Christmas Countdown -- Acapella Style

Brilliant! Love everything about this. These guys are super talented and just a whole lot of fun to watch. Enjoy!

Christmas Countdown--Tim Hawkins Style

Christmas Countdown

Well it's not Wednesday, but I can't resist posting another Christmas Countdown video. There are simply not enough weeks in December to get in all these brilliant Christmas videos!

So this one is such a classic. LOVE it. Regardless of the political message in it, the song is genius musically, if you ask me for my non-expert opinion. I'm pretty sure you could sing the phone book to this tune and still feel a tug on your heartstrings.

The best thing about this video from a shallow stand point is going through and seeing how many of the artists' names you still know. Frankie Goes to Hollywood, anyone? :-)

Plus, as I was considering posting this on a Wednesday it was a hoot hearing my daughters ask, repeatedly, "Is that one a girl? Is that one? What about that one?" No, no my dears. This was the 80's when men had seriously pretty hair.

Enjoy!

Wow-ful Women Wednesdays

I have in the last week been told to listen to this song 3 times. How I have missed it I don't know! Actually, yes I do. My radio reception in the house is lousy and in the car I have been obsessively listening to my Christmas Eve Choir Practice CD. Haven't really heard a lot of radio Christmas tunes this year yet.

And so I have missed this stellar song. I know, I know. There are some songs that you hear at Christmas that are pretty kitchy, and maybe you find them corny. Oh I really really hope that this song doesn't become one of those. I still get choked up every time I hear "Mary, Did You Know?" when he says "When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God"....doesn't matter how many times I hear it in any given December. It messes me up in the middle of [insert name of crazy busy store full of last minute shoppers] every time.

This song might be like that too. I really like Faith Hill. The little bit of celebrity gossip I've heard about her (not that I listen to gossip *ahem*) has been pretty impressive, actually, and she has a gorgeous voice. When it first started, and tonight was my first listen to it, I thought, "yup. This is pretty." But she had me struggling to swallow by the end of the video. That lump in my throat...I'd better see someone about it. The last few lines will be my undoing....every time. This song is a keeper, and a fabulous addition to our Wow-ful Women Wednesday Christmas Countdown.

True Confessions

I am not as cranky as I like to give myself credit for. I suppose I like the idea, in a sick, twisted kind of way, of being an old, grumpy, curmudgeon. You know, except with a soft and sweet interior that only certain people can unearth by a touch or a song, or a well-timed box of chocolates and a non-fat, no-whip mocha.

But I digress.

I find I'm smiling a lot lately. And I'm of two minds about why this is: First, I've been practicing. No, I'm not kidding. Our church is putting on a Christmas play, and I'm cast as a happy person. So I need to practice smiling. And making it look natural. I've worked myself up into many a headache this month by oversmiling. Just like on my wedding day, when, had the photographer asked us to pose for one more shot, I would have popped a vein in my forehead. Chris and I both showed up for our dinner asking our guests if anyone had Tylenol in their purses. That was A LOT of smiling.

This December has been much the same.

Now, secondly, I'm smiling a lot because, wait for it, I'm actually a pretty happy person. And why not? There is a lot to be happy about. And even the things that maybe aren't so happyifying are there to give me a chance to practice more smiling. And to find something happy in it.

So try this: Next time you go to the Superstore on a Saturday afternoon 2 weeks before Christmas because you need just a couple of things, for goodness sake don't try to find a parking spot up close. Don't even look. It will stress you out and steal your joy. Just go to the back of the lot, on purpose, find a nice open spot along the back of the property and deeply breathe in the crisp air as you saunter towards the store. And when you walk past 3 spots that are closer, don't chide yourself for not parking there: smile, and be glad that someone else will have the happy moment of finding that good spot.

That's just one little tiny thing you can do to make yourself smile. What about actually asking the girl behind the clothing store counter who has been on her feet in the hot mall listening to canned Christmas music for 72 hours straight, and who has been dealing with cranky curmudgeons, what about asking her how she is doing, and what her plans are for the 25th? You could just do that. And smile at her too, okay? She has not been smiled at enough today.

