Fill out these questions to generate your own silly mad libs letter instantly online! (Hint: a Verb is an action. An adverb usually ends in “ly” and describes an action (like slowly). A noun is a person/place/thing. An adjective describes a person/place/thing.)
I’m flipping through the phone book
astonished by my find:
there are too many last names
that are the same as mine!
400 Harry Hansons,
A thousand Jens and Sams,
250 Stevens,
And twenty Bens and Pams.
A Hranson (silent R),
The Hansens and ten Matts.
I think Meow-er Hanson
May be somebody’s cat.
Why are there all these Hansons
with names just like my own?
I guess it’s because each of them
has a telephone!
What labels do you have?
When I was younger I was called a fiery red hair — implying that I had a temper. The more I heard that, the more I played into that persona. As I have gotten to know myself better, I realized I’m not at all fiery. I’m actually a passive, calm person.
My sister was called a “dumb blond” because of her hair color. As an adult, she told me that she felt stupid her whole life — even though she has a university degree and is even smarter than me.
How do we get those labels?
Obviously friends and family have a big influence over your labels, but don’t underestimate the power of media. On television, women loose all their postpartum in a few weeks — it’s really easy to call myself fat because I still have mine a few months after birth. But frankly my weight seems more natural than liposuction, personal trainers and anorexic diets to shed the pounds.
How do we combat labels?
The biggest way to combat labels is self-esteem. As I became more comfortable with myself, I realized I didn’t want to be the fiery redhead. I also didn’t need to be the stick-thin mother 3 weeks after birth. I want to be me, not who others tell me I should be.
Don’t compare yourself. Every person is different and that’s a great thing! No two lives are exactly the same. We are all peppered with different experiences… so why do you think you can compare yourself to others without taking the other person’s entire history from birth into account?
Don’t label others. If you don’t like getting labels, don’t give them to others — or be very careful to only use positive labels. When I heard people calling my younger brother a lazy teenager, I asked them to stop because I didn’t want him to call himself lazy.
Thanks for reading this blog you caring, thoughtful, successful, beautiful, smart reader!
My wife and I read out loud to our son every day…. which made me realize we all start reading by having books read TO us. It’s an important step in learning language, culture and fables — and stories told aloud have been around much longer than writing.
I enjoy how interactive reading out-loud is. I get to see my son’s reaction to each picture and sentence. I can speed up, slow down or emphasize different words depending on what he’s interested in.
The best thing about being married to an author-wife is that I get to be a child again! My wife is always reading her new manuscripts out-loud and I get to sit back and immerse myself in the story. Not only is it easier to catch mistakes (because your brain doesn’t make the same assumptions it makes when you’re skimming), but it forces you to concentrate on the flow of the words. Words that looked fine next to each other, sometimes don’t sound right when spoken together.
We wish we could read our books out-loud to all of you, but that isn’t possible (even as much as we love travel)… so that’s why my brother-in-law built a free Butterflies Don’t Chew Bubblegum android app. If you have an Android phone, you can now have books read to you whenever you want. Now that’s what I call progress!
Fill out these questions to generate your own silly mad libs letter instantly online! (Hint: a Verb is an action. An adverb usually ends in “ly” and describes an action (like slowly). A noun is a person/place/thing. An adjective describes a person/place/thing.)
Courtesy of KimberlyNelsonPhotography.com
1)Get friends to help. It takes a village to pull off a wedding.
There is so much that goes into a wedding that it’s nearly impossible to do it yourself. We had friends help prepare the food, open our reception hall, decorate the hall, arrange the flowers, transport gifts, clean up the hall and even got an uncle to preside over the ceremony! We were very thankful to have so many people all contributing their talents for our big day. Once we had arranged everyone’s job, the day of the wedding went smoothly because everyone was pitching in. With all of the emotions of your wedding, I’m glad I didn’t have to do many tasks on the actual day because it was stressful enough just to get married. Thanks to everyone for pitching in!
2) Find cheap flowers
The cheapest wedding bouquet I could find was $70, which seemed crazy for a handful of flowers to accompany me down the aisle. So we went to the farmer’s market in downtown Minneapolis and picked out 15 bunches of beautiful flowers. It was such a fun morning wandering all the stalls and hand selecting the flowers I liked best. My aunt formed some of them into a bouquet and the rest we used to decorate the chapel and reception hall.
3) Don’t tell vendors you’re planning a wedding.
As soon as we mentioned the word “wedding” it felt like the prices suddenly doubled. So we booked cakes, halls and everything else without ever mentioning it was for our big day.
4) Mates rates
Do you know professional caterers, florists or photographers? Odds are they’ll give you a deal if you’re friends. We were lucky to know a fabulous wedding photographer. Not only is she super talented, but it was nice to support a friend.
5) Consider alternative venues
We had our wedding at a historic church that was much more affordable than renting a church (if you’re not a member). And our reception was at an old train depot in a park. Because the venue was run by the St Paul parks department, it was a quarter of the price of the hotel and spilled out into a beautiful, lush garden. You can also consider hosting your reception at a family member’s home.
6) Always read the fine print
There were many fantastic venues that seemed like a good deal, but when you read more carefully they make you spend a minimum amount for food, drinks or service — all of which are quite expensive. Pricey catering doesn’t always mean good catering. Do you have to buy their catering? Can you bring your own cake? Do they charge extra if you use your own pastor?
7) Entertainment can be free
Everyone has one friend that knows about good dance music — just be sure they include the chicken dance! For our wedding dance, we spent a night throwing our favorite sons on an iPod and then danced the night away. During the reception, we asked relatives and close friends to give short speeches. They were all touching and very memorable for my husband and I. During the ceremony, include family and friends in the service. Have them sing your favorite songs or read meaningful passages.
8) Make videos and slide shows for the reception
My husband and I are from two different countries, so we prepared little videos from the other country so that both sides of the world could be included. We recorded short speeches from family members who couldn’t make it and slides shows about our lives in the other countries.
9) Consider making your own food.
Food is important to my husband and I. We wanted our guests to feel appreciated and we wanted a sense of abundance around our wedding. (There’s nothing worse than leaving a wedding hungry). So we did a big supermarket run to get loaves of bread, tons of fresh veggies, and nuts. Our family prepared a creative make-your-own cookie bar filled with different frostings and sprinkles. For our main dish, we ordered gourmet pizzas from one of the first restaurants we ever went to. We liked the gourmet pizza because it was still somewhat classy, but fun. Why not have a fun reception?
10) Find a cheap dress.
You don’t have to wear a wedding dress to a wedding. I found an elegant, white prom dress and a friend of mine wore a sweet sixteen dress. If you aren’t shopping in the wedding section, you can find dresses for under $200. Even though I was in a prom dress, I still felt like a princess — but that was because I was marrying the husband of my dreams. The dress was just the dress.
11) Vintage stores
Look at vintage stores for bridesmaids dresses and tuxedos. My husband got a vintage tuxedo that was half the price of renting one. Plus, now we have a tuxedo that he can wear whenever he wants. (Formal breakfast in bed?) It doesn’t save money — but don’t forget to bring comfortable shoes for the reception. Nobody wants blisters from their wedding.
12) Let your bridesmaids wear their own dresses
If you have ever been a bridesmaid before, you usually end up with a hideous, strange colored dress that never gets worn again. So why not let your bridesmaids choose their own dresses? Give them some color or style guidelines and let them run free. Our pictures look a bit more natural because everyone is comfortable and happy in their clothing.
13) Ask for your honeymoon suite as a gift
My sister wanted to get us something really nice for our wedding, so she offered to pay for our honeymoon suite. At the end of an exhausting day, we were grateful to have somewhere relaxing to crash. We would have never thought to get a hot tub in the room, but it was great on our tired feet.
14) Do what’s important to you
What is important for your dream wedding? A cake was important to my husband, so we spent extra time and money on the cake. Music was important to my sister in law, so they hired professional musicians for their ceremony. Focus your time and energy on what’s important to you… otherwise you’ll spend a lot for everything instead of just the things that need extra money.
15) Accept imperfection
The last tip doesn’t really save money, but it’s still important: Nothing is perfect. There will be some hitch in your wedding… but don’t let that flaw ruin your day. Being happy on your wedding day is more important than having the perfect wedding. After all, you’re finally marrying the man of your dreams!
This weekend I was exhausted. I wanted to write, but I had no energy. I felt bad giving myself some time off to sit and watch movies, but I did it anyway. I knew I would get sick if I didn’t listen to my body.
While resting, I spent a lot of time thinking breaks and I don’t know why breaks get a bad rep! We’re told we need to study more, try harder, work later and be more successful — but I disagree. Most people need more rest.
Nature is built in cycles. Trees grow in summer and rest in the winter. The moon shines brightly before waning and then going black. Animals forage all day and then sleep all night (or vice-versa!) So why are Americans always go-go-go? What happened to the break?
Winter is the season to take stock of your harvest and plan your next garden. If you are constantly planting — even when the conditions aren’t right — eventually your garden and energy levels will collapse. The cycles of life demands breaks. So this weekend I am proud to announce that I did nothing. I watched movies that inspire me. I napped every time my son napped… and I feel so much better for it. Breaks are a beautiful part of life.
When I’m looking for a new book to read, I usually steer clear of graphic, violent, cruel novels. Blog readers may see that preference trickle into the blog posts we write as well. It’s not an accident, but a conscious choice so I thought I would explain why.
I believe that most action starts as an idea. In another words, what you think about can influence how your life turns out. That’s why I start my day by writing what I’m thankful for and what I want to do with the day. It helps me remember what my priorities are. Then when I have to make a decision about watching TV or edit a book chapter, it’s really easy to choose the editing.
I don’t want cruel, inhumane thoughts poking my brain as I try to fall asleep at night, so I try not to put them in my head. (I even avoid a lot of news because it is mostly negative.) Plus, I think it’s possible to tell an engaging story without graphic elements. Stories are about people and the changes they undergo. When done right, they’re an emotional journey and the details of the plot almost become inconsequential to how they change.
Authors Steve & Natasha