My Life According to Tim McGraw; His Life According to George Strait

 {Brian Kvidera}

I don’t often fill out surveys, but my sister did this one and it was actually pretty fun. By pretty fun, I mean a freaking blast!! Here were the rules:

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)"

This is mine:

My Life According to Tim McGraw
Are you male or female: Don’t Take The Girl
Describe Yourself: I’m Just Me
How do you feel: Unbroken
Describe where you currently live: Sing Me Home
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Louisiana
Your favorite form of transportation: Memory Lane
You and your best friends are: By My Side
What’s the weather like: She’s My Kind of Rain
Favorite time of day: She’s Only Happy In The Sun
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Set This Circus Down
What is life to you: I’m Amazed By You
Your last relationship: Like We Never Loved At All
Your fear: Nothin’ To Die For
What is the best advice you have to give: Live Like You Were Dying
Thought for the day: Watch The Wind Blow
How I would like to die: Where The Green Grass Grows
My soul’s present condition: Smiling
My motto: We Carry On

It made my day when the boy above did his.

Justin’s Life According to George Strait (Chosen strictly from his 50 #1’s album)
Are you male or female: You Know Me Better Than That
Describe Yourself: So Much Like My Dad
How do you feel: Living and Living Well
Describe where you currently live: Heartland
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?
Your favorite form of transportation: Blue Clear Sky
You and your best friends are: True
What’s the weather like: The Chill of an Early Fall
Favorite time of day: One Night at a Time
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: We Really Shouldn’t Be Doing This
What is life to you: Round About Way
Your last relationship: Run
Your fear: A Fire I Can’t Put Out
What is the best advice you have to give: You Can’t Make A Heart Love Somebody
Thought for the day: I’d Like To Have That One Back
How I would like to die: Ocean Front Property
My soul’s present condition: Carried Away
My motto: If You Ain’t Lovin’, You Ain’t Livin’

My sister and I are making each other our survey lists as mixed tapes and gifting it to each other for Christmas. Her band was O.A.R. and I can't wait to listen to it!

Now, it's your turn!

Hi, I'm Cindy.  I live in Kansas City and date often (eh..)  regularly sometimes. I date. I dated a guy once that lived in the Northeast. He described Kansas City as utterly Midwestern. His description of the women here? Farm fresh and corn fed. I hate to admit it, but that sums me up in 4 words and an ampersand. Yes, yes, I am a personality girl whose verbosity and crazy antics sometimes gets the best of her. Yet, it always makes for a damn good time. (well…)  

love, love,

cin

Midwestern Monologues: Political Compass

{Brian Kvidera}

I know it seems somewhat irrelevant now that midterm elections are over, but is anything political ever irrelevant? I hope everyone said no.

Most people identify with a specific political party, but I love THIS survey, because it looks at where you stand on a left/right issues (the economy) as well as where you rank on social issues and ranks you on the quadrant below. It also tells you where a few major political players ranked (like Hitler, Stalin, and Gandhi) so you can compare where you are.

I was surprised at my quandrant! Maybe you will be too.

Hi, I'm Cindy.  I live in Kansas City and date often (eh..)  regularly sometimes. I date. I dated a guy once that lived in the Northeast. He described Kansas City as utterly Midwestern. His description of the women here? Farm fresh and corn fed. I hate to admit it, but that sums me up in 4 words and an ampersand. Yes, yes, I am a personality girl whose verbosity and crazy antics sometimes gets the best of her. Yet, it always makes for a damn good time. (well…)  

love, love,

cin

Midwestern Monologues: Iowa

This past weekend, that cute boy (Brian) packed up that sweet huskey (Sierra) and that crazy girl (me) and we hauled our way to his alma mater and homestead, (you guessed it) IOWA!

We tailgated. Go Hawkeyes!

We toured the University of Iowa where he studied Finance.

We hit the Halloween bar scene with his high school and college buddies.

We hung out with his dad (whom I've met and the introduction is quite the story!)

And I met his mom - for the first time. Eek! Which also happens to be a bit of a story teller. One day, I will master the art of meeting the parents. One day, I'll share the humiliating stories with you.

