BIRTHDAYS!

Happy Birthday!

My birthday shout out for February and March are:

Happy Birthday Leigh, Austin, Baby Henry, Heidi, Colleen, Bruce, Jocelyn and whoever else I am forgetting!!!!

Love you all!

Until next time.... Blog On!

Advice?

So a friend suggested that I blog about how I am a therapist to many. I think this post will be very different than she intended but of course this request made me have a random thought.

So what was my randomness? Well it is true. I do give a lot of advice to others (some solicited, some not so much). But one thing that is always consistent is that it it DARN GOOD advice if I must say so myself. Not to toot my own horn....but.... Sometimes something will come out of my mouth and I am like "dang that was good, where did that come from". I also tend to sometimes write out advice. Kinda like a journal or letter. Some of my most profound thoughts have developed in this fashion.

The funny thing is I don't always keep my own advice. I've even had friends repeat back to me my own words. True Story. I am talking to a friend about a situation I am going through in life. Friend says "well a very wise person told me one time..."and then gives me sound bit of advice. I am like "that was really good, who told you that?" Friend smirks and says "you did". Oh yeah, I am smarter than I even know sometimes. :)

Really I think it is always easier to say what is the right thing to do but the actual doing part can be a little more tricky.

So from a good therapist but not always the best doer...... Blog On!

40 Tips For A Better Life - 2009

OK- I never pass along fwds and rarely even read them but this is one forwarded email I received recently. I could not think of 40 more simple and beautifully put phrases of how we should look at life!

Hope you apply just a few if not all in 2009- and life will be better!

40 Tips For A Better Life - 2009
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'
5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.
7. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured IN plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds, & ; walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk, and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
26. Forgive everyone for everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. REMEMBER, GOD heals everything.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.
32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
33. The best is yet to come.
34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
35. Do the right thing!
36. Call your family often. (Or e-mail them to death!)
37. Each night before you go to bed, complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life, so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
40. Share this with those you care about. I just did. May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more, May nothing but happiness come through your door!

Until next time... Blog On!

Quote of the week

"Nothing tastes like skinny feels!"

Love it! I found this on a random blog I happened across.

I think this will come in handy when I want to go back for my 2nd brownie or think about getting the 2 scoop ice-cream instead of the single.

Prep for summer season ladies. Time to remove the winter coat.

Unil next time...Blog On!

Textually Frustrated

So there is this site called Urban Dictionary.
Ever heard of it? Well a friend introduced me and basically it gives you all the hip new words that all the cool kids are using these days. And since I am getting a "tiny" bit older and no longer hang out on a college campus five days a week, I need something like this to keep me in the know. If not I will keep saying things like "Cool Beans"... OK I will always say that -lets be honest!


From the site:
Word of the Day: Textually Frustrated
-When texting with someone over IM or SMS that takes too long to reply leaving you waiting and frustrated. Example: "She takes forever; texting with Sara leaves me textually frustrated"
Good to know. Good to know. I must have made people "textually frustrated" a hundred times by now. So dear friends I am not a big texter. I have tried to embrace it more and more but still am not a huge fan. So I apologize for any textual frustration I may have or will cause!

Until next time... Blog On!

Turn off the Tube!

Americans spend an avgerage of 29 hours a week watching television- which means in a typical life span we devote 13 uninterrupted years to our TV sets! The biggest problem with mass media isn’t low quality--- it is high quantity. Cutting down allows for extra years of life for music- family-exercise-reading-conversation and coffee!

