It's Christmastime

With all the Christmas music playing in the stores, why not try a new rendition of classics this season.  Michael Buble is SO talented and he is teaming up with some amazing vocal talent in this years newest Christmas album.  ENJOY!

Armless Archer - Matt Stutzman

A friend shared this link with me and I was simply amazed.  I struggle using my hands to get some jobs done and this guy uses his feet to do everything!

Matt Stutzman is an archer, as well as many other things, and is an incredible inspiration.  I can't imagine the patience he must have.  Simply an incredible story!

Enjoy!

Synchronized Gymnastics

This was simply beautiful to watch and really incredible too.  I didn't even know there was an event called synchronized gymnastics but then again, I'm not surprised.  Amazingly talented people with great disciple and skill.  ENJOY!

Silhouette Dancing

This was an incredibly original dance, done by an amazing cast of dancers who are from the Denver, Colorado area and they call themselves the Silhouette's.

The song they danced to was by Kirk Franklin (a Christian artist) called Imagine.  I know a woman who used to be a BGV (background vocal) for his tour so this was kind of cool to hear his song in this piece.

Enjoy this very original dance!  It is like something you have never seen!

Best Marriage Proposal - EVER!

So this has gone viral on You Tube and was posted on May 16, 2011.  It is a very unique and original marriage proposal.

Watch it and notice in the lower left corner is the LIVE reaction of the future bride.  GREAT clip!

So creative and memorable.  This one will be hard to top for all you future grooms out there!

3 Year Old and Beethoven's 5th Symphony

This is just too cute and I bet one day, he grows up and has a career in music.  This 3 year old, Jonathan, is conducting the 4th Movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.  He is pretty much amazing as he KNOWS the music and he also can keep the tempo.  Quite astonishing and very candid.  This should really put a smile on your face.  I bet some have never even heard this piece yet alone could conduct it!  Bravo Mistro!  Bravo!

Miracle on Ice

Well the year was 1980 on February 22nd and the USA Olympic Hockey Team skated into history.  Most people talk about who they watch the game with and where they were watching as this was UNBELIEVABLE.  Here is a classic clip of sports infamy.

I was one who was privileged enough to actually hold one of the medals - Mike Ramsey #5 worked a summer job with one of my brothers so we were allowed to have a "family" viewing.  INCREDIBLE memory.  Do You Believe in Miracles?

Welcome to Texas

Interesting new song I heard that I thought was worth sharing.  I KNOW some of these people here in Texas who think this way.  I would like to think I am a bit more inclusive than the writers of this song.  Welcome to Texas is NOT a total look at Texas but it surely is a look.  Most Texans I know like their church and their politics too.  A bit of a bias state, but a great state to live in!  Welcome to Texas!

2011 American Idol

Ran across this clip from the 2011 American Idol auditions and had to share this incredible voice and his touching story.

16-year-old Brett Loewenstern has faced a life of reticule and teasing yet he persevered and continued to press into what he does best, singing.  The song of his selection is bit less than one of my favorites (Bohemian Rhapsody) but his creamy voice makes up for what the lyrics lack.

Enjoy this up and coming voice.  I am sure we will be hearing more from him in the future.

Jolly Green Giant and Santa

This is too cute.  Even though this is NOT the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!  Jolly Green Giant and Santa - ENJOY!

America's Got Talent - Jackie Evancho

This is an incredible little girl with a HUGE voice.  This is a MUST listen to clip of Jackie Evancho on America's Got Talent show this past week.  Simply beautiful!

This was an earlier performance by Jackie Evancho on America's Got Talent back in August!  What a gift!

Teaching Baby to Sleep in Her Crib

Teaching your baby to sleep in their own crib can be quite challenging and this creative father took it to a new level.  Thought this was too funny and just had to share it.  I know for me, I think baby would be sleeping next to me, in my bed before I would do this! 

I'm Yours - Jason Mraz

This is just TOO cute and amazing.  I would guess this boy to be four-ish by his teeth and size but his finger control is pretty amazing.  I'm Yours on the ukulele...pretty incredible!

Here is the original version by Jason Mraz, just to gain some perspective if you haven't already heard it.  The kid did a pretty good job, I would say!

