Musician’s Widow

Can this week… or just this day… get more hectic?

1. Let’s just hit the nail on the head… my to do list actually has “Sleep” and “Remove nail polish” for today. Why? Because both are things I’m not sure when to fit in! Actually, I did get about 5 hours of sleep already. So theoretically, I should be okay. I’m just going to be one tired puppy by the end of today. Remove nail polish… well, most of its already chipped off. I only have two nails with polish left at this point. I’m not joking… It’s all chipped off except for two nails! This is unacceptable.

2. Slideshow. This should seriously be done already. But seeing as how I have nine million other projects on my plate, (Photo editing, CD designing, web-site building, you know… that stuff.) I guess its also amazing its as done as it is. And actually it would be complete, but I had a blonde moment and assumed I still had DVD-Rs laying around. Nope! I have to make a mad dash to the store for them this afternoon, then pray it all burns properly to be used… TONIGHT.

3. Clean… my sister-in-law will be in town tomorrow. I know we’re hoping she can come by and see our house. The problem is, her visit lands right at the end of two of the busiest weeks I’ve had in awhile. I’m trying to clean the house, but with time being a major factor I might go, “So… imagine what it looks like clean, because I just ain’t got time for that right now.” (A week from now? Not an issue. This place would sparkle. Tomorrow? It’s not looking too promising.)

4. Windshield. So storms Tuesday decided to take out my windshield in my truck. I should really make this a post all its own. I know this is NOTHING compared to what people in Oklahoma are going through. I know this. But it was still a major source of stress for me. Especially after finding out my deductible on my comprehensive auto insurance is higher than the cost of the replacement. So insurance said, “LOL SORRY GOOD LUCK.”  But then proceeded to tell us we were obligated to use a specific shop since we use them as an insurance. Uhm. No. We aren’t. You can’t tell us that. Especially when the shop you want me to use has terrible reviews and pages on pages of complaints on Pissed Consumer. So we found a local shop with glowing reviews. And instead of waiting until Tuesday (as we’d have had to do with the shop our insurance said we were “obligated” to use)… its already been replaced.

5. Blog post. Oh hey look… done. So, maybe my to do list is slowly shortening after all!  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Growing up, we had a peach tree outside of our house. As a result, I love fresh picked peaches. I’m not talking peaches from the store, I mean picked off the tree, rubbed against your jeans leg “to clean it off” and bit into right there. I suppose I am a bit picky about my peaches…

But I have to say, what Georgia Peaches I’ve had have all be aaaaamazing. So when I saw 360 Georgia Peach Vodka, I had to try it. At the bar, we deal with a lot of flavored vodkas, but I’d not tried peach yet.

Everyone I’ve told about this vodka has gone, “OOoh!”  And, yes, its most definitely “OOh!” worthy. I think I have a new favorite flavored vodka.

Open the lid and you’re hit with the smell of peaches. I’ve tried it with water, Sprite and orange juice… with orange juice as my favorite mixer. It’s the ultimate Fuzzy Navel!!

This is just one of 360 Vodka‘s many flavors. I reviewed their Buttered Popcorn flavor back in November. (By the way, we did finally finish the bottle of it about a week ago.) For as quirky as that flavor is, that’s how smooth and fresh Georgia Peach is. I’d highly recommend grabbing a bottle for some fun summer-time drinks.

And if the flavor doesn’t pull you in, the fun bottles and the fact that 360 Vodka is eco-friendly might do the trick. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

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Did anyone watch The Voice last night? I don’t generally watch singing competition shows, but I’ve followed this one this year because of one particular singer on it.

Holly Tucker caught my attention a year and a half ago at the MDA Muscle Walk in Waco. She sang a couple songs, and I couldn’t stop gushing over her talent afterwards. (Here is a video I took of her singing “Hero” that day.) I declared that she’d be a star some day, if she’d just never give up on it.

She’s on The Voice this year, and has made the top 10! Last night, she sang, “How Great Thou Art,” choosing to stand behind her belief in God and proclaim it to the world. She gave me chills. She brought tears to my eyes. God bless her, she stood strong against the critics that were sure to come.

Yesterday, a horrible, horrible tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma. A week ago, a tornado hit Granbury, TX. Last month, a fertilizer plant exploded in West, TX. At the end of last year, a shooter walked into an elementary school in Newtown, CT and killed 26 people.

