The Secret Garden-Branson Missouri

I met with Bobigene the owner of the Secret Garden in Branson while I was in town. She owns a romantic clothing store for women and children. I own a children's jewerly business and have been selling my jewelry to The Secret Garden for the past 7 years.
Bobigene the owner was dressed in white linen wide legged crop pants with ruffles on the bottom. She wore white patent leather ballet flats with scalloped edges. She had a lacy shirt and jacket with pens and a flower broach on her lapel. Her hair was up in a big clip and reminded me of a southern belle. She topped off the outfit with several sparkly necklaces, rings and bracelets.
I admired her for "HER" style. I saw the joy she finds in living life "her" way. She also owns the romantic home decor store next door.

This is a dress similar to what she carries in her store. She showed me a dress that was twice as ruffly and feminine as the one above. She told me that her friend goes grocery shopping and around town in the dress. People always stop her and ask if she just came from a wedding. She says, "No this was just hanging in my closet and I thought I would wear it:)"
Isn't that fun? I picture Bobigene and all of her friends playing dress up everyday. Looking in their closet and seeing what to wear, what makes them feel happy, not what other people say is in style. They have a style all their own.
As I was looking around her store, I told Bobigene about my coaching business and how I was trying to look more professional and not wear so much pink. She looked and me and said WHY?
I was stunned. I said I don't know. (I have read about professional dressing. The other coaches look like corporate America and I don't. )
If my mantra is "I've Gotta BE Me"....... Why am I buying manly business suits?. Why don't I have my own fun style?
I ended up buying one of her silk ribbon broaches. She had about 50 to choose from. I thought since my company is called Time to Blossom Coaching that maybe I could wear flowers on my lapel like Bobigene.

This is the other thing I bought at her store. She doesn't have a website or I would send you there. If you ever go to Branson look her up. She is a fun lady with great stores.

Branson, Missouri-Silver Dollar City

I just got back from a family reunion in Branson, Missouri. It is kind of like Las Vegas for those of you who aren't familiar with it. There are magic shows, a circus, impersonators, variety shows. comedians, Spirit of the Dance etc. There are a lot of hillbilly type billboards on the way into town. It is middle America at it's best; clean shows and entertainment for families.
I grew up in Oklahoma and have been to Branson 4 times. We love it.


Just like Las Vegas the whole town is lit up and the buildings have themes.

My favorite part of Branson is going to their theme park, Silver Dollar City. It is similar to Knott's Berry Farm in California if you have been there.

It is very clean, pretty and has the best food of any Theme park I have been to. The other nice thing about the park is that there are mature shade trees all over the entire park. We were in the shade most of the day.
These flowers were all over the park.

Another bonus of Silver Dollar City is that inside you can go down into Marvel Cave. It is a wet limestone cave under the Ozark Mountains.

My mother, four of my 5 siblings and some of the kids met in Branson and had 4 days of fun together. When I told people where I was going I got blank stares. I don't know anybody that has ever been there. It is a shame that more people aren't familiar with the town. It has more things to do than you can do in a month and the people are great too:)

Girls Camp Service Project

I went to a girls camp with 300 girls. A couple of ladies and myself were in charge of a service project that the girls would do. Here is what we came up with and what we did. We decided to have the girls write letters to the soldiers. We decorated the room very patriotic. This picture is one of the walls. The other walls were covered with patriotic scrapbook pages and flags hung on clotheslines. It looked amazingly good. When each group of girls came in I had patriotic music playing. I gave them an inspirational message about how blessed we are to live in America and what sacrifices the soldiers make to keep us free.

We showed them how to make this homemade card. They picked 3 quote cards to put in their letter and then wrote the letter. The quote cards were really up beat inspiring quotes that a soldier would like.
I read many of the letters the girls wrote. Each one of the cards I read made me tear up. The girls really got it. One of the girls said that this was the best thing she had ever done in camp in 6 years. WOW, that is amazing!



