I Should have just Stayed in Bed!

When I got up, I had this idea that today was going to be awesome, but then the day began.
It started out with little things, you know the things that piss you off but if you said them out loud, people might laugh. For that matter, under different circumstances, you might laugh.
I was running late to start, but then I walked out the door without finishing my makeup, which would be fine except half done make up looks worse than none at all! Looking like a clown, I realize that I also forgot my lunch. No problem, I thought, I have some money to eat out today. Even better, I can meet my boyfriend for lunch in town! That will be nice…
I clock out at 1229, run to my car, get into town, and OH YEAH! Town at this time is a mad house! I forgot cause I don’t normally go here! So, I finally get to the restaurant at 1255 (normally it’s 7 minutes away!), I hurry and park on the street and run in to meet him. Here’s the one good part—the food was delicious—even though I had to scarf it down. I’m running late (again!) and I run out to my car at 125 ,my hour lunch is almost over! I get to the car and GREAT; a parking ticket. I forgot that I had to feed the meter! Poo! (I cried here). So, while crying, I’m driving fast, but not fast enough to get another ticket. I get to the lot and I scan my parking pass and it doesn’t work. It’s never not worked before! So, the guy says, “Well, if it won’t work I’m going to have to charge you.” I look in my purse and find two measly dollars that will not cover the $6 he’s asking for. So, crying again, I rush off to the nearest atm and take out cash. At this point, it’s 150 and I’ve missed a meeting. I rush back, trying to hold back my sobs as I hand him the fresh $20, then screech into the nearest parking spot. The whole walk there, I’m cursing, crying, and throwing a fit because, at this point, I don’t want to go back to work AT ALL!
Well, I went in, cleaned myself up, hydrated, and tabulated my bill; food was $36, ticket was $11, and parking was $6. This lunch from hell cost me $53!
I learned my lesson—I’m packing from NOW ON!!!!

We all need to vent sometimes. That was mine, now I’m moving on.
I hope we all have a better day!

Love & Happiness,
Sammigrace

Southside PA

I love where I live. Every morning, there are native
Southside-ians, up at the crack of dawn, sweeping the sidewalks and having a good ‘ol IronCity beer on their stoop. Throughout the day, I see people of all ages, walking their dogs, washing their cars, painting, selling produce, and riding bikes. Every night, there are parties, celebrating anything, at bars and homes, on decks and on the street. Yet,= everyone lives in harmony, with this specific understanding of one another; those who are old respect the joy of the youth, and those who are young respect the experiences of their elders.
A Southside Door -------------->

When in the Southside, you know what to expect—everything. Every type of person, age, race, religion, gender, all unite here and express their art by singing on the streets, painting murals, wearing crazy clothes or hair, driving hand painted cars. It’s probably one of the only places you can see the Amish, a punk rocker, a homeless guy, and an old woman within a few feet of one another.
It has been described as a miniature Bourbon Street because it has more than 80 bars in 15 blocks. But, if you visit, you can’t miss all of the tattoo parlors, all night restaurants, atm’s, art and live music venues, hookah bars, and bike trails.
There is even an event called Southside Walk, which is kind of a self-tour of the AMAZING architecture throughout the whole area. Seriously, every time I take a walk, I see something more, different, and wonderful. Roof top decks, houses that look like castles, amusement rides in back yards… I kid you not.

I hope some of this has INSPIRED you to take a walk through Southside Pittsburgh. It’s open and has activities, 24-7. Pick a day. Maybe I’ll see you around!


Love & Happiness,

Sammigrace

This Beautiful Day

What a beautiful day
Yet I feel disconnected
From these people and reasons
Why fear is acceptable
Dare my dreams come true?
Dare we move past our barriers
And become bigger than them?
I don’t understand this ignorance
That drives so many
Directly into walls
With no place to go
So they move in.
Stuck in dead end jobs and
Unhappy places
For fear that they cannot succeed
At anything else but
What they hate doing.
Are we really that lazy?
Or fearful of change?
When you’ve been down the road
And seen the sun and grass
And played in the happiness
Would you dare go back?
Dare we march on,
Dare we tackle our hurdles,
And laugh as we look back
On our tears of our past?
There are better things
And better ways of living.
We must stand together
And push each other on.
We are our bothers keeper;
For if he falls behind
You will be dragged with him.
There are no reasons to leave him
but fear, laziness,
and ignorance.
Now, only support, love,
and gratitude
Will save us.
Practice it and pass it on
So we all may enjoy this
And many otherBeautiful days.

