There are really no new ideas, so I don’t feel too guilty about stealing them. I try to remember to give credit where credit is due, though.

Today is my friend’s birthday (Happy birthday, Leah!) and when I phoned her to sing to her this morning (you’re welcome!) she asked me where her “Bag O’ Shit” is? You see, back in my university days we lived both together and down the hall from each other. We had nothing to speak of, being students, so we gave each other paper bags full of random crap. Candy, paper clips, a facecloth…whatever we could scrounge up. It always made us roar with laughter, and we loved it.

So when I read this today it made me smile and think of Leah. And then I thought, “Hey, I can steal that!”

So that’s what I’m doing. Sending some random friends a little bit of cheer that they can save for a crappy day.

I love it!

I found this post rather inspiring. I don’t know who Robin Sharma is, but this post of his listing 60 tips for a stunningly great life really resonated with me. We could all be better, but I could REALLY be better and intend to focus on some of these things starting now.

1. Exercise daily.

2. Get serious about gratitude.

3. See your work as a craft.

4. Expect the best and prepare for the worst.

5. Keep a journal.

6. Read “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”.

7. Plan a schedule for your week.

8. Know the 5 highest priorities of your life.

9. Say no to distractions.

10. Drink a lot of water.

11. Improve your work every single day.

12. Get a mentor.

13. Hire a coach.

14. Get up at 5 am each day.

15. Eat less food.

16. Find more heroes.

17. Be a hero to someone.

18. Smile at strangers.

19. Be the most ethical person you know.

20. Don’t settle for anything less than excellence.

21. Savor life’s simplest pleasures.

22. Save 10% of your income each month.

23. Spend time at art galleries.

24. Walk in the woods.

25. Write thank you letters to those who’ve helped you.

26. Forgive those who’ve wronged you.

27. Remember that leadership is about influence and impact, not title and accolades.

28. Create unforgettable moments with those you love.

29. Have 5 great friends.

30. Become stunningly polite.

31. Unplug your TV.

32. Sell your TV.

33. Read daily.

34. Avoid the news.

35. Be content with what you have.

36. Pursue your dreams.

37. Be authentic.

38. Be passionate.

39. Say sorry when you know you should.

40. Never miss a moment to celebrate another.

41. Have a vision for your life.

42. Know your strengths.

43. Focus your mind on the good versus the lack.

44. Be patient.

45. Don’t give up.

46. Clean up your messes.

47. Use impeccable words.

48. Travel more.

49. Read “As You Think”.

50. Honor your parents.

51. Tip taxi drivers well.

52. Be a great teammate.

53. Give no energy to critics.

54. Spent time in the mountains.

55. Know your top 5 values.

56. Shift from being busy to achieving results.

57. Innovate and iterate.

58. Speak less. Listen more.

59. Be the best person you know.

I’ve got a lot of work to do.

60. Make your life matter.

I have the flu. Or something. I went to school at the butt crack of dawn to make sub plans and came home to cuddle with my babes. Aside from the gut-wrenching cramps that disable me for one minute out of every five, there are some positives. The dishwasher got unloaded & reloaded, though it did take me five hours, and the Christmas cards are finally stamped.

And I played with my kids on a school day – that’s the best one.

Ha! So, the techie in the family tells me I can’t delete this blog because my other one is technically a sub-domain. So, until I feel like being completely blogless (which is really tempting sometimes!) I guess I’ll post here when I feel like it. It gives me a place to do giveaways anyway, and review things that don’t really fit with T.O.P..

Speaking of giveaways, I emailed the winners of the KODAK gift certificates earlier this week. A few more are on the way…ProActive makeup goodies is one that comes to mind.

Since this blog is run through gmail, my way of making it stress free is to check that email account no more than once/month. Good idea? I think so. Ya godda do whatcha godda do…or something like that.

Just one more damn thing
to distract from what matters.
Goodbye, little blog.

- My father in law made the most awesome salad tonight for dinner. Some random mix of corn, radish, black bean, jalapeno, lime, wine vinegar and I’m sure there was more. I’m salivating thinking about it!

- I reviewed a book for a guy named Adam – check it.

-Win a really cool alternative to picture frames. Enter by October 15.

-My kid CUT the window screen with scissors at his preschool last week. Paid from his piggy bank to buy new screen, helped fix it and reinstall it. Good mom, right?

-A week later he took another kid, snuck out of his classroom, down the stairs, outside & out the gate and they found them playing in the parking lot “looking for a place to hide.” GAH!

-I am SO tired of getting there to pick him up & hearing bad news. He is so bored there and he’s creating his own fun. Can’t really blame him, but it’s frustrating for everyone.

-I still want that salad.

We’re taking a screen-free ten days with our children starting tomorrow. See you in ten days!

I just finished telling the Big Guy that there was a problem with my blog…it’s been reverting to a white screen because I waited too long to do my WordPress upgrade (again) and since I didn’t have any time to fix it I was just going to delete it. Since I have pretty much no commenters left since returning to work full time (unless I run a contest – then the emails fly in) it seems a waste to pay for my domain & hosting fees if nobody’s reading it. I sure wasn’t about to put any amount of time into it.

Came here to delete it and it’s back just fine.

Fate?

Primo is about to embark on his first trip to the USA. He’s been asking to go for a couple of years and we’re finally making good on the promise that yes, we’d take him one day. I think he’s planning to bring a flashcard with the letter Z on it just so he can ask people to say “zee.”

FYI, it’s “zed.”

Alice Cooper is kind of a dirt bag, but I’m thrilled that school really is out for summer!

We thoroughly enjoyed our family Canada Day festivities yesterday, and are now off to playdate two of three today.

Happy summer!

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle’s flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,

He called it … Dad

~Author Unknown~

Our fucking basement is flooded.

Gah.

I am at home sick.
It will hit the high twenties.
Sick on the back deck?

We had a lovely Mother’s Day. The kids made me cute gifts – a tissue paper corsage from Primo and a flower in which the centre is her photo from Bella. This morning we met my mom, mother-in-law & her husband, brother & niece about half an hour out of town for brunch, came home for a quick rest and took a family nature hike in the coulees. After bathing the kids, making lunches & preparing the smoothie for tomorrow, we ate some cold takeout and are watching survivor from last week. I’m exhausted, but happy.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who’s a mother in any way to anyone!

1. Laundry sucks. I was caught up for about 3.4 minutes and now I can’t see the laundry room floor. Again.

2. My poor cat who is “dying of thyroid cancer” has gained weight and is eating & playing like a growing kitten.

3. Our dogs are a giant pain in my ass. Good thing they’re cute & cuddly.

4. Primo’s now in full time Montessori preschool and LOVES it. I hate the full time, but he is totally cool with it.

5. Poor Boston Rob. He should still be in contention.

6. I went shopping in my garage and got more than a full wardrobe for each child. Woo hoo!

7. I love shopping in advance and never having to pay full price. Thank goodness for Rubbermaid!

9. My school district had a snow day yesterday for the first time since 1958. It sucked getting to work 1/2 hour late after digging out of here, and then phoning parents to pick up kids & going home again, but it was awesome to have an unexpected afternoon with my family.

10. Heritage Makers? Utterly addicting.