Dear Human: You…

Dear Human: You’ve got it all wrong. You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. That is where you came from and where you’ll return. You came here to learn personal love. Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity. Lived through the grace of stumbling. Demonstrated through the beauty of… messing up. Often. You didn’t come here to be perfect. You already are. You came here to be gorgeously human. Flawed and fabulous. And then to rise again into remembering.

Bucket List / 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

With the new year right around the corner, most of us look back at the current year and think about the positive and negative. What tragedies have we encountered and what could we improve on? At the end of every year people make resolutions to exercise and be healthier, be more forgiving and kind, work harder, people put themselves out there and as a result grow more. In the past I have found myself making the same old resolutions-eating better and exercising, be more positive and learn to be more patient. I feel like these resolutions last for a month or two then we slide back into old routine, what’s familiar to us.

2013 (well, 9 months of it) were pretty shitty. Yeah, I had some great moments and some fun. I did end up sticking to my fitness resolution and saw great results. Throughout the year I found myself growing and changing constantly, really being aware of my feelings and realizing I needed to improve and eliminate some things in my life to be truly happy. You have to constantly work on yourself, it can’t only be a resolution for the new year.

This past summer I did a lot of soul searching and found that I want to be a more adventurous person. I want to experience magnificent things with the people that really matter. I want to break out of my comfort zone. We only live once and I want to make that one time an extraordinary experience. In other words, I want to live the shit out of this life LOL To help accomplish some of these new goals and ways of living I created a bucket list for myself. I feel like narrowing down your goals can be the hardest part of a bucket list. Once everything is written down you can start putting the wheels in motion. I’m only 27, so I wasn’t going to create a bucket list that would span out the rest of my life but like everyone else money situations can put a damper on getting out and doing some things. From there I created my ‘Before 30 Bucket List.’

Before 30 Bucket List

1. Ride in a hot air balloon.

2. Swim with dolphins.

3. Zip Lining

4. Paddle Board

5. Hike Mt. Washington (NH)

6. New Years Eve in Times Square

7. Go to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

These aren’t ground breaking, earth shattering goals. They don’t have to be. Within three months of having my bucket list I did cross off one thing-I wanted to run a 5k and I actually ran two. The second one I ran by myself and doing that definitely took me out of my comfort zone. It was a great experience and I am so glad I went through with it! I am signed up for two more 5k’s in 2014 🙂

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

I came across this post this morning and it helped set the tone for the day. I wanted to include it in my Bucket List post because I feel it goes well with the theme of this post. It’s a way of life, not short term resolutions. As humans we all make mistakes, but it’s learning from those mistakes and staying on track which create a new way of living. Always be aware of how you feel and how you’re making other feel.

Written by marcandangel http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/12/11/30-things-to-stop-doing-to-yourself/

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you.  You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot.  Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth.  And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on.  No, it won’t be easy.  There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them.  We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems.  That’s not how we’re made.  In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall.  Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time.  This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself.  Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.  
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.  Yes, help others; but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you likeeveryone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.  Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us.  We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.  Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive.  But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either.  You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.  
11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.  Evaluate situations and take decisive action.  You cannot change what you refuse to confront.  Making progress involves risk.  Period!  You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely.  It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company.  There’s no need to rush.  If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet.  Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you.  But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you.  Concentrate on beating your own records every day.  Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.  Ask yourself this:  “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you.  You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough.  But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past.  You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation.  So smile!  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart.  You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate.  Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.”  It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.”  Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself!  And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too.  If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway.  Just do what you know in your heart is right.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it.  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things.  The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.  
24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don’t take the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while.  You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well.  You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears.  The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out.  But making one person smile CAN change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  So narrow your focus.
28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?”  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

Related articles

• Bucket List Quotes for 2014 and beyond (bogdanfiedur.info)
• 2014 Bucket List vs Resolutions (dietrying999.wordpress.com)

DIY Christmas Gift Ideas

There’s something to be said about handmade gifts. It’s the thought that counts, and there’s usually lots of thought put into gifts that are made by a friend or loved one. Another plus, sometimes DIY gifts are significantly less in price.

Mason Jar Snow Globes

I made a few mason jar snow globes last year. They came out awesome and are still going strong!

