What's Inspired Me

I have made some decisions in the past few days, due to some new insight I have gained in the last week, I am actually going to link up as many of the blogs as I can remember that kept inspiring me after I had made my decision... because that is where growth happens quickly, at least for me that has always been true. So before I post the links, I wanted to say a couple of things.

First I love blogging, it gives me an outlet to say what I am feeling and helps me to work issues out, I feel so lucky to have so many readers that follow me and comment on any given blog post I may write, I think that is all any type of writer really wants, some recognition that you have been heard.  Being heard, that is something we all want in this life and I found that here, plus the great thing too is that I get to read other people's insights which help me to grow and inspire me too.

Saying all the above, I have pressured myself to keep up to date with all my comments, I don't like disappointing anyone... hmm, people pleaser, I thought I had outgrown that in my early 40's?  Apparently I have revisited that recently, I have decided that I will be limiting my comments to be quality comments, ones where I am not just skimming to get to the next one.  I will still be visiting many blogs but I need to cut my comment time down as I have a number of personal projects I need to work on.

I might lose readers but I think the people who really like my blog will stay ... I have so many favorites that I could never list you all, people who inspire me each time I open a link.  I love that... it is why I continue to write and read, two of my passions.  That brings me to why I need to limit my comments, one I need to exercise... I use this place as an excuse not to sometimes, two I need to really write in my other blog for the book I am writing and three most importantly, I want and need to spend time with Valentina, I am a mama first.

I have to say I love every encouraging comment I receive here, it's another reason I comment, I know how good it feels to receive one and I never do it to get a comment back... I think it is nice to reciprocate but I do not in any way think it is mandatory.  I will still visit you all, I will still comment, it just won't be everyday.. I follow almost 500 blogs, thankfully not everyone posts every day, so it has been manageable but I am really shaking my life up.

I hope I remember everyone's link from last week, I will list them:

1.  It started with Ashly Rae from Ashly London, I think this is a fantastic read.

I am going to do this detox after I see my doctor next week, I am looking forward to the end result of how much healthier I will feel. 

2.  Then Dahi from Strangeness and Charms, sweet way to collect and save gratitude.

I do this with my on line gratitude journal, tomorrow will be 14 days.  I like her idea of the colored paper and I may do this down the road too:)

3.  Next was Vett from Real College Student of Atlanta, inspiring.

I loved her take on all the things which were recent thoughts and lessons learned, many of which I have learned or am now learning.

4.  Rick from Life 101, really great read.

I always enjoy reading Rick, he is laid back and thought provoking, this one was pretty deep with the question Why am I here?

5.  Sakshi, from Capturing Sunshine, who wrote this really insightful post.

It is something a lot of us feel at times but try to hide because it isn't easy to express ourselves openly, I really enjoyed what she had to say about when you can't express your feelings. 

6.  This blog really touched me, Happiness in a choice... it spoke to me.

The title was Finding Contentment... it is what we should all do, slow down, look around you and really live in the moment, be content. 

These are the ones that stood out that motivated me so much this week... big changes are coming for me but I do have to put the work in and I am more than ready, willing and able to... I look forward to the outcome.  I have to say there are so many of you that inspired me this week, people that normally don't write like that even wrote thoughtful posts. 

The last thing I need to say here is, if I had known before hand, I would have reacted another way but since I did not know before hand, then I reacted the only way I knew how, which doesn't mean I do hurtful things ... as that is not who I am.  This sums up my life ... this is the only way I can live, I cannot change the past, it is what it is, nor will I be held back by it in the future.  I can only forgive and move on... forgive myself and others.  I am the kind of girl who doesn't know how not to be open, I like being able to say how I am feeling, no matter what it is at any given moment. 

Follow along!
Facebook //  Twitter //  Google Plus //  Bloglovin //  Instagram //  Pinterest // 

The Crossroads I Am At

Yesterday I had a short walk, maybe 10 minutes, it was very hot... I had planned on walking later in the evening but instead I ended up talking with a friend until it was too late... This morning I woke up with the intention of going for a walk, at first I thought, I will walk later.   Right then and there I knew that if I didn't walk then, that I would come up with another excuse not to walk later... I jumped up there and then and I pulled on my yoga pants, sneakers and tank top and left the house immediately before another thought could come into my head.

I walked fast for close to 40 minutes and I walked for over two miles, I felt so much better... I came home, jumped in the shower and thought about why I was starting to come up with excuses after only one day...  I WAS the girl with all the excuses in the past, I will NOT be her again, I am not going to sit home each day when I can walk/jog/bike... whatever I need to do to become healthy.  I went off to church and had some lovely lessons/teachings taught to me... I had already prepared to walk home from church, it is a little over a mile and a half.  One lady at church told me she heard I was inspiring people to walk, I hope that my walking does inspire people.  I want everyone to feel as good about this as I do.

So, I walked home, I actually walked/ran home... it felt amazing and I was filled with gratitude that I could do this... it wasn't long ago that I had the surgery to repair my skin graft and before that I was using a cane.  I am so thankful that I can and am able to walk/jog/run... it is something that is keeping me centered, something that clears my mind and heart when I do it, hence why I do it so often.  When I don't my emotions build up to an uncontrolled state where I just cry all the time.

