tim tebow

Not only only is he an amazing athlete, he is good looking too.

Check out this vid of tebow scoring a touchdown ON A BROKEN LEG:

PS. Pats fan for life, just on the Bronco bandwagon while enjoying my time in Colorado.

Senator Collins' UMO Graduation Speech: Find the Good and Praise It

This is an excerpt one of my favorite graduation speeches, by Maine State Senator Susan Collins, in May 2011. I have always appreciated Senator Collins' bipartisan representation of Maine, and after hearing this grad speech, I like her even more!


Over the years, I have learned two things about giving commencement speeches:

The first is to be brief.  I am well aware that this ceremony is the last thing that stands between you and a celebration with family and friends.

The second is to try to leave you with a message that I hope will be part of your graduation day memories and possibly even somewhat helpful in your journey through life.  But I approach this goal mindful of the fact that I remember nothing about the speaker for my own college graduation – not even his name, much less what he said.   So here goes.

America has a maritime tradition of branding each ship with its own motto.  One ship in our nation’s fleet bears this distinctive motto: “Find the Good and Praise It.”  That ship is a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter named in honor of Alex Haley.

You may recall that Alex Haley wrote the historical novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family.  It told the story of his ancestors who were kidnapped from The Gambia in Africa and brought to this country as slaves.  His book was made into a landmark television mini-series that taught many of us much about the African-American struggle for freedom and equality.

“Find the Good and Praise It” was the personal motto Alex Haley, this grandson of slaves.  My Senate colleague Lamar Alexander, who knew Alex Haley well, calls him the most positive person he’d ever known.

But you may ask:  Was the guiding principle of Alex Haley’s life the notion that his only obligation was to recognize what is good and to say something nice about it?

Certainly not.   Mr. Haley realized that recognizing what is good and praising it encourages others to join in “the good.” To Alex Haley, “the good” wasn’t simply what is pleasant.  It is what is worthwhile, what makes us better people, better citizens, a better nation.

Alex Haley was not a bystander, a mere observer.  He experienced life to its fullest.  He exuded joy – that is how he lived his life.

That is one of the most important choices we all can make in our lives.  We can spend our time criticizing everything that is wrong with society or our government.

Or we can follow the example of Alex Haley, who acknowledged our country’s shortcomings and experienced racism first-hand, but who would not join with those who were constantly finding fault with America.  He constantly sought what was good and praised it.

Alex Haley would urge all of us to devote ourselves to finding and advancing – praising – that which is good and to join in the cause.

This grandson of slaves made the right choice.  Yet too often today, people choose not to pursue the positive but make the choice to attack, to belittle, and to accuse.

We see this in our coarsened political discourse.  In Congress we have heard a Republican yell “You lie” at the President, while a Democrat described the Republican health care policy as wanting people to “Die quickly!”

Citizen rallies too often become shouting matches rather than civil debates over difficult issues.
Historians would tell you that the degree of civility in Congress has ebbed and flowed over the years and would point out that at least we don’t have one member caning another into unconsciousness as happened in 1856 when Representative Brooks of South Carolina flogged Senator Sumner of Massachusetts on the Senate floor.  But in modern times, I have not seen the degree of bitter divisiveness and excessive partisanship now found in Washington.  The weapon of choice today is not a metal-topped cane, but poisonous words.

And we see this same trend in society, from bullying in schools to the anonymous, crude insults that fill the vast expanses of the Internet.  Whether the decline of civility in Washington has led to the decline of civility in the rest of the country, or vice versa, is irrelevant.  We all have a responsibility to turn back this destructive tide.  We all have a stake in a society that can work together to solve problems.  We all must do our part to elevate the tone and respect one another as part of our greater community.

That doesn’t mean that we don’t recognize evil in the world or speak out against injustice and wrong-doing.  But we must not lose sight of what is good.

So my challenge to you, adapted from Alex Haley, is to “Find the good, praise it, and join it.”

