Susan Boyle: Memories of a Bumpy Start

This past Saturday Susan Boyle was back.  Her voice in the beginning was a bit shaky.  Once her hand moved to her diaphragm it was as if she had re-centered herself and triumphed yet again.  All I could think about was the pressure.  It is pressure that I will never know.  It is the pressure of her dream!

Imagine it for one moment.  You are on stage with the world watching.  I am not talking the world like the fans of Jerry Springer.  I am talking about the entire world waiting for what is next.  She has quickly become a sensation.  I cannot imagine standing on that stage singing to the world.

Susan Boyle did not let us down.  Even the judges seem to be rooting for her.  We all want to see this homely looking woman to become a star.  The thing is that she is already a star in most of our eyes.  This is why we wait, with bated breathe to see what is coming next.   Although I have heard nothing but bad reviews of the show CATS I love the music.  Susan Boyle created memories when she belted out the famous song the other night.

Good Luck Susan!  I am anxious to hear what you come out with next!

Becca

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Jon & Kate Plus 8: The Drama

I know that my sister in law watches this show.  I have missed it.  I have been swept up into the real life drama surrounding this show lately.  The trouble is that I just think we should not care so much.  Is Jon cheating on Kate?  Is Kate cheating on Jon?  Why do we care?

I think that a lot of people get too wrapped up.  We all watch a reality show or two.  We look at these people and feel as if we are a part of what they are living though at the moment.  The thing is that these people are not on camera 24 hours a day.  These are shows.  The tapes are edited for added drama to an otherwise simple everyday life.

So why do we care if someone is cheating.  They are two people with a lot on their plate.  They have 8 children!  They are suddenly TV stars.  They are a family just trying to make it.  I think that even if they are cheating it is nothing we should worry about.  They owe us nothing.  They let us into a part of their lives.  That part of their lived has to do with how  to deal with 8 kids.  How do they go to the store and shop for food?  How do they get all of those kids to bed before 12AM?  The question is not about them but their family.  While cheating does effect family life I really feel that it should be out of the public eye.  The preasure of being a star has to be a huge strain.  Add to that 8 children and I may also want to run away with my body guard.

I pray that they work it all out.  I think of all of the kids and womder how one person can do it.  I am sure that neither one of them will be able to keep it together on their own.  Perhaps they just need a little time without all of us passing judgements!  Perhaps they need to disconnect for a while to reconnect!

Becca

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Kris Allen Wins American Idol

Just a few hours ago the dreams of two young men hung in all of our hands.  American Idol was wrapping up this season with a bang!  With almost 100 MILLION votes cast it was announced that Kris Allen has taken away the new American Idol title.  That is not to say that  Adam Lambert will be left in the dust.  We all know that American Idol runners up have great success as well.  Either way Kris Allen is the one with the record deal and the “American Idol” title.  Allen was not the judges favorite but the American Idol fans picked up their phones, emailed and texted in their votes.

I think that Kris Allen winning sends a message to the American Idol people.  We as Americans are looking for a little different sound.  Kris Allen with his Folky music has found a place in America’s hearts!

All of the hype over the American Idol finale is making me more and more anxious for Susan Boyle to reappear this Saturday.  I know that million, maybe even more, will be waiting to hear how she makes out.   I am just anxious to hear her angelic voice yet again!

Either way dreams have come true tonight.  I often wonder what we are all attracted to in shows such as American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.  I think that, for me, it is the hope of my dreams coming true.  No matter how big or small these shows show us each and every day that dreams really can come true!

Congratulations Kris Allen!  Enjoy the ride!

Becca

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Girl Scouts Leaders

As some of you know and others are about to find out I am a Girl Scouts Leader for both Abigail and Emma’ troops.  I have come to learn a few things in the past year and a half about being a leader.  Most of these lessons were learned out of frustration which makes me want to remember them for when Analiese is in kindergarten.

1. It is NOT a one person job.  Do not kid yourself and think that you can take over the world.  You need help.  It is such a relief to finally have one with my daisy troop.
2. The adults ARE worse then the kids.  If it is not mothers who will not leave it is fellow troop leaders fighting like kids.  Adults are much nastier then kids could ever dream of being.  This is too much.  I will not take a side in this current matter.  A friend was hurt and for that I am sad but I do not want to fall into the high school clique mentality as others have.  I think that the adults should act as adults.
3. It is a full time job.  Planning all of the details involved can be overwhelming.  There are a bunch of websites to plan and investigate how to best handle the kids.  All of the fund raising, crafts, field trips and community service are quite time consuming.
4. There is a lot to learn.  There is the old program with badges and patches and now there is the new Journey’s program.  So much to learn and process it is amazing that I can pass it on!

