Jolly Christmas

                    Peace on earth....goodwill to men! 

Love

I was in Barnes & Noble earlier looking through spiritual and motivational books. Suddenly a lady approached me and asked, "Excuse me, what is your religion?' I replied, "My religion is LOVE!" She smiled and didn't say anything. She simply just walked away. 

Camera

Life is like a camera, just focus on what’s important and capture the good times, develop from the negative and if things don’t work out, just take another shot. 

~ Unknown

Sunday Blessing

Happy Sunday!

Blogging time

Chores are done. Christmas decorations are up. Baking cookies and doing the laundry while updating my blog.  A productive day indeed!

Saturday

It's raining outside, 
I'm still in bed, 
watching a movie, 
and sipping a hot hazelnut cappuccino...
a perfect Saturday morning indeed.

Awesomeness

Date:   TODAY

To Do:  BE AWESOME

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

My Gorgeous Tree

My Lovely Ornaments

Coffee and Personality

Hmmm...I'm a little bit of everything :) 

What about you?

December

December

I like days

with a snow-white collar,

and nights when the moon

is a silver dollar,

and hills are filled

with eiderdown stuffing

and your breath makes smoke

like an engine puffing.

I like days

when feathers are snowing,

and all the eaves

have petticoats showing,

and the air is cold

and the wires are humming,

but you feel all warm...

with Christmas coming.

--Aileen Fisher

My First Doodle

I was bored this morning..so I started doodling and I came up with this! 

Goodbye November

Winter coats

Hats and gloves

Scarves

Winter boots 

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW....

Hmmmmmm........I love DECEMBER!

Thanksgiving Feast

Main Course

Turkey

Potato Au Gratin

Grilled Asparagus

Mixed Veges

Cranberry Sauce

Eggrolls (Lumpia)

Empanadas

Desserts

Flan Cake

Ginger Pumpkin Tart

Coconut Macaroons

I'm Thankful

I'm Thankful

God of all blessings, source of all life, giver of all grace. I'm thankful for the gift of life, for the breath that sustains life, for the food of this earth that nurtures life, without You, there would be no life.

I'm thankful for the mystery of creation, for the beauty that my eyes can see, for the joy that the my ears may hear, for the unknown that I cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of space that draws me beyond the definitions of myself.

I'm thankful for setting me in communities, for my parents, siblings, and relatives who nurture my becoming, for my children who lighten my moments with delight, for my LOVEY who love me by choice, for my friends and companions at work, for all the men and women of our military forces, for strangers who welcome me into their midst, for people from other lands who help and support world peace, and for all the children of the world who offer us hope for the future.

I'm thankful for this day, for life and one more day to love, for opportunity and one more day to work for peace, equality, and prosperity, for my neighbors and one more person to love and by whom be loved, for your grace and one more experience of your presence, for your promise, to be with me, to be my God, and to give salvation.

For these, and all blessings, I'm Thankful, eternal, loving God,through Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Confidence

Have you seen those commercials with Plus Size women modeling clothes and even undergarments?  Do you ever wonder what it is about them that makes them so confident? So completely comfortable in their skin and radiating such positive, charismatic energy? I used to wonder this too. And then I learned and read about Stephenie Zamora’s article about confidence. According to her, “Confidence really comes down to one incredibly simple thing, OWNING IT!”

She wrote, “When you're ‘owning it,’ it means that you're totally and completely at peace with who you are in every moment, interaction and experience. You make no apologies for being awkward, nervous, excited, loud, soft spoken or other... you're just you. You radiate charismatic energy whether or not you have an extroverted personality because you are genuinely content with yourself and your present experience.”

Then she listed three ways to own it and how to be totally confident, all of the time. 

1) Get out of your head!

When you stop engaging in the present moment and begin to think about how you look, sound, feel, smell, etc., you're creating an immediate disconnect. Whether you're disconnecting from a conversation or general experience, the effect is the same: You immediately lose confidence. This loss of confidence creates an energetic wave that is felt by everyone in the same room, interacting with you or listening to you speak. It's amazing how someone else's perception of and connection to you can change the instant that you disengage with the present moment and go into your head. It makes it harder for them to connect to your message or to you, leaving them uncertain and uninterested. The trick to living in the present moment is constant practice. When you catch yourself engaging in a viscous thought cycle rather than the present moment (or the person you're with), use your senses to gently guide you back. Speak, take in the smells, notice the textures that you can feel. People that appear totally cool and collected, they are 100 percent engaged in the present moment.”

2) Own it. Whatever "it" is.

“The second way to create instant and unshakable confidence is to totally own it. Whether it's your opinions, emotions, feelings, words or choice of dessert, just own it. Don't give a single thought to what anyone else would think of what you're doing.  You're you, you want what you want and you do what you do.  No apologies. No explanation. Just own it.  This concept is easy to grasp in terms of ordering whatever you want off the menu or picking a movie, but what about your feelings, emotions and experiences?  For the longest time I struggled to own my personality, my view of the world, my way of thinking and my feelings. Not only did I lack confidence, I was stressed, uncomfortable and completely miserable trying to "fit in" with the rest of the world.  I can tell you from experience, it's a waste of precious time and energy. If you're feeling sad or moody, just own it. Be sad, be moody. Are you nervous as hell? Own it. Tell everyone that you're nervous as hell! It stops the process of entering your head dead in it's tracks.”

I agree with Stephenie, back in the days when I was still in the Army, I used to get extremely nervous giving speeches in front of Soldiers, coworkers, and training events. There were so many times that I was so lost in my head and fighting my feelings that when I sat back down after speaking, my hands were sweating, and my face felt really blushed, not to mention, I couldn’t remember if I made any connections with the audience at all. But through practice and understanding my own feelings, and accepting the responsibilities associated with moving through the ranks, I can’t help but making the proper adjustments to do my duties. I realized that as I owned the promotions throughout the years, I must own the responsibilities with it.  Therefore, there was no time to be holding back.  As a leader, I must be able to communicate and provide outstanding examples to my subordinates.  Needless to say, I became a great speaker and was invited numerous times to give speeches during military graduations and such.  I learned to master public speaking even without notes, and give impromptu speeches.  These definitely helped me gained total confidence as time went by. I even started telling a little joke and you know what I got? Smiles, applause and real connection to everyone in the room instead of the typical glazed over stares and uninterested faces. Stephenie Zamora mentioned, “being totally okay with whatever emotions, sensations or feelings you're experiencing in any given moment results in the appearance of total confidence.”

3) Just. Be. You.

“When you honor who you really are, you will do things like wear the clothes that you really love... this in turn makes you feel comfortable, and that produces confidence.”  I really believe that size or weight has nothing to do with confidence.

“Have you ever dressed up in a fancy suit or some clothes that aren't your normal style? Did you feel uncomfortable the entire time? I bet you did. That triggers your mind to run wild with thoughts that do nothing but zap your confidence and make you feel like crap.”

Stephenie said, “by honoring who you are and what you truly prefer in life, you're creating an environment for confidence. You're allowing yourself to be comfortable and express yourself. In turn, you attract the right people, opportunities and more into your life. When the right people and opportunities come along, you feel confident because things are easy. They work for you and your personality.  Don't ever pretend to be someone or something you're not! Just be you. You are amazing. You are unique. You will be so much happier and more confident when you just settle into who you are.”

From What is Confidence, Really? By Stephenie Zamora, Founder, StephenieZamora.com

Early Morning Reflection

"How precious to me are YOUR thoughts, God." 

~ Psalm 139:17

Sandals

Winter is here, so it's time to put these all away.  See you next summer sandals. LOL

Arm Candy Today

Michael Kors with two Judith Ripka Bangle Bracelets

Veterans Day 2013

The Best on Earth:

A Veteran's Day Tribute

If someone has done military service,

They earn the title "veteran," and more;

They earn our deep respect and admiration;

That they are special no one can ignore.

They sacrificed the comforts we enjoy;

The list is long of all the things they gave.

Our veterans are extraordinary people;

They’re loyal, dedicated, true and brave.

When terror and invasion were real threats,

They showed us they could handle any storm.

We owe our freedoms and our very lives

To our veterans, who served in uniform.

Our veterans should be celebrities;

They’re exceptional; no other group compares.

We’re grateful for the many things they’ve done;

They’re always in our hearts and in our prayers.

We owe our veterans support and friendship;

Let no one ever question what they’re worth.

These men and women served us and our country,

Our veterans--the very best on earth.

By Joanna Fuchs

Relationship 101 ~ Creativity vs. Conformity

No matter how two people define “relationship,” they all involve a certain degree of work, organization, focus, and commitment.  As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I’ve centered my HOPE Based Couple’s Therapy and have found these five secrets indispensable for those who seek to enjoy long term nourishing and loving relationships:

Creativity vs. Conformity

Couples who experience joy together are able to create a structure and framework that is uniquely right for them, as opposed to automatically conforming to what society says they “should” do.  For example, in the world at large it may be considered “wrong” or “selfish” for one to go on a vacation without a spouse or partner.  But what if one person in a couple loves travelling and the other hates it?  It is quite possible, and I would argue necessary, for couples who want to avoid resentments and bitterness to create arrangements that are specifically right for them.  This pertains to travel, handling money, sexual frequency, child rearing, socializing with friends, any action or situation that impacts both parties can be served by being respectfully created and negotiated.