And how was your day?

"The big rewards come to those who travel the second, undemanded mile."

Bruce Barton
1886-1967, Author, Advertising Executive, and Politician

"My success just evolved from working hard at the business at hand each day."

Johnny Carson
1925-2005, Television Host and Comedian

"Action makes more fortune than caution."

Luc De Clapiers
1715-1747, Essayist

"Most people think that making decisions is hard, especially financial decisions, so they end up burying their heads in the sand, hoping someone else will make their decisions for them. The thing to realize is that by not making decisions, we are really making decisions anyway. We are really deciding that we will continue to do what we have done up until now."

Clayton J. Moore

Doing Thanksgiving 2.0 at my brother's house tomorrow. I'm in charge of side dishes, so I'm making Roasted Winter Squash with Gorgonzola Cheese, Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Bananas with Honey, Mashed Potatoes, Tomato Gratin and Green Bean Casserole. Going grocery shopping later this morning to pick up the ingredients.

I'm very much looking forward to spending the day with my family tomorrow.

I need to buzz my hair and trim my beard today. It's so freakin' long.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

John F. Kennedy
1917-1963, 35th President of the United States

"People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges."

Joseph F. Newton
Author

"When we take control of our mental state by deliberately choosing our thoughts and attitudes, we can alter the meaning we associate to the experiences we have and results we see in our life."

Clayton J. Moore
Author of Your Money Puzzle

Can this day go any fucking slower?

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."

Napoleon Hill
1883-1970, Author of Think and Grow Rich

"To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will."

Sugar Ray Robinson
1920-1989, American Boxer

"I do not have superior intelligence or faultless looks. I do not captivate a room or run a mile under six minutes. I only succeeded because I was still working after everyone else went to sleep."

Greg Evans
Novelist

---

"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."

Francois-Marie Arouet, better know as Voltaire
1694-1778, Writer, Essayist, and Philosopher

What happened at Fort Hood is horrible. I don't dispute that whatsoever.

I saw the following statistics today and thought it was worth sharing considering today's memorial and tomorrow's holiday.

American deaths...
Since war began (3/19/03): 4362
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4223
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3899
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3503

Food for thought.

"A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there."

H. Stanley Judd
Author

This picture really moves me -- nearly to tears. While we've made a lot of progress since this photo was taken, we still have a long way to go.

"People who make decisions go to the top. Those who fail to make decisions go nowhere."

Bob Proctor
Author and Speaker

I had a holter monitor test this weekend and the adhesive is still stuck to my chest after two showers. I now have five hairless circles on my chest. Pretty... not.

They're like five crop circles. WTF?

...I've been ignoring you lately.

I've been pretty busy at work and have traveling the last two weeks. Posting anything much more than the Quote of the Day hasn't really been a priority, but that is changing. I just overhauled the look of my journal in hope that I'll want to post more.

(CNN) -- On the holiday known as the Day of the Dead, a Brazilian bricklayer walked into his own funeral.

The sight of Ademir Jorge Goncalves alive shocked relatives, some of whom tried to jump out of the windows of the funeral home in southern Brazil.

"In my 10 years in this business, I have never witnessed a scene like this," said Natanael Honorato, manager of the funeral home in the Parana state.

On November 1, some family members and friends had identified the victim of a car crash as the 59-year-old Goncalves.

They scheduled his funeral for the following day, Dia de Finados, a holiday when Brazilians remember loved ones who have died.

What Goncalves' family did not know is that he had spent the night drinking at a bar near the site of the crash, but he was not the victim.

When the bricklayer got word of his funeral, he showed up at the Funeraria Rainha das Colinas funeral home Monday morning.

Later that day, the mystery was solved when a family in a neighboring town came inquiring about a son who was missing.

The family recognized the body -- and took it away for burial. [source]

"Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world... Same world."

Wayne Dyer
Author and Speaker

"Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, 'Make me feel important.' Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life."

Mary Kay Ash
1918-2001, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

"Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything."

Mary Hemingway
1908-1986, Author and Journalist

"Make a notation in your calendar to review your goals weekly and to grade yourself at the end of the month. Actually schedule time to work on and achieve your goals."

Raymond Aaron
From Double Your Income Doing What You Love

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee Nation

(Thanks, kc_risenphoenix, for posting.)

"Happiness doesn't depend on what we have, but it does depend on how we feel toward what we have. We can be happy with little and miserable with much."

William Dempster Hoard
1836-1918, Politician and Publisher

Please welcome hairofthedawg to my LJ bear den.

"My mother drew a distinction between achievement and success. She said that achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others. That is nice but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement - success will follow."

Helen Hayes
1900-1993, Award Winning Actress

"Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward with the life that God intended for you."

Og Mandino
1923-1996, Author and Speaker

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation."

Brian Tracy
Author and Speaker

I've been sick since Monday. Heading to the dr to get a chest x-ray. They think I either have pneumonia or H1N1.

Oink oink!