spring cleaning

Spring cleaning is about to take on a new meaning around this neck of the woods. After speaking with our realtor, Bruce Nemovitz, we decided that now is the time to list our house for sale. It's actually a better idea for us to sell when the market is down than to wait a year or two when it goes back up. Why? Because we'll get a larger house for much cheaper now, and that's more important. I think we'll get what we paid for our house so at least we might break even.

I'm not going to focus on looking for a house now, I'd rather sell first and end up renting or moving in with my parents. I refuse to be stuck with two mortgages. I'd rather not move at all if that's the case.

So, spring cleaning. I'm going to have to run a tight ship around here and we have to de-clutter the home. Looking at my living room, that looks next to impossible. Especially with two kids! I think I'll have my work cut out for me. It might prove to be a challenging spring/summer.

2 motnhs

On a different note, Gretchen turned two-months-old on Sunday. Time is flying by! She's getting so big and strong. She's super healthy and is full of chubby rolls. Saturday night she slept 7.5 hours - I couldn't believe it!! On a regular basis she's been doing about 4.5 hours at night-- this I can handle. Just love her to pieces. Charlotte is also proving to be a wonderful big sister.

heidi the puppy

On Sunday we welcomed a new member to the Horstmeyer family. Heidi, a 9-week-old German Shepherd puppy from a wonderful, champion line of shepherd's in Eagle, Wis. She is adorable with those floppy ears and jet black fur. She's a black and tan, but the tan will start to fill in as she grows. She's very aloof and wasn't ready to cuddle with everybody like the Griffin and Zoe (Golden Retrievers) were when they came home. She thinks Falcorr, my mom's 10-year-old Shepherd from the same line, is her daddy. He'll keep everybody in line.

9 weeks old

Falcorr & Heidi

Raising Girls with Courage and Confidence

My friend Carol went to a seminar this week in Milwaukee, too short of notice, I wasn't able to go. The speaker was Rachel Simmons, a woman who's books, workshops and curriculum help girls become young women with integrity, self-awareness and personal authority. This kind of success is a two-part equation. It’s about knowing yourself: how you feel, what you think and what you need. It’s also the ability to act on who you are in your relationships. I plan on reading her books, Odd Girl Out: the Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls and The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence.

Here is a brief summary she provided us with.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Myth: Girls have a lot of emotions so they must be good at managing them.
Truth: Teach girls how to ask for what they want rather than expect friends to know what is wanted because you’ve give her the “silent treatment”. 

• Talk about feelings
• Ask about feelings
• Validate feelings

SOCIAL AGGRESSION
What does society say is a “Good Girl?” Polite, Nice, Organized, Gets good grades, Lots of friends

In society, a successful girl is one with lots of friendships so friendships are the MOST important thing to a girl.

Trying to meet the “good girl” expectations prevents girls from being true to their own feelings.
Also, because good girls aren’t “allowed” to be angry, they learn to express their anger indirectly through gossip and relationship aggression i.e. using friendships as a weapon - “I won’t be your friend anymore if you don’t . . . .”

We need to recognize indirect aggression as aggression similar to bullying not “girls just being girls.” When you see girls using relationship aggression, do the same thing you would with physical aggression like hitting.

For the girl bullying:

• Stop the behavior: “We don’t treat our friends like that”
• Empahthize with the victim: “How would you feel if she said that to you?”
• Provide a consequence: If you do that again, this is what will happen . .”

For the girl being bullied:

• Empathize and validate her experience: often the bully will deny her actions so the girl is confused. 
• Ask: What do you want to do about this?” and help brainstorm responses and possible outcomes. 

GIRLS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Teach girls to use technology ethically, responsibly and within moderation. Use of technology is a privilege not a right.

The problem is all the things that girls have been doing are also now being done online.
Girls self esteem can take a hit when they see their “friend” is going over to another girl’s house and she’s not invited.  Girls are addicted to and exhausted by these technologies – protect her from them as you would any other challenge in our society.

In the author’s opinion, phones that have texting capabilities should not be given to girls before 7th grade and Facebook should not be allowed until 9th grade. Girls should not be allowed to take their phones to bed. At night, if needed, keep her phone under your pillow.

Once these privileges are allowed it is absolutely your right as a parent to have your child’s passwords and to check their activity on occasion.

