A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words...

This is Kyle's motto for the both of us. I made this "ransom note greeting" (his words) to go on top of his birthday present box. I just feel like posting it. Big things for everyone this year, okay?

21 Suggestions For Success

Every morning when I get up and around -- albeit later than it should be -- one of the first things I see as I go to brush my teeth is the poster my brother bought me for Christmas a few years back. (Wow, that was a really long sentence.) At the time, Michael felt very strongly about what this poster said and felt that he wanted me to have a copy. He even had it framed for me. The poster is "21 Suggestions for Success" by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. Now, you've probably seen this everywhere, but just in case, I thought I'd post it on my blog. Enjoy the wise words!

"21 Suggestions for Success"
By H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don't do anything that wouldn't make your Mom proud.

I think the one I most need to work on is #5. I don't have much of a problem forgiving others -- I am very unforgiving of myself. Heck, I'm still giving myself grief for things I said and did when I was a kid dealing with her parents' divorce. (And, really, in the grand scheme of things, they weren't that bad at all.) I need to learn to just let go. I think I'd be a happier person if I could just do that.

Well, I need to work on #1, too, but I figure that I don't have much control over that one. Oh, I'd have control over whether or not I consent to marrying someone, but that's not even an issue at the moment. I'm very much going with "Let go and let God" on that one... Right now, at least. I'm sure there'll come a point over the next few weeks where I'm watching the 2005 Pride and Prejudice every night and lamenting the lack of Mr. Darcy in my life. His hands are cold, you guys.

In the spirit of letting go and letting God, here's a pretty song that speaks to me this week. Or maybe it's just pretty and has me in a sappy mood. Whatever. It's "No Envy, No Fear" by Joshua Radin. Enjoy and, if you're so inclined, get sappified!

Have a great Sunday, all!

My Nephew is Cute (Part Three)

Different nephew this time. Still cute. This is the noob! I'm going to shut it and let his adorableness do the talking.


Can't wait to meet you, Austin! (Photo by Steph, by the way...)

Also a very happy birthday to my sister Stephanie! Can't believe my baby sis is 26.

My Nephew is Cute (Part Two)

So, there's been a running thing between my brother and my nephew for several years now. After we decided to call his Blackout Transformer "Blackie" (a shooey girl's name, apparently), Brayden decided to get "Uncle Mike" (my brother) a "Hello Kitty" card for his birthday this year. In "retaliation," my brother got Brayden something special for Christmas...



He then decided to re-gift to my Uncle Rick. The glee with which this kid does it is absolutely adorable. He can't even sit still.



I miss that kid.

My Nephew is Cute (Part One)

Okay, so both of my nephews are cute. (That's one of the first times I've been able to say "both my nephews" -- Austin was born on Friday.) I unfortunately have not yet gotten to meet Austin, which means that I haven't been able to take my own pictures or video, so that's why the star of this blog post is one Brayden.



There's two parts to this one, mainly because I didn't want to inundate you with YouTube embeds. Brayden loves spy stuff. Last year, my brother and sister-in-law (the new parents!) bought him a spy kit with all kinds of fun stuff. This year, I gave him some more stuff that I was able to acquire through work (love. it.)...and a football. Because he wanted a football and, by golly, if a West Texas boy wants to start playing football, bring it on. Plus, he wants to go to Texas Tech -- and that's awesome in Aunt Amanda's book.

ANYWAY. Spy Stuff. Because you guys don't care about the football. I took video in 2008 and 2009 of him playing with his new spy toys. I finally got around to editing something together. Not the best editing job ever, but he just makes me smile.



(The comma on that Bond font just irritates me to no end!)

It's on like Donkey Kong

Cowboys. Eagles. Same song, third verse, same as the second. (Not same as the first, because if it was, they'd be playing in Philly.)

So, we have a House Divided here in the Lifetime Offices. My boss is from Philly. I'm from Texas. We took advantage of the occasion and wore our jerseys. Bring on Saturday! (And please win, Cowboys.)



Have a great weekend, all!