Fo Sho!

Tell everyone you know: "My happiness depends on me, so you're off the hook." And then demonstrate it. Be happy, no matter what they're doing. Practice feeling good, no matter what. And before you know it, you will not give anyone else responsibility for the way you feel -- and then, you'll love them all. Because the only reason you don't love them, is because you're using them as your excuse to not feel good.

--- Abraham

Lots of Fun Things.....

So, today is some pretty fun stuff. Some stuff I would to love blow off studying for. See if you don't agree.

The Magic 8 Ball! Who doesn't love this? I bet I've asked that thing a bazillion times "Will I be rich?" and "Will he ask me out?" I would shake it and shake it until I got the answer I wanted. God, if only life could actually be like that....

Corona with a lime, please. That's another thing I've said about a bazillion times. Always a treat. And usually gets me in trouble.

I just threw this in for nostalgic reasons. My Grandma Hensley had this adorable miniature tea set in her curio cabinet and I LOVED it. While my cousins were being obnoxious and loud, I would get out that little tea set and play with it for hours. It was lovely. I mean, it had pink flowers on it, for crying out loud. Who wouldn't love that?! Plus, it was TINY! When my grandma died, guess who got the tea set? It's packed away....my boys would not appreciate its value. But every time I pull it out, I still can't believe I own it.

The beach at Lake Michigan in Chicago. It's really a crappy little beach and usually cold and windy but it's definitely happenin'.....a place to see and be seen. Laurie, Stephanie and I spent some time there when we were in training at United.

And who doesn't love the cool side of the pillow?

Damn, I Lost a Follower and Duke Lost. On To Better Things....

My bracket for March Madness is officially shot. I had Duke going all the way and they lost. Bummer. BUT one good thing for today: I sat down and really concentrated on teaching myself the Microbiology that I need to know for the test next week and I got through one whole page of the four page study guide without pulling out my hair. That's a miracle.

Here's some happy stuff to start your day off right:

Filet mignons wrapped in bacon. Can't have this very often but it's an honest to God orgasm for your mouth.

Strawberry shortcake. The for real kind....with real "Bisquick" shortcake. And go figure....parts of it are actually good for you!

And here's a look back at the cars that I had that were my favorites: a beautiful little Mustang GT convertible (with BKINI-1 on the license plates). It was a man magnet. (wink, wink)

and my green Jeep Cherokee that Rich got for me. Loved that car. I had it when the kids were babies and it was so perfect. I didn't have to drive one of those stupid mini-vans (well, at least not for awhile; eventually Rich did make us trade for one). I was cool driving a Jeep.

Good Place to Study

So I'm searching and searching for the perfect spot to study and I haven't found it yet. It's got to be relatively quiet (or at least peaceful), have a comfortable chair, good lighting, caffeine available, open late and safe parking. I'm just not finding my criteria yet. But tonight I had two major tests to study for and I had to compromise or else I would just be driving around KC, looking for my perfect spot and tomorrow I would fail both tests. I ended up at Starbucks in the Village. Not so bad actually. It wasn't quiet (a really obnoxious barista that probably should've been working at Gates and a man sitting at the table down from me that droned on and on about how to compete in an Ironman competition...way TMI!), it wasn't a comfortable chair (although after the old bags left from their book club ***rollling my eyes****, I was able to snag an armchair), the lighting was just okay, it was open only until 10....but it was a safe place and there was definitely caffeine. Hey, two out of 6 will just have to do.

Fragrance Day

Or, in other words, danger, danger: You are about to enter the girly-girl zone. I swear to you I'm not making up these holidays and Fragrance Day just seems tailor made for women. I wore Love's Baby Soft when I was a teenager then I switched to Halston, which I wore for years! I tried Beautiful for awhile and have now been stuck on Warm Vanilla Sugar from Bath and Body Works. I've heard Amazing Grace by Philosophy is nice so I'm wanting to try it.

Now on for the other girly-girl stuff. All my happy things are pret-ty girly today. Don't say you haven't been warned!

I love decorating magazines. I practically drool over the picture perfect houses. ****Sigh**** In my next life, I guess.

I adore little love notes. Most of mine consist of Post-Its. Rich has never been much of a writer but I swear he gives the most romantic cards....plus, once in awhile, he writes me a little Post-It. I keep every single one.

The fountains in Kansas City make me happy. I sometimes feel like we live in Europe what with all the fountains. This is probably the prettiest one, although a bit showy. Doesn't matter though....they certainly make for a pretty hometown.

