Getting Crazy with Candy

Late one night last week, I ran in to pay for gas and grab a snack that would keep me occupied and awake on my drive home. As soon as I walked in the store I started to laugh because there it was...a Nutty Bar! I probably hadn't had one of those in ten years but I just love to pull them apart layer by layer, lick off the peanut butter and then eat the wafer. They are so bad for you...but oh so good and fun to eat!

As I drove down the road trying to enjoy each layer, I was glad that it was dark because I surely didn't want anyone seeing me enjoy my Nutty Bar so systematically (admit it, you look at people when you pass them and laugh at the funny things they are doing....singing their heart out, talking to themselves, picking their nose, putting on makeup...you know what I'm talking about).

And the Nutty Bar got me thinking about all the other foods that we eat with crazy patters. Take for instance the Ho-Ho. I don't think I've ever eaten a Ho-Ho without first peeling off that outer layer of chocolate trying so hard to get it all off in one piece. Or the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup; poking a hole through the middle, savoring that hunk of peanut butter then eating the outer chocolate ring. Or how about jelly filled rolls; I used to bite out a spot then use my finger to dip out all the jelly before eating the rest of the roll. One of my favorites has to be the Snickers. Haven't had one in quite awhile, but I love them cold or frozen so you can eat them by the layers; slip off the outer chocolate, then the creamy layer, which leaves you with the best part...caramel and peanuts!

When I think about it, it's not just snacks...I eat a lot of foods in crazy fashions. Maybe that's my method for slowing down so I don't eat so much!

Lyrics of Life

There's just something about music that moves me. I can hear a song and instantly be taken back to a certain time and place in my life. I can hear a song and it makes me think of a certain person. I can hear a song and tears mysteriously well up in my eyes. I can hear a song and just want to sing and dance.

I've always been surrounded by music and can feel the white noise when it's not there. I grew up with my mom always having some country music playing in the dining room. I remember how we used to stay up really late on New Year's Eve listening to the Top 100 countdown and trying to hit the tape recorder at just the right moment so we could record our favorite songs to listen to all the time. I've grown to love a wide variety of music but my roots still go back to country. There are a whole lot of people that poke fun at country music, but there's something magical in the lyrics of those songs. They tell stories that touch our souls. And for me, they often become theme songs that describe where I am in life.

I've always thought it would be interesting to make "soundtracks" every couple years to capture the songs that describe times in my life...but I'm a procrastinator and never get that done. However, there are certain songs that would make the soundtrack no matter when I created it. So step aside Casey Kasem, here's the Top 10 Theme Songs for my life (in no particular order and probably not even really the top 10...just 10 of the top):

• Settlin' by Sugarland: As a single at 36, this song struck a chord the first time I heard it. Might very well be my ultimate theme song. I'm definitely not settlin' after waiting this long.
• Life Ain't Always Beautiful by Gary Allen: This song is so on the mark that I get tears in my eyes just about every time I hear it. Not much else to say, it's amazing.
  
• One More Day by Diamond Rio: There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my grandparents. And even though I had a special time with each of them within a month of their passing, I still wish that I had one more day so that I could tell them how much they mean to me and to tell them goodbye.
• Small Town Girl by Kellie Pickler: I've lived in several places...all bigger than my hometown. But I'm a small town girl to the core; and that's all I'll ever be...all I ever want to be really.
• I Can't Unlove You by Kenny Rogers: Every relationship I've had has made an impact that will last forever. While the song nails my first love, it also relates to how dear I hold the memories of the other relationships I've had.
  
• Small Town Kid by Eli Young Band: The words to this song are so true it's almost scary. And while they all ring true, I love how it says "I like simple, not complicated." That couldn't be more true for me.
• Happy Ending by Sugarland: "It's why we sit in the movies all the way to the closing scene" is my favorite line of this song. I guess I romanticize life at times and I'm always thinking that things will work out for the best; we're all headed toward a happy ending.
• Where I'm From by Jason Michael Carroll: I cracked up the first time I heard him say "gave their children grandmother's maiden names" because that's been my plan for many years. Just hope whoever I marry is game with that.
• Don't Forget to Remember Me by Carrie Underwood: Living several states away for so many years, this song explains many of the thoughts that went through my head. I laugh when I hear "even when it's not, I tell her everything's alright"; moms know everything and they can hear right through your words.
• Never Be One by Alabama: This has been a theme song pretty much all my life. I am Daddy's little girl and as I grow up in this world, I always look back and try to hold on to the days of our past.