A little on happiness. . .

Okay I admit it, I struggle with staying happy and positive each day.  Someone will say something negative, or I will hang on something I thought to be negative.  I think way too much and analyze conversations, people's actions and my own feelings towards everything.  I know that I can choose to be worry free and happy all the time, but it's really not that simple to do for me.

I'm gonna tell you some of the crazy things that I do to keep a smile on my bright face.  I know they're dumb, but they tend to work for me.

• I make my bed, or well Gary does now, cuz he's there.  Coming home to a fresh made bed always makes me feel relief.
• I look in the mirror and say "today is going to be a great day".
• I text my daughter.
• I try to stand up straight (almost stretch it's so straight) once or twice a day.
• Listen to a happy song.
• Imagine my happy place.
• Drink some tea.
• Spend some quality time with my phone.
• Exercise.
• Laugh with Zach.
• Go on a date with the man.
• Listen to an audio book.
• Find the love around me - it's everywhere.

I encourage you to think of the things that keep you happy and positive.  Write a list.

Weatherman

I'm kind of getting tired of educated guessing.  My son has been ill a lot lately, and we have had lots of tests run to get only vague answers.  I know that sometimes things are not as they seem.  I know that worrying will get me nowhere, but I want to scream sometimes.  A weatherman is paid for predictions, but doctors should not be.  A doctor should look for evidence and treat what they can.   I am so tired of hearing, "it looks like it might be. . . ", or "let's try this."  I know that doctors are just people and that they just have a different kind of education than I do, but I so wish they would think more like, "what if he was my son?  How would I treat this then?"  I feel like if they can't fix him then they shouldn't be paid anything.  Or rather, if all i get is indefinite answers, then all you get from me is half of your pay.
Oh the frustration.

Orson Scott Card thoughts. . .

This dude is seriously talented.  I listen to a lot of Audio books.  Long drive to work and home every day.  Anyway, a few months back I downloaded Pathfinder.  It’s a great book!

I think the narration in all of the Orson Scott Card books that I’ve listened to have been phenomenal also.  The books have all caught my attention from the first paragraph to the end.  The Lost Gate is another must read.  I have now listened to the entire Alvin Maker series, and I am a true fan.  I do have to say I even liked Treason, but it did make me wonder what kind of drugs he was doing at the time of writing it.

Interestingly enough, after listening to Pathfinder and loving it, I decided to download Ender’s Game.  I had trouble getting into that one, so I moved on to Alvin.  Card has published a ton of books, and in such a small time frame.  I have completely in awe of him.  That’s really not saying that much, considering I am quite taken by many authors.  I do believe I’d give my left foot to be half as good of a writer as he is though.  (Foot because I want my hands for typing.)

Loving You. . .

You were so little in my arms.  I recall the bridge of your nose and the wide eyed stare filled with love.  I remember the moment when I thought, “you’ll never get this back. Enjoy him now.”
Your cheeks were so chubby and your eyes so blue.  You weren’t wholly mine, yet it felt so like you were.  I remember the thought, “you’re making her like you, even the weird stuff.”
Zelda was my bonding tool with you.  I knew when you were young that you were a gamer at heart, and we played until the game was complete.  I remember thinking, “I will come to your level and then you’ll love me as much as anyone.”
Time has passed.
In the blink of an eye, everything changed.
The lesson that I’ve learned from the experiences we’ve had, is that we never stop.  The love is and always will be, but everyone moves on and changes and grows.
I look into your big brown eyes that I’m only looking down an inch at, and I think, “I’m so proud of the boy you are, and the man you’re becoming.”
The once chubby and now slim face of my young woman is so loving and careful not to upset.  I often think, “How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?”
The young man that is still playing games, but getting ready to join the military, I wonder..”Will you ever know how much I love you?”

Why Android. . .

My first smart phone was a gift from my wonderful man on Valentine’s Day probably about 4 years ago.  It was an iPhone 3G.  I loved that phone and named it “My Precious”.  When the iPhone 4 came out, I jumped quickly on it.  I was most definitely a Mac Head (reference to Apple fanatics).  One day a while ago, I saw the advertisement for the Atrix 4G(“is it a computer or a phone”).  All of the sudden, I decided I would try the Android world and see for myself which was truly the better operating system.  Honestly, I like them both.  They are just a completely different world from each other.

Apple is about keeping it simple, and the look and feel of things.  They made it sleek and beautiful and aesthetically clean.  It’s appealing and they advertise well.  Grandparents and children alike can use the iPhone, yet I still think sales people are trying to figure them out.

Android devices are more complex.  They integrate with all of the Google products, which is very nice.  There are tons of more free apps than the iTunes store has.  The Atrix had a dual-core processor from the start, was on the H+ (true 4G) network, and my laptop dock is pretty neat.  All in all, the device is sweet, but that’s not what sells me on Android.  Amazon and Google sell me on Android.  See, Amazon is amazing and they really know what’s going on and what consumers want; Google has always known what I need and they give it to me in fresh new small beta’s all the time.  The Amazon Apps Store and the Android App store has always stored my App library for me online.  Now both companies store my music, too.  Guess what they charge me for doing this?  That’s right, NOTHING.  Google has any document I need or want in their cloud, along with all my contacts, music, mail, pictures.  Seriously, I know that there is a lot of fear out there, and that some people will be all like …”you do what?”  “don’t you want to protect yourself from identity theft?”  Amazon even guesses at what I want to buy, because I’m there so often.  I love this technology thing, and I love Amazon and Google.  

That is all.

Yes - me and my Android buddy in Mountain View, CA

Thinking that the 4S has nothing on us.

Engel's Law

What is Engel's Law?
So this dude in 1857 named Ernst Engel, a German statistician, came up with this "law".  Plainly stated it means that if you spend 25% of your income today on essentials and you make $50k - you're spending $12,500 on essentials, but if you get an increase to $100k, you will still spend approximately $12,500 on food and essentials.  You won't increase your amount to $25,000.

Okay - so I have to say..REALLY?  You think that I won't use more toilet paper if I make more money.  Were people dumber in the 1800's and someone really had to explain this.  I wonder if this guy won some sort of award for his totally obvious assertion.

I believe that a person who has 24 hours in the day to complete a task will spend possible 8 hours a day being productive.
I believe if you give a teenager a cell phone they will text 3 hours a day.
It is positive that the days get shorter in the winter months.
I believe that this blog has already taken too much time out of my 8 hours of productive time today.