Freedom to enjoy the Smiths.

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend and that the meaning of the holiday wasn't lost. For the third consecutive year we went to our local horse racetrack with my husband's ROTC color guard to participate in their Memorial Day ceremony. This is always a pleasure as they give us the VIP treatment (valet parking, free food and drinks in the clubhouse, etc). But as has been the case each time, the 82 year old WWII veteran who runs the ceremony brought me to tears with his short poem in tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. I managed to hold it together for that, but when they played Taps I lost it. I don't think I'll ever be able to get through that song again in my life without breaking down. Several years ago I attended a funeral service for my friend's husband who was killed in action near the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This was the single most somber experience of my life to date, compounded by the fact that she gave the eulogy herself. The follow up of that with Taps and the 21 Gun Salute will echo in my memory forever. So, yes, I lost it when they played Taps yesterday. My son grabbed my arm and said, "It's OK, Mom. It's OK." I couldn't find the words to tell him that, in fact, it's not really OK. The average American doesn't seem to even understand that Veterans Day honors all veterans but Memorial Day honors our fallen heroes. Nonetheless, to paraphrase that colorful, seasoned 82 year old veteran, we shouldn't focus on the sadness of their deaths but we should rejoice and be thankful that they lived. And there is no better time than RIGHT NOW to thank our veterans for their dedicated service to our country-- no matter who you are or what your political beliefs may be.

On a brighter note and in celebration of our wonderful freedom of choice:

One of my very favorite celebrity couples is Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. How can you not just adore both of them?

I've been a fan of Will's since all the way back in the DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince days. Oh, yes. He's jazzy, jazzy...his name is Jeff..... Talk about a sidekick who fell out of the limelight. But I digress.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was fine, although nowhere near his best work. We all loved the Men In Black movies and Independence Day, I Robot and all of those blockbusters. I personally enjoyed Enemy of the State a lot (possibly because it was the brief return of the Cosby Show's Lisa Bonet and also had Regina King, Gene Hackman, John Voight, Barry Pepper, Scott Caan, Jason Lee, Gabriel Byrne, Jamie Kennedy and Tom Sizemore among others!!). But this past weekend we sat down and took in I Am Legend. I thought perhaps he would never surpass the genius he showed in the film The Pursuit of Happiness which co-starred his son, Jaden. To date, that was one of the most compelling performances I have ever seen. For heaven sake.... I lost it during the infamous bathroom scene. But along comes "I Am Legend." He flew mostly solo for this film. He interacted with himself, his dog, lab rats and mannequins. The movie freaked me out and if you've seen it, you understand why. But his performance was, in a word, breathtaking. He deserves any available recognition.

Jada Pinkett Smith is also one of my absolute favorite people to watch onscreen. I loved her as the snarky little sidekick in A Low Down Dirty Shame and she's been a treasure in dozens of other films. The best of the best, though, and one of my all-time favorite films was Kingdom Come. For the love of all that is holy, if you haven't seen this movie you simply MUST get it and watch it NOW. The cast includes too many to mention. Cedric The Entertainer, Whoopi Goldberg, L.L. Cool J., Toni Braxton, Anthony Anderson and Loretta Devine are just a few. But Jada's portrayal of Charisse Slocumb was one of the funniest performances of her career. I find myself right this moment being aggravated by the fact that I don't have this on DVD. I need to rectify that.... Incidentally, I also really loved the track "Try Me" from this movie's soundtrack. It's fantastic.

At any rate, between these two, their body of work is astounding. We need good entertainment as much as we need anything these days, and I submit that this family has done WAY more than their fair share to contribute. I'm completely OK with them being gazillionaires as a result. And I root for their success unconditionally.

Salted Luck.

My adult A.D.D. has been on overdrive for the past week or so. I can't seem to prioritize all the stuff I am trying to do. I hate it when that happens. I'm getting a lot done, I'm just not doing it as efficiently as possible which means that I'm probably wasting time somewhere in the mix.

Anyway, a girl with a small but thriving accessory business really needs her own brand and web site, huh? I have, at least, accomplished that much. I'm calling the boutique "Salted Luck" and I have my own site set up now. All of my wares are still listed on Etsy until such time as I decide to obtain merchant services on my site (down the road). But making the web site will be fun for me. It's still under construction and I had a lot of help from GoDaddy's premade templates, but I will tweak it extensively over time.

One reason I'm struggling with time management is that I'm working on the web site AND making a crapload of awesome new stuff. I found a couple of great resources here locally for unique, funky and pretty supplies. Grabbed up a boat load last week and have already made about 2 dozen new items. This is my best work yet. I'm loving it. Unfortunately I haven't even had time to take all of the photographs and get the new stuff online. That is always the most time consuming part of the process. I'm hoping to get at least some of them up today.

This week also had its distractions. Thursday night, for instance, after he had been the guest speaker at a function we were attending, the Army's Chief of Staff and his entourage ended up at the same bar with us. My better half challenged the General to a round of billiards and what do you know.... there were 6 balls left on the table when my beloved claimed victory. He's unsure what rank he might be come Monday morning, but feels it was well worth it in the end!

Oh, and I also got my FIRST PARKING TICKET that night. Bugger.

I'm off to enjoy my long weekend of laboring on my beloved boutique items. Not only do a million pictures need to be taken and uploaded.... but I have 3 new products to make (temporary tattoos, window clings and magnetic mail-holder pouches for the fridge or filing cabinet) and Lord only knows when I'll find the time!

For my GIRLS.

I'm a huge fan of Maya Angelou. You might recognize this poem from the movie "Poetic Justice." For reasons I won't elaborate on, it crossed my mind last night. There's something captivating about it. Speaking for myself, I feel inspired when reading it, even if I'm sitting hunched over my keyboard, unshowered, wearing a t-shirt and sweats. In all of our forms.... we are WOMAN.

PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say
It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Confessions of a lightweight.

More random thoughts:

• I use the term lightweight for two reasons, the first of which is that we just had a monster yard sale this weekend and got rid of a ton of needless stuff. We made a decent profit and got to schmooze with our neighbors. I feel our feng shui improving already!

• The second and perhaps even cooler reason is that I can now officially wear my girly summer clothes. After having to essentially skip over last summer due to baby girl having just been born AND my horrid ankle injury healing (rendering me both unable to wear cute clothes AND unable to wear cute shoes: a fate worse than death!) .... I can now wear all of my favorite stuff. I'm somewhere between a size 6 and size 8 which is just about right. A workout wouldn't kill me... but at least my clothes fit!

• My daughter is walking. I know this is to be expected since she just had her first birthday, but still I object. It doesn't seem like this should be happening yet.

• I am uber excited about the new jewelry I'm making AND the honest feedback I am getting. It's a great feeling to be learning and improving on an almost daily basis.... and to have your existence affirmed by positive reinforcement. We all need that sometimes.

• It turns out that not all of our neighbors are a-holes after all! We met quite a few more this weekend during the yard sale. Some very nice peeps on our block. There's hope!

• I continue to dominate at Parking Wars on Facebook. I've grown very weary of all of the time consuming applications but this one is a treasure. And I totally cheat. But I freely admit that and I am WINNING. Haters abound!

• Jill and I are going to some sort of killer food buying place this afternoon. I can't recall the name but it's a deal where you can buy certain things (whatever they happen to have) at ridiculously low prices. I'm on that like Jared's on Subway, people. Don't say you didn't know.

Undefinable.

Don't you just hate it when your child or anyone asks you what a certain word means.... and you KNOW what it means... but you just can't figure out how to explain it? Can't recall the definition in an articulate manner?  Eeew.  I hate that.

Yesterday my son (who has an extensive vocabulary for a 3rd grader) asked me what "metaphor" meant.  I utterly failed to explain.  It was absurd.  Like I don't know what "metaphor" means?!