Enjoy your Beautiful day!

Love & Happiness,

Sammigrace

I AM THANKFUL

FOR LIFE, FOR MY CAR, FOR BEING WARM WHEN IT'S COLD OUTSIDE, FOR HAVING A LOVING FAMILY, FOR HAVING A WONDERFUL MAN TO SHARE LIFE WITH, FOR MY KITTY, FOR THE BEAUTIFUL SUN, FOR LIVING NEAR WATER, FOR SEEING THE BEAUTY OF THE SUN HITTING THE WATER IN THE MORNING AND THE EVENING, FOR PICTURES, FOR FRIENDSHIP, FOR MY GREAT JOB, FOR HAVING ENOUGH MONEY, FOR HAVING EXTRA MONEY, FOR MY YAYA'S, FOR HAVING A HOME, FOR LOVE, FOR MUSIC, FOR THE ABILITY TO TRAVEL, FOR SINGING, FOR HAVING ACCESS TO INTERNET, FOR PUPPIES & KITTIES, FOR MY GOOD HEALTH, FOR NOT BEING TIRED, FOR PASSIONATE PEOPLE, FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FOR MENTAL HEALTH-OR ATLEAST THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE WHEN THERE'S A LACK THERE OF, FOR MY SIBLINGS, FOR MY INTUITION, FOR GUIDANCE, FOR ART SUPPLIES, FOR SCARVES, FOR ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS, FOR HAVING A WINDOW AT MY DESK, FOR MY HAIR, FOR UNDERSTANDING TECHNOLOGY, FOR MY FAITH, FOR BEING ORGANIZED, FOR BIRDS, FOR TIME, FOR HAVING A CELL PHONE, FOR CLOTHES, FOR BIRTHDAYS, FOR CHOCOLATE, FOR MY IMAGINATION, FOR ATTAINING WISDOM AS I AGE, FOR STRETCHING, FOR TEETH, FOR MEDITATION, FOR NAILS TO SCRATCH MY (AND OTHER'S) ITCHES, FOR MY JEWELRY, FOR SIGHT, FOR PATIENCE AND KNOWING THE IMPORTANCE OF IT, FOR MOVIES, FOR LEARNING FROM MY MISTAKES, FOR BEING UNIQUE, FOR SHOES, FOR SPIRITUALITY, FOR THE UNIVERSE AND THE WONDERFUL EFFECTS IT HAS ON US, FOR HAVING MEMORIES, FOR MY CURVES, FOR SYMPATHY AND EVEN MORE FOR EMPATHY, FOR WORKING LEGS, FOR THE EARTH AND ALL OF IT'S BEAUTY, FOR SEASONS, FOR SNOW TIRES, FOR LIVING IN AN AREA WITH LOTS OF TREES, FOR TREES AND THE OXYGEN THEY PROVIDE, FOR CAFFINE WHEN I NEED IT, FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE, FOR BENEFITS, FOR NOT BEING IN DEBT, FOR LEARNING HUMILITY, FOR GAINING CONFIDENCE, FOR MENTORS, FOR DIFFERENT CULTURES, FOR VITAMINS, FOR BEING THANKFUL AND UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING GRATEFULLY, FOR FOOD, FOR SUNNY DAYS, FOR LOW GAS PRICES, FOR GOOD ADVICE, FOR HISTORY, FOR REMEMBERING HOW IT FELT TO NOT HAVE SOME OF THESE THINGS, FOR REALIZING HOW EASILY I COULD LOSE ANY OF THEM, AND FOR KNOWING HOW BLESSED I AM FOR HAVING THEM NOW.

THOSE WHO ARE unhappy ARE SIMPLY unappreciative.

What are you Thankful for?

Love & Happiness,

SammiGrace

Happy Music

I would like to take a moment to share some music that makes me happy. Most of these artists are of a light-newPop genre, with stylings similar to that of Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Marley.

