I Wanna Be On Soul Train!

What did you want to be when you grew up?  Or, for that matter, what do you want to be when you grow up?

I had a list of things I wanted to do and be. Yesterday, driving in the car with Steve I mentioned the fact that I had never learned to whistle - LOUD!  My mom had a friend who could split your ears when she whistled and I vowed that when I was a grown up, I would whistle just like Elsie.  I can barely get a tweet out.  It's really quite disappointing.

Following, is a list of things I really wanted to do.  I don't know if they were the typical dreams of suburban California girls in the 70's, but they were my dreams.

~ I really wanted to be a race car driver.  My first car was a stick shift.  My dad taught me how to drive it.  He even taught me how to burn rubber, then had the nerve to get mad at me after I peeled out of the church parking lot in front of the whole congregation following church one Sunday morning.

Parents are so inconsistent!

~ I wanted to, no I needed to meet Peter Frampton,

because, I knew, once he got a look at me in my sweet ride...

it would be game over.  He would be happy with nobody else but me.  I was not deterred by the fact that he was four inches shorter than me.  After all, this was the 70's.  He could wear platform shoes!

~ This leads to my next big dream - being the lead singer in a girl band.  I had the hair.  I had the Chemin de Fer bell bottom jeans.  I have no idea why this never happened.

~ Now, don't laugh out loud when you read this one.  When I was in high school I really wanted to be a Soul Train dancer.  Forget American Bandstand.  On Saturday mornings, my friend Tamara and I would race to the television to watch the Soul Train dancers and try to imitate their moves.  Remember, Sharon?  Plus, nobody was cooler than Don Cornelius.  I lived in the Central Valley at the time and we plotted ways we could get to LA for our big chance at Soul Train fame.

For those of you who didn't have the pleasure of growing up with this epic show, here's a short clip.




Now that you have had a taste of this amazing program that shaped my youth, you may be asking these questions.  "Who did she think she was back then - the girl with the big 'fro or the styling lady in pink doing the splits?"

Yes, I'm afraid I was clearly suffering from delusions of funk.

Okay, so it is a little embarrassing that none of my dreams involved solving the world hunger crisis, meeting Mother Theresa or obtaining a PhD, but I'm just keeping it real here.

Clearly I did not achieve these childhood dreams, but I'm okay with that.  I dance around the house, sing loudly and often and have my Stephen instead of Peter.  I have been known to race now and then, but have curbed my inclinations in that area to a great degree.

There is one thing, however that still bugs me.  I want to learn to whistle!  I would love to be at the beach. see my kids half a mile away and just split the air with a noise that sends them running.  I don't know if it's possible to learn, but I'm going to try.  And when I succeed, you will be the first to know!

BTW,
Last night we discovered a new dance show on Hulu called The LXD.  It's filmed in a narrative style with a story line from one episode to the next.  The dancing is off the hook.  The music is great and the production quality is top-notch.  We sat with the kids and watched all nine episodes.  If you love music or dancing I highly recommend it.  It's suitable for all ages. maybe a bit intense for younger kids.  Perhaps it will inspire your dream to dance! 

Couch Potatoes

Well, we have been conducting an experiment at our house for a couple  months now.  We got rid of our cable/satellite and have been TV-free for an extended period of time.  Surprisingly, it started out fairly easy - everyone was so busy with work, Little League, youth group, schoolwork, music, etc. that we hardly had time for it.  But now, the natives are getting restless and I must admit, I'm included in that group.

Okay, so I didn't see the finale of Gray's Anatomy, I can watch it on Hulu.  I also missed the final episode of 24 - after a while they start to look the same.  I don't even know who won American Idol!  I guess if I really cared I could find out.

We are all coping in different ways with our loss.  My son is watching  Star Wars and Lord of the Rings DVD's over and over and ov.... you get the idea.  My youngest daughter is turning into the Hulu queen and our oldest just goes out with her fiancee to the movies or somebody else's house.  Dad has become obsessed with some video game on his iPhone and I have spent a lot of time on Facebook and doing this! 

It's obvious, we are addicts in need of our television fix.  I would like to say, with pride, that we no longer miss it and that we spend so much quality family time together that we don't even need it, but I would be lying.  There is rumbling and grumbling going on and it's getting louder with every passing day.

We have done this experiment before.  Every couple of years I think "I've had it, we spend too much time staring at that screen.  The TV is going!"   But we always go back.  We are drawn into staring at that box, putting our feet up on the coffee table, drooling while we stare at the screen (okay, no drooling, but you get the idea).

The benefit of this experiment has been time to read some great books, getting to bed earlier than usual, and yes, we have spent time together as a family.  But enough is enough.  I love these people, but I NEED my TV.  Before you condemn me, think back on what you watched this week and take pity on a weak sister.

When we finally break down and get that TV back on, there will be one change at least.  This Scripture will be printed and placed right on top!

"I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse."
Philippians 4:8

I think, by heeding this, that we may have a harder time finding something to watch!  

Real Housewives of Orange County

I have been reading the book 'Dangerous Surrender' by Kay Warren with my Girls Book Club. It is not an easy read. The words and the book itself aren't that difficult, but Kay challenges us to look beyond ourselves and our needs to a sick and dying world. Not only to see what is going on around us but DO something about it. I have to admit, there are times I am ready to say 'forget it, I'm busy enough and don't need the challenge', but I am drawn in and keep reading through my discomfort.

In the 5th chapter she presents especially difficult world issues that she wants us to think about - HIV/AIDS, genocide, world hunger,sex slavery and more. Like I said, this book is not for the faint of heart.



So, what does this have to do with The Real Housewives of Orange County? Well, I AM one of those Real Housewives and so is Kay, both of us living here in affluent Orange County. The glossy image that is portrayed on television of pampered, self-indulgent women is certainly one that exists, but it is not, by far a 'true' picture.

Real Housewives struggle to make ends meet.

Real Housewives carpool to school, Little League and recitals.

Real Housewives spend more time at Target and Costco than at the mall.

Real Housewives work hard to juggle home, work, children and relationships.

Real Housewives garden, cook, laugh, play, cry, dance, mourn, and pray.

This Real Housewife has been challenged - to go beyond the everyday scope of my life and ask "what can I do to help a world in need?" It isn't easy but I'm starting to think more outside of my little bubble and allow God to show me what this Real Housewife can do!



'I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

Matthew 25:35-36 The Message

Friday Night Lights

Sigh! It's Friday, and I've survived another week. Sometimes surviving is a good thing and right now I feel like it's an accomplishment.

Still fighting with my computer (Lord, you know I need a new one - a faster one)! Still moving slow, but at least I'm moving! I'm just placing one foot in front of the other and stubbornly doing what I know to do today, because "tomorrow has worries enough of it's own".

I'm taking the time to count my blessings, and these are just a few of today's

~ Enjoyed a delicious latte at Peet's and conversation with some beautiful friends

~ Spent time with my parents, hangin' at their house

~ Heard great news from my daughter

~ Snuggled on the sofa with my hubby watching Season 2 of Friday Night Lights while the kids were out!

I am blessed, beyond measure, and choosing today to be grateful.