Since I blogged about Thing Two yesterday...

Yes, I don't want to show favoritism, as both my daughters are cool, talented, beautiful and annoying. So today I'm writing about my older daughter, Mary. Mary isn't "classically" cool. She's funny, fun, friendly, goofy, a little on the airheaded side (sometimes I wonder if it's real of fake). This makes her incredibly likable. I can't say I appreciate her taste in music, but I'm sure a lot of people do. 

Her talent lies in soccer. At one point, I didn't think she'd excel in the sport. She was shy and lackedconfidence. She was a defender at first, and she got better. When she expressed a desire to play up front, I told her, "You have to prove to your coach that you can do it. You have to be aggressive and fight for the ball." The next practice, she did just that. She moved from defense to forward and in the next years she became one of the team's top scorers.

Now she's an excellent team player. Put her up front, she can score. She weaves in and out of players so smoothly she makes it look easy. I think her real talent lies in the midfield. She has a strong foot and can move the ball forward. Her passes are spot on. Plus, she can shoot for the goal from that position if she's open. I love watching her play. She's dedicated too. She eats fairly well, never misses practice, and exercises outside of practice. At her last physical, her doctor told her she was "pure muscle."





Let's talk about beauty. Mary is beautiful, there is no question. She has a confidence that I wish all teenage girls possessed. Her hair is always done when she goes out, unless she's going to work out. She dresses impeccably, when she's not in soccer shorts. And like I said, she's fit.





 There 's more though. You may not know it by looking at her, because she looks like any other popular girl, but she's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She's sweet, kind and thoughtful.

Now for the annoying part. She usually doesn't complain when I ask her to do chores, but it sometimes may take a day...or two...or three...or a week. She constantly has friends over and I can never enjoy my TV room when she's home (because she's bingewatching Gossip Girl or Vampire Diaries, or something similar). She is an exhibitionist to a fault. That's all I'll say about that.

She's really a loving person. She visits her grandparents. She misses me when we've not seen each other in a couple days and tells me so. She also tells me she loves me every day. She helps me when she knows I'm struggling. We talk to each other about everything. 

There you are Mary. No need to be jealous of your sister now. Love you girl.

Monkey Madness Monday: Beautiful Women Month

So, I've heard it's Beautiful Women Month. I'm not sure if this is accurate or not. I did a search and I've seen pretty much every month have a Beautiful Women Month post. But ya know, maybe every month should be Beautiful Women Month.

Many of them share the same Audrey Hepburn quote though. I will as well, because I do think it's brilliant.

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."

Yes, beautiful brilliant quote by the truly lovely Audrey Hepburn.

This comes at a most apropos time for me, as last night I wrote my first poem in forever. I was inspired by a new friend that told me I'm a diamond, I am a rare beauty, and I need to realize it and own it (not the exact words, but close enough). So I thought I would share my poem with all you beautiful women out there.

It's a first draft, keep that in mind. It still needs work.

I am a diamond,
not transparent as plate glass nor spring water
not flawless, but exceptional in my imperfections
profoundly rare, I’m singular in every way.
not perfectly symmetrical,
my facets may not always sparkle,
no matter my clarity, color, carat, or cut
I'm blemished, but beautiful, radiant, resilient.
I am a diamond.

F³A: Fancy Bred

This is funny, I wrote about the quote, Tell me where is fancy bred, in the heart or in the head, way back in 2010. That is from Willy Wonka. Of course, the original quote is Shakespeare, from the Merchant of Venice:

Tell me where is fancy bred,
Or in the heart or in the head?
How begot, how nourished?
Reply, reply.
It is engender’d in the eyes,
With gazing fed; and fancy dies
In the cradle, where it lies.
Let us all ring fancy’s knell;
I’ll begin it – Ding, dong, bell.
Ding, dong, bell

What's funny about it, is that someone recently emailed me, a complete stranger, questioning my thoughts behind the meaning of the quote. It's also funny because just recently this quote has once again become very apropos for me.

I agree with the second half of the poem, that when love is based on the shallowness of physical beauty it dies an early death. It's the original question that still intrigues me.

Tell me where is fancy bred, Or in the heart or in the head?

Earlier in life, I would have argued with anyone who said "the head". I am by nature an emotionally driven person. When I'm passionate about something, I dive right in.

I've learned a lot about fancy in the recent past/present. I learned that it's not always the best option to be led by the heart. Maybe that seems callous, but I think people at my age who are searching for love cannot be driven solely by the beating of their heart and their racing pulse.

People my age have to be rational about love. There are other considerations. We have families, and careers. We have fears about not making the same mistakes we have in the past. We want to find people at our level, intellectually, emotionally, passionately. We have to decide what we will settle on, what we won't put up with, and what we'll fight for.

I've come to believe that you need a balance of heart and head to find a long lasting relationship. The heart is reckless and needs the head to help make good decisions. The head is obstinate, and needs the heart to help it overlook the things that are forgivable and worthy of fighting for.

But one or the other alone, I won't follow. Where the heart goes, the head will be close behind, and hopefully together they'll be able to find something rational and effortless, satisfying and rapturous.

So, the Friday Scribbles:

Random Pandora song of the week: Down in the Valley by The Head & the Heart


Book of the Week: No idea. Between school visits, and revising, and kid stuff and house stuff, I've not read a word. You pick. Tell me what you're reading this week.

Netflix of the Week: Going with The League Season 2. If you play fantasy football, you will love this show. It's partially ad libbed and I think it's hilarious.

Quote of the Week: I think I'll just go with the above.

Enjoy your long weekend. Thank a president.