Let Inspiration Find You

Inspired by this blog, Joy The Baker, I'm writing to you today. 

The photos are people who inspire my every breath.

My Grandma Gray

To see the inspiration I find around me when I take a moment, I have a "thing" I do.

Taking a moment sounds easier than it is. 

So once you understand what I'm really talking about, I hope you'll feel inspired to take a moment of your own. 

My Mommy

I'm talking about being as simple as possible. 

Reducing yourself to 

one 

breath 

at a time.

 Deeply, breathing in, taking air into your lungs and slowly releasing it. This is what I do.   

This is how I find moments of gratitude. 

This is the way I keep those crazy moments under control:

 I remember myself, and the one thing I must do to survive the day. 

BREATHE.

In the moment you spend taking a breath of air you can inhale a whole new perspective. You can be the person you struggle to be. With one deep breath you can find 

Inspiration. 

Magic really. With one vital thing. Oxygenating your brain. 

My Dad

Clarity is possible. Now use your senses.

What do you hear?

Take. Another. Breath.

What do you smell?

Take another breath.

What do you taste?

Takeanotherbreath.

What do you see?

I've been talking about gratitude for a while now. I've also been talking about reaching my highest potential, Fine Tuning myself.  Breathing is very simple but because of our busy lifestyles we often neglect this simple thing.  

I've found my self holding my breath all day long, stuck on a particular worry or thought. How's that for irony, breathing is part of our circulatory system and I'm literally shallow breathing with concern over something I can't seem to resolve. 

My Breathing Partner

Well hello! In retrospect breathing is exactly what I need. Breathe through a problem. Many mothers have experienced breathing through birth. Why don't be hold onto that tool and do some Lamaze breathing through a grocery store tantrum, or while balancing the household budget. 

There should be in a hand book somewhere. Goddess 101, don't forget to breathe!!! 

I thought this was especially Inspiring! The definition of the word Inspiration from the free dictionary.com read #6 first.

Inspiration:- noun 

 1. act or quality that influences or arouses the mind, creative imagination, or emotions 

 2. something so inspired, as an idea 

 3. thing or person that inspires 

 4. result of such influence 

 5. divine influence or the quality of writings or words that seem divinely inspired 

 6. drawing of air into the lungs; inhalation

My Little jewels

Inspiration.

My Sissy

My Best Buddy

Fellow Goddesses

I hope you enjoyed all my pictures. 

I hope my friends and family don't mind I posted beautiful pictures of them. 

Inspiration is around us like the air we breathe. 

If you would like more guidance through a breathing exercise try any of the Cerra Moments. Each one will take you through a helpful way of using your breath to clear your heart, and mind and find inspiration.

What do you think about that?

Would you please leave me one?

YOU are Enough!

When you're unorganized or just have too much stuff its hard to see,

that what you have is enough.

It's hard to be grateful when your possessions overwhelm your life.

When you can't find the things that you need, you will buy something you don't need. 
When you buy things you don't need you drain your financial and emotional resources.

It's hard to find anything when you have too much stuff.

FINE TUNE YOU

Sometimes I feel like I'm an after thought.

I blame myself, it really is my fault.

I put everyone else first.

I give them my time and attention. 

That's how I show my love.

I put my career on hold to stay at home with my children, and relocate for my husband's job.

I put everyone else and their needs before my own because that's how I show my love and devotion.

Lately, I've been thinking about this, and the truth is,
 caring for others is just plain easier then thinking about myself.

Really it is,wanna know why?

You don't know this about me, but I'm COMPLICATED.

I'm a BIG, COMPLICATED, EMOTIONAL, ENERGY.

I've got more talent than I know what to do with.
When I let the flood gates loose I think a mile a minute and drop thousands of ideas.
 I think my self to sleep at night.
I have dozens of journals full of business ideas, recipes, restaurant concepts, business solutions, cures for disease, female world domination, the end of world hunger, and the end to all wars.
I brainstorm human enlightenment.
I'm.
A.
 DEEP.
Thinker!

Put simply and less bipolarish, I have LOTS of dreams!

My dreams are complicated.
I have 3 kids, I don't have time for complicated.

