January 2008

I’m here to prod your resolution.  Hope you don’t mind - I’ll be gentle.

If you’ve made a resolution to improve your physical health and/or a resolution to improve your mental health, good for you! Make that, Very good for you!!  Click HERE to read how improving one can actually help you improve the other.

Our youngest (and chubbiest) cat, Alexa, and I were innocently plowing through my e-mail this morning.  Amongst the CNN news alerts telling me what the world’s doing wrong and my health newsletters telling me what I’m doing wrong, there was an e-mail from my aunt.  She forwarded me an e-mail sent to her that included what I like to refer to as “Real Life Idiot Moments.”  Not Real Life Idiots, because quite frankly, none of us are immune to these moments!  Maybe that’s part of the reason why they’re so funny….we laugh out of relief that it wasn’t us. 

At any rate, they’re reprinted below.  I hope they make you smile and maybe even laugh out loud like your’s truly.  After picturing the airport worker “nodding knowingly” like Barney Fife, I spewed Iced Green Tea all over Alexa.  She didn’t appreciate it any more on her outside than my daughters do when I put it on their insides.

BTW, I’ve removed the names of the places and replaced them with #####.  I wouldn’t want to imply that everyone at any certain place is capable of such DUH moments.  That’s just not cool.

Real Life Idiot Moment 1 

We had to have the garage door repaired. The ##### repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a “large” enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one ##### made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, “Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower.” I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, “NO, it’s not.” Four is larger than two..” We haven’t used ##### repair since.

Real Life Idiot Moment 2

My daughter and I went through the #####’s take-out window and I gave the clerk a $5 bill. Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her a quarter. She said, “you gave me too much money.” I said, “Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back.” She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the quarter, and said We’re sorry but they could not do that kind of thing.” The clerk then proceeded to give me back$1 and 75 cents in change. Do not confuse the clerks at #####’s.

Real Life Idiot Moment 3

I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: “Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! I don’t think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.”  From Kingman , KS 

Real Life Idiot Moment 4

My daughter went to a local ##### and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for “minimal lettuce.” He said he was sorry, but they only had iceburg lettuce. From Kansas City

Real Life Idiot Moment 5

I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, “Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?” To which I replied, “If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?” He smiled knowingly and nodded, “That’s why we ask.” Happened in Birmingham , Ala.

Real Life Idiot Moment 6 

When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told that the keys had been accidentally locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver’s side door. As I watched from the passenger’s side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered it was open. “Hey,” I announced to the technician, “It’s open!” “I know,” answered the young man, “I already got that side.”

I love what was written at the bottom of the e-mail:  STAY ALERT! They walk among us… and the scary part is that they VOTE and REPRODUCE and our enemies know it!!!

See the handsome little man above?  His name’s Theoneste and I love that little face now as much as I did when I first saw it on January 2nd.  Isn’t he a doll? Look at his little shoulders?

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to do more for those who can’t do more for themselves. My heart has a particular heaviness for children who are in need, so I spent New Year’s Day researching children’s charities and organizations.  After doing my homework, I decided that World Vision was perfect.  My family is sponsoring the little angel above (Theoneste).  We got our “welcome kit” yesterday with pictures, a magnet, a cd, and lots of fascinating information.  There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be sponsoring more children or even a family. 

Please don’t think I’m bragging - I have no reason to brag, whatsoever.  It was foolish of me not to have done this years ago.  If I had started sponsoring children, say 10 years ago - how much good could have already been done?   I can’t even think about that - it makes me uncomfortable in my skin.  I also don’t want to mentally calculate the money I spend on exotic coffees and teas, only to realize the impact that same amount of money could have on someone else’s life.

As we sit in our comfortable homes, with our computers in front of us, a stocked refrigerator at our disposal, clean water when we need it, and more clothes than we’ll ever need - there are people in the world who must think we live like kings and queens.  Yet we complain if our sofa isn’t new or we have to get a new microwave. 

Having Theoneste’s precious face looking down at me from the bulletin board in the kitchen does more than just keep my thoughts in perspective. It reminds me that we’re all under God’s loving eye and that we should look after one another.  Children are a gift from God, whether they’re the children in the next room (currently playing her music way too loud!), or the children in a village in Rwanda.  As adults, shouldn’t we do everything in our power to improve the lives of these little ones?

