Saturday Night Serenade–How Ya Feeling?

Hellooooo, 2020!
2019, don’t let the doorknob drill you on the way out.

Sometimes what you need is a little attitude. And Lizzo has that down pat. I’m loving this song, Good as Hell. It’s really an anthem to every girl who’s been dumped, but sometimes it’s life in general that kicks you in the teeth.

That’s how the past year has been. But this new year is full of new possibilities. I can’t wait to see what happens.

Baby, how ya feelin’? Feelin’ good as hell!

I hope you’re staying warm this January weekend. Be sure to hug the ones you love.

Happy Saturday night!

Saturday Night Serenade–Almost

New year, new music!
Tonight’s serenade is the new release from Hozier from his upcoming album, Wasteland, Baby!, due out March 1.

I loved Hozier the first time I heard him.  In the era of Auto-Tune and imbecilic lyrics, his sound is unique and his songs are impressionistic pieces of depth and quirk.

Plus, he’s a hot Irishman, so there’s that, LOL.  Definitely a muse for a leading man in one of my books.

I’m hoping you’re managing to stay warm this January weekend.  Stay safe.  And be sure to hug those you love.

Happy Saturday night!

P.S.  I can’t resist leaving you with these two earlier songs from a couple of Hozier’s television appearances a few years ago.  This is why I love him!

Saturday Night Serenade–Have It All

Happy 1st weekend of the new year!
I hope you had a great holiday.  Now it’s back to business.
But before we get too far into January, I’d like to wish great things for you in 2019.

I’m a big Jason Mraz fan.  Okay, it’s not Shakespeare, but his songs just make me feel happy.  I love to spend an afternoon at one of our favorite outdoor watering holes, Guanabanas, where on the tiki stage, a guy with a guitar plays Jason Mraz covers.  With the breeze in my hair and a chilled hurricane in my hand, it’s pure heaven.

Tonight’s serenade is Have It All and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  If the future is what you make it, and most of 2019 is still in the future, you do the math.

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.  Be sure to hug the ones you love.

Happy Saturday night!

Have It All

May you have auspiciousness and causes of success
May you have the confidence to always do your best
May it take no effort in you being generous
Sharing what you can, nothing more, nothing lessMay you know the meaning of the word “happiness”
May you always lead from the beating in your chest
May you be treated like an esteemed guest
May you get to rest, may you catch your breathAnd may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows, whoa-oh
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow, whoa-ohWell, here’s to the hearts that you’re gonna break
Here’s to the lives that you’re gonna change
Here’s to the infinite possible ways to love you
I want you to have it

Here’s to the good times we’re gonna have
You don’t need money, you’ve got free pass
Here’s to the fact that I’ll be sad without you
I want you to have it all

All (all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)
I want you to have it (have it all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)

May you be as fascinating as a slap bracelet
May you keep the chaos and the clutter off your desk
May you have unquestionable health and less stress
Having no possessions though immeasurable wealth

May you get a gold star on your next test
May your educated guesses always be correct
And may you win prizes, shining like diamonds
May you really own it each moment to the next

And may the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows, whoa-oh
And may the road less paved be the road that you follow, whoa-oh

Well, here’s to the hearts that you’re gonna break
Here’s to the lives that you’re gonna change
Here’s to the infinite possible ways to love you
I want you to have it

Here’s to the good times we’re gonna have
You don’t need money, you’ve got free pass
Here’s to the fact that I’ll be sad without you
I want you to have it all

All (all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)
I want you to have it (have it all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)

Oh, I want you to have it all
All you can imagine, oh
No matter what your path is
If you believe it then anything can happen

Go go go, raise your glasses
Go go go, you can have it all

I toast you!

Here’s to the hearts that you’re gonna break
Here’s to the lives that you’re gonna change
Here’s to the infinite possible ways to love you
I want you to have it

Here’s to the good times we’re gonna have
You don’t need money, you’ve got free pass
Here’s to the fact that I’ll be sad without you
I want you to have it all

All (all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)
I want you to have it (have it all)
I want you to have it all (have it all)
I want you to have it

(All)
Here’s to the good times we gonna have
(I want you to have it all)
Here’s to you always making me laugh
(I want you to have it all)
Here’s to the fact that I’ll be sad without you
(I want you to have it all)
I want you to have it all

 

Saturday Night Serenade–Happy New Year!