Insanely Happy Little Girl With Nicki Minaj

I love Sophia's reaction to Nicki Minaj... so adorable.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT IS COMING BACK!!

omg omg omg

it sounds like the rumors might actually be true this time! for years i've heard rumors about the show coming back, but these rumors may really be factual!

three seasons was just not enough of one of my all-time favorite tv shows. i'm beyond thrilled at the thought of 10 more episodes & a feature length movie! let the masterpiece continue!

check out the NY Times article detailing the announcement:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/mitchell-hurwitz-promises-an-arrested-development-movie-and-new-tv-episodes/

emails from my mom make me happy

Hi Annaliese,

I just saw the video that Ramsey posted!  That was Martha, Elaine, and me doing our thing!  We had the pregame 'tailgate' at our house.  It was quite a bit of fun.  I had a contest where we selected "Ms. Purplelicious"  based on how many purple things she had on.  Sue Fickett won with 15 items.  (I did not compete.)  I made her a purple sash with glittery letters.  We also did some shots of Hot Damn in frozen purple shot glasses.  Supposedly 7 of us were doing it in order H A M P D E N, followed by the cheer Hot Damn, Hampden!  Hot Damn, Hampden!  but we did not get that down quite right.  We will need to practice.  It was all fun except that we lost the football game, darn it!  They scored one more touchdown, plus they made all their extra points and we did not so we actually lost by 10 points.

Miss you!

Love, Mom



A few things I would like to point out about this email:

1. It's awesome that my parents are still throwing ragers.
2. When my Mom said "That's me, Elaine, and Martha doing our thing," she's referring to the time they dressed up in fat suits, wore purple wigs, and choreographed a dance to the Hampden Academy school song.... and then performed it in front of a ton of people.
3. My mom pointed out the fact that she didn't compete in the "Ms. Purplelicious" competition--obviously, if she competed, she would have won.
4. My mom made purple (Hampden's color) ice shot glasses, made up a Hampden-related cheer to go with the shot, and specifically picked Hot Damn alcohol to take a shot of, because the name rhymed with our town's name).

happiness quote

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

Helen Keller

happy quote

Wine is constant proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Benjamin Franklin

ONLY IN COLORADO

Last Saturday, Nikola and I went to the Pink Elephant Party. We got there around 10pm, but when we got there it was semi sketchy, and we saw signs on the same road for Yarmony Grass Festival. So instead of settling on a night at State Bridge, we decided to drive the 3 miles down the dirt road to checkout Yarmony. When we arrived at Yarmony, we saw a field of tents and stages in a valley next to a river.

We went to the ticket booth and asked about tickets and camping... That's when the good things started happening. We got hooked up with FREE camping & parking and super discounted tickets (even though camping was sold out and parking was full). It didn't hurt that the ticket guy lead us in a golf cart to the best parking spot/camp site! WOOP WOOP. We set up camp in the middle of a group of ridiculous hippie boys. We ended up dancing the night away to amazing live musicians

THEN on the drive home, about 30 minutes after I left the festival, a random car sped by me, with everyone in the car looking at me. A minute later the car pulled over to the side of the road and the passengers signaled for me to pull over. Then, the driver came out of the car, and goes "Are you Annaliese Lafayette?," Turns out, the driver had been asked if they knew me at the concert, because the ticket guy who'd hooked me up the night before had found my wallet and was asking around to try to find me. The driver had noticed my plates and Cornell bumper sticker (there was a maine id and cornell id in my wallet), so she pulled me over to tell me I'd lost my ID. I went back and got my wallet, which basically made my life about 100x better this week, since I don't have to cancel my cards, get a new id, etc.

I Love Colorado.

camping out

trancident @ yarmony

Beautiful Drives

Ashley came to visit, and as usual, we had a super fun time. On her first night in town, we drove through the canyons to Glenwood Springs-- it was outrageously gorgeous. We got lost in Glenwood literally 5 times in a row, but it was OK because we laughed the whole time (plus we got fast food).

On Saturday, we drove from Vail to Steamboat Springs. The drive was beautiful. When we got there, we went to the Strawberry Hot Springs. There were several different pools, and their temperatures range from freezing cold to really hot. So amazing!

ash at the springs

strawberry hot springs

pretty horses we saw on the drive

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE!

Below is a link to Neil Pasricha's TED talk, "The 3 A's of Awesome." The talk is AWESOME. I love his positive attitude and zest for life! I want to hangout with him.

Thanks for sending this to me, MacKenzie Rawcliffe!!!

happy quote

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles.

