Thursday, October 18, 2007

HOPE


Hi All, so today I was driving in the car and a Tim McGraw song came on. I am not one to listen to Country usually but it was on a mainstream channel so I listened. There was a part of this song that really got me, and it was something like "I hope you get the chance to live your life like you are dying." These words resonated with me and made me think about them for most of the rest of the day. Why is it that it tends to be human nature to put off our goals and dreams or the things we want to do in life, until we are given a death sentence and then suddenly it becomes important to try to do all these things? I thought what about doing these things now, while I still can! So I am issuing a challenge to you my friends and family to join me in what I call "10 in 10"! Here is how it works- come up with 10 things you want to do before you die. Then for the next 10 years try to cross one of those things off your list each year. No worries if you dont do one every year. I will go first. Here are my 10 (in no particular order):

1. Have another Baby
2. Renew my Wedding Vows
3. Run a Half Marathon
4. Sky Dive
5. Take a Hot Air Balloon Ride
6. Spend a weekend in New York City (again- it has been too long)
7. Go to Europe
8. Get really fit
9. Take some cooking classes
10. Take my children to Disney

Go ahead- join me! Send me your list if you decide to do it, so I can see what you want to do. There is no failing here. It is just an attempt to get us thinking about living in the here and now and going after our goals and dreams while we still can. If you do that, you have already succeeded!


Speaking of hope I am almost done with the book A Million Little Pieces from James Frey. I dont care that some or a lot of the book are embellished and ficitional. The man had a story to tell that he thought would help people. He tried to sell the book as fictional at first but it was turned down 17 times. It wasn't until he sold it as a memoir that someone would publish it. This book helped hundreds of thousands of addicts get hope that they too could overcome their addictions. That should be the focus of the book and not whether some parts were embellished. This book is gut wrenching and a page turner and shocking to say the least. If you have ever had to deal with addiction yourself, or have a family member or friend who has, I suggest you read it. It may answer a lot of your questions about how the inner mind of an addict works. Even if you haven't been touched by addiction in anyway, it is an incredible read. I literally cant put it down. I recommend it if you have time.

Bye for now all! Can't wait to get your 10 in 10 lists! Go ahead! What do you have to lose?

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

I Love You Mama!!


Ok so the other night I am talking to my brother Joe (who will always be Joey to me). He was telling me about my nephew Justin and how he just couldn't wait till Justin was old enough to say "I Love You Da-Da!". It was so sweet and I thought about how cool it will be when Ella can do that too! Every parent's dream I bet!

Well later that same night I go to put miss Ella into her crib. She has fallen asleep having her bedtime bottle and I was expecting her to just hit the pillow and go right out like she usually does. But as soon as she was in her crib she flipped on her stomach and started crawling over to the side of her crib with a big smile on her face. I walked over to the crib put my hands on the crib rail and rested my chin on my hands just watching her as she climbs up to standing, all excited. I smiled back and asked her in a soft voice "What are you doing honey? It's bedtime- aren't you sleepy?" Just then, she leans in and plants the biggest sloppiest kiss on my mouth, giggles and the grabs my face and leans in to give me another one.

It was just about the cutest damn thing I ever saw. I kissed her goodnight and laid her back down in her crib and walked out with the biggest smile on my face. My husband asked me why I was smiling like that and I responded "Ella just said 'I Love You Mama'!"

Although she can't say it yet, her kiss said it all, and it was just as good as my brother described!!