Our Sister, Ali. And why she rocks. Merry Christmas in August.

(This post is a joint-author endeavor, with my sister Julie being the co-author)

Our family is having Christmas in August this year and so far it's been fun and great, and fun. 

When trying to decide what to prepare for my sister Ali, I was at a loss. Ali is literally the queen of Christmas. 

She has everyone's gifts figured out months in advance. 

They're painstakingly contrived and prepared. 

They're thoughtful. 

So, we're going to try and do the same for her. Here comes

The top 10 List of why Ali Davis is the bee’s knees / cat’s pajamas

FAITH: My Mom

So, the last blog post was on failure. It's a terrifying part of our reality and we all experience it sometime or another.

But, lingering on the bad is usually what will inevitably push us to be sad, lonely, and, well, become more of a failure than we were before. That's called a self-fulfilling prophecy by psychologists.

As we approach faith, though, I'm going to talk about someone (whose birthday is today) who has been one of the single greatest examples of faith in my entire life.

It's my Mom, Jennifer Ann Brown (Thompson). I love you, Mom :)

With that,

The List of Why My Mom Is Faith Personified

FEAR: Failure

I’m scared of fear, and of being afraid.

That might seem like an oxymoron, or it might make me seem like a moron, but it’s true.  I feel like I always have been scared – scared of the dark, scared of the unknown, of heights, of spiders, of failure.

And, frankly, I’m a little sick of being afraid.  But I’m also afraid that I can’t overcome it without some help.  

With that, this month I’m going to a list of things I’m afraid of, as well as a list of things that help me overcome my fears.  I bet you’ll relate to some of them! If not, then that sucks! Here we go.  Welcome to....

The List of Stuff that Makes Me Want to Poop My Pants!

Version 2014

10 Things About Grandma Brown

I recently made a post about my Grandma Julie, who is my Mom's mom. Now, it's time for a post about Grandma Brown, my Dad's mom. Happy Birthday, Grandma Brown, and know that I love you! :)

Exercise When You Have No Energy, and other stories

Tired. What to do when one is tired. I think that says a lot about a person, and the state that they're in.

I think that leads to another question, though--

What do you do when you're tired?

How This Blog Works...I think. What do you think?

Writing in a blog has been wonderful, and I've already had to learn quite a bit about how all this works. I admit that I find myself a little frightened, a little intimidated by the prospect of competing for people's attention on the biggest superhighway of information in the history of the world.

And yet here we are! It's nice that real estate on this highway is free :)

But I have a question for you.

And that's not the question :)

Uns Pensamentos Brasileiros

Já que a Copa do Universo está parando o mundo inteirinho, acho prudente (ou, pelo menos, legal) fazer um post do meu querido Brasil.  Espero que o meu escrito dê para entender.

Leiam se tiverem o desejo de rir para caramba. Ou para matarem saudade.

YOUR THOUGHTS--What do you do when you're having an off day?

The other day (I can't even remember which day) I didn't have such a good day. Typically my go-to reaction to days like this is food, or maybe a good workout or scripture study, but if that doesn't work, I write.

Like there's no tomorrow. But, there's always a tomorrow.

This is what I wrote the other day. See if you relate to it! If not, comment below: what do you do when you are having a crummy day?

About Grandma :)

Like you, I was born.  And so was my Mom.  Meaning that I have a Grandma---Grandma Julie, to be exact. 

It was her birthday the other day, and I thought I'd share what I wrote about her with you--with a few pictures added for fun. See if you can find any similarities with your Grandma!

Post-Sleep Musings and Majestic Lions?

I just got up. 

You know, when life gives you troubles, sleep in. But not too much, or you'll really regret it. Remember the Waking Up Face? Yeah. Too late for me, I'm afraid.

But there's more, actually.

YOUR THOUGHTS--What is Altruism, and does it exist?

Hi, uh, is this thing on? Sorry. So sorry. 

So my girlfriend and I had a talk last night...about this blog. What it's about, why I'm doing it, what I hope happens with it, etc. I hope she wasn't thinking that I'm trying to replace her with it. And now I'm wondering if she's going to read this...maybe we're going to be talking again soon...anyway.

This blog started with the intent to sharpen my skills as a writer, contribute something honest and thought-provoking to those who read it, and also foster an atmosphere of open, non-judgmental conversation between friends, colleagues, or even internet acquaintances.

I repeat: I WANT TO HEAR YOUR STUFF. TELL ME YOUR STUFF.

The Waking Up Face

We're always trying to be "attractive", you and I. Look good, feel good, say clever stuff. Get others to like us.

I'm pretty sure that if someone saw my post-waking-yawning-strain face, any chance I might have had would be gone. 'Tis not pretty.

That's pretty much all I wanted to write about that. Have a nice day.

So, I discovered the benefits of writing some time ago, and tricked myself into believing that I was okay at it.

Haha. What a load of crap. Read more if you're bored. Or if you want to be surprised...or if you'd like A NEW CAR!!! Actually, I might keep reading if that were true...