Just Smile.

I know I've been posting a LOT lately. Sorry if that annoys you. I just HAVE to say..

The last few days I have been SO down and pessimistic about everything. One might call me a "Debbie Downer". It's really been frustrating me because I can't seem to make myself be positive or happy. I've been trying different things to make myself stay uppity, but nothing has been working.

JUST NOW I remembered a post my friend Ellen did on her blog (which you can see here) about smiling.  I thought about how I hadn't laughed as often recently, and thus I hadn't smiled as much. I forced myself to smile. Suddenly my mood has brightened and I feel infinitely better.

Reasons I have to smile:

• I'm Celeste Carruth. None of you can say that. (Unless you're my distant cousin who's name is Celeste Carruth... if so, why are you reading my blog?)
• For the most part, I like myself.
• I have an incredible family. Every single member of my family has unique qualities that I don't think I could live without.
• I am a member of the only true church on the earth. How lucky am I?!
• My friends respect my opinions and (generally) have the same standards as me.
• I'm healthy.
• I have quite possibly the softest skin on this earth.
• I live in a free country.
• I have 2 jobs.
• I have hope for the future.
• I have the ability to make myself see things the way I want to see them.
• I can (and love to) read and write.
• Despite all my complaints, there's always food in my house (though it's not always Spaghettios..)
• I'm not an insomniac. I can sleep.
• I'm talented at several things.

Yep. Life is good.

The Twits.

A few weeks ago, some friends and I were in our storage room (better know as the "spider room") and I found some books. Among these books were a few Roald Dahl books. Lately I've been reading through these books and sort of re-living my childhood. The Twits was probably my favorite childhood book. :)

Even though I absolutely LOVED The Twits was because of the story line, I'm realizing how incredibly intelligent Roald Dahl is. Every sentence he writes has a purpose. :D

This is probably my favorite part:

"If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it.

"A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.

Nothing good shone out of Mrs. Twit's face."

Isn't that a fantastic proposal? No matter WHAT your features are, you can pick how attractive you are depending on what you think. I absolutely love that idea. I think it's true, too!

I vividly remember going to my cousin's birthday party when I was younger and I met one of the prettiest girls I'd ever seen. She was seriously stunning! (Please understand, I was not attracted to this girl. I just thought that she had perfect features.) After a few conversations, her beauty LITERALLY deteriorated. I remember thinking "Did I really think she was pretty?". Her comments were always bitter, selfish, and rude. I could not believe how suddenly my perception of her looks changed. I'll never forget that.

While it was disheartening to see the negative side of that phenomenon, it validated that the positive side was true, too. It's a hopeful thought that no matter how unattractive someone may seem, I should get to know them before making any decisions about how I feel about them.

...yay.

Thoughts.

Yes, I've been thinking again.

I'm reading a book that Eric's friend Jeff recommended called "The Glass Castle".

It's a non-fiction book about a woman that grew up in an extremely poor family. It's SO interesting to see her perspective on the things that happen in her life. To her, a father getting drunk is almost a natural part of life. Living in broken down houses with mice and cockroaches is an adventure. Her parents encourage her to think this way. Her mother is especially always giving her perspective on different things.

While I don't agree with the way her parents influence her thoughts (seriously, it seems like brain-washing to me..), I find it interesting how well it works. This young girl keeps the most positive attitude in the absolute WORST situations I could imagine. It's made me realize some things about myself.

I've realized that social norms really, really bother me.

I have realized that as long as I'm happy with the things I'm doing, I shouldn't care what other people think. Despite that realization, I know that I DO care. That frustrates me.

I've realized how hard it is to be a GOOD parent. I already knew they made sacrifices, but reading about how difficult it was for these two parents to provide simple things for their children made it even more apparent to me. Because of that, I've decided that I'm not ready to be a mother.

It's a really great book. It plays with your emotions and changes your perspective. (I should warn you that there is quite a bit of language coming from her father.) Anyway. There are my thoughts.

and the winner is....

Miss Julie Taylor!!!

Congratulations on being the funniest person alive. Seriously.

If I would have had to guess who of all my friends would make me laugh the hardest, you would have been at the top of my list.

For those of you who don't know Julie, she is the girl you want to marry (if you're a guy, that is).

She's really got it all. Beauty, brains, humor, spirituality, and a work-ethic of a typical Idahoan woman. Every time I see Julie, a smile magically appears on my face. She is THAT awesome.

April 2nd is a pretty cool day. It's Julie's birthday! It's also my birthday! That's fun.

(Please note the date the picture above was taken is only 2 days after April 2nd! That's pretty sweet.)

When Eric and I have our children's version of SNL, Julie will undoubtedly be our first (and frequent) host.

JULIE FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!!!!