These are the songs that I had playing. I think this made a huge difference in the feeling that was in the room.
1- America the Beautiful - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
2 - God Bless the USA - Lee Greenwood
3 - God Bless America - Celine Dion
4 - American Soldier - Toby Keith
5 - Letters From Home - John Michael Montgomery
6 - You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban
7 - Battle Hymn of the Republic - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
8- Hero- Mariah Carey
9 - There's A Hero - Billy Gilman
10 - Arlington - Trace Adkins
11 - Homeward Bound- Allyse Smith

"If I Were Brave" by Jana Stanfield

I just bought this song off of Itunes. I liked it so much I found a youtube video for you to enjoy too:) Have a SPECTACULAR day!!!

Are you familiar with her? I had never heard of her until last week. Is there any other songs you recommend?

Easy Way to Help the Homeless

How many times have you pulled up at an intersection and seen a homeless person with a sign and didn't know what to do? My daughter and her in-laws had a family gathering. Each brought items that a homeless person might enjoy. They created bags to put in their car to pass out when they saw people in need. The bags had a water bottle, 2 granola bars, a pkg of crackers, Cambells Soup to Go or a pkg of tuna and crackers, small cup of applesauce, and a Ramen cup of noodles. She said they calculated it up and it came to about $3.00 a bag.
I thought it was a GREAT idea. Thanks Jade:)

Daring to Be Yourself

What do you think about the new blog design? I think Daphne at Parasol Designs did a great job. It is me to a T. I hope the women who aren't girly girls can still read my posts through all the pinky frou-frou (definition-Fussy, Ostentatious ornamentation) I am writing this blog as a way for others to get to know me and at the same time get to know myself.
I am in the business of coaching women to be their best. I feel that the more we get to know our true selves and live into it, the happier we can become.
Years ago I read a book, Daring to Be Yourself by Alexandra Stoddard. My eyes were opened to the choices we make everyday. What kind of pen do I write with? If someone were to see it, would they say, "Oh that must be Carla's pen it looks just like her?" When someone comes into my home does it show my personality or is it just what is in style right now? If you are someone like me that loves certain colors do you have them splashed here and there throughout your home or are you letting trends dictate the colors? After reading her book I decided that I would look inside myself and ask what is my style? What colors do I like? What kind of furniture, cars, food, designs, flowers etc. do I like? When I have to buy something like a pen, which one is the perfect "me" pen, not just any pen. When we start appreciating our unique likes and dislikes and start having things around us that reflect our uniqueness, we start feeling happier. When we can love ourselves for who we are, life becomes more full.
Too many women are chameleons. They wear what others wear, do their hair the same, decorate the same. No wonder so many women lose themselves and start wondering who they are. They are loosing themselves to the groups likes and dislikes. It is riskier to do your own thing, but by doing it, it helps you find and appreciate yourself more.
I know my blog is not very business like. If I were to go to other coaches blogs they would look VERY different than mine. My motto for myself is I've gotta be me. I have found joy in finding myself. I could look like other coaches with a business looking blog but then I wouldn't be practicing what I preach. I believe there is only one me and only one you. If I am not going to be me, then who will?

Sometimes I wake up grumpy...............Other times I just let him sleep:)

I saw this in a gift shop and thought it was worth a blog post.

