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November 21, 2012
How to survive the holiday season stress free:

Click here to get these holiday cards! www.EmilyBrickelIllustrations.com

1) Think in ADVANCE!!!! – Yes I know this whole blog post may be coming in advance – but yet Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I repeat TOMORROW. Yes that means Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are this weekend. So this blog is actually rather timely. Use these steps in advance to get you through the holiday season un-scathed and ready, willing and able to enjoy in the holiday fun!

Think about these things in advance:
Holiday gifts you will give. Now is the time to actually read your catalogues and check off some items for your holiday list. Add it to an actual list, (no a checklist in your head does not count) – I like an excel sheet. Add a budget for each person and a column for what you will get them. If you don’t know yet leave it blank. If you can get gifts for every body on your list from two or three stores only or order them online together you will save time and money on taxes from repeat trips.

Plan meals, outfits, hairstyles, makeup or what you will bring to a party in advance. Everybody knows that when you wait to the last minute you don’t serve up your best. This is generally because you don’t leave yourself enough time. I am the queen of this, well until this year since my 2012 new years resolution was to think more in advance and OH the wonders it is already providing me. I am much happier and I am more proud of myself every time I do anything even a little bit more in advance. Better still, I can give more of my best efforts. This allows you to be more creative in your projects, say holiday décor or pie baking. You can put more love into something, or actually get things out on time, say your holiday card notes. You can even wear something that you look and feel good in and maybe have a plan B outfit incase you don’t like it that day; This will make you feel soo good, instead of running out the door in a rush, not completely confident in your wardrobe decision. Remember, when you don’t feel comfortable in what you are wearing it can be completely distracting from your fun and relaxation.

Buy Holiday cards and Thank you cards in advance. This is true for birthdays and other occasions as well. I’m talking a month or so in advance. This way you get the best of all the options out there, get what you really want, have time to write them and send them out or have time to wrap your gifts in a really fun way. When the stress of the actual holiday gets here you won’t have to frantically run to Wallgreen’s to get a card making you late and frazzled. (Been there.) Check out my website for some awesome holiday card options.

2) BALANCE it out! Your diet: Ok so every year for the holiday season I waittttt for the sweet potato pie with marshmallows on top, the pumpkin pie, apple pie, any kind of pie really. A la mode? Even better. Desserts and homemade holiday pies are totally my thing. And I will get seconds. Oh. Yeah. Thirds? It will cross my mind.

Now, I definitely don’t want to gain any weight right? I ate really good all year, I worked out and want to look skinny for the holidays coming up (Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years, Valentines, oh my). So what’s a girl to do? Balance it out.

The weeks before the holidays I try to eat really clean and healthy. Clean to me means only foods with one ingredient in them like: Chicken, Steak, Veggies, Fruits, Rice, Potatoes – only things that are naturally grown and 100% unprocessed. For sweets I like dried dates (they look gross but totally squash my sugar cravings) and they are only 150 calories for 3 of them. Other desserts: yogurt with no added gunk in it, with honey and berries! Yum. Snacks: bananas, apple sauce. Drinks: Water, water, water, an occasional glass of wine, tea, maybe a chai latte with coconut milk.

Take some extra days in the gym – tack on 2 extra days or 2 extra hours a week AT LEAST so you can pre-game your body to enjoy in the holiday calorie yumminess and not feel guilty or gross.

Your work: Take on some extra hours at the office, get some projects done in advance (if this is ever at all possible), and work your little butt off so during the holidays you can disconnect from technology and not feel guilty about taking your days off. Plan social media in advance but don’t forget to take lots of pictures to upload to your instagram later at night!

Your head space: If you know or think you know the day will be full of stress, take the morning to spend an extra 5 or 10 minutes in your morning meditation, take a yoga class, a walk or a nice long coffee break. Clearing your head at the start of the day will help you manage the stress and commotion later in the day. You will feel better and be able to get through any possible mishaps with a clear head and a non-defensive attitude.

Hope this helps and inspires you to get ahead of the game and enjoy the holidays this year.

**The holidays are really about family – so taking these extra steps will ensure you wont get carried away in the stress of the “packages” and material things. Your mind will be focused on the priorities.

What’s that? You don’t have time for this? Well you will have less time later on that’s for sure. As my mentor Gabrielle Bernstein says when people tell her they don’t have time to meditate, “Do you have time to feel like crap?”

No thanks! Well spoken Gabby!

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo
Emily

October 25, 2012
Just Believe…

 

Click here: to see my top picks on PeaceLoveThreads.com 

In Illustration: Cutoff Comet Sweater and Senderkis Box Hand bag available on PeaceLoveThreads.com use code PLTAutumn2012 for 10% off! Also available, My illustrated notebooks! 

