My Birthday Weekend...

Oh what a night! What a weekend! Not only was it my birthday Saturday but it was also the 2013 Mrs. Washington America Pageant weekend in Olympia, Wa.

(A little back story: After the 2012 pageant I was honored to move from being a contestant to become the Executive Assistant to the State Director, Pamela Curnel. This position suits me well! I am able to feed my creative side, help others, and meet some pretty amazing people! I am so very thankful to have been welcomed in not only by Pam and her family/friends, but by her pageant family as well. This is a remarkable group of people that bless me daily!)

What a celebration! I was blessed to share my birthday with not only my husband and two beautiful daughters but with the incredible pageant staff/family/friends, 23 amazing contestants, a celebrity judges panel, 19 former Mrs. Washington America’s, a handful of friends from Moses Lake, and well - EVERYONE that attended the pageant! Yes, you read it correctly - EVERYONE in the theater (more on that in a moment).

My birthday celebration began Friday night after interviews at the contestant gift exchange. I was surprised by the contestants and pageant staff/family/friends singing "Happy Birthday" to me and having not one, but two cakes there to indulge in the night before the pageant!! I thought it was so thoughtful for them to take time out of their weekend to acknowledge my birthday. So, after Friday night, I checked my birthday off my list and focused on the pageant ahead.

What an amazing pageant it was! We celebrated Pam’s 20th Year as the Mrs. Washington America State Director with a breath taking show! 

• the theater, Washington Center for the Performing Arts
• the backdrop
• the celebrity panel of judges:
• Gene Juarez - founder and CEO of Gene Juarez Salons and Spas
• Rita Corwin - Mrs. Alaska America State Director
• Faith Hemmerling - Mrs. Canada 2003
• Mark Nudelman - President & CEO of The Hope Heart Institute, our pageant charity
• April Lufrui - Mrs. America 2011/Mrs. World 2012
• DeShaunda Hudson - COO of Swan Employer Services; Alaska’s largest Human Resources Outsourcing Company. 
• wonderfully talented hosts/emcees for the evening: Mark and Debbie Roeber
• The beautiful Mrs. Washington 2012, Jessica Riggs, a queen who has been a selfless in her reign “Making a Difference” not only in communities but in those lives she has been a part of as well! 

And oh so much more! Truly a first class production by Pam, as always! Nothing but the best will do.

The competition was fierce! The class of 2013 was filled with such wonderful women! I am  very thankful that I was neither a contestant or a judge! Each contestant is so individual and offering something so different than the other. Ladies, you should be so very proud of yourselves and your journeys! You are each AMAZING! Seriously! You guys ROCKED it!! It has been my honor and pleasure to share in this year with you!

During the awards portion of the evening, I was awarded the “Staff Volunteer of the Year Award 2013” and acknowledged on stage. HUGE surprise! I am so honored and so touched to receive such a prestigious award. As, I was walking off stage Mark and Debbie, our emcees, shared that it was also my birthday...so I was called back on stage where I received an overwhelming “Happy Birthday” chorus from everyone in the theater. How often in ones life does that happen?!? WOW! Again, I was humbled.

I’m not sure anyone, other than my husband, realizes how much just a small token of appreciation means to me. Receiving this award, others taking that time to personally acknowledge me...I am overwhelmed. From the bottom of my heart - thank you!

To our new Mrs. Washington America 2013, Amy Clark - congratulations sweetie! I look forward to the amazing year ahead! I am excited to be able to participate in moments of your new journey!

Thank you to not only those at the pageant, but friends and family that sent me birthday love via Facebook, cards, texts, flowers, etc!! This birthday was definitely a once in a lifetime event!

A life lesson in exercise...

Have I shared lately how much I LOVE my life? Yes, it's been CRAZY busy but the truth is, I wouldn't have it any other way - as long as there is still time for ME.

I had gotten to the point in my schedule that I was truly running like a chicken with my head cut off! Those moments happen but they need to be just that, a moment, NOT a daily routine which mine had become. I have FINALLY gotten to a point that my schedule is still nice and full but allows me to have some me time. I have made a promise to myself that I am unable to tackle my "to do" list for the day unless I have taken the time to exercise.

I am not too proud to say that exercise is NOT one of my favorite things to do but I do like how I feel after. Simply walking outside rejuvenates my mind and the fresh air helps me focus on my day ahead. I can also share that in the last couple of months, not getting the simple exercise with my crazy schedule truly affected me mentally and physically. I made excuses for myself that I didn't have time to exercise, which I didn't because I didn't make it enough of a priority. I hit stress overload and crashed! I don't like that kind of reality check; I encourage you to not get to that point.

Many of us think that everything we do couldn't be done by anyone other than us; or is that just me? Take a look and see what REALLY requires your attention and deligate those things that could be tackled by someone else. Even if they don't do it the way you would, bottom line - it's getting done.

So, why all this rambling? I guess to share that happiness depends on you. Take a look at all that is required of you, what you add to the mix, and how you choose to tackle it. Excuses are just ways that we try to justify why we aren't doing the things that we know we should be doing. If you are at the tipping point of meltdown, I encourage you to reassess your daily routine. You and your loved ones will be happy that you found time for you.

Happy Monday!!

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Balance....

Life is all about balance; isn't it?

I have always been a scheduled person and at some times in my life that has been a downfall; I miss out on the little things going on around me because I am too focused to get to the next task I miss out on the happenings between Thing 1 & Thing 2! I realize that the schedule mode has gone a bit to the extreme when an alteration in my schedule occurs and I am perturbed....I don't have time for that change. Realizing that change naturally occurs and I am causing myself undo stress I flip into a complete opposite mode, like a seesaw, and try to go with the flow of the day! Let me just share, that creates problems too...

In addition to my husband and our girls busy days, I have many things that I am interested in and that I would like to be a part of; so to be careful not overextend myself, I schedule...Then I get my schedule SO booked that I don't have time for any change and sometimes I miss out on why I was doing it all in the first place because I am no longer enjoying these things. Really?!? Any of you feeling me right now?

I am working on finding lifes balance...what I am learning is that each day requires adjustment. Instead of going from one extreme to the other, like a seesaw, I need to make little adjustments. Currently, I am in the "going with the flow" end of the seesaw and I am in full frustration! 

How do I plan to remedy my current situation? I am going to make lists writing down all that I currently do and what I would like to do. I am going to work on the balance of getting some me time in somewhere! I will make sure that I have time to exercise my body, mind, and spirit. I will not over schedule my days so that there is allowance for life's "changes". I will enjoy the journey that God has given me and do my best to be a bright light in everyone else's life that I come into contact with. I am going to work on delegating the parts of the "to-do" list that I can, and I am going to have an accountability partner that helps me stay on track during this transition.

I know that this is not a one time fix; remember, each day requires adjustments. But I've got to start somewhere and sometime, the time is NOW. Each day will be easier because I have a plan, a course to follow, that I have created based on me.

Look! It's already started!

Happy Monday everyone!

Teleportation...

Teleportation...the more I travel the more I wish it were a reality.

I love my life and I am blessed to be able to travel often. The ONLY downfall is all the packing! It never fails, no matter how prepared I think I am with my lists of what to bring, I forget SOMETHING! LOL! Anyone else feel this same frustration?

If I really sit down and put more thought into it I get a little freaked out about all the logistics of it all and instead of the cool Star Trek vision I have in my head my imagination turns to Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory; all the tiny particles flying through the air....Then my imagination goes from wouldn't teleportation be so cool to what if I got somewhere missing some of ME! LOL! Isn't it funny how our minds work.

It's good to dream and think of the what could be; it all starts with a "what if..." Some people are scared of the "what if's", I am thankful to those who took a chance on their dreams; they've made so many things in our everyday lives possible.