I know that is hard for people to hear, I am at a crossroads in my life right now... one I wish I wasn't at.  However; wishing I wasn't there doesn't change it, it means I have to make a decision and I just don't know which road I will travel... it seems like an easy decision to most people but for me it is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made.  The more that it weighs on my mind, the more that I walk now, with every walk I take, I know I am preparing to choose a path to take and this time I want to take the right path.  Yet I want to keep things from the other paths... I know... it isn't possible to travel two paths, hence why I am so sad.

I feel so torn inside, have you ever known, really known where you are supposed to be... yet it isn't possible at that time, so you have to go another way... completely different than what you know in your heart?  That is what I am going through right now and my heart is breaking into a million pieces... standing at the crossroads and trying to choose what is right for me, right here and now and in the long run. I just don't know how to choose... either way is awful, either way is very sad for me... yet I am left with the choice...

Regardless of which choice I will make, I know I will be sad but I also know I will be walking/running/jogging... eventually biking.  This one path of exercise I have taken is a long term path and I feel really good about it... I hope when I finally choose the other path at the crossroads I am at now that it will be a good choice for me in the long run too...

I cherish my past, I accept my present and I dream for my future ♥

Handling Curve Balls

I stumbled upon a new blog, I try hard  not to add new blogs since I am following so many but I can't help myself sometimes... If someone can draw me into their world within the first paragraph I am usually hooked... add another blog to my list.... This one is so inspiring and full of uplifting thoughts, I am excited to see each new blog post in the future.  It is simply called Christine Hassler  the post today titled Are you WAY to serious?

If you have a chance pop on over and read it, she had a few bad incidents after another over a few days and how she ended up reacting to them.  It reminded me of a time in March of 2008, one morning I woke up and decided to do my laundry... my wash machine had died, I stayed calm and ordered another one, I went off to work and ended up being taken into the office and told that I would be suspended for two days... mind you, they never explained why... I chose to take vacation pay for the whole week and I started looking for a new job, within five months I landed my job where I am now. Third I arrived home late to receive a call from my land lady that she wasn't going to renew my lease, I asked her if there was anything else, I thanked her for calling me and I went about finding a new apartment within three months, where I currently live.

I don't remember the actual day in March of 2008 but I can tell you this, it is a day I will never forget, it is a day where I handled one catastrophe after another and not one single one of them fazed me in the least.  It was because I figured that two of the three incidents happened for a reason and that if I went with it instead of against it, I would see big changes.  I say this because, I had been talking about moving for six months prior to this and talking about getting a new job because I knew where I was working that they were going to lose the project due to the horrible management.  Even though I had talked at length about making these changes, I did nothing until that day. That day was an answer to pushing me in the right direction, I felt like it ended up being one of the best days I have had.  I handled one thing after another and even smiled...

I especially smiled when I was being suspended without any reason explained... I smiled at my boss, asked her if there was anything else and then I thanked her, smiled and left the office.  You should have seen the look on their faces, they had no idea what to make of me, I didn't care, I know that I am an extremely hard worker who puts a lot of myself into my job... especially when I feel appreciated for my efforts. The previous company just didn't appreciate me, that is their loss... Now I am with a wonderful company that rewards the effort you put into your job.

What I learned from that day was that sometimes life throws you every curve ball in the book ... it is like bam, bam, bam... one right after another.  How we choose to react most of the time will impact how we deal with that challenge.  It's not always easy to just say, oh well... I will just move or I will just get a new job... but sometimes we are given those trials to get us to get up off our butts and make some changes.

I remember Oprah talking about how we get a whisper of what we need to do, then we get a shout, then we get a brick.... if we don't get it before this, the whole wall tumbles on us.  This is so true, I wish I wasn't so resistant to change all the time, I have proven time and again that when I flow with change, it ends up being amazing.

I cherish my past, I accept my present and I dream for my future ♥

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Gail from Gail's Forum awarded me this Very Inspiring Blogger Award.  I have had a few of these awarded to me in the past year.  I feel grateful and honored to be chosen each time.... I usually get busy with work or home and never get around to reciprocating the award to others. Since I am off, I thought I would take this opportunity to give this to others that inspire me as well.

1. Display the award logo on your Blog:

Done :)


2. Link back to the person who nominated you:

The link is in my first paragraph for Gail from Gail's Forum


3. State 7 things about yourself:

1.  My favorite color is lime green but I also love pink and purple.
2. I am a mother to two girls and a glama nana to Jackson.
3.  I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia ~ perfect size city to raise children in.
4.  My hair is naturally an auburn color but now it comes from a bottle and it always will ;)
5.  I can out talk the best of people, except maybe my David... he knows how    to talk as much as I do... ;)
6.  I want to go to Europe and specifically I want to go to Portugal and Spain.
7.  I love dancing and I am considering taking Zumba classes.

4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them:

There are more than 15 bloggers that inspire me regularly, However I have chosen five people that really make me think and ponder. You can choose as many people as you like :)

1.   Susanna from Behind My Eyes
2.  Armando from blog literario y fotografico
3.  Nikki from Gentle Recovery
4.  Daisy from More Where That Came From
5.  Keith from Musings Of An Unapologetic Dreamer




5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.

I will notify everyone as soon as I post this, also I understand if you are unable to do this, I just want all these people to know they inspire me.

I want to thank Gail for nominating me, I am grateful that she feels I am inspiring.  I found her blog about a year ago and I was instantly hooked, she is honest, open, real... she was born in New Brunswick, Canada and now resides in Toronto Ontario.  I am always inspired when I read Gail's blog ;)

I cherish my past, I accept my present and I dream for my future ♥