Fighting the Boredom of Summer

It's been a few weeks since I've been out of school and I'm already bored. Seriously, I am. It's summer time and I should be enjoying it but to tell the truth, I'm not. All I do is work, watch tv, or sleep. I do have two trips coming up this month so that should help fight the boredom, lol. Anyways, I've been trying to come up with stuff to do to keep myself from dying of boredom and came up with a few:

1. I decided that I'm going to try and get back into painting again. Haven't done that in a couple of years since the last time I took a painting class at school.

2. Also thought of making an attempt at learning how to crochet. I love arts and crafts. It keeps me thinking and enjoying my quiet time.

3. Take walks at the park on nice days without the winds blowing so hard.

4. Come up with more topics to write my blogs. I enjoy typing my thoughts out.

5. Try rock climbing out. Saw a friend's status on Facebook about some place in town that has indoors rock climbing so I thought it was a good idea to try it out. I've always wanted to do that but never could find a good time to do so.

Well, that's all I could think of what to do this summer so I won't be SO BORED. If you have any suggestions of what I should try, feel free to comment on here or email me. Hope y'all won't be bored like me!!! :)

Are Some Friends Worthy to Keep?

Just thought I could write a blog about some experiences I've had with people who I consider my good friends and others who I thought were my friends but they aren't. Growing up, I had some friends who I had known since I was in preschool and we were pretty close like brothers and sisters. We would fight, laugh, and cry together. Over the years, I started to see their true colors and we all ended up going different ways in our lives, never being the best friends we were in elementary school again. It was sad but at the same time, I'm glad that I learned the hard way to see who my true friends were because I've been lied to, backstabbed, and made fun of. There's one friend who I considered one of my greatest best friend in the world and we were like sisters. I would tell her everything and trusted her. We were doing good til we got to middle school and it all changed. She started to change and tried hard to be popular and fit in. I was one of those school geeks who studied all the time and did athletics to keep myself busy. I was made fun of by her and she turned my friends against me. She lied a lot and betrayed me. It hurt a lot, I mean A LOT. We were friends on and off for a long time and by the time we were in high school, it got a lot worst. She would be my friend one day and the next day, she would shun me for no reason. She would tell me that I was ugly and would never get a boyfriend so I needed to change so I could attract boys. My gosh, it stung me....my own best friend telling me I was ugly. When I look back, I think, "what was I thinking? She wasn't a true friend!" After a few years, we reconciled but the old wounds were still there emotionally and mentally inside me. She never really apologized for how she treated me and all those things she said to hurt my feelings. She acts as if nothing happened and that I was the one who hurt her which I didn't understand why she would think that when she was the one who did the damage. Well it's the past and I learned to let go but sometimes it comes back to me whenever she talks about me not being a good friend. I had been there for her as a friend and it felt like she bit me in the butt and took me for granted. Whatever. The other day, she came over to visit me and we were talking about my wedding and where I was thinking about having it at. She asked me if I was having it at my church and I said no. She was like, "Good. I don't like the church and if your wedding was there, I won't show up." When she said that, it was like a knife going through my heart and my perception of her as a friend changed. Her status from best friend downgraded to a.....stranger. That's the best word I can describe her because that's not the friend I once knew and trusted. I don't hate her....I still care about her as a friend but I can't take any more of how she treats me and says things that hurt me. A true friend would never say that she won't show up for your wedding just because she hated your church. I've been asking myself if she is this worthy to keep as a friend? Honestly, I don't know anymore. I also wonder what would God say about this situation? I learned in church today that love is patient and kind and that if people judge or say anything to hurt you, you got to be patient, accept it, and forgive them. I forgive her but still ask myself if she is really worthy to keep as a friend for life? I don't know the answer to the question. If anyone reads this blog, you can put comments on here or give me advices on what to do in this kind of situation. I'm happy to listen and take any kind of advice. It's not easy finding out who your friends really are.  :(