And oh! We snuggled. He and I aren't cuddlers. SLEEP IS SACRED and on the rare nights that we end up sleeping under the same roof, we really do try to catch some solid zzz's. But in Iowa, where cornfields go as far as the eye can see, where Hawkeyes rule, and where it is way colder than it is in KC, I was a teaspoon, he was a tablespoon, and we fell soundly asleep, nice and warm, in the silverware drawer.

(Author's note: getting that boy to say OK to using his photo was a doozy! And he never really said yes...hence the smaller formatting; maybe you won't be able to see him as well. So, everyone, zoom in on your browser!! He's cute. Haha!)

Hi, I'm Cindy.  I live in Kansas City and date often (eh..)  regularly sometimes. I date. I dated a guy once that lived in the Northeast. He described Kansas City as utterly Midwestern. His description of the women here? Farm fresh and corn fed. I hate to admit it, but that sums me up in 4 words and an ampersand. Yes, yes, I am a personality girl whose verbosity and crazy antics sometimes gets the best of her. Yet, it always makes for a damn good time. (well…)  

love, love,

cin

Midwestern Monologues: Haruki Murakami

{Brian Kvidera}

I love books.  I'll never own a Kindle or a Nook or download books to my iPhone. There is something so classic and comfortable about the glue-bound, dog-eared pages of a book.

 

{via}

As if the story weren't enough, I love a book that has personalized character.  A book that says something about the person who read it before me. I love those underlined passages, a highlighted quote, a hand-written "!" or "??".  I write in all my books and I'll also write in books that people lend me (I know, I know. I shouldn't do this).  In most books I borrow from friends, I'll also leave a note in the cover for them.  No one has ever found these notes (or those underlined sentences), but I like knowing that maybe one day, just by chance, someone else will see me in that book.

Which brings me to my current read.  Last night, I started a new book that I had purchased used, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by one of my favorite Japanese writers, Haruki Murakami.  In the cover, a note was scribbled from Christmas 2002: to Brian; Love, Matt & Mariam.  Eight years later, this book fell asleep with me.

Here is one of my favorite Murakami short stories.  Let's personalize this story, shall we?  A boy sent me the story, "On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning."  His note said, "This makes me think of you."  This boy was a gentleman I dated for three years.  We broke up over five years ago.  He sent me the story one year ago.

"A sad story, don't you think?"

Hi, I'm Cindy.  I live in Kansas City and date often (eh..)  regularly sometimes. I date. I dated a guy once that lived in the Northeast. He described Kansas City as utterly Midwestern. His description of the women here? Farm fresh and corn fed. I hate to admit it, but that sums me up in 4 words and an ampersand. Yes, yes, I am a personality girl whose verbosity and crazy antics sometimes gets the best of her. Yet, it always makes for a damn good time. (well…)  

love, love,

cin

Midwestern Monologues: Bucket Lists

{Brian Kvidera}

Bucket lists may be cheesy, but I have one nonetheless.  A few things on my list:

See the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City

See Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic

See Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Wear the traditional Vietnamese dress, Ao Dai

I recently was able to check something off of the list!  First let me say that I love autumn for two major reasons: (1) scarves, boots, and cozy sweaters; and (2) ART!! I live for September when theatre seasons begin. This autumn is off to a good start as I just returned from a rendezvous in New York City.  There are times in life when words do no justice to the feeling of actually experiencing your bucket list.

Those tickets would be our box seat tickets to see Itzhak Perlman perform Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor.  I know I'm about to sound dramatic, but Perlman’s entrance was heart-stopping; the performance sent chills up my arms and down my spine and stopped my breath.  I always fear that when I put something on my bucket list, I am automatically over-hyping it.   The New York Phil, however, was everything and more than I could have ever anticipated.

Back home in the Midwest, I was immediately off to see another bucket list item: Georges Bizet’s opera, Carmen, at the Kansas City Lyric Opera.  What a fantastic performance!  Aside from ogling Carmen, I had to resist the urge to sing along with her in "L’amour est un oiseau rebelle" and to shout "Olé" after Escamillo finished his aria "Toreador".  The show was magnifique!

