Yet another blast from the past

So, I was picking up some crafty stuff at Michael's tonight on the way home from the gym (2 nights in a row, yeah!) and I came across a girl I used to work with in Banff 10 years ago.
I have a pretty good memory when it comes to names/faces and recognized her right away. She however did not recognize me until I said my name. Apparently I look way different - must find a comparison pic...

And a totally different topic. Here are the Janet Jackson's Rhythym Nation 1814 #1 hits from Saturday night's party. I didn't have the list when I gave the answer so here's some supporting info.
#
Title
Release Date
Chart position
1.
"Miss You Much"
August 22, 1989
#1 - Billboard Hot 100
#1 - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
#1 - Hot Dance Club Play
2.
"Rhythm Nation"
October 24, 1989
#2 - Billboard Hot 100
#1 - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
#1 - Hot Dance Club Play
3.
"Escapade"
January 9, 1990
#1 - Billboard Hot 100
#1 - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
#1 - Hot Dance Club Play
4.
"Alright"
March 27, 1990
#4 - Billboard Hot 100
#2 - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
#1 - Hot Dance Club Play
5.
"Come Back to Me"
June 19, 1990
#2 - Billboard Hot 100
#2 - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
#1 - Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
6.
"Black Cat"
September 4, 1990
#1 - Billboard Hot 100
#10 - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
#1 - Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks
7.
"Love Will Never Do (Without You)"
November 6, 1990
#1 - Billboard Hot 100
#3 - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
#4 - Hot Dance Club Play
8.
"State of the World"
February 6, 1991
#5 - Billboard Hot 100 Airplay

Laser Hair Removal

Has anyone had this done in my circle of friends?

At my last visit to our family doctor I mentioned brazilian wax (more jokingly than anything, really) and he said that coincidentally his practise now includes cosmetic procedures such as laser hair removal, botox, photorejuvenating stuff...he's the total metrosexual. Even at Aaron's checkup he brought up the hair removal for Aaron's chest. I don't know, I think a bit of hair is kind of sexy. Definitely not the "nice sweater vest" look though! Remember Craig, Mom?!

So, now I'm reading up on the whole idea and am thinking about giving it a shot. The only downer is no hair removal for 4 weeks up to removal treatment or in between treatments. Can we say Afro? Yuck!

What do you guys think?

After one week of Arbonne diet I'm down one pound. Yeah! It's not much but if I stick with it maybe I'll keep it off. I should point out that the one pound weight loss was with little effort, and no significant increase in exercise. Tonight I hit the gym to kick it up a notch. Maybe by next Tuesday I'll be down two pounds. Now if only the shakes didn't taste like crap. Honestly, I can only choke it down if I chug it and don't breathe in while drinking. I'm not sure that made sense but whatevah!

What a fun day!

Alex and Joseph in the bit of balls, Joseph is wearing the black hoodie and jeans standing in the background.
Aaron, Kalyna, Melissa and Michelle (throwing her head back laughing her ass off at our "sub")

We started our morning off with Let's Play with Cindy & Brooklyn and their friend (the birthday boy). It was alright there but the wait for food was 45 minutes and they were sold out of half of their menu. So, Plan B was to hit the McD's Playland for lunch and more playtime. Woo hoo! That tired out my boys enough that when we returned home for the rest of the afternoon they played quietly giving me some party prep time.

Bunco was quite a success! We had one person bail at the last minute so we had Winnie the Pooh step up to be our ghost player for the evening. I think we taught 4 new people how to play Bunco and they all seemed to enjoy themselves. It's a mindless dice rolling game but a lot of fun, you switch partners every round so it gives you a chance to talk to different people every time. Aaron even subbed for Heather when Jonathan was feeding, he said it's okay but I don't think he gets how fun it really is.

We started out with about 100 books/1 box full of magazines for the book swap and I only have about 60 books left and no magazines, woo hoo! That was a minor success, I cleaned off some shelves, got a few more new to me books and we'll donate the others to a charitable place.

Aaron's off work today,which I didn't realize until 11 o'clock last night so that was a nice surprise we'll be heading to the zoo shortly and Jonathan and Heather are coming over this afternoon for a visit and dinner.

Note to Mom:

My dream came true and I did indeed forget to serve the banana split cake last night! Guess what we're having for dessert tonight?

Can a girl ever have too much Bunco?

Last night was my monthly Bunco group and tonight is my own Bunco party, although my girlfriend Andrea is playing two nights in a row like myself.

Nobody in my carpool came home with any prizes (sniff sniff) but it was a great time. We did have 2 last minute bailers so we had to play with a ghost player, which isn't really a big deal, but just a bit confusing for those that are drinking more than score keeping and ...are you ready for this?....we had a MAN play Bunco with us. WTF? We were Bunco'ing at Christine's house and her kids were in bed so her hubby Jason played with us. He's actually a lot of fun and squealed Bunco as good as any of us do. We're sure he'll be bragging about it to his friends:

Jason: Dude, I got to play Bunco with 10 hot chicks this weekend!

Dude: Alright! You're the man. WTF is Bunco?

Jason: Dude, who cares? I got to play with 10 hot chicks!

That's the conversation Shannon and I are imagining will take place sometime on Monday. Ha ha! So, we kept the chatting about girl stuff to a minimum but still had an awesome night out!

Today the boys and I are crashing a birthday party at Let's Play to get in some high energy running around time with their cousins. Aaron has to work today, again, so I thought it's the least I can do seeing as I'll be hostessing tonight and he'll be solo parenting.

Will post pictures of Let's Play and Bunco tomorrow!

Thursday Thirteen

13 Things That Will Be Present at My Bunco Night

1. One black negligee
2. One pedicure kit
3. One Bunco game
4. Twelve fun ladies
5. Six G-strings
6. Twenty four jello shooters
7. Two kids and one husband hiding upstairs
8. One baby Jonathan (don't look at the naughties JR)
9. Three tables
10. Six different desserts
11. One big wine glass for me
12. One pair of Spongs
13. Six appetizers

Guess what I have?

My boys at the cottage, the snow pile was probably 4 feet high and lots of fun!
Our lovely new mirror and 2 new ledges for some candles, we are minus the 2 wall sconces, Aaron's still standing firm on the anti-sconce policy. And we've replaced the wee votive holders with family pics in different black frames. Yes, the mirror is too high to actually see yourself in but I get a great reflection of some of my little windows in the kitchen.
I uploaded the wrong picture. Ugh! This is our dog Lyla and Uncle Eric there's a little pink speck that's my MIL, I think she was chasing after Alex who was adamant about going to see his chickens. He's been obsessed with them since he was about 10 months and could walk over to see them himself.

My camera! WOOT WOOT! Those are probably the only two words that can describe how I'm feeling!

I miss my camera ***sniff sniff***

Maybe that' s why my blogging has been so dry the past couple weeks. Usually I have some cute pictures of Thing 1 and Thing 2 to post and chat about. Tonight my MIL is coming over to watch the boys so Aaron and I can hit the gym together and hopefully she'll bring my camera too!
Last night was our monthly dayhome meeting at my house. It was packed! There were 16 women who signed in and a few latecomers so probably 20. We had quite a bit to cover and did so quickly and efficiently . We had a lot of small clusters chatting afterwards until about 10:30ish.
There was one particular person that I found interesting. She is the director of a local daycare. (I won't mention any names on the chance that her employers come across this. ) She has decided to quit as director to open her own dayhome. It was quite fascinating to talk to her although I'll admit that when she first arrived and introduced herself I was shocked. It was like the enemy "daycare" had gotten through the barricade of "dayhome" only?!? I don't know why I felt like that but I did. It always seems like people divide dayhome and daycare and play them against each other (the pros of a more institutional setting like a school versus the pros of a more homey environment) but really we should be working together, after all we have the common goal of providing a stimulating, safe, learning environment for children.
Blah, blah, blah...sorry for the dryness once again
So, anyways, I kind of got an inside look at what it's like to run a daycare in our city and I didn't like the picture I was painted. A lot of staffing issues and angry parents. She said there is no job satisfaction there anymore and she actually had a stress induced medical issue. So, she's decided to start her own dayhome where she can spend her time teaching and playing with the kids rather than trouble shooting on the phone with parents or trying to come up with enough staff. I was really happy to hear that from someone that money isn't everything.
There is a huge employment crisis here, they actually had to close the Starbucks drive thru this weekend. Aagh! What has the city come too? I'm not sure what our unemployment rate is but it damn well be zero because there are help wanted signs everywhere! And the starting wages are $10-12 /hour and that's just to work at McDonald's or a gas station. Isn't that crazy???

118 out of 197-ish

Here's a Movie MeMe from my mom. I've highlighted movies I've seen in blue.

Rocky Horror Picture Show
Grease
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Boondock Saints
Fight Club
Starsky & Hutch
Neverending Story
Blazing Saddles
Airplane
the Princess Bride
Anchor Man
Napoleon Dynamite
Labyrinth
Saw
Saw II
White Noise
White Oleander
Anger Management
50 First Dates
Princess Diaries
Princess Diaries 2
Scream
Scream2
Scream 3
Scary Movie
Scary Movie 2
Scary Movie 3
Scary Movie 4
American Pie
American Pie
American Wedding
American Pie Band Camp
Harry Potter
Harry Potter 2
Harry Potter 3
Harry Potter 4
Resident Evil
Resident Evil 2
The Wedding Singer
Little Black Book
The Village
Lilo & Stitch
Finding Nemo
Finding Neverland
Signs
The Grinch
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning
White Chicks
Butterfly Effect
13 going on 30
I, Robot
Robots
Dodgeball
Universal Soldier
Lemony Snickett
Along came Polly
Deep Impact
King Pin
Never Been Kissed
Meet the Parents
Meet the Fockers
Eight Crazy Nights
Joe Dirt
King Kong - new one
A Cinderella Story
The Terminal
Lizzie McGuire
Passport to Paris
Dumb & Dumber
Dumb & Dumberer
Final Destination
Final Destination 2
Final Destination 3
Halloween
The Ring

The Ring 2
Surviving Xmas
Flubber
Harold & Kumar go to White Castle
Practical Magic
Chicago
Ghost Ship
From Hell
Hellboy
Secret Window
I Am Sam
The Whole Nine Yards
The Whole Ten Yards
The Day after Tomorrow
Child's Play
Seed of Chucky
Bride of Chucky
Ten things I Hate about You
Just Married
Gothika
Nightmare of Elm Street
Sixteen Candles
Remember the Titans
Coach Carter
The Grudge
The Grudge 2
The Mask
Son of the Mask
Bad Boys
Bad Boys2
Joy Ride
Lucky number Slevin
Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's Twelve
Bourne Identity
Bourne Supremacy
Lone Star
Bedazzled
Predator
Predator II
The Fog
Ice Age
Ice Age 2 the Meltdown
Curious George
Independence Day
A Bronx Tale
Darkness Falls
Christine
ET
Children of the Corn
My Boss's Daughter
Maid in Manhattan
War of the Worlds
Rush Hour
Rush Hour 2
Best Bet
How to lose a Guy in 10 days
She's all that
Calendar Girls
Sideways
Mars Attack
Working Girl
Ever After
Wizard of Oz
Forrest Gump
Bit Trouble in Little China
The terminator
The terminator 2
The terminator 3
X-Men
X2
X3
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Sky High
Jeepers Creepers
Jeepers Creepers 2
Catch me if you Can
The Little Mermaid
Freaky Friday
Reign of Fire
The Skulls
Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions 2
The Hot Chick
Shrek
Shrek 2
Swimfan
Miracle of 34th Street
Old School
The Notebook
K-Pax
Krippendorf's Tribe
A Walk to remember
Ice Castles
Boogeyman
The 40 year Old Virgin
LOTR - Fellowship of the Ring
LOTR The Two Towers
LOTR Return of the King
Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones Last Crusade
Hostel
Elf
Highlander
Mothman Phophecies
American history
Three
The Jacket
Kung Fu Hustle Shaloin Soccer
Night Watch
Monsters INC
Titanic
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Shaun of the Dead
Willard
High tension
Club Dead
Hulk
Dawn of the Dead
Hook
Chronicles of Narnia
28 Days Later
Shawshank Redemption
The Rock
Walking tall
Windtalkers
Braveheart

What the heck is with Blogger?

