Lost Day, Royal Wedding, Weekend...

Don't ask me what happened yesterday - I was on top of my game until my afternoon run (which ended up as a walk because I ran out of energy) and then came home to more work related issues, supper that I forgot was supposed to be marinated, and the lack of energy from the afternoon turning into a slugfest on the couch until I decided I should just go to bed!

BTW - the picture is from my fancy watch, yesterday was hill running and the chart shows what I did. No wonder I ran out of oomph!! (Click on picture to enlarge, if you're interested)

Tried to get up this morning to watch the Royal Wedding - missed the first part, but thanks to TV editing have managed to piece together what I slept through. And, of course, I was in time to watch them ride home in their carriage and kiss (twice) on the balcony! So romantic - and I love how bashful and shy he is (really is very much like his mom).

Now, it's to work for me! Then some party planning as we're welcoming back our good friends who've been in New Zealand for the last 7 weeks. What about you, People of Blogland - did you get up to watch the wedding? Any big plans for the weekend? What's your usual gameplan when life just doesn't go the way you had planned and your energy lags (really, I could use some pointers)?

Novels into Movies...

Most times I don't always like the movie adaptation of a novel. I try very hard to make sure I read the book first, then brace myself for the disaster that is the movie version. Yesterday was our bookclub meeting and this month we all read the same book, Perfume, The Story of a Murderer, then met at my place to watch the movie.

Let's just state flat out I loved this book. Dark and brooding - mysterious - descriptive ecstasy - and gruesome. Right up my alley (and I think I should be writing romance!?). I was worried that the movie wouldn't hold a candle to the book, but I was wrong. It was very well done and I spent most of the movie inhaling (the plot of the book is about a man who is born without smell - as in has no odour - but has a genius olfactory sense - he's constantly sniffing, smelling, his world). The film does a fabulous job with the sense of smell, even though a film is all about the visuals. Don't get me wrong, the visuals in this were amazing - which probably led me to inhaling a lot!

There's been only one other book that I can really say stood up to the novel and that was Ian McEwan's Atonement. Loved the novel, loved the movie. It's always a disappointment when the movie veers off track or misses the entire gist of the novel - I always feel cheated.

So, great book with a great pre-movie discussion, a fabulous film adaptation, popcorn, smarties and licorice (hey, it was a movie day and what's a movie without a concession), my version of a French Sidecar (equal portions of brandy and cointreau, which had a kick let me just say), and a glass (or two) of white wine. Oh, yeah, there was also eclairs, afterall the story is set in France!!!

Are you a fan of novels adapted for the silver screen, People of Blogland? Do you have a favorite movie adaptation? When a movie based on a novel comes out, do you search out the book before or after seeing the movie? I know Water for Elephants is being released - loved the book, but unsure of the movie - thoughts? And did you know that The Help is being made into a movie, to be released this year? Any other adaptations I should know about?

Inspiration - Creativity...

Had a wonderful chat with a good friend yesterday - she makes the most fabulous homemade cards - and we got around to talking about creativity. Even she finds it difficult to be creative if she's been away from the process for a very long time or if her work schedule clutters her mind. So today I thought I'd find some inspirational quotes on creativity - whether you're a writer, card-maker, quilter, artist or scrapbooker.

True imagination is not moving the blocks of our reality from one spot to another, rather it is the pouring forth of an entirely new reality according to the wellspring of the dreams within our hearts. ~ Robert Tennyson Stevens

When you think about it, most people really don't want to be creative - it's dangerous and uncomfortable - like being the passenger in a car driven by a maniac. ~ Randall Anway

Creativity: a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual. ~ Arthur Koestler

To create is to boggle the mind and alter the mood. Once the urge has surged, it maintains its own momentum. We may go along for the ride, but when we attempt to steer the course, the momentum dies. ~ Sue Atchley Ebaugh

Sometimes you've got to let everything go - purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out. ~ Tina Turner

Happy Wednesday, People of Blogland :)

Image: Time to Think Out of the Box by Frits Ahelfeldt

The Dreaded Swimsuit Shopping...

Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter :)

Mine didn't start off very well due to the Dreaded Swimsuit Shopping! Yes, I had to buy a new swimsuit - the promise of not getting one until I'm back down to my fighting weight (I have two perfectly good swimsuits for that weight) had to be broken. I have four weeks before I go on holiday - part of that holiday is the big race in Saskatoon where my running partner and very good friend Brenda and I will be hoteling it for two nights. The hotel has two, yes TWO, awesome swimming pools and hot tubs. There's no way I'm missing out or, like in October, squeezing myself into a too tight Tankini and then being uncomfortable the whole time.