Audrey Hepburn

CAN'T STOP LISTENING!

totally obsessed with this song/band...

Here's an excerpt from a Billboard.com article about The Head and The Heart:

Nor is the sextet your average flash-in-the-pan buzz band. Though the group had every opportunity to blow up-by the end of 2011, it'll have played Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Newport and Austin City Limits, not to mention the late-night trifecta of "Letterman," "Conan" and "Fallon"-the Head and the Heart prefer to play low- and mid-capacity venues. The band tours small towns and chats with fans on Twitter and at its merch table. The act concentrates on local, noncommercial radio stations and plays in-store sets to support independent record shops. The Head and the Heart is taking care to leave no stone unturned, and this grass-roots approach -- coupled with a hotbed local scene and a universal appeal -- has enabled the band to realize an uncompromising, independent career path that works -- and works well.

Also, the boys in the band are prettttty cute.

the head and the heart- lost in my mind

happiness tip

Save: Keep 3 to 6 months salary in an emergency fund, in case you lose your job or your car breaks down; don't forget to put money aside for retirement. If you know your basic needs are covered, you'll be happier,  and actually having that money when you need it will do wonders for your peace of mind.

From: http://johnplaceonline.com/achieve-balance/13-simple-ways-to-be-happier/

a weekend on the coast of maine

catch phrase, motor booty affair, family, beach, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, staying up til 5am, friends from home, dancing, chillin on a floating device in the ocean for hours, lots of food, boys, 4th of july parade, driving around in a jeep, twisted tea, OOB, cornell friends visiting, kayaking, a party on a boat, saying "if this isn't good, i don't know what is" multiple times a day, sleeping during the day, playing with Sadie, blasting music, late night McDonald's run........... GLORIOUS.

positive quote

I'm so optimistic I'd go after Moby Dick in a row boat and take the tartar sauce with me.

Zig Ziglar

Kenny G's appearance in Katy Perry's TGIF

OBSESSED WITH THE FACT THAT KENNY G WAS IN KATY PERRY'S LATEST VIDEO. saxophone solo in a major pop song?... YES, PLEASE.

love this song, however, it does seem to reflect my Fridays a little too closely lately.

Kenny G's appearance is at 3:57.

country music in summer

i'm not the biggest fan of country, but i LOVE cruisin to country music on a nice summer day. i think i'm going to a zac brown band concert in aspen this summer, which should be SUPER FUN. here are a few of my fave country jamz of the summer so far...

miranda lambert- heart like mine

the band perry- you lie

zac brown band- knee deep

motivational speech

THUMBS UP FOR ROCK AND ROLL.

Watch this.

compliments of kimble rawcliffe.

Bad day at the office

Here's a funny story that will make you think twice next time you think you've had a bad day at the office.

True Story: Brian is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers out of Louisiana and performs underwater repairs on offshoredrilling rigs.

Below is an e-mail he sent to his sister. She sent it to Laughline and won the contest (he wasn't thrilled with her for that one). Anyway,  anytime you think you have had a bad day at the office, remember this guy...

Hi, Sue,
Just another note from your bottom dwelling brother. Last  week I had a bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's not so bad after all.

Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job. This time of year the water is quite cool, even with a wetsuit.  So what we do to keep warm is this:

We have a diesel powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of machinery sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temp. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose which is taped to the air hose. Now this sounds like a good plan, and I've used it several times with no complaints. What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is I take the hose and stuff it down the back of my neck. This floods my whole suit with warm water.  It's like working in a Jacuzzi.

Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my rear-end started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse. Within a few seconds my rear-end started to burn. I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened. The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. This is even worse than the poison ivy you once had under a cast. Now I had that hose down my back. I don't have any hair on my back, so the jellyfish couldn't get stuck to my back. My butt crack was not as fortunate. When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into my rear-end.

I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with 5 other divers, were laughing hysterically.

Needless to say, I aborted the dive. It totaled 35 minutes before I could come to the surface for my chamber dry decompression. I got to the surface wearing nothing but my brass helmet. My suit and gear were tied to the bell.

When I got on board the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to shove it up my rear-end when I get in the chamber.  The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't go to the bathroom for two days because my rear-end was swollen shut.

Anyway, the next time you have a bad day at the office, think of me. Think about how much worse your day would be if you were to shove a jellyfish up your rear-end. I hope you have no bad days at the office. But if you do, I hope this will make it more tolerable.

youtube stars: justin

soooo we all fell in love with him when he told his mom he didn't like her unless she gave him cookies...

i found another adorb video with justin and his little bro singing on stage... so cute

they get extra cute around the 1:05 mark

when the person on a reality show who you want to win actually wins!

It has been a very exciting year for me so far... TWO of my favorite reality show contestants have won their seasons. I'm in love with John Rich (Celebrity Apprentice) and Rob Mariano (Survivor). John Rich is a man's man, who's smart, sexy, and has a great smile :) Rob Mariano is the best strategist survivor has ever seen. I was PUMPED after both season finales.

Boston Rob... finally won after FOUR seasons of Survivor

will you be the father of my children?

happy quote

If we are ever to enjoy life, now is the time--not tomorrow, nor next year, nor in some future life after we have died. The best preparation for a better life next year is a full, complete, harmonious, joyous life this year. Our beliefs in a rich future life are of little importance unless we coin them into a rich present life. Today should always be our most wonderful day.

Thomas Dreier

people are good

The Tightest Connection Ever

My first plane landed at 12:56pm and my next plane boarded at 12:58pm in a different terminal, and my second flight departed at 1:30pm. Not only did I have to take a bus to get to the next terminal, but i also had to check-in and go through security again (I agree, it was stupid for me to book this flight, but I assumed the flights were closer together). I REALLY needed to make my flight, because I wasn't getting back to Beaver Creek until 9pm already, and I was starting my new job at 8am the next day.

First, I asked the flight attendant if I could be moved to the front of the plane, since I was in the back. She moved me to the first row. As soon as I got off the plane, I asked a security guard how to get to the terminal I need to go to... not only did he give me directions, but he got up and jogged me to the bus stop (which would have taken me at least 15 minutes to figure out). Then, I told the bus driver that I was in a hurry and he said, " don't worry, I'll drive fast." I've never been on a public transportation bus that went so fast. Instead of dropping me at the bus stop, the bus driver dropped me off right where I needed to go to check-in.

1:15pm.... I was in good spirits at this point, but I was still sweating from running through the airport and semi freaking out. I skipped the line for check-in and told the woman at the counter my situation. She told me my flight was closed. I asked her if there was anything she could do, and she said, "no." I asked her when the next flight was... she said "8:30 tomorrow morning." Then, I started to cry. I told her that flight was far too late, since I was starting at new job and continued to ask her if there was any way I could make my flight. At this point, I was devastated and thought I was going to miss my first day of work at The Marriott.

1:20pm... That's when the check-in lady started radioing everyone in her department! That's when she was finally able to reopen my flight and said, "if you get to the gate in five minutes, you can get on the plane."

I started sprinting (first in the wrong direction, which was rather embarrassing because a lot of people were watching the whole ordeal at this point). The guy at the security gate let me skip the huge line and go through the first-class line. I arrived on my flight, minutes before takeoff, sweating, out of breath, and thinking "damn, people are so good."

I never would have made my flight if every single person I had encountered hadn't helped me as much as they could along the way.

first kiss

so precious...

getting that sweet parking spot

how exciting is it when you are in a huge rush and you find the perfect parking spot? or maybe you notice someone pulling out of a spot after circling the block for 10 minutes

it pretty much makes my day

hallelujah

Fabulous celebrations of LOVE

My family had our annual mother's day bash at the bluenose inn. We took it up a notch, because it was also Daniel's grad party and my aunt's and grampie's birthday parties. Relatives came from as far away as Michigan for it.... and I think it was well worth their trip!!!!!!! LOVE FAMILY REUNIONS!

We definitely know how to have a good time...

singing the maine stein song at dinner!

danced like there was no tomorrow

even batman came!!!!!!!!

love my uncles!!

it's normal to do headstands at the bar

CONGRATULATIONS UNIVERSITY OF MAINE CLASS OF 2011

went to UMO's graduation today to see my brother and lots of fantastic friends graduate! it was a really nice ceremony. the speakers were awesome (more on senator collins speech to come), and it was fun to hangout with my family. super proud of the grads! and grads, don't worry... the "real world" is just as much or more fun than college!!!

it also reminded me of how much i loved cornell's graduation last year. such a good day. dug up a few old pics.

