Timing Is Everything.

Well, I figured out what my post with the "L" should be in my alphabet soup series. Lessons. The trouble there is I can talk about that for a long time. That could be a series of posts all on its own.


I read a post by Corrinne over at Everyday Gyann a week or more ago on lessons. It was actually something she excerpted on lessons. I can't remember it precisely, but the gist of it was that a lesson comes in phases. First is getting that it is a lesson. That still does you really no good if you don't take it further. There was a second point which took it deeper, and I can't remember what that one was, but it still wasn't enough. The only time that you really benefit from the lesson is when you are using the lesson. In other words, you have to apply it in order for the lesson to have benefited you at all. Taking it further yet, you may continue to get the lesson until you apply it. Now, that is fine motivation to get up and start putting it into practice. They call them lessons for a reason: because they are hard. They hurt. They suck. Etc.

Saw the movie Country Strong yesterday. Really good movie. I am always a bit surprised when they cast non-singers in singing roles and it works. Tim McGraw was the only big name country singer, and he didn't sing in the movie. In fact, I looked up the soundtrack and he only sings one duet on there with Gwyneth Paltrow. I was shocked. More on the soundtrack later. For those of you not in the know on this movie. Here is the trailer. Give it a quick watch, so you are up to speed.



Just from watching the trailer, you can already see that the movie is full of potential lessons. One of the best lines going in the trailer: "Don't take someone out of rehab before they're rehabbed." Yep. That would be a lesson. Even a moron can see the potential for disaster there. Fame puts an enormous amount of stress on a person. Pulling someone out of rehab early and immediately throwing them on a tour bus just probably isn't the smartest choice (she says with tongue in cheek).

Here is a short clip from the movie that is one of my favorites and is going to lend itself to where I am going in this blog.



That little clip from the beginning of the movie is how the song Timing Is Everything started to come together. Beau, played by Garrett Hedlund, finished it at the end. Here is the whole song. This is not an official video. Garrett Hedlund doesn't even sing it on the soundtrack. They had Trace Adkins record it for the soundtrack. I suppose that they wanted a "name" for it since it is such a great song. In my opinion, that is a shame, because Garrett Hedlund sings it better. And that is coming from a Trace Adkins fan. Sorry Trace. Here's the video. Listen to the lyrics, because that is the topic for today's yammering.



Timing is everything. "When the stars line up, and you catch a good break, people think you're lucky, but you know it's grace. It can happen so fast or a little bit late. Timing is everything. I know I've had close calls, when it could have been me. I was young when I learned how fragile life can be. I lost friends of mine, I guess it wasn't my time. Timing is everything. And I could have been a child that God took home. And I would have been one more unfinished song. And when it seems the rhyme is hard to find, that's when one comes along just in time. I remember that day when our eyes first met. You ran into the building to get out of the rain, because you were soaking wet. And as I held the door, you wanted to know my name. Timing is everything. And I could have been another minute late. And you never would have crossed my path that day. And when it seems true love is hard to find. That's when love comes along just in time. You can call it fate or destiny. Sometimes it really seems like it's a mystery, because you can be hurt by love or healed by the same. Timing is everything. And it can happen so fast or a little bit late. Timing is everything."

I am one of those people who wants to make things happen once they get the lesson. However, timing is everything. Trying to do too much for me before I really have my migraines under control is akin to pulling someone out of rehab before they are rehabbed. Not smart. However, when you are ready, it can happen so fast... timing is everything. And people will say that you got lucky, but you will know better. But you know it's grace. And timing is everything. You will also know how many hits you took to get to this "lucky place" and are very aware of just how bumpy the ride was, but people don't see that. And the thing that hurt you can be the thing that heals you. Sometimes it really seems like it's a mystery, because you can be hurt by love or healed by the same. Timing is everything. And it can happen so fast or a little bit late. Timing is everything.

