Autumn Song Playlist

I searched for help in compiling this list of songs that remind me of the autumn season. Some of the songs are chosen for obvious reasons, others are purely subjective. They simply remind me of this time of year for one reason or another. I had many in my own mind, but I wanted to see if what others though about this subject. I found this and this, and hereby give them credit. If you have a song to suggest, please let me know, and if you like share why it reminds you of the fall season. If you use the playlist, I recommend using the shuffle option, it's the little "x" shaped icon on the top right of the playlist box.

Monday Night Football Widow/300

I honestly tried to like football, oh about a gazillion years ago when Big Daddy & I first got together. Well, I'm exaggerating. However long a gazillion years is, I'm quite sure 24 years is not even close. The point is that in the beginning I did try. I asked questions, I tried to learn. Big Daddy says I'm not being honest, I never really tried to like it, but I respectfully disagree. I really did try to understand football and hoped I could like it. It didn't happen. I just don't like most sports at all. Period. When Adam played football last fall, I would try to follow the game. As we sat there, I would get a little distracted and end up chatting with someone. Then I would just cheer and clap when everyone else that was rooting for our team would cheer and clap.

I joke about being a football (or sports) widow, but really I don't mind. He's not as into every single sport and play off as he used to be, and he's a fairly good and attentive husband the rest of the time. So this time of year I retire to the bedroom and watch all the Clean House or other home improvement-food network-type shows I care to, which aren't his favorites. Big Daddy gets the living room, the bigger TV, which is fine with me. He's not such a fan of those half-hour home shows. This weekend I was pleased to see a movie I like, The 300 on the schedule while Big Daddy's Saturday college and Sunday Night pro-football played. He likes that one too, but not as much as watching his favorite college team!

The 300 is not for everyone. It's what you might call a guy's kind of movie. Full of action and fighting. I prefer the TV-edited version for obvious reasons. I linked the above review which is not exactly favorable, and contains some spoilers, to give a clear picture of why many would find it objectionable. Here is another review.

I disagree with what the author of the 'Plugged In' review says in his conclusion. I personally don't think most people admire the movie for the blood and gore it portrays. I'm sure some do. I rather think that many others like it for the extreme bravery, self-sacrifice and all around kick-butt-toughness the warriors portray. They are willing to fight with everything they have for a noble cause - the cause of freedom. Some of the dialogue is Shakespearean, in my own little opinion. As when the soldier known as Captain speaks of seeing his grown, but young son die in battle: "I have lived my entire life without regret until now. It's not that my son gave up his life for his country. It's just that I never told him that I love him the most. That he stood by me with honor. That he was all that was best in me."

Another reason I think the movie has its fans is that visually, the movie is stunning. It's like nothing you have ever seen before, it's filmed in such a unique way. It has special effects that are part Matrix and part comic book.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for this week. Oh except for a couple of things.

It was really, really warm. We had a reprieve from the extreme heat about two weeks ago, but this week it was back to blistering. It actually blistered Big Daddy's head. Ouch.

This rooftop garden is amazing (thanks to found on the web). Check out the rest of the 'Top 12 Rooftop Gardens' HERE.

Well, as my Mom and my friend C.P. would say, "Toodles."

Key Lime Cake

This simple recipe was delicious. I think you could use any kind of lemon or lime juice and it would work well. I have made it twice now and each time it was a hit. The most time consuming thing for me was squeezing real limes to get the juice, but if you buy the juice already prepared then it's a fairly quick fix.

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
mix
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
5 tablespoons key lime juice
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons key lime juice
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch cake pan or one 10 inch bundt pan. I used the 9x13" pan.
2. In a large bowl stir together; lemon cake mix, lemon instant pudding, water, oil, eggs, and 5 tablespoons key lime juice, mixing well. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Pour key lime glaze over cake while still warm.
4. To Make Glaze: Mix together the confectioner's sugar and 3 tablespoons of the key lime juice (or more if necessary), spoon glaze over warm cake. I poked holes in the cake with a fork, so the glaze would soak in.

