Love Story meets Viva La Vida

this is so amazing:

Utah artist combines 2 songs to make YouTube magic

May 27th, 2009 @ 11:31pm

By Paul Nelson

SALT LAKE CITY -- Two songs -- "Love Story" and "Viva la Vida" -- are getting a Utah musician a lot of national attention.

One day, Jon Schmidt and his daughter were listening to her favorite song, which is "Love Story" from Taylor Swift. She told him to put it on his next album, but as he played it he noticed something.

"I did a slight rhythm variation on Taylor Swift's melody, [and] it turned into the exact rhythm of the Coldplay song," Schmidt said. So, he mixed the two.

Schmidt says he spent 100 hours working on it and actually got numb to it. "When I posted it, I kind of wasn't sure if it was a good song, to tell you the truth," he said.

Well, with over 1 million views in roughly six weeks, Schmidt says it has become the second highest-rated music video of all time on YouTube. He says a lot of credit for the arrangement goes to Steven Sharp Nelson, who plays cello and the bass drum, at the same time mind you. Schmidt calls him a "cellist/kick-drummer."

Schmidt doesn't anticipate any roadblocks in putting this song on his next album. Coldplay's attorney has already given permission, and he says Taylor Swift's attorneys are close to doing the same. The album, Bonus Tracks, is expected to come out in August.

WHERE ARE YOU???

Do you ever look at the maps on people blogs that show you where readers come from? I have been looking at mine and noticed that people come from literally ALL OVER.....

Yaddehigedara, North Western. Sri Lanka





Ponce

Kanses

Kearney Nebraska

Kenosha ♥

Key West...


by Kountries: okay I was getting in the the K thing!!!

by what percentage you spend here...

United States United States [52%]
United Kingdom United Kingdom [11%]
Germany Germany [8%]
Russia Russia [3%]
France France [3%]
Portugal Portugal [2%]
Canada Canada [2%]
Ireland Ireland [1%]
Netherlands Netherlands [1%]
Georgia Georgia [1%]
Denmark Denmark [1%]
Turkey Turkey [1%]
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico [1%]
Greece Greece [1%]
Bulgaria Bulgaria [1%]
Slovenia Slovenia [1%]
Lithuania Lithuania [1%]
Romania Romania [1%]
Italy Italy [1%]
Switzerland Switzerland [1%]
Czech Republic Czech Republic [1%]
Ukraine Ukraine [1%]
Israel Israel [1%]
Spain Spain [1%]
Egypt Egypt [1%]
Hungary Hungary [1%]

So, run your mouse across the map, see what comes up....

WHERE ARE YOU FROM???

this is so cool ♥

Wordless Wednesday

Bless you ♥

Thank you, bless you, be with you.

...always remember,
never forget...

a blank sheet of paper

okay....quick NOTE.

Maturation today for my 12 year old daughter.

Never mind how concerned I was when she said that Nurse Nan and Princess Patty Period were doing the lecture.

Of course I went.

Sounded a bit like an inappropriate college film to me.


However, upon arriving to attend my daughter handed me a folded sheet of paper. "Mom, if you think about asking any questions, or making any comments, check this sheet first for what is okay to say."

Okay, I thought, I am glad she is thinking....

A few minutes into the program I unfolded the sheet....here is what I found....

...NOTHING!!!!

It was blank....I got the point....period!!!

[yes, this is a true TODAY story]

Award ....thanks shadow!!!!

This award is so YUMMY. Thanks Shadow!!!....right back at you!!!!

the aims of this award:

* as a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.

* to seek the reasons why we all love blogging.

* put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.

* don't forget to mention the person who gives you the award.

* answer the award's question by writing the reason why you love blogging.

* tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.

* don't forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

First thing first....Shadow. My amazing blog friend.
She is always here with encouraging words,
and kindness,
insight into what I am feeling and truly there for me.

