Is anyone really able to “aggressively acknowledge” their own charms? If you are then well done. Will you teach me?

Something that most people probably don’t know about me is that I read my horoscope weekly. I don’t know how much I “believe” it but it’s sometimes accurate and something fun to think about throughout the week. I think so anyway. So awhile ago I was talking with a friend about the fact that we were both Taureans (or is it Tauruses? Tauries?) and whether or not we had the traits that are associated with that sign. My response was, “Oh yeah, I do for sure. I can be way stubborn. And sometimes I’m selfish and possesive. And I can defintely be lazy and sometimes I feel really greedy with my time, money, and/or possessions.” To which my friend laughed and said, “You know there are positive traits for Taureans also.”

Whoops.

Why is it so easy to find fault with yourself and yet be so willing to overlook others weaknesses? Why do we compare ourselves at our worst with others at their best? Why do we even listen to our own inner-terrorist?

It’s not that I don’t think I have any good traits. Sometimes I think I’m a pretty neat person. But it’s the traits that I want to change that I think about, fight againt, worry, pray and even blog about. But it’s probably okay to be “blind to our own beauty” some of the time.

And sea slugs are pretty cute.

Is anyone really able to “aggressively acknowledge” their own charms? If you are then well done. Will you teach me?

Something that most people probably don’t know about me is that I read my horoscope weekly. I don’t know how much I “believe” it but it’s sometimes accurate and something fun to think about throughout the week. I think so anyway. So awhile ago I was talking with a friend about the fact that we were both Taureans (or is it Tauruses? Tauries?) and whether or not we had the traits that are associated with that sign. My response was, “Oh yeah, I do for sure. I can be way stubborn. And sometimes I’m selfish and possesive. And I can defintely be lazy and sometimes I feel really greedy with my time, money, and/or possessions.” To which my friend laughed and said, “You know there are positive traits for Taureans also.”

Whoops.

Why is it so easy to find fault with yourself and yet be so willing to overlook others weaknesses? Why do we compare ourselves at our worst with others at their best? Why do we even listen to our own inner-terrorist?

It’s not that I don’t think I have any good traits. Sometimes I think I’m a pretty neat person. But it’s the traits that I want to change that I think about, fight againt, worry, pray and even blog about. But it’s probably okay to be “blind to our own beauty” some of the time.

And sea slugs are pretty cute.

Cupcakes + blogging = heaven.

edit:. I guess it’s a cupcake kind of day. Three boxes of Crushcakes just showed up!

Today was going just fine… until my first call. She wants to go over her contract. Fine. Easy… until I asked her to spell her last name for me. Well with her accent and a bad phone connection it was no easy task to understand her. So after having her repeat herself twice I asked if she could repeat the first letter because I could not for the life of me figure out if she was saying “F” or “S”. So I asked her if it was “F” like Father or “S” like Samuel to which she screams into the phone:

“It’s F like dollar bill!!!”

Um. Right.

And it’s only 7:27 am.

My cousin Bronc got married on Sunday! I was so sad I couldn’t be there because of work. Lame, lame work! But pictures are fun. His cute wife is named Jana. And he is Maxtin’s favorite uncle.

Oh yeah, and he made his own gorgeous wedding cake- 3 layers, complete with rose petals. How awesome is he? Pretty darn awesome.

My cousin Bronc got married on Sunday! I was so sad I couldn’t be there because of work. Lame, lame work! But pictures are fun. His cute wife is named Jana. And he is Maxtin’s favorite uncle.

Oh yeah, and he made his own gorgeous wedding cake- 3 layers, complete with rose petals. How awesome is he? Pretty darn awesome.

My cousin Bronc got married on Sunday! I was so sad I couldn’t be there because of work. Lame, lame work! But pictures are fun. His cute wife is named Jana. And he is Maxtin’s favorite uncle.

Oh yeah, and he made his own gorgeous wedding cake- 3 layers, complete with rose petals. How awesome is he? Pretty darn awesome.

I have to give some props to my mom, so she gets a post all of her own. She’s pretty amazing. We don’t always see eye to eye but I love her and she has so many wonderful qualities that I admire very much.