So, my reminder in this silly little post, is to wake up your dreams! Some can be silly like my teleportation becoming a reality in my lifetime but it brings a wonderful childhood happiness back into your life. Get dreaming again! Don't let your "what ifs" be something that hold you back, allow them to be something that push you to your next step in life. Dream!

Isn't it funny....

Isn’t it funny how the things on our mind and in our thoughts become more apparent in our daily lives? For example, when your are in the market for a new car and have chosen your favorite, you see it EVERYWHERE just making that desire stronger.

On my mind the last little while is a little teacup Yorkie puppy! Not one in particular, just one in general. Now, with my allergies this is not going to happen but I do think that they are VERY cute! I’ve has some friends tell me that they are yappers and that is not a quality I like in any dog ESPECIALLY in a small one! But as having one is only a thought and not a reality I am happy to stick with this adorable dog!

I said all of that to share this, I got online this morning and what is a hot topic running in Yahoo’s video news feed? A video of an adorable little boy with a playful little Yorkie! This video has gone VIRAL!



What makes a simple capture of a cute moment so interesting? Everyone loves babies? Everyone loves puppies? How cute that the two interact so well at such a young age? I don’t know!?! But going viral is a big deal - over 350K views (per Good Morning America)!

I've heard that if your YouTube video receives so many views, you get paid...Not exactly sure how that works - would love to find out! If you know more about that, leave a comment, message me - aka LET ME KNOW! LOL! I find it FASCINATING! I currently don't plan on going crazy posting videos, I truly don't plan on posting any at all but I am always curious on the know how!

Divine Dissatisfaction

Divine dissatisfaction. Have you ever heard the term? Rex Crain defines it as "The real you making a demand on the you that you've become and the you that you've settled for."

I personally believe that you will always have divine dissatisfaction...

It's that inner voice telling you that there is something more somewhere else waiting for you. Pushing you to keep searching.

Without it, you are stuck, no longer growing; no longer learning in this adventure of life. Each adventure that we take shapes us and prepares us for a new adventure in the future. What we will learn will not be determined until they are in use (dang it)! Everything enters in our life for a season and each season has a different timeline.

It is SO easy to get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of life that before you know it you stop and wonder where has all the time gone? I know from experience! With the Christmas season in full swing and school breaks about to begin, life has gotten CRAZY! I have pushed and pushed and pushed myself for the last few months to sacrifice more of myself- time and energy, and today that divine dissatisfaction is strong!

I am reminded to stop and be still for a bit and listen to the guidance of that inner voice...there is so much more to this thing called life than wake up, get the kids off to school, laundry, chores, pick the kids up, take them to their commitments, dinner, bed, repeat. And that's a quite day! LOL!

Do you have divine dissatisfaction? What is your inner voice telling you? Or have you been squelching - "I don't have time", "I deal with that later", etc.? If you find yourself in a rut or no longer happy doing what your doing; it's time for change. What will that change be? I'm interested to know!

New Adventures on the horizon....

In September, I left a job that I had been at off and on for the last 20 years. There wasn't a particular reason; my season there had just ended. Since then, I have been enjoying a hiatus. Not really pursuing what the "next job" would be.

My husband Brett and I are very active in MonaVie, in addition to the delicious and amazing products we LOVE the personal connections and new relationships that have formed because of this business and I looked forward to spending more of my time in such a positive environment. But, even I know that having just one form of income isn't the best financial plan. With that said, I also say this - having more than one focus requires organization and planning. Good thing I'm a little OCD!

I've had many thoughts of my own along with suggestions by family and friends for "job" ideas but none of them really stirred the excitement within me. Although they were all things that I am interested in (photography, graphic design, computer assistance, and more) each idea had a little spot that I think would hold me back from really making it successful. I didn't like the hesitation I felt so I didn't pursue any of those ideas.

Then, two different opportunities came across my path within days of each other! I was very surprised at how excited I became! Even better - both opportunities can work together! Both ideas are currently in their infant stages but I can not WAIT to share when I have more!

Stay Tuned!