I think I speak for every woman alive (or at least the normal-never-happy-with-our-bodies-oh-my-God-I-hate-swimsuits) that swimsuit shopping has to be the absolute worst thing on the planet. It's the only piece of clothing that shows off more or less what our underwear does ONLY in public. Really, there should be laws. And whatever happened to those full-body type swimsuits? In black? And we get to buy these wonderful garments in a store that has Evil Change Room Designers on staff. Really? Does the lighting have to be so bright that it refracts off lily-white winter skin so much that a person should really be given sunglasses before entering said change room? And let's pass along some savings to the consumer by NOT purchasing full-length mirrors for every wall in the change room - and the back of the door!

So I pile up the swimsuits to take into the torture chamber change room so I don't have to come back out to look for more hideous choices or different sizes ('cause you know there's no way in hell I'm coming out in a swimsuit to fish through the racks) and off I go. YAY! I thought I was being smart - a couple of different styles and a couple of different sizes - some one size up from those I have at home and some two sizes up.

WHAT IS UP WITH SIZING? Let's not even get me started on panty sizes, K?

And can someone explain this new idea of fitting the swimsuit onto cardboard headless, armless, legless bodies? Do you have any idea how much I had to wrestle those 'women' in order to get the damn swimsuit off in order to put it on me? If you think I took the time to redress those 'women', you don't know me very well. If I had had a jiffy marker, I would have been leaving nasty notes on those cardboard 'women' - "BEWARE - swimsuit distortion when a 'real' body is applied!"

I'll skip to the good news - I did get a swimsuit! Not happy about the size! Not happy with the image reflecting back from four full length mirrors that is now permenantly burned into my retina. AND not happy with the pastiness of my skin! Lookout hotel pool and guests, here I come!!!

Tell me your swimsuit buying stories, People of Blogland (if you have any or wish to share). And is there anyone out there who thinks change rooms should be redesigned? Have you heard? There's such a condition as CRR - Changing Room Rage! Wonder if my medical insurance will cover that?

Happy Easter :)

Disposible Society - URGH!!!

>My camera's on the fritz! This annoys me to no end because I hate buying new things - expensive things. What annoys me even more is that to fix the glitch will probably cost more than to buy a new camera!

Ah, the joy of living in a disposible society. Cell phones that are traded in for the newer, faster, smaller (hmm, another case of size matters) in less than a year. Computers whose life span is 3 or 4 years - always shake my head when I hear people exclaim "Wow, you're computer's 5 years old! That's old!". Or, as most often the case, your computer needs to be replaced because it no longer stands up to the new technology. Even cars fall into the category of easily replaced when repairs or new parts cost way more than the monthly payments on a bright, shiny model. It's very rare to see old cars on the roads any more.

You see this everywhere - including hockey teams. Back in the day your favorite team consisted of your favorite players. Now, players are constantly trading up. And then you have to question your loyalty - are you cheering for a player or a team? If your favorite player changes teams, you have to consider a whole new jersey wardrobe!

But back to technology - all this outdated, old technology goes where? Can you imagine our landfills in 20 years time? I'm going to try and find a solution to my camera problem before I trade it in for a faster, slimmer, shinier model. Wish me luck - although I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to buy a new one.

Hey, do you think the digital companies have hardwired a glitch into their products? A "If _____ still operates 3 years, 8 months, 4 days, 15 hours, 33 minutes, 21 seconds, activate self-destruct sequence." Ooh, like the old Mission Impossible tapes buddy used to listen to at the start of every show. Tapes? Doesn't that take you back?

OK, enough ranting - what say you, People of Blogland? Do you enjoy buying new technology every 3 years? Are the digital companies slowly taking over world dominance? Do you cheer for the team or the player?

Inspiration - Tea for Two...

How could I not follow up yesterday's post about tea with quotes about tea? Enjoy and happy Wednesday, People of Blogland :)

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~ C.S. Lewis

May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire. ~ Irish Blessing

Where there's tea there's hope. ~ Arthur W. Pinero

A woman is like a tea bag, you can not tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. ~ Nancy Reagan (also saw this attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt)

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company. ~ Anonymous

The best thing about tea, above everything else, is that it lubricates the grey matter. ~ Anonymous

Tea For Two...