What about when you see someone in a store, or at work, or at church who looks really pretty, or they are wearing a lovely scarf, TELL THEM!!! Oh please, just tell, even a complete stranger "I really like your scarf. It looks so pretty." You will make their day!

I don't have any empirical data on this next one, but men, I have it on good authority that you like to DO something to feel smiley. Grand. How about returning someone's shopping cart in that crazy busy parking lot for them? Or how about bringing up your neighbours recycling and garbage bins to their garage door. Wouldn't this be nice? It will make you smile, and of course it will make them smile (unless you live next door to a cranky person, but maybe you are the one to coax their inner smiler out!).

What I would love is for all of us to gather at some point and talk about how many headaches we've had this Christmas, not on account of too much stress and not enough sleep, but rather on account of so much smiling!

Try it! And I tell you what; I'll just give up my grumpy facade if you will! Let's show our neighbours and co-workers and family members just how happy we are, and show them that there is always something to smile about, no matter how tricky things seem.

Really, if nothing else, if you really can't think of anything else smile-worthy, you can think of the best smile-making thing of all time: the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and all that that entails. Can you think of anything better? What's making you smile these days?

Wow-ful Women Wednesdays

Shameful, Barbara, shameful! You missed last week as the first Wednesday of December which was supposed to be week one of the (drum roll, please)

Wow-ful Women Christmas Countdown!

I KNOW!! Aren't you so excited? I know I am, and what a hoot looking for a video for our first entrant.

This Wow-ful Woman was the first one I ever posted and she is a doozy. I could post a new video of her every week for the countdown, I'm sure.

Without further ado, one of my favourite Christmas carols of all time, actually.

Wow-ful Women Wednesdays

Today's video is a hoot. I mean, come on now. No one writes music like this any more. Or back combs their hair as much. But I digress....

This is one of those songs that absolutely should be pantomined to by youth groups as a secular song with a sacred message. In fact, I probably thought they were talking about Jesus when I first heard this song. I would have been all of 9 or something crazy and was innocent enough still to not know that he was not being spiritual. Whatever. Go ahead: think about the lyrics from a spiritual standpoint. It kind of works! :-)

This song is a super favourtie of mine from those most excellent '80's. Love these guys. Do you remember The Thompson Twins?

Wow-ful Women Wednesdays

This is the second time this Canadian chanteuse has made it to the elite and prestigious Wow-ful Women category. She is really and simply, brilliantly talented. She is almost understated in her stage presence, and yet deserves a great big neon sign flashing over her head drawing the attention of the world to her performance.

I really like this lady's voice and style. (and I *really* like her bass player. He is out of this universe!)

And just now, as I'm watching this video again, I am reminded of my sister who introduced me to Holly Cole in her one bedroom apartment that she lovingly shared with me when I was in first year university. And the message of this song is lovely to me too. Sometimes what a friend needs is a friend to just sit with and who says "You can cry if you want to". And I'm reminded, just now, of how miserably I failed my sister in being that kind of friend. And how I wouldn't mind having the chance to try it again.

Holly Cole: Cry (If you want to)

The Curse of Organization

How many times have you heard, or said, “A place for everything and everything in its place”? You know as well as I that this is a helpful adage. And getting it ingrained in your kids can certainly facilitate an easier clean-up time. Nothing worse than saying to your children “Please, go clean up the craft area” and then finding that everyone has merely shoved all the craft supplies in to the toy boxes and book shelves because there is no obvious spot for those items to be stored.

However, the problem comes when you get yourself so nicely organized, and you get a place for everything that you free up some shelf or drawer space. Heaven forbid you’d have an empty drawer! Heaven forbid there might be a shelf with nothing on it! Has this happened to you?

We recently moved to a house that had more kitchen cupboards than our previous home. I found that my kitchenware fit nicely into my kitchen with room to spare. Immediately, I found myself looking for more stuff to fill those drawers. Perhaps I ought to go buy some cases of baked beans and bulk spices to fill the pantry? Same situation in the bathroom. The previous owners had installed a lovely vanity with plenty of drawers. We don’t need all these drawers. I found myself wanting to race to the store to stock up on extra hygiene and personal care items just to fill the space. Just how many bottles of shampoo and conditioner does one need to have on hand at all times?

