Tag Archive | song

In the news….

Oct17

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“I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.”

❤ ❤ 😀

We often think of the news on TV and in the papers as negative, heartwrenching, life draining. And it often is. I hear so many people say they avoid the news because it just drags them down. 

But sometimes there are happy things or heartwarming things in the news.
One day at work this week the news was on when I went in and they were talking about a big house fire while the owners were away and couldn’t get to their dog who was inside. My heart just sank when I heard that. They showed the footage and the big house was up in flames with the poor furbaby inside. 

I’m thankful the people weren’t trapped inside. And I wished desperately the dog wasn’t either. 
Then they showed a man, I don’t know who he is, just come seemingly out of nowhere, walk in the burning house and come back out holding the dog, bringing him to safety, and without a word just walked away! The news people said he got no credit or anything, just appeared, saved the dog, and walked off!

Isn’t that amazing! And I’m sure he wasn’t looking for credit or anything but to save the doggy! The newspeople did praise him to each other.

He probably doesn’t even want to be labeled as a hero, true heroes usually don’t, that’s why they’re heroes, they help people and other sentient beings just to help them, not for image or for credit or a thank you. 

I’m so thankful the people and dog are safe and hope all the people putting out the fire are safe. I don’t know how bad the fire was but hopefully much of their stuff is saved but at least their lives are! That’s the most important of all! It’s devastating to lose everything we own but nowhere near as devastating as lives lost. 

I decided to share this little story just to put a bit more positivity into the world/on the Internet. There is so much positivity already but we can never have too much good news, ever!

In the news, it does often seem to be one bad or gossipy thing after another but that’s only because that’s what often stands out or makes the news. If I’m walking up the street and a person helps me carry my bags, picks up something for me that I drop, smiles at me, pays for me in line if I don’t have enough money….all that won’t make the news. But if I’m out and get shot to death or assaulted, that will surely make the local news. People will ask “what’s this world coming to with someone getting shot dead on the street? What a horrible world! People are monsters!” And that is tragic but what about the person who gives me money when I get up to the register in a store and forgot my wallet, what about the person who gives me his seat on a bus, what about those who risk their lives in a massacre to save others like what just happened in that tragic university massacre?

All these little things, these beautiful acts of kindness that surround us each day are not dramatic enough to go on the news usually and even when they are, they are unfortunately overshadowed by the bigger tragic news, they are appreciated by those involved or witnessing, then often either forgotten or just not spoken of much again even if we never forget. 

I saw a few blog posts and statuses about the horrible tragedy but in none of those I saw did any of those who wrote them mention the heroes who ran not to save their own lives but to save the lives of others. I think it’s important when writing about tragedies to also mention the goodness in the midst of it if we hear of it.
The murderers (who sometimes admit they do this for publicity) get more credit, even if negative, than the heroes, the other people who attempt to save their lives, the doctors and other medical professionals, the first responders and police, the fire men/women, anyone who saves or helps in any way. 
We remember the names of the murderers but not the innocent victims or the heroes. We talk about the tragedy and insanity and senselessness of what happened but not give thanks to those who did any little thing they could to make it somehow better.  In my opinion, it’s best not to write the murderer’s name when we write of carnage that took place. Especially when those murderers admit they want publicity and attention. I appreciate the programs and news reports that do not mention the name. I wouldn’t either. In the initial report it would have to be mentioned but every paper and program doesn’t have to say it. Let’s acknowledge the victims and our heroes, not a person who intentionally claims the lives of the innocent. We can still have compassion for murderers without giving them too much publicity. I don’t want them to die or suffer but I also don’t want them to become popular for their monstrous actions. 

People say don’t watch the news, it will drag you down. Then others argue back that if we don’t keep up with the news and what’s happening around the world, we will be ignorant and kept in the dark. Both can be true. Both have valid points.  So should we watch the news or not? Stay in the dark or be dragged down? 

I think there’s a solution. If we want, we can watch the news sometimes but then balance it out by reading and watching positive things as well. Pay attention and take note of all the goodness that goes on around us whether we are involved or a witness. If all we do is watch the tragedies and gossipy drama on the news and talk shows, then our brains are being overwhelmed in the negative, only getting one side of life, the dark side. We expose ourselves to the darkness but not enough of the light. 

