Everything You Love About Yourself

• my eyes
• my ability to stay positive in most situations
• my singing
• my songwriting
• being a good mom
• being a good teacher

And that’s enough. I can only stand so much boosting of my own self esteem.

November is over and so is NaBloPoMo. Made it. The end.

Something You Hope to Change About Yourself. And Why.

I hope to get healthier and lose some weight in the process. I don’t just hope this, I must do it. No choice.

What If You Were Pregnant or Got Someone Pregnant, What Would You Do?

Since I can’t get someone pregnant, I guess this has to be about me being pregnant. First of all, I’d probably faint. Then I’d probably cry. Both happy and sad tears. Sad because I don’t think my body could take being pregnant. So that would be a little scary. But, let’s just say that I’m in tip-top shape and being pregnant would be no big deal. In that case, I’d be thrilled! Except for the idea of having to get up in the middle of the night with a crying baby. That wouldn’t be so awesome. I’m too old for that…lol!

Really though, as much as I didn’t want to have an only child, I think our family is complete just the way it is. It’s just right for us. :)

What’s the Best Thing Going for You Right Now?

My family, my friends and my faith. :)

Have You Ever Thought About Giving Up On Live?

No. Well, sometimes when I’m sick I think I’m going to die. But give up? Nope. Never. :)

The Reason You Believe You’re Still Alive Today

I can pinpoint two specific times in my life that I was close to death: the first when I had my heart attack and the second when I had a car accident in Northern Ireland. I wasn’t injured that badly (well it felt like it at the time, but I was able to be released from the hospital in a few hours, so I’ll call that not injured so badly), but the paramedic’s words were “you are so lucky that door held”. It was a teeny tiny little car, but the door did what it was designed to do and it basically probably saved my life. I was unconscious for a few minutes, though!

Anyway, obviously I didn’t die. And I always believe that there’s a reason we are on this earth. Whether that reason is that I have something specific to do with my life (or already have), or that reason is that I needed to deliver a little girl baby later on, I don’t know, but I believe there is a reason I’m still alive today. And I’m thankful for it.

Make a Playlist to Someone and Explain Why You Chose All the Songs

Oh my gosh. So high school. ;)

Okay, here is my playlist to my daughter:

In My Daughter’s Eyes: Martina McBride

In my daughter’s eyes, I am a hero.
I am strong and wise,
And I know no fear.
But the truth is plain to see:
She was sent to rescue me,
I see who I wanna be, in my daughter’s eyes.

I have always believed that she was sent to rescue me from the abyss of my grief of losing my mother. She makes my life worth living and not just living but loving.

Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing: Aerosmith

I don’t wanna miss one smile
I don’t wanna miss one kiss
I just wanna be with you
Right here with you, just like this
I just want to hold you close
Feel your heart so close to mine
And just stay here in this moment
For the rest of time

I don’t want to miss one single moment of being with my girl! She is my miracle. :)

You Are the Sunshine of My Life: Stevie Wonder

You are the sunshine of my life
That’s why I’ll always stay around
You are the apple of my eye
Forever you’ll stay in my heart

You must have known that I was lonely
Because you came to my rescue
And I know that this must be heaven
How could so much love be inside of you

I call her my “sunshine girl” all the time!

I’ll stop there. She is my precious miracle sent from heaven and I love her and I can’t believe she’s just about a week away from being six years old!!!

Something You Wish You Had Done in Your Life

I think this topic ties pretty closely into yesterday’s topic and so I have the same basic answer. Yes, there are things I might wish I had done, but Amy Grant has a fantastic song from the album I mentioned a few posts ago. Here are some of the lyrics:

But every road that’s traveled teaches something new
And every road that’s narrow pushes us to choose
And I’d be lyin’ if I said, “I had not tried to leave a time or two”
But every road that leads me, leads me back to you.

I look at this not only as a love song about two people going through rough times, but a love song between a person and God. I think anytime you deal with faith, you’re going to deal with doubt along the way. But if you truly believe and truly have faith in God, whatever road you are on will ultimately lead you back to Him.

And why waste your time thinking about the “what ifs” or the “what might have beens” or the “I wish I hads” when you can focus instead on the “what is”, the “what will be” and the “haves”. Don’t spend your time looking back. Spend your time appreciating what you have and the future that is to come. Spend your time enjoying and living in the here and now. The past is the past. It cannot be changed. The only thing you can change is the future. So, don’t waste time worrying about what you should have done or could have done, focus on what you are doing and what you will do. That is where you will grow and blossom and learn.

Something You Wish You Hadn’t Done in Your Life

I’m sure if I got right down to it, I could come up with many things I’d rather I hadn’t done, but the bottom line is that everything we do, everything we experience, everything choice we make – good or bad – makes us who we are. Every path we take, whether it is the “right” path or the “wrong” path leads us to the next step in our lives, and generally along the way, some of those “wrong” paths lead us to some pretty amazing things. So, in all honestly, while I might wish to have made better choices at times in my life, I can’t really say there is anything I wish I hadn’t done, because this path that I am on has led me to my husband and my beautiful daughter and had I done anything differently, I might not have those two precious and wonderful things in my life. So even the choices that weren’t so good were worth it in the end.

Today’s topic was a hypothetical scenario that was based on a negative occurrence. I personally do not like to focus on the negative. It seems to me that focusing on the negative is basically asking for the negative to happen. Sometimes negative things happen, but why invite them to? Focus on the positive and that will surely bring positivity and happiness and joy into your life. So that’s all I have to say about that.

Your Views on Drugs and Alcohol

Drugs = bad.

Alcohol = okay in moderation.

That says it all, doesn’t it? I’m not a huge fan of alcohol, although some of it is tasty. I don’t actually drink very often, but once in awhile I do. I like to be in control of myself at all times. :)

What Do You Think of Religion? Or What Do You Think of Politics?

Religion is very important to me. Well, I should say that faith is very important to me. Religion is how I celebrate my faith. Religion is made by man, though, so it is inherently imperfect. I do feel that the church thinks religion is perfect, but I will never believe that. Only God is perfect. But without my faith, I don’t know where I’d be. It is what keeps me going.

As for politics, I’m fascinated by them. I’m also very frustrated by politics at this point in time. But I’m hopeful that things might get better. And I’ll leave it at that.

Your Views on Gay Marriage

Well, hey let’s just put it out there shall we?

First of all, my views have changed drastically over time. By choice. Because you see I have a choice whether or not to support my gay friends in any way that I can. I have a choice to believe or not to believe in gay marriage. I have a choice to believe that their lifestyle is not simply a choice for them, but has to do with biology. Because really, who would choose to be bullied, to be ridiculed, to be hated? I don’t believe for one minute that being gay is a “choice” that these people have made. It is who they are. It is biology. It is what it is.

So, if being gay is not a choice, then to me it is only logical that they should have the same rights to being happy and in a committed and monogamous relationship as anyone else does. I know a lot of people who believe this. I know people who don’t believe, however, that it should be called “marriage”. I say that’s semantics. I don’t really care what it’s called. I just care that my gay friends have the same rights as my straight friends. Simple enough.

But I also understand that the older generation (i.e. my parents generation) does not necessarily feel that way and that for them this is a very polarizing topic. It’s why I really think that the gay community needs to back off of the word marriage…for now. Go for domestic partnership or whatever else you want to call it, but work on getting partner’s rights – the same rights a spouse would have. Work on that. My generation is much more tolerant than my parents generation. My child’s generation will be even more tolerant. And so on. I think that there will be much less polarization on this topic after the older generation is gone. (I do realize that not everyone in the older generation is intolerant of gay marriage, but I am certain that the older generation as a whole is more intolerant than the younger generations are.)

I know that some people will say that it’s not fair, but what is the ultimate goal? Is it to have the same rights as a heterosexual spouse or is it to be able to use the word marriage? If it’s to have the same rights as a heterosexual spouse, then back off of the word marriage…for now. The time will come when it will be more accepted. That’s my advice. Not that it matters. But the question was about my views on gay marriage, and those are my views – both personal and global.

A Book You’ve Read That Changed Your Views On Something

That would have to be “Eat Pray Love”. Before I read this book I had no use for meditation at all. To be completely honest, I thought it was pretty dumb. (Not that people who did it were dumb, just that I didn’t think it was useful for me.) However, after reading the Pray part of this book, it started to make sense to me and I actually find it to be very useful and spiritual at times. In fact, I need to get myself into the habit of meditating in the morning before the day starts. What a great way to center yourself and prepare for the day ahead!

Someone or Something You Definitely Could Live Without

Well, the obvious answer would be She Who Shall Not Be Named, but I’ll avoid the obvious for once and go for something a little different for a change: the current President of the United States I could definitely live without. And since I don’t talk politics on this blog, I’ll leave it at that.