29 things to know before you hit 30 (part 2)

crazy bummed about when i will turn 30. feels like it will be crossing a huge line that i desperately don't want to cross.

but at least i will be prepared after reading The Pocket Guide to Adulthood: 29 Things to Know Before You Hit 30
thanks to Jason Boyett for putting together a guide for peeps like me closing out their 20s to help us know what we need to know to be an old person.

(i already posted #s 1-5 HERE.)

6  Being all weird about food safety is a pretty good idea
wow. i DEFINITELY learned a lot from this chapter! i was breaking ALL these rules that were shared big time. i.e. - eating pizza that had been left in my hot car for a week!
not any more - because i'm about to be an old adult.

7  How to change a flat tire like a real live mechanic
this is the one mechanical thing i actually did know already. pretty much the only thing i can do.

8  Marriage is not necessarily a rowdy sex romp, and other misconceptions
wait, for real?
wait, is that after you turn 30 or before? :)

9  How to stop worrying and be an optimist
i really love being & so thankful i'm an optimist. but i still have to battle worry like everyone else. i need to work harder at relaxing too. (oxymoron?)

10  Establish your own coolness with an amazing card trick
now this was awesome. i've never really known a card trick. i love playing poker, but i've never really known how to do a trick. NOW I DO. so, someone please - ask me to see a card trick! or do i have to wait til i hit 30?


*that's only 10 down of the 29 things you have to know to be an old 30 year-old.
more coming tomorrow.

you really should SMILE more

smiling is awesome. everybody likes a smile :)
actually, smiling makes us FEEL GREAT! seriously.

research proves that 1 smile can generate the same brain stimulation of eating up to 2,000 bars of chocolate. (but you don't get nearly as fat)

& a smile can stimulate the same good feelings as receiving $25,000 in cash!

did you catch that? has anyone ever walked up to you and handed you $25k in cash? well, the same kind of positive experience happens in your brain when you simply smile!

not only is it good for you, but smiles are CONTAGIOUS! 
have you ever tried to frown while someone was smiling at you? it's almost impossible!
i tried it on my daughter when she was barely even old enough to smile. all i'm doing in this short video is smiling at her & it causes her to smile back.
check how contagious it can be...

me smiling at her causes her to smile back.

i don't really know what bad can come from a smile? ever thought about that? like i've never heard a sad story or a tragedy or something bad resulting from a smile.

but for some reason in our culture we're a little stingy with a smile. that's dumb.
i say, give that stuff away man! it's free. it makes YOU feel better. it's contagious and will make someone else's day better.

maybe we'll even make a little bit better world, 1 smile at a time.

"I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish." 

- Mother Teresa

never stop playing

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.” 

– Wound & Wound Toy Store, Hollywood, California 

There's something beautiful about a child playing. 

the way they run 

and jump 

and just roll down a hill. 

they don't care about grass stains on their clothes. 

the way they laugh and don't care what they sound like.

the way they sing at the top of their lungs whether it sounds good or bad.

their big fat smiles when they're playing.

they play with abandon.

they enjoy life to the fullest.

and somewhere along the way we lose that. we "grow out of it". or is it the other way around? do we only "grow out of it" because we choose to stop playing. we're self conscious about what people see and think about us. 

we lose out on a lot of fun.

we stop smiling as much and laughing so loudly and playing with abandon.

i say never stop playing.

let me go ahead & get this out of the way... again

'tis the season again. So, this is just your friendly reminder to please not write me a letter about writing "xmas" because you think i worship the devil and am in some kind of conspiracy to overthrow the world... just read this 1st.
merry xmas!
(This was originally posted on November 24th, 2009 HERE.)

OK, I thought it might be easier to just say this once and get it out of the way.

It is a lot easier and faster for me to write "xmas" than "Christmas". There, I said it and it's out of the way now.
So, when I am typing something quickly = a blog post, an email, a text, etc... I'm probably going to write "xmas" instead of "Christmas". (So don't be offended when you get an email or text from me with "xmas" in it.)

Lest you think I am some heartless atheist (or a devil worshipper) - it has NOTHING to do with "taking Christ out of Christmas" as lots of people say. It's not some "liberal" agenda to hijack this "Christian nation". It is simply 5 less letters to type. It's easier. That's all. I don't hate Jesus. In fact I love Jesus and am radically following Him as best as I know how.

In case you're curious "X" is actually the abbreviation for "Christ". Therefore xmas instead of Christmas. It's not "taking Christ out of Christmas", it's simply abbreviating.
* "X" is the 1st Greek letter in "Christ" (Xristou). That's why "X" is the abbreviation for Christ.
And that's why I hope you can understand that I'm not a devil worshiper just because I write "xmas".

And actually I think it's interesting in light of this topic that the ancient Hebrew scribes used to write YHWH to abbreviate God's Name because they wanted to revere His holy name and didn't think themselves worthy to even write all the letters - Yahweh... (we think).
[i wonder what they would think of us... actually writing the WHOLE name out. Would they think us irreverant or blasphemous? or even part of a conspiracy to overthrow the world?]

So, again, just to clarify = I'm going to write "xmas" instead of "Christmas", but not because I hate God, just because it's faster.

What about YOU? Do you write "xmas" or "Christmas"?

my Dad did that

do you remember growing up how you were really proud of stuff your dad did and you let everyone know it?



for me, i can remember being really proud of the fact that my dad started his own car dealership. And every time i would be with someone and we would pass Wilgrove Auto Mart on Albemarle road i would say something like "my dad did that." or "my dad started that/runs that/ owns that." Then when it moved out to Independence Blvd/HWY 74 i would pass it all the time with people and still say "my dad did that. that's my dad's place." i remember the proud feeling.



...on a seemingly unrelated note...



i really hate it that the days are getting shorter.=

for me it really stinks to wake up and it still be dark outside. the summer was awesome because at least there would be some light outside when i woke up.

but i guess i can look on the "bright side" - at least i get to see the sun come up every single morning. and that daily sun rise the past few weeks is pretty amazing.



it's better than any art you've ever seen or more beautiful than anything you've imagined.

and i just stop and smile and think  

"my Dad did that."

snow day 1/11/11

we had a lot of fun in the snow today.
And by "we" i mean the city of Charlotte. sounded like everybody was playing in the snow.

the beauty of having my office at home is that i can still get a lot of work done on a "snow day", but take a long lunch break and have fun out in the snow!

Check this snow fort that our neighbors built! pretty awesome. i was extremely impressed. The kids range from like 6 to 17. Their Dad told me they tried to talk him into letting them sleep in it last night : )

And of course Crystal and i busted out the old school wooden sled that i think belonged to one of my parents. lots of good memories on that sled. When the iced over street was just right we could fly down it. Later we actually took Jack Bauer (the dog) for a ride.
Not the greatest idea. he bailed!
we caught it on video, but i wish you could see what i saw in the moment = my dog doing a barrel roll off the sled and bouncing off his back on the ice!

he headed straight for the house and didn't want to ride the sled anymore! we're going to be horrible parents...