It Is What It Is

Saturday Soundtrack

Lately I've been privy to many instances of one of my mantras-

KARMA IS A BOOMERANG

(Otherwise known as the "God Don't Like Ugly" rule.)

Each situation is a bit different, but the premise remains- the energy you put out there comes back to you- either pay it forward or be prepared to pay the price.  I preach this to my family all the time.  I've made believers of some and continue to work on others to heed my words. 

Today's selection for Saturday Soundtrack is just a fun, little song saying this exact thing.  This song happens to be about how you treat someone in a relationship Karma- but remember, Karma effects all parts of your life.

Stand Advised, friends.

Karma by Jessica Andrews.

 

 

 

Say it isn't so...

I now have a child who is no longer a teenager...they have hit the 2nd decade.....

 
Youngest, Mom and Eldest 

Happy 20th Birthday, Eldest.  The best is yet to come....

Just Remember You Heard It Here First- well sort of...

In honor of the Royal wedding this week, I bring you some historical perspective on the Royals....

I do believe that I have spoken of my love for the Showtime series, "The Tudors."  It's a fascinating historical, soap opera saga (albeit based on true happenings) of King Henry VIII.  This program has everything you would want in a dramatic series.  Interesting characters, fascinating plot lines, beautiful scenery and costumes and super Hottie actors playing almost every role.  That being said, my favorite of all the characters (both the shows character and the actual actor) has been Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk , aka Henry Cavill. 

 

Charles is King Henry's best friend and right hand man.  From the start, Charles has been my favorite.  I urge you to check out "The Tudors."  You won't be disappointed.  If you don't have Showtime, (I don't) you can catch all four seasons on Netflix or they are available on DVD.

 

Seeing Henry Cavill on "The Tudors" was my first introduction to this British actor.  Imagine my delight and surprise when he appeared here...

 

Yep- that's right, he's the next Superman!  I don't usually like the Super hero movies, but for him I will make an exception. 

I am not one to go all movie star ga-ga...but I tell you, this guy is the next big thing...just sayin'...you heard my prediction for what it's worth.  You know how I like to keep all my reader's informed of all things pop culture...And if I was 13 again and could hang a poster on my bedroom wall, well, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk would be my first choice.

 

Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk

Oops, wrong Duke...

 

Much better. 

Happy Easter

 

Words of Wisdom of Wednesday with Carole

No hidden meaning-just a little friendly advice...

 
 
 

Never take a boat ride in shark infested waters,

 with a stranger who calls you chum....

 

Week At A Glance

This week is Spring Break for Youngest.  Next week is Spring Break for Middle One.  Last week was the lost week for me- here's why...

 

Dance- mixed in with more dance and then for good measure we'll add some more dance. 
 
 

Lacrosse games.  Peppered with more lacrosse games.  Don't forget to be cold and windy, because that's when I really like attending Lacrosse games.  The colder, the better.
 

Stations of the cross.  This is a happy bunch of "weeping women."  Can you see the "image" that "Veronica" is holding up?

 
 

 

Painting of the dining room.  The dining room redo is in full swing.  Fabric has been chosen!  Painting is complete!

 

Friday night Fish Fry....note to self, do not wear your coat again when working the church fish fry.  Regardless of weather, don't wear a coat unless you're willing to go straight to the dry cleaners.  Yummy, though.

 

Yes- that's right, the Virus that attacks the Virus Protection Software came back with a vengeance.  This really was the chink in my armor and what prohibited me from posting most of last week. 

Whew- I need a Spring Break too!  

Promise to be more on top of it this week...
 

Saturday Soundtrack-Fantasy Version

It's been one of those weeks, friends.  Crazy Busy...multiple events in a day/evening busy.   This weekend's agenda is not dying down- but a girl can dream. 

So- take a listen to the Lazy Song- (it's a fun little ditty- one part has a little cheeky lyric... but don't let it deter you.) 

 

 

 

 

 

Walls Without Borders

I've had a secret little project going on around mi casa de it is what it is....

I don't want to give too much away, because frankly I don't want to take away from anyone else's thunder.  See, a blogger friend of mine is embarking on much bigger things in her world and she was looking for projects to take on.  Never being one to want to take away from anyone's life's work, I agreed to help her.  I'm generous like that. 

The project she's taking on....MY DINING ROOM.  I moved into this house about ten years ago.  From the start, I said, "well, the border has to go..." and ten years later the border stayed up.  I operated in a "Cleopatra" state of mind about the border.  I was in denial and acted as though it didn't exist.  I decorated the entire room, pretending it was not hanging on the wall.  I never took into consideration the colors or design of the border when choosing color or design for the room- NEVER.  (Weird, I know, but it worked for me.) 

The first thing I told blogger friend is that I wanted to remove the border and paint the room.  She was all like, "Great!  That shouldn't be a problem.  I'll take it down for you.  It shouldn't take long at all."

