The Mayonaise Jar

I received this in an e-mail from my sister-in-law and loved it. Thought I would share:

When things in your life seem
Almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar
And 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class And had some items in
front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large
And empty mayonnaise jar
And proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students
If the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the
jar.
He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open
Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked
The students again
If the jar was full..
They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand And poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full.
The students responded
With an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced
Two cups of coffee from under the table
And poured the entire contents
Into the jar, effectively
Filling the Empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor,
As the laughter subsided,
"I want you to recognize that
This jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health,
Friends, and Favorite passions -- Things that if everything else was
lost And only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter Like your job, house, and
car.

The sand is everything else --
The small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first,"
He continued,
"there is no room for
The pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time
And energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for
The things that are
Important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things
That are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18.

There will always be time
To clean the house
And fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand
And inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
"I'm glad you asked".

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for A couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

It's MEME time!

First, I was tagged by Kelly.
Second, this made me laugh because Alena started referring to herself at "Me me" about a month ago!

The Rules:
A) Link to the person that tagged you.
B) Post the rules on your blog.
C) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
D) Tag at least three people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
E) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
F) Let the fun begin!

What to share....what to share....
1) I LOVE silence. LOVE IT!
2) I am an optimist.
3) I am just starting the fourth Harry Potter book tonight. :)
4) My middle name is Rebecca.
5) Pet peeve- when the lid is left up/open on a mailbox. Drives me crazy!
6) I like everything to be in its place!

I tagged:
Mare (awesome woman with some patience to match! : ) )
Cindy (mama to some incredible boys!)
Donna (Miss Aislinn's mama! :) )

She was the Birthday Diva

Oh, yes. Bring on the attention. Too much is not enough for this fabulous two year old!! Alena had quite a time of birthday celebrations this year!!
The first round was with the Coopers and we had a blast. She clapped as everyone sang Happy Birthday to her and signed & said "More" when we were done.
She cruises our house with her new Little Mermaid wheels from Nana & Papa Cooper. (I have to say that it's the loudest toy either of my kids has ever had! O.M.G.!!)
We listened to her personalized birthday CD from Uncle Gary, Aunt Arlene & her cousins on her birthday and she tried sooo hard to find the guy in the entertainment center that kept saying her name!! It was hysterical!
The second celebration took place at Bugaboo Creek for a birthday dinner. It's an annual event that Nana & Papa Ronk take us on for the girl's birthdays. (Fred and I love it. :) )
Alena loves the "chaos" in that place and every time they would come out to sing to some one she would clap and say "more"! When it was her turn, she stared at them in amazement until they wanted her to "kiss the moose" and then she wanted to cling to me for dear life!!
We finished the festivities off with a final birthday party the day before her actual birthday. Lots more aunts, uncles, cousins and Nana & Papa Ronk joined us for cake & ice cream and of course, lots of singing "Happy Birthday"!! Uncle Ray & Aunt Kaye gave her a beautiful cradle for her babies, so she has been very busy putting them "night night"! She also received three pairs of Ariel jammies and spent her party doing wardrobe changes. You never knew what the diva's next ensemble might be!!
On the 7th we all just kissed and hugged her all day and told her how much we loved her. : )
Happy 2nd Birthday to my monkey butt!!
With love,
Jenni