scattergories

My wedding showers (we split it into two because my extended family is so big) were this weekend and my sisters outdid themselves with their awesomeness.

For me one of the highlights was when we were playing Scattergories on Saturday night. For those of you who have never played I will quickly explain... you are given a list of categories and a letter (chosen at random) and you have to come up with a word to go in each category.

My sister made the categories be bridal themed so we had such things as:

Something old
Something new
Place to get engaged
Alternative to champaign to toast with
etc.

So you are given the list, then you are given the letter that your answer must start with and then you are given three minutes to come up with your answers. But you want your answers to be unique because if anyone puts the same thing as you, you both have to cross it off and don't get a point for it.

My sister Chestra's husband, Brian, walked in to the room in the middle of the round while we were all silent and had our heads bent over our papers and goes, "So this is what you guys do at these things!" because it looked like we were all seriously taking a test!

My favorite category/answer was "Alternative to a bouquet that the bride can walk down the aisle carrying" and our letter was L.

What would you put?

I put lemons. Other people put licorice, lingerie, lollypops and lightbulbs. We all decided that a glowing bouquet of lightbulbs would be pretty cool.

But my favorite answer was my Aunt Linda who put down "little puppy."

Oh my god! I now want to walk down the aisle carrying an adorable little puppy dog! How cute would that be?!?!

america is pretty awesome

I'm not always in love with everything my country does, but I will say... living in America ROCKS!

I just was reading about the Afghan girl from National Geographic.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/index-text

And it made me think (again) about how easy my life is. I mean, I can find things to complain about in my life, but my life is soooo easy.

My mom has cancer... but she has easy access to top notch medical treatments.

My shoulders hurt... from playing volleyball... not from working in the fields all day.

I weigh more than I would like... because I have access to all the food in the world that I could possibly want and money to pay for it.

My little apartment won't hold all my stuff... where to start with this one... my warm, comfortable, with running water, electricity, plumbing, heat and air conditioning that does not have vermin in it, apartment does not have room to hold my oodles and oodles of useless stuff that I have simply to pamper myself, not things that I need to survive. Boo hoo.

The girl in the story is sad because she never got an education. She doesn't know how to read or write. Reading and writing are probably my favorite activities in the entire world. I honestly can't even wrap my head around what life would be like if I couldn't read. Sure, some of us are better or faster readers than others... but to not be able to do it at all??

And the girl in the story is not allowed to even look, let alone smile, at a man that is not her husband. I think of all the wonderful interactions I have with men, that are not Michael, and how sad if I couldn't talk to them and joke around with them.

This stuff is really still going on in the world today.

Thank you, Universe, for this easy life. I will take full advantage of it as my way of thanking you.

zits

I'm thirty-two years old and I still get pimples. Not nearly as bad as it used to be, but they are still there. When will they go away? Well, if my 70 year old mother who still gets them is any indication, then never.

But I was thinking about the question that people often ask which is "what is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?" And I don't usually have a good answer. Either A) I don't get embarrassed very easily or B) I have blocked them all from my memory!

But my zit today reminded me of a very embarrassing moment I once had...

It was in sixth grade and a boy I had a huge crush on was staring at me and I was super excited and he came over to talk to me and I was even more excited and he goes, "Your zit is bleeding on your cheek."

OMG!!! Sixth grade was hard!

fears

While I will do it on occasion, I do not enjoy swimming in open water. Pools are fine. Murky water where I can't see two feet away from me, let alone the bottom, is not fun.

And I have gotten lots of grief for this. That's okay.

I don't like swimming with fish.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/maryland-offering-200-gift-cards-dead-snakehead-fish-163943568.html

And sometimes when I see articles like this one, I think I am right and everyone else is wrong. Do you really want to be in the water with one of these things?!?!

They can survive on land for four days! That's just not right!

No thanks.

not doing too bad

I just read a yahoo! news story about a woman that got drunk at a wedding and ended up fighting with the bride because the woman refused to stop slow dancing with the new groom. She ended up arrested.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/drunken-wedding-guest-arrested-slow-dances-groom-brawls-204214485--abc-news-topstories.html

Um... yeah, so I may have been drunk and stupid many times in my life but at least I've never had it make yahoo! news!!! So I've got that going for me!

problems

Okay, the quote that I was looking for that led to the last post was the one about how "If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back."

I think it is really true. Why is that? Are we just used to our problems and know that we can handle them (because we HAVE been handling them) and therefore they are less scary than someone else's problems?

Who is to say which problem is the worst? Is having an abusive husband worse than having extreme agoraphobia? I mean, I wouldn't want either, but having never experienced either, I can't say which is worse.

I don't think they can be compared. Which is good. Because it isn't a competition. Sometimes it seems like it is. You hear one person say something crappy that happened to them and the other person tries to top it.

Are we trying to be empathetic? Letting them know that they are not alone in having problems? Are we just sharing our problems to get the sympathy because we feel that will help us?

All I know is that no alien race will ever be able to understand humans, because humans don't even understand ourselves.

I'm just in this weird state of mind lately where I feel like I don't have any problems.

Don't get me wrong, bad stuff still happens, but I can easily deal with it and thus it doesn't feel like a problem. And it isn't that I don't care. I do. I care a lot.

So I was sitting here thinking about what "problems" I have...

- I have debt

- I have an unreliable income based on commissions so on days like today when I have no clients, I don't make any money, which makes it hard to budget and pay off bills

- my mom is not in great health, though she is currently cancer free so I'm not complaining

- Mike's mom is not in great health, she had surgery yesterday but it went well so I am not complaining

- I watch my friends and family struggle with things/jobs/people that make them unhappy, but for the most part, that is their struggle, their life, their thing that THEY need to do something about, not me- and I know it will all work out

- I get cold sores on my upper lip- total pain in the butt, however it is mostly manageable

- I get frustrated that I can't turn the stories in my head into wonderful stories on the page

- I don't always like my boobs and my body- but a lot of times I do

- I'm not very good at sticking to a diet and then I get mad at myself

- I can't afford amazing vacations, a car, cable, a dog or a nice apartment... but those are all sort of extra things that would be nice, not necessary things to make me happy

- I don't have a good singing voice, which doesn't really deserve to be on this list, but it is the one thing I would magically change about myself

But other than that, I totally am loving my life. All those things are easily made up by these things....

My anti-problems:

-my small, little apartment feels safe and "like home."

- I absolutely adore my fiance and he treats me really well

- I have a job that I love

- I have friends that I love

- I love my family and they are super supportive

- I love Mike's family and they get along well with mine

- I'm smart

- I'm athletic

- I'm attractive

- I have the world's best chef as a fiance

- I'm self confident

- books--- they make everything better! And I'm a good reader

- I no longer have depression

- I'm able to pay my bills on time and have a roof over my head and food on the table and everything is copacetic

- I'm good at finding things to laugh and smile about every single day

So, there you have it. I'm sure some more real problems will crop up again in the future. So thank you, Universe, for this little reprieve.

50 life lessons

I was searching for a specific quote today and my googling brought up this list, which I liked and always find to be a good reminder:

50 Lessons Life Taught Me

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s not OK to get angry with God even if He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is—–about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never—–blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
20. It is never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare and then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this—–matter?”
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in—–touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or—–didn’t do.
35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.