Over the last year or so my brother and his family have had some major challenges to face, some of which are no one’s fault and others which they’ve brought upon themselves. But whatever the reason for their trials it’s hard to watch people you love suffer. And throughout this last year my feelings about the situation have been all over the place: fear, pity, compassion, guilt, anger, gratitude, hopelessness, frustration, impatience, hopefulness, indifference… I’m not proud of the way I’ve felt but there it is.

But not my mom. She is steadfast. I worry so much that she’s sometimes being too generous, too selfless and that she’s not taking care of herself. Even though I don’t always agree with it her generosity is faultless. She is constantly giving. Even when my sister-in-law was calling her 12 times (no joke) a day she never complained, always answered her phone, and just listened patiently, offered help and comfort and a calm perspective. That is amazing to me.

And she works tirelessly. She works as a full time accountant; she makes quilts and pajamas for her friends’ kids and her grandkids; she cooks and she bakes… like all the time, she has a garden, she volunteers… and the list goes on. She also spends one evening a week and one weekend day (if not more) doing the book keeping for an elderly friend of our family. But she doesn’t just do her book keeping. She helps her around her house, gets up extra early to drive her to and from the airport once every other month or so, is helping her get one of her other houses ready to sell and is a friend that she can always count on. Plus she is always helping my grandmother and great grandmother. And of course, she never complains. She’s a star.

Honestly, half the time I’m convinced that I must have been switched at birth, but I’m definitely lucky to have such a wonderful mother.

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”
Washington Irving

Last weekend I got my camera…. a Canon Rebel Xsi. I love it. It’s so fun and I’ve taken lots of photos. I had planned on getting it at Circuit City but ended up getting it as Russ’s Camera downtown. It was a little cheaper at Circuit City but I went in and first of all the store was dirty… I get that the building is old but all of the cameras on display were dusty and dirty and the shelves were disorganized. That sounds so lame, but it bugged me to go into a dirty store and spend that much money. But I waited for a salesman anyway and he immediately starts trying to get me to buy a Nikon. I have nothing against Nikons but I’d already made my decision and wasn’t really asking for his opinion. So I finally convince him that I do want the Canon and he starts trying to sell me all this other stuff. He was just pushy and not very polite… but I also have a low tolerance for sales people. So in the end I just thanked him for his time and left.

But since I’d already decided I was ready to make my purchase I didn’t want to wait so I headed to Russ’s. My photography teacher last semester recommended them and I’ve only heard good things about them from other people. So blah blah blah I went in, they were super nice, and I got my camera, extra battery, and case for just a little bit more than what I would have paid at Circuit City and with much less hassle. Hooray for locally owned businesses.

Then this weekend some friends and I decided to go to LA and check out the LA’s Farmers Market and The Grove shopping center. I also wanted to check out the Mac store before I bought my laptop. Well shopping turned into buying! I got the MacBook (white, 13 inch, 2gb), Apple Care extended warranty, iWorks, USB cord and printer. I got $100 off the MacBook and 20% off everything else with my student ID, and the printer was $139 with a $100 mail in rebate. I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much money in one day. I keep telling myself it was a need but it’s a little overwhelming. But I love it. Love, love, love it.

Harlow is now now scared of the printer’s box. It was sitting on the chair and fell over and she freaked out. She neeeeeeeeever barks. But she was barking and kept running to me and now she won’t go near it. What a nut.

Now that I’ve done my part to help boost the economy I need to get ready for bed and work tomorrow.

I give up… all of my posts are destined to be about puppies or children…

I am officially a Primary teacher… and I’m excited about it. I have the 5-6 year olds and there are one miiiillion of them! Well, there are actually 10, but that is a pretty big class. So for now I’ll be team teaching with another lady. For the next couple weeks we’re working on their Primary Program (which includes songs, speaking parts, musical numbers, etc) so we’ve devided the class in half. Not to play favorites but I have the best half. Ha! They’re all pretty sweet though.

It’s a lame thing to be excited about but I am!