"It was then that I carried you."

 

Footprints in the Sand

One night I had a dream--

I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints,
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.

I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.

This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me."

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering.

"When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

~Mary Stevenson~

Copyright Mary Stevenson

One of my favorite poems. I have loved it since I was a child.

I needed to be reminded tonight, after a difficult day, that I am not alone. That I have support and love. That the Lord said he would never leave me during times of trial and suffering.

So I am going to head to bed knowing that the Lord will carry me.

Peace to all tonight.

Zucchini! Zucchini! Zucchini!

This zucchini, as you can see, is monstrous! It was hiding in the midst of this:

giant zucchini plant monster.

Insane!

This is why people complain about zucchini every summer and start dropping it off surreptitiously on other people's door steps. I even read one blog that said if you have to buy zucchini in the summer then you don't have any friends. Hahaha...A little harsh? Maybe...but also kinda true! BTW- if you need any zucchini, I have some! No, I won't deliver. Come and get it.

Anyway, so I have not only monster zucchini above, but tons more smaller zukes, too!

Of course we have been eating them fresh, but now we are getting to the insane point where more must be done!

So, what am I doing with all of this bountiful harvest?

Well first we cooked it on the grill. Nothing fancy, slice it up, drizzle with some olive oil, salt, pepper, maybe some garlic powder or chopped jalapenos. Put on some foil or in one of those grill baskets and cook on your grill, next to your delicious salmon, until it reaches your desired degree of doneness. My personally desired degree of doneness is barely cooked because mushy food makes me want to gag, especially mushy zucchini. BLECH!

Moving on..

I came across a recipe for parmesan broiled zucchini. I read it and then I have no idea what the actual process was, so this is what I do: Put the zukes through the slicer blade on my food processor. Put in the bottom half of a broiler pan. Cook on the grill or in the oven until starting to get crispy. Top with fresh shredded parmesan, broil until the parmesan is starting to brown and get crunchy. EAT!! Oh, I also season this with my typcial olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic mix. That is my basic go-to seasoning set.

I also decided to dehydrate some! After doing some research, turns out that some people will eat dried zucchini as chips! I dried my first batch yesterday, 2 medium size zukes filled my four trays and got me 1 pint of dried zucchini chips. These ones are unseasoned, but I might try adding some cumin or garlic or salt to the next batch(s).

I opted for dehydrating rather than freezing for two reasons. 1-dehydrating was simpler. Most freezing recipes call for blanching and cold shocking and then freezing. 2-everything I read said that the frozen zucchini when defrosted will be mushy. See above for information regarding mushy zucchini. BLECH!

Okay, so dried zucchini is a way better option for me. Everything I read said you could dry slices OR shreds. Slices would be better for adding to soup, stew, casserole, etc., while shreds would be ready for adding to meatloaf, bread or muffins, cookies and whatnot to up the veggie content. Today I will be trying shreds. If it doesn't work out, I'll let you know.

What ELSE am I doing? Making muffins of course!! In fact, I used the monster above to make muffins yesterday.

That thing garnered about 10 cups of shredded zucchini.

I made 5 batches (60 muffins!) of a variety of zucchini muffins.

Zucchini Currant, Zucchini Cranberry, Zucchini Chocolate Chip, Zucchini Lemon and just plain Zucchini.

The base recipe is the same; I just tweaked the add ins.

1 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup white flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground clove*

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg*

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded zucchini

2/3 cup lowfat milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2-2/3 cup add in (currant, cranberry, chocolate chip)

(see post script for lemon muffins)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners. Spray liners with non-stick cooking spray (do not skip this step!)

In large bowl combine first 9 ingredients, flour through salt, (*omit these items if making lemon muffins).

In a separate bowl combine remaining ingredients, zucchini through add in. Blend together.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until moist and blended. Do not overmix. Mix will be fairly dense.

Spoon mix into lined muffin pans. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Muffins will spring back when tapped on the top and a cake tester should come out clean. Remove from tin and place on cooling rack immediately.

LEMON MUFFINS: skip adding the * items (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove) to the dry ingredients. To the wet ingredients add the zest of one lemon and the juice of one lemon. (I also added about a tablespoon of olive oil just for an additional flavor component-totally optional). I found that the lemon muffin mixture, after mixing the wet and dry ingredients was quite wet. I added about another 1/4 cup or so of whole wheat flour and that seemed to thicken it up nicely.

Now, you do not have to make 5 batches in one sitting, but if you do you can end up with something like this:

 If you are anal enough to take the time to count the muffins in the picture you will see there is only 59. My taste tester, Mr. Chris Beebe, stole one of the chocolate chip ones! He said they were good. Not sticky or too sweet. A good muffin for breakfast or lunch. Thank you, Mr. Beebe!

We packaged these babies up in freezer ziplock bags and into the deep freezer they went. Now we have tons of muffins available. You can take them out of the freezer, microwave for 30-45 seconds and they are ready to eat!

Also, for the calorie conscious, they are pretty darn low calorie for a muffin. They start at about 150 calories for the base recipe, so the various additions would up that a bit, but they are still less than 200 calories a muffin.

If you have a fabulous zucchini recipe I would LOVE to have it! Add it in the comments or send me an email!

Happy Zucchini!

"Pet" Peeve

Can I just say that I *really* dislike listening to dogs bark incessantly?

Thank you.

Also, while I am at it: I strongly dislike the sound of birds chirping at 4 am.

I really prefer total silence and darkness (when I am trying to sleep)....unless I am the one making the noise.
:-)

(source)

The dog barking thing has been a lifelong issue. Seriously people, if you have a dog, you need to make sure it is not annoying all of your neighbors while you are inside watching Springer. If you work all day, it might be a good idea to, oh, I don't know, ASK your neighbors if your dog is noisy during the day.

But mostly, if you don't have the first clue about dogs, what owning a dog entails, how much time, effort, money and training it takes or how much they poop, bark, shed or smell then PLEASE, just don't get a dog!

Dogs are NOT an accessory. They are like a small child. They take a TON of work. They live for 8-15 years (more or less depending on breed, size and a variety of other factors) and they are not disposable...meaning you don't get to get rid of them once you decide you didn't have the first clue about owning a dog in the first place and just thought it was cute and now you are tired of it.

They need baths. They may need grooming. They need to get let outside multiple times per day to go potty. Once they do go potty, YOU need to pick it up and dispose of it properly! They need to go to the doggy doctor and have doggy medicine. They need food and FRESH water daily. They need exercise. They need to be taught manners. They need companionship and they NEED an owner that is in charge.

Yes, I am a firm believer in the alpha dog. YOU need to be the alpha dog.

Dogs are great companions. But, you cannot leave them home alone all day long. This means you also cannot leave them outside home alone all day long. They get bored; they get lonely; they chew; THEY BARK!

Huh, this post was going to be about something totally different, but I am sitting outside on my beautiful patio in the gorgeous weather and am being annoyed by my neighbors dogs barking. Tangent!

Really, though, if you have a dog, or are thinking about getting a dog, do your research. Borrow a friends dog for the weekend or a week or two. See if your lifestyle is compatible. Are you willing to walk your dog twice a day, rain, snow, sleet or shine? Your doggie doesn't have the bladder the size of the Hindenberg, are you willing to get up as early as needed to let Fido out? Or are you going to ignore Fido's pitiful whines and just clean up peepee off the floor? And then be mad at Fido?

I just have to add here that one of my neighbors has a dog that just now is like yawn/howl/talking...LOL! Maybe he is stretching? I have no idea...it is sort of a hilarious sound. At least he isn't barking.

Dogs are not toys. They are real live beings with needs. If you are not capable of properly fulfilling those needs then you have no business getting a dog.

Now, if you are thinking of having a child take everything I just said and multiply it by a million.

I'll be back shortly with what my original post was going to be about: Zucchini!

EDIT: HAHAHAHA! I just found this picture and HAD to add it!! LOL!!



(source)



Be The Change

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

~Mahatma Gandhi



(source)



Now, I am not one to disagree with Mahatma Gandhi, but I think, and maybe this is what was meant, but I think that we need to be the change we want to see in ourselves, and that in turn, will impact the world, or at least our perception of the world.

I started reading The Four Agreements last night, by Don Miguel Ruiz.

I knew, before I ever even opened to the first page, that this book was going to have a huge impact on my life, in my life.

I have owned this book for about 6 years.

I have never gotten past the front flap where The Four Agreements are synopsized. (Yes, that is a word, I just looked it up.)

If you are not familiar with Don Miguel Ruiz and The Four Agreements I will share them with you.

These agreements are so powerful to me that I never got past the front flap. I have read *just the flap* dozens of times in the last six year.

I have had long, meaningful conversations with my friends about these agreements, without ever getting past the flap.

The Four Agreements are:

Be Impeccable With Your Word

Don't Take Anything Personally

Don't Make Assumptions

Always Do Your Best

Of course, there is much more, which is why there is a book to explain them, but really, if we lived our lives by just these four agreements, how amazing would our lives be?

How much time do we spend gossipping, telling little exaggerations and half truths?

How much time do we spend worrying about what others think of us or internalizing others actions as a reflection on us in some way?

How much time do we spend thinking we know what someone else's motives or motivations are?

How much time do we spend not doing our best, not giving it our all?

Even for someone like me, who has read these agreements time and time again, and have been working for years on incorporating them into my life, I can honestly tell you I spend way too much time doing these things. Some more than others.

I am going to continue to read The Four Agreements and I am very sure that I will have many revelations, quotes and thoughts to share on this book and ideas as I move forward.

But initially, it does start with a change within ourselves. We cannot impact change to others. Change begins with our own agreements, rules, beliefs, perceptions.

When we change ourselves, we change the world, but perhaps only the way we deal with that world.

One of my favorite agreements is 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."

I love this agreement and I have spent the last several years incorporating this agreement into my life. What I do is about me. What others do is about them. I can only impact what I do. I can not impact what others do.

So, I think Mahatma Gandhi and Don Miguel Ruiz are on the same page, but I'm not sold on the idea of changing the world.

I think, in truth, we can only change ourselves.

July Happenings 2011

The last month has been filled with houseguests, activities, vacations, impromptu travel, and more houseguests!


It all started around the 23rd of June when we had friends from Portland drop in for a quick overnight on their way through to California. We had a great visit, drank some good homemade meads, enjoyed homemade salsas and just generally had a great evening. (This is a good time to let you all know that we have a lovely guest suite available for anyone else making a similar trip on I5 – we are just off the freeway and a good stopping point.)

The following week my mom and my brother came for a long weekend; we spent a lot of time visiting and enjoying the beautiful weather. We also ate some really delicious dinners! I made dinner one night, my mom picked a dinner and made that another night, my brother made a dinner (delicious crock-pot habanero chili!) and Chris wrapped up the visit with lovely brisket.

The Fourth of July was the beginning of Chris’ weeklong vacation, which I have posted about already, including all the fun adventures and travel we had that week! Yay for wine and hiking!

At the end of that week we had another Portland friend drop in for a quick overnight on his way through home from California. A very enjoyable evening spent on the patio with the gas fireplace and good company. We stayed up waaay too late, though!

The following weekend we had a completely unplanned and last minute invitation for Chris to play in a golf tournament in Kelso, Washington, so we made a trip up north. He went golfing and I had a great chance to visit with some of my Portland girlfriends. We had some sipping chocolate at Cacao in downtown Portland and later had breakfast at Biscuits in Lake Oswego. Later that evening, we went with our friends to another couples brand new home in Lafayette, Oregon. Their home is beautiful and we had a nice evening getting a chance to see a few more friends. Sunday we spent the day at my brother’s place and toured his garden, and were treated to some fresh greens. I posted a blog about how amazing his garden is doing already. He is already making pickles! We hung out for several hours, enjoyed coffee and camaraderie, had some lunch and then started the long drive home.

A quick week zipped by and we had our last scheduled houseguest. One of my good girlfriends from Portland, Heidi, came to visit for the weekend. We had lots of fun and crammed a lot of activities into the short weekend. Friday evening we hit up our local winery, Roxy Ann Winery, for some lovely Claret and the musical renderings of Smoky Red. It was a beautiful evening; I love live music.

Saturday morning we went on a jet boat tour of the “wild and scenic Rogue River” with Hellgate tours. (www.hellgate.com) It was an absolutely wonderful experience.

We went for the 2 hour excursion; while it was a bit chilly in the morning, the sun was shining and within about a half hour or so the weather was more comfortable. We saw a variety of wildlife including several osprey, bald eagles, a white egret, several blue heron, deer and fawns, and ducks!

We also saw a beaver den. We travelled a bit of a way down into the Hellgate Canyon, which is a site of several movie scenes, including one with Katharine Hepburn and John Wayne in “Rooster Cogburn”.

Saturday evening we headed back to Roxy Ann to do a tasting since they were not tasting the evening before during the concert.

Sunday we opted to head out for a hike in Lithia Park in downtown Ashland. We hiked a mile or so up Ashland Creek to a small reservoir. The weather was gorgeous, hot and sunny. We stopped for lunch at the Black Sheep Pub. It is an Irish pub in downtown Ashland that Chris and I have wanted to try for quite some time. While the food was pretty darn good, the prices were high. Chris ordered a Twisted Thistle IPA (in a bottle) and it was $8.50. Yes, $8.50 for a single bottle of beer. It was also $8.50 for my lunch of banger and mash with peas. Heidi had a pear and spinach salad for $7.50. Chris had the full order of bangers and mash with peas for $13.50. Yikes! It was a pretty spendy lunch. We headed back toward Medford so Heidi and I could do a little shopping. We also spent parts of both Saturday and Sunday afternoon in the backyard enjoying the sun.

Sunday evening we had tickets to see the Oregon Shakespeare Festival performance of The Pirates of Penzance at the outdoor Elizabethan Theater. Chris and I have now seen three performances at the OSF, one in each of the theaters. The evening was quite hot (we had reached temperatures in the mid 90’s both days) and was not cooling off very quickly. The theater didn’t allow for much air circulation, so it was a bit stifling. The performance itself was quite enjoyable, except for the fact that I couldn’t understand a significant portion of what was being sung. The lead actress (Mabel) in particular sang with such an operatic voice that I was completely unable to understand anything she sang. The overall performance was fun, funny, updated with bits of music and dance to modernize the play, and the performers did a good job. This play, however, did not suck us in as the last two plays we have seen at the OSF. (We saw Ruined last spring and The Imaginary Invalid this spring-both excellent performances.)

Prior to our arrival at the theater we had stopped by Tabu restaurant (http://tabuashland.com/) in Ashland. Tabu calls itself a Nuevo Latino Cuisine. We went upstairs for a glass of wine and some small plates. We ordered the full nachos with chicken, the portabello mushrooms with pesto and the chipotle chicken wings. The nachos were quite tasty, but ask for extra salsa. The mushrooms were a total disappointment; the flavors of the mushrooms, cheese and pesto topping just didn’t jive. The chipotle chicken wings were okay, a little on the spicy side for me. Again, the prices were steep. We ordered the three appetizers and each had a beer or wine and our total, including the tip was over $70. Yes…over $70 and we didn’t even actually have dinner. That is Ashland for you, though.

We did drop in to a couple of other places before we decided on Tabu. One was Chateaulin (http://chateaulin.com/), a French Bistro and Wine shop. Let’s just say it is VERY French, pricey and not quite what we were looking for that evening. The second place was O’Bryan’s Irish Pub. This is a bar; it is dark, narrow and I’m not even sure if they had food. It didn’t smell all that great and the front half of the bar had poker machines and the back half had pool tables. It is a place for dudes to go drink beer, not a place for ladies to go have wine before seeing a play.

So, with that we wrapped up a very full month of guests, travel, adventure and culture. The next month should be much quieter; we don’t have anything officially “planned” until the end of the month. In the meantime we will likely be busy with the garden, picking lots of basil, zucchini, and the tomatoes should be turning red any day now…and whatever else pops up out there! That will mean lots of canning, drying and pickling!

For now, we are so glad to have seen so many friends and had such good times during the last few weeks. Thanks to everyone who made that possible!

Overcoming Fear

 

 

"I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise..."

 

~ Dawna Markova

(source)

 

 

 

 

"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."

 

~ Dale Carnegie

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'
You must do the thing you think you cannot do. "

 

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

In light of my recent resurgence of anxiety attacks, these quotes are meaningful for me today. This is how I am attempting to live my life. I will not sit back and let life pass me by due to my unfounded anxieties. I will look fear in the face and take steps to overcome it, go under it, around it, and sometimes I will just have to go through it.

 

I refuse to give in to the fears and live a shadow of a life. I will get out there and live the life I want, today. I will not wait and I will not allow fear or anxiety to prevent me from seeing, doing and living the amazing life I know I can have.

 

I will inspire my own inner light and use that light to guide me through the times of darkness and fear.

 

I have the power and the light. I create my own inner peace. I am the inspiration of my own light.

 

 

You Are Beautiful

"Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes.

 It is not something physical. "

~ Sophia Loren

Beauty is not housed in your physical body.

Beauty is the energy you exude to the world when you are confident within yourself.

Your beauty cannot be ignored when you are at peace with who you are and are confident in your power.

People that are seen as beautiful are actually exuding confidence and security.

You, too, have the light and beauty within to exude confidence.

You are beautiful. Right this minute. Just as you are.

Embrace your inner light and expose your beauty to the world.

The Scale

The only thing your scale should ever tell you!

Everything else it has to say is less important.

Some days I struggle greatly with the scale, what is says, and what that means about what kind of a person I am.

The truth?

The scale is not able to measure my worth as a person.

It is not able to tell me how valuable I am.

It doesn't have the capacity to measure my strength.

It doesn't know how to quantify the light in my heart.

It can't tell me how good a friend I am or how good a wife I am.

The scale cannot measure my abilities.

The scale ONLY can measure my relationship with gravity.

And whatever the scale says does not indicate a weakness in me.

Step off the scale.

Step on the path to a lighter heart by simply starting to live your life.

If you live the life you imagine...whether that is hiking mountains, dancing the tango or simply being able to keep up with your kids, it will no longer matter what the scale says.

The measurement of your relationship with gravity is not a reflection of who you are.

Your daily activities are a reflection of who you are.

Start being who you want to be, today.

"It's All About The Climb" ~ Miley Cyrus

I am not a huge Miley Cyrus fan. I've never seen Hannah Montana, nor am I familiar with most of her music. This song, however, definitely has a message.

So often in life we are so focused on The END, The GOAL, The ACHEIVEMENT, that we forget about the process.

The process IS our life!

We can't forget that the climb to achieve the goal is what makes the success of achieving it so sweet.

Enjoy the moment.

 Bask in the difficulty.

 Breathe in the struggle.

Feel the sweat.

 Embrace the challenge.

And remember, "It's all about the climb!"

The Climb lyrics
Songwriters: Alexander, J; Mabe, J;

I can almost see it

That dream I am dreaming

But there's a voice inside my head saying

"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking

Every move I make feels

Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying

Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes might knock me down

But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it

But these are the moments that

I'm gonna remember most, yeah

Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong

Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing

Keep the faith, baby

It's all about, it's all about the climb

Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago. I was reminded this weekend, after a difficult time with my anxiety, of the truth of the words I wrote, and the truth of Miley's song. I was also reminded that sometimes the climb takes a fork to the left or right of the original path, and that this change of direction still can lead us to our final destination.

I went for a hike with friends. The path we were on suddenly became quite narrow with a very steep drop off on the right. I forced myself to continue for awhile, despite my paralyzing fear. At a certain point however, I could no longer continue on that path. My fear, my anxiety, was too great. We turned around.

Was this a failure?

We found another path, with a steeper climb up, but no cliffside, to walk along. Eventually we reached the destination we had been aiming for on the prior path: a small beautiful reservoir.

Life is a journey; a climb. Sometimes, though, the path will lead us to a new direction. This detour does not mean we cannot reach our goal. Nor does it mean that the goal will be less beautiful for having taken a different path to reach it.

Just like with the rules, if your path is not serving you well to reach your goal, then *you* have the power to change your path. There is no failure or shame in changing the path. There is more than one path to take, and very often, there is no one right path...just the best path for you at that time.

So, take the high path, take the fork in the road, change direction if the path isn't working for you.....and, most importantly: don't forget to breathe!

Light is Power

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

 Actually, who are you not to be?..." 

 ~Marianne Williamson

Let Your Light Shine

Inspire The Light Within



(image source)



"You Just Gotta Ignite The Light"

~Katy Perry

As I listen to music I often find inspiration in the lyrics.

This song, "Firework" by Katy Perry is the essence of Inspire the Light.

Read the lyrics as you listen to the music.

And then: Ignite your light!!

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of JulyCause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe"


Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on slet your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

Time To Change The Rules

Are your rules holding you back? Are the rules that you have learned in your life, from your mother, your friends, the media, your own inner self, preventing you from achieving all that you want?

Rules help us keep order in our lives. They help us to have a sense of control over our lives. Sometimes, though, rules that at one time were helpful become a hindrance.

Our lives change. Our wants change. We want to choose a new direction to travel. Sometimes the rules need to change.

Recently I have given a good hard look to the rules in my life, and trust me, I have a lot of rules.

I have rules about when I can exercise, when I can drink coffee, when I can shower, eat, and go to bed.

I used to have rules about my sheets and blankets, but I got rid of those rules a long time ago.

It is not important what the specific rules are, but what is important is to decide if you are still following the right rules.

My rule about when, and where, and how, I could exercise was no longer serving me. It was preventing me from getting the exercise that I knew I needed.

I had to take a good hard look at that rule. It served a purpose for me at another time in my life. In my current life the rule was hindering me from getting my exercise and achieving a life goal.

It was time to change the rule I had in place about exercise.

Do you have rules that need to be changed? You maybe want to substitute the word "rules" for "beliefs".

Are there beliefs or rules about your life, your body, your beauty, your ability, your inner light, or your worth that are holding you back from living the life you want?

If so: It is time to change the rules.

They are your rules and you have the right and the ability and the power to change them.

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."

 ~ Alan Cohen

Grab Life and Live It

“I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that.

Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.”

~ Pearl S Buck

When will the mood strike you to clean the toilet?

When will the mood strike you to give up your favorite food?

When will the mood strike you to start taking care of your health?

When will the mood strike you to be the person you know you can be?

When will the mood strike you to let your light shine?

If we wait for the mood to strike us, or worse, wait for the mood to inspire us, we will spend our lives waiting for a mood that will never show up.

Instead we must not wait for the mood to strike us.

We must find it within ourselves to be inspired to change our lives for the better. We must look at each day as the opportunity to fulfill our desires and not wait for a mood to persuade us that now is the time.

I am not in the mood every day to exercise, or make a grocery list, or prepare delicious food, but I am not allowing the mood to dictate my choices.

I am using my own inner light to inspire me to do the things I know I should do, regardless of my present fleeting mood, so that I can achieve the life I want.

Each day you have the choice to allow your mood to dictate your actions or to allow yourself to be inspired and take the daily actions necessary to achieve the life you want.

Don't wait for the mood to strike to grab life and live it.

Just grab life and LIVE it! Start today.

Feed Your Power!

Words are powerful.

Words set to music take on a whole new dimension of power and energy.

This is a song from the 70's by a singer/songwriter by the name of Helen Reddy. The United Nations dubbed 1975 the Year of the Woman and chose this song as the anthem. I encourage you to listen to this song, even if you have heard it before, as you read and ponder the lyrics. The power of owning your own inner strength as a woman is amazing!

Feed the power! Starve the weakness.

 

(Helen Reddy and Ray Burton)

I am woman, hear me roar

In numbers too big to ignore

And I know too much to go back an' pretend

'Cause I've heard it all before

And I've been down there on the floor

No one's ever gonna keep me down again

Oh yes, I am wise

But it's wisdom born of pain

Yes, I've paid the price

But look how much I gained

If I have to
I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

You can bend but never break me
'Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul


Oh, yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain

Yes, I've paid the price

But look how much I gained

If I have to

I can face anything

I am strong (strong)

I am invincible (invincible)

I am woman

I am woman watch me grow

See me standing toe to toe

As I spread my lovin' arms across the land

But I'm still an embryo

With a long, long way to go
Until I make my brother understand


Oh, yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to
I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

Oh, I am woman

I am invincible

I am strong

I am woman

I am invincible

I am strong

I am woman

Do you have an empowering anthem? Leave a comment and share your favorite power anthem with me!

Living The Life I Want

“Don't wait. The time will never be just right.”

 ~Napolean Hill

The time will never be just right to…lose weight.

The time will never be just right to…hike mountains.


The time will never be just right to…get an education.


The time will never be just right to…go kayaking.


The time will never be just right to…learn something new.


The time will never be just right to…be happy.


The time will never be just right to…face my fears.


The time will never be just right to…be the person I want to be.


The time will never be just right to…live the life I want.


Because the time will never be “just right” to do any of the things I want to do, to be the person I want to be, to live the life I want to live, I choose to do those things today in the midst of my imperfect life.


I choose to lose weight…today…while my life is imperfect.


I choose to hike mountains…today…while my life is imperfect.

I choose to get an education…today…while my life is imperfect.

I choose to go kayaking…today…while my life is imperfect.


I choose to learn something new…today…while my life is imperfect.

I choose to be happy…today…while my life is imperfect.

I choose to face my fears…today…while my life is imperfect.

I choose to BE THE PERSON I WANT TO BE…TODAY…WHILE my life is imperfect.

I choose to LIVE THE LIFE I WANT…TODAY…WHILE my life is imperfect.

"It's time to start living the life you've imagined."

 ~Henry James