My Dream Trip

It's May and I'm supposed to go on my dream trip to New York City in 7 months. Sure, I'm excited but at the same time, I'm afraid that something would come up and put an end to that dream trip of mine. Lately, I've been struggling financially and it has taken a toll on me mentally and emotionally. As some of you might know, I had been saving up for the trip and so far, I have over $1,000 dollars. I need another $1,500 before I can actually have enough to pay for the plane ticket, hotel room, and other stuff to do while I'm up there. My hours at work were cut in half pretty much and it is starting to worry me that I would not be able to go because my paychecks don't really help. I need them to pay for my bills, food, and gas like everyone else does. At some times, I feel like crying, you know? No one understands how bad I want to go. I've been wanting to go since I was a kid. It's like I've been working so hard to make a dream come true only to come to a point where I see it fading now due to financial problems. Heck, I asked around to see if there was anything I could to earn some money and no one seems to care. Someone told me, "ohh you're gonna be a busy girl, huh?" and it made me feel like I was being made fun of or something. Only if those people knew how much I wanted to go. I have a big framed picture of New York City's skyline hanging on the wall at home and I always look at it, picturing myself standing along the river looking in awe at such an amazing sight of the city and its lights. Whenever I have a bad day, I'll look up at it and tell myself that I can always go there and have a good time there rather than deal with a bad day. You know, I had a list of why I want to go there. I had planned to go there during Thanksgiving week this year because I wanted to see New York in the fall, my favorite season, and of course, the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Here's the list:

1. Ride on the subways (never been on one before so it would be an exciting experience for me)

2. Go see the Statue of Liberty and get inside. I would love to come back and tell everyone that I was inside Lady Liberty's head, lol.

3. Head over to Ellis Island to visit the place where my ancestors from my dad's side came through when they immigrated from Italy. My sister went there 2 years ago and said there was a list of people who came through there on a plaque so I want to see my own ancestors' names on the list.

4. Go to the Empire State Building and look at the great view of the entire city from such a high level. Yes, I'm terrified of heights so I won't actually go over the edge, lol but I want to see that view. I remember one scene from Sleepless in Seattle where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan meet for the first time at the top of Empire State Building and I thought it was a sweet thing to do. That's what made me want to see the building and share it with John. :)

5. Try New York City's food, of course, who doesn't?? I would love to go to Little Italy and have me some New York style pizza! Also would love to grab a hot dog from one of those stands they have in the streets of New York.

6. This might be a sad thing to do but I want to go to Ground Zero and pay my respects. It'll be 10 years after  9/11 that I'll be up there and I don't know what to expect once I'm in the WTC area. I also thought to myself, "why don't I go find a fire station somewhere in the city and thank those firefighters who survived the attacks for risking their lives to save others?" I thought I could do that...I mean, I was touched by what they did on 9/11 and wanted to thank them for a long time.

7. Times Square. How can any other place beat that? I would LOVE to see all those lights and billboards they have on the buildings. I've seen on tv where they have closed captions on the big tv screens. I want to stand in Times Square watching the news in cc and be in awe. My mom said that you can see the New Year's Ball too, pretty cool, huh?

8. Go see a broadway play and the best part of it, you can ask for an interpreter! How awesome is that? I would get to enjoy my first broadway in New York with the help of an interpreter!

9. Go over to Hoboken, NJ which is across the Hudson River from New York City to pay a visit to Carlo's Bakery which some of you might be familiar with from the show, "Cake Boss". I love that show and drool over the desserts the bakery makes. I would love to try those delicious looking desserts!

10. Take a long walk around Central Park. I know it'll beat John Stiff Park and Media Park here in Amarillo. I hear they have a zoo in there so it would be neat to see a zoo in the middle of a huge park!

11. Go on a little cruise around the city and see the skyline at night. Would be a better view for me than my own framed picture of the New York skyline, lol.

12. Macy's Thanksgiving parade. Now that's something I've always wanted to see since I was a kid. I remember getting up early every year on Thanksgiving morning to watch the parade. I would like to stand in Times Square and see the parade with giant balloons and performers up front.

13. If I ever have time while my week up there, I would like to walk by Yankee Stadium wearing my Texas Rangers gear just to diss the Yankee fans. Heck, I think the whole city would want to kill me, lol.

14. Go to Rockefeller Center to visit the Top of the Rock which is higher than Empire State Building itself (May God help me face my fear of heights up there) and see the famous ice skating rink. I don't think I'll ice skate though because I'm horrible!! Lol.

15. Take a tour in the NBC studios. Would like to see how tv shows and other things are done at NBC.

16. Go shopping at Macy's. Never been in that store before so it should be interesting.

17. There are tons of other things I would like to do so the list would be endless. So I will end this list with one more reason why I want to go to New York City. I had some ancestors from my mom's side of family that helped found New York City back in the 1500s. So part of me is from there in a way and it would be like returning to my roots in one of the places that created America.

