"Like Ali in the Jungle..."

After downloading this song last week, it's gone to the top of my workout playlist. Time to start the week. Let's go.


Have at it, kids; here's to a wonderful week! (Hope your PT is going well, Ben.)   tIO x

Flip a Coin

Or don't. Use this:


Yes, no, maybe so. Thanks for perusing this blog; blog you again soon!   tIO x

Mid-week Music: "(I Have) Confidence"

Remember that song from 'the Sound of Music', "(I Have) Confidence"? It's been a favorite of mine since I was little. I've had it randomly popping into my head for days now, and finally yielded to the musical gods, aka Rodgers and Hammerstein, to seek it out on youtube. Here it is for your viewing pleasure: (with thanks to superlightstar for posting)


The lyrics: (in case you forgot them)
What will this day be like? I wonder
What will my future be? I wonder
It could be so exciting to be out in the world, to be free
My heart should be wildly rejoicing
Oh whats the matter with me?

I've always longed for adventure
To do the things I've never dared
Now here i'm facing adventure
Then why am I so scared?

Captain with seven children; what's so fearsome about that?

Oh I must stop all these doubts, all these worries
If I don't i just know i'll turn back
I must dream of the things I am seeking
I am seeking the courage I lack

The courage to serve them with reliance
Face my mistakes without defiance
Show them I'm worthy
And while I show them I'll show me

So... let them bring on all their problems
I'll do better than my best
I have confidence they'll put me to the test
But I'll make them see I have confidence in me

Somehow I will impress them
I will be firm but kind
And all those children
Heaven bless them
They will look up to me and mind me

With each step I am more certain
Everything will turn out fine
I have confidence the world can all be mine
They'll have to agree I have confidence in me

I have confidence in sunshine
I have confidence in rain
I have confidence that spring will come again
Besides what you see I have confidence in me

Strength doesn't lie in numbers
Strength doesn't lie in wealth
Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumber
When you wake up - wake up! - it's healthy

All I trust I give my heart to
All I trust becomes my own
I have confidence in confidence alone
... Oh help! ...
I have confidence in confidence alone
Besides which, you see, I have confidence in me!



May you go forth with confidence, lovelies! Spring will come again.
Thanks for perusing this blog; blog you again, soon.   tIO x

Seriously, folks

Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned confidence? Is it just me, or are we always at odds because we are always uncomfortable in our lives, in our skins, in our communities? Can we not feel vital until we've been important? Have we come to expect to be always at odds with someone about something or someplace? Are we living in the literal Mudville post-Casey's defeat? Our little neighborhood in a quite town of some 15,000 has decided to create a gateway to the "subdivision", including a sign, "plantings", etc. The idea of a "gateway" bothers me. A lot. There, I said it. We moved here but nine months ago and chose our home for many reasons, not the least of which was that it was NOT in a "named community" - a rarity in this little burg. Without it's name, known only to the county auditor and those willing to look-it-up, it felt unpretentious, non-nouveau riche, not hopelessly and desperately seeking attention. It felt like a natural part of the town - meant-to-be and unashamed to be un-named. The proposal to call attention to it now seems vulgar. Currently, as cars and people pass up and down our streets, I think nothing of it. When the sign goes in, and the citizenry pass through, I will feel...embarassed, like we are having to shout from the roof-tops, or out the windows of our cars, or from the signage at the "entrance" of our neighborhood that we belong - just like the rest of you - to this community and we will be heard. I want to ask: what is the big deal? (I'm sure some would ask that of me as well.) Why draw attention? Are we not secure enough in our own little world to not care who knows about us? Do we need to be able to say - "oh, we live in ..."? While I will grant that a patch of grass with a stop sign, a street sign, and a rock are not too asthetically pleasing, that patch of grass without a "subdivision" sign is a sigh of relief that at least one neighborhood feels comfortable enough with itself to leave the name-calling out of it. Perhaps it's the teenage rebellion in me still which hates to be pigeon-holed or found typical. Perhaps it's that fact that we moved from an area of the country known for its subversive segregation. Perhaps it's because I can't get behind something that screams for attention, unless it's a two-year-old which then enjoys the luxury of my understanding. Perhaps it seems so sad and perhaps not worth my attention. (Sigh.) Nonetheless, I am rebelling over a sign. Don't tread on me.

Today's conundrum: Is it wrong to want world peace? Does that make you a complacent know-nothing?

Future conundrum: Is it wrong to not care about world peace? Does that make you a complacent know-nothing?

Thanks for perusing this blog. Blog you again soon!