I modified the above recipe from the one I found here.





~In Memory of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks~
~May the Lord comfort those whose lives were directly touched by that tragedy~

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Labor Day Paddling

I don't get to go canoeing nearly as often as I'd like. It is one of my favorite things to do. Today Big Daddy treated me and the little ones to a little canoe ride. Actually we took a vote and Big Daddy, he who is the (mostly) benevolent leader of our clan (and the one with veto power) consented. So off we went, under blue skies and fair and gentle winds. The Atlantic side of our island was most cooperative.

Since we've moved here I have really wanted to see a real live shark while canoeing or snorkeling. Before you think I'm out-of-my-ever-loving-mind, I only want to see a small shark, a baby one even, and one of the more docile species. A two or three foot nurse shark would suit me just fine. Today we were fortunate to have seen three sharks! None of them were more than 3 feet long.

We saw a swift little Bonnethead shark, and quite possibly a lemon shark pup, and also a juvenile black tip.

The following picture looks very similar to what we saw.


We also paddled to a little mangrove island and saw many cormorants roosting, a stripped and abandoned sailboat, and three white herons.

Of course we saw many fish!

Love Hurts, God Heals

There is someone I love very much who has an addiction problem. Obviously, addiction causes all kinds of pain and suffering, that is well known and well documented. It effects every facet of life for the addict and usually for his or her family as well. Although the addict is most acutely effected, wide ranging fall out occurs in their circle of friends and family. The nature of the condition of addiction is that the person who suffers from it can be, among many other things, self-centered and prone to much lying and deception. When you love an addict, it's easy to let such things hurt you to the point that you mix a lot of anger and resentment toward the addicted person you love. I think it's important to separate those things and realize they are symptoms of a great sickness. And like any symptom of an illness or condition, it cannot be taken personally.

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.

May the Good Lord, full of grace and mercy shine His light on our hearts and change us for good. I mean change us and make us good, and that the change would be lasting! This can only be done through Him.

I am reminded of these passages of Scripture:

Jesus said:

 ⁹I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

 ¹⁰The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

 ¹¹I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:9-11, King James Version)


Jesus said: ²⁷ All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. ²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:27-29, New King James Version)


Click on:
Mark 5:2-15

 ²⁶But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26, King James Version)



So, in reminding myself of these passages, I am encouraged and firmly believe that God heals. He can and He will, in His time.

Woodstock Rock and Apple Bottom Jeans Hip Hop

This song seems oddly appropriate today:


There was some hoopla last week about it being the anniversary of Woodstock and all. So I am reminded, and I am appreciating artists like the ones above. I also submit The Band, Sly and The Family Stone and whomever (!) from that day and age when music was wonderful, magical and REAL in contrast to some of the current popular music. I am considering all of this because I (finally?) heard a song this week called "Low" by Flo Rida and T- Pain, and let me just say, Pooh-pooh!

Why did I finally hear it, and how did I even come across it, living in my insulated Christian world? Because one of my 4 year old charges this week, looked at me with sweet seriousness over the lunch table, and asked, "Ms. 'EB', do you like the song Sweet Home Alabama?" "Sure, honey," I said. "Doesn't everybody?" I thought to myself, though that song was not exactly a favorite since it's tired from over-play on the radio.

Actually, I can't think of that song without recalling a warning from my my long-haired, heavy metal loving high school boyfriend of eons (not ages) ago. He said that was the only classic rock song you could crank up and not get your *bahookie* (he used another word) kicked in the small Central Florida town where we attended high school. It was a very country town back then, and he with his shaggy long hair and me with my punkability (G. K. coined it back then) we were not well received by a majority of our classmates. So it seemed at the time. But I'm digressing...