And, this is kind of a take on the decorating magazines. I'm a sucker for glass kitchen cupboards. Of course, mine wouldn't have all those beautiful white dishes. Mine would show my plastic Mizzou cups....hahaha.

International Earth Day

And as far as planets go, this is my favorite one.

My happy list for today:

Rainbows.....and since I'm always posting pictures, I might as well go for the gold with a double rainbow. One of the prettiest things ever and, just think, the people who live in Hawaii see these almost daily. That was one of my favorite parts of visiting Oahu.

Most people love seashells. I've seen enough tacky tourist shops lining the beaches where you can buy seashells cheap, cheap, cheap that they no longer hold any allure for me. But sea glass....quite the opposite. Look at those gorgeous colors. And when you think it just started out as broken glass and the magic of the ocean waves made it so smooth....it kind of amazes me.

And, church bells.....the first morning after moving to Westwood, I heard church bells and they made this place feel like home. Lovely. If I'm in the middle of conversation and I hear church bells, I stop talking. And just listen.

Today is Poultry Day!

And I love me some fried chicken! (Betcha didn't know that I'm black, did ya?)

Today's happy things:

My Easy Bake Oven! It took about three hours for that little light to bake that 3 inch cake but I didn't care. It was my little cake and I MADE it!! I'm sure my mom sold it in a garage sale or something because as a mom, those ovens are a colossal pain in the ass. But for a little girl who loves to bake, it was heaven.

My Kansas City Chiefs, who I have loved for decades. (Jeez, that sounds like a long time). I dated some of them, I partied with others. I've had free tickets. I've had season tickets. And my love for them is never fair weather. In fact, when I was based in Denver and my supervisor asked me if I wanted to be considered for Denver Broncos charters, I told him how loyal I was to my Chiefs. Rich and I planned our wedding around their schedule. Our groom's cake was a Chiefs helmet and our wedding reception video is set to Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll, Part Two. I guess it's safe to say I'm a die hard fan. They've definitely made me cry a time or two. But you will always find me cheering them on and hoping for a 1969 repeat.

My very favorite Broadway show is Rent (although I actually saw it in London) and my very favorite song is Seasons of Love. How could you not love a song that says" Five hundred, twenty five thousand six hundred minutes; how do you measure, measure a year? In daylight, in sunrise, in midnights, in cups of coffee"? ***Sigh****

Hey, You Non-Followers: I Can Promise You That Reading This Will Make You Happy

Every time I see a house that has red geraniums in terra cotta pots on the porch, I want some too. But, I have the least greenest thumb of all green thumbs. Gardening is actually kind of dirty and I don't like to get dirty. However, for the sake of making my house a little prettier, I may do this in a few months. It's pretty.

A bowl of chili on a cold day is a warm your tummy treat. Not the chili in this picture....it looks a little too vegetabley in my opinion but MY chili recipe....well, that's a horse of a different color. MY chili rocks! And my guys love it too. I think chili with saltine crackers is a day changer.

Crossword puzzles always remind me of my grandma. She can do the hardest of the hard ones. I can do the Kansas City Star ones (which I don't think are the hardest but still.....) They say if you tax your brain every day, it will keep you from getting dementia. So between nursing school and the occasional crossword puzzle, I think I'm good.

Finding old junk that still looks pretty is one of my favorite things. Treasure hunting!

And, last but not least, one of my all time favorite things in the WHOLE world is the delightful experience of going to Nordstrom. Always beautiful things, lovely displays and the BEST customer service anywhere. And that's coming from the queen of customer service so you can bank on it...

More Favorite Things:

I really like to receive food gifts....baked bread, fun little snacky things, candy, cookies, popcorn tins. Doesn't really matter what kind of food; it's always the perfect gift. If I don't like it, I can serve it the next time I have guests. Plus, I have teenagers so they'll always wolf it down. I don't have to dust it or return it because it's the wrong size. It never gets re-gifted and it never goes to the thrift store!

I love poinsettias at Christmas! They're so festive. I don't ever splurge on them for myself....I wouldn't want to have to throw them away when they wilt. But I love seeing them at church. One time before Ruth died, she bought some for me. I was thrilled.

Broiled fish with butter and lemon is yum, yum, yummy. The fact that it's good for you gives it even more points. (Well, maybe not the butter part but we'll ignore that for now).

And here's one of the biggest things I daydream about. SOMEDAY having a house that is this organized. Looking at these pictures gives me the kind of goosebumps that other people get from looking at the Grand Canyon! I live with three boys and they do not understand the concept of "everything in it's place". But maybe someday......