Proud Mom?

Most of you know we treat our dog, Dusty, like our child and show him off to all of our friends when they come over. His repertoire of tricks has grown to sit, lay, roll over, spin, play dead, be cute, high-five, crawl, shake, kisses, and stay. As a proud mom... ugh I mean pet owner, I thought he was quite a smart little pet... until I saw this video. Now teaching Dusty to wipe his paws when he comes in the door from the backyard doesn't seem so impossible anymore. Maybe he needs music...

The Ant and The Grasshopper

Here is my political commentary for the week. Two different versions of the same story, with two different morals.

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VERSION 1

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away..

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

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VERSION 2

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.  America is stunned by the sharp contrast.  How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green...' 

ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight. Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Chris Matthews that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn’t maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood.

The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

Weekly Gratitude

I am grateful this week for ...

• Weekends. The weeks at work are long. 
• The option to choose wisely where we spend our money. So fortunate.
• A husband that fills all of my relationship voids. One day he is my best friend, the next my best role model, and the next my compassionate soulmate.
• Time. Time to dream. Time to change. Time to fail. Time to live.
• An active mind. God blessed me with a curious need to learn and absorb information.

I acknowledge that I take these things for granted each and every day and am fully aware that there are many people in this world that do not share my same gratitudes from which God has given me happiness. What are you grateful for today? Much, I am sure!

Be Careful When Pulling Out. . .

Pause my music playlist to hear this video clearly. After watching this video, well you'll see...

Welcome Paisley!

Sorry for the lack of posting, a lot has happened so far this week, and it's only Wednesday. Between my wreck on Monday, stuff going on at home, and stuff going on at work, my plate is beyond full right now, so this is going to be a pretty dry week as far as blog posts go.

Our friends Jill and Asher had a beautiful baby girl, Paisley Britan Lewis. We got to see her at the hospital, but went to see her again tonight and got some pictures this time! So precious.

Weekly Gratitude

I am grateful this week for ...

• Having a family. 2 parents and 2 siblings.
• Childhood VBS memories. Jesus loves me this I know...
• A dog that sheds (versus a dog that eats my shoes, or sheds and eats my shoes).
• Great friends. Once you have great friends you realize what that really feels like.
• Life and death. Without life we would have no joy, no family, no friends. Without death we could not get to Heaven.

I acknowledge that I take these things for granted each and every day and am fully aware that there are many people in this world that do not share my same gratitudes from which God has given me happiness. What are you grateful for today? Much, I am sure!

The Happiness Project

Well, I am slowly but surely getting through this book. It has been almost 3 weeks since I started the book, which is hard to believe since I have finished 500+ page books before in just a few days. However, this book is filled with insight, so skimming over paragraphs at a time to get to the punch line really doesn't work, you will miss at least 10 punch lines along the way. So needless to say, I was wondering how much of the book I have actually absorbed without knowing it and how much I would have to read and re-read before I could knowingly recall "that thing she said about that". I was trying to explain the book to Chris and I literally had a hard time finding any words. I had to open the book and read from it to give him a good idea. My point is, I really hope some of you are inspired to read the book. To give you a little idea of what the book is all about, I went to the author's website The Happiness Project to pull up some of her material to share. Some of her best "Truths" as she calls them are listed there, so I thought I would include them here for anyone interested. The book does a really great job of illustrating each of these truths, so if you feel a little confused reading them as standalone statements, read the book! :)