I think about starting this blog and all of the people that I have met. Some of you are healthy as horses. Some of you live with chronic pain. Some of you are living your dreams. Some of you are still aspiring to get where you want to go. So, you keep practicing. You have a golden lasso and you keep throwing it out there until you rope in the moon. And it can happen so fast or a little bit late. Timing is everything. Some of you are wanting to meet that someone special. Some of you already have. Some of you have huge goals and have met them. Some of you are in the process of meeting them. Some of you just like to write and this is your personal space to do it. When I started this blog, it was just to keep my sanity. It is still that. But I also got to make a bunch of wonderful friends. And I could have been another minute late. And you never would have crossed my path that day. Timing is everything.




image found at www.weheartit.com

Opening Up My Heart

Merry Christmas Eve friends. I am not embracing my traditional Christmas Eve habits this year. My mother and I usually go out to the mall and watch shoppers from the benches in the "safe zone." It is amusing. There are two kinds of Christmas Eve shoppers: frantic and calm. The frantic ones are clearly on the edge of losing it, and the others may have been there and come back, OR they know that there is no point. This day is just crazy and it is just easier to go with the flow. Expect insanity. Expect rudeness. Expect people to push and shove. You choose to be the one stands still and be the serenity in the midst of the madness. It is a character study in its own way.

This year my mom went with my stepdad. Nothing about the mall is appealing when you have a migraine and the fibro aches and pains are back in full force. Turns out that I was really glad I stayed home because I got a phone call from my hs friend Jennifer. I specify because of all the Jennifers in my life. We have reconnected on the telephone (in addition to email) and had a lovely conversation. I thought about calling her, but decided against. She has kids and I thought she would be WAY too busy on a day like today to get a phone call. Not thirty minutes later, she called me. Too cool. We talked a lot about my Big Idea and some of her stuff. And we reminisced about some old times. It was good to laugh.

Here is my favorite Christmas song (I think) on the serious side. I really like Christmas songs, so this is actually a tough call. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Laugh a lot. Love a lot. And if the mood strikes you, sing for no good reason. Even if there is no music playing. People do it in the movies all the time and it's really cool. Sometimes they start dancing, too. So, sing, dance, laugh, love. Change your clothes 20 times to music and do a montage of some kind. Go for it. And if you do that montage thing, video it, and put it on here, because that would be totally awesome. If I had cooler clothes, I would TOTALLY do that. Love ya peeps. Merry Christmas. And on with the song...




It's love.


image found at www.weheartit.com

JUST LIKE SUMMER OF HEAVEN

Today is that magical music Saturday I promised. Yeah, we ride this merry-go-round every Saturday just because. Just because it's fun. I have a few newbies for this Saturday, so this is the dish on this event: every Saturday I pick one 80s artist who impacted MTV. That means they rode MTV or MTV rode them to success. MTV was this magnificent vehicle for the artists who figured out how to harness it. As a teenager when MTV came out, I can attest that it was very much like crack cocaine to the teenage brain. I can't tell you how many hours I spent glued to the set watching video after video. So, it is safe to say that MTV in its heyday was a success. Music Television. MTV has forgotten its roots and has taken the M out of the TV, so we are reliving its glory days here.

The other part of what happens today is that I pick a song that speaks to me today. I usually end up picking said song today. I picked a song by Cher about a month ago, and said something like you should never count Cher out of The Game. As soon as you do, she is back In. I recently went to see The Easy A (hilarious movie if you are going to just zone out and laugh), and there was a preview for the movie Burlesque.... starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. I did an internal high five with myself. Yep. She's back and hotter than ever. So, prepare yourself for some Cher awesomeness because she is about to blast us into space again. This woman just gets better all of the time. When I decided I wanted to be Cher when I was seven, at least I chose well. She has got it all. So, here she is with one of my favorites. It is designed to get all of your senses heightened so that you are fully prepared for the onslaught of magnificence headed your way. Okay, hit it...




Okay, so on the days that I don't want to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I still want to be Cher. Man, she can SING. I can't wait for her new movie because she can also ACT like nobody's business. And DANCE. The woman is a triple threat. The trifecta. She probably really is a vampire slayer in her free time. Okay, got to move on...