Now that's a lot of amazing things you've heard about why I want to go to New York City so bad. This is going to be a hard road for me to earn some money to pay my trip off. If anyone is reading this, I want to tell you that I'll do anything (except bad things that is) to earn and save some money like babysitting, walking dogs, or whatever. If you ever need help and are willing to pay for it, I can work and help you. You can contact me through Facebook and let me know. I know I sound desperate but I thought I could try and give it a shot by writing this blog and getting it out to people. Well, thanks for listening to me and hope you enjoyed reading this.

Good Tips on How to Save Money on Gas!

I got this email from my grandma and thought it had real good tips on how to save money on gas. We all know how painful it is for us to watch the gas prices constantly climbing so I thought I'd put this on my blog and share with other people.

*With gas expected to reach $5 per gallon by summer, these tips that I received from a friend in California might come in handy.*



*TIPS  ON PUMPING GAS*



I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline....but here in California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. *(Last night on the News local Portland TV stations said we have hit $4 to $4.25 already!)*My line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon:

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline...One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

*Tip #1:*Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground.

-The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer, gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon.

-In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.

-A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

*Tip #2:*When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode.

-If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high.

-You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping.

-All hoses at the pump have a vapor return.

-If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

*Tip #3:*One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is *HALF FULL*. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space.

-Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine.

-Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves
as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.

-Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

*Tip#4:*Another* IMPORTANT* reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT STOP to fill up; most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

To make an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It is really simple to do.

I'm sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 =3D 300)...and those 300 send it to at  least ten more(300 x 10 =3D 3,000) and so on, by the time the message  reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached  over THREE MILLION consumers!!!!!!! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION
PEOPLE!!!

Basketball Memories, Good and Bad

I've been watching the NCAA tournament and I got to admit that there has been a lot of exciting games this year. I love basketball. I mean, I love the sport very much and had played it for several of years when I was younger. I wasn't the best player on the court but I did enjoy playing and it helped me be a better person in a way. The best memories of playing are when I was in high school and I admit that there were also some bad ones too. I guess anyone who plays or has played before has good and bad memories too. I remember my teammates and how we played so well together. Well, there were some people who I'd say were difficult to work with and I had to learn to get along with them or it would have been a disaster.

There are some good memories but I'll just name a few. One of the best games that I've played was against Palo Duro, one of the toughest teams in our district, during my junior year in a tournament when I did my best. I scored more points than I normally did and worked so hard offensively and defensively. Eventually the game ended and we lost. When we were getting ready to leave the court to head back to the locker room, the entire PD team came up to me and shook my hand. They told me that I did a good job playing and I was surprised. I was the only one who they came up to instead of my teammates. They were impressed with me playing well regardless of my disability. It's not everyday that you have an entire opposing team come up to you and applaud your hard work. Another good memory is all those road trips we took and how much fun it was to hang out with my teammates. I loved those bus rides and still miss them. My favorite memory is probably my junior season when my JV team and I did very well even better than the varsity team in my opinion. I was starting to get better and earned myself a position as a starter in a few games. The girls on my team were great and I got along with them pretty good. That was my best year that I've ever played. There were some bad memories too and a couple of them the worst...my team including myself getting punished by Coach Y. He had us running at 1 am after getting back from a game in Midland. A couple of girls on my team got into a fight on the bus on the way back over something stupid and as a result, we all ended up running for like 45 minutes to a hour til we were nearly dying. I was sooo mad and wished that those girls wouldn't have fought. Another bad memory was getting into a fight with a teammate my sophomore year because of how badly she was treating me and I got fed up with her crap. I got shut out by my team for the rest of the season after that. I mean, they hated me so much that they would trash talk to me and think I was pulling the team down with me. In practices, they would pass the ball to me so hard that I would drop it, bump into me on purpose to make me nearly fall, and they would give me dirty looks. I nearly got kicked off the team when I stood up for myself by getting into that fight with my teammate. That kind of attitude she had towards me was unacceptable. She would constantly be so mean to me and treat me like I was the worst player ever. That night I got into the fight with her, I messed up and accidently missed the ball being passed to me because I didn't see it coming to me and I'm deaf...I mean, I can't always know when someone is trying to pass the ball to me. And she stood on the sidelines giving me a dirty look and said "what's up with you? Why didn't you pay attention to that??" That's when I exploded and went up to her, signed "This isn't my fault so stop it" and she didn't understand what I was signing. Then she got mad at me and I turned around. The entire team got mad at me for fighting with her. I was like, really? you would rather stand up for her against me? It was the worst season I've ever had and I felt like I was the outsider the whole time.

