Tips for a better life....

Found this online, thought it was neat and wanted to pass it on -

Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant. 

Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to. 

Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

Play more games and read more books than you did in the previous year.

Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

Dream more while you are awake.

Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

Try to make at least three people smile each day.

Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

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.

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card. 

Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

Frame every so-called disaster with these words: In five years will this matter?

Forgive everyone for everything.

What other people think of you is none of your business.
 
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.

Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

The best is yet to come.

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

Do the right thing!

Call your family often.

Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed!

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.

Celebrating Christmas with vomit. Yup, that sounds about right....

Well, last week was pretty good with the exception of the Dina Martina Christmas Show. The show itself was great - the events that followed were NOT. I'm going to blame it on being "over served" by the bartender, but the night ended with Tif and I barfing in the Dick's parking lot and all over Leah's car. OOPS!!! Sorry Leah!!! So, yeah, that sucked.

News Article/Current Event -

• If only stupidity were painful.... - There really should be an IQ test administered before people reproduce. Or get vasectomies. 
• The lengths some people will go to! - Being a border patrol officer must be terribly entertaining. Or just plain terrible. I'm thinking the latter.
• 15 reasons Mr. Rogers was the best neighbor ever! - #1 & #5 are my favorite reasons. And here is a slightly related article that made me smile.
• Are you my mommy? - AWWWWWWWW!!!! Animals are so awesome!

Current Obsession - Sephora.com! I can't get enough! There was a $50 Sephora gift card under the tree for me from Mom & Dad, so I've been perusing the site all day for my next purchase. Mario bought me a train case for Christmas so I can organize all my oodles and oodles of makeup and related junk. I just need to order my Z palettes and I'll be all set! 

What I'm Looking Forward to in the Week Ahead - 

This week is looking to be pretty mellow. Not too much going on and as far as I know, we're going to have a quiet night at home for New Years. We'll see if that actually happens though! Since so little is happening in the week ahead, I thought I'd post some pictures of last weeks shenanigans....

The beginnings of the gingerbread shenanigans!

Our secret weapon was the gummy army men - they ROCKED!

We broke up into teams for the competition -
Team Wendi/Missy on the left, Team Misty/Tiffany on the right.

Christmas tree hunting 2010

He's so adorable!

Chris & Wendi with their ginormous tree!

GINORMOUS!!

Our finished tree -
Mario only took four union breaks before it was completed. ;)

We did dimsum for our Christmas office party at work.
It was delicious as usual!

Had a chicken foot and it wasn't too bad.
Would I order it again? No.

Christmas morning -
trying on the hat/scarf set my mother-in-law made for me!

Weight Update - I lost again this week, however I have a feeling when I weigh in on Friday I'll be right back to where I started. I've kind of taken December off since there has been an increase in holiday foods and a decrease in time to exercise. One more week to slack off a little and then I'm hitting it full force!

Neato Quote of the Week - If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. - Maya Angelou   

Texts From Last Night "Text of the Week" - (619) I'm downtown. Alone. Lost. Drunk. Dressed as Santa. Don't find me. I just heard someone say mechanical bull. 

And Finally, My Gripe - Someone better mark the calender, because this week I DON'T HAVE A GRIPE! Wow!!! I'm sure it will be the last week that ever happens. ;)

It's the most wonderful time of the year?

I finally made some Christmas purchases for someone other than myself today! WHOA! I know. Tif and I hit the mall last week to do some Christmas shopping and on the way out, realized we had only purchased stuff for ourselves. Not only was it for ourselves; it was entirely makeup. Bags and bags of makeup - save for Tif's nose ring purchase. We're going to give it another try on Saturday; we'll see how that goes....

News Article/Current Event -

• This story makes me so mad!! - While normally I'm a huge proponent of the police shooting people who disobey their commands, this was absolutely unnecessary and just plain sad. This cop should never be allowed to serve the public in any capacity ever again. 
• I know this makes me creepy, but I'm fascinated... - I just don't understand how someone can have so little attachment to other people in the world that no one notices they're missing. Sad. This is another case I think is intriguing.
• Hooters - restaurant or sex entertainment establishment? - Does NOW not have anything else to worry about? REALLY?! You see more skin on the beach for heaven's sake. Time to be less sensitive and use some common sense.
• Talk about an extravagant Christmas tree! - Whew! I sure am glad none of this money is going to anything useful like healthcare, the environment or world hunger. That would just be wasteful!

Current Obsession - I love, love, love this new Kevin Bacon commercial! I'm not sure why, but I find it absolutely hysterical. Maybe it's because Kevin Bacon is oddly sexy in a way you just can't put your finger on, like my other crush David Bowie. *swoon*

My other obsession this week is a show on FX called The League. It's about a group of friends that compete against each other in a fantasy football league. Now, I couldn't give a crap about fantasy football - I'm not even sure what it involves really, but this show is FANTASTIC! It's filthy, inappropriate and friggin' funny!! 

What I'm Looking Forward to in the Week Ahead - 
Friday night we're heading up to Chris & Wendi's for pizza and movie night. We're going to be watching Despicable Me and having a gingerbread house decorating challenge. Should be a great time! I thought a boys vs. girls decorating contest would be fun, but I think theirs would just end up broken and covered in black tinted frosting while they sat on the couch and ate the remaining candy....

Wendi, Tif and I are going to attempt to get some Christmas shopping done on Saturday. We have a lot of stops planned and hopefully we'll buy something for someone else this time. I'm not looking forward to dealing with the throngs of mall shoppers, so a drink or two before hand may be in order. Nothing like drunk Christmas shopping! ;) People on my gift list beware!