Well, there are always so many artists to choose from that I have trouble narrowing the field. I decided on (drumroll please) Bryan Adams. I almost went with John Cougar Mellencamp. That might be next week. The only thing that prevented that this week was my including one of his videos in my Thursday lineup. It just gave me a taste for some John Mellencamp. And then last night we went to the local pizza joint for dinner and they had karaoke in there. OMG. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't done any karaoke in forever. So... I took the plunge again and again and again. I even sang a John Mellencamp song. Yeah, it was on the brain. But, it made me think about Bryan Adams. They all came out about the same time. And then I remembered the video for this song, which is one of my favorites...



Which made me think of this video. Anyone look familiar?




Now that is exactly the sort of deliciousness that made teenagers want to just jump up and down and scream for more. What happened next? Well, my fellow youtube addicts... I am not telling. You will have to go searching yourself to see if they ever answered that story, or if it all just disappeared into the mist. However, the strategy was brilliant. Everyone was waiting for the next Bryan Adams video. It was better than a soap opera. And it was this sort of brilliance that shot Bryan Adams to the top of the music charts. Not saying he isn't a great singer, or that the songs weren't awesome, but just that he is the whole package. People who are smart enough to use everything that they have and make it all work for them deserve to come out on top. They are THINKING. Rolling concert footage of yourself is just lazy. Gimme some genius. Thank you Bryan Adams for that blast to the past. And thank you MTV for the good ole days. You might think about revisiting them in the present and cut out the reality crap. Everyone has enough reality in their actual life. It is called MTV for a reason. Just sayin'.

INSPIRATIONAL SONG SATURDAY

For those of you keeping up with this blog, this has been a stressful week here at Your Daily Dose. Well, that would actually be me. Stress and migraines do not work and play nice with one another. So.... I have been eating pain pills like candy and still been pretty much feeling like crap. Yeah, we are talking those kind of migraines. It's just been fun fun fun. So, Inspirational Song Saturday is something I have looked forward to pretty much all week. It is the easy blog to write. I don't have to dig deep and do any house cleaning for my mental health. I can just kick back and listen to some tunes. I also get to play around on youtube, yahoo video, and even myspace video (if it comes to that), in an effort to find the videos I am looking for to spotlight an 80s singer or band. Then I begin thinking about what is speaking to me today.

This week I didn't actively start looking for footage for my 80s singer until yesterday, or last night, if we are going to be precise. I had someone in mind and didn't think it would be that hard. Boy was I wrong. The irony here is that this singer had a lot of videos on MTV back in the day. I do not know what happened, but those videos are not anywhere in their original form. That isn't the case for the ALL of the songs, just MOST of the songs. I am not going to tell you who it is, because I am hoping that eventually they will make their way out of the archives and onto youtube. However, I was shocked, and that was immediately followed by scrambling around for someone else to highlight for today. I will get into that story when I get there.

For now, let's start with the video that is inspirational to me. I might as well try to stick to some sort of format. I am sure it won't surprise you when I tell you that I still didn't have a clue what MY Inspirational song was going to be when I woke up this morning. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by a lot of things. At times like that, it is time to put on an upbeat record and dance it out and sing it out. (By the way, I did neither. My voice is froggy and all of my joints hurt. But the thought is nice:-) I had two songs in mind that fit the bill for that, but I don't like the original vids for them. So, I thought about trying to find a video using their music, but clips from something else. That didn't make me happy, either. Are you feeling a theme here? It was at that point that inspiration struck, and I knew the perfect song. I love the song and the video and it couldn't be more on target; it hits me right where I am living now. Maybe it will hit you where you are living, too.

Don't forget to turn off my music player at the bottom of the screen. If you want the video to fill the screen, click the square in the corner. Hit the escape to make it small again.




