For all of the harder music I listen to, I can't help but adore this song.  Thanks for reminding me of it again Nick. This group is amazing- the best mandolin player in the world, and the vocals are ridiculously soft and beautiful.

Just take a moment.. out of whatever you're doing.. just pause, breathe, and reflect on something precious.

You got to leave me now, you got to go alone

You got to chase a dream, one that's all your own

Before it slips away

When you're flyin' high, take my heart along

I'll be the harmony to every lonely song

That you learn to play

When you're soarin' through the air

I'll be your solid ground

Take every chance you dare

I'll still be there

When you come back down

I'll keep lookin' up awaitin' your return

My greatest fear will be that you will crash and burn

And I won't feel your fire

I'll be the other hand that always holds the line

Connectin' in between your sweet heart and mine

I'm strung out on that wire

And I'll be on the other end

To hear you when you call

Angel, you were born to fly

And if you get too high

I'll catch you when you fall

Catch you when you fall

Your memory is the sunshine every new day brings

I know the sky is calling

Angel, let me help you with your wings

When you're soarin' through the air

I'll be your solid ground

Take every chance you dare

I'll still be there

When you come back down

I spent most of today with my old boss from the internship I did on the F-35 program.  He comes to AZ every few months for polka festivals, and he has been wanting to take me to one for the last 2.5 years... finally I got to come out and see for myself.  It was certainly an experience.. :)  Being a well known polka radio personality (just mention "Polka Tom" to an avid fan and they'll know), he had stories about all the bands and the entire polka community.  Aside from getting hit on by 70 year olds all night, it was a lot of fun!


Then I made the mistake of telling Christophe!... who was kind enough to get me hooked on this:





OUF.  Seriously??  I'll never get this out of my head.. ; ;
And if you're interested in the version that loops forever...

http://www.koreus.com/animation/loituma.html

I got bored with being a healthy weight, and I've decided to go back to being super lean and tone.  To get there, I've been going on intense workouts every other day for the last two weeks.. and I've been trying new things to eat to give me the energy I need and keep me full.  Just a couple of my recent discoveries that have worked wonders..

1) Instant breakfast packets

I downed these things daily during my internship as a supplement to cereal for breakfast.  My new discovery with these tasty milk enhancers is that I can make one with a huge glass of milk and drink it before lunch or dinner, or down it mid-meal, and I instantly feel full.  I end up eating half of what I would otherwise, and I have 0 desire to snack afterwards, since they taste so damn good.
Oh yeah, and just like with anything, skip the no-sugar variety.  A little sugar won't kill you.. but the artificial sweeteners will.

2) Bisque

Omg.  Words cannot describe how tasty this stuff is.  Especially the chickpea flavor.  All natural ingredients, almost no calories, incredibly good for you, insanely awesome tasting.  And it's cheap- 4 servings worth for like $5.  A bowl of this with every meal and I end up eating almost nothing, but feeling stuffed.  Yummmm~

The amazing thing about eating less (but healthier) food is that I feel great all the time.  I have energy, I never feel stuffed, and I never get that post-meal food-induced coma feeling.  Now all I need to do is figure out how to sleep again, and I'm set :)

It had begun.

The heat of battle tore their home in two.  A line was drawn; the kings were divided, and their people became swept up in a war they did not fully comprehend.

Choose your side!  For what do you stand?  For Glory?  Or for Honor?  Do you fight for a blazing future, for victory, for pushing ahead mercilessly, for being the best?  Or do you fight for virtue, for camaraderie, for doing what is right?

To what does your allegiance lie?  To whom do you swear loyalty?

Banners held high, declaring their side, suddenly the people found themselves divided, each standing behind their king.  Friends became enemies, now separated, swept up in the heat of battle, marching for an ideal they thought they understood, that they were ready to defend, against brothers, at all costs.

Like toy soldiers.

The losses were great.  Tired, and yearning for peace, some fled at the first signs of war and found a new home.  Some were lost in the conflict and never returned.

And as the little kings sheathed their swords, and gazed upon the senseless destruction left in their wake, they found neither the Glory nor the Honor.  The words used as battle cries, banners under which their people marched, were just words.  They were empty.

The true cause of all this destruction, the source of so much pain, and loss, was little more than a bruised ego. A careless word.


