Thursday Thirteen

I haven't done this in quite awhile. So, today I thought I would do 13 quotes that I find interesting, helpful or offer up some much needed insight. Happy Thursday to you all!

1) "Modern man believes he is fruitful and productive when his ego is aggressively affirmed, when he is visibly active, and when his action produces obvious results."
-Thomas Merton

2) "We think too small. Like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view."
-Mao Tse Tung

3) "Perception is merely reality fixed through the prisms of your soul."
-Christopher A. Ray

4) "You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist."
-Indira Gandhi

5) "Meat makes, and clothes shapes, but manners makes a man."
-Scottish Proverb

6) "Your neighbors vision is as true for him as your own vision is true for you."
-Miguel de Unamuno

7) "These are weighty secrets, and we must whisper them."
-Sarah Chauncey Woolsey

8) "Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is a noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials."
- Lin Yutang

9) "All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions, is called a philosopher."
-Ambrose Pierce

10) "Assumptions allow the best in life to pass you by."
-John Sales

11) "To run away from danger, instead of facing it, is to deny one's faith in man and God, even one's own self. It were better to drown oneself than live to declare such bankruptcy of faith."
-Mahatma Gandhi

12) "There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the rest of us,
That it ill behooves any of us,
To say anything about the rest of us."
-Anonymous

13) "We hate some persons because we do not know them, and will not know them because we hate them."
-Charles Caleb Colton

And as a finale because it's too good to leave out:

"Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its virtual unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true."
-Martin Luther King, jr.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen children's books that I read to my children, but yet, I enjoy as well. In no particular order.

What could be better than reading something that allows you to bumble over your words on purpose?? Silly, silly fun.

Yes, Yes. There will be enough room. Skit skat doodle doop flip flop flee.

This one gets me everytime.

I am a whore for the Fat Controller - or what we call him here in the States - Sir Toppem Hatt.


As soon as I saw the front cover of this book, I was all over it. It's simply precious.


Who doesn't like going to blueberry hill to romp around with a bear?


Do you know where your wild things are??

I love the illustrations in this book.



I-Spy books are great. I like looking for the little objects. I'm sure that in a few years when my eyesight is even worse, I won't enjoy these all that much.

The illustrations are marvelous. I like the vintage look the book has. It's a cool 'treasure hunt' book. If a book has semi-decent illustrations, I'm hooked (most of the time). However, I do like a good story.

Madeline. Need I say more?? Two straight lines. A 'naughty' little girl. A French nun in an orphange. I'm all over that.



Olivia is my hero.

Miffy's magnifying glass. I love this simple board book for the 'surprise' ending. My kids still laugh at the end even after the millionth reading.

Thrusday Thirteen

This week's Thursday Thirteen was inspired by Oh, The Joy's and her reference to her & her husband's 'making chicken' playlist. Because, well, we have one too. And I thought it would be fun to share.

Thirteen Songs That Are Great For A Good Shag

1) "Here With Me" - Dido

2) "Turn Your Lights Down Low" - Bob Marley & the Wailers. And one of my personal favorites.

3) "Nice and Slow" - Usher

4) "Sunday Part II" - Cibo Matto

5) "Turn Me On" - Norah Jones

6) "Fade Into You" - Mazzy Star

7) "No Ordinary Love" - Sade

8) "Come Away With Me" - Norah Jones

9) "Heartbeats" - Jose Gonzalez

10) "Steady As We Go" - Dave Matthews Band

11) "This Years Love" - David Gray

12) The entire 'Parachutes" album by Coldplay

13) and of course....."Let's Get It On" - Marvin Gaye

Now I'm not saying these songs aren't cheesy or necessarily all that 'good'. But in a pinch, they get the mood set and the job done!

Happy Thursday!!

Thursday Thirteen Character Line-Up

My Thriteen Favorite Literary Characters

1) Atticus Finch - In my 'book' (no pun intended), there is no better character. He is the epitome of 'good' and justice. Just a simple, quiet, smart man.