Secrets of Adulthood

The best reading is re-reading.
Outer order contributes to inner calm.
The opposite of a great truth is also true.
You manage what you measure.
By doing a little bit each day, you can get a lot accomplished.
People don’t notice your mistakes and flaws as much as you think.
It's nice to have plenty of money.
Most decisions don't require extensive research.
Try not to let yourself get too hungry.
Even if you think they're fake, it's nice to celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day.
If you can't find something, clean up.
The days are long, but the years are short.
Someplace, keep an empty shelf.
Turning the computer on and off a few times often fixes a glitch.
It's okay to ask for help.
You can choose what you do; you can't choose what you LIKE to do.
Happiness doesn't always make you feel happy.
What you do EVERY DAY matters more than what you do ONCE IN A WHILE.
You don't have to be good at everything.
Soap and water removes most stains.
It's important to be nice to EVERYONE.
You know as much as most people.
Over-the-counter medicines are very effective.
Eat better, eat less, exercise more.
What's fun for other people may not be fun for you--and vice versa.
People actually prefer that you buy wedding gifts off their registry.
Houseplants and photo albums are a lot of trouble.
If you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough.
No deposit, no return.

Four Splendid Truths

First: To be happier, you have to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth.
Second: One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.
Third: The days are long, but the years are short. (click the link to see my one-minute movie)
Fourth: You’re not happy unless you think you’re happy.

Twelve Personal Commandments

Be Gretchen. (the author's name)
Let it go.
Act the way I want to feel.
Do it now.
Be polite and be fair.
Enjoy the process.
Spend out.
Identify the problem.
Lighten up.
Do what ought to be done.
No calculation.
There is only love.

And in the chapter I am reading right now, she mentions an exercise of keeping a "Gratitude Journal", just briefly listing things daily, weekly, monthly, etc. whatever you choose. It helps to remind us what we should not take for granted and what we should absolutely be happy and thankful for each and every day. With that I am planning on starting this week with an entry each Friday, via my blog. Look for it.

Finally, as I reflected on the absorption of the The Happiness Project in my life, I realized I am actually applying some of the principles unknowingly. Her first chapter involves energy. Subconsciously (not in response to the book at all!) I gave up caffeine completely. It was really easy and it feels refreshing. She also discusses the need to organize since clutter can drain you of your energy each day. Would you believe I tackled my closet! Took three bags worth to goodwill, bought a storage solution for my shoes, and moved my winter clothes to an unused upstairs closet. It changed my closet dramatically and I feel refreshed every time I open the closet door. It's the small things.

Her sixth chapter talks about relationships, which again, unbeknownst to myself I actively tried to work on as well, meeting 3 of my friends separately to catch up and get some serious face time together. It was much needed!

The book seems to be having quite a dramatic positive spin in my life at the moment (and these are just a few of the areas I can identify off the top of my head), and I am hoping as I finish the book and perhaps re-read it, it will continue to do so in a really life changing kind of way. I am a happy person, but would anyone turn down being even happier?!?!?

Oops I Did It Again

I feel like I am losing my mind. I left my wallet in the shopping cart at HEB. What's worse, it took me 2 days to realize that it was missing. Wooowee. I feel so fortunate to have had my wallet found by an honest person who turned it into the store manager, both times. Chris must feel like he is married to a toddler. It got me to thinking, and I do mean seriously thinking, that I have got to prevent this from happening again. I have gotten way to lucky to have had this happen twice at an HEB (instead of perhaps a Walmart, mall, or fast food restaurant) where an honorable employee did the right thing. Next time, God forbid there be a next time, I will not be so lucky.

My solution:

Do you think Chris will go for it? I was thinking I can bring in just my credit card & ID whenever I go shopping, and I can even clip it to my belt loop. Haha. Seriously, though, I have got to take some preventive action. I am like a loose cannon. Any other suggestions?

Friday Flickr Finds

I'm Late

HELP

Excuse me!

love note

Falling off the face of the Earth

Breathtaking

Some Cartoons For My Twisted Peeps

Ladies' Spa Night

I had a great time last night with some amazing ladies. Lindsey, I am soo sad you couldn't make it, I hope you feel better soon. Thank you for sharing your beauty products with us. You should have seen us. We were all wishing you were there explain everything to us. So much fun.

Thanks Shatawn for sharing the picture you took of me and Ashley. Next time we are going to make you guys jump in the picture with us. ; )

(P.S. My mask is melting off my face... it was an interesting feeling, but my face feels nice today, so I guess it doesn't matter what it looks or feels like.)