What I know about life…

No matter how old we are or how young, there is nothing more powerful than our own mind, and our own power of creation.

When you express yourself your power grows. The more you let yourself feel it and practice it, the more mastery of it you obtain. Use it or loose it.

Ask yourself “What is it that you really want???… Do it. There is no way to convince anyone of your greatness. You have to know it on the inside and DO IT… Knife fight your way to your dream.” – Lady Gaga, The Conversation With Amanda de Cadenet.

Try harder, try a different way.  What are the stories you are telling yourself about why you can’t or are afraid to move forward.  What journey of a thousand miles are you creating in your head that can only be taken one step at a time?

Try until you make it.  Don’t stop when it stops being easy.  Take your power back, schedule time to work on it, to take your one step each day. Work through it when you are not in the mood, push on and you will get in the mood.

Be gentle with yourself, Rome was not built in one day, or month – or year.

We are on a lifetime JOURNEY to learn what we are meant to learn. Lessons will keep coming up until you understand them.  Things happen to slow you down, so you can actually slow down and think!!!!! To maybe gain a fresh perspective or a big picture view, we can only see this from the slow lane.  Once we know where we are going we can speed up again.

Believe in miracles, there are forces around you that you cannot see or hear. If you tune in to your intuition you will notice them. Pay attention. You are being guided and there is some kind of force greater than you, even if you can’t see that yet or don’t know what it is.

Remember when you were younger, what did you believe then?  Did you think you can conquer the world?  You can, you just have to scuff off all the grime you have heard by people who don’t listen to their intuition or worse yet listen, but don’t do what it says.  Maybe you have become one of those people.  Unlearn it. Go back to your true self.  Stop making yourself sick. You are in this lifetime to get it right, to find happiness.

Don’t listen to anyone’s advice but your own for a while, your inner voice – it is your inborn compass to decipher what works for you and what YOU should be doing as opposed to what others tell you that you should be doing.

“Authenticity is sexy.” – Gabrielle Bernstein, best selling author of Add More –Ing, Spirit Junkie and revolutionary leader.

Go inward. Stop. Take inventory of what you want, what kind of impact do you want to have on the world. Course correct. Where are you NOT on this path? What gives you stress? How can you remove what you don’t like and add what you do like? How can you see it differently?

Thank you to all my mentors Gabrielle Bernstein, Marie Forleo, my Mom and my internal guide for helping me grow and learn and challenge myself, every…single…day.

Celebrate life.  I have had a major breakthrough by slowing down when I got sick and by seeing things differently.  How can you do the same?  Ask yourself – What do you need in this life to be fulfilled and what no longer works for you?
Celebrating right now!!!! Live every day as if it were your last. If today were to be your last, what would be your legacy?

Thank you, and as always –

I hope that inspires you,

Xoxox

Emily

P.S. I am proud to support my friend and entrepreneur Tash Moore and her partner Christine Okoye of PeaceLoveThreads.com, a newly opened ecommerce boutique – they are working their dream to the max and I hope that inspires you to do the same! Check out their store and purchase the sweater and purse in the illustration above from their website with the 10% off code! How cool is that!!!  Wanna know what else is so cool? They are going to be selling my Illustrated notebooks on their site!!! Check it out here for details! www.PeaceLoveThreads.com/emilys-picks. This link will be live as of Friday Oct 26 2012 at 1pm.

xoxo

October 16, 2012
Be bold!

 

“Most of us are instructed to live life in a certain way because of how we were raised or because of the kinds of expectations that were placed upon us.  I’ve seen so many unhappy people who don’t do something because they’re afraid, and the fear can come from not knowing how to start or what people will think of them ….and all those things require some type of change on some level.” – Rita Wilson The Conversation With Amanda de Cadenet

Be Bold.

October 11, 2012
Life Happens, invest in…

 I’ve been sick the last few weeks, and totally missing my friends!

However, being sick is not really my excuse.  I’ve been busy, been overwhelmed with the daunting task of running a business and working on another from home and attempting each month to make more than enough money to live on.  It’s a fulltime job and a half, It’s a 23 hour a day baby you have to care for.  It’s crazy but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have dreams to accomplish man!

Regardless, I miss my friends so much and there is NOTHING like a little catch up time with one of my girl friends.  I am so excited that today I will hopefully be seeing one of my friends and I know in time and this month I will see more of them.  Does this sound like you? I know I’m not the only one. As time goes by and we all get older its so crazy how much time we don’t spend with our girlfriends. I mean we used to spend every waking moment together way back in grade school and college. What happened? Life happened.  But what we need to do is “make our romantic relationships more brotherly and our friendships more romantic.”

