Protected: Year two, day one

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Gino’s for the year

Salutations everyone. I hope you all had a good weekend, they always seem to go by too fast around here. Just me? Or can anyone else empathize with me? What did you all get up to? It is the last weekend before Christmas, I can almost guarantee that someone who is reading this did some shopping or wrapping, or something else that involved a Christmas activity. Shopping was a challenge this year, and I don’t like shopping on a good year. I find little things for my friends and family all the time that I will give them throughout the year, I don’t think Christmas should be about the gifts anyways. That bothers me, it should be about family and friends, and laughs and stories, hot chocolate, food, and quality time. Enough with the gifts. I have more than I need, I don’t need anything else. Slow down on the gifts, and amp up the little things that make a difference; a card, some baking, a family picture, time with your family, who cares who got the new Playstation 5, or the new xBox, or the new Air Jordan 1 Black metallic gold hi’s in a size 10… Just my thoughts. You all need to do your thing, but remember, not everyone has huge amounts of money to spend, so keep the gifts from Santa to a minimum.

Onto other things over here. I have to write about goals, plans, and dreams… I dislike writing about this stuff. I have very little will power, and I rarely ever follow through, or work towards the things I want. I did just complete a 75 day challenge, which I was so pumped about, and then it let me down. So my thought process, which is awful, I know, so don’t chirp me, is that if I don’t set a goal, I can’t let myself down. Will 2021 be any different? I highly doubt it. However, to satisfy this writing post, I will write about a few things that I would like to do.

The first thing I would like to do, like most of us, is to lose some weight. I tried this previously, and I had almost no weight loss (see a previous post like 4 back? Maybe more), and that was back breaking. To have worked my butt off and come up empty? I’d rather not do that again, it was shattering. I need to find out what works for me, and whatever it is, I need to find it quickly. COVID is putting a damper on my old gym routines, which makes things more difficult. I would like to go back to swimming, and lifting weights, and having a routine. I can make some of it work from home, but I don’t have the equipment that I need. I have one set of 5 pound dumbbells, and I am soon going to lift my way out of those. Cardio doesn’t work for me, don’t ask me why, it just doesn’t, so I have slowed on that, and am now going to focus on more muscle building. If anyone has any ideas out there for body weight exercises that are “knee friendly” (because I only have one fully functional and supportive knee), please, send them my way.

Another goal of mine has to do with music. I have posted about this before as well, but I want to learn how to read music, play the piano, and the guitar. If I am around someone and they pull out a guitar, or sit down at a piano and start playing, I am a puddle, I melt. Like just marry me right there. I want to have that in my back pocket. I love music as it is, why can’t I play it, read it, and understand it? That seems like a decent goal in my eyes. A small part of me regrets not taking music in high school, but everyone who took it in grade 9 had some music teaching in grade school, and I didn’t. I cheated my way through the dreaded “recorder” stage of grade school, and I am sure my parents are glad that it did not last very long. I want to have an outlet, something I can do in my spare time to take me away from everything else.

Plans for 2021? Just to survive, if I am being honest. I want to make it through to a world where there is no more COVID, and things are back to our new “normal”. But with all of the people who continue to travel, who continue to not wear a mask or practice any social or physical distancing, that will not happen any time soon. I get so angry and frustrated, and it’s hurting me more than it hurts anyone else. No one cares how I feel, how hurt all of this makes me. Do you think that the medical and science professionals are saying it just to say it? Or do we think maybe they know what they are talking about? Everyone out there who thinks that sports, sporting events, NON ESSENTIAL travel, and vacations are more important that human lives and the betterment of the world can kindly remove themselves from my “friends” list, I do not want, or need to talk to you, you are the reason this is still going on. Your selfishness, and blatant disregard for anyone but yourself is sickening. Our grandparents, and great grandparents actually had to go to war to fight for our freedom, all you are being asked to do is stay home, if you are not an essential worker, and wear a mask. Apparently that is really difficult for everyone who feels they are entitled to everything, but don’t worry, I, like may others, have seen your true colours, and for what it’s worth, my rainbow doesn’t need your colours, it does just fine on it’s own. This may go over some of your heads because you are too absorbed in yourself, so there is no surprise there, but I hope and pray that you, and your family avoid this virus, because no one deserves to get sick, or worse, die. Remember that when you are out and about with your friends when you could be at home saving a life or two.

In 2021, I want to be happy and positive again. 2020 has been awful for my mentality and my emotional state, and I know it, I can feel it and I can see it. I am aware, and I am working on it. This is not an option for me, it is something that needs to start to change, and it will be a long road, but I have some hopes that I can get to where I need to be. My gratitude challenge is a start, and I will add and change things as I see fit, and just hopefully stay the course and come out on top in the end. Maybe that is something you all can try. Take the time every day to be grateful for one thing, or more if you want. This is the time that we can all use some positivity, some love, and some hype to get us through. You ask my baseball team or my hockey team, I will hype you up for every at bat, every defensive play, and every offensive play, every goal, and every assist, every save, and every effort you make to do your best. I will do it here too, but we all have to do it together. There is no I in team, this is going to take a village, but if we all change one little thing, for the better, we can make a difference. Why not make a difference? Why not leave your name on something positive?

Gratitude Gulag results for today are as follows:

1. I am grateful for Facebook live, so that I am able to spend one hour every Sunday at church. This is very new for me, but I am here for it, and I actually look forward to it. It is not something I expected to get out of 2020, but here I am, and I am very happy to be a part of that family, even if it just through an app on my phone.
2. I am grateful for the people who are helping fight the COVID-19 virus. Whether you are front line and working to care for the sick people, or you are staying home and doing your part, and to everyone in between, I am grateful for you. You are the good in this world, and we need more people like you. Keep doing what you are doing, you are making a difference.
3. I am grateful for the opportunity to wake up this morning, and try this life thing again. I am a work in progress, I am not perfect, nor will I ever be, but I am grateful that I get the chance to wake up and better myself.

My music choice today is a song that came on yesterday and I thought to myself, yo, you were sleeping on this song, and you shouldn’t. So here is “You get my love” by P!nk. I love pretty much everything about this song. I love that it is stripped down and just the piano and P!nk, I love the lyrics, and I love the raw power in her voice. Check it.

Cheers,

Kyzzer

PS, my last two Gulag’s are accounted for, I haven’t missed a day.

PPS, if you don’t know what a “Gino” is, google hockey lingo, then the title will make sense to you.

Who I want to be when I grow up?

Kids. What is up? Is everyone thinking happy thoughts to end out the week? I know that I am. I am so very glad this week is over, it has been a doozy to say the least. Bring on next week, and then some vacation time, I cannot wait, is it the 24th yet?

