What I discovered is that a simple definition does not cover my personal belief system. So after months of making lists in my notebook, scribbling all over the back of my church handouts and writing notes on meeting agendas as ideas come to me, this is the belief system that I prescribe to.

I believe in the power of friendship and the importance of a good support system. I believe in my mother and my sister and the strength they bring to my life. I believe in a loving God who is always there, even when I do my best to ignore him.

I believe that treasures are found in the most unlikely of places and that when you are open to them, they will find you.

I believe in the power of laughter and that cotton candy is always a great idea. I believe sometimes it’s better to cry than to pretend everything is perfect and I believe that when things seem like they can’t get any worse, an upswing is just around the corner.

I believe that one needs stillness from time to time to really think things through and that living a healthy lifestyle leads to clarity of mind. I believe in the power of a good hug and that you shouldn’t put too much stock in what fortune cookies tell you.

I believe in fairy tales and happily ever after and that I am living mine now.

That is the short list… and by no means complete.

I am still searching and would love to hear what things bring belief and meaning to your life… If it’s not cotton candy, what does it for you?

Thank you Flickr user Indrani Soemardjan for the beautiful image!

And you know what? I am really okay with that. So rather than going into a long rant about how much I suck at blogging, or making a promise to myself to blog more or even writing something thoughtful at all, I’m just going to tell you in a nice, neat, numbered list, what my life has looked like over the past two months.

1. I lost my happiness
2. so I quit my amazing job
3. I spent way too much time in my PJs
4. and watched too many sappy movies
5. but then I read a really amazing book about happiness
6. I started running again
7. and got organized
8. I spent a lot of time with my best friend Monica
9. which involved TONS of laughter
10. I started finding happiness all around me
11. and started wearing high heels again
12. And then out of the blue I got a wonderful job offer
13. I took it
14. and my first project was Mom2 (hooray!)
15. I changed a tire wearing a yellow dress
16. and fell in love with the Mom2 Crew all over again
17. I spent some time by a campfire
18. and did some more organizing
19. Today I woke up…
20. and discovered a peace in myself that I never knew existed

I would say that as tumultuous as they have been, the last two months have been two of the most AMAZING months of my life! And it all boiled down to figuring out how to solve my own problems… with a ton of help from my beloved friends of course.

And because this post wouldn’t be complete without it (and because it totally cracks me up every time I see it)…

Photo evidence of Jenny and I changing a tire in evening gowns. And in case there is any confusion, I totally stole this picture from Jenny’s blog. So I am Maggie and Me is Jenny… if that makes sense.

And because I think this post needs a picture of Jenny and I looking like ladies (ie, without our asses in the air), here is this one with she and I and Gwen that I love just as much as the tire-changing one.

And because why not? BANGS:

Make your own at www.merrynewsinator.com. It’s fast and fun!!

I thought long and hard about actually posting this, and almost didn’t, because it is intensely personal. But upon reflection, I realized that if I so needed to hear from someone ten years ago what I am about to say, then there might be someone out there who need to hear it too…

I wish I could go back in time and hand this letter to myself right after hearing the news.

Hey little girl…

Lets get this out of the way first. It’s not your fault.

Now chin up. And let me tell you a few things.

I know you are hurting. I know this is the absolute worst day of your life. I know that for the first time in your life, you truly understand what it means to have a broken heart… because I know right now you can feel yours breaking.

But also know this. You will wake up tomorrow and every day after that… and it will get a little easier. This doesn’t mean that you will ever forget Daddy, it just means that your will remember how to breathe, and more importantly… you will remember how to live.

Know that you will laugh again in a few days and know that it is not a betrayal of Daddy to do so. He was a funny guy… he would want you to laugh.

Know that even though he is gone, you will always carry parts of him with you and that when you need him most, you will feel him there.

Know that you are strong and smart and amazing. Know that you will do things with your life (I’m not going to tell you what–you’ll see) that will make Daddy so proud.

In three days you will sing “Eagle’s Wings” at Daddy’s funeral in front of all of our family… that was always the song you loved singing with Daddy in church. On the last note your voice will fail you and the cantor will finish for you. Afterward, you will sit down in the pew and you will swear to yourself that you will never sing for an audience again… because you wanted the last time to have been for Dad.

Don’t make that promise. We regret it later.

Keep singing sugar,

Because you and I? We end up just fine.

Oh and one last thing… dump Phillip. That guy is a serious douche.

December 12: New Food. You’re now in love with Lebanese food and you didn’t even know what it was in January of this year.

I’ll make this one short and sweet. Monica and I spent my birthday week in New York and it one of the most amazing trips of my life. I’ve been there several time before but I’ve never (please don’t throw things at me here) eaten the pizza from one of the little pizza places that seems to reside on every corner.

This time in NYC, both our new Irish friend John and Monica made me try it out… and oh boy it is amazing.

It’s not delivery OR DiGiorno. It is DEELISH!

Thank you flickr user Daniele Sartori for the awesome photo!!

December 13: What is the best change you made to the place you live?