Sure it’s good to know what’s going on in the world around us. But the media has the tendency to magnify the drama and the tragic. Not always but often. 

When we watch the news and start thinking “what a terrible world” and feel overwhelmed, we can then go to youtube and watch random acts of kindness videos, read inspiring stories that show someone helping others, look around us on the streets and see the kindness shown to others.

The world isn’t all bad. We only are mostly shown the bad through some media outlets but there’s so much more than that. 

Let’s honor & acknowledge the goodness.

Check out these happy videos!! So beautiful! ❤

Simple acts of kindness – mobile

Simple acts of kindness – desktop

Kindness – mobile

Kindness video – desktop

These videos show simple acts of kindness in everyday encounters that we are all capable of. These videos are most likely “staged” or made up but they are based on real life acts of kindness & meant to inspire! Just watching them gives many of us a warm, loving feeling. ❤

Let's remember that just because our job or the media or something else mostly exposes us to the bad in the world, it's not all there is.

Let's expose our own selves to the goodness. 😀

What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong – mobile

What a Wonderful World – desktop

Just listen to this song! His loving voice, his gentle love. And it will bring you up. ❤

The pictures are beautiful too!

😀

Lots of love to you today & always! ❤

xoxo Kim

I need some pasta! Like real bad!

Oct12

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“I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.” ~Woody Allen 😀

It’s the closest picture of mine I was able to find that is relevant to pasta talk. Oh, and yes, that is my baby walking on me!

And no this isn’t a foodie or recipe post!

(I like eating noodles and rice and stuff out of cups. It tastes better to me in styrophoam cups.)

I need some pasta, baby, tonight, gotta have some PASTA!! Lmao!

 Those are some commonly mis-heard lyrics of Donna Summer’s, Hot Stuff,(writers:Pete Bellotte, Harold Faltermeier, Keith Forsey)many people have really thought (and maybe still think?!) that she is singing “pasta” instead of “Hot stuff,” and after finding that out some years ago, I cannot help but laugh whenever I hear this song. Like bellylaughing til my face hurts because I can’t stop! Listen to the song but block out the words “Hot stuff” and replace them in your mind with “pasta” and see if you don’t laugh hysterically. This girl is in desperate need of some PASTA!!! She’s going to lose her head if she doesn’t get some pasta this evenin’! ;-D :-p
And it probably doesn’t help that in the beginning she sings “sittin’ here eatin’ my heart out…,” it kind of does fit with the whole misunderstood pasta thing!  
I’m sittin’ here now laughing my pants off!
It never gets old!

It’s just so hilarious thinking about a whole song being about desperately wanting pasta! 😀

“Lookin’ for some hot stuff pasta, baby, this evenin’
I need some hot stuff pasta, baby, tonight
I want some hot stuff pasta,
baby, this evenin’
Gotta have some hot stuff pasta
Gotta have some love tonight
I need hot stuff pasta
I want some hot stuff pasta
hot stuff pasta
I need some hot stuff pasta” 

And here it is, the amazing HOT STUFF!!

Hot Stuff – mobile

Hot Stuff – desktop

If this doesn’t get you pumped, I don’t know what will!

I want to sing it for karaoke one night!

❤

Now I’m in the mood for some pasta! Maybe tonight I’ll get some! ;-D

Hugs & love to you! And a whole lotta pasta!!

😀

xoxo Kim ❤

All the boy heard was the love…<3

Oct7

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(my sweet, silly, funny, loving little pomchies!! ❤ )

I read a novel a while ago called “Keeper of the Keys,” by Perri O’Shaughnessy, about a man whose wife disappears and he has a very painful and mysterious history with constantly moving with his mom to different houses and never meeting his dad who died years ago. After his wife disappears without a trace, he visits each house he lived as a boy, trying to find the secrets to his past that his mom keeps hidden. The fact that he did not know his dad growing up, and that he feels he never had a real home, contribute to his emotional anguish.

His mom paints a very negative image of his dad who is dead.

He visits his dad’s memorial and on pages, 193-4, it says this:

“He felt vast emptiness, surrounded by the dead and his own dead hopes. Every boy without a father probably harbors a secret illusion that his father would have been one of the good guys, if only. He’d load up a camper with canned food for trips to Yosemite to climb to Glacier Peak or Alaska to catch halibut, waking his son at five in the morning. Or maybe he would be the guy who dragged his boy off to museums to study the dusty Indian exhibits, who went on and on about the tar pits, and all the groggy boy heard, all the boy had to hear, was his father’s voice, not what he said. All the boy heard was the love.
The time they spent together would embed memories so deep, even if the man died, the boy could spend the rest of his lifetime savoring and honoring him.” 

This is heartbreakingly beautiful. The man is in agony over never knowing his dad. But isn’t it a beautiful concept? 

To have a relationship so loving that no matter how short lived it has been, it will still have the most incredible impact on us years and years later. Forever. 

This reminds me that it’s a great way for all of us to be with all those we are close to, everyone around us. To be so loving that we have a tremendous impact on someone even years after we are gone, no matter how our relationship ends. Whether it ends in death, just drifting apart, even a falling out, the good things we shared or did will still remain in memory. In this fantasy of the man, this boy’s relationship with his daddy is so loving, so beautiful that the man can die right then and for the rest of the little boy’s life, he will still remember and honor him. His love will outweigh the pain of his loss. He will still feel the loss and the pain but love will keep him going. 

Let’s create positive memories of each other and put mostly loving energy out into the world. Our energy affects those around us even if we aren’t always aware. 

When we are full of love and light inside, it really doesn’t always matter what we say, or if we say anything at all, people will only hear/feel our love.

I know what it’s like to be near someone who is so loving that it doesn’t matter if the person isn’t saying a word. I am enveloped in that soft, sweet, gentle love. We all have love in us, we all just don’t always act on it or allow it to be the main thing we feel and live each day.
But we can work to be better and better with it.

One of the people, I have been near who displays this kind of loving energy is an old lady I knew for years where I work. She’s a customer who comes occasionally. 

Some years ago at work one night, a man I do not and have never known, held a gun to my chest and said he would kill me and took all the money(I have nothing against him and hope he is doing well wherever he is and hope he’s no longer in that dark place he found himself in that night.). I was alone. This lady did not know me well but she was so concerned when she heard and she came the next night and asked me if I want her to walk me home that night. She would have had to walk back to her house herself after 10:00 at night for over 20 minutes! She is very small and old. And she would have done this for me! Isn’t that so sweet! Of course, I told her no but expressed my gratitude. And I will never forget that sweet act of kindness as long as I live.

Another day she heard another customer complaining that my service was too slow and it’s a man’s job, not a “little woman’s” to be working with water ice that is really hard to scoop. This lady told him in a sweet voice that I have been working there for years and always did a good job and know what I’m doing. I love how she came to my defense but not in an angry way against him. She was sweet and pleasant but firm. She defended me with compassion, not contempt for him.

She also gives me tips a lot when she comes. 

Those are indications of her loving ways. But when I really noticed her loving energy was when I felt it one day, not through her words or actions but just in her being, her essence. She was standing at the window and I just felt so enveloped, so immersed in her love. She is so gentle but her love is so powerful. 

Even if I never met her til that day at the window, I would have known her love even without her uttering a word to me.

We all have this ability to draw someone in, bathe others in our love, and at some moments, we probably do, but not all of us have developed and practice it in general. Some people are naturally more loving but even those who are less loving now, can develop it with practicing Lovingkindness to everyone everyday.

I hardly know this lady. I don’t know her name. She doesn’t come a lot to my workplace. She lives across the street. But I know her love so well. She is adorable and funny! 

One day I walked into the bar my boss owns, to give the cash back at the end of the day and the little lady was in there dancing and singing karaoke! She was singing that Oldie song “splish splash I was takin’ a bath!” lol it was so cute and funny!  

And she may not always act lovingly. She may get angry and disappointed and act less than kind occasionally, but if this is true, that doesn’t make her a less loving person as a whole. We can build our self up to be the best we can in each moment, even if we falter and aren’t always kind. But the more we practice and think lovingly, the more frequently we will act and feel loving. 

Some of us may be more receptive to one person’s energy than others are.  Even if we don’t always feel a person’s loving energy, it doesn’t mean it’s not there or that no one else feels it either. Some people just don’t sense energy much. And I think there are people with “matching energy” and when we meet those with energy similar to our own, we may click or have a deeper connection in some way than with others. But we all have energy and it’s good to make it positive. 

It doesn’t matter how long we know someone or have someone around. All the matters is the love we put out into the world. And the love we show those around us. ❤ ❤

Also check out Splish Splash, sung by Bobby Darin, a golden oldie! ;-D

Splish Splash – mobile

Splish Splash – desktop

It’s bound to put a big bright smile on your face, maybe even have you dancing around the room singing along!! ;-D

Lotsa love to y0u!! 😀 ❤ ❤

Xoxo Kim 😀

Look to each other for love <3

Sep30

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Here is a song sung by Bill Withers I love! It’s about loving each other and looking on the bright side of life! Money and other material things, competitions, success with jobs and things can bring us a certain kind of happiness but true boundless happiness is discovered through love, not just romantic love, but love as a state of being, love for others, love for life itself. All those other things can complement our happiness and joy and add to it but without love, it’s likely we would still feel empty and not very happy, no matter what else we have. Love doesn’t just have to be for a specific person or thing but also just a way of life. 

“Let’s look to each other for love
Look on the brighter side of life
And the world that we share
Can make us happy
Look to one another for love
Look on the lighter side of life
And the way that we are
Can make us happy”

Check out the song!

Look to Each Other for Love – desktop

Look to Each Other for Love – mobile

Lots n Lots of love to you!

😀

❤

xoxo Kim ❤

The Most important relationship is…<3

Sep25

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~Be someone who makes everyone feel like someone.~ ❤

Recently, I was at the synagogue with my good friend, Mike, for the Jewish new year. I met him in college years ago and we are still good friends. His family warmly & lovingly invites me to their houses often for their holidays. 

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(my friends, Jim, Charlie, Mike, and me in New York City, a few years ago one sweet Spring day <3) 😀

We attended a beautiful event at the synagogue a few weeks ago where we sat under the stars at night drinking tea and singing and connecting, and the rabbi asked us which relationships in life are most important and there were various answers. The obvious ones were of course, our relationships with friends & family. Other answers were coworkers, God, our own self, the synagogue family. I was thinking that our relationship with everyone is important. Not just our longterm relationships but even just brief encounters with others each day. I did not say this out loud but one man volunteered his answer which was extremely similar to my own. He said our most important relationship is the one we have with everyone, just in general. 

I couldn't agree more. My most important relationship is the one with whoever it is I'm currently engaging with whether that someone is a friend, a family member, someone I am close with, someone I hardly know, a customer at work, a coworker, a sales person, a bus driver, an animal/pet, an insect, a person I would rather not be around, a doctor, a boss, a person I meet walking up a street or in a park or in traffic….whoever I am right here with, right now. It's important to give that person my full, undivided attention. It's important to be mindful of what is right before me in this moment.

It's all that matters. Let's listen, truly listen when someone is talking. Let's not zone out and think about future plans or food or our phone or whatever we may want when someone is in our presence and attempting to communicate with us. Even if what the person is saying doesn't interest us, it's important to that person so we can make it important to us. This won't always be easy, mindfulness takes practice and our minds tend to stray now and then. 

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Right now is our most important moments. And whoever is with us is our most important relationship at that moment. (in my opinion. I understand someone else may have a different view.)

This takes me back to 11th grade when our English teacher told us that every encounter we have with someone, no matter how brief, even someone we may never see again, is a relationship worth nurturing the best we can. He gave an example of a seemingly trivial encounter, with a bus driver.

But he explained the importance of even an encounter like that. Getting on a bus, putting money in, is part of our life and it’s good to make it a positive part. Be friendly to the bus driver. 

I did not completely realize the wisdom of what he told us back then but I felt that it is somehow important. Now I know. 

One little encounter can have a profound effect on someone. For better or worse. We have the ability to choose words, gestures, actions…that can lift someone or potentially drag someone down. Let’s choose to lift others up. 

Let’s make everyone feel like someone. 

❤ 😀

Also, this is one of the songs we sang at the synagogue. “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by the Byrds. It was beautiful to hear all the people singing together. 

Turn! Turn! Turn! – mobile

Turn! Turn! Turn! – desktop

Lotsa, Lotsa love to you! 😀

Xoxo Kim ❤

30 Days of Photos – Day 22 – {Ordinary Angels} <3

Sep18

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“It is extraordinary how extraordinary the ordinary person is.” ~ George Will 

The topic for Day 22 of the 30 days photo challenge is to get a photo of random people. 

August 22nd was day 22 for me.

It’s kind of rude taking pics of people without permission so it’s best, in my opinion, if this is done while their backs are turned or the picture is blurred or something or just show part of the person in a way that can’t be identified. Unless we ask for permission, which I’m not bold enough to do! Lol

I LOVE people! To most people I probably seem reserved or introverted. I have been mistaken for someone with social anxiety and even called “anti social” or a “loner” more than once. These are not at all true. I am very calm, although very shy in social settings, some more than others, if I don’t know the people well or don’t see them very often. It does take a while sometimes for me to open up but only because I’m shy, not because I am scared, anxious, or not trusting or not open or anything. I’m just the opposite. I’m extremely trusting of people in general, even strangers and people who have betrayed me before. It’s just my nature to be very trusting. And I’m very open to sharing my experiences and opinions when I do get talking, even ones that may be controversial or less than pleasant.

To me, being shy doesn’t feel like anxiety or fear or nervousness. It feels more similar to “awkward” or “embarrassed” though not exactly that. It’s impossible to put into words and people have always asked me why I’m so shy. There’s no specific reason. I just am. I’m the shyest one but also the most extroverted one in my family. I’m nowhere near as shy as when I was a kid. Then I struggled with crippling shyness. 

And “anti social” does not mean what many people think it does. It’s actually an inclination towards criminal activity or violence or aggression, not just someone who prefers to be alone or doesn’t like people. I am not anti-social in either sense.
 
And I’m certainly no loner. I love and often long to be around people. I wish I had lots more friends and a bigger family or knew more people in my family and everywhere. I’m just shy and don’t have many friends, it’s not because I want to be this way. I just am. I am a very shy extrovert! But it’s mostly not a problem. It doesn’t hold me back. If I wasn’t so shy when I was young though, I would probably have more friends. 

So I love the topic for Day 22 because people are something I love. 

I got one picture of people that day, not with their backs turned but luckily it turned out blurred enough so they can’t be identified or I wouldn’t have put it on or would have tried to blur it myself. I looked up the street and the scene looked pretty and two people were walking up and I took the pic and I’m happy with it. 🙂 It’s not the best but it’s a good attempt!

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And here are some more pics I got on different days of random people/ordinary angels:

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I think every person has potential and a light to be lavished onto the world and I believe people are basically good with good intentions.

It’s also my belief that no one is better than anyone no matter what religious or political views, gender, race, skin color, nationality, gender identity, weight, ethnicity, size, sexual orientation, living situations, financial status, job, physical appearance…

Beauty comes in various forms. And every life matters! 

I think we are all one and all connected and can help each other and deepen our compassion and love for others.

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It’s true what the quote above says, the average or “ordinary” person is extraordinary. We all have love to provide to someone and can do something no matter how seemingly simple or small, to help heal, inspire, or uplift someone.

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Here is one of my absolute favorite songs! A beautiful country song about how every one of us has some ability to help another in some way. We don’t need money, a job, don’t have to be famous or have lots of power or be popular or look any certain way…all we need is a compassionate heart and a desire to reach out to someone. ❤

Ordinary Angels – mobile

Ordinary Angels – desktop

”
It could be someone walking down the street
A stranger on a bus
A little kid on his way to school
Or any one of us
We all got a little superman ready to take flight
And save a life, oh save a life
Take a look around and you’ll see ordinary angels” ~ Craig Morgan

I love this song and the message that any one of us can do something, even the simplest thing like just smiling at someone, to help turn someone’s day or even life around for the better.

❤

There are an infinite amount of ways we can help, uplift, or brighten someone’s day whether the person is a stranger to us, a coworker, a friend or family member…we can genuinely compliment the person, look for the good in others, choose to understand someone who is being difficult or unpleasant instead of criticizing in a negative way or judging, understand that even the most loving, selfless people make mistakes and can act in a selfish or rude manner, leave one dollar on a park bench or bus seat for a stranger to find, write an uplifting note to a friend or for someone to stumble upon, write loving messages to people on social media, use our accounts for positivity and goodness, let someone in front of us in line at a store, give up our seat for someone else, feed homeless animals, put insects outside instead of killing them, choose to forgive and move forward, smile at a person who rudely bumps into us in a crowded place or gives us an unpleasant glare, practice patience, wish someone the best, show kindness to everyone we encounter, put money in a tip or donations jar, try to make someone laugh, send an anonymous gift to a struggling single mother or father, listen attentively to someone in distress without offering unsolicited suggestions or solutions, hug someone, encourage someone, help a child or old person cross a street, hold our tongue when we feel like saying something unnecessary and unkind, use our own pain to deepen our compassion for others ….so many ways!! We don’t need any certain paid or volunteer job or any job to help someone each & every day. We can all inspire and uplift others in every day, ordinary contexts no matter who or what we are.

Much love to you!

❤

xoxo Kim 😀

30 Days of Photos – Day 20 {Jenny, Jenny, I got your number} <3

Aug25

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“You don’t know me but you make me so happy…” ❤

Isn't it amazing how someone who doesn't even know we exist, maybe doesn't care or give any thought to us, can still just put a big smile on our face?

😀

Smile! You never know who you are inspiring, whose heart you are capturing even if you don't know it!

It can be quite painful but it’s ok to not be loved back, all that matters is that we keep loving and wishing everyone the best. ❤

Day 20 of the 30 Days photo challenge, was August 20th for me and that day I took a picture of a page in my daily quotes book.

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It has numbers on it, which is the topic of the day, and also some words of wisdom about laughter. I truly believe that laughter IS the best medicine.

Laughing & smiling can lighten a heavy heart no matter what is going on. 😀

Also, I took this picture a couple days before Day 20 and I think it’s a good one.

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And here is the lovely song!

8675309 – mobile

8675309 – desktop

One day, not so long ago, my dad was blasting this song and singing it to my mom and she was appalled because it seems to be about a promiscuous girl. And her name isn’t Jenny. lol

Like I often say, whatever floats your boat! As long as we are not hurting and directly interferring with others, we should be able to do as we please.

oh, yes, and I heard, many years ago, that this was the girl’s real phone number and she had to get it changed. lmao

😀

❤ ❤ Much0 love to you tonight and always! ❤

xoxo Kim

30 Days of Photos – Day 19 {places} <3

Aug25

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“There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
And some have gone, and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I love them all”

Day 19 for the 30 Days photo challenge, which for me was August 19, our goal is to get a picture of places.

Here are my pics!

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This is me outside of a movie theatre going to see the movie “Dark Places.”

And here is me yesterday at work:

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One of my favorite songs is Bette Midler’s version of In My Life .

In My Life – mobile

In My Life – desktop

Much love to you,<3

xoxo Kim 😀

30 Days of Photos – Day 15 – {Where You Lead} <3

Aug16

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“Loving you the way I do 
I know we’re gonna make it through 
And I will go 
to the ends of the earth, 
’cause darling, to me that’s what you’re worth 
Where You Lead 
I will follow 
Anywhere that you tell me to 
If you need-(If)you need me to be with you 
I will follow 
Where you lead” ~Carole King/Louise Goffin   

Day 15 is intended to be a day for leading lines. It’s one of my favorite topics. But another one I don’t quite have down yet and have much to learn! It’s fascinating and an opportunity to get creative! But I got some sorry excuses for leading lines photos today! I intended to go out and get pictures but my mom, sister, and my dad went out and I stayed home and watched the dogs. They tear the house apart when we’re out so it’s good if someone stays home. And also I wasn’t sure if I would be back in time for work if I went with them. So, at work is where I decided to get the pictures since it would have been dark outside after work. I probably could have found things at home but just decided to get them at work! 😀

I am reminded of a couple lessons. Again, something is better than nothing/it’s the attempt that counts. And also I feel that my brain is being pushed to be creative even more than if I were outside since being in a store/work there is less obvious things to get pictures of! So I felt my brain working hard, looking at ordinary things in different ways even more than usual. Not that these pics are creative, they kind of suck(although I like the fan one!). But still, I’m reminded that all we have to do is look and open our minds and there’s bound to be something to take a picture of that is kind of ok even if it’s not brilliant. 

It’s not really about the subject of our pictures but how we look at things, our feeling of inspiration, and our passion.

So here are my pictures for August 15th:

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I like this one too. The color & texture help to make it more interesting than just a stack of paper bags.

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lol

And here is a sweet song by Carole King. I love the mother-daughter version she sings with her daughter Louise.

Where You Lead mobile

Where You Lead desktop

I hope you are having a wonderful day/night!

It’s about to be 12:00am here in Philadelphia! Sweet dreams! ❤

xoxo Kim 😀

30 Days of Photos – Day 13 – {I’m Beautiful Dammit} <3

Aug14

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“Well, I woke up one morning,
flossed my teeth and decided,
“Damn, I’m fierce!” You look good!
You can be just like me! A goddess? Yeah!
Don’t just pussyfoot around and sit on your assets.
Unleash your ferocity upon an unsuspecting world.
Rise up and repeat after me: ‘I’m beautiful!'”

Day 13 of the 30 day photo challenge is to get a picture of our own self, specifically the face.

I got quite a few pics of me today! August 13th. Here goes:

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And without makeup:
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And here’s a few recent ones but not today ones:

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I’m not usually this vain! Although I do love taking pictures of myself! I’m just having super, super fun with this photo challenge, taking new pictures for the topic of the day and going back and finding previous ones! 😀 And today happens to be photo of the self day! lol ❤

And here is a song I love, featuring Bette Midler:

I’m Beautiful – mobile

I’m Beautiful – desktop

❤

I love this song about celebrating our own and each other's beauty which includes physical beauty. There's nothing wrong with appreciating the physical beauty of a woman, including our own. It's fantastic to celebrate!  

We're often made to feel that physical beauty is wrong to celebrate, that it's shallow or stuck up or wrong to others who may not feel as beautiful. But it's not shallow or objectification  unless that's all we see and care about and it's not stuck up unless we act like we are better than others. And loving our own selves, expressing our appreciation for our own beauty in a truly loving way can inspire others to do the same with their own beauty. 

The most important beauty, in my opinion, is within. But that doesn't mean we should not also cherish the physical.

And physical beauty comes in various forms, dark, light, big, small, tall, short, long hair, short hair, blonde hair, black hair, gray hair, orange hair, blue eyes, brown eyes, wrinkles, curvy, scarred, stick thin, tattoos, young, old, middle age….there's no specific definition but we can cherish it when we encounter it. ❤

Also, non physical beauty comes in various forms, tender and quiet, fierce and assertive, loud and bold, simple and laid back, bitchy or syrupy sweet, inquisitive or just going with the flow, badass or gentle, witty and funny or thoughtful and warm, motivated or not…or a combination of all of these things. Let's embrace all that we are while encouraging, accepting, and building up others. 

Let's celebrate our own and each other's inner & outer beauty! ❤

I love how in the song she acknowledges her own beauty & strength while encouraging others to do the same. Confidence is sexy and it's even sexier when it's humble enough to allow other people to be just what they are and seeing beauty in it. 

And in this song, they make it clear that we are not “too” anything. We are perfect how we are. 

“I'm not too short, I'm not too tall,
I'm not too big, I'm not too small.
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
I'm not too white, I'm not too black,
I'm not too this, I'm not too that.
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, dammit!”

And it's our responsibility to live how we want to live and maintain our own happiness no matter what other people say, do, or think.

“Too wack, too smart, too fast, too fine,
too loud, too tough, too too divine.
I said you don't belong. You don't belong.
Too loud, too big, too much to bear,
too bold, too brash, too prone to swear.
I heard that song for much too long.
Ain't this my sun? Ain't this my moon?
Ain't this my world to be who I choose?
Ain't this my song? Ain't this my movie?
Ain't this my world? I know I can do it.”

It's one of those “feel good” songs it's almost impossible to hear or read the lyrics and not be inspired and uplifted. It's a combination of inspiring, upbeat, and funny. They encourage us to feel beautiful and not just feel it but scream it off the rooftops! 😀

If you got it, flaunt it! And if you don't, flaunt it anyway! 

(many years ago at work, my coworker, who was struggling with body image issues, said this. She came to work wearing tight, revealing clothing and decided to say to hell with society's definition of beautiful and sexy, just be what you are and flaunt it! It inspires me ever since. <3) 

Check out the 30 days photo challenge!

“I know who I am. I am not perfect. I’m not the most beautiful woman in the world. But I’m one of them.” ~ Mary J. Blige

Much love to you,

❤

Xoxo Kim 😀