BACK TO SCHOOL!!

So Monday is Day #1 of my Prelicensing Class with the California Department of Insurance to obtain my California Life License. This license will allow me to sell insurance in the state of California. I'm oh so nervous, though! It's a 6 day class and the information is very compact. I've heard stories from other people who have taken the class and failed the test the first and second time. My lead, however, and another coworker passed the test on the first try. The way I see it, if I can pass it the second time, then I can pass it the first time. I just need to REALLY apply myself! WISH ME LUCK!!

The Golden Rule

So this has been something that has been on my mind a lot in the last week or two.

"Do un to others, as you would have done un to you."

It's probably one of the smartest quotes I've ever heard. So often we find ourselves giving up things that we wouldn't normally, including our personality, material objects, principals, goals, etc., to make someone else happy or feel more comfortable. There are three things that bother me the most about this:

A: What makes the other person more entitled, above yourself?
B: Why is this person OKAY with this?
C: Why are YOU okay with doing this?

There is nobody in the world that is going to take care of you better than yourself, with the exception of a parent, POSSIBLY. I would like to say that nobody else would put your needs above their own, but if that were true, I wouldn't be blogging on this subject. All of the things I listed above are gradual ways of loosing yourself. You will slowly loose respect, courage, and happiness.

I am one of these people. I LOVE making other people happy, so I will adjust to THEIR needs.... Every once in a while it bites me in the butt. I feel like that's been happening a lot in the past week. More so, I feel like there is again a need to re-claim JACKIE. My likes are MY likes. I cannot care anymore if that makes someone else happy or not, and if they agree with me or not. I cannot walk on ice because something I say may upset someone. Yes, I have been known to talk out of my butt, but that statement is meant for my close friends. The closest people to me that are in my life right know, have known me long enough to know when I'm kidding, and when I'm not. If I'm not kidding, that means that something must have happened to aggravate me. But it's not like I'm racist, sexist, big on politics, or talking about abortion, LOL. I like to laugh and have fun. My heart is simple, I'm nice if you're nice. That's all there is.

In short: Go do to others, what you would want done to you. Think before you act. And, last but not least... what goes around, comes around.

Here's to a new day :)

I'm going HIKING!! Well, eventually...

Today, I joined my aunt Sue's hiking group on meetup.com!! I'm very excited!! They do hikes all across northern California from Tahoe to the ocean. I cannot wait to get out there and have fun, meet new people, and take lots of pictures! I also thought it would be a good way to increase my exercise because these hikes can be 10 miles long, depending on the trail.

Stay tuned for pics!! :) YAY!

"Wild Words From Wild Women" Day by Day calendar - Entry Tuesday, April 13th:

Todays entry: "We need a twelve-step group for compulsive talkers. They would call it On Anon Anon" -- Paula Poundstone.

So, for Christmas I received this day by day desk calendar. The kind you rip the pages off one by one as the days go by. This one is called "Wild Words From Wild Women". Some of the quotes are borning and generic, but some of them are just the opposite. I will be posting the entertaining ones, such as the one above.

Enjoy!

Ranger Erica!

Today, Erica and I began discussing the camping schedule for this year. I became WAY excited because it's been a long draining winter cooped up in the house, I LOVE camping, and, until recently, I didn't think Erica would want to go camping! She and nature are like oil and water HAHA! Noooo mixy! lol I was lucky enough to get her to Clear Lake last year! Haha So we began talking dates and what would work best with their schedule and so on. I went to www.reserveamerica.com to start looking at season dates and for new campgrounds that we might like to try. I came across Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Hymmm... I've heard people talk about camping there but I can't remember if they'd liked it or not. I read the review and came across a little FF (fun fact) in the description: "The park has a surprising number of waterfalls, a wide variety of environments (from lush canyon bottoms to sparse chaparral-covered slopes, many animals (deer, raccoons, an occasional bobcat) and lots of bird life (including Steller's jays, egrets, herons and California woodpeckers)."

**blink, blink**

BOBCAT!?!?! **shakes head** Erica will love this... **evil giggle**

So... I emailed Erica with the link and asked her to tell me what she thought about this campground.

This is how that conversation went via text:

ME: Did you get my last email?
ERICA: Ya site looked cool.
ME: Ummm did u really read the whole description? Lol
ERICA: Yes lol why??? Did I miss something other than it being under construction?? lol
ME: Yes read it again. I don't think your opinion will be the same lol
ERICA: OMG!!! Ok hold on damn it lol
ERICA: It's getting cloudy out here... I loooovvvveeeeeee it
ME: Me too! I like cloudy today lolol I get stir crazy if the weather is the same for toooo long.
ERICA: Bobcats!?!?!?!?!?!?
ME: LMFAO!!!! DING DING DING
ERICA: LMAO!! I was like "Dude, I read it!!!" Then all these other words start popping up like... WILDLIFE...... BOBCATS...... DEER...... DEATH......

Ooooh my PiKa... how you entertain me so!!

My Creative Pika!!

Last night Ian and Erica came over, and as usual, she and I croched and mocked and teased Mike and Ian!! HAHA.. ya we're good at that... She was making these adorable things and I asked her to make me one to hang at my desk!!! YAAAY Thank you PiKa!!!

Greetings!

My very first blog! Well this just opens up a who new world, now doesn't it. My best-friend started her first blog yesterday, and that inspired me to do the same. While I've just recently decided to begin embarking on this new endeavor, I should probably set a few things straight...

Spelling will not always be top quality, so any expectation of top notch grammar can be snuffed right here. My sister is the english major, not I. Also, I am known to be a little scatter-brained, so any expectation of well thought out blog entrys may also get off the bus right now. This is your stop. I do, however, promise to be as funny and entertaining as I can possibly be, though again, I cannot make any guarantees. It's a gamble, what can I say?

These blog entrys will be consisting of my personal life events and any hobby updates, including camping, 4-wheeling, cooking, crocheting/knitting, gardening, and fishing, to name a few. I will OF COURSE post as many pictures as I can during these entrys.

That being said, please sit down, buckle up, and keep your hands and arms inside the carpet!