*APPRECIATION*

"Make it a habit to tell people thank you. 
To express your appreciation,
sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. 
Truly appreciate those around you,
and you'll soon find many others around you. 
Truly appreciate life,
and you'll find that you have more of it."
~Ralph Marston

I was just searching "appreciation quotes" on Google for the perfect quote to go with today's Starfish and found this one in 2.2 seconds.  Definitely meant to be :) 

But really, just think about it for a second.  How TRUE are those words?  "Truly appreciate those around you and you'll soon find many others around you."  It's pretty self-explanatory, I think, but I'll lay it out for you.  People want to be around people who want to be around them.  Your friends are your friends because they appreciate who you are and what you bring to their life.  The more appreciation you show the people in your life, the better.  And I know this is cliché, but you never know when may be the last time you see someone you love.  Speak more kindness, hug more often, and love more loudly. 


The last part of the quote is my favorite - "Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it." When we truly, TRULY, learn to appreciate the beauty of life - the beauty of the sun rising in the morning, the beauty in a child's laugh, the beauty in a flower blooming, the beauty in the love shared within a family, the beauty in the stars, the beauty of friendships and relationships - our hearts will be softer, our words will be cordial and our zeal for life will sore.  What if we all lived our lives like every person we came into contact with just found out today is their last day on earth?

Ah!  Challenge of the week for you - spend one day doing just that.  Treat EVERYONE you come into contact with like it is their last day here.  See how they react to your kindness and see how it makes YOU feel.  :)  And then report back to me - I'll be curious! 

 
 Today's Starfish

I had a girls' weekend back home with some good friends for Guthrie's River Ruckus.  For those who don't know, it is a big country concert in small town Guthrie Center.  We had the best time!!  There is nothing better than going back home, enjoying good country music and sitting around a bonfire into the wee hours of the morning.

River Ruckus, like any event, takes a lot of work - planning and implementing. OH yeah, and the impossible - trying to please everyone!! Most people love to give their own two cents on what should have been done to make the event better or more successful or more fun or whatever.  But what we forget is all of the work that is put into something like this to make sure WE have a good time!  So for today's Starfish I am sending 2 thank you cards.  One to my mom and dad for being awesome hosts to my friends and me (as always) and one to the River Ruckus crew for putting on another great show and to show appreciation for all of their hard work.  Because let's face it - I wouldn't have had such a great weekend with my friends if my parents weren't such great hosts and if there had been no concert :)

I'm Baaaackk!

So it's been awhile, huh? 


I was astonished by the number of people who asked me why I stopped writing.  "Umm, Teri, your blog didn't go up again."  "Did you run out of people to thank?" (you will NEVER run out of people to thank).  "Is the starfish dead?"  "I miss it!!"  "Are you feeling ok?"

When you make a habit of doing something every Monday, people begin to expect it.  I thank you all for your concern.

So many times in life we do things for the wrong reasons.  I am a people pleaser - always have been and always will be. It's in my nature. But in my 26 years, I have only recently learned a very important thing.  Sometimes, you need to do things for you.  I stopped writing because life got in the way.  My Monday night ritual was interrupted by my 3:45am wake-up call.  But when you truly love something, you find a way to make it happen.

I am not writing this blog post because I feel like I owe anyone.  I am not writing to make anyone happy.  I am writing for me.  Writing makes me better. Sometimes, it's the only way I can express myself. And if you are reading this, THANK YOU!  If my thoughts encourage you, even better.

Today's Starfish

I recently went on an awesome vacation to Vegas and Santa Barbara.  It was absolutely amazing.  Today's thank you goes to one of my very best friends, Lisa, and her mom and dad who opened up their home to me in CA and made my stay exceptional.  I had the BEST coffee, the BEST wine and the BEST seafood EVER!!!!!  They truly made me feel like part of the family.  I am very blessed to them in my life!  I picked out a lovely thank you card for the Wolfe's although a card will never express how grateful I am!