For all that Girl Scouts is I feel that it is a vital part of making girls into productive leaders in society.  I think about that each and every time I think about throwing in the towel.  I pray that one day my daughter will thank me.  I am hoping that I get better at it all.  I am hoping that all of my friends that I am making along the way find it in their hearts to forgive and forget.  I am most of all hoping for three college scholarships!  Oh come on I am just kidding.  Or am I?  Either way I am hoping that I am giving my girls the best experience I can because I know in few blinks of my eyes they will be off to their own lives leaving me behind!

Becca

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Happy Mother’s Day

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of you a very happy Mother’s Day. 

Becoming Mother:

As I came to there she was, this baby who had come to me.  Her entrance into the world was not an easy one.  I remember looking at her and the emotions that ran through me were too great to bear.  I sat and started.  I was in awe that this tiny thing had come from me.  She was beautiful.  She was mine!

I almost died having her.  I could not walk for about 6 months after but none of that matters.   My first baby opened a place in my heart that I had never known existed.  It went beyond unconditional love.  It is a feeling that you cannot describe.  It is the magical moment of becoming a mother. I will never forget that first moment that I met my princess.  I think about it each time I am upset with her, proud of her and even when I just look at her.

That same feeling of magic certainly entered into my heart the second time I became a mother.  This time my heart felt even more magic when I introduced Abigail to her sister.  It was as if God was in the room and blessing us with this new baby.  She was tiny just as Abby was and all of a sudden my first baby did not seem so small any more.  She was growing right before my eyes!

By the time we had our third I had thought that there was no way that the magic would still be there.  How much magic can one family have?  It was there.  The girls felt the magic the day that Analiese was born but not that mother magic.

I think that when you become a mother whether for the first time or the tenth time it is always magical.  It is something that leaves you in awe and warms even the coldest hearts.  Wether the baby is planned or not you feel that blessing from the first time you see that little baby that your love with your husband or partner have created.  That love lives on and on and never dies.

I would like to wish you all a happy Mother’s Day.  Take a moment today to remember when the magic entered into your heart.

Becca

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10 Happiest Countries: Not the USA

I read the following article about the 10 happiest nations to live in.  I was in no way to see that the great United States of America ddid NOT make the list.  I think that it falls back to the great American dream.  It is in Americans blood to work too hard, for too many hours.  I think that it started with our ansestors that came here from all of the various other nations.  They came here to live a dream.  Many of them failed but the ones who really made it worked and worked hard.

So here we are a nation of unhappy people so that we can struggle to live the dream.  The trouble becomes that as we are trying to reach the dream we forget to enjoy where we are.  We do not look around us and just think that we are blessed.  We tend to want more and more.  Perhaps it is because we are a society driven by money.  Perhaps because all of us who work so hard see the people who are profiting off of our work and think that we could achieve such greatness.  The trouble often becomes that we are just the worker bees.  We forget that we are here with other purposes.

I know that there are so many of us who want the new car, the house, 2.5 kids and a dog.  The trouble comes in that none of these things are making us happy.  We do not have any time to enjoy any of it because we are struggling to hold on to it all.  I think that it is really a sad day when we cannot enjoy our lives.  I know that many people are currently out of work and feel so depressed.  We as Americans have tied our entire worth as a person to our current job and the salary that comes with it.  This makes it life shattering when that job is taken away!

I also think that it makes it hard as a stay at home parent.   I know that each day I look at what purpose I have.  I think that my children have had some benefits to my staying home.  The trouble comes when people talk to me about what I do.  I am judged based on my lack of making money and my lack of working.  There are people who look down on me.  There are people who think that they are better then me because they have a job.  It is a constant struggle for me to stay at home.  It means that Rob has to work 2 jobs to make ends meet.  The trouble comes with my identity in this society.  I am viewed as less.  I am viewed as uneducated.  I am viewed as lazy.  The trouble is that I am rather educated.  I even finished college in the amount of years that you are supposed to!  I am not less and I would love to have a lazy day!

I know I am babbling but perhaps this is why we as Americans are not able to be happier.  I am not happy because I know that others think badly of me.  The people working their tails off are not happy because they are too tired to know what happy is and the people who are now jobless and homeless are feeling like there is nothing to be happy about.

The thing is that happiness comes from within.  I think that the more we act happy and really think about being happy the happier we will be.  Trust me I am not one of thos happy go luck people.  I have actually struggled with unhappiness many times in my life.  I just think perhaps the greatest nation in the world would be much happier if we all tried a little harder and worked a little less.

Becca

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Birthday Quandry: Birthday Party For Three

So here is the question for today…

My nephew, my neice and Analiese all have May birthdays all within two weeks of one another.  Each year we do a family and friends party for each kid.  This year we thought that perhaps we should combine all three of them and do one family party.  This means that family will only have to come to one party.  This means that it will be one day in the full month of May to have to donate to these birthdays.

So here is the problem.  Rob thinks that it is wrong.  He thinks that then friends and family will be strapped having to buy three presents all at once.  He thinks that it is just wrong and has told me to back out of the idea.  The trouble is that it was my idea and I still think that it is a nice one.  The other problem is that we have already mentioned it to people and how do we cancel now.  I am not worried about gifts.  Analiese is turning 2 and already has all of the clothing, toys and stuff that any two year old could need.

I want to know what you think?  Is this party a bad idea?

Becca

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Swine Flu: First American Life Claimed

The news is sad on this day.  The first American to die of swine flu has been reported!  I always think that it is sad that people pass but this woman was a remarkable woman.  Judy Trunnell was only 33 years old when swine flu claimed her life.  She was about to embark on a new stage in her life.  She was about to have a baby.  Her daughter was born after she slipped into a coma.  From my understanding of what I have read she did not even get to see her new baby girl!

Judy Trunnell was a school teacher, from Texas, who had dedicated her career to children with disabilities.  She was admitted intot he hospital yesterday and died yesterday.  Her family is greiving as I can imagine.

I would like to take this chance to send my prayers to Judy Trunnell’s family.  May they share in the joy of what she has left behind; a beautiful healthy baby girl.  I know her husband must now be having mixed emotions and I pray that he find a way to keep his wife Judy Trunnell alive in his heart.  I pray that he is able to show is new born baby girl all that his mother was.  I pray that this family work through this.

The flu this year  has truly been a killer flu.  I hope that we find better ways to fight this flu before next flu season.  I am asking that you please keep Judy Trunnell’s family in your prayers.  I do not know her but all I can think about is that baby without its mother.  My heart breaks just thinking about it all!

Becca

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Wii Fit Pad: The Discrimination

So my sister in law was nice enough to bring over the Wii fit pad today.  I have to say that I love it.  It is a lot of fun.  I just have one problem with it.  It is not a game that caters to people with disabilities.  I know it is called Wii fit but can’t people with disabilities be fit?

As a preface to all of this I shattered a bone in my foot this past summer and broke 1-2 more.  I am having an awful time with it and am not able to do many exercises.  So I was excited to try out the Wii fit in hopes that my weight and pain would reduce.  The pain is greater and my weight is yet to be determined.  I just wish that when developing the Wii they had thought of other people.  You know people without the perfect body, people with disabilities.

I do like it though and I am hoping that my kids get me one for the up coming holiday.  You know the one.  MOTHER’S DAY!  The best day of all.

Becca

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Susan Boyle: A New Craze

If you are anyone who watches television, surfs YouTube or listens to the radio you have heard the name Susan Boyle in the past week.  She is a craze that is sweeping the world.  I am so motivated by this story.  Perhaps it is because I am overweight and always cheer for the underdog, perhaps it is because she is a woman who would not take no as an answer in the past, perhaps it is the complete love for singing.  Either way I completely relate to her.

Susan Boyle sang on Brittan’s got talent last week.  Before she sang there were sneers and comments conming from the judges and the audience.  I personally would have cried and walked off the stage.  I guess that is why I am not the one we are all talking about this week.  Susan Boyle held her head up high and said she wants to be a professional singer.

From that point people began to snicker and be disrespectful.  Even the judges were sceptical.  They were down right rude!  Then Susan Boyle opened her mouth and began to sing.  The audience was shocked and I cannot even think of a good enough word to describe the judges.  I have NEVER seen Simon smile while someone was singing.  By the end he had to say that he knew she would be that great.  If he had said anything else he would have looked like he had no clue of his entire job.

I guess I am so excited for Susan Boyle because she showed people that we are all different.  Some of us have pretty faces.  Some of us have good bodies.  Some of us have the perfect hair and others have a great smile.  Susan Boyle has a beautiful voice.  She sounds better then then Broadway cast I heard sing the same song.  She is amazing and someone to watch!

Becca

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