Day 1

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I am feeling so good today! I got up early, worked out, did the dishes, showered, and got ready for work all before 8:00 this morning!! I am ready to kick today in the face!! I am really trying to organize my time better so I am able to get more out of my days. I have embarked on a new journey. I am now an official Jamberry nails consultant!! Woot Woot!! If you have never heard of Jamberry nail wraps before they are super cute little wraps that simply just stick to your naked nail or over
polish! Genius!!! I am so excited to be a Jamberry consultant because I love the product and I love making people feel beautiful!!! I want to be successful in this new endeavor, and I know that means being more efficient with my time! I want to be able to actually finish my to do list and have time left over! My goal is to be able to manage my home and myself instead of just letting life fly by! Today I am saying no more to unfinished to do lists and piled up laundry! Now I know I can't succeed without a game plan, so today I am going to spend my time prioritizing and scheduling out my days ahead! The first step to any goal is to make up your mind that you want to reach it! Today I am deciding that no matter what I will not give up until I reach my goal! Say hello to day number 1 of the more efficient me!! :)

Here is a rough list of some of  my personal goals:
1. Have more time to spend with Abbi. -  And by spend more time, I don't just mean being near her or taking her to the park, I mean be more invested in her! I want the time I get with her to really mean something. I usually spend our quiet time together worrying about what didn't get done and what still needs to be done. I usually rush through it so I can get her to bed in order to finish something I've started.
2. Have my quiet time. - I would like to have at least 30 minutes of my day to spend with Jesus.  
3. Eat better - Stay within my calorie budget for the day!
4. Work out more - I want to start out small like 2 times a week and build up from there. Ultimately, I would love to be able to work out 5 times a week!
5. Clean house - I would love to be able to head into my weekend with a clean house instead of spending all weekend trying to get it under control.
6. Save money - I really want to develop the discipline of setting money aside each week. Even if it is just $5.00.

Work goals:
1. Get more closed referrals at work. - I am going to start by mentioning at least one product to every customer.
2. Complete my fast start goals with Jamberry.  

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for sweet tea, sunshine, and the laughter of little ones!

 I am so thankful to be able to sit on my deck and drink tea while listening to

 the kids play in the back yard!

Time is so precious, and I am very grateful to have been able to steal this 

moment from my busy day!  

It's a Beautiful Life!

Last week I challenged myself to seek out and find the hidden beauty in my life! So, here is picture number 2 for my weekly "It's a Beautiful Life" challenge.

5 things that make this picture beautiful:

1) This picture is so beautiful to me because it is a reminder to cherish the little moments I get with Abbi. She is growing up so fast! 

2). Abbi's beautiful smile!!

3)  Holding her in my arms makes all of the worries of the day melt away!

4)  This picture make me feel forgiven and loved! In spite of my many, many mistakes, she still wants to be cuddled up in my lap. She is the very picture of unconditional love. 

5)  This was our last moment together before she fell asleep. My hope is that this is what she will remember about today!

  

It's a Beautiful Life!

Wow! It feels so good to be back and posting again! I had almost forgotten how much I enjoying posting and reading all of my favorite blogs. It's crazy how we let life take away some of the things that we enjoy. For example, I can't tell you the last time I got my camera out of the closet and just went for a walk downtown! For me, the constant everyday running around and the mile long "to do" list, that never seems to get any shorter, gets so overwhelming sometimes. Some days I feel like I am drowning in a sea of laundry and dirty dishes! When I focus my eyes on all of the things that didn't get done or what has gone wrong I let the feeling of defeat take over and instantly become too overwhelmed to do anything about it. This lifestyle is very draining and exhausting let me tell ya.

When I am walking around the city taking pictures I have this passion for trying to find the beauty in everything. I use photographs to extract the beauty from crumbling buildings, pealing paint and rusted metal. I feel as if it is my job to show everyone the hidden beauty in things that most people never take a second look at. I feel the same way about portrait photography. I want so badly for the person being photographed to be able to see the beauty in themselves that I see through my camera lens. We all tend to focus our eyes on the worst things about ourselves, and therefore miss all of the hidden beauty that is, in fact, there just waiting for us to recognize it. It is a goal of mine to make people feel beautiful and loved. However, I tend to be unable to do this in my own life. I seem to have the hardest time finding the beauty within myself and recognize the dream that is my life.  

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we could take a photograph of our lives, hang it on the wall, take a step back and really look at it. What would we see? Would we see more than just temper tantrums, dirty dishes, piles of laundry, and large thighs? I believe that if we were able to look at our lives in this manner we would be able to see the gentle tear wiping and reassuring hugs and kisses, the delicious new recipe we discovered, Our favorite outfit, and that award winning smile!
Taking the time out of my busy day to sit down, reflect on my world and write it all down helps me to refocus on the beauty that is there.

Today I want to make a goal! Once a week I am going to take a picture that represents what is going on in my life and make a list of all the beautiful things I see! Please feel free to join in and post your photos here as well!!

Ok, so here is my first photo! 

This picture was taken right after seeing the movie Home in theater! 

( mind you, a picture I would have kept hidden due to the state of my face! LOL!)

(That was a bit counterproductive I know)

Ok, so here is my list of beautiful things that this picture reminds me of. 

1. The smile on all of the girls faces (even mine) shows me that 

everyone was having a good time!

2. Umm... Movie theater popcorn hello!! It doesn't get more beautiful than that!

3. Listening to the girls giggle during the movie made me wish 

the movie would never end.

4. Knowing that this photograph will help each of them remember that day! 

               

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that spring is finally here!

Thankful Thursday!

Today I am thankful for little giggles and twirling sun dresses!

Thankful Thursday!

Today I am thankful for colored pens and good coffee!!

I am so thankful that I have had lots of time this week to dig into my Bible! It feels so good to be able to start the day with a God encounter! :)

Thankful Thursday!

Today I am thankful for creative moments in my day! It brings me great joy to be able to sit down with something and be creative! I just love turning something old into something new!

Thankful Thursdays!

Today I am thankful for warmer days to enjoy at the park!

When I look at this photo, it makes me realize how fast Abbi is growing up, and how lucky I am to get to spend a few afternoons with her at the park before she is all grown up.

Freebie Friday: CoffeeShop Flaxen Daydream

FREEBIE alert!!
Coffeeshop's Flaxen Daydream is a completely free action that can be used in Photoshop or PSE! It is a beautiful simple little action that adds a little personality to your photos. It is the perfect action when you don't  want to make a lot of changes to your photo, but you still would like it to have an extra umph!  
Here are a couple of before and after photos for you. These photos were edited only with The CoffeeShop Blog's Flaxen Daydream action.

You can get the FREE Flaxen Daydream action HERE!

Also FREE right now is Beryl Ayn Young's mini class One Ingredient Fix. Sign up HERE!