My Hero

(Leif, Gram, Amy, Bonnie, David, Denise, Zeke & Amanda)

Gram would have been 92 today. I can't believe she's been gone for almost 19 years. She left us too soon. Those of us that knew her are better because of it.

I hope I can live my life so that when I meet her again she will tell me she is proud that I'm her granddaughter.

Happy Birthday Gram! Love you!!

Happy Birthday Benjanin!!!

Little Baby Ben turned 30 last week!

How did he get to be older than me?!?!
Random pictures of the evening-

Food for Thought Friday

Breakfast
What was your high and low of the week?
High- Meeting Tucker
Low- Drama, drama, drama

Lunch
What is something you used to do religiously that you no longer do?
Scrapbook

Dinner
What is something you now do that you never in your wildest dreams thought you would be doing?
Help run a world wide fan site.

Midnight Snack
How much do you enjoy Halloween?
I love the fun stuff about Halloween, I HATE the scary stuff.

One Goal!

I've had this post rattling around in my head for a couple of weeks now but haven't taken the time to sit down and write it. A couple of things have happened over the last week that have motivated me to sit down and actually put it into words. I've tried to explain my Blue October love before and wasn't really successful so I've decided to give up. I just have a connection to their music that is unexplainable.

The first thing that finally motivated me to sit down and write this out is some sad news about Blue October.

Blue October was supposed to start a new tour today. It was a tour to raise awareness for Mental Illness and Suicide Prevention. Sadly the tour has been cancelled due to Justin being hospitalized due to his own mental illness.

The Pick Up The Phone Tour 2009 has been canceled due to the hospitalization of Justin Furstenfeld, lead singer of the tour’s headlining band Blue October. Furstenfeld, who was also the spokesperson for Pick Up The Phone Tour 2009, is being treated for suffering from an extreme mental anxiety attack. His doctors have ordered that the tour—which was committed to reducing the stigma associated with mental health, depression, and suicide—be canceled to allow for his recovery.

My heart broke a little bit when I read that announcement. Although the tour was not coming anywhere near me I was so excited that it was happening. To be able to raise awareness for such an important and neglected cause was such an
exciting opportunity for the band. My thoughts and prayers go out to each of the
members of Blue October and their families.

“Mental health diseases are unpredictable,” says Furstenfeld. “And on the eve of this tour in support of a cause that means the world to me, I am in need of time to heal from a setback in my own personal life, which is severe enough for me to seek hospitalization. I hope that my action to seek the strength and safety of treatment will inspire others that are suffering to do the same.”

Here is the PSA for the tour. Even though the tour has been cancelled the message in this video is still true and important.


The other reason is because of one of their songs that I can't get out of my head. Life has been quite crazy lately and I've been struggling a lot. It seems every time I turn on my Blue October playlist on my i-pod Independently Happy is one of the first songs I hear. I've decided that my i-pod thinks I need to get the message ;)

It's been a good reminder that I'm responsible for my happiness. I have a tendency to allow others to dictate my mood and my happiness level and I need to stop doing that. I am in control. This is my life and I need to remember that I'm in charge of my own happiness. I know that this is a lifelong struggle but this song has helped focus me recently.

Here's a video of the song. (warning! language at 3:07 if you don't want to watch it you can read the lyrics here)


So as Justin says at the end of this video- I'm working on happy....

Therapy

I've discovered an amazing form of therapy for when life gets rough. Snuggling with babes fresh from Heaven-

*sigh*

Never let a vow of silence stand in your way

Love it!!!

A lifesaver

My classes this semester are very boring and are very technical so they require a lot of concentration. I can't have music on while I'm studying unless it's instrumental music. William Joseph is who I listen to 99% of the time that I'm studying. I'm pretty sure his cd's are the only way I'm going to survive.

Food for Thought Friday

Breakfast
Would you or have you ever gone sky diving?
I never have but I think I’d like to. Of course I’d probably chicken out once I got up in the plane and it was time to actually jump out.

Lunch
What do you think about President Obama receiving the Noble Peace Prize?
The phrase “counting your chickens before they hatch” pretty much sums it up for me.

Dinner
What is the last movie you saw? Did you enjoy it?
In the theater- I think the last one I saw was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. (How pathetic am I?)I liked it a lot.
On DVD- I watched the Lake House the other night. Of course I enjoyed it- that’s why I own it.

Midnight Snack
How much of a worrier are you?
Not much at all. I’m pretty laid back. I probably should be more of a worrier, I’d get more accomplished.

Children See. Children Do.

My friend posted this on her Facebook page and I just had to share it. It's such a powerful message. Even those of us that are not parents can learn from this.

She mocks me...

I just received an email from my Mom. This is how it started-

Virginia & I are, as I write, sitting in the Apollo Victoria Theatre waiting for "Wicked" to start!

If you're having a hard time visualizing where she's at this is what the Apollo Victoria Theatre looks like-

And the inside-

(It's blurry I know but it's the best one I have)

I'm not jealous, really I'm not....
Anyone want to donate a few thousand frequent flyer miles to me so I can go visit Mom and get my Wicked fix?

Food for Thought Friday

Breakfast
Would you rather be really hungry or really tired?
Hungry- I can function when I’m hungry but when I’m tired I’m useless.

Lunch
What is your favorite thing about blogging?
Cyber stalking complete strangers ;)

Dinner
If you were given three hours to do anything, but could not clean or catch-up on things you were behind on, how would you spend it?
Curled up with a good book

Midnight Snack
Are you persistent or do you give up easily?
Depends on what the project/goal/outcome is. If it’s something I’m passionate about I’m really persistent (to the point of obnoxiousness) but if it’s something I’m only kind of interested in I give up very easily.

Smitten

I have a new love in my life...

Isn't he precious?!?!

Hershey's is trying to kill me...

Seriously... they are out to get me. I don't care about plain old Hershey's Kisses but they keep coming up with new flavors.

First there were these-

Coconut filled kisses?!?! HEAVEN!

Now they have candy corn and pumpkin spice kisses- TO. DIE. FOR.

It's a good thing that all three are limited editions and only available at certain times of the year.

Bah Humbug!

This looks really good...

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog