iTunes is Ruining my Life

A few months back a friend hooked me up with iTunes on my computer. I was very thankful (I never would have done it myself; that's how tech clueless I am). I was also very excited and got to work downloading songs-- just 99 cents each! But now I'm wondering...

Is having music I crave so accessible a good thing?

Now I miss the pining over songs... hoping for them on the radio, seeking out the CD... contemplating investing in it and then if I do choose to invest in it experiencing the album in its entirety... hearing a song in a movie or on television and not knowing if I'll ever hear it again and desiring it like crazy... now that sense of anticipation is almost lost... or just 99 cents away...

In the immortal words of B.B. King: The thrill is gone.

"you say bold things... when you're full of french toast."

I went out with a friend for breakfast today and enjoyed some french toast. I was reminded of a line from a sitcom where a dectective declared he wouldn't eat until a certain culprit was behind bars and then later that morning he asks a lady out for Chinese. She addressed his pledge to which he responded with the above statement.
It makes me laugh.
I'm feeling pretty bold myself right now.
And like I'll never need to eat again.

Top Five Signs you may be Exploiting the Intern...

1. Although he has yet to get you coffee... he happily makes you photo copies, prints stuff, puts together power point presentations for you...
2. He carries all your heavy stuff... e.g. sandwich boards, boxes, book bag
3. He's afraid to play tricks on you.
4. You only refer to him as "the intern".
5. You sell his secrets to first year girls on ebay e.g. he used to coach volleyball...
(okay I made that last one up)


Author's Note: I was going to list the top five reasons it's great having an intern... but the two lists are basically the same.

I came across this today in a file marked "Heart" from a few years back. A friend had emailed it to me and some others to spur us on in the race. I still find it convicting and downright inspirational! I thought I'd share:


"I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made- I'm a disciple of his. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colourless dreams, tamed visions, wordly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean in his presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and I labor with power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions are few, my Guide reliable, mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up, for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till he stops me. And, when he comes for his own, he will have no problem recognizing me... my banner will be clear!"

-written by a young pastor in Zimbabwe, before his martyrdom for his faith in Jesus Christ.

Weekend Update

Mom and Dad would be proud:

Saturday night I attended my first Halifax Moosehead's hockey game. The Moosehead's scored the winning goal beating the St. John's Fog Devil's 3-2 with seven seconds left on the clock!

Sunday night I took part in my first Mary Kay party. You arrive and the Mary Kay lady has you wash your face, use special creams and then you get to sample different makeup... the best is "satin hands" at the end! I still feel like the eyeshadow was a little over the top (periwinkle?) but I did buy some new lipstick: "apple berry".

Plus I met three new boys.

Sidebar

Beth and Nathan: thanks for your comments. I had to delete the ones with too much information; as you can see by my blog title I prefer the alias "Kelley Anne" ;)
Keep the comments coming!

Top Five Reasons Celebrities Should be Able to Adopt...

...whoever they want!

1. Children come with their own names and therefore spare both the celebrity parents (pressure to find a unique name/one upping other celebrities) and the child (living with such name) e.g. Prince Michael, Apple, Rocco etc.
2. Even if the child isn't really an orphan wouldn't life with Madonna in the UK be "as good as it gets"?
3. I'm sure celebrities' nannies make wonderful, well-paid parents.
4. The music. There's got to be a "Celebrities for World Adoption" song in the works...
5. This isn't just a trend; remember "Mommy Dearest"... wait... really bad example.
(I'm still afraid of having any wire hangers in my closet!)

LOST

So inpsired by Janette's recent post I had to write a few things myself on my current favourite TV program: LOST. It's the only show I schedule. It's the only show I watch consistently. It's the only show that I'm emotionally invested in...?!

And of course... here it is...
The Top Five Reasons I Watch LOST:

1. Jack
2. Jack, Sawyer and Kate
3. The group dynamics, conflict resolution and leadership that unfold.
4. The crazy island with all it's secrets...
5. The flashbacks. It's interesting to think about how things from your past affect you in your present and to see things come together for a purpose... of course in the real world I'd call it God's providence!

For the Ladies...

