HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

I usually do not post on Tuesday's

But I thought I should since it's my birthday.

I am 38 today!

In past years I've had no real issues with getting older and
have welcomed July 12th with open arms for as long as I can remember.

I recall how it felt to turn16...
I was ecstatic, of course!

 At 18, no different...

At 21, still not much difference...

At 25, a little proud actually.

At 30, Amazing!

And even at 35 I didn't mind
I was quite happy with my age and my accomplishments.

But it was at 36 that I began to wonder...

What's going on here!?

Where is the time going!?

How is it that 36 years has gone by so quickly?
Let's slow it down a little bit...
Because....

I have gray hair (yes, I do).

I have smile lines that don't go away after I stop smiling...

And I am not able to eat anything I want anymore....
Grrrrr.

And most importantly...
I haven't reached all of my goals yet.

On one hand birthdays can be an amazing time of celebration of
our birth, our life and who we are.

We are wiser, better and more aware of ourselves,
what we want and where we want to be...

But,
They can also be a burden when we think of all we've not done.

We are reminded of all of the

'didn't do's', 'should've dones', and haven't yet's.

 I have come to this conclusion...
I will celebrate, not regret.
I'd rather be 38 than 16, 18, 21, 25, 30...

I finally feel like I have a clue in life now...
I have finally figured out a lot of things!

Why in the WORLD would I want to go BACK!!!???

So, bring on the gray, the wrinkles and the payback for eating a big bowl of ice cream more nights
than I should, because I am happy with who I am.

This year I will have 38 candles on my cake...
(though I truly hope not..lol)

And I will celebrate all 38 years of my evolution....

It's because I'm getting older...

That I am who I am today...

And I am one in a million!!!

Truly,

Amber

I Love Donald

Okay, so maybe I don’t love another man besides my fiancée.

But I do admire three other men very much.

The first is Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory…I just love ahem…like him. He is so funny.

 The second (my other Honey as my REAL Honey calls him) is Peyton Hillis.

Who doesn’t like Peyton? And by the way, it has nothing to do with his looks or his arms; I just get a kick out of how Peyton jumps over people on the field! He’s got stamina and gutts!

The third man I admire is Donald Trump.

As soon as I say the word, ‘Trump’, I know that many people are probably cringing…

The man went bankrupt in …..several different years.

Has been divorced  …several different times.

And has terrible hair.

So, why would I like him?

How could I like him?

Because I can respect him. And I find him to be very inspiring.

As Donald realized, he could have it all, and then lose it all, but then get it all back again…

….Again and Again.

                     Success isn’t permanent, and failure isn’t fatal.

                                        MIKE DITKA-Professional football coach

See Donald live

See Donald take risks

See Donald make mistakes

See Donald learn from his mistakes

See Donald get smart from his mistakes

See Donald learn lessons learned from his mistakes

See Donald teach others from lessons learned from his mistakesJ

I read my first Donald Trump book when I was 24. It blew me away. And, if you have ever picked up one of Donald’s books, you’d find that it is full of life education as well as business education.

Donald’s reality show, ‘The Apprentice’ was the first reality show I ever watched.

Like many, I don’t think Donald’s hair is the greatest, but I’ve always admired his choice to keep it the way it is. His hair is a part of him and I respect him for not changing it because others tell him he should.

I can also respect someone who can be honest with themselves when they screw up, then tell people about it; then persevere and succeed once again!

He’s got  @%#! .

A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying... that he is wiser today than yesterday. -Jonathan Swift

Go Donald!......Peyton and Sheldon…

I love you too, Honey;)

Truly,

Amber

Give Thanks, Part II

It’s my goal this week to write a blog a day about what I am thankful for. I have labeled each one in parts. I hope that you will join me every day in appreciating life’s many blessings.

Yesterday, I said I was grateful for the freedom to choose to have faith in God and the freedom to share it with family and friends.

Today is part II of Give Thanks, and I think you’ll like it ;)

Every person has that someone that has changed their lives. Someone that, without them, the world would make absolutely no sense what-so-ever. Someone who has changed their way of thinking, their point of views and their purpose.

I am blessed enough to have three of these.

They are my children.

Before them, it was all about me; my space, my clothes, my food, my time and my actions, which had no bearing on anyone but me.

There are certain things you learn  as a mother, sometimes sooner than if you are not a mom. Like new insights, a deeper empathy for others and a sense of priority and an overwhelming sense of selflessness (and yes, that is a word), some moms would call this guilt, ;) lol.