I know girls were mean when I was a kid but it seems so much worse now. I really fear for what I'll have to deal with in the near future. I think some of this nasty behavior starts at a young age, like five maybe. Maybe even sooner. With two girls only two years apart, no doubt there will be drama in our house. I only hope its healthy drama. 

I consider myself a strong, confident woman, but I wasn't always feeling so confident at times. I came home from 8th grade one day and told my parents I switched high schools. It was for a variety of reasons (cello, track/cross country) but mainly, it was because of girls. I was able to change my future using the wisdom my parents instilled in me. It worked out well, I had a good four years in high school, but I don't hardly even talk to anybody I went to high school or grade school with. Is that good or bad?

I hope that I will be able to raise my girls as good as my mother raised me. I want them to be strong, but also heartfelt and compassionate toward others. This brings me to a question I asked in an earlier post, "Who am I being that my daughter's eyes aren't shining?" I need to live as an example to my daughters.

Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Bread and Waffles

Many of you know Charlotte eats a LOT of fruit. Unfortunately, she doesn't eat a lot of veggies. This past weekend it was brought to my attention that she needs to start eating veggies on a daily basis...even if I have to hide them.


So far, things are going good. She's eating green beans and raw matchstick carrots with ranch dressing. I thought I would then hide veggies in something she has almost every day-- waffles!! After all, there's really nothing in Bisquick. I tested out this recipe from the Food Network for Sweet Potato Pancakes and poured it in the waffle maker and made waffles to freeze. She loves them!! I mixed this puree and the sweet potato puree.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• Pinch nutmeg
• 2 cups milk
• 4 teaspoons melted butter, plus more for greasing skillet
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 sweet potato, cooked until tender, peeled and pureed or 1 heaping cup of puree (see above)
• Maple syrup, for serving

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix together and whisk until smooth. Cook batches in buttered skillet on medium high temperature until bubbles form on the surface, then turn over and cook until dark golden brown. Or out in waffle maker and cook until finished, usually 4 minutes. Serve with maple syrup.

eeeeeeeee

Secondly I made this awesome bread from My Baking Addiction to also freeze for Charlotte. I even added shredded carrot to it! It's a hit and now my kid is up to four different veggies this week!

Ingredients
1 cup butternut squash purée
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the butternut squash puree, eggs, oil, water and sugars until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the butternut squash mixture. Combine just until incorporated; do not over mix. Pour into the prepared pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

breastfeeding a t-rex!?

Today, around bedtime, when I was feeding Gretchen this also happened unprompted in the living room. 

Image: Charlotte holding her shirt up with a T-Rex facing her chest.

Quote: "Charlotte feeding dinosaur mommy's milk."

This is funny. Breastfeeding experts would say this is educational. I think it's wonderful. Priceless.

grasslands quilt finished

Projects sure move slowly around here. My prime quilting time (naps and after the kids go to bed) is now taken up by Miss Gretchen. She sleeps, but between feedings and getting the house clean, there doesn't seem to be enough time right now to really bite into a project. I'm working on little things (nursing covers) and doing some quilting here and there. It's probably better on my budget anyways.

This weekend I finished quilting the Grasslands quilt for the cabin. This is another twin sized quilt for the bunk room. I really love this fabric line, Origins, by Basic Grey for Moda. I used charm squares which made putting it together a real treat (fast)! The back is made of mostly scraps from my stash. I think it adds a fun backing and I was trying to save a little $ and use up scraps of what I had. Turned out nice...

grasslands quilt front

grasslands back (and griffin)

send me your dog names

If you follow my Flickr site, you might recall that my mom is getting a female German Shepard in just a few weeks. I cannot wait to see this fluff ball. This will be her fourth German Shepard. We've had Helga, Lady, and Falcorr. Helga was the BEST Shepard name for a good German girl and now we are at wit's end trying to come up with another name. Too bad Gretchen is taken...(hehehe)

Here's the list I've come up with, although, nobody can agree. Do you have any suggestions?

Frieda
Gabi
Hannah
Inga
Mila
Trudi
Ziva
Leena
Addie
Allegra
Mocha
Janda

baby's first smiles

In the last week or so there's been much debate on whether or not Gretchen is officially smiling. I denied it for awhile, I admit, but she's definitely cracking some smiles here and there. She doesn't always smile on cue, but that has to be just around the corner. I'm finding that Gretchen tends to smile for other people. I've witnessed big grins from her for three different people. Hardly for me. Yes, I do the googly baby noises and no, no big smiles yet. However, I did get this on camera and I count it as a smile. Just not and ear-to-ear grin...she sure is adorable!

