I Am ~ The Two Most Powerful Words in the World

"I am - the two most powerful words in the world, for whatever we put after them becomes our reality." ~ Susan Howson

It is really important for us to listen to how we talk to or about ourselves.  How many times to you catch yourself saying "I am an idiot", "I am stupid", "I am fat", and on and on.  How does that self-talk make you feel?  Does it make you feel empowered? Or Good about yourself?  No it makes you feel kind of crappy.  The easiest way to change this is to stop saying these negative things about ourselves.

Change that self talk to something positive.  Say instead, "I am Beautiful", "I am Intelligent", "I am Healthy" . . . fill in the blank.  If you start doing this on a regular basis imagine how you will feel.  Every time you catch yourself saying "I am" anything make sure it is something that will make you feel good about yourself, something that you truly want to be. 

This post is part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I am going to really get this blog going. So I decided I'd join the Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to post 31 posts in the month of January and to get more traffic to my blog and to other blogs. This is post number 5. For more info or to join the challenge check the link below.

Thank you

Today I'd like to simply say Thank you. Thank you to people who post on our Facebook page. Thank you to all you comment on those posts, Thank you to those who like the posts and Thank you to all who sit back in the shadows who simply are just there reading and enjoying.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

How often do you simply Thank someone?  Anyone, the Universe or God for all the gifts that we are given every day. Gifts like the tree that was cut down and split into firewood for our wood stove; to keep our home warm or for the husband who can get a fire going to take off the morning chill.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity . 

It can. Turn a meal into a feast a house into a home a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing and mistakes into important events. 

It can turn existence into a real life and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons.

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. 

~ Melodie Beattie The Language of Letting Go

This post is part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I am going to really get this blog going. So I decided I'd join the Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to post 31 posts in the month of January and to get more traffic to my blog and to other blogs. This is post number 4. For more info or to join the challenge check the link below.

10 Things You Should Know About Me

I find it really hard to write biographies. One of the reasons is that I'd rather not be pigeon holed as any one label; because I am more than just that word. Also I think we all have a different idea of what those labels mean.  Sure some of them are pretty hard to misunderstand like Mother, Wife, Daughter and Sister. But what happens if I tell you that I own and ride a Harley? What do you see now? So let's avoid some of the confusion by telling you 10 things you should know about me.

1. I love Tea (okay some of you know this already; as if being a tea shop owner doesn't give that one away)!
2. I am an avid knitter. One of these days I'm going to attempt a sweater; probably once I've conquered knitting socks.
3. I really do own and ride a Harley (1995 Sportster). 
4. For pets I have birds. Two cockatiels and a green cheek conure. Their names are Kit Kat, Fish and Sassafras (Sassy or Squeaky for short).  I'd love to get an African Grey, a Cockatoo, and a Quaker Parrot too.  Birds are a lot of fun; noisy at times though.
5. My daughter's friends think I'm a hippy (we could really have misinterpretations with that one). She says it's because I LOVE EVERYBODY and sell herbs and incense along with the tea.
6. I love puppies . . . not just puppies in age just puppies in general (all dogs to me are puppies).
7. I read just about any book I can get my hands on. Love Stephen King, Anne Rice, Dean R. Koontz, Pema Chodron, Marianne Williamson and too many more to list.
8. I live at the beach on the coast of Washington. I wish it were a tropical beach this time of the year; but it is a beach just the same. Wish I could be walking it today with the sun on my face instead of working in the store.
9. I love to take pictures. I do mostly landscape photography. I love taking pictures of driftwood.
10. I make beaded jewelry. My favorite beads are seed beads - like their name implies they are about the size of seeds and smaller in some cases.
11. Okay I know I said 10 . . . but today you get a Bonus one ~ I LOVE Quotes! (You think ;-) )

This post is part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I am going to really get this blog going. So I decided I'd join the Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to post 31 posts in the month of January and to get more traffic to my blog and to other blogs. This is post number 3. For more info or to join the challenge check the link below.

Gold Star Syndrome ~ Via Up From Splat

"Lean too much on the approval of people, and it becomes a bed of thorns." ~ Tehyi Hsieh

"The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to be worthy of your own approval." ~ Denis Waitley

One of the blogs I enjoy reading is http://upfromsplat.com/blog/.  She posts text blogs and sometimes she posts videos.  This one is about Gold Star Syndrome.

I think many of us suffer from Gold Star Syndrome. We have been brainwashed into believing that we need the approval of others. Some one outside of us to tell us that what we have done is good and right.  

I make beaded jewelry, I enjoy making beaded jewelry. There is something really gratifying about taking a pile of beads and creating a beautiful piece of jewelry that I can wear or even pass on to  someone else to enjoy. I enjoy the feeling when someone thinks a piece of my jewelry is beautiful, but I don't make it to get that pat on the back. I make the jewelry because it makes me feel good to create something.

I can see how we come to rely on this approval as the basis for our self-esteem; it feels good.  But as Ande says in this video we have no control over someone else.  We can only control ourselves, our own thoughts, and our own actions. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9j1T85YuuI

This post is part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I am going to really get this blog going. So I decided I'd join the Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to post 31 posts in the month of January and to get more traffic to my blog and to other blogs. This is post number 2. For more info or to join the challenge check the link below.

Unplugged

Recently I've read several blog posts about unplugging from facebook, email, texting etc., for at least one day a week.  The posts have talked about how this will help us connect more with the people we love and the things we love to do.

I'm on the computer probably more hours a day than any one person ought to be.  It is one of the first things I do in the morning and one of the last things I do before I go to bed. I use it for entertainment, for communication, for reading, for business . . . in fact today I have already been on the computer for about 3 hours (it's 11:30 am right now).  I will most likely spend the majority of my work day using the computer. Checking email, maybe doing some actual work (I'm my own boss . . . most of the time) and probably just passing the time; playing games on Facebook or watching something on Netflix. When I get home from work I'll probably fire up the computer again for more games on Facebook and probably some blog reading (There were a lot of posts written while I was unplugged for a few days).

For the Christmas Holiday this year we spent 4 days away from out home. Spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our family in the big city (Seattle, we live in a small beach town on the coast of Washington, pop. 4,000).  Then after that we drove to Canada and spent a couple of days in Vancouver.  I chose not to take my computer. At first I wasn't sure I'd make it without it (one of the first things I do in the morning is fire it up). I didn't cheat once and use my hubby's or any of other family members'.  

It was nice taking a break from it. Not sure if I can choose one day a week to just unplug, but maybe I can spend a little time everyday not watching the computer screen. I made it 4 days I can make it a couple of hours, right?

Can you imagine how much more you could accomplish if you just left the computer off? You'd have some time for exercise, maybe you could learn something new (I've only had the guitar for about 10 years, just never had the time to learn to play it), you could bake something from scratch or play a game of Scrabble to prove once again why you are the Scrabble Queen.

This post is part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I am going to really get this blog going. So I decided I'd join the Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to post 31 posts in the month of January and to get more traffic to my blog and to other blogs. This is post number 1. For more info or to join the challenge check the link below.