I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing ... In Perfect Harmony

"Walk in the rain, jump in mud puddles, collect rocks, rainbows and roses, smell flowers, blow bubbles, stop along the way, build sandcastles, say hello to everyone, go barefoot, go on adventures, act silly, fly kites, have a merry heart, talk with animals, sing in the shower, read childrens' books, take bubble baths, get new sneakers, hold hands and hug and kiss, dance, laugh and cry for the health of it, wonder and wander around, feel happy and precious and innocent, feel scared, feel sad, feel mad, give up worry and guilt and shame, say yes, say no, say the magic words, ask lots of questions, ride bicycles, draw and paint, see things differently, fall down and get up again, look at the sky, watch the sun rise and sun set, watch clouds and name their shapes, watch the moon and stars come out, trust the universe, stay up late, climb trees, daydream, do nothing and do it very well, learn new stuff, be excited about everything, be a clown, enjoy having a body, listen to music, find out how things work, make up new rules, tell stories, save the world, make friends with the other kids on the block, and do anything else that brings more happiness, celebration, health, love, joy, creativity, pleasure, abundance, grace, self-esteem, courage, balance, spontaneity, passion, beauty, peace, relaxation, communication and life energy to ... all living beings on this planet."
~ Bruce Williamson

I totally love this quote and wanted to share. It's very encouraging and helped me with my own outlooks/perspectives on life.

Smiles,
Angie

Feel Good Inc ...

This past Saturday was such a wonderful day. I did something that I haven't done in years ~ slept til noon. OMG! I must've needed it. My husband went fishing, so I had all the opportunity in the world to do whatever I wanted ... my mind and body chose sleep. I finally took a picture of myself with my SoGoPro t-shirt on, but haven't had the chance to upload the picture to Flickr. I'm having a little bit of a hard time getting passed the fact that I don't like to see pictures of myself (years of body image issues). I promise I will upload them in the next couple of days. If not, harass me about it. Sometimes all I need is a gentle push in the right direction :)

On Sunday, I drove about 40 miles away to watch my friends race motocross. It is something that I absolutely love to do. The weather held out for us ... no rain, no sun, no wind ~ just a little chilly and overcast ~ perfect weather for some racing. I wore my SGP shirt and told tons of people about it! Hopefully, that will result in more followers and more donations!

Smiles,
Angie

This Bibis Song Is Amazing ...

Thank you Southern Gothic Productions for introducing me to (yet again) something new. I am totally in love with Bibis Ellison's music. I found this song ... made me cry ... thought I'd share at least the lyrics with you. She is an extraordinary performer ... really REAL! I can relate to almost every song that I've heard in one way or another, whether it's the lyrics, a familiar riff or just a common feeling. You should totally check her out when you can! How about RIGHT NOW?!?!?!?!

Tonight, Little Girl

The world hates you tonight, little girl
And you've not a tear to cry
Your secret hideaway is gone
And your jewelry box is empty

Your toys are rusted from the rain
And your dollies all are broken
Your eyes are raw and once there was
Baby's schoolyard is empty

They tell me to have faith
But it's hard when there's nothing I even believe
And I'm waiting for signals
The ones that you promised
But it's only my eyes that will bleed

Why didn't the wind blow you my way?
Why didn't the trees cradle you for me?
And keep you living for me?

The world hates you tonight, little girl
And it's true you're being selfish
So keep the mommas warm and tight
You can unravel later

Keep the lipstick battle down
She is grieving so it seems
And when you see her keep in mind
That blood stains pretty badly

They tell me to have faith
But it's hard when there's nothing I even believe
And I'm waiting for signals
The ones that you promised
But it's only my eyes that will bleed

Why didn't the wind blow you my way?
Why didn't the trees cradle you for me?
And keep you living for me?

The world hates you tonight, little girl
Guess now you can't have secrets
He's watching, waiting silently
He believed in what he is now

So listen closely to the wind
He'll be speaking very sweetly
Hold the red nice and tight
You are on your own now

Imagine ...

I've been thinking a lot about this song, so I just had to share. When my good friend passed away in a motorcycle accident a couple of years ago, I went and looked at his myspace account. I'm not a myspace type of person so I hadn't seen his profile. When I opened it, I found a collage of pictures that he had put together on a OneTrueMedia player to this song. The pictures were all of his friends and things that he liked to do. He died doing something that he loved to do. That's what I want to do ... I mean, why not?

Anyway ... ladies and gentlemen ... John Lennon! (*applause* ... then a hush came over the crowd as they listened intently)


Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say
I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one


Thank you for letting me share! Ya know, now that I think about it, this song reminds me of Southern Gothic Productions too! No wonder I've been thinking about this song so much. Makes me think of my friends :)

Smiles,
Angie

Walking On Sunshine ...

I must say that I am so glad that it's Friday today. It's the end of a loooooong couple of weeks (at work). In my last post, I had mentioned that I believe that Happiness Breeds Happiness ... that still rings true. I'm doing a couple of things in the next few days that I've never done before, so I'm totally excited!

