Feel Good 5 Friday

It’s the one thing that can rid you of irritability when you need it the most. Sometimes it’s planned because you’re trying to get rid of the funk. Other times the universe conspires to get you on a better path.

There I was at the stop light, feeling the crankiness of running into stupid people at the market with the added frustration of a bad phone call and the morning frustration of yet yet another rejection email during quarantine.

Never answer while driving, unless it’s your kids of course. Having a hands-free system still doesn’t prevent bad conversations.

But then I broke my mood and silenced my inner dialogue when I turned the dial.

I mean you think you got James Brown moves when the beat drops, because your shoulders feel the funk, but you don’t. But it’s those rhythms that renew your spirit and make you smile. You’re feeling different.

The music magic twirled its baton and I danced my way back to myself. The Spinners saved the day and I was grateful for whomever selected that song to put out on the airwaves.

There’s just something about the vibes you feel when you hear your song. I can’t even play these songs when I’m running or I’ll have to stop and dance. Glad I was close to home because the playlist continued with El Puma and company, and the feel-good vibes made it possible to hit the reset button.

Hoping you find yours when you need it.

The Spinners- Working My Way Back

El Puma- Pavo Real

Le Chic – Le Freak

Yaz- Situation

Frankie Smith – Double Dutch Bus

Buen Camino my friends 🙂

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Mixed Tape Moments

I’m getting the hang of these moments … you know the ones you want to capture … like an awesome mixed tape. I found me some this week, just hanging out with my kids and going on our little day adventures.

I’ve made it a habit to stop time and just appreciate the little moment on the couch during movie night, or reading the newest title from the library, or laying in bed in the dark and just feeling the cool side of the pillow on my face and being thankful for the comfort it brings me.

With everyone I know having so much success in their life, and having all the dots connect, I’ve learned not to pay attention to their race or their place in it. I’m happy for them, but I’ve finally learned that I’m running on a different course, so I shouldn’t feel less because my I’m still walking the trail, while they’re at the finish line. I learned to pick up the moments. And I learned that everyday has some, I just have to remember to catch them. That’s what’s gonna mess me up. Paying attention to others and not catching my own moments can spiral into a crappy day.

But I think I’m getting the hang of it.

Just this week I caught one. Hanging out in the Great Outdoors and I just looked up and caught it. I snapped the shot and thought … yeah … this moment deserves it’s own mixed tape.

I looked up from the cave and it just stood there.

The possibility.

The twists and turns of the day. The moment where everything can get sidetracked or move a step in the right direction. It stood there. The possibility.

The someday.

That someday was caught, and I caught it. Someday thoughts are what make memorable moments. Someday thoughts are the springboards of dreams. Someday moments light a fire under you so that you can start chasing it, and then it no longer becomes someday because you catch up to it and it becomes today.

The someday I found. I captured it.

I marked it with a picture on my broken down iPhone 0 and remembered. I may not have the house. I may not have the corner office with an assistant outside my door. I may not have pictures posted on a Facebook feed detailing the awesomeness of my universe and all its adventures. But I got the substance of a good life, the kind that deserves a mixed tape.

Buen Camino, my friends …

 

 

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It’s That Time Again … Trapper-Keeper-and-L.A.-Gear Flashback

Yeah…It’s that time of year again, when I take you for a ride in my Delorean and cruise back to a time when you chewed Hubba Bubba, dreamed of Jake Ryan, and watched Square Pegs.

Yup, another one of my friends ventured off into the 4-0 club. She has jumped in head first and ready to rock that decade. My comadre, who, I’ve known for 20 years, blew her candles out this weekend surrounded by family in a day filled with love, heart, and laughter.

And again I felt the need to profess my awesome undying loyalty and friendship to my comadre by creating a mixed tape from the days of our youth where we hid our love notes in our Trapper Keepers and laced up our L.A. Gear right before P.E. This is the mixed tape the awesome boyfriend we imagined we had would give to us in between passing periods — the one that would melt our hearts. And, just like my last friend, this comadre also has an amazing hubby who probably rolled out the red carpet for her that night.

So I thought I’d pull out all the stops myself and make an effort to take her back … way back, and blow her musical mind, and get nostalgic for the simple days of lockers, student stores, first loves, nutrition, lunch, and high school dances. I thought I’d travel through time with a mixed tape.

Hope you enjoy this musical journey too.

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Two of Hearts — Stacy Q

Lost in Emotion — Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

Eternal Flame — The Bangles

P.Y.T. — Michael Jackson

I’ll Be There For You — Jon Bon Jovi

Crazy For You — Madonna

Red, Red Wine — UB40

I Want To Know What Love Is — Foreigner

Por Amarte — Enrique Iglesias

Volver, Volver — Vicente Fernandez

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Way Back … Back To The Days of Leg Warmers, Neon Clothing and Aquanet Hairspray

A friend of mine recently celebrated her 40th birthday, but I imagine it didn’t play out the way she anticipated it.