Sound strange? Let me explain: Gabrielle Bernstein said it best with this quote above. It means infusing our passions back into our friends and doing things that light you up. If chatting over coffee and getting all the scoop lights you up, then do that. If its about calling or skyping each other if you can’t meet in person do that.  Write a note saying how much you love them, do something special for that person. Pick up a little gift or think of them on an extra special day in their lives. Those are the things that add some spice back into your friendships and your girlfriends are completely something to be cherished.  Life happens, but your true friends are there along the way through thick and through thin, loving you, telling you have lipstick on your teeth or sharing their deepest darkest secrets. To all my besties, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! You know who you are!!! (in alphabetical order because I love you all in different ways)

The girls who have been there for me for many years:

Ashley, Christina, Jeanine, Jess, Kerry, Kim, Lory, Mei-Li, Meital, Milene, Michelle, Mona, Stephanie, Yammi, and my Mom and sister Rachel.

The girls who have been there for me for many years:

Ashley, Christina, Jeanine, Jess, Kerry, Kim, Lory, Mei-Li, Meital, Milene, Michelle, Mona, Stephanie, Yammi, and my Mom and sister Rachel.

And the new ladies who I have met in recent years: Arielle, Christina, Emily, Gabrielle, Jessica, Julie, Katie, Kim, Maggie, McKenzie and Tash.

Hopefully I didn’t leave any one out – My 3 weeks of bronchitis has def been giving me some brain fogs.

I could not have gotten through the tough times with out you! I LOVE YOU all! xoxox

Hope that inspires you

xoxo

Emily

September 13, 2012
Something Bigger…

(This article was sent out in last Thursday’s newsletter. To get my blogs the momement they happen, subscribe to my newsletter on the top right of this page!)

I just read a really interesting article by Mastin Kipp of The Daily Love titled “Time for a 2012 check in – How are you doing with those dreams?”   It’s so true for me right now and maybe for you too.

He reminds me that, and I quote “THIS AIN’T NO DRESS REHEARSAL!”, and he’s right.

September always feels like a new school year to me, no matter how many years it’s been since I graduated college.   New York is getting back to business from the summer, so It’s the perfect time to get back to you. Get back into your goals and nurturing your dreams.

Mastin says “Your dreams, your goals – the things your heart desires – all these things are PRESENT MOMENT DESIRES! If you aren’t taking action towards them DAILY – then you aren’t going to make them happen.”

I guess that’s kind of a wakeup call, taking daily right actions towards our deepest most ingrained dreams in order to make progress. We forget that there are seven days in the week – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Someday is not one of them.

And these days are packed full of stuff to do! But we must not let them get away.  It all begins with daily right actions.

A big theme for me this month is Fashion Week and Fashion’s Night Out.  All of the work we do as designers culminates into that one show, the one night of the year when everyone comes out of the woodwork to make something big happen.  In this case, to help the global economy and donate to charities, good causes and independent designers.

It is one of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever felt, standing stage Left peering through the curtains at my runway show about to come alive.  That was years ago, and I am consumed every day to make that happen again. I love this quote “Never give up on something you can’t go a day without thinking about.”  Now, not that I ever gave up, or ever would – but sometimes the bigger picture gets away from you.  It’s in remembering that one daily right action adds up to 365 steps a year that you are taking to feed your soul’s purpose.

Just start somewhere. Test it. No task is too big when approached from a mindset like this, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step.” Lau Tzu

Be easy on yourself and acknowledge the steps you have taken.  Recognize the effort and the mindshare you have put forth to get to the part right before you even take the first step.  Also acknowledge WHY you have NOT taken any steps yet, what fears or emotions are you holding on to about starting this? Work on that then.  The marathon runner first had to be emotionally committed to going for that morning run, time and time again – before they even put their sneakers on.

If you feel that there is something bigger that you are meant to do with your life, break it out into manageable steps and do it.

Jump right in.

The biggest victories I’ve ever had in my life were things I knew I had to do in my gut, and I didn’t even think too much about them because I knew if I analyzed it and waited – I probably would never have done it.

These are things for me like deciding to go to college at FIT, deciding to study abroad, deciding to go to London by myself, running for Miss New York, twice, and starting my first business – my fashion line.  Sometimes the time is just right for you to jump in, and if you listen – your gut will always tell you what to do. That’s why you have it.

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo

Emily

August 30, 2012
Dress not for the job you have…

…but for the job you want – and act not for the life you have, but for the life you want. 

