marriedinarkansas

Suck It Up, Buttercup!

What advice would you give to your teenage self?

My advice to my teenage self would be to suck it up, buttercup! Why? And where did you hear this from? Well, I probably heard it but never paid any mind to it when I was young. It wasn’t until after I had been working and in my 40’s did it really catch my attention. A co-worker who used to be a high school math teacher came to work in our office. She said this all the time, and the meaning of it still did not hit home until recently.

Let me tell you that this saying is now a running joke between my husband and myself. Whenever we have to put up with something challenging (well, I can’t say challenging but just harder because we are older), we will just say, “Suck it up buttercup!”

I thought this would be the makings for a good song. I have never heard anybody ever sing it, and I have never heard anybody try to ever explain what it means. So here it is! My version of what it means to me.

Behind the lyrics, Verse 1 is about how when I was learning to ride my bike, I would fall down and scrape my knees. No telling how many bruises I got from it, but each time, I would just get up and try try again. I remember this one time when I was 13 years old before I started 9th grade, that I was just peddling on the side of the highway and not giving no attention to where I was going or what was in front of me. I just remember turning to look behind me for some reason, and the next thing I knew. I was flying over the handlebars onto the asphalt. I had a 2 inch gash right below my left kneecap on my left leg for 2 months. I don’t know if there was anything in it or not, but I remember it really hurt. All mom did was put antibiotic cream on it and covered it with gauze. I didn’t go to the doctor or anything. Back in the 1980’s, there was no running to the emergency room for every little thing.

Verse 2 is about working at a job that you don’t necessarily want to do but you have to do to make ends meet. My current day job kind of fits into that category but I still do like what I do and no, I am not going to share that information, at least not at this time.

Verse 3 is about cleaning the house. Now, my mom kept a clean house with three kids. Granted, she did not work outside the house, but she still kept it clean and we never went out to eat. It had to be a really special occasion. I do work outside the house, so keeping house is not on my priority list, but it still gets done.

With that being said, I hope you enjoy this little song. Please! Please! Won’t you go to my YouTube channel and subscribe if you haven’t already and give me Thumbs Up! I would greatly appreciate your support my friends.

Created 2nd YouTube Channel and I don’t even have my 1st one monetized yet. What am I thinking?

Daily writing prompt

What is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?

View all responses

So I created a second channel specifically for music and music videos. It will be for the kind of music that I love to listen to. Here are the first 2 videos I did today. I hope you will consider helping me grow my music channel.

My YouTube Channel Update

Hello everyone and I hope you had a good Friday. I am just going to write a little bit about something I was thinking of doing with my YouTube Channel.

I only have 141 subscribers :(

I need 1,000 subscribers to be monetized and 4,000 watch hours.

I honestly do not think my channel will ever get monetized at this point. I want to continue making songs with Suno AI and to make Sim4 videos. If you read my last blog post, then you probably heard my latest Sims song “A Looping Love.” The song revolves around Bella Goth. I want to separate it from my main channel. I will still write on here to give you behind the scene’s information on the story behind each song. I will most likely create a page specifically for that.

So, I do believe that -that is what I am going to do. I am going to call my new channel “Lisa’s AI Music & Visuals”. If you think separating my music from my main channel is a good idea, please let me know. Of course, it will be a faceless channel. Unless you are reading this, you most likely not know who Lisa is.

Okay, well, thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think? I hardly ever get comments or input from anyone.

Eehhh, more like Karma

Daily writing prompt

Do you believe in fate/destiny?

View all responses

I think that Karma has brought me to where I am right now. I have a growing YouTube channel, and I have this WordPress blog. Karma refers to the consequences of a person’s actions, but I guess the fate/destiny thing is where I belong. Good Karma has brought me to my destiny and that is being here. I can share my life with you in a way that only I can. It’s the only way I know how.

As you may know, I love to play Sims4. I have written a couple of song about Bob and Eliza Pancake and one song about Bella and Mortimer. Well, now I have another song about Bella which is from Bella’s point of view. I haven’t posted it on my YouTube channel yet because I want to create a video like I did with Eliza Pancakes song “Flippin’ for Love.”

Here is the new song for Bella. Please let me know what you think if you play Sims4. I would appreciate it so much and watch out for the video on my YouTube channel. I will create a new blog post for it when I post it for you to watch.