At work with a double ear and throat infection.

I imagined she would have pictured something different for the big 4-0.

I don’t know. You hit 15, 16, 21, 30, 40, 50, 60 … Those are milestones you think about when you’re younger and you imagine certain things transpiring. Relaxing on a beach. A quiet dinner with family. A wild party with friends. A cake with candles. All sorts of things, but feeling crappy and knocking back some pretty intense antibiotics isn’t something high up on your list. I’m sure she’ll celebrate afterward, or maybe she partied during Valentine’s weekend, but either way I felt kind of bad.

Birthdays should come with a little silver lining, no matter how bad the storm. I felt bad about it and didn’t know how to improve her situation. I had sent her a card with all the loving bosom buddy words my Guat heart could muster and she did receive it before the big day, but considering the Debbie Downer that infections can create I thought I’d make her one of my famous mixed tapes … you know the kind you wish your boyfriend would have taken the time to create and put in your locker. Although her husband is a pretty awesome guy too, so I’m sure he found ways to make the birthday better.

But on behalf of the comadre code it was still my duty to spread a little sunshine. We’re all in it this year, every one us is hitting the big 4-0. So, I took her way back … back to the days of leg warmers, neon clothing, and Aquanet Hairspray, in hopes of making her smile.

Music from your childhood always makes you feel better, takes you to your teenage years, dances in the gym, Friday Night Lights moments, first Molly Ringwald experience, yearbook photos, and laugh out loud scenarios with your girlfriends.

So in an effort to brighten your weekday thought I’d share the mixed tape I made for my friend. Hope it takes you back to the days of Marty McFly.

 

This is Side A.

 

Crush on You — The Jets

 

Saving All My Love For You — Whitney Houston

 

Spring Love — Stevie B

 

Lady in Red — Chris DeBurgh

 

Total Eclipse of the Heart — Bonnie Tyler

 

You Are The First, My Last, My Everything — Barry White

 

In Your Eyes — Peter Gabriel

 

If You Were Here — Thompson Twins

 

Querida — Juan Gabriel

 

Quien Como Tu — Ana Gabriel

 

My Mixed Tape

I like the idea of a playlist summarizing my week through songs. The Powers That Be at the Daily Post put out a challenge … describe your week through the power of a playlist.

It started off rough … but turned itself around.

This is my mixed tape.

 

MONDAY

If You’re Going Through Hell — Rodney Atkins

 

TUESDAY

Living On A Prayer — Jon Bon Jovi

 

WEDNESDAY
Roar — Katy Perry

 

THURSDAY
Whip It — Devo

 

FRIDAY
Staying Alive — The Bee Gees

 

How’s your week going?

 

Daily Prompt Challenge: Mixed Tape

I remember it. It was the 80s and it meant so much when you got one … You thought yeah … this is my Jake Ryan and he must definitely like me. The mixed tape. It was the plastic  four-inch prized possession of any girl growing up. It was your die-hard four-week, four-month, or four-year love story caught on a Maxell, TDX, or Memorex cassette tape — a CD or iTunes playlist for those of you who don’t recall the awesomeness of Lloyd Dobler or the Breakfast Club.

Yes … the cassette tape … it rocked. It was a time machine that transported you back to the hallway where you met him at your locker, back to football games, back to 4th period math, back to the homecoming dance, back to kissing in the rain, and back to any after school special kind of moments.

Image via ct.com

Mixed tapes … yeah they took me back in time. So when I came across this week’s Daily Prompt Challenge that involved creating a musical playlist of songs that describe my life, including what I hope for my future … I said yes. Most definitely yes.

Every life involves love, heartbreak, drama, strength, healing and empowerment. I’m a chick … empowerment is always part of the deal. In the early years, when I was in junior high, there were plenty of love songs … the kind where I pine for a guy and he doesn’t really notice my awesomeness because I was more of the Chapstick type of girl, instead of the lipstick type.  But it was all good. I got over it. Things changed in high school and college. So here is Side A and Side B of the Guat’s Life Mixed Tape.

I Need Love – LL Cool J

Groovy Kind of Love – Phil Collins

I’ll Give All My Love To You – Keith Sweat

You Belong With Me — Taylor Swift

Cool It Now – New Edition

End of The Road – Boyz II Men

Keep Ya Head Up – 2 Pac

Por Amarte – Enrique Iglesias

One Headlight – The Wallflowers

We Belong Together – Mariah Carrey

Stuck In a Moment – U2

The Show – Lenka

Ironic – Alanis Morissette

If You’re Going Through Hell – Rodney Atkins

Family Affair – Mary J. Blige

Live Like You Were Dying – Tim McGraw

Got My Toes In The Water – Zac Brown Band

Roll With Me – Montgomery Gentry

Carnival – Celia Cruz

Settlin’ – Sugarland

Home – Dierks Bentley

Break My Stride – Matthew Wilder

Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey

Hope you enjoyed the album.