How could you not love this?!

And on the 23rd, my girls and I are headed down to Re-bar for The Dina Martina Christmas Show! SO EXCITED!!! It's going to be amazing and I'm super psyched to introduce my girls to the world of drag queens. As you may or may not already know, I have a serious thing for drag queens. It's one of my many quirks and I love it! Eddie Izzard, David Bowie (circa: Labyrinth), Ms. Richfield 1981 - I love them all!! Next time I head to the Cape you can bet it's going to coincide with this event.

Anyway, Dina Martina is AMAZING!! I last saw her a couple of years ago in P-town and have been trying to make it down to the Christmas Show ever since. She's by far my favorite queen!

Weight Update - Down another .6lbs this week! Surprising with all the crap I've been eating at work. The specialists keep dropping off boxes of candy, trays of cupcakes and baklava. UGH! Stupid holidays with their delicious food.

Neato Quote of the Week - If there is such a thing as a good marriage, it is because it resembles friendship rather than love. - Michel de Montaigne

Texts From Last Night "Text of the Week" - (980) When I got there he was on top of an air mattress in the middle of the pool with a bag of doritos and a 40, telling people he needed his space.

And Finally, My Gripe - This week it's about the old, fat traffic cop who directs the one and only way across the valley until the flood waters recede. You're there every year without fail and every year I think about how much you suck. Here's an idea - ALTERNATE DIRECTIONS!!! Seriously, you can run more than one direction of traffic at a time. I've seen it done! And while I truly adore sitting on the hill for 30 minutes or more every afternoon, I think it's time for you to retire.

December is flying by already!

WHEW! Last Saturday was a busy one! It was Tif's birthday, so we hit Maltby for breakfast and went Christmas tree hunting. Then we picked up Wendi and headed out to The Anchor to see Justin Hale's Band play. They were great as usual! We all know that birthdays and bars don't mix; now we also know that neither do shots and Tif. After some slight sobering up, we hit late night Chinese and karaoke. What a weird, but awesome day!


News Article/Current Event -

• Captain Awesome? Yup, that's me!! - Why didn't I think of this?! What would I even change my name to? Princess Fabulously Amazing - you should all address me as this from now on. Thanks!
• Suing over TP. Really? REALLY?! - When will the frivolous lawsuits come to an end?! The justice system; just one more thing that's absurdly wrong with this country.
• I know some ladies that will be getting one of these in their stockings!- I can't wait to be busty AND drunk! Leavenworth here we come!
• If only firebombing were legal..... - These people would be going DOWN.

Last week's bowl!

Current Obsession -
This week's obsession is a food item - Pho. Holy moly, I could eat this stuff all day, every day. We've been driving into Duvall to a little hole in the wall and snarfing down pho once a week. My new favorite is meatball with extra veggies. When they say extra veggies, they mean EXTRA veggies! It was awesome! If you've never had it, go directly to the nearest pho restaurant and order a gallon of this stuff. You'll be glad you did! Maybe I can get Mario to take me out for some tonight....

My other obsession this week MAC makeup. I adore it. I may have to get a second and third job to support my addiction, but I don't mind. It's completely worth it! Not only are the products amazing, the Nordstrom MAC employees at Alderwood Mall are the best. Their customer service is GREAT! I went in last week to grab some foundation, but they were out of the color that I needed. So, the manager grabbed three pot lip gloss sized containers and pumped them full of their sample bottle in the shade I needed. At no charge! WHOA!! I was actually a little stunned - it's hard to find customer service like that anymore. I'm a lifetime customer now, fo sho!
                            

This is what Mario thinks about stringing lights
on the tree. What a scrooge!

What I'm Looking Forward to in the Week Ahead -

Thursday night is tree decorating night. It took us three days to string the lights on that behemoth (seriously!). The hubster said we're never getting a tree that big again - I love it!  I think we'll watch "Get Him to the Greek" while we decorate. Nothing like a movie full of drinking, sex and crude humor to get us in the Christmas spirit!

I'm super excited about Friday night! I'm heading out to Issaquah for dinner with some of my high school girlies. Seems like it's been forever since I've seen them! As an added bonus, I get to lay my eyes upon Stacy's baby bump for the first time. I still cannot get over her being pregnant! She was always my "no babies!" partner in crime. So much for that now!

And finally, Sunday, we're heading down south to fix my parent's computer and hang out with granny. I think I might snatch up mom and granny while dad and Mario are working on the computer and head to the mall! You can't go wrong with a trip to the mall. I might even start my Christmas shopping. I doubt it, but maybe! I've mostly been buying stuff for myself lately. Tif and I went to the mall to Christmas shop last week and we realized on our way back out to the car that all of the stuff we purchased was for ourselves. And was entirely makeup. We had bags and bags of nothing but makeup! I'm glad my bestie shares my great love of the stuff.

Weight Update - Nothing too spectacular to report this week; still holding steady. My workouts have been put on hold with all the Christmas crap going on this month, but they should be back in full swing by January. We're turning the guest bedroom into a workout room, just need to put the bed in storage. Can't wait!! Think I might peruse Craigslist for a rowing machine.....

Neato Quote of the Week - In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. - Albert Schweitzer

And Finally, My Gripe - This week's gripe is about people in their 30's acting like children. Not even well behaved quiet children, but obnoxious whiny ones. This really only applies to one person in particular right now and they shall remain nameless. GROW UP. Good lord. I'm also a little unhappy with my cousin right now, but that's another story for another time.