This Is The Stuff That Drives Me Crazy

Photo by Torie Jayne

We have a Christian radio station here called KSBJ. It's what I listen to in my car & I absolutely rely on it to get me through my day with a positive message! There's a new song they keep playing that's stuck in my head. I thought I'd share it with you because it's just so uplifting & positive! Enjoy! This Is The Stuff by Francesca Battistelli

It’s Friday, Friday, Everybody Stop Hatin' on Friday

Being the mother a teen daughter, I pretty much get the low down on what's going on with pop culture in regards to music, movies & the general hot topic buzz of the moment.  And recently there's been a lot of buzz about a video a young girl, named Rebecca Black, posted on YouTube called "Friday."   And when I say a lot of "buzz," I mean she has at the moment 48,809,989 views for her video. That's crazy!

Now, young girls make up songs & dances & perform them for the family in the living room all the time~~those are the moments many fun family memories are made of!  But when Justin Beiber was catapulted to stardom after being discovered on Youtube, more & more kids are reaching for the stars by filming these performances & posting them online for the world to view & critique.  What's different about posting these videos online, is that it's exposing the kids to a world of open commentating & much of it is very harsh, to say the least.  The loving, non-judgemental safety net of the nuclear family isn't there, as it is when the performance stays within the home environment.  This is the problem, in my humble opinion, when parents, such as Rebecca Black’s, decide to pay thousands of $$$ for their daughters to make relatively professional looking videos & post them on YouTube.  Rebecca's song isn't awful, but it's clear Rebecca is not a fabulous singer & the lyrics are, truthfully, pretty dang bad.  But in all honesty, there are tons of songs with not so great lyrics that become really popular, so who's to judge?  The viewers on YouTube have had a field day leaving extremely hateful comments for Rebecca, one going so far as to say they hope she cuts herself & dies!  She's even reportedly received death threats! The song has spawned multitudes of spoofs & she's become famous for being disliked.  All this really makes me so sad. Since when has our society become so tolerant of being hateful to kids for having a dream?  I liken the anonymous people leaving these comments to aggressive drivers~~for some reason when people feel anonymous, they think it's OK to act like animals.  Isn't how we act in these moments just as much a barometer of our character as when we're out in the open?  Where's the conscience of these folks?  This is a young girl, for pete's sake!! Leave her alone! Talk to your kids about YouTube commenting.  Let them know that it's NEVER OK to stand by & let other people tear someone down.  OK...I'm glad I got that off my chest.  I'll get off my soapbox now.

                          Click here: YouTube - Rebecca Black - Friday (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

                                                                    ~Today's Quote~

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

~ Theodore Roosevelt

Idol Joy



Have you ever been on fire?  I don't mean literally, of course~~I'm talking about standing in the sun or the spotlight of life & feeling 110% like everything is perfect in your universe?  I don't know if many people can say they've had that moment, so what's always so thrilling for me, is when I get a front row seat to watch it slowly unfold & happen in someone else's life!!  That's why I love American Idol so much this year.  I've always loved Randy Jackson, but now with Simon gone, it's a kinder, gentler Idol with Jennifer Lopez & Steven Tyler as the new judges.  I've never been a fan of tough, brutally honest-to-the-point-of-damagingly-mean Idol.  Jennifer Lopez is so kind and compassionate towards the kids & by the way, while we're on the subject of the new judges, who knew Steven Tyler is such an amazing person?!  Now, I love "Walk This Way" & "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing"  just as much as the next gal but I never really truly appreciated "Steven Tyler~the real person" until I've gotten to know the sweet person he is through American Idol!  When he got down next to the girl who had suffered extensive brain damage in a car accident as she was in her wheelchair and whispered in her ear, "He sang so beautifully because he was singing to you" well, I was a goner...that kind of human compassion is just such a gift to witness.
So when I was watching Jacob Lusk sing last night, and when he was finished & Steven ran up onto stage and gave him a hug and called him, "Baby Luther!!"  Those are the moments a life is lived for!!  I get chills because it's such a blessing to be able to share in the moment of a perfect stranger & totally & completely feel their life being transformed in front of our eyes.  These kids were all born to sing. Why it's taken a few of them this long to be discovered is beyond me~they're SO phenomenal it's hard to understand how they've gone unnoticed until now!  Jacob Lusk is, of course, a front runner to win it all. Also among my favorites are sweet baby Lauren Alaina,  sophisticated  Ballad~Belter, Pia Toscano, and soulful rocker, James Durbin.  All deserving of the title because they're ALL THAT GOOD!  And what a blessing to watch their dreams come true before our eyes!
If you haven't been watching yet, it's not too late to pull up a couch cushion and enjoy!  Tonight is elimination night and while I have a few guesses on who might be going home, it doesn't matter.  They're all stars in my eyes!

