Happy Thanksgiving

Stylease wishes you a day of relaxation and fun.

Good food too!

Jen's rules for a peaceful holiday:

• Do not pick fights with your in-laws. (if they pick one with you, just smile and know that you or they will be going home soon)

• Take the politics disputes outside, people.

• And no discussing religion allowed, unless you all are in agreement, or can politely agree to disagree. As impossible as it may seem, mature people have been known to pull this off.

• Just try to have a nice day. No, I mean really try.

• Shop your butts off on Friday.

You HAVE to have a website

My husband's staff covered his office with sticky notes while he was away for the summer. Well, because he works at Disney TV animation (he's a director on Phineas and Ferb) it wasn't just a prank, but a documented production. And a funny one at that.

So funny in fact that when the Disney Execs got wind of it, they wanted to add it as a DVD Extra on the next release of Phineas and Ferb episodes that come out on DVD.

Now, being the cross marketing hound that I am, the first thing I thought, is that since there will be millions of kids seeing this funny little video, there is a good chance a portion of them will then go to the internet and do a search for more info on it.

I would.

So I set up a website called Rob Sticky Note Hughes. Now, Rob is an artist, not an IT guy and he thought I was wasting my time setting up a site for this. He still does not get it. What is the point?

What is the point?! Publicity baby! The man owns his own animation company where he is developing fabulous animated TV shows for worldwide distribution. If a kid finds RobStickyNoteHughes.com (which will have links to his company which has info on the other cartoons that he makes) then that kid can go to their mom or dad and go "Wow! Where can we see this show?!" And if mom and dad are cool and living in the 21st century, they can go to their DVR and type in the cartoon title and record the shows. The kid loves the shows and wants to go to the store and buy the toy...

See how this works?

By the way, I noticed that the bananas on my kitchen counter have a website... The purple sticker says "Let's Play at eatachiquita.com"

People, if you have a business and you don't have a functioning website, you are officially less organized than a banana.

Overcoming Challenges - Embrace it!

I'm off to Michigan for the weekend.

Just enough time to have the 3 hour time difference mess with me. I can't imagine what the presidential candidates go through while traveling around like madmen (and women there for a while). They must just function in a state of suspended animation.

It's looking like we will get snowed on while we are there. Whoot! Just not while we are taking off or landing please.

Here is a thought for the day: It's a big thought. A whole group of them actually but a necessary reminder to not let yourself get bogged down. Don't sweat the little stuff, or even the big stuff. Just deal with it all, one step at a time.

5 Top Tips To Overcoming Challenges

Here are some simple strategies to overcome any challenge that may be stopping you form moving forward in your life.

Challenges are a very normal part of life. Many people look at challenges and cringe, but the reality is that challenges help move us forward in life. We would be stopped in our tracks and stand still without challenges, we would never find the way to improve ourselves, and we would remain the same people we are right now - how boring!

Now that you know this, it might make some challenges that much easier to deal with and may even enable you to overcome obstacles that are standing in your way. So ask yourself:

Am I where I want to be in life?

If you're not happy, then it's time to take charge, make a stand and make a change! Overcoming some challenges can be as simple as remembering that nothing lasts forever. Even though this is a rather simplistic thought, it is actually true. When you are in the middle of a tough situation, you should stop, take a moment and remember that the situation will pass. We often get caught up in the drama and the stress of a challenge or obstacle. This blinds us to the reality that this moment is simply a stepping stone to where we are going.

Another way to overcome challenges is to ask for a little bit of help here and there. We often become islands unto ourselves, but that need not be the case. Ask friends and family for help, or get professional help if the challenge seems so unattainable that you think you would benefit from an expert opinion. Teaming up with those who are in our lives often makes a challenge seem smaller and less threatening.

Positive thought is a great way to overcome challenges.

Many people keep a list of affirmations with them - either physically or in their minds - to help them overcome difficulties as challenges arise. Affirmations are simple statements to help you quieten down negative thoughts that are in your mind. Many people find that positive thoughts are the key to overcoming both big and small challenges.

Breaking challenges down into more manageable pieces also may make them easier to overcome. Many of us look only at the big picture, which often can be overwhelming. Look at the challenges you are facing and see if you can't break up the problems into smaller pieces to make the process less intimidating.

You can take positive thoughts one step further and incorporate affirmations into your everyday life. These affirmations may include, "If I can say it, I can do it, and I can be it." Getting up each day and saying these thoughts out loud reaffirms the positive thought and allows you to live it. Many people repeat the thought each day at the same time, while others use them only in those moments when challenges present themselves and become overwhelming. Either way will work, you just need to work out what's best for you as an individual.

Overcoming challenges can be difficult, but this is a vital part of learning more about yourself, who you are striving to be, and what your place is in this world. In lots of situations, just one of these methods will help you overcome the challenges in your life, and in other situations you may need to use a combination. Each person finds different methods of dealing with challenges to work for them, but the power of positive thought cannot be overlooked. This power will enable you to see the good in each challenge or obstacle that you encounter throughout your life.

Make the glass half full.

In maintaining positive thoughts, you will be able to look at how to overcome your challenges with much less stress involved.

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Did You Vote?!

Go on. Get out there.

I'll wait...

Still waiting. Let me know when you cast those votes.

Ok, good. Good for you.

I was so excited to vote in this election. Even though my state will go to Obama without me, I voted anyway because I want him to get the popular vote too. By the way, that is a very poor point of view. YOU HAVE TO VOTE. If you are able to and you don't, well, you should leave this blog now, otherwise I shall kick you in the shin.

I also voted to uphold a gay person's right to get married. I have never understood why people care so much if two gay people want to get married. Please, explain it to me. What is the threat? What is it that people are so afraid of? What on earth difference does it make to another person if somebody wants to legally wed the person they love? How does that somehow "weaken" or theaten the bond between a man and a woman? I, honest to God, do not understand that. I find a healthy, loving relationship in any capacity, far more beneficial than hatred and discourse.

So let me get this straight... two heterosexual people who hate each other and argue openly in front of their children is a better thing than two people of the same gender who respect each other and offer a stable emotional environment of RESPECT of another human being as an example of how to treat people?

The answer is No. It's not better. I think that once again religion and fear come into play here. I am not a person who subscribes to organized religion so I don't have that whole, fear of God and judgment upon my person thing to battle with every moment, thank you.

Maybe that is it. It's as simple as some other human in a fancy robe behind an alter, telling you it's bad. And that's good enough for some. I honestly hope that is all the more complicated it is. Because if that is it, then there is hope for those who are blinded by the opinions and judgments of others. That they may one day talk to people outside their group and broaden their mind to see that we are all just doing our thing, trying to make it all work and find true happiness.

As long as what you do in this life doesn't hurt anyone else, it's all good. Everything else is just a distraction.

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Obama just won and I feel like someone opened a window. Heavy sigh of relief.