And you know what I saw every single time. EVERY time? People sending prayers and thoughts to the victims and the survivors. An overwhelming number of prayers going up to God to give them all strength and to hold them in his arms. And I loved seeing that.

Why? Because I am sick — absolutely SICK — of people being made to feel embarrassed for believing in God. Holly said in an interview that her choice of song last night was not to push her belief on others, but to show who she is.

WHEN DID IT BECOME WRONG TO SHOW WHO YOU ARE??

I’m tired of people being told they can’t show they are praying because it might offend someone who doesn’t believe as they do. Why? Why can’t they pray to their God and ask for his strength? Why do they have to deny a part of themselves so as not to offend someone else? At what point do they say, “You telling me I can’t pray offends ME.”

Why is it only okay to proclaim you’re sending prayers up when something bad happens? Or when something really great happens? What about all those other mundane normal days? Isn’t it okay to pray then? Because, frankly, there’s more mundane days than horrible or amazing ones.

I’ve read a few of the critics of Holly’s song choice. Some saying she did it because she knew people would eat it up. Others saying they didn’t like seeing a gospel song on a singing competition. To both, I say they are entitled to their opinions. But to Holly I thank her for having the guts to do it. To stand behind her beliefs and not be afraid to show who she is.

People have been persecuted for their beliefs for thousands of years, and even in this country that was founded on freedom OF religion we’re still fighting persecution. If you proclaim belief in God you’re a “bible thumper” and society mocks you. If you sing a Christian song you’re “doing it for the votes.” If you pray in school, you get expelled.

But I am here, right now, to tell you I am a Christian. I believe in God. I pray every day in my own way. I have faith that He has a plan. And if that offends any one, I am not going to apologize. I’m simply going to say that I am still me. I’m not here to push my faith on you. I’m here to simply ask you respect that its part of who I am. Don’t ask me to deny my God… because I won’t.

The last week, I focused on trying to come up with a blog plan that will help me stay motivated and organized. I have noticed many of the most successful blogs have a plan and stick to it… readers know what to expect day -to-day. I’m finding it helps the writer to know what to expect day-to-day, too!

Mondays are “Making it happen Monday.” I blogged on this last week.

Tuesdays are one of my open days. A day to write about absolutely anything I might be in the mood to talk about. It’ll be a place to review things, rant, share a funny story… anything!

Wednesdays, I’m off. Taking the day off… if I blog on Wednesday, there must be a very good reason!

Thursdays are the #DrinkUpLinkUp fun with the Purple Giraffe!

Friday is my random day with “Five on Friday.”

Saturday is another open topic day. This is the one day I’ll probably struggle the most to write… time-wise as well as motivation-wise. But I’m going to do my best!

Sunday is my Photo Share.

I’m actually enjoying already mapping out the weeks to come, using this schedule. It’s taken a lot of stress away and instead started to make it more fun. It’s all about making it happen!

Photo Share is my personal replacement for Weekly Winners, since that link exchange is no longer happening. It’s just my own challenge to take great photos through the week, as it gives me a venue to share some of them on this blog. Consider it my own little P.S. on the week before.

Photos this week taken with my Sony DSLR A230. Edited using Lightroom 3… or using my Droid Razr and Instagram. You can probably figure out which is which.

Faders

Southern Scapes

Trash can art

Gerbera Daisies

Reach for the light

A bar is no place for a rose

CIder

Big wheels keep on rollin’

Bokeh fun

Alien flower

VTX

Bokeh reflections

We are in graduation season! Many colleges graduated a week ago. And the next few weeks will be full of high school graduations. (As well as Kindergarten, Junior High, etc.)

Graduation — the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma; commencement

Graduation is, to me, both the final award and marking of a lot of hard work done as well as a moment to look back and remember all you did in the time it took to do the hard work. It’s also opening the door to the next phase of life, be it more schooling, going into the workforce, or choosing to start a family. Graduation is a BIG DEAL.

I remember my high school and college graduations with pride. Heck, I still remember my junior high graduation! They’re moments that mark success as well as big changes.

I encourage the class of 2013 to hold tight to this moment and let it carry you years into the future. When you feel like you just can’t do it, think back to this success. You have it in you to do anything! Dare to dream and chase those dreams.

Congratulations to all of you… and look out world. Here you come!