Mimi sez:
“Sometimes life hands you pomegranates. You get wiser. Sometimes life hands you that icky lemonade. You get stickier. Sometimes life hands you a boatload of people who either enhance your journey in lovely ways or rock the boat off course just for the hell of it. You get an oar and row in your own direction. It happens to all of us. Either way, there’s gratitude to be found if you’re willing to look. Sometimes the conflicts are indeed blessings in disguise – you just don’t know it yet. Sometimes the storm IS the thing you will one day bless while you wait for calmer seas.
Maybe not today, but someday. // So find some patience and hang on. // We all have something to be grateful for one way or another.”
1. What are you most grateful for when you first wake up in the morning?
I am thankful that I will never need an alarm clock so long as my two kitty cats are around. They take care to wake me up early enough so that I have time to lie there and pretend I don’t have to go to work that day.
2. What are you most grateful for when you go to bed at night?
I am thankful for the lessons of the day, trusting that I got whatever was put in front of me and knowing that if I didn’t and it was important, I’ll see that lesson again soon.
3. Who is the person who has had the most influence on your life?
I think I’d have to say my dad. My relationship with him seemed to influence my taste in men later on in life (funny, intelligent and snarky) but I think his biggest influence on me was his liberal perspective. I’d go so far as to call my dad a huge “bleeding heart” liberal. He’d get into such heated discussions with my uncle (were he alive today, said uncle would undoubtedly be heading up a teaparty/klan rally somewhere) that we were sure it would come to blows. Uncle used to tell my dad if he didn’t stop talking, he’d throw him (and his wheelchair) down the basement steps. (I think he was just kidding but who knows, right?)
4. Is there someone you’d like to thank for something special they did for you but haven’t yet? Take the time to do it in this meme.
I want to thank the Pirate Doggie of Love because I know she came here for a reason (other than to chomp on Max’s head) and while I don’t know what it is at the moment, I just know that it was purposeful. I send her lots of love and hugs through the ether.
5. Who was your favorite or least favorite teacher? If you could talk to them now, what would you say?
I took advanced placement English in college but diddled around and got a D in it. (Can you imagine? ME?) I was relegated to the remedial English comp class and the teacher was this little dynamo who was very skilled in helping students learn the basics of composition. I can’t even remember her name but I do remember that much of my writing abilities can be attributed to this nice woman. And so, I say THANK YOU. This blog wouldn’t be the same high quality it is today (HA!) were it not for her.
6. Do you say grace at mealtime?
I never really have. Same as with going to church, I always felt that I could talk to God/Universe/Spirit whenever I wanted and didn’t need a specified time. But I agree that it’s probably a nice ritualistic thing to do.
7. Name one thing you take for granted everyday.
That my car starts and I get to work close to the time I am supposed to be there!
8. Have you ever looked back at your life and realized that something you thought was a bad thing was actually a blessing in disguise?
Like many who answer this question, I can say yes. Relationships and jobs are where this shows up most for me. This song by Garth Brooks fits.
Unanswered Prayers / Garth Brooks
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers
9. What are the top five things you are most grateful for in your life?
1. My health which is quite good, all considered. (More on this shall be discussed in another post. Visit with the dentist today indicates I did not win big in the healthy teeth lottery.)
2. My life: I have a nice home, loving family, friends and pets, money in the bank and the freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want to do it. (Or not!)
3. The skills I have as an empath and intuitive – wouldn’t be who I am today without them.
4. David Cook (what? Shut up. I love him.) I’ve met some great people in Cooklandia and had lots of fun. Along with LOLcats, DC is my happy place.
5. My new laptop – fast, shiny and cool. Now if only I could figure out how to keep my fingers on the keyboard so my thumb doesn’t hit the mousepad and inadvertantly wipe out everything I’ve just written. That is quite a tragedy when you’re writing a damn long post, kids. Lemme tell ya!
** Here’s a shoutout to my buddy Charlie Jubb with whom I have been reunited (thanks to Facebook!). He told me my blog was “well written and interesting” – clearly
he’s hallucinating but I will take the compliment just the same. We were bestest buddies in college and beyond and I was so happy to see him appear on Facebook.
(Waves to CJ!)
The American Idol Meme // You be the judge!
1. Do you watch American Idol? I do. With the exception of the David Cook season (7), I had only watched one other season. I didn’t follow last year but decided I may as well get in on the fun with my snarky Twitter pals.
2. Who is your favorite judge? Simon, because he’s the only one with a clue about anything. Randy is useless, Kara is an embarrassment and I had high hopes for Ellen that didn’t quite pan out.
3. Who is your favorite contestant this season and why?
While I think Crystal is a great singer, I just can’t get excited about her. I rather like Siobhan because she’s a big dork and proud of it and it looks like she’s trying to expand and grow. The only other contestant I’ve seen do that is Lee D.
4. Who is your least favorite contestant this year and why? I am very put off by Big Mike’s theatrics. It really does come off as insincere and just too much. He has a good voice and if he’d stop with the other crap, he’d be more popular. (Also, I think he’s got a bit of an anger issue. I saw it just below the surface and it really bothered me. Don’t know for sure but that’s what I saw and it changed my view of him.)
5. Have you ever actually voted via text message? Dude! You should have seen me on the finale night voting for Cookie – I was using the land line, cell phone, texting and had jerry-rigged something on the computer to vote. For four hours straight. I have never before done it and I most likely never will again.
6. Is there a part of the show you find really annoying? I’m with Gal on this: hate the “Up with People” lip sync part and yeah, the commercials are pretty stupid.
7. What is your overall opinion of the show this season? Really meh. Most of the contestants are not of a very high calibre and while I know they are picked to evoke “types”, surely they could have done a little better. It’s a good year to be snarky on the Twitter. Lots of stuff to snark about.
8. Do you like Simon Cowell as a judge? What do you think of his judging style? Like I said, he’s the one who has a clear, definitive idea of what he’s looking for and in most cases, I think he’s on the mark. (Except when he’s busting on Cookie and then …. well. That was what drove the four hours of calling and texting. I would NOT have Simon take down my sekrit bf.)
9. Is Ellen DeGeneres qualified to be an American Idol singing judge? I thought she would bring some good observations about performance style and what it takes to be successful as a performer but I must have been on planet Xenon when I thought that. I don’t think she knows what her role is yet and that’s too bad. I thought she could have brought the Paul(er) empathy and add some critique and funny. Not so much, no.
10. If you could pick a song to sing on the show this week, what would your song choice be and why? You do NOT want me to sing on the show. I’d make TUrban look like Pavarotti!
11. Who is your favorite all-time American Idol winner? If you like, post a video of their performance. Hmm. This is a tough one. LOL Yeah. Right. If you don’t know who it is, I urge you to scroll your ass down on the sidebar and look at the photos of him. And I’d post a video but you all have seen them a million, billion times. You know who he is. :-)
In the “Better late than never” category, I present: Songs in the key of (my) life.
It’s a simple NAME THAT TUNE meme with a Mimi twist.
The Rules : Once you have been tagged (or commanded by the Queen) you are supposed to write down the top 25 SEVEN songs you cannot live without. The ones you can listen to over and over and never get tired of. They don’t have to be in any particular order. These are the songs that make you laugh, cry, think of an old friend, whatever the reason. I know it’s impossible for many of us to narrow it down to seven. There are just too many songs. Instead, make a list of seven songs that move you personally and tell us why. What memory does the song evoke? What emotion? Where were you when you first heard it? We’d like to know what’s in your musical memory bank. Name seven songs and tell us about your emotional connection to the song.
Fair enough?
Let’s get started!
1. Heart of Gold / Neil Young
My dad used to call me his “heart of gold” and whenever this song came on, he’d always say “that’s my girl”. The last Christmas he was alive (1974), he gave me a lovely gold heart with the inscription “my heart of gold” on the back. I still have it and love it and every single time I hear that song, I think of him and smile.
2. Babylon / David Grey
This song speaks to me big time with these lyrics: “Let go of your heart, let go of your head and feeel it now ….” –> that’s me in a nutshell kiddies. Love this song with a passion. Will never, ever not love it.
