#8- Children care about Barack Obama; that's important.

With a Monday-Friday, 8-4 job comes a morning routine. With a morning routine comes a morning commute. With a morning commute comes a number of interesting characters that walk the same stretch, ride the same train or take the same bus. I have many; guy I see everywhere, boxy ginger girl, friendly bus driver. But my favorite people that I see on my way to work each morning are two elementary school-aged brothers that take my bus.

I call them "the Obama boys."

They earned this title because every day these two kids are wearing winter hats with 'Obama' written across the band in what look like tiny red and blue rhinestones. I think one of their beanies may even have his face bedazzled on it as well. No lies. Check it out:

So every morning these two boys get on the bus, and every morning I notice their hats and smile to myself. What other president in our nation's recent history has impacted the youth of America like Barack Obama? I wrote an essay last year about how I heard two preschoolers talking about how great Obama was in a St. Louis laundromat. It's incredible. When I was four years old I don't think I knew who the president was. When I was in elementary school I knew Bill Clinton was a better choice than Bob Dole, but I wasn't rocking a glittery 'Go Clinton' tank top. I honestly did not care.

Children care about Barack Obama; that's important.

Everyone is all bitter that Obama has been in office almost a year and hasn't really done much. All right, that's fair, but I do think he's done a lot in terms of unifying this country, hence the peace prize. Not only has he brought minorities closer, but young people closer to old. He has gotten children interested in how our country is run. Unheard of.

The president of the United States should be someone who kids look up to, who they admire and aspire to be like some day. You never heard a child say, "George Bush is a great man. I want to be just like him when I get big." I heard a child say that about Obama! I heard it. Those words came out of a tiny little boy's mouth. I almost cried.

I hope Obama is the first of many presidents that children in this country truly adore with all their hearts. Being president should be right up there with astronaut and fireman on this list of things kids want to be when they "get big." Eventually the decision of who to vote for might actually be a difficult one because we will have so many worthy, motivated candidates who have dreamed about the opportunity since they were four years old sitting in a laundromat, or riding the 206 bus with a bedazzled Obama hat.

The future is bright. I blame Barack.

#7- My boyfriend will not make me fat; he will make me happy.

This morning I was riding the train to work, and on the seat next to me lay today's edition of the Chicago RedEye (a Chicago Tribune publication targeting 20-somethings). Anyway, the headline on the cover was something along the lines of, "Your boyfriend is making you fat."

This intrigued me.

I turned to the article which was entitled "Big Love: Your boyfriend could be giving you love handles" by Leonor Vivanco (see bottom for link). It basically states that when a woman moves in with her boyfriend, her risk for weight gain and obesity increases...

Uh, duh. And more importantly, who cares?

I know that working out and eating right isn't necessarily all about physical appearance and attracting potential mates... but it kind of is. I mean, the only reason I freak out when I feel a little fat (which I am not- see affirmation #1) is because I'm worried that I am not as attractive as I could be. I'm single, I'm waiting for love to find me (see #2) so I want to look my best. No I don't want to die of a heart attack, but being healthy on the inside is the least of my worries right now.

My point is, obviously women are likely to gain weight when they move in with a boyfriend- they can stop caring!!! They can eat and not worry that they will die alone under a mountain of cheeseburgers and fries. They've found someone, they're comfortable, and if the guy loves them enough to move in with them, then that extra weight shouldn't make a difference.

Also, the title of the article is such crap. Nobody's boyfriend makes them fat. They can encourage you to eat more if they like you thick, but unless they are shoving cookies down your throat they are not making you fat. It makes women seem so helpless. "Living with my boyfriend made me lose control of my life!" Bullshit. If women want to exercise after work, they'll exercise; if they want to go home and have sex with their boyfriend, they will have sex with their boyfriend. Eat right, don't eat right; just do what you want to do, and be thankful that you have found a man that wants to be with you. Some of us aren't as lucky, you fat morons.

I eat, and I eat in front of guys, and if I find myself in a serious relationship there is a good chance I will stop caring and gain a little weight. At my wedding reception alone I will put on five pounds. During my pregnancy I will consume everything in sight. I want to be beautiful, but I find that I'm most beautiful when I'm not thinking about being beautiful, when I'm focused on the people around me. If I have a good man, a wonderful family and a happy home then I will be gorgeous all of the time, even if I weigh a million pounds.

My boyfriend will not make me fat; he will make me happy. If he doesn't, then he's the extra weight I need to get rid of.

(http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/redeye/2009/10/big-love-your-boyfriend-could-be-giving-you-love-handles.html)

#6- My mug tells me I'm fabulous

This is why I am a total nerd: I love making word collages.

It's true; I'm twenty-two and I love clipping out words from magazines and pasting them on to a piece of paper. This summer during camp I got way in to cutting words from newspapers, gluing them down and then painting over them with bright colored paint. It looks so cool.

Anyway, tonight I completed a new, super nerdy collage. And I must say, it is pretty sweet. Yesterday at Starbucks I purchased a new mug or 'tumbler,' and although I felt it was made for crazy middle-aged moms, I chose the "design-your-own" mug. You take out the paper lining and cover it with pictures of your dog at the beach or your kid's graduation.

I covered mine with words clipped from the October issue of "Cosmopolitan"; hottest, sexy, fearless, fun, perfection, delicious, love, better, diva, passion, creative, crazy, beauty, sister, radiance, fierce, bitch, insane, strong... The list goes on.

They are words that I think describe me, sometimes describe me or I would like to describe me. And suddenly my mug is a source of self-confidence. I can hold it in the palm of my hand and carry it with me every day. My mug is an embodiment of this blog; affirmations all the time. When I look at it I'm proud of the kick-ass job I did, and I feel great because of the positive phrases in front of my eyes. It's an amazing gift I have given myself.

If you have the time, the patience, and the twelve bucks, I recommend making one of these mugs for yourself. Paste pictures, paste words, paste fall leaves; paste whatever makes you happy. Buy some great tasting teas, brew your own coffee and enjoy.

Who says an inanimate object can't give you compliments? My mug tells me I'm fabulous. It is the perfect way to start my day.