Here we are at the end of another year.  Which is crazy, really.  Where did the time go?

If I’m honest, 2018 has not been particularly kind to us.  It’s been rough, actually.  A handful of real estate deals have gone south, plunging us into economic uncertainty.  We’ve spent a lot of sleepless nights trying to figure out what to do.   We’ve each taken second jobs just to pay the most essential bills.  We may end up selling the house to prevent its foreclosure.

Then what?  Who knows.  But here’s the thing.  We could look at it as a failure, as some huge misfortune befalling us.  Or we could look at it as a big do-over.  A chance to clean the slate and start again.

Surely we’re not the first people to find ourselves in this position, and we won’t be the last.  But we’re luckier than many, I imagine.  We have each other.  We’re a team, and if I have to go through such a scary time, I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone but Mr. R.

So this weekend, join us in raising a glass to the possibilities of the brand new year.  May 2019 bring you all the best of everything, surrounded by those you love.  Be sure to give them a hug.

Happy Saturday night!

Saturday Night Serenade–Happy New Year!

It’s been a weird year.  And I mean, no matter your politics, no matter your generation or your gender, it’s been weird.  In some ways, I’m glad it’s coming to an end.  The only thing is, what could 2018 possibly bring?  It’s scary as hell.

Growing up in the 70s, I heard people talking about the generation gap.  I can remember being out and about, seeing ‘hippy-dippies,’ as my dad would call them.  With their long hair, bell-bottom jeans, and endorsement of ‘free love,’ they just seemed to experience life in a different way from my straight-laced, clean-cut parents.

These days, glaring differences abound between folks of my generation and the new one.  Let’s be honest.  Millennials can be fucking annoying, with their tiny homes and their organic beetroot lattes.  I know.  I raised two of them.  Nevermind that Mr. R and I recently got on the kombucha wagon.  That’s a story for another day.

But what I love about millennials is their gleefully optimistic dedication to the idea that anything is possible.  This year, I want to embrace that belief.  Because they’re right.

I’m not saying that I can suddenly become Joan Jett if I just believe hard enough.  The kids aren’t saying that, either.  What they’re saying is that it’s possible to make the world a better place.  And we start with the person staring back at us from the mirror in the gender-neutral restroom of the organic farm co-op.

Tonight’s song, This is the New Year by A Great Big World, embodies the exuberance I want to carry into 2018.  A better world isn’t going to trickle down from on high.  It starts with me.  And you.

So what will we do?  Let’s start by hugging those we love, and branching out from there.  Mr. R and I lift our glasses in a toast to a better world in 2018.  Happy Saturday night!

“This Is The New Year”

Another year you made a promise
Another chance to turn it all around
And do not save this for tomorrow
Embrace the past and you can live for nowAnd I will give the world to you

Speak louder than the words before you
And give them meaning no one else has found
The role we play is so important
We are the voices of the underground

And I would give the world to you

Say everything you’ve always wanted
Be not afraid of who you really are
Cause in the end we have each other
And that’s at least one thing worth living for

And I would give the world to you

A million suns that shine upon me
A million eyes you are the brightest blue
Lets tear the walls down that divide us
And build a statue strong enough for two

I pass it back to you
And I will wait for you
Cause I would give the world
And I would give the world
And I would give the world to you

This is the new year
A new beginning
You made a promise
You are the brightest
We are the voices

This is the new year
We are the voices
This is the new year

Saturday Night Serenade–Looking Back

It’s been a week, hasn’t it?  You get to the point where, when you see a celebrity trending on social media, you feel like you just don’t want to know any more.  For me, it seems like 2016 has been unusually cruel, especially right here at the end.