Recently I moved back home to dear old Tomball to live with Mom. There were several reasons behind this change, the biggest and most important probably being the need to save money saving and to pay off those old student loans.

I lived on my own all through college and for a few years after so I was a little nervous about the transition at first, but the last couple of months have been so much fun.

My Mom lives on a cul-de-sac and we’ve become really great friends with all of our neighbors. We become a fun, sometimes dysfunctional, always silly family that lives together – only in separate houses. I swear I’m going to write a book about this motley crew.

We’ve got the widow, the 20 something that lives with her Mom (clearly that’s me)… we’ve got the single mom and then the cougar. We’ve got the family with yours-mine-and-ours and then on the corner there is the overweight president of the homeowners association (we try to stay as far away from him as possible). Probably the most normal of all of us is the pharmaceutical rep.

We have made it a habit to get together every few weeks in someone’s driveway, drink lots of wine, and stay up talking as long as possible. You can imagine the variety of the stories that are told and the wonderfully different perspectives you get on things.

It is this eclectic bunch I bring all of my problems to first and it is these people who have picked me up time and time again when I’ve thought things are too hard. I have plans to move back into the city sometime in spring, but I don’t think I could have imagined a better place to live in my 26th year. How I love my dear little circle.

Oh… another great thing about living at home are having conversations like these (this occured five minutes ago):

Me (yelling from the kitchen): Mom!!

Mom (yelling from the computer room): What?

Me: I bought you some really great chips!!

Mom (walks into the kitchen): What did you say?

Me: Ummm. I bought you some great chips?

Mom: Oh thank goodness! I thought you were yelling about eating some “good shit” and I thought that was just so white trash!! Good chips. That’s funny.

Me: Wow Mom.

My little sister is coming home from college this weekend. Can’t wait.

December 11: The Best Place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?

This one was easy for me. As soon as I read the prompt, I knew what place I would be writing about.

Almost heaven, West Virginia,
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.
Life is old there, older than the trees,
Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze.
Country Roads, take me home,
To the place I belong:
West Virginia, mountain momma,
Take me home, country roads.

- John Denver

My Mom’s family is from a tiny town in West Virgina named Hinton. It is tucked between two rivers in the mountains and the only place to get a pair of shoes is Magic Mart. They now boast a Subway restaurant (watch out world!) and the only bar in town is a cute little joint called Pop’s.

Of all the places I’ve traveled, Hinton is one of my favorite places in the world because going back always feels more like going home.

In October we went back for my cousin’s wedding. It took place in a tiny cabin high in the mountains and my uncle officiated. After the service we drank moonshine and stayed up all night talking around a fire. Another uncle brought out his fiddle and we sang “Country Roads” by John Denver.

We are a family that is very much in love and we laugh all the time. We value our roots and tradition is important to us. We like passing things along… including names.

The top picture below is one of my favorite of all time. It best illustrates both the beauty of West Virginia and the sense of consistency I have when I am there.

In every generation of our family, there is a Margaret. I am the one that belongs in this generation. Pictured is Grandma Margaret, Aunt Peggy (which is a nick-name for Margaret), Baby Margaret and me.

Every time I look at this picture… my breathe catches in my throat. What an amazing place.

Just the three of us:

The whole crew:

My beloved other half:

A few more cousins:

December 10: Album of the Year. What’s rocking your world?

This one is easy for me… mostly because the same set of songs has been rocking my world since the album came out (and long before). I love love love the Michael Jackson HIStory: Past, Present and Future Disc Set.

Yes I know it’s not new and it’s sort of cheating since it’s a greatest hits album… but it’s my favorite!!

I just checked the play count on my iTunes, and on average, every single song on Michael’s HIStory album has been played over 200 times… and that is just the record since my computer crashed 6 months ago and I had to reinstall the software.

I grew up listening to Michael Jackson and one of my favorite memories of my father has to do with the release of this album.

When I was little, I had a subscription to the all-Michael HIStory Magazine (I still have all of my copies!) and would have MJ dance parties at my house with my friends. When I am looking for inspiration, I still go looking for Michael.

The song I always play first? I Just Can’t Stop Loving You…

Now back to the challenge…

I’ll catch up on the rest of the posts over the next few days – promise.

For more info on the #Best09 Challenge and to see a list of participants, head on over to Gwen’s blog!

Since my bartending college days, throwing a great party has been my specialty so you can bet SchipulCon09 is going to be one. It’s this October 15 & 16 and yes…. we’re taking over the Houston Zoo!! In case you missed it yesterday, we announced that our keynote is going to be the lovely Deirdre Breakenridge but rest-assured that is not all the awesome-ness we have coming your way!! Over the next month, we’ll be making speaker announcements and rolling out some fun agenda items so watch the Schipul Blog or follow us on twitter for deets!

Who should you come to SchipulCon09?

1. Interested in Social Media? We’ll be breaking it down.
2. Consider yourself a super online Marketer? Let’s swap knowledge.
3. Want to converse with your audience or members? We’ll show you how.
4. Got a blog and don’t know what to do with it? Let’s talk.
5. Still don’t know what this twitter thing is? Come on!
6. Looking for a chance to Network and tell your story? Then we want you.

Right now we offering a super special registration rate that you don’t want to miss! For 49 bucks you get a two day pass to SchipulCon + all the fun we’ve got planned. Why wait?

And come on. You can’t tell this little guy no…. Can you?

I consider myself very lucky to have met a lot of amazing people through Social Media…. I have forged some really awesome friendships that transcend Social Networking Sites and make “real life” so much more entertaining.

One of those people is Richard Shaffer…. no one else can Direct Message twitter debates about the benefits of Boxed Wine (you can recycle the box) quite like he can.

And if you know me, you know I feel pretty passionate about how awesome box wine is: but my wine allegiance may be about to change and Angel Juice better watch it’s back!!

Why? Richard is Mr. Israeli Wine himself and he is on his way to Houston to showcase his wares. Until recently, Israel had only been able to export a few of their fine wines due to limited quantity. But that is all about to change… Join The Government of Israel’s Economic Office & Richard Monday the 15th as they take over the Reserve Room at the Tasting Room in Uptown Park to help kick off the launch of Israeli Wines in the US.

Houston restaurants have been stocking up on these wines for months in order to give you a taste of Israel and you better be ready! On Monday, it’s Richard’s job to stuff your brain with knowledge about these fine wines so when our restaurants start rolling them out, you can look like a super sommelier to all of your friends.

And did I mention Richard funny??

If that isn’t enough reason to be there, here are two more:

1. It’s only 15 bucks and it’s a recession y’all!
2. WWJD? (What Would Jesus Drink?)

I often get asked why I decided to join the Army and I think my answer is fairly simple. I wanted to be a part of something greater than I am. I wanted to be pushed to my limits and I wanted to do something good for my country.

Let’s fast forward seven years….

I am now the Public Relations and Operations gal at a great company. I have some really amazing friends and random activities that further complete me. But all of this has not stopped be from getting worried and often second guessing myself. Do I want to be blogging? Do I tweet to much? Crowds make me nervous…. do I have to do this speaking gig? Am I really doing everything right?

I am not really sure where this fear comes from or why it even started. Maybe the societal pressure to please everyone? I have been freelance writing for Barstool Magazine for YEARS and writing there has never made me nervous at all but for some reason starting this blog was very hard for me. Maybe it is the comments section at the end that would allow people to say to my face what they really thought about my article rather than just mentioning how much it sucked while they flipped pages.

Overcoming

Recently I was reunited with of my old friends from Basic Training and while talking to him about some of these fears, he reminded me that the most important thing in life is for me to be me.

“Maggie you are passionate and strong. People love you for who you are. You don’t need to be anything else and you don’t need to be afraid. You just need to be you. “

This is the man who picked me up when I fell, who pushed me to run harder and faster and who was not surprised when our Drill Sergeants put me in charge of a platoon. He has been on tour in Iraq not once, but twice. He is one of the strongest men I know. I greatly admire him and his respect means a lot to me, so I’ve been thinking a lot about what he had to say.

Am I really being me?

The answer is irrevocably yes. There are certain things I’ve wanted with my life, goals I have set, and I have accomplished those goals and more. So where does my fear come from? Why am I second guessing myself with every blog post? It comes from an obvious lack of confidence in myself.

Starting today, I am going to do everything in my power to channel my “Inner Army Chick” again because I know she is there. I miss the Maggie that could run for hours and who had a quiet confidence that was unwavering. I miss the girl that was terrified of change but who threw all of those fears out of the window to join the Army. I want the Maggie who would charge head first through a bayonet course screaming at the top of her lungs because a Drill Sergeant told her to and who didn’t flinch when this same Drill Sergeant took away her Herbal Essence because it was too “girly.” This girl could climb any obstacle (and did) and “fear” was not a part of her vocabulary.

So which inner “you” should you channel?

My advice is this: find that inner “Confident You” to channel when you start to feel afraid and get channeling WHOMEVER that “Inner You” happens to be. Whether she is your Inner Army chick, your Inner Ninja or your Inner Goddess, I guarantee she is there. She is strong and confident and smart and just waiting for you to tap into her beauty.

I promise that from now on, I will always Channel my Inner Army Chick and I will do so unabashedly.

But what does this look like?

1. I’m going to blog, without fail, once a week. Like anything in life, to be good at something you have to practice. I love writing and I need to do more of it. I only get to flex my creative muscles so much writing about the new Houston “it” bar for barstool!
2. It’s back to a 100 books a week for me! I am a voracious reader. I have been in a bit of a slump and it’s time to get back to reading every night!
3. Army body here I come. I truly believe (and so does this guy) that your brain can only be as fit as your body. I’ve been back to running 25 miles a week for a month now and I feel great. I’m thinking really hard about doing the Peak Condition Project but we will see. I know Gwen loves it!
4. I’m going skydiving. This is where the fearless part comes in!