I've been reflecting a lot on the last year. Where I was last year at this time, and where I am now. It is basically night and day. It's amazing how far I have come in a year. My life has totally changed. I am a totally different person. I am now one of the positive people I used to envy (and have great disdain for). Who would have ever thought?
There are a few things that I think can make our lives go extra smoothly. I'm not talking about being debt-free or having a good job. I am talking about little things that can make life better. If you stick to this list...your life will rock. Trust me!
- Everyone should have a great esthetician. There is really nothing more important than good eyebrows. Eyebrows frame your face and can totally change how you look. I used to have a friend who had super thin brows. I did her make-up one day and GAVE her brows. She. Looked. Amazing! If you spend money on any kind of beauty service... spend it on an eyebrow wax from a REPUTABLE esthetician (there are a lot of bad ones out here judging from the eyebrows I see walking around the city). Ernie's friend/partner (?) Bert is not who you want to model your brows after. Neither is the East L.A gang-leader's girlfriend
- Always have beer in the fridge. You never know when someone is going to pop over. Sitting around with a good friend and a cold one, shooting the shit can be one of the most enjoyable experiences. Often, the best times are totally unplanned (which is amazing for me considering I used to write itineraries on the day my friends and I went to the exhibition!).
- And on that note...always have Jagermeister in the freezer. Jagermeister is in the same category as tea-tree oil. It has many, many uses, a lot of them medicinal! Too full? Have a shot! Upset tummy? Have a shot! Nervous/uneasy? Have a shot! Have a zit? Dab it with Jag (haha...kidding!). A friend was getting ready for a first date not long ago. She was soooo nervous. I told her to have a shot of Jag to ease her nervous tummy. She didn't have any so I immediately got in my car and personally delivered a shot to her! It really is THE Nectar of the Gods!
- Cream cheese. If you always have a brick of cream cheese on hand...you are good to go! Need to make an unexpected appetizer? Don't have any ideas for supper? Bust out the cream cheese and your options are endless!
- Black dresses. All the girls out there know this but how many have one? I mean a really good one? My closet is full of black dresses (probably because all I wear is black...Goth much?) but to those who don't have one? Get shopping. A black dress can take you from a wedding to a bar on a Friday night. You can wear it to work with heels or to run errands with flats. As we know, black is very forgiving when it comes to the figure flaws that we ALL have. Black...Not just for funerals anymore!
- I wasn't going to include stuff like this but, I have to. GOOD friends! Hang onto them and never let go. Over the past 5 years I have purged all the trash from my life. This has included several people who claimed to be “friends”. Friends do not make you feel bad, do not abandon you during the rough times and, in this day and age, write Facebook statuses to hurt you. If you have people in your life who do this? Get rid of them. NOW. I did it and have never looked back. I am now surrounded by the most amazing and supportive people I have ever known.
- Read! I had a conversation with a friend the other night. He isn't a big reader. We were talking about how judgey some people can be when they find out someone doesn't like to read. I don't give a shit who reads or not. I just know that in the last year I have turned into somewhat of a voracious reader and have learned SO much. And I don't mean in a scholarly way. I tend to read a lot of autobiographies. Learning from others life experiences can have a profound effect on our own lives. Trust me. I mean it's because of Motley Crue's 'The Dirt' that I have decided to stick with vodka/soda as opposed to doing 8-balls of heroin ;).
- Good tunes are the soundtracks of our lives. Songs can bring back memories, take us back to a time in our lives and help us through hard times. There are a few bands that I listened to last year whose lyrics absolutely, without a doubt, helped me through some very dark days. Wanna feel like you are 13 again? Throw on Duran Duran. Need to get pumped up to go out when you are dead tired? Spin a Gaga or Britney disc. Feeling angry? Eminem will help you get your aggressions out. I would die without my tunes.
- Take too many of pictures. I have my camera with me at all times. In the age of digital cameras we can now take TONS of pictures and print them off ourselves, at our leisure. We don't have to worry about taking the “film” in to get developed (amazing that my niece will probably never know what “film” is!) or about some stranger looking at our pics (hehe). What we need to do is start taking pictures of everyday life...your Mom in the kitchen baking bread, your Dad BBQing, your Grandma sitting in her favourite chair. It's the little things like that that we have a hard time remembering. It's those little things that really are more important than taking pictures of people you barely know at your second cousin's third wedding.
- Finally...and this one is so very important. Accept people for who they are. There is always going to be something about our friends and family members that irritates the shit out of us! That is life. We are all so unique it is inevitable. We have to embrace our differences and our quirks. We have to accept that we ALL go through hard times and sometimes say and do things that will hurt or piss someone off. Forgive. We all make mistakes. EVERYONE makes mistakes.
I didn't intend for this list to take such a heartfelt turn. I guess as I was writing, these are the things that stood out in the forefront of my mind. Anyway... be happy! I can finally say that after A LOT of work, I genuinely am. And don't worry...Smart-Ass Stacey will be back next time!
You know you love me,
Stacey xo