Organizing Papers

My husband is not one of those naturally organized people. I have helped him organize things and helped him create systems for his papers. We start businesses and sell them. That means we are buying properties, fixing them up, hiring, and running one business while we are, selling and finishing up another business. Long story short HE had piles and piles of papers. I say he because a few years ago I started working on my own career instead of being a partner with him. His papers had become soo overwhelming he wasn’t able to touch them. I offered for months to do them together but he wouldn’t do it. Finally because we needed to get things to the accountant, I began.
As I was putting like items together, and labeling file folders, I started handing him little stacks of papers that only he knew about. I worked on the rest for 12 hours straight. The problem was he had active papers and inactive papers together. This actually made him think all the stacks were things he needed to do, when in reality some of the items were old and just needed to be stored away. I put all the items that he rarely needs in a filing cabinet, (travel, keepsakes, cycling, laptop phone, properties, church, titles). And boxed all the items dated before 2006 and put them in the basement. We whittled the stacks down to one plastic container with files in it. I cannot tell you the difference in his demeanor from morning till the evening. The quantity of papers he was shuffling through was really weighing him down. I feel guilty that I didn’t help him sooner. I felt like if he wanted to do it with me I would, BUT if he wanted me to sit there and do 12 hours of paperwork while he went on a bike ride NO way! Looking back I can see it was just too big of a job for a person that hates paperwork and organization. What a difference in his stress level!!!!
What is great about men and women is that they compliment each other. What I am good at he isn't and what I'm not good at he is.
He did leave me a little note this morning it said, “Thanks for all the paperwork you did today! You did great! LOVE YOU!”

Freezing Tomatoes

The tomatoes in our garden got a little out of control last week,

We put them in boiling water for a minute to loosen the skin.

Here are all the tomatoes with the skin ready to peel off.

This is what they look like up close.



Here are the peeled tomatoes. I just stuffed them in jars and poured there own juice over them and put them in the freezer.

Whenever I make a dish that calls for canned tomatoes I will get out a jar. They will be a little mushy so I will probably blend them before I put them in things.

Westin in Scottsdale

My husband and I own LOTS of timeshares. We use them and we rent them. Last weekend someone only rented part of the week, so we took the kids to Scottsdale and hung out at the Westin. In my opinion timeshare renting is the only way to go when you are traveling with the family. In general the timeshares we rent have 3 rooms. One king bedroom, one queen bed and hideabed bedroom, and a large family room with hideabed, dining, kitchen and washer and dryer. We mainly deal in Marriotts. They are very clean, upscale 5* resorts with all the fitness rooms, pools etc. with activities for the kids. By renting timeshares you can stay at nicer places, with more room, for less money. The best part is a private bedroom without kids in it.

Enjoying a hammack under the trees by the pool. I LOVE hammocks.

Here is one of the bedrooms

Bath with separate tub and shower.

Family room

Kitchen and dining area.
Check back later because the prices right now are the highest of the year.
lastminuteluxuryresorts.blogspot.com

It is NOT Selfish to Take Care of Yourself!!

"If you are not taking care of yourself, body, mind, and spirit, the people in your life don't get the best you, they get what's left of you" Lorraine Cohen


When I coach women I find lots of them that do too much for everyone else and forget themselves. I hope something in this post can help you to know, YOU ARE IMPORTANT AND YOU ARE WORTH IT!!

I have learned that when I am a person that can do everything myself, people will let me do EVERYTHING, even when I'm exhausted.

When I don't have an opinion on the restaurants, vacations, and movies I go to, guess what? Other people pick where they want to go. It is my own fault when I end up at a sushi restaurant when I hate sushi.

Women don't have any problem buying new clothes, classes and camps for their kids but some don't save any money for clothes, classes and girl trips for themselves. If you don't think you are worth it, your children will begin to think you aren't worth it either.

Have you known women who think they are worth a manicure or a new outfit? Everyone else knows they deserve it too.
Don't you want your husband and children to have one of those mom's and wives that think highly of themselves, have opinions and think they deserve a nice life too?

People get treated, how they treat themselves.

You can only love others as much as you love yourself.

Think you are worth it and others will think you are worth it.

Have an opinion and others will admire you for having one.

Jewel has a song called Stronger Woman
My favorite line in the song is
Well tonight, I’m going to be
The kind of woman I’d want my daughter to be

We have to model the kind of person we want our children to be. We want them to know that women and mother's are important. We want our daughters to treat themselves as an important valuable person, not grow up to be martyrs or doormats. When we are respected by our husbands and children when they grow up they will expect respect as well.

