The beginnings of a new addition… I welcomed my Instax 210 home this week…  

It’s Fill in the blank Friday and I remembered to go get my blanks! Woot! Enjoy these and your weekend!

1.  Today is a good day because  the sun is out, it’s [...]]]>  

The beginnings of a new addition… I welcomed my Instax 210 home this week…  

It’s Fill in the blank Friday and I remembered to go get my blanks! Woot! Enjoy these and your weekend!

1.  Today is a good day because  the sun is out, it’s warming up, and I have music playing. That’s pretty much all I need.

2.   The best thing I did all week was   have two calls with new coaching peeps. Dang I love this work!

3.  The current weather is     sunny     and it makes me feel     stoked for the possibilities!

4. The best thing about spring is    (I can’t pick just one!) that it doesn’t take ten minutes & 4 layers to go outside, that the flowers are coming up gangbusters, that the dogs can lay outside just watching the world and sniffing the wind, that I can open the windows and get singing birds and fresh breezes throughout my house…

5. A fashion trend that I’m dying to try out for spring is   shopping in my own attic from the stash I put away every fall and forget about.

6. A person who made me smile this week was     the mail-lady, when she delivered my new toy (see above) .

7.  The most delicious thing I ate all week was     the Swedish meatballs I made last night, with a nice salad.

To read more Fill in the Blank Fridays, or to do one of your own head over here to The Little Things we Do.

Spring are you coming?

I found this really neat Friday post idea on my travels this week and decided to jump in! Thank you Lauren for putting this out there! Check out her site, The Little Things We Do, if you want to play along [...]]]>  

Spring are you coming?

I found this really neat Friday post idea on my travels this week and decided to jump in! Thank you Lauren for putting this out there! Check out her site, The Little Things We Do, if you want to play along too!

1.  The highlight of my week was    watching Joe try to go sledding while the dogs chased after him. Hysterical silliness.

2.   If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic it would be   consignment farmhouse cabin .

3.  My first vehicle was   a Jeep Wagoneer Limited from 1987. Maggie ruled .

4. An item I need to have in my day in order to function is  my iphone. I feel neked without it .

5. My favorite way to waste time is   to go hunting for new blog blood. Hence how I found this gem. (Perhaps time WELL wasted then?:))

6. Right now I could really go for   a week on a beach. Anywhere. Just make it hot, sunny, and with a well stocked fridge  .

7.  This weekend I will be   willing the snow to melt in the rain and Spring to show the heck up already!

Last night Joe and I watched the third Transformers movie. We got it on Netflix and were excited to rip into it right after dinner. We had seen the preview for it on last week’s Netflix pick (yes, we love movies. A lot. We also love being able to pause & pee, free [...]]]>

Last night Joe and I watched the third Transformers movie. We got it on Netflix and were excited to rip into it right after dinner. We had seen the preview for it on last week’s Netflix pick (yes, we love movies. A lot. We also love being able to pause & pee, free refills on our drinks, and the highly underrated silence that comes from NOT having a stadium audience sharing in the experience. Home movies are bliss.:)).

But even as I was excited to get to see this movie, especially given my love of the previous two, there was a little voice in my head that warned I probably wouldn’t like it. What? Huh? Why? I wasn’t even sure where this voice was coming from until we were about half way through and I was fully, utterly in love. This movie was funny and fun. My poor little bird heart was in a constant state of flutter from all the action and I loved it. So as I reveled in just how wrong this tiny little voice was, I was equally as curious as to where it had come from in the first place?

I finally remembered that at some point in that last few months I had read about this movie, and that it was not very good. Something about it being a sad followup to the previous two. Now, clearly I have come to firmly disagree with any such assessment, but this morning it got me to thinking about just how often we inherit someone else’s perspective and don’t even know it.

Thinking back to when I first heard that little voice I could tell that there was something off about it, but I didn’t really sit with it to figure out what felt off in the moment. Lucky for me this was a pretty inconsequential decision, to watch or not to watch, but had it been a bigger issue I hope I would have really taken the few extra moments needed to search out it’s origin. If I had I would have been able to see that this raspy, curmudgeon of a voice was most definitely NOT my own. It could have been a movie reviewer, a disgruntled Transformers purist, or some teenager still pissed that they replaced the original hot girl  with a new hot girl. Who knows? And thankfully, now that I both know that this voice was NOT me, and that it was way off in assessing what I would like in a movie, I can honestly say I don’t care to know.

What I do care about it being able to discern the difference between my own real, beautiful intuition and the residue of someone else’s mind that made it’s way into mine. Hearing that subtle, but oh so important, difference is key for me to continue making choices (even tiny movie selection choices) that will lead me through a joyful life. So I’m curious, how do you tell the difference? What are your tricks for separating your true inner voice from the din? I’m all ears.

If you’re anything like me, once you realize you want to make a change in your life you try to find the simplest, easiest and least painful ways to do it. It’s not that you’re weak or lazy, its that it just makes a heck of a lot more [...]]]> Believing is Seeing…

If you’re anything like me, once you realize you want to make a change in your life you try to find the simplest, easiest and least painful ways to do it. It’s not that you’re weak or lazy, its that it just makes a heck of a lot more sense to do whatever needs to be done the most comfortable way possible. Right? If we want to lose weight we adopt the Special K diet*. If we want to get in shape we buy DVDs to do at home when we, ahem, get up earlier each morning. If we want to be more creative, we sign up for email prompts that promise to unearth our inner artist.

Please be clear, I am not dissing any of these methods. I am the proud owner of several yoga and dance DVDs, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the e-courses I’ve signed up for, and up until a few weeks ago Special K was on my weekly shopping list. There is no doubt in my mind that these small steps can lead to big payoffs, but only if they are built upon a solid foundation. What does that mean?

It means you have to actually believe change can happen.

Way too often we discount the power our mind plays in our life, deferring instead to courses rooted in ACTION and FORWARD MOTION, in the fine art of MAKING THINGS HAPPEN. It’s an alluring idea. If we just do things differently, things will be different. But if that were the case then wouldn’t resolutions stick, new routines be easily adopted and change be painless? Action piled on top of a shaky foundation has a tendency to crumble at the first sign of fatigue. If you want your changes to really stick, you’ve got to do some digging…

Have you ever tried to use affirmations? These powerful statements have been known to fuel major overhauls in people’s lives. I think that’s great. If they work for you, by all means deploy them as often as feels good. For me though, I like to use them in a different way. Take, for example, the simple statement “There is nothing I cannot do”. Seems harmless enough, right? Easy to believe… Or is it?

Sit for a moment with that statement. Repeat it to yourself, out loud then silently. Feel for any physical sensations in your body as you say it. Do you feel good? What do you hear echo back to you? What images does your mind create for you in response to that sentence? Are they happy images that affirm: “There is nothing I cannot do.” Or instead does your mind call forth other words and images of the not so fun variety, like “Oh, yeah, since when?” “There is nothing you cannot do WRONG” and “If that were true how come you failed here, here, and oh yeah, here too?”

Affirmations might be powerful motivators, but sometimes they can give birth to a whole slew of negative memories and nagging, doubtful thoughts. Why? Because while our brains can think, and our mouths can say, that positive sentence what we really truly BELIEVE is much, much different. And before affirmations, or any other simple step toward change, can have a lasting effect on us for the better, we’ve got to address these underlying thoughts. And this is why I love affirmations; they are a litmus test for our minds.

If what you hear echo back to you is less than motivational you might have some limiting beliefs eroding your foundation and letting the air out of any action steps you do take. To get some reinforcement…

~  Write them down. Let the negative backlash have its say, being sure to write down every less than positive reply to your affirmation of choice. Once you feel you’ve exhausted the peanut gallery and your list is nice and long…

~  Circle the most painful or upsetting pieces of evidence your brain has tossed out. You might see some similarities or themes come up, that’s great. Pick the ones that hurt or bother you the most…

~  Then prove yourself wrong. Your mind is an evidence machine, but just as well as it can recall screwups and let downs, so can it bring back times when you’ve shined and done what no one else could do. This isn’t simple positive thinking (though there is something so right with that!) this is reworking the evidence in your mind to disprove your negative beliefs. The more evidence you can find to refute it the less of a hold it will have on you going forward. If you can’t find any evidence to disprove it…

~  Then find the lesson you learned. If you really can’t find anything that proves your limiting thought wrong then find the best lesson you learned from the failure or disappointment. We learn from bad experiences as much, if not more, than from good ones, so even if something felt all bad at the time, looking back you will see exactly what that experience gifted you. Repeat with each painful thought that came up.

~  Then celebrate. Whether you found evidence to disprove that eroding thought, or discovered just how much wisdom you gained because of it, you now have a far more solid foundation to build upon.

So how will you know when your foundation is strong enough to build your dreams on? Repeat that initial affirmation and listen for what you hear. It’s true that some nay sayers might still pipe up, but are they the loudest thoughts you hear? And how do you feel in your body now as you say it? I’m gonna guess that the good mojo flowing after all that evidence collecting and wisdom accumulating is going to feel pretty awesome. This is the place from which affirmations get their power, and this is where you want to start building from. Whether your goal is to write a novel or run a marathon, you’ll get there a heck of a lot faster and easier if you truly, honest to goodness, believe you can.

*I am in no way condoning the Special K diet!

No doubt about it, the best part of the holidays is the giving. Am I right, or am I right? I was always ready to throw elbows on Christmas morning so I could give out my presents first, so it’s really no surprise to me that I would be all over these holiday [...]]]>

No doubt about it, the best part of the holidays is the giving. Am I right, or am I right? I was always ready to throw elbows on Christmas morning so I could give out my presents first, so it’s really no surprise to me that I would be all over these holiday giveaways like white on rice. It’s my absolute pleasure to announce the winners today!

From way back at the beginning of the month (as in before the Bonanza was even born!), the Dreamer necklace goes to…Collette!
Holiday Bonanza Giveaway #1, Imagine (print) goes to…Carla!
Holiday Bonanza Giveaway #2, Peace (necklace) goes to… Laura G!
Holiday Bonanza Giveaway #4, Coming Together (necklace) goes to…D. Doughty!
Holiday Bonanza Giveaway #5, Believe (print) goes to…Lana!
Holiday Bonanza Giveaway #6, Om (necklace) goes to…Jonnie!
Holiday Bonanza Giveaway #7, Peace (print) goes to…Lana!
Holiday Bonanza Giveaway #8, Endeavor (necklace) goes to…Eugenie!

And since Holiday Giveaway #3 had no votes, poor thing, I went ahead and added all the names of the wonderful people who played along with these giveaways but hadn’t won yet into a hat and pulled one out… And the winner of the Love (print) is Sarah!

I can’t tell you how amazing it was reading the fantastic responses each giveaway got. If you were as inspired as I was take a moment and check out the sites of these awesome peeps. Thank you so much Darlene, Celina, Carla, Jonnie, Laura, Collete, Sarah, Mary, Emily, Morgan, Corinne, and Dani for being so generous with your time and your heart!

I went to the salon today to get my new short do trimmed and reshaped before my hairdresser heads out on maternity leave at the end of the month. But it wasn’t just the trim I was going in for. I’ve talked with my mom and Joe about coloring my hair forever. [...]]]>  

I went to the salon today to get my new short do trimmed and reshaped before my hairdresser heads out on maternity leave at the end of the month. But it wasn’t just the trim I was going in for. I’ve talked with my mom and Joe about coloring my hair forever. I mean, annoyingly forever. But I never do it. Fear always seems to hold me back. So while I knew we wouldn’t be doing the actual coloring today, I wanted to start having the discussion with her about it. Maybe even get a recommendation on who might be available to do it while she was out. Just make some baby steps, that’s all…

In this, the time of declarations, resolutions, and new gym memberships it’s as if the whole world has decided it is time for a change! It sure sounds good. Everyone joins in, new ideas are thrown around and habits long deemed unhelpful are discarded for ones that will make life utter, constant, impenetrable bliss. And if that’s not how it works, well, geesh, keep it to yourself. (At least until February when everyone else starts admitting it didn’t work for them either!)

So how do we make changes? Well I can tell you one thing, it’s not as easy as some would have us believe. Habits, just like thoughts, are rooted in our brain. They are well worn paths that it can feel almost impossible to break free from. But there is hope. There is one small thing you can do to make even the tiniest, most incremental start toward making a real, lasting change:

Tell someone about it.

Possibly the most simple, and yet powerful, thing you can do in the name of making any real change is to let someone else in on your plan. Even if you’ve mentioned it before, tell someone again. Tell a new person. Tell the same person who already knows, but sit down with them and take up their full attention. Map it out. Draw them a diagram. Make it as clear to them what you want to change as you can, because while you do, you’ll be making it clear to you too.

Since habits are rooted in the brain, the best way to unroot them is to nudge them where they live. Talking about your plans, begins to knock your well worn thoughts ever so slightly off course, and the more you do that, the more power you will have to enact the very plans that have seemed impossible to realize. And another amazing thing might happen when you tell someone; they might just help you get started.

When I mentioned the hair coloring idea to my hairdresser, noting that we clearly hadn’t scheduled in time for it today, she smiled and without a seconds pause said, “oh we can do something today”. And so I was off. New highlights adorn my head and it feels amazing. All because I told someone about a change I was hoping to make.

But what if they laugh, mock, or disapprove, I hear you say. What if they do? If you’ve decided that this is a change that’s really worth working for, then don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you let someone in on your plan and they don’t provide any helpful support, don’t stop there, tell someone else. We all have people in our lives, the ones we know will support us and the ones who might have something not so encouraging to say, pick your audience if you must, but the point isn’t to prove its is a worthy change to anyone BUT yourself. Remember, this is an exercise in solidifying in your own mind exactly what you want and how to make it happen. The support you get is just a bonus. But what a bonus it can be!

Feel like making a change and can’t think of anyone to tell? Tell us, leave a comment below. The power of just putting it out into the world might just be enough to get your ball rolling!

Simply leave a comment on this post by Sunday at midnight EST about this: Having hopes and dreams is great, but nothing will ever happen if you don’t take that chance. What will you endeavor to do this year? What will you bring to life, or make room for?  I [...]]]> Endeavor…

To enter:

Simply leave a comment on this post by Sunday at midnight EST about this: Having hopes and dreams is great, but nothing will ever happen if you don’t take that chance. What will you endeavor to do this year? What will you bring to life, or make room for?  I will use random.org to select a random commenter and announce the winner early next week.

Rules:

Only one entry per person, you must leave an email so I can contact you when you win. Sorry I can only ship within the US & Canada. This giveaway this for a 100% sterling silver 16″ ball chain featuring a silver oval disk with the word “endeavor” and a little bird hand stamped on it by yours truly. Have fun and happy holidays!

Simply leave a comment on this post by Sunday at midnight EST about this: I know we already talked about Peace this week, but that was a different kind of Peace. Today I want to send out a little hopeful blessing of Peace. To you, to your family, to your [...]]]> Peace…(again!:))

To enter:

Simply leave a comment on this post by Sunday at midnight EST about this: I know we already talked about Peace this week, but that was a different kind of Peace. Today I want to send out a little hopeful blessing of Peace. To you, to your family, to your dreams and to your fears. I would love it if you wanted to do the same. Send out a little peaceful energy today, to whomever and however feels right for you, and then come here and let me know you did. Lets collectively send out a massive wave of Peace to this world. I think we all know we need it, and what better way to end the year than like this. Thank you in advance. I will use random.org to select a random commenter and they will receive this image as a 5×5 print. All prints are made using professional inks on archival paper.

Rules:

Only one entry per person, you must leave an email so I can contact you when you win. Sorry I can only ship within the US & Canada. This giveaway is for the 5×5 print shown above only. Have fun and happy holidays!

2010 was about Expansion. Giving my life the chance to grow outward in all the ways I had always dreamed of. And it did. My friendships grew, my awareness grew, my very understanding of this life and my place in it expanded an incredible amount. It was a year of firsts and wonders.