My favorite coach was Coach Williams. She was the best. I had her all 4 years of high school, 3 years as my freshman and JV coach and one year as my assistant coach. She believed in me when other coaches didn't and knew that I would bust my butt trying to do my best that I could. She actually gave me more playing time than my varsity coach ever did and she was always so positive with us, in practices and games. I never once saw her get so mad or yell at us. She inspired me to become a better player and person at the same time.

My varsity coach, Coach Y, was the opposite. He had no absolute belief in me and always put me down. They say that the best coaches are the ones who believe in you and know you try your best and Coach Y wasn't one of them, sadly. I was starting to get better my junior year but when my senior season started, it changed. I remember one time during practice in the preseason when Coach Y asked me to come into his office so I went in with my interpreter and Coach Williams was in there too. Coach Y looked at me and told me that he didn't think that I should be on the team but it was up to me to stay if I wanted to. I was shocked and hurt. He said that if I wanted to stay, he wouldn't give me any playing time. I looked at him and said, "I want to stay. I've been waiting to play on this team since I was a freshman and I'm not leaving." I actually had tears in my eyes when I said it and Coach Y just stood there as if he didn't care. He said "Well, then you don't get any playing time and you can still practice with the team". Coach Williams looked at me and she knew that I had wanted this badly and watched me grow over the years she had coached me. Coach Y even left my name out of the roster in the beginning of the season when they announced who was on the team in the newspaper. It hurt me that he had no belief in me and pretty much implied that I was the worst player on the team. Since that day, I worked so hard and practiced on my shooting to improve. I wanted to prove to him that I could do it. I was the bench warmer the whole season and only got a few playing times. He put me down so much that he actually decided that I wasn't going to travel with the team to El Paso for a big tournament going on there that year. Imagine how that made me feel. I was left behind while he replaced me with a freshman player and I was left alone to practice with the JV team. I remember walking in the locker room the day after my team left for El Paso, the JV girls looked at me in shock and asked me why I was still here instead of the team. I was so embarrassed and told them why. Coach Y had said that he couldn't afford to have me and my interpreter come along. The girls were so angry and couldn't believe it. They told me that I didn't deserve to be treated like that. Then they asked me to play with them in the JV tournament and I said, I wish but can't because of UIL rules that a senior can't play on a JV level. They begged and begged because they needed me. It made me smile knowing that they looked up to me but it broke my heart that I couldn't play with them. I told my mom about the situation and oh boy, she was soooo mad. She thought it wasn't right for me to be left behind so she went up to the principal's office to talk to my principal. She asked her if it was true and Mrs. Harrison (principal) said it wasn't true and that the school could afford to have me and my interpreter come along. Coach Y got into trouble with her and was told to allow me to come on the road trips to tournaments. He apologized to me but still to this day, I don't think he really meant it. For the rest of the season, I endured emotional abuse from him by being benched and getting yelled at in practices. At one point, I messed up on a play in practice and he got so angry that he bounced the ball hard and it flew up in the air. Then he yelled at me and acted like I was pulling the team down with the way I was playing. After practice, I cried in private and wished that he would see me as a good player and respect me more. I didn't give up and continued to show my support for my team. Those were my girls and they needed me to cheer them on. I remember being excited in games and cheering them on and being unhappy with them when we lost. One game, I can't remember who we played but it was a close game and I was so nervous and excited that I kept on waving my shooting shirt in the air and cheering for my girls. Then we won that game by a couple of points and the next day during practice, Coach Y gathered us and said that he was watching the film from the game and noticed one thing. He said he saw me cheering for my teammates and how enthusiastic I was for them. It changed his perspective of me and he called me the "cheerleader" of the team. He told them that he wanted the other girls to act like me, be supportive and excited for your team. I was surprised when he said that because the whole season, he was so negative towards me and that one film showing me cheering for my team changed how he thought of me. I didn't get to play much but I did earn his respect at last. And oh, I did eventually score for the first time in the whole last season and man, I was so excited....it was only 2 points but it made me happiest player on the team that night, lol. It was like a Rudy moment for me. I had worked hard for that one moment when Coach Y put me in a game for a few minutes and that was my goal for the season...just to score at least once with less playing time. He also let me play in the last game of my career and it meant a lot to me even if it was just for a couple of minutes. I see Coach Y's Facebook page and wish that I could just email him and tell him the things that I just wrote on here and he would know how he affected me, good and bad.

