Give someone a smile

" Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day." ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

~~~

If you haven't smiled today, maybe this will help....

Simon's Cat - T.V. Dinner by Simon Tofield

Your Life As A Soundtrack

Ok, so I always like these quirky little quizzes and such and this one being about music, even better. Music has always been a part of my life and over the last few years, has become a staple in my life. I look to music for so many things, usually comfort. I can forget about everything else and just consume myself in the music and lyrics. That can be bad when you find yourself singing out loud while your still at the office. =)

Anyway, this little quiz was sent to me by a friend and I'm interested in how it turns out, and I promise to follow the rules. Give it a go and let me know hot it turns out...should be fun. Here's how...and with my results!

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
- Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
- Put it on shuffle/Random
- Press play
- For every question, type the song that's playing
- When you go to a new question, press the next button

1. Opening Credits = Burning Photographs by Ryan Adams

2. Waking Up = Made of Steel by Our Lady Peace

~*~I'm a good secret keeper...smiles~*~

3. First Day at School = In the Drink by Barenaked Ladies

~*~umm..a bit deep for the first day of school...lol~*~

4. Falling In Love = If You Could Only See by Tonic

~*~hmm..oddly fitting~*~

5. Breaking Up = Young Folks by Peter Bjorn and John

~*~I forgot to get rid of this song ;) ~*~

6. Prom = Raisins by Barenaked Ladies

~*~Laughing! I have nooo idea on this one~*~

7. Life's Ok = Cuts Like a Knife by Bryan Adams

~*~Don't take things for granted.~*~

8. Mental Breakdown = Somewhere Only We Know by Keane

~*~Scary~*~

9. Driving = Falling by Staind

~*~ Falling is not recommended while driving!~*~

10. Flashback = Stolen by Dashboard Confessional

11. Getting Back Together = Don't Go by James Blunt

12. Wedding = Makes Me Wonder by Maroon 5

~*~ Geezus....shivers~*~

13. Sex Scene = Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash

~*~ STAY STAY STAY...LOL~*~

14. Birth of Child = Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers

15. Final Battle = Land of Confusion by Disturbed

~*~Too many chiefs and not enough Indians....but bop bop bopping as the song plays..heh~*~

16. Death Scene = Bleeding Love by Leona Love

~*~ This is my favorite song as of late..hmmm....~*~

17. Funeral Song = So Long, Jimmy by James Blunt

~*~ Ummm..my names not Jimmy...heh ~*~

18. End Credits = But I Do Love You by LeAnn Rimes

~*~You can never say "I Love You" too much ~*~

Looking back

As a child I remember a lot of the music my parents listened to. My mom was an avid country listener: Tanya Tucker, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Anne Murray, Reba McIntyre and all the like. Way different than todays country music, I must say. Now my dad was the complete opposite. He listened to REO Speedwagon, Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straights, ELO, Pink Floyd, Kansas, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Styx, Boston, Van Halen and on and on and on.

Looking back, I remember hating most of it. I dreaded long trips and having to listen to any of it, although I remember asking if we could listen to "moms music" because I particularly hated my dads music even more than my moms. Funny thing is, a lot of what I listen to now is what I grew up on, only not my moms music, my dads. That makes me laugh only because I know how much I hated it as a kid. I do listen to country music now too, just not that old stuff like my mom enjoyed. Although I can still sing some of Kenny Rogers songs all the way through...heh.

I recall a few that I liked, such as REO Speedwagon and Kansas. However, there was always two songs that made me laugh and I knew every word because my dad would play them for me all the time. I think he got a kick out of it actually.

The songs were written by Syd Barrett and on his album Piper at the Gates of Dawn. This album is a bit....umm...off the wall, i guess you could say. I'm quite sure he was running on things other than caffeine. Regardless, these songs, to this day, still make me laugh and remember good times. I had actually forgotten about them until I was going through some of the Pink Floyd videos on YouTube. I'm so glad I found them, as the memories make me smile. Oh, please don't ask me what it is, or was, that I found appealing about either of them. They are WEIRD!! Maybe that was why...sheer silliness!

The Gnome

Bike

What not to expect

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian. ~~Dennis Wholey

***

A dear friend of mine once said something along the lines of..... "If you are going to ask for something, don't have any expectations. That way if you don't get what you are asking for, you won't be disappointed. However, if you do get what you ask for, you will be pleasantly surprised".

