a great year!
The Venus de Milo at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s Resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Well, last year I said I was going to lose weight. Again. And that didn't happen. So I'm abandoning that plan this year. Or maybe forever. It's too much pressure. I think this year I'm going to try to take up some kind of hobby, something that feeds the creative side of me. That should be a lot easier than losing weight. And since my husband bought me a Vitamix, a food processor, a stand mixer, an electric kettle, and a Nespresso machine this year, I don't see less eating happening in the future.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No. And there aren't many people I'm close to who are planning or anticipating births. Whew! 4. Did anyone close to you die? No one close to me, but we did lose quite a few celebrity legends in 2018 - Aretha Franklin, Burt Reynolds, Stan Lee, Penny Marshall, Neil Simon, Anthony Bourdain, Stephen Hawking, Nancy Wilson (love her!), Vic Damone (who I once sat next to in an Atlantic City, NJ restaurant where he was dining with his wife, Diahann Carroll), Jerry Van Dyke and more. And our Senator, John McCain.
A street in Bratislava, Slovakia.
5. What countries did you visit? Ohhhhhhh, finally I have a great answer to this one! Well, early in the year we went to Mexico to visit Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco), but then in October, we went to Europe for almost a month, which included 15 nights on a European River Cruise, something I've wanted to do FOREVER! The countries we visited during that trip were: Turkey, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, and France. Oh, and Ed hopped off the train to touch the ground in Belgium, but that doesn't really count. 6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018? A hobby. Geez, I really need an ACTUAL hobby. I have to create something or I might just go crazy. 7. What dates from 2018 will remain etched in your memory, and why? My European vacation will stay with me forever. Not only did I get to see so many places I'd never been, but I was able to experience Paris with my new husband and make some really great memories. I finally did the river cruise I'd been longing to do. And I had a great vacation with our friends, Marlaina and MacG.
Marlaina, Ed, and MacG enjoying the rear lounge on our river cruise ship.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? All the walking I did in Europe. Seriously, people. You don't know what a monumental task it was for me. I hate movement of any kind - I pick up my mail on the way into my driveway just so I don't have to walk to the mailbox - so all the walking I did, beginning with our first day in the airport in Los Angeles and not ending until 30 days later when I got home, was a huge change for me. I kept track of how many miles I walked every day. There were some 6 and 7 mile days, but on average, I walked about 3.5 miles per day. I also lost 13 pounds while I was gone. Those are two very big achievements. 9. What was your biggest failure? Nothing stands out in my mind, but I think it's because I just don't see things that don't work out as failures. Also, I don't recall setting out to do anything this year that could have resulted in failure, so there's that. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had a few sniffles, but nothing serious. 11. What was the best thing you bought? My new iPhone. It's bigger, so reading and surfing the internet is more enjoyable, and it has a great camera. I love the portrait feature!
Ed cycling along the Danube River in Dürnstein, Austria.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I'm going to bestow this honor on Ed. He works hard and makes sure we have money to take care of everything we need and want. He's patient, makes an effort to socialize with our neighbors (if that were left up to me, we'd know no one), listens to me (for the most part - when it's important), and makes sure to carve out time for himself to relax and unwind. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Oh. My. God. It's only one person - 45. He's an absolute disgrace. 14. Where did most of your money go? Vacation and retirement savings. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The cruise! And pretty much everything we were going to see in Europe. Squeeee! 16. What song will always remind you of 2018? Toward the end of 2018, I started watching Outlander and found myself singing the theme song. Since I ended the year on that song, it's freshest in my mind.
It was originally a Scottish folk song, but it was altered by Bear McCreary for the show. Here are the lyrics:
Sing me a song of a lass that is gone,
Say, could that lass be I?
Merry of soul she sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.
Billow and breeze, islands and seas,
Mountains of rain and sun,
All that was good, all that was fair,
All that was me is gone.
Sing me a song of a lass that is gone,
Say, could that lass be I?