Here is the chorus of Jewel's song.
I’m gonna love myself more than anyone else
Believe in me, even if someone can’t see
There’s a stronger woman in me
I’m gonna be my own best friend
Stick with me till the end
I won’t lose myself again, never, no
Cause there’s a stronger woman
A stronger woman in me.

Hawaiian Baked Beans for the 4th of July

I put rings of green peppers, onions and pineapples in. It gives the beans a great flavor and people can pick out which things they don't like.

Hawaiian Baked Beans
4 large cans pork-n-beans
1 lb. bacon cooked and crumbled
1 large onion sliced
1 large bell pepper sliced
6 T. worcestershire sauce
14 oz. ketchup
1 c. brown sugar
1 large can pineapple

Cook 3 to 4 hours. First half with lid on, 2nd half open at 350 degrees.
People WILL want this recipe it's one of my favorites!!!!

The first time I had this was 20 years ago at a family reunion. I got the recipe from my Aunt Pat. She has 11 children so the recipe makes a lot. It easy enough to half if you aren't feeding a crowd.
Let me know if you try it:)

Kids and Candy

Last Oct. a cousin came to stay with one of my kid's friends. This girl hadn't eaten candy for 10 months. She made a deal with her dad to not eat candy for a year for a cash reward. My girls were really impressed with this idea. On Jan. 1st my girls came to me and asked if I would do a similar deal. My son hadn't drank any pop for 3 years since his track coach told him how bad it was for runners. So all 3 decided to do the deal. No pop and no candy for 1 year for a cash reward from mom. I knew I couldn't do it, so I figured I wouldn't go broke doing the deal. I thought the kids might learn some valuable lessons, even if they could only do it for a month or two. They would learn that it was ok to try something different, to not do things when everyone else was doing it, how to conquer peer pressure when their friends were trying to get them to eat candy, how to put off immediate gratification (pleasure of candy), how to have a very long term goal. It seemed like a great idea to support. 2 of my kids are still in the contest. Whenever they go to a birthday party, school or church activity they give all their candy to me. I am shocked at how much candy is given out to kids!

Frozen Grapes-The Perfect Summer Snack

These grapes came out of my garden. I am getting this much everyday for a little while. I have been force feeding the family and trying to keep up. I remember how much my kids like frozen grapes so I pulled off the grapes and put them in individual servings bags and froze them in a tupperware container. I will probably do this with all that we can't eat. I hate to waste food and I didn't want to ruin these beautiful grapes by juicing them.

Enjoy

How fun would it be to see beautiful words painted around town like this one? What a happy surprise. I'm wondering where I can paint some hidden words at my own house.


I got this off of this blog http://desertphotography.blogspot.com
The french song Le Vie En Rose--Madeleine Peyroux that plays on her blog is fun to listen to as you stroll around her site.

J.K. Rowling Delivers Commencement Address

Author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivers her Commencement Address, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Harvard Alumni Association June 5, 2008.

I found her sincere, humble and funny. I enjoyed listening to the path she followed. She continued to follow her passion no matter what. It was her failure that gave her courage. She said "I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realized, and I was still alive..."

If you prefer to read this 24 min. video click here:

http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

I'm Proud of You Jacob

I haven't put very much about my kids on the blog but I feel like I wouldn't be a good mother if I didn't acknowledge my son and his big year. He is such an example and teaches me how to be a better person. I really look up to him. He aims his goals high and achieves them one by one. What a blessing it is to be able to associate with a person like him.
Here he is with a friend at high school graduation. He had a 4.1 GPA. It was cold, rained on us the whole time and was held outside. (NOT fun!)
This was after getting his Eagle Scout Award. If you aren't familiar with scouting it takes years and years of work and service to get this award. I was amazed at what it takes to get this award. Here he is standing next to my mother after graduating seminary. This is 4 years of religious study. He also just got his Duty to God award.
Jacob ran track and cross country. This was as hard on me as it was for him. I could hardly handle watching him in such pain. We live in Arizona and it wasn't unusual for them to be running in 110 degree weather. Ouch!He finally quit playing in his band. Besides him blowing the roof off of our house, I enjoyed hearing the boys writing, singing, laughing and performing their songs.
I can go on and on but I won't. I can't take any credit for his accomplishments because he just came this way.
Your nickname "Jakey my Joy" is so fitting, because you were truly a joy to raise. I'm going to miss you when you go off to ASU. I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!