Most of you already know of our Saturday Morning Ritual (go here for original post). The Husband and I have coffee in bed on Saturday mornings - usually two cups if Taz will let us (she's an "I'm awake, let's play" kind of dog). Another drinking ritual we have is tea after dinner.

I am a huge tea lover. Everything from Earl Grey to Chamomile Herb. But we don't get too fancy in our evening ritual as The Husband likes regular old Orange Pekoe - we both take it with a splash of milk.

Tea has been a staple of my diet (can you call a liquid a 'staple of my diet'?) from way back. My mom drinks gallons of the stuff (Scottish and all - she sticks to Orange Pekoe mostly). There's something refreshing about a hot cup of tea! So I've kept with the tradition of ending my day with a cup of tea.

And with the same zeal for collecting glassware, I love all things 'tea'. I have way too many teapots - the latest being a silver plated Paderno that pours beautifully (that's the teapot in today's picture). A person doesn't need a lot of teapots unless, the reason for my latest purchase, that pot doesn't pour properly. There's nothing worse than a dribbly teapot. I think they should allow you to fill the teapot with water in the store before you buy it - because who wants to bring home a dribbly teapot?

My last teapot - a beautiful white one that holds many, many cups (I admit, I will pour cold tea and heat it up in the microwave), but dribbles all over the place. I tried, because I didn't want to buy another teapot, to find a gadget that fits over the spout to prevent dribbles (a teapot spout condom). My junk drawer is full - there's lots of options out there - unfortunately, not one of them fits my oversized spout! Size matters, people!

Not only am I drawn to lovely teapots in the stores, but also to tea varieties. There's a store in Halifax called David's Tea - they have the most wonderful collection of teas. And the smells - heaven. The last time I was there I bought a Coco Chai Rooibos - a herbal rooibos infused with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and red peppercorns with a hit of coconut! Of course, buying loose tea means you have to have some kind of contraption for the leaves - and even then, emptying out the contraption can be messy...

Hmm, I think I just figured out why The Husband likes Orange Pekoe. In a bag. Also figured out why my junk drawer is so full!!

Are there any tea drinkers out there in Blogland? Do you have a favorite? I've recently discovered Lady Earl Grey (a lighter version of Earl Grey) and the other day on the TV someone was talking about Cream of Earl Grey - that might be my next purchase at David's!! Do you have an after dinner ritual?

Personal Ads...

Why does Monday always feel so bleh? Are we hardwired into believing the first of the week, the first work day of the week, is horrible? Or are we inundated with the idea thanks to advertisers and, therefore, begin to believe it ourselves?

I'm easily influenced by ads! There's one playing over and over again for a certain fish sandwich at a certain fast food chain. And. I. Want. One! Haven't succumbed yet, but I swear that commercial comes on every ten minutes - and maybe it does, the constant reminder played over and over again at timed intervals. Why can't the advertisers get together and create repeated individual messages:

Janet, you need to exercise!

Janet, you are a writer!

Janet, choose the carrot sticks over the salted peanuts!

See, now this would be helpful. Of course, it wouldn't help see anything, unless they, the advertisers, managed to work in a product with the messages (an exercise gadget for the exercise message, a pen or post-it notes for the writing one, and, um, carrots for the carrot one?!?). And with the amount of commercials that get aired, I would see my personalized message 5+ times in an hour.

Of course, there is the chance that I would just flip through channels when the message came on, thereby ignoring it. Or get up to do something during the commercials (bathroom, fold laundry, check e-mails) and only the dog would be influenced - she already gets plenty of exercise and loves carrots - wonder if she would take up writing?

I'm going to try and ignore my craving for a certain fish sandwich at a certain fast food place. Do you have a favorite commercial, People of Blogland? Are you easily influenced by advertisers? Would interval, personalized messages work for you?

Late Due to Dreaming...

Must get back to posting the night before - as I slept in this morning and am staring at the computer wondering what to write. The brain is mush and I am still processing the last dream.

I am a dreamer - in my waking life and my sleeping. I usually dream quite vividly toward the morning and if I roll over after The Husband gets out of bed and doze off for another half-hour, the dreams are even more vivid (and memorable - although I do remember most of my dreams).

This morning was no exception. And it was my reoccuring nightmare. It wasn't so bad this morning, less frustrating than usual. The dream I seem to always have deals with teaching. And losing control of the classroom!
Hmmm, do I have issues or what?