I had to revert to old template to add new blog links and my whole new look has disappeared with the exception of the ticker countdown to Kathryn's wedding. What the heck?
I'm missing my camera like crazy, we didn't make the trek to the cottage this weekend but Aaron's parents have it in Calgary now.
We found out last night that Aaron's cousin Michelle had to have emergency surgery to repair a toonie sized hole in her heart. The dr's were quite surprised that she's never had complications from it before. Michelle's 34 I think. It's scary to hear about stuff like that because it makes us realize that we're not invincible after all.
Jonathan and his parents came over for a productive visit Sunday, I cleaned out a few garbage bags of my boys babyish toys and Jeff helped Aaron hang a big mirror over the mantle. I'd show you a pic of how great it looks but I don't have my camera. Agh!
Yesterday the boys and I headed over to Cochrane to visit Auntie Kathryn, Uncle Jeff and Hamish. Their dog Hamish is a chocolate horse oops I mean chocolate lab. He just looks like a horse! The boys love chasing him as much as they love being chased. Our own dog Lyla has slowed down a lot and doesn't do that anymore. So, instead the boys just shower her with scooby snacks and brush her.
Tonight is dayhome support meeting at my house , and as Murphy's Law dictates Aaron now has to work late. Ugh!

Ah, to be 3 years old again

This morning Alex woke up and the first thing he says to me is ' I think I'm going to be a friend today. I'll be your friend, Daddy's friend, and Joey's friend today.'
What a nice way to start my morning!

25 Signs Showing You Might Be Canadian

1. You're not offended by the term 'HOMO MILK'.
2. You understand the phrase 'Could you pass me a serviette, I just dropped my poutine on the chesterfield. '
3. You eat chocolate bars, not candy bars.
4. You drink Pop, not Soda.
5. You know that a Mickey and 24's mean, 'party at the camp, eh !!!'
6. You don't care about the fuss with Cuba. It's a cheap place to go for your holidays, with good cigars.
7. You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway.
8. You drive on a highway, not a freeway.
9. You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.
10. You know that Casey and Finnegan were not part of a Celtic musical group.
11. You get excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada.
12. You brag to Americans that; Shania Twain, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion,
Mike Myers, Alex Trebek and Nellie Furtado are Canadians.
13. You know that the C.E.O. Of American Airlines is a Canadian!
14. You know what a toque is.
15. You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
16. You know that the last letter of the English alphabet is always pronounced 'Zed'.
17. Your local newspaper covers the national news on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.
18. You know that the four seasons mean: almost Winter, Spring, Summer, and Road Work.
19. You know that when it's 25 degrees outside, it's a warm day.
20. You understand the Labatt Blue commercials.
21. You know how to pronounce and spell 'Saskatchewan'.
22. You perk up when you hear the theme song from 'Hockey Night in Canada'.
23. You are in grade 12, not the 12th grade.
24. 'Eh ?' is a very important part of your vocabulary, and is more polite than, 'Huh?'
25. You actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all of your Canadian friends!

Thursday Thirteen

13 Dates That Are Circled On My Calendar

1. March 10 - Great Danes of Calgary Ladies Night with Leanne & Marg
2. March 15 - Christina Aguilera concert with Kathryn
3. March 16 - a day off from my dayhome and hopefully our Fantasyland weekend in Edmonton
4. March 20 - my birthday :)
5. March 22 - matron of honour dress fitting
6. March 24 - Aaron's birthday
7. March 27 - Nelly Furtado concert with Aaron and 2 other people (we have 2 tix available if anyone's interested)
8. _______ - Kathryn's bridal shower...she knows it's happening, just not when
9. April 27 - Kathryn's stagette - due to mass confusion with scheduling we couldn't surprise her with this one
10. May 5 - Kathryn's wedding
11. June 13 - Gwen Stefani concert with 3 other ladies
12. June 13 - I meant to say Dad's birthday first of course
13. July 1st - the arrival of Baby Tito

results from stamping night

Another successful night! We've got a unique bunch of ladies this year. I think the 3 of 'us' joined an existing group where there are some strong friendships. So, it's kind of like 'us' and 'them'. Last month we met each other for the first time and tonight we kind of eavesdropped on all conversations and laughed along with the jokes quietly or even commented amongst ourselves. Hopefully by next month we'll all break out of our shells (hard to believe that I can be reserved isn't it? MacAulay and wallflower just doesn't sound right!) and be a little more chatty. I like the socializing almost as much as the stamping and I'm missing hearing about Kelly's daughter Logan.

Super quickie post before stamping class WOOT WOOT

Today was a sugar filled day at the dayhome which made me a little crazy by 4 o'clock...and then the thought occured to me that it's almost spring break. Aagh!
Can I borrow my wrestling cousin to show me some of her moves?! I made need them to keep my boys under control, I'm not really kidding!

Wow! I must have really been in a hurry to get home!

Apparently our camera is still hanging up beside the cottage door. Looks like the boys and I may be making a sidetrip there this weekend. At least it shouldn't be snowing, really slushy but not snowstorm conditions thankfully.
Today I had the pleasure of watching 6 wee ones glue their hands to their heads, their hair to their crafts and fingers to their fingers. Most of the kids made their Valentine's Day crafts today a few made them last week which was so much easier. It was probably because it was a much smaller group last week. I'd love to show you the end result but without the camera it's a little hard.
We also made some muffins for Valentine's Day snack tomorrow (and today's).
Tomorrow night is my stamping night so Aaron is totally off the hook for planning anything. I actually don't mind not celebrating Valentine's Day. We know we love each other and I think the spontaneous flowers and chocolates are much more meaningful than doing it because society tells us to.
Does anyone have fab plans for Valentine's Day with their special someone?

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It's pretty cold here lately. It's currently -16 and heading down to -20 by nightfall. Brrrr! My boys are waking up in the middle of the night because they've kicked off their covers and are freezing. I must admit it's getting hard to jump out of bed in the morning when it's this cold.
Today was an average dayhome day, no major or minor or memorable incidents. Which is a good thing!
Kathryn's booked my first dress fitting for next week...why do I always wait to the last minute to try and lose a few pounds? Are all women like me or is this just me?
I've signed up for the Arbonne weight loss plan which I'll be starting next week. The whole Clean Eating thing hasn't been as successful as I would have liked.
Where do I buy quinoa? What does it taste like? And how the heck do I cook it?
Haley-O may need to leave some healthy eating tips for me! Help Help!

What a day!

The snow, the snow! Why won't it stop? We were at the cottage this weekend and woke up to a ton of snow coming down so we packed up and left earlier than planned for the trek home.
Now what did we leave behind?
Hmmm...
Only my suitcase, with both pairs of my comfy jeans, my favourite hoodie, the boys blankies and thankfully Joseph's Mini pops CDs (shucks)
On the upside Aaron's parents had just left the house and turned around to pick up my suitcase so at least it's in Calgary.

Summer holidays are in the making.
Aaron got the end of July off so we're trying to decide if we should head West and check out the Okanagan and pick some apples or head East and get wet checking out the Falls and hopefully not get puked on from too many Wonderland rides. What's everyone else doing?

Have you ever had one of those days

where something said or done just totally snowballs out of control and you're left standing by helplessly thinking WTF?
Well, I've had one of those days today and I've decided that sometimes things happen that you can't help and just need to move on. Why dwell on it? It doesn't change anything so why bother.
OMG, I sound like Auntie Jen...just kidding Jen, we all have bad days. It's nice to be able to share your feelings with those you love.
Must pack my suitcase for our trip to the cottage.
If I need help not dwelling I'll be indulging in a few cocktails, I'm sure!

Thursday Thirteen

Totally inspired by Baby Tito AKA The Boy - My Top 13 Boy Names That Aren't in the Clan already...

1. Tyler
2. Hunter
3. Noah
4. Kaelin
5. Austin
6. Jordan
7. Sean
8. Joshua
9. Marcus
10. Ethan
11. Nicholas
12. Andrew
13. Dylan

Too cute not too share

This is what I've been up to

nothing terribly exciting, just more pre-spring cleaning. In the beginning the entire counter was filled with makeup and this is what I ended up with at the finish. I ended up throwing out a big shopping bag crammed of beauty products that I neved used or didn't like. Then I went through all of my makeup and thinned it out to just the things that I actually use. My nail polish collection went from about 40 bottles to 12, which still includes 3 different shades of blue. What's with that? And I discovered that I covet my fancy smelling mini lotions for some unknown reason. My new short term goal is to use it up one bottle per week. So, I'm good until Easter I think.

