A much appreciated compliment . .

I love a good compliment. I love giving them, and I love receiving them.

Today in BYU’s travel office my agent helper person, Julie Ann, told me that I have beautiful teeth. I couldn’t stop smiling; and not because I wanted to show them off, but because I appreciated her comment so much.

That said, I know it’s important to give ourselves recognition; because if we wait for it to come from others, it’s easy to be resentful when the compliments don’t come or we don’t accept them when they do come. When we compliment ourselves, the glow sticks.

Giving ourselves praise when we deserve it is important, but Julie Ann's compliment still has me smiling.

Meatloaf is worth a try . .

Last night I dined with three friends.

I learned the following from that St. Patrick’s Day dinner party.

• I love meatloaf despite its lunchroom menu stereotype.

• Pistachio pudding has a turquoise ocean color that you’d see in a magazine (didn’t see that coming).

• I’m not as good at making Brazilian lemonade as I was last summer.

• I want to watch American Idol more often (we kept it on mute until the good parts).

• I am a connector, my best friend is a maven, and the other two, well, they’re good people but they’re certainly not salesmen.

• Professor Harold Hill (the Music Man) is my alter ego.

So glad I dined with three friends last night.

Secret Carrier . .

Sometimes I think we are little too obsessed with saving money because a lot of the time we're not really saving.

I recently came up with the "Secret Carrier Philosophy." On Kayak.com, sometimes there is a flight option given to you that says "Secret Carrier." Details on the flight are very sparse and will often say, "Departure: 4-6pm, Arrival: 12-2pm." Not very promising. In the case I was looking at, this particular flight was only $13 cheaper than the others listed. The philosophy is such that there are those who will save a few dollars to be inconvenienced substantially and have many unknowns that cause stress.

We all know someone who has scheduled a flight at 6am rather than 9am just to save 5 dollars, or completely overlooks flight details because of the price and ends up with a super long layover somewhere just to save a buck. Whether you're rich or not, you still have your intelligence. Let's not be the "Secret Carrier" type.