How is the “being nice and helping people” challenge going? Everyone keeping up? I didn’t help a stranger today, but I managed to help out a couple of friends, so I think that is a win for me. You need to look after your people, show them you care, show them they matter, and they are valued. You know how good that makes you feel, so shed that feeling onto someone you love. You show them the good parts of life, because when you fo that, it brings out the good in you too, even if that means bringing lunch out to a co-worker at 8:15am so she can bring it to someone to put a smile on that person’s face. You do that for your people and you don’t even question it.

Day 17 is kind of cool, and I think I can make a decent post out of this. It won’t be long because I am going to cut to the chase, but it was a hard choice to make. My task today is to write about someone who I would want to switch places with for a day. This was not an easy task, by any means, because who doesn’t want to be a professional athlete, or a famous actor or actress? Who doesn’t want to be their musical idol, or favourite author? All of which are super valid, and I could write about every one of those, but tonight, I would choose to be Carey Hart.

Now, you may think that I would like to be Mr Hart because he is bad ass, owns a huge, successful tattoo and clothing franchise, he can rip hard on a motocross bike, and just gives off a great vibe. You would be correct with any of those answers as well, but that is not the real reason I want to trade places with Carey Hart; it’s all about his wife.

I would love to trade places with Carey just to be able to spend a day with his wife. Most of you know her as P!nk, and I will refer to her as such throughout this post, but in case you care, her real name is Alecia Beth Moore.

I have loved and idolized this woman since the Missundaztood album, and that specific album could be on repeat and I would NOT be upset. P!nk just has a way about her that I wish I also had. She says what she thinks, she is bad ass, she has raised two amazing children, she is a STUD when it comes to live shows, and her music hits me in the feels almost every single time. She is that person you want in your corner if you are in a bar fight, or if you are lying on your bathroom floor crying because everything is just too much.

To be Carey for a day and to be able to be behind the scenes of everything I think would be fascinating. To check the tour life, to see the vulnerable parts that don’t get shared with the public (which they shouldn’t because everyone deserves privacy), to enjoy the time talking, getting to know each other, like friends, I think I would die right there. The behind the scenes things are honestly what really peaks my interest, the “normal” every day things for us, to see how everyone functions, and the routines that people have, I could people watch all day. Just to follow the woman behind all of these cool, amazing things, I think would be the experience of a life time. I also am intrigued by the music writing and making process, how she comes up with things, what inspires her to write music, besides Carey, HAHA!

I could sit all day and visit, and learn, and just take everything in. P!nk strikes me as the type to be very real, and truthful, and I think there would be a lot to learn, and many “WOW” moments. She is my idol, and my celebrity crush, and she is a LEFTY! Remember when I told you that I love left handed people, P!nk gets more points for that too, obviously.

I would also like to learn how to ride a motocross bike, and if I had Carey’s skills, maybe I could land a lady, or a man to share my fun, and awkward life with. I am talking applications people. Inquire within.

I am, for the most part, happy with what is going on in my current dumpster fire, but a change of scenery is always good when things get repetitive, overwhelming, or boring. I know that times are hard right now, and we can’t see our family, friends, or relatives, we can’t travel, and people are kind of left to their own devices, which can cause problems. I will be the first to admit that I am struggling with this mess of a world we live in, but I have a handful of amazing friends in my corner that check in with me almost every day, and my family does the same. These little blog posts are helping me escape from reality for about an hour every night, and that is something I love, and am thankful for. Circling back to the first paragraph, check in on your people, they need it.

You are now entering the Gulag.

1. I am grateful for the warmer weather we are having here in my neck of the woods. I was able to go outside after work and take my dog for a walk. The fresh air is good for my soul, and gives me a chance to take it in, settle in with nature, and enjoy some time for me.
2. I am grateful for headphones. They help me “check out”. I need that pretty much every day. Whether it is music, a podcast, YouTube, or TikTok, they let me escape from reality and go somewhere more pleasant.
3. I am grateful for the self clean function on the oven. The smell is terrible, but it sure saves me a lot of time and elbow grease. Although, if I wasn’t a slob, I wouldn’t need to use the self clean option that often.

Ky’s Musik Korner is in full swing here today, and I will provide my audience with another banger, just let me pick. Ok, it is not a “banger” per say, but I still like it. This one is called “Maybe” by Ingrid Michaelson. I like to keep everyone guessing here. I have gotten a few comments about people liking the songs that I post, so I want to try and post something for everyone.

I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you all have a great night/day. Sending you all huge love and hugs.

Cheers,

Kyzzer

16 things

Did you go out and do something nice for someone yesterday? You better have, or I will know about it. If you did though, how did it feel? Probably pretty darn good, right? Do yourself a favour and keep doing it. Keep spreading the joy, the happiness, and the love, goodness knows that we all need it at this point in our existence.

Did everyone have a good day? Anyone else dragging tail today? I can tell you that I am dragging tail big time, and it is 6:30pm here, and I could probably go to bed, and sleep for a little while. Although, now that I am thinking about it, I had an incident in the shower this morning involving some Head and Shoulders shampoo, and my wide open eyes, so that could be why they have been burning all damn day. Otherwise, today was kind of rewarding here. I work for a mental health organization, and I got to take part in Christmas Hamper deliveries for 57 of our clients today. Talk about putting a smile on my face and theirs? Worth it. That is a prime example of why I want you to do something nice for people, it will make you happy, and it will make you smile.

What am I writing about today? Me… oh joy. All it says is to post a picture of myself, but I am going to change that up a little bit. Since it is day 16, I am going to write 16 of my “things”. They could be habits I have, they might be some of my favourite products, my favourite books, or just random thoughts. My first post in this challenge (a while ago now, you would have to scroll back to find it) was to post a picture of myself with 15 facts about me. Some may be repeats, you will have to deal with that. Ready, set, GO!