I changed the adage to read: “A thing for everyplace and everyplace full of things.”



Please read the rest of my latest article for Heart of the Matter Online here.

The "Part Two" for which you have been waiting...

First off let me say, there is no magic pill for losing weight. There just isn't. You need to eat smart, and move your body. Period. And even still the weight doesn't just fall off. You'd think a gal like me who just added 3 runs a week to her life and a much smarter pattern of eating would be wasting away by now. Not so much. Especially irksome is that there is no way to determine where the weight comes off of first. I mean, don't get me wrong, I *love* that my wedding rings are loose and that my shoes are all too big, but one would assume that the "marmalade jelly" shakin' around my middle might fall off a bit quicker too. (Gold star to whoever can place that quote). Patience, dear Barbara, patience. And of course I'm not *only* running to slim down. No, no....there's all that "self-discipline, goal-setting, being proud of doing something hard" stuff too.

right.

Okay, so back to the point of the post. My last running post mentioned there was a "part two" to the story and here it is. I've been *swamped* with emails from my devoted readers waiting with baited breath for the 'rest of the story'. (*snort*)

The question for me is this: What do I want to be the end result of this ridiculous 5km run I am attempting? I mean, this should be a no-brainer, right? Of course I want to finish and finish well. I want to have the big high-fives from some people that I love and to wear the groovy jacket knowing I earned it. Right?

Well....

What I'm finding is my wacko fears are really out-perfoming this time. Here are the two options I see in my future.

Option One: I can't actually run 5 kilometers with out stopping, regardless of my training, and on the day of I walk three-quarters of the race, showing up at the end like a great big failure, because really, didn't we all know, that Barbara is not an athelete in any stretch of the imagination, and told you so, she failed.

That would stink.

Option Two: I do fabulously. I run the whole thing in 30 minutes or less. I'm surrounded by people who are proud of me and who 'knew I could' and I have this momentary rush of elation that I really did do something that was outside of anything I've done before! And that sounds great, except the problem is that, what if then people (and by "people" I also mean "I") expect me to stay functioning at that level of bravery and hard-work and perseverance, and I can't sustain it? Then my future failure will be greater because I will have seemingly regressed farther than previous.

Does this make sense? A kid who always gets "C's" on his report card isn't going to be shocked by the occassional "D". No one wil be thrilled with a "D", but you know, it isn't too far off what we expect of him. However, if a straight "A" student comes home with a "D", well, "what were you doing? We expect more from you? You can do better than this! Why aren't you living up to your potential?" And the disappointment is that much greater.

Are you following me? I'm so lazy and so fearful of the potential for failure down the road that I hesitate to try to excel in anything.

Remember the story in the Bible of the Ten Talents? The master gave talents (that is coins) to his servants to work with while he was away. One worked well with the five talents he'd been given and ended up doubling it, to return 10 to his master. The servant who was given 2 talents worked them and doubled them to return 4 talents to his master. The third servant was given one talent. And he chickened out, or lazy-ed out and he just buried the talent in the ground to keep it "safe" and returned the same one talent to his master. He said "Well, I didn't want to try to work it and use it in case I lost the one you gave me so instead I just hid it. At least you didn't lose anything, Master."

He was not approved of by the Master, just so you know.

I don't want to be like that. I don't want to not do something for fear of what might happen if maybe down the road somewhere I sort of possibly fall on my face.

So the challenge for me at this point is to not only learn how to run 5 kilometers with out stopping, but also to learn that, as my pastor recently said in a lightning bolt moment for me, "there is such thing as failure with a purpose". Wow. Never thought of it that way. Failure always seemed to just be failure. Just bad. Just disappointing others. Just proving the lies in my head. Not so, slow-learning Barbara, not so. There is a point to trying. And there is a point to sometimes failing. It will be one of those things that the Lord uses to make me more like Him. I may do this race just fine. Or I may be the girl being carried on the stretcher for the last 2 km. Who knows? Either way, I need to give myself the freedom to fail, and the freedom to succeed. Because, presently, both are equally terrifying to me.

And thus, the awkwardly vulnerable and transparent post comes to its end. Thanks for stickin' around :-)