Good Things

Here is a thinker of a thought I thought while thinking this morning: Do we see good things because they happen? Or do good things happen because we see them? I believe we'll always find what we're looking for. So shouldn't we look for the positive? Here are the good things I looked for and saw today:

1. Summer slept in this morning until 8:15! Therefore, we did too. Refreshed, revitalized, renewed, and rejoiced!


2. Jerald made delicious pancakes for breakfast before he left for work...which was just downstairs! I love that he works from home.


3. A telemarketer called. Now, one would not normally consider this a simple pleasure of life, but I MADE it one...because I was kind to the sales representative. After my cheerful greeting, she said, "Wow, excuse me while I fall out of my chair! You have no idea how much your kindness means to me after all the horrible things people shout at me all day every day." In the end, I chose not to buy her product, but wished her a wonderful day, and she gratefully wished me one as well. I apparently made her day! And that made MY day.


4. I went to get Summer up from her afternoon nap and she told me she'd just written a song and wanted to sing it to me. It was a song of one sentence repeated over and over. That sentence was, "I love my mommy." That's a day maker!


5. Warm chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven. My mother has always said there's about nothing better in life than warm cookies with cold milk. She's right.


6. Dancing With the Stars! Season Premiere! Tonight! I'll be watching! You know, I'd really love to be on that show. The only way, though, is to either be a dance pro to teach the star, or a star to be taught by the dance pro. Which could I achieve first? Stardom or "Pro-dom"?

As I type, the night is still young! What other wonderful things will happen? You can bet I'll be looking. Don't you forget to look for the good things in your day as well! Make it a game. The more you look, the more you'll find.

"The Build Up to the Build-up" A Movie Quote Laden Beauty Tip Volume 2

A woman's hair is her crowning glory - "a precious cornucopia of creative energy!" (High School Musical). Unfortunately, the use of styling products can cause her hair to develop a build-up of build-up. It becomes so very "Dull...drab...BLEAK!!" (Auntie Mame) Many clarifying shampoos designed to remove build-up can strip her hair and dry out the strands, "which life experience has taught her is a virtual certainty." (Hitch) Haven't we all looked in the mirror and "darn near cried twice" (Sabrina) at the sight of the weighed down mass of the dead cells we call hair, and shout, "How dare you, you cupcake!!" (Miss Congeniality) We look away and worriedly murmur, "This is good. I was rusty on panic." (Always) But there IS a solution. A vinegar and water solution! "It's cheap, but it's potent." (Laura) How deeply nice that is, because "you have to understand, I am the cheapest man alive!" (Father of the Bride) Let me take a moment and show you how simple and glorifying this shine-inducing treatment is! You may think you shouldn't take the time to hear this heart-stopping advice..."Well, I don't think you should either. That's why I'm gonna show you this one thing and then kick you right out." (Groundhog Day)

First, cleanse your hair, if you like, with this shampoo, for which I have a deep testimony, and then combine one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with one cup of water. Pour the mixture over your hair. Run your fingers through the strands and massage your roots for a few seconds. Rinse with cold water and condition as usual. Perform this treatment once every two weeks or so. I'd probably only use it on hair that isn't color treated, though. It restores your hair's PH levels and removes product buildup, while increasing shine and bounce.

Later, as you brush through your newly gleaming and glimmering hair, your loved one will admire you from across the room and say, "I like to watch you brushing your hair. You do it so capably." (The Bishop's Wife) Suddenly..."you're off your chair in one exquisite movement...the moves of a jungle cat." (My Best Friend's Wedding) You toss your hair over your shoulder and say, "Hey man, check me out!" (Runaway Bride) You gaze in the mirror and marvel at the silkiness of your strands and say, "Ya, but Frank...feel how smooth they are. (Fletch) Later, on the street, a friend approaches and says, "There's a sort of glow to your hair. I was watching you in the mess hall this afternoon." (The Major and the Minor). "How it shines and shimmers", your friend exclaims! "Is it lacquered?" (High Society). Before you know it, everyone will be begging for "a lock of thy jet black tresses." (Anne of Green Gables) You may even "get a permanent - just for the occasion." (The Wizard of Oz). Now, I could let you have your moment of dull hair, "but alas...a moment...was all I could spare." (The Scarlet Pimpernel) So open your cupboard and pull out your household vinegar. It works! "Get on it. It's a good train!" (The Italian Job) "I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up! Great holiday fun." (Clueless) "Get it? Got it. Good." (The Court Jester) "Because the rules of haircare are simple and finite. ANY Cosmo girl knows THAT!" (Legally Blonde)

He Changed My Mind

Regretably, I never very much enjoyed the church hymn, "If You Could Hie to Kolob". Pretty words, but so dreary sounding. So very "minor key". So when Jerald chose that song as one of the eight hymns to arrange for his new piano book, "Hymns of Exaltation", I thought..."no". But I remember watching him sit at the piano, furrowing his cute brow in intense concentration, experimenting with different chords, and stopping to grab the pencil from behind his ear to quickly write the notes and jibberish on the scrap of paper on the piano. I listened to his dynamics - the tender, soft notes, verses the commanding, loud ones. I noticed he had changed the last verse from a minor key to a triumphant sounding major key. His arrangement, depending on the verse, sounded strong, peaceful, faithful, contemplative, gregarious, warm, determined, imaginative, fearless, triumphant, positive, righteous, joyful, and confirming. Suddenly, without realizing it...I fell in love with the song. And those adjectives I used to describe it are also the very attributes he possesses himself - ones I love and recognize every day. Jerald has the ability to transform "dreary minor key" life circumstances into gladdening jubilance. For this reason, among many others, I fell in love with him too. I now share, as a birthday gift to you all, his arrangement of the song I now adore - almost as much as I adore the performer. Happy Birthday, Jerald.

""If You Could Hie to Kolob"