1. I collect jerseys. A lot of them. Some have signatures, some do not. Some are “replicas”, but most are the real deal. I don’t know how I started this collection, but it is a love/hate collection, no questions asked. I love having different jerseys, but I don’t like all the room they take up in my closet, and I certainly do NOT like the amount of my credit card bills they take up. I have a lot of money invested in this collection, and my most prized one is probably my Milt Stegall, Winnipeg Blue Bombers jersey. If you don’t know him, Google him. I was (un)fortunate enough to have been diagnosed with cancer when I was 18 years old, and I was gifted a visit to the Blue Bombers practice before their Grey Cup semi final in 2006. During that visit, myself and my family got to sit and watch practice, meet the players, and Milt himself brought me a jersey of his and signed it for me, ON MY OWN BACK. Unreal.
2. I love getting real mail. Cards, handwritten letters, anything. I love that people can take the time to write out a letter, or whatever, and go out and get a stamp and put it in the post office box. It feels like I get that persons love in that envelope when I open it up.
3. I have always wondered what it would be like to not care so much, and to not worry about everything, and to be lucky enough to not have anxiety? To be able to sleep at night, and shut my brain off for 8 hours, and actually get some REST. What is it like? Can anyone enlighten me on how amazing this feels?
4. I am very superstitious, especially with sports. What I do on game days, where my gear goes, where my sticks or bats go, what I put on first, what I do in warm ups. If you have seen me play a game or two, you can probably catch on pretty quickly. These can be borderline obsessive behaviours I think, but there is nothing I can change now, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
5. If you haven’t already, you need to invest in an electric toothbrush. Life changing. I switched to an electric toothbrush in 2011, and I will never look back. I am a registered Dental Hygienist, and I think this was one of the greatest things I learned in my years of school; the magic of an electric toothbrush. I, personally, have a Sonicare one and I LOVE it. The clean feeling it gives you, the actual oral benefits it has, just so worth it. You can change the brush heads, which you need to do, and it’s like a brand new toothbrush. I am a “teeth and smile” girl, and now with the added schooling, I find it even more important to look after your teeth. You get two sets, but you don’t get anything after the second set, so you need to take care of your chompers. Get an electric toothbrush. Thank me later.
6. Who gets the deep, bloody, painful cracks on the ends of their fingers in the winter? You all need to speak up and help a girl out here. I have medicated lotion that I put on every night, and I sleep with these special gloves that my mom got me so that the lotion absorbs on my hands, and not all over my pillow and blanket. What do you guys do to help with this? It is even worse now with all of the hand sanitizer I use, and all of the hand washing we are doing in these COVID times. I am open to all suggestions at this point. I am trying to keep on top of it, as, knock on wood, they are not too bad right now, but we have only had 3 days of cold weather so far. Send the suggestions in the comments!
7. I only write in black ink, if it is my choice. I have a day planner because I am so unorganized, and I procrastinate, but everything is in black ink, and everything is hi-lighted in it’s own colour to help me sort out whether things are for work, sports, my other job, or my own personal appointments. My co-worker knows that if things are orange and they are in my book, they are work things, and if she ever needed to cancel anything for whatever reason, she only needs to worry about the things in orange. I am also a paper snob, don’t skimp on the paper, nice paper makes a difference.
8. Speaking of paper and planners, if you are in the market for a new planner that has a great layout, great space, leaves you spaces to reflect over your month, and has AMAZING paper, you need a Passion Planner. My friend/ second job boss put me onto these and I am so thankful. You can get three different sizes, lots of different designs and colours, and when you buy one, the company sends another one to a student in need. So you buy one, and give one, which, unfortunately is reflected in the price, as it is a bit on the higher end of the scale, but I find them to be well worth it. Check them out here and let me know what you think if you order one, or you already have one.
9. Dog owners out there, listen here, have I got the bed for you. Before you come at me about the price, listen to everything I have to say, and then check out the website. The company is Canadian (bonus, because I live in Canada), they were established in 1995, recommended by vets all over the country, and they have many sizes, colours, patterns, shapes, and types of beds. They are called Mammoth Dog beds, and they pride themselves in orthopaedic care for larger dogs who may have “large dog” problems (hip, joint, knee, and stiffness issues). I have a 4 year old great dane/ black lab mix, and he is about 80 pounds, I also have a 2 year old German Shepard nephew that comes to visit often, and let me tell you, this bed has been through a lot between those two. Scratches, dog wrestling, and every day wear and tear, and it is still going strong. I have had this bed for almost 3 years now, it has been in the washing machine more times than I can count, and it still holds its shape very well, and the ortho part at the bottom is still giving my dog a comfy place to lay, and he loves it. When it goes into the washing machine, he gets very sad, and doesn’t settle until it is all washed, dried, and put back together. I will leave the link here, and you can check for yourself.
10. I am 33 years old, and I wonder about going back to school. What should I take? What could I do? What is not going to break the bank (because it is almost already broke), and what can I get into that I would enjoy? I would like to have a trial session for school, that should be offered for old people like me who are looking at maybe taking a run at another career. Does one take a trade? I don’t have a desire to really go back to University and do all that crappy book work, and sit in lectures, and spend 4 years of my life to get another piece of paper, and then have to go back and do a specialty. Don’t get me wrong, if you are in university, and you are doing your thing, good on you, it just isn’t my cup of tea I don’t think. I am more of a hands on, 2 year college program, and I am out and done, and onto the next thing. I always say I am going to look into it, but I never do. The will power and ambition I have right now is in the negative. I could add it to my “to do list”.
11. I love honesty. Please tell me if I did something wrong, or if I did something right. If something is off, or you like the way I do something. That helps me grow, and know what works and what doesn’t. I am also very honest with the people around me, so I will tell you if you have done something that I don’t appreciate, or you have offended me, and I will ALWAYS say thank you, or tell you that I appreciate you, or something you have done for me. I am awkward about it, so generally, I will text you about it because I am too chicken shit to say it to your face, but you will know about it.
12. I would rather sit in a boat on the water, than be in town with all the hustle and bustle. I am very much an introverted extrovert. I like the quiet, the waves, the sunshine, and sitting there with friends, and sharing stories, laughter, tears, and even perfect silence. It doesn’t take much to keep me entertained, so I could sit most of the day, fish or no fish, and just be there in that moment, and add it to my memory bank. Those days are the best days because you never know what is going to happen, you could get a full stringer in 15 minutes, or you could be out there all day and not get a bite, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t even matter. I would prefer to send my guests home with fish (because I don’t eat it), but if we don’t get any, it gives us an excuse to hit the trail again, and try for more. One of my favourite ways to relax, hands down.
13. I love art. Pottery, paintings, prints, music, some jewelry, wood burning, resin things. I would love to be able to throw pots on a pottery wheel, or sing, or play guitar or piano, or maybe I could start small and learn how to read music. Drawing or painting is out of the question because I can barely draw a stick person, and I think I am too much of a perfectionist for that, but anything else amazes me when I watch videos of people doing their thing. I love that it can bring them joy, and joy to their customers. I know that a lot of those pieces are expensive because I have a few pieces of pottery from Cherrico Pottery, but the amount of work that goes into these things can almost be priceless. I don’t have many, but if I could afford it, I would have art all over, and I would maybe jump into learning how to do some of these things. If you are into pottery, have a look at the shop I was talking about here, beautiful pieces of pottery, all of which is every day pottery, and can be used all the time. Just keep it away from the dishwasher.
14. I have a fear of airplanes, and travel in general. I do it when I have to, but it is unpleasant. I worry about dying away from home, and not having anyone around to help me, even though I never travel alone (hello, anxiety). I am very much a home body, and worry about things happening, and not being in a safe/ comfortable environment, and if I die, who is going to get me back home, all that stupid crap, and more.
15. I have always wanted to be left handed. I practice writing with both hands to get better so that I can actually say one day that I can write with both hands. It has become more difficult to practice because I don’t write as much at work anymore because everything is on a computer, but I still practice when I can. I love left handed people, I have no reason for this that I am aware of, but if you are left handed, I probably already like you.
16. My all time favourite book, so far, is To Kill A Mockingbird. I have given my copy to someone, and I don’t know who it was, but if it was you, can you let me know so I don’t have to go and buy another one? I was asked to read this book in one of my high school english classes, and it has been a favourite ever since. It is just a wonderfully written book, with fiction, history, sadness, and happiness all rolled into one. If you haven’t read it already, take a stab at it, or if you have read it, read it again. This is one of the only books I can read over and over. Maybe that is my memory though, I forget anything and everything, unless it is a license plate, or song lyrics.

