Sew what?

As I prepare to go into 2008 I have decided to come clean about a secret hobby that I've kept hidden for many years.

Gulp! I have to prepare myself mentally for the possible backlash and public shunning that may result but I remain steadfast and resolute in my determination not to live under the cloud of shame for another year. 2008 is the year I proudly proclaim that I love counted cross stitching!

I have been a closet counted cross stitcher for about four years now. I know the shock this revelation may bring to my closest family members and friends. But I think it is time to come clean and reveal my hidden addiction.

What is counted cross stitch, I hear you ask. Just the sound of it makes you think it is an old lady's hobby that she keeps hidden in a large bag and takes out once she is seated in her rocking chair for the day.

Simply put, counted cross stitching is taking a scene and putting symbols to the colors on a pattern and then sewing the pattern onto a piece of cloth.

Yes, friends this is what I do. I wish I could say this I am using the new, amped up electronic form of counted cross stitch but to my knowledge there are no technologically advanced versions of this time consuming but totally satisfying hobby. The technology probably hasn't changed in the last three hundred years. I mean all you need is a needle, cloth, threads, a sharp eye and the ability to count. How easy is that?

Periodically I will put some of my works in progress on the blog so you can see how I am doing. I'm excited about my latest project. I purchased two new creations on line yesterday. I can't wait for them to arrive.

If I find a website that explains this awesome hobby far better than I have I'll add it.

I feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. As I close I will share with you that there is a stitching club in Bermuda. Who knew?! I found out this past Saturday and I think - I might attend a meeting. I know this is a lot to absorb but since I'm coming clean I may as well find others who have the same addiction. I might learn some new stitches.

A day without coffee ...

I woke up one Saturday morning with only one thought on my mind, my first cup of coffee for the day. I shuffled down to the kitchen and began the ritual of selecting only the beans that contained maximum amounts of caffeine. Each bean had to pass my rigorous test before being ground into a fine powder. How is this done, you might ask? The answer, carefully and with scientific precision.

As I began the grinding process I started to think about what a day would be like without coffee. As tears started rolling down my face at this earth shattering thought I began to question whether or not I was addicted to the brown elixir. Could I, in fact, last an entire day without one drop? Was this even a sane thought or the mindless ramblings of a woman who had not yet had her caffeine fix?

The more I contemplated this disturbing thought the faster the tears flowed as I looked into my bleak day without the bold, sharp aroma wafting past my nostrils as I took the first sip. I gazed out of the kitchen window and fondly remembered some of my coffee adventures.

I recalled the time when I used to travel extensively for a previous job. There would always be a car service waiting for me when I landed at JFK airport. I arrived early one morning and told the friendly driver that I wanted to find a Starbucks before we got to the office. He peeled across two lanes of traffic to take the next exit because he knew exactly where a Starbucks was. We made it safely to the coffee haven and the rest of the trip was a blur, although I do vaguely remember car horns blaring as the driver zigzagged through traffic to our final destination.

The next week when I landed at JFK another driver picked me up and as soon as we got into the car he was on his car radio speaking an East European language which I was trying desperately to learn so my instructions to him about Starbucks would be clear. As he ended his conversation he turned to me and said, “Starbucks?” I looked at him amazed. I said, yes, how did you know? “My friend, (indicating to his radio) he pick you up last week.”

As I settled into the back seat, looking out of the window I wondered if my obsession for the perfect cup of coffee had gone too far with car service drivers knowing my weakness and plotting amongst themselves on how to get me to the nearest Starbucks.

There was another occasion when coffee played heavily on my mind, the following incidents I am about to describe I have to admit I’m not terribly proud of. In 2005 my mother and I took a trip to several far flung countries – Singapore, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. While I would love to sit here and tell you we took out our guide books and traipsed around these countries looking for places we had only seen on tv or read about in books. I close my eyes and lower my head in embarrassment when I look back at that time when I had my gray-haired mother on the look out for Starbucks coffee shops.

By the end of the grueling four week trip I had trained her so well, she no longer cried and stamped her feet when we walked out of the hotel each morning. She no longer pleaded to strangers passing by to help her get away from me. She fell into line, like a good mother and was hunting for Starbucks coffee shoulder to shoulder with me. By the time she got on the plane to return to Bermuda she was a professional coffee orderer … a grande soy, sugar-free vanilla café latte, extra hot and hold the foam. During that trip I looked at my mother with new eyes as she had sealed her fate as my shero for life.