But there are so many things I'd like to do, places I'd like to see.

Ideas I would love to make a reality.

All my dreams and big ideas are a little over whelming for me.

So worrying about other people and their problems is a lot easier.
A lot easier.

Except that now, I'm getting tired of other people's problems.

 Now I think that I was stunting my own growth.
Making me unhappy, affecting my confidence, and steeling my joy.
Imagine that, because I wasn't pursuing my passions I was letting the people I love, unknowingly steel my joy.
My fault or theirs? MINE!!!

I love my family.
Watching them grow and become more independent, awakened me.
I see now that, I need to find something else to do.

If you're lucky enough to plant a seed and watch it grow, at what point do you see your self standing in front of that beautiful flower and realize it doesn't need you anymore.
Well I don't wanna be that person.
I want my girls to see me inspired and motivated, not standing around watching them.
I want to encourage them to live full lives. I will lead by example. 

Besides, If I can manage other people's lives, my dreams and ideas are just as manageable.

And I don't have to give up one for the other. 

I'm going to begin to bring myself back into focus.

I'm going to focus on things that will strengthen who I am.

I'm going to nurture my inner Goddess.

A stronger ME makes my family stronger.

A focused, goal driven mother encourages and inspire little girls to achieve.

These are my first steps:

Get Organized

Smart women have control of their households, and run their families like well oiled machines.

Without organization personal pursuits will feel like selfish distractions.

Record your DREAMS

This is an exercise in self indulgence. 
What do you dream about? Who are you?

What will you do with your life, when your children get a life?

Write your dreams down in a journal, or make a vision board.

Record our dreams so you can SEE them, not just THINK about them.


Make A Plan
This is the part when you realize, "oh shit, I bit off more than I can chew!" Personal dreams can be overwhelming, because passion brought them to you without reason or common sense. 
So, Make a detailed plan of action. Even if your plan is to get more information.
Once you know what your going to do take the time to plan how it will get done.


Ask for Help
No great thing can be accomplished alone. 
Make a list of people you can ask for guidance and advice, look for local resources, or instructional classes, DIY help, or the time of a friend or family member.


Celebrate Small Accomplishments
Your on your way to becoming your true self. Your allowing a passion deep inside to flow and guide you through this life. Your managing your family and your personal passions. That's a lot!
Any accomplishment you make deserves acknowledgement and  a moment of celebration. 
Even if its just you quietly saying "yeah baby!"
Celebrate and be grateful for every detail.


For me, taking this journey feels like a more balanced approach.
The more parts of me I explore, support, and fine tune,
 the more joy I will have in my life.

What's your dream?

Are you ready to pursue them?

Let's catch a fire together!

Let me know if your with me!

Children Are The Best Teachers

Kids are the absolute best at this age.

They are the essence of gratitude.

Simply because they live in the moment.

They enjoy simple pleasures, and find joy in everything.

This was Livi after dinner.

She loved the Asian Noodle Bowl I made for her.

This is my variation on a recipe I picked up from my buddy Jen.

It has baby bock choy, carrots, snow peas, chicken, and mushrooms.

The chicken is slow cooked in the crock pot with star anise, soy sauce and water for most of the day. Really I just put it in and forget about it.

You can't mess it up in the Crock Pot.

The chicken has a very fragrant sweet, smokey, fruity licorice flavor. The meat falls from the bone and is succulent and tender.

About an hour before I'm ready to serve dinner I throw in the Asian wheat noodles, they soften very quickly but hold their bite.

Then I add my veggies which are ready almost immediately. They only need moments to steam and gently green.

Then I just set the table and call in the family.

I strip Livi down to eat this dish because I know how messy those little noodles can get.

She eats with a fork for a while then dives in with her fingers.

What a great feeling it must be skinny soft noodles between her fingers.

She gets so involved, examining each noodle then tasting it and eyeing it some more.

What must she think about those little noodles?

She eyes a handful of noodles and laughs as they fall into her mouth and onto her lap.

Mostly on her lap.

I just watch her. She finishes her bowl.
Can you see the love?

She's so present for the experience, and I just observe my little teacher.