6.5 weeks

The Talk

I'm certainly not ready for my girls to grow up. I'm not ready because I don't think I can handle 3 going on 13 and 13 going on 30. Just...not...ready. A fellow mom friend was telling me her 5-year-old already has a marriage proposal. She also has an attitude, as if she was 13. This, she informed me, is due to the kids at school who have older siblings. Thanks older siblings. But seriously, marriage at age five!?

While browsing my new favorite site, TED.com, I found this hilarious clip "The Talk" by Julia Sweeney. Really, I laughed out loud. It also reassured me of the task I'll have at hand someday. Charlotte is only two now, but soon she'll be three and then six and then 12...and.. you get the idea. I'm sure not ready now, but I'm hoping to get eased into it. After all, I don't want to be one of those ignorant moms. I need to stay ahead of the kids.

nursing cover

My sister-in-law is having a baby this August (congrats Billy!) and she was in need of a nursing cover. I had been dying to try this tutorial from Make It And Love It, so this was the perfect chance to try. It turned out really great and another friend actually asked me to make her one too.

 

The measurements in Ashley's tutorial seemed a little big so I did trim this down by a few inches. I used my current cover as a template.

the everything update

I'm craving a chocolate cookie. Why did I make them? Fresh cookie dough smell in the kitchen. Don't worry, I gave them away to my skinny cousin and Aunt. The calories look better on them anyway. I did, however, have a frozen Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Yoplait yogurt and that was darn tasty. Go me!

Many of you know we celebrated Great-Grandpa LaPean's assent into Heaven on Thursday. It was an absolutely beautiful funeral and mass in Wausau. Our journey started on Tuesday night as we traveled to Green Bay after Kevin got done with work. We went to GB first because of course there was a nasty snow storm hitting the great state on our travel day, Wednesday. Both girls were perfect on the drive up and went to bed without a hitch. Things were lookin' good.

Wednesday we played at Grandma's house and then followed them up to Wausau. Both girls slept the whole way AND the roads were pretty clear. Still lookin' good. Then we met up with some long-lost friends for a fish fry. More family even joined us out. The kids were good -- Charlotte actually ate food and behaved and Gretchen slept the whole time. I enjoyed TWO beers and the night was still lookin' good. I couldn't believe I was experiencing this much luck while traveling with kids. Our friends came over to the hotel and we all laughed and chatted it up. I sure miss Amiee and Kevin.

By about 9:30/10 p.m. we were trying to get Charlotte to bed in the hotel. We elected to have two queen beds and I slept with Charlotte. She really fought us and kept saying she wanted to go home. I had to convince her we couldn't leave until the sun woke up. Finally she fell asleep after about 45 minutes of crying and screaming. I sure felt bad for the adjoining room. Gretchen was still doing great, she slept 6 hours straight for me. I thought it was the booze until she did it the second night too. Yeah Gretchen!

The funeral was on Thursday and we knew it would be a long day for Charlotte. However, she pulled through as super kid and was the hit of the day (besides Grandpa). Looking adorable in polka dots and pig tails, she was a joy to have around. She even sat through church with only a few peeps of "Uncle Mike!! Uncle Mike!!" I know her little voice was a ray of sun for those mourning in the church. It was comforting to hear and see his legacy live on. It was a long day for me with both girls but I had help from Aunt Peggy and Aunt Laura. I definitely couldn't have done it on my own.

Charlotte slept great the second night in the hotel and so did mom and dad. Friday we went back to Grandma LaPean's to visit and then drove home. Both girls slept during the three-hour drive home, yes! It was a successful trip and I couldn't believe my girls pulled through for me when I needed them too. Kevin was also proud.

Side note: I'm coming off of two funerals in two weeks only to find out my friend's dad who was battling kidney cancer just passed away as well. That's three funerals in three weeks. Damn. They always say death travels in 3's. I guess this is my three. He only found out he had kidney cancer like three weeks ago. My friend is devastated and I can surely see why. She's also 33 weeks pregnant. I know, it just keeps getting sadder.

So, as I've said in earlier posts, cherish your loved ones and the life you have. You never know when God calls the ones we love. In the blink of an eye it can all be taken away. I thank the Lord everyday for my beautiful, healthy girls (and Kevin!) for I'm not sure what I'd do if I ever lost the three of them.

swearing off sweets

I'm gonna do it. I can do it. I will do it. What am I going to do? Give up sweets/candy/ice cream/cake for Lent. Now I'm really scared...


For those of you not real tuned in, Lent is the period of the Christian liturgical year leading up to Easter. Lent is a time of sacrifice for Jesus. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. It's about 40 days long. Most people are familiar with Catholics not eating meat on Fridays. Didn't you know they started the Fish Fry?! Bet you also didn't know the modern fish fry tradition is strongest in the state of Wisconsin, where more than 1,000 eateries hold a weekly fish fry on Fridays. Even strongest in Southeastern Wisconsin. No wonder we all love fish fries here...


Another custom that developed later was to also give up something a person “enjoyed” receiving or doing for the duration of Lent. Although it is not required or part of any rule, many Christians today will also choose to give up something during the Lenten period.


I'm doing this for a few different reasons:

1. I need to lose this baby weight.
2. Sweets are bad for you.
3. I eat WAY too many sweets now that I'm home all the time.
4. I keep buying sweets and don't need them.
5. I should give up something for Lent because it's a good practice to suffer a little, after all, Jesus did died for me.
6. I have lost self-control when it comes to sweets.
7. If I don't stop I'll probably get more cavities.
8. Sweets should be a special treat, not another food group.

So, I'm giving up sweets for Lent. I know this will be hard. I'm going to have to make friends with those yummy Yoplait yogurts otherwise I might really lose it in the house. 40 days is long, but I've done this before. I hope, and think, that by the end of this, I will no longer crave sweets like I have been. Before I was ever pregnant I hardly had a sweet tooth and after two kids, it's really bad. I need to somehow reverse this problem and I'm starting with Lent.

Side note: Has anybody ever noticed that the Girl Scouts have BAD TIMING? I have $35 worth of cookies that will now make their way to the freezer. (I can't let Kevin eat them all!)

coffee cozy

The other day my father-in-law told me he was at a coffee shop and they were selling coffee cozies for $7 each. Although the price is ridiculous, I thought, "Gee, I could easily make one of those!" I stopped at a local coffee shop to get a coffee (and sleeve) and they were selling them too. Has it really been that long since I've been IN a coffee shop that I've never seen them sold before? I guess with two small children the drive-thru at Starbucks is awfully appealing.

When I had some time on my hands (usually one arm handy when I'm nursing Gretchen) I searched Flickr for some inspiration. Sure enough, there are tons of homemade coffee cozies out there. At first, I traced the sleeve from my own coffee and set out to make a cozy. This didn't pan out so well. I won't go into details, but like most of the projects I try ad hoc, they don't turn out. 

Next, I searched the Internet for a good tutorial. I found a great one from Erin of House On Hill Road. If you are interested in making some for yourself, this is the tutorial to use. I did try making a sleeve that was one piece, and tried to find a tutorial, but that didn't pan out either. Looks like a button or velcro is the best way to go. Here's my final product:

You can bet there are going to be more of these easy peasy projects. If you are lucky, you just might get one for yourself! Place your orders now folks...

finding the passion

This afternoon my mother shared a very awesome website with me, and a certain video in particular. If you've never heard of TED, you certainty need to check it out. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. TED believes passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. TED is building a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. Really, go check it out!

The video I watched was Boston Philarmonic's Benjamin Zander on music and passion. At a short 18 minutes long, it's amazing the amount of passion and life one person can instill another. I love classical music so this was right up my alley. For those of you who don't know, classical music has always been a part of the house I grew up in. I played cello for a little over ten years-- even for two years in college. It's only recently that I haven't played, although I've thought about picking it up again many times. One of these days, I'll start up again. I'm one of those people that actually listen to classical music in my car and at home, it always has a calming affect on my soul.

At the end of his talk, Zander quotes, "Who am I being, that my child's eyes are not shining?" This really made me think. Of course it's hard to be a wonderful person all the time, but am I being a good example for my daughters? Am I living my life the way I want my daughters to imitate? Am I truly leading by example? Sometimes, I'm not so sure, that maybe, I can try harder. 