There you have it. 16 things you either did, or didn’t need to know about me. That was harder than I thought it would be. I tried to write about things I don’t normally write about or post about. There might be repeats, but I am fully committed to this list, and I am not changing it now.

Heading into the Gratitude Gulag today, I have the following to be grateful for:

1. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to deliver Christmas Hampers to those less fortunate today. Like I said above, it was humbling, as well as satisfying, like I was able to do something good for that specific person, even though all I did was deliver the hamper, I did not donate it.
2. I am grateful for the people I have leaned on through the times in my life when I couldn’t stand alone. I am grateful they didn’t break when I did.
3. I am grateful for weighted blankets. Coming from someone who does not sleep well, the weight feels like a constant hug. I wish that it was “normal” to call one of your best friends just to come and sleep beside you so you feel safe, and secure, and know that someone is there.

Song of the day today is a little T. Swizzle. I don’t like a lot of her new things, I am more of an old school Swizzle fan, but the song “Dress” came on while I was writing, and I just feel like it belonged here.

Cheers everyone, stay safe, wear your mask, and don’t be a swamp donkey.

Kyzzer

The playlist post

Yo. People of the internet, what is shaking? Is everyone good? Or as good as you can be? It is snowing in my part of the globe, so I have been outside moving snow, and trying not to slip and fall and break a hip, or throw out another knee. Warming up a little though, I will take that any day of the week. I know that most of my friends think I have something wrong with me for loving winter, but for my extra blubber that I carry around, it works well for me. I’m finally not hot and sweaty just sitting down, and I can get away with just wearing a hoodie, and jeans, and it’s good. I dig this.

Before I go any further, if you are around my area, or wherever, help your neighbour out. If they need help shovelling, or bringing in groceries, or lawn cut, sidewalk swept, whatever. Help them. They may not say anything, but we all know the action will be appreciated. Let’s start to look after one and other, we need it. It is the Christmas season, the time for giving, so let’s give out all of the kindness, caring, and love that we can. Try it, I double dog dare you.

Onto day 15 of my little adventure here should be fun and interesting for all of you little scallywags. I have to get my music up and running, and I have to put it on shuffle, which is how it always is, and then I have to give you the first 10 songs that come up. For those of you that don’t know, music is a very, very big part of my life (I was a part time DJ before the COVID days, so I know my shit), and not a day goes by that I don’t have music on. If I don’t have music on, my friends will tell you that they know something is wrong. I sing, and hum to myself a lot of the day, and I provide karaoke sessions via Snapchat most days. Like I said, when those sessions don’t happen, there is normally something off. If you aren’t subscribed to Rueben karaoke, let me know, and I will get you all signed up; it’s free entertainment. Let’e get into this, I am actually excited.

For each song, I will post a link for it on YouTube, and maybe a little blurb if something special or unique comes to mind.

Song 1 (I picked, because I had to start somewhere): “Tailgate” by Jaydee Bixby. This song is a country banger. I love the beat, and I love the lyrics, and everyone loves a good tailgate party. Back in the day we called it a “field party” and usually were hiding it from our parents, and trying to find a ride out to said field. I would like to truly attend a tailgate party at a sporting event, whether it’s football, hockey, soccer, whatever, I would like to get one or ten under my belt. College football would probably be my best bet, or a Vikings tailgate party, or somewhere that is die hard for their team.

Song 2: “This I promise you” by “NSYNC. This song gets me in the feels every time. Yeah, they are an old boy band from my childhood, but I love the song. I like to think that I could say all of these words to someone who steals my heart, and wants to spend the rest of their life with me. I would like to promise them the world, and do the best that I could to keep that promise. I don’t ask for much, but I will give you the world in return for honesty, love, laughs, and no quit, even when things get crappy. I’m far from perfect, I have flaws, just like the next one, but if I was perfect, it would be boring. “Every word I say is true, this I promise you”. I envision this playing at my wedding, or whatever it will be called, if it ever comes. Take it or leave it, I care none.

Song 3: “Zombie” by Bad Wolves. I can’t say too much about this song, other than it is a cover of the original by The Cranberries. I know that the original singer was supposed to accompany the Bad Wolves, but she passed away before she could record the vocals. As the video states, Bad Wolves recorded it anyways and gave all of the proceeds to her children. I was never a Cranberries fan, but this version is pretty good. I dig it. I haven’t heard it in a while, so it was good to hear it come up tonight.

Song 4: “Where is the love“- The Black Eyed Peas. This song was one of the staples on my MP3 CD’s I used to make weekly for the Bronco. It was just one of those songs that made you dance in your seat, bang your head, and feel good. You also can’t argue with a song that talks about not hating, spreading love, and just being a good person.

Song 5: “Stupid” by State of Shock. I literally have nothing to say about this song. You might know the band from their one hit wonder “Money, honey” which I still love. This song was on one of their CD’s that I bought back in the day. If you don’t know what a CD is, you’re too young for me and this blog, Google it. I saw this band in a bar in Ottawa once, I even took pictures on my digital camera, and I don’t even think my cell phone at the time took pictures. Old lady alert.

Song 6: “Will you be there” by Michael Jackson. Yo, I don’t watch many movies, but if you have not seen Free Willy, we cannot be friends. This is the main song from that soundtrack, and I am not a Michael fan, but if you watch this video, and listen to him sing, you can tell he is putting all he has into it, and I like that. I also am a sucker for a song that includes a choir. If you are going to settle in for this movie, get yourself a WHOLE box of kleenex, my goodness, I bawl every single time. This is another song that has not come up recently, so it was nice to take it in, and fight back my Free Willy tears. Don’t waste your time on the other Free Willy’s, the first one is the ONLY one. The OG is always the best.

Song 7: “Yellow Raincoat” by Justin Bieber. Hmmm, I actually don’t know how this song came to be on my playlist. Like, I know why, because it’s JB, and I love him, and I would download every single song that he put out, even if I didn’t like it. I think I like this song more for the guitar riffs in it. It is for sure not my favourite, and I probably would skip it if it came on, but it did come from one of my favourite albums that he put out, and that was “Believe”. That’s about all I got on this song, I am disappointed that JB didn’t have proper representation in this list, but I guess there are a couple spots left. I can also add that I did see Justin in concert, and it was the Believe tour.