2) Scout Finch - Hilarious, cheeky and smart.

3) Boo Radley - He always gives me chill at the end of the book. A character that is barely present as far as dialogue - but THERE the entire time.

Considering "To Kill A Mockingbird" is my favorite book, I had to put 3 characters from it on here.

4) Olivia the pig from the children's books by Ian Falconer

5) Ramona Quimby from the 'Ramona' series of books

I know, I know these two are from children's books, but they're both cheeky, precocious and funny. I can't argue with that.

6) Professor Dumbledore (this needs no explanation)

7) Scarlett O'Hara - I read the book before I saw the movie, thank goodness. Because I was totally disappointed in her character developement, or lack there-of, in the movie. People always have preconceived notions on this character - some are true. But you have to read the book to get a full appreciation of how courageous she was. A great character for young women to read about.

8) Hannibal Lecter - Again, reading the book allows you to dive deeper into the abyss of this character's mind. Macabre, yet amazing.

9) Chief Bromden from "One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest"

10) David Sedaris as "Crumpet" in 'Holidays On Ice' -freaking hilarious, like all of his stuff.

11) Miss Havisham from 'Great Expectations' - I read this years and years ago and just remember being surprised and interested in this character. I need to give this book a re-read.

12) Elphaba from 'Wicked'. I'll be honest, I havent' finsished this book yet. However, I'm completely taken in by this character who is to become the Wicked Witch of The West.

13) Ruth from 'The Book of Ruth' - again, another book that deserves a re-read. I remember how down-trodden this character was and she just keeps plugging along. She could be so simple, yet smart. She just never trusted herself.


**Added On**
By-the-by, I mean "The Book of Ruth" by Jane Hamilton...not the biblical book. Just thought I'd clear that up.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Songs That I Love To Enjoy with Gracie:

1)'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' by Judy Garland - This is self-explanatory. Gracie 'gets' this song already. And everytime she hears it, it stops here in her tracks.

2)'Part of Your History' by Blue Merle - This song is sort of sad and sentimental. The first time I heard it, it just grabbed hold of me. I put it on one of Gracie's lullaby CD's. She loves it when I sing it to her.

3)'Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby' - by Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris - I first heard this in the movie 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' I was mesmerized (it was an effective choice then, for the 'Sirens'). I downloaded it right away and again slapped it onto a lullaby CD for Gracie. She walks around singing it all of the time and asks me to play it on our computer.

4)'Free Little Bird' by Lisa Loeb & Elizabeth Mitchell- The entire CD 'Catch The Moon' is charming. But the first time I heard this particular song, it reminded me of Grace. I don't think she's all that crazy about the song - but it fits her personality.

5)'Sweet Rose' by Matt Costa - One of Gracie's personal favorites. She sings along and dances to this one. I enjoy this one too and was excited to discover that it found a place in her little heart.

6)'Anthony' by Nickel Creek - Again, one of Gracie's favorites. When I first bought the album this song is on, I was bewitched by this little song. I guess Gracie was too. She used to refer to this song as 'Mmm Hm Hm' because she could not yet pronounce 'Anthony'. There is a section in this song that is hummed like that.....

7)'With My Own Two Hands by Jack Johnson & Ben Harper - I don't know that she 'likes' this song or not. But as a mom who wants her children to be aware of themselves in their community & the world, I felt that it is my responsibility to share such a great song.

8)'Dream A Little Dream Of Me' by Mama Cass - I just love singing this to her. Mama Cass's delivery of this song is so sweetly simple.

9)'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' by The Beatles - We love to dance and be silly to this song. I always feel a 100 times better after singing and dancing along with her to this song.

10)'Get Rhythm' by Johnny Cash - As Gracie says, "Shake It". She really gets her groove on to this one. So does mommy! I love this song & it's basic message: 'Get rhythm, when you get the blues.' I find my best comfort in songs, so this is a no brainer to share with her.