• metaphor : (noun): a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”

 

And here are some of my often-used favorites that I can never precisely define when asked:

 

• pithy: (adjective): brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible: a pithy observation. Of, like, or abounding in pith.

 

• smarmy: (adjective): excessively or unctuously flattering, ingratiating, servile, etc.: the emcee with the smarmy welcome.

• moxy: (noun): courage, balls, intestinal fortitude.  *Had to get this one from UrbanDictionary.com since it wasn't actually listed in the dictionary?  Jeez.

Here's to not being discombobulated! 

How to be fabulous on a low budget.

• Marry a Marine. You'll get tons of mileage out of the Full Metal Jacket questions. You and your entire family are mythical creatures.
• Insist that everyone call you by your wrestling name. Correct them when they fail to do so.
• Employ the "bend and snap" as often as possible.
• Say "sir" and "m'am." All the time. Even when you're a grown up. This throws most people off their game.
• If you feel uncomfortable in an elevator on the sidewalk with a stranger (particularly a male), look him dead in the eye and say "Don't I know your mama?"
• Live in a neighborhood full of minivans and drive a BMW sedan. Try not to flex your handling power, though... no one likes a showoff.
• Buy when everyone else is selling... and sell when everyone else is buying.
• Send your friends cards in the mail (the actual mail) randomly. For no reason.
• Do something genuinely good for someone else that won't benefit you at all. Your intrigue rating will soar.
• Never forget how to do the Running Man. If you have to practice weekly, do it.
• Talk to retired service members. In most cases they are way cooler than you are. And you can be fab by association.
• Know what you don't know. People like to be asked genuine questions. It's engaging.
• Challenge yourself to learn something new and difficult. It's humbling.... and even humility makes you more enticing.
• Be nice to customer service people on the telephone. No one does that, so you'll achieve individuality right off the bat (and might just get what you want in the process).
• Dare to be ghetto sometimes.
• Hang out with people who are smarter than you.
• Know who your REAL friends are. The rest don't matter and will drain your fab status in no time.

Etsy Buy Handmade MarineCorpsWife

What exactly IS a ledbetter?!

It occurred to me yesterday that some of the coolest songs are either unintelligible or end up having meanings that I completely failed to grasp.

My favorite Pearl Jam tune, "Yellow Ledbetter," is completely over my head from an interpretive standpoint. I don't have a friggin' clue what they're talking about. I could, I suppose, research this and try to gain some insight. But that would just spoil it for me. I know he's talking about some people on the porch who aren't waving, etc-- but other than that-- it's greek. What exactly is a ledbetter and why is its color significant??

And how about "Rain King?" I love the Counting Crows. And I get twitchy every time this favorite comes on. I can't allow interruptions because it is IMPERATIVE that I be able to mimic the "Yeeeaaaaaaahhh!" at the very end. And the lyrics are pretty. But I have to be honest: I don't have a clue about what some of them mean.

Don't get me started on "Rock The Casbah." Possibly one of the most overplayed favorites of all time. I wish I could remember what commercial it was that had the misinterpretation of the lyrics by some poor soul..... "Stop the catbox!!" Once in awhile I will send this in a text message to my husband out of the blue. One doesn't want to be boring, right?

Then of course there are those songs which have been often heard and most frequently misunderstood or not analyzed at all. If I had a nickel for every person who thinks Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" is a feel-good patriotic song as opposed to the jaded take on American industry and military that it really is..... I could put my kids through college. I'm not saying it's a bad song. Just that it's not the one you want to play for a military homecoming or the 4th of July, necessarily.

And my favorite unrealized meaning of a song (for me personally) until a couple of years ago: "Rock You Like A Hurricane." OMG. Have you listened to the lyrics? Really listened? I mean this is a classic state fair favorite. Air guitarist's plaything. But at the end of the day there's no getting around the innuendo. "So give her inches and feed her well....?!" I guess I had to be a grown up (technically, anyway) to understand what old boy was talking about!!

Anyway, I think I will opt to embrace my naivete' and continue to enjoy that which is over my head or which has meaning I'd rather not know. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.