In my blogging "career" I have always
been able to count on her to be there
with comments that lift me
and try to give me HUGS through
this amazing internet connection
that we seek to have through blogging.
She is an amazing writer,
her words often lift me in the exact
feeling that I am having from day to day.

Check SHADOW out. She is one of the BEST!!!


Why I like BLOGGING?


This question in itself is good reason for calling the Neno Award right up there with the best of the best. Ask yourself this question and you will see what I mean.

The feelings stirring inside me as I ponder this are worthwhile contemplations.

I like blogging because it is a way to heal my weariness as I work through issues of abuse, of abandonment, of love, of loss, of life. We all have reasons in our world to have expressions of pain, celebrations of joy, and great discoveries. We come across experiences and want to shout our feelings. Blogging is the way that we do that. It is healing, it is HOPE, it is healthy.

As human beings I believe that we all experience the same emotions. We experience them for different reasons, different circumstances, lives of joy and despair. We need others to hear us out. We need each other, someone to listen, someone to give us perspective, someone to offer us a dose of HOPE when we feel we have none left to muster up. It is COURAGE in words. COURAGE IN COMMENTS. We give each other HUGS....what we as human beings need.

May our generations be filled with more HOPE, more COURAGE, more COMPASSION, as we share our lives through blogging.

Legal or not I plan to post this on each of my blogs....there are so many friendships that are created through this amazing link of love. May you each find some sunshine, and give some sunshine, to others by way of your words of hope, your expression of honest caring, and COMMENTS!!!

Woman and Man
cannot live by BREAD alone,
WE NEED COMMENTS!!!!

SPREAD THE WORD!!!


I nominate the following for the award:

my sista.....Suzie

sista from another mista....and miss's...LeShel

other miss's Liz....Auntie

The Booga Wooga
always so cute

Shauna
incredibly sweet and always
there for my down times...♥


Wendyburd
wow, explaining the greatness
in this girl....


Heatherlyn
so supportive, great example...

That Girl....Misplaced Americans
does a lot for others

Mama Zen: The Zen of Motherhood
the ZEN!!!


Annette Lyon
kindness begins with...


Jillene
lovely lady

Boys R Us
amazing spirit and spunk!

If You Give a Mom a MOMENT!!!
greatness in blogging....

Jarad
my guide...what to read next.
COUSIN LOVE!!!

The Naulu Tribe
awesome!

Mommysnark
there for me in the beginning...
keeping me safe!!!


Ca-Joh
fun and friendly


Ink [I'm not Krazy] Mommy
love the love

Twinfatuation
bring on the FUN!


Life's a journey...
...on it with you!

Smiles Miles & Trials
Yeah mon!!!

and...

Barbaloot Suit
...for the FUN!


Andrea, Teach me to Walk
Amazing comments....and kindness!


stACEy, Got Org?
THANKS for the help!!!



Okay....I could go on and on....I love my blog friends...all of you!!!



Those Awarded:
Post the award on your blog, TAG and distribute the award to others as you feel deserving.....


If any of you know of someone deserving, please feel free to pass the award along to them as well...

WORDS about Wordless Wednesday....♥

Cloud Gate...downtown Chicago....

Cloud Gate is a public sculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor. It is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, and is located on top of Park Grill and adjacent to the Chase Promenade. The sculpture was constructed between 2004 and 2006 and was temporarily unveiled in the summer of 2004. Nicknamed "The Bean" because of its legume-like shape, its exterior consists of 168 highly polished stainless steel plates. It is 33 feet by 66 feet by 42 feet (10 m × 20 m × 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons (99.8 t; 98.2 long tons). The sculpture and the plaza are sometimes referred to jointly as "Cloud Gate on the AT&T Plaza" or "Cloud Gate on AT&T Plaza".

Cloud Gate has become a very popular sculpture that is known worldwide. Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture's exterior reflects and transforms the city's skyline. Visitors are able to walk around and under Cloud Gate's arch, which is 12 feet (3.7 m) high. On the underside of the sculpture is the omphalos, a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections. The sculpture builds upon many of Kapoor's artistic themes, although many tourists simply view the sculpture and its unique reflective properties as a photo-taking opportunity.

