Sleep, How I miss Thee! (I guess this could be renamed "Confessions of a Sports Fan: Part 1")

If you are reading this you are most likely fully aware of my love of sports of all kinds. From Basketball to Golf to Tennis to Olympic Figure Skating (don't you dare confuse this with Ice Dancing, that is about where I draw the line!) I will watch just about any sport on TV, especially if it is a good game or match.
For those of you that aren't as aware of the sporting world, last week and this week the Australian Open (Tennis for those of you who were just about to ask.) The hardest part about it being the Australian Open, for me, is that they are 18 hours ahead of us, so live matches begin at 7:00 p.m., MST and go through the entire night. There have been days that I watch right before I go to bed and live matches are still going on when I wake up at 5:00 a.m. the next morning. This tends to be a problem because I enjoy watching and more than once I've found myself on the couch realizing that it is 11:00 p.m. or later and I am awake watching tennis.
Tuesday night Serena Williams was playing her match (very poorly, I might add) and was down 1 set to 0 and was down 4 games to 0 in the second set. For anyone who knows anything about tennis they understand that the match was all but over. Then Serena refocused and all of the sudden started playing like the #1 ranked women's tennis player that she is. She ended up winning the second set and easily won the third set to win the match. I can only imagin the physical and emotional drain this was to her.
Fast Forward to Wednesday night. Serena Williams finds herself playing in the semifinals (yes, this is the next night. What bright person scheduled her to plays singles matches on back to back nights when she is still playing in the doubles bracket with her sister?) She looked 100% drained and seemed to be struggling throughout the match. I couldn't pull myself away from the TV because no matter how tired she was she was playing like a champion. She was still hitting amazing shots and tracking down returns that I most people would never get to with fresh legs. Serena Williams put on a display of the heart of a champion last night and that is what drew me in. Then, to top it off, a few hours after defeating Li Na (China) she had to get back out on the court and play in the doubles semifinal with her sister.
I could go on, because the second women's semifinal has a really good story behind it, as well. Justine Henin, former #1 ranked woman is coming back from retirement and is unranked. She has beaten many of the top women in the world and looks like she will be a worthy opponent for Serena Williams in the final.
I sure do enjoy sports!

The Climb

Preface: I am one of those odd people that listen to the words of a song, not just the beat. I was having a rough spell in life when I had the following experience. It isn't much, but it made a difference in my attitude and perception of the situation.
Rachel's warning: I am admittedly NOT a fan of Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana (come on, you are the same person, make up your mind already.) Her voice just grates on my nerves and I do not enjoy most of her music At All.
That being said... I was driving alone in the car and station surfing on the radio. A song came on and I started listening to the words, not really paying attention to who was singing those words. (Imagine that, someone actually listening to the words of a song.) The words were uplifting and inspiring (songs like that don't come along very often) so I made sure to pay attention to who was singing The Climb. When they said The Climb, Miley Cyrus, I couldn't believe my ears. I have not let the fact that it is Miley Cyrus change my opinion of the message of the song and I will leave the radio on to listen to The Climb whenever I hear it come on. No, I am not a Miley Cyrus fan in the least bit; I am a fan of a motivating, inspirational piece of music that inspired me on a day when I was down.

"The Climb"

I can almost see it

That dream I am dreaming

But there's a voice inside my head saying

"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking

Every move I make feels

Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying

Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes might knock me down

But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it

But these are the moments that

I'm gonna remember most, yeah

Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong

Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing

Keep the faith, baby

It's all about, it's all about the climb

Keep the faith, keep your faith

A Brand New Year!

I wish that I could remember enough to do a recap of 2009, but I am lucky if I can remember last week so that isn't going to be happening. I do know that 2009 was better than 2008, but that was a pretty sure bet. I am looking forward to 2010 with excitement and anticipation of what will be happening in my life and the lives of my family and friends. I don't have any idea what is in store, but I am optimistic about what lies ahead.
I was sitting at the New Year's Eve party we attend every year just thinking and reflecting and as I was doing this I got the feeling that 2010 is going to be a good year and I choose to believe that impression (and believe me, I am due for a good year.) 2010 is going to be a GREAT YEAR!
Happy New Year!