I need to be more like her, her ways have wisdom, simplicity.

She doesn't know about germs, or food borne illnesses, or nutritional value, or portion size.

No. All she knows is how the noodles look, feel, smell and taste. She knows how they fall on her lap and stick to her belly and legs. She has just the right amount of information for the present moment.

Us adults are too smart for our own good. We know things that don't help us a bit, in fact they hold us hostage in the past or scare us about the future.

We need to be more like our children.

Throw our educations to the wind once in a while,

and just be grateful,

in the moment

with a bowl full of Asian Noodles.

(Click for the recipe)

Good Day!

Today is/was national Coffee Day. 

Thank goodness for coffee because today I really needed some! 

My new bed time has become 2:00am. 

I get so much accomplished around that time. 

It's my most productive time of the day. 

Trust me, I know this routine can't last. 

Honestly, I have no idea how I'm making it through the day with so little sleep. 

Especially around 1:00 or 2:00 o'clock my body just starts to shut down. 

I run for the coffee machine in desperation. 

So here's my moment of gratitude for you coffee.

Thank you for helping me keep my eye open. 

Yes, I promise, I'll get some sleep soon!

Have you had your coffee today?

I take mine with soy milk and 2 Splenda. 

I like it light and sweet just like me. 

How do you take your coffee?

Will you please leave me one?

Imagine Carseat Flying

Livi showed me a new trick today. 

With the windows rolled down, and the wind in your hair, stretch your arms and feet in the air. 

You can fly.  

That's the beauty of your imagination. 

Imagination is Hope. 

Imagine big things for yourself.

Thank You Livi,
Mommy Loves You!

What do you imagine for yourself?

One of those Days

Today was one of those days!

When you feel like you just can't catch up.

I made a list of things TO DO.

Even after I did all my To Do's there were still things I'd forgotten.

I'm feeling a little "in the weeds," as us culinary folks would say.

Last week was a busy week.

I devoted myself to helping friends and family.

I let go of my routine, and lost my flow.

Which I wasn't bothered by; I was glad to do it.

Except now I gotta get it back together again.

So this week is a catchup week.

I hate ketchup weeks. :-)

I have yet another list of things I really wanna get done. Ideas I need to iron out.

Like this Halloween Party we're having.

Well, if and when I can get the invitations out, uugghhh!

Or,

My blog.

I have so much to say to all of you, well whoever's out there reading this (Hi Dad!).  I'd would like to say something about gratitude everyday. I just need to get organized.

Bare with me, it will happen.

And then there is the rest of my life. I've decided to dive back into my passion:

Lehigh Valley Cupcakes is back up and running. But, that too needs some organization.

Can you see a pattern here?

It's definitely going to be one of those weeks!

So now as I type this its a quarter to eleven. The day has passed me by. I've managed to get one child to and from school, -well not from. Thank you Katy for getting Ane off the bus!

I managed to make dinner, and cut the grass, (cutting the grass wasn't even on my TO DO list.)

I washed 4 loads of cloths.

Washed, not fold them and put them away.

Just washed.

Oh! And I did get a shower, personal score for me, but brush my teeth I have not.

Toothbrush come find me!

So if I sound a little off center, frazzled, tired, melancholy, well maybe that's okay.

You can't be on top all the time.

Sometimes you need to fall apart or get behind schedule to appreciate order and function.

I would have told you that today was a long day and I'm grateful its over.

Except I'm realizing "talking" with you, that even a long day like today has purpose.

I'm grateful for the silver lining.

And even on a day like today, I still got to squeeze this little munchkin.

Now that's two things to be grateful for.

It's getting better by the minute.

Tell me what's going on with you?

Do schedules help you organize your life?

Are you lost without a schedule?

How do you get things done?

Do "TO DO" lists really work?


Thank You!

The Goddess Life, My Philosophy

The Goddess Life, My Philosophy 

"Mommy Gratitude" has become such an inspirational force to me. 

Writing on this subject has given me new clarity in my life. 

So after a lot of thought I've come to a revelation. 

I should say I will not stop talking about my mommy gratitude. I just have even more to talk about.