Anyway, back to "Low" and the kid from my class. This sweet-faced little cherub-rascal went on to recite some of the opening lines to the song the "Sweet Home Alabama" and then he quickly asked me a follow up question. He asked me if like the "Apple Bottom Jeans" song? And he sang some of it. "Apple Bottom Jeans*, boots with the fur*, the whole club was lookin' at her..." Having never heard it, I googled. All I can say is, "Rap stinks."

Actually that isn't true. There is some good, creative rap out there. "Low" is a catchy song, but the lyrics go from PG to R to X and it BOTHERS me. There is nothing left to the imagination anymore. That is the problem I see with most Hip-hop music in general. Sure there are dirty and gritty songs in all genres of popular music, but in my opinion, modern (not old-school) rap and hip-hop are dirty almost ALL the time. Forget double entendres, or even vague and thinly veiled mature or graphic content. We live in a p*rn saturated world, and we've come a long way since the Beatles wanted to hold your hand and even those old devils the Rolling Stones wanted to spend the night together. Sigh. Rant over, stepping off the soapbox.




* a brand name
*Uggs, perhaps?

Crazy Love, Itchy Eyes, etc.

Well, I'm home with pink eye today. I suppose working with the little ones makes me susceptible to these things, despite frequent hand washing. We also have a mound of shell dust and dirt near the school, that is due to some city construction project. Some of my coworkers and I suspect that is the root of many discomforts and infections. Anyway, I have some time to noodle around here.

I have been reading a fantastic book by a pastor named Francis Chan called Crazy Love. I highly recommend it. Chapter 4 is slaying me. Here are some quotes from it:

"I encourage you to take a searching, honest look at your life. Not who you want to be one of these days, but who you are now and how you are living today."

This speaks to me because I am a procrastinator. By God's grace and help I have gotten better, but believe me, I am so far from being there yet. I struggle with a complacency of thinking and living like I'll get around to things tomorrow or later. I have a tendency to do that rather than seizing every opportunity to live my life to the fullest today. And that includes everything from being a Christian witness, to doing some recreational things that are good for me and that I enjoy.

I have a tendency, at times, to view myself through the lens of who I want to be, rather than who I actually am, and the way I actually act and live. To be sure, there are other times I struggle with being too hard on myself and having unrealistic goals, expectations and boundaries for myself, but that's not what I'm getting at here. I really wouldn't want to stand before the Lord right now, and it's not because I am some flagrant sinner. It's because I can fall into my own kind of Pharisee-ism, and neglect the most important thing of all: having a grateful, passionate heart of love for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And all that such a L-O-V-E should motivate me to do. What a lazy lover I have become. Now that I think about it, being a Pharisee could arguably be the most dire sin of all, so full of pride and thinking one is alright when one is not. I also think it's rather pathetic and amusing that when I consider my own little spiritual inventory, I want to fall on God's Mercy and be judged on my potential and who I want to become, rather than what I actually am at this minute typing these words. And of course, I view others as they actually are, and not by their God-given potential - but that's a whole 'nuther issue, as they say. 'Scuce me while I work on this big, old plank in my eye....

"Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin and aren't truly sorry for it; they're merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don't really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one."

The emphasis is mine. My life, since knowing Jesus, has so vastly improved. I found what I was searching for my whole life, yet, as in most relationships, I find myself in a slump. You know, the doldrums. It should not be that way and I should not linger in that state! I recall the Apostle Paul's words, "How shall we escape [punishment] if we neglect so great a salvation..." Jesus loves us, so much ya'll! What a price He paid to win us, and He freely offers us everything in His Kingdom! How can I neglect that? Well, I don't know, but sometimes it sure seems like I do. And I don't want to.

"Lukewarm people think of life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today's to-do list, this week's schedule, and next month's vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come. Regarding this C.S. Lewis writes, "If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely the ones that thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this." "

Well that just convicted the snot out of me. I know that's neither eloquent nor elegant, but it's the truth about me.

Anyway, there are a few little musings from a gal with a couple of itchy eyes, who is keeping her fingers occupied elsewhere so as not to spread my germs.