"9 to 5" by Dolly Parton

After a day of saving the world, one white paper at a time (and, yes, that does happen in cybersecurity), I'm really feeling myself. I saw "Deadpool 2" last Saturday and "9 to 5" was part of the opening sequence....and I was reminded how much I love Dolly Parton. In fact, I picked up a Dolly vinyl when I went to the SA Summer Vintage Expo. That and an Elvis vinyl were the only things I thought were worth buying (and that I could afford....they had a nice turntable console from the 60s-70s that I would've thrown down $300 for if it was guaranteed to work). One of my favorite songs of all time is "Jolene"....sure, I prefer the Mindy Smith version (which Dolly collaborated on) but the original has its charm, too.

Aside from being a brilliant songwriter/musician, an incredibly beautiful woman, and the best part of "Steel Magnolias" - I may be biased because I played Truvy Jones in high school - she's probably once of the nicest people in the world. I've never met her but people who have say she's just an absolute angel. Her philanthropic efforts are well known, especially her literacy program, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which sends a book a month to children who are enrolled until they enter kindergarten. The Imagination Library has sent out over 100 million books as of 2018. In addition to this, the Dollywood Foundation has made contributions to AIDS research, disaster relief, and animal rights, among many other things. In short, she is a goddess....and a shining example of who I want to be when I grow up.

Speaking of who I'll be when I grow up, I'm doing pretty good so far. Halfway to being an ITIL Expert, a valued contributor to my organization, and trying to do the writing thing fairly regularly. Still working on being a good mom, a good person, and a good pagan....in that order. I feel like I work a lot but that's because I'm the sole breadwinner now and I feel like I have to work twice as hard in order to ensure that we remain in a good place financially. But, that doesn't mean I'm getting burnt out - I have signed on to the whole "self care" and "Treat Yoself" movement so I'm all about taking time to do my personal rituals. It may only be an hour or so a day but it's my time and I enjoy it. I encourage anyone reading to do the same.

"Tumble outta bed/And stumble to the kitchen/Pour myself a cup of ambition." Yep, sounds like me. I hit the ground running every day, even on the days I wasn't able to sleep. I'll sleep when I'm dead, ya'll. Enjoy!

"9 to 5" Video