SAVING GRACE

SAVING GRACE

One time around the block
Two times around the clock
Three times, don't cross the little lady (lady)

So pretty and, oh, so bold
Got a heart full of gold on a lonely road
She said, "I don't even think that God can save me" (save me)

(Am I) gainin' ground
(Am I) losin' face
(Have I) lost and found my saving grace
Thankful for the gift my angels gave me

Born alone, we die alone
'n' I'm just sittin' here by the phone
Waitin' for the Lord to send my callin'

Street wise from the boulevard
Jesus only knows that she tries too hard
She's only tryin' to keep the sky from fallin'

Any man who says it's Heaven and Hell
Prob'ly got somethin' useless to sell
You ask me if I'm saved, but what's it to ya?

Blow a quarter, cop another eight
You're runnin' out of high, you're losin' your faith
Throw your hands up and scream, "Hallelujah"

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Amen

One time around the sun
Another year older and my work ain't done
It's time for me to write the final chapter (chapter)

Deal the cards and roll the dice
Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll are my only vice
Tryin' to figure out just what's here after (here after)

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Amen

The above lyrics are by Everlast on his 2008 album Love, War, and the Ghost of Whitey Ford. It is one of my favorite cds of late.

Good night everyone. Wishing you all a wonderful week!

FOR THE LOVE OF MAKEUP

Photo: MORE LOVE

When it comes to makeup, some folks would say that KISS comes to mind, leave it to me to be the one that thinks of Motley Crue (hey, they were better looking!). I also think of my Uncle Rey and his now ex-wife, Kathy. Growing up they would gift us the typical girl stuff like clothes, dolls, etc...however when we reached the difficult-to-buy-for age we started to get.....makeup! (Sure ma loved this! *wink*) Not just any makeup, but the Maybelline makeup kits that had over a dozen different eye shadow shades, three blushes, and a lip gloss or two. And this is where my love of makeup started.

I'd apply makeup to my face, my friend's faces, and my Mattel Doll Styling Head, usually all with a fairly light touch despite it was the 80s and more the better was the decade's motto IMO. (Hair was another story as seen below!)

Something else my aunt & uncle gave me was a used Kodak Instamatic 100 film camera.
I was thrilled to finally have my own camera were I could take snap shots of things that fascinated kids like rocks, leaves, pets, and friends. Where some of those photos are now I don't know nor do I know where that camera went. I suspect when I upgraded it was tossed in a garage sale or given away as I wasn't much for hanging onto things when I was a teenager (this includes most of my drawings, paintings, and poetry), however this morning I found a Instamatic on etsy (.com) for mere 10 bucks. Doubt it works, but I just wanted it for the memories/display of how my love for photography started.

Photo: google images

Photo: GILLIGAN

Happy snapping!!

FINDING SLEEPING BEAUTY

There is a story that goes something like this ~ there once was a girl of the age of 16 that was killed in a car accident. Her parents were devastated and couldn't bare the thought of her being buried/not see her so they had a special tamper-proof glass casket made for her. She rested above ground on top of a circular cement slab at the cemetery so they could visit/view her anytime they wanted. Sadly, people started to vandalized the casket trying to see if they could penetrate the glass and get to Sleeping Beauty (the name the teenagers at that time called her). Time and time again her parents would repair and clean the casket until one day the casket just disappeared. No one knows if the girl & her casket were stolen or taken and placed somewhere else by her parents. According to the story, the parents have never spoken of the mystery of what happened to their Sleepy Beauty.

My source said that the cement slab is still there along with the grave stone, so of coarse I decided I must go see if at least the slab exists. I didn't find the slab or the cemetery, but I did come across these great finds instead:

Photo: THIS OLD HOUSE/LOVE SHACK

Photo: FOOLS RUSH IN

Note: I did not tamper with anything in the room in which the sleeper-sofa & bra were found. That is how I found it.

I also came across a horse pasture. I will let you in on a little secret. I am nervous around horses. Yes. It is true. You laugh, but I have a good reason. I approximate myself as about 8 years old when my ma brought us down to a festival in the park kind of deal at the University Park. It was there where I came upon a pony in a petting zoo type area. I went up to the pony and petted its nose and it reached over and BIT me in the stomach! This ssssseriously hurt so I went to find an area where there wasn't a lot of people around and lifted up my sundress to assess the damage. Sure enough, bright red teeth marks circled my belly button. Now to the pony's defense, she/he probably thought I was going to feed it a handful of feed or carrots, but instead I was just petting its nose, so I guess maybe my sundress sufficed for an afternoon snack?

Anyhoos.....here I am putting out my hand to this sweet beast to attempt to overcome my fear:


.......after I snapped this photo, he sneezed, and I 'bout pist my pants.

P.S. GOOOO VIKINGS!

ROSIE 2010

Photo: google images

Rosie The Riveter is a cultural icon made famous by the women of the United States working in factories during WWII. Sadly, once the men returned home, these women were expected to step aside and return to their housework leaving the men to work the job(s) and at higher wage then what the women were getting paid. There were literally thousands of "Rosies" of that time, however, it was said that the one that most closely associated with the Rosie The Riveter icon, (who's actual name) was Miss Rosie Will Monroe because she best fit the description of the worker in the famous song "Rosie". She lived in Michigan and worked on B-29 and B-24 Bombers before achieving her dream of becoming a pilot herself. In 1978 Rosie lost a kidney and the vision in her left eye when a small propeller plane stalled on takeoff and plunged to the ground which then ended her career as a pilot. She died at the age of 77 due to kidney failure of the remaining kidney.