I would urge you to visit World Vision.org or a similar organization, but I have a feeling you’re already headed in that direction.  If that’s the case, you’re about to begin an adventure that’ll touch your life as deeply as it does the child on the other end.

Jesus said, “…whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” - Matthew 18:5 (NIV)

A week ago, I had the supreme pleasure of reading an e-book, When Money Talks, Listen! by Rich Ezzo. It took only about an hour to read, and that included one trip to the coffee maker and about 10 distractions from Alexa (our cat) who knows she’s the center of the universe.  Just try telling her differently.

I’m not a person who sits still well, so I actually began reading with every intention of bookmarking the pdf and finishing later in the day.  However, I didn’t realize just how pulled into the delightful fiction I would become.  I finished it in one sitting and loved every minute

When I first received a copy, I thought it was a Get Rich Quick-type of publication.  Nothing wrong with Getting Rich Quick or any other way, mind you - but my mind just doesn’t chase after dreams of wealth.  It has grand plans, mind you, which include saving the world, but I’m not a wealth chaser.  I figure that if God ever wants me to be rich, He knows where to find my purse. 

Needless to say, when I began reading When Money Talks, Listen!, I was overjoyed to find that Rich Ezzo isn’t money hungry either.  He, too, is hungry for things far more important than money.

I absolutely love this e-book.  Why wait a week to write the review?  Simple.  I wanted to see if the impact it had on me was a keeper.  After reading the last word of the e-book, I totally agreed with the subtitle which promised to forever change the way we thought about money.  I had so many thoughts running around my mind that I had to install a stop light to stop some while others made their way into the picture - then you yield them as a few new ones arrived in town.  I had a mental traffic jam, which only goes to show how slow the traffic usually is.

It has been a week and the impact is the same.  I truly do look at money differently and have even done a few things differently this week.  This is an e-book you’ll want to read, I guarantee it.  I often recommend books to my daughters, and this is one that I didn’t just “suggest” - I left it open at the bottom of the computer and told each one, “Read it, you’ll love it.”  Like a lot of the meals I fix for them, I didn’t tell them how good it would be for them, just how good it was!

I honestly don’t want to give anything, whatsoever, away about this story, simply because I want you to have the same experience I did.  The e-book is less than $10 and will take only about an hour to read.  As I’ve said many times on this blog as well as other blogs I publish, I would never recommend anything I didn’t wholeheartedly stand behind.  Whether it’s a movie (Sweeney Todd), an author (Dean Koontz), a drink (Panera Bread’s Iced Green Tea), a cause (World Vision), or a way of life (Starbucks) - I would never point someone in a direction I wouldn’t go myself.  More telling than that, I’d never recommend something to my readers that I wouldn’t recommend to my daughters. 

I urge you to visit the author’s web site, Myster Money, and to download the e-book.  You won’t regret it.  When you finish the story, keep scrolling (or, better yet, print it out), there are several cool things you’ll want to check out, including lessons that pertain to the story.

We all need more unexpected, life-challenging surprises in our life - they keep us on our toes and keep life interesting.  This is one of those special little treats that’ll honestly help you start your year off right.  You may even get a head buzzing traffic jam in the process. 

One last word, get the e-book. 

One of the things I enjoy most about seeing movies with my family is the opportunities they open up for conversation.  Juno certainly provides its share of conversation starters and thought sparks.   My daughters and I mulled over a few of them after seeing this adorable movie.  

I’ve said it, like a gazillion times, but there are lessons to be learned everywhere you go and everywhere you look.  You just have to have your eyes, mind, and ears open.  For most people, it’s the second one that trips them up.  They cross out mind and replace it with mouth.  Unfortunately, a closed mind and an open mouth will never learn anything.  People like that just don’t realize that if they’d close the right one and open the other, they’d open more than their mind - they’d open up a whole new world.

I just wandered off my path and out into the wilderness, didn’t I?  My bad.

In the movie, Juno learns that she (at 16) is pregnant.  Even worse, she has to break the news to her dad and step-mom.  Each character is forced to face and deal with something they never wanted to face and, most definitely, never wished to deal with.  But they went about it in a way that I think we could all learn from.

