1. Surround yourself with people that lift you up, that care about your happiness. Show the negative ones your back side!!!! In 5, 10, 20 years you will be so much better off.
2. Love the ones your with!!!! Put down your fricken phones and be with the people in front of you!!!!!
3. You will never regret any education you receive. You will never hear an elderly person say "damn, I wish I wouldn't have gotten that degree". education is freedom.
4. Don't ignore problems, bills or something you are dreading. Do it, get it over and it will not be as bad as worrying about it. This will save you thousand and thousands of hours worrying, regretting, and thinking "I should have"... jUST DO IT!!!
5. Never color and cut your own hair! Enough said!
6. My number one advice to every woman... CLASSY NOT CRAZY...... O I have went crazy before, I have opened my mouth and let the redneck Debbie show through. Every time I have unleashed my inner crazy, I have regretted it. I am not saying to let people walk all over you and never tell someone how you feel or how they hurt you, I am saying do it with class... My mid 30's I let my inner crazy out more than ever.. I have slowly and painfully learned that the best revenge is done silently and by succeeding and being happy and looking fabulous while doing it. So out of the mouth of Miranda Lambert,
Powder your nose, paint your toes
Line your lips and keep 'em closed...
7. When someone shows you who they REALLY are, believe them, the first time. I was dating a man, while I was in his car (one of our first dates) he called his sister and SCREAMED at her... I was floored. It would have saved me the hardest 3 years of my life if I would have believed who he really was that night. Instead I let him show me over and over for years!!!!
8. Travel, it makes you a different person. It kills judgement and narrow mindedness and breeds curiosity and love.
9. Be very careful not to judge. I have judged, been judged and watch people judge. Sometimes your judgment is correct other's way off.
10. Make your bed!!! messy bed, messy head!
11. Pick your battles!!! Sam is better at this than I. I like to pick every battle but I am working on it!
12. Never ever apologize for something you have earned. I don't care if you are walking around in a $3000 pair of shoes. If you worked for it, saved for it, planned for it do not apologize for it. I don't care how ridiculous people think it is, Claim it you worked for it!!!
13. Blood is thicker than water. My girlfriend, Jan, and I always had the deal of family first. I love to be with my friends, I always want to be with them and do everything they do but I know that is not possible, as hard it is sometimes, I have to say family first... I am my kids only Mom and I will be there.
14. And now in continuation to the above rule. Make time for yourself. Sam and make deals with each other, NO work this weekend, no kids, no baby sitting. Is it hard... YES. Is it necessary, YES. My kids respect this and I love them more for it!!! They know how precious our friends and each other are to Sam and I so they respect this and know that there are some times Sam and Debbie will be having a "private" weekend.
15. Don't over spend and pay your bills. There is nothing more fun than being mortgage poor, car poor. This was a very hard lesson for me. I learned the hard way, I almost went belly up, it is the best feeling to be back on top of my financial world. Nothing like ending up paying $800 for that bounced check you wrote for a tube of lipstick. I truly know people that still do this!!! We are in our 40's time to put the check book up!
16. I told one of my daughters yesterday that one of the things that has helped me through the toughest moments of my life is the serenity prayer..
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Memorize this... Say it in times you don't know what to do.... There is stuff that happens in life, that you may have done to yourself or someone else may have done it... but there is no changing it, Accept it!
17. Have fun!!! Life is fun!!!! . Dance, laugh, join, relish. Don't worry about looking silly. Be silly, it's fun!
18. Respect God, thank God, and fear God.
19. Respect your parents, some day you will want their advice and they won't be there. The older I get the more I hate to report that most of the time my parents were right. Not always but MOST!!!
20. Marry your best friend. The one that makes your toe's curl, always has your back, loves you and your family. Don't settle and remember you have to work at being a good spouse....
