WHY LENNY KRAVITZ WILL ALWAYS BE COOL

So in this day and age, when a lot of rock stars and movie stars act like they are curing cancer instead of simply entertaining the masses, it is refreshing to see someone act so cool. And Lenny Kravitz is COOL. I saw him in concert a few years ago...he opened up for Aerosmith and he owned that damn stage. Was never a big fan before but left that concert loving him. Here he is, chilling in New Orleans, when he hears a choir practicing one of his songs. Deciding to check it out ...here's what happens! Bravo Lenny!!!

via www.thedailyshite.com

Lessons Learned or Thank you John!

Soooo getting over the one I let go of... the struggle to move forward... almost won but filled with what if's and whys that will never be answered because we no longer speak. The ability to see things with a clearer eye and a harder heart.

It can be disconcerting to look back on the past year of my life and realize i was wrong about so many things. But at the same time use those lesson to move forward, ever wiser, vowing to never make the same mistakes again.As i move forward, ready to step over the final hurdle in the world of bruised and battered hearts, I find myself wishing i could thank him for all the lessons he taught me. The good and the bad...and so i blog it.

Knowing he'll never read it but that's ok - because some will and they will make the connection. And others will see themselves in my words and perhaps it will give them solace. But most importantly, by saying it, it makes it real, and i lay the bricks i will walk on that take me to that ever shrinking final hurdle of getting over him. I see the light on the other side and it's lovely & freeing and healthier then anything I've seen in years.

So... thank you John!

"~ Thank you for teaching me how to trust again, with my whole being, Thank you for giving me back the ability to open those doors I hadn't even known I closed. For helping me close a long useless chapter in my life and move forward.

~For showing me that friends, no matter how close, can still lie to you and stab you in the back and yet be forgiven. Thank you for forcing me to realize that regardless of history and time and feeling, some people are disposable when they have served their purpose.

~Thank you for proving that my intuition was always right - that you would leave me and go back to her once she was thru with her years of distractions and she realized you were moving on - even tho you were days away from signing the final papers.

~Thank you for making me appreciate the fact that I was strong enough and brave enough to choose a life of happiness by going thru with my divorce, instead of choosing the easy way out and staying in a marriage where i was never loved the way i deserved to be.

~Thank you for taking what we had, and what we could have had and making it into something neither of us recognized or wanted in the end. Thank you for making me feel like less of a person the last time we were together, and lying to me about it to save yourself from... well, to save yourself from yourself. And making me realize that I deserved so much more.

~Thank you for using me, to pass the time, and live a different lifestyle, while you waited for your vanilla life to come back to you. That lesson taught me that no one is really ever who they proclaim to be.

~Thank you for not having the balls to end what we had but yet getting over it so quickly, when I ended it,that 2 weeks later you were back to playing happily married house.

~~And lastly, Thank You for making me realize that some people really don't change from when they were 15 yrs old, some men really do all their thinking with their dicks and that just because someone may feel like home...they really aren't. "

Go into the light Carol Ann, it's beautiful! Ahhhh yeah, I got this & I can finally say I am over it!

ADVICE TO MY DAUGHTER(S)...

Some people know, most people don't that I started writing after my divorce. Odds and ends, stories of struggles and battles won that ended with laughter and sometimes tears. My legacy if you will, to my (at the time) teenage daughter. A way to show her how I forged, limped and rolled thru life with what I hoped was grace and strength and humor. After my a computer crash last year (can we call it a death ... cause that's what it felt like) i was scrambling to find all the bits and pieces that i had put down. I was lucky to find some of my stuff on websites and blogs on line - the rest on floppy's and cd's and notebooks. So i begin again to put it together (using a back up disc thank you very much) and as I go thru it I come across things I forgot I had written. This is one of those things. I hope you enjoy it and i hope it strikes a chord in you. BTW those are my girls in the pic, Kelly by blood, colleen and crystal by heart. I am a lucky mom!

Advice to my daughter(s)…
" Just say what you mean and mean what you say. Don't expect someone to read your mind,and don't play games with heads or hearts. Don't tell half truths and expect trust when the full truth comes out. Half truths are no better then lies. Don't be cold to someone you care about - indifference hurts more then angry words.

If you are angry - say it! Give the other person the opportunity to explain or make a change for the better. They can't do that unless they know why you're angry. In the same vein - if you care about someone say that too.

When you fall in love - love with your whole heart - and expect the same in return. Realize you deserve that - more than anything. Don't expect to change someone to make them love you - it won't work and love after all is completely out of your hands.

Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself - no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are - completely; the good and the bad - and make changes as YOU see fit - not because you think someone else wants you to be different."
--- Copyright © 2000 Stacey Charter

Yep, my butt is big...

Borrowed this pic from the blog below! It's a wonderful site btw please visit it and follow her!

http://themonthofblank.blogspot.com/

BECAUSE OF YOU... living w/ the memories of abuse

I have struggled for many years & finally found some peace. For the first time in a while, tonight; i felt afraid, I got walked to my car, I watched my rear view all the way home, I have locked the doors and shut the windows.,I have set the traps.For the 1st time in a long time i came face to face with the man who tried to kill me... who stalked me for a year... and he waved.

How dare you, you bastard... you come into my HOUSE... my bar and wave at me like we are old friends. You tried to kill me in February of 2002! You then stalked me for a over a year after that... always alluding the police, every time i called them. I put you in jail, numerous times! I had an unprecedented 18 month PFA (protection from abuse) because the judge felt that my fear was justified. I went underground for 3 years... no one but the chosen few knew where i lived, knew where i worked.

You used to stalk me in my home, running your fingers across the screen of my bedroom window. Because of you, I learned how to shoot a gun. Because of you I learned how to shoot pepper spray, Police issue... Because of you i took a spray to the face to become certified. Because of you I still have a torn rotator cuff that I refused to get fixed... because you had already given me enough pain. Because of you, i feared anyone who came into my personal space, anyone who touched my neck or back in a loving way... because you tried to strangle me and kill me. Because you punched my elbow and made it hyper extend, tearing my shoulder and dislocating it. Because of you no bills were in my name for 4 years. because of you I had to learn how to trust again, something i didn't do until I met the man who is currently in my life. Because of you i have been diagnosed as having PTSD... Post traumatic stress disorder- and i take meds every day to help me deal with it. Because of you, you psychotic mother f$cker... my life has been something to work thru and get over.

Because of you, I find myself right back in the deep hole i fought for so long to crawl out of... And you waved at me , you son of bitch... like we were long lost friends. Because of you, you f'ing bastard, i will beat this yet again. I will backtrack and set my traps and look over my shoulder until i am yet again strong enough to deal with the fear.

Come and get me you bastard... because of you, I will never, ever again let anyone have that control over my life. Because of you I have a dog that will rip your throat out before you can even get in the door. Because of you I am strong... I will win... i will be whole.

Because of you, I will prove you wrong.. I will survive... I will THRIVE!

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

I recently found this on a new blog I am following www.themonthofblank.blogspot.com The blog is written by Mariah Kelly, the quote from Marianne Williamson. I read it and loved it and then as if by some twist of fate , or sign from above I was working in the new bedroom and found this same quote printed out and laying on the floor. I used to have it hanging on my desk when i worked from home. Think somebody's trying to tell me something? I hope so. Because I plan on listening.

We listen to the ugly voices in our head that tell us we aren't good enough or pretty enough or smart enough and so on and blah blah blah. Why is that ugly voice so loud but the positive stuff is merely a whisper.

So this is for all of you, me included, who need to be reminded that we are stronger then we think, more beautiful then we see,and better then we could ever realize! Let your light shine people... Let your light shine! ~Stacey

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented, and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people the permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~Marianne Williamson

SOME GOOD ADVICE

Remember the song in the late '90's by Baz Luhrmann - Sunscreen. taken from his commencement speech given at a college graduation. It's filled with some timeless advice and since i am in no mind place to write right now i give you Baz and sunscreen...


Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering
experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…