Nobody's Darling But Mine - Jimmie Davis

My brother was reminiscing about days from his childhood and remembers how our dad used to play the ukulele and sing to our mom.  This is special because many of the memories of our childhood some would say were, not so great.  Mom was trying to hold the family of eight children together with very little money, bills and a husband who was inconsistent.  There definitely were hard and many sad times, but in the midst of the trouble there were very special and wonderful memories as well.  My parents loved each other even though they divorced because of my father's irresponsibility and his drinking.
See my dad was an alcoholic but through much prayer and finally repentance, he changed.  He went to treatment (again as he had done several times in the past.  This one was a six week program) but he was there for nine months.  (It took him a bit longer to unwind his messed up thinking and acknowledge his mistakes than most, but he stayed and dealt with his issues.)  His counselor told him how he should just move forward knowing that he didn't deserve his wife and family back as he had caused so much damage from his behavior. The incredible part of their story was my dad finally understood his failure and he came to my mom and repented of ALL he had done to destroy their family and marriage and he acknowledged how he didn't deserve her love but wanted her to know that he would always love her.  This was the first time in all the years they were married that my dad owned his issues toward my mom and he didn't blame her, the boss, the government, no one but himself.  This was a "new" perspective for my mom and she knew something had changed.  She had never seen this side of my dad.  She forgave him and accepted his apology and they began to date again.  Shortly after that, they remarried.  See, God can fix ANYTHING!

Life is a choice and we can choose to dwell on what is (or was) wrong or we can choose to focus on whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is ANY excellence and if anything worthy of praise, DWELL on these things. (Philippians 4:8)  We each have to decide what we are going to hold in our hearts.  We choose to lock or unlock our hearts!

See my brother chooses to remember the good times as we were kids and in doing so he found this song.  He too used to play the ukulele and recently decided to pick it up again.  He and his friend (who plays guitar) have been playing every evening and then remembered this old song my dad used to play and sing to my mother before the divorce.  See my parents did love each other, they just had to learn how love should act toward one another.  In this world of easy divorce and quick turn-arounds, we all could stand to give those people who we think are too far gone another chance if they, like my dad, show that they have changed.

With some help from the Internet, they found the chords and the words to the old song, Nobody's Darling But Mine and he sent me the link.  In talking to a few of the siblings, he asked if they too remembered the song as my dad would sing it to my mom.  Of course they did and it brought back great memories of days gone by.

Nobody's Darling But Mine - Freddie Stewart (3/25/1925 - 8/15/2000) sings in this version. 
Nobody's Darling But Mine - Guitarist.  This could be how my dad sounded.
Nobody's Darling But Mine - Merle Haggard.  I share this link because Merle's voice was similar to my father's minus the heavy southern accent.
Nobody's Darling But Mine - Rosemary Clooney.  I put this link because my dad loved Rosemary's voice and I think he would like hearing her sing it again.
Nobody's Darling But Mine - The Whitstein Brothers.  This was just a great rendition of the song.

Dog Whisperer

This is just precious!  If you have ever had puppies in the home, this guy is a MUST to have around.  Who knew there was a "Dog Whisperer"!

New Words to Know

So, for all of you that are so into being in the know, these are probably words you already use and most definitely know the definition of their meaning.  For the rest of us, here you go:

