I can't think of a good title.... Just read it!

Hey there, strangers! Its been a while since I've been in the mood to write, and I apologize if I was keeping you waiting! So, what have you been up to? May is going good so far? How's the family? Oh, I'm sorry Aunt Marge has the flu. How am I, you ask? I'm great! I feel positively blessed in my life right now. So many opportunities have opened up for me recently, choices have to be made, and almost everything is perfect. It is interesting how things in life come in stages. Have you noticed how events and activities seem to overlap one month, and the next month you're bored out of your mind? April was crazy for me, and May is looking a little more relaxed but still hectic enough to keep me on my toes. It seems that this new stage in my life is focused on my art, I wasn't actively going out to look for opportunities, but it seems the universe is trying to tell me something about the direction my life should take. A couple weeks ago, I got to meet local artist, Pat Shea and visit his studio at his house and ask him questions about his life as an artist. His work is just amazing, and I learned a lot. I also have the opportunity to share my talents and passion for painting with my school, which I am incredibly lucky to do so. I have been given (well, actually I volunteered) the task of painting a mural on one of the walls in my school, and I'm having a great time learning and experimenting with the size and scale of the image, I've never painted anything so big before! I've also been picked as one of 10 students with the opportunity to be mentored by a local artist, and co-create a piece with them to be auctioned off at an event to raise money for my school board. Lots of stuff going on, I know! Its awesome!

And that's just one area of my life. I have amazing friends, an incredible boyfriend, a loving family, I do very well in school, and I am mentally and physically healthy. What more could I ask for? Seriously, I feel happier than I think I deserve to be. Maybe it's just a state that my brain is in right now, where everything that happens to me seems like a blessing and I'm rarely in a bad mood. Or maybe I've always had the ability to turn bad thoughts into good feelings, but I've just noticed now how incredibly happy I am most of the time. Either way, its a good place to be! Now I want everyone to feel the way I do, and if they don't, I want to help them. Making someone else's day, makes my day too. And thats what matters, this world would be a much better place if everyone lived by the this motto; "Treat others the way you would like to be treated." and "Be the change you wish to see in the world." and "Better late than never, but never late is better." and whatever else you think is important!

Well thanks for reading! I hope you're as happy with your life as I evidently am with mine! And if you're not, try and look for chocolate in the oatmeal! Sincerely, Sam

Stress Management... and other thoughts! (#17 is my favourite)

Stress Management

A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience with a raised glass of water. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?'... She fooled them all .... "How heavy is this glass of water?" she inquired with a smile. Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. To 20 oz.

She replied , "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night.... Pick them up tomorrow."

Some thoughts!

1. Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!

2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4. Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8. Never buy a car you can't push.

9. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

10. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

11. Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12. The second mouse gets the cheese.

13. When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

14. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

16. Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

17. We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box. 

18. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

19. Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

20. Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate!


Be the kind of person that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says~~ "Oh Crap, they're up!"

Spring... Finally!

Happy Spring everyone! For the first time, it actually felt like summer might be just around the corner today. Now I don't want to get my hopes up because, well, you know what Canada can be like! We had a snow day just 3 days ago (it was ridiculous how icy and dangerous it was), and now its almost 20 degrees outside! Well maybe not that hot, but it sure felt like it on my walk home from school! Today felt like a day of firsts, a day of beginnings, of starting anew. Not sure why, nothing that significant actually happened today, its just the general feeling in my head right now. Well I guess thats not true, today was my mom's birthday which could represent a start of something new, she's a year older, a new year as a new age. Its also a Monday which is the start of another school week (many pros and cons on that topic, but I'll leave that for another time). It was also, as I said, beautifully warm out today! So for the first time this year, I went out and played on the newly paved street with my brother and neighbours. And it was exactly what I needed to clear my head.

People say that that spring and fall don't really count as seasons, they're just transition seasons. Well, I have to admit spring IS my favourite season! Whether it counts or not. When it's winter, I'm wishing it was summer. And when it's summer, I'm always waiting for school so I can't fully enjoy myself then either. But in the fall, all the leaves change colour and it's the perfect temperature and it's beautiful at my cottage. And even though school starts, I do get to see all my friends that I missed during the summer holidays. And in the spring, it always smells wonderful, you get to dig out your summer clothes, go shopping for new ones, and start to plan for your summer break. I can't wait to start fresh in a new season, and I look forward to the new opportunities in the months to come! I hope everyone else can feel the way I feel at some point this spring, but if not try to make the best of it. And have some chocolate, that always helps. Sincerely, Sam

Wow, 600 Views!

Hey there! Has anyone ever told you how amazing you are? I just wanted to thank you, yes you specifically, for just being the awesome person that you are. Someone is very blessed to have you in their life. I also wanted to thank you for visiting my blog because I love being able to share a bit of myself with you and I appreciate the fact that you are taking the time to read this right now. So this blog post is all about you and how awesome and incredible and unique and amazing you are! I just hope you know that. Because it's true. Just being around you makes someones day better. So thank you! For everything! And never stop believing in yourself.
Sincerely, Sam

Word of the Day

Hello world, and everyone in it! So I have to tell you about my day today! This amazing, hilarious, life-changing thing happened to me today! You see, my friend, he came up to me today and said this thing, and then my teacher was like– and then there was a– and the dog looked so– nevermind, you had to be there. Now you're probably thinking, "What the heck is the amazing thing that happened to her? What was she going to tell me? I really want to know now!" Which is exactly what I wanted you to be thinking (I'm sneaky that way), because it brings me to the topic of today's post (which is long overdue and I apologize for keeping you waiting): my Word of the Day; nevermind. Okay, you're right, technically it's two words, 'never' and 'mind', you fuss-pot. But I think it should be one word so it shall be written as such in the following post.

Nothing exciting really happened today that would make me think of this word, and I don't think anyone actually said it to me at all today but it's a word (or phrase) thats been on my mind for a little while now. I've decided, I hate that word. I always try to be honest with people, now that doesn't mean I go around giving out other people's deepest, darkest secrets (like I actually know other people's secrets anyway, I'm not the most observant person), but if someone asks me a direct, valid, appropriate question that I think deserves an honest answer, I will answer it. I like to think I'm an open book, even though I'm sure some people will not agree with me, I am for the most part an easy person to talk to. So when someone is about to tell me something and then they change their minds mid-sentence and finish their thought with "nevermind", it drives me crazy. Don't do that! Finish it! No matter what it is you were going to say, just say it. I will NOT judge you based on what comes out of your mouth, I promise. And when I ask you what you were going to say before you stopped, don't say nevermind again. I swear, I'll– . . . nevermind. Just answer my question simply and honestly, like I would do for you. Okay, I'll admit I say 'nevermind' occasionally too. But usually it's because what I was going to say was a bad joke or pun that the person didn't hear and it wouldn't have the same effect if I repeated myself. (Plus my jokes are lame so nobody needs to hear them anyway.) But for the other stuff, the important stuff, just say it, okay? You'll feel better and you won't have to see me frustrated with you. Plus, I'll think the worst until you prove that your mind isn't actually as dark as I thought, and chances are it's not as bad as what I was thinking.

Sorry, that didn't make much sense. Bottom line is, the word "nevermind" is lame and in my books, is considered a cop-out. You are a very intelligent, interesting, humorous, profound, imaginative, brilliant person but I won't know it until you open your mouth and say what's really on your mind. And I want to know. I am truly interested in what you have to say, and how you're feeling, and how I can help you feel at your best. Well, that's not completely true, some people just don't know when to shut up about themselves. Sometimes I don't really want to know that your brother bit your finger while playing hide-and-go-seek, or that your day was bad because some little thing happened that you can't get over so now you have to rant about it to me while the whole time I'm thinking "shut up, I've had worse days, why can't you return the favour and ask how I'm feeling for once." To them I would say "Be more like me." And stop being so melodramatic. Or something along those lines. Which isn't fair to say, but I'm getting off topic here, aren't I? 

I just wish humans were better at talking to each other about what they're really thinking and feeling. Me included, I'm terrible at it, which is why I need someone to ask me those direct questions and not let me say "nevermind" every time the conversation gets awkward or difficult. Some things just need to be said, and everything will work itself out afterwards. Other things don't need to be said, so even though it drives me crazy I won't ever pressure you into saying or doing something you don't feel comfortable about. Just, you know, for future reference. . . So, moral of the story is... try not to say "nevermind" so much, think before you speak, finish your thought when speaking. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. (Unless what you say is mean, then don't say it at all.) Sincerely, Sam

You Had One Job...

Hmmm....