Bein' Friendly Is My Fravrite!

If ya project friendliness, ya get it back a dozen times over!

Hiya, Big People! 

Well, ya know,  I'm a kid who likes to be friendly and make friends wherever I go.

I make friends of other kids I meet.  I make friends with cashiers at the stores I visit.  I make friends with the people who bring me my food in restaurants. 

In all my years, Big People, one of the most important things I've learned is that the world is like a big mirror, and it reflects what ya put out into it!

Pay attention the next time you're Out In Public, Friends.  Smile at someone who isn't smilin' and see what happens. I'd betchya dollars to donuts that ya get a smile back, and all the ice starts breakin'. And you know how seriously I take my donuts!

It works the other way, too, Friends.  I've seen it.  I've seen what happens when someone who's smilin' and laughin' gets frowned at or sneered at or fussed at.  It puts out their smile, just like if ya blow out a candle.  It's so sad.  Don't go out in the world and try that.  Don't go out into the world and yell and wave your arms and be blustery.  You'll put out the lights of other people's smiles, and everybody will be left in the dark.

That's why bein' friendly is my fravrite, Friends. 

I love ya lots, Friends!  Help light other people up, so everything can be warm and friendly and happy, insteadda blustery and angry, mmmkay?

Be good.  I'll ketchup with ya tomorrow!  Muah!

I Saw Airplanes!

I could see the planes' bellies, and it was glorious!

Well, hello, Friendalinoes!  Happy Monday to you!

Well, ya know, my Daddy was in Mexico for a week, and on Saturday night, I had the opportunity to meet his plane at the airport.  So I took it!

Daddy's plane got delayed in Detroit, on accounta ice.  So I had to wait in the cellular telephone parking lot.

At first, I thought the cellular telephone parking lot was where we were meant to sit in great big cellular telephones, maybe enjoy some snacks and musics and a movie while we were waiting for the airplane to come in, so I suppose you can imagine my deep disappointment when I found out it's just a parking lot where you sit in your car and wait for your airplane passenger to call you up on your cellular telephone.

And then, I heard a rumble coming from overhead and looked through the skylight in the Jeep, and I saw an AIRPLANE directly overhead!  I could see its BELLY!  And it was fabulous!  It was a little airplane with a tail that looks like a "T", and a propeller on each wing!

Upon further investigation, I learned that the airplane was a Dash-8!  I ended up seeing two Dash-8s and three little jets land, and I was right under 'em!  It was really exciting!  But the most exciting thing of all is that Daddy was on the second of the little jets I saw land! 

Boyo boy, I missed Daddy!  He's home with me today, so I'm gonna go spend some time with him!  I love ya lots, Friends, but I missed my Daddy for a whole quarter of a month!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Zoe and Rozzie's Ill-Fated Human-Canine Singalong Band!

We're never gonna agree on a song, are we, Rozz?

Hiya, Big People!  Happy Sunday to you!

Well, ya know, I love to sing, and I love my pal Rozzie, so I thought it would be a brilliant idea to combine my love of singing with my love of my pal and create the Human-Canine Singalong Band!

In addition to our memorable and snappy name, I figured my singalong band with Rozzie would just knock it out of the park, singing today's greatest hits as well as oldies and standards.  A little something for everybody!

Except, the project was ill-fated from the start.  You see, Rozzie and I both have very strong personalities and very strong opinions on what constitutes great music.Whenever one of us would start a singalong song, the other of us would start singin' another, different song.  Every time.  When I'd cut toward Contemporary, Rozzie would go retro.  When I was in the mood for an oldie, Rozzie would start barkin' out "Hall of Fame," a mutually favorite song of ours, just not when the other of us is singing it.

So the Human-Canine Singalong Band was ill-fated from the beginning, but Rozzie and I are still best pals. 

I love ya lots, Friends!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Winter SurTHRIVEal!

Why settle for survival when you can surTHRIVE?

Hiya, Friends!  Happy, HAPPY SATURDAY! to you!

Well, ya know, I know how Wintertime can be a little hard to take for you Big People.  That's why I'm bringing you what I like to call my Winter SurTHRIVEal tips! 

One of the keys to stayin' happy in the dark days of winter is to get enough sunlight.  Sometimes, that's easier said than done, when the skies are gray.  There are some really nice LED lamps you can get, and they aren't even very expensive.  Sometimes, ya just need to turn on the light and let it shine!

Next, ya gotta warm yourself from the inside out.  In my opinion, nothing does this better than hot cocoa with marshmallows or whipped cream outta the spray-can.  That's high living right there!  Enjoy hot cocoa early and often!