Build it anyway. Dream it anyway. Believe it anyway. Love them anyway. Sing it anyway. God is great, but life ain't always good. When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should, but I do it anyway. Build. Dream. Believe. Love. Sing. Pray. Do. Anyway.

The person we are going to look at for the 80s is Bonnie Tyler. I don't recall her having that many hit songs. I didn't search her on wikipedia to find out either. There were not that many choices on youtube; however, I am learning that it isn't always that reliable a source after it let me down on first pick for today. Bonnie Tyler has this gravelly voice that just works on some songs. Rod Stewart has one, too, and he is uber-successful. Hold on a second. I need to write his name down on my 80s list. Okay, done. I plucked out two videos for Bonnie Tyler, and being totally honest, I don't recall ever seeing either one on MTV. However, she is a girl and I was all about Duran Duran at the time, so... who knows?

The first one, in my opinion, is the better video. I love both of the songs. In fact, I think I had the 45 for this song, TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART, back in the day. If you don't know what that is I might have to hit my head against the wall. I know that some of you 20somethings don't know what that is. *sigh* It is a single song on a record. The "A" side of the record was the popular song getting radio play, and the "B" side was a song they never intended to release that was pulled off the record, and put on the other side. However, sometimes the "B" song was so good it would entice you to buy the entire record. That was the strategy I am thinking. I didn't think that far ahead back then. I was a kid. The 45s were cheap and kids didn't have a lot of money, so there was definitely a market there. Moving on... here is the vid for song number one:

BONNIE TYLER TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART @ Yahoo! Video

Bonnie Tyler's other big song that I remember is HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO. I had this one on a record, too. However, it was on the soundtrack for the movie FOOTLOOSE. I loved that soundtrack (and this song). Heck, I loved that movie. We, and by we I mean me, are being honest. My friend Shelle C said it best (she saw the movie before I did, so I got her review), "I knew I was going to love it when it started by panning across all of the feet in various shoes dancing in place." She didn't say it quite like that, but she was impressed with the unusual opening with the shoes. She was right; it was cool.

Anyway, my point is that whenever I think of this Bonnie Tyler song, I think about the movie FOOTLOOSE. I even think about the specific scene in the movie where this song was playing. Eventually, singers/bands who created songs for soundtracks used movie footage in their video, because people wanted to see both the band and the movie. All I can think here is that the song must have already come out, and the video already been made, OR Bonnie Tyler had a screw loose, because this has to be one of the worst videos I have ever seen. I am tempted, even now, to look and see if she made a follow-up after the movie came out with movie footage, and a totally different theme. I was trying to stick strictly with the original videos, but this is so terrible that I will post this and then take a quick look. You have to look for yourself and weigh in. Am I right that it is awful, or do you think it is the best thing since sliced bread? Or just a medium amount of bad? Where does it factor in for you on a scale of 1 -10, with 1 being The Worst, and 10 being The Best? You can use this same scale to rate the above video, too. Let's take it one step further. Rate the song. The song and the video together. The video alone. For both of them. I am curious to get your feedback.




As I expected, there was zippo on a video remake from Bonnie Tyler, which is a crying shame. Unfortunately, she probably made that disaster after the movie came out. Please keep in mind that it is only my opinion. However, I did find the clip from the movie that I referred to above where the song plays. It is still just as awesome today as it was 20+ years ago.




What did you think of the movie scene? You have to rate it in context; that means you have to share whether or not you have seen the whole movie or not when you comment on it. You can just thumbs up or thumbs down. Or you can say thumbs up to this scene, but... if you saw the whole movie. You get where I am going. I want an actual opinion based on *something.*


image found at www.weheartit.com

THE WHOLE POOP

Today mom and I made the trip to Florida to get the title to my car. Well, we will actually be here a few days to catch up with friends, etc. But, today was the drive down. I wasn't sure I would have the time ~ or energy ~ to blog. Turns out, I did get the subject matter. We stopped at the Subway for lunch and we both, naturally, had to use the facilities. I mean the restroom, of course. It was a one stall affair. So, I pressed the button in the middle, not expecting any company, only to find out that the lock didn't work. How did I find this out? Well, when someone walked in, of course. I was just glad it was a ladies room and not a unisex.


