Get Your Butt Outta Oz!

 I spent a significant amount of my life in Northeast Kansas. Since there isn't much out there, people really only say one thing when I tell them that. So, let the Dorothy jokes commence....

 But seriously, I LOVE the Oz books (not a huge fan of the Judy Garland movie). There are like 12 or 13 Oz books...something like that. I have read most of them I think. Turns out, they are all free on Apple Books. So, if Oz is your thing, be like me and download them ALL! :)

Ok, here is Oz in a nutshell. Dorothy got sucked up into a tornado and dropped into Oz. She was lost and alone in this crazy, trippy place. Add Munchkins and Wizards? Poor girl must have been so, super confused! She journeys through this place trying to meet up with The Wizard. They make this poor girl go mess up a Wicked Witch before they will help her get home. Then, when all is said and done they tell her that she could have left any time she wanted. All she had to click her feet. In order to get home she literally had to use her own feet. No magic, balloons or any of that crap worked as well as Dorothy looking within herself and gettin' it done!!

 Kind of shitty on the part of Glinda and The Wizard to make her do all this running around before they tell her how to get home. But, let's put ourselves in their shoes (ha. ruby slippers joke). A girl from Kansas shows up. Of course you are going to try and get her to get rid of your Wicked Witch! Kansas girls know how to get stuff done!!

 All that aside, how awesome is it that in the end she did it herself? She didn't need a spell or a magic wand. She had the power all along. She just didn't know it. And guess what, boys and girls!! We've all had the power all along. We just have to learn it for ourselves. So, get out there and be fantastic. Get some stuff done and get your butt outta Oz!!

Dance, Dance!

 I was flipping through my Pinterest, and this picture really stood out to me. There was someone else in the room and they commented on how ugly the girl's feet are. They questioned why someone would take a picture of such ugly feet. They thought the person should want to hide them!

 It's funny...when I saw this picture, I had the opposite reaction! I thought it was one of the more beautiful pictures I've ever seen. Maybe some of you are disgusted by this as well. But, when I look at this all I can see is a person who loves something so much that they have let it consume them. They have lost regard for their physical well-being, and have immersed themselves in their art.

 I write about things that make me happy, or inspire me to live a more beautiful life. This is, without a doubt, one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen. I know people who dance, and it is just incredible the way they push their bodies! Dancing is what happens when you allow yourself to be physically overwhelmed by the music around you. To see a dancer move...you see the love and feeling in their soul pouring out through their limbs. It is a gift they give us, we get to see their love in motion. The music touches their soul, making the emotion well up within them.

 Here's to all you dancers...you are simply the best!

{trying to stay motivated is hard! i want to be good at this. i want to touch people with the words i write. if being good at something were easy, everyone would do it. stay motivated! that's all i can say to myself!}

Scars

 When we experience something it changes us. Every thought we think is influenced by the million billion before it. Sometimes, whether we want it or not, an experience will leave a scar. A scar is basically a little proof of that experience. Forever and ever it is imprinted on your body that you lived through something, that it changed you, that you survived.

 I like to think tattoos are like scars. They are scars we give ourselves. We get them to remind ourselves of something. For the rest of our lives, with us always, there is that physical reminder.

 My dearest, darling Gabrielle is getting her first tattoo today. Her's is an arrow.

 This isn't the exact design she is getting. Her's is much more beautiful, symbolic, and meaningful. But, you get the idea. The weights of her struggles have made her a stronger, better person; a person who is better equipped to handle the struggles of tomorrow.

 Just remember, you are an arrow. When life seems to be pulling you back, weighing you down, holding you in place...just know that if you stay determined and look ahead to the future, you will be launched far and fast into something amazing.

Great Job, Everybody!!

 The advantage to having truly incredible friends, is that they are always doing truly incredible things. The people close to me really do posses the most amazing talents...they can create (draw, sing, dance, paint, write, create, style, design, capture) things that blow my mind. I believe that the way people create is just a manifestation of their love. The beauty inside is so strong it just pours out of them!! So, honestly...great job, everybody!! Way to be awesome!!

 The disadvantage is seeing all this wonderful art and knowing I don't have an outlet like that yet. I think I know what mine will be, but it is just not time yet. In the mean time...I am going to write. I love thinking about lovely things, meditating on beautiful little musings. In order to keep my sanity until I can be out doing what I want with my life, this silly little blog is going to be my life!

 Mr. Ben is super, duper right. I can talk about this all day long...but only actions count. So, I am trying to stay super motivated about writing! Any motivating tidbits sent my way would be appreciated!!

Love and Hugs <3

It's Not That Bad, I Promise!

 I am a self-proclaimed Grammar nerd. I really am not as educated as I could be, but I do enjoy figuring out little, stupid Grammar nonsenses. I remember reading that John Lennon quote, the "grow up to be happy" one. I thought this was super clever!! Everyone else wants to be firemen or lawyers, all he wants to be is happy! Then I realized it was totally possible. "Be" is an active verb. (Active verbs are actions the subject performs, whereas passive verbs are performed upon the subject.) And so, I figured, just like you can "walk" anywhere, "see" anyone, or "make" anything...you can BE anything. It is up to you! You, decide what you want to be. No one can make you be anything you don't want to be! So, be HAPPY, you stupid ass! Don't be sad! :)

CHOOSE IT!! CHOOSE HAPPINESS!!!

 I think my favorite (and most used) cliche is "it is what it is". Honestly it is a very useless thing to say. Of course, if something is...that is what it IS. (uh....DUH!) But, it is also a wee bit deep; not super deep, but deep enough. You can't change how things are, you can only change the way they WILL be in the future. So, get out there. Be proactive! Make changes today that will result in a happier tomorrow! Just do it already! :)

Le Concert

 It's today! It's today! :) You know the part in Stuart Little with adorable little Jonathon Whatshisname? He is running around yelling about how today is the day he gets a little brother. He is just so incredibly excited. That is how I feel. Except, I am geeking out over a concert, he is thinking he is getting a baby brother (spoilers, its a mouse).

 

 Today all my buddies and I are going to see The Postal Service! We bought tickets to this concert back in March, so I've been prepping for this for awhile! If you don't know their music...check it out. It will be worth your while!!

 I think there are 5 of us going, and we are trying to pile into one car. I am not driving, so that means that all of my effort for the day needs to be put into securing "shotgun". I tried texting "shotgun" this morning, but that was quickly shot down. The rules clearly state that all parties must be present and the vehicle must be in sight. I don't know what I was thinking.

  Also, it is supposed to rain tonight. I could NOT be more excited. Its going to be like 80 degrees with summer showers. I LOVE summer showers, more than almost anything! :) Super, duper pumped am I!

 Oh!! P.S.!! It is my dearest Cousin Mary's birthday today. She is the absolute coolest, and deserves the happiest of  birthdays!! :)

Les Mis Is A Big Deal, We Get It.

 The first time I ever heard about Les Mis was in 7th grade. My teacher was going on about how great a book it was. I remembered thinking "I should totally read that", but I guess 7th grade crap got in the way. I then kind of forgot all about Les Mis until I was probably in 9th grade, and I watched the movie (not the movie-musical, mind ya!). It was awesome. If you haven't seen it, watch it. After that, I forgot all about it again until the movie-musical came out last year. I went and saw it, and thought that would be the end of it. Nope! A friend of mine is performing in a stage production of Les Mis this summer. I went and saw that, also amazing. I think I enjoyed the stage production better than the movie production. I think. It is tough to decide. I guess Les Mis will keep cropping up because, let's admit it, Les Mis is a big, ol' deal.

 Prior to seeing the musical a couple months ago, I didn't know much about it. I knew that it was a Broadway performance. I had heard the whole Susan Boyle thing, when she sang the big Fantine song and wow'd all of Britain. I think Glee might have done a version of the really dramatic Eponine song. But, its not like I was a big lover of the music to begin with. After having watched it, yes I love it. Yes, it is a big ol' deal. But, I think I still love the story more than the music.

 My super analytic sister pointed out once that the line in the music that best sums up the story is "to love another person is to see the face of God". Well done, Sloan. You are dead on!! The whole damn play is about love and how different people experience and express the love they feel.

 Jean Valjean, obviously has selfless love. He was only imprisoned because he was stealing to feed his family. He ends up raising some chick's kid, just because it was his fault she got fired from her job (which, let's face it, did ultimately result in her death. So, he definitely owed her something.)

Javert seems like a total jerk, but really he is just super devoted to his job. He loves France, and has so much respect for the position he keeps, serving his country. When he realizes that Valjean is a super great guy and probably doesn't deserve life in prison, he can't even deal with the idea of not doing his job, so he kills himself. Kind of a misunderstood love, but it was definitely there.

 Faninte just loves the crap out of her baby girl. She works herself to death trying to provide for her. That is obviously just really great, good-old-fashioned love.

 The whole Eponine-Marius-Cosette triangle is crazy full of love. Eponine expresses unrequited love. She'd do anything for Marius, even if it means helping him get some other chick (which she does, ultimately resulting in HER death. Spoilers. Everyone dies, guys.) Cosette and Marius annoy the crap out of me. They are so caught up in their little infatuations, that they sort of block everything/everyone else out. I guess that is nice in its own way. They have a fairy tale-ish, hopeful love. Not really practical when the freaking French Revolution is happening, but I guess someone forgot to tell them that. They are the only ones who survive the whole thing, so I guess they had something going for them.

 Anyway, it is just a really great story. Being a big lover of love, this story just really did it for me. You should read the book. Do it. Do it, now.