To those of you who help me

I have really had an up and down week this week. Sometimes you just aren't sure you can get all the demanding things done, let alone stay sane during them all. I was overloaded with many things to do, places to be, multiple projects and deadlines at once as well as information overload, expenses and not to mention my share of frustrations, sometimes to the point where I just wanted to come unglued.  Amidst the chaos, there are many things to be grateful for. We just need to stop and really reflect on them.
Sometimes there are just those people that you come in contact with that make life easier to bare, that make you less frustrated, or help you forget what you were frustrated about. Sometimes we take those people for granted and sometimes they don't even expect a thank you. But I want to take this time to simply stress how important it is to thank these people before it is to late. You may truly make a difference to them.
I want to thank John at Nissan for his exceptional customer service, for getting to my vehicle asap, diagnosing the problem, fixing another person's mistake, replacing a missing part, him and his service people's time, washing and vacuuming my car and sending me home reassured with a $0 bill.
I want to thank the tow truck manager and state farm for picking up the difference of the mistake they quoted me in mileage on the tow bill.
I want to thank the Fletcher's manager for agreeing to pay my difference in tow bill when my car died in the intersection for the part that they accidentally knocked off while checking my air filter that caused my car to die and have it be towed.
I want to thank God or the Universe for the car troubles that may have put me in the right place at the right time to avoid something catastrophic that could have happened in my life.
I want to thank Jesse at Discount tire for matching prices on tires for me and finding the best deal for Steve's tires possible to help ease our already hefty bill to buy 6 new tires between us.
I want to thank my mom for coming to my rescue once again and helping with my son without a second thought.
I want to thank my friend Amy for the ride to pick up my car so I didn't waste extra time waiting for a courtesy vehicle or arranging another way to pick my car up. And for helping me with my computer issues. :)
To Melinda and Judy for helping me with Drew and his rental and easing both of our weeks!
I want to thank Ali for having me come present my book to her literature class and over the last few days becoming an advocate for my book sales and helping me to get some contacts at local schools that she has connections with.
Thank you  Meisha for agreeing to take my new catalogs and scents to her work to collect orders for me! :)
I want to thank Ashley and Alexandria for always knowing when to text or call at the moment that I need the pick me up the most!
I thank my husband for remaining calm this week in the midst of my crazy schedule and late nights my frustrations and roller coaster moods! You were amazing!
I am sure there were a lot more people that I could and should be thanking right now, and to anyone who has helped me in the past a big thank you to you as well.

I will go out and put a little sunshine into some one's life today, because though they may seem like small gestures to the person who is doing them, they may make a total difference to those who are receiving them.

Turn of events

Sometimes no matter how hard you try and plan for your day to go one little switch and your whole day can go another way. I set out this morning to do a little work helping my mom in her closet then my plan was to do paperwork, BPO's, look up houses for people and follow up with banks on short sales, while taking breaks to do laundry and put away stuff from our weekend trip.
1 text changed that all. I dropped what I had planned to show a couple houses for rent over an hour from my home. Neither were a winner in his mind, but a blessing in disguise in mine.
Life is about making money to live on to have what you need and want, but it is also about making the most of your time and energy and today I was grateful that mine including stopping to spend a little time and bringing a little sunshine to a friend in the hospital. And knowing that whether it was a big or little impact making it is important because we never truly know how much time we have left.
Today i count my blessings for my life, my health and my happiness that i am in control of creating every day, because we truly create our own happiness in the midst of tragedy, or disaster. We chose our reaction.
2 situations, one that involved a previous Broker's niece and fellow Realtor's son who were killed in a car crash this past weekend at the young age of 22 and another a friend of friend who himself, wife and 1 month old baby girl were struck by a car walking through an intersection this morning (all still alive but with multiple injuries.) -remind me that when I am gone no one will remember me for how clean my house was, whether I got all my laundry done, if I got everything done on my list but they will remember my attitude, my smile and how I impacted their life.
So i believe today I accomplished my goal, whether I crossed a single thing from my list or not. And if tomorrow never comes would i rather have know the last dish was clean or that I spent it with the family and friends that I love.

Today I am grateful for more than I know

Today marks the start of my journey of faith, of trust and hope because I BELIEVE in what I knew that I could do all along. When you want something bad enough you will go for it you will push yourself and make it happen. I love life, I love my family, my greatest goal is to help people and I am accomplishing this, whether it is paid in money or other ways that are not as easily seen by the eye, but can be felt by the heart.
I cashed my first buyer transaction check since I quit my job almost 2 months ago( not including the rentals I have done)  and it feels great, to be back into doing what I love, getting in the swing of things balancing my life, appreciating what I have, setting goals daily, weekly and looking forward to all my upcoming adventures.
Remembering that things will happen beyond my control so I need to control what I can and let the rest of the things fall into place how they will, try to find something to be grateful in every interaction, situation or obstacle that I face. One moment at a time, one step at a time, one day at a time. Appreciate what I see, what I touch and how good I can feel. Take notice of others and all that I can learn from them, absorb as much knowledge as I can and keep moving forward toward my goals. Being kind and considerate with everyone because I can think before I speak, but I cannot take something I said away.
Sometimes like I have said in numerous posts, it is the little things that we don't even know that we do or say that can make a huge difference sometimes in the lives of others.  I was chatting with a person through face book yesterday who said this to me after we messaged back in forth a few times, for what I thought was a normal conversation...
"I meat to thank you again for all your help today! You never know who's life you touch through sharing your story and today you've helped so much."
I thought, how super sweet to acknowledge something that came so naturally for me to do as something that really helped her.
It makes me step back and think of all the times someone has touched me or gave me courage or strength to get through something and perhaps I never acknowledged them for it. What a great way to feel good about touching someone else's life. An old boss of mine once told me that her word of worth would be service. She truly feels that she is accomplishing what she should be in life by being of service to other people. You can truly take that word just as the word believe and make it whatever you feel is the definition for you.

Believe is my word and now I truly believe even more.
I believe God is good
I believe in miracles
I believe in myself
I believe that I am destined to do great things
I believe in those around me
I believe in my family
I believe in life
I believe in dreams................................etc.

Live for NOW it is a PRESENT

Often times I think that we go about our day to day routine, struggles, projects, work, life and demanding things that NEED to get done that we often times don't stop to enjoy what we really have. The blessings that are in our life. We take our family, our life and our friendships, our health, freedom and possessions for granted. We take the little gifts we receive every day, such as sunshine and rain, even running late or that blasted train that we didn't anticipate,( things that happen for a reason that we don't know, but something that truly was a blessing in disguise)  and we don't bother to be thankful, because it is expected, we are irritated or we just have too much on our plate to take the time to notice. Sometimes we are so wrapped up in the things that have happened to us,  and the things that we are in fear of in the future that we don't truly see or appreciate what we have right now.

I have come across a few people in my life who do appreciate what they have right now, they live for the moment.  This has made me reflect differently, they have made me truly find the good in every situation, even if it doesn't seem possible to view it in any other way than bad/tragic or terrible.

 For 3 years growing up I watched my best girlfriend struggle with brain cancer, from the ages of 7-10 I  never remember hearing a negative word come out of her mouth, I remember her smile, her soft voice, the way she made the Dr.'s and nurses at the hospital laugh- she inspired me to be grateful for everything that I have. She made me realize that life can be short, but not short lived if you are an inspiration to those around you, if you make your mark that will forever be remembered and well received by those you touched, something that will continue to be talked about, something that will forever inspire you to be the best that you can.

I know sometimes it is easy to forgot in a world where we are "trained" to want more, to never be satisfied with just what we have and to continue to strive for better. This is fine, and wanting more is not a bad thing, but stopping to slow down and be thankful for what we already have, and appreciate it sometimes gets put off until later, and then never happens, even if our intentions are in the right place. No one sees intentions only actions.
We have a dear friend right now fighting for her life, fighting to understand why something so sad and devastating could happen to such a kind, caring, uplifting person, someone who means so much to those around her that without her they may not fathom what they could possibly do without her. This is when people come together to be grateful, to say thank you for making an impact on my life.

For NOW is all we really have, all we can count at this moment in time. It is sad to say that sometimes our reflections, our thankfulness, or times of stopping to "smell the roses" come when we are faced with a challenge or we are fighting for a cause whether that be for ourselves or someone else. These tough times are great reminders for us that we need to slow down, make each moment count before it is gone and no longer the moment. We can so easily pass by opportunities to be thankful for what we have, to share a kind thought or word with someone else. To shine our light upon the world that so desperately needs our positive energy and support.

You will never reach a point where you are completely free of all your problems, only in being present can you truly be free NOW, no one can guarantee freedom of the future, and no one can change your past, but you can control now, your attitude, you light, the way that other's see you, the way you treat people, especially those that you love so much you often take for granted that they will always be there.
We can be in control of our thoughts, our actions and take the steps we need to take action and make our future's bright, however since we cannot predict what will happen to us, when our time is up here it is up and sometimes no matter how many  "what if" or what could we have done differently games we could play in our minds, we will never have the answers we are looking for as to WHY.

So take steps every day to make your life count, to create moments of happiness for yourself and for others, and truly let your light shine upon the world, you will not only make a difference in your life, in the way you view things, but in the lives of every one you touch, whether it be with your words, your actions or a simple smile, you can make a difference.

Don't wait to fight for a cause, make your cause your every day purpose to live for NOW and make your mark on the world. Make it a good, positive memorable mark, because if you wait to long and your time is up many will have missed the opportunity to have been touched by you and carry your legacy with them in their future.

Unexpected but Expected

So Day #1 of my fully trimmed out schedule for the week, heck I know I am a few days behind but didn't figure out what I was wanting to do until Monday and then how to use the fancy hotmail calendar that emails you an hour before an event as a reminder until yesterday!
Ended up having a bit of a case of insomnia last night so fully expected to sleep a little later than my first planned event at 5:40 this morning to read and pray once Steve left for work.... ah... unexpectedly my son apparently had different plans and thought that 4:50 was the perfect time to wake up. Coaxing him back in bed didn't really buy me much time to snooze, since he was bouncy into my room at 5:30, just before Steve left.
So needless to say that although I am going to do my best to assure that I try my hardest to keep to a schedule so that I get into a semi-routine of what I expect of myself to do on a daily basis, I have to remain calm and know now once again things are going to happen and adjustments WILL be made.
Anytime you work for yourself in the type of field that I am in, it is definitely WAY different than going to a routine job every day where you know what time to what time, what to expect and what you are going to be doing while you are there. Right now you have to be ready to do anything at the drop of a hat with how the market is reflecting the low inventory and the clients that are needing to see homes as soon as possible before they go under contract. It is way more challenging and exciting and for those of you that know me the best, I perform way better when under pressure and with lots of things to accomplish! I LOVE it.

OWN it- guilt FREE

I can recognize that I have flaws and I have strengths and one of my flaws is that I will often times have a plan in my head and do not write it down or carry it out because I get distracted by all the other little things that pop up. I am a people pleaser and I often times let others dictate what it is that I do, from my child to my husband, my mom, friends in need, or clients that I feel I may "lose" if I don't jump when they call. This type of behavior can cause a person to become overwhelmed and discouraged when you have too much to do on a daily basis and you don't know how to organize or dictate when you are available for them. This can also cause you not to be as attentive or do as good of a job because you are easily distracted and may forget what you were working on when you did "jump".
Don't get me wrong family and God come first, but sometimes the money that you are trying to pursue in order to spend more money with your family can cause you to work harder to get it and you will please people that you don't need to along the way to get it, sometimes getting disappointed when it doesn't come and you wasted precious time on something that didn't pan out. As a Realtor that is the chance we take sometimes for our clients, in hopes that they will stay loyal, work with us or find what they need/want. However, the trick is is to be busy enough that they don't expect you to jump at every phone call, but don't be too busy not to follow up in a manner that is professional, timely but doesn't allow them to run your life. I think in the past I have felt guilty if I was doing something for my self and didn't give it up to help a client. I truly love helping people but I need to remember everything has limits. Whether I am going to a Dr. appointment, eating dinner with my family, taking my son to the museum or taking a 1/2 an hour to read a book that inspires me; I need to attend to the task at hand and call the person back, or schedule them for a time that is open for me.
We are in control of what we do, when and the choices we make to reach and achieve our goals. With a plan in place and a target in mind, I am set to make some great choices this week that will lead me on a path to success, while standing by all of my commitments to God, my family and my clients, while still giving quality service to all.

People are happy if they can do what they think is right without feeling guilty. Romans 14:22

Daily Inspiration Coffee JOLT

Inspiration is something that can never grow old. In the daily grind of life we need a constant reminder not to give up, let go of our dreams or let others tell us what we can and cannot do. Hook up with accountability partners that will allow you to be you and hold you to what you want to do. Hold them to what they want to do/accomplish as well. Work with people who inspire you and who you can inspire. Hang out with people who are already living the dreams you want to accomplish. Whether you look up inspiring You tube videos, read quotes, read books, listen to motivating cd's; it is going to encourage you and give you the push you need to go forward.
This past week I had a few sales fizzle, a few renters find homes on their own because the inventory was so low that nothing I could provide them matched their criteria. I was very disappointed but decided that I needed a little rejuvenating. I took my son to the Science Center with friends on Friday, Saturday we went swimming and Sunday we went to the Natural History Museum in Mesa (free the first Sunday of the month) to see the dinosaurs. It was a lot of fun.
This Monday morning I am ready to go. I have a great week planned for all the things/steps I am going to take to get new and hold onto my current business. I am not going to let last week get me down, because I know what I want and I am ready to go for it.

You are the creator of your own HAPPINESS! Start today.


Thanks Dean for my morning JOLT, it was better than the coffee.

Keep Plugging Away

"One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat."

Napoleon Hill
1883-1970, Author of Think and Grow Rich

I love this.... we all want to quit at some point in what we are pursuing whether we just have an idea, we think may not work, we are just starting out and something negative happens to bring us down, or we are a long way into it and are not sure what the future holds. Guess what? We don't know what the future holds and if we give up now without truly seeing it through, we will never know what it could of held.
Keep your chin up, keep going, pursue your dreams, keep moving forward, love every minute, every struggle and every triumph because that is what is going to make it all worth the end results!
Remember, we can only be better than we were yesterday, don't compare yourself to others, praise yourself and your abilities every day and be proud of who you are and what you stand for, while spreading a little joy and happiness in the lives of others.
We all struggle and no one knows what the next person is truly going through, give them all the benefit of the doubt and take care of yourself.

succeed

So starting out on this new venture on a roll, working my butt off and selling homes, contracts written, the stars seem to align, things are progressing nicely, business is coming from all directions  and boom, things start to crack, chip, break and fall apart before my eyes....REMEMBER, I say to myself, I am not only in it to make money, I am in it to help people, and instead of complaining what do I do- take the challenge- become the stronghold, look for the positive in the situation. Grab the bull by the horns as they say and "fix" it which I am known for. At my old job I had a tough time when I always wanted to fix a situation, which led my students to not be as accountable as they should be, but in this life, this field, that is my job. To hold a contract together, to weigh all sides, to go to bat for my client, to not give up, to not give in and to move forward like it is all I have to live for. It is my livelyhood..... and I missed it! :) Here is to a new day, here is to a new beginning, here is to finding that 1 positive in the situation, no matter how small. It is like when you can't your keys and you are running late and it seems like everything that can go wrong does. But if you look back and reflect that things happen for a reason and maybe just maybe you avoided that accident you would have gotten into on your way somewhere if you wouldn't have misplaced them... you just never know.

I did it!

Ah.. about time to go to bed only 5.5 hours til I need to be awake! The days of this are coming to a CLOSE. When one door closes - another one opens,  or you shut it to make room for one to open! LOL!  I had a great relaxing weekend, spent time with family and friends. Took in the beauty of everything. Back to the hectic work week and about 7 clients pulling me in different directions, did I mention Paxton still has 1 week left of swim lessons every night as well, oh my! Lots of relief today as I told my full time position for the last 3 years that I was leaving to pursue other things.  Woo Hoo!  I think I can, I know I can and I will make this happen. When you are driven, you have passion and truly believe in something and want it bad enough you can make it happen. I think that is one of the reasons that even though I tried school several times (since it was practically free to me for working there) that I just couldn't do it. I wasn't driven or passionate enough about that extra piece of paper. Could I do it yes, but do I need it no. It doesn't define who I am. Helping people find houses, getting challenged on a daily basis and writing are my passion for sure, along with my family! Truly the biggest blessing in my life that I need to support, love and enjoy life with.  I know I can do this. I have given up my biggest road block and I am ready to dive in with zest! I will definitely still work hard, I want the best for my family but the ties that bind will be lifted and I can be set free. Here is to June 27th and a new and improved me!

untagging myself

So I am still at that point where I struggle with my weight, I eat when I am happy, I eat when I am sad, I eat when I am stressed, geez, I guess I just love to eat. Time doesn't permit as much working out as I would like and I just can't tell myself no. Things taste so good as they are going in my mouth and the look and smell sometimes you just can't resist. I have never really been the person who doesn't have time to eat, I have been the person who doesn't have time to eat so she eats all the wrong things, or doesn't eat and then eats whatever looks good or is lying around. I always do better when I can take the time to make my food ahead of time or portion it out. I can stick to a specific diet like the HCG diet for 30 days knowing it is 30 days, but somehow haven't mastered the idea of eating healthy every day, counting calories and just plain being conscious of what I am doing. I love healthy foods but they are just not as convenient as the not so healthy counterparts.
I think that I am going to take it one day at a time, give my value to the who I am and where I am at this moment in time, love myself and make peace with where I am at at each moment in time, remind myself on a daily basis that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels and stop being so critical of the way I look and concentrate more on being grateful for the things I have, the things I like about myself. I think I mentioned in an early post that I bought a gratitude journal to keep in my purse, I am going to try and remember that every time I want to put something in my mouth, I get stressed or discourage and want to turn to food, to grab my little book and write instead. Then I can be less critical about the way I look in a picture, a snapshot or photo because I know that is how I look at the moment in time.

Whoever said going after your dream would be easy! I don't anticipate it to be, would I like it to be? Yes, sometimes, but what would life be like if not for a challenge. I am ready and eager to make this happen, to work my butt off and be the product of my hard work, passion, dedication and faith. Believe, believe, believe that is my favorite saying if you know me well enough. I have numerous sayings, quotes, pictures, frames etc throughout my house with this saying.. just trying to figure out where I want to put the tattoo, my latest fav spot is the side of my foot, saw a cute tat on pinterest the other night. Anyway, yes I am making the leap and I can't wait to talk about it to everyone. Just about another week and I will be safe to say where my life is leading me and what lies before me. It took a little convincing, a lot of faith a great written down business plan and did I mention passion/motivation... Those are huge factors that contribute to ones success. My director at my current job told me today that if you truly believe in the mission and vision of whatever organization you are working for it will come natural, people will be receptive to what you are telling them, you will be believable, credible and it definitely will add value to all you come in contact with. I truly believe that she is right! You have to believe in yourself, never let anyone tell you you can't, especially you. Your confidence in your self and ability can make or break you.

No mountain is too tall if your first step is belief. ~Anonymous~

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." ~Jim Rohn
If you don't build your dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs. - Tony Gaskins

simple pleasures

The little things, yes the little things really mean more to me than a lot of the big things combined. It is in the little things that I find peace, content, happiness, joy and pleasure. One big thing can sure make me happy but it doesn't seem to linger as long as the things that others do to make my day all that more amazing, my job easier, my encounters more pleasant. The other day I went grocery shopping and came home and the laundry had been started, I didn't even have to ask. To a man it may seem like no big deal, and sometimes it is far better to respond with a simple thank you than make it an embarrassing production how impressed you are by his grand gesture, (because to him it is not a grand gesture)!

I have started to keep a little gratitude journal in my purse where I will write down little things that I am grateful for every day, quotes that I hear and like, books I want to read and songs that I want to look up the words because they truly have great meanings! A little book for me to keep my thoughts and recollect all the beautiful blessings in my life. Gratitude and Attitude speak volumes. I think the more grateful you are for what you already have, the more likely you will be to come into more abundance. I want to be a patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled woman. One step at a time.

May 15th 2004

I Danielle take you Steve (I Steve take you Danielle)

 As you are now

And in whom you will become

 loving what I know of you,

 trusting what I do not yet know

No matter what life brings our way

I will be your best friend,

Your confidant

And strongest supporter

I will grow with you

In life and love

for all the days of our lives.

Let these words be remembered and placed in our hearts each time we have doubts, each time we fail to believe in the other person. Let us live for each other, for our truly amazing son that we created together and for fulfilling a lifelong commitment. Not taking anything for granted, with a sense of gratitude for every blessing we have no matter how small, for the unknown that is yet to come our way, planning as best we can but living for each moment knowing that it could be taken from us in a blink of an eye, grateful for every moment whether easy, hard, difficult or rich, stormy or full of blessing. We don’t know what is around the corner no matter how hard we plan. Loving and caring for each other in this very moment in time is all we truly have, why miss it, why linger on past regrets or future things that may never happen. Life is amazing and things happen for a reason, even if we somehow never figure out what the reason is.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things (1 Corithians 13:7)

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

                                                                                                                               

Missing the Challenge!

The stress of work, daycare issues, money and more... Oh how I am just looking for the answer that will solve all/most of my concerns. I want the peace and happiness back in my life, not the chaos and stress. Oh how I miss the challenge or working for myself. The motivation and excitement of getting that next sale, helping people find rental homes, buying homes, selling their homes and land. Writing when I want to, reading a good book, spending leisure time, I am not sure if I remember much what leisure time is. I know working for myself it is something I have a passion for and have continued to do over the years, but i am really getting to the point that I am craving it full time and would do just about whatever I can to make it happen. I love the people, the obstacles, the set backs, the challenge of helping that person find just the right property. At my full time job lately they have been stressing the push for recommendations (referrals) and how we need to ask on a regular basis, In my many years of sales, you receive a referral for your excellent customer service, your dedication to your client, the little things you do to go out of your way to make their transaction go as smoothly as possible, those are the services that render referrals, not because you asked, but because they gave it to you freely out of the utmost respect for your service and loyalty. Who wouldn't want that for a friend of family member. What a way to be truly blessed. Give 100% of yourself as much and often as you can and things will fall into place. You are going places and you are leaving behind a little of your warmth and care each time you come in contact with another person. Your words and deeds speak volumes. Be kind, be respectful, be considerate, think before you speak and share your sunshine with the world.

Peaks and Valleys

It is amazing to me how we can experience so many highs in lows in one given day. You can be up, down, sideways, happy, sad, angry, exhausted, energetic. No wonder most of us are tired by the end of the day and need that rest to get back up and do it all over again the next day. I know that my day started out with a bang, my car dying in the middle of the road, did I mention for the 2nd time in 2 weeks? Well, luckily they fixed it at no charge... but it did seem to set the course for my day, which I was able to quickly swing around and change my attitude toward the other instances in my day. I felt pretty productive at work despite being 3 hours late and seemed to pick up 2 new clients out of no where. Great! Did have a few other ups and downs not worth mentioning. I am extremely proud of myself that I can forgive and forget so easily and let things roll off my shoulder. I wish that everyone out there was like that. It is truly a conflict when you can be that way but someone else can not. Still working on my reactive self and slowing down the pace. I know I am doing all of this for a reason and I can't wait until it pays off and I can look back and say it was all worth it... not that I would do it again, but that it was all worth it! Today I am grateful for the pinal county sheriffs that stopped to help, my husband who handled my car repairs, my father-in-law for escorting me back to the car dealer and my mother for watching my sweet child, and all the friends I have out there that encourage me to be the best me I can be.... (well most of the time)

It is weird how motivated you can get by something that you really want to see happen. When you can actually visualize it coming true. When you think about it non-stop to the point that you lose focus on everything that you are wasting your time doing. For the past 2 weeks since I have clearer energy and stronger focus, forcing out all the negative energy strangling me, sometimes sweeping right back at the person sending it my way.   I have written down my goals, I have shared them with others and I am doing everything that I can to make them possible. I feel like God and the Universe is pushing me to do a certain thing and I feel a strong calling. It is hard when you have others to think about and it is not just you. You are not the only one who has the risk and convincing others of what they cannot see is often very challenging and stressful on all parties involved. Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. Hebrews 11:1 But most of the time with convictions as strong as you feel it is worth the extra push and effort to get there, to truly be happy and believe in yourself, your dreams and your abilities, and KNOW in your heart, not just your head that everyone involved will prosper. Don't let go of what you know is right, pray that things fall into place and you are guided to speak the right words and share the right actions to get you to the place you ought to be. Remember in one of my past entries I spoke about the sticky note that I wish God would leave on my bathroom mirror. I think I found it.

Giving up something.

So I was thinking that sometimes we do too many things searching for the one thing that you will be good at or will take you to that place of success that you feel is out there and meant for you. I mean heck Instagram sold to Facebook for a ridiculous amount of money, why can't I have an idea like that. Is it genius or luck? I have no idea. I have decided that there are many blessings in my life and it is time to focus on what I do best so that I can get rid of the rest. Can I do it over night, NO. But I am sure going to set a goal, give myself the time, ignore those who think it can't be done and pursue like heck my dreams and desires so that I can get to where I want to be, to where I know I can. It isn't for lack of trying in the past, it isn't for failing, that I have given up, stopped working at something so hard or ignored it for awhile, it is because of those who said I couldn't that I started to believe that maybe that is true, but who better then our self to know what we are truly capable of and what better time than to prove myself right and someone else wrong, and really kick it up and feel good about it. Confidence is what we need to pursue what we want, stand up for what we believe in and go that extra mile, as a facebook friend mentioned today, why not go the extra mile, it isn't very crowded there. I challenge myself and others to look deep inside themselves, find their core that they feel good about, pursue it, don't look back, don't waiver and for goodness sake never ever let someone else who doesn't believe you can do it, convince you that you can't. Remember it has been said by Henry Ford, if you believe you can or you believe you can't you are right!

Mommy Diary 3.27.12

Ah, Calgon take me away! Do they even still make Calgon? And who has time for a bath anyway????
So the potty training thing is going to be enough to drive me nuts I think, but I am the one who needs to be calm and know that you can't get frustrated, mad, upset, yell, laugh or get impatient... why? Because I don't want to discourage him from going on the potty or scare him out of it. The last week has really been pretty interesting. I will definitely spare you any details, but I will tell you this, I think that I definitely have way more patience for this then I do when my kid is crabby, whiny or clingy. I think my husband thinks I am nuts for keeping my cool, but literally my kid tells me he has to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes or so, does he go every time, absolutely not, but can I get mad at him? Absolutely not. I am thinking that even though I just got done with my special diet and lost 14 lbs and 30 inches, and am starting to count my calories every day to maintain or lose more if I can, I just may need to factor into to my caloric intake, that indulgent glass of wine! Which I can enjoy while multi-tasking, unlike the bath which just takes way too long.
You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. ~Franklin P. Jones

How does it feel?

Some days you look forward to and some you do not. Some days are overwhelming with the amount on the "TO DO LIST" -- because not matter what or who you are you have a "TO DO LIST". You don't even have to have it written down, maybe you just have a check list in your head of wants and to dos. It can seem endless and unreachable sometimes, or once something is physically or mentally checked off, you are ready to add on the next thing that you "almost" forgot or need to accomplish.
Maybe you tried something and it didn't work out, you failed, you let someone down, you misplaced something, you worked really hard and it wasn't good enough, you disappointed someone, or you let them walk all over you, because you were tired, busy, frustrated, exhausted and lots of other words you can insert here.
With everything one has going on in their fast paced life these days, it is almost a wonder that we have time for ourselves, let alone thinking about other people. We are constantly managing change, trying to prepare for the unexpected, managing relationships, our body, our job, our home, what we should or think we should be doing, carting our children around to this and that activity, going to parties, events and gatherings. When do we have time to breath, sleep, just be YOU.
And yet when someone takes a minute out of that day to truly make another person feel loved, important or special it really makes us feel that we are important and helps us to reflect and take the time to reach out to someone else that could use that little acknowledgement in their otherwise crappy/hard/stressful/busy day. Maybe we just need that little boost of motivation, maybe we are usually the one to motivate others, but someone knew that we needed it for a change.
I am grateful for those people in my life who either recognize that I need a little praise, a little encouragement and a little boost now and again, or those who just do it to do it and it happens to fall into a time when I need it the most, even if the person didn't really know it.
Sometimes you only need that little hug of kindness from someone to make you feel better. Thank you to those of you in my life who have done this for me, who have inspired me, prayed for me, believed in me and made me feel loved, blessed, appreciated and cherished. The way you made me feel no matter how small an act, made a world of difference to me.


I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou