Thanks for the Laughs

Another great thing to give thanks for....humor.

A merry heart does good like a medicine.

It’s been said that a good belly laugh boosts the immune system, exercises the heart, and clears the mind.

Most of all, it just feels good.

Some studies have shown that children laugh a few hundred times a day, while adults may only laugh a dozen times a day.  Whether that’s true or not, it does seem that children find it easier to laugh than adults.  How sad. Ever since reading that I’ve made it my goal to belly laugh more.  I will even seek out a fave song, movie clip or crazy friend to instigate laughter. I already have a pretty silly sense of humor, and am determined to keep it that way.  As I told a friend long ago, it’s better to laugh than cry on any day.

Below are a couple things that make me laugh…

Psych - my latest comedy TV obsession. This clip includes their all-to-brief cover of "Ebony & Ivory". For comparison, afterwards is the original video with Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney.

A Christmas Story - one of my all-time fave movies, and I'm preparing to watch it for the umpteenth time during Thanksgiving. 

*What makes you laugh?

I'm Just A Girl...

Thanksgiving No. ?: Chick-flicks

Last night I squealed when I found Hope Floats on Netflix - and I immediately put it in my Instant Queue. It's not like I haven't seen it a ga-zillion, fa-fillion times.  Not like I don't watch some portion of it every time it's on TV.  Y'all, I think I even have the VHS somewhere.  That scene when that no-good, testosterone-deficient, horrible excuse for a father drives off leaving his daughter sobbing in the street, screaming "DAADDDDYYYYYY!!!"....Oi vey, I'm about to tear up right now. 

For me, a good chick-flick must have humor, likable characters, and a memorable soundtrack. And No VAMPIRES.  That's right, I said it!  Keep yo' fangs & fur for the kiddos.  Ugh.  In that regard, I guess I'm a bit of a traditionalist. Give me Sleepless In Seattle, Runaway Bride, some old Cary Grant movie, maybe I Can Do Bad All By Myself, etc., etc. etc....

Another point about these type of movies....I also had to learn early on that guys usually aren't too keen on them.  Case and point - trying to force my then-guy to watch An Affair to Remember, 20 minutes later I hear this ceiling-rattling "skknnnzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" in my right ear.  Yep, my man fell straight off to sleep.

No worries though - that punch in the gut woke him right up. 

But he only fell asleep again. 

So, most importantly, I gotta enjoy such cinema with my girls. I'm grateful for the girls that have had my back over the years; some I've known since the adolescent acne years, some I've just acquired.  But all of them are precious.

So I guess today is about being thankful for good chick-flicks, and good chicks.

*RROOOAAARR*

Sweet Sleep

Today I'm thankful for sleep. 

Sleep that eluded last nite....as I sat up fretting about those horrible scratching noises in my walls. Is that...please...oh sweet Jesus...

A mouse.

I can kill a snake. I will chase a dog and ape-ninja slap a cat. I will mutilate a wasp (and leave my living room dripping in wasp spray, but that's another story). But the one thing that will make me scream like a 4 year old girl is......a mouse.

Sweet sleep was chased away by a teeny, horrid, nasty, germ-ridden rodent.

So perhaps if I give thanks today for sleep, the slumbertime geishas will meet me tonight, surround me and cover me with sleep-dust (not pixie dust thank you), knocking me out cold.

Before the scratching begins.

*shiver*



Lullaby - Take 6

Oldie of the Day: Thank You

Alright, more songs about thanks that both qualify as oldies.

First of all, who doesn't like Sam & Dave....I wish I had their moves!  "I Thank You" is basically an old gospel song they revamped (like so many R&B/soul artists did in those days).

And I couldn't resist putting ZZ Top's cover of the same song. Isn't it amazing - two completely different genres, backgrounds, arrangements....and both entertaining in their own right.  Like I heard someone say, one group's clapping on beats 2 and 4, the other group's clapping on 1 and 3 -- it just means we've got all the beats covered.  Love it. 

Let me know what you think.

A Month of Thanks

I’m sure by now you’ve seen the fb status floating around - "30 days of thanks: Day x: I'm thankful for ____".  Well here it is music nerd style. I wanted to participate, but am not foolish enough to think I will remember to post something everyday this month. Cuz then I would have this crazy status: "Days 7 – 16: I’m thankful for insert hurriedly concocted list that makes no sense here".

So I decided instead to feature songs this month about thanks, or gratitude, or even Thanksgiving (are there any?).

Today's thanks - God and family, so here are songs for them, in that order. 

"Happier Than the Morning Sun" I didn't know was yet another wonderful Stevie Wonder song.  I only knew the Jon Gibson version for years. I'd encourage you to check that one out too.  Either way, it completely and eloquently captures my heart's condition since Jesus, in spite of the crazy things life has thrown me.

This clip reminds me of my family every time I watch it.  It brings back memories of us laughing til we cried at Mr. Cosby and his family...and my dad's music-nerd like observations as he explained that was a Ray Charles song that came out in 19xx, etc., etc....and my mom doing an ever-so slight rolling of the eyes. LOL. And how that would sometimes lead to both parents telling me & sis stories about their childhoods, and whatever crazy stuff they did in high school. I still remember them chanting "SOUTHEASTERN!   SOUTHEASTERN! Rah-Rah-Rah! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!"  Good stuff.

*Do you have a favorite Cosby show scene or memory? What is it?