Treating Children as you Would a Stranger

A friend of my daughters sent this poem to her. I'm not sure who wrote it.
F A M I L Y
I ran into a stranger as he passed by, 'Oh excuse me please' was my reply. He said, 'Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you. We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the
evening meal, My son stood beside me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. 'Move out of the
way,' I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said, 'While dealing with a stranger, common
courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse...
Go and look on the kitchen floor, You'll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought
for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,you
never saw the tears that filled his little eyes. 'By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall...
I quietly went and knelt by his bed; 'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said. 'Are these the flowers you picked for
me?' He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree. I picked 'em because they're pretty like I knew you'd like 'em,
especially the blue.' I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway.' I said, 'Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially
the blue.'
I know we have all been there. We all can get impatient. I hope we remember how much our children love us, and treat them as we would a friend. In a few years we are going to want that kind of relationship with them. I have two married daughters and I know how fast kids grow.
My youngest daughter left this outside my bedroom door as she left on a trip this morning. Children are so sweet!!!!!

Thanks Cutie Pie! I'm going to miss you too!!!!!

Trace Adkins "You're Gonna Miss This"

How many times have you said when I get this done then I'll be happy?.... when I am married, ...when we are making more money....when my kids are older, ...when I get a bigger house....when, when, when. Do you know that "when" never comes? When you get close to it, it magically changes and it is still ahead in the future? I have lived this way most of life. I was always waiting for this or that to happen. I am now trying my best to enjoy the journey, and not wait to be happy when I get to the destination.
If I am not happy and fulfilled today, with what is,...... then I won't be happy and fulfilled tomorrow. People can be happy in dire circumstances and be miserable in the best. Happiness is a state of mind. It is not determined by the things we achieve or where we are in life. We can really just choose to be happy. I heard it growing up but never believed it. But I have put it to the test and can tell you it is absolutely true.
"You're Gonna Miss This" reminds me of me. I couldn't wait to get out of school, get married and start a family. While I was wishing ahead I was actually cheating myself out of enjoying the present.

Summer Homework

On Mother’s Day I asked my kids to tell me 2 things I do good and 1 thing I can improve on. My 18 year old son thanked me for teaching him how to read when he was 4 and thanked me for giving him the support to try anything he wanted try.
Sometimes you do so many things for your kids and don’t know if they care. This was nice to hear. Before I go on, you are probably wondering what I could improve on right? OK….he said I can get too uptight. (He’s probably right.)
My kids get pretty good grades. The only thing I have done to help, is to teach them to read before they went to school and do homework packets every summer. I thought some of you might be interested. (It takes all of one day and they are done for the whole summer)

Here are the packets I have been putting together today. I make a packet for each of my kids that take them about 15 minutes to complete. I make 1 packet per day, per kid, for the summer.
The day after school gets out I give them math facts tests and spelling tests. I do the math orally and whatever they hesitate on goes on the sheets. Then I type it up, make copies, and staple each day. The math facts worksheets and spelling lists are made for each child so they only work on the things they don’t know.
Here are the things I put in the packets.
Preschool
Tracing things so they are able to control their pencil
Simple dot to dots so they learn to count and write
Writing numbers 1-10
Then 1-100
Trace abc’s
Simple words dog, cat, dad, mom
Elementary
Writing numbers 1-1000 they are able to understand how numbers progress
Name piano notes
States and Capitols
Spelling words
Cursive (tracing)
Multiplication tables
Math facts (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
Junior High
Spanish words
Prime numbers
Memorize adverbs
Memorize prepositions
Memorize scriptures
Square roots
Spelling words (20 per week that they write 5 times each per day)
I also get those big curriculum books at Costco that is grade appropriate and tear some of those pages out.
When school starts my daughter is taking Spanish. I found some great links that have the words, plus the audio. I am going to have her do one link per day. Here is a sample:

Listen to each day 5 times
Day 1 http://www.spanicity.com/Spanish-Vocabulary/House/House.htm
Day 2 http://www.spanicity.com/Spanish-Vocabulary/Food-vegetables/Vegetable.htm
Day 3 http://www.spanicity.com/Spanish-Alphabet/spanish-alphabet.htm
Day 4 http://www.spanicity.com/numbers/cardinal-numbers-01.htm
Day 5 http://www.spanicity.com/Phrases/Courtesy/Courtesy.htm
Day 6 http://www.spanicity.com/Phrases/Greetings/Greetings.htm
Day 7 http://www.spanicity.com/Phrases/Meeting_People/Meeting_People.htm

If you have any questions about this don’t hesitate to leave me a comment and I will give you more details. I have done it for years and I think it has really paid off.

Sunshine Acres Children's Home

There is an orphanage close to my home. I had heard about it but had never gone to visit. Yesterday my mother took me there to meet her high school friend Priscilla. Her parents are the ones who started this children’s home called Sunshine Acres. All these years I had pictured these children having a really sad life with a bleak future. What a surprise to find out the opposite was true. It was one of the most special places I have ever visited!
It was not hopeless at all. These 70 children have a pool, church, library, doctors office, mechanic shop, wood working shop, computers, horses, pool tables, and big screen TV’s. More importantly the people taking care of them are loving dedicated people. There are about 15 kids per home which have permanent house parents in each one. The kids each share a room that is model home perfect and they keep the entire place spotless! I couldn’t believe it. Each room in each home was neat, clean, smelled good and felt good.
This part really blew me away. There was nothing on the counters in bathrooms, nothing out and not a bed unmade. She said that a design team had come in and decorated the houses for a total cost of $374.000. I’m talking, these home were NICE! The furniture was donated by model homes. It was humbling to think that a children’s home was nicer, and cleaner than my own.
What also blew me away was the fact that nobody knew we were coming and we went in home after home and looked in the bedrooms, bathrooms and living areas and there was not a thing out of place. The only way I could tell that any people lived there was a graduation gown out with an honors award by it.
When I am cleaning to make my home look this perfect, my kids always ask who’s coming over? Hmm

She told us story after story of the miracles that have happened there. Including a story when there was a huge drop in temperature and the children were cold. A lady dropped off 30 blankets in the middle of a storm and disappeared. (The exact number they needed) She was their angel. It felt so good in the houses I wanted to move in myself. They call it their miracle in the desert. Priscilla said in all the years of running Sunshine Acres, they have never once sent out a letter asking for money. She said everything is always provided. In the early years, the State put kids in and out of the home on a whim. She said that one 13 year old girl made her home there and the State came in and made her move to Phoenix. She cried and screamed when they took her away and later attempted suicide. After hearing this, Pricilla’s dad said he will never take State money again and they will never take anymore of their kids away. Children can come to Sunshine Acres for any reason and stay as long as they want, including when they go to college. The people working there are good, good people doing an amazing service. She said they have had more than 1500 children live there through the years. Pricilla’s sister said she came to help out as a house parent for six weeks and she has stayed for the past 48 years. These people are as good as gold.
The couple that started Sunshine Acres had a dream of helping kids. They didn’t know how it would turn out, but they had passion and hope. Priscilla’s mother was called Aunt Vera by all the kids and was the best storyteller around. They have a picture of her 4 months before she died with all the kids gathered around listening to her tell stories. Next to it are her words, “Don’t worry about anything but pray for everything”.
I came away wanting to do more. What a wonderful life it must be to work around good people, working for a good cause. The people there were the real deal. I met many of them and they were all like family. I could see why. One lady I met at their Thrift shop had been a house mom for 19 years.
Priscilla was proud to tell me of the accomplishments the children made and who they had become today. She said when some of them show up they had never slept in a bed. They were given a beautiful room and bed, and would still find them curled up on the floor. They even have a school on the premises to help the children catch up so they can go to public school. I guess you can see what an impact this all had on me. I am inspired to do more.
We and our children are so blessed. Thank goodness there are special people in the world that rise to the call, and help children. These people are the angels. This place is truly a miracle in the desert. Thanks to all the Aunt Vera’s, for leaving the world a better place than they found it. I hope we can too!
There website is http://sunshineacres.org/index.php

"Way to Be!"

This is the cabinet next to my refrigerator. When kids are filling up their water glasses this is what they get to look at. The Be's are taken from the book "Way to Be! Nine Ways to Be happy and Make Something of Your Life" by Gordon B. Hinckley.

Great Quotes from Great Leaders

Here is a slideshow of great quotes set to music. It is relaxing and inspiring.
http://www.greatquotesmovie.com/

A Mother's Day Tip

My husband used to be a terrible gift giver. The night before a holiday, he would run up to the corner drugstore. He did this because he had procrastinated, and it was the only place open at 11:00PM. It was a pretty steady practice for him. He just wasn't used to gift buying, because like most women I handled every gift that any person in our family was required to buy.
One of the first gifts I received was a taco holder. I am probably the only person who has gotten such a gift. I was newly married and hadn't learned the art of accepting gifts, sooo...I basically gave him the lecture of a lifetime. I told him that I don't make tacos, I don't eat tacos and if I ever decided to make tacos, I certainly wouldn't need a holder for them. I used the taco holder for laughs at parties and to one up the other wives when talking about the stupid gifts they had received. Months later I even had a hard time selling it at a garage sale for 25 cents. This made the story even juicer.
I never really liked any of my Wallgreen gifts and I told him so each and every time. I finally told him that I didn't need any more gifts. I made a deal with him that I would just buy my own. This was actually a great plan because he was happy that he didn't have the pressure of pleasing a perfectionist wife. I was happy because I knew that I would get the gift that I wanted. I quit fantasizing; dreaming of him picking out the perfect sentimental present. I quit having expectations. I wasn't sad or mad anymore. I thought we had a nice arrangement. But because of this I haven't gotten very many gifts.

Many years later my husband and I were in a fancy boutique killing some time (not something we normally do) and I saw this purse. I went crazy over it. I told Kyle that this was the most beautiful "me" purse I had ever seen. If it didn't cost $300.00, I would buy it in a second. He looked at me and said, "I'm going to buy you the purse." I said that it would be ridiculous to buy such an expensive purse. I tried to talk him out of it, but he bought it anyway.
I couldn't believe it! It was the sweetest thing ever! He was so happy and it made me so happy. I couldn't quit crying because it was such a caring gesture.
Here is a picture of the purse. I love it! I love the color, style, fabric, broach, everything! It is a Glenda Gies. I get 2 or 3 compliments on it a day. Everywhere I go people love it. Whenever I am with him he sees everyone raving about it. This reinforces what a hero he was to buy this beautiful gift. (Guys love to be a hero.)
He was so excited about the great thing he did and how much I appreciated it that he got on ebay and started looking at Glenda Gies purses and started buying me more and more and more.
These are all my purses to date. I try to get him to stop but they keep showing up in the mail.

Here is the tip and what I learned. Men like to buy their wives gifts. Some of them just don't know what to buy. When they do something right, acknowledge it, and like me you might get more and more and more. If you are like the old me, making fun, unappreciative, guess what you get? Nothing! Make sure and let your guy know how great he is in spite of what he gets you for Mother's Day, and appreciate the thought as well as the taco holder. I wonder what would have happened if I started crying over the taco holder?
Oh know........ I would probably have a whole house full by now:)

Thanks for Making my Day!!