In 2000, the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park was opened in Richmond, California. You can visit the official website here.

Rosie 2010

And there you have a snippet of history for the day!

Wishing you all a great week ahead!

The Way It Is

Photo: google images

1. I get a kick out of *SOME* my Midwest friends who make comments about there is no such thing as global warming because they are in the midst of a freeze out. News flash. You live in the Midwest where such temperatures are not unheard as of yet, but in the last couple of years the southern states (including the one I live in) of the US are getting flattened by horrendous hurricanes (caused by what? wanna hint? warmer-then-usual water caused by......global warming.). You wanna use this excuse to bitch about not wanting to purchase better fuel mileaged vehicles. Well if you really like supporting foreign oil then knock yourself out, but really, who cares if you think GW is a farce, how much effort does it really take to do a little recycling, use earth-human friendly products, turn off a light, or reuse your water bottle? (I mean look at all the money you'd save to put into your gas guzzler?) Now you may think my opinion is rude, but I am subjected to your daily Facebook status updates on the subject, so consider us even.

2. Saying "eat a sandwich" to a thin person is just as hurtful as saying "put down the ice cream" to a over weight person.

3. People who say celebrities (such as Sandra Bullock) who have donated a million plus to the Haiti disaster relief do so only for a tax break really need to get their head out of their ass. Some celebrities have compassion too, but even if not, who cares what an individuals motivation is in such a situation - wouldn't you rather the moneys go to charity then to the US government so they can misspend it somehow?

4. I have been told recently I set my standards too high for men. Why not? Why wouldn't I want to be with someone who holds me up then pulls me down? I have settled before and that got me nowhere fast. My heart is worth any high standard I place upon it. When I start whining about being single is when you can give me the too high of standard speech....which will be n-e-v-e-r.

5. I think the whole O'Brien/Leno dealio caused by NBC is just a shame.

Just another installment of "just gonna say it".

Enjoy your day everyone!

SQUIRREL!

This week I:

1. Nearly killed a raccoon. I awoke to this awful racket in the middle of the night. It came from near my kitchen window. My first thought was: "I am going to die." This is usually always my first thought when I awake in the middle of the night from a noise. I crept into my kitchen and peeked out the window. No burglar. Just a raccoon standing in the corner of the foyer with my recycling bins in a disarray around him. I tapped on the window. He arches his back and looks at me through the glass. "YOU!" I poked towards him with my finger. "DEAD." He seemed to understand the message because I haven't heard/seen from him since.

Photo credit: google images

2. I renegotiated my 12 month lease for my apartment. They wanted to increase the rent, I told them if they did, I would move. After a little back n' forth, they agree to a new lease with no rent increase. This means: I have 13 months to get my ass in gear, but so far 2010 is showing some promise, so it's looking good.

2. I started and finished the quick read Firefly Lane that is being passed around in our office book exchange. I thought the author did the book an injustice by adding the love triangle. I never felt Johnny was good enough for Katie from that point on, however, I also felt Katie was far too needy and needed a backbone. I was put off by the fact Katie was always too busy/tired to spend time writing while she was healthy, however, when she is laying there dying of stage 4 cancer that has spread to her brain causing her to be forgetful/zombie-like/weak that she suddenly had the all the strength (and memory) in the world to write in a journal about her life with her best friend (aka emotional vampire Tully). With that said, I would still try another book from Kristin Hannah.

3. My new-but-used book from amazon: 1000 Places To See Before You Die arrived earlier in the week. I paid 4.96 with S&H included and this book doesn't have a mark in it! I paged through it at the gym this morning, however, I didn't get very far. Ireland is looking more and more like a country to visit though. If you haven't tried purchasing used books, you should!

Photo credit: google images

4. Watched UP last night. SQUIRREL! Yeah, it's a children's movie, so what? And yeah, it was a Friday night, so what?


5. One of my teammates and I traveled for a tattoo expo earlier today. Neither of us got any ink. It was a pretty small convention but some great talent to be found. I passed out some serum samples from job number 2 then we found the closest sushi restaurant to where we gorged ourselves silly. I even had a piece of fried cheesecake while Miss Brooke knocked down two mixed drinks. There goes the calorie count for the day! DOH!

6. Worked 55 hours between job 1 & 2 and still got a workout at the gym in everyday plus got all my chores/errands done, plus finished a book, plus watched a movie! On a roll I tell ya!


7. My cowl arrived today in the mail. I had ordered this a couple weeks ago, but since it was coming from the UK it took a while to get across the pond. L.O.V.E it! Here is Miss Julia's blog here on blogspot.

And there you have it, the week of January 11th - 16th 2010.

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!

OH MARILYN

Photo here.

"A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, and leaves before she is left."
~*~
"I'll make your heart jump like it was on cocaine."
~*~
“I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I'm out of control and at times, I'm hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
~*~

~ Marilyn Monroe