Another strategy I use is warm-n-fuzzy blankets.  Wrap up in a warm-n-fuzzy blanket.  Throw another one over your lap when you're sittin' down.  Snuggle up and snuggle in!  And ketchup on all your favorite shows!  My favorite right now is Miles from Tomorrowland, but you feel free to substitute your favorite for mine.  No hard feelings!

You have a choice this winter, Big People!  You can let winter beat you, you can merely survive, or you can surTHRIVE!  I think that with some quality self-care, you can definitely surTHRIVE!  You bet!  I love ya lots, Friends, and I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

No Pulp!

This is a PSA telling you that pulp doesn't belong in orange juice, because it tastes like lint!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Dang Ol' Friday to ya!

Well, ya know, Friends, I am something of a bon vivant, a lover of life, and an admirer of the Finer Things in Life.

Now, one of the finer things in life is definitely NOT pulp in orange juice.  I go around and around like a merry-go-round (one of the definite finer things in life!) with Mommy about this matter.

When I was a younger Little Kid, I called the pulp that would errantly wind up in my orange juice "lint," on accounta it feels like lint in my mouth. 

Yuckaroni!

I don't care if you like lint in your orange juice, Big People, but if I'm enjoyin' orange juice with ya, ya better make sure there's a strainer nearby.  Also, you just shouldn't drink orange juice with lint.  You shouldn't hafta chew your drink in the morning!

This has been a Public Service Announcement from your pal Zoe.  I love ya lots!  Muah!

Zoe's Kindness Initiative!

Smiles are like boomerangs!  The more ya throw, the more ya get back!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Thursday to you!

Well, ya know, yesterday I talked a little about my Kindness Initiative, where I'm makin' sure I do my part to brighten the day of everyone I meet, and today, I wanna talk a little more about that!

You see, I'm learnin' that every time I interact with another person, it can either be positive and enrich and enhappy us both, or it can be miserable and negative.  I can't be perfect every time I'm talkin' to someone else, and neither can you, but I do know that I can certainly do my best.

So in my Kindness Initiative, I strive to be courteous, cooperative, and kind.  If I'm in a grouchy mood and I wanna let someone have it, I am trying to really think about if that person has anything to do with me bein' in a grouchy mood.  If not, then I will still try to be courteous, cooperative, and kind, even though I might not be cheerful. 

You can be courteous without bein' cheerful, so havin' a bad day isn't an excuse to be a jerk, you know? 

And if it turns out that they DO have something to do with your bad day, there's a way to address that without bein' a jerk, too.  There's a trick to it that I'm gonna work on masterin' in 2017. 

We all need a little kindness, Friends.  I wanna see more kindness.  I will be the change I wanna see in the world, Friends.  I hope you'll join me!

I love ya lots, Big People!  I'll see ya tomorrow!  Muah!

Guess What Day It Will Be In Eleven Months!

I told ya I'd be talkin' about this today, Big People!

Hiya, Friends!  Happy Wednesday to you!  If I were my pal Joe the Camel, that would be the end of my question, because his favorite day of the week is Wednesday! 

But MY question is Guess What Day It Will Be Eleven Months From Today!  Do ya know?

Of course you know.  CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!

Last night, I spoke on the telephone with my pal Santa Claus, who's wrappin' up his annual post-Christmas vacation in Hawaii, and he said he's all rested and rejuvenated from Christmas 2016 and is ready to get started gearing up for this year's Big Holiday.

He wanted me to tell ya to make sure you're on the "nice" list.  He said he let a lotta things slide in '16, on accounta it bein' a year where emotions ran high, but he says in 2017, he wants everybody to focus on bein' the kindest versions of themselves, and to make bein' considerate fashionable again.  I think it's solid advice from my pal Santa. 

For my part, I have been making sure that I smile and wave and carry on a brief but friendly conversation with every waiter, waitress, hostess, server, busperson, cashier, clerk, and attendant I meet.  People can get pretty quick with these folks, and I wanna do my best to brighten their days, you know?  I will also be expanding my kindness initiative to include everybody I meet!

Except maybe Pidgie McDougall, my sworn nemesis.  I'm not sayin' I'll be unkind to Pidgie, it's just that as much as I get a kick outta bein' kind, Pidgie likes to get people all stirred up, and it makes me feel all uneasy when I'm around people like that.  So I'll just mind my own never-mind when it comes to Pidgie McDougall. 

Everybody else, though, you're gonna have kindness dropped on ya, if I run into ya, so pass it on!  I love ya lots, Friends!  I'll see ya tomorrow, mmmkay?  Muah!