As you read this, you're probably wondering why I had a little more bad memories than good ones. It's because I've endured so much as a deaf player on a team full of hearing girls and it was a challenge for me. I'm thankful to have those good and bad memories. My experiences taught me to be strong and stand up for what I believe in. It's been 8 years since I played and I still have those memories. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and change some things but other times, I tell myself to be happy that I got to play my favorite sport with the best team ever. I would love to coach little kids someday and teach them to play their best that they can. Heck, I'd let the weakest player have some more playing time than I ever did because I believe in them.

A Day of Horror and Heartbreak

Yesterday, Amarillo saw the worst day it ever had in years. Massive wildfires were sparked by high winds up to about 65 mph and they spread around outside the city in some certain areas. I was at my grandma's in Canyon when I got a  message from a friend who informed me that there was a high wind warning and that fires were spreading like hell. At first, I thought it was just a small one, I mean, I've seen many fires around Amarillo before and they were usually put out fast. I just went on and watched a movie, then during the movie, the electricity went out twice due to the high winds blowing and hitting the power lines. My grandma said that the roof sounded like it was about to blow off or something. I finished the movie and decided to check my Facebook and was horrified to see reports coming in from the Amarillo Globe News' page about fires spreading and burning so many houses including one business. One thing that broke my heart the most was those people losing their homes and a local kennel was burned down to the ground and killed some animals that were kept there. I told my grandma about it and we changed the channel to watch the news. They showed pictures of the fires and said that a lot of people were evacuated from their homes. They listed areas that were in danger and I realized that one of my friends lived in one of those areas so I text messaged him to see if he was ok. He said he was ok and his house wasn't in danger but his family had to be evacuated from their houses. They ended up having to stay with him overnight because the cops wouldn't let anyone go back to their houses til the fires were contained and that it was safe to reenter. I was getting very concerned and hoped that not any more fires would start once I started to drive back home to Amarillo so I waited til the winds died down. When the winds finally did, I left Canyon and on the way home, I could see the huge smoke in the sky above the city's skyline and could smell the smoke even if it was just 20-30 miles away. I almost wanted to cry and prayed that God would watch over those people and protect them. I'm thankful to God that I have a home and my cats but it still hurts my heart that there were so many houses and pets lost in the fires. You can't replace those kind of things. I never really understood how bad it could be til yesterday when I saw the smokes and realized that it was close to home and those people really did lose everything they had.

Today I was reading the news when I found out the cause for those wildfires in the northern area of Amarillo and felt sick to my stomach. A guy was arrested for trespassing on a private property to cut metals and it was very windy yesterday and he didn't even care. The sparks from the grinding of the metals got into the dry grass and the winds blew them so hard that they spread quickly. People saw him doing that and reported it to the cops. This man is responsible for so many losses and I don't know what he's thinking right now while he's sitting in jail. All I hope is that he's sorry and will be willing to take responsibility for what he has done. And for the other areas affected by the wildfires, there has been no causes found yet but I know we will find out eventually. My friend also told me today that his parents and sister were able to go back to their houses and praise God, their house and animals are ok but have damages inside their houses due to smoke soot and front yards are burned. He went there and said it looked very bad out there. Nothing but a few houses were burned to the grounds and the grass are brown and black all over. All of this was destroyed by a simple mistake a guy made at the wrong time and wrong place.

This tragedy made me feel helpless and sad so I decided that I wanted to help those victims out. I found some information on where to go and drop stuff off. I gathered all of the clothes I don't wear and put them in bags and headed to the Salvation Army. They were happy to take the clothes in and told me that they will be taking those to one affected area tomorrow and the other one by Wednesday. It made me feel good knowing that those people will be getting clothes when they need them the most. I plan on donating some money at a local bank to give to the Red Cross for the victims. And one more thing I can do for the victims is pray to God that He will help them get through this tragedy and give them strength to rebuild their lives from ashes.

Psalm 46:1

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

Good Advices

I was checking my emails and came across on one email that touched me. In this email, a 90 years old from Cleveland wrote 45 lessons on how to live your life and they all were good. So I want to share with all of you and hope you'll take those advices from this lady who has really lived her life to the best she could. 

Written by a 90 year old

This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure 
you read to the end!!!!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , 
Ohio.

"To celebrate growing  older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. 
It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once  more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2.  When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and  
parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their 
journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret,  you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late   to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going  after what you love in life, don't take no for 
an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22.  Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will 
this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad  a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not  because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36.  Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37.  Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40.  If we all threw our  problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

I would definitely take those lessons to live my life the way I want it to be.  :)