Song 8: “Woke up this morning” by everyone’s favourite; Nickelback. I am going to get heat for this one. Again, this song came off of a CD that I bought which had one of their biggest hits “How you remind me”. Not a terrible song, just not my favourite on the album. There are actually a few that I appreciate on the “Silver Side Up” album. No room for Nickelback hate on this post, I won’t make you listen, do as you please. I also saw them in concert, and it was a pretty rocking concert, to be honest. Puddle of Mudd, and Staind opened for them, so I cannot complain. Valerie, if you are reading this, that was a great weekend with you, and one I will never forget.

Song 9: “American Bad Ass” by Kid Rock. This song is one I don’t often skip. I like Kid Rock, and I can never sit still when his songs come on. He sang things how he wanted, he didn’t sugar coat things, and his concert was SICK. He opened up for Bon Jovi at one of the stadium tours I went to. I know that Andee is reading this, maybe Amy Lynn is too, what a concert that was. Floor seats, and they took me out and made me buy “nice concert ” clothing because I was out with the girls. So I found a nice shirt, and I believe it was a matching shirt to Amy, and I looked nice, and then it rained. But at that point we were all a few slushies deep and nothing really mattered. That was a good weekend. Kid Rock will always get an A+ in my books.

Song 10: “Full Nelson” by Limp Bizkit. Yeah… I think maybe we will just leave this one to “if you know, you know”. Google Limp BIzkit and Fred Durst and their song “Nookie”. That started my journey as a Limp Bizkit fan. Full Nelson came from their “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog flavoured water” album, which wasn’t bad. Certainly not my favourite song, but back in the day, when you bought the CD, you got ALL the songs whether you liked them or not. If you had a red New York Yankees hat, you were legit.

Well that was quite a ride down memory lane, and I enjoyed that. Hopefully there is more like that along the way. That is something I could do once a week. Put the playlist on shuffle and feel the feels, good or bad. Thanks for sitting along with that one.

It’s now Gulag time. If you are new here, I am writing my gratitude posts here daily, and I am calling it the Gratitude Gulag. If you want an explanation, go back a few posts. For the record, again, I did not post for everyone yesterday, but my gratitudes were verbalized and acknowledged yesterday.

1. I am grateful for socks. I normally strongly dislike socks, and NEVER wear them, but today. I needed them, and I was thankful that they were available to me. I know some people are not so fortunate.
2. I am grateful for laughter. Today was a hard day, and I am thankful for the laughs and smiles that I had today. They make a difference.
3. I am grateful for small surprises. I mean, I’m not, but I am. I don’t like surprises, they make me nervous, and a bit anxious, but I know they come from the heart, a place of love. I am forever grateful for anyone who takes time out of their day to pick something up that reminds them of me.

BONUS SONG! You are all so lucky that I post a song with every blog anyways, so you actually get not ten, but ELEVEN songs from my playlist. I am picking this one though. No shuffle for this one. “Must’ve never met you” by Luke Combs. There is a line in this song that says “What don’t kill you makes you stronger, still sounds like a lie.” I must admit, I have slept on this song for a long time, but upon further inspection and intense listening, and lyric studying, I need this song in my life.

Thanks for tuning in again, everyone. Leave a comment, or a like, or any song suggestions you might have. I am always looking for new music. Have a great evening, or day, or whatever time it is when you read this.

Cheers,

Kyzzer

Corn teen fourteen

Ayyyyy! Yes, I missed a day, but I was out doing things that did not involve cell phones, computers, or tablets. Sometimes those days are good for the soul, and are much needed. So i skipped writing yesterday, sue me.

Winter I think has finally settled here in my little town. It has started to snow, and it is pushing about -15 degrees Celsius, and supposed to get to -20 degrees tonight I think. We dodged it long enough, and I am actually surprised that the decent weather lasted this long. Believe it or not, we could use the snow, as the water levels in the fall were getting quite low, and I would like to be able to fish when winter hits the trail and not rip the bottom end off my motor.

Day 14 of this blog topic challenge, and they are losing their creativity. I am supposed to write about my family and post a picture. I find this a little bit repetitive as I talk about my family and friends in almost every single post. This will be short and sweet because I’m not going to repeat what I have said in previous posts. If you want more info, scroll back and read the other ones.

I am the oldest in a family of 4. My mom and dad had me, and then 18 months later, they had my brother. Before they had children, they did the things that they wanted to do. They had myself and my brother a little bit later in their lives, and I think that is cool.

My parents used to show horses, had a little farm for their horses, and my dad owned a little store in the small community where they lived. My mom was a nurse/ still is a nurse, but retired about 3 years ago after almost 50-ish years of working as an RN. My dad was a bit of a jack of all trades. He ran his store, he was a butcher, he worked at a hardware store, worked in the mill for a while, and then finally settled into a long career as a care salesman, before retiring early due to some health issues. The stories that I heard from their days of travelling all over Canada and the United States and showing their horses should probably be written in a book somewhere because they are hilarious, and interesting all at the same time.

After they finished up their horse show days, they continued to work, and then had us kids. I’m sure that we were a handful, and I know that I probably am still a handful some days at 33 years old. They put us through grade school, high school, I did university and college a few times, and my brother did a couple of college programs as well. My parents worked hard so that we could play hockey, soccer, baseball, do swimming lessons, and anything else that we wanted. We were never pressured to do things we did not want. We were fortunate enough to have the option to play hockey, figure skate, or swim, and I am thankful I got to do all of those while I was young. My brother and I also had the privilege of being coached for some of those sports by either mom or dad, and you can bet your paycheck that one of them was at basically ever game. Some weekends, mom and I went one way, and my dad and brother went the other way, that was normal for us a lot. Thinking back to it now, the sacrifices they made for us were beyond loving and caring. Also, probably very expensive. I know that right now, I can barely support myself, I can’t imagine having a family with two kids, and working full time, and cooking and cleaning, and everything that comes with it. Kudos to all the parents out there living this life so their kids can do the extra things that bring them joy, and show them team sports, and give them life skills.

In 2017, my dad passed away unexpectedly, and obviously things have never been the same. It never goes away, it just is there. Say what you want, but it will never go away. Songs come on that make me cry still, or I can be outside and a deer will walk by, and I know that dad is just checking out the yard to see if I keep the grass cut, and he is making sure that I am not parking on the grass. I recently started to actually go fishing by myself, and I know that he has been around to help me because I have no business finding and catching fish because I am literally flying by the seat of my pants. Gongshow Guide Service is always up for a charter, don’t expect to catch fish, I only guarantee sun tans, and belly laughs, anything else is extra. I think that he would be very proud of myself and my brother, even when I am not proud of myself. We have grown up to be decent human beings, both with full time jobs, our own dogs, my brother has a house of his own, we own our own vehicles, and neither of us have been to jail yet.

Family is special to me, in case you didn’t notice. Not everyone has family like I do, and I am very thankful for them all, and what they have done to keep me on the right path. I have a few special friends in my life that have stepped in to fill the void that I have had, and no one will ever be “Dad”, but it sure helps to have those people in my corner. I am very blessed to have the family that I do.