That got me to thinking about other bathroom disasters and/or mildly entertaining stories that happened in the bathroom. There was that time that I accidentally walked into the men's room at a McDonald's while on a trip with the Youth Group from church. That was a great one. Everyone watched me walk into the wrong bathroom and everyone watched me come out. Hilarious. I realized I was in the wrong place when I saw the urinals.

My father's mother lived out in the country and must have been on a well. I loved everything about visiting her except the bathroom situation. That I didn't like. Apparently, too much flushing was a problem. So, three or four people had to use the bathroom before we were supposed to flush (unless there was a #2 job). I was always very uncomfortable with this idea. I didn't like the idea of potentially being splashed by someone else's pee, even if they were family, and I didn't like leaving mine behind. We usually stayed for a week at a time at her house. It was an uncomfortable week.

I suppose another interesting bathroom fact about me that I find a bit odd (now) is that my freshman year in college I would still sing in the shower if I felt so inclined. Yeah, I did that. There were about ten showers. They were sometimes full of nine other girls. No, none of them booed me and told me shut it. They just let me sing away. I didn't do it every day. I just did it when I felt like it. Maybe because I was happy or maybe because I was sad or maybe because the day ended in "y." But that was who I was back then. I was the girl who wasn't afraid to sing in the shower, even though the bathroom was full of a bunch of other people. I kind of like that about me.

Oh, and another fact that you didn't want to know is that I don't like to do a #2 job anywhere but at home. That makes traveling really uncomfortable. I have gone a a whole week without going. That was painful. I've loosened up a little as I've gotten older, but I still really don't like it. I spent two weeks overseas that was crippling. Boy, this whole blogging thing is really freeing....

Since I have started blogging, I have done A LOT of random blog reading. If you have done ANY random blog reading, people write more about their kids' poop habits than I would have ever imagined possible. I have read more stories about kids and poop ~ apparently this is very important stuff because it is what people are writing about! So, if you were wondering if I've lost my mind and fallen into the toilet, the answer is no. I just want to keep it real and write what the cool kids are writing about, and that, folks, is poop! So, I solemnly swear to always tell you the whole poop and nothing butt!

I WANT TO BE A ROCKSTAR

I have this really superb choral singing voice. I'm an alto, if you wanted to know. When I say choral singing voice, what I mean is that I am an excellent singer for a choir. I can harmonize and I blend. My voice doesn't have vibrato in it so that I stand out. This is wonderful news for a choir. Remember when I mentioned all that about wanting to major in music in college? Well, I still had these visions of me being Cher. That just wasn't going to happen. Cher stands out. Cher is a soloist. I can hold my own in a karaoke joint, which means people aren't going to throw things or run for the door like the place is on fire, but I'm not ever going to be Cher. I bet you're thinking that we covered this blog already with the hairbrush and curling iron. The thing is, I left out this cool graphic. See below. Isn't that awesome? I just wanted you know I always wanted to be a rockstar. Now we can move on.


I've also been thinking about what I wrote about my book writing a few days ago. Yeah, that conversation with my mom happened pretty much like I described it. But, here's the deal. Ever since my fingers started tapping on the keys, the book has been for me and no one else. What happened when mom and I had that conversation was this: pretty much everything in my life was derailing and I was having an anxiety attack. Have you ever had one of those? They don't happen unless pretty much everything blows up all at once. Well, they can happen to me if I'm having a bad migraine and am hit with a load of crap, but that wasn't the case. In this case, it was everything blowing up all at once. So, what I needed to do was start nailing things down one at a time. Basically, what that meant was gaining control over the stuff in my life one thing at a time. I started with my book. Yeah, I sounded nuts. And, I probably was a little nuts, but it was because it was the first thing I nailed down. Once I got that in place, it made it possible to start dealing with everything else. Unfortunately, some of the stuff was kinda out of my control. I just had to stop reacting to it. That is a toughie all by itself. Just stopping. Then I became proactive. I tell you what, though, it feels so much better to be proactive than reactive.

The other thing about me that is tough for people is this: the migraine. If you've never had one, you don't get it. Just like I don't get a lot of chronic pain that other people have. Or the weight loss journey that some of my fellow bloggers are on. I am encouraging them like crazy, but I don't get it like the other people who are also sharing that journey. The thing about my current migraine is this: it started in July 2009 and I don't know when it will end. I am living on pain pills. When I tell you that I keep track of pain pills on a notepad so that I don't OD, I am not joshing you. Imitrex, and drugs like that, only work at the start of a migraine, and mine started almost a year ago. There is not a chance of those drugs stopping it now. The last time I went through this, my migraine last four years. Four years. I want you to think about that and let it resonate in your head. It stopped when I moved to Florida and got on a drug and vitamin protocol and out of a stressful situation.

I know what you're thinking. Why aren't you back on the drug and vitamin protocol? I am. I am as destressed as I can be. It doesn't matter. The overwhelming allergic reaction that I had to the mattress/box spring nuked my immune system. I'm not whining and complaining and saying woe is me. I'm still hopeful. However, I think that the answer is time. My body needs me to keep doing what I'm doing and give it time to repair itself. In the meantime, I have a migraine all of the time and I deal. And I write. Sometimes I sing. I'm so glad I'm not a rockstar. It's so loud. I can't imagine what that would do to my migraine!

SINGING OUT LOUD

I was thinking today about patterns. When I was kid (elementary school age) and I would get into a blue funk I would pop one of my favorite records onto the turntable and dance around my room singing into a hairbrush. Back then, that meant it was Cher's Greatest Hits, Shawn Cassidy's Greatest Hits, or it might have been this record that I ordered off of the TV. It was purple and it had a big clunky shoes on the cover. The name of it is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't quite pull it up. My mother says that I composed quite the letter to place my order. Apparently, it was $7.99, or something like that, and I told them I was sending them $8.00, and I gave them my address so they could send me back the penny. She thought that was hysterical. She sent a check and kept my letter.


As I got older, and moved into junior high and high school, the groups changed and cassettes became more the thing, although records did hang on for a while. And we had an eight track player that still got some use. I discovered that I liked singing into a curling iron better because it had a cord, and that lent a certain panache to the singing experience that the hairbrush lacked. Of course, it had a danger factor, too. Tripping was problematic if you got caught up in the song and weren't paying attention. That did happen on a number of occasions. The 80s lent themselves really well to the curling iron. Who didn't love to croon "Bette Davis Eyes" into the curling iron? "I'm Still Standing" always made me feel better after a lousy day at school. Barbra Streisand released "THE BROADWAY ALBUM" and I thought I died and went to heaven. For a curling iron want-to-be singing diva this was manna from heaven. It just didn't get any better. Here's to the ladies who lunch!


I lost my love for music in college when I majored in it. That was a very blue period that did get better after I dropped music as my major after freshman year. Fortunately, I would still go to parties, and there would be music, and I would sing along, and it would satisfy this elemental craving that I still didn't know I had. After college, I went back to singing along with the radio and my tapes. I wasn't CD techno yet. Alas, I was too mature to sing into my hairbrush or curling iron or dance around my room like a primadonna.

It was only in my singledom that I rediscovered the power of dancing and singing it out. It works with or without the hairbrush/curling iron. Anytime I start to feel blue, I just have to crank up something with a beat. Now, this doesn't work so hot if I have a migraine. But, any other time, it is a surefire home run. The funny thing is my dog. As soon as the music comes on, she comes running. She wants to dance, too. And she barks at me until I pick up her front feet and dance with her, or pick her up and hold her while I dance. Who can stay depressed with all that going on?

So, have you ever sung into your hairbrush or curling iron or danced with one of your pets? What crazy thing do you do to kick a blue mood?