The Weekend….The Good and The Bad

Saturday afternoon, Starr and I went to Old Navy for $1 flip-flops. Thankfully, they were so picked over, we didn’t even try to find any her size. She did, however, find a cute dress for less than $10…maybe I am rubbing off on her after all.

Then we drove downtown to visit this unique store where Starr wants to live. I swear she could just move right in…pillow and blanket on one of the garage sale sofas they have for decoration…and she would be a very happy girl. I don’t know if there would be room for her hair products though…

Downtown this weekend was a place we shouldn’t have ventured…not unless we were prepared for the thousands of people attending the festival we forgot all about. Wall to wall people, cars (grrr..traffic!) and beer. We found a parking spot about four blocks from the cutest (or is it coolest?) store in town and walked back…we don’t mind walking as a rule, but it wasn’t really in the plan. No biggie, it was a lovely day.

Where things went wrong was later that night, or early this morning when Starr was working on the web site for their charity, and she accidentally erased everything important (and not) from her hard drive!!??

She woke me up screaming at 1:something this morning. “Mom…my desktop is empty!!! Help!!!”

I still don’t know exactly what she did, but everything was gone. All of her documents and her programs, everything. She called Apple Support this morning and received a lovely “Oh well…too bad for you!”

We did a little happy dance of thanks that I did that backup a couple of weeks ago, and were able to get her computer back to almost normal this afternoon. Whew.

I Love…

…Bill Dan and His Rocks:

Bebalance on Flickr

Bebalance on YouTube

…Today’s Note from the Universe:

Actually, Dragonfly, smiling or laughing for no reason at all is one of the best reasons to smile or laugh. Because doing either, turns wheels in the unseen, rearranges players in your life, and summons reason after reason after reason.
      
Grins, The Universe
         
Wider, Dragonfly. Nice, now louder…

…Thunderstorms!

…Matt…dancing around the world

…This Song:

Sometimes You Just Gotta Dance

Something was missing but what could it be

Could it be coffee or could it be tea

I had a few cups of both of the kind

But it was not enough to ease my mind

So I bought some Belgian chocolate and ate

Two hundred grams of eighty-five percent

Wasn’t it coffee and wasn’t it tea

Not even chocolate then what could it be…

Maybe I was lonely and needed company

I called a friend and we went to a movie

The film was great and I was entertained

But still I was restless, the feeling remained

The hour were late by the time I got home

I felt exhausted and I was alone

But at the moment as I closed the door

My little flat turned into a dance-floor

All of a sudden I felt something strange

First in my belly and then in my legs

I lost control and did not have a chance

My body took over, it wanted to dance

When I got back to my senses again

All of my sorrows were gone

The neighbors were angry though,

One of them came and said he would call the police

But finally I had my peace.

I’m back in liverpool

and everything seems the same

but I worked something out last night

that changed this little boy’s brain

a small piece of advice that took 22 years in the make

and i will break it for you now

please learn from my mistakes

please learn from my mistakes

let’s dance to joy division

and celebrate the irony

everything is going wrong

but we’re so happy

let’s dance to joy division

and raise our glass to the ceiling

‘cos this could all go so wrong

but we’re just so happy

yeah, we’re so happy

so if you’re ever feeling down

grab your purse and take a taxi

to the darkest side of town

that’s where we’ll be

and we will wait for you

and lead you through the dancefloor

up to the dj booth

you know what to ask for

you know what to ask for

go ask for joy division

and celebrate the irony

everything is going wrong

but we’re so happy

go ask for joy division

and raise your glass to the ceiling

cos this could all go so wrong

but we’re so happy

so happy

so let the love tear us apart

I found the cure for a broken heart

let it tear us apart

let the love tear us apart

I found the cure for a broken heart

let it tear us apart

so let the love tear us apart

I found the cure for a broken heart

let it tear us apart

let the love tear us apart

I found the cure for a broken heart

let it tear us apart

let’s dance to joy division

and celebrate the irony

everything is going wrong

but we’re so happy

let’s dance to joy division

and raise our glass to the ceiling

cos this could all go so wrong

but we’re so happy

yeah, we’re so happy

so happy, yeah, we’re so happy

so happy, yeah, we’re so happy

Coffee, New Friendships and a Shared Experience

Starr had coffee Sunday afternoon with Mary, a friend of a friend of a friend, who has reached out to her.

I haven’t pried into their conversations, I don’t know the details of Mary’s story, I figure it will come out eventually if it needs to. Mary is closer to my age and contacted Starr after the accident and offered friendship because she went through a similar situation in her youth. She is the only person we know personally that has experienced what Starr has.

I am so very sorry that Mary has lived this experience, but I am grateful that there is a Mary in Starr’s life right now. It took several months before Starr was able to call Mary and take a step in that direction, but I believe that it is healthy that she did and that they were able to talk and become friends. They have met for coffee several times, and they also keep regular contact through Facebook.

I haven’t met Mary, I don’t even know her last name, but I trust completely the friend ribbon that brought her to us. I love Mary, for being there, for offering herself, for caring.

Thank you. So very much.