I've wanted to talk more about my life from the unique perspective of being a strong, confident, evolving woman. 

I've wanted to find a way to share with you more about ME. 

The woman that I am, and the woman I so desperately want to be. 

I'm a wife, and a mother, and that is the most I have time for most days.

But there's another part of me still alive and well. 

A part of me that I don't always have time to nurture and groom, but I want to set her on fire.

I call that part of me the   Goddess.

I was born a Goddess before everything else. 

Being a Goddess means you recognize your potential to be God like. 


This is my personal philosophy:

I believe that women more then men (sorry guys) have the greatest potential to experience life through the full human experience. 
Women align their lives and the lives of their children, husbands, friends and families with our inner sense of human perfection.  


If we ourselves are on the path to becoming fully our lives potential then we touch others with our vibrations. Enriching our family and friends.  

A good woman, a Goddess, improves all she touches.

This is our POWER, this is our GIFT, this is what makes us Goddesses. 

Yes, I have used my womanly body to bear children and caring and loving those children makes me a mother. I believe the more I teach my children the better mother I am.

Yes, I have found love and joined my life with another person and that has made me a wife. I believe the more I share my life with my husband the better wife I am.

Understanding all that, I also recognize that being a wife and a mother is only posibble because I am a Goddess. 
If I don't acknowledge and nurture my own dreams and aspirations I will never fully come into my power or realize 
my true potential. 


There are many things that I must learn to live The Goddess Life. 

As women we must use our full range of senses. Not just our bodily senses, sight, smell, vision and taste. 
We must use our sense of INTUITION we must trust our inner voice.
We must CENTER our EMOTIONS, and live with clarity.
We must find CONFIDENCE in our own bodies and embrace our femininity. 


Okay, so that's enough of my personal philosophy. 


I challenge you to step out of your box and embrace all the things about you that make you unhappy. 
I challenge you to try something new and be conscious of the way you carry yourself. 
 I will be bold, and brutally honest with myself and I'd like you to share in the same way with me.


The Goddess Life is about, 

Knowledge of Self

 Knowledge of Body

Strength of Mind 

Unwavering Self love.

Welcome Goddesses! Feel free to visit there


The Goddess Life is a new segment of Mommy Gratitude that will live a separate but equal life at 
http://goddessgratitude.blogspot.com/ .  Feel free to visit there.






Tell me what you think!

Thank You!

 


Hi everyone!
 I'm guest posting over at "It's a Turtle's Life for Me."
So come visit me there. Just click here or the picture.
A huge thank you to Natalie for letting me hang out over on her blog!
Thank you Natalie!

Aneley's Faith and Love, finding Gratitude.

Sometimes at the end of a long day, after you've given your all and you have nothing left. It's hard to find something to be grateful for.

That's when I look to others for gratitude. 

Today Aneley found this. 

She remembered one of my childhood stories.  

I told her about  being a kid and having fun searching through the grass looking for 4 leaf clovers. 

One day I found one, and it was so wonderful and exciting. 

Aneley remembered my story and went out and found her own lucky clover.

Her faith in my story, her love of me in remembering my words, well that's gratitude.

There' s always Gratitude in there some where.

This week is almost over, hang in there. 

Who do you look to for gratitude?

Mompact, Get Good Carma and Giveaway

Hi Friends, this post is part of the MomPact blog hop. Follow the links and enter to win 120 different prizes.


Do you believe in Karma? I do. Kind of. I'm either superstitious or a little OCD.

Really, I'm just a product of my environment.

I have a few quirky great aunts that think slices of raw potato in a pantyhose placed on bruises will take the bruise away. Crazy right? Well it actually works. These same aunts believe a piece of brown bag stuck to a babies forehead with spit will make hiccups stop. I have no experience with that. They're "voodoo" must make them feel useful. They will offer any one of their cures and swear by it.

Then there's my mom. She's kind of a collector. Nothing too crazy, she has a rock collection, an owl collection, sand, shells, beenie babies, she's not a hoarder or anything like that. She just holds onto little things that make her feel good. Happy things. Her collections seem to emanate good vibes for her.

