Category Archives: Friends

Living in a State of Gratitude!

Good morning!

Today is the day before Thanksgiving, and my sweetie and I are looking forward to the big day! This year we are spending Thanksgiving with Jason’s family, something we haven’t done in many years.

So, for today’s post I thought that I would list out some of the things that I am grateful for this Holiday season!

I am thankful because:

  • I serve a God who loves me and wants more for me than I can ever imagine
  • I have a husband who adores me and is constantly going out of his way to make me happy (Keep up the FABULOUS job my BHLM!!!)
  • I have a fun, cheeky, and loving dad, who gets more and more charming every year (I love you, Daddy!!!)
  • I have a bunch of sisters (both in my family and in Jason’s) who are fun, zany, brilliant, loving, thoughtful, and supportive. (You are my HEROINES!!!)
  • I have two little sisters who don’t mind if I have adopted them and treat them like my children!! (Thanks girls!!!)
  • I have nieces and nephews who are such a HOOT! These kiddos are the special people in my life that keep me feeling young (Whew – I am tired already!! ;-))
  • I have aunties who understand me, and are such a joy to hang around with (See you girls Saturday – I CAN’T WAIT!!!)
  • I have a job, although not always my favorite, pays really well, and has helped me get to where I am today, all while introducing me to a lot of really fun people, some of who have become dear friends to me (Yes, Chris – I am talking to you!!!)
  • I have two little puppies who think that we are the sun and moon and stars no matter what is going on or where! (Look! mommy’s home, and it’s bath night!!! Faye: “YEAH!” Sophie: “Boo!”)
  • I have a best friend who has been an important part of my life for over 22 years (Dawn, how would I ever make it without you???)
  • I have family members who, even though they have passed on, have left me with a strong sense of who I am and what I can accomplish if I put my mind to it (Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Grandpa, Grandma – you know who you are – I hope you are all having a party up there!!!)

God really has blessed me in more ways that I can list here! I am so thankful for my life, and all of the events that have led me to this place! I pray that I am able to be a blessing to all of you who are in my life – I would not be who I am without you! LOL – I just heard my daddy say in my head, “No, no you wouldn’t – literally!!!” Even from afar my dad is with me!!! I LOVE YOU DADDY!!! πŸ˜‰

I hope all of you have a FABULOUS (and blessed) day!!!

Swimming with the Kiddos!

I just got done swimming with family!!! I LOVE doing that, especially since playing with the kids is THE BEST DISGUISE for exercising!!! WHEW!! These kiddos REALLY WORK ME OUT!!!! Man, I am soooo sore, but so HAPPY!!!

Anyway, I heard a Bible verse in the car on the way to the office this morning, and it has been running through my mind all day. The verse was:

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Proverbs 27:17 (New Living Translation)

All day, I was thinking I think this is a verse that I have to share with my husband because somehow it meant he was lacking something and I was going to be able to share this verse to help open his eyes, and I would be the hero that helps “fix” him. Well, as the day went on, I realized that this verse was really presented to me this morning to open my eyes to my own flaws. I need to learn to lean on my girlfriends more. I sometimes have a tendency to shut myself off from people for fear of getting hurt, and this verse tells me that if I have faith and let people in, they can actually “sharpen” me and make me a better person. What a great lesson! Thanks, I needed to hear that!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! πŸ˜‰

What to Say? What to Say?

Sometimes coming up with topics for a blog is not the easiest thing in the world to do! I always want to have something witty and intelligent to say, but honestly tonight, I am drawing a blank!!!

So, here is a thought for the day:

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

Tonight I spent 2-1/2 hours at the beauty salon getting my hair cut and straightened!!! Tomorrow night I will be sharing pictures!!! (I hope it doesn’t end up too short!!!) πŸ˜‰

Have a FABULOUS evening! πŸ˜‰

Weekend Update!

OK, so where do I begin!???

Well, wait – before I start, I wanted to say thank you to my two youngest sisters, Jennifer & Trina!!Β  I had to call them super late on Friday night to get some help getting un-lost – I KNOW SHOCKING RIGHT??? Ok, so everyone who knows me, know that is NOT shocking, but thankfully I wasn’t driving that night!!! Thank you, girls!!! You are still my saving graces! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOU!!!! πŸ˜‰

After a whole day of driving, Jason, Fahline, and I FINALLY got home close to 2 am this morning!!! Fahline crashed on the couch and I literally don’t remember my head hitting the pillow last night!!! Last night, when we stopped for dinner, I noticed that I was experiencing some adema in my feet and ankles, which I had never experienced before but I knew what it was immediately because Jason has been having trouble with adema for about the past year. When I awoke this morning, not only was I exhausted, but my feet were sooooo swollen that it hurt to even move my toes!! OUCH!! So, apparently, I need to avoid salt for the next few days, and drink a ton of water, until my feet and ankles return back to normal!!

It was agreed that all three of us had a FANTASTIC time in California this weekend, much better than any of us could have imagined!! The resort that we stayed at, which I had mentioned previously, was just sooooo peaceful, and it was extremely easy to rest there – thank goodness!! and I had SUCH A GREAT time getting to better know Fahlene!! We have SOOOO MUCH IN COMMON, that I am STILL asking, HOW COME WE HAVE NEVER HUNG OUT MORE BEFORE???? I am going to most definitely make sure that we correct that!!!! I LOVE YOU, FAHLENE, YOU CRAZY, ZANY (& BRAVE) GIRL!!!! πŸ˜‰

I do want to tell you about one person that I met. He was THE MOST AMAZING MAN!!! πŸ˜‰ We hit it off almost immediately, and over classic movies of all things!!! Robert, aka Bob, is an older gentleman, and I found out later that he is and has been my adopted grandfather, Willy’s, financial advisor!! I had such a fun time getting to know him on that Saturday night, that on the next day when Adelle was trying to find a seat for him during the wedding reception dinner, I was more than happy to have him sit next to me!! by then end of the evening, it was like we had known each other my whole life!! At the end of the evening, after dinner, dancing, and have aΒ  GREAT time!!! Bob came up to me, grabbed me by both of my shoulders, kissed me on one cheek, and then on my other cheek, and told me that I he was my new grandfather, and that he hoped I was ok with that, which you know!! I was TOTALLY EXCITED about!!! He then turned to Jason, who is almost 6′ 8″ by the way, and told him,

“You have a GREAT wife over there, if you hurt her in any way,Β  I will personally come to Salem and beat the sh*t out of you!!!”

I was sooooo shocked, and everyone who was standing around just paused for a moment, checked out the height difference between Jason and Bob, not to mention age difference, and we all just started laughing!!! I was COMPLETELY SMITTEN!!! and Jason reassured Bob that he was going to take FABULOUS care of me!!!

Bob is saucy, outpsoken, blunt, funny, charming, and a dear, dear man!!! Just to have met him made spending another weekend away from home was sooooo worth it!!! πŸ˜‰

Jason had a tooth pulled today, and unfortunately they ended up having to remove some bone with it, so he is in A LOT of pain, and has been pretty medicated ALL DAY!!! So I really need to get going to go take care of him!!! which means I am not going to post any pics tonight, but I am hoping that I will have a whole slew of them to post tomorrow!!!

Anyway, have a FABULOUS evening!! πŸ˜‰

Weekend Update!!!

Ok, I am officially here in Monterey, California!! and man WHAT A TRIP WE HAVE HAD SOOOO FAR!!! It took us 16 hours to get here!!! We got lost, and took some instructions from a stranger, and ended up adding 50miles in the wrong direction to our trip last night!!! Jason ended up grouchy and impatient, Fahlene ended up getting quiet, and I was a-freakin’ out because we were driving, in the dark, in sometimes wall-to-wall traffic, and with night-blindness was BRUTAL!!!! LOL!!! Oh, and where the HECK are all of the bathrooms in California????? When Fahlene and I FINALLY got to a Denny’s at about 10:30 last night, where we were SURE THEY HAD to have a bathroom (because no other gas station, or hotel that we stopped at previously did!!!), we almost LITERALLY RAN to get into a stall, and then I am sure the other patrons of the restaurant could hear our collective “AAAAAAH!” when we finally were able to go!!! Thank God for the little blessings!!

We all slept like a rock, which was AWESOME!!! We are staying at this resort called Asilomar Conference Grounds and it is just BEAUTIFUL!!!! We are sharing a small cottage, that has four bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, and two bathrooms – OURS HAS A LARGE CLAW FOOT TUB!!!! ABSOLUTELY DIVINE!!!! πŸ˜‰

Actually the cottage that we are staying in one of the historic buildings and the website states that “Historic Rooms are located in buildings that were designed by architect Julia Morgan and built between 1913 and 1928. Each room features hardwood floors, rustic California furnishings and private baths – and their size and quantity of beds vary from one single bed to two double beds. All of the historic lodging buildings have a common living room, with a fireplace, for lounging and reading.”

I haven’t taken too many pictures yet, but I plan to rectify that today and for the rest of the weekend, so I will post some as soon as I have some available!!! πŸ™‚

Anyway, we are off to go see the soon-to-be-married couple and then off to go have some fun!!! πŸ˜‰

Have a FABULOUS day!! πŸ˜‰

Getting Ready for the Weekend!!

YEAH!!! I am heading out for a four day weekend!!! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!!

This work week has been a short week, thank goodness!!!! and even though the past few weeks have been very stressful, I think that it might be getting a little easier! I feel like I am having to be brave and just stand up for what I believe in and that is that. I can’t make everyone happy, but that is not what they pay me for. They pay me to get my job done as quickly, efficiently, and correctly as humanly possible, and I am working my buns off to do just that!!

Talking about working my buns off, I am ready for a loooong weekend, which is a great segue to my next paragraph – and I know that my sweetie and I went camping next week, but we have been presented with the opportunity to do it again this weekend and honey, you have to know that we just JUMPED ON IT!!! We are going with my sis-in-law, and future brother-in-law, 3 nephews, my niece, and I can’t forget my two little puppies!!! πŸ˜‰ I just know we are going to have so much fun, and I am very excited about all of the pics that I just know I will have when I get back!!! πŸ˜‰

Have a FABULOUS Memorial Day weekend! and to all the GREAT men and women who have served this TERRIFIC country, and fought for all of our freedom, including my own. I solute you!

Have a FABULOUS weekend! πŸ˜‰

Daily Post!

I know that it is only Tuesday, but I am soooo looking forward to this weekend. I know that I just got back from camping, but my sweetie and I are going with my sis, Nette, Michael and all of their kiddos. I think we are going to Florence, but I have to call tonight and find out where for sure!! I am excited! If we have as much fun as we had this last weekend, then it will be a great time!!

Ok, so a little more about this last weekend. Jason and I really had a lot of fun. Jason was totally in his element, running from campsite, to campsite, helping anyone who asked – that is what he lives for, he is my happy-helper man!! I had the most fun getting to know more of my family members, and playing with my nephews. Aaron and Gavin were in our campsite, and I just had SOOOO MUCH FUN playing mom! Ok, well honestly I was totally part-time mom because I didn’t feed them or sleep with them, ok – so I guess that is called being AUNTIE!! YEAH!!!

You can probably can tell, I am soooo distracted tonight – I am watching On the Road with Austin & Santino. I am trying really hard to get through my DVR before we leave town again! and I just LOVE this show! They are soooo sweet, some of their designs are a little ‘different’,Β  but they are ingenious that they are able to make the dresses that that they are able to with a limited amount of resources and a limited amount of time!!! I would LOVE to let them make something GORGEOUS for me!!! Today they are making a wedding dress. Ok, so CONFESSION TIME!! I am soooo damn hormonal!!! They just showed the bride her dress for the first time, and I actually just starting tearing up!!! Ok, I am pulling it together!!! πŸ˜‰ This dress is pretty, and frilly, and girly, and just beautiful! Austin and Santino just come across as so sincere, and they really treat their client du jour as the most important woman, and she really gets their absolute best. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!

Alright, so I am going to go spend some time with my sweetie before bed!

Thought of the Day:

“People love to tell you that you can’t do it, if you have a feeling inside that you really want to do something, you just go do it, you just do it, that is all there is to it!” ~ Danny Devito

I am still struggling to figure out what I am supposed to be when I grow up, but I am just looking for the signs! Opportunities for growth, improvement, and all around happiness, and fitting with my natural talents and personalities!!! In the mean time I am just going to live, live, live, and make as many memories as possibles on the way!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! πŸ˜‰

I’m Back!!

Short version: Our family campout was a success!

Long version: Our family campout was a success, and I had a lot of fun hanging out with my peeps!!

I took a lot of pics, and I think that I will share some of those with you now:

Here is the family who were there this weekend. From left to right, back row: Me, Jason, Michael, Lynette, Ryan, Flo. Left to right, middle row: Murphy (the little white hairy one), Aunt Alice, Katrina, Gavin, David, David (yes, there are two of them), Colby. Left to right front row: Paul, Charlie (another hairy family member), Alice, Aaron, Austen, and Shasta (another 4 legged member of our family!

This is my nephew, Gavin, hanging out in his “Flobbit Tree”.

This is my nephew Aaron! I just love this little smile!!

This is one of my sisters, Alice. She is the momma to both Aaron & Gavin.

My sis-in-law, Lynette, and her cutie fiance, and our future brother-in-law Michael!

The Intimidators!! David, John, Austin, Christopher, and Colby.

NAW!!! Here there are in their natural state!!

This may be the only picture I have of Aunt Alice – how the heck does she do that??? She is just sooooo stealthy!!!

Hee! Hee! Hee! Someone is getting his hienie pinched! John and Lynette!! πŸ™‚

Myself, my youngest sister, Trina, and my sweetie, Jason!

Everybody LIFT!!! Michael, Lynette, David, Christopher, David, and Jason is the one that is horizontal

This is THE BEST picture of Jason and Christopher!! Christopher looks soooo handsome!!! πŸ˜‰

David, Jason, and John! What a handsome bunch of men!! πŸ˜‰

Gavin posing for pictures!

Jason was Mr. Helper to everyone there, and I caught him sitting there staring off into space, doesn’t this face looked sooooo tired!?!?!?!?

My girl, Auntie Flo!!! She is such a hoot!!! πŸ˜‰

The Family again looking as prim and proper as can be expected!!

There, that’s more like it!!

The End! at least until tomorrow!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!

Today’s Life Lesson

Today has been a long, busy day! Thankfully tonight I have spent a lot of time on the phone, trying to touch base with my family members! I have so many family members that I am going to have spend Friday afternoon on the phone too!!! LOL!! My family is such a huge part of who I am. I really count on them for balance and for helping me see the big picture! A couple of days ago I said,

“Don’t get so busy doing what you are doing that you forget why you are doing it.”

Well, my family is the number 1 reason I do ANYTHING!! I come from a large family, and I hope to have a big family of my own some day, but for now I just really want to make them proud of me, and help make their lives better, even if it is just in some small way!!

I love you, you crazy, zany, wacky family of mine – I would NOT BE WHO I AM WITHOUT YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!!!!!!

As for business, today is Day 8 of my 30 Day Life Makeover!! The lesson that I really needed to hear today, and one that I have been trying to live by all week, is that it is NOT a sign of weakness to ask for help!! BIG CHANGES are going on in my place of work, and a lot of the stuff coming our way, is EXTREMELY NEW to us!!! SO, WHEW!!! I just had to tell myself, I am COMPLETELY SURROUNDED by people who know what they are doing – USE THEIR EXPERTISE!!!! That is what they are there for, and our team has always gone out of our way to help everyone else, what could it hurt to ask??? Help?? Well, sure enough! People are coming out of the woodwork to help us out, and I FINALLY think that somehow we are going to make it through all of the craziness!!! YEAH!!!

That is what I want you to do today; if there is something in your life that you have been too scared to ask for help, REACH OUT and ask for help!! Trust me, this one can be scary, but when your co-workers, friends, and/or family reach out to answer your call – YOU WILL BE SO GLAD YOU DID!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! πŸ˜‰

30-Day Makeover, Day 3!

Day 3: Go Gather Your Dream Team!

Welcome to Day 3 of our 30-Day Life Makeover!! How is everything going?? Were you able to do your Kaizen activity today?? I would LOVE to hear in the comments section up above, what types of things you were able to write down today!! I had all sorts of things written such as brown bagged both breakfast and lunch today (health & finances), swam for two hours with my family (health), and read an article on the benefits of being self-employed (self-employment). These may not be too impressive on their own, but if you were to gather 30 days of these activities – how far could you go????

Now, you know what you want, you’ve made some big decisions on where your priorities are going to lie for the next 3 months, and you have a new simple way to track your daily progress. Next comes a task that I can honestly say, is probably my FAVORITE!!

It’s time to GO FIND YOUR DREAM TEAM!!!

To create the life of your dreams, and see your goals come to fruition you are going to need a support group. These are the people that are going to listen to you your dreams and idea, give you honest constructive feedback, pick you up when you fall down, cry with you tears of joy when you have days of success, laugh with you when you are busy laughing at yourself, and these will be the people who will at times believe in you more than you believe in yourself. Everyone knows that two heads are better than one when it comes to solving problems or creating results. So imagine what you could accomplish if you were a part of a small group of five or six people meeting on a regular basis for the purpose of problem solving, brainstorming, networking, encouraging, and motivating each other. Mountains are moved with this kind of effort.

In all of my years of reading self-help books, and listening to all sorts of motivational speakers, this step is the one that I probably hear most being repeated over and over by some of the great minds of our time, and those that have gone on before us. Β Jack Canfield, Anthony Robbins, and Napoleon Hill are just a few who all have their own version of how to go about making your dream cheerleading group, although I am pretty sure that is NOT what they call it, but whatever you call it, just make it fun, and a win-win for everyone involved!! πŸ˜‰

Creating Your Dream Team

Start by enrolling a friendly, on-purpose, like-minded individual, or two to join you, then and start meeting with them on a regular basis. I recommend meeting once a week, or at the least every other week, so that you have something positive and encouraging to look forward to; and knowing that you have a group of people who are going to want to hear about what kind of progress you’ve made will encourage you to keep going so you have something positive to report. After your initial mini-team is all onboard, decide as a group what other like-minded individuals you could add to your small group. You will want to make sure that any additional people get along with everyone on the existing team, because remember this will be a team that you will want to feel comfortable enough to be able to be yourself, Β speak freely, and feel comfortable enough to dream out loud. You and everyone on the team should be there for the good of each other and for the good of the group – this is essential!

  1. Your Dream Team should consist of 4-8 people. Most people find that 6 is the ideal number. Once the team gets much larger than 6 people, start thinking about someone in the group becoming a leader and breaking the larger group into two smaller groups, to keep the growth process going, and to share motivation with as many people as possible. Once this happens, make it a point to host some kind of a larger get-together at least once a month, or quarter that involves all of your mini-groups, so everyone has the chance to get to know everyone (not to mention all of the networking, and additional brainstorming, and support that would provide!) Sounds like fun!!!
  2. Meetings should be an hour to an hour and a half. This meeting must be held sacred as a life-enhancing priority. The meetings should be upbeat, enriching, encouraging and beneficial to each individual and the group’s purposes. I always start our meetings with a prayer or an invocation. You could also start with an inspiring story.
  3. Each member must agree to play all out — to openly share ideas, support, contacts, information, feedback, and anything else that will help advance the individual and group goals.
  4. Start by having each member share something positive and good that happened since the last meeting.
  5. Next, have each member share an opportunity or problem they have experienced since the last meeting and ask for whatever support they would like on it. Appoint a time-keeper to make sure that everyone gets the same amount of time. This is important if you want your group to last. Everyone must get value at each meeting.
  6. End by sharing appreciations and acknowledgements.

You’ll find one of the real values of a mastermind group is the accountability factor – other members checking up on you to make sure you meet your stated commitments. It’s one way to ensure you’ll accomplish a lot more!

This is such a FABULOUS idea, that I challenge you to get a hold of at least one person to communicate this idea to, and see if they would be willing to commit to being a part of your Dream Team – you’ll never know unless you ask, and maybe your Dream Team will be EXACTLY what that person was searching for. This if practiced consistently will literally change your life for the better.

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this, please feel free to comment up above!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! πŸ˜‰