Weirdos

"We are all a little weird, and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." -Dr. Seuss

I'm glad I found my weirdo and we can be weirdos together. Love ya babe

Perception

Something to think about....

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly..

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.

How many other things are we missing?

Found this wonderful article here

Look towards the Sunshine

In trying to be more positive this month and "worry about me and let it be" I found this quote that I just love.

"Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it." ~Mark Twain


I need to stop worrying all the time and just look towards the sunshine. Hope everyone is having a great week.

The Simple Things

So I may have a big passion for dogs, learning about them, all that jazz. So of course I was reading a book about them and it had this list in it. I though it was adorable and definitely somethings I can learn.

*Things we can learn from a dog*

1. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
2. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
3. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
4. When it's in your best interest, always practice obedience.
5. Let others know when they have invaded your territory.
6. Take naps and always stretch before rising.
7. Run, romp, and play daily.
8. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
9. Be loyal.
10. Never pretend to be something you're not.
11. If what you want is buried, dig until you find it.
12. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
13. Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
14. Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
15. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
16. On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
17. When you are happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
18. No matter how often you are criticized, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run right back and make friends.
~Joy Nordquist

Yes Ma'am, No Sir

So today at work we had some of the sweetest boys come in. They were both about 8 and 14. They both had the best manners I have ever seen! They both answered to their parents and to us as No Ma'am, or Yes sir. Everyone at work was so impressed. My coworker who is about fifty was even impressed with how polite and kind they were. Apparently this family had came in the day before and everyone was so impressed with these two boys. Even the other people that came in commented to the parents at how polite they were.
It amazed me how two boys who came in effected about 20 people with just being polite. It's kind of sad though too that so many people were impressed that there are kids that are polite and have respect for others.
It definitly is a reminder to be polite to everyone. I definitley hope that if one day I too am a parent I can have kids that are just as polite.

India Arie

Wow. Beautiful song.

One more thing..

Sex and the city dvds. Oh how I love that show. Anytime I'm down in a rut, one episode of this and some icecream= instant mood lifter! :)

Some Favorite quotes:

“Maybe mistakes are what make our fate... without them what would shape our lives? Maybe if we had never veered off course we wouldn't fall in love, have babies, or be who we are. After all, things change, so do cities, people come into your life and they go. But it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart... and if you're very lucky, a plane ride away”

“But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous.”

p.s. Aubrey and Brooke are for sure coming here for christmas! Yay for sisters!

See it Through

I definitely have been having a rough time with school and work. It's hard to juggle everything plus my personal life. I like this picture it kind of puts things in perspective. People climb mountains and do all sorts of things, and I think I'm going to die because of Chemistry? haha.

I love Lucy!!

I came across this quote today, and I feel like it's perfect for me. I have a bad habit to be lazy, but when I'm busy I'm actually so much happier! I love Lucille Ball, her humor and love of life was amazing. Her show always puts a smile on my face.

"One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself."
~Lucille Ball

Turning A New Leaf

So these past couple of months have been very hard to deal with. I've had to deal with getting knee surgery, to trying to make it to class, watching my family almost fall apart completely to basically just trying to get by. I'm hoping that the upcoming months will be better though. My parents seem to be doing better and my knee is healing pretty fast. Considering everything that has happened I really haven't been too down about it. I think you really have to look for the positive in everything. I know that everyone goes through difficult times so that they can learn and grow from it. I think my favorite quote of all time has to be from Little Miss Sunshine..

"Yeah. French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he's also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he uh... he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, Those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss. I mean high school? High school-those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that."

I totally believe that's true, if we went through life never learning and everything was perfect we wouldn't even know what happiness was. So I'm trying to get my life back on track. I'm starting to go back to church and just try to be a better person all around. So cheers everyone- to just livin and enjoyin life.