I think about that all the time. One of the best pieces of advise I think I have gotten, yet its the hardest to follow. When you ask for something, its difficult not to have some sort of expectation and possible disappointment to follow. Its like asking your mum for a cookie as a child, right before dinner. You know she is going to say no, but you ask anyway with the slightest hope that just this once, she will say yes. Then she gives you that look and gently says "no" and you feel the disappointment flow through you as the possibility washes away. Then imagine how'd you feel if she said yes. Absolutely delighted!

Granted, asking for a cookie is such a simple thing, but using that as an example and applying it to your everyday life, kind of makes you think. I know its something that I have to work on and its not going to apply to every situation, but I have a feeling that if I could follow those words of advice, I'd live a happier life.

Credits for silly picture

Moments in his shoes

Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be. Let us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present to live better in the future. by William Wordsworth

Emerson Drive - Moments

Butterfly Kisses

I remember when I was just a little girl, (I believe I was nine, maybe eight) sitting in my room, doodling in a notebook and listening to music when I heard a knock on my door. I welcomed them in, and it was my mom. She asked me to come to the table as she had something important to tell me. I was never in trouble as a kid so I wasn't worried about that, but anytime your parents want to tell you something "important" it makes you wonder.

I made my way to the table where my mom was sitting with her boyfriend, if you will. (That sounds so incredibly weird for me to say now.) Anyways, I sat down looking at my mom thinking she was the one that was going to do the talking. My dad says, "Karrie, I asked your mom something really important and we wanted to share that with you"...or something of the like. It was then that he continued to tell me that he had asked my mom to marry him and she had said yes.

I remember being so excited, which was a relief to my dad...lol. My biological father left when I was two, completely disappearing from my life, and I hadn't had a real father figure until my dad came along. He's really my step dad but it doesn't feel that way and I don't call him that. It just doesn't feel right to do so. He has been the only father I have ever known. He took my mother and I in and cared for us both, and loved us. For this, I am and will be forever thankful!

Butterfly Kisses is a song by Bob Carlisle and it always affects my dad when he hears it, so I shall dedicate and play this for my dad. Happy Father's Day Dad! Love you!

Butterfly Kisses

Bob carlisle - butterfly kisses
Uploaded by mta21

Down the road

Oh, where to start, where to start? Hmmm. So much has happened since I last posted about cycling. I was doing so well, gradually increasing my mileage and had gotten up to 20 miles, which, for me, was huge! After that ride, I hadn't been able to ride as much due to work and such but I thought that because I was getting up there in the miles, I wanted to increase my efficiency. To do this, I changed out my pedals to the clip-less, which I still don't really understand why they call them that as you have to clip your shoe into the pedal. Anyway...for those of you who don't know how these work: you have a cycling shoe that has a special cleat on the bottom that "clips in" to the pedal and locks in your feet. So, to get out of these pedals, you just have to swing your heel outwards. Simple enough, right? Right! Just after you re-train your brain the order of events that must happen for your feet to touch the ground! Can you see where this is going? This is so embarrassing...five days after I hit my high mile mark, I fell off my bike...three times. Not once...but THREE friggen times! All of which were really stupid falls that really could have been prevented. First: I was taking a drink and didn't un clip my right foot and bike started to tilt right. Toast. Down I went, just standing there! So'kay, you can laugh! Second: I tried to start off going up hill. Don't do that. I didn't have enough ummpf to get going. Over I went. Third: I was trying to do a U turn on the trail and mis-judged how much room I had. This was a hard fall, directly on my left hand causing an injury that still is yet to be determined, not to mention multiple bruises on my upper right thigh. Right now it is diagnosed as a sprain, but I had an MRI on it yesterday and I will get the results tomorrow to know if its broken.

Needless to say, I haven't been riding 20 miles lately. However, I have still been riding, against better judgment all the while my wrist was screaming at me. I couldn't just stop riding. That is just craziness! So I have been taking short, sweet rides to keep me content until I heal completely and can get back in the saddle for longer periods of time.

Which brings me to a bit of excitement from tonights ride!!! I remember the first time I went out for a "real ride" (more than just around the block a few times) and going 8 miles. Do you know how long it took me to go 8 miles? It took me an hour and fifteen minutes! Gah...thats horrible! Tonight....I knew that I couldn't go far, so I decided to try and keep a steady pace and increase my speed to get a good workout. I did that 8 miles in 42.5 minutes!!! W00T!! I know that is probably still slow, but I know that I am getting better each time I go out and that makes me happy! I am proving to progress....

Until next time....Pedal Hard!!

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"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking."

Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr