Fresh Prince re-runs

I wanna lay you down by the fire with a bowl of popcorn and watch Fresh Prince re-runs. Or Robot Chicken. I could go for some Robot Chicken.

She's got issues

Sometimes I look back at my blog and I am think to myself wow... baggage... sometimes I need a reality check to make sure I don't become like the woman being sung about in The Offspring's She's Got Issues.

Paradise

You may not believe in Paradise, but I call it home.

100 Ways to Uncomplicate your life

The original post can be found here http://livethecharmedlife.com/2010/08/100-ways-to-uncomplicate-your-life/comment-page-1/ I give full credit to Deanne for this list.

1. Don’t try to read other people’s minds

2. Get up 30 minutes earlier so that you don’t rush/get a ticket while driving too fast/have to explain why you’re late/get fired

3. Get 8 hours of sleep per night so that you think more clearly

4. Stick to your budget

5. Start saving and investing every week, no matter how little you can spare

6. Balance your checkbook

7. Don’t try to be friends with everyone. Cultivate closer relationships with fewer people.

8. Don’t try to do business with everyone. Identify your target client and take very good care of them.

9. Before getting angry, ask yourself if it will really matter in 20 years

10. Focus on being a good person, not on pleasing others

11. Stay home this Saturday, and finish off that nagging chore that you need to finish

12. Kiss and make up

13. Make a weekly menu, and shop for only those items at the market

14. Ask your grandparents the best way to uncomplicate life, and try it for a month

15. Fill up your gas tank when it’s half full

16. Don’t drink alcohol when you’re tired, sad or mad

17. Pay your bills on time

18. Get an annual physical examination

19. Say “I love you” to your significant other and to your children. Studies show that more marriages last, and fewer kids use drugs, when these words are spoken every day.

20. For just one day, imagine everyone’s intentions are good because most people’s are

21. Give away clothes that haven’t been worn in two years

22. Throw out clothes that are in disrepair, and can’t be mended

23. When you have a conflict with someone, talk it out. Don’t let it turn into more than it is.

24. Know what your priorities are in life, and act as if they are your priorities

25. Tell the truth

26. Don’t cheat

27. Don’t steal

28. If you’re holding a ridiculous grudge, let it go

29. Clean your house weekly, so that it doesn’t become too large a chore

30. Do your best at work, or at school

31. Don’t eat when you aren’t humgry

32. Eat when you are hungry

33. Be yourself

34. Say no unapologetically

35. Cook simple meals

36. Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses

37. Pay off your car before buying a new one

38. Organise your desk at the office

39. Change your smoke alarm batteries when the clock springs forward, and when it falls back

40. Organise your important paperwork

41. Take only half the clothes that you planned to take with you on holiday

42. Help your children with their homework every night, and have an open dialogue with their teachers

43. Have white sheets and white towels in children’s rooms, because they’re easily bleached

44. Spend your time with nice people

45. Avoid drama

46. Don’t text or talk on the phone while driving

47. Turn off the television/video games/computer; they’re time consumers

48. Don’t engage in office politics

49. Refuse to gossip, or talk behind other people’s backs

50. Do the dishes right after dinner

51. Never go to sleep angry

52. Ask nicely for what you need and want

53. Walk 10,000 steps per day to help your heart

54. Do 20 push-ups before speaking in anger

55. Leave work at work

56. Don’t befriend anyone that isn’t trustworthy

57. Don’t envy others

58. Have your oil changed

59. Take vitamin C before you catch a cold

60. Don’t work more than 8 hours per day

61. Weed your garden weekly

62. Wash your car weekly

63. Have a spring cleaning month every year, and do one room at a time

64. You don’t need to be best friends with work colleagues, but build respectful partnerships

65. Don’t drink and drive

66. Don’t look for reasons to be angry or sad, look for reasons to be happy. You’ll always be able to find plenty of each.

67. Be friendly with your neighbours

68. Return emails and phone messages promptly

69. Schedule in free time

70. Don’t procrastinate

71. Do what you say you’ll do, when you say you’ll do it

72. Be more flexible when you’re able to be

73. Forgive and forget. End of story.

74. Break the consumerism habit…put a three month moratorium in place on buying anything not deemed a necessity

75. Start your diet on September 1, rather than January 1, so that you won’t also have holiday pounds to lose

76. Take care of any health issues or concerns

77. Have your tires rotated

78. Have your brakes checked

79. Have your eyes checked

80. Don’t let your imagination run away with you

81. Let go of perfection in others

82. Let go of perfection in yourself

83. Don’t try to help those that refuse to help themselves

84. Find a way to reduce your commute to work

85. Have an alloted amount of worry time per day/week, that you strictly abide by

86. Drink more water

87. Eat more salmon

88. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill

89. Wear your hair in a classic, easy to care for style

90. Finish what you start

91. Wear classic clothes and shoes that never go out of style

92. Create a daily routine

93. Have a 1, 5, 10 and 20 year plan for your financial and life goals

94. Slow down

95. Eat out less often

96. When you ask your husband which outfit looks best, thank him for his answer and wear the one he liked

97. Allow your children to grow up

98. Clean out your garage, and donate anything that hasn’t been used in the past year

99. Stretch every day

100. If a relationship is over, let it go

Jericho

"Horses and children, I often think, have a lot of the good sense there is in the world." - Josephine Demott Robinson

