Changes

Create a sticky note online for your blog  Superstickies (link swiped from Lynn Viehl at the Paperback Writer blog.)

Provocative Thought Wednesday

"There is no path. You make the path when you walk."

~ Antonio Machado, poet

What action will you take that's off the "usual path"?

Soundtrack Friday

 We were off to Canada for the first week in July, hence the lack of posts on the blog. That and I think Blogger hates me, but we're working it out.I think we are mending our rift and becoming friends again. The bad news, all my July posts never posted. The good news, I have a lot to share in August.

It was a good trip, visiting family and getting to know some very interesting people who have become a part of my family's lives. The weather could have been warmer, but I'm not going to complain because it wasn't humid like it is here at home. Ick!

While we were gone we set up the DVR to record reruns of The Office. There are quite a few episodes I haven't seen so it was great to come home and finally be able to see Jim and Pam's wedding. Yes, we're behind the times.

In honor of Jim and Pam of The Office, today's Soundtrack Friday is Chris Brown's song Forever. But because I'm not really a Chris Brown fan I'm posting two wonderful videos for you to watch instead. First up, Jim and Pam. You may be tired of them, but hey, I only caught this episode last week! So cut me some slack and enjoy the beginning of happily ever after. You'll have to click on the link to get to Hulu. Apparently they don't think it's okay to embed a video to one's own website. Go figure. :)

The Office - Jim & Pam's Wedding

Now, the inspiration for it all, and another video gone viral that you've likely seen before. How can you not help but smile at the joy in the faces of the wedding party. Or laugh at the wacky self expression. Either way, it's all good. Enjoy!

Soundtrack Friday

There's something about summer, isn't there? June 21st heralded in the beginning of summer and so far I've seen rain, rain and more rain. It's time for the sunshine! 


Today, in an attempt to get the sun to shine, I bring you Weezer and their single Island in the Sun. Because I enjoy the obscure, the video in today's Soundtrack Friday post is the little played Mexican wedding version. Enjoy!

Provocative Thought Wednesday

I wasted time, and now doth Time waste me; For now hath Time made me his numb'ring clock; my thoughts are minutes." ~ William Shakespeare, playwright

 I believe this quotation to be about procrastination. We all do things to waste time. Some of these things are good things but they take us aware from our most important tasks. Last night I thought I was wasting time. I could have been updating the cheque book or working through the budget so we can determine how to pay for the installation of our new wood floor. I could have been cleaning or making lists for our trip to Canada next week. I could even have been researching appliances for the new kitchen.

Instead I was sitting on the couch with my husband and my dog watching TV. I can't remember what we watched. I do remember the discussions my husband and I had. They were discussions we should have had a while ago and didn't for whatever reason. So, while I could have been doing all these other productive and necessary things, they would have been time wasters. Why? Because I would have been doing instead of being with my husband and sometimes being is more important than doing.

• Where are you wasting time?
• What's the most important thing to be working on? 
• Are you putting doing ahead of being? 

Soundtrack Friday

I finally watched the season finale of Glee. It's been sitting on my DVR for a few weeks because I didn't want to admit the show was over until fall. I'm glad I waited. I would have bawled even worse than I did last night if I had seen the show when it aired. And discussed it with friends who had seen it themselves.

Sure, the show is campy and sometimes tries too hard to make the plot fit the music. But it's fun and I can so relate to some of the kids who were not in with the in crowd.

In the finale, the kids of the New Directions show choir sing a tribute to their mentor and teacher, Will Schuester. That's when I completely lost it. The song they chose is from the 1967 breakout movie "To Sir With Love" and if you haven't seen that movie, stop reading this blog, log onto Netflix and rent it! The song is a moving tribute to a man who worked hard and tirelessly to help his students grow and succeed. The road was rough and strewn with obstacles, but at the end he brought people together. This is what Will Schuester did for the kids of New Directions. Before they begin to sing, each member of the show choir tell Will what they were before glee club. I almost lost it when Phin shared his part of the speech. And again as Will tears up. A third time when the love-to-hate Sue Sylvester walks in the shadows of the auditorium and even she has a tear in her eye. Yes, it was a weepfest.

Today I bring you Glee and To Sir with Love. I also bring you the original song from the movie. Both are worth your time.

G1 @ Yahoo! Video

Provocative Thought Wednesday - Necessarily Simple

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”   ~Hans Hoffmann, artist

I’ve been thinking a lot about simplicity this week. I think a lot of us tend to make things more complex then they need to be. Or we focus our attention on the things that aren’t necessary. Did I really need to spend 2 hours last night making my home budget spreadsheet “pretty” or would my time have been better spent  something  that has a more immediate deadline, like researching wood flooring options since we’re planning to have the floor installed next month?

We all have choices in our day between what is necessary and what is unnecessary. There are two questions I ask myself to help keep me on track. I hope they work for you. Your answers may be surprising. 

• What can you stop doing right now?
• What’s non-negotiable?