The sculpture was the result of a design competition. After being chosen, numerous technological concerns regarding the design's construction and assembly arose, in addition to concerns regarding the sculpture's upkeep and maintenance. Various experts were consulted, some of whom believed the design could not be implemented. Eventually, a feasible method was found, but the sculpture fell behind schedule. It was unveiled in an incomplete form during the Millennium Park grand opening celebration before being concealed for completion.

explaination and pictures

from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Gate

Cloud Gate

From the west (left) and east (right), the skyscrapers to the north along East Randolph Street (The Heritage, Smurfit-Stone Building, Two Prudential Plaza, One Prudential Plaza, and Aon Center) are reflected on Cloud Gate's surface. Additional Historic Michigan Boulevard District buildings reflect off the west side.
Artist	Anish Kapoor
Year	2004–2006
Type	Stainless steel Height: 33 feet (10 m) Length: 66 feet (20 m) Width: 42 feet (13 m)
Displayed	Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Did anyone guess it???

Happy Wordless Wednesday....SATURDAY ♥

Wordless Wednesday, TAKE SEVEN

Wordless Wednesday, TAKE SIX

Wordless Wednesday, TAKE FIVE

Wordless Wednesday, TAKE FOUR

Wordless Wednesday, TAKE THREE

Wordless Wednesday, TAKE TWO

Wordless Wednesday, TAKE ONE

Wordless Wednesday ...on saTUrdAy....

from an email....please pass along

The Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read and perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.

'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan .'

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base '

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. 'This is yours with thanks.'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Aircraft Pilot coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said, 'I want to shake your hand.'

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers..

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little.

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to his country for an amount of 'up to and including my life..'

That is Honor, and there are way too many people who no longer understand it.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: A Circumhorizontal Arc Over Ohio

Makes My Monday

okay, okay, i have been loathing
around the house today,
and decided to check in on my blogroll,
it has been AGES,
and if you think that I have stopped coming by your site,
I haven't come by any for a long time,

[i am sorry, i miss you]

between traveling,
the baptism,
finals for me,
helping my kids with their homework

[the last one - homework- is new to me,
i got some WORDS thrown my way,
that pretty much told me that
I wasn't cutting it as a mother,
when it comes to my kids study habits,

hey, in my defense I thought
they learned enough in school,

seriously,
they have my kids for
7 hours every day anything
they haven't taught them
during that time isn't my problem.

I only get them for four hours
a night before bedtime;

time that I don't feel
should be wasted doing
MORE school work.

scary huh!]...poor kids.

So, what Makes My Monday....

hmmmm, let me think:

okay, here goes...

my niece, my daughter, my youngest two sons...

and My oldest...makes my day as well...
he opted out of the dandelion
photo opportunity,

regretfully, when he heard
about all the fun we had...

I love dandelions,
I love my kids,
I don't love that they both grow like weeds...

have a happy monday!

INVISIBLE MOTHER - Happy Mothers Day

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to somewhere.

Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more:

Can you fix this ? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Can I have some money?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' or I'm a car to order, 'Right around 8:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated college- but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.

It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. Initially I had thought, oh she remembered I wanted to travel this year.


Until I read her inscription:

"With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.


These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.



They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.



The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.


A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam.

He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.'

And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.

No act of kindness you've done, no button you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over.

You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.

It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness.

It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the girlfriend he's bringing home for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies', that would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself.

I just want him to want to bring his friends home.

And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add,

'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals.

We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

To all those of you who are doing the greatest work
that can be done.

...and love to all of you who ache to be mothers.
my love and prayers to invisible women
all over the world...

♥♥♥

Baptism Day

a pre-dinner nap :)

i think he has the
...eat dessert first....
figured out.

in fact,
that is pretty much all he ate,
near 13 desserts
[and a couple of root beers!]
!!!YUM!!!

all is well ♥