I will also say this, like I say all the time. I will always be here if anyone ever needs it. I never have my shit together, but I will always hop out of my dumpster fire to help someone out of their own dumpster fire. You are never alone, reach out for help, find me, whatever you need to do. I am loyal, I will give you the shirt off my back, and I think I am fairly real. I will be honest, and tell you the things you don’t want to hear, but I will always stand beside you and face it head on. That is what friends and family are for. I will fill in wherever I can.

Heading into the Gratitude Gulag today, I need to report that I did write out my gratitude yesterday, you just did not see it, it went to one person, and that was more than enough.

1. I am grateful for my amazing neighbour who constantly looks after the majority of the snow shovelling at my house. He is there early in the morning, late at night, and any hour in between to help out my mom and I. The world needs more people like that.
2. I am grateful for the snow. It kills the virus’s and diseases that like warm temperatures, it adds water to the lakes and rivers in the spring, and it keeps the forrest fires at bay until later in the summer.
3. I am grateful for clean water. I have been trying to continue drinking my 3 litres of water every day, and I could not imagine having to walk miles for “clean” water, that is not even really clean. If I can give advice here, I do suggest drinking water during the day. It keeps headaches ay bay, lessens the chapped lips, and keeps the digestive system flowing nicely.

Rolling over to the music corner today, I have a newer song. I have YouTube on while I write usually, and I start with a song that I like, then I just let Autoplay take it from there. Tonight, as I was typing away, this song came on, it is called “Save the roses” by Lee Brice. Let that marinade.

Cheers,

Kyzzer

This one really is unlucky

What’s up kiddies? I hope everyone had a good Friday, or whatever day of the week it is that you happen to be reading this. It’s finally Friday in my neck of the woods, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. What a long couple of weeks it has been. Up and down like a hookers panties on pay day, let me tell you. Who has weekend plans? I know this old lady here has none. I plan to be a vegetable, and am undecided if I will even leave my bed, or get dressed, it will depend on the day I think. Although, if it is nice out, I will probably try and get outside and get a couple of walks in. The dog would probably appreciate that, and my body would too considering I just demolished a hefty piece of DQ ice cream cake.

Can anyone tell I am avoiding the topic of discussion today? I don’t want to write it. I want to write my Grateful Gulag and say peace out. But I can’t, because I am not normally a quitter. Today, on unlucky day 13, I have to write a letter to someone who has recently hurt me. What the shit. Why make me bring up the feelings again? Probably some growth exercise, and it will serve me a purpose down the road, who knows why else it would be in this mess.

This is really hard. Really, really hard. I have had a few “hurts” in the last couple of years, and I clearly don’t want to write about either of them, but here it goes. For all intents and purposes, I am writing to Mickey, and that is all you will know.

Mickey,

I am going to make this very “to the point”; you destroyed an already broken heart, and you tried to place all the blame on me. Every single thing I did, or said, you turned it all onto me, and made me feel like a piece of garbage.

You knew I was fragile and broken, and you played your cards right so that you could win over my trust, and when I said something wasn’t right, you lost your mind and said some TERRIBLE things that no one needs to ever hear. Every single thing was my fault, and you could not handle my honesty, my truth, or my feelings. You got angry when I didn’t talk, you got angry when I did talk. You told me I didn’t value you or anything you said, you told me that I shared things with other people and never with you, meanwhile, had you listened, you would have known that I don’t trust that easily. You made up lies, you made me look like the bad person, you wrote things about me on social media, and you hurt me. I cried, I cried so hard. I did not deserve that. No one deserves that. I lost sleep, I was anxious, I was, and still am, a shell of myself.

I was never allowed to stand up for myself, I was never allowed to explain myself, and when I did, you turned everything around on me, and everything was my fault, I was wrong, I spoke incorrectly, I did the wrong thing, I didn’t care, I was toxic, I was mean, I was hurting you.

The worst part? I actually believed you, and thought it was all me. That I was the problem. But I wasn’t.

I am not a mean person, unless someone really has hurt my friends or family. Walk all over me all you want, but do not go after my friends or family. You ask any one of my friends or family, and they will tell you that I will give the shirt off my back, I will pick you up at the bar at 2am when you can’t even walk, I will lay in bed with you when that is all you can manage. I will never ask for anything in return, either. I will always have your back. But you, you just couldn’t leave things alone. You pushed, and pushed, and pushed until I had nothing left, and finally, I cut the ties.

I thought that would be the end, and you would have picked up on all of the times I asked, and told you to leave me alone, but you didn’t. Then I thought you would pick up on the ignored texts, and messages, but you didn’t. So I blocked you, but you still didn’t take the hint. My friends told me to go to the police after some of the things you did, but I could not bring myself to do that, so it continued.

You were a monster, you were a narcissist, you played the victim, and you were a gas lighter. This went on for almost 2 years, and it was 2 years too many. You could have had this friendship, but you don’t. You could have had my loyalty, and my kindness, and my love, but you don’t, and you never will. You wanted more than a friendship, and I didn’t, which I made very clear, from day 1. I wasn’t ready, and you pushed it, and you lost it.

I see you now, and I don’t know whether or not to say hi, wave, or just keep walking. It is not in my nature to ignore someone that I know, and someone that I knew on a more personal/ intimate level. So I get weird, and just keep my eyes straight ahead. If you spoke to me, I would not ignore you, I would have a conversation because that is who I am. If you were stranded somewhere, I would help you, and if you needed something, and had no one else, I most likely would do what I could to help, because that is me.

Have I forgiven you? Yeah, but it took a long time. Will I ever let you in ever again, no. Not like I did. You lost that privilege, and because of you, I have never, and am not sure if I ever will open up my heart ever again. I was healing from a mess previous to you, and you took what little I had together, and broke everything again.

I hope you get help, and realize that you cannot treat people like you do and expect them to take it, and stay. I would never wish anything bad on you, ever, I just would like you to get some help, and get yourself better so that no one has to go through what I did.

Good luck.

Gratitude Gulag:

1. I am grateful for the fresh air I got on my walk after work. I did not want to walk, but I did, and I needed it. Colt appreciated the walk as well, so we got two birds with one stone.
2. I am grateful for my Christmas tree. I look at it, and I see the lights, the decorations, and the love. There are some sad things on our tree, but it is also filled with joy, and we all need joy right now.
3. I am grateful for growing up in a small town. I know that if I am out somewhere, and something were to happen, I know there are places I can go, and someone will help me. Does my small town have a lot to do? No. But I like it, and I have friends and family here, and I can find things to do. You don’t have to agree with me, but I would not trade where I live for any place in the world.

My song of the day is “Save some of that whiskey” by Jess Moskaluke. I may have posted this one before, but I like it, and it goes well with things in my life.

Cheers,

Kyzzer

Twelfth night

Yo, world. How’s it? In my neck of the woods we are dealing with a little bit of freezing rain/ snow, and this old lady here could probably have broken a hip this morning, luckily I have a bit of extra blubber to cushion the fall. I must say, we have been lucky here, usually we are knee deep and -20 degrees Celsius. Today it was 3 degrees Celsius, sunny, and we still have brown-ish green grass still. I like winter, but not -40 and 6 feet of snow.

