You're the BEST!---The Power of + Expression

One of the reasons for the blog is a thought I've been cooking for awhile about the power of expression. If you think of the times in your life when you felt the best, the most confident, the most hopeful and faithful, ready to take on anything that came your way, many times you can correlate that with a compliment, kind word or recognition of some sort received from a friend, family member, co-worker or someone you respect. It also seems to happen when we've had a personal success or accomplishment. But, when we are down and self-doubting a kind word can go a long way. Even an acknowledgement of existence from a person we respect can be beneficial if we respect that acknowledging person enough. The same, by the way, goes for negative words. Especially to children, an unkind word produces the exact opposite affect of those feelings above.
We can all identify people in our lives that made us feel great. My mom did this a lot for me growing up (maybe that is why I lean towards cocky....at least my 360* evaluations tell me I lean towards "know-it-all"). My Chrismom (grandma Taylor) somehow finds a way to compliment me every time I see her, I had a mission president who is great at this, but almost to the point of being over-done (but I still appreciated it, even when I wanted to say, "ok, ok, ok, ok, stop already, I know I'm the best.")
But even with these great examples, I don't do this so well. And when I try, it seems to come across as sarcastic. But I'm going to put forth a little effort, with my kids especially.

So, just to try it out,...."you guys, reading my blog, yes you, you really are the best. And not just in a Nacho to Ramses sort of way (from Nacho Libre), you really are great. Taking time to see what I'm up to means that you really care and caring is what this life is all about. So, good for you, you are definitely on the right track, getting in the charity groove so to speak. And it makes me feel great that you care enough to read a little thought from me. So, keep it up. The Lord loves you and so do I." (Plus, only people that I know as family or as friends or through friends or family are reading this.)_
So, how did that come across? A little over-board with the "Lord loves you" part? Well, I do think you're the best anyway; and I really do think the Lord loves you, so give yourself a little pat on the back from TT.
Now, on with your day knowing that I think you are......the best! And if I think you are the best, there are surely many, many others that feel the same way. Go on now, you can do it! Go.....fight......win.....! And don't hesitate to exercise the power of + expression with your family and friends and even co-workers (if you have a real office or cube).

Bloggin' from my closet....I mean sweet office.

Howdy Ya'll! This is my inaugural blog. Enjoy! I'll try to include events and experiences that are not just a reporting of my day's activities but have entertainment or potential value. (The picture to the left here is the place in Munich where Hitler rallied his followers before they marched North to take over the government. Draw any parallels you would like.)

As many of you know, I work from a home office. The home office has many advantages and they far out-weigh the disadvantages for me. But I can't tell if I graduated to a home office or was demoted to a home office and should be striving to work from a real office or should be elated with my home office boondoggle. For me to decide I guess.

Well, Some of the advantages of my home office include:

• Short Commute (about 50 yards from bed to chair)
• Lax dress code (usually what I slept in until noon, then workout clothes, then shorts and a t-shirt)
• Choice co-workers (Jane, Brynn and Sophie most of the time)
• Distance to fridge, shooter, weight room and workout partner, pool and bed (for 19 minute power naps).
• Focus on work without the disruption of nosy co-workers, boss and employees

However, it also includes a few disadvantages.

• Proximity to fridge/pantry, etc. (see how some of these are advantages and disadvantages at the same time? Wierd, huh)
• Sophie interrupting customer or team con calls by coming into the office with yogurt or pudding or a banana or another treat for her to eat and wanting me to open. Or her blasting Yo Gaba Gaba, Dora or Sponge Bob from the room next to me before I can put the phone on mute.


• Brynn coming in to take paper off the printer every few minutes for her "Drawerings" (pronounced like Mike Meyers). Which, every time she takes paper out of the tray, it messes with the print tray and gives me a paper jam the next time I try to print something. (arrrrrggghhhh).


• Jane. No disadvantages here other than periodic work productivity hiccups that come in the form of......"Todd?.....I need to run to the store for a minute, I just put Sophie down for a nap.........bye!"


• Scorpions sniffing at my toes under my built-in desk.


• Being my personal IT support staff. (I need my brother Shea here full-time to help.)

In the rental house where we are, which we affectionately refer to as the "sweet, ghetto scorpion ranch", my office space is really the size of a walk-in closet next to the family room. It has a desk and built-in cabinets and book cases and such, but is really quite narrow. To give you an idea, I have just enough room to spin a 180 in my chair for easy entry and exit, but that is about it. It does have a window so I can see daylight as I type, think and talk. Well, here is a photo to give you a visual.

So all in all, I heartily recommend the home office, even if your space is a closet and you have interruptions that include the blaring of ....."there's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy, la, la, la." --from "yo gaba gaba" sing along or something, very repetitive, over and over and over and over again.

Well, that's a snippet of what's to come.

Later skaters