But I digress. I wiped the tears from my eyes as I poured my first cup of coffee and sat down at my laptop to begin work. What kind of world do we live in if we can’t have coffee to jump start our days? How would things get done without people killing each other because of a caffeine deficiency? I am a strong advocate of coffee drinking and I would like to gouge from my mind the thought that I even contemplated not having a coffee today.

In case you are interested I like French Roast (or any other dark roast) black with two Splendas. At the risk of offending others - flavored coffees with milk or syrup or cinnamon and the like isn't for us - real coffee drinkers. I am of the belief, good coffee doesn't need it and bad coffee doesn't deserve it.

I have only one thing to say about decaf. What's the point?

Stay away from my coffee mug and no one gets hurt.

Why are comic strips important?

There are a few comic strips I feel make my day a little brighter when I read them. I think they provide insight into life to help me realise that if I could draw and write in balloons while at the same time being funny, thought-provoking and astute, my life could be a comic strip that I would then sell for millions of dollars to syndicated newspapers.

Since most of us don't have this gift (well I'll speak for myself), since I don't have this gift I laugh at my life and perhaps the life of family members and friends reflected on line or in a newspaper comic strip that takes 15 seconds to read and gives a smile that lasts for 30 seconds.

A tiny bright spot in the middle of an otherwise busy and hectic day.

I love The Boondocks which I can only get emailed to me. I can't find their website. While I'm at it, if you know where I can get a The Boondocks XL tee shirt please let me know. So far I've search two states and not found one.

In the meantime, here's a strip I found recently:

http://www3.thestar.com/cgi-bin/star_static.cgi?section=comics&page=/Third_Party/comics/betweenfriends.html

Enjoy!

What are you reading?

I want to dedicate this corner of my blog to one of my passions - reading (my other passion is bags which I will get to at another time.) I have read some great books over the years, if only I could remember them all. Those that have stayed with me I will post here and give you a link so you can read a synopsis.

I belong to a book club that has been together for more than 12 years. Together we have grown and matured experiencing all that life has to offer. From time to time I will let you know what we are reading.

I hope you will share some of the books you have loved with me. Simply write the name of the book and the author. Feel free to post a link so we can all know what it's about, and maybe read it.

"Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie
The main characters stayed with me long after I had read the last page.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781400044160&itm=1

"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See
I loved this book because the relationship between the two women transcended time, race and culture.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780812968064&itm=1

"Sacajawea" by Anna L. Waldo
It look me about eight weeks to read this book and it was worth spending the time with each of the 1400+ pages.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780380842933&itm=1

Book club selection for December 2007:
The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781400078752&itm=1

Book club selection for January 2008:
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781594489501&itm=1

Watch the video

A friend sent this link to me several weeks ago and I got a chance to view it today. WOW! is all I can say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTMqjwFsTZE

After you have watched it let me know your thoughts.

Do you agree with this article?

The crying game: male vs female tears By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer Wed Oct 24, 5:15 PM ET NEW YORK -

"Please, please, please, just give the dog back," Ellen DeGeneres wept on national TV last week. It was a moment that quickly established itself in the pop culture firmament, less for the plight of Iggy the adopted terrier than for the copious crying itself.

Setting aside the question of whether those sobs were 100 percent genuine, tears are a natural human response, and public figures are obviously not immune. But some who study this most basic expression of feeling will tell you that in this day and age, it can be easier for a crying man to be taken seriously than a crying woman.

In politics, it's a far cry (OK, pun intended) from 1972, when Sen. Ed Muskie's presidential campaign was derailed by what were perceived to be tears in response to a newspaper attack on his wife. Whether he actually cried is still up for debate. But decades later, an occasional Clintonesque tear is seen as a positive thing.

Bill Clinton, that is.

"Bill could cry, and did, but Hillary can't," says Tom Lutz, a professor at the University of California, Riverside who authored an exhaustive history of crying. In other words, the same tearful response that would be seen as sensitivity in Bill could be seen as a lack of control in his wife.

But there are additional rules for acceptable public crying. "We're talking about dropping a tear," Lutz notes, "no more than a tear or two." And it all depends on the perceived seriousness of the subject matter. Thus Jon Stewart or David Letterman could choke up with impunity just after 9/11. But a dog-adoption problem is a whole other matter.

In a recently published study at Penn State, researchers sought to explore differing perceptions of crying in men and women, presenting their 284 subjects with a series of hypothetical vignettes.

What they found is that reactions depended on the type of crying, and who was doing it. A moist eye was viewed much more positively than open crying, and males got the most positive responses.

"Women are not making it up when they say they're damned if they do, damned if they don't," said Stephanie Shields, the psychology professor who conducted the study. "If you don't express any emotion, you're seen as not human, like Mr. Spock on ' Star Trek,'" she said. "But too much crying, or the wrong kind, and you're labeled as overemotional, out of control, and possibly irrational."

That comes as no surprise to Suzyn Waldman , a well-known broadcaster of Yankee games on New York's WCBS Radio.

Earlier this month, she choked up for several seconds on live radio after the Yankees had just been eliminated from the playoffs. She was describing the scene as manager Joe Torre's coaches choked up themselves, watching him at the podium and foreseeing the end of an era.

Her tearful report quickly became an Internet hit, and she was mocked far and wide, especially on radio, with her voice, for example, played over the song " Big Girls Don't Cry."

"This turned into something pretty ugly," Waldman said in an interview. "I don't throw around the word 'sexist,' but this was as sexist as it gets."

She also wrote a passionate editorial in Newsday defending her brief display of emotion. "While the anger and sarcasm that I can and do display is all right with people," she wrote, "the occasional tear is scary and is ridiculed. Why?"

While Waldman notes that female anger in the clubhouse, is OK — it makes her seem tough, she says — one recent study indicates that perceptions of anger, too, differ according to gender.

"When men express anger they gain status, but when women express anger they lose status," Yale social psychologist Victoria Brescoll, who conducted three experiments on how people perceive female anger, said in an interview. Her study is to be published in the journal Psychological Science.

For a little historical perspective, says Lutz, author of "Crying: The Natural and Cultural History of Tears," it's helpful to look back to the 19th century, when skillful politicians like Abraham Lincoln used tears as a natural part of their oratory.

The tide later shifted against male crying, but in the last 30 to 40 years male crying has gained in acceptability. "Every president since Ronald Reagan has used tears at some point," says Shields, the Penn State psychologist.

As for women politicians, many remember the 1987 incident in which Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colo., had to defend herself against charges of weakness after she wept while announcing her decision not to run for president. "I think it's a sign of compassion," she said later.

Military figures have cried at critical moments. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf cried at a Christmas Eve ceremony in front of his troops, and when interviewed by Barbara Walters, Lutz notes.

There seem to be few limits on crying if you're an entertainment figure. Johnny Carson's tears were touching on the second-to-last night of his career, while serenaded by Bette Midler . As for awards shows, aren't we even a little disappointed (and bored) when a winner DOESN'T cry?

But in DeGeneres' case, along with the strong support from fans and many dog lovers, she also endured some criticism and mockery, especially from fellow comic Bill Maher. (To recap: DeGeneres had adopted Iggy from a rescue organization, then given it to her hairdresser's family when the dog didn't get along with her cats. That was against the rules, and the rescue group took the dog back, prompting her emotional appeal.)

Maher decided to respond on behalf of an entire gender: The opposite one.

"At this moment when the entire nation is saying 'Hmm, can we have a woman president? Maybe they're too emotional,' I don't think this is helping," Maher said on his talk show.

"If I was a woman," he added, "I would be embarrassed right now. I would be embarrassed for all womankind."

The Continental Divide

This is the tale of a journey to the middle of the universe (or at least the middle of the US) and back.

My lovely husband is from a small city called Omaha which, for you geographically challenged folks, is in Nebraska. You may have heard of it. Nebraskans are particularly proud of the their college football team and the fact that a few notables are from their state - Gerald Ford, Warren Buffett, Gabrielle Union and Mark (my husband).

I travelled there this past weekend. I left Bermuda on Thursday afternoon eagerly looking forward to spending time with Mark, his mom and the rest of their family. Mark's birthday was on Friday so we were all going out to dinner.

My flight from Bermuda was not only uneventful but more importantly it left and arrived on time which is significant because I had a connecting flight on to Omaha an hour after we landed. I walked off the plane and looked around for a monitors to check on the gate I had to get to. Found one and looked for my destination city - Omaha - 6:15 - cancelled.

What?! This had to be a cruel joke. I mean, yes it was raining but in my expert aviation and meteorological opinion not enough to stop planes from landing and taking off. I went to the Continental customer service desk with the 30 or so other stunned passengers in line waiting for some consolation that the board was wrong and there was a glitch in the system and we would all be winging our way to Omaha post haste. No such luck.

What do you mean there are no more flights until tomorrow morning?
How about rerouting me through - say - Omaha?
What do you mean there is no hotel allowance because the cancellation is weather related?

Is it okay for a 35 year old woman to have a tantrum without being towed off by security and held for questioning?

What choices did I have? I slunk off disheartened and went to book a hotel room. There were about 25 options to select from on the hotel board. I have learned over the years that hotel operators don't answer the airport dedicated lines. In fact I tried a little experiment. I called from the airport phone and simultaneously called the regular number from my cell phone. Guess which they answered first. Yes, the cell phone call.

The first hotel didn't have any rooms, neither did the last and I tried all the numbers on the board. I was seriously ready for a tantrum but I barely held on to my sanity with my fingertips.

I sat down to start calling everyone I know in the tri-state area. Lois - my dear friend came to my rescue. She was on the parkway on her way home (she was two exits from her house) but she made a u-turn in rush hour traffic in the pouring rain and came for me.

I was up early the next morning and without incident made my way to Omaha where I spent my husband's birthday with him and his family. It was a great weekend and I made it home safely ... almost without incident but that is another story.

Something to think about ...

I can't remember how I got these quotes perhaps they were sent by a friend. In any case I saved them and I came across them while looking for something else. I hope you find something that inspires you to try harder or to try one more time and strive towards your goal, whatever it might be.