11)'Gotta Get Drunk' by The Little Willies - Yeah, Yeah. Inappropriate?! Maybe a little. But she and I LOVE to jump around singing to this one. It's so fast-paced. And SO much fun!!

12)'The Long Way Home' by Norah Jones - We like to sit still and snuggle to this one. She rests her head on my chest and I quietly sing this to her.

13)'Buffalo Soldier' by Bob Marley & the Wailers - (of course!)The first Bob Marley song that she requests to hear.......over..............and over. That may be fleeting because I believe she is moving on to 'One Drop'(one of my favorites). But I was busting with pride at the fact that she enjoys this one so much. Could it be the horns??

Hmmmm..........

Thursday Thirteen Ramblings

THIRTEEN RANDOM THOUGHTS. Brought to you by: My scattered, crazy mind.

1) "His capa was detated." From last week's episode of 'The Office'. Michael was taken aback by his old boss passing away & he then finding out he was in an auto accident & was decapitated. That show is too funny & of all the 'wrong' things Michael says, this one just took the cake for me.
2) Without even thinking about it, my brain automatically will make a word/words/phrase out of the jumble of letters from the word verification when leaving a comment. I'm completely bizarre-o.
3) "He flicked me...with, with.....the end of himself." A quote from a "Mad About You" episode that I still find completely amusing. It has somehow come back to me after all of these years. I just love it.
4) I was sitting at the diningroom table with Connor while - making a project - and out of nowhere he exclaims, "BOOYAH!"

Where in the hell did that come from?? Where did he learn that??


5) I climbed into bed the other night. About an hour+ after I wanted to be in bed. Bry rolls over to me and says, "What time is it?" I replied, "Sex-o-clock".



6) There is nothing like a hot cup of coffee with Coconut Creme creamer on a chilly, rainy afternoon.


7) Lucky Charms - since childhood - has been my favorite cereal. However, a few months ago, I realized that the shapes of the oat pieces are the same shapes in 'Meow Mix' cat food. I'm completely freaked out by this.


8) I love thrift shopping. Monday, at the Goodwill, a clerk kindly gave me this hanging Tiffany-style diningroom lighting fixture. (I had been wanting one of these forever, but never wanted to pay the $).
I was stoked. After finding some cool clothes for Gracie, the light fixture was the cherry on top.

9) Has anyone else drawn the parallels between George W. Bush and Lord Farquaad from 'Shrek'?? I have thought this since the first time I saw the movie.

Especially when Lord Farquaad is amping up the Knight's to go on the quest to rescue Princess Fiona. He's addressing the knights in a public arena. He's speaking at his huge podium and says to the knights: "Some of you may die. But it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
Sorry, but that sounds like good 'ole W. to me.
10) What is the point of cleaning my house?? When TWO MINUTES LATER, it is completely destroyed by two sets of little hands?
I've given up on having a clean house.



11) My heart melted into a goopy, syrup-y mess, when last night, my baby girl sang along with me to Judy Garland's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".
It was a beautiful little moment. Gracie sings it better than I do.

12) There are two people from my past that I was really mean to.
One was from 6th grade.
The other was from the winter of 2000.
I have made up my mind that, before I die, I must find and contact these two individuals to offer up my sincere, heart-felt apologies.
It's been eating me alive for years that I could have ever been so cruel.



13) Bryan is in a training class to work in the prison's for overtime. He said to me, "I think that I want to do the S.E.R.T. training." I ask, "What is that again?" He replies, "It is the Emergency Response Team in the prisons. You know, basically it's their SWAT team." I told him, "Do It." He says, "Yeah, but the training is five weeks long. I'd have to get into shape......." Me: "Honey, if this is something you want to do, then DO IT. Find a way to make it happen."
Why can't I take my own advice?