| Lex and Learn

Laughing

October 28, 2010 By Alexis Anzalone Anderson Leave a Comment

Laughter isn’t always the best medicine, but it sure is important most days. Laughing so hard I nearly cry is one of my very favorite emotions. It instantly makes me feel like goofy kid despite appearing to be “all grown up.”

Luckily I’m surrounded by people on a daily basis who encourage outbursts of uncontrollable laughter – be it from “they said what?!” kids stories to videos that only the Internet can deliver. And that’s the inspiration for this quick morning post…YouTube videos that make me fall out of my chair.

So, turn up your volume, find the goofy kid in you and take a moment (or several) to laugh really REALLY hard today:

Antoine Dodson
Leprechaun in Alabama (check out the amateur sketch and follow-up rap video)
Red haired kid dancing to “Low Low Low”
David after dentist
Home Shopping Network sword accident

What other videos would you add to this list?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

What’s Really Important

October 23, 2010 By Alexis Anzalone Anderson Leave a Comment

Over the last few weeks I’ve encountered several people – both those that I know fairly well and others more so through friends or family members – who are facing real adversity and unthinkable hardships. When I sit and reflect on what they are waking up to each morning, I can’t help but feel a bit ashamed at what I’ve been waking up thinking about lately…a broken TV, a few unexpected bills, frivolous wedding details.

At this point in my life I am not quite sure where my religious upbringing meets the more spiritual person I’ve become since moving out on my own more than 10 years ago. However, when I hear about people experiencing such raw pain and emotion it’s hard not to wonder “who” is calling the shots. “Who” is making these decisions and how on earth are we supposed to understand them.

I’ve always found serenity in quotes (I leave it to the great minds of scholars and writers to sum up our emotions so eloquently) and have found myself searching for quotations that address life. Below are just a few of my favorites…enjoy, and please send your favorites to me too!

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me.” ~Erma Bombeck

Life’s not always fair. Sometimes you can get a splinter even sliding down a rainbow. ~Terri Guillemets

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made the victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself. ~Harvey Fierstein

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Missing Lorraine

October 19, 2010 By Alexis Anzalone Anderson 2 Comments

It happens much less frequently these days, but there are random moments every few weeks where I miss my grandma uncontrollably and my heart literally aches. Most recently it hit me at the airport where a grandmother was consoling a sad child. I nearly lost it.

Part of what’s so tough is I have to work harder every day to get the tone of her voice just right in my head. The way she excitedly exclaimed “hi sweetheart” every single time I called her on the phone. The way she teasingly asked “how’s Mike” in almost every conversation, even after we had been dating for years—like he was still my secret crush or something.

We have plenty of pictures together, and most of the times those are enough to ease the pain of missing her so deeply. But every once and a while I need her voice and that’s the one thing I don’t have.

I am already starting to wonder what it will be like to not have her at our wedding next year. Will I be so busy that it will fly by without me noticing, or will it hit me when my mom is putting on my veil that she was supposed to be in that room too—or at least I always thought she would be when I pictured the day in my mind.

I’m trying not to rush the grieving process…everyone does it in their own time I guess.

Love and miss you grandma! xoxo

Filed Under: Uncategorized

10 Years Later…

October 11, 2010 By Alexis Anzalone Anderson Leave a Comment

A quick post to say, “I can’t believe my 10 year high school reunion has come and gone.” Now the Notre Dame High School class of 2000 will wait another 10 years to reunite – and hopefully those years will be kind to us all with regard to health, family, jobs…the list goes on.

The reunion was a blast but it also made me realize that I could be a heck of a lot better at maintaining friendships. I am the first to admit that I am guilty of losing touch with people who used to be really good friends if I am not around them geographically, and it makes me sad. Part of me blames the ease of e-mail, text and Facebook as I rarely take the time to place a phone call or even write a letter or postcard. A quick text or wall post does instantly connect two people, but lifelong friendships are not build on texts and Facebook messages alone. I need and want to get better at nurturing some really special friendships from my past – and this weekend made that fact very apparent.

That realization aside, I will post pictures of the evening soon. Everyone looked so wonderful and it was neat to see how successful so many of my former classmates are – from doctors to IR mavens to professional baseball players and proud parents. The class of 2000 shined at NDHS for four years and I believe that we’re continuing to do so out in the “real world” now as well.

Here’s to another 10!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

My “28 Things to do Before 30″ List

October 4, 2010 By Alexis Anzalone Anderson 2 Comments

On a daily basis I find myself saying, “I need to do that one day.” Taking a page from Mike’s sister who developed an awesome “Journey to 30″ list, I decided that I should hold myself accountable for a few of these wishes by making my to-do list public. I chose ’28′ as my number since I’m 28 now – rocket science I know.

Right now my list only goes to 19, and I am definitely not interested in running another marathon. I am sure that I’ll have plenty of new ideas between now and July 25, 2012, but please let me know if you have suggestions. I look forward to updating my four-five readers as I check things off my list.