First, I'm going to watch Supercross at Qwest Field in Seattle for the first time. I've watched it on tv for years, but this year ... I am so sick of television that I thought I would actually GO this time instead. Can't beat fifteen bucks to watch motorcycle racing all day long.

I can't wait to wear my SoGoPro t-shirt there. I'll try my best to have someone get a picture of it! *on a side note ... my husband cannot believe that I would want to wear an autographed shirt at all ... he doesn't understand the urge that we all have to share SGP with the world.*

The second thing that I'm doing that is new is going to Vancouver, BC *Canada*. I've been to Victoria, BC once before (I won a trip off of the radio ... that's another story that I'll tell you at a later date). I really loved Victoria when I was there. I couldn't believe how much cleaner it was than in America. I hope Vancouver is the same!

I'll post again and let ya'll know how it went! Thank you guys for your continued support ... makes me so happy that I could just cry ... in the good way :) Ali and Megan Mary ~ thank you for taking good care of my feelings! You give me encouragement and the "want" to do better, live better and be better ~ I am so lucky to have met you :)

Smiles,
Angie

I'm Only Happy When It Rains ...

If that's the case, it must rain all but a few days here in Washington ... yep, that's pretty accurate!

I've (re)discovered that happiness breeds happiness. As some of you know, I've had a rough few weeks, but with my last post, I decided to simply (and not so simply) change my attitude to look for and appreciate the good things in my life.

I wanted to share with you the "goodness" that has followed my change in attitude.

First, my husband spent two days preparing all the fixins for homemade navy bean soup. I've never had that kind of soup before ... and I was oh-so-pleasantly surprised! It was soooo tasty.

Second, I received my autographed SoGoPro t-shirt in the mail today, hand-signed by the lovely and talented Hilarie Burton. Please help them out and order one or two (or more) from them at: http://southerngothicproductions.blogspot.com/. You will be so happy that you did! They are offering the autographed t-shirts for a LIMITED time only ... and with these rough economic times, they could really use the extra funding ... so Go ... Now ... and get one for yourself and everybody that you know!

Third (oh yeah, so excited that I forgot what I was talking about!), I wanted to thank all of you (Kim, Becca, Megan Mary, Missa and others) for giving me support and friendship and good feelings about myself, when I truly did not have it. An extra special, from the bottom of my heart, soulful THANK YOU to Ali, who has "had my back" since day 1 and always makes me feel special and included! I hope that if they (or any of my friends at SGP) are going through a rough patch, that I can be there for them the same way with inspiring words and *hugz*!

Smiles,
Angie

Glitter In The Air

So, for a couple of weeks now, I seriously haven't been myself. I'm usually a happy-go-lucky girl with a smile always on my face. Lately, I've been quite a downer. No more. I'm finished with that. What changed? Well, I was listening to some of my old records yesterday and came across Nena's '99 Luftballons'. I started to play it and I could feel tons of weight come off of my shoulders. I don't know what it is about listening to a song that is in a foreign language. I think it's that you feel the music and the words, instead of just listening to them ... like I imagine opera to be.

I totally feel like throwing a bunch of glitter confetti up in the air and dancing around like a little girl on her birthday ... center stage ... belle of the ball.

I forget about the little things that make me truly happy. I figured that I would list them here, so that I could go back and remind myself of what really matters in this world.

Kittens, vinyl records, a pair of perfect-fitting and worn in jeans, shopping at second-hand stores, hats, snuggly blankets, wood heat and hot cocoa on a cold winter's day, standing/dancing in the rain, my cat Pinkus and my dog Ellie, my autographed picture of Hilarie Burton that I bought off of Ebay (that is probably a total fake, but I love the idea of it), One Tree Hill, my Marilyn Monroe collection, butterfly-collared polyester shirts, comfy slippers, the art of Mark Ryden and music, music, music. Music is a cure all for me! In fact, I've added my fourth playlist on Last.fm ... if you want to check them out, my site is: http://www.last.fm/user/anewbury. I hope that maybe it can be a cure all for you too, if you're feeling down or sad or just out-of-sorts.

Anyhoo ~ feeling so much better and wouldn't have if not for music and my friends on Southern Gothic's site (http://southerngothicproductions.blogspot.com/). Check them out too ... you'll be awfully glad that you did!

Smiles,
Angie

Who Knows ...

"I think there's something more, life's worth living for
Who knows what could happen.
Do what you do, just keep on laughing
One thing's true, there's always a brand new day
Who knows what could happen.
Do what you do, just keep on laughing
One thing's true, there's always a brand new day
I'm gonna live today like it's my last day."

Everytime I hear these lyrics, I think Yeah, I'm
totally gonna do that ... and I never do. I think
it's time to get on the ball and Just Do It!

I feel like I've been working so hard for all of
these years and for what? I'm stuck paying
all of the bills, doing all of the housework and
taking care of every little thing in my life ...
while others just sit around and reap the
benefits. One day, I'll be strong enough to
speak up about it ... and when I do, it's going
to be like a waterfall of emotions!

Thank goodness I have strength and support
at Southern Gothic Productions. I feel included
and stable and well, all over the place. There
are so many ideas floating around to ponder.
Lovin' it!

Smiles,
Angie