Og Mandino Quotes
Act now. For now is all you have.
Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success.
Action will destroy your procrastination.
All men must stumble often to reach the truth.
All nature is a circle of moods and you are a part of nature and so, like the tides, your moods will rise; your moods will fall.
All your problems, discouragements, and heartaches are, in truth, great opportunities in disguise.
Always let your reach exceed your grasp.
Always raise your goals as soon as they are attained.
Always strive to make the next hour better than this one.
Always take another step. If that is to no avail take another, and yet another. One step at a time is not too difficult.
Any act with practice becomes easy.
Apply all of your efforts to become the highest mountain of all and strain your potential until it cries for mercy.
Avoid with fury the killers of time.
Bad habits must be destroyed and new furrows prepared for good seed.
Bathe me in good habits that the bad ones may drown.
Be happy.
Be hungry for success.
Be prepared to control whatever personality awakes in you each day.
Become master of yourself.
Begin now to accent your differences.
Beginning today, you can increase your accomplishments of yesterday by a hundredfold.
Bury doubt under faith.
Cherish each hour of this day for it can never return.
Chuckle and your burdens will be lightened.
Concentrate your energy on the challenge of the moment.
Confidence will take away your fear.
Consider each obstacle as a mere detour to your goal and a challenge to your profession.
Consider each obstacle as a mere detour to your goal.
Count your blessings today.
Cultivate the habit of laughter.
Destroy procrastination with action.
Dismember fear with confidence.
Do not allow yesterday's success to lull you into today's complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure.
Do not be satisfied with yesterday's accomplishments or indulge in self-praise for deeds which are too small to even acknowledge.
Do not commit the terrible crime of aiming too low.
Do not dwell on the past.
Do not judge a man on one meeting.
Do not listen to those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious.
Do not make vain attempts to imitate others.
Do not permit the petty happenings of today to disturb you.
Do not think of yesterday or tomorrow.
Do not waste a moment mourning yesterday's misfortunes, yesterday's defeats, or yesterday's aches of the heart.
Drink every minute to its fill; savor its taste and give thanks.
Drive a bad habit from your life and replace it with one which will bring you closer to success.
Each day will be triumphant only when your smiles bring forth smiles from others.
Each failure to sell will increase your chances for success at your next attempt.
Each frown you meet only prepares you for the smile to come.
Each minute of today will be more fruitful than the hours of yesterday.
Your last must be your best.
Each misfortune you encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow's good luck.
Each nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea.
Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them and you throw away your future.
Each struggle, each defeat sharpens your skills and strengthens your courage and your endurance.
Enjoy today's happiness today.
Failure does not course through your veins as you were not delivered into this world in defeat.
Failure no longer will be my payment for struggle.
Failure will never overtake you if your determination to succeed is strong enough.
For now you know one of the greatest principles of success; if you persist long enough you will win.
Forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of your life.
Fulfill today's duties today.
Good habits are the key to all success.
Grant me compassion for weaknesses in others.
Grasp each minute of this day with both hands and fondle it with love for its value is beyond price.
Green grass grows where dry desert ends.
Greet the sunrise with cries of joy.
Happiness is the wine that sharpens the taste of the meal.
Have confidence that this will be the best day of your life.
I can accomplish far more than I have, and I will, for why would the miracle which produced me end with my birth? Why can I not extend that miracle to my deeds of today?
I have a choice and I will not let my life be fed to swine nor will I let it be ground under the rocks of failure and despair to be broken open and devoured by the will of others.
I have not time to hate, only time to love.
I need not wait for I have the power to choose my own destiny.
I shall live this day as if it is my last. And if it is not, I shall fall to my knees and give thanks.
I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.
I will be successful.
I will command, and I will obey mine own command.
I will do the work that a failure will not do.
I will encourage my friends and they will become brothers.
I will endure sadness for it opens my soul.
I will form good habits and become their slave.
I will greet this day with love in my heart.
I will greet this day with love, and I will succeed.
I will laud mine enemies and they will become friends.
I will laugh at evil and it will die untasted.
I will look on all things with love, and I will be born again.
I will love all mankind.
I will love all manners of men for each has qualities to be admired even though they may be hidden.
I will love myself.
I will love the ambitious for they can inspire me!
I will love the beautiful for their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their souls of peace.
I will love the failures for they can teach me.
I will love the kings for they are but human; I will love the meek for they are divine.
I will love the rich for they are yet lonely; I will love the poor for they are so many.
I will love the young for the faith they hold; I will love the old for the wisdom they share.
I will persist until I succeed.
I will persist and I will win.
I will say it is done before the failure says it is too late.
I will talk when the failure remains silent.
I will think naught of my profession when I am in my home for this will dampen my love.
I will toil and I will endure.
I will walk where the failure fears to walk.
I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart.
I will work when the failure seeks rest.
If all things shall pass, why should I be of concern for today?
If I delay, success will become betrothed to another and lost to me forever.
If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone.
If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed.
If I stumble I will rise, and my falls will not concern me.
If you bring joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter to your customers, they will react with joy, enthusiasm, brightness, and laughter and your weather will produce a harvest of sales and a granary of gold for you.
If you feel depressed - sing!
If you feel fear, plunge ahead.
If you feel incompetent, remember past successes.
If you feel insignificant, remember your goals.
If you feel poverty, think of wealth to come.
If you feel sad - laugh.
If you must be a slave to habit, then be a slave to good habits.
If you persist long enough, you will win.
If you waste today, you destroy the last page of your life.
Ignore the obstacles at your feet and keep your eyes on the goals above your head.
In setting my goals, I will consider my best performance of the past and multiply it a hundredfold.
Increase your knowledge of mankind.
It pays to be persistent.
Just as love is my weapon to open the hearts of men, love is also my shield to repulse the arrows of hate and the spears of anger.
Just as nature made no provision for your body to tolerate pain neither has it made any provision for your life to suffer failure.
Keep work and family separate.
Laugh and your life will be lengthened for this is the great secret of long life.
Laugh at goodness and it will thrive and abound.
Laugh at the world.
Laugh at your failures and they will vanish in clouds of new dreams.
Laugh at your successes and they will shrink to their true value.
Laugh at yourself for man is most comical when he takes himself too seriously.
Leave your problems at home.
Lift up a friend in need.
Lift your arms with thanks for this priceless gift of a new day.
Live this day as if it is your last. Seal up the container of life so that not one drop spills itself upon the sand.
Live this day as if it is your last.
Live today as if it is your last chance to prove your love and your greatness.
Look upon each obstacle as a lesson to be learned.
Look upon misfortune as opportunity in disguise.
Love the darkness because it shows you the stars.
Love will melt all hearts like the sun whose rays soften the coldest clay.
Love yourself!
Make every hour count and trade each minute only for something of value.
Make love your greatest weapon.
