Farewell to Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou died this morning. It's such sad news to hear about losing a great writer, especially one who had very profound words. Here are a few of my favorites:

"Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option."

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story."

"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them."

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Shining Silhouettes Elegance

While iNSD is over, the fun stuff continues with a freebie from Crafty Button Designs! You can get the Shining Silhouettes Elegance free, along with a tutorial on how to use it.

Courtesy of Crafty Button Designs

This silhouette reminds me of Audrey Hepburn, whose birthday was just a few days ago (May 4th). But, I think it would also be great for a Mother's Day craft project too!

Quote from Conan O'Brien

"Go ahead. Fall down. Make a mess. Break something occasionally. Know that your mistakes are your own unique way of getting to where you need to be. And remember that the story is never over."

- Conan O'Brien

A Quote on Happiness

Courtesy of World Lifestyle

I saw this quote from Drew Barrymore today on Facebook, and thought it was great, especially with the 100 Happy Days Challenge.

Happy Birthday CZ - and a Freebie!

One of my all-time favorite designers is having a birthday today - Happy Birthday, Cathy Zielske!

When I was strictly a paper scrapper, Cathy kept me inspired with her clean and graphic design. I wanted to be CZ when I grew up. Well, for some reason, I can't seem to capture that, but I'll still keep striving for it!

And, in honor of the "spring forward" of daylight saving (I learned it had no "s" from Cathy), Cathy designed a special journaling card. Use it wisely and use it well. I know it's going into my Project Life album - one less pocket for me to fill, but still capturing the memory! ;)

New Video from Michael Buble

One of my favorite singers, Michael Buble, has a new music video out for a song that's kind of sad. Something I noted while watching--Michael looks like a young Donny Osmond in this video.

Enjoy!

A Few Christmas Favorites

Must be the sunshine or the fact that I'm feeling better that I'm much more motivated today. I finally broke out the Christmas CDs to play while I'm working. My favorite Christmas CDs? Harry Connick, Jr. and Mariah Carey. However, one of my favorite songs is by Alvin and The Chipmunks. How can you not smile when The Chipmunk Song is playing???

Oh, and speaking of Alvin and The Chipmunks, the movie is coming out on December 14th--can't wait!

So a couple of favorite Christmas things...

Peppermint bark from Ghiradelli. As you can see, I'm building up a stash for the rest of the year, when peppermint chocolate is VERY hard to find. I think I need to go back to Target and get a few more bars--on sale this week!

Here's the best part--I can leave the peppermint bark anywhere in the house, and it won't disappear until I eat it--LOL! ;)

And this one's for Victor--guess who's on my couch? (No comments from the peanut gallery!!!)

It's my favorite buddy...Snoopy! And he's all decked out in his holiday gear.

No tree yet, but I still don't know if I'm going to put one up. Anyway, I'm still celebrating Christmas in a few fun ways. Love this time of year!

Looking for a UNIQUE gift idea? Check out Signature Days. Some of the gifts are a little pricey, but definitely cool ideas!

Lastly, did you know Marisa Tomei's birthday is today? I can't believe she's 43! I'll bet George Costanza is still crying over Marisa...hee hee!

Mentalpause

I walked into the store yesterday, said hi to the gals, and told Sheri, "I have a few things to talk about with you."

Sam said, "You must be pregnant."

I looked at her in disbelief, and said, "Bite your tongue." Then we all laughed.

Sam explained that the only reason she said that was because that's what a lot of pregnant women will do--just walk in and say that they have a bunch of stuff to talk about.

That's a relief. I thought she meant I looked heavier than usual! Anyway, in my case, I only said that to Sheri because I'm forgetful!

I have to do better about writing everything down. I just finished a book from the lirbary called Mentalpause. It is hilarious! It's written by a woman named Laura Jensen Walker, who is a breast cancer survivor. The book is targeted at the over-40 years folks and is a bunch of vignettes about going through early menopause. Laura went into early menopause after her bout with breast cancer.

Anyway, the reason I mentioned that I have to write everything down is that the first chapter describes what mentalpause is:

"...it's not just menopause, it's mentalpause.
My memory is gone.
I'll be in the middle of an important conversation, start to begin a new sentence, and poof, it's vanished. Lost forever in the Bermuda triangle of mentalpause.
Or I can't remember names of common things around the house.
Like door.
Sink.
Husband.
I'll be explaining something to whatshisname, perhaps discussing a project that needs to get done, and the name of the item I'm discussing simply eludes me (although the project doesn't much to my husband's dismay).
Finally, I point at the offending object in frustration and say, 'Whatever that thing is called. You know what I'm talking about!' "

Well, at least Laura has a reason for losing her memory. I'm not even going through menopause, but yet I'm experiencing mentalpause for sure. What's MY reason????

I watched a segment recently (don't ask me when!) on The Today Show that talked about a menopause survival kit. Did you know that two of the items that you need in there are sticky notes (i.e. Post-It notes) and a lightbulb?

So you're probably asking, "Why a lightbulb?"

It's because you need more light (helps with your mood to think it's sunny), so they suggested stocking up on brighter bulbs. Hmmm...in my case, I just know that I see better when a room has more light. Blame it on my failing eyes.

As for the sticky notes/Post-Its, well, it's fairly self-explanatory. You write things down so you don't forget them!

Last night, my friend Glenn and I tried out a new Japanese restaurant. One of the discussions we had over dinner was about turning 40. We are both stressed out about it. Who knows why we have such anxiety? The one thing is that we're wasting these last few months of being 39 by stressing about aging! ;) Anyway, it's nice to be able to commiserate with someone else about the whole issue of turning another decade older. People over 40 have no sympathy, and those under 39 just think you're crazy or tease you about getting older. Yeah, nice. Oh, and the Japanese restaurant? Glenn and I both gave it a thumbs up for great food and ambiance.

On another note...guess who was guest starring on Rachael Ray today...LL Cool J! Now I think LL is totally hot. Have you ever seen his abs? Wow! And lucky me, I got to see 'em when Rachael "beat" LL at strip air hockey. LL was on the show to promote his book about getting in shape. Boy, talk about inspiration...LOL!

I leave you with this quote from Mark Twain: "When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it's a sure sign you're getting old."

Just yesterday, Sam told me she thought I was 29. I'm so in trouble!

Cluttered Desks Unite!

I saw this article link about clutter on a blog tonight, and HAD to read it. I love it! Now I don't feel so bad!!!

There seemed to be a lot of interesting news today, aside from the snow that crippled the metro area.

1. Barack Obama launched his 2008 presidential campaign today. This should be an interesting development to watch, especially since if he is elected, he would become the first black president.
2. Being a single woman is finally seen as a choice. Personally, I don't know why it took this long to figure out that it can be a choice.
3. American Idol - Season 6 kicked off tonight. First stop: Minneapolis. It's always...uh...interesting...to see the early shows. Always good for a few laughs!
4. Rachael Ray had her show renewed through 2010. Yikes! Hopefully her perkiness will die sometime soon... I've caught a few episodes here and there, but she's a little annoying. I think it's best to enjoy her on paper, via her cookbooks and the magazine!

Finally finished (i.e. glued down) the layout for one of the classes I scheduled for next month. I feel like something's missing, but not quite sure what it is. I'll have to take another look in a day or two.

Have a good night!