OK, I got home yesterday and found the most beautifully wrapped gift on my doorstep. It was white shiny paper tied with pink gingham ribbon. I was confused because it was not a holiday. I couldn't understand who would be leaving me a gift. I opened the card and it said this. "I was just thinking about you. Now you will be able to record all of your spiritual and inspirational thoughts. Love your friend. And no signature! Can you believe there are such nice people in the world? What a nice thing. I love the surprise and the unexpected part, but I also think it is soo sweet that someone would go to all the trouble of shopping for me and thinking about what I would like, picking out a pink leather journal and wrapping it so cute. I am blown away. The card was even adorable. It had a cherry with a crystal on it. If you are the one who bought me this beautiful gift. Thank You So Much!!!!!!!

This made me realized that I need to do more anonymous giving. It is such a happy thing to do. Gifts and notes make the giver feel good, and the receiver. How great is that? Thanks friend for making me feel so loved.

Wendy Soderman is an Amazing Crusader

I heard Wendy Soderman tell her story on the Bob Proctor Cruise last year. Her story helps people know that they can do anything, if they have enough passion.
Wendy faces her challenges head on and turns them into gifts for the world. If you are in the education profession in anyway, you have to read about the school she has created. I hope someday every child in the world has a chance to get an education this way. Her school is positive and beautiful, not only that, her students learn faster and gain a total education, as well as, self esteem.
Her schools blow public school education out of the water in every way, including test scores, and she is a hero in her community.
She got started when she couldn't find a preschool that would take her wheelchair bound son. Instead of giving up she started her own. She loved her school so much that when her son began to out grow the preschool she started an elementary school. She has a preschool, Ideal Elementary School and Dream Middle School.

Check out the pictures of her school. I wish an artist could come and paint every child's school this way.
http://www.jcforms.com/idealphotoalbum/idealphotos.htm

About her schools http://www.dreamideal.com

My Family Tree

In my home growning up, on the wall was a family tree that had pictures of my ancestors on it. It was always interesting to look at these people, and see where some of my family traits came from. I always wanted a picture family tree of my own.
It turned out to be relatively easy to make using a scanner. The hard part of course was collecting the photos. I had to travel the country for some of these pictures. One is from a 99 year old women in a nursing home that I made a photo copy of her family picture. One is a picture of a photo that was hanging on someone's wall. I had to get creative. One of the real bonuses for me was when my husbands great aunt said we could have her originals. What a treasure! The family tree has yet to be framed because I am waiting to get one more picture that I was told is in a family history book.

Cinnamon Apple Snacks

You are going to be amazed at how simple, how healthy, and how yummy these are. It tastes like apple pie. YUM!
Cut Fuji apples (these are best, don't do granny smith) into pieces. Put apples in a ziplock bag and sprinkle with cinnamon. Shake till each piece is coated. These will save perfectly preserved for a week in the refrigerator, so make enough to last all week. (Cinnamon is a natural preservative.)
It is the perfect snack. One medium Fuji apple has 80 calories, 5 grams fiber and 22gram carb. Cinnamon lowers LDL cholesterol and regulates blood sugar. I googled cinnamon and was amazed at how good it is for you.
Thanks for this recipe Elfie!

Find Your Top Character Strengths

When I was in coaching school we learned about this free tool. It is a questionnaire that you take online. If I remember right, it takes 30 or 40 minutes. After you finish the quiz you can print out your strengths in order and it explains a little about each one. I think self help quizzes are fun, especially when the answer is how great you are:) It seems like all we think about is our problems and where we need to improve. This tool helps you see just how wonderful you really are. The test helps by showing you your unique strengths.

In life it is best to concentrate on things that we do well. Whatever we pay attention to increases. Why not pay a little attention to your best character traits?
It is called the VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire. If you would like to take it go to this website:

www.authentichappiness.com

After the page is opened click VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire and a login box will appear. You will have to give them an email address and get a password. ( I took this test a year ago and haven't received any emails from them. ) It is given from the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania.