“When adventures like cars we would ride, and the years lied ahead still untried…”

I have a tale to tell (and a very wordy post), but first I must share that the desert here has been graced with 4 blissfully rainy days that have looked like this… (I might lose power any second)

 

Beautiful rain clouds have been beloved guests!!  Crazy monsoon rain storms have been treasured…

      

Dew on Barrel cactus flowers have casued quite the stir (in me at least)…

 

 

 

Oops, we did lose power!  At 6:30 p.m.  And just got it back at 4:27 a.m.  The power coming back woke me up…  I can't believe I am awake and here!!      

Okay, so bear with me, while I tell my true tale… 

You see, the strangest thing happened to me this morning (meaning yesterday actually).  I was thinking of this one song, all through my dreams last night, and woke up with it bopping through my head…  In my dreams, while the song was playing, I was in my house and some of my friends were sitting at the bar while I was getting out snacks and such. 

The dream was super duper vivid, I could see inside the kitchen cabinets and see what exactly was on the shelves…  I could see what was on the kitchen counters.  I could smell the familiarity of my surroundings.  I could see exactly what my friends were wearing.  Their quirky smiles and their laughter…  Charmingly lovely freckles and sparkly braces abound…  I opened a drawer and grabbed a spoon.  I saw all the other utensils in the drawer, every detail, embedded like a photographic snapshot…

Only thing is, it was 1987.  I was in the kitchen of the house I grew up in. 

When I woke up this morning, I was confused about where I was.  I felt like I felt, the first night I slept away from home at college.  Like a chapter was over, and this was my new life that I had to get used to real quick.  I had to swallow my tears of missing home.  There was no option…

So how do you think I felt, when I opened my eyes and realized it was 2008 and I was asleep in my private boudoir at the country house?  FREAK OUT! I was totally discombobulated.  No posters of Corey Haim and Corey Feldman on my walls.  No Pretty In Pink video in my VCR.  No Simple Minds tape in my Neon Coral tape player with a turquoise carrying strap.  No laceless keds on the floor.  No Scrunchies or fingerless gloves.  No pink canopy bed…  You get the point… 

It was like I really had been transported in time.  I wanted to call out, Mom, Mom, are you there??  It was such a terribly odd feeling…

Has that ever happened to you? 

My friends who were in my dream and I, knew eachother from elementary school in real life.  Later as teenagers, we were always together, swimming parties, Pizza Hut, football games, mini golf, movie theatres… All of it.  We explored the desert, looking for treasures…  We thought we were the Goonies…  So, I guess it makes sense that this was the song that was in my mind all night, that prompted all of this…

 

I suppose you can say, it led me to a nostalgic state of disarray.  Although, it was happy nostalgia, for all the good memories I have collected and saved real close to my heart…

Then I came across one of my favorite songs of all time (hence the blog title), by one of my favorite characters…  And it got me thinking & dancing like mad all morning… (she is singing the song above too, but you probably already knew that 😉

 

I feel that I was given a wonderful gift.  That gift is the gift of "Awareness of the Moment."  I have lived each part of my life to the fullest, just delving into it and loving it, and enjoying it, and swimming in it.  I know this, because as far as I can remember I would stop and make memories and make myself aware of the moment.  Close my eyes, and let it all seep in… 

 

I enjoyed my youth and still do.  I enjoyed my twenties a ton (even though I was complicated of heart and mind).  And, I am enjoying the present, like there is nothing better in the world.  It isn't always candies and scones, but my mind lets the good stuff stand out more than the not so good stuff…

I am savoring life in tiny ways that make a HUGE impact on my soul.  I am taking time to dance in the rain.  I notice teeny tiny flowers. 

      

I am baking ridiculous cupcakes.  I am enjoying being alive!  I am blowing bubbles.  And, I have to say, if you are not doing these things.  Do them, don't wait.  There are things you can do that don't require much time or money.  But they can make a huge difference in your life.

 

I am not different from you, I have bills, I worry about things.  But, really, do they matter enough not to let me dance and laugh a little?  NO WAY!!

Today I danced. I jumped on my bed.  I ran around the yard…  I made huge bubble gum bubbles…

      

A long time ago, I learned that we carry a youthful spark inside of us, no matter what age.  And it can fizzle, or it can glow.  Let it GLOW!!!  For some reason, I think many of you do!!

      

      

    

I sat here, and typed all these thoughts out.  Wondered if you would want to read so many words… 

It is never to late to enforce the idea of being "Aware of the moment."  Even if the moment is only 2 minutes long…  Or in the form of a cardinal flying right above your head…

      

At this point, I bet you are wondering….  Who won the Frida book, "Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress?"

 

Thank you for putting your names in the drawing!!  We all agree, Frida Kahlo was a huge inspiration.  She created such amazing work, while faced with such horrible health issues from the awful trolley accident.  Issues that plagued her throughout her entire life.  She really helped pave the way for women artists globally…  This book, is about her wardrobe.  So, I focused on her garments and jewels…  But, we admire her for deeper reasons of course. Amazing, to have been born around 1907, in Mexico, and to have made such a huge impact (rightfully so).  Fascinating…

Let me put my rings back on and draw a name…  (The photos in the last post of the paint & the paint palette, and the rings, were actually photos I took in my house…  I have to thank my Grandpa for that amazing birdcage in those photos… He is such a treasure finder!!!)

 

And the winner of the book is…………..

 

Miss Erin, whose daughter is named Frida!!!  Yipppeeee! E-mail me your addy ;) 

I thank you oooodles for playing along!!  I will have another giveaway very very sooooon!! 

Before I go, I have to tell you what I did after I had my nostalgic 1985 Morning…  I called my sister.  And I asked her, "besides all the torture and trauma I caused as your older sister 😉 what do you remember about me from when you were a kid?"  I am 32 and she is 27.

I asked her for ten things…  She sent 9.  So I had a thought.  If you had a sibling growing up, that you can ask to list 9 things about you, let me know!!  Put it on your blog, and I will link to you!!

At 4 in the morning I read her list that she e-mailed me.  I laughed so hard at number 6, I can't even tell you.  Hahahaa!  Remember this is a sibling's perspective 😉

If you want to read the list from my sister, click on link below…   🖤

Today is August 28, 2008. My sister, Vanessa sent me some links to Cyndi Lauper videos on youtube.com and it got me thinking about all the things I remember her for (I am referring to my sister, not Cyndi).

My youth is comprised of colorful memories. I think sometimes that I have a unique memory because I can remember smells, colors, and the precise location of things at certain points in my life. I am 5.5 years younger than my sister and when I was a child, I would secretly watch in awe as she maintained her wild ways.

Our childhood bedrooms were connected by a bathroom, so I could watch her as she talked on the phone or got ready for some party where “anyone who was anyone” was going to be. My sister gave and gives new meaning to what it means to be fashionably late. It seemed as though time stood still for her as she created ensembles that she would leave the house in. She was always the loudest of her friends, and I don’t mean loud by what you can hear, she could speak volumes without saying a word. So, within all these memories, I chose the 10 most memorable things about my sissy spacek. They are as follows:

1)      Everything was colorful. Nothing was ever bright enough. In the 80’s a hot pink hypercolor t-shirt and neon green shorts was common, but my sister had super neon clothing with extra neon socks and a sideways ponytail that made her appear to be 6 feet tall. Her confidence in leaving the house the way she did, well, it was something I envied. No matter what, she held her hair..er..I mean, head high. She was the type of girl that was popular and when someone tried to sabotage her, she was able to make it look good. Like she meant for that to happen. Like if someone tripped her and she ripped her fishnets, she would rip them up and say it was the latest trend, then the next day everyone followed her lead.

2)      Everything in her room did and still does have glitter or some sort of shimmer all over it. I used to joke and tell her that it looked like a drag queen lived in her room. There is fabulous glittery jewelry. Rhinestones, diamonds, precious stones, and any kind of stone you could imagine in almost every color of the rainbow. Her earrings were so big, I don’t think she could turn her head correctly, or even talk on the phone for that matter.

3)      I used to believe that my sister was a friend of Madonna. One time I was going through my dad’s Beatles collection as she was leaving the house, on her way to some extravagant party, I don’t remember how old I was, all I know was that there was a blonde girl with a black tutu, bobby socks, red lips, and arms covered from wrist to elbow in bangles leaving the house. In true Cyndi Lauper fashion, I thought, who is this girl? And why is she so unusual?

4)      She took any opportunity to dance. My sister enjoyed music…GOOD music. She introduced me to MTV. She brought the concept of “I want my MTV” to a whole other level for me. She could watch a video and manage to recreate whatever outfit the person on TV was wearing with elements from her closet. Then she could do the dance whilst in the outfit and nail every point of the choreography. She got me into Depeche Mode, New Order, Joy Division, Cyndi Lauper, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, Talk Talk, and many many more.

5)      Everything she had smelled good. It seemed like she had perfumes from all over the world. Her clothes, the bathroom, the carpet, her bed, even the walls had been permeated by the smell of her perfumes. They were never bad either. After she would leave and turn the lights off behind her, there was this energy she left behind her in the form of scent.

6)      She was messy, but still knew exactly where everything was. Now, not in a bad way, there wasn’t mold growing anywhere, but I mean clothing everywhere, shoes all over the place, books, Barbie dolls, jewelry, handbags, scarves, brooches, hair accessories, and the occasional piece of workout equipment. To look under her bed was to find anything that went missing in the Bermuda Triangle. No matter the state of things in her room, she knew exactly where to find everything she was looking for. “Kristen, look under my bed, beneath the blue sweater, next to the hand weights behind the atlas, to the left of the photo album, to the right of the spiral curling iron, and beneath the empty shoe box, there is an earring back for my massive baseball-sized rhinestone star earrings. Get it for me.”

7)      She drove like a maniac. My sister drove a car like the one from the movie License to Drive. A white VW cabriolet with cow print seat covers. She would come pick me up from junior high and be blasting “Slave to the Vibe”. I was an awkward and clumsy kid, so as if I wasn’t invisible enough, all the boys I went to school with were in love with her and never even noticed me. I would walk up, grab the handle and she would move the car forward. She did this a few times before actually letting me into the car, then she would speed off as if speed limits were merely a suggestion.

8)      She hits patches of obsession. I know we all do this, but my sister has a unique way of immersing herself in something for a certain period of time then tossing it aside for the next best thing. She used to listen to Deep Forest in her later high school years and she would blast it while getting ready to go to the bars in Mexico. I can still smell her hair spray when the song comes on my ipod. She fell out of love with the music, I think, because I never heard her listen to it again. These short phases of obsession happen in her life all the time.  She has her fun and then….NEXT!

9)      She is a closet beautician, and a good one at that. When I was a kid, she would chase me around the house and try to force me to sit still while she covered me in makeup, styled my hair, and dressed me in the strangest of frocks. I used to muster the courage to sit for a while, but the second she turned her head, I would dash like a bolt of lightning. It took her a while to realize that I would hide in the linen closet, but I would carefully climb the shelves and hide on the top shelf where she couldn’t see me. I never appreciated her skills, well, ever. There was this one time she tried to dye my hair blonde and I ended up with yellow hair, my hair is chocolate brown!!! She is able to work wonders on everyone else except me. Here is a sample of what she would do to me…  See how thrilled I look…

             

Hey, that is one of my Prom Dresses!!  Oy Vey, Moire!!  Eeeek!!  So Funny!!  Thank you Kristen!!  I hope everyone doesn't hate me now!!  LOL!!  Isn't my sis wonderfully hilarious?  Gotta LOVE her!!! xoxoxo

See you soon!!  Have a safe marvelous long weekend!!!  🖤 V 🖤