Carrie Hope Fletcher - The Silly Song

From what I can tell after checking her out over the last hour or so, I could've picked anything Carrie Hope Fletcher has put into the world for this blog, but this one was my favorite (and the video that initially made me want to include her):



Finding Carrie was pure serendipity, and on a day where I kinda needed a little of exactly what she has to offer...

I recently started having a problem with youtube volume on all my devices, so I did a search, and discovered that apparently, youtube has it's own volume control; a fact I did not know up to now. (And yes, someone--either me, or the gremlins who occupy the internet--had turned mine almost all the way down sometime last week, leading me to crank up my computer volume--and still strain--every time I wanted to watch something.) After reading about the problem and the fix, I went to youtube to test it out, hit on "recommended videos," and picked one of Carrie's from the list, pretty much at random. (I'm not sure I was even looking while I picked, or for the few seconds afterward... I just needed to be watching a video to up the volume, and the one smack near in the middle of my "Videos - Recommended for You" page was as good as any.) But damned if I haven't been Hopeful, ever since... 8>) (Once I could actually hear her, and started to pay attention, obviously...) I'm sure Carrie has her bad days like we all do, but that kinda makes her even more a creature of goodness and goodwill, doesn't it?

Anyway, it'd been awhile since I posted something here, and this--the video, and the girl in general--really hit the spot (and probably saved me from sinking back into bad habits, besides. Life's too short to waste time in muck and mud. 'nuff said.)


Carrie's links:
Carrie Hope Fletcher - Facebook
Carrie Hope Fletcher - Tumblr
Carrie Hope Fletcher (carriehfletcher) - Twitter
ItsWayPastMyBedTime - YouTube

The Holstee Manifesto

This video speaks for itself...

I Think I'm A Bunny - Todd McHatton - Galactic Champions of Joy

(h/t: One Flew Over the Playpen -- Yes, from the same offering that brought you yesterday's Goodness post.)

Links:
Todd McHatton
HAND AID || Puppets for Equality (for Puppets)

Want happiness? Think like a toddler

Words stolen from this One Flew Over the Playpen post of the same name. I didn't take all of it, and I didn't even want to take as much as I did, but I also didn't want to lose the essence of AnnieDubs' post. Still, anyone interested should read the whole thing at her post. (In fact, I'd recommend reading her blog, in general: One Flew Over the Playpen | One-time political insider turned stay-at-home momma.)

Toddlers make every single choice based on a single criterion: Does this have the potential to make me happy at this exact moment. I say at this exact moment, because the moments following something like lying down in a rain puddle, diving off the sofa, seeing if your finger will fit down the bathtub drain, and smacking the dog across the nose are accompanied by a decidedly unfun aftermath. But that’s not the point. The point is to not think, to just do. To give every possible opportunity for happiness, even if it’s fleeting, the chance it deserves.

Most of the time, I am the buzz kill to O’s high on life. BE CAREFUL. DON’T TOUCH THAT. SLOW DOWN. But sometimes, I follow him around and do what he does. We run wildly through the park with no direction. We put all the pillows in the house in one pile on the floor and throw ourselves onto them. We tear up magazines because the sound is so cool.

I also let O fall. A lot. I worry that if I ever had to take him to the hospital, they’d call Social Services because he is a mosaic of scrapes and bruises on any given day. But generally, if I am confident he can’t break his neck and probably won’t break a bone, I believe the aftermath is worth the adventure.

If you are having a bad day, you should stop for a moment and act like a toddler. And don’t give me that I have responsibilities BS. Go outside and just run without thinking. Stick your hand in some mud just to feel it ooze under your fingernails. Take something – just anything you see – and dump it on the floor to hear the noise. Make the craziest sound you can think of until you feel better.

I know my job is literally to follow around a toddler. I know, I know. My life is sweet ass. But like I said, I’m still a buzz kill to O 99% of the time. It doesn’t matter what my job is now, I still think like an adult. How much time do I have? What needs to get done? What’s the next step?

You gotta force yourself to think differently sometimes. O is right. Sometimes happiness is watching a plane float by. Sometimes it’s rubbing yogurt through your hair. Sometimes it’s spinning in circles until you can’t spin any more.

It doesn’t matter how much planning I do or how thoroughly I weigh the consequences, happiness really doesn’t ever change, whether you’re a toddler or adult…it is always fleeting. But I forget that. I keep forgetting it’s not a long-term accomplishment. I’ve been thinking lately about how I’m not doing enough with myself. I’m not “furthering my career” or “making the most of my time.” But when I look back at the people and things that have made me most happy in my life, they are a series of tiny, fleeting moments that can’t be quantified. Somehow they all just add up into one big general state of just feeling happy.

So when I’ve been feeling like that, I take a tip from O. I grab a little bit of happiness where ever I can find it, even if it’s fleeting. Even if there’s a mess to clean up afterward. It’s worth it every time.

I have nothing to add...

St. Baldrick's Video - Taking It All Off to Support Childhood Cancer Research

My nephew and his uncle get their heads shaved to benefit childhood cancer research.



Link

You can still donate, even if you're reading this 11 months after I posted it. (After that, you might want to search for our 2013 event page.) Please follow this link, and give as generously as you can: St. Baldrick's 2012

Beautiful Girl, Magnificent Car... But For Me, The Music...

First, for anyone who hasn't seen it, watch the commercial:



Now anybody who knows me well knows the first thing I did after seeing this was to rush to my computer, looking for... ...the song that for me, made this ad as hot as it was.

I found it, of course...


Amazon.com: Smokescreen: Willis: MP3 Download
Amazon.com: Come Get Some: Willis: MP3 Download

"Willis is the stage name of Hayley Willis, a female vocalist from London, England and is probably most famous for her cover of Cameo’s 80’s hit “Word Up”, used to great effect in the US television drama ‘CSI’ and subsequently followed by over 100,000 people on YouTube."


Amazon.com: Word Up (Willis): Various Artists: MP3 Download

The gal is beautiful, and the car is awesome, but the music... man, that music... is what does it for me...

More info:
2012 Fiat 500 Abarth Commercial: Sexy Seduction with Italian Model [Video] - autoevolution

CrippleCreek Music's YouTube Channel

Maureen Walsh Speaks For The Rights Of The Minority

Isn't that what America is all about?