Bossypants is the only book that has ever inspired me and made me laugh so hard I cried…at the same time. In Bossypants, Tina Fey covers everything from her awkward childhood to her experiences on SNL and 30 Rock. She tells her story with candor and honesty. We’re talking clumsy make-out sessions and a meltdown over an anthrax scare at work (a scenario that somehow becomes quite entertaining). You will laugh so hard you’ll cry. I promise.

The real win within this book lies at the core of her story. Tina Fey follows her life’s path with a wide-eyed curiosity and handles life’s curveballs with a good sense of humor.  When it comes to the office, she can hold her own with the toughest of them. I was wildly inspired by her work ethic. As evident in my favorite quote from the book, she is definitely not one to let negative coworkers distract her from her goals:

“Ask yourself this question: “Is this person in between me and what I want to do?” If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you’re in charge, don’t hire the jerky people who were jerky to you.”

She stumbled into acting in a way that only Tina Fey could. She was plucked out of her comfortable nest as a Saturday Night Live writer when the SNL team needed someone to screen test with Jimmy Fallon.  She fearlessly went for it and a fabulous acting career was born. Tina has the kind of gumption that leaves you determined to let life unfold and to say “yes” a little bit more.

She is a good example of what hard work and authenticity will get you: A life that’s rewarding. A life that makes you feel really good in your own shoes…and maybe even a nice pair of Bossypants.

As Tina Fey said:

“…Don’t waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions. Go “Over! Under! Through!” and opinions will change organically when you’re the boss. Or they won’t. Who cares?”

Those pants fit her wonderfully.

Happy Friday, friends! I thought I would get my feet wet by posting a little Friday link love. I feel like I haven’t written for ages. I really do miss it.

First things first, I just have to share this little pedicab photo with you.

Pedicabs shuffled the guests to the wedding reception.

After a rough September, my family was reminded that there is still a lot of love in the world. My brother was married on October 02. We flew to East Lansing, MI to join him in the wedding festivities. The wedding was wonderful. Congratulations, Joe and Rosie!

Here are a few more links for your Friday enjoyment:

I can’t stop playing the new Coldplay song: Paradise. I swear it sweeps me off of my feet every time I hear it.

I was both saddened and moved by the loss of Steve Jobs this week. He left such a beautiful message for all of us. I loved reading all of the fabulous Jobs posts this week. Pugly Pixel, The Concerns of Mindy Kaling, and Blog Brunch wrote three of my favorite pieces.

I will go back to being my Android-loving self now.

Three blogs I have added to my reader recently: La Dolce Vita (love her weekly quotes), Pugly Pixel (great for web design inspiration), and Mindy Kaling’s Blog (for a little dose of randomness).

I hope all of my blog friends have signed up for Blog Brunch. I missed the first brunch because it was the day of my brother’s wedding. I can’t wait to attend in November. I hope to see some of my friends there!

Lastly, thanks for all of the love and thoughts this week. I love the blogging community!

I have been on an unexpected blogging hiatus due to rather difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, my father passed away last month. I miss him more than anything in the world.

I have put a lot of thought into how I would approach the topic.  I sat down more than twice to write a post about him.  Obviously, the posts never came to fruition. The truth is, I feel like no matter what I write, I will always feel like I have left something out. For the time being, I have come to one conclusion: There are not enough words to describe him and how much he means to me. Perhaps I will be able to say the right things when the loss doesn’t feel so heavy. For now, I have only this to say:

I love you, Dad.  I miss you every day.