BoTB ~ Baby, Now That I've Found You

 Fellow bloggers, once again blogging has gotten away from me. I could say I was disheartened by my last Battle of the Bands (true), but that isn't the sum total of what's going on here. Never is, right? I'm struggling a bit with "where do I go from here?" given that life is beginning to look more positive for me.

I confess that I did have a bad bout with migraines a few days ago. Interestingly enough, I think it's because I'm also having trouble with my sinuses (allergies?), which caused my vestibular issues to become issues (again) and my migraines to become problematic (again). I really thought I was in for another ear infection, which was really bad (understatement), and I freaked out for about two days. My ENT doctor confirmed there was no infection, but lots of drainage, which probably started it all. BUT, the really interesting thing for me was having the migraine again. It was two days of pure hell, which turned into enlightenment when I grasped that was EVERY day for fourteen years. Fourteen years. This all began in January 2003. Those two days were miserable, but when I remembered that every day used to be like those two days... well, let's just say gratitude became the prevailing attitude.

Anyway, I shall endeavor to be better in the next week about visiting your blogs. I really appreciate taking this journey with you.

On to the battle at hand! My friend, Stephen T. McCarthy, consulted his Magic 8 Ball on this battle (after getting a whiny response from me about my last battle results). Oh wait... what were those results? Dolly Parton stomped all over Al Green and Annie Lennox until their egos were the size of my pinkie finger. Dolly ran away with 12 votes (inc mine) while Al and Annie only netted 3. It was very sad. So, Stephen lent me an ear and offered to consult on my potential match-up. According to Magic 8 Ball, The Foundations are going to heartily beat Alison Krauss (my two contenders today) by 2 to 1. Even so, I'm going forth with this battle. I think Magic 8 Ball might be off on those odds. The Foundations has familiarity going for them since they recorded this song first, but Alison Krauss sings like an angel (in my humble opinion). So, let the battle begin!

The song is Baby, Now That I've Found You. I'll let The Foundations go first (since they actually recorded it first).


And, here is Alison Krauss.



Please vote for the version of this song you prefer. If you want to get into the Ins and Outs of why you like one better than the other... I LOVE long comments!

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles. I've stopped trying to keep up with who is running a battle and who isn't. To see who is participating, go here: Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog.

I Can't Believe We've Circled Back to This: Boundary Issues, Part I of whatever

I considered not even posting this because... let's face it: tomorrow is Battle of the Bands, and this post will be covered up (and mostly not read) pretty quickly. However, interesting discoveries happening here. So, maybe I'll this a Part One of Two? Three? Four? and link back to this one with the rest a la Stephen T. McCarthy style.

First, I appreciate the THOUGHTFUL comments from so many of you on my last post. Several of you expressed concern that something you might say could or would hurt my feelings. Alas, not so. I wanted to hear something other than my own thoughts, and you gave them! Thank you!

Here is the rundown on Christmas, bullet point style:

• First, the shocker (not): He didn't show up.
• I took FAE's suggestion in the comments and steered the conversation to other topics. Good idea! Though, it was a lot of work. I've discovered that I'm a person who's comfortable with silence. Constant talking just wears me out. So, after two days of this (Christmas Eve and Christmas)... exhausted.
• We ate cheese spaghetti (I know this was on ALL of your minds), and it was delicious.
• We watched the movie Must Love Dogs. For those of you not in the know about this film... It's a divorced woman (Diane Lane) and a divorced man (John Cusack) who are both thrown into the online dating world by well-meaning family (her) and friend (him). She has many disastrous dates (with people who live in the country and show up) and a pseudo-disastrous first date with the Cusack character. Why? Dating is hard. Online dating is really hard. 
• What I hoped mom would take away from this movie was that even people who date online have an expectation of a face-to-face meeting fairly quickly (and it will suck 9 times out of 10). Ergo, being "in love" with and expecting to marry someone you've never actually met... RIDICULOUS.
• Did she take that away? I don't think so. Oh well.

Here is the trailer for Must Love Dogs. It's a cute movie.





In the second part of this installment, we shall move on to what I learned from a dream that became even more clear in therapy and how much work I still have to do.  (That could also be the third and fourth parts, because there was A PLETHORA of emotional gold--aka issues--to mine here.) I can't wait to bare my soul for you people so you understand how truly f#cked up I am, but it's really my parents' fault... hahahaha... you know, because they raised me this way;)

If you're thinking we didn't discuss boundary issues, trust me... they are THERE. You just aren't ready for them yet. (Imagine this in my best Jack Nicholson voice.) You can't handle the truth.

Well, you can. And you will. Just not today. See you in January. Happy New Year friends!!!!

Battle of the Bands, Migraine City, and Death Knocks

I totally forgot to post the results for the 7/15 edition of Battle of the Bands. Once again, you surprised me. Since the original recording tends to garner the most votes, I thought most of you "older" folks would have voted for Old Crow Medicine Show. I have this theory that we tend to like the familiar. I had never heard the original before, but it was just a bit before my time. Turns out I was wrong about the familiarity factor OR this song just wasn't as popular as I thought for Old Crow Medicine Show... and my "older" voters heard it for the first time here. I am taking the long way around to say that Darius Rucker ran away with this one. Darius got 19 of your votes (add mine to that total) and Old Crow Medicine Show only got three votes. I thank all three of you who voted for them. So glad it wasn't a shut-out. Anyway, there will be something new and different on the 1st for Battle of the Bands -- no idea what yet... but it will be fun!

I also want to take a minute to apologize for not getting round to reading your blogs as well as I would have liked. It has been Migraine City here and just flat-out difficult to do anything. Hence, there is no HERE'S TO YOU post this week. I hope to do better (and feel better) this upcoming week. So, look for it next week. ::crossing fingers::

If you follow Jay Noel's blog, then you are already aware that one of his favorite topics is anything science related. He particularly likes Weird Science. Yeah, I now have that song by Oingo Boingo playing in my head. If you want to hear it, too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm-upHSP9KU

Anyway, that wasn't really where this was going. A while back Jay wrote a fascinating blog bit about kids with black eyes. It was creepy. I loved it. Turns out that his blogging about these kids brought about a collaboration between Jay and Miranda Hardy to write a novel with this premise. How cool is that???? If you didn't read the original post on these creepy kids, I encourage you to do so by clicking HERE.

And now for the ACTUAL BOOK...

Who knew a knock at the door could rupture your entire world? They don’t demand money or possessions…they want much more than that, they want your life.

Maverick is preparing for senior year: he’s no longer stuck in the “friend-zone” with the girl of his dreams, he’s looking forward to choosing the right college and being on his own, and he plans to have a blast along the way.

But a knock on the door changes all of that forever.

Maverick begins a mind-altering, life-changing journey to discover the truth—a truth that certain individuals will do anything to keep hidden.

Death Knocks is a Young Adult paranormal thriller about the strange global phenomenon known as the Black-Eyed Kids. Take a creepy and exciting ride in a world where myth meets reality.
Death Knocks is scheduled for publication on September 26, 2014 by Quixotic Publishing.

Quixotic Publishing
Miranda Hardy
Jay Noel

T IS FOR TRAIN

My ex-husband loves to go to concerts.  I cannot tell you how many concerts that I went to when we were married.  I liked concerts well enough before my constant migraine started.  After that, not so much.  However, he was not to be deterred.  One of the many bands that we saw in our Tour De Force of concert-going was Train.  I had never heard of this band, and I wasn't excited about the event.  The only good thing about this concert, in my mind, was that we didn't have to travel to see them.  They were playing right in our town.  That was a Big Win.  Now, this was everything I thought BEFORE the concert.

The year was 2003, and they were playing at an outdoor venue.  This was excellent news for my migraine.  They recently released My Private Nation and were touring for that album.  Little did I know that I was about to be WOWED.  I loved this band.  I bought a T-Shirt before I left.  The ex-husband did not.  I started buying their CDs.  The ex-husband did not. 

The ex-husband did continue to buy concert tickets for other bands at all sorts of locations, so I saw Train again.  This time they were with Smashmouth and Natalie Merchant.  The venue was indoors and they were still awesome.  I only liked them more, because this time I knew more of their songs (thanks to the CDs).  Pat Monahan is amazing in concert.  He has this ability to relate to the audience that is rare.  He is a funny, funny man.  Yet, he can be serious, too.  He can literally wring every emotion out of you in one musical outing.

Like many people, I feared that Train was done when they disbanded after For Me, It's You.  However, they pulled it together and made Save Me, San Francisco.  They toured on that record for a LONG time while they decided where to go from here.  Their most recent album, California 37 is one of their best.  Each track has legs and can stand on its own merit.  In that way it reminds me of the much-loved My Private Nation, which I about wore the grooves off of back in 2003-2004. 

Here's to you, Train, and your successful comeback.  This is one of my favorite songs off of My Private Nation.  It was never released on the radio, but this video shows Pat Monahan's wonderful "presence" in concert.  You save me, and I will save the day!

Rating: Passion


What is your favorite Train song? Have you ever seen them in concert? Have you ever gone to a concert and been taken surprise by a band or singer?  Either liked them much better or not as well as you thought you would?  Have you ever gone to a concert that had a group/singer you didn't even know and you liked them so much you started buying their CDs or even bought a concert Tee?

It is what you do at that crucial moment.

I checked my email today and JJ asked me when I was going to be ready to blog again. He was looking for a specific date. I know that he meant regularly. I used to be a daily blogger. I am not there yet. I don't when I will be. However, I will try to be better than I have been. I don't think not blogging is doing me any favors, so I will just commit to trying to being better than I have been.

Emptynester commented on my last post with a question about my migraines. Yes, I do have them all of the time. I have had this migraine since 2003. Every day. The only thing that varies is the level of severity. Sometimes it is really terrible. I call those bonecrushing. That is my own term. Other times it is more of a nuisance. I don't even take anything for it. It still wears on me just because it is chronic. It is like being tapped all of the time in the head with a tiny little hammer on those days. It doesn't really hurt. It is just annoying to the nth degree. Sadly, I haven't experienced a migraine like that in a long time. It has been all pain, all the time since my dad was diagnosed in February. Simply brutal.

I also get them behind my right eye. One of my friends who also get migraines says that if you stick a finger up each nostril far enough and press, you will find a spot that is very painful, but it will knock out that ocular part of the migraine. Well... in desperation I tried this little trick. My nostrils aren't wide enough to accommodate my fingers. I could just barely touch the painful area she was referring to, but she was right, because it did hurt. I could just barely reach the place inside my nostril that I was supposed to press together firmly. Just touching the periphery on both sides was excruciating. I cannot imagine the pain of actually being able to reach the area and smashing it together. I think I might have passed out. This stuff just isn't for sissies. Let me tell ya.

I did see the Green Lantern in 3D with a friend of mine. Not being a big comic book reader (sorry Phoenix, I hope you didn't hurt yourself), I really wasn't prepared for the awesomeness of this superhero. Our Green Lantern is only one of many Green Lanterns. They each have a grid in the solar system to protect. They get a ring and a lantern. They are chosen because they are fearless. That is one concept that gets worked over pretty good in the movie. Actually fear gets discussed quite a bit, but I don't want to ruin it for you. However, one thing our hero doesn't really get is that Green Lanterns aren't chosen because they are fearless. They are chosen because of their courage. No one is fearless. Everyone has fear. It is what you have at your core. It is what you do at that crucial moment. That is what counts. That is courage. It is the ability to overcome fear and do what needs to be done.

The other thing that I liked best about the Green Lantern is what fuels the Green Lantern's power. It is the will of the people. In other words, the Green Lantern might wear the ring, but he is only as strong as the will of the people. We are what make the Green Lantern strong. And all of the other living beings in the Universe fuel all of the Green Lanterns. The other superpower that Green Lantern has is to create any object simply by thinking of it. If he can think it, it will appear. It is through his sheer will. This is how he fights evil.

What a fantastic object lesson. It is through sheer will that you fight evil. Everyone is afraid, but digging deep and finding courage, you find yourself. If you think it, it will appear. If you focus on it, it will become reality.

You may be asking yourself right now why I am not focusing all of that amazing energy on ridding myself of my migraines. Excellent question, Holmes. I can't focus. Believe me, I have tried. That is the trap of chronic pain. I have tried. The key to achieving vibration with something and bringing it into your life is to be able to maintain focus on what you want (and not what you don't want). And when you have bonecrushing migraines you just can't keep your focus off of them. At least, I can't. And that, my friend, keeps them in your reality even though you don't want them. I need to break the pain cycle long enough to keep my attention off of them, so that they are out of my reality. Once that happens, well then we are off to the races. I know what needs to be done. And I think *pretty soon* we are going to get there.

I think I will start focusing on that reality. I will let you know how it works out.

In other news... I am dreaming about my dad nearly every night. I can't remember any of the dreams. Or just fragments. I am sure he just wants me to know he is okay. And just once, about a week ago, he dropped in on me. We prearranged before he died that he would let me know he was around by "perfuming" the air with apple cider vinegar. I was sitting here at the computer and I got a big whiff of apple cider vinegar out of nowhere. It didn't last long. However, I know that he is letting me know he is fine. Of course, I always knew that. I just miss him.

image by www.weheartit.com

For Those Who Have Heart.

First of all, I hope that no one passes out. Two blogs posts in two days. I know it is scary. Today started off rocky, but it got a bit better. I still am hovering on the line. In migraine terms, it means I feel very nauseated and things could jettison from okay to terrible at any time. Yeah, this isn't thrilling me. So, I am choosing to be okay. In that endeavor, I am embarking on a blog post. That is after having read several of YOUR blog posts. I am determined to not let this migraine take over my life again. Why? Because it is a biotch and once it gets in your head it just doesn't want to leave. Well, that would indicate that it isn't already there. I am determined to not let her crank up the volume any louder. Enough is enough. I think Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer did a song with that theme. In the 80s. Hmmmm. I might have to do some enterprising research on youtube and crank it out for Inspirational music day. There... a positive goal. And a good reason to troll youtube. Fantasmic. And we are off to the races.

I decided that it was way past time to deal with some awards. I have some others that have been on the shelf so long that I have forgotten the nitty gritty on them. Yikes. That is a good reason to handle these asap. This first one has been making the rounds. I have seen it on many of your blogs. It is the Life Is Good award. Yvonne at Writing My Life Away! honored me with it a while ago and I have been remiss in accepting it, answering the questions, and passing it along. I am going with the usual excuse: it was the migraine people. If ever there is a problem on this blog, blame the migraine.



Part one is to thank the person who gave you the award. Thank you, Yvonne. If you haven't yet checked out her blog, I encourage you to take a moment to do so. She runs the gamut from the serious to the comical. Her subject matter is pretty much her life (shocking, eh?) and covers work, dating, friends, and all the other craziness that life hands out. That is where the comical sometimes comes in. Also the sad. As I said, it is a little bit of everything, but it is always honest. And usually short. Totally unlike this long-winded blog. So, it will be a refreshing change for you! Thanks again, Yvonne, for the award! This one came with 10 questions that I have to answer. Let's get started. I will do my best to keep it short (not my long suit...).

1. If you blog anonymously, are you happy doing this? If you aren't anonymous, do you wish you started out anonymously, so that you could be anonymous now?

I am pseudo-anonymous. I know that doesn't really make sense, but some people that I actually know are aware of this blog and might or might not read it. I have purposely kept many people that I know unaware of this blog so that it could be a place where I could write freely.

2. Describe an incident that shows your inner stubborn side

When I was six or so, I strongly resisted making the bed by myself. I already knew on some level that mastery of that event would lead to a lifetime of making my own bed. I don't know how long I got away with "I can't do it" before my mother wised up and called me out. After that, the game was over. She was totally on to me. That tactic never worked again. Very smart woman, my mom.

3. What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?

Dark circles under my eyes. I know that it is from the chronic pain, but that is the one thing that I really hate. Everything else I can live with well enough.

4. What is your favorite summer cold drink?

I pretty much drink water or G2 all of the time now. Every now and then I will drink a Coke. Mostly when we eat out because the water is terrible.

5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?

Blog, read, watch TV. I keep telling myself that I am going to start yoga again. However, my willpower isn't very strong right now and my fibro pain is. Aaaccchhh.

6. Is there something that you still want to accomplish in your life?

Unless you are new to this blog, you have heard oodles about My Big Idea. It isn't going lots of places of right now, but that doesn't mean I am not thinking about it. I am always refining it in my head. I still need email addresses of everyone who reads this blog. You can give me yours by emailing me. That way I can email you my Big Idea letter the next time I send it out. I am keeping a list of email addys. I have a website to build, houses to build, lives to change. Did I mention that I am on a mission to save the world? Yep. Big Idea. And I could use your help. Email me. Seriously.

7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever, the shy person, or always ditching?

I was a fairly good student until the 9th grade. Then I became an excellent student. My Bs mingled with a few As became straight As. My mother was shocked at the first report card. I straightened her out. "Mom, from hereon out it goes on my permanent record." The way she tells it, she says I spoke to her in a voice like everyone should know this important information. I think I must have thought a lot of myself. LOL. From the 10th grade on, I didn't even take lunch. Yeah, I had to get a note from the parents each year to opt out, but I had too many other things going on. No time for lunch. I graduated with a 4.0 GPA from high school. And I had lots of extra curriculars. I think we can all say that I was an over achiever. Did anyone ditch in high school? Seriously???? Dang. There was too much going on! Stuff to learn to get into college. No time for ditching.


8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment in your life, what would you see?

When I was little one of my favorite places to be was in my dad's lap with my icy cold feet under his legs. He never complained.

The vacations I took with my best friend Jennifer, and her family, to Kiawah Island in high school. The car ride alone was hilarious and, to this day, we crack up just talking about it. The car ride, that is.

When my first boyfriend told me he loved me. It was at night on the beach. It felt like something out of a movie. It really couldn't have been more perfect. First love is magic.

I could go on and on. Memories are cherished things.

9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog, or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people and events?

I think that I tend to blather on and on about me. You guys probably know way more than you want to about the World of Robin. I pretty much don't hold anything back. Excruciatingly honest. I am not sure that everyone is comfortable with that. My followers keeps going up and down. I don't worry about it. That much honesty just isn't for everyone!

10. If you had the choice to sit down and read a book or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?

It all depends on the day. Seriously. Some days I don't feel up to either task. I don't really want to talk to people because I don't feel well. And it hurts my head to read. Other times I think that reading is important to pull me out of something if I can read. It is an excellent distraction. And any distraction is a good one. As for the phone thing, it can be wonderful. I love to laugh and whatnot. So, those phone calls are always good. That laughter is the best medicine.... I think that there is something to that. I know that I really didn't answer the question, but really how do you choose? I love both!



That was seriously very tiring. I wrote way too much. So, I am going to save the other award for tomorrow. Or the next time I blog. Now I am going to pass this one on to others deserving of the honor. Who am I kidding? If I follow your blog, you are deserving of the honor. I am going to try and remember if you have received it or not and do my best not to regift it to anyone who has already been there, done that.



JJ The Disconnected Writer


Liza at Middle Passages


Sharon at Musings of a Mercurial Woman


Kim at Saving My Life

Manzanita at Wanna Buy a Duck

Now, I can't think of a time that I haven't honored Purple Cow when I get honored. However, she retired her Australian in Athens blog and started a new one called Letters to Imaginary Friends. Well, as you can imagine it is just what it implies: letters. I gave her an award the last time I received one, and she appreciated it, but couldn't quite figure out how to work it into a letter. It was quite the dilemma. So, Purple Cow, if you can figure out how to manipulate this award into a letter, it is yours. I challenge you to do it. There. This is me throwing down the gauntlet. Let's see just how good you are... I am waiting to be impressed. And I'm not worried.

Well, that is all I have for today. Keep writing peeps so that I can come up with a decent Thursday. We can't have a sucky Thursday after a No Thursday. That would be dreadful. So write, write, write, and write some more. Now I am done.

image found at www.weheartit.com