Well girls you got me all worked up after all the Pride and Prejudice talk from my last post! We all love Colin Firth but fresh in my mind/heart is the 2005 update ... here they are... my top five favourite Pride and Prejudice quotes:



1. Mr. Darcy: So what do you recommend to encourage affection?
Elizabeth Bennet: Dancing. Even if one's partner is barely tolerable.

2. Elizabeth Bennet: Did I just agree to dance with Mr. Darcy?
Charlotte Lucas: I dare say you will find him amiable.
Elizabeth Bennet: It would be most inconvenient since I have sworn to loathe him for all eternity. [both laugh]

3. Mr. Darcy: Do you talk, as a rule, while dancing?
Elizabeth Bennet: No... No, I prefer to be unsociable and taciturn... Makes it all so much more enjoyable, don't you think?

4. Elizabeth Bennet: And I might as well enquire why, with so evident a design of insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your better judgment.

5. Mr. Darcy: If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.

Name That Movie Line!

This got my small group stumped... and then we remembered it but couldn't recall the name. Do you know where it's from?

"...as a man of honour,
I would have informed you of my intentions in writing."

Jann Therapy

End of the week... feeling like I need some music that's both cathartic and therapeautic. I turn to Jann Arden. It's been a while. I had this friend inLondon who loved Jann Arden. It was surprising because you wouldn't necessarliy assume a twentysomething jock would even know who Jann Arden is. Once we went on a road trip to watch a friend's volleyball match at Waterloo and I made sure to bring it because I knew he'd appreciate it. We got lost... but we had Jann.

I've seen her in concert; she's good. Very Canadian. And I'm a patriot.
My name is Kelley Anne and I listen to Jann Arden.

Happy Birthday Chico Fiesta!

I just got off the phone with my brothers Jon and Mike.
I love them. Today is Mikey's 23rd birthday. He was born on Thanksgiving! And I can still remember my Grandma announcing his arrival with glee to Jon and me.

Over the years my dear papoose has acquired a few nicknames from me... the latest "Chico Fiesta" he doesn't seem to appreciate!?!

This is a pic from when he visited in May 2005. We had a lot of fun and lot of laughs together. The pic was taken on a hike at Cape Split.

He had his hand on the back of my head and had just pretended to smash my face into the green rocks and I came back up and: snap! fun shot of us really smiling! That was one of my favourite days that year... thanks Cheeks and Happy Birthday!

Thanksgiving Flashback

Turkey Song
Performed by Adam Sandler on 23 Nov 1991 (Macaulay Culkin guest hosted)

[spoken] "Yes, I am, Kevin. I've worked all week on my song, and I hopeyou'll be entertained and a little moved."

Love to eat turkey
Love to eat turkey
Love to eat turkey cause it's good
Love to eat turkey like a good boy should
Cause it's turkey to eat,
So good

A turkey for me, turkey for you,
Let's eat turkey in a big brown shoe.

Love to eat turkey at the table,
I once saw a movie with Betty Grable.
Eat that turkey all night long,
50 million Elvis fans can't be wrong.

Turkey turkey dee, turkey turkey dap,
I eat the turkey and I take a nap

[melody changes] Thanksgiving is a special night
Jimmie Walker used to say "Dynomite"
That's right!

[melody changes back] Turkey with the gravy and the cranberry
Can't believe the Mets traded Darryl Strawberry

Turkey for you, turkey for me,
Can't believe Tyson gave the girl V.D.

Gobble gobble dee, gobble gobble dawkie,I used to go to camp at Lake Winnepesaukee
Turkey turkey dee, turkey turkey duffin,
Love to eat turkey with a lot of stuffin'

Turkey for me, turkey for you,Let's eat turkey in a big brown shoe.
Turkey and sweet potato pie,Sammy Davis Jr. only had one eye
Turkey with the girls, turkey with the boys,
My favorite kind of pants are corduoroys

Gobble gobble gee, gobble gobble gickle
I wish turkeys only cost a nickel.
[song slows]Oh, I love turkey .. on Thanksgivingggggg

Thank you Toyota Roadside Assistance!

I just got back from my small group. I'm not usually back this late but tonight... as I reversed out of the Barrett's driveway my car came to a halt-- that's all I really remember. Basically I got stuck over a ditch... one wheel suspended. And the funny thing, well there were a lot of "funny things" that took place, was that we were just talking about how we don't like backing out of the driveway because of the ditch and it's hard to see at night etc. etc. And Amanda came knocking on my window-- tears in her eyes from laughing so hard to tell me: "STOP! PUT THE CAR IN PARK! IT'S BURNING!" I obliged. And climbed out the passenger side. Car stuck. After assessing the situation from all angles we called Toyota Roadside Assistance. It took the girl on the phone a while to figure out where we were "Upper Tantallon-- is that in Nova Scotia?" hee hee... and she said they'd be there within 45 minutes.

"Joey" arrived and got right to it! He'd seen worse and said I was lucky to not have flipped the car! Also, he announced: "No damage." Praise the Lord! He really knew what he was doing... or so it appeared. Naturally Sarah documented most of the event (thanks for the pics!). I rewarded Joey with some homemade cookies leftover from our group. The photo shoot continued.

As I went to pull the car up, after it had been recovered from the ditch, the car slid back against my control... frantically it was brought to my attention from Joey and others that the engine wasn't on!!! Silly me... I had almost ended up back across the ditch!

Thanks Tom and Amanda for sticking around and for your moral support, remembering the parking brake etc. etc.! Thanks Sarah for the documentation and the laughs! Welcome Home Jamin! Sorry... your driveway was "in use" upon your arrival! But that just made it all the more funny! Now that we've all bonded... see you all Sunday!

Cast of Characters: Amanda, Sarah, Joey

Confession

I don't know if this qualifies as a "guilty pleasure" or not... but I caught some of "Corner Gas" on tv the other night and it was pretty funny and then they advertised for their next episode which involves these recurring fondue parties known as "fondue group" and it sounds pretty funny. I think I'm going to watch it... if I'm free... I'm not going to "book it off" or anything...

There was a funny line about finding a use for the metric system or using the metric system for good... I forget.

I think I'd like to start my own fondue group.

Top 5 Favourite Musicals:

1. Les Miserables
2. Into the Woods
3. Fiddler on the Roof
4. Westside Story
5. The Sound of Music







The photo is from "Into the Woods"

Below are the lyrics from one of the songs:

"Agony" by the two princes...

[CINDERELLA'S PRINCE]Did I abuse herOr show her disdain?Why does she run from me?If I should lose her,How shall I regain The heart she has won from me?Agony!Beyond power of speech,When the one thing you wantIs the only thing out of your reach.

[RAPUNZEL'S PRINCE]High in her tower,She sits by the hour,Maintaining her hair.Blithe and becoming and frequently hummingA lighthearted air:Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-Agony!Far more painful than yours,When you know she would go with youIf there only were doors.

[BOTH]Agony!Oh, the torture they teach!

[RP]What's as intriguing-

[CP]Or half so fatiguing-

[BOTH]As what's out of reach?

[CP]Am I not sensitive,Clever,Well-mannered,Considerate,Passionate,Charming,As kind as I'm handsomeAnd heir to a throne?

[RP]You are everything maidens could wish for!

[CP]Then why no-?

[RP]Do I know?

[CP]The girl must be mad!

[RP]You know nothing of madnessTill you're climbing her hairAnd you see her up thereAS you're nearing her,All the while hearing her:Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-

[BOTH]Agony!

[CP]Misery!

[RP]Woe!

[BOTH]Though it's different for each.

[CP]Always ten steps behind-

[RP]Always ten feet below-

[BOTH]And she's just out of reach.AgonyThat can cut like a knife!I must have her to wife.

Black, Black Heart

Do you remember this David Usher song featuring Kim Bingham? Well recently I was overcome with the blackness of my own heart from my sinful nature. Oh the pride and deceit that I can still allow to dwell there! It's awful.

I'm reminded of Isaiah 64:6:
"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

And so thankful for Romans 1:17:
"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith.""

Praise God for how he cleans hearts and for his righteousness that we can receive through Christ!