This morning's wasn't so bad - the kid's were doing a relay race and parents came in to observe. Not once did I lose control. Not once did I have to stand there and demand they listen to me. It was very peaceful - but I could feel the threads starting to unravel when a group of older students I had taught previously arrived. And when one of the parents stood up and offered to help, informing me that he had once been a teacher. Luckily, I was fading out of my dream and into real life - but I know if I had stayed, the dream would have turned into my nightmare.

Have you seen the movie INCEPTION? Wow, really makes you think about dreams and the power they have. I loved it - and plan on watching it again because I think I missed a lot the first time around just trying to figure what out what was going on. Very cool premise!

How about you, People of Blogland, any reoccuring dreams? Do you remember your dreams? Do you think our dreams are trying to tell us something?

Rambling 'bout Running, Writing and Finishing...

Yes, that's me - running in my first half marathon last Thanksgiving in Wolfville, NS. See the shirt I'm wearing? On the back it says "I run like a girl!" I love that shirt and was wearing it last Saturday for my weekly long run. And, like everytime I hit the open road by myself, I thought - "Tell me again why I'm doing this?"

I loved this quote from yesterday's Inspiration: For every finish-line tape a runner breaks - complete with the cheers of the crowd and the clicking of hundreds of cameras - there are the hours of hard and often lonely work that rarely gets talked about. ~ Grete Waitz. Because as I'm running, I'm working hard toward a goal - and I'm doing it alone.

Which again begs the question "Why?" Besides the obvious answers (health, fitness), I often think how silly I must look running along the shoulder of the highway - because I do run like a girl (or maybe a lame giraffe). But on Saturday I realized that it doesn't matter how I do it, the point is I am - and that at the end of May I will finish another half marathon.

FINISH!

That's what counts. I used to be a bowler - competitive - and would often make shots that weren't pretty or technical, but that's not what mattered. At the end of the game, the only thing that mattered was the final score. It's the same with golf - I am not a golfer, but it doesn't matter how I got my ball in the hole, it's how many strokes (the final score) that counts.

I'm working hard - and alone - to improve upon my time from that first race. I have a goal and that's why this quote really resonated as well: If you set a goal for yourself and are able to achieve it, you have won your race. Your goal can be to come in first, to improve your performance, or just to finish the race - it's up to you. ~ Dave Scott.

Writing is hard work. Writing is lonely work. And like my running the half, I know I can finish a novel. I've won the race - um, just realized I need to stop beating myself up (wow). Now, instead of floundering, I need to set another goal for myself. Or not. But talking about running another half and getting out there and putting in the work are two very different things. One leads to guilt, despair, angst while the other leads to, well,...a finish!

Hmmm? Wonder what I'll think about on this Saturday as I head out on the road for my next long run? And, yes, I'll be running like a girl.

Inspiration - Finishing...

More on this tomorrow, but I thought it would be interesting to share some quotes on finishing with you - especially after the post and follow-up discussion on Monday.

What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If you set a goal for yourself and are able to achieve it, you have won your race. Your goal can be to come in first, to improve your performance, or just to finish the race - it's up to you. ~ Dave Scott

For every finish-line tape a runner breaks - complete with the cheers of the crowd and the clicking of hundreds of cameras - there are the hours of hard and often lonely work that rarely gets talked about. ~ Grete Waitz

My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already. ~ Dave Barry

It is the job that is never started that takes longest to finish. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

I hope everyone has a very inspirational Wednesday :)

The Log-Rabbit-Alien Adventure...

Another morning post - hey there, Good Morning :)

I blame the late night TV Reality Shows. By the time I drag my sorry butt off the couch after watching other people dancing, losing weight, or singing, I'm too tired to even think about a blog. And prior to that - the in-between hours after dinner and before the couch parking - I just stare at the computer, my head empty of ideas.

Well, good thing I waited until this morning to write this post. I can tell you about the log-rabbit-alien I saw last night!

The dog goes out right before bed for one final pee and because it was raining, I stuck her out the front so she could stay under the eaves and relatively dry. I'm very wary at night with critters and deer hanging around, so I try to have a good look around after I turn on the outside lights and before I open the door. Last night - all clear. Then Taz gets out there and her nose goes up and the sniffing begins. No peeing, just sniffing.

I'm on alert! I step out, squinting into the darkness that is our little corner of the world (no street lights, up from the road, surrounded by trees). Nothing! I urge her to hurry and do another scan - there, halfway down the lawn is something. Very light in color, almost round. It's not moving.