I read the above on a starbucks coffee cup. (If you don't read these- you are missing out- why else pay $4 for a cup of coffee?) Not sure how accurate the above statement is but I bet it is pretty close to being true. When I first moved to the QC I didn't get cable for the 1st month. Mainly beacuse they couldn't come out my 1st week here and then it was the holiday season and I was busy (no time for the tube, I thought). Then before I knew it, it was a month later and still no cable. Now I have the full package and although I don't think of myslef as a TV person, I definitely can tell a difference from the month with no cable. You see even if you aren't really "watching" the television you still have it on and this simple fact stops you from being as productive. It is almost like a trance or somehting. I got a lot done in that 1st month of no cable. I got completely settled in and decorated and unpacked and redecorated and stocked up. As a visitor said "Have you been here 2 weeks or 2 years?" :) Yeah you can get a lot done with no TV to distract you.

So I say we take the Starbucks Challenge to heart. Lets turn off the tube (or get crazy and not even turn it on) unless we really want to watch something. Lets see what we can use this "time" for in a more useful/fulfilling way. Let me know what you discover!

Until next time... Blog On!

LOVE

Oh the "L" WORD. How complicated this short little 4 letter word can be made out to be.

BUT really it is quite simple.

Whenever I have the love blues, dilemmas, questions, etc. I just go back to the basics of what it really means to love.

1 Corinthians:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails....

Until next time... Blog On!

Horoscopes- do u believe?

Do you believe in horoscopes? I have posted a new poll posing this ? because I am interested to know what people think. I actually do believe in horoscopes which is kind of weird considering I am a spiritual person. The way I approach horoscopes is that they can be used as signs from God. Not always, and most often not, but I have felt on a few occasions God might have been saying something to me through my horoscope. I actually made a pretty big decision once based on a horoscope. Sound wacky, maybe?

So how about you guys out there? Ya’ll believe in them?

Even if you don’t, you have to admit they are fun to read every now and again.

Until next time…Blog On!

Maternity Clothes

So I have a confession (for some). I have a strange liking of maternity clothes? I know, I know it does not make sense? You always hear of pregnant women complaining of the clothes they wear when they are all preggers but I just don't agree. There are so many options out there now and many of today’s styles really work for the preggies. So why do I like maternity clothes…not sure, maybe it is the comfort? I have a “few” items in my closet that aren’t just the pregnant friendly style, oh no, they have maternity labels. Actually one of my most favorite dresses is a maternity dress. Strange, I know. The way I look at it, it is just future planning…and I mean far, far, far in the future planning! So my strange random thought of the day is “I wonder if Target has any new cute maternity wear?...I’ll have to check.”

Until next time…Blog On!

Facebook Albums

The other day I was speaking to a friend about facebook photo albums. Strange convo, yes, but this friend has a liking of unusual and creative facebook album names and she was sharing with me a new one she saw. This led us to the discussion of how non creative mine were and how I actually rarely added photos anymore.

This is how the convo went:

Mandi- “Yeah, I didn’t make your “Favs” album forever and it made me start questioning our friendship” (jokingly)

Me- “Oh gosh no no, my favs are not like my favorite people or anything, are you kidding? No they are just my favorite photos of me! You know you got to be looking good on facebook, who knows who will see your albums.” (even more jokingly)

Mandi- (Laughing) “Oh I see, and to think I thought it was me.”

Me- “Oh it was you. You must look cuter than me in all our pictures together and I can not be having that. Be less cute and you might just get in my albums.”

OK, ya’ll know I am kidding but how true is it that we all put only the cute photos on our facebook/myspace pages. You have to with all the stalkers out there :) Admit it, I am not the only one!


Until next time…Blog On!

Quote of the Week

“People seem to get nostalgic about a lot of things they weren’t so crazy about the 1st time around.”

Also if you haven’t noticed there is a new quote every day on the right side of my blog. Even more reason to check out Random Thoughts!

Until next time…Blog On!

Kurt is the Man

So I really didn't care too much about the Super Bowl until I heard Kurt Warner's story and then I really wanted him to win so needless to say I am NOT happy that Kurt and the Cardinals did not get to celebrate tonight.

Poor Kurt. He is such a good guy with a cool story. And he is not too bad on the eyes I must say!

Until Next Time... Blog On!