Good Quotes

I tend to let these pile up in my inbox and then they get forgotten. I like saving them here because I can just tag the post as quotes and instantly get taken to them.



One of the very first things I figured out about life...is that it's better to be a hopeful person than a cynical, grumpy one, because you have to live in the same world either way, and if you're hopeful, you have more fun.

Barbara Kingsolver 
(Maybe this is why Obama laughs and smiles so much)




My greatest luxury is silence. 

—Jean-Georges Vongerichten, chef 
     (They must have had 2-year old when they said that)




Most successful people begin with two beliefs: the future can 
be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so.

David Brooks
( I don't know how it could be any other way)




When I see danger, I step away. When I think I can move forward, 
I move ahead, and when I think I can come closer, I do. Sometimes 
I am wrong, but often, if I pay attention, I am right, and these 
maps of my own instincts guide me as surely as any by Rand McNally would.

—Mary Morris
(I want to live this way more)




Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. 
It is not something physical.

Sophia Loren
    (I want to believe this more)




We should not feel embarrassed by our difficulties, 
only by our failure to grow anything beautiful from them.

—Alain de Botton
(So very true)



Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, 
because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely 
places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.

Roald Dahl
(I believe in magic, do you?)












Since I am not sleeping anyway

What is up with my insomnia? I don't even have Piper to blame. Since I have been up since 3:30am (which was 2:30 old time) and it is now 5:30 and I am still WIDE awake, I decided I might as well start on the large to-do list I've amassed for myself. Why not start with blogging?

I've noticed some random(?)traffic since I went public again. I even got a hit from Australia due to the search terms "exhude confidence". Whoever you are, I hope my post helped you in what you were looking for.

While lying on the couch not sleeping, I started thinking about my job and how I feel a bit ashamed to tell people I am "just" a banquet server. I don't think it is a huge issue for me, but it's there in the back of my mind nonetheless. So I decided I needed to do a rampage of appreciation about my job because it's really not so bad.


- I get along really well with all of my direct coworkers. I work with 5 guys in their early to mid 20s. They are a source of a lot of laughs, but they are also really intelligent so we can actually have "real" conversations. My other 2 coworkers are people I actually call friends and I don't use that term loosely. Jan is my age and a stay-at-home mom, too. She's someone I can always rely on for good advice. Tom is not someone I would have thought I would be good friends with, but I am glad that we are. He's even an occasional fishing buddy for Mike. I sometimes forget that they are my friends because I really only talk to them when I work (which can be sporadic). The beauty is that we always pick up where we left off. It's nice to have friendships that aren't based on how much you get to see each other.

- I laugh A LOT while I am work. Just last Saturday, I got to watch Colton drink 2 quarts of gravy for $45. I think the last dare of this sort was a large serving spoonful of whipped butter that had to be eaten in a short amount of time. It's amazing what some people will do for a few bucks. Later Saturday night. I got Colton, John, and Andrew to each walk behind the State Senate Majority Leader as he was being interviewed on camera by the local news. It should be on today's news and I look forward to the laugh it will give me.

- I make good money. Where else can I make $20-$30/hour at a part-time job and still have lots of fun?

- This job is a perfect compliment to me staying at home with Piper. It is also a good way to supplement my jewelry income (whenever that starts happening again).

- Part of my "shame" about my job is because I am not using my Master's degree or rather this job should be beneath someone that has a MS. Yet, the thought of having my previous job as a soil scientist almost makes me cringe. It was too serious and just too much responsibility (my decisions sometimes affected property ownership rights). Even though I was good at it, it just wasn't meant for me. I knew that before I started grad school, but I couldn't refuse the offer of someone paying me full-time as a job to go to school. I think I was at grad school for something besides a degree, but that's another story completely.

- I get a discount at most Best Westerns because I am an employee. I also get a 17% corporate discount on my Verizon bill.

- I often get to take leftover food home. London Broil, chocolate mousse cake and tiramisu were this week's bonus. I once brought home half of a prime rib.

- I generally only work nights so I don't have to pay a babysitter.

- I only have to go to the other side of the building to get a drink after work and the bar is super-nice since the remodel.

- Working there has helped me meet a lot of people in the area.

- Hearing about other people's drama in other departments makes me more thankful for life and my priorities.

OK, what was the issue I had with my job?

I've Got My Eyes on You

That's the title of my new blog intro you'll see off to the right. As most of you know, I recently made my blog private for a couple of different reasons, but it didn't feel good. I did it as a knee-jerk reaction. I've since come to terms with those things and I actually think it might even make my blog better (even if only to me and that's all that matters). Those of you that have already linked to me, but are actually commenting here and I know who you are (and you know who you are), no worries. I also don't care if someone finds me through your blog, chances are I'll just think it is you anyway. It's mostly a matter of principle to me, if you know what I mean. All I am asking for is a common courtesy.

"I've got my eyes on you" was something that Ed O'Neill's character said on a now-canceled John from Cincinnati on HBO. He say as he would point to his eyes with pointer and middle fingers and then point at the same guy he was always saying this to. He also thought his dead wife's spirit was inside his parakeet so it was really funny for his character say (you probably had to be there). Mike didn't even like the show, but he even thought that it was funny and we occasionally to this day use it as an inside joke. Point of all that is that this saying holds a lot of humor in it's message to me. It's not supposed to sound paranoid or anything like that. OK, off to go public again.