Besides my children, I would like to share some other things that I am grateful for (that I learned from my children) Some might seem random but I assure you, they are not.  And some might be so right on that you may sit in your chair and nod your head as you read.

Either way, join me in Giving Thanks to the three biggest blessings life could have handed me, as well as some of the lessons that came with… and that I could never do without…

1.       Fragile: Handle with Care

2.       Listen, and don’t speak

3.       Hug, A LOT!

4.       Say you’re sorry

5.       Laugh at your mistakes

6.       Be spontaneous

7.       Doing nothing can be a good thing

8.       It’s okay to dress down for Holiday Pictures (and they might even come out better because everyone is really comfy;)

9.       Always travel with: tissues, a sweater, a map, snacks and a book

10.   Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should

11.   Decorate for the Holidays, A LOT!

12.   No one will die if we don’t serve a vegetable with dinner

13.   Have Fun!

Here are thirteen lessons that I have learned from my children.  There’s more, believe me, but this is a great little list to share with you for today.

I give thanks that my life has been blessed with their gifts, their giggles and their teachings ;) I admire them. They are strong, bright and have happy, loving attitudes.

Life would never be the same without them. I would never be the same had they never come into my life.

Who in your life has made a significant impact on you and the way you live and think?

Whether they are still with you or not, give thanks that you have or had them at one time or another, and that they grace or graced your presence with their love and their lessons; they deserve a thank you.

Some people come into our lives and quickly go away...
Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts...
And we are never, ever the same..."
-- Unknown

2 of these pix were taken at Lake Metro Farm Parks on Tatum's Birthday this year, and the girls were photographed at a park in Willowick this summer.

Thank you, Taylor, Tatum & Justice, you are my sunshine. I never knew I could love another, like I love you.

And I never imagined that someone could change my life like you have.

Love,

Momma

Do Good.

My Name is Earl, was a program I loved watching. I enjoyed seeing the way a guy could reform from being bad, to being good. It was a comedy show, but there was always a lesson at the end.

Tonight I decided to turn on late night TV to relax. To my surprise, my old friend Earl was on.  The show had just started and all through it I laughed as I always did.

At the end, when it was lesson-learning time, Alyssa Milano’s character turns to Earl with a really heartfelt and serious look and says, ‘Doing good feels good’. Earl replied, ‘Yes, yes it does’. Alyssa then said, ‘and doing bad feels bad’.  Again, Earl nodded and agreed with her, confirming her recent revelation.  Alyssa’s character seemed surprised at the ease and reward of ‘doing good’.

She closed the scene by saying, ‘If doing good feels so good, why don’t more people do it?’ Earl answered, ‘I don’t know.’

That’s a very good question, why don’t people do more good if it feels good?

I don’t know why ‘they’ (whoever ‘they’ are) don’t do more good, but I know why I do.

I like being nice, it makes me feel better about myself. I like holding doors, offering assistance and making someone laugh or smile.  And if someone doesn’t do it for me, I still do it for the next person.

Why not smile and express a cheerful greeting when you meet someone passing on the walk or at the store? Why not smile at someone driving by you.  I do it all the time. The worst they will do is give you a very strange look. But usually, what I witness is, they smile back! Yes, they smile back. And you know, they will probably smile at someone else after that, and maybe someone else after that! Smiling is contagious and feels good when you’re doing it.

There are many reasons to smile at someone. And one reason is clear, it’s polite. Another is maybe  not so clear;  unbeknownst to you,  that person may have private struggles that are so difficult, that your smile is the only light that shined on them that day.

Call me crazy, call me grossly hopeful, but I believe strongly that if we put good back into the world we can make a positive ripple effect and it will keep going and going and going.  Like the stadium wave. It doesn’t stop until  we stop doing it.

In my home I have many motivational quotes and notes. One is a tall poster of a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is a quote surrounding SUCCESS. It basically says that Success is: leaving the world a better place whether it be by small efforts or large, and lists some of the ways. In another room I have a black and white print of a drop of water creating a ripple effect.

Try doing a few random acts of kindness this weekend and smile at as many people you can! It’s good for your health! It’s a proven fact that smiling is better for your health-check out this list of 12 Reasons to Smile bhttp://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongbeauty/tp/smiling.htm.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."  -- Mahatma Gandhi