It is called “A Looping Love”

I went LIVE on YouTube

Won’t you go to my YouTube channel and watch my live video? I only have 141 subscribers and 221 public watch hours. I need 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours to get monetized. I don’t have much to say until my brother and sister-in-law joined in to chat. I want to go live more often but I need subscribers who would join in and ask me questions.

And my dog’s got into the video too. I want you to meet Buddy, Trixie and Peanut. I have a song about Trixie on my YouTube channel too. It is called “Trixie the Shredder”. She is also a kangaroo, lol.

My own island

Write about your dream home.

If there was such a place, and I had the money to buy it, I would. A place where I don’t have to worry about thieves or riff-raff.

GOD has Good Ways

The Story Behind “GOD Has Good Ways”

Music has a way of conveying our most intense emotions, hardships, and faith in something higher. God Has Good Ways is a song about perseverance, heartache, and, finally, heavenly redemption. It portrays the journey of a woman looking for herself, stumbling through life’s difficulties, and discovering that God’s love endures—even when everything else fails.

A Journey of Self-Discovery

The song begins with a woman who relocates to California in pursuit of something—perhaps independence, healing, or perhaps romance. Many of us may identify with the idea of needing distance to rediscover ourselves. Sometimes life gets overwhelming and stepping away seems to be the only way to gain clarity.

False Promises and Heartbreak

In the second stanza, she encounters a man who looks to have all the answers, someone who is kind and loving—almost too good to be true. But behind the surface, his love is empty and is founded on dishonesty. This verse emphasizes the harsh truth that not everyone who appears sincere has our best interests at heart. It symbolizes those times in life when we put our trust in the wrong people, only to be disappointed.

Grace in the Darkest Moments

The third verse evolves from sorrow to strength. After experiencing heartache and loneliness, she acknowledges that true love and healing come from inside, from God. She regains her identity through prayer, faith, and patience, realizing that she was never truly alone.

The Heart of the Chorus

“God has good ways of mending the broken, lifting the weary, the lost, and the stolen.”

These lines serve as a reminder that no matter how lost we feel, God is always at work behind the scenes. Even in our darkest moments, His grace is with us, guiding us back to the light.

The Bridge & Outro: Restoration and Hope

The bridge represents transformation—how God transforms despair into something new, like “ashes into morning dew.” The outro provides a last reassurance: even when life seems unpredictable, God is in control. His love endures, His plans unfold in perfect time, and He always finds a way.

Final Thoughts

God Has Good Ways is a song of Hope. It reminds us that our challenges do not define us, and that even when we feel abandoned, God is still present, gently guiding us onward. Whether you’re going through a time of loss, transition, or renewal, this song reminds you that you’re never completely alone—because God has good ways of caring for His people.

A Personal Reflection on “GOD Has Good Ways”

When I wrote God Has Good Ways, I didn’t just want to tell a story; I wanted to convey an emotion. That sense of being lost, of looking for something (or someone) to fill the voids in your life, and then discovering that genuine healing comes from inside and through God.

Looking back on my own life, I’ve had moments of serious thought, when I wondered where I was going and if things would ever come together. I, like the women in the song, have experienced heartbreak and disappointment. I’ve also experienced what it’s like to regain strength and discover that God was always present, working in ways I couldn’t see.

In a sense, this song is about all of us. We’ve all pursued things that seemed right in the moment but left us feeling empty. We’ve all experienced pain that left us wondering whether we’d ever recover. And we’ve all had those moments when we reflect and realize that God was directing us the entire time.

I reflect on my journey, including my years of marriage, the ups and downs of living in a small town, the ambitions I continue to pursue, and the stories I tell through music, writing, and my Married in Arkansas YouTube channel. Every step, whether it seemed like a mistake or a blessing at the time, developed me into the person I am today.

If you’re in a time of insecurity, I hope this music reminds you that no time is wasted. Even when things don’t make sense, God has a way of transforming grief into meaning.

When You’re Not Around

Some songs are inspired by imagination, while others are inspired by real-life experiences—the kinds of feelings that linger long after a chapter is completed. “When You Are Not Around” is one of those songs for me.

