Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a busy day, so not much time here.

I learned today that Long Black Veil was co-written by a woman born in Texas. I knew I liked that song for a reason.

Here's something else that's really silly. I love to watch Craig Ferguson, and he did this the other night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3ucPBEpocs
I went to youtube and watched what he was referring to, but it wasn't as funny as he was.

It's late, and it's been a busy day, so th-th-that's all, folks!

No Such Thing As A Coincidence

LOL! Shakespeare was mentioned again today, this time in my daughter's harp lesson. The goal is to play at Scarborough Faire, so of course Shakespeare and Good Queen Bess were mentioned.

I'm in a good mood again today. Had a fun time at dance lessons. Still lots of work to slowly and carefully stretch those muscles. My daughter is also getting buff, holding chili cans to build up her harp muscles. We are keeping each other going, because I try to do it when she does. Snake arms don't come easy! :)

Time to hit the shower!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsxX3ue5vR4

All the World's a Stage

I've been watching several Dr. Who episodes recently. I really liked The Shakespeare Code. I was glad I had just read Shakespeare's Wife, because I understood a lot of the references more clearly. The episode was well written, and I liked the actor who played Shakespeare. The episode showed how the three witches came into Shakespeare's life. It showed the Globe audience impressed by what they think are special effects. Very smart script.

I learned about a new book on the history of Hubble, and all of the politics involved behind the scenes. It's now on my list, once I get caught up with the ones already waiting for me.

So, I'll leave you today with words from The Bard himself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChTBKjtfd2w

Things That Make Me Smile

Yesterday I talked about the mouse and flamingo, and how it makes me smile every time I look at it. There are a lot of things that make me happy. I watched Celtic Thunder on PBS last night; Celtic music, men in kilts, and bagpipes, yeah!

I got a paycheck, which always makes me happy, and I promptly bought a book, which makes me very happy, and I used my Barnes & Noble discount, which makes me realllly happy. I bought Stephenie Meyer's Twighlight. I hadn't really heard about this series until Breaking Dawn was released, which has a picture of a chess board on it. I thought I'd at least give the first one a try, and see if I get hooked on the series. I probably won't start it until I finish Greatest Generation. Every once in a while I will have two books going at the same time, but I like to keep things in line, and not scramble my brain, so I plod along one step at a time.

This song always makes me smile. It's cheesey and silly, but I enjoy it. Many think it's too much
saccharine, and there are some who probably won't watch it all the way through (you know who you are), but I like it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbh9c0noR4s

Have a smiley, silly kind of day.

The Broadsword and the Beast

Talking about my broadsword (both figurative and literal) got me to thinking about passing things on to my kids. They both want to inherit my sword when I pass away. Most everything else is pretty well settled. She will get my jewelry (there are some Egyptian pieces she really wants NOW), and he will get most of the books and the astronaut mouse. It's that sword that will be the sticking point.

I've already decided that when the time comes, I'll call them over about once a month and dole out more boxes of stuff that I'm ready to part with. I especially will be ready to pass on or sell my "dust collectors", but there are a few that I won't want to part with for quite a while. Some are memories from vacations, and some are just too cute. One is a mouse riding on a flamingo that always makes me smile.

At least, that's what I have planned. I could die in a car wreck tomorrow (ain't that a cheery thought), but at least I've discussed it with the kids, and I think it will be an easy transition. I'm thinking about all of this today because I was talking with a neighbor last night, and she asked about how the settling of my mother-in-law's estate was going. It is such a mess, with a back-stabbing former BFF smack in the middle. My M-I-L has been gone for over a year now, and she is still giving me headaches and heartaches. I hope my passing will be much smoother:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESg4Hnzdy5U

Here is a partial translation that I got from Google, the most important ones that speak the most to me. If ya want the rest, I encourage everyone to Google them. I love this song, and have it on my iPod:
No quiero que me manden floresI don’t want to send me flowers
Lo que me des, damelo en vidaWhat you give me, give it to me in life
No habra razon pa' que me lloresIt won’t exist reason to cry for me
"No Llores, No Llores, No Llores, No Llores""Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry"
Ay! No llores, no llores por miAh! Don’t cry, don’t cry for me
No hay razon para que llores asiThere’s no reason to cry for me
No te preocupes, deja el llantoDon’t worry, stop crying

Smiling is much more fun than crying, so enjoy this life, however long it lasts.

A Firm Hand

I'm having a much better day today. The cake was a success, I'm proud of my accomplishments, and Mom had a good party, so everyone is happy. It's a painstaking process of putting on all the little dots to cover the cake. My hand gets really tired, but I think it was worth it. I'll try to upload a picture if I can.

I also had to have a firm hand in dealing with an electronics store. My daughter's phone needed to be recharged, which is the first time since she got it. The charger wouldn't work, so I had to take it to the store. At first the salesman was nice, but then tried to sell me a new charger. I asked him why we should buy a new one when the one we had already purchased didn't work. He started getting rude when we said we had never used that one, but we finally convinced him we were telling the truth. Now, even if she had used the charger every day since she got it, it still should not have quit working. He finally gave us a new one. Sheeeesh!

I hate conflict, and will try very hard to avoid it, but sometimes ya just gotta stand up for yourself. This is one of the songs that I use to find the inner strength when I know I'm going into battle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3RNdU2d0PY&feature=related

Hope the waters are calm for everyone today.

Total

There was a total solar eclipse today in Russia and neighboring countries. I wish I could have been there. There is nothing like watching the sun being blotted out. I can see how people in ancient times must have been terrified. There were many astronomers who were able to predict them, but I'm sure the word did not get out to many of the peasants far from the noble courts. It is an awe-inspiring experience. I'm just glad it was during the summer, because otherwise a lot of astronomers would have frozen in Siberia.

This is a strange video, but I really like the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55nTwg5NIPM

Today is a busy day, with baking (done), assembling a cake, being a taxi driver, and trying to get some proof reading done. When it's all finished, I'm sure I will be proud of it, but it's the getting there that will be interesting. The cake didn't cooperate, and will need serious spackling with the icing.

I'm dealing with a lot of bad karma today, and sometimes ya just gotta dance it away:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXNApZ2ALiQ

Opa!