I wanna be...

As my previous post showed, today was not one of my better days and I will be glad to start over with a new tomorrow in the morning. I've decided to use my catastrophe of a day to give a shout out to a few people who inspire me to keep on going when my less than better days leave me wallowing in self-pity.

My children are a given. Whenever I am feeling my sickest if sick, I can always master enough energy to provide for my children. But they are so much more to me than that. They are absolutely the root cause that drives me to be a better person. I cook more, I recycle more, I mind my manners more, I show my appreciation more, I take better care of health. I even return the shopping cart to its rightful place after use and pick up litter I find on the streets during our walks. My husband of course is the source of many inspirations. He is my rock and is the glue that keeps me all together in my most vulnerable moments. His faith in me is insurmountable and is evidenced everyday in some of the most seemingly insignificant ways. Without him I am only one half.

Now, with all the sappy lovey duvey stuff out of the way. I will move on to some other significant others who inspire and motive me, people who probably do not realize their impact. My dear friend "D" who has recently become a new mummy is certainly one of them. She is one of the most charitable persons I have ever met. She has a huge heart and a string of strong and meaningful friendships she has developed through her life -- truly a testament of her kind nature and balanced sense of right and wrong. She is selfless and centered women. A rare gem of a gal.

Then there's some blogging mommies that have been complete strangers to me but are willing to share their life's in blogosphere to one and all. Ceci at mychaosmybliss writes with astute comical honesty in the happenings of her household. You get the naked truth with Ceci and she's not afraid to admit to her own perceived misgivings and mummy guilt. If her posts don't make me laugh, I empathize in gratitude.

Tonya at a day in my life is another gifted blogger I came across in reading my sister-in-law's blog, janstaseggis. It is rare day that Tonya does not post a blog entry and she never ceases to amaze me with her energy and spunk. I am quite sure she is a friend and confident to many. I can only wish that I had a tenth of her energy. Lisa, my-sister-in-law, has a wonderful blog going at janstaseggis and I am addicted to checking hers everyday, several times a day. She is the mother to my neice and nephew who are as sweet and pure as they can be and I am so glad to be part of their growing years. Whatever the occasion, Lisa has her little ones dressed in the cutest outfits and her car, her house, her whole being is always immaculate. I'm hoping if I hang out with her for long enough, some of her good housekeeping skills will rub off on me. Did I mention that she always looks so darn classy?

Dominca Catteli is absolutely a source of inspiration for me, without a doubt. I picked up her cookbook for my birthday back in January and already have it splatted with cooking ingredients. Her recipes are easy to follow, realistic and tasty. She has organized her book with the busy overwhelmed mummy in mind and offers up a mom-a-licious manifesto which I try to live by. Appropriately so, she asks that you tell someone when they inspire you.

So to those mentioned here and to those who have been guided here by my not so subtle hints of "... check out my recent post about..." considered yourself an inspiree. You have inspired.

Randy Pausch

A family member forwarded me a lecture by Randy Pausch. It is a lecture about how to live with gratitude. Below is a link to a short version of his lecture that will only take twelve minutes of your time and I urge anyone who has found themselves here to watch it.

"Experience is what you get when you don't get the things you want."