How To Win Friends & Influence People

Shortly after I graduated from BYU, I learned that the majority of majors required students to read the book, How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. For whatever reason my program did not require that I read this book. I decided that since so many students were required to read it I might as well pick up a copy and see what it was all about.

When I first opened that book, I quickly learned that they recommend reading each chapter twice before moving on to the next section--okay. I loved the first part of the book and found myself marking sections that stood out to me. I talked to Andy and my co-workers about the things I was learning. This book was great!

The excitement soon wore off and I found myself slowly drudging my way through the second half of the book. After what seems like foreveeeerrrrrr, I finally finished the book. I read it not just once, but twice. How I managed to get through it twice is beyond me.

I still find myself struggling with this book- I think this is a first for me. The first half of the book was very insightful and had all kinds of things that I felt I could relate to; however, the second half of the book was a struggle for me. I like to think that I am a sincere and genuine person and I felt like the second half of the book was more focused on how to manipulate people to get what you want and well that's just not me.

Has anyone else read this book? Did you find yourself struggling with the second half of the book?

Beehive Bike Ride

My friend Kirsten and I took these lovely ladies on a 6 mile bike ride tonight. The girls had a blast! They want to bike ride every week-- I wish!

My girls.

We found a great blue heron.

Eugene Is A Strange Place

Remember when we first moved to Eugene? We experienced a sort of culture shock. It's been nearly two years and they're are still things that catch us off guard. This was one of those things.

Bus meets van.

The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

Each year in Washington, they hold the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. I have always wanted to go to the tulip festival but have never had the privilege of attending. We thought about making the trip up to Washington to see the flowers, but it was just too far to drive. Lucky for us, we found the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival-- only an hour and a half away from our home.

He's got big shoes to fill.

Me.

Some really old stem powered trains that still run.

The same balloon we went for a ride in last year.

Some pretty flowers.

He's loving this!

So am I.

Andy & I.

Fields upon fields of flowers.

Love this scene.

Andy & I.

Tada!

Feeling content.

Super excited to sit on a tractor.

I found Bee Bars, haven't seen these in awhile.

We thoroughly enjoyed walking through the fields of flowers and taking in the beauty around us.

Andy's Birthday

Andy's birthday was pretty low key this year-- I was really sick and didn't have the strength or energy to make him a cake (I feel so bad). Thankfully, I had purchased some birthday presents for him before I got sick. Hopefully next year will be more eventful.

I feel so blessed to have him in my life. He truly is my best friend. I look forward to seeing his face each morning when I wake and each evening when we get home from work. I don't know what my life would be like without him.

My Birthday

My Birthday was low key this year and that was okay with me. My brother and his girlfriend drove down for the weekend and my Dad flew down for the day (it was supposed to be a surprise but someone spilled the beans, oops!).

We spent the morning chatting and visiting with one another, grabbed a bite to eat, and then went to the Daffodil Festival. The festival wasn't at all what we were expecting. I grew up down the road from daffodil fields and anticipated seeing fields of daffodils at the festival, sadly no fields were to be found.

Andy, Me, Dad, & Jake.

Flowers.

Look at those teeth.

Dad got lucky, the llama let him pet him.

Cheese.

Love this cute little pink car.

There was a band playing jazz music, carriage ride, a classic car show, llamas, flowers for sale, and lots of vendors selling handmade goods. I enjoyed watching the llama and looking at the classic cars. Dad bought me some daffodils, it's a tradition.

We spent the evening playing croquet and frisbee.

Thursday Thought

About a month and a half ago, one of my high school friends mentioned that we had an upcoming high school reunion. Has it really be 10 years? Crazy! Time flies! It feels like it was just yesterday that I was in high school.

The invitation to the reunion was sent via social media. As I started looking at the "plans" for this reunion my heart sank. The reunion is to be held at a bar and the highlight for the evening is beer pong. I knew instantly that I would not be attending my high school reunion.

When I thought about the invitation, I thought I could just ignore it, say I'm not going, or I could be brave and say why I wouldn't be attending. I mulled over these different responses for a week or so and decided that I was going to be brave.

This week I said I would not be attending my high school reunion. I have known the person who was planning the event since 4th grade and I thought they might just understand my position. I sent them a message that more or less said, "Thank you for planning our reunion. I can only imagine how much work you have put into this." I continued on saying, "I will be not be attending the reunion. Because of my religious beliefs I don't drink and I'm not comfortable being around people who are drinking- I hope you can respect my decision. Thanks for the invitation."

The response was better than I could have hoped for. My classmate said they understood my decision and they respected it. They said they hoped things were going well for me and let me know that I would be missed. The also let me know that I could still come if I wanted.

Sharing your standards with a friend, co-worker, or classmate can be a scary thing; however, at times it is something that I think needs to be done. Sharing your standards with others opens doors, creates understanding, and who knows, maybe someday my classmates will decide to meet somewhere other than a bar.

Moral of the story, don't lower your standards for even one night of "fun." There is so much to see and do and enjoy in life that doesn't involve alcohol or drugs.