Then there's me. I think I got this from a crazy friend in high school. I knock on wood when the time is all the same number, like 11:11 or 4:44, or 2:22. Do you do that?  Am I the only one? The knocking, only on wooden objects or surfaces, feels like a nod to the universe. "Hey Universe! I see your symmetry and I love the order!"

If I lose an eyelash, I put it on the tip of my finger and blow it away while making a wish. No idea where I got that from but I love that! 

It's not often that I loose an eyelash so it feels like such a gift to make a wish once in a while.

Also,  I feel a little bothered inside if I "split the pole" or let a pole or parking meter come between the person or people I'm walking with. It just feels bad! Splitting the pole makes me feel separate from whoever I'm walking with. Almost like I'm telling the universe "I'm not with them." It just feels like bad Karma to " split the pole."

My new thing is this bag of gemstones I got from Get Good Carma.

 Basically, you get 7 precious stones.  Agate, Amyethyst, Hematite, Amazonite, and Tiger's  Eye. The stones together are supposed to "radiate positive thoughts and inner peace."
"A complete unison of mind, body, soul."

 Hello,sign me up, I need that in my life.

So the instructions say to place the bag of hand-picked gemstone in your car to bring you inner peace and a safe journey. I'll gladly take that, especially riding in the car with my bunch of chatterboxes. I drive around listening to them arguing about which DVD movie to watch in the car, which is ridiculous because the only movie my sister and I ever watched in the car was the one happening outside our windows. Nothing to argue about there.
What I do like about Get Good Carma is that it serves as a reminder that god thing are coming my way.  Good Karma, safe journey's, and thus gratitude. 
Get Good Carma.

Like I said, I'm weird. But all my quirks are my acknowledgment of my connection to the universe.

Small things have power, for that I am thankful.

Now here's your chance,
As part of  Mompact Get Good Carma is giving away (1) of their
"Get God Carma Pouches."

Enter to win below and don't forget to visit all the blogs and maybe win even more prizes,120+! After you enter this giveaway Click here to visit the next blog.   


Giveaway disclaimer: I received product but no monetary compensation for posting this giveaway. This post contains affiliate links from Mompact.com and Get Good Carma.com. This giveaway is not associated with or related to Facebook.

Cupcake Gratitude

Here's a little unknown fact about me. Well you may know this about me if we're friends. 

If we're not friends, this will make you want to be my friend.

I love cupcakes! 

I type silly <3 hearts about cupcakes. 

They are my happy thing. 

Cupcakes make me excited, they make me feel creative, they make me feel adventurous. 

 Whenever I see one they always make me smile. When I'm grumpy or feeling anxious they remind me to have fun. Cupcakes even make me laugh.

Like these from Cupcakes Occasions UK.

 

or these from our very own Natalie over at A Turtles Life for Me

Cupcakes spark my creative energy. 

So I MAKE cupcakes. I'm a chef. We can do stuff like that.

Just after my second daughter Amaya was born, I decide to bake up some cupcakes. I thought, this would be a great business. And it was.

 Up until I found out I was pregnant with my youngest daughter Alivia.

Pregnancies can be tough. Especially when you have two other children to care for.
Baking cupcakes lost its luster.


I was tired all the time, and stressed whenever I had a cupcake order or an event to bake for.

I wasn't in love with cupcakes anymore.
So I let it go.
I told all my cupcake fans, "I'm done."

Well a funny thing happened when I gave it up.
 I felt relief. I felt gratitude.
I was sad YES! But I had a clarity. My cupcake business wasn't a failure. Everyone gave me such outstanding, really positive, a little adoring, feedback about my cupcakes.

So I couldn't stay sad, I was a success.
 As a baker and as a wife and a mother. I was just putting my family first.

I now had time to focus on the "new bun in the oven."
Just look how she cooked up. There's a lot of time and attention there.

When I look back at my experience baking and selling cupcakes I feel really grateful.
I was given a glimpse of what my life could be like sometime in the future. I was given a preview of good things to come. And ya know what! We should all be able to say, I have this great opportunity waiting for me when I'm ready. That's FAITH. And faith is gratitude.
To find faith practice gratitude.