On a more exciting note, Aaron got me 4 tickets for Gwen Stefani. Can I get a WOOT WOOT! Apparently Akon is opening for her WOOT WOOT!

Just me and my boys

Aaron is late again tonight so I've got the house tidied up and the boys are watching a bit of TV before bed and then I'm cleaning out the linen closet. Woo hoo! NOT! I realized last week that some of our towels are getting close to 10 years old and have lost their fluffiness forevah, sad sad day. So I bought 4 new towel sets this weekend, I think I'll buy 4 towel sets/month for the next few months until I can phase out all of the old stuff. Then came the big dilemna, what colour towels should I buy? Seems like an easy enough question but then came the whole bathroom decor question...I ended up buying slate blue and kiwi green towels Saturday and then Sunday Heather, Jonathan and I picked out a coordinating white shower curtain with blue and kiwi squares in it. Kind of fresh looking I think. All of my Arbonne products have arrived so I am clearing out the bathroom cubbies of all of the stuff I don' t use. I don't know why I don't just throw out the stuff I buy and don't like?! Instead I let it all collect under the bathroom sink until Aaron makes a subtle comment or I open the cubbie door and a whole shwack of stuff tumbles out. I think on Aaron's next late work night I'll be cleaning out my dresser...do you hear the enthusiastic woo hoo?!? yeah right, didn't think so... Here's Jonathan sleeping through UFC fight night at the Beck's
And in colour :)

Am I hyperactive?

This morning when I woke up my leg was killing me, I slipped on the stairs yesterday and although I didn't completely tumble it was still a not so delicate landing. Anyways, Aaron went to the gym so I got up with the boys and we went downstairs to have breakfast and watch cartoons. Yes, I 'm getting to the point. I heated up the magic bag and sat on the couch with my leg stretched out and I was totally annoyed by the fact that I was just sitting there wasting time while I could have been cleaning up the kitchen, or vacuuming or even just reading a book. Apparently I just can't relax and do nothing...

And here's The HULK!

What a day!

It was a crazy day today! One of the dayhome babies caught a nasty stomach bug and pooped, puked, pooped, puked and pooped in about forty minutes. The only downer is for the last series of poop puke poop I had already taken off the poopy diaper and then he proceeded to puke and as I was rolling him to his side so he wouldn't choke, he pooped.
To top it all off, it was painting day today! So, the other kids were sitting at the table painting away. I kept picturing a Cat in the Hat like house but they were actually very well behaved and only made the usual minimal paint splatters.
And then came the Hulk....and Alex showed the other boys how cool he looked with green painted hands. That was almost the beginning of the end. What saved me was that Alex came to show Mommy what they were all laughing at, so I could nip that body painting idea in the bud!

We've got a busy Saturday planned - a birthday party for the boys to attend and then PPV UFC night at the Beck household. On the upside I'll get to visit with Heather and Jonathan and Cindy and the girls while the guys are cheering on the fighters.

Have a great weekend! I'll be posting the Hulk hands later...

Yeah, ER is a new one!

There are very few shows that I faithfully watch, actually come to think of it ER is the only show that I watch faithfully. It was a really cliffhanger a couple weeks ago so my goal for tonight is to have the boys fed, bathed and asleep by 8 o'clock. Aaron is late tonight so mommy is solo on bedtime routine. So far we're on track though.
Everyone will be happy to know that I freaked Aaron out the other day with my gender question. He kind of got that 'deer caught in the headlights' look and said ' are we having another baby?' shudder shudder...And then there was a huge sigh of relief when I said no.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen statements that sum up my way of thinking:

1. Things happen for a reason.
2. Look to the future but don't forget your past.
3. What goes around comes around.
4. Hard work does pay off.
5. Carpe diem - seize the day.
6. You're never too old to be silly.
7. If you don't like your career, change careers.
8. Random acts of kindness make the world a better place.
9. You choose your own life's path.
10. People can change.
11. Be true to yourself.
12. Children will change your life forever.
13. Trust your instincts.