On The COFFEE Table...

I have always heard you can tell a lot about a person by what they have on their coffee table. Or if you don't have a coffee table, it is probably your kitchen table or nightstand. Our coffee table is full of reading material. I love to read, anything really. A good magazine, a fictional novel or series of novels, and more recently the real life application type books. I have to be honest. The latter is harder to be motivated to read. Just like the SOAP journal I started at the beginning of the year to study the Bible, there is no story line drawing you to the next chapter, keeping you on edge to find out the end of the story. Just the same, these books are by far the most helpful, productive, and well-written books that I read. I tend to read them slower and I cannot help but keep a pen in my hand and a notepad on my lap. Much like when I was in school, I feel like if I don't write something down as it hits me, I may forget it all together.

I thought I would share what's on my coffee table at the moment.

About 2 years ago, I bought the Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I started to read it but got caught up trying to sell our house and move, so it is waiting to be read again. In the meantime a movie, based on the book, will be hitting theaters in 3 days! Man I was really hoping to have the book read before then, but at this point it is looking a little doubtful.

I have also bought, but not started the new book in the Immortal Series, Dark Flame by Alyson Noel. The 4th book in at least a 5 book series. This is a fictional series similar to Twilight, but without the vampires, which I also read and loved!

And last, but not least, the book that is currently on my nightstand along with a notepad and pen. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. This memoir styled book details a one year journey a woman took to achieve happiness. My good friend Becca recommended it, and although the first few pages were overwhelming, I dove in anyways. This book is filled to the brim with exceptional advice, research backed experiments, as well as a glimpse into the real life of a normal, everyday working woman, mom, and wife who wants nothing more than to be the happiest she can possibly be in her life. I am already certain I will have to read this book several times to grasp all that she has laid out there and possibly even again if I try to apply it to my own life, which I think would be a great goal worth trying to achieve.

I would love to lend out any of these books to anyone interested. I know it can be expensive to buy books and I am all about sharing a great book. Let me know!

My New & Improved CraFt Room

Well, the light was installed last night. Woohoo. I think I thought I would have felt differently once it was up and the room was "finished", but it is still lacking a few key things that I am still pondering. For instance, I want to put a desk or storage bookcase under the window on the left, but cannot decide between a few options and what I want it to serve as. I want to reorganize the shelving and add some much needed craft storage and materials. I want to get an oversized black and white (would actually prefer a more antiqued look) world map and put it on the wall on the right. I would love to use bright colored push pins for all of the places we have visited together. I want to buy a sitting chair, possibly white or possibly a bright color to put in the first corner on the right when you walk in. A great place to read a book perhaps. Finally, I thought about painting the top of the built in desk black. Leaving the cabinets and shelves white, but painting the table top black. So, that is why when I look at the picture, I am pleased, but the word "finished" doesn't quite seem appropriate for the room, just yet.

Here's a look at the before:

Here's a look at it now:

Here are the desk/storage options I am considering under the window (all available at IKEA, and depending on the measurements of that space I might be able to narrow it down even more):

The Expedit shelves also have the option of having drawer or door

inserts. I like the mirrored doors below or leave the open shelves as is.

And a some desk options.

I can picture our kids' toys in bins in the Expedit shelf since this room is upstairs with all of their rooms. I can also picture them doing homework at a desk while Mom works on her crafts. : )

I would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and feedback!

Music Balloon

Saw this today and thought it would be really cool to have! I would really like to know how well it works. It is made by Poketo!, a company that will be featured at Target starting this month, August 2010. If anyone comes across this in the store, please let me know! You can also buy it online here.

"With one of these cute compact USB speakers, you can easily bring and share music on your next adventure. Accessorize with this sphere of funk for your next bike ride, picnic, or for a lounge at the beach. Or bring it along on your next family holiday to help lull your little ones to sleep at night."