Make the hours ahead priceless!
Make this day the best day of your life.
Many face each obstacle in their path with fear and doubt and consider them as enemies, when in truth, these obstructions are friends and helpers.
Many succumb to despair and fail without realizing that they already possess all the tools needed to acquire great wealth.
Master your emotions so that each day will be productive.
Master your moods through positive action and when you master your moods you will control your destiny. Meditation and prayer feeds the soul.
My desire to meet the world will overcome every fear I once knew, and I will be happier than I ever believed it possible to be in this world of strife and sorrow.
Nature knows not defeat.
Never allow yourself to become so important, so wise, so dignified, so powerful, that you forget how to laugh at yourself.
Never be satisfied with yesterday's accomplishments.
Never feel shame for trying and failing for he who has never failed is he who has never tried.
Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I will share it and it will grow and warm the earth.
Never will I allow my mind to be attracted to evil and despair, rather I will uplift it with the knowledge and wisdom of the ages.
Never will I allow my soul to become complacent and satisfied, rather I will feed it with meditation and prayer.
Never will I labor to be happy; rather will I remain too busy to be sad.
Never will I overindulge the requests of my flesh, rather I will cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation.
Never will I scratch for excuses to gossip.
No longer shall my vocabulary include such words as cannot, unable, impossible, and quit.
No longer will I fail to call again tomorrow on he who meets me with hate today.
Obstacles are necessary for success.
Only a habit can subdue another habit.
Only action determines my value in the market place.
Only with laughter and happiness can I enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Only with laughter and happiness can you truly become a success.
People will always respond positively to joy and enthusiasm.
Persist and develop your skills as the mariner develops his, by learning to ride out the wrath of each storm.
Persist with the knowledge that each failure to sell will increase your chance for success at the next attempt.
Practice the art of patience for nature never acts in haste.
Put your uniqueness on display in the market place.
Rain cleanses the spirit.
Remember that as today's dead flower carries the seed of tomorrow's bloom so does today's sadness carry the seed of tomorrow's joy.
Remove from your vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless, and retreat; for they are the words of fools.
Rewards are great if one succeeds but the rewards are great only because so few succeed.
Seek constantly to improve your manners and graces, for they are the sugar to which all are attracted.
Set goals for the day, the week, the month, the year, and your life.
Should you concern yourself over events which you may never witness? Should you torment yourself with problems that may never come to pass? No! Tomorrow lies buried with yesterday, think of it no more.
Sleep in peace for you have not failed.
Small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.
Smile and your digestion will improve.
So long as I can laugh, never will I be poor.
So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist.
Strive for happiness and peace of mind.
Strive for happiness, to be loved and to love, and most important, to acquire peace of mind and serenity.
Strive to become better than you are.
Strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts.
Success comes to those willing to work a little bit harder than the rest.
Success will not wait.
Suffer me to know that all things shall pass.
The height of my goals will not hold me in awe though I may stumble often before they are reached.
The only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in their habits.
The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. The problems of the market place will be left in the market place.
The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny.
There are good qualities in everyone.
There are lessons to be learned from failures.
There is no room in the market place for your family, nor is there room in your home for the market.
There is not time to hate, only time to love.
This day is all you have and these hours are now your eternity. Greet this sunrise with cries of joy as a prisoner who is reprieved from death.
This is the place.
This is the time.
This too shall pass.
Time teaches all things to him who lives forever, but I have not the luxury of eternity.
To conquer fear I must always act without hesitation and the flutters in my heart will vanish.
To enjoy success I must have happiness, and laughter will be the maiden who serves me.
To multiply your value you must multiply your actions.
To surpass the deeds of others is unimportant; to surpass your own deeds is all.
Today I begin a new life.
Today I shed my old skin which hath too long suffered the bruises of failure and the wounds of mediocrity.
Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.
Today I will surpass every action which I performed yesterday.
Today you will be master of your emotions.
Today, I will act.
Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy.
Tomorrow lies buried with yesterday.
True wealth is of the heart, not of the purse.
Try again, make one more attempt to close with victory, and if that fails, make another.
Try, and try, and try again.
Understand and recognize the moods of others. Make allowances for their anger and irritation for they know not the secret of controlling their minds.
Unless you act you will perish in a life of failure, misery, and sleepless nights.
Unless you put your skills, mind, heart, and body to good use, you will stagnate, rot, and die.
Victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats.
We must have the night to appreciate the day.
Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his actions; strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts.
Welcome happiness for it enlarges your heart; endure sadness for it opens your soul.
What can take place before this sun sets which will not seem insignificant in the river of centuries?
What is success other than a state of mind?
When an act becomes easy through constant repetition, it becomes a pleasure to perform, and if it is a pleasure to perform, it is man's nature to perform it often.
When I am burdened with wealth I shall tell myself that this too shall pass.
When I am moved to praise, I will shout from the roofs.
When I am puffed with success I shall warn myself that this too shall pass.
When I am strangled in poverty I shall tell myself that this too shall pass.
When I am tempted to criticize, I will bite on my tongue.
When others cease their struggle, then mine will begin, and my harvest will be full.
When you are heavy with heartache console yourself that this too shall pass.
Where dry desert ends, green grass grows.
Where there are idle mouths I will listen not; where there are idle hands I will linger not; where there are idle bodies I will visit not.
Will my concern for this day not seem foolish ten years hence?
With each victory the next struggle becomes less difficult.
With love I will tear down the wall of suspicion and hate which they have built round their hearts, and in its place, I will build bridges so that my love may enter their souls.
Within you burns a flame which has been passed from generations uncounted, and its heat is a constant irritation to your spirit to become better than you are, and you will. Yesterday's joy will become today's sadness; yet today's sadness will grow into tomorrow's joy.
Yesterday's success will not lull me into today's complacency.
Yesterday is buried forever, think of it no more.
You are a unique creature.
You are here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand.
You are nature's greatest miracle.
You are rare, and there is value in all rarity; therefore, you are valuable.
You can accomplish far more than you have, and you will.
You can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles with ambition.
You have been given eyes to see and a mind to think.
You have but one life and life is naught but a measurement of time.
You have unlimited potential.
You may encounter failure at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. You will never know how close success lies unless you turn the corner.
You must fail often to succeed only once.
You must have objectives before your life will crystallize.
You must nurture your body and mind in order to fulfill your dreams.
You only have time to love.
You were conceived in love and brought forth with a purpose.
You will become great.
You won't know how close success is unless you turn the corner.

If you are interested in learning more about Og Mandino here is a link to his website.

http://www.ogmandino.com/index.htm

Tell me a little about yourself

My mom and I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who was getting back into the dating arena after a long absence. We discussed appropriate questions to ask a potential partner. My mom came up with the following list. I have put it here for you to use, as appropriate.

1. To which country do you owe allegiance?
2. Where were you schooled?
3. Do you possess a legal US passport and a valid driver's license?
4. In which country were you born?
5. In which country were your parents born?
6. Have you ever worked in, or recently visited, a South American pharmaceutical factory?
7. Have you recently deposited a large sum of money in an off-shore bank account in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands or Switzerland?
8. Have you visited a terrorist training camp in the last five years?
9. Are you or any members of your family in contact with any known terrorists wanted by the US or any other government?
10. Have you ever been convicted on espionage charges?
11. Have you served time in jail?
12. Do you know if any government has collected intelligence on you or any member of your immediate family?
13. What do you know about assault weapons?

These questions are simply thought starters and we encourage you to bring them up on the first two dates to save you time. I welcome any additional questions you have used to get to know your date.

Today

This is my first entry. I suppose I should tell you a little something about me. I am 43 years old but admit to being 35. I will add, I look on 32 years old. I am married to a wonderful man who is also my best friend. He was my best friend before we got married and continues to be. We live in Bermuda - a very small island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I once heard Bermuda described as one of the most remotest places in the world. I had never thought of my island home like that but keeping in mind that the closest land mass is more than 700 miles away you can see how the description is apt. Bermuda is only 21 miles long and one mile wide at its widest point. We are a mere blip on any and all maps.

I am currently my own boss or at least tell myself I am. I own a small entrepreneurial professional outsourcing services company with my business partner who happens to be my brother.