Dear Nick @ Nite,

Thank you for playing 2 hours of Friends every night for my viewing pleasure.  Even though I own all 10 seasons of Friends on DVD, I rarely get them out because I end up spending far too much time planted in front of the television.

However, the 6 people I grew up watching are exactly what I need at 11 p.m. when I can't sleep.  With every episode, I think back to the times I remember watching them in years past...good times and great memories.

Your Friend,
Grace's Mom

PS:  I also remember when I was in high school and would stay up late with my mom watching Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley re-runs on Nick @ Nite - feel free to go back to shows that first aired before I was born so that I don't feel quite so old!  Thanks!

KUWTK

KUWTK...Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

I mentioned the other day that I have a love/hate relationship with the Kardashian sisters and their men.  Here are the things I love:

1.  They are marketing geniuses.  I've heard a lot of people comment about the K sisters being famous for being famous.  What may not occur to people is that these women are flipping incredible branders.  They have created a product in themselves - and they are the hottest commodity out there right now!  Everyone knows who they are and what their latest scandal is.

2.  They are a really tight-knit family.  They bicker, fight, and argue.  But in the end, they always have each others backs.

3.  Kourtney is a really good mom to Mason.

4.  Kim is probably my least favorite, but I do appreciate that she's never been fall-down drunk in the papers and seems to hold herself to a certain standard.  Sometimes I wish she would losen up, though.

5.  Khloe is probably the most down-to-earth, and has a really nice relationship with her husband, Lamar.

Here are the things I hate:

1.  The girls are all very materialistic and can be pretty petty.

2.  All of them can be absolutely horrible to the men in their lives.  Kris deceives Bruce, Kourtney is downright rude to Scott, and Kim and Kris...well, that's for a whole different blog.

3.  They can be really raunchy and inappropriate.

4.  I don't think they are good role models for young women in many aspects, the exception being branding and marketing/promotion.

Anyway, that's where I stand with KUWTK.  I was very relieved to talk to one of my favorite cousins last night, and to find that she, too, loves to hate the famous family.  Or hates to love?  Either way.  Clearly, I'm not the only one who is fascinated by this family.

Organize Yourself: Week 2

Week 2 is about organizing your priorities.

New Year, New ORGANIZED Life!

Yes, I realize that I started this challenge a few weeks ago, but I took a hiatus from my personal growth goal to man-handle the holidays.  With two small children and a birthday party thrown in to the mix, I had my hands full creating a holiday extravaganza!  But everything went just swimmingly.  The kids are spoiled beyond belief, as am I.  Just the way we like it!

Anyway...onward!

Here is an except from the book about my challenges for this week:
If I asked you what your top ten priorities are you would most likely be able to list them.  But what if I asked you:  Are you living these priorities each day or even every week?  If you were honest, would the answer be no?  A priority isn't a priority unless you act on it.  Your priorities should reflect your values, not those of your boss, your relatives, or your best friend.

This is very interesting to me.  If you asked me to list my priorities, they would include things like time with the kids, time with the husband, time with the Jaquish family, creating a successful business, coaching volleyball, Relay For Life commitments, supporting the major life events of my two best friends (one is having a baby and one is getting married!!  happy day!), horsey time, and maybe a little time for myself.

But if I wasn't expected to have these tasks on my plate, would I?  Hmmm...yes, I think I would.  I'm very fortunate and I don't have to do a lot of things that I don't like doing.  I'm pretty good at saying "no" and staying away from the things that I dislike.

Some of my tasks for this week include making a list of my top ten priorities, and then making a list of my current activities, and then comparing them.  I feel like these lists will match up okay, but I think that I need to designate more time for the higher priority items than the lower priority items.

One last tip that is given is to not compare your life to TV, advertisements, or celebrities...but...how will I know if I am, indeed, keeping up with the Kardashians?!

My mom watched her first episode of Kourtney and Kim Take New York last week, and she has realized why Kim ditched that loser Kris Humphries.  I'll have to write another blog about my love-hate relationship with the Kardashian family.