None of the characters gave high fives or chest bumps in honor of the occasion, of course.  Each, in their own way, made their displeasure known.  However, they also didn’t harp on the past. They realized that what has been done has been done - you can’t very well go back and undo it.  You have to keep your mind and heart in the moment and take care of what (and who) needs you there.  Not only is it the mature approach, it’s the only one that’ll be of any service to anyone.   

Faced with similar news, most parents, in real life, would scream, “What were you thinking?!?!” at their daughter.  They’d beat her over the head with how disappointed they are in her, how she let them down, ruined her life, and destroyed their world all in one fell swoop.  None of which, of course, helps anyone.

Basically, I think most parents would spend far too much time in the past (when it happened) than they would in the present or the future - both places where their child needs them more than ever.

In a way, we’re probably all guilty of that sort of approach, irregardless of the news or situation.  We get far too hung up on what has already happened:  Delving out blame, guilt trips, “why me’s” pity parties, etc.  None of which any of us wear very well.  The past is the past is the past is the past.  If it has happened, it’s too late to address it! 

It might not be very pleasant to think about (as a mother of 3 girls - believe me, I know!), but ask yourself, “If I were in the position the parents in the movie were in, what would my reaction be?”  Would you…

• Hug your child and hold her close - telling her that everything will be okay? Would you remind her that part of being human is making human mistakes - and that, yes she made one, but that it didn’t cost her your love or, even, your respect.
• Scream until you’re both crying?  Would you keep shining the spotlight on what caused the situation - as though she didn’t realize it?
• Crumble into a heap of “Where did I go wrong?”s, making certain that your daughter knows you’re 100 percent disappointed in her.

The problem is, most would go the route of #2 or #3.  Given anywhere between a couple of hours and a couple of days, they’d make their way up to #1.  But, by then, a lack of maturity and self-control has already said and done a world of harm.

I’m, by nature, a very humble person.  There are very few things that I get anywhere near arrogant about.  Cooking, yes - I’m a cocky cook…a very cocky cook, in fact!  But I do believe myself to be a very good mother.  I’m extremely proud of my girls and can think of only a few things I would have ever done differently.  I would, without a doubt, hug my girl and let her know she was still my girl and always would be.  I would bite my tongue until it bled before I ever said anything that would add to her pain.  Words can never be taken back, and they have a way of lingering in memories forever.

Yes, I consider myself a very good mother but I’m just as guilty as anyone of expecting too much from my daughters.  We parents want nothing but the best for our children - nothing but A’s on report cards, nothing but compliments from teachers and bosses, nothing but cookie cutter perfect boyfriends or girlfriends, etc.  When reality hits and a C rolls along, a child is called a “class clown,” and a mutant hellion comes to take your beautiful little girl to a movie…it’s up to us to act like the adults that we are.

Sometime today, just ask yourself if you’re the sort of husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, boss, employee, friend (whatever!) that someone could come to with anything.  Do you keep your head in situations that don’t suit you or does it explode right off your neck? 

If you’re the sort who explodes, then returns to the scene of the melt down to pick the pieces up later, consider working on that. Save yourself and everyone else a lot of grief by skipping the bad and going straight to the good next time.  No one is ever, ever, ever too old to change.  Too stubborn?  Absolutely.  But never too old. 

Remember, when you work on yourself and your relationships - you’ll be as big a winner as anyone.  Work on becoming the FIRST person people want to come to when they need help, not the LAST one. 

Emily, Stephany (daughters 1 and 3) and I went to see Juno last night. I expected it to be good - but I had no idea just how good. I loved every single minute of this delightful movie, from the adorable opening sequence to the closing credits.  

As I’ve said before, I have a total fascination with words - whether they’re on a cereal box, shampoo bottle, Scrabble board, e-mail message, CNN.com, or in a Dean Koontz novel….. I’m right there delighting in their song and dance.  So, this movie, with it’s amazingly brilliant and witty dialogue had me on the edge of my seat.  My ears haven’t been that happy since the last time I listened to my favorite Motown CD. 

Ellen Page (Juno) is one of the reasons I’m so in love with this movie.  The 20ish year old Canadian is simply amazing, all 5′1″ of her.  She’s a breath of fresh air in Hollywood - a town that was long, long, lonnnnggg overdue for freshness of any kind.  Ellen Page is the next Keira Knightley and watching her career sholud be pretty exciting.

