Imagine yourself watching an infomercial...
"Have you ever found yourself stuck in a conversation with nothing interesting to say and then you hit that point when the weather comes up?! Oh boy! You know you've hit rock bottom when the weather comes up... It's time to spice up your conversation skills, avoid rock bottom and start memorizing random facts. You heard me! Why not memorize some random facts to share with your friends, family and co-workers during conversations to keep them lively, interesting and informative..."
Haha, ok, don't memorize random facts to improve your conversational skills; I sometimes just think it's fun to know a few random facts. So.... enjoy:
When you die, your hair still grows for a couple of months (that's kind of gross/creepy)
A skunk's smell can be detected by a human from a mile away
Henry Ford produced the Model T only in black because the black paint available at the time was the fastest drying paint
When snakes are born with two heads they fight each other for food
There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia than people.
In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator
The elephant is the only animal with four knees
The average person spends about 2 years on the phone in their lifetime
Americans make up 5% of the world's population but they produce 35% of the world's waste
A typical pair of tennis shoes will last 500 miles of walking
8.26.2013
8.11.2013
7 Effective Ways Happy People Think
I stumbled across this article and thought I would share it. It's not GREAT, but I thought it had some good and interesting ideas. Sometimes it's good to have a reality check, even a small one, to give ourselves perspective on our lives. I just thought it was a nice reminder (not that I had forgotten) that we can control our attitudes.
7 Effective Ways Happy People Think
1. Feeling Privileged and Satisfied To Be Alive
2. Believing in the Possibility of a Better Tomorrow
3. Knowing Deep Down that Every Step is Worth it
4. Appreciating the Beauty in All the Small Things
5. Feeling Good Enough
6. Consciously Detaching and Living in the Present
7. Embracing Change
7 Effective Ways Happy People Think
1. Feeling Privileged and Satisfied To Be Alive
2. Believing in the Possibility of a Better Tomorrow
3. Knowing Deep Down that Every Step is Worth it
4. Appreciating the Beauty in All the Small Things
5. Feeling Good Enough
6. Consciously Detaching and Living in the Present
7. Embracing Change
8.05.2013
Book Reviews: I Sit All Amazed and Austenland
I'm slowly but surely plugging along on my reading list for the year. Here are two more books:
I Sit All Amazed by Steve Mikita
Oh my goodness, this is an amazing must read. I highly recommend it. This book is written by and is about Steve Mikita who is a paraplegic. Mr. Mikita talks about the power of the atonement and how Christ is there with you and knows the good and hard times. He also talks a lot about the power of a mother's love and how much his mother sacrificed for him so that he may have that much more of an enriched life. It was very humbling to read about this man who looks at his life, not by what he can not do but, by what he is able to do and what possibilities he has reached.
The book itself was an easy read and only 130 pages. I read it on a flight from Salt Lake City to Boston and it really shouldn't have taken me that long. I loved it because it was thought provoking, humbling, inspiring and an easy page turner. I bought this at Deseret Book and have no regrets about owning it.
Quotes I liked from the book:
"I cannot repay my mother. Can anyone? I can only give thanks and honor her by living the principles she taught me and by loving others as she loved me."
"Brigham Young once explained, 'Education is the power to think clearly, the power to act well in the world's work, and the power to appreciate life.'"
"With Education comes information and choices and preparation, all of which provide an increased awareness of who we are and what we can become. Education draws us closer to the truth of all things. It also makes us useful to other people rather than a burden to them. In spite of my physical disability, I knew I had something to contribute and that education would be the means of delivering it."
"Change provides us with the opportunity to learn more about our Lord and to trust His love and promises for each of us.... But we are not left alone; we are not abandoned. Our loving Godhead is there to comfort and guide us through these changing times."
"Faith is an active thing. Faith requires confidence and effort. Faith requires courage, research, and sacrifice. Faith demands that you and I act."
Talking about being accepted to Duke University and how the Dean of Students was excited and willing to prepare a smooth pathway for Steve Mikita's higher education. "Once again, Mom was right. So long as we had active faith, it only took one -- one extraordinary university and one understanding heart -- to open the way."
(Not only do I love that he is quick to give thanks to his Heavenly Father for this opportunity, give credit for the blessing and recognize the blessing of having active faith but I love that this is an example that Heavenly Father blesses us through other people at times and we too can be making a difference in other's lives when we are listening to the spirit.)