Hope Revolution

It’s a feel good thing.

It’s a small word, but one with a lot of energy, strength and heart.

I ran across this web site yesterday: hopeREVO.com run by Krystyn Heide:

hopeREVO began one evening when I decided to hide encouraging notes around New York City. This simple act inspired other people who heard about it to do the same in their cities. Days later, my inbox was flooded with messages from people spreading hope in their communities, after reading about it on my blog, and as it propagated through the Internet on other blogs. So, I decided to develop this website to start a hope revolution.

I hope you’ll continue to be part of our revolution as it evolves.

more love notes, originally uploaded by jenlemen.

There Is Joy Yet To Be Found, originally uploaded by cheapblueguitar.

mommas, originally uploaded by astrogirll.

and here is the corresponding flickr pool: hopeREVO

I like this idea. Maybe in the act of spreading a little hope, I can begin to find my own.

The story of the spark behind Krystyn’s idea is recounted here: Jen Lemen: Love Notes to a City

Which brought me to: Titration’s Guerrilla Art Adventure

and then this: Keri Smith: how to be a guerrilla artist

So many awesome things to do….

Monday Mix

Starr’s tattoo was well received by her friends, coworkers and even her dad. She is still happy with it, and because of the meaning behind the symbol, there have been several friends and family members who have expressed a desire to get Sunny’s Heart tattoos for themselves.

Including me.

I was listening to my iPod this afternoon on the way home from the store and “Detlef Schrempf” came on. I wanted to share it, but couldn’t find an mp3, so here are the Band of Horses mp3s that I had, and a video. I love all three.

Do You Realize??

One of my daily visited music blogs, Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands, has a recurring feature where he posts YouTube videos of people doing covers of some of his favorite songs. Today he posted several videos of people covering “Do You Realize??” by The Flaming Lips. This song has been a favorite of mine for years, but I haven’t heard it in a while. As I was listening to the first video posted today, my first thought was “I like this idea”, my second thought as I started to get emotional was “I love this song, and it is so appropriate for the way I’ve been feeling lately.” I needed that today.

A reminder that we need to live life and love.

Do You Realize – that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize – we’re floating in space -
Do You Realize – that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize – that everyone you know someday will die

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes – let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It’s hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn’t go down
It’s just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

Do You Realize – Oh – Oh – Oh
Do You Realize – that everyone you know
Someday will die -

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes – let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It’s hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn’t go down
It’s just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

Do You Realize – that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize

I found this remix just now:

Living…and Wondering Why

Starr and Sunny, Winter Dance 2/2006

Doing Laundry. Cooking and eating. Grocery shopping. Buying greeting cards. Working. Showering. Making lists. Answering the phone. Reading email. Going for a walk.

Everything I do, as I go through the motions, I wonder why. Why. It all seems so wrong. How do you go about your normal life? I don’t know.

As I thought about the way that I have been feeling, I decided that I would try to put together a “thankful” list.

I am thankful:

• That Starr is healthy, and alive.
• That she is willing to seek help.
• That the driver of the truck wasn’t injured.
• That it is sunny and mild today. Reaching already?
• That we had the opportunity to know and love Sunny.
• That we were loved by Sunny in return.
• That DJ and all the kids are healthy.
• That Starr and Skye are putting a lot of energy and heart into starting a charitable foundation in Sunny’s memory.
• That they have big ideas for what they want to accomplish.
• That Starr wants to become a teacher and be a positive influence on children/teenagers.
• That she wants to share her story, in the hopes that she can make a difference and save a life.

Sigh. Well, there is so much going wrong for us…from all sides…right now, it is good to see that there is light in there somewhere.

My Life This Week

In between what seems like non-stop disc burning, backing up Starr’s computer the past couple days (I am finally done!! Whoo!), and multiple loads of laundry, I have managed to do a little cooking and find some new as well as old music to post.

I made Steamed Pork Buns for dinner yesterday. I liked them a lot just the way they were. Starr liked the idea, and the steamed buns, but not the filling so much. She would like me to try them with BBQ’s as a filling. I might just try it. My only complaint is that they were a little labor intensive.

Today I am making Paula Dean’s Chicken Empanadas these have been previously “Starr” approved. They are also a lot of work…I didn’t consider that fact when making my menu plans for the week.

I am enjoying having Starr home for the summer, and having someone to cook for…cooking for one isn’t much fun!

Now, here are a couple Haley Bonar songs:

The first is from her new album being released this week called Big Star:

…and this one is from 2006′s Lure the Fox:

Another Day

Mmm…Tuesday.

Starr’s computer has been giving her trouble. We decided to wait until summer to deal with it, because she needed it at school, and it wasn’t urgent. Well, we are finally ready to let it go for a week and get it repaired.

Easier said than done. Apple sent a nice empty box overnight, it arrived this morning. But, I wanted to do a decent backup before sending it back filled with Starr’s lifeline.

“Easier said than done,” she repeats wearily. I didn’t realize that I was a complete idiot…reality sucks.

While I work the problem…here are a couple songs that I have been appreciating lately: