The Right Direction

AvoGreen Smoothie

2011-11-05T20:06:00.002-04:00

1 Avocado
1 cuke
1 pealed lime
1 handful spinach
1 cup raw almond milk
10 fresh mint leaves
1-2 Tbsp coconut oil (raw organic extra virgin/cold pressed)

put it all in the blender until smooth
can add more almond milk if it's too thick
can also add agave, stevia, or 1-2 dates if you like it sweet

CAC Fall Fashion Show

2011-06-20T23:17:00.002-04:00

The 2011 29th Annual CAC Fall Fashion Show ball has started rolling!!!! I will be spending almost every spare minute working on the fashion show "stuff", so my posting here will be sporadic at best.
If I come across a raw recipe that is out of this world delicious, I will try to post it.
Hope everyone has a GREAT SUMMER!!
xoxo
t

Cantelope-Ginger-Coconut Smoothie

2011-06-15T20:33:00.003-04:00

This was one of the most delicious smoothie concoctions that I've come up with!!

1/4 cantaloupe (seeded with rind off)
1/2 - 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 tsp coconut oil
3 pinches shredded dried coconut
1 handful of kale
3-5 ice cubes

** all ingredients organic and raw**

Put cantaloupe and kale in high speed blender and mix until liquid.
Peal the skin from the ginger and grate, add to blender.
Add coconut oil and dried coconut to the blender.
Blend for about 20-30 seconds
Add ice cubes and blend until ice is crushed.
Pour into a glass and enjoy.

pic of the apple-nut cookies

2011-05-31T22:57:00.002-04:00

They look more appealing in person. The lighting in our kitchen is a little lack luster to say the least. We actually bought a new light yesterday to replace this dim track lighting we have going on!!

Apple-Nut Cookies/Bars

2011-05-31T22:24:00.003-04:00

Well these started out as what I thought would be "granola bars" but ended up being more like cookies. Either way, they are delicious and nutritious!!

5-6 organic apple ( I used a mix of granny smith & gala)
1 cup raw organic walnuts
1/2 cup raw organic pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup raw organic almonds
1 cup organic raisins (or dried fruit of choice)
1/2 agave nectar (or raw honey)
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt

Core & grate the apples (around 3 cups)
Coarsely chop the nuts (you can use 2 cups of walnuts if you do not have pepitas & almonds, or any other combo of raw nuts)
Put all ingredients into a large glass bowl and mix well.
Form bars or cookies with your hands and squeeze excess liquid into separate glass bowl.
Dehydrate @ 105 F for 16-20 hrs.

Will keep for up to 2 weeks in refrigerator (if you don't eat them all on the first day!!)

** Save the squeezed cinnamon apple juice! I drank half of mine and saved the rest to dip my cookies in**

This recipe can be modified to include any of your favorite nuts & fruits. Very simple & delicious!
I brought a handful of these to work with me today and everybody loved them!

Strawberry Almond Milk

2011-05-05T22:06:00.004-04:00

I was just sitting here on the couch reading a book when "strawberry milk" flashed on my brain. I have not drank "real" milk since I did the "30 days in the cave" challenge a few months ago. I have been making nut milk, usually almond, for the last few weeks. Making a large batch about once a week and using it as i need/want it. Luckily for me and my strawberry milk craving there was some in the fridge tonight.

I took 6 fresh organic strawberries, which were already cleaned. I tossed them in the food processor and turned them to mush. Then I scraped the sides with a rubber spatula. Next I added about 1 1/2 cups of almond milk and blended until the milk turned pink and all chunks were gone. Poured it into a tall glass and drank it down.

Very Yummy!!!

*** I also made a green smoothie for dinner, details to come when I have a little more time...It definitely was not as bad as I thought it would be.***

Raw Chocolate Pudding

2011-04-28T21:08:00.003-04:00

I have fallen a little behind with the posting of my raw food adventures, but with good reason, my very best friend has been visiting from KY and you better believe that he had some strange looks to give when he saw what I was eating. I quote him saying "I remember a day when you would not eat anything and now look at ya." He was a pretty good sport and tried most of what I made. He still favors fast food and Mt Dew to my raw food creations.

Last night I made delicious raw chocolate pudding. Here's what I did;

Raw Chocolate Pudding

3 ripe organic avocados
1/3 cup raw cacao powder
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
1/2 tsp raw organic apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup water
1/2 cup raw agave nectar
1/4 raw organic almond butter
pinch of Himalayan sea salt

Peel and slice avocados and blend in food processor until smooth. Add all other ingredients and blend until creamy pudding consistency. Scrape sides of food processor and blend again.

One of the greatest things that I have discovered about raw food recipes is that you can alter them and they still taste great! I found a very simple recipe and added vanilla and almond butter to make it my own. Now I am in LOVE with this pudding recipe.

After eating dinner tonight I served this pudding with a few fresh organic raspberries on top! BIG HIT!!

DINNER

2011-04-20T22:12:00.001-04:00

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

2011-04-20T21:47:00.004-04:00

I had a chance to stop into Access to Organics today and pick up a few items; raw organic shredded coconut, raw organic brazil nuts, raw organic macadamia nuts, organic green beans, and organic baby portabella mushrooms. They had a great price on baby portabella mushrooms, $7 per lb (publix's price equals out to be $16 per lb). If you live local I suggest you check them out (www.accesstoorganics.com)

Stuffed Raw Baby Portabella Mushrooms

1.) 16-20 baby portabella mushrooms
2.) 3-4 Tbsp cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

FILLING
1.) 1/2 cup raw organic pistachios (soaked for 4 hrs or longer)
2.) 1/2 cup raw organic brazil nuts (soaked for 4 hrs or longer)
3.) 1/2 cup organic fresh basil (chopped)
4.) 2 cloves organic fresh garlic (chopped)
5.) 1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt

TOPPING
sun dried tomatoes

Clean and de-stem mushrooms.
Put in a glass bowl & toss with 3-4 Tbsp olive oil, set aside
In a food processor mix all filling ingredients except the nuts. Blend into a dark green paste.
Rinse and drain the soaked nuts, then add to the filling mixture in the food processor.
Blend until desired texture (kind of creamy)
Spoon filling into mushroom caps and top with a sun dried tomato.

*** I had bought 16 mushrooms today and had some filling left over***

Pics Of the Raw Lasagna

2011-04-19T23:10:00.002-04:00

My 1st Attempt at RAW LASAGNA

2011-04-19T22:24:00.005-04:00

I have been craving more raw lasagna every since I ate the one Lydia made. It was so so good!! Today I decided to "Just Do It". At first I was a little intimidated by all the steps; making the cheese, making the sauce, and then prepping the lasagna. It proved to be easier than I thought and I was able to whip it together in less than an hour.

First I made the "Macadamia-Spinach Ricotta"

1.) 1 cup raw macadamia nuts
2.) 1/4 & 1/8 cup of water
3.) 1/8 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
4.) 1 clove fresh garlic (chopped)
5.) 1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt
6.) juice from half a lemon
7.) 1 cup of fresh chopped spinach

Blend all ingredient except spinach in food processor until smooth and creamy. Empty into a bowl and add the chopped spinach. Stir spinach thoroughly into mixture. Set aside.

Sun-Dried-Tomato Marinara

1.) 2 Roma tomatoes
2.) 2 Tbsp cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
3.)1/2 Tbsp agave nectar
4.) 3 fresh basil leaves (chopped)
5.) 1 clove fresh garlic (chopped)
6.)1/2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
7.) 1/4 tsp Himalayan Sea Salt
8.) 4-5 sun dried tomatoes

put all ingredients into food processor and blend into marinara sauce consistency, then set aside

Raw Lasagna

1.) 2 small-medium sized zucchini
2.) 1-2 Roma tomatoes sliced thin
3.) Macadamia-Spinach Ricotta
4.) Sun-Dried-Tomato Marinara

Slice the zucchini into long thin slices ( I used a vegetable peeler). In a glass dish layer zucchini slices about 3 slices thick. Then add layer of thin sliced Roma tomatoes. Spread a layer of the ricotta, followed by a layer of marinara. Then repeat the layers.
Dehydrate for 1 hour in an oven set on the lowest possible setting and keep the door open so temp does not get above 112 degrees.

When Lydia made this she added a layer of thin sliced mushrooms and some very finely chopped onion. My raw lasagna was delicious and it definitely curved my craving, but the next time I make it I will be adding the mushrooms and onion and maybe a little cracked pepper.

I have come to realize that raw food recipes can be altered and changed any way you want and they still taste great. Think of any recipe that you try as a baseline and personalize it my make it your own. When shopping for my ingredients this evening I checked Publix and 2 health food stores for raw macadamia nuts, nobody had them. I was dead set on having this for dinner so I came home and used a combo of the raw nuts that I had in the kitchen. My 1 cup of macadamia nuts actually ended up being a 1 cup mixture of raw cashews, raw sunflower seeds, raw almonds, and raw pecans!!!!

** Agave nectar a natural sweetener used in many raw recipes. It comes from the same cactus as tequila. It is readily available at any whole food/healthfood store, but for my friends and family in NNY it may be a little harder to find. It can be ordered online by googling "raw organic agave nectar". For the sake of this recipe you could probably substitute the agave nectar with raw honey. I hope some of you try this recipe and let me know how it turns out.

For Jill * Delicious KALE CHIPS*

2011-04-19T21:56:00.003-04:00

Reference any raw food book and you will see that kale and sprouts are repeated noted as having a high amount of protein. Kale has 48% and since the kale chips are raw all that protein is easily utilized by the body. When eating a cooked protein source such as chicken or steak, the natural enzymes are destroyed by the heat used for cooking. By the time our bodies are done digesting these cooked food we only get about 1% of the protein. This puts our bodies through a whole lot of work with out much reward and actually slows down metabolism.

Kale chips have become a delicious raw snack. Even my carnivorous husband is loving them! They are super easy to make, the steps are as follows;

1.) Thoroughly wash the fresh kale

2.)Strip the kale greens from the thick center stalk & rip into chip sized pieces

3.) Marinade the kale greens in a Ziploc bag with a little olive oil & seasoning (i have been using Mrs Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning & ground cayenne red pepper)

4.) Massage each leaf to tenderize it, then let the leaves set in the bag for about 20 minutes

5.)The kale greens will need to be dehydrated in order to turn crispy. You can use a food dehydrator or your oven set on 170 degrees (or the lowest setting available). Leave the oven door open. Heating over 112 degrees will start to break down the natural enzymes and defeat the purpose of eating raw. Our food dehydrator is on order, but has not arrived yet. I have been using the oven. With the door left open I can reach in and touch the pan without being burnt, so I would say the temp is below 100 degrees. It takes about an hour to dehydrate the kale into kale chips this way.

Sprouts are ready to eat!!!

2011-04-10T21:52:00.003-04:00

Sprouting success!!!

After taking my sprouts out of the sprouting jar and putting them in a large glass pan in the sun for a few hours their leaves turned green and they were ready to eat. For lunch I made lettuce wraps with the fresh organic romaine that I bought from Access to Organics. I filled them with shreds of cuke, shreds of carrot, diced tomato, avocado, sunflower seed, pecans, fresh dill, green olives, and my delicious home grown sprouts!

I would say I have enough sprouts to last about 3 days, which works out great because 3 days is about how long it takes to sprout more. I have already started my 2nd batch, this time I'm trying red clover.

Also today I made Raw Chocolate and it is so yummy! Here's the recipe (everything being raw & organic) ;

1/2 cup cacao powder

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup almonds

3 tbsp sunflower seeds

mix coconut oil, cacao powder, and agave nectar in a glass bowl.

Add almond butter and mix well.

Chop almonds & sunflower seeds in food processor until desired size, then add to "chocolate" mixture.

Lightly grease a glass pan with a little coconut oil. Spread chocolate mixture into pan and put in the fridge until semi-firm. Remove from fridge and cut into bite sized pieces.

Keep chocolate refrigerated until ready to eat.

**Coconut oil becomes a liquid in the Florida heat and will make a runny mess if left out on the counter.

Today's Adventure

2011-04-06T14:45:00.005-04:00

ughhh.....I was so excited this morning to meet up with the local organic farmer that I met last Saturday. After dropping the kiddies off at school I headed straight to Deland. The place was a MAD HOUSE!!! I was not able to find my farmer. There were several produce tables set up with very reasonable prices on their goods, but after walking around and observing for about 45 minutes I decided to leave empty handed. I wouldn't call the morning a complete loss, I had a nice walk and got my daily does of vitamin D from the Florida sunshine.

After leaving the farmer's market I headed to a newly opened organic store in Daytona, called Access to Organics (http://www.accesstoorganics.com/). I heard about this little place at the raw food class last week. I must say I'm kinda lovin the place!! The owner, Richard Buffington, was super nice. He spent a good hour talking to me about everything from sprouting, to juicing, to recipes, etc... I left feeling much more knowledgeable and with some great items in my hand.

For years I have wanted to grow my own sprouts. At the raw food class last week they told us how easy of a process it is, they even sent each of us home with a container of almost ready sprouts. All we had to do was take them home, rinse them, drain them, then do the same the following morning and they would be ready to eat. I ended up throwing mine away a few days later because they looked different than the typical alfalfa sprouts that I am used to, I wasn't quite sure how to eat them and they started smelling a little rancid. Richard was able to get me up with a glass sprouting jar that had a mesh lid for drainage, organic sprouting seeds, and fool proof directions on how to sprout. If all works out as planned I should be enjoying my sprouts in a few days.

Access to Organics is a must see for anyone local who is interested in eating more healthy. They sell a nice selection of organic veggies, organic raw seasoning, seeds, books, and even gardening supplies. The owner is very sweet and you can see his kindness gleaming in his eyes. They even offer the occasional educational class for people who are just getting started and looking for guidance.

This one passed the taste test!!

2011-04-05T21:20:00.006-04:00

Cucumber Boats 2-3 large organic cucumbers 1 avocado (cut into small cubes) 4-5 campari tomatoes or any type organic tomato (cut into small cubes) 1/4 cup raw organic sunflower seeds squeezed juice of a lime Himalayan sea salt & organic cayenne pepper to taste wash & peel the cukes, cut lengthwise, then spoon out the soft center & seeds, set aside. In a glass mixing bowl add avocado, tomatoes, & sunflower seeds. Squeeze the juice from the lime and gently toss. Add generous amounts of cayenne pepper and Himalayan sea salt to taste. Mix gently, then spoon into the cucumber boats. Cut filled cucumber boats into 1-2 inch pieces and enjoy! ******************************************* I found a version of this recipe online and modified it a little by adding the sunflower seeds. It truly is delicious and surprisingly filling. This was my very first experience preparing anything with avocado and/or cayenne pepper. I was honestly a little nervous. Avocados are on every "must have" raw food veggie list that I have came across. They are very nutritious and full of healthy fats to keep the brain sharp. Cayenne pepper is on every raw food "must have" seasoning list. A few months ago I would have turned my nose up at this recipe, but change is good and so is this recipe. Tomorrow afternoon I'm heading to the fresh farmers market in Deland to pick up some fresh organic veggies!!! I am excited!! I met a local organic farmer last Saturday morning, he's the vendor that I'm seeking out tomorrow. If I have time I may start shopping for my food dehydrator also, so I can make those yummy kale chips and raw crackers.

Quite possibly the GROSSES substance on Earth

2011-04-04T21:09:00.006-04:00

Bee pollen granules are said to be so nutritious that human life can be sustained on a diet of them and water alone. Bee pollen is a superfood full of essential vitamins, minerals, protein, & anti-oxidants. After doing many hours of research I decided that I needed some.

Last Thursday & Friday I chatted with the owner/head bee keeper, Tim Durham, at Durham's bee farm inc both via email and via phone. I also asked the lady at the local health food store a million and a half questions, until she finally pawned me off to someone else. I did plenty of research online. I found out that some of the larger bee pollen/honey companies had been found to add soy to their bee pollen to cut production costs, $50 worth of soy is equal to about $3000 worth of bee pollen by weight.

My body does not react well to soy, so I decided to find a local bee farm to buy my bee pollen from. In our phone conversation Mr Durham had told me that I would know if the pollen granules were fresh by the smell. He said they would smell like fresh country air. After much research and indecision I found Tropical Blossom Honey Co in Edgewater FL, which is a short driving distance from home. They have fresh raw honey products and fresh bee pollen granules. I chatted with the lady for a while and asked her many of the same questions that I had already asked Mr Durham and the lady at the health food store. She confirmed all that I had been told and promised there was no soy added to the granules. I was sold! I felt like I hit the jackpot, finding a small local bee farm to buy from.

Mr Durham had recommended that I start out with a very small amount instead of the recommended teaspoon full in the morning due to my history of environmental allergies, so the first few mornings I took just a few granules and chomped them up. The taste was a little "yuck" to say the least, but I could smell the fresh country air when I sniffed so I figured it was worth it. Yesterday morning I was ready to step it up a notch and went for a half teaspoon full. I thought I was going to choke!! It was so GROSS! All I can say is that in large quantities it tastes like it came straight from the bee's a$$!!

The nutritional value is definitely what I'm looking for. I'm just going to have to take it slow, very slow, one granule at a time. My friend, Jami, says it's an acquired taste and he actually likes/loves it. I watched him eat a teaspoon full right in front of me and he said it was good!! I hope that I can one day soon do the same, but for now I will be choking them down one granule at a time.
I may try blending it up into a smoothie to mask the raunchy flavor. The funniest thing was watching my husband take an entire teaspoon full. He didn't see me gagging on my spoonful. He said it tasted like he was sprayed by a skunk, which is a complete exaggeration. It was hilarious!

I'm in the mood to write

2011-04-03T18:48:00.007-04:00

It's been such a long time since I've even signed into my blog. So much going on that I just haven't had the time...but today I'm in the mood to write. I feel like I have something exciting to share!

Just over a month ago I decided to try the "30 days in the cave" paleo/primal diet. I basically cut out dairy and processed foods (anything from a box)and started using coconut oil to cook with.

At first I thought I would "die" without cheese!!! Anybody who knows me knows that I routinely eat cheese with EVERY MEAL!!! But it proved to be a fairly simple adaption. Then I thought I would "die" without my cereal or oatmeal & orange juice in the morning, but again I was able to adapt.

Last Tuesday myself and a friend attended a Raw Food class. I was told that we would be served a sampling of many different raw dishes. I was prepared to be grossed out and was honestly mildly nervous when I saw the plates sitting at the front of the room. About 30 minutes into the class they began to pass out a few samplings. I believe Chia pudding was the first item up for sampling followed by a cantaloupe/ginger/coconut milk smoothie. Both items proved to be DELICIOUS!! We then tried raw cacao chocolate, raw zucchini hummus, raw spring rolls, raw granola bars, raw crackers, and raw lasagna (not what it sounds like). Everything tasting better than the previous.

At the end of the meeting the instructor challenged us to try to go raw (at least 50%) for the next 7 days. She had prepared extra servings of all the foods she had sampled to us and offered them to us for a nominal fee. My friend and myself both decided to go for it. The foods we bought were enough to tie us over until we could figure out what we were going to make ourselves.

It's not uncommon to find fridge stocked full of raw vegetables for snacking. Growing up in the sticks of Northern NY we always had a large garden and lots of fresh raw veggies to eat. So naturally one of the first things I made was a dip for my veggies. Technically it's called "cashew cheese" but it reminds me of a hummus type dip. Here's how I made it;

1 cup raw organic cashews
1 clove of fresh organic garlic chopped
1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
1/2 tsp chipotle seasoning (i used Mrs Dash bc we had it in the cupboard)
1/8 cup organic lemon juice
1/8 cup filtered water

Put the cashews into the food processor and chop fine.
Add garlic, sea salt, & chipotle seasoning and mix.
Add lemon juice & water and process into a thick creamy consistency.

This was so delicious!! I took it to work and ate it on my carrots & mini sweet peppers. My co-workers that tried it also loved it. I believe this will be what I bring to my next pot luck party.

As I "invent" more scruptious recipes I will be posting them to share with you all. If I come across something thats is not so good I will most likely rant about it as well. I hope some of you will chose to join me on this new journey of experimentation and share some of your own recipes along the way.

2010-10-26T23:57:00.000-04:00

Fun & Fashion Night @ Fountain Square

2010-09-06T22:11:00.003-04:00

Come Support The Children's Advocacy Center at our pre-Fashion Show Event.

Thurs Sept 9th from 5pm-7pm

Fountain Square Shopping Village

142 E. Granada Blvd

Ormond Beach

Please bring a silent auction item or a $10 cash donation

www.childrensadvocacy.org

386-238-3830

Children's Home Society

2010-09-05T19:47:00.003-04:00

Hi Everybody!

I received a nice "thank you" letter from the Children's Home Society. This is the "orphanage" that my husband had asked me to help out. I could not have done it with out your help, so everyone who lent a helping hand should consider this letter theirs.

Thanks again for ALL your help!!

Good News

2010-08-20T00:34:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to post an update on my Gram's progress at the nursing home. I talked to Aunt Marlene today and she said they put Gram on a treadmill yesterday. They had to use a harness to keep her steady while on the treadmill, but she was able to do a total of 11 minutes yesterday (4 minutes, then a break...3 minutes, then a break...then 4 more minutes). I think that's pretty impressive. The family also had a meeting with the nursing home staff to get a review of her progress since she got there. They said she improves a little everyday and there's still a possibility that she may eventually come home. They said the first 90 days are the most important.
It is hard being so far away from her and the rest of the family. Sometimes I wish I could just move back up to NY to be with them.
Thank you for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers.

L&L

2010-08-16T23:49:00.002-04:00

I had to pull out the Love & Logic on Xavier tonight.....
It was 20 minutes before bedtime and he was asking to watch a LeapFrog video ("right now!"). I told him that I would let him watch the video if there was time left after he brushed his teeth and got his jammies on. This compromise was not satisfactory for him and he demanded to watch it "right now". He was actually having a meltdown over it!

I stayed calm and he walked with me to the bathroom. I brushed his teeth with out saying a word. The funny thing was that although he was screaming "I wanna watch it right now!" and having a meltdown he was still 100% cooperative when it came to getting ready for bed.

When he was finished getting ready he was still begging to watch the movie. I told him in a calm voice "I am sorry but I offered you a compromise and you did not except. There will be no video tonight, but you can try again tomorrow." This sent him for a tailspin! We walked into his bedroom, he still wasn't fighting me, just crying . He climbed into his bed. I covered him up. He was still crying and saying he wanted to watch the video and "Please give me one more chance". I told him I was sorry about his choice. I gave him a hug and a kiss and walked out of his room.

He proceeded to cry and scream for 10-15 minutes. Then he yelled for me to come into his room so he could tell me something. I walked in and he says "Mommy, I love you". I said "I love you too buddy, but you have to learn that when Mommy and Daddy offer you a compromise you can choose to take it or leave it, but if you choose to "leave it" then the deal is done and no amount of crying is going to get you what you want." He said "OK Mommy". I hugged him again, walked out and he went to sleep.

Rod and I both felt terrible the entire time he was screaming. It definitely would have been easier on us to give in and let him watch the video, but I am glad I/we stuck to our guns. Hopefully he learns a lesson from the night. Better to learn now at the age of 3 than to wait until he's in the real world at 23 or 33. Poor little guy. He probably wishes I never took those parenting classes (lol).

The Children's Advocacy Center's Annual Fall Fashion Show

2010-08-15T17:40:00.001-04:00

This year Michelle and I are co-chairing the silent auction for the CAC Fall Fashion show. We are working on getting some awesome donations to bid on. If you are interested in attending and supporting a great cause call the Children's Advocacy Center @ 386-238-3830 and reserve your seat. Tickets are $45 per person. We are all working extra hard to make this a Fashion Show to remember. And remember we are always looking for more volunteers and donations, so if you are interested in helping out or if you have something you would like to donate to the silent auction, let me know.

Food for Thought

2010-08-11T01:47:00.002-04:00

...."the only meaning anything has in your life is the meaning you give it through your own judgement"
~James A. Ray from "Stop the World"

Something Bold

2010-08-09T22:41:00.002-04:00

Well "they" say fate favors the bold. And when you get an inspired thought or idea that is a little out of character it is God, Spirit, The Higher Power, Subconscious, The Universe (which ever you prefer) nudging you in the right direction to get the results you are looking for.

Last night I got an inspired thought and I decided to go for it. It was a little out of the ordinary to say the least.

As all of the readers who know me personally know, my gram had a stroke a few weeks ago. It was very serious and they didn't think she was going to survive more than 24-48 hrs. She proved the doctors wrong and last week she was put into a nursing home. The nursing home is costing my grandparents $7,000/month out of pocket. Medicare will not pay for any of it until they have only $13,000 left to their names. Other than the stroke, both of my grandparents are in good health and will hopefully live at least 10 more years. We all know $13,000 is not enough to live 6 months on in this day and age. My grandparents don't get much social security because they retired at 40. They made some wise investments and have lived very frugally. I think they are still wearing the clothes they had when my dad was a kid. And they grow most of their own food in their garden.

Anyways, my grandparents both mean the world to me. They have always been there for me and I feel like it is my duty to help them pay for the nursing home. It is the least I can do.

My inspired thought has to do with helping them. I am trusting in God to help me here because this is almost like a shot in the dark. Everybody cross your fingers for me and say a little prayer. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet, but I will keep you posted and let you know if it all pans out.

With Blessing, Guidance, and Love from God....

the orphanage

2010-07-23T23:59:00.002-04:00

Hi Friends
Most of you know that my hubby had asked my to help him gather some donations for an orphanage over in the Sanford area. Everybody has been so great and generous with their donations. Thank you so much!! Our entire foyer is over flowing, things are piled in the garage, and the trunk of my car is full. I think I will have to make a few trips or maybe we will need to take 2 cars (or maybe Darlene's minivan). Either way, it's a lot of stuff and we greatly appreciate it!!
It only takes a little bit of effort from a group of caring people to pull off an amazing feat!

ps. The 2 things they asked for the most were books and playdoh and we have lots of both!!

Discovering "LOVE & LOGIC"

2010-05-13T22:40:00.003-04:00

I have been working on lots of interesting ideas, I've become acquainted with some "new" authors (meaning ones I had not read in the past), and I stumbled across something called "Parenting with Love & Logic".

Just over 2 months ago a friend of mine sent me a text message saying "Do you want to take a parenting class with me? It's called Love & Logic, they have a website, check it out". So I did and we decided to sign up.

The principles taught in our 8 week class are so simple yet powerful! It's all about setting limits by giving our children choices. For example; At our house bedtime has always been the time of negotiation & pleading for "10 more minutes". We"fought" to get jammies on, brush teeth, picking out a story, and actually getting into the bed. Now our evening goes like this; about 40 minutes before bedtime Rod or I will say "who wants Daddy/Mommy to help them get ready for bed?" That's choice #1 and it's nothing but choices until we walk out of their bedroom saying "goodnight".

Choice #2: "Which toothbrush would you like to use?" (each of them has always had 2 toothbrushes to pick from)

Choice #3: "Which toothpaste do you want to use?" (Xavier has Buzz Light Year & Madison has Princess, but they can both choose from either)

Choice #4: "Do you want your face washed before night night?" (they both always say "yes" and it has always been part of the routine, but now they feel like it's their idea)

Choice #5: "Do you want chapstick on before night night?" (since I always put chapstick on after brushing my teeth & washing my face, they are just in the habit of doing so...monkey see, monkey do....and again, now they think it's their idea)

Choice #6 "Do you want a story before night night?" (of course the answer is "yes")

Choice #7 "Who wants to pick out the book?" (usually they both do, if so we let them each pick out 1 book)

Then we set the kitchen timer for 10 minutes. We read as much as we can until the buzzer goes off. When the buzzer goes off we yell "YAY! It's time for night night". And both kids jump off the couch excited to go to bed.

Choice #8 "Do you want to walk or be carried to bed" (they both usually pick "walk")

Choice #9 if they pick "walk" to bed then we ask "Does anybody want to hold my hand and skip?" (they both usually say "yes")

Choice #10 "Do you want your night light on or off?" (they always choose "on")

Choice #11 "Do you want your fan on or off?" (again, they always choose "on")

Then we say our "goodnights" & our "I love you's" and walk out of the bedroom without another peep til morning! It is amazing! Some people may think that giving all these choices is just plain non-sense, but in actuality every single one of these choices are things we were already doing every night. The only difference was we were fighting to get them done. I guess because the kids felt like we were "making" them do it and they knew it was leading to bedtime. But now we get it all done much faster and everybody is happy when they hop into bed. And best of all Rod & I still have our sanity!

On our last day of class I told our instructor that just learning this little trick to get our kids in bed in a timely fashion is worth a million dollars (or more). The kids go to bed happy and we are happy too.

The important thing to remember when giving these choices is to make sure you are ok with both options. Children are smart and they will be able to know if one choice is more desirable to you than another. Sometimes when I give Xavier choices he will ask; "Well which one do you want me to pick" and I always say "It's up to you, I'm fine with either choice." At first this would annoy him. He would keep asking me which I thought he should pick and if I would make a suggestion he would always go the opposite way. I think he was expecting me to get upset or was looking to get a rise out of me. When he chose the opposite of my suggestion I would say "Ok, whatever you want to choose." And then he would switch his choice to the other. It was as if he was trying to feel out the choices to see if one was "better" (less desirable to mom). Finally when he realised I really did not care too much how he picked he started picking the choice that he actually wanted.

With Xavier being 3 1/2 and Madison just turning 2, I am so thankful to have been introduced to "LOVE & LOGIC" at such an early stage in their development. They say that learning to make responsible choices and suffering the consequences of bad choices it what develops good self esteem as they get older. If you get a chance check out the "LOVE & LOGIC" website or go to your local library. I was able to borrow the "Parenting with Love & Logic" book and an audio program from our local library. I also ordered a few things from Amazon.

hip2save

2010-01-25T20:55:00.002-05:00

I want to take a moment and share a fabulous blog with all my friends, family, and anonymous readers. My good friend Ashley turned me on to it a while ago, but I just recently became a loyal reader. The site is www.hip2save.com. The blog is constantly updated (several times every day). And the deals are unbelievable. For instance, two weeks ago I bought the jumbo roll of Scott paper towels and paid a little over $8 for the pack. On Sunday I was lead to a deal at CVS for the exact same pack for $4.99 and then followed a link to a $1 off coupon, so I was able to get them for $3.99.

The deals on this blog are really too many to mention (free Oreos, free tampons, free lotion, free shampoo, etc...). I highly recommend everybody checks it out and let me know what you think.

Happy Deal Finding!

The Four Agreements

2010-01-17T19:27:00.002-05:00

I recently started reading "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. The "four agreements" are kind of like rules to live by. They are so simple, yet I can see how structuring our lives around them could transform the quality of our daily lives. I am only on page 25 in the book, but felt so compelled to share them with you that I have put the book down to write this post.

THE FOUR AGREEMENTS:

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORDS:
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY:
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement you can completely transform your life.

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret.

These words were taken directly from the first page of the book "The Four Agreements". I am really excited about this book and can't wait to share with you what I learn.

The Margarita Ball

2009-11-23T22:32:00.005-05:00

This year I had the privilege of attending the Margarita Ball. It is a black tie charity event where the cost of attending is a generous toy donation. The directors of the Margarita Society take the donated toys and divide them between a few agencies, with my favorite agency; The Children's Advocacy Center, being one of the receivers. I took my friend, Trena, as my date because my husband had to stay home with our children. When we saw the gigantic pile of donated toys we were aw struck and covered in cold chills! It was amazing! Trena had her camera and took a few pictures, which I am going to post so everybody can see what an amazing event this was. The pictures are a little dim due to the low lighting, but you can get the idea. Proof once again that great things can happen when people work together.

Pictures of the GOODS!!

2009-10-15T20:55:00.005-04:00

The Goods!!

2009-10-15T20:42:00.003-04:00

I am so excited to post these pictures!

The tally shows we have rounded up:
13 packs of markers
10 boxes of crayons
10 packs of colored pencils5 packs of colored construction paper
3 packs of white drwing paper
8 pair scissors
4 large paint brushes
1 pack of 30 small paint brushes
6 bottles of glue
1 pack of glue sticks
3 (8) packs of glitter
3 (5) packs of glitter glue
1 pack of water colors
1 (10) pack of paint
10 large bottles of paint
2 packs of pipe cleaners
1 (5000) pack of beads
1 HUGE box of misc craft supplies
2 packs of foam picture frames
17 3-ring binders
8 boxes of "shared" bandaides (meaning my kids took a few from each box)
4 packs of stickers
**AND Robin brought me in a huge supply of scrapbooking stickers that I forgot at work today**

And I almost forgot to mention a check for $80 and a check for $50

The Children's Advocacy Center

2009-10-14T22:13:00.002-04:00

Anybody who knows me personally knows that I am a volunteer on the fundraising committee for the Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) of Volusia & Flagler Counties. The CAC helps & protects abused children in Volusia and Flagler counties.

Anybody interested in checking out the agency can follow this link http://www.childrensadvocacy.org/Welcome.html .

A few weeks ago the CAC let out a cry for help. They are $400,000 below budget and their counselors are in desperate need of art supplies for the art therapy program that they do with the children. I told Diane I would see what I could do to help round up some art supplies. I sent out a mass email asking everybody to pitch in and buy a few things. I figured if everybody could pitch in a little we would end up with a lot. I also asked my friends at work to pitch in. The response has been amazing! I have collected so much stuff, I can"t even believe it. Tuesday I asked one of my co-workers if she would take a lunch break with me this Friday to help me deliver all the stuff! I even recieved stuff from NY (thanks Peggy)!

Today Diane sent me an email with a "Christmas wish list" from FACTTS. When she sent the list I had to ask her who FACTTS was. Then she told me it is the "family and child trauma treatment services". In other words, the counselors that I have been gathering art supplies for. Anyways, the list included things like: picture frames, picture matting, art supplies, lockable journals, 1 inch 3 ring binders, scrapbook pages, stickers, postage stamps, and character bandaides. I told her I definitely had the art supplies covered and I would see what I could do about the rest of the stuff. You know how "they" say things happen for a reason, or "when you need something it will come to you"? Well, tonight instead of going to the gym, I met my husband at Walmart and decide to go check out their clearance isle. Wouldn't you know it, they had 1 inch 3 ring binders on clearance. They were regularly $3.50 on sale for $1.00!!! I filled the cart. I was so excited. I actually drew a crowd and a few ladies came over and said "Ooh, good idea, lets stock up". I just chuckled and told them they were not for me. The one lady said "Are they for your kid's school?" I said "No, they are only 3 and 1 yrs old. It will be a while before they need binders." Then I rounded up my husband and kids and we headed to the pharmacy to find bandaides. Xavier & Madison both love bandaides, especially the character bandaides. When we got to the isle Xavier saw me pick up a few boxes and he got excited. He wanted Diego and Spiderman and then Transformers. I had to stop him and explain to him that these bandaides were to share and he could help me pick them out, but we had to share them. It was so funny, as soon as we got home he wanted to "share" his bandaides. So I let him take a couple out of each box to keep and the rest he is sharing.

I am so excited to bring these donations into the agency. This just proves that we don't have to be millionaires to do great things. There is strength in numbers and when people band together there is no telling how far they can go. When I asked for help, I seriously thought that each of you would buy 1 item on the list and I would have a grocery bag full of stuff to donate. I seriously could fill the back of my SUV with all the stuff I have received. And that does not include the check donations I have received from a few of you.

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!! And I want you to know how much I appreciate all your help. I know it always seems like I am getting myself into "something" and asking for a donation, but it is for a great cause. These children are the future. They need to be looked after and properly cared for. Damaged children grow up to be damaged adults unless they are properly cared for and that is why abuse is such a vicious cycle. The CAC is such a great agency. I am so thankful that my friend Jill led to them. The CAC is so wonderful that they even work with a state program to protect the unborn babies with "high risk" mothers. They are amazing.

Once again, I want to tell all my friends {{{THANK YOU}}} for all your help!! I am going to try to take pictures tomorrow of all the stuff I have gathered so you can all see the end results of your efforts.

I Found My MAILBOX

2009-10-07T23:44:00.003-04:00

So, I finally made a decision on which box I wanted to use as my "Mailbox to GOD". The World Market had such a great selection that it was hard to decide. My finally decision was the wooden elephant box. I have always loved elephants. They live in a tight matriarchal society where all the females in the "family" work together to raise the young. I adore them for there strong sense of family loyalty. They live by my favorite African proverb "It takes a village to raise a child". And besides, they are so cute!

I used my mailbox today. I was feeling unusually stressed out and agitated. I just couldn't shake the feeling. So, I decided to write a letter to "God" asking for some direction. I started the letter with "Dear God, I need your help" and went on to "complain" about what was bothering me....which was actually the lack of knowing what was agitating me. By the end of the letter I had already received the answers I was looking for. It was uncanny and kind of amazing. Now I feel like writing a "THANK YOU" letter and sticking it in there.

I don't want anybody to get turned off by my use of the word "GOD". I choose to use this word because to me it signifies strength and omniscience, an all knowing power. You can substitute the words "Universe", "Higher Power", "All Knowing Self", "Infinite Intelligence", or any other word of your choice. It really does not matter, the important thing is that when you need help or guidance you just ask. The answers will come quickly.

Mailbox to GOD

2009-09-14T21:09:00.002-04:00

Most of you know that I attend a couple of teleseminar classes every month with 2 of my favorite mentors. One of last month's discussions led to the topic of having a "Mailbox to GOD". Since the teleseminar session ended I have been thinking that I want to write a post about it. Time slipped away from me and I never did sit down and take the time to write.

Then, 2 weeks ago our beloved Roxy passed. Roxy was our 5 1/2 yr old Rottweiler. I got her when she was only 10 weeks old and soon found out that she had a very serious heart condition, so serious that the Vet could not guarantee me that she would live 4 months. We were all very thankful that Roxy was able to be with us for as long as she was, but my heart literally felt like it was broken. It was a pain that I had never felt before in my 32 years of life. Every time I thought about her I would cry. This went on for 3 days straight. On the 3rd day I made the decision to pull myself together. I couldn't keep crying in front of my children. My 3yr old son would say "Mommy are you whining about Roxy again?". I took some time to figure out what would make me and my heart feel better. Then I remembered the post I was wanting to write about the "Mailbox to GOD". I figured the idea sounded great when it was presented to me, so I should put the theory to the test.

I sat down with a notebook and pen and wrote Roxy & God a letter that explained how much I loved her. I talked about how I picked her out of all the others. I had went to several breeders. I told her how I knew I was meant to be her "owner" because I would love her and give her a good life regardless of her heart condition. I told her how I loved the way she looked after all the kids in the neighborhood and how she was the perfect family dog. And how much Xavier & Madison loved and missed her. The letter ended up being 4 pages front and back. When I was done writing I pulled the pages out of my notebook and folded it envelope style. Then, I addressed it "To: Roxy/God" "Love: Mommy xoxo". I left it on the corner of the coffee table and walked away.

My husband asked if he could read it and I told him "yes and then make it disappear". After writing my letter I instantly felt better, I was smiling again. The next day I could talk about her with people at work and the neighbors without crying. I could actually feel happy when I talked about her and feel the gratitude that I knew I should feel for being able to have her for the 5 1/2 years of life she was given.

The simple act of writing that letter took me from being an emotional wreck back to the "cup is half full" perspective.

In our original discussion, we were told to use an actual box to put the letter in to signify the "mailbox". It could be a decorated shoe box or it could be an elaborate hand carved wooden box, or anything in between. I have found a few very nice wood carved boxes at World Market for less than $20. I have not made my final decision and made a purchase yet, but I am narrowing down my choices. I have had some other ideas; like labeling the outside of the letters as "private" or "public" to indicate if anybody else should read them or not. When we get our "mailbox" it will be my job to make the letters that Rod writes disappear and it will be his job to make the letters that I write disappear. These are just technicalities and really it's the actual act of writing that releases, almost instantly, the emotions that are causing the problems.

I hope that everybody that reads this can benefit from this simple technique. It really works and it works so fast, it is amazing.

2009-09-13T21:58:00.001-04:00

"Use the light that dwells within you to regain your natural clarity of sight."
~ Lao-Tzu~

Forgiveness

2009-08-12T17:14:00.002-04:00

"To err is human, to forgive is divine."
~Alexander Pope"

It is a proven fact that unresolved issues drain our energy. Holding a grudge will only hurt the person in possession of the grudge. It's like carrying a sack of potatoes over your shoulder. Chances are if your holding on to a grudge the only person who knows/cares about it is "you". Depending on how consuming it is you will think about it a few times per week or maybe even a few times per day. Either way, every time you think about it you are creating negative energy. This negative energy will attract more negative occurrences to you. Which will give you more negative things to think about, which cause you to create more negative energy. I think you can see where this is going. It is a vicious cycle of "like" attracts "like".

Anybody serious about achieving success and true happiness has to learn how to forgive. There is no way to be 100% happy with a program of negative emotion running in the background. It's like spyware on your computer, just running you down stealing your energy.

So what is the best way to harness forgiveness and make it work for you? First you have to figure out where your energy sucking grudge is hiding. It may be obvious, it may be not so obvious, you may have 1, or you may have a whole handful. It really doesn't matter. Just figure out what they are and write them down.

Once you have a list compiled, read it over and pick the one that "hurts" the most. This will be the one attracting the greatest amount of negative energy to you. If this person is passed or unreachable via phone or letter it is okay. You can still forgive somebody who is not present. Many psychologist believe that letter writing is a great form of therapy. The positive effects are achieved in the process of writing the letter and it does not matter if the letter is ever delivered. You can write a letter of forgiveness, put it in an envelope, and drop it in the nearest dumpster. The important part is that you will be free from that negative emotion associated with that issue now that it is resolved.

Visualization is also a powerful tool. You can visualize yourself delivering your letter of forgiveness and visualize the exact response that you want to achieve. This will not only expel your negative emotion, it will replace it with positive emotion and a feeling of settlement and peace. So now when you think of this person you will conjure up a positive response which will attract more positive energy to you. It's a win win situation.

It will take conscious effort, but in the future when ever you think of the person who was the topic of your forgiveness letter it will be beneficial to yourself to try to remember at least one positive thing about that person. You will have to intentionally direct our mind to focus on the positive for about 30 days, then it will become habit.

If you have a long list of forgiveness to dish out, it is okay to take your time. You may be able to take on 2 or 3 people at a time, but remember you have to be able to continually direct your thoughts about them in a positive way. It can become emotionally draining if your trying to forgive everybody all at once. Take your time and do it right.

Remember this; people do the best they can with the skills they have. Nobody intentionally becomes a bad parent, friend, or spouse. People don't fail in relationships on purpose or just for the fun of it. People fail in relationships because they lack the skills to succeed. They were never taught or never learned the proper way act, respond, love, grow, live, create, etc... By forgiving you will free up your own energy and heart to be happy and joyful. This will be a step in the right direction.

2009-08-03T18:51:00.001-04:00

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world"
~ Gandhi~

You Become What You Think About

2009-07-22T12:32:00.008-04:00

"All that we are is a product of what we have thought"
~Buddha~

This has got to be my all time favorite quote. I first heard it about it about 4 years ago when I first watch the movie THE SECRET. The words just sung through my mind like music and I began to ponder them. Since then I have read numerous books and listened to many audio programs that have reiterated the essence of that quote. It seems as though there has been a sort of global awareness sparked to the fact that our thoughts create our life.

It is believed that our current results are the product of our previous thoughts. The way to change our future results is to change our current thoughts. We become the essence of what we think about. Fill your mind with thoughts that make you happy and excited. Focus on the story of the life you want to live and watch your results change.

Do not spend another minute complaining about your current situation or worrying about your future. Just choose to be happy and focus on the story of the life you want. It may be hard at first to look past the current situation that you are living, especially if you are not exactly where you would like to be financially, relationally, or spiritually. But remember, dwelling on the negative will only create more of the negative.

The most effective way to redirect your mind is of course to write your vision statement. If you go to the archived posts from late 2008 you will find a handful of posts dedicated to vision statements. It is possible to redirect your thoughts with out writing a vision statement, but it is more effective if you just take the time to write down a little story explaining in details the life you want to live.

It is also effective to create a mental snapshot of something that makes you fell happy and lite hearted. Use this image whenever worry or fear enters your mind. When you catch yourself dwelling on something you don't want just pull up a visual of this mental snapshot and focus on it. It could be you and your spouse on a cruise ship, you could be washing your dream car, or you could be tending to your garden. It does not matter what it is, as long as it makes you feel good.

Just remember, your thoughts create your life and we become what we think about.

The Power of Giving & Sharing

2009-05-11T22:44:00.003-04:00

About 3 years have passed since our friend, Ivy, decided she was done having children and no longer needed all her baby stuff. Since I myself was pregnant with our son, Ivy happily gave all her son's baby stuff to Rod and I. We were so grateful to receive such great gifts; clothes, blankets, toys, swing, exersaucer, basically everything we needed.

Right around the time our son turned 1yr old, we found out that baby #2 was on the way. This time it was a little girl. How exciting! Since our son was only a year old we still had almost all of the baby stuff that Ivy had given us. Once again we were so happy and thankful that we would be completely prepared for baby #2.

Our daughter just turned a year old on May 5th and my husband and I have both been anxious to get some of the "baby" stuff out of the living room, like the swing and the exersaucer. We contemplated what to do with it. Should we store it in the attic? Should we donate it to Goodwill? My brother and sister-in-law are having a baby in a few months, but they live 1,600 miles away. We both said "I wish we had someone to give it to."

Have you ever heard the phrase "ask and you shall receive"? Well, the next day at work I had to put a call into one of our co-managing retinal specialists, I was happy when my good friend Stacie answered the phone. I love her and she always makes me laugh. It had been a few months since the last time we spoke, so she had a lot of news to tell me. She told me that Ivy had had just had another little baby boy. I was excited to hear the news. I hadn't talked to Ivy in probably a year. Of course, I got Ivy's phone number from her. I called to congratulate her on the new little boy and to ask her if she would like her baby stuff back. She was so excited and thankful to hear from me. I told her to give me a few days to round up a bunch of stuff for her.

As soon as I got off the phone with her I called my husband and told him the exciting news, he was as excited as any man can be expected to be.

When I told my 2 1/2 yr old son that we were going to go through his and his sister's toys and give them to Ivy's new baby he wasn't very excited about it. Then I explained to him that Ivy was the one who had given him all his baby stuff. I explained how generous she was to let him have all of Austin's baby clothes and toys. I said "Now don't you want to be nice to her and share your stuff with her new baby?' and he said "Yeah, Mommy I wanna share."

We spent a whole afternoon going through every toy box and toy bin. We got all the "baby" toys together and washed them. We dug deep into the closet and found blankets and burp cloths and cute little stuffed animals. We gathered so much stuff that Xavier's bed was completely covered. Once we got everything cleaned and bagged, Xavier kept saying "I want to go share now Mommy, I want to go share." I had to explain to him that we had to wait for Daddy to get home and then we would load up his vehicle and he was going to meet Adam (Ivy's husband) to give him the stuff. Xavier was very persistent and kept saying he wanted to "go share right now". Eventually I got the subject changed with the help of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The enthusiasm and joy that Xavier got out of finding the "good" baby toys to share with Ivy's new baby was worth a million dollars. And it felt good for me too. It just proves that when you give to someone else you not only help them out, but you also get an extra boost of happiness out of it. Xavier ran around the house all day and night on "cloud nine" talking about all the stuff he was going to share with the new baby.

I encourage you to help yourself to a jolt of "feel good energy", find some stuff you haven't used in a while and give it to someone. The feeling is great!

Quote

2009-04-06T23:00:00.001-04:00

"Life has meaning only in a struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods...So let us celebrate the struggle!"
~Swahili Warrior Song~

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear"

2009-04-01T20:58:00.003-04:00

Have you ever heard the saying; "When the student is ready the teacher will appear"? Today was an example of how that saying rings true. Many of you know that on the first and second Wednesday of each month I attend a 60-70 minute live teleconference with one of my mentors. A few days before the teleconference a group of us receive an email asking if we have any particular questions that we would like answered. The mentor selects 4 or 5 of the questions that are relevant to the day's topic of discussion and tries to answer them in detail.

One of the questions today was "How do I use the law of attraction to help me lose weight?" The funny thing about this topic is one of my very good friends, we will call him CW, has recently expressed his intention to lose 100.6 lbs making his goal weight 225lbs. My friend has struggled with his weight for the better part of his life, with an all time high of 364 lbs. I feel like this topic was discussed today for a reason and that is why I am sharing it. This post is dedicated to my good friend CW. You know you have my support, you are an awesome person and you deserve nothing but the best. The "best" includes being happy and healthy.

The first thing I learned today was that we set ourselves up for failure when we want to "lose" weight. When we "lose" something our subconscious mind will actually set forth motions for us to get it back. Our subconscious mind is so good at getting things back for us that we actually end up gaining back all the weight that we lost and then a few extra pounds for good measure. Instead of wanting to lose weight we should set a goal to achieve health and our ideal weight. It is better to have an actual number to focus on. So my friend, CW, should focus on his goal weight of 225lbs instead of the 100.6 lbs that he wants to lose.

Secondly, we must use the power of the conscious mind to trick the subconscious mind. From previous posts you may remember me telling you that the subconscious mind does not know the difference between fact and fiction. It just takes the info given and processes it all as truth. So how can this help with weight loss, or shall I say ideal weight achievement? Find an image of a person whose body you desire, a fitness or health magazine is a good place to look. Now cut the picture out and replace the head with a picture of your head. Hang it up in a place where you will see it often; your bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car, or maybe even the ceiling above your bed. Focus on this image several times each day and feel the way you will feel when you reach your ideal weight. Try to get emotions involved, feel the lightness in your heart and joy it will bring you when you are truly healthy. The more you focus on the image and bring about these happy emotions the faster your subconscious mind will start presenting opportunities for you to make healthy changes in your daily habits.

Another thing that was recommended today was to take a piece of paper and write your ideal weight in bold numbers. Take that piece of paper and tape it to your scale. Every morning step on the scale and as you look down to see the weight you can only see your ideal weight. NO peaking under the paper to see what the scale "really" says, just know and believe that your ideal weight is there.

The last thing I learned today was that often times we need to look inside ourselves to find the true reason for our weight problem. It is true that some people are just genetically predispositioned to be heavier, but sometimes there is a psychological reason for the weight gain. For example, if a woman was sexually assaulted as a teenager and is struggling with her weight in her 30's there may be a connection. When the assault happened she subconsciously made the decision to be less attractive to keep predators away. Now she is older and ready to find a mate, but the subconscious mind is still in defense mode and trying to protect her. The only way to overcome this psychological block is to address it and tell yourself it is okay to be thin. The past is in the past and it is time to let go and stop the cycle of self-sabotage. There are many reasons why people may be subconsciously using weight as a protection barrier, it is up to each person to look within themselves to find the answer and let it go.

CW, I hope you find this post helpful. You know I love you, you are my friend and I want nothing but the best for all my friends. Cheers to a journey of good health and ideal weight. A recorded version of our teleseminar is available for download for $10, if you are interested let me know and I will email you the link privately. And of course, I will still donated $100.60 to the charity of your choice once your have met your goal, but instead of focusing on losing 100.6 lbs we are going to focus on achieving your ideal weight of 225lbs. I love you, you have my support every step of the way.

First Quarter Review

2009-03-26T21:58:00.002-04:00

Well, today is Thursday March 26th and it is hard to believe that the first quarter is almost behind us. I was always told that time would go by much faster after I had children and it is so true. Sometimes when time is moving at such a rapid pace it is easy to let our focus become scattered. Most of us start the New Year with a list of resolutions. We write the list with enthusiasm and feel very energized as we review it. We think to ourselves; "This is going to be the year that I get organized, live healthy, volunteer my time, paint the house, etc...". We write these resolutions with the very best intentions, but often times we get off track and miss place our list only to forget about it until the following New Year. This is why it is so important to do a quarterly review.

What exactly is a quarterly review and how do you do it? It is simple, find your list of New Year Resolutions and take a look at it. Have you crossed anything off your list? It is human nature to want to feel like we are accomplishing something. Go over your list and cross off or highlight anything that your have finished. This will give you a rewarding feeling and stimulates you to want to do more just so you can cross more off. It is funny how that works, but you can really trick yourself into getting more done by simply crossing stuff off your list.

Now, review the items that are left. Pick the three that rank highest on the importance scale and put a little star next to them. Take a clean sheet of paper and divide it into three sections and label them 1, 2, and 3. Write your top three selections on the page, one in each section. Now under each item write A, B, and C. Here I want you to list three things that you can do for each item that will get the ball rolling. For instance, if your top three items consisted of painting the house, signing your child up for karate, and spending more time with your spouse, your paper may look like this:

1.) PAINT THE HOUSE

A.) go to the paint store and select a few colors

B.) call 3 contractors and get estimates

C.) contact the home owner's association to get color approval

2.) SIGN KIDS UP FOR KARATE

A.) look in the phone book to see who offers classes

B.) visit the schools and meet with the instructor

C.) make arrangements for your child to have a free 1 wk trial

3.) SPEND MORE TIME WITH SPOUSE

A.) talk to your spouse and figure out what you would like to do together

B.) pick 2 nights per month as designated "date nights"

C.) call friends and family and pre-arrange baby sitting for these nights

Now that you have this sub-list you can eagerly get started. Try to do at least one thing on the sub-list everyday until you have completed the list in its entirety and of course you must remember to cross things off as you go. Once you have finished all the items on your sub-list it is time to review your resolutions again and pick the three that rank most important again and repeat the process.

You will find that once you get started you wont want to stop. You may even think of new things to add to your list of resolutions as you go and that is great. The more you do, the more you will want to do. Motivation definitely has a snowball effect and once you get started it is hard to stop.

It is time to get moving and get refocused. All it takes is a little effort. Lets make 2009 the year of accomplishment.

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

2009-03-11T21:24:00.006-04:00

F antasized
E xperiences
A ppearing
R eal

Lets take a few moments and remember a time when we overcame a fear. It could be anything...the fear of public speaking, the fear of flying, the fear of water, etc... How did you overcome that fear? I will share with you a funny story about how I overcame my fear on snakes.

My first real job was as a kennel tech at a large pet store. I was in charge of taking care of all the cute furry animals and somebody else was in charge of the reptiles and fish. One morning I received a phone call from the owner saying the guy who took care of the reptiles was going to be sick and they needed me to also clean and feed the animals on the reptile side of the store. I figured it would be no big real and I happily agreed. When I was done taking care of the puppies and kittens I went to the other side and started with the iguanas. Next was the snakes. We had 2 farely small ball pythons. I figured I would quickly give them some fresh water and that would be the end of it. But, that was not the case. When I opened the cage I noticed the cover seemed loose. Then I noticed the snakes were not in the cage! Of course I got a bad case of the eeby geebies and started looking on the floor for them. I had a dust pan in my hand and figured I would scoop them up and toss them in the cage and call it a day. I could not find those 2 snakes anywhere! I pulled their cage out and as I glanced up, there they were! They had wrapped themselves around the fluorescent light bulbs above their cage. I was almost delusional with fear and panic. I just knew they wanted to bite me. But I was the only one in the store and I had to get the store ready to open. I took a few moments to regain my composure and then I did what I had to do. I basically had to prey them each off of the light bulbs and put them back in their cage. Of course neither of them bit me and I survived. When it was all said and done I actually felt bad for them. I figured they must have been cold if they broke out of their cage to wrap around the light bulb. Anyways I am no longer scared of snakes. I would never want one as a pet, but I am no longer scared.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain." And it is so true. Fear is really a figment of our imagination. The best way to make fear vanish is to look it in the face and just do it.

Attracting Better Relationships

2009-03-04T15:42:00.004-05:00

We all know that the Law of Attraction states that "like attracts like". This means we are attracted to people who match our vibrational field. Knowing this, how do we use the Law of Attraction to "attract" better relationships into our life?

There are a few simple strategies we can use on a daily basis that will raise our vibration and raise the quality of our relationships. Lets start strategy #1 by making a list of all the qualities we would find in our perfect friend. By make a list, I actually mean make a list and write it on paper. We may want to be friends with somebody who is honest, loyal, ambitious, smart, passionate, friendly, motivated, etc... Now take a look at the list and see how many of these qualities you already posses. Which areas could you use a little help. The best way to attract people into your life with the qualities your looking for is to practice refining these very qualities in yourself. Remember "like attracts like". So if you are snobby, materialistic, and self-centered what type of friends do you think you will attract? On the other hand, if you are kind, loving, generous, and friendly what type of friends do you think you will attract?

Strategy #2 involves using James A Ray's strategy of aligning attention with intention. This is like tending to a garden. Whatever you give attention to grows and flourishes. If you are constantly complaining to yourself or other people about the quality of your friends, you are in turn giving attention to how bad the relationship is and in return you will get more of the "bad". On the other hand, if you focus on the great qualities each friend has while over looking the bad you will notice that you will begin to see more of the good. Everybody has at least a few great qualities within them. Once again, like attracts like, so the more you focus on the good the more good there is to focus on.

Strategy#3 calls for you to evaluate where you are spending your free time. Where do you like to hang out? Are you spending a lot of free time in bars, finding friends there, and later complaining that they are too rowdy and drink too much? If you want to find friends that are inspiring, you must first figure out what inspires you and find a group of like minded people to hang out with. If you are interested in art, join an art club. If you are interested in politics and community relations start going to your local city council meetings. If you are interested in helping others, find a charity that inspires you and join their fundraising committee. I am not saying that it is totally impossible to find good quality friends sitting at a bar at 2am, but your chances are better if you look somewhere else.

Using these strategies may feel a little uncomfortable at first and that is okay. Growing is supposed to be challenging. When we chose the comfortable route we do not grow and we all know that "if we're not growing we're dying". Again think of a garden, when the gardener stops tending, the plants stop growing, and soon they begin to die. It is a simple fact of life. We must stay challenged to evolve and grow. Challenge yourself to fit your "perfect friend" profile, challenge yourself to stop complaining and focus on the good, and challenge yourself to join a club, commitee, or group that inspires you.

Ask And It Shall Be Given

2009-02-27T21:18:00.009-05:00

Ask, and it shall be given to you;

seek and ye shall find;

knock and it shall be opened unto you.

For every one that asketh, receiveth;

and he that seeketh, findeth;

and to him that knocketh

it shall be opened.

~Matthew 7:7-8

Most of us have heard or read these words before, but how many of us have really taken them to heart? Studies have shown that marriages suffer from lack of communication. Many of us feel that if our spouse really loved us, then we would not have to ask them to do "this or "that" for us because they would automatically know what we want and need. Often times relationships with friends and family can be strained for the very same reasons. We expect the people in our lives to just know what we want without being told.

The Bible says; "Ask and it shall be given to you". Well, what if it is true? What if all we have to do is ask? We are all born with the ability to ask for what we want, if you don't believe me spend some time with my 2 year old son. My neighbors will tell you that mimics that of a broken record at times. That persistence and the ability to ask no matter how ridiculous the request is given to all of us as a birthright and somewhere along the way many of us lost the ability to ask. We get conditioned throughout life to stop being a pest, don't question authority, just shut up and listen, and to do what the doctor says, etc... But what if we just took the time to ask for what we want, ask for that helping hand, and ask for some advice.

I used to be one of those people who almost never asked for what I wanted. I would give hints, but I would almost never come right out and ask. It took me forever to ask for a day off at work. The anxiety of thinking about asking would almost make me sick. Whenever a friend would ask me what I wanted to do, I would always respond with "I don't care, whatever you want to do is fine."

I remember one night, about 4 or 5 yrs ago, going to bed sad because my husband had said earlier in the day that he would rub my feet before we went to bed. When night time came and did not grab my feet and start rubbing, I foolishly thought he did not care. The following morning I was still a little bummed out about it. Rod could sense something was wrong. When he asked I of course was reluctant to tell him, but with some prodding I finally told him. His response was simple. He apologised for forgetting and very plainly said "Why didn't you just ask me? I would have done it for you, I just forgot."

Why didn't I just ask? Hmmm, I am not sure why I didn't, but that is when I started to realise that asking for something is not bad. People are not mind readers and no matter how well your husband (or wife) and friends know you, they can not read your mind. It never hurts to ask whether it is help or advice that you need, the worst that can happen is someone will tell you "no" and it has been my personal experience that most people will do whatever they can to help you. Life is too short to go around scared to ask for what we want. Make a point to have an opinion when asked, ask for help when you need it, and live a happy life.

I will leave you with with the quote from W. Clement Stone;

"If there is something to gain and nothing to lose by asking, by all means ask!"

Free E-zine

2009-02-18T09:03:00.003-05:00

Well I am off to NY to visit my family for a week. My grandmother's birthday is tomorrow and I am going up there to celebrate with her. The internet connection in upstate NY is transient at best, so I will not be posting to the blog while I'm up there. I do want to take a quick moment to encourage everybody to sign up for Jim Rohn's free e-zine. It is a email publication fill with valuable information (and it's FREE).

The link is http://jimrohn.com/?kbid=9487 .

See you when I get back!

2009-02-11T23:58:00.001-05:00

Coincidentally, I came across this little saying today. Thought it was appropriate considering today's post.

Sticks & Stones

2009-02-11T16:27:00.003-05:00

I am almost 100% positive that anybody who has lived through elementary school has heard the words "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." on more than one occasion. There is a good chance that all of us have actually used the phrase a few times ourselves. What do you think about this school yard phrase? Do you think it rings true, or are you like myself and feel that words are one of the most damaging weapons the human race has at their disposal when used ruthlessly.

Think about it for a moment, a broken leg will heal in 6 weeks. How many people are spending hours of their adulthood in the shrinks office due to the residual effects of damaging words. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but bones will heal easily. Hurtful words will linger in our minds and consume our thoughts. The ironic thing is that words can have a negative effect on both the person saying them and the person receiving them. Negativity is like an infectious disease and it spreads quite rapidly.

It is our responsibility, as positive people living in society, to keep a leash on our tongue. We must think about the words we use and choose them carefully. People are very impressionable no matter what their age. It does none of us any good to live in a society full of damaged souls, yet we have everything to gain from living in a society filled with happiness, health, and confidence. Sometimes hurtful words role off our tongues so easy that we are unconsciously using them. Now is the time to get conscious and make an effort to say positive. This is even more important if there are children in the picture. Lets set a good example and stay positive.

Free Video

2009-02-10T23:08:00.002-05:00

Follow this link to see a short interview clip with James A Ray
http://video.gaiam.com/services/link/bcpid3138404001/bctid8327130001

Perception = Reality

2009-02-09T20:09:00.006-05:00

It has been proven that how we perceive ourselves and the world around us has a direction influence on how our life plays out. Have you ever met somebody who was always "on top of the world"? Things are always "great" and they never have any major complaints or ailments? How do you think they perceive themselves? Do you think they view themselves as happy, healthy, and abundant? Or do you think they feel like they are sad, sickly, and broke all the time? Chances are if somebody is walking tall and feeling good about life, then they perceive themselves as being happy, healthy, and abundant.

Have you ever heard the phrase "self fulfilling prophecy"? What we think about, comes about. This is just the way the universe works. If we picture ourselves living a well rounded 3 dimensional life (mind, body, and spirit) that is exactly what we will manifest. If we sit around complaining about how terrible the economy is and how bad our life is, guess what.....we get more things to complain about. We always attract and manifest exactly what we give our attention to, there is no way around it.

If we want to improve our lives we must first improve our thoughts and the images that go with our thoughts. The next time you start to get down on yourself or start to complain, make yourself STOP and then force yourself to find something good to focus your attention on.

If you have been reading for a while, you may remember a post lat year where I mentioned a trip I took to the Spiritualist Camp (Cassadaga, FL) for a tarot card reading. At the time I was having major problems with my ex husband and I was fearful that he was going to burn my house down. Anyways, what Rosalia (I think that was her name) told me was that every time I had this thought I had to say "cancel, cancel, cancel" and then go on and replace the thought with a positive thought. She told me way back then, that my thoughts and fears would manifest themselves as reality if I let them consume my mind. It took me years of studying and reading to understand what she meant.

Our thoughts are "things" and they do create. Our perception is our reality. When we upgrade our thoughts and perceptions we upgrade our life.

Now test yourself, how do you perceive the image I added to this post? Is a terrible destructive ice storm or ice a beautiful happening of nature? hmmm....

Skills VS Characteristics

2009-02-08T19:07:00.006-05:00

Lets take a few moments and make a list of the 5 people we look up to the most. It can be friends, family members, or even people we don't know on a personal level like a celebrity, a public speaker, a pastor or minister, etc. We want to pick people who possess the qualities that we hold in the highest regard.

Now that we have the list, take a moment and list the 10 qualities that each of these people possess that makes them respectable. What qualities do these people have that made us pick them as our top 5. Things like; honesty, loyalty, ambitious, friendly, enthusiastic, caring, passionate, good listener, positive attitude, fair, encouraging, challenging, motivated, wealthy, humanitarian, etc...

Now take a look at the list of qualities and decide if they are characteristics or skills. A characteristic is something that a person is born with, like a natural ability. And a skill is a learned ability. After reviewing the list, put a "C" by the characteristics and an "S" by the skills. You will probably come up with about 70%-80% skills and 20%-30% characteristics.

Finally, take a look at the characteristics and decide if those characteristics could be learned or if only the lucky few born with them are the ones who can possess them. Chances are that most characteristics can be learned if someone is willing to but forth a little effort.

The moral of this exercise is this; anybody can learn to be highly effective. Anybody can learn to be the the person that people look up to. All we have to do is study ourselves to figure out where we are lacking and then get to work on acquiring and mastering those skills.

With the exception of a select few, we are all born with the same ability to learn to be "great". The difference is where our motivation lies. Are we motivated to learn, grow, and become better. Or are we motivated to remain unmotivated. Remember what Jim Rohn says; "If we're not growing, we're dying." Lets make a conscious decision to grow.

Resistance

2009-02-01T22:32:00.001-05:00

How much of our daily "suffering" is unnecessary? What actually causes our suffering? And how much free time and energy would we have left at the end of our day if we just learned to stop resisting and learned to live to be happy?

In "Thresholds of the Mind", by Bill Harris, he makes it very clear that any and all suffering experienced is caused by our own decision to resist what is happening. The decision may be conscious or unconscious, either way, the resistance is what causes the discomfort.

Have you ever been around a person who was complaining about how terrible a situation in their life was? You try to sympathize with their troubles, but no matter how hard you try it just doesn't seem that bad. You may have even told them to "just forget about it" or "just let it be" assuring them that things will be okay. You know in you heart that most of their problem is the way they were looking at their particular situation. James A Ray tells us over and over again to find the good in every situation and that every failure is accompanied by the seeds of success.

Back in November I published a post titled "Just Let Go and Float". I think this is what Bill Harris is trying to tell us to do. We need to stop trying to micro-manage every detail of our life and start living it. Life is going to happen no matter what, so we might as well stop resisting and enjoy it. When we can live our life like a movie being played out in front of us we will be able to enjoy every minute of it.

As a man thinketh....

2009-02-01T21:22:00.002-05:00

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
~Book of Proverbs (23:7)

To Holosync....

2009-01-26T20:40:00.002-05:00

As a few of you know, I have been dealing with a battle in my head for the last week or so; "To Holosync or not to Holosync?" I have asked some of you your opinions and have even contacted Centerpointe directly with some questions that I have. I love the idea of an audio program that puts your brainwaves in a meditative state.

In order to have true harmony within ourselves, we have to have a healthy balance between mind, body, and spirit. Spiritual wellness is the hardest to define. You may find that for yourself spirituality is defined by going to church and/or praying. I personally disagree. I know plenty of people who go to church on a regular basis and they are not spiritual at all. I also know a handful of people who rarely go to a formal church but are deeply spiritual.

For me the definition of spirituality is more of a feeling of oneness with a higher power. It's a very intimate connection with our creative force that can not be described with words. It's a calming sense and knowing that there is a greater good for all of us.

When I presented my question; "To Holosync or not to Holosync?" I already knew I was going to purchase some sort of audio meditation program, the question was which one. If you do a little research you will find that there are numerous programs available and most of them are a little less expensive than Holosync. My debate was; Is Holosync worth the extra money? Has Bill Harris really given that much more value to his system than all the others?

Here is my conclusion: Yes, I truly think Bill Harris has created a superior product. After reading "Thresholds of the Mind", a few times. And after reading numerous testimonials of people that have used Holosync. I am certain that the availability of the Centerpointe support team alone is worth the extra money.

The majority of us live our lives in a fairly unconscious state the most of the time. What meditation does is bring us out of that daze and make us more aware of life and everything happening in it. The problem with becoming more aware is that sometimes our new awareness can cause upheaval. When our mind/brain is pushed to a new threshold, if you will, it can cause some discomfort, anxiety, and the feeling of overwhelm until we actually push through that threshold and reorganize ourselves. The Centerpointe team is available via email and phone to help with these times.

The benefits of meditating, whether you use the traditional method or a brain wave altering audio program are the same. I personally do not have the "free" time to spend trying to get to "that" state of meditation that everybody is looking for. The scientifically devised audio tones of the Holosync program takes the listener's brainwave pattern from an unbalance primarily beta state to a bilaterally balanced state consisting of less beta and more alpha, delta, and theta.

I don't want this to get to confusing, for most of us our brains are in a constant state of unbalance and we are over run by the beta waves. When and if we get both hemispheres of the brain synchronized we become more balanced as a person. The presence of less beta waves and more alpha, delta, and theta causes greater creativity, a heightened sense of intuition, higher intelligence, a feeling of oneness, the ability to feel more joy and happiness, the diminish of fears and worries, the benefits are endless.

There have been studies done where some of the greatest Yogi meditaters have been hooked up to an EEG while meditating. Their results were compared to that of the Holosync meditater while listening to the audio program. The similarities between the brainwave patterns are uncanny. In the same study they also compared the EEG results of common people whom had never used any type of meditative practice. You can probably guess what their EEG looked like, an unbalanced mostly beta mess.

I hope that any of you who are serious about making yourself stronger, happier, healthier, etc... will at least take my recommendation and get the free demo CD and make your own decision from there. I think I have stated my case well enough. I feel comfortable with my decision to use Holosync and think it is the wisest choice. Centerpointe also offers a full 1 year money back guarantee. I have heard that most of the people who return the program do so because they think it works too fast and they are not ready for the changes to occur (some people define themselves with their misery and fear if they learn to let go of it they will also lose themselves or their identity in the process). I will keep you updated as changes evolve. Since I do not want to experiencing an "upheaval" while visiting my Grandparents, I have decided to wait to place my order until I get back from New York (mid-February). I will let you know when it arrives.

"You Tell on Youself"

2009-01-26T20:32:00.004-05:00

"You tell on yourself
By the friends you seek,
By the very manner in which you speak;
By the way you employ your leisure time,
By the use you make of a dollar or dime.

You tell what you are
By the things you wear,
By the spirit by which your burdens you bear;
By the kind of things at which you laugh,
By the records you play on the phonograph.

You tell on yourself
By the way you talk,
By the manner in which you bear defeat;
By so simple a thing as what you eat.

By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf,
In these ways and more you tell on yourself.
So there is really not a particle of sense,
In your efforts to keep up your false pretense."

~Anonymous~

I thought some of you would enjoy this poem. My friend Ashley R. shared it with me and I think it is just wonderful. I have read it a dozen times since last night and love it more each time I read it.

To Holosync or Not to Holosync, That is the Question

2009-01-17T22:47:00.003-05:00

I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have become very interested in the effects that meditation has on the brain wave patterns. I am currently on my second read through of "Thresholds of the Mind" by Bill Harris. He is the founder of Centerpointe Research Institute and the creator of the Holosync audio technology. The book is very interesting, I love the science behind it. I believe that I recommended everybody to get the free demo CD that Bill Harris was offering, if I did not, I apologize and I am saying it now; go sign up for your free demo CD, the link is on the upper left side of the blog. It is free so you have nothing to lose. After you get your free demo, you also need to read this book (Thresholds of the Mind). You can go to amazon and get it cheap or go to the library and borrow it for free. Believe it or not, I got my copy for $2 at our local library book sale last month!

If there is anybody reading who has already used the Holosync audio technology, I would love to hear your feedback. It is all new to me. I am about 90% sure that I am going to take the next step and sign up for the program once I finish doing a little more research.

I have tried traditional meditation rituals in the recent past, but with 2 young children it is almost impossible to keep my focus and I usually end up getting frustrated. With the Holosync program you only need 20-30 minutes per day with stereo headphones. The audio tones produce the beta, alpha, theta, and delta brain wave patterns produced in deep meditation. Therefore giving you the positive meditation effects that a lifelong devoted zen monk can produce.

I am very intrigued and would like some feedback, if anybody has some to share.

Appreciation

2009-01-16T20:48:00.003-05:00

One of the surefire ways to attract more happiness into our lives it to give it to somebody else first. Remember, the Universe works like a boomerang; what we put out or give we get back in return (amplified). One of the most precious gifts that we can give is appreciation. It is funny how something so valuable is also so affordable, the only cost is time.

Think back to the last time you really appreciated somebody who deserved it. It could of been a friend or relative or even the bagger at the grocery store. Do you remember how "big" and expanded it made you feel to give that bit of appreciation to somebody else? As we give appreciation and kindness to others we attract more things to appreciate into our lives.

Here's an experiment I want everybody to do;
1.) take a 3x5 index card & draw 10 squares on it
2.) in each square write the name of somebody you are going to appreciate
3.) as you appreciate each person you can put a check by their name or color in their box
4.) appreciation ideas include: a phone call, an email, sending a card with a note, a lunch date, a surprise visit (with an explanation of why you appreciate them), a solid handshake and a "THANK YOU", etc....
5.) try to fill the card as quickly as possible and then start on a 2nd index card with different names.....when the second card is filled start a 3rd...keep doing this for 30 days (or longer if you want)
6.) ideas of people to appreciate; spouse, children, parents, siblings, neighbors, best friend from high school, your boss, your high school chemistry teacher, your children's bus driver, the soccer coach, the crossing guard, the cook at your favorite restaurant, the list can go on and on....the more you think, the more people you can come up with....try to focus on the "little" people who may get overlooked and under appreciated on a daily basis.....this will put a smile on their faces (and yours)

****guaranteed to bring happiness into your life before day 30****

How to Take Advantage of the "Winter"

2009-01-14T21:30:00.002-05:00

As most of you know, Jim Rohn is one of my favorite authors when it comes to personal development. In many of his books and audio programs he talks about the "seasons" of life. By "seasons" he means the natural cycle. Or the "Law of Rhythm" as James Ray calls it. However we choose to define it, it is safe to say that most of the world has been in a sort of "winter" for the last 10-14 months. How do we stay positive and make the most of our "winter"?

James Ray says we need to "recognize the winter time as a gift". Some may say "How can I call losing my job a gift?" or "How is getting my hours cut a gift?" It is simple. What doesn't kill us will only make us stronger. It is silly not to think there is a force stronger than ourselves guiding us through this journey called life. Things happen for a reason. When something really bad happens we have to assume that there is also something really great about to happen also.

The "winter" is a time to feed our minds. Find something you want to learn about and take a class, read a book, listen to some audio, or watch a DVD about the topic. Invest in yourself, invest in your mind, and invest in your future. The seeds that we plant now determine what we will reap in our next "spring". Take the "gift of winter" and find out what inspires you. Spring is on its way.

It is important to control our focus. We can choose to focus on the "lack" , which creates anxiety and various other negative emotions. Or we can choose to focus on the "opportunity", which creates a feeling of abundance and other positive emotions. From my previous posts you know that emotion creates motion. Emotion sets the law of attraction in motion to create more of what we are "emotional" about.

Spring is coming, it always comes. Be ready to leap forward and achieve your goals.

Success.....

2009-01-13T20:45:00.003-05:00

Well, I am back and the marathon was a success!!! It was awesome actually! I am happy to be back home with my family. The Central Florida Chapter of Team in Training raised $480,000 for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and all of the chapters combined raised a total of $7 million and that was for the Disney marathon alone. I will admit that there were times when I had my doubts about whether we would meet our fundraising goals. All the teammates really pitched in and we met our goal together. It was a long hard journey, but it was definitely worth the work. One last "THANKS" to all my family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, teammates, and even strangers that helped with the fundraisers.

Now that the holidays are over and the marathon is behind me I can start blogging more frequently again. I still have my goal of 100 readers per day for 2009. So give the link to ANY and ALL the people you know and we can build a community together.

Today's Teleseminar

2009-01-07T22:32:00.004-05:00

I must say I am very lucky and grateful that my employer, managers, and fellow employees are flexible with my work schedule. Because of their flexibility I was able to take an hour and 45 minute break in the middle of the day to attend a teleseminar that I signed up for. I try to attend 1 or 2 seminars every month. I always walk away feeling empowered and enlightened. Today's topics were centered around "success" and "principles of success". The host of the teleconference was Jack Canfield. Some of you may recognize his name from the movie "The Secret" and some of you may recognize him as the co-author of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series. Either way he is a well respected mentor and success coach.

After reviewing my notes this evening I have made a list of things that I want to share with you. I will start with his success principle #3: Decide what you want & be very clear. He says to have a vivid image of what you want and how you will feel when you have "it". He says that most people do not get what they want because they never actually sit down and figure out exactly what it is that they want. I think this success principle goes hand in hand with what I have been harping on for months, get your vision statement written. How can we expect to get to where we want to go in life if we don't even know where it is that we are going?

When Jack says "feel how you will feel when you have it", he is talking about the emotion. Remember what I said previously; emotion = motion = results. Emotions drive the subconscious mind and the subconscious mind is like a navigation system steering us towards the results that we are looking for. Focus emotions on joy and happiness and the definite picture of the life that we want and that is the direction the subconscious mind will steer us.

January is the perfect time to review our goals and vision statements and make the modifications for the upcoming year. I know 2009 is going to be a great year. The harder a ball falls, the higher it bounces and we (the world as a whole) are due for a bounce. There is a quote that James A Ray says that has been ringing through my ears for a few weeks now. It is from Ancient Text and it goes; "In times of change the learners will inherit the world, while the learned will remain beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists". I think it is just brilliant. It is amazing to me how it is so relevant to today. 2008 was definitely a "time of change". Years from now students will undoubtedly be learning about it in History class. We need to learn to adapt and prosper in this new environment that has been created.

I saw my hairdresser after work for a new hair-do and she was telling me how her husband had decided a week ago to go back to school. He had already graduated with a film degree a while back, but he makes a living as a welder. With the building/construction field at a standstill (in Central Florida) work has been sparse. I think the above quote is perfect for him. He has chosen to be a "learner" not the "learned".

To be a "learner" you do not have to necessarily go to college full time. You can pick a topic to learn about and read a few books, remember a library card is free. You can take a single class at the local Community College. You can attend a seminar. Anything you do to better yourself is a step in the right direction. Lets take the next few weeks in January to put our revised vision statements in writing and revise our short term goal list. Lets make sure we do all we can to have a great 2009.

Quote

2009-01-06T22:53:00.001-05:00

"Your thoughts create your life."
~JAMES A RAY~

Quote

2009-01-05T00:26:00.001-05:00

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as if everything is a miracle, and the other is as if nothing is."
~ALBERT EINSTEIN~

Christmas for the Homeless Pictures

2009-01-02T00:37:00.004-05:00

Christmas for the Homeless

2009-01-02T00:19:00.003-05:00

I wanted to take a moment and say "THANKS" once again to everybody that helped with Robin's Christmas for the homeless. Our Christmas party was a major hit and all of your donations were much appreciated. As most of you know Robin and Jen received 50 backpacks from the police department and the goal was to be able to fill them with essential items & snacks and pass them out at the annual Christmas dinner that Robin's church holds for the homeless. Jen was later able to get an additional 20 backpacks. I believe the final head count for dinner was around 85! Luckily there were enough donations, just not enough backpacks. The last group of people were given their gifts in a plastic grocery bag. Robin told me that next year she is going to shoot for 100 filled backpacks. I am going to post some of the pictures taken at the dinner. Yes, the children in the pictures are homeless and it is ashame. But if you look close you will see that the children are smiling. We can feel good knowing that we helped put a smile on their faces.

Quote of the Day

2008-12-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."
~WINSTON CHURCHILL~

I thought this quote was most appropriate following yesterday's post.

You will notice a new link above my picture on the left column, Center Pointe / Holosync. I just got my free demo CD in the mail the other day and I am pretty excited about it. The book that I am currently reading ("Thresholds of the Mind") explains the effects of meditation on the brain waves and neuro-chemicals released in the brain. It is really quite interesting. If you are curious, follow the link and get your free demo. If you are interested in the book check out amazon, "Thresholds of the Mind" by Bill Harris.

'Tis the Season to Clean Out the Closets

2008-12-28T22:01:00.003-05:00

We have all heard the phrases; "You get what you give." and "What goes around comes around." right? These are saying we have heard since childhood. In "The Science of Success" James A. Ray dedicates a whole chapter on "The Power of Giving". He explains how the simple act of "giving" sets forth the feeling and vibration of abundance. The more you "give" the bigger and better you feel and in return you attract to yourself more things that make you feel bigger and better. It is a boomerang effect. We have all experienced this feeling of abundance when we have given something to someone that has made them extremely happy.

The great thing is, we don't have to give thousands of dollars to receive the positive effects of giving. Now is the perfect time to go through our closets and donate the things we have not worn or used in the last year. An end of the year cleaning will be good for the soul. We can start 2009 fresh with a feeling of abundance.

Just a week or so ago my husband came home from work and asked me if I had any clothes that I did not wear anymore. I said "umm yeah, why?" and he preceded to tell me a sad story about a teenage girl that a lady at work knows. She only has 2 pairs of pants and a few shirts and the other kids at school make fun of her, so now she doesn't want to go to school anymore. Rod was looking for some clothes to give to her so she wouldn't get picked on at school. I instantly went to the closet and filled one of those huge Old Navy bags full. I took the bag out to his car and put it in his front passenger's seat (so he wouldn't forget to bring it to work). It felt so good to get rid of those clothes, especially when I knew they were going to somebody who needed them. It has been over a week now and I will tell you that I have not missed one piece.

If you think about it, we all have our favorite jeans and a few favorite shirts that we wear most of the time. What does it hurt to give a little something to somebody else, especially if it doesn't fit anymore. If you don't know an individual to donate to you can always donate to the Goodwill or Salvation Army or call a church or school and see if they know of a family in need. Lets start the New Year with clean closets and an overwhelming feeling of abundance.

Quote

2008-12-26T13:11:00.001-05:00

"One person caring about another represents life's greatest value."
~JIM ROHN~

The Vision Statement is Working

2008-12-23T23:48:00.003-05:00

If you go back in the archives to Oct 13th, you will find my good friend Danielle's vision statement. Read it over and you will sense a woman with ambitious goals and a definite direction in life. It has been only 10 weeks since she finished her vision statement and already things are changing for her.

She has received an amazing promotion at work with a very substantial pay raise. And most recently she passed a major State test that she had to take for work. It seems as though things are just falling into place for her. I can not guarantee that Danielle carries her vision statement with her at all times and reads it 3 times each day. But I can guarantee to you that she did take more than a few days to seriously think about what she wanted and she then took the time to actually put it on paper. She put her request "out there" and her subconscious mind is guiding her in the right direction to get what she wants.

Just the other day I asked Danielle if she was ready to start trying for a second baby and she had an amazing response. She said "No, No, No, Tmarie (that is what she calls me) I have a list of goals that I have to get done before we try for another baby." I said "Oh, I thought that once you passed your test you were going to try." And she responded with "Oh no, I have a whole list of goals that I need to accomplish first, then we will try."

I love it when things go right for my friends and family. I am so happy for her and even happier to hear that she has a list of goals that she is working on. With the New Year right around the corner it is the perfect opportunity for me to remind you how important a vision statement is. Get your vision statement written. If you want or need help call or email me and I will help you. Lets make 2009 a year to remember for all of us.

Quote of the Day

2008-12-17T00:24:00.001-05:00

"Happiness is not an accident. Nor is it something you wish for. Happiness is something you design."
~JIM ROHN~

Where is Tonya?

2008-12-15T00:14:00.002-05:00

I am "here".... I must apologize for my absence this week and I will not lie and say I will be here more in the week to come. Truthfully, I think it will be safe to say that my time on the computer will be limited from now until the middle of January. Christmas is mine and my husband's favorite time of the year. With two small children we have so many things we want to do with them. We are paving the way for our "special" family traditions. The children always come first.

I will still be blogging, but like I said, my time on the computer will be limited. I have lots of great stuff in store for you. I hope some of you are getting excited about the portable vision board party that I am having in January (no formal date has been set yet but probably after my marathon, which is Jan 11th). I hope you have been cutting and saving some good pictures to use.

I am going to leave you with this quote from Brian Tracy. It fits in nicely with the previous posts on goals.

"Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goals"
~BRIAN TRACY~

Purpose VS Goals

2008-12-08T22:34:00.002-05:00

All goals need a destination. This is why I can't say enough about the importance of our vision statements . Taking the time to write a vision statement forces us to have a purpose. Without a purpose we are just wandering aimlessly through life hoping something good will happen.What would happen if we went to the bus station or airport and asked for "a ticket" and that was all the information we could give? Chances are we wouldn't end up where we wanted to go. And if we ever did end up where we wanted to go, it would take a lot longer to get there than if we would have just been specific in the first place.

Lets expand on the "trip" metaphor for a moment.
Goals = the preparation for our trip; buying our tickets, booking a motel, packing our suitcase, etc...
Purpose= where we are going, our destination

Our goals may be the set of our sail, but at some point in time we need to decide where we are sailing to.
To be truly fulfilled we need to have a purpose in at least 3 areas of our lives (home, social, and work). Home, of course, being the most important. What type of parent do I want to be? What type of relationship do I want to have with my spouse? What type of house do I want to live in? What State or Country do I want to live in? What will be the important life lessons that I pass on to my children? These are all important questions to ask when trying to give ourselves a purpose.

Socially we need to ask ourselves questions like; What do I want to do for fun? What type of friends do I want to have? What will I do in my free time? What charities will I support?

The third component is "work". What type of job do I want? How much money do I want to make? How will I contribute to society? What investments will I make? What risks will I take?

Once we decide on our destination/purpose it will be easier to figure out what goals we will need to get there. It is a step by step process, one goal at a time. And remember, once we have that burning desire and throw some emotion into the mix our subconscious mind can take over. When our consuming thoughts are positive and focused on our purpose the creative ideas will come to us more readily. Our subconscious mind is continually working on something, why not let it work on "our purpose".

Quote & Thought

2008-12-07T23:43:00.002-05:00

"When you choose to be pleasant and positive in the way you treat others, you have also chosen in most cases, how you are going to be treated by others"
~ZIG ZIGLAR~

The holiday season is upon us. With end of the year deadlines arriving, shopping to do, presents to wrap, decorations to put up, baking to do, increased traffic, and decreased tolerance it is easy to forget how to act. I thought this Zig Ziglar quote would be a perfect way to start the week fresh. Lets remember to stay focused and positive towards others this holiday season. If somebody gets short with you; let it go. It probably has nothing to do with you. More than likely they have a list of 20 things they need to get done and they are just frustrated with themselves and their own time management skills.

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Many thanks to everybody who made it to the Christmas party on Saturday. The donations for the homeless were great! Robin and I went through them this morning and could not believe how much great stuff we got. I am very proud of all my friends. You guys really did a great thing by helping us collect the items we needed for their Christmas backpacks. Thanks guys!!!

~REMINDERS~

2008-12-05T12:55:00.004-05:00

Just a few reminders for the local readers; this Saturday is our Christmas party. It starts b/n 6:30 & 7pm and goes til about 11pm. Santa will be arriving ~ 8pm. Need to know a definite head count on the children. Address is 6129 Sanctuary Garden Blvd in P.O. Guests are to bring their favorite holiday dish and a donation to the homeless, most of you have already gotten a list of the items needed. But if you have lost it, it is things like soap, washcloths, shampoo, snacks, juice boxes,toothbrushes, toothpaste, neosporin, etc.... Basically the things we use everyday. Myself and Mary Kay are providing deodorant and razors, some jackets and some toothpaste and raisins. Trena bought some jackets and Ellen bought 50 pair of socks. I think Mona is bringing tooth brushes, but I am not 100% sure.

Also Sunday is the last Leukemia / Lymphoma fundraiser. It is being held at the Artic Zone Ice Arena, 2400 S. Ridgewood Ave in South Daytona. It starts at 2pm and goes til 5pm. Cost is $7. If you and your families are free on Sunday you should come out and join us. It will be fun!! There will be Christmas music and hot chocolate. The owners are donating 50% back to us for our fundraising.

Quote

2008-12-04T00:51:00.002-05:00

"The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness also keep out the joy."
~~JIM ROHN~~

As I was looking for the perfect quote to leave here tonight, this one just jumped out at me. We all probably know at least one person who has built a protective barrier around themselves so they "don't get hurt". It is sad to think that because they are living on the defense they wont/can't experience life's joy. Share this quote with anyone who you think can benefit from these words of wisdom. Jim Rohn is so great at saying a mouthful in so few words, that is one of the reasons why I love his work so much.

The Importance of Goals

2008-12-01T13:20:00.006-05:00

By nature, humans are goal oriented creatures. We like the satisfying feeling we get when we accomplish even the smallest of tasks. That is why writing a "to do" list each day and crossing things off as we go is so helpful. The sense of accomplishment we feel as we cross off each task is as good as a pat on the back. But lets look a little farther ahead than the end of the day. Lets look 1 month, 1 year, 5 years, or even 10 years into the future. Where do we want to be and what goals do we need to reach to get there.

Our goals are like the wind in our sail. They give us the umph we need to get busy. Goals give our subconscious mind an invisible road map to follow. Lets think about the major areas of our lives and figure out where we could use some new goals. We've got financial/work, relationships/family, intellectual/mental, physical, and spiritual. Where are we under performing? I know there are a few areas in my life that could benefit from a goal remodification.

Lets all make a list of at least 2 goals in each area that we want to accomplish by the end of the year, that will give us almost a month. They don't have to be anything major, just something you can write down and cross off as you accomplish them. I'll throw out a few ideas to get your mind moving in the right direction.

financial/work: take a 3 day weekend off, open a savings account for the kids or if they already have one; ut $20 into their accounts instead of buying another toy, count the change in the nightstand drawer....

relational/family: call an old friend, call your grandparents, send out Christmas cards, buy a toy for Toys For Tots, take your kids to look at Christmas lights, put on a jacket and go for a walk on the beach (if you live on the coast), go to a movie with your spouse/kids, get some sidewalk chalk and play hop scotch in the driveway, ask your kids what their goals are.....

intellectual/mental: go to the museum, read a good book, register for a cooking or sewing class at the local community college, think of something you want to learn about and research it online, take your kids to the library.....

physical: go to a salon and get your hair cut/colored/highlighted, go to the gym, go for a walk in the neighborhood, get a massage, get a manicure, go to the dentist, go to the doctor for a physical, get an eye exam, go 1 day with out soda.....

spiritual: go to a quiet place (outside...like a park, the ocean, the woods, etc) and just sit still for 30 minutes (with no phone) and just breathe, say a prayer someone, go to church, tell God what you are thankful for.....

That is a pretty good list to start with, now read it over and pick a few or come up with a few of your own ideas. Make your list and actually write it down and as you accomplish your goals go ahead and cross them off. It really does feel wonderful. This little exercise will put us all in a great goal oriented mindset for the new year.

Remember to Give "Thanks" on Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T21:59:00.002-05:00

It hardly seems possible that another year has passed by since last Thanksgiving. This year has practically flown by. Madison is 6 1/2 months old and started crawling over 2 weeks ago, she even started pulling herself up already. Xavier is just over 2yrs and I swear he acts like he is 5. He speaks in full sentences and surprises us with his cleverness everyday. He keeps asking for roller skates from Santa. I brought him to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society fundraiser that a friend and I coordinated last weekend. It was at the roller skating rink. I was hesitant to bring him, I thought he was too young, but he had a great time.

When I look at my kids I know everything in life is perfect. Our family has so much to be thankful for, I don't even know where to begin. Every night as I rest my head on my pillow and drift off to sleep I run a "Thank You" list through my head. I thank God for all the great qualities in my children and my husband. I thank him for our friends and family. I thank him for the experience that have brought me to where I am today. The list goes on until I fall asleep. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes and sometimes it takes 20, either way it puts me in a peaceful state as i drift off.

I figure with tomorrow being the national day for giving thanks, it is most appropriate to remind everyone to take a few minutes and be thankful for all that we have. The law of attraction says that having gratitude is a fundamental part of attracting goodness into our lives. We have to learn to appreciate what we already have before we can be blessed with more.

I wish everyone a Very Happy Thanksgiving. And I urge you to take a moment and appreciate all that you have and appreciate the time that you have with your families (even if they make you crazy).

5 Pillars

2008-11-25T23:47:00.002-05:00

I was able to attend a great teleconference today on my lunch break (thanks to Debbie for covering for me). It was hosted by my favorite mentor, James A Ray. He talked about the 5 pillars of our life that are the foundation of our spiritual well being and all around happiness. The 5 pillars he spoke of are; financial, relational, intellectual/mental, physical, and spiritual. I want to give you a brief overview of what I learned about each of the pillars today.

#1 FINANCIAL: He began by explaining there is a common misconception about money. Have you ever heard the saying "Money is the root of all evil"? I have, but I never really knew where it came from until today. He explained that in the bible it actually says "The love of money is the root of all evil." Money is good and an important part of every body's well being as long as it does not rule them. He went on to explain that you have to love people and use money to help others, where we run into a problem is when people start loving money and using people. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense, most of the truly wealthy we "know" or see in the media do use money and love people. Think about Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Jenny McCarthy, Robin Williams, Jim Cary. That is a few that I can think of off the top of my head.

#2 RELATIONAL: James Ray explains the most important relationship we have is the one we have with ourselves. We have to truly love, care about, and respect ourselves before we can have a genuinely loving and healthy relationship with anybody else. The expectations we set for ourselves will set a baseline for the people around us. If we hold ours in the highest regard and strive to always better ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally we can't help but be a better quality friend, which will grant us better relationships.

#3 INTELLECTUAL/MENTAL: Since I have been following James Ray's teachings I have heard him say "If your not growing, your dying." about 1000 times. He quotes this as a common law of quantum physics. We have to keep our mind sharp by learning and experiencing new things. He asks the question, "How do you use your marvelous mind?". If we are locked into a subconscious "hum" of getting up, going to work, coming home, watching tv, and going to bed everyday without challenging ourselves then we are not growing. We are not challenging ourselves to grow. Think about a common house plant, when it stops growing it begins to die, right? He states that we grow in direct proportion to the amount of resistance that we can withstand and disipate.

#4 PHYSICAL: When he speaks of physical he means everything in its physical form; our bodies, our cars, our homes, our vacations, our toys, etc... Of course the most important is our body. Many religions view our body as our temple. In order to take the best care of our body we have to take care of our health first and fitness second. We need to nourish our bodies with healthy foods and lay off the junk. Our body is the vehicle that our spirit uses t get around and we need to keep it tuned up, like our favorite car. When we have good health the fitness follows. The other physical items are important too. We all need to have a nice place to live and a car to drive and vacations to create memories and experiences.

#5 SPIRITUAL: He says this is the hardest one to explain because it is different for everyone. He explains it as our 1 on 1 relationship with our creative source, or our connection to something bigger (God). If you pray in a closet a few times a day or if you go to church on Sunday it does not guarantee you more spirituality than your neighbor who does not go to church but is constantly talking to God. You have to make your own choice and be okay with it for yourself.

Once we have mastered these 5 key areas, we will have "HARMONIC WEALTH" as he calls it. Life will flow like a dance. A lot of people may read this and say this "sounds like a lot of work" and " I don't really have the time to do all this", but if you are serious about finding harmony in your life and having happy & fulfilling relationships with your friends and family you will find the time. Remember, "How do you use your marvelous mind?" Do you want to challenge yourself to be better or do you want to get caught up in the subconscious "hum" of a mindless routine? Quantum physics explains that everything is made up of 99.99999% energy, including our body. 1 cubic meter of energy is enough to boil every ocean on this planet. There is no way you can convince me that you do not have the energy to better yourself or read a book or bring your kids to the library. You have the energy, you are just choosing to waste it on the everyday mindless "hum". Choose to direct your energy for 1 hour each day on one of these 5 pillars and it will not take long for you to start seeing positive changes in your life.

Quote

2008-11-24T21:55:00.002-05:00

"We can change the quality of our life by changing the quality of our thoughts."
~James A Ray~

Why Do I Care?

2008-11-23T22:50:00.002-05:00

Recently I had someone ask me why I put some much time and energy into this blog. They said "Don't you have enough on your plate?" and "How do you find the time?". My answer was, "Well, you can always find time to do things if you think they are important enough." That was sort of a "get off my back" cliff version of the whole explanation. I am going to attempt to explain myself a little more thoroughly with the expectation of "that person" eventually reading the post.

The reasons are simple, I have read numerous books and listened to even more audios on personal development, the law of attraction, positive living, etc... and there is one thing that every single author has said. They all say in order to be truly successful you must take the time to teach others. They also say that to truly master anything you must be able to teach it to others in a way that they can understand it. It seemed only natural for me to start this blog. I love to write and I can reach more people on a daily basis than I ever could by talking to them in person. At first I thought it would be great to write for my friends and family. I was excited to tell them all that I know. Now my vision has grown. I have realized that I am going to be spending the same amount of time writing no matter how many people are reading. My new goal is to reach 1000 people everyday. I am sure by the time I reach this goal I will have an even bigger goal in mind. But for now that seems big enough.

Think about how great this world would be if everybody made a serious study of bettering themselves. They would not only be bettering themselves, they would be bettering the world! Jim Rohn tells it best when he tells of the agreement he makes with his friends. He says "I will take care of me for you, if you will take care of yourself for me." The point being, when you make a serious study of bettering yourself, you are giving a great gift to your friends and family. Who wouldn't want a friend who was truly happy and fulfilled. Someone who is always able to find the good in everything and brighten any situation. Someone who's judgement you can trust to be fair and honest.

Having 2 young children growing up in today's society makes it even more important for me to reach as many people as possible. Happy people make for a better environment for our children to grow and experience life. Happy parents and teachers raise happy and well balanced children. Happy and well balanced children make for better peers for my children. I want my children to have the privilege of growing, learning, and experiencing a happy harmonic world. I will do all that I can to make that possible.

I hope this explanation is satisfying and I apologize for the shortness of my original response.

30 Days to Create a New Habit

2008-11-21T21:06:00.003-05:00

I recently came across some amazingly interesting information. I have heard and read on numerous occasions from various sources that it takes 30 days to create a new habit. In some of James Ray's teaching he says it takes 30 days or so to train or trick your subconscious mind into believing and acting upon our visions. Jack Canfield also teaches that it takes 30 days t create a new habit. But this information I am going to share with you will blow your mind!

The government was doing some tests regarding how the human body reacts to being in outer space with zero gravity. They had these special glasses made that made everything look upside down. They had a group of test subjects wear them for variant amounts of time; 20days, 30 days, and every other day for 30 days. Amazingly enough, what they found out was somewhere between the 25th and 30th day the test subject's brain had inverted the image automatically to make the image upside right! The people who wore the glasses for the 20 day period never did get their image inverted and the people who wore their glasses every other day for 30 days also did not get their image inverted. It was only the people who wore the glasses continually for 25-30 days.

Having worked in the optometry field for almost 12 years, this just about knocked my socks off. The human body is so amazing and the subconscious mind is so powerful and adaptable. It is designed to adapt and give us exactly what we need or "ask" for in order to survive. The trick is to "ask" for what we want, not what we don't want.

I want everybody to think about this information over the weekend and realize how amazing we all really are. Have a great weekend!

Quote of the Day & a Thought

2008-11-20T22:03:00.002-05:00

"Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced everyday; while failure is simply a few errors in judgement, repeated every day. It is the accumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgements that leads us to either fortune or failure"
~~JIM ROHN~~

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I'm thinking it may be better to postpone our vision board making party til after the new year. I had originally planned on having it Saturday Nov 29th, which is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but there are a few people who will be out of town or that have family coming into town for that weekend. I have fundraisers scheduled every weekend from now until the end of December and my marathon is January 11th, so if we postpone it will have to be closer to the end of January. It will give everybody more time to collect their pictures and ideas. And of course everybody likes to start the new year with "resolution", so why not make it a visual new years resolution.

Well, let me know what you guys think and we will work something out.

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New Link

2008-11-19T21:26:00.003-05:00

You may have noticed that I added a new "friends" link to the left margin of the blog. I put a link to Jim Rohn's and James A Ray's websites. They are both filled with tons of valuable FREE information and I recommend you visit them in your spare time. You can sign up for a free e-zine from both of them. The price is always right when it 's free.

FEAR

2008-11-19T20:21:00.002-05:00

What is fear and how does it effect our lives?
Fear is a response that we CHOOSE when we are dealing with a situation that makes us uncomfortable. Remember my favorite saying; "You are the boss of yourself." it should be followed by "And you are the boss of your emotions." Fear is nothing but a state of mind, we can choose to feed it or address it and move on. Keep in mind that if we do not address our fears we are indeed feeding them and they will only get worse. Think about the last time you were dreading a phone call you had to make or the last time you had to make a speech in front of a crowd. The longer you put it off, the more you thought about it. The more you thought about it the worse you felt about it. Until eventually your stomach was tied in knots and you were full of fear and anxiety. But as soon as you had done that which you were dreading/fearing all your feelings of anxiety were vanished. Why not address the fear quickly and save ourselves and our stomachs all the anxiety?

In "The Magic of Thinking Big" David J Schwartz PhD says that we should " Use action to cure fear and gain confidence....Action feeds and strengthens confidence; inaction in all forms feeds fear. To fight fear, act . To increase fear- wait, put off, postpone..."

You have all heard me say this more than once but here I go again, "Energy flows where attention goes." and "What you resist persists." (James A Ray), which means according to the law of attraction when we focus our energy on what we don't want or what we are fearing it is only going to attract more of what we don't want into our lives. All the more reason to address our fears and get over them quickly.

Quote of the Day

2008-11-19T16:09:00.002-05:00

"Don't join an easy crowd; you wont grow. Go where expectations and the demands to perform are high"

"Get around people who have something of value to share with you. Their impact will continue to have a significant effect on your life long after they have departed"

~~JIM ROHN~~

Just Let Go And Float

2008-11-16T19:20:00.003-05:00

Lets go back to a time when we were just learning to swim. Remember the fear of sinking to the bottom of the pool or river. Remember trying harder and harder to grasp on to the water. The harder we grasped at the water the harder it was to stay above. And then finally we learned to just let go of our fear, relax, and float. Amazing, all we had to do was just let go and float.

How many of us are still living our lives this way? Kicking and fighting, trying to grasp on to anything and everything. We get so caught up in the way we think things should be that we end up forgetting to live. Think about how much time and energy we would all save if we would just let go and float. Once we realize that nothing happens by accident and that every person and incident is given to us for a reason it is much easier to "float". The trick is to find the good in everything. Find a reason to be thankful for it.

James A Ray states that "All of life is a dance." and Jim Rohn (http://www.jimrohn.com?kbid=9487) calls it "the seasons of life", either way the point is the same. The tides come in and go out no matter how hard we try to stop it, why don't we just sit back and enjoy it. Think of a leaf floating down a river. The leaf symbolizes us and the river is life. As the leaf floats down the river it will probably bump into a few rocks along the way, but eventually the wind changes and the leaf is set a sail again. Nothing is forever, the hard times will come and go and they will go much quicker if we address them, find the good in them, be thankful for them, and just let them go. Just let go and float, try it.

The Perfect Day of Play

2008-11-12T20:18:00.002-05:00

Those of you in the 3% club are probably starting to feel like your vision statement is a reality. You can probably rehearse it without even looking at your paper. You may be noticing little changes starting to unfold, you may have met a new friend, things at work may have changed, or maybe your home life has started to evolve. Whatever it is, don't be afraid, remember change is good. If we're not growing we're dying.

It is time for us to move on to the next vision statement topic, THE PERFECT DAY OF PLAY. When you write this vision statement I want you to visualize every detail of how you would spend the perfect day dong something recreational. You could be going to Paris, Vegas, or Disney. Or you could be taking your 10 favorite friends out on your new yacht or maybe flying to Miami to go shopping. Whatever it is, make it big and vivid. Remember your vision has to "turn you on", it has to get your emotions going in order to be effective.

EMOTIONS = MOTION = RESULTS

Below is my perfect day of play vision statement. It was originally written May 2007. I updated it today, the original version had us with 2 boys and me pregnant with a girl. Since then things have changed and we have decided to stop at a 2 for 2 parent/child ratio. I will be honest and tell you I haven't been reading it like I should, but after reading it today it has me excited again so I am going to start reading it everyday like I should.

The Perfect Day of Play

It is the Friday before Christmas, 5am, the vehicle was packed the night before and we are off to the Orlando airport. We are meeting my brother and his family in NYC for a long weekend get together. We have made a tradition out of this and have done this every year for the last 4 years. My husband, myself, and our kids are piled into the car and we are off. We stop at Chick-fil-a and get breakfast (drive-thru). Then it is off to I-4, normally they call this the "parking lot", but today seems to be our lucky day, traffic is moving smoothly. It only takes us 45 minutes to get to the airport. We park at the Parking Spot and they give us a ride to the airport check-in. We are only going to be in NYC for three days, but from there we are headed to upstate New York to spend the holidays with the rest of the family. Therefore, we have a lot of luggage to check, five large suitcases and three carry-ons. Once our luggage is checked we go through security and head to our terminal. We are flying Jetblue direct flight and it will take about 3 hours to get up there. We wait about twenty minutes before loading begins. The baby, who is 19 months old, sits on my lap and Xavier sits between Rod and myself. Once the plane is loaded it does not take long before we are taxing out and then we are off. Xavier is a seasoned flyer, he has been doing this since he was one yr old, but this is the first time the baby has ever flown. Much to my surprise the baby falls asleep and is not bothered by the altitude. Once we are at the appropriate altitude and speed they allow people to get up and move about the cabin. The flight attendants come by with drinks and snacks. We take water and pretzels. Xavier and Rod are listening to XM radio with their disposable headphones. I am just sitting back looking at the clouds. Time goes by quickly and before we know it they are telling people to get back in their seats and put their seat belts back on. We are approaching our destination. The sky is clear and the flight was very smooth. We circle the airport and make our approach. Landing was just as smooth as the flight. It takes no time for the flight crew to get us off the plane. It is now 11:30am and we are already at the baggage claim. We get a luggage cart and patiently wait for our luggage to come around. It takes about twenty minutes or so and then we head to check my brother's flight. The board shows it landed on time. We decide we would just meet in front of the Budget rental place. So we head over that way. Jason, Sandy and the kids are already there waiting for us. They have a lot less luggage since they are going home in three days. We both rent a SUV, so we have plenty of room. Now that we are together and have our rentals loaded up, we are on a mission to get some lunch. We find a cute little pizza shop to stop at and we go in to eat. We are all starved and New York pizza is the best. The kids are happy to see each other. They are full of energy and are telling stories about what Santa is going to bring them for Christmas. And as usual, they are wondering if Santa will be able to find Xavier and Madison all the way in New York. I cut into the conversation and say "Of course he will, he hasn't missed you yet". Xavier just smiles and says "I know, mom". The server comes to the table and we order three large pizzas and our drinks. We chat some more and before we know it the pizza is being placed on the tables. The server always serves the first piece of pizza in New York, so once we all have the perfect piece we get the kids to settle down and say "Thanks", then it is time to dig in. We eat almost all the pizza, we were all craving NY pizza and it really hit the spot. For desert we get cheese cake and canolli and split it between all of us. By this time the kids are getting antsy and it is time to get to the motel. We are staying at the Embassy Suites. We each have a large bedroom with two queen beds, a separate living room, a large bathroom, and a micro kitchen. We get unpacked and comfortable and meet downstairs in the lobby. We have our coats and mittens on and we are going for a walk. We are going to go see the big Christmas tree in Central Park. I don't know who is more excited, me or the kids. The air is crispy, but not too cold, and there is a very light dusting of snow flurries starting to pile up. The street lights are twinkling in the flakes as they fall. It is absolutely beautiful. Halfway there we stop in a coffee shop and get some hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. Once we get to the park we take a ton of pictures and just stare in amazement at how big and beautiful the tree is. It seems like it gets bigger and better every year. There are people caroling. It is so festive, it is at this moment when we feel the spirit of Christmas. The kids are starting to get a little chilly and hungry. We decide to go to the deli down the street and get soup and sandwiches. Once we are all full and recharged we decide to bring the kids to the skating rink. All the kids, except the baby, play on a hockey team, so they are pretty good at skating. Xavier thinks it is neat to skate outside, because in Florida he has to skate inside. The kids skate for about an hour, then we head back to the motel. The snow has started to fall much harder. The weather is calling for 3 inches by tomorrow morning. Once we get back to our rooms, the kids take showers and get into their pajamas. Jason, Sandy, and the kids come to our room, we pull out the couch bed and rent a Disney movie for the kids to watch. While the adults sit at the table and talk, the kids fall asleep on the pull out bed. It is now 11pm and it is time for us to go to bed, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Jason and Sandy leave the kids on the couch bed and they go back to their room. Rod and I go to bed as well. We set the alarm for 6am. Tomorrow we are going shopping and the kids are going to Macy's to see Santa. It is the perfect ending to the perfect day of play.

