susie & sally.

We live in a time where it's super easy to talk about people.
I think a lot of that has to do what we're constantly exposed to.  Stand in line at the grocery store for 30 seconds, and you pretty much have a list of negative qualities of every current celebrity right in front of you.  The news, the internet, people in general. . .all eager to spill juicy details of how someone has screwed up their life.  We're constantly exposed to these types of stories, and have even learned to be attracted to these details.
And really, how long can that go on before it starts making its way into your day to day life?

People are going to hurt you.  Be nasty to you.  Lie and say mean things.
And we live in a time where its just so easy to retaliate with some of our own ammo.
Hop on twitter and deliver your judgement on someone's character in 140 letters or less.
And since you didn't really say anything, you feel satisfaction without having to have confrontation.
[Side note: don't be a bully.  And if you just can't help but to retaliate, say your piece to someone's face, not online where everyone can see and add in on.  That's being cowardly and rude.  Stop it.]

Here's a thought:

What Susie says of Sally says more of Susie that of Sally.

In other words, what you say about someone else says more about you than it says about whoever you're talking about.

If we all honestly kept that in our mind when we spoke, we would all be a heck of a lot happier.

And really, do you want to be perceived as a crazy, frantic, mean, vindictive person?  No?  Good, then we're on the same page.  So I'll go ahead and give you a tiny bit of advice here.
There is a very fine line between talking about someone and being mean, vindictive, and--let's just say it--crazy.  And most of us don't even realize when we cross it.  In fact, we're usually miles from the line before we even think we may have gone too far.

I wrote a post a few months ago on how important your words are for the sake of other's.
But your words are also important for the sake of yourself.

Be careful what you say, because what better judgement could people make on you than a judgement based on the things coming out of your own mouth?

Do you want to be known as a loving person?
Speak in love.
Do you want to be known as a kind person?
Speak kindly about others.
Speak the way you want others to perceive you as. 
And remember that the words you speak say way more about you than they do about whatever you are talking about.

Happy Monday!

Today is a wonderful day because it marks my first ever GIVEAWAY with my beautiful friend Megan!

We decided to make it an assortment of our favorite things. 

Books.  Coffee.  Crafts.  Pretty printables.  Free ad space. 

This is exciting, you guys. 

If for some crazy reason you don't know who Megan is, go check her out.  Right now.  I'll wait. 

We're real life friends and have had some pretty fun adventures together.  Like that one time when we went to LA and decided we would one day get these fancy tattoos. 

We love having such amazing readers, so thank you!

Now go on and thank yourself by entering this giveaway here.

Have a unusually good Monday!

Mom.

In honor of it being the week of Mother's Day, I thought it would be an appropriate time to tell you guys about some of the best things my mother has taught me.  Honestly, I could probably fill an entire book about the things she has taught me, but here are some highlights. 

1.  The twenty-seven fling boogie. 

My mother has a perceptual fear that I am going to become a hoarder.  Seriously.  It's her favorite thing in the world to throw things away.  Sometimes she would "help" me clean my room by trying to throw everything away.  I would try to tell her I had a sentimental attachment to something, she would say "Oh, okay.  I'll take a picture of it for you and you can hang it on your wall and look at it everyday" and proceed to throw said object away. 

Once she read a book that taught a horrific clever little game called the twenty-seven fling boogie, where you set the timer for fifteen minutes and by the time it dings, you have to throw twenty-seven things away.  She would bust into the room with a trash bag and timer and say we were going to play a game.  She tried to make it fun with music and laughter, but me and my little brother usually just cried as we were forced to say goodbye to our beloved broken crayons and dusty old shoes.  

 I made fun of her forever, but now that I have my own house, I have a strong desire to throw everything that's even mildly cluttered away. 

2. Do not care what other people think about you.  If people talk about you, it's because they have small minds. 

I cannot even count the times growing up that I would go to my mom in tears because of what someone had said about me.  Each time I did, she would respond in the best of ways.  

"How sad and boring their life must be, that they have to fill up their free time by talking about you."  

She never taught me to retaliate, but rather to gracefully move on, giving them nothing else to say. 

She instilled this so much in me that now, at twenty-one, if someone is gossiping or talking bad about me, rather than being tempted to retaliate with my own gossip, my first thought is always, "what a boring life you must have."  

clearly we have that whole not caring thing under control. 

3. To love books and words and writing. 

I owe my love of reading and writing to my mom.  She was my teacher growing up, and she did everything she could to cultivate my love of books and writing.  She would often write one sentence on a piece of paper and tell me to fill the rest of the paper with a story. 

When I was eight, I started to write poems and rhymes.  Every time I showed her, she would read them out loud at dinner and hang them on the refrigerator.  Any time I wrote something, she would stop what she was doing to tell me that I was a great writer and she loved my work.  I think she did this because she knew the impact that those words had on my eight year old heart would carry over to my twenty-one year old heart.

4. Don't give pigs your pearls. 

This is one of the most important things my mom ever taught me.  There's a verse in the Bible that says, "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.  If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6)

She taught me early on that not everyone values the same things you do, and not everyone is trustworthy enough to be your close friend.  Love all, but don't trust all.  Don't share your secrets and dreams with someone who won't appreciate them, for they will only disappoint and discourage you.  Don't share the intimate parts of your life with just anyone, for those are pearls, and pearls are sacred.  Don't waste your time sharing important things with those who will not appreciate you, for you are worth more than that. 

5.  "You've got brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose!"

My mom rarely let a day go by without telling me I could do anything I set my mind to.  As a child, whether I wanted to be a doctor, a firefighter, a princess, a singer, a movie star...she would tell me I could do it.  Not only that, but that I was going to be the best doctor/firefighter/princess/singer/movie star there ever was.  This empowered me in a way that only a mother's words can, and now, whenever I feel discouraged by others about my dreams, in my heart I can always come back to this place:  my mom believes in me. 

There are billions of other things my mom taught me.  To celebrate every day.  That thrifting is the best.  To decorate for any possible holiday.  That fall is a holiday.  To wear whatever I want.  To read my Bible.  To put your family first.  That it's okay to say no. To always make time for inside jokes.  And many, many more. 

Everyone jokes that eventually you turn into your mother, but I honestly could not thing of another person I would be more honored to be like. 

Remember to thank your mothers this week!

a year.

I will start this off by saying that I know I talk about going after your dreams every single blog post a lot, but hello.  Someone has to do it.

If you read my blog post on Tuesday {of course you did.  I know you just live for the moments when I post a new blog.  obviously.} You saw an array of inspirational quotes and pictures--one of which I am still thinking about 48 hours later.

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. 

The time will pass anyway."

-Earl Nightingale

Here's the thing. 

As of tomorrow, it will have been an entire year since I graduated college. 

A YEAR. 

Three-hundred and sixty-five days. 

Eight thousand, seven hundred, and sixty-five hours. 

That's a lot of time. 

{And no, I'm not weird and do not keep a calendar of how many days it's been since I graduated.  My best friend is graduating from the same school tomorrow on the same day I did.  You can now continue reading in peace.}

Since we're being honest, I'll tell you: a year ago, I definitely thought things would be different than they are for me now.  

I had thoughts like, "A year from now? Yeah, I'll definitely have written a book." 

But I haven't. 

"And I'll probably be in the process of trying to get it published."

But I'm not.

"And even if I'm not, I'll be researching publishing and writing opportunities like crazy."

But that hasn't happened.

"And I'll probably spend my free time with a cup of coffee, holed up at my desk and pouring genius ideas onto paper, because I'm graduated and can be a professional writer now."

Nope.

I have done a heck of a lot this year.  

I have traveled. 

I have gotten married. 

I have moved to a new place. 

The year since graduation is one of the fullest, most memorable years I have ever had. 

I don't regret a single thing that I did. 

It's what I didn't do that I regret. 

I did so much this year, and it was wonderful.  But there were also plenty of times where I didn't do so much.  Where I went to bed early.  Where I was bored, so I did nothing instead of writing, because writing seemed too hard. Bottom line, I didn't make myself go after what I wanted, because in the moment of it all, it seems too daunting. 

Writing a book?  That could easily take a year.

A year is a long time.  That's too much to think about. 

Yet, the year passed anyway. 

I know all of that sounds depressing, but it's really made me think about the way I want to live this year. 

I hope it does the same for you. 

I hope that on May 2nd, 2014 you can stand back and look at your accomplishments and see that you accomplished a dream of yours. 

Because the time is going to pass anyway.