"I believe that horses are the best therapists" - Emily Booth

I started learning my first Kata yesterday.

If I could spend my life with my (future) husband and (future) children, practice Karate, practice yoga, ride my (future) horse, drive my (future) bike, go camping, engineer, spend time with my friends and family that's what I would do. I could spend my time being a great partner and mom.

I am sure there are other things that belong on that list. But for right now, that is my happy list. I am so thrilled that within the last year I have spending time at the barn, practicing yoga and practicing Karate. It is like those things belong in my life and I am so grateful that they are in my life now.

Graduation is approaching and I get to really get my life going.

On the other hand I am scared and anxious, but I know that if I keep working hard my degree will pay off and I will get a great career.

I am tired, I think it is time for some rest.

Just a bit of a ramble.

First off, I am so happy and fortunate to live in a country where vaccinations are so available. I just ask, and the doctor can hook me up with inoculations that people in other countries don't have available to them, or if they are available they are way to expensive for the average person.

Another thought I have been having lately. I have found myself in a place in my life right now where I have two options:

1. Get bitter

2. Get better

Now for me getting better isn't always winning something or winning over someone. Sometimes it is turning focus inwards and learning about yourself. Frankly, bitterness doesn't look good on anyone, and takes a lot of energy. Sometimes I still get bitter; sometimes it feels good to have a little self pity party. Then, I stand myself up, go to Karate, go to Yoga, go to the barn, spend time with friends, and grow as a person. I am making a purposeful decision to focus on choice two.

This brings me to another thought. Please excuse if I have written about this before, but it is really ringing true with me right now.

The only person you have to spend the rest of your life with is yourself.

So treat yourself well, or you might be upset with yourself later for it - and really you are accountable most of all to yourself.

I miss you. xoxo.

If you think that last line was about you it probably is.

Sometimes I need to hurt before I can learn and before I can grow. It is like when you're building muscles. Break down the fibers so they can heal and be stronger.

Men

Sometimes I have those "men really suck" moments, but I want to take some time to talk about the fact that I have amazing men in my life.

This week I was chatting with a good friend, and when we were done he said "I love you Jess". I have to admit, although the person is amazing and I do love them back I didn't say it. I was really just in awe of the fact that they felt comfortable enough to just say it. This gentlemen is an amazing person all around, and I am inspired by his leadership and his friendship. This is just one example of a man in my life that through his words and his great conversation made me feel loved and appreciated.

I have another man in my life, one of my best friends. He has walked me through some really really tough times in my life. He has shared his family and their traditions (cottage anyone?) with me. His mom is my Ontario mom. He is the kind of friend who not only could I call at any hour of the morning and talk to if I needed to, but if he knew I needed to talk, he would be the one to call me. This man has always been honest with me, and tells me things how they are. There is never hesitation when it comes to helping me, or anyone else out.

Above are only two of the many amazing men in my life. After writing those two paragraphs, I realize that there are at least 6 off of the top of my head that I could write. However, I am going to leave those for another day, because I want to take some time to write about two particularly important men; my brother and my dad.

Derek, I can't even start to list the things I have been through with this man. I can not see him for a year, we hang out and its like we have seen each other every day for the past 21 years. He is growing up to be a man who is so well loved by his friends, which is only a small reflection of his amazing personality and continued growth. I love you Derek.

And then there is my dad. Last night he sent me two text messages " Big day tomorrow! Yay!!! :-D" and "I am so excited for you! Touch the tool! I love you B-)". I haven't really had a chance to talk to my dad for a few too many days. However, he still knows that today is a really big day for me, and he mentioned an engineering tradition that I probably mentioned to him once or twice in passing. I was so thrilled to receive those messages from him last night. I know every day that my dad loves me and how proud he is of me. I can always count on my dads words of wisdom when things are really really tough. I can share secrets with my dad, and he won't tell anyone. My dad lets me make my own mistakes to learn from them . My dad knows about my passion for learning and wasn't upset when I told him I wanted to move across the country to pursue it. Instead he was proud to have raised a smart, independent woman. I could write for hours; my dad is an amazing man. I love you Dad. I will always be your little one.