After I drag Taz back into the house, I close the door and stare as hard as I can to determine if it's a living thing. It still hasn't moved and I wonder if it's one of the logs The Husband sawed off the tree he took down in front. It could be - but it's too close? The darkness plays havoc with my depth perception.

But it moved! I'm sure it did. Maybe it's a rabbit (yes, the rabbit scene of Monty Python's Holy Grail is playing in my head right now). There seems to be a glow where it's eyes would be. Time for the binoculars...

I'm 15 minutes into this venture - 15 minutes past my bedtime. I go get the binoculars.

Let's just say I am not, nor have I ever been, the best binocular user. With glasses, I can never get the eye pieces right - and no matter how hard I turn that dial, I never seem to get anything into focus. Last night, no different. I fiddled with the stupid things, turned the knobs, tried without the glasses - and still that light colored object would not come into focus. And for sure the thing was glowing - red and green specks of light! It had to be an alien.

Landed here, thinking it was safe to begin the task of collecting information on humans living in Nova Scotia. Because, really, if it had been a rabbit, it would have moved. It would have tried to hop away when Taz got out there - or at least when I was yelling at Taz to hurry up. Ah, peaceful bedtime routines!

I was tired. The binoculars weren't working. The log-rabbit-alien wasn't moving. I either had to go to bed or put on the rubber boots and go down the driveway to see what the thing was. My logical left brain finally kicked in and said "You're an idiot - go to bed!"

I went to bed. This morning, the thing is still out there. It's Taz's plastic happy face ball. Yep!

Sometimes it doesn't pay to have an over-active imagination.

Happy Tuesday, People of Blogland. Beware the log-rabbit-aliens!!!

When Dreams Die...

I'm late today - chalk that up to spending most of the weekend spring cleaning! Yes, it's that time again and my body aches not only from my 10 mile run on Saturday, but from moving furniture, washing floors and cleaning windows.

As per my usual morning routine, I signed into Blogger and checked out my blog list. Because of time issues, I usually read the blog title, the little bit of narrative shown in the small window and decide whether to click and read the entire thing. But there are a handful of blogs that always get my attention (hey favorite blogs - just because I don't comment, doesn't mean I haven't been reading). B.E.'s , The Writing Spectacle. is one of them - and today, she simply had a link to another blog - Silver Lining.

Wow - what a way to start a Monday morning! It got me thinking - of my dreams, my goals, and the pursuit! I am a dreamer (Go, Pisces!). I always have been - in my early teens I wanted to be an actress and followed that dream by joining the drama club in high school (tooting my own horn: I won best actress in my very first play that year). But then life changed and that dream fizzled.

Today, I face a similar issue. My dream of being a writer is slowly evaporating. Life has changed - I've changed. That doe-eyed innocence has been replaced with skepticism and fear - yes, fear. But whispers of friends and family who insist I am talented bouy up the dream before it has a chance to fade away forever. And I am struck by something I read many years ago - (paraphrasing) many talented writers are never published because they lack the persistance and drive.

I wonder, will this be me? I don't think I've ever admitted, out loud, this dilemma of giving up my dream before. And I'm not looking for kudos and accolades. I would love it if you would share any experiences you've had about giving up on a dream. Or sticking with it even when it seemed like pie in the sky. I'm going to have a coffee and spend the day thinking about my dreams.

Multiple Choice...

Sorry about yesterday, I was:

A. At the beach
B. Sick and in bed
C. On a full day shopping binge
D. Working the Day Job

Yes, if you chose D, you got it right. But I always write my blog posts the night before, so that means that excuse was:

A. Didn't have a sniff for a blog topic
B. Had spent too long playing Spider Solitaire
C. Spent the entire night glued to the television
D. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge

Get your thoughts out of the gutters, People of Blogland, the answer to that was A. I was at a total loss for a topic, so I took the easy way out and posted the "Do Not Disturb" sign. I did spend too much time watching television - American Idol. I really need to find a 12 step program for Reality Shows!

Thank goodness it's the weekend! No reality shows in sight. But I do plan to:
A. Do a long run (up to 2 hours - about 9.5 miles)
B. Read
C. Laundry
D. All of the above.

Yes, D again. And doesn't the weekend look exciting? Sigh! What's on your agenda for the weekend, People of Blogland? Any great books you'd like to share with us? Anyone else out there wondering where all the laundry comes from every week - it seems to never end? I'm thankful I never took up the sport of ironing (my mom is World Champ)!