3. Sweet thing – Chaka Khan and Rufus
Happened to hear this song today and realized how much I love it. It’s got soul, it’s got longing, it’s got the sexay … “ohhh sweet thang, oh you know you’re my everything ….” The version I saw today was Prince and Chaka singing (well, he accompanied her mostly on guitar but also on voice a bit) and it was such a fabulous performance. (This song is my sensual side that stays on the downlow. If I could put voice to it, this would be it. Keep that a secret, k?)
4. Float On – Modest Mouse
Lauren’s theme song for the last months of her life. She had an amazing spirit and this quirky little song helped her keep moving forward when it was difficult. Always this one for my sweetie.
5. Time after Time – Cyndi Lauper
This one reminds me of my mom – back in the MTV heyday, I would force my poor mother to watch hours and hours of videos with me (don’t ask why – I have no idea other than I was a goof even then.) The woman who played Cyndi Lauper’s mother in the video looked like my mom a bit so I sort of associated the two somehow. This sort of became my song with my mom - “if you fall I will catch you, I’ll be waiting … time after time.” That was how it was with my mom. She caught me when I stumbled. That’s what moms do. (Love this song – played it for her at my wedding.)
6. “Wish you were here” – Incubus
Love this song for several reasons – one of them being the imagery of this line: “the ocean looks like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket” - I just love that. Also too – it has major sentimental meaning to me.
7. Knocks me off my feet – Stevie Wonder (speaking of Songs in the key of life)
My nearly perfect high school boyfriend played piano beautifully and learned this song just so he could impress me with it. More than that, though, at his senior prom, I recall us dancing to it and he sang the chorus to me: “Oh but I love you, I love you, I love you … more and more” – Can you imagine a 17 year old singing that truly from his heart? It was a sweet, sweet moment – one I remember 33 years later.
The Most Annoying Christmas Meme Ever ( Fruitcakes Abound!)
1. What is the most annoying Christmas song?
I think I mentioned already the horrifying “Grandma and her peculiar but fatal incident with a deer of some sort” and also those damn barking dogs so this time I’ll say Alvin & the Chipmunks screech-fest. Oh, my bleeding ears!
2. Name one annoying thing that happens to you each time you get together with your family during the holidays.
Hmmm, treading thin ice on this question since some of those same members (occasionally) read this here blog.
So, let me retreat back in time when a certain cousin of mine who shall remain nameless (cough*shewhohatesme*cough) made us all open our presents in age order (starting with the oldest). Each person had to sit and wait while the others opened their gifts. She was the youngest (at that time) and made a big show of taking off the wrapping paper, folding it just so and generally making sure we were all paying attention to her and her lovely gifts. The first year we didn’t spend with that part of the family, we tore into our presents – age rule be dammed! It took us like five minutes to open them all and it was only 8:30pm. We had a whole night to kill. Since then, we have a much more middle-of-the-road way to do it where it doesn’t take five hours or five minutes because neither one of those are too fun. Just saying.
3. What is eggnog? Think about it. Does anybody really know?
I don’t know and I’m not wasting that much brain power on it. It tastes icky to me and it also has eleventy-billion calories and I know it’s not worth half that. So, go on with your nog self. Drink up! I will be in the corner with a cosmo.
4. Don’t take this personally but there are lots of fruitcakes walking around. Have you encountered any real live nuts lately?
There are tons of them on the internets, baybeee! Have you seen this site? Or this one? Are you sure you want me to go on?
5. Why were the nine Lords a’leaping in those annoying tights???!
I loved Gal’s answer: Chafing – that can surely be a bitch. You’d leap too!
6. What is the most annoying Christmas gift you’ve ever received?
Annoying? I don’t think I’ve gotten anything annoying. Useless, perhaps. But not annoying.
7. Let’s admit it: Christmas, with all its splendor and goodwill, can also be a pain in the royal patootie. How do you plan to circumvent annoyances this year and enjoy the season?
I did what little shopping I had to do via the interwebs, made and ate some really good Italian cookies, and I enjoy looking at all the pretty lights. They make me happy. Also too – presents. Loves me some presents. As Cartman sings “Oh holy night, the night when I get presents” (heh)
The Queen’s Meme – Duchovny Style
1. When is the last time someone did something EXtra-special for you?
One of the nice people for whom I did a reading from my Thanksgiving offer posted this lovely comment in the thread:
I want to chime in and add my great appreciation for you and for your true gift. Thank you for being of service. I would not hesitate to recommend you to others, and any reading this. That made my heart happy.
2. Name one EXciting thing that happens in your life daily. It’s pretty amazing that I get paid to do such an easy (if at times frustrating) job.
3. Tell us the good, the bad and the uglies of your online EXperiences.
The Good: I can look up stuff about anything that floats into my head. I love being able to do that.
The Bad: Picking up people’s energies from their written word. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been barfed on.
The Ugly: I’m with Gal on her People of Walmart comment. Have these people no friends?
4. What makes an ordinary day EXtraordinary and EXceptional?
Cookies!! They are the best things ever! (And possibly some pumpkin coffee too)
5. Name one embarrassing incident you had to EXplain to your mother when you were a child. I had to try to explain to my mom how my friend Lisa came back from a walk with her boyfriend Steve with her shirt buttoned up the wrong way. (We were 15, it was a party and Lisa was gone for a L O N G time. Yeah, mom wasn’t happy when she finally returned … disheveled. I mostly stayed out of it.)
6. If you could FedEX yourself anywhere in the world, where would you go?
To a beach somewhere with adult beverages, men of my choosing and mashed potatoes. Alcohol, men (of my choosing – that means you, David Cook and you too Eddie Izzard) and comfort food. That’s me in a nutshell (or a nuthouse, more likely).
7. Who would you like to EXray and why?
The aforementioned David Cook so that I can definitively answer the question as to whether size 13 shoes equate to … uh, equally sized boy parts. (Well, you asked!)
Queen Mimi has had a rough couple of months and has written of it so beautifully on her blog. Her dad passed away two weeks ago and how well I know the days after you lose someone, whether it’s to a long term illness, a car accident or some other devastating way, are so very hard to get through. Things seem almost surreal for quite a long time.
I hold to the belief that each soul leaves the physical in their own way and in agreement with their soul’s wishes. When Lauren was ill, I prayed that she would get better, of course. I even tried to bargain with God to take me instead of her. In the end, though, I prayed for whatever was her soul’s desire and if that was to leave us now, so be it. Can I tell you how hard that was? I remember doing the same thing with my dad when I was just 14. I hung out in the hospital waiting room praying for him to be out of pain and if that meant he had to leave, so be it.
Which is not to say that I don’t miss him, Lauren or my mom. It took me many years to come to terms with losing my dad. I still work through bouts of sadness about my mom and I can say without hesitation that there will never come a day when I don’t think about or miss Lauren. I am so thankful that I had this blog to write out all my feelings as I was going through it. It helps me realize how much I’ve processed and gotten through in the past three years.
So, I send a loving thought to Mimi who is a wonderful writer able to really, really connect with others by her words. She will find her peace (and is, in fact, doing that) as she continues to walk her path, learning lessons along the way.
1. How do you find your own personal peace/nirvana?
Uh, should I divulge how much I wish to sit in the closet? I have? Oh hell. I have no secrets from you (three) do I? Well, sitting in the silence (closet or not) is what restores me. I kind of go off the edge if I don’t get my quiet time. Good thing I don’t have kids or responsibilities or anything, right?
2. Where do you go to find respite and solace? Is there a particular place, city, country, room in your house?
Besides the closet, you mean? I like my bedroom. It’s big, it’s all mine and I’m surrounded by books. It’s one of my safe places.
3. Who is the most peace-loving person you know? What makes them so?
I work with a really, really great guy named Fred. He has such loving and peaceful energy and I can’t even really explain it other than he looks content in his own skin. He always has a ready smile and a kind word. I hope I can be like Fred when I grow up.
4. What do you do when your inner peace is threatened?
You’re making me mention the closet again. I retreat inward. That’s after I go cry in the bathroom or something. Fortunately, it’s not often threatened.
Do you have a strategy, a routine, religious faith, a mantra……to calm yourself down?
I talk to my angels, write in my journal and sit in the silence.
5. What is your favorite comfort food?
Oh good lord – what ISN’T a comfort food for me?? (cooked carrots, of course! DUH!) Pudding, rotini pasta, and bread pudding.
6. Do you have a pet that brings you happiness and peace? If not, what type of animals bring you peaceful thoughts?
My kitty cats have always been my sweet little lovey creatures. When I had four of them, they all slept in the bed with me. Yes, folks, I can sleep just fine with four cats on top of me. There’s nothing like the sound of a purring cat.
7. What is your favorite peace song?
I’ll be there by Escape Club – reminds me that my loved ones in Spirit aren’t so far away as it seems on my sad days.
8. Did you post a peace globe on November 5th and participate in BlogBlast For Peace?
I did! And you can read it here.
And on that note, peace out, kids.
1. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done in the name of love?
When I was 23, I worked as a receptionist. One of our phone clients and I struck up a friendship and he was always saying he was going to come in to see me and that I wouldn’t know it was him but he’d know it was me. I somehow wangled out of him where he worked and my friend and I drove there to look at him. The next time he made a comment about seeing me first I said “I have seen your ass already.” (yes, I actually said that to a client. I was young, what can I say?) He swore I hadn’t but I named all the landmarks in the area and he had to concede I had. You can bet he came in shortly thereafter to meet me but I had won because I saw him first. heheh (It wasn’t love but admit it, it’s a good story!)
2. How much mystery should there be in a relationship? Is it a good thing or not?
Depends on the nature of the relationship. If you’ve been in it for 10 years, mystery probably goes out the window. 10 minutes? Then mystery is fun. Some people are mysterious and let you in bit by bit and that’s when it’s the best because you know they trust you. I like that.
3. Is there someone in the blogosphere you’d like to get to know more intimately? Have you been too shy to ask? Let me help you. Write a 3 sentence anonymous blove letter to them in this meme. Leave a link if you dare. (I promise not to tell!) “Dear Blogger, I’ve been meaning to tell you for the longest time that I ___________etc etc”
I don’t have a blogger about whom I feel that way but there is a poster over on Ask MeFi who is really good at how s/he responds to certain questions.
Someone posted this question:
My parents split about a year ago. My father has started dating under unusual circumstances, and it makes me somewhat angry. Am I overreacting? How can I find peace with the situation?
The poster’s response (which I loved):
There is no such thing as overreacting. There is a such thing as overreacting to your emotions.
That is to say that you are as angry as you are and denying that does no good, but you don’t have to react to your anger via displaying it or acting in an offensive manner. It isn’t the feeling, it is the acting out of the feeling. Just squelching things won’t work.
I’ve read back over some of their answers and love the calm and straightforward way s/he responds. No idea who they are, not a love thing at all but just a cool admiration thing. Anyone who can communicate well (as I feel s/he does) is tops in my book.
4. Describe a “perfect evening” with the one you love.
Let’s see, a perfect evening with the sekrit boyfriend (he counts, right? I mean, I’d have to ask his band members if they’ll let him have the night off and all but I think they’ll say yes.) Pizza and movies, I think. Or dancing. And pizza. A beer or two, perhaps. Drunken singing is also fun. Let’s go with pizza, beer, dancing and singing.
5. If you are in a relationship, describe the one thing that makes it work well for you. If you are not in a relationship, do you want to be? If so, what type of romance are you looking for? What would it look like in your life?
What has worked for me in any relationship I’ve had is space of my own. I’m not a “need to be with you 24/7″ kind of chick. In fact, I can’t stand being with MYself 24/7! heh If the other person has interests and activities they do on their own, I am more than happy to honor that. I like my time alone. (I *need* my alone time, I think.)
6. If you had to choose between having good sex (I told you not to let your mother read this) OR intelligent conversation on a regular basis, which would you choose and why?
Can I have good sex and then intelligent conversation? Intelligent convo leading to wild hot sex? How about arguing with someone of the opposite political persuasion until we are thrashing about in bed taking out our aggressions on each other? Oh my. I seem to have gone in a whole other direction with this question, haven’t I? Must I choose? Okay. The sex one, then. Thrashing optional.
and finally…..a purely selfish question:
7. I’ve got the Bloggingham Blues. What type of man is right for Queen Mimi Pencil Skirt? Do any of you see love in her foreseeable future? What do you suggest I do to spice up my love life? What am I doing wrong????!
You need an imaginative, free-spirited and fun-loving man. I think wearing your tiara around town would signal your uniqueness to all and attract just the right suitor. Well, either that or someone with a royalty fetish which could also be fun in the meantime! heheh
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