1. DON’T encourage your kids to make stupid stunt videos, but DO encourage their friends to type in credits at the end of their videos on the off chance that your stupid teen is involved.  Solid proof you were there, buddy- you’re grounded, give me your cell.

2. DON’T leave town for an extended period of time and believe that your child is an angel, but DO lock up the power tools when you’re not present for more than 30 seconds.

Am I not making sense?  Then behold the power of Internet Video by clicking HERE.

If you have 4 minutes, a sense of humor and are pondering technology, watch this stupid animated video (for those of you who don’t have teens or younger siblings to tell you about nerdy underground cult humor, I’ll enlighten you by noting that Homestar Runner is a superstar on You Tube… watch and you’ll know why).

With a degree in English Literature, I often refer to some of my favorite readings. Call me a dork, I don’t care! Some of you know that I’m a big fan of blog lists (especially writing them). As a scatterbrained person, it is an easy way for me to organize my thoughts. Today, I share “something simple this way comes” (10 points to whoever can name the reference, it’s nice and easy) in an effort to randomly show you 5 Life Simplifying Tips!

1. Clear tape is your friend. I use it to label my shelves by taking a strip, writing “skirts” or “dry goods” on it. It looks as if you wrote on the shelf and is especially stunning if your handwriting is as gorgeous as mine! It’s less permanent than your dymo tape and can be replaced quickly, harmlessly and inexpensively.

2. Jott.com is your friend. I’ve written about itrecently, but you should know that this tool rocks! Sign up online for free and when that inspiring GTD thought pops into your head (but you’re on the treadmill or driving your car) and you can’t get to a post-it note, call Jott. It transcribes the message (quite accurately, I might add) and emails it to you. You can also call—email others. For example, “honey, please pick up our stupid dog from the vet on the way home” comes across to his phone in the form of email and is much more passive aggressive (totally my style) than reminding him directly.

3. DVR is your friend. If you don’t have a Digital Video Recorder, it is worth the extra monthly fee to be able to pause (oops, gotta pottie), rewind (omg- she DID just say that!), fast forward (through Ditech commercials) and record (you know I’m not around to watch TV until after 10). Quit being a wuss and just do it. You’ll thank me.

4. Dry erase markers are your friend. Whether you’re romantic/silly like my husband and I who write Nacho Libre quotes or I love you notes on our bathroom mirrors, or you’re forgetful (and Jott.com is too complicated for you), markers on mirrors are awesome. It also works for the kids- “brush until the teeth song is over ” or “don’t forget your homework folder.” Or, the younger ones love surprise happy faces or doodles.

5. Programmable thermostats are your friend. If you don’t have one, they are simple to install and can save you a bundle of cash. Plus, you can tap into your inner hippie and save energy and go hug a tree.

These are my scattered 5 tips to simplify your life.
What are YOUR 5 Simple Tips?

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Not sure who I am? Catch up here!

So very exciting!  My friend Lani has joined me here.  I hope you all will find her as thought provoking as I do.

Lani has already introduced herself, so I’ll explain how she got here. I have addressed it before, but now she is here!

Lani and I began exchanging emails.  We found out very quickly that we clicked on a relational level.  We found that we were able to bounce ideas, address fears, share personal accounts, and basically be friends in a safe environment.  We challenge each other to self examine and to be better today than yesterday.

The emails are full of things we would never blog about.  But, they are also salt and peppered with topics that are totally bloggable and challenging.

We toyed with the idea of creating that challenge blog, but neither of us really needed a new blog to maintain.  Lani has done a wonderful job of focusing her site, RERevealed, and these types of topics don’t really blend.

I trust Lani to be gracious, smart, encouraging, and beneficial – so, why not let her write here?  Beautiful Chaos is already set up for the personal and it already addresses the importance of challenge and introspection.

Too excited that my friend has come over to play,
April

After much procrastination, I’m finally writing my first post on my friend April’s site!  Well, you are here, so you already knew where you were… [nervous pause]  So, this picture was taken this summer of me acting mad that the photographers caught me in my husband’s inherited top hat (another day you’ll hear that story) and my stepson happy that I’m annoyed… we’re a silly bunch!

Ok, instead of writing something witty about Real Estate, children, or kittens, I’ll introduce myself!  I’m Lani Anglin from Austin, Texas.  I graduated from the University of Texas in Austin and am a ginormous Longhorns fan (I better be, those alumni dollars say I am)!  I am an avid blogger; some of you may read the blog I host (RERevealed, short for Real Estate Revealed) which used to be RealtorWives.com.  Finding Realtor Wives turned out to be tricky, so the format evolved into an opinion/analysis blog from my non-Realtor point of view. 

I write on Bloodhound Blog which is a national Real Estate blog which is much more popular than the blog I host.  But, I was invited to “run with the big dogs” so I at least try to jog!

Now, I live with my husband who is also a blogger.  Yes, we both have laptops and we’re both currently winding down quietly watching Fox News and blogging.  I love when he chuckles at something across the room!  Chances are, I already read whatever’s making him laugh since I have nearly 200 blogs on my feed reader.

My husband owns a Real Estate firm here in Austin and with his Web 2.0 attitude, he is an amazing Realtor and a marketing genius.  I have been working with him for some time as an Asset Manager but was recently named Director of Asset Management- woo hoo! 

All that said, we share custody of my stepchildren who are 10 and 16.  They’re amazing but, boy are teens a massive challenge!!!

I am in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) in the Catholic church which is a series of classes I’m taking to become confirmed in the Catholic faith.  I was raised in the Episcopal church which is almost the same thing, so I’m still in my comfort zone.  I bring this up because faith is the most difficult part of my life to speak publicly about because in the world of Real Estate, the sharks are salivating on the sideline hoping anyone will slip so they can snap into their litigious mode.  That said, it is a very important part of my life, in fact it is a focus of mine, so it is a big part of the “Lani” puzzle.

So, now that you’ve gotten through the obligatory introduction material, I will share with you 10 RANDOM JUICY GOODS ON LANI:

1.) Cheese is my favorite food and Nacho Libre is my favorite movie- I can’t get enough of either.

2.) We have an American Eskimo/Spitz dog (“Cracker”), 2 gross turtles (“Missy” and “Elliot” but “Martha” and “Stewart” ran away), Sea Monkeys (aka water lice),  and 3 cats (“City Kitty,” “Puff Kitty,” and “Meow Meow”).   The rule is that all of these guys have to die before we add anyone else to the family.  Unless my husband dies, then I become the old cat lady.

3.) I have my hair dyed blonde and judge people for not getting their eyebrows dyed to match their head hair.

4.) I live in Austin so I wear flip flops almost every day, even to fancy restaurants.

5.) My pinky fingers, toes, big toes and ankles pop when I move them and my hip pops out of joint- it’s gross and loud.  I’ll have to show y’all sometime!

6.) When I first saw “Little Shop of Horrors,” I developed an irrational fear of Steve Martin as the dentist and was convinced that he was under my bed preparing to hurt my teeth.  I know this dates me but I don’t care.

7.) I am 1 class short of having a degree in Spanish and I’ve lived in Spain as well as Mexico but I don’t speak Spanish anymore.  You really can lose a language.

8.) Only one word truly rhymes with my name which is Hawaiian (said “Lonnie”) and it was my nickname until I was 19.  Don’t say it out loud; I’m sensitive.

9.) Sometimes I’m a cusser.  Ask April.

10.) Until a month before I graduated high school, I was on track to be a journalist having started truly writing when I was first published at age 10.  I competed in Newspaper, Yearbook, UIL Creative Writing, UIL Journalism and wrote freelance short stories by the time I was 15.  I was never a better writer than anyone else, I was just advanced for my age… then everyone caught up with me.

Anyhow, a month before graduation, I had to interview Josh in his home about missing graduation because he was too sick to make it and wasn’t sure he’d live another month.  He’d been in a wheelchair since we were 10 and we all were friends with him.  It was really sad for me, and I went to his house and just shot the junk while holding his hand.  He didn’t die before graduation, but he didn’t attend and I never saw him again before he did pass.

Sitting at his side, I realized I couldn’t make a career of chasing people’s private business.  I got in trouble for not writing the story as I was assigned, but I had already quit in my head- it wasn’t my story to tell and my days in journalism were over.  So I went to UT and studied English so I could go to law school.  I met my husband in college and changed course immediately- I was hooked on Real Estate!

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Anyhow, if you’re still reading all the way down here, you’re nuts- April, you must have a really great readership!  Since I don’t know many of y’all, maybe you could tell me about YOU in the comments?  I’m so excited to be here and I thank April for the outlet!!!