We all have regrets.
Maybe you should rethink a regret.
Regrets are negative emotions. Regrets kill faith.

What if your regret is a preview of something better to come?
What if regrets are what keep you from moving forward in your life?
Tell me, is there something you regret?

Please leave me a comment. I would love to hear about your regrets. Sounds funny right.
But, maybe you can cultivate some gratitude from a regret.

Doin' Hair, and Mommy Gratitude

When I was in second grade my Mom cut all my hair off.  I went from hair past my shoulders to about an inch, inch and a half of hair. Maybe she thought it would make both our lives easier? Maybe she was frustrated with the unmanageable quality of my hair, and my inability to keep "still" while getting my "hair done." Who knows?
Now, for any woman of African decent getting your "hair done" is no joke.

As children we've been conditioned to sit for long (very long) periods of time while our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and who ever else put in work on our heads. We not only had to sit we also had to keep still, very still. Holding our heads cocked to the side or straight down with our chin to our chest, but always still. Frozen in uncomfortable positions while simple or elaborate parts were made with the tip of a sharp comb. Then tense fingers twisting and braiding hair into masterpieces that hopefully lasted a day or two before being picked apart and repeated. Sometime just a simple French braid or two pony tails, but always the hair had to be brushed, smoothed and parted.

Now that I have three daughters I too am "doin hair." Aneley and Amaya have completely different textures and lengths, Alivia my youngest was born with a little peach fuzz which I saw as a blessing.

So that's two heads to manage, not including my own. I'm trying to perfect my techniques and learn which styles look best in my children's hair. But let me just say the kids don't jump for joy when it's "hair time." They say NO, they yell at me, they cry, they get up and run away, I chase them, they cry some more, they make excuses like, "I have to pee." I give them snacks, I let them watch long hours of TV.

My poor children hate sitting to get their hair done, but unless they want me to cut it all off like my mother did they will just have to suffer through. Honestly I wouldn't cut it off, I just like thinking about it.

But "doin hair" is a lot of work for all parties involved! There really is no way to make it fun! Except to get crazy with the comb and braid up a masterpiece!

This pictures is my latest discovery in the world of braiding.

My experience with my girls has made me reflect on my own mother's  experience. Although it wasn't a pleasant experience having my hair done, and most of the time I thought my Mom a little rough with the brush. I now know its one of those things that had to be done.

I'm sure my Mom wanted nothing to do with combing someone's hair. Growing up with 5 brothers she was a tom boy. She loved us dearly but she couldn't have enjoyed putting us through uncomfortable painful sessions of  "doin hair." She suffered through because she knew when we were older we would thank her. Thank you mom! Because seriosly who wants an album full of childhood pictures looking like a crazed frizz head? Not me! And truthfully if she had not cared for our hair it really wouldn't have grown and looked as good as it does now. My head of hair needed to be managed.

When I do my own hair I know without a doubt, I have ALOT of hair. Half the time I just put it in a ponytail. My Mom used to braid it, and set it, and blow dry it, and curl it, and pin it. Into all kinds of really pretty styles, and she changed those styles almost every day. I don't even do that! When I was a kid I always got complements on my hair. Now all I ever hear is, "you've got ALOT of hair." Which I don't take as a complement. One, because I've heard nicer things, two, because having "ALOT of hair" is the obvious. (I'm laughing out loud.)

How tough it must have been for my mom. How frustrated she must have felt managing my hair.  How uncooperative I was.
Being in this moment, caring for my daughter's and their FULL heads of hair,  has really given me a lot of understanding, gratefulness and compassion for the love, time and attention my Mom gave me and my curls.

I know hair grooming shared between mother and daughter can be very special, but
my unique experience has given me room to grow, and now find gratitude.

Mom's and their daughters share lots of experiences, which "make up the fabric of our lives." Not cotton.

Are there times in your life that you disagreed with your mother's choice of actions, only to later feel understanding, compassion, and gratitude to her for making the hard choice?

Our Mother's hold the keys to our futures. We will either we like them or we will be more, hopefully never less.
Please leave a comment and share your story.