This story is called, appropriately, Misère, for they were all poorer in the end.  It was a game that everyone lost.

I wish I could say that this story is a tale of long ago, from a book, perhaps, a story I heard in passing.  But that would be a lie.  Part of this story was penned by my own hand.. and the ink on its pages has not yet dried.

Every day is a gift, not a given right.  Sometimes it takes a wake-up call to put that into perspective.

Much love from Madeleine Bunny~

School started up again- second week in, and projects are already due.  Between 4 classes and my research this semester, almost all of my time will be devoted to work.

This parody is pretty cute.

Sorry Eminem.  The original is lovely, but it was begging for a parody.  I mean, windowpain?  Really?

I'm not one much for ballads, but the darkness of this song struck a chord with me.

What am I, if not something beautiful to behold, to possess, to conquer, and then to discard idly once my use has run out?  Not a person with a name, with my own thoughts and dreams, just a wild rose waiting to be plucked...

My car.

My dear, beautiful car.

When referring to you, I define the word "beautiful" loosely.  I do love thee, car.  You have taken me across many miles and through many adventures.  You carried me to and from work and school in three different states, and you unfailingly saw me through two cross-country journeys.  You have never run out of gas, or broken down, and your quiet, unassuming exterior has helped keep the cops at bay.  You are beautiful indeed, my car.

But it would not be correct to say you are beautiful on the inside, with your diet Dr Pepper stains over every inch of your upholstery.

Nor can I say that you are beautiful on the outside.  But it is not your design that I would cite as the reason; your mid-90's grandma's-car sedan look, in all of its police-repelling splendor.  No, even that holds a certain charm.

It is your unfailing ability to attract dirt to your exterior.

When I have so little to complain about with you, my dear car, why is it that this causes me such grief?

For two very specific reasons.  First, when I say that you attract dirt, that is indeed an understatement.  I instead liken your surface to a singularity from which nothing, not even light, can escape, to which everything imaginable is drawn and then merges with your exterior.  Or, I picture you at night, curling over onto your back like a puppy and rolling about in the dirt, then waiting expectantly for me to see you the next morning, proudly displaying your new coat of filth.  It never rains in Arizona, so you can't blame it on the mud or the dirty rain splotches.  I may wash you one day, and the very next, you are inexplicably coated in dirt again.

However, for all of your charm, my dear car, I could almost put up with this first reason if not for the second. And it is that every time I am out driving, and I get honked at, or whistled at, all I can do is mentally facepalm and think about how disgusted the poor guy must be when he sees what a dirty car I'm driving.

Sigh.

Is it so much to ask, my car, that you clean yourself?  Perhaps lick yourself clean, like my cat...

Their swords were drawn for the last time.  Banners hanging from parapets, boldly flapping in the wind, once signaled a call to arms; now they had been taken down forever.  Blood-soaked armor stored away, to remain unused, never again donned by the warrior it had protected.

For now was a time of peace.  The war was over.  The soldiers who survived had returned to loved ones, to families and homes fortunate enough to have been spared by the vast destruction caused by the conflicts.  This was a time of rebuilding; the rains of a new hope had begun to fall, trickling to even the most war-torn lands, quenching the fires of hate and anger, and washing away the stains of sorrow.  Those who desired peace had fought hard to protect that which they loved, and their world had been saved.

But not for her.

For she was a creature of war.
A being of magic, at once the master and slave of the terrifying power she possessed.  She had been a weapon, once wielded by the enemy: the cause of unparalleled destruction and horror.  But she had learned of beauty, of the good worth fighting for.  The world the enemy fought for was the world of death.  When given the choice, she chose life.

She chose instead to fight with those who wanted to protect life.  And at their side, she was a formidable ally.  Her part in the war was instrumental.  Righteousness had prevailed.

But what has been done cannot be undone.  She could not change what she was.

No rest for the wicked.

The world had been saved, but not for her.  No trumpets would welcome her home.  No loved ones waiting for her return.  Her fate had already been decided.

A creature of war, with no war to fight.

An unwanted piece of the world she had fought so hard to save.

What defines the strength of your character is not how you are at your best, but how you are at your worst.

And sometimes, the best opportunities can come at the worst times.

Will you reach out and grab the opportunity when it comes?  Or will you make excuses and let it slip away?

Sometimes you only get one chance.  Don't let it be your regret.