Well, it did actually take pretty much all of one complete work day to get that sucker off the wall.  Have I mentioned how grateful I am to her?  Because, truly I  am!  Ten years later and I'm borderless and loving it. 

I really wanted to show you a before photo of the border, but I guess my photos in that room also have been operating in a "Cleopatra" state of mind, because I have no photos showing the border.  It's like it never existed.  But trust me on this- it did.

Now it looks like this-

I have a new color scheme and plan being worked out with blogger friend, we're on the hunt for fabric for the chairs.  When I say we, I really mean, she sends me samples and I decide if I like them or not. 

This really is a procrastinating decorator's dream.  Thank you blogger friend!  Oh- what the heck, I'll tell you who-  it's Karen over at Strictly Simple Style.    

Go check her out...right now, I'll wait for you.  Her site is chock full of advice, photos, examples of her own work on how you can decorate on a budget.  Recently she's posted photos of some major painting projects in her own home. 

 Seriously, go check her out, you'll be glad you did. 

I'll be sharing the progress as we go, but as this really is Karen's project and it just happens to be in my house, I thought I'd let her make the big reveals first.  So far, so great! 

To quote another famous decorator, "walls without borders, are a good thing." 

Thank you, Karen.  I owe you one, actually, several....xoxo

 

 

'
 

Saturday Soundtrack- Road Trip Edition

 A few friends of mine are getting ready to take their annual Ladies Retreat at the Beach.  But instead of flying to their destination, this year they are hitting the highway and driving.  It's a 12 hour trip-and it got me to thinking about how much fun Road Trips can be when they do not involve travelling with ones children. 

You can stop when you want to, eat what you'd like and listen to whatever the heck you want....I wish I had the time to provide a special little soundtrack musical snack for the road as my gift to them, but maybe we can all pitch in and tell our favorite travelin' tunes....

I tried googling up a list of suggestions- and got many different all time Top 10 Road Trip songs-some ranged from lots of classic rock to of course, all songs dealing with being on the "Road."

Today, I'm sharing two songs that definitely ignite the Road Trip fire burning in my belly- just because they're both so fun, easy to sing along with and quite catchy...

Have fun, amigos! 

The first selection is the official theme song from "Vacation," 

 

 

 

 Next is a classic from a favorite group, Rascall Flats.

 

  

 

Watcha Reading?

So, my audio selections have been quite interesting and eclectic these days.  Let me share what I've been listening to while driving around throughout the days-  One thing that all of these novels have in common is GREAT NARRATION.  The narrator can make or break an audio book and I've been known to stop listening just because I didn't like the narrator, not the story.

 

This is the story of Dex and Em.  They meet on the day of their graduation from University and we then revisit with them on the same day for the next few decades.  It's a story of love and friendship, growing up and growing apart and together again.  Dex is a character you want to dislike, but somehow he worms his way into your heart.  Em is the underdog woman you root to finally find herself and become who she was meant to be.   I truly enjoyed this author's style of writing- the story was sometimes comedy and sometimes tragedy, but always true to life.  Additionally, I felt a real kinship to the characters as the story begins in the 80's and I felt like I was aging right along with them.

 

 

Have I mentioned my love for Philippa Gregory and her Tudor series?  This story takes place before the Tudors and explains how they came to be in power. Margaret Beaufort is the central character in this historical fictional account of how her son, believed to be the true heir to the throne of England, fights his way there.  He, being the father of Henry VIII.   Always rich in description and intrigue-Philippa never disappoints.     
 

I have to admit, I did not know very much about Frank Lloyd Wright apart from knowing about some of the buildings he had designed.  I knew nothing of his personal life and his eccentric lifestyle.  Although this is a fictional account of Frank's life with the Four Women he's involved with over his lifetime, it's based on true accounts.  The real fiction coming from the perspective of one of Frank's apprentices, who's telling the story.   
Although it did drag a bit sometimes- The Women is quite a fascinating story and holds up to the idea that you can like a person's work and just not like the person.  Although I liked this book, I found this version of Frank Lloyd Wright very unlikeable. 

 

Currently on deck-

This story starts out with 13 year old, Petra who along with her best friend, Sharon share a love for all things David Cassidy.  Twenty-five years later, while dealing with the death of her mother and the end of her marriage, Petra finds out she had actually won a contest to meet David Cassidy and her mother hid it from her.  In a twist, the original magazine editor who sponsored the contest, finds out and arranges for Petra and Sharon to meet their former teen idol today. 

Being a child during this time period and owning every David Cassidy record ever produced, I so am connecting to Petra and her 13 year old self as she deals with growing up and learning to deal with boys, friendships, etc...I'm hopeful for the how this books ends up.  So far, so good. 

 

Hopefully, I've given you some audio books for thought, should you be in the mood to listen, if not, content wise these are all great reads, so pick up a copy and read them. 

If you're still in the mood to listen, check out my other blog, where Beth and I compare and contrast the Nook vs Kindle.  You can also find us on iTunes, key words- Deb and Beth.