What you’ll need: Mason Jars, Glitter (color of your choice) Artificial Pine Garland, Hot Glue Gun, Pictures, Water, Decorative Ribbon (wrap around finished product)

1. Choose your picture(s). Go to your local Staples and have them laminated.

2. Cut each laminated picture. Make sure not to cut to close to the picture itself.

3. Glue your laminated picture to the jar cover. Let dry.

4. Choose the length of the garland and cut.

5. Glue your garland to the jar cover. (Be careful with the decorative items you put in your jar. I initially put artificial red berries in my jars and they quickly turned the water red.)

6. Let the glue dry over night.

7. Add water and the desired amount of glitter.

8. Screw your cover on. 

9. Add your decorative ribbon and DONE!

I recommend making your snow globes a few weeks before Christmas. This way you can keep an eye on them and make sure they stay intact before giving them to your friends and family. 

Cinnamon Scented Candles

Super easy gift to make and very inexpensive. I bought a big container of cinnamon sticks at The Christmas Tree Shop and vanilla candles at Michael’s. I put these in a gift basket last year. These candles will give off a yummy holiday scent 🙂

I have come across a couple other ways to make these scented candles. They say to use a glue gun. In my experience I found using a glue gun while assembling the craft makes life a little easier, but in the end I could smell glue and there was a melted mess.

What you’ll need: Candles, Cinnamon Sticks, Twine

1.Cut a piece of twine and tie it. I made sure the twine was a little bigger then the circumference of the candle.

2. Start filling the loose space with the cinnamon sticks. Once you get 6 or 7 cinnamon sticks around the candle, pull the twine on the opposite side of the candle. This will keep your cinnamon sticks in place. 

3. Add more cinnamon sticks, keeping a good pull on the twine. Add as many as you need until finished.

4. Light your candle and enjoy the holiday scent. 

Magic Reindeer Food

This is an easy and fun little gift for kids. Last year I hosted a Christmas party with our playgroup and as favors I made reindeer food for the kids. This little treat is to help Santa’s reindeer find their way to your house. Their noses pick up the scent of oats and cinnamon and the glitter shines in the moonlight. This is a nice little tradition you can start with your kids.

What you’ll need: Goodie Bags (I got ones with Santa on them) Oats, Glitter, Cinnamon and Sugar, Ribbon

1. Pour desired amount of each ingredient into your goodie bag. 

2. Print or hand write this poem and place inside goodie bag or attach to outside of goodie bag.

3. Tie festive ribbon around the top and done! Pretty easy 🙂

Fun & Easy Indoor Crafts (Fall)

There’s nothing like New England weather! Now that it’s becoming cold and getting darker earlier, I find us spending more time inside the house then outside. I try my best to keep the kids busy with things other then just tv. I would love to share some of my (and others) fall craft ideas that we have done.

Fall Inspired Sun Catchers

What you need: Contact Paper, Different color/style leaves.

1. Cut an equal amount of contact paper to your desired length and width.

2. Peel paper off and keep sticky side up. 

3. Place leaves on sticky side of contact paper until there is not much space left.

4. Peel paper off other piece of contact paper and (sticky side down) place contact paper over leaves. Make sure the corners match up. If not, you can cut the contact paper so there is no exposed stickiness. 

5. Hang on a window and enjoy.

(I’m not going to take the credit for this fall idea. Thank you for introducing this craft to me Katie C.)

 

Pumpkin Painting

It’s as simple as it sounds. This worked out great because my kids were too young to carve their pumpkins the first few years of life. At 4 and 2.5, they still seem to enjoy painting their pumpkins more then carving them. 

What you’ll need: Pumpkin (any size) Paint Brush, Halloween Themed Foam Stickers, Paint, (I used Crayola Washable Kid’s Paint w/Glitter from Michael’s) Pipe Cleaners, Colorful Puff Balls.

1. Start with your child painting their pumpkin. Make a design or just let them go at it.

2. Add Halloween foam stickers to desired areas.

3. Stick puff balls in wet paint so they stick.

4. You can stick the pipe cleaners into the pumpkin to make ears or wrap it around the pumpkin stem.

5. Let it dry and you’re done!

Hand Print Turkeys

This can get a little messy.