UMaine Graduation!!

sunny and warm at cornell 2010 graduation :)

i cried more before graduation than i did after or during lol... the professors and all the staff at the statler hotel lined up and made tunnels for the grads to walk through and cheered for us while we walked to graduation. it was so special, and i couldn't help but get emo!

good weather on important occassions

it's so fabulous when the weather is good for special occassions. it makes the day like 42723904832 times better. the university of maine class of 2011 graduated today, and the weather was really nice. the forecast said rain all week, but we lucked out! now the pictures outdoors will be awesome and people can party on their decks and outside. it's a special day for a lot of people i love, so i am really happy for them!! yay for mother nature being dope.

happiness quote

The day after I drink tequila, my body doesn't hurt but my face does.... It's because I smile all night.

-Rylee Rawcliffe, My Cousin, Cinco De Mayo 2011

WOWWW

AMAZING cover of House of the Rising Sun by Haley Reinhart on American Idol. worth watching. lots of the youtube links have been taken down for this video.... i heard the AI producer wants to make it a single, so sorry if this vid stops working!

happiness delivered.

soo zappos tagline is "delivering happiness" and damn, they do a good job! i LOVE zappos as a company and i always feel like i'm in good hands when i order from them. they decided to upgrade me to overnight shipping FO FREE. gotz to love it. i just got my tax return back, and spoiled myself by buying these cowboy boots! i've wanted cowboy boots since i moved to colorado but just haven't been able to pull the trigger. the boots are gorgeous and so comfortable!!!! im in love.

good old fashioned pampering

my mom and i went to the spa today.... and it was divine! we got pedicures and facials at the senator spa and then had lunch at Cloud 9. everything was fabulous!!! i normally don't get spa treatments, because i think they're generally a waste of money.... but every once in a while they are SO WORTH THE MONEY!

don't go to the spa everyday, but make sure you pamper  yourself every so often... it will rejuvenate your spirit!

national geographic photography

checkout these shots of "spontaneous moments" from nat geo's photo contest... there are some pretty sweet pics... here's the link for week three's contest pictures, but week one and two had some cool photos tooo

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/traveler-magazine/photo-contest/entries/gallery/spontaneous-moments-week-3/

KARMIN!!!!!!

outrageously good musicians make me happy! it's a must listen.

and the guy in the band is from old town, me! yeaaaaa boi, represent

she starts rapping really fast around the :43 mark and then she gets even faster around 1:15.

they have tons of awesome covers and some great originals too.

happy quote

There are some days I think I'm going to die from an overdose in satisfaction.

-Salvador Dali

love, love, love

love katy perry, love this video, love this song.

dog, great friend, beautiful day...

went hiking with tim and sadie in bar harbor yesterday... it was  pretty awesome... except i forgot a sneaker and had to wear sandals... and then my sandal broke on top of the mountain, so i had to hike 2 miles barefoot down a mountain. tim took his shoes off too though, and it surprisingly wasn't that bad.

happy ears

everytime i listen to this song, it puts me in a good mood. it's called surprise hotel by fool's gold (love the name of the song... hotels! yay) i would love to dance around to this song while fool's gold played it live. the lyrics are half in english and half in hebrew if you're wondering. the video is kinda ridic.

refrigerator mantras

i noticed my dad wrote something and posted it on our fridge. he wrote...

"i have everything i've ever wanted"

it's so important to remember all the wonderful things you have instead of dwelling on the things you don't have!

5 things

i read that it's good for you to write down five things each day that make you happy, so i try to do that.

five things that made me happy today:

1. i'm in MAINE (how could i not be happy)

2. i took my dog for a long walk and she was thrilled

3. my cat is sleeping on my bed right now and looks so cute

4. i talked to two old friends today and will be meeting up with them soon

5. i laid in my parent's uber comfy bed for like four hours and ate macaroni and cheese :)

it's all about your outlook on life

 impressive guy

laughing babies make me happy

can't help but smile when i watch these! pure joy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXXm696UbKY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk&feature=related

happy quote

when you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.


buddha