Michael Cera, who plays her friend Bleeker is also adorable.  The entire movie is perfectly cast with flawless performances by J.K. Simmons as Juno’s dad (he was also Buffalo Bill Cody in Hidalgo), Olivia Thirlby, Allison Janney, Jennifer Garner (who reminds me a great deal of one of my favorite actresses on the planet, Julia Roberts) and Jason Bateman.

I think the language and suggestions are a little past the film’s PG-13 rating.  In fact, as we were leaving, I double-checked the poster to make sure I hadn’t been seeing things - yep, PG-13.  Another woman exiting in front of me did the same thing.  I’m not uptight about language or things like that…but, 13?  That seems a little young for a movie like this.  But that’s just my opinion.  Then again, with the language used on MySpace, in IMs, in school, and on TV - there probably isn’t anything in this movie that’s exactly new to most 13 year olds.  Now I’m getting depressed.

At any rate, if you’re looking for a very enjoyable movie - you won’t go wrong with Juno.  Even the music is incredible!  I can’t wait for the soundtrack, the songs were as delicious as the dialogue.

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.  - Calvin Coolidge

We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history. - Sonia Johnson

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. - Harriet Beecher Stowe

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination. - Tommy Lasorda

Determination is the wake-up call to the human will. - Anthony Robbins

If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I’d still swim. And I’d despise the one who gave up. - Abraham Maslow

When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream. - Paulo Coelho

I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened. - Wilma Rudolph

So….what are you determined to do?  The only real question that remains is this:  Are you determined enough?  If you are, then congratulations are in order - you’re halfway there!

More Quotes About Determination

Lemonade Tin Sign
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My grandmother often used the saying, “Take the lemons that life gives you and make lemonade.” When I was younger I always thought it was something that grandmothers were required to say - one of their peppy little mantras. I was certain that my own grandmother came up with this particular mantra and I remember being shocked when I read the line in a book. I hope I didn’t look at the cover to make sure she didn’t write the book, but I’m not promising anything.

I took this old saying out of the attic this morning and dusted it off. To be very precise, I dusted it off at 5:14 am - when our 18 year old cat, Prissy, woke me up. She normally wakes me up around 7:00, but occasionally she mistakes the 5 for a 7 and I begin my day when the Clampetts begin theirs. As I stumbled toward her Whiska’s cat food, trying to put my fuzzy pink houseshoes on along the way (it makes it tougher when you can’t find where you misplaced your feet) - it occured to me, “I’ve wanted to start getting up earlier….Prissy actually did me a favor rather than a grave injustice.” When I bent over to pet her head - which I found with more ease than I did my own feet - she was purring as though she all ready knew it.

That’s when I went to my mind’s attic for the lemony quote - right before I did my morning yoga. Prissy’s younger sister, Alexa (3), was so interested in the movements of the pink houseshoes that she forgot entirely about eating. After 30 minutes, I had my coffee, checked my e-mail, put the living room back together (a 19 year old watching tv late at night can have the effect of a tornado), updated a site, read the morning news, and glanced at the clock. It was the time I normally would have been getting up. Awesome! I felt like I’d really gotten away with something - as though perhaps I’d outsmarted that old fox, Father time.

Sometimes the things we’re absolutely certain are bad turn out to be good in disguise. We were living a comfortable, cozy life in New Albany, Indiana years ago - my husband, our daughters, and our cats. We were renting a bick brick house with a yard the size of a Parking lot. Then, it became a parking lot. A mini-mall moved in, forcing us to move out. At the time it seemed like it was the worst thing possible. Our comfortable little life was uprooted and we were shaken and swirled like milkshake in a blender!

 What seemed, at the time, to be the worst thing that could have happened to us proved to be the best thing that could have happened to us. We went on to see things, do things, and experience things that we never, ever would have done if our comfortable little life hadn’t been shaken. We would have stayed comfortable and would have missed SO MUCH! If Miss Prissy hadn’t come calling this morning so early - I would have stayed comfortable, but I would have missed so much. Being comfortable isn’t all it’s cracked up to be - it simply doesn’t lead anywhere worth going.

The next time life (whether it’s in the form of an elderly cat you love with all your heart or a mini mall that covets your front yard) takes you out of your comfort zone, smile the biggest smile you have in your R’epertoire. After all, when you’re given a ticket for an exciting ride, shouldn’t you have a smile on your face?