What you’ll need: Plain Scrapbook Paper, Red, Orange, Yellow, Brown and Green Felt, Brown, Red, Yellow, Orange and Green Paint, Paint Brush, Orange Sharpie, Glue Stick, Googly Eyes

1. Cut felt into small squares. Glue them to the paper, creating a border. 

2. Have your child spread their fingers. Paint your child’s thumb and palm brown.

3. Paint each remaining finger red, yellow, green and orange.

4. Slowly place your child’s hand on the paper, making a hand print.

5. Once the paint has dried-draw a beak and legs with your sharpie.

6. Glue the googly eye on and you’re done!

Egg Carton Caterpillars

What you’ll need: Empty Egg Carton, Paint, Paint Brushes, Glitter, Googly Eyes, Pipe Cleaners

1. Cut the lid off of an empty egg carton then discard.

2. Cut down the center off the bottom part of the carton, making two caterpillar bodies.

3. Make two holes at the head of the caterpillar and insert a pipe cleaner for antennae.

4. Paint the body.

5. Sprinkle with glitter.

6. Glue on googly eyes and done!

The Thankful Tree

Why not teach your little ones what it means to be thankful, not only because Thanksgiving is around the corner, but because they are lucky year round.

What you’ll need: Tall Vase, Small Tree Branches (from the store or from your backyard) Construction Paper, Sharpie/Pencil, Ribbon or String, Hole Punch

1. Place tree branches in vase.

2. Cut construction paper into leaves or your desired shape.

3. Have your child write (or write for them) what they are thankful for onto the leaf.

4. Punch a hole into the leaf and pull string/ribbon through and tie gently.

5. Have your child(ren) pick a branch and help them tie the ribbon to the branch.

There’s no set limit to how many leaves you can have. Maybe you’ll be surprised by how many things your kids are grateful for.

 Fall Wreath

What you’ll need: Cardboard, Glue, Leaves, Ribbon, Acorns

1. Collect fall leaves and acorns.

2. Cut a circle from your piece of cardboard. Cut a smaller circle in the center of your first circle.

3. Gently glue your autumn leaves and acorns all around the cardboard.

4. Tie ribbon around the cardboard wreath and hang.

 

 

Hallelujah For Playgroups!

“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.”

 

I worked part time after my daughter was born. My life consisted of working, being a mom and a housewife. When I wasn’t at work I was busy running errands for my family, going to Dr appts or spending quality time with my girl. We didn’t make many new friends.

After my son was born I became a full-time stay at home mom and I pretty much barricaded myself in our house. I was a breastfeeding mama and I had a really hard time with latching and what not, so I mostly pumped. I also had a rambunctious 17 month old daughter that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to control while I sat and breastfed/pumped.

We went out for walks, played at local playgrounds and play places. But we were missing something big… friends. It’s hard being a SAHM and not having an outlet. Sure, I could talk to my husband and he could sense my loneliness and frustrations of being a mom 24/7, but it’s just not the same. Most importantly, my kids needed playmates. They needed to learn how to socialize and how to interact with other kids. The search for the right playgroup began.

I had no idea how to find a playgroup. I googled all different things and wasn’t finding anything that was right for us. Finally, after months had passed and I was sure there was nothing out there for me, I did one last search. Hallelujah!!! I came across this. There, I discovered all sorts of groups. Playgroups for kids, dog playgroups, Buddhist groups, networking groups, etc. There’s something for everyone. Plus, for a small fee, you can create your own group if you want to. I ended up coming across a group that was right in my town. 

 It’s been almost FOUR years that I have been a SAHM. I honestly don’t know how I would have made it this far without being part of a playgroup. When you’re a mom you question all sorts of things, “Did I discipline my child correctly, do other kids act like this, do other mom’s struggle with their child being picky with food?” After talking with many moms and finding out we all go through a lot of the same things, I knew for sure I wasn’t crazy. haha! You can learn so much from other mom’s parenting styles, you get awesome advice and tips from more experienced moms, all the while keeping your sanity by having adult conversations. I have learned so much from these great ladies! All the while your kids make friends and are learning themselves.

If you are a stay at home mom, part time or full time, I highly recommend finding a playgroup in your area. It sounds silly, but mine saved my sanity.

(The playgroup going on a hayride up to a pumpkin patch. October 2013)