http://www.americanidol.com/ 

Blog Of The Day

Décor de Provence

Desireé Ashworth has an amazing decor blog! It's actually one of the first blogs I found a year ago when I was awake most nights roaming around the blog world in search of ideas for our new homes renovations.  I actually didn't even know that my favorite style of decor is Gustavian until I found Desiree's blog!  She's says on ther blog that she's a "stay at home mom who loves beautiful functional settings inspired by French, Gustavian and Belgian decor."  Check out her blog!!  You'll love it as much as I do!

http://www.decordeprovence.com/



Driving Miss Spacey

Maturity: Coming Soon to a Mind Near You ~
If anyone else out there has a teen that's about to turn 16 or has already turned 16, then this post will resonate with you guys!  I have a daughter who turned 16 in October.  16 is the legal driving age here in Texas & as any other  mom out there will attest, it's sometimes really hard to believe that at this young age, it's time to hand over the car keys & allow your child to just take off & head for the highway!  The frontal lobe in the human brain isn't even fully formed until our 20's!  I looked "frontal lobe" maturity up on Wikipedia and here's what it says:
"The executive functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. Therefore, it is involved in higher mental functions."
So there you have it!! We are giving keys to large mechanical devices to our children who are not fully formed mentally yet!  Someone said that when you ask your teen, "What were you thinking?!"...they weren't! And it's no their fault...it's just the nature of the beast.  So it's our responsibility to protect them until they're ready to make safe decisions.  But how do you gauge just when that time has arrived when dealing with matters of life & death? 

So as I mentioned, my precious angel of a daughter, in the form of a teen, turned 16 a few months ago and really wants her license and a car.  And as much as I would love to have less running around on my plate, I'm super hesitant to turn her lose on the streets!  And I've not even touched on the dangers of texting while driving, driving at night, driving with multiple people in the car, drinking & driving, etc.  There are some pretty scary stats that I won't post here but I'll add a link for you in case you're interested:
http://www.car-accidents.com/teen-car-accidents.html
So am I alone in thinking 16 is too young to have a license?  Or at least should we rethink giving them cars on their 16th birthdays?  Maybe let them drive with us for just a bit to make sure they're as safe as possible?  I don't know.  What do you guys think?



Awesome Possum

Holy smokes!  I was just sitting at my kitchen table this morning, iChatting with my friend in India, when the BIGGEST white possum I've ever seen, started running across the top of my fence right outside my window!  That sucker was HUGE!  I've seen possums at night around here before, but never in the day~~wait, aren't they nocturnal??  What's he doing up?  OMgosh, I wish my little one was home from school so she could see him...she would freak out!  (Have I mentioned my daughter is the world's biggest animal lover~~seriously...she's our version of Bindi Irwin...she'd have one of each animal in the world if she could.)
So next time I'll try to get a photo of him for you, but that fella was running FAST!! So cute! (and a little scary!)

PS ~ How many hillbillies does it take eat a 'possum?

     Two. One to eat, and one to watch for cars!!  Buh-dum-dum-CHING!  :)

Is It Just Me?

Why is it that every time that a school break is over, I miss my kids? I know it sounds strange but I actually love the hustle & bustle of when they're home & the house is buzzing with energy!! Today they both went back after a week off & I miss them! The house is eerily quiet. I've got Kyla the Super Sheltie at my side, a little bowl of Kashi Go cereal here to comfort me & I'm deciding how best to plug along with my day. Lets' see~I've got an arms length list of things to do, errands to run, things to return, phone calls to make, tasks to complete, and plans to make but it's just too quiet here. It's weird~I know! I had SO MUCH FUN with my little one last week while my older daughter was off on a mission trip. We went to the Zoo, the MFA, a horseback riding stable we've been wanting to try...we had a girl's lunch out several times, we had a mani/pedi at Bora Bora Nail Spa...it was a blast! My little one is such an easy hang! She's always a go~with~the~flow kinda gal full of jokes & entertaining comments that throw us into fits of laughter!! I mean it...she's a HOOT!
I also know that with school back in session, comes the stress that will certainly rear it's nasty head within a day or 2 for my high schooler...and I'm not joking when I mean STRESS! GPA, Class Ranks, tests, mean teachers, girls drama~~who needs it? These are days I wish I was among the brave souls who opt to homeschool! But that's for another blog post~we'll go there later. :)
Oh well...this is where blogging & nice music or the television come in handy. Is Kathy Lee back from vacation yet?? The Today Show last week was a mess! But I digress~~I guess this is all part of the empty nest syndrome that begins to happen over the course of many years. OK...I'm putting my big girls pants back on. It's OK...I'm OK! Enjoy your day!!

Blog Of The Day~

I've been busily learning about blogging online & have started to find the most gorgeous blogs!!

This one is by a girl names Torie Jayne~~

the colors are pastel~y & cheerful & she blogs about baking & crafting,etcetera, etcerera! 

What's not to love? 

Check her out!

http://toriejayne.blogspot.com/