“The only person you are DESTINED to become, is the person you DECIDE to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ever go into the office, or walk on your way to work and see some gorgeous woman dressed to the nines – and compare yourself to them? You see some other person with the dream job, the dream life and you think to yourself – “How am I ever going to get there.” I know I do, we all compare and judge others and ourselves – but what about dressing for YOU and where you want to go in life. Maybe you have to step out of the expected and the politically correct and be the real you.

So many times we have this instinctive, authentic desire to dress a certain way that really speaks to us but we may not do it for fear of being judged.

Sometimes there is a strong, instinctive way of “being” that we desire – like not eating meat for dinner a few times a week or deciding to stay in on a Saturday night and paint instead of go out and drink.  Maybe we don’t do it because the people we surround ourselves with habitually do it differently.  Maybe its time to listen to your gut. Work out, take that class, say no, go it alone, do what makes you feel good.

Listening to your gut with small things like this are what dreams are made of.  This may sound uber vague – but its true.  Here’s what I mean:

You are completely different from any one you’ve ever met. You have different dreams, a different purpose and different way of expressing yourself.  How far do you think the late Phillis Diller would have gotten if she never gave in to her true desire to be a comedienne at 40 years old, or if Cher decided her Vegas costumes were a bit too loud? What if Mastin Kipp from TheDailyLove.com decided there are enough self-love writers out there, what if I decided to stay at my corporate job at Gucci Groupe and climb the corporate ladder?

“All people really want is your truth, your truth is sexy” my mentor Gabrielle Bernstein always says.  Be your truth. Dress for where you want to go in life.  That can mean dressing in yoga clothes every day if your dream is to be a master Yoga instructor, or dress like Ivanka Trump if you want that VP position.  Or better yet, DRESS LIKE YOU. Express yourself.  The world has many “thems” but only ONE you.

What do you want to say, and what can you do to live that life; to dress that part, talk that talk, learn that skill, take that action, daily and every chance you have.

It takes a path of aligned tiny “right” choices every moment to get to where you want to get.

And with that, I’ll repeat this quote, a quote by my grandfather’s favorite author:

“The only person you are DESTINED to become, is the person you DECIDE to be.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo
Emily

 

August 9, 2012
Love Life!

Simply love life.

This illustration is dedicated to my friend, who goes by Mona Love.
There is always alot going on in your day to day but in the over all big
picture, life is an adventure.

Treat it as such!!! We so often forget that this life is here for us to
live, to learn, to grow and to make human connections. Love is really
the blood that pumps through us all and the main reason we do anything.
Either for love or for fear. Love motivates us all to be better,
stronger, happier and more understanding people. We often get tunnel
vision and obsess over the topic at hand, the daily drama or the
unreachable goals in our life. But really love is an adventure. It is
the JOURNEY. Not the destination.
Your homework this week: How can you love more and treat life as the
adventure that it is instead of the next fire that needs to be put out?
Thanks Mona for inspiring me, I know she lives every day by this
mantra.

follow her here @monalovelife

xoxo
Hope that inspires you!
Emily

August 2, 2012
Gratitude and Abundance!

Gratitude and Abundance!

They say the vibration of words carry some serious energy.

If that’s the case, words can affect your mindset.
And I have been in great need of some positive words of affirmation lately. I
think we all could use an extra player on our team.
So I have for you some amazing words from Louise Hay, Best Selling author and
creator of Hay House publishing. She is responsible for the sharing and
publicising of many inspirational guru’s messages! A true miracle worker!
With my spiritual guru, she recommends choosing an affirmation and saying it
each day for 30 days. It is supposed to change your mood and help your mind
create your suroundings. (Which I believe it does anyway).
So with out further adieu, Louise Hay’s Prosperity Affirmation:

In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole, and complete.
I am one with the Power that created me. I am totally open and receptive to the
abundant flow of prosperity that the Universe offers. All my needs and
desires are met before I ask. I am Divinely guided and protected, and I make choices that are beneficial for me. I rejoice in others’ successes, knowing there is
plenty for us all. I am constantly increasing my conscious awareness of abundance,
and this reflects in a constantly increasing income. My good comes from everywhere and everyone. All is well in my world.

The illustration in this newsletter was inspired by one of my friends
Yamilet on her honeymoon today in Capri, Italy and the islands of
Greece. It is also inspired by my friend Stephanie, to the future, to
remember that there is that dream in all of us, to appreciate what we
have, to be grateful for it and also to KNOW that you are worth
whatever your dreams desire. To be UNAPOLOGETIC about what you want and
desire, and to believe – or KEEP believing that ANYTHING is possible.
Hope that inspires you!
xoxo Emily

P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter in the top right hand corner of this website!
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Ciao Belles!
March 2, 2012
Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss is one of the world’s best-known writers and illustrators of children’s books who writes to children “clearly and honestly as equals”.  He stepped away from a successful and lucrative career in writing to challenge perceptions and write books that would go on to inspired children and adults for generations.