"Livin' in Beverly Hills"

The pictures from our trip are uploaded (via my photobucket on the sidebar), but let me try to summarize some of them below so you are not completely lost in the slide show. (Also please note, of the 200 pictures I took on the trip there are maybe 10 of us and the rest are not-so-great scenery pictures, I guess photography is not my calling).

Los Angeles is ginormous and the pictures could never truly capture the essence of the city, both its beauty and its beast. It definitely has its glitz and glamour which you will see throughout my pictures, but the neighborhoods are pretty spotty and you have to remember LA has about a 14% unemployment rate and 3 different colleges, so depending on what part of town you are in, you will get a very different vibe.

We rented a car. Super fast. NOT! We got a compact, Hyundai, but it did sound fast. :)  We also got to use the bikes from our first hotel to explore the coast: Marina Del Rey, Venice, and parts of Santa Monica (which was by far the nicest of the 3). We later drove back to Santa Monica for the day and explored Malibu too. We saw one celebrity, former Lakers player, Rick Fox, while filling up at the gas station. There were a few others out and about that we heard about, but never saw, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Nicole Richie, and Ashley Simpson, to name a few. Oh well, we probably wouldn't have recognized them if we saw them out and about anyways.

Overall, we had an amazing time. The weather was a perfect 70-80 degrees throughout the day, with no clouds in sight. The shopping and food options were overwhelming to say the least. There were stores there I had only dreamed existed. If you have thought about it, there are at least 4 of those, each with a slight variation, within a 6 mile radius, including every dog shop you can imagine. There was never a dull moment.

Thank goodness for another fun filled safe trip. We are so grateful to get the time and opportunity to go on these sporadic trips together. God has truly blessed us with a common passion for exploring and taking in as much as humanly possible. Enjoy the pictures, sorry if they seem a little out of order, they probably are. I did a lot of rearranging and still had a hard time getting them in order. The captions should help.

Home Sweet Home

Los Angeles. Move there? Yes please.

Where oh where do I even start? Let's try the beginning.

I was convinced from the word "Go" that this was going to be a bad trip. I am naturally pessimistic, yes, so add on an ill-planned trip (which makes me highly anxious) and a strange place and you have the perfect recipe for something to go wrong. So there we are sitting at the gate waiting to be called to board the plane. I am staring at my boarding pass, wondering why on earth I do not have a seat assignment. I vaguely remember someone at work telling me that Southwest handles things differently. Hmmm. Okay? Well, since I am not very good at waiting patiently I tell Chris we should probably go ask the guy at the kiosk. "No I think we are okay." The nice little lady sitting next to him overhears our conversation and politely lets us know, yes, we need to go get a seat assignment. Okay, easy enough. Group C section 20. Wonder what that means? At that same moment the young man who had handed me the new boarding pass, picks up the microphone and announces, "Group A Section 1-30 will be boarding now." So I can only assume at this point we will be last to board and will take the last seats- most likely no where near each other on the plane.

Determined to make this a fun trip, I take the camera out of my bag. I am going to do a little photo blogging. It is always okay to come back from a trip with too many pictures, but it is always sad when you realize you forgot to take any along the way. I wanted to make sure we had some good pictures to look back at. Chris chuckles at me as I take a picture of my Group C section 20 boarding pass. I just thought it was something we could look back on and have a few laughs. They finally call us to board. In a rush to get everything back in my bag, my book, my cell phone, gum, my wallet, I had left the camera sitting on the seat. As I am walking down the tunnel to the plane, half moping about being last, the same little lady from earlier is running after me, camera in hand. She wasn't even boarding our flight, just trying to help me once again. I ran towards her, so grateful she saw the camera sitting there. Another lady arrived late for the flight and went into the plane right before me. "Great!" I thought, now there is no chance I will get to sit next to Chris. I searched the plane all the way to the very last row and could not find a seat. Chris had found one near the middle of the plane. "Seriously?!?!" I thought. This cannot get any worse. The flight attendant comes onto the speaker system, "Ma'am, excuse me. We have one seat left up here in business class. You will just need to keep your bag stowed above you." Okay, so maybe I had overreacted a little. I take the middle seat between 2 men. One who had been sitting beside me in the airport, an older man, probably in his eighties, and a middle aged man, probably in his fifties who reminded me a lot of my own dad. I sit down, manage to take a deep breath and sat staring forward. The flight attendant had put my bag up for me, and I was empty handed sitting in my seat. The older man next to me started to make small talk, something about a lucky break. He was nice. There was something unique about him. We ended up talking the entire flight. Three and a half hours.A good friend to the owner of the company I work for, Bud Adams. Grandfather to a guy I went to high school with. Okay, small world, but there was much more to this man. Only man from Houston in the Advertising Hall of Fame. Marathon runner (has runner over 1500 races worldwide). His wife was Miss New York in 1948. The man has never had a sip of alcohol, a cup of coffee, or any drugs or cigarettes and was in the Navy during World War II. The stories he told me and the experiences he shared were just unbelievably inspiring. I found myself wishing the flight were longer! As soon as we got off the plane I couldn't talk fast enough, relaying ever bit of the conversation that I could remember to Chris. I vowed to google him as soon as I got home, if I could remember his name that is. Earl Littman. So I did just that, and the man is a legend. After hearing all about his family, kids and grand kids included, I felt like I knew him, and after reading up on him, I actually stumbled upon his son Michael's blog.  I really hope I am not boring anyone with this story, but I felt so lucky to have sat next to him that afternoon. If you would like to read more about him, here is link to his son's blog where he outlines the lessons taught to him by his father,  House of Brand Enthusion and an excerpt from the American Advertising Federation:

After serving in the U.S. Navy medical corps in World War II, Earl Littman graduated from the Stern School (formerly New York University School of Commerce). In 1955, Littman moved to Houston and opened his own agency, Abbott & Earl, Inc., which merged with Goodwin, Dannenbaum in 1958, becoming Goodwin, Dannenbaum, Littman & Wingfield, Inc. Until January 1992, he served as Chairman of GDL&W, Inc., Houston’s oldest independent agency. During Littman’s tenure, he served many clients, including: Pizza Hut International, Midas Muffler shops, Igloo, Foley Department Stores, Gordon’s Jewelers, Helzberg Jewelers, Texaco, the Houston Astros, the Houston Oilers, and the Houston Police Department. Before being sold to Saatchi and Saatchi, Inc., the agency had a staff of 185 and annual capitalized billings over $180,000,000. Littman is founder of the “Heart & Sole” Fun Run, one of the largest charitable fun runs in the country, raising over $200,000 a year over a ten year period. In 1992, he was given the prestigious Paul Dudley White Award by the Houston Chapter of the American Heart Association for his more than 10 years of outstanding service, and was later honored with the John McMahon Award for 20 years of service to the organization. He was winner of the 1988 Silver Medal from the Houston Advertising Federation for “Man of the Year,” and the 1990 winner of the most prestigious Savvy Award, as one of three of Houston’s outstanding volunteers. Littman also created the longest running public service slogan in Houston for the Houston Police Department. The slogan, “The Badge Means You Care,” has been adopted by other law enforcement forces throughout the U.S. and Canada. In 2002, Earl conceived the idea and concept for starting the P.O.P. Broadcasting Company. The mission for P.O.P. Broadcasting is to become the world’s leading and largest wireless media network. Earl’s personal goal is to be able to change for the better the way global products and brands are marketed at retail.


I hope this helped you understand what I was feeling when I got off the plane that day. What a way to start the trip... and I was worried, ha!  Stay tuned for pics, etc. I am hoping to get those uploaded tonight after our bible study. We did not get home until 9 p.m. last night and had to eat and watch the Bachelorette, of course! : ) Check back tomorrow.