Lessons Learned From Mom: Dad Edition!

My intention was to post this on Father's Day, which was, heh, a month ago. You see, I unfortunately spent Father's Day hungover, recovering from a wedding. WHICH REMINDS ME (actually, my grandma reminded me), I never followed up with you about which dress I ended up wearing. I ultimately went with Option Number One, as I thought it evoked a more wedding-y feel. Not to mention it was more conducive to dancing, which is basically all we did all night. Anyway, thanks for all your input!

So! As I said, my intention was to post a small sampling of some of the good advice my dad has given me, so here you go! (For those playing along, other Lessons Learned from Mom can be found here, here, and here.)

Always ask; the worst they can say is "no."
This can be applied to anything, but in my case, my dad told me this in high-school, when I was nervous about asking for a raise at the drugstore where I worked. (I was asking for a dollar raise, hah! A DOLLAR. Those were the days.) Anyway, I was fretting about it and my dad said, "Just ask your boss. The worst he can say is no, but he might just say yes." It's so obvious, isn't it? And yet, I feel that so many people are afraid to ask even the simplest of questions, when honestly, what's the worst they can say? Life's too short to wonder what might have been, so go ahead and ask! And hey, you might just get that raise! (Here's hoping it's more than a dollar.)

Relationships should be easy
People are always telling you "relationships are hard." I personally had always been a little - for lack of a better word - worried about marriage because of this blanket, "OMG relationships are hard!!!" statement. (I never worried about marrying Chris, mind you, just when I was younger, I worried about what was so hard about marriage in general. How hard are we talking here? Will I be able to hack it? Or, will it be too hard for me?) And then I remember me and Chris having drinks with my mom and dad and my dad saying to me (about my relationship with Chris), "It just looks easy. Relationships should be easy." And it's so true! For the most part, relationships should be easy. I like you, you like me, let's do this. Sure good relationships take work, but work does not have to equal difficulty.

It's better than a sharp stick in the eye (or a swift kick in the ass)
Okay, okay, so this isn't exactly advice, per say, but it was something my dad always said (still says) and man, isn't it the truth? I mean, unless you're being audited by the IRS or your cat died or you DID just get a swift kick in the ass...

Happy (way, way) belated Father's Day, Dad! You're the raddest!

What's the best advice your dad ever gave you?

Lessons Learned from Mom: Part Tres

I thought it was high time for another round of Lessons Learned from Mom. Click here to catch Part One and here for Part Deux. Today's lessons aren't necessarily lessons, per se, but good advice, nonetheless.

When killing a spider, always flush it down the toilet. You never know, it might not really be dead and you don't want it crawling back out of the trash can with a vengeance.

My mom has always said this. Always. And then yesterday, I was (re)watching "Annie Hall," and during this one scene, Annie called Woody (or whatever his character's name was...Who cares, it's always just Woody playing Woody ANYWAY) to come over and kill a spider. "Flush it down the toilet! Flush it twice!," Annie yells. I sat there and thought, That's a smart lady, right there. And also, Mom, is that where you got it from?

This seems like no-brainer advice, but it is definitely something I did NOT do the other day, thus resulting in a lack of herbs and a very O. Henry-worthy moment. (The gist: I went to the grocery store, forgot butter and ice cream and, unsatisfied with the store's herb selection, decided to just make my roast chicken without herbs. Later on, Chris texted me asking if I needed anything from the store. I said yes and let him know I needed herbs, butter, and ice cream. I assumed he'd go to the grocery store he usually went to, which was NOT the store I had gone to earlier that day. [I also assumed he'd text back and ask me what kind of herbs I needed. How about this for a lesson: Don't assume. Or, just tell your errand-runner straightaway what you need.] Instead, he went to the store I had gone to earlier that day, thinking they'd have a better herb selection than the store he normally goes to. Also unsatisfied with their herb selection, Chris ended up bringing home basil, which was actually quite lovely, but just not really usable for roast chicken.)

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Completely unrelated to Lessons Learned from Mom, I wanted to let you know I have a couple new posts up over at Style Lush Blog. Click here to read about some unique baby/bridal shower menu items and click here to read about luxurious sheets fit for a king and queen (pun INTENDED.) Also, I will be posting there every Thursday, and although I would encourage you to read everything going on over there, if you (i.e.: my husband) want to read just MY stuff, you can check it on Thursdays.

Lessons Learned from Mom: Part Deux

Welcome to the second installment of Lessons Learned from Mom! If you didn't catch the first round, let me tell you, you missed some vital advice on shopping, applying moisturizer, and how to deal with assholes.

This round of Lessons Learned from Mom was inspired by events that took place this past Saturday night:

When entering your name in a raffle or drawing, crinkle up your raffle ticket or entry form before dropping it in the hat/box/etc.

Ever since my mom told me about this one, I've been employing this method of raffle-entering. And people, let me tell you, it works...I won two free wine tastings on Saturday night! Thanks, Mom!

Lessons learned from Mom

Oftentimes, I find myself saying, "It's like my mom always says..." followed by some gem of advice or insight. Since we all know that no advice is as good as your mom's, I thought I'd post a few of the best pieces of advice my mom has given me* and ask you, my faithful readers: What great advice has your mom given you?

If one person says you're an asshole, maybe it's them; but if everyone says you're an asshole, it's probably you.

I thought I'd start with this one because it was sort of the impetus for this blog post. Chris and I were watching something on TV (can't remember what) and someone was complaining about whatever, people not liking them or something (vague much?) I yelled at the TV, "It's like my mom always says!" followed by this quote. I have said this countless times throughout my life, whether is was to a friend, co-worker, or myself. When you've been slighted by someone and are feeling bad about it, almost nothing is as good as hearing this. Well, except maybe saying it to the asshole's face...

When applying moisturizer, never rub it down your face/neck, always rub it up and back.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure if there's any truth to this, but my mom told me long ago that this is how I should apply moisturizer, so this is how I do it. With gravity and all, it does make sense...I mean, why would you want to help push everything down, right? To this day, I cringe when I see someone apply moisturizer wrong. You should try this next time you apply your moisturizer; I bet you'll just feel younger.

When you find jeans that fit you perfectly, buy two pairs.

This might just be the best advice my mom has ever given me. With my long legs and HUGE ass, I have quite the time finding jeans that fit just right. But, when I do, I always buy two pairs, that way I'll have a brand new pair after I've worn the other ones to death. Of course, this advice extends beyond just jeans and now I've been known to buy a great-fitting t-shirt or sweater or tank-top in every single color. I also have a remarkable number of black shirts.

*Thanks for all the great advice, Momma!