He inspires all of us to take changes, write from the heart, teach our internal wisdom and think of all “The Places You’ll Go!“ (read on to revisit the historical and influential aforementioned poem that inspired us all to do great things, and continue on the path of uncertainty, to be reminded that we all will go far.)

Here is a blurb from the man himself in an article from the Los Angeles Times, on November 27th, 1960.

“BY DR. SEUSS

Some 23 years ago I made a move that most of my writer friends acclaimed as the height of stupidity.

I walked out on a fairly successful career as a writer who wrote for great, big grown-up adults and began to write for the Kiddie-Kar and Bubble-Gum set.

This, in the 30s in the writing profession, was not a sign of going forward. This was a step down. At that time, the attitude of most of this country’s top writers was: writing for children is literary slumming….”

“And, to a certain degree, these authors were right. In those days, an appalling percentage of books for children were concocted out of inept, condescending, nature-faking treacle. They insulted the intelligence not only of the child, but also of the people who write them…”

“In these days of tension and confusion, writers are beginning to realize that books for children have a greater potential for good or evil, than any other form of literature on earth.”

And now a little reminder from
Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (1990)
Congratulations!
Today is your day!
You’re off to great places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.’
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets.
Look them over with care.
About some you’ll say
“I don’t wish to go there.”
With your head full of brains,
And your shoes full of feet,
You’re too smart to go down a not-so-good-street.
And you may not find any you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there, in the wide open air.
Out there things happen, and frequently do,
To people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry, don’t stew.
Just go right along, you’ll start happening too!
Oh the places you’ll go!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers,
Who soar at high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t,
Because sometimes you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
But, sadly it’s true
That bang-ups and hang-ups
Can happen to you.
You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race
Down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
And grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
Headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place… for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come,
Or a plane to go or the mail to come
Or the rain to go or the phone to ring,
Or the snow to snow, or waiting around for a Yes or No
Or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite
Or waiting around for Friday night
Or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake, or a pot to boil,
or a Better Break or a string of pearls,
Or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or
Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
On and on you will hike, And I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up of course, as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
And remember that Life’s a great balancing act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
Will you succeed?
Yes you will indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
Kid you’ll move mountains
So… Be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea,
You’re off to great places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So… Get on your way.

Hope that inspires you to keep on your way, and to keep marching towards where the bright boom bands play.

xox

Emily

December 14, 2011
The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor

Last week I had the tremendous, glamorous, every-girls-dream experience of coming nose to nose with some of Ms. Taylor’s most exquisite gems of all time.  With three generations of women who grew up on her style, my Grandmother, my Mother and myself set out to be in awe of her most lust-worthy collection.  The gems were breathtaking and so is her legacy.

“This is one of the greatest collections in the world. Its the auction of Elizabeth Taylor…the most legendary and romantic jewels.”

“There is romance behind each piece because it was given to her by Richard Burton, Mike Todd. There was so much pleasure in the way she received the jewels and so much emotion in each and every piece.”

“Jewelry was a way of life for her. Richard Burton would go to the store with her and spend the entire afternoon a Bulgari in Rome when they were filming Cleopatra…. Richard Burton used to wait to see the emotion in her eyes because then he would know if she really liked the jewelry.”

“Elizabeth Taylor was a global Icon… She’s unforgettable because its a big life for a star.  She just was, In Burton’s words, just breathtakingly beautiful. She’s famous for being herself, larger than life. More beautiful than anyone, more scandals, more fun, … more guts, more, more, more, more. More is more, she said. She’s right.”

All quotes from “The Making of An Auction” Behind the scenes at Christie’s New York.

Some Quotes from the Iconic Ms. Taylor

“I’m ruled by my Passions.” – On life.

“I will not be silenced, I will not give up and I will not be ignored!” – On her AIDS foundation.

“I hope with all my heart that in some way I have made a difference in the lives of people with AIDS, I want that to be my legacy.” On her life’s work

The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS foundation has raised millions for the cause and the Auction at Christie’s will bring that number even higher with over $150 million dollars of acquisitions.

The guts, passion, and many love affairs (with men and diamonds) that Elizabeth has lived in her 79 years of age will transcend generations for the tests of time.

Hope that Inspires you!
Emily

Copyright Emily Brickel Edelson 2018. All Rights Reserved