I was made for sunny days...

This is officially my new favorite "song of summer."

I know, I know the "experts" (and by experts I mean the evening DJ on 107.7) say that it is Katy Perry's California Gurls. The following are the reasons I disagree with this prediction:

1. The video is atrocious. Two words: cupcake boobs. She is in a Willy Wonka wannabe candyland dancing around licking ice cream cones. No thank you.
2. Girls is not supposed to be spelled gurls.
3. While Snoop Dogg will always have a special place in my heart (Gin and Juice has special memories for me and no I will not tell what they are); he completely let his standards fly out the window with this special appearance.
4. I admit, the one about kissing a girl was kind of catchy. I could even handle the hot and cold and Vegas one, but this is the fourth one in a row that sounds the exact same as all of the aforementioned! Creativity people!
5. These lyrics: "Bikinis, zuchinis, martinis. No weenies. Just a king and a queen-ie." I'm not even sure what to say about this one. What do zuchinis have to do with Claifornia and summer and the beach?

I think five reasons are enough. I'm sure the Weepies won't be winning a grammy any time soon; but it is mellow, catchy, happy and you can actually understand the lyrics. That's good enough for me.

I originally intended this blog to be about how even though I complain about it being so hot, I really didn't mind the sun because it was better than cloudy, rainy, dreary days...thus, "I was made for sunny days." It turned into a musical review. I'm sorry. I do realize I'm not a music critic. Next time, I'll stick to the completely off the wall randomness that seems to find me on a daily basis.

A Dedication

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

In light of the recent tragedy at the Albert Pike campground, I wanted to dedicate this post in memory of the victims of the flooding and their families. The picture above is from a candlelight vigil that was held at the Langley United Methodist Church. Many of the victims were children. Entire families were killed.  My prayers and thoughts do not seem like enough, but it is all I can do.  I urge you to do the same. Pray for the comfort of the victim's families; pray for the search and rescue workers still searching for the missing; pray for the residents of the area whose property and belongings were destroyed; and pray for our leaders making tough decisions on when and where to continue search efforts.  It's the least we can do. 

Going to the chapel and I'm gonna get....NOT!

"Guys: a word of advice. Marry pretty women or ugly ones. Short ones or tall ones. Blondes or brunettes. Just, whatever you do, don't marry a woman with a career."

I read the above statement in an op-ed on the Forbes website one day. The columnist states in his article that women with careers are more likely to get divorced than those who work inside the home. Then, they defined the definition of a "career girl:" She has more than a high school diploma, works outside the home more than 35 hours per week and makes above $30,000 per year.  I'm not knocking the opinion.  In fact, statistically, it is probably true. But, is the reason really that the women have careers and are ambitious or is the point more that we are in a borderline recession, or that couples are trying to juggle careers, kiddos, bills, and staying happy in their marriage? 

Times are tough...even for the single girl. I have often wondered if my independence throws guys off.  Probably not. It's probably more my tendency to be co-dependent, the extra hormones God lavished upon me that makes me cry at the most unexpected moments, and my need for perfection. Just kidding...sort of. Seriously though, I sometimes feel like the older I get, the more set in my ways I become, and the more my career progresses, the less likely I am to find a guy who appreciates all of those things. As it so happens, I am actually really enjoying those all of those things, but I wonder if it makes me less of a hot commodity. Or, maybe it's the exact opposite.  Maybe it's actually helping me weed out the guys who would never have appreciated those things in the first  place. I really like that thought! It has taken about ten or so years to get there, but I think I finally am starting to believe all my friends and family ,who, during breakups told me "he was never good for you anyway," or "you will find someone who really appreciates you." 

So, I guess the point if this rant and my reference to the article is that I am okay with people like the journalist who say that men should steer clear of successful women.  I will always want to be ambitious, independent and a bit stubborn. I will debate you respectfully, rationalize unrational points, and pump my own gas. I'll still allow you to get my drink, pull out my chair and hold the door open for me, however.  There are just some gentlemanly gestures you can't turn down.

Brick by Brick

*A big thank you to Iggy Pop for the title of this post. I had forgotten about you until I came across a long forgotten itunes playlist. It made me happy.

I don't really want to be the person who has a blog to tell about what I've done this weekend, or how my yard needs mowing or that I really need to go grocery shopping.  Not that I don't love those kinds of blogs. I have plenty of friends whose blogs I read and love that go into their live's details.  I just don't think my life is that exciting, so I try (emphasis on try) to just convey some thoughts I have rambling around in my head. This one, however, will focus on my week.

First thing, I love Riverfest.  I joined the committee this year and had the time of my life.  No sleep. Lots of walking. More drinking. Awesome music. Festival food. New friends. Exhaustion... Four days of non-stop laughing, crazy heat, tons of people and great musical acts made me glad to call Little Rock home.

Second thing, I'm sad the Delta Leadership Institute is over. I had such an amazing experience meeting new people, making new friends, gaining a new respect for the Delta, and learning a lot about myself. I must admit, at first, I may have gone into these leadership programs thinking this would be a nice addition to my resume.  Thankfully, what it really became, was a nice addition to my life. I not only learned about the Delta and DRA,but I learned how to work as a team, how to give of yourself even when you don't really feel you can, and how to learn from others that you never thought you could.

These activities have made me realize that I actually do call Little Rock home. Little by little, I have built a life here and I finally have realized that I am part of the community.  From joining organziations like Riverfest, Junior League, Leadership Little Rock, and Delta Leadership Institute to building a career, buying a house, attending graduate school and church; and making new friends. Prescott will always be my first home where I learned, well, everything about who I am and want to be.  But, Little Rock is definitely the place where I am learning to be an adult and to pursue those goals and dreams that I formed in a small southern town.

Sidenote: I started this blog last week and never got finished (go figure). Since then, I have put another notch in my belt of adulthood...I paid off my car. Those payments seemed endless. Anyway, I can now officially say that I own my own car.