On the twelfth night I get to write about how and why I started a blog. Hold onto your gitch everyone, this could be all over the place.

I can’t even actually remember when I started this? Around 2010, or 2011, somewhere in there I think. I guess I could go back and look. Maybe I will. Hold the phone. Ok, I am back, and my first blog post was written on November 10th, 2010. That was a while ago, my goodness. That is a long time to be so intermittent with something hahaha! I must say though, that I made at least one post a year through all of that, so that is something positive to pull out of it.

Why did I start my blog? I guess reason one was that I have always wanted to write a book, so this was a way for me to get used to writing and typing, and getting my thoughts out on the fly. I enjoy writing, and telling my stories, and being able to share things with people. Being able to reach people all across the globe through a little blog was mind boggling to me at the time. I have hopes of one day writing a book about all the stupid things I have written in journals all over my room, and spreading some laughs through my writing. I should have jumped on the COVID book writing bandwagon, but that did not happen. COVID is/was/will be a pain in my ass for some time still I think. I could maybe bring up the rear of the train, and get my act together, but let’s be real, I can barely commit to writing a little blog once a day. I don’t think a book is quite in the cards just yet. However, I will have all of these little bits saved for when I am ready, and I need them.

That was another reason that I started to write; to remember things. To remember things that have happened in my life, whether they are good or bad. I want to remember as much as I can. Who was there, what I was doing, where I was, was there a special occasion, anything like that. Memories are precious, and I think they should be cherished, and held onto for as long as we can. I know that as we get older, it gets a little harder to remember all of those little details, and those are sometimes the most important things. I know that people around me can’t and won’t live forever, a thought that I have been struggling with for a very long time, so this helps me keep track of all the good things that we have done, all the crappy things we have been through, and all the ridiculous one liners that have come to be during my time on this planet. The thought of my friends or family not being here one day is absolutely devastating and crippling to me, so maybe this will help.

I don’t really have a reason as to why I picked the WordPress platform, it just happened to be one of the front runners back in 2010, and there was no point in me changing all of my material over to another site after I had been at it for 10 years. WordPress was simple, and I could navigate it well, and it did what I needed it to do. All of the other things out there now, it would be harder for me to pick which to go to, where to post, and all that other jazz. Social media takes up enough of my time right now, I don’t need to be on it anymore. Between SnapChat, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, this blog page, and dating apps, that is more than enough screen time for me. To be honest, I would like to get rid of Facebook period, but I do some social media work for a couple of my jobs, and I need it. Take my advice and spend less time on your screens, and more time reading, writing (using real pens, pencils, and paper), and more time with family and friends. I have said that before, and I will continue to say it. COVID has made a mess of almost everything, don’t let it come between anything else. Wear your mask, wash your hands, stay home, and follow the advice of health professionals, they get paid the big bucks to tell us what is looking best for the situation. You do not have to agree with everyone’s opinion, but you need to be respectful, kind, and considerate. There are enough selfish, arrogant, swamp donkeys out there, let’s not add to the pile. Enjoy Mother Nature. Take a walk, read a book, and write someone a letter. Snail mail is not something to sleep on. I love getting letters, cards, whatever in the mail. Make someone smile.

Sending it over here into the Gratitude Gulag, let’s see what I have today.

1. I am grateful for all music. Music is my life, and I would be lost without it. Anyone who knows me that I will listen to just about anything, and I always love when people send me music. If you have some, send it my way.
2. I am grateful for my computer today so I can write all my little things down, and have them. It is easier in some ways than actually writing them down, and I save a lot of money on white out. But nothing beats the feel of real paper, pen smears, flipping the wrinkled pages, and knowing that all of those words came from me.
3. I am grateful for laughter. I don’t think that needs an explanation. Laughter means something has made you laugh, something is funny, and it’s the opposite of being sad. More laughter, all day, every day.

My little music corner gem today is a song called “Green light” by Lily Rose. Take it however you want it. I like it, so I don’t really care what you think.

Cheers,

Kyzzer

One one

Well everyone, I am back again. I know, you all missed me as much as someone misses tooth pain. But I am here with a purpose. And in my defence, while I was away, I was actually completing a 75 day challenge.

I have been given a challenge by a certain Babe in my life to look into gratitude. At least once a day, I have to write down something I am grateful for. Whether it’s a sentence, a paragraph, a word, or an essay, I have to write it. My hope is is that it will help with my recent struggles. She has assured me that it will not happen over night, and there will be days where it is hard to find anything to be grateful for, but in the end, it will be worth it. I am tired of crying, being sad, angry, feeling sick, worrying, and not feeling like myself. So I was lucky enough to be blessed with someone who cares, who sees my struggles (more than I would like), and knows when to love, when to hug, and when to push back. We will call this the Gratitude Gulag because I am a prisoner in my own head and thoughts, and I am going to have to work very hard to get out of this dumpster fire that I am in. Let’s go.

Settling back in to the previous “Things about me Challenge”, I believe I am on day 11, which is asking me to post a picture of my friends. That is stupid. I can’t post just one picture of my friends, there isn’t enough time for me to find all the rad pictures I have of everybody. I have talked about this many times before. My friends are the reason I am still here. I would not be half the human I am today without them.

Recently, me and two friends finished a 75 day challenge, and that brought us closer than I ever would have imagined. You check in on your people multiples times a day to make sure no one forgets to read their 10 pages, or get their exercise in, or that no one has peed or pooped their pants (both of which happened), and it just becomes routine. If there was silence for more than an hour it felt empty, and weird, and usually, within a few minutes, one of us sent a text, which was very cool, but also weird. But I loved it.

Those two women worked their asses off, and held me accountable for all my crap. I have never stuck to something for 75 days straight in my 33 years of existence. You guys know this because I can’t even follow through on a blog for goodness sakes. We all went through the ups and downs in that 75 days together, and it is something that will stay in my memory bank forever. I would not have made it passed day 2 had it not been for those girls, and I am so very thankful. The weight that they lost, and the inches they lost was incredible, and would have been enough to motivate anyone, and if you didn’t get your shit done in a timely manner, there was always some size 12 boots coming to kick your ass into gear. I am very proud of the Gongers, and the success they had, and they changes they made to bring them a better, healthier, longer life. You girls deserve the best, and I love you both with all I have.

