Words to Live By

A friend of mine sent this to me recently and I thought it would be nice to post this for others to read. These kinds of things remind you what it is to be human and humane to others. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
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. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
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, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion.
    
22. Over prepare, and 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 except 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. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
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. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyfu l.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Walking on Water (and other things Texans are good at!)

LOL - man, do I crack myself up. That's good, since I am by myself 1/2 the day on Thursdays and Fridays.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, today I walked on water. Granted, the damn lake was frozen but it still doesn't mean I didn't WALK on it. It was, by far, the strangest, creepiest thing I have EVER done. Reagan and I both weren't too sure what to make of standing in the middle of a lake we were just at in December with Mya. Incredible!!! What's cool about this community (and it probably exists elsewhere, I just have never been to a frozen lake before) is they measure how thick the ice is as well as plough a path for ice skating and skiing. This particular lake's ice is 18cm thick (go ahead, do the math - I just call my husband who said "yes, it's thick enough to walk on"). There were a few people out there with us - some skiing, some skating, some walking. It takes about 20 minutes to get there and I'd say about an hour to go around the lake so tomorrow I will be a little more prepared and walk the whole thing.

Tomorrow marks the end of two weeks in my Swedish class. It is going really well and some students even look to moi for help. Of course, at the beginning it didn't seem to be going so good. At one point, I had to look at my paper to say the alphabet and count. That's pretty pathetic since the alphabet is composed of all the same letters as the English alphabet (minus the W) plus the 3 extra letters (which I will not include here as I still have an English keyboard, thank gawd, and do not know the shortcut keys to make them). My brain was having a hard time understanding what I was subjecting it to at first, but by last Thursday it had located the "learning a new language" section and it was full speed ahead.

The class, naturally, is filled with people from around the world. I am the only American and there is only one other English speaking person in the class (from England). Of course, most of the other students do know a little to a lot of English so I can communicate just fine. I think sometimes it would be more helpful and easier for me to start learning Swedish if I didn't know English. The students from Iraq only speak Arabic so their grasp tends to be better. However, that being said, Arabic is so far from Swedish it is quite difficult for them to even hear the sounds in addition to writing. I can't imagine how overloaded their brains must be at the end of class each day. At least with English, there are quite a few similar words so it is easy to figure out what things are. Writing in Arabic looks like a doctor's signature and has nothing even closely related to Swedish. Plus, they read right to left so they are literally learning from scratch. I get exhausted just thinking of what their minds must be going through. Kudos to them for attending these classes - I think it is important for people to know the language of the country they live in so they can be a part of society. I won't get on any kind of rant, but I do wish the US offered something like that to our immigrants. Unfortunately, I think the situation is so far gone it wouldn't really help.

Moving on (geesh, where did that come from?!) - to follow up on the mystery night Anders had planned for us back in January of 1977 (no, it hasn't been than long - give me a break). He ended up taking me to the restaurant, Pontus by the Sea, which hosted an English comic troupe which acted out quite a few and very funny scenes. The food was a "choice of" menu and was incredible. In addition to an awesome venue, I also got to enjoy it with Marie and Freddie - two of my most favorite people. For those of you who don't know them, Freddie and Marie were two of the first people I met when I came to Sweden in 1999. I enjoy hanging out with both of them so much and it was such a surprise to see them (especially Marie, as I hadn't seen her since we moved back - silly, I know!).

My mom said that quite a few people (including one of my Aunts - you know who you are) said I must be busy since I haven't been posting lately. Well, let's just say I am getting use to having only 3-6 hours of free time during the week instead of all day. It's a struggle, but I think I will persevere!!!! Ha, ha, ha!!

Have a great Thursday, Friday and weekend everyone!!! Wish me luck in that Reagan and I don't fall through the lake tomorrow!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!