It illustrates an experience that I am all too familiar with: the emptiness that remains when someone who was once a significant part of your life was suddenly gone. Not only physically, but in every way that counts. The echoes of their presence linger in unexpected places. A familiar melody, an old habit, the way quiet feels heavier than it did before.

I wrote this song with my own experiences in mind. I do have an ex-husband, and while life goes on, there’s something about that kind of loss that never truly goes away. The routine, the inside jokes, the arguments—they all come to an end one day. So, what’s left? Empty rooms, fading memories, and a version of oneself that no longer feels complete.

I’ve moved on from that period of my life, but that doesn’t imply the feelings were never real. And I believe that is why this song is so important to me. It’s not about wanting things back; it’s about realizing how loss affects us. Even as we heal, the ghosts of the past resurface at peaceful moments.

Perhaps this song will speak to those who have gone through something similar. Perhaps it will remind you of a moment when you felt like this. Perhaps it will simply be a song you listen to when you need to sit with your emotions for a bit.

Either way, I hope this song finds the people who need to hear it.

What’s Next?

This music will be available to listen to anytime you want on my Youtube channel. If you’ve ever been through a similar loss, I’d love to hear your comments on what helped you move ahead. Leave a comment and let’s have a conversation.

When You’re Not Around

Flickering streetlights, the night breathes slow,

Ghosts in the silence, nowhere to go.

Smokestacks whisper to the heavy sky,

City streets, echo your goodbye.

Empty rooms, shadows in the night,

Lonely hours pass without a fight.

Pictures fade, memories turn to dust,

In the silence, I unlearn my trust.

Footsteps echo down the haunted hall.

You’re the ghost I can’t outrun at all.

When you’re not around, I fall apart.

Collapsing bridges and a broken heart.

Lost in the murmur of a soundless crowd,

When you’re not around, there’s no way out.

Cigarette ashes on the windowsill,

Time moves slow, frozen at a standstill.

Rain taps softly on my windowpane,

Whispering echoes of forgotten pain.

Every corner holds a piece of you,

Fragments scattered like the morning dew.

In this labyrinth of aching dreams,

You’re the silence choking out my screams.

When you’re not around, I fall apart,

Collapsing bridges and a broken heart.

Lost in the murmur of a soundless crowd,

When you’re not around there’s no way out.

Footsteps vanish, the echoes fade,

But your shadow is here to stay …

So I was thinking …

I was thinking that starting a WordPress blog would give me a creative outlet besides YouTube. And do you know what? It has. It is. And it will be.

I have to started changing a lot about what I think, how I go about my day, and how I feel about other people.

Changing the way I think, maybe because I am older now, gives me more wisdom. Or maybe it’s because I can see people for who they really are. Have you ever just gotten a feeling about a person you just met? Good or bad? Doesn’t matter – just a feeling that comes from your gut. I want to call it intuition or just a knowing that comes from a place deep inside your soul.

Changing how I go about my day to day life is a little bit challenging right now because I have a 9 to 5 job. I’m no Dolly Parton but I feel stuck in that rut. I have to remind myself that I am there for the money because, as a writer, I can’t live off of air. My goal is to have enough subscribers here that will follow me and pay for a subscription or go to my YouTube channel and subscribe to help me to be monetized there. I have 3 1/2 years before I can retire so I am changing my day to day to reach those dreams.

Finally, as for how I feel about other people, I have always treated others as how I want to be treated. That is my golden rule. Do onto others as you want them to do upon you. But really, people are not perfect and I used to think that there were perfect people. I always thought that I was always in the wrong and I did everything backwards but now, I am finding others that think like I do. Others that like what I do, others that like what I write, and others that I consider to be part of my tribe.

Story Time – my son was friends with this girl who lived in a different state. She needed a place to live so he offered her a place to live. Long story short- this girl who was just as backwards as I felt, was smart as a whip but lacked common sense (I am honorable part of that class of people) came to stay with us for a short few months. She really helped me a lot with cooking and taking care of computer issues and it was nice to have another female in the house to have an intelligent conversation with. But there is one thing she told me- she told me I need to find my tribe. I hope that if you are still here and interested in what I have to say that I can consider you as part of my tribe. If so, would you give this little rant a like, a comment and checking out my YouTube channel to help make my monetization dreams come true.