Merry of soul she sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? Pretty happy, still the same generous size as last year, and with fewer dollars in my pocket after my Europe spending. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Laugh. I realized that I don't do as much laughing as I used to. I have a couple of serious friends, I don't spend time goofing off with my bestie anymore, and I haven't listened to any stand-up comedy at all this year. I used to watch and listen to stand-up comedians - especially when Ed and I had Sirius Radio in the truck, but I got away from it - maybe grew bored of it for a while, I don't really know, but I need some belly laughs. Soon. 19. What do you wish you’d done less of? I can't think of anything I wish I've done less of. Maybe laundry? For two people, the washing around this house in endless. I don't know where it comes from! 20. How did you spend Christmas? At home with Ed, my mother, my brother and his family, and our friends Marlaina and MacG. 21. Did you fall in love in 2018? I think I fell more in love with traveling. Well, not the actual getting there part, but the being there part.
Wooden shoes and tulips in Zaandam, Netherlands.
22. What was your favorite TV program? My favorite TV show this year was "A Million Little Things". The beginning of the story is sad, but the writing is good and I love the actors. 23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nope, the same asshole I hated last year. 24. What was the best book you read? I didn't read anything even closely resembling a book this year, although I did get halfway through the audiobook The Hare with Amber Eyes, a story I learned about on one of our tours in Vienna. 25. What was your greatest musical discovery? I didn't discover any new music this year.
26. What did you want and get? A Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer (yes, in Empire Red), a Kitchen Aid Food Processor, and a Nespresso Inissia machine with the Aeroccino frother. In addition - and these are not things I asked for - I also got a Vitamix Blender and a Breville IQ Kettle (man, I love this thing!). Looks like I'm going to be spending an awful lot of time in the kitchen this year. 27. What did you want and not get? Well, I want a new iPad, but I don't really need one so I can probably wait. And I wanted IPL treatments but didn't get any. 28. What was your favorite film of this year? The Greatest Showman. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVED it!! It was released in December 2017, but I didn't see it until 2018. I've seen it four times so far and can't wait to see it again. I'll have to watch it without Ed around because he's tired of the singing. From me, not the cast. 29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? We were on the road, so didn't do anything special. We had dinner and Ed surprised me with a cake. 30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? I had a lot of time off, I had an awesome vacation, I got great gifts, and I spent time with my family and friends. I can't think of anything that could have been better. 31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018? Mostly pajamas. 32. What kept you sane? My very comfortable living room armchair. 33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? For sure, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Oh, what a beautiful day! 34. What political issue stirred you the most?The Wall. The stupid, unnecessary, expensive, ridiculous, wall. It's not needed, it's not going to be built, Mexico is not paying for it, and the assholes who want it need to move on to something more productive.
One of the many uphill cobblestone streets I walked in Europe. This one is in Český Krumlov, Czech Republic.
35. Who did you miss? After going to The Family History Library in Salt Lake City and doing some family tree research, I was really missing my grandparents and wishing I had asked so many more questions while they were alive. 36. Who was the best new person you met? Our neighbors, Bre and Eric. The house next door, previously occupied by a very old couple, then a very old widow, finally went up for sale. The people who bought it started doing a renovation - the interior hadn't been changed since the seventies - and suddenly, there was a flurry of activity in our normally very quiet cul-de-sac. Ed was the first to wander across our front lawn to make their acquaintance. He found a young married couple, around his age. We've had them over for dinner once already and are looking forward to getting to know them better. 37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018. Don't wait for the circumstances to be perfect to do something. Ideally, I would have liked to be in better shape to be walking around Europe. I won't lie, I was concerned as to whether I'd be able to keep up with Ed and our friends, who walk at an Olympian's pace. If I didn't go because I wasn't ready, I would have missed out on a really great trip. I did the best I could, pushed myself in some cases, and tried very hard not to complain. As a result, I had a really good time and made some great memories. 38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Recently I've been listening to some of the songs from the Glee soundtrack (I used to be a huge Glee fan), and they did quite a few show tunes in the series. One of the songs, from "Wicked", sung by Kristen Chenoweth (Glinda) and Idina Menzel (Elphaba) - both of who guest starred on the show - is called "For Good". The lyric I like is:
"Because I knew you, I have been changed for good"
