Laughter is the best medicine

As I look back to the tough times in my life, I recall a lot of laughter. I lived with my friend Jamie for a while and her room-mate Amy when I was going through my divorce. I remember laughing until my ribs hurt. We would sit and talk, play games, watch silly movies and just laugh. I seriously think that is how I made it through without jumping off a bridge.

Jamie sat here with me the one evening when Jeremy was at a hockey game with her husband. We ended up laughing so hard that tears were coming out our eyes. And, all we were doing was talking! We need more times like that.

My friend Jenny laughs at everything. And, she is one of the most positive people I know. I clearly see why her life is so much different than someone who is negative. We all have our bad days, but it is how we chose to deal with it that makes the difference.

If I ever need a pick-me-up, I call or email a friend. I will send a quick silly message, even if I am not feeling silly. Or, I will just let them know I need some cheering up. It works every time.

Recently I was faced with a situation that I was really not mentally prepared for.....at all. In fact it was a very sore subject that I had tried to forget about and not deal with. In a major panic I emailed and called my closest friends. I even ran to my neighbors house to vent after venting to my sister-in-law. Almost everyone had all positive things to say. Their love and support helped me more than I can express. In some emails were things that made me crack up in laughter. Others were a combination of inspiration, advise and support. Of course I kept reading the ones that would make me laugh. It feels so good to be able to laugh off what seems a horrible situation. Now I can say that I am through the situation, over it and moved on. It is amazing the ease one can feel once they let go of something they have carried with them for most of their life. Laughter is what helped me deal and get over it.

I get these inspirational quotes sent to me everyday through email from The Secret. Today's was: Be loyal to what you love, be true to the earth, fight your enemies with passion and laughter.-Edward Abbey

Laughter truly is the best medicine.

Writers Block

For those of you who like to write, you already know what it is like to suffer from writers block. Well, this is why I have not written in a few days. I wonder if my grandfather had this problem often. For me, it could be years that I go without writing. However, I was trying to do this daily. And, I am trying to keep this all positive...

However, my morning was not so positive. I woke up earlier than I needed to because my cat needed water and decided to meow as loud as she could in my ear. I got out of bed with a headache.....and found out that my dog had peed all over the couch. My husband and I have no idea why he did this. Going through Gavin's backpack, I saw that he had two tests with much lower grades than normal. After having a tearful chat with him, he was the one in tears, I got him off to school. Knowing that Makenna didn't go to bed until later last night, I figured I would have time to throw these cushions in the laundry and get a shower. I managed to get a shower. However it wasn't long after, when I heard little feet. Then I hear her crying at the top of the steps. My thought is....wonderful...she woke up way too early.

So, I sat down after getting her breakfast and told myself that this is not how the rest of my day is going to go. Then I started thinking of all the things I am thankful for; my kids health, our full refrigerator, my full classes, cinnamon Eggo waffles (LOL!)....and so on...

My day has already picked up......
Makenna is in a good mood, I got the laundry started, I managed to respond to all of my emails, and be able to write on my blog. No, my headache is not gone. All I have to do is get up and take some advil and I will be fine. The problem is that I don't want to get up. I guess it is just that kind of day. Hey...my writers block must be gone...yeah!

One Million Dollars

I took a little survey and asked my closest friends and some family members what they would do if they were given a large sum of money. Almost all of them had paying off their debts, giving to charity, a new home or car, some said new clothes, a vacation and so on. Of course I expected everyone to say they wanted to full-fill their dreams. And for most, their dreams were simple and easier to achieve than they think.

My sister-in-law gave me this book titled The Secret. It took me 3 days to read it. It can be considered a self help book although I rather consider it a "life help" book. Everyone needs to read this book if they are stuck in a rut, not happy with their life or do not see any of their dreams coming true. Why? Because it tells you what you need to do in order to have whatever it is you want in life.

After reading it, I took a long hard look at all that I achieved in the last few months. Then I asked myself...."how the heck did I do that?" In some small way I already knew "The Secret" and was living it.

I started with no money, just a dream that a good friend of mine and I chatted about one day. I told her and myself that I was going to do this. Let me just tell you, people thought I was CRAZY! This was in August of 2008 that I came up with the idea of having a Scrapbooking Inn. Now, my complete dream has not yet totally come true since I do not have my Inn...yet. But it will, it is only a matter of time. When you read The Secret it will tell you to ask the universe for what you want....see yourself in that situation, feel yourself there and believe that it will happen. And, if you ask for something and it happens the next day it would be too soon.

So, I made my dream start happening with nothing but a bunch of notes, ideas, and support from family and friends. It was amazing to me that by December 7th, my store was open. Do you realize that it was only 4 months from when I decided I was going to do this? Here, I was already living the Secret to life. Now, that I have realized that I was in charge of creating the dream job I wanted, I can create anything that I truly want in life. So the question I have to ask is...what am I going to do with a million dollars? Believe it or not, I already have that answer. It is for me to know and you to find out....eventually.

How much I adore my kids....

I am not sure if it is because Valentine's Day is coming up or what, but I am sitting here admiring my daughter and I cannot help but to think how much I adore her. We are on our third round of watching the movie Jimmy Neutron, playing Legos and snacking. Her facial expressions and her actions are just so cute. Maybe it is her hair style today. She wanted two buns in her hair, for the first time ever. God she looks adorable. As I sat here with her, I just kept thinking of all the reasons I adore her so much. I have narrowed it down to 10 because there are just too many to mention.

10.} I adore the way she talks, her politeness and manners.

9,} The way she lights up and dances when she hears music or sees dancing and figure skating on TV.

8.} The way she shrugs her shoulders and smiles when she sees an animal of any kind.
7.} Because she is so concerned when someone doesn't feel well and she tries to take care of them. And, she does not like to see someone upset at all.
6.} Because she tries to help me fill and empty the dish washer, fold the laundry, vacuum and dust.

5.} I adore the way she looks at nature. Her smile when she sees a flower, she jumps up and down when she sees a sunset and yells with laughter when she sees and hears the geese in the sky.
4.}I adore the fact that she is always cleaning up litter. It doesn't matter where we are, she is already concerned about keeping the earth green.
3.} I adore the compassion she has for her brother. And all the affection and excitement she shows him.

2.} I adore the fact that she will just wrap her little arms around me and squeeze! She is very affectionate.
1.}When she says, "Mommy, I just love you soooooooo much!"

When it comes to my son, I am so proud of the child he has become. With all that he has had to deal with in his little life, he really turn out to be a good kid. Here are 10 reasons I adore him so much.

10.} His love for books, playing games with us, his love for the pool, and any moment that he can share with family.

9.} I adore his compassion for his sister and his willingness to help her with anything she needs.

8.} I adore his silliness and his effort in trying to make everyone around him laugh.

7.} Because he tries so hard to make everyone happy.
6.} Because he is already concerned about the welfare of others and the fact that not everyone is as lucky as he is.

5.}I adore his excitement when he gets to go shopping with his Grammy.

4.} His compassion for animals and children.
3.} That simple things make him happy.
2.} I adore his hugs and kisses and the fact that he is very affectionate. It is so funny when he says, "You're the best mom ever!"
1.} He never leaves or goes to bed without saying he loves me.

Now those are reasons to make someone grateful. My kids are my world, I only hope that they know that.