*And if Blogger doesn't start cooperating...Hope this formats correctly :)

I'll Be Back...

...tomorrow!

Inspiration - Self-Esteem...

Teenagers struggle with self-esteem issues, but I'm not under any illusions that some days my self-esteem needs a good kick in the pants. Welcome to Inspiration Wednesday...

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~ Judy Garland

To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world. ~ Unknown Author

Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. ~ Golda Meir

Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. ~ Malcolm S. Forbes

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance. ~ Oscar Wilde

Image by Sharee Basinger

On The Lighter Side of Education...

Whew - that was a heavy subject yesterday. So, at the request of my niece, here's something a little lighter. And it still has to do with education. Nothing like a little ingenuity to bring kids into line!

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom.

That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick, they would press their lips on the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night the maintenance man would remove them, and the next day the girls would put them back.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine all the yawns from the little princesses).

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

There are teachers..................and then there are educators.

Happy Tuesday, People of Blogland :)

And this formatting better work today!

I Hope They've Found Peace...

Today was the funeral of a young woman in Nova Scotia. At 17, she killed herself because she couldn't take the bullying anymore. In January, another young woman, aged 15, took her own life because she was being bullyied. I am dumbstruck with this news. And when I googled to find more about the information, the number of reports in North America about teenagers killing themselves because of bullying broke my heart. Of course, many say the schools are to blame - and as an ex-teacher, I agree to a degree. Unfortunately, discipline at school has been taken out of the teachers' hands due to parents and bleeding hearts who think that disciplining a child is not the way to instill self-confidence and responsible behaviour. My major argument back in the day was "Then what will?" because it is obvious we are not preparing our youth to be responsible, loving adults. I know there are many kids out there who are level headed and responsible (I happen to have a boatload of nieces and nephews who fit that bill). But what about those that aren't? What kind of life are we offering them by ignoring their behavior? Or chalking it up to self-expression? What about those who have died? Their self-expression has been silenced by others who think it's OK to ridicule, taunt, and threaten. This is a long rant - one I hadn't planned on making. I only wanted to give you background and then introduce this video. By a 9 year old girl from Nova Scotia - Makalya Lynn.

Playlists...

I own an iPod! This could be considered surprising by some as I still don't own a cell phone. But the iPod was a gift from The Husband - and I love it (when I remember to charge it up and actually use it). The usual playtime for me is while I'm at my Day Job - sitting at the computer in my office all by myself. Yes, there are drawbacks to working from home. But remembering back to when I was in the office, my office mate and I always had the radio on. So music goes well with desk work!

My iPod is not even close to being full. I have a ton of CDs I've been meaning to load onto the computer and then onto the iPod - but like everything, I just can't seem to find the time. I do have a lot already on the machine - enough to keep me content as I go through my day. When I set it up, I actually made playlists. Here's a sample of some:

Exercise - music to get me going, although I never use it when I exercise (running outside on a busy highway doesn't go with having earbuds blocking my hearing - in my opinion)
Celtic - LOVE celtic music with the fiddles and living toe-tapping rhythm (yes, a lot of the songs on this playlist are also on the Exercise playlist
Medieval - I have medieval music, get over it.
Zen - very meditative, soothing music
Heavy - at the very opposite end of the spectrum with bands like Cheap Trick, Queen, and, my favorite, ACDC
Country - this was the genre we listened to at work (hey, when the local station is a nationally acclaimed country music station, why wouldn't you listen to it?)

The playlists keep everything ordered and easily accessible, but I very rarely go to a playlist. I love the shuffle feature - so my day's listening pleasure is a combination of all of the above. "Hell's Bell's" from ACDC is followed by Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar" followed by "Voulez-Vous" from the Mamma Mia soundtrack followed by Dan Gibson's "By Canoe to Loon Lake" (I love the music created only by nature's sounds) followed by...

Well, you get the idea. Eclectic!

I'll leave you with this - one of my favorite 'medieval bands': Mediaeval Baebes' Lanquan li Jorn

What's on your playlists, People of Blogland? Do you have a favorite genre? Does it depend on the mood you're in? Or do you like to mix it all up and put it on 'shuffle'?

Note - there is no signature today because as I was typing this up last night, I lost almost the whole thing - computer froze up fully. And the formatting isn't looking good at the time I type this, so who knows. But I do hope everyone has a great weekend :)