You may or may not know them, but check them out:

(I added their myspace link so you can hear them for free)

Jason Mraz- You probably know him best for his new album, "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things" and the hit "I'm Yours". However, many people don't realize how long he's been around. Check these out:

You may know: "I'm Yours", "Lucky", "Make it Mine"

You may not know: "Who Needs Shelter", "Dynamo of Volition", "No Stopping Us", "Details in the Fabric"

http://www.myspace.com/jasonmraz

Ingrid Michaelson- She toured with Jason for part of his 2008 tour, but she has a sound that is better than just an opening act. She has a beautiful voice, a broad range, and she writes all her own material.

Check these out:

You may know: "The way I am"

You may not know: "The Chain", "Breathing", "You and I"

http://www.myspace.com/ingridmichaelson

Nada Surf- I stumbled on these guys accidentally, when the "Lucky" album (their 5th!) had prereleased. I can't take them out of my cd line up now.

Chack these out:

You may know: "Weightless", "See these Bones"

You may not know: "Beautiful Beat", "I Like What You Say", "Ice on the Wing"

http://www.myspace.com/nadasurf

Matt and Kim- being as obseesed with music as I am, I found these two on some tv commercials. And, like the best unknown bands, I found them during album #2. They have a raw, fun beat that is described by them as the "sound of New York".

Check these out:

You may recognize but not know: "Daylight" and "Good Ol Fashion Nightmare"

http://www.myspace.com/mattandkim

The Makepeace Brothers- smooth, sweet, and in tune, they are the best looking brothers I know! If you like Jason Mraz's music, try these guys on for size.

Check these out:

You may or may not know: "Follow Me", "The Monkey and the Lion", and "Caroline"

http://www.myspace.com/makepeacebrothers

We Need People

We need people;
family, friends, lovers, significant others, neighbors, acquaintances, even strangers. We all have a purpose and that is to help one another in any way we can.

Some of us are intelligent and need to help by creating new things and ideas.

Some people have a good sense of practicality and need to come up with good ways of using resources, or the newly created things, for a positive manner.

Some of us are responsible and reliable and are here to make sure deadlines are met and bills are paid.

Some people are sensitive to others needs and are here to be supportive and kind.

Some people are wise and are here to provide sensible words of advice when we are irrational.

Others are strong and are here to be a friend to lean on when we are breaking down.

Some people are artists and are here to entertain and express emotions that others may not be able to.

We all have a purpose and a meaning, but not all of us are able to recognize and acknowledge it. We roam around feeling worthless and depressed looking for this purpose. If you don’t feel productive or that you are contributing to the world somehow, you are more likely to feel depressed, sad, angry, bored, and worthless. And these negative feelings are just as easily spread as positivity, but are even easier to dwell on.
We need to recognize our purpose and appreciate other’s. We need to help others find their purpose, so that they can pass it on and feel the positivity in their life.

This, I believe, will save us; from global decay, from negativity, from war.

If we were meant to fend for ourselves in this life, do you think that love would exist?

My answer is no. What’s yours?

Love & Happiness,

SammiGrace

Getting Intoduced (To a World Full of Happiness!)

Hello! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Samantha Grace. I am a linguist. A poet. An artist. A lover. A singer. A friend. I have survived things I thought I wouldn’t and have been given the opportunity to help others do the same. I believe there are no wrong doings except the ones you do not learn from.
For what other reasons do we experience hardships than to learn and to share one hell of a good story?
We all have those stories, where, when it happened, you thought it was the worst thing possible, or it was your worst decision ever, or it was the end of the world! But it wasn’t. In fact, things got resolved and not only did you survive, but you became a better person. Perhaps, you even met someone along the way to recovery that you, now, couldn’t imagine living without. Or, timing permitted you to experience something amazing that made up for all the crap you just went through.
The point is that, no matter how intelligent we are, we have NO CLUE what is best for us. Being a prideful person myself, I had a hard time understanding that. But, once you are able to come to terms with that fact, and submit yourself to the higher powers that be (God, Karma, your choice here), you will come to realize that things just fall into place.

I urge you to be open to this possibility, and try it the next time you run into a situation that you desperately want to control. Give it up.. Free your mind of worry. Enjoy the day and all its beauty. You have so much to be Thankful for!

Love & Happiness,

SammiGrace