Accountability Partner

2008-11-10T22:29:00.003-05:00

So I have had a few people contact me via email and one via the blog regarding getting set up with an accountability partner. I know it seems like a big scary committment to have to check in with someone everyday, but I think it is a great idea. Remember only 3% of the people walking on the face of this earth make a serious study of success and personal development. I don't want anybody to miss out on this. Those of you who have not signed up can change your minds at anytime.

The Tentative Date

2008-11-10T22:06:00.003-05:00

So the wheels have been turning since this morning, I have made a few phone calls, and I am setting a tentative date for our vision board creation party. It's penciled in for Saturday Nov 29th, lets plan on meeting at my house around 6pm. Everybody needs to bring a few magazines and a pair of scissors.
Other things we will need:
index cards
glue
metal shower curtain rings
construction paper
markers
hole puncher
pictures
food & drinks
good ideas & positive energy

Like I said this morning, I will buy a hole puncher and a pack of index cards. I have some construction paper somewhere around the house. A couple people will need to bring glue and markers (my son uses crayons so I don't have any markers) and once I get a head count I will see how many metal rings we need and we can go from there. I also think that everybody who comes should bring a friend.

Portable Vision Board Idea

2008-11-10T08:16:00.004-05:00

Just a quick idea as I am on my way to work. I want to set up a get together for the local readers. It will probably have to be on a Sunday afternoon and we will have to work it in around the Leukemia/Lymphoma fundraisers that are already on the schedule. But I think it will be fun. I want us to make little portable vision boards, made with index cards. Who ever comes will need to bring scissors, glue, and 2-3 magazines and some pictures that they want to use. I will buy a hole puncher and some shower rings to loop the index cards together. If anybody already has a hole puncher you can bring it so we have extras.
If anybody wants to step it up a notch we can all bring something to munch on.....
We can talk it over later, gotta get to work.

Andrea's Tip of the Day

2008-11-10T08:16:00.001-05:00

#12. Get public acknowledgment for completing your task.
I've developed a contact at my local newspaper. When I do valuable thats in the public interest, I call her. Already she's done three stories on me and my accomplishments. Just thinking about getting in the paper energizes me. And putting the resulting article up on the wall keeps me inspired.

Andrea's Tip of the Day

2008-11-07T00:03:00.002-05:00

#11. Embark on a "passion walk."
Go outside into the fresh air- the physical movement is important- and think about whatever goal is important at the moment. Walk briskly as you start vividly imagining what it would be like to accomplish that dream. It is much easier to "act" your way into feeling motivated- to pretend that you are- than to actually get yourself to act. Imagine first, and let the passion that it inspires stimulate you into doing the required task.

Procrastination......

2008-11-05T18:40:00.003-05:00

Is procrastination one of the seven deadly sins? If not, it should be. We are all guilty of dragging our feet on occasion, well I know I am. It seems like the human thing to do, right?

I attended a very interesting and informative teleconference today. One of the topics of discussion was procrastination. I want to share the information I learned with you because I feel it is highly valuable and I think we could all benefit from it.

To start the discussion my mentor started by addressing the 4 causes of procrastination:
1.) fear
2.) the "should do"
3.) no strategy
4.) higher priorities

Lets just start with #1. FEAR. The fear of failure, the fear of embarrassment, the fear of ......well you name it. There are so many fears out there that actually cause people to not take action. Think of a middle school kid procrastinating on a presentation assignment, perhaps the procrastination is not due so much to the intelligence of the child but more so the fear of doing the presentation in front of the class.

#2. The "SHOULD DO IT" mentality is a very uninspiring feeling. When you feel like you should do something opposed to wanting to, love to, excited to, etc... things just feel like a drag. Nobody likes to feel like they are having their arm twisted into doing something and sometimes the things we "should do" feel just this way. The uninspiring feeling of "I should do this" leads to procrastination.

#3. Having NO STRATEGY is where I find myself on occasion. Lets say I/you have a mental list of 5 or 6 things I/you need to do by the end of the day. I/You know I need to get them all done and I have plenty of time to do them, but I don't get a strategy together and I don't write it on paper. I spend a third of the day trying to remember the 5 or 6 things on my mental list and another third of the day I spend trying to make sure my least favorite thing is at the end of my list, so I potentially don't have to do it, and the last third of the day is used for actually getting a few things on the mental list done. I have actually came up with a strategy system that works very well when implemented. Instead of a mental list, I get a piece of paper and a pen and write a hard copy list. I then prioritize by level of importance and flow of accomplishment. For instance, if I have to do laundry, mop the floor, do dishes, go to the grocery store, and get gas, I will start the laundry and let it wash while I do the dishes, then mop the floor. Then I put the laundry in the dryer, run to the gas station, and stop at the grocery last (so the ice cream doesn't melt). When I get home and have the groceries put away I will fold the laundry and put it away. Having a well thought out strategy always works better for me. Having a hard copy list is a must for more than one reason, first I can't trust myself to remember everything that needs to be done and second it feels good to cross of each task as it gets accomplished.

#4. Having HIGHER PRIORITIES is the last common cause of procrastination. When something ranks low on your priority list it is easy to push it aside. We have all fallen into the rut of having something better to do. The thing is if we just take a few moments and get that nagging task out of the way it would free up so much more mental energy and make us more productive in the long run.

Along with giving the 4 common causes of procrastination my mentor also went over 3 steps to putting an end to procrastination all together. They are as follows:
1.) get into action
2.) set consequences for yourself
3.) have an accountability partner

The simple act of getting into action is the most fundamental. If there is something you need to do, just do it! There will be times when I don't feel like doing the dishes, but they need to be done. After I start doing them the momentum starts going and by the time I leave the kitchen the counters and table are cleaned too. The act of just starting the process is the hard part, once you start finishing is easy.

Setting consequences for myself is new to me, but I feel it has potential. The example he used was a student of his that kept saying she wanted to start a business cleaning and organizing people's garages. She had been thinking about this business idea for approximately 3 years, but never acted on it. He asked her if she thought it was possible to find one friend, family member, or neighbor within 2 weeks time that would let her organize their garage. She said "yeah". Then he asked her teenage daughter if she would be willing to accept $200 from her mother if within 2 weeks she had not accomplished this one task, of course the daughter said "yes". The next time they spoke his student had accomplished her goal and had more garage organizing jobs lined up. It was the painful consequence that motivated her to move forward with her business idea.

Having an accountability partner sounds like a great idea. He explains an accountability partner as somebody who will hold you accountable for the things you say you are going to do by the time you say you will have them done. This does not need to be someone you know intimently and will usually work better if it's not a spouse. He says in the 7 day live events that he holds people get paired up with accountability partners. The requirements for a good accountability partner are to find someone consistent and interested in personal development. They also have to have the ability to dish out some "tough love", which means they will not except your excuses when you slack off. And of course the 2 of you have to have good chemistry, you have to at least like each other to help each other especially since you will be talking to this person everyday. He says to set a time of day (typically in the morning) where you meet on the phone for a few minutes , discuss the prior days goals and how you reached them, then discuss your goals for the day ahead. Your partner writes your goals down and you write their goals down and the next day you make sure each other accomplished the list. And so on.

I think the accountability partnership is a great idea. I want to get set up with somebody who can/will hold me accountable for my daily goals. I think it would make my days and weeks more productive. If anybody is interested let me know either by posting it in the comments section for this thread or by sending me an email (tonya.therightdirection@gmail.com). If I get a lot of people interested I can probably pair people up with partners in the same time zone so the phone calling doesn't present a problem.

Now that we all know and understand the 4 common causes of procrastination and the 3 steps to putting an end to procrastination we should all become much more productive.

Andrea's Tip of the Day

2008-11-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

#10. Ensure that your innermost beliefs support, enhance, and further your goals.
What do you believe about yourself and your chances of reaching your goals? Do you believe that you can reach them? Will it be easy or hard? Can you do it alone, or will you need help? Will reaching your goal help you or not? Beliefs are a key part of your ability to reach your goals. Pause now, and re-affirm your belief in yourself. Take that sense of security and confidence and start again. This will enable you to successfully acomplish any job you set before yourself.

Andrea's Tip of the Day

2008-11-03T23:27:00.001-05:00

#9. Attach positive values to each of your tasks.
If you have to clean up the kitchen, realize that the accomplishment of the project will make you feel good about where you live. If you have to write a business proposal, associate it with making more money and gaining financial security. If you have to call a friend to dicuss an uncomfortable situation, think of the call as a means of gaining courage, reducing stress, and building greater trust.

What is Your "Consuming" Thought?

2008-11-03T00:54:00.002-05:00

We've all heard the saying "What we think about we bring about". So what is it that you've been thinking about? In your spare time are you thinking about where you want to be in five years or are you consumed with thoughts of what you don't want?

I caught myself wasting mental energy on disempowering thoughts today. I was steam cleaning the living room carpet, the machine was so loud that the only thing I could hear were my thoughts. I caught myself thinking about something that had annoyed me in the past and was totally irrelevant to today and tomorrow. I'm not even sure how long I was thinking before I realized what I was doing. When I finally did realize what I was doing I asked myself "What are you even thinking about that for? It's a waste and it doesn't even effect your life anymore". Then I went into our bedroom and looked at our vision board for a moment, which redirected my mental energy to the positive, and then I finished with the steam cleaning.

My point is anyone and everyone can and will occasionally get tangled up with a disempowering thought, the trick is to not let it consume you. When you can address it quickly and refocus your energy to the positive you will be happier. Using our vision board was the quickest and easiest way to get a new image in my mind. Looking at a picture of something you want or something that brings joy to your life stimulates your mind both visually and emotionally. This dual stimulation makes these thoughts easier to hold on to.

The next time you catch yourself thinking about something or someone that is annoying or dreadful take a moment to redirect your thinking to something happy and joyous. Remember, "What we thing about we bring about".

Andrea's Tip of the Day

2008-11-03T00:50:00.001-05:00

#8. Set goals that move and inspire.
There are no unmotivated people, only unchallenging goals. Make your goals believable and exciting-
and make sure that they challenge without discouraging you. Set goals for health and vitality, and for improving relationships and character. Lackluster goals will remain on the shelf like a bad book. But powerful goals will ignite your hottest fires so that you get them done.... NOW!!

*****EMOTION = MOTION = RESULTS*****

Andrea's Tip of the Day

2008-10-31T13:57:00.001-04:00

#7. Become an animal.
Choose a particular animal whose stereotypical temperment would help you in succeeding at you task. Consider an eagle, lion, monkey, jaguar, dolphin, shark, panther, bear, dinosaur, kangaroo, or a squirrel. Make some kind of corresponding noise, wear a hat or some kind of clothing that reminds you of your chosen creature, or adopt its posture.Make it fun. Then take on your animal's temperment and start the project that is before you.

Knowing You Are FABULOUS is Key

2008-10-30T00:46:00.002-04:00

Lets face it, the mere fact that anyone of us is here right now is amazing! Conception it's self is a miracle. Think about it for a moment. How amazing is it that a sperm can even find an egg to fertilize. Then cells divide and multiply until the embryo turns into a baby! The miracle of life truly is a MIRACLE!

After surviving the first 40 weeks of gestation, things don't get much easier. Our heads are so heavy that we can't hold them up. We are unable to walk and unable to communicate in a language that is easily understood by our parents. Our well being was totally dependant on the people around us. Yet, we have all survived. We learned to walk, feed ourselves, communicate, read, and even drive a car. It is simply amazing!

Now, don't you feel important? Once you realize what an amazing creature you are you will start feeling more valuable. When you start knowing you are fabulous you will permeate positive energy. Positive people will feel this positive energy and be attracted to you. People will know you are important when you know you are important.

The next time you are feeling down on yourself take a moment and remember what a fabulous miracle you are.

Andrea's Tip of the Day

2008-10-30T00:45:00.001-04:00

#6. Always create a "Plan B."
Even if you totally expect to succeed, have a back-up plan. What will you do if things dont fall into place? If others dont come through? If you get sick? If the weather becomes horrible? With an alternate plan you can relax in the knowledge that even in the worst case you'll be alright.

The Right Direction

AvoGreen Smoothie

CAC Fall Fashion Show

Cantelope-Ginger-Coconut Smoothie

pic of the apple-nut cookies

Apple-Nut Cookies/Bars

Strawberry Almond Milk

Raw Chocolate Pudding

DINNER

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Pics Of the Raw Lasagna

My 1st Attempt at RAW LASAGNA

For Jill *** Delicious KALE CHIPS***

Sprouts are ready to eat!!!

Today's Adventure

This one passed the taste test!!

Quite possibly the GROSSES substance on Earth

I'm in the mood to write

Fun & Fashion Night @ Fountain Square

Children's Home Society

Good News

L&L

The Children's Advocacy Center's Annual Fall Fashion Show

Food for Thought

Something Bold

the orphanage

Discovering "LOVE & LOGIC"

hip2save

The Four Agreements

The Margarita Ball

Pictures of the GOODS!!

The Goods!!

The Children's Advocacy Center

I Found My MAILBOX

Mailbox to GOD

Forgiveness

You Become What You Think About

The Power of Giving & Sharing

Quote

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear"

First Quarter Review

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

Attracting Better Relationships

Ask And It Shall Be Given

Free E-zine

Sticks & Stones

Free Video

Perception = Reality

Skills VS Characteristics

Resistance

As a man thinketh....

To Holosync....

"You Tell on Youself"

To Holosync or Not to Holosync, That is the Question

Appreciation

How to Take Advantage of the "Winter"

Success.....

Today's Teleseminar

Quote

Quote

Christmas for the Homeless Pictures

Christmas for the Homeless

Quote of the Day

'Tis the Season to Clean Out the Closets

Quote

The Vision Statement is Working

Quote of the Day

Where is Tonya?

Purpose VS Goals

Quote & Thought

~~~REMINDERS~~~

Quote

The Importance of Goals

Remember to Give "Thanks" on Thanksgiving

5 Pillars

Quote

Why Do I Care?

30 Days to Create a New Habit

Quote of the Day & a Thought

New Link

For Jill * Delicious KALE CHIPS*

~REMINDERS~