This is your food for thought for the week. "Who am I being, that my child's eyes are not shining?" I want my daughters to sparkle with their personalities and live a life that other's want to imitate. To be good, kind souls, appreciative of everything they have and can give to others. It's a good thing-- making others shine...

dealing with loss

At one point or another we all lose a loved one. Death is inevitable and everybody deals with it differently. Some people rely on others to help them cry out the pain and some need to be alone and shed their tears alone. Some people are waterfalls of tears and others hold it all in until they are bursting at the seams. It's at these points in life that we tend to reevaluate our own lives and the impact we have on the world and those around us. Do you truly live life according to God? Are you compassionate and forgiving? Of course the unexpected losses seem to be harder to accept than those who have lived a full life. Even at that, it's hard to find joy in the loss of those you love.

Last week a friend of mine lost her husband at the young age of 31. Another friend also found out her father has Stage 4 kidney cancer and won't survive it.

And now, it is with sadness that I have to inform you of a loss in our family. Kevin lost his Grandfather today from an unexpected heart attack. Grandpa LaPean had been battling lung cancer for a few years now, but a heart attack wasn't expected. He was a loving man and leaves behind a large family to carry on his life's doings. As Albert Einstein said, "Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation.  For they are us, our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life." He will be sorely missed.

Living a few hours away from Grandpa, it's now that I regret we have not made it up there to see him more often. See what I mean, we tend to reevaluate our lives when we lose the ones we love. He leaves behind his beautiful wife, four kids and multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Please pray for his family and this loss as we travel North to celebrate and mourn his entry into Heaven and his life on Earth.

kiddie messenger bag

At Charlotte's birthday party she was trying to carry around all of her new goodies and simply couldn't. She has a few of my old purses but nothing that would fit Zoe, Abbey Cadaby, Cookie Monster, nookie, Rufus, a whale, Lightening McQueen, Tow Mater and a snack. This got me thinking, I need to make her a "Charlotte" sized bag to carry her stuff in. So, I searched the Internet and found an awesome kiddie messenger bag tutorial by LangLangCreations. I found some adorable Apple & Pear fabric by Alexander McHenry and paired it with some red polka dot fabric. To jazz it up a bit, I quilted the outside of the purse. Since the tutorial called for jean material, I added interfacing to the strap to make it a bit sturdier. I think the quilting also added some structure to the purse.

It turned out so cute and of course, Charlotte loves her new purse. It's sturdy and washable. I don't see her parting with this anytime soon and now, she can carry all of her friends that need to go somewhere. This way I can also limit what friends she's allowed to bring with-- at least that's my hope. Sometimes she gets a little carried away with her friends.

Charlotte modeling her new purse.

Tutorial by LangLangCreations.

a very long day

Today was a very long day. Gretchen is five weeks old and weighs in at 11 lbs. 3 oz. I also have only eight pounds until I hit pre-pregnancy weight (yeah!) but still need to lose a few extra (grrr). At least I'm getting there. It would probably help if I didn't have delicious cupcakes on my counter and $35 worth of Girl Scout cookies in my freezer. Darn those Girl Scouts...


Today started nice and early around 4 a.m. Gretchen barely went back to bed and I think I managed to get in another 45 minutes or so until I decided to call it a morning at 6 a.m. At least I'm able to watch World News at 4 a.m. -- lots of stuff going on that sure makes no sleep sound like a walk-in-the-park. So yes, I am thankful that that's the least of my concerns.

5 weeks

Seeing as it's Thursday and business doesn't ever stop, I went into work with Gretchen and shipped Charlotte off to Grandma's house. Last week Gretchen was amazing at work, today, not so much. For starters, she didn't get her morning nap in. I should have realized then and there that it was going to be a long day. Somehow I managed to get four hours of work in while nursing Gretchen with one arm and typing with the other while talking on the phone. Yes, it's true. I can work like that.

To make matters worse, I nursed her too often because she was restless and to pay me back she puked down my shirt and this time, it smelled. Thankfully my sister brought me an extra shirt when she stopped by for lunch-- thanks KT.

At 1 p.m. I headed to my mom's house and to no avail, Gretchen wasn't any better there either. Now at home, I've been rocking her for a little over one hour straight and can't rock anymore! I sure hope tonight doesn't put a cherry on top of my day...

45 life lessons

A friend shared this with me-- invaluable wisdom.

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," said Brett.

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.

(My favorite quote, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return.")

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. "

Friends are the family that we choose.