Was my journey as successful as theirs? No. No, it was not. They both lost inches, double digits on the scale, and made amazing changes. I was not so fortunate, and I am not entirely sure why. We all did the same amount of exercise, and sometimes, if you caught us on a good day, we all did exercise videos together, which probably should have made it onto YouTube if we are being honest. When I stepped on the scale on the morning of day 76, I had only lost 4.9 pounds. During my first week of the challenge, I had lost 4.5 pounds alone, so to see my final number was absolutely devastating. I cried most of the day, and I am tearing up a little right now just thinking about it. What a waste of my time, my efforts, and everything that went along with it. I thought I worked much harder than that lousy 4.9 pounds. I would have been very happy with 1-2 pounds lost per week, which would have been a total of 10-20 pounds. I had the best support system I could ask for outside of the Gongers, and it still didn’t help. I had people texting me about my exercise goals, and they had seen me walking, or had seen my progress on exercise apps, and they were all so very positive. They were supportive of my food choices, which were very, very good compared to what they were before we started, they offered to shop with me, meal prep, exercise together, they offered low impact options (because my knee and my heart are under achievers), among so many other things, and it did not matter. The number 4.9 has wrecked my mind, body, and soul, and it shouldn’t.

I made life changes, I didn’t just jump onto some fad diet, I did what had worked previously, I made better food choices, I drank all my water every single day, I did 45 minutes of exercise every day, and I read ridiculous self help books because I was supposed to. I was walking almost 5 KM a day, and my dog enjoyed every step, I enjoyed the fresh air, I enjoyed the quiet time, I enjoyed the sunshine on my face, and I found a new podcast that I liked. I was feeling better. I was walking faster, I was doing yoga, I was doing body weight exercises, and country line dancing, and doing things I never thought I would do. All of that was shattered by the number 4.9.

Anyways, after that shitty morning, I was reminded of all the none scale victories that I had, and the more and more I think about it, slowly, I start to feel better. Do I still cry and say that it was a waste of my time? Clearly. But I did have those victories. I walked faster, I was no longer short of breath walking up stairs, or walking longer distances, I didn’t die while doing country line dancing, I was happier, and like I said, I felt better about myself. I am going to need to take my own advice here, but I can also use myself as an example. The scale SHOULD NOT define you. I let it define me, and now I am miserable. Do your thing, and find your people to help you out along the way. You will need them, whether you want to admit it or not.

This just kind of came full circle, and I didn’t even plan that. That was cool. Long story short, your friends are important. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. I have an amazing circle of friends, and I would NEVER trade them for anything. Find your people. I can’t say that enough. I love you guys so much, all of you. Every single one of my friends who is reading this, each of you have changed my life in some way, shape, or form. Please never give up on me. I will never give up on you.

For my little gratitude bit tonight, I am going to start by posting 3 things that I am grateful for today:

1. I am grateful for my friends. Obviously.
2. I am grateful for the sunshine that we had today. It felt amazing on my face, and made me smile.
3. I am grateful for texting. It keeps me close with all my friends, family, and my people.

I am hoping to make some sort of post, whether it be long or short, at least every day. Fingers crossed.

My song of the day is called “Just be held” by Casting Crowns. Please listen. Take the lyrics and let them settle. Your people love you, I love you. Reach out if you need it. We are all in this together.

Musik

Happy Saturday from me to you. Granted it may not be Saturday when you read this, but know, that in good faith, it was indeed written on a Saturday. Also, congrats to whoever is reading this, because you made it through another day, another week, and that can be a tough task for anyone these days. Keep that chin up, you can’t let that crown slide down. I’m rooting for you.

Today’s day 10 task is right up my alley actually. I have to write about music, and some of my favourites for certain things. The direct instructions are to write about songs that I listen to when I am happy, sad, bored, hyped, and mad. Let’s get right into this.

To start ill go with a song that I listen to when I am happy. This usually varies, and can include any genre, any song, current or old. Most of my music is like that. I actually am a part time DJ, so my music library is huge, and all over the place. To add to that, my library is always on shuffle, so I can come across songs right out of nowhere, and I will go down memory lane, put them on repeat, and then move on when I find the next diamond in the rough. A song that I listen to when I am happy lately is called “Post Malone” by Sam Feldt. This is a fairly recent song, and I came across it while I was DJ’ing an event and someone came to request it. I love the beat, it’s catchy, happy, and can have you vibing in your chair, on the dance floor, or cruising down the road with the windows down, and the music up. Another one that I really like is “Raise your glass” by P!nk. This song really doesn’t need an explanation, that woman is my hero, always has been, and probably always will be. Anytime I hear this song, no matter where I am, the volume goes UP. I have seen her in concert a couple of times now, and she was worth every single penny (yes, back then we had pennies). When this song first came out, I honestly probably had it on repeat for a month, and that is not an exaggeration, I could not get enough. It made me laugh, it made me smile, and it made me HAPPY. 

Songs when I’m sad; there is not enough time in the day for me to put down all the songs that play when I am sad, or down, or just not feeling up to par. We can start with a song called “Here’s to Us” by a band called Halestorm. This is probably a song that not many of you know about, but give it a listen. It just hits different, strikes a cord, but gives you a few places to belt it out, and maybe feel a little better. Probably one of my favourite songs going, not just in the sad category, but the all time category. Another one that most of us can get on board with is “Fuckin’ Perfect” by my girl P!nk again. This song and video will hit you in the feels, no matter who you are. When she played this in concert, she played it in like an acoustic, campfire setting, and it blew me away. I cried. Come at me. The sad songs could go on forever, but I will call it quits with “Hurricane” by Luke Combs. I think this one speaks for itself. Heartbreak, feelings, ex’s, let down, all of that has caused myself, and probably everyone else a lot of sadness. I’d much rather have a broken leg, than a broken heart. At least my leg will heal.

I’m going to skip over the “bored” category, because as I said at the beginning I most always have music playing, I have a huge library of almost 4000 songs, and whatever is playing when I am bored is good with me.

My hype song was pretty easy to pick. I would say this is my top 5 go to if I need a little extra pep in my step. This is an old song from one of my all time favourite bands: Motley Crue. If you are around me at the rink, on the ball field, or in my cruising vessel of choice, chances are you have heard me rocking out to “Kickstart my Heart“. This song has always had the ability to get me jacked up for just about anything. I have also seen the Crue in concert a few times, and this never gets old. I learned a lot about this song after reading Nikki Sixx’s book “The Heroine Diaries” (read it if you haven’t, what a ride). This song is basically a description of reckless behaviour, having your heart stop due to drug use, and being brought back to life and living to tell the tale. I think I will just leave this one on it’s own. My other ones are not even worthy enough to be in the same paragraph.

Those are just some of my musical go to’s for certain moods, but like I said, it changes like the weather. I could write about music for days, and have new material for you every time. Give them a listen, and by all means, feel free to drop some of your personal favourites, I always love new music, and get songs daily from all of my friends, so you guys feel free to drop some in the comments as well.

For anyone following 75 medium, go time is Monday, pray for me and the Gongers, we are going to need it.

A song that I like to listen to, that didn’t quite fit in anywhere today is “What you give” by Tesla. I like to listen to this one, as it reminds me to be grateful, and remember what I have, and that life is not all about money, fame, and material things. Quality, not quantity.

Cheers everyone,

K