• chill pill a notional pill taken to make someone calm down
• chillax calm down and relax
• turducken a roast dish consisting of a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey
• bargainous costing less than is usual or than might be expected; cheap or relatively cheap
• staycation holiday spent in one's home country
• fussbudget a fussy person
• vuvuzela long horn blown by fans at soccer matches
• national treasure someone/thing regarded as emblematic of a nation's cultural heritage
• buzzkill a person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect
• social media websites and applications used for social networking
• microblogging the posting of very short entries on a blog
• netbook small light laptop
• dictionary attack an attempt to gain illicit access to a computer system by using a very large set of words to generate potential passwords
• paywall an arrangement whereby access is restricted to users who have paid to subscribe to a website
• freemium a business model, especially on the Internet, whereby basic services are provided free of charge while more advanced features must be paid for
• automagically automatically and in a way that seems ingenious, inexplicable, or magical
• carbon capture and storage the process of trapping and storing carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels
• geoengineering manipulation of environmental processes in an attempt to counteract the effects of global warming
• toxic debt debt which has a high risk of default
• deleveraging the process or practice of reducing the level of one's debt by rapidly selling one's assets
• overleveraged having taken on too much debt
• quantitative easing the introduction of new money into the money supply by a central bank
• exit strategy a pre-planned means of extricating oneself from a situation
• overthink think about (something) too much or for too long
• catastrophizing view or present a situation as considerably worse than it actually is
• soft skills personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people
• matchy-matchy excessively colour-coordinated
• LBD little black dress
• frenemy a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry
• cheeseball lacking taste, style, or originality
• cool hunter a person whose job it is to make observations or predictions about new styles and trends
• hikikomori the abnormal avoidance of social contact, typically by adolescent males (in Japan)
• steampunk a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advance technology
• tweetup a meeting organized by means of posts on Twitter
• bromance a close but non-sexual relationship between two men
• wardrobe malfunction an instance of a person accidentally exposing an intimate part of their body as a result of an article of clothing slipping out of position
• defriend another term for unfriend (remove someone from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site)
• Interweb the Internet
• hater negative person

You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You/Let There be Love

Here is some classic footage from days gone by Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin singing You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You/Let There be Love. The link is from the Dean Martin Show which aired from 1965 to 1974.  I remember watching it toward the end of it's production run when I was a kid.  It was one of my "mom's" shows.  You know, like the Lawrence Welk Show, the Carol Burnett Show and don't forget the Sound of Music.  All Classics now!

My mother was born in the city of music, Vienna, Austria so she loved all the classic stuff.  Seeing this clip, I can see her singing along. Well ok, maybe not exactly singing ALONG!  She would be a measure or two ahead or possibly behind where they were in the music score.  She didn't care.  She was enjoying the moment.  She would sing "her" version and try to follow along with them.  She knew most if not all of the words and you could almost feel her re-living her younger days.  If  mom wasn't singing "with" them, she most probably would be whistling the rifts.  If it was a truly happy tune she might even get up and dance along too!

Mom loved music and we always had it playing in the house...the oldies.  You know, the late 1930's and into the 1940's stuff.  I don't remember just listening to music we all participated with the music and mom was the first to join in.  Some of my sweetest memories were with mom was when she was whistling and she really was good at it too!  She loved the song White Christmas (by Bing Crosby), Chattanooga Choo Choo and Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire by Nate King Cole.  Then again, anything Nate King Cole, Perry Como, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin were things she loved.

In her later years, due to health problems that caused a facial nerve issue, she was unable to ever whistle again.  I missed hearing her tunes.  I remember getting on an elevator at the hospital after seeing her and the MUSAC was playing a tune (you know...the elevator music songs).  Those were her favorites and she loved to whistle along.  I remember I started to cry hearing the tune Sentimental Journey playing.  I could clearly hear her whistling her parts in my mind.

Grocery shopping for me just isn't the same since then because I grew up hearing her "whistle" along to the tunes playing as we shopped.  Oh the memories.  This one is for you mom!

Good memories from the past.  ENJOY!

Only in Texas

Ok - so this was an email that I received and being that I live in Texas I just had to share it with "y'all".  Hope you enjoy it too! :-D

Only in Texas

A history/geography lesson for all Texans, used-to-be Texans, adopted Texans or wanna-be Texans. Some names of cities with their zip code, plus more...

Just Texas:
Pep , Texas 79353
Smiley , Texas 78159
Paradise , Texas 76073
Rainbow , Texas 76077
Sweet Home , Texas 77987
Comfort , Texas 78013
Friendship, Texas 76530

Love the sun?
Sun City, Texas 78633
Sunrise, Texas 76661
Sunset, Texas 76270
Sundown, Texas 79372
Sunray, Texas 79086
Sunny Side, Texas 77423

You Know You Are Living in 2010 when...

This was a cute e-mail I received.  SO true!  ENJOY!
1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave...
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you...
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to share this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW U R LAUGHING AT YOURSELF

Star Spangled Banner

Rhema Marvanne Voraritskul is an amazing 7 year old from Texas who is shown singing the Star Spangled Banner with an incredible ability.  This was just so fun, I had to share it.