"When we were children, Dad would often remark, 'The greatest gift that a father can give his children is the knowledge that he loves their mother.'"
"my body is destined to fail me. But what won't fail me is my attitude, my family, my friends, and my Savior. Those are the things and the people I can count on and trust. Those are the things that fill my life with hope, happiness and strength."
"it is because of Him that joy is attainable each and every day, wherever we find ourselves and whatever we are experiencing.... Humor does make a difference in our lives. One cannot live a full life without being touched by life's ironies and comedies. Being able to laugh at one's self or at life's paradoxical turns makes every day more enjoyable."
Austenland by Shannon Hale
This book was fun. It wasn't a major page turner like it was for my friend but I still enjoyed a little guilty pleasure of getting slightly wrapped up in a chick flick. I liked that the book was clean and a light easy read. It is about a girl who is obsessed with Pride and Prejudice and she has a wealthy great aunt that sends her off to this resort that is set up to be as if you are living in the time period of Pride and Prejudice. The great aunt sends her there to get all of the Pride and Prejudice fantasies out of her system because it's beginning to take over the reality of her life. The book continues on to have twisted romances and in the end everything works out and she finds herself. Again, nothing amazing, but just light and fun.
Oh my goodness, this is an amazing must read. I highly recommend it. This book is written by and is about Steve Mikita who is a paraplegic. Mr. Mikita talks about the power of the atonement and how Christ is there with you and knows the good and hard times. He also talks a lot about the power of a mother's love and how much his mother sacrificed for him so that he may have that much more of an enriched life. It was very humbling to read about this man who looks at his life, not by what he can not do but, by what he is able to do and what possibilities he has reached.
The book itself was an easy read and only 130 pages. I read it on a flight from Salt Lake City to Boston and it really shouldn't have taken me that long. I loved it because it was thought provoking, humbling, inspiring and an easy page turner. I bought this at Deseret Book and have no regrets about owning it.
Quotes I liked from the book:
"I cannot repay my mother. Can anyone? I can only give thanks and honor her by living the principles she taught me and by loving others as she loved me."
"Brigham Young once explained, 'Education is the power to think clearly, the power to act well in the world's work, and the power to appreciate life.'"
"With Education comes information and choices and preparation, all of which provide an increased awareness of who we are and what we can become. Education draws us closer to the truth of all things. It also makes us useful to other people rather than a burden to them. In spite of my physical disability, I knew I had something to contribute and that education would be the means of delivering it."
"Change provides us with the opportunity to learn more about our Lord and to trust His love and promises for each of us.... But we are not left alone; we are not abandoned. Our loving Godhead is there to comfort and guide us through these changing times."
"Faith is an active thing. Faith requires confidence and effort. Faith requires courage, research, and sacrifice. Faith demands that you and I act."
Talking about being accepted to Duke University and how the Dean of Students was excited and willing to prepare a smooth pathway for Steve Mikita's higher education. "Once again, Mom was right. So long as we had active faith, it only took one -- one extraordinary university and one understanding heart -- to open the way."
(Not only do I love that he is quick to give thanks to his Heavenly Father for this opportunity, give credit for the blessing and recognize the blessing of having active faith but I love that this is an example that Heavenly Father blesses us through other people at times and we too can be making a difference in other's lives when we are listening to the spirit.)
"When we were children, Dad would often remark, 'The greatest gift that a father can give his children is the knowledge that he loves their mother.'"
"my body is destined to fail me. But what won't fail me is my attitude, my family, my friends, and my Savior. Those are the things and the people I can count on and trust. Those are the things that fill my life with hope, happiness and strength."
"it is because of Him that joy is attainable each and every day, wherever we find ourselves and whatever we are experiencing.... Humor does make a difference in our lives. One cannot live a full life without being touched by life's ironies and comedies. Being able to laugh at one's self or at life's paradoxical turns makes every day more enjoyable."
This book was fun. It wasn't a major page turner like it was for my friend but I still enjoyed a little guilty pleasure of getting slightly wrapped up in a chick flick. I liked that the book was clean and a light easy read. It is about a girl who is obsessed with Pride and Prejudice and she has a wealthy great aunt that sends her off to this resort that is set up to be as if you are living in the time period of Pride and Prejudice. The great aunt sends her there to get all of the Pride and Prejudice fantasies out of her system because it's beginning to take over the reality of her life. The book continues on to have twisted romances and in the end everything works out and she finds herself. Again, nothing amazing, but just light and fun.
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