I'm on high. I'm on a high. I'm on an artistic high.

What's on your bucket list??

Hi, I'm Cindy.  I live in Kansas City and date often (eh..)  regularly sometimes. I date. I dated a guy once that lived in the Northeast. He described Kansas City as utterly Midwestern. His description of the women here? Farm fresh and corn fed. I hate to admit it, but that sums me up in 4 words and an ampersand. Yes, yes, I am a personality girl whose verbosity and crazy antics sometimes gets the best of her. Yet, it always makes for a damn good time. (well…)  

love, love,

cin

Midwestern Monologues: Tory Burch

 

{Brian Kvidera}

So I’ve been eyeing these suckas for a while.  Oh, those Tory Burch Revas…. I haven’t been able to justify the cost of new shoes that were not for work, so I called my oh-so-lovely friend (a.k.a Sarah) and posed the question, “Do you think Tory Burch Revas are worth the purchase?”  Her response, “Uh, I’m like their spoke-person.”  So what did I do? Purchased them that night.  Were they worth the purchase?  Uh, hell ya! My feet.  My Revas!  Feet up in St. Louis!

Hi, I'm Cindy.  I live in Kansas City and date often (eh..)  regularlysometimes (shit). I date. I dated a guy once that lived in the Northeast. He described Kansas City as utterly Midwestern. His description of the women here? Farm fresh and corn fed. I hate to admit it, but that sums me up in 4 words and an ampersand. Yes, yes, I am a personality girl whose verbosity and crazy antics sometimes gets the best of her. Yet, it always makes for a damn good time. (well…)  

love, love,

cin

Midwestern Monologues: East LA

{Brian Kvidera}

Alas! I just returned from yet another fabulous trip to the City of Angels. I've been before and have already hit the famous hot spots, so this time I did East LA. More urban, more grimy, and way more hipster!

If you get the chance, do this:

 

Go to Blossom. I am a fiend for all things Vietnamese (duh!) and this is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants I've been to. It's the perfect blend of Americanized Vietnamese bistro without losing its authentic ethnic style. I had their bún. Oh! And get their Whole Young Coconut. 

Eat at Homegirl Café. It was started by Father Greg Boyle that gave gang members a second chance. Everyone who works at Homeboy Industries and Homegirl Café is an ex-gang member. You'll see the employees covered in tattoos wearing t-shirts saying "Jobs Not Jails" or "Nothing Stops a Bullet Like A Job."

Lastly, I am somewhat a theatre junkie...so go see theatre! I saw an amazing play...may I dare say that it is one of my favorites of all time? It was Neighbors written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. A play about the American Dream and racism taken to a whole new level of audaciousness. Both uncomfortable and hilarious. I saw it at The Matrix Theatre.

Kisses,

Cin

Hi, I'm Cindy.  I live in Kansas City and date often (eh..)  regularlysometimes (shit). I date. I dated a guy once that lived in the Northeast. He described Kansas City as utterly Midwestern. His description of the women here? Farm fresh and corn fed. I hate to admit it, but that sums me up in 4 words and an ampersand. Yes, yes, I am a personality girl whose verbosity and crazy antics sometimes gets the best of her. Yet, it always makes for a damn good time. (well…)  

love, love,

cin

Get ready for a healthy dose of the Midwest..

So, I have this awesome friend, Cindy.  She's been one of my best friends since 8th grade and she's one of those people I've always been extremely close to without living in close proximity to her.  We've lived hundreds of miles apart for years and years now but yet she's the one person (besides my husband) that I can truly tell my deepest, darkest secrets to without fear of judgment.  Generally, she's done it already, finds it quite amusing or just sides with me because she's a good friend.  She has blog commitment issues at the current moment so she will be sharing her travels, relationship conundrums (or what most call man eating) and shopping revelations with you here on Tiny Bit of Sparkle every other Thursday. You will know it's her by her sarcastic but well intentioned wit on a new series titled, "The Midwestern Monologues."  Tomorrow, you'll get your first dose of the Midwest...