This year, we’ve lost so many iconic dreamers, artists, and poets.  Is is just that we’re getting older, is that it?  I don’t know.  But I’m not feeling all that festive this New Year’s Eve.  I mean, the year’s been rough, and we’re staring down the barrel of a world where an ignorant orange troll effectively unravels decades of careful diplomacy, 140 characters at a time.  I don’t know anymore.

But I wanted to remember a small sample of those we’ve lost:

• David Bowie
• Alan Rickman
• Glen Frey
• Abe Vigoda
• Harper Lee
• Garry Shandling
• Doris Roberts
• Prince
• Patty Duke
• Muhammad Ali
• Elie Wiesel
• Garry Marshall
• Gene Wilder
• Arnold Palmer
• Leonard Cohen
• Leon Russell
• Florence Henderson
• John Glenn
• Alan Thicke
• George Michael
• Carrie Fisher
• Debbie Reynolds

I don’t mean to be a downer, but I think, on a night like tonight, as we, with cautious optimism, welcome in the New Year, we need a little Sweet Baby James.

Here’s wishing you an amazing, joyful, safe, blessed, and prosperous New Year!   ❤

Happy Saturday night!

Saturday Night Serenade–Daydream Believer

Happy 2016, everyone!  Do you remember those days when you couldn’t imagine beyond the year 2000?  Maybe it’s just me.

There has been a lot of talk about New Year resolutions.  I’m not much for them, not really.  They’re always the same every year: lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier.  All of which I need to do.

This year, I think I’d rather have a few attainable goals instead.  I want to publish a few more books.  I have two for sale, one on pre-order now, and I’m currently editing the one that comes next.  That would have been unimaginable two years ago.  I want to be kinder to people.  I want to be aware of my blessings and appreciate them.

Mr. R. is happy to have his new job, but he’s been thinking about starting his own business.  Isn’t it everyone’s fantasy to stop working for the man and work for yourself instead?

We started a new Netflix obsession last night.  Because we liked Narcos, the Netflix gods thought we’d like Bloodline.  It’s a drama about a (dysfunctional) family running an inn in the Keys.

Thus began our newest daydream:  Toss caution to the wind and open an inn in the Keys.  Although it’s improbable, we’re nothing if not daydream believers.

Tonight’s first video is Daydream Believer performed by the Monkees on their show.  While you’re watching, tell me Axl Rose didn’t steal his sideways shimmy from Davy Jones.

But I couldn’t resist the second video.  It’s from an appearance in 2011, just a year before Davy died.  The video is poor quality, a bootleg from a concert, but it captures the joy that was Davy Jones, a fellow daydream believer.

Happy Saturday night!

Happy New Year!

The old year washes away as the New Year rolls in.  2015 was an eventful year for us.  I can scroll back over the posts from the past year and see something of a time capsule.

• My baby got married and moved nearly 1,600 miles away.
• We started taking better care of ourselves due to Mr. R.’s health scare in May.  And yes, even I’m working out and eating ‘vetch-tables’ now.
• Mr. R. was unceremoniously dropped by his company of over 14 years.
• He accepted the same position with a better company a couple of months later.
• I published two books.

We remain grateful for all our blessings and look forward optimistically to all that 2016 will bring.  There will be more books published, the next one  in February.  Mr. R. will continue to grow his professional skill set as different responsibilities are added to his repertoire.  I will continue to work out and maintain an uneasy alliance with ‘vetch-tables’.

And we’ll continue to meet every challenge together, as each other’s best advocate and biggest fan.

Happy New Year!

2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,700 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Welcome To 2015

We’ve observed the passing of one year into the next.

Some of us are happy to see the old year go, taking with it its woes and baggage. Some of us are apprehensive about the new year…what will it bring, what will it demand of us?

But I think this thought sums up my wishes for the New Year. It’s a do-over really, an opportunity to do better what we didn’t knock out of the park last year. I love the part about making some art and surprising yourself. If you’re on WP, you’re a creative soul. How about, as we create this year, we step out of our comfort zones and surprise ourselves? That’s when the magic happens.

Happy New Year, y’all.