Determination is great! It allows us to talk up what we are going to do and commit to getting something accomplished. Yet determination is only powerful if we put it to action. Without the action of actually doing what we say we're determined to get done, nothing happens.

Tomorrow is the inauguration of a new president. As with many presidents before him, he has made big promises and is facing quite a few big issues, from the very basic principles of human rights to an exponentially growing pandemic to huge environmental issues. He speaks with determination and I look forward to seeing what actions come from these big promises. It is my sincerest hope that they are actions that bring our country to a place of balance, love, and respect.  

How many times do we speak up determined to make a difference? How many times have we made a commitment to goals in the new year only to let them fade six weeks later? How do we keep our actions as strong as our words?

Part of my practice of becoming aware of when I complain is also making me aware of my determination. It has made me listen deeper to my words and my tone. In doing so I have to ask myself if I am just "preaching" or if I am ready to take the steps I speak of to truly make a difference. 

I'm grateful for this time of awareness and reflection. I'm grateful to see where my words and my actions are not lining up. I'm grateful to see which places my words need to change and which places I need to commit to more action. I'm grateful for the hope I feel in having a new president. I'm grateful to believe that change can happen and that progress can be made to heal the major rifts that have been torn in our country. I'm grateful to believe that words can be the beginning of action and that both have the power to make the world a better place. I'm grateful for change.

May today bring renewed hope for a better world. May we work together to bring equality, love, and respect into every aspect of our lives. Have a beautiful day!

I have been reflecting on the word "Love" quite a bit lately. There are so many kinds of love that it seems odd we only have one word for it. The way I love my siblings is different from the way I love my parents or spouse or child. There are friends that are like family that I love and yet I hold a form of love for clients and even people I have never met. 

My creative mind wants to define love as some acronym, something bigger than just one word. Let's see what comes...

L- Lean in
O- Open your heart
V- Vulnerability is important
E- Engage with each other

L- Look inside
O- Offer to all
V- Value every life
E- Encircle the world

L- Lasting
O- Offering
V- Validating
E- Empathy

Even giving "Love" four words and even doing that multiple times it barely scrapes the surface of what the word means. What words can you come up with? 

Love is waking in the middle of the night to be there for my girls. Love is cooking for my family. Love is the laughter shared around the table and welcoming parents and siblings even during a pandemic. Love is the little smooches that my husband and I sneak during the day and ignoring the snores during the night. Love is giving even if you don't have much to give. Love is offering understanding. Love is listening even if you cannot fully understand the other person's perspective. Love is a million things from the biggest gestures to the smallest glances. Love is all around us. Love is the best gift that anyone can give and everyone wants to receive. 

I'm grateful for love. I'm grateful to not be able to fully define it. I'm grateful for the magnitude of the millions of things we refer to as love. I'm grateful to love so many people. I'm grateful to be loved by so many. I'm grateful for the fun of using my creative mind even as my logical mind tries to "explain". I'm grateful this word is above the mere words we have to describe it. 

What do you love? Who do you love? Who gives you love? How can you give more love to the world? Love is so powerful and it is free, so let's give!

​May today remind us love is unlimited. May we give it freely and feel the return of that love as it travels all around the world and back to us. Have a beautiful day!

Today nature was calling. It is rare to get a day in the fifties in January. Even though it hadn't neared its peak temperature and the clouds were heavily in place, we decided to get outside and go to the park today.

My little one woke early so she was pretty tired and mostly observed from the stroller. My oldest cruised the whole time on her bike. Some places were still a bit icy where the shadow of trees hadn't melted it away but really that just added to the adventure. My preschooler really enjoyed trying to ride on the ice. And we all got to take in the beauty of Canadian Geese, Mallard Ducks, assorted other small wildlife, and even saw two trains up close! 

It was a so refreshing to be outside. Usually in the winter I am snuggled up in layers avoiding going out. I'm still not a fan of being cold but I made a mental commitment this year to see if getting outside more in the winter would also help the seasonal affective disorder. It really does seem to make a big difference! There is always a nice warm home to come back to, thankfully, to thaw in later. 

What elevates your mood? What invigorates you? What motivates you to try something new or do something you normally wouldn't? 

I'm grateful to get outside today. I'm grateful to be keeping my commitment to get outdoors this winter. I'm grateful my girls love being outside and the cold doesn't seem to bother them. I'm grateful for warm hats and coats. I'm grateful for a cute knitted hat. I'm grateful for a warm fuzzy blanket now that I am back inside. I'm grateful for strollers that allow tired little ones to cruise along and keep up. I'm equally grateful to slow down a bit when they want to walk and participate more fully. I'm grateful and proud for how well my preschooler is doing with her bike. I'm grateful for the multitude of questions she can come up with that make me slow down and really see things I otherwise would have missed. I'm grateful for so many beautiful parks to choose from in our area. I'm grateful for some that even have some flatter trails for beginner bikers. I'm grateful for the fresh air and feeling the coolness as it went into my lungs. I'm grateful to watch my breath as it curled and floated back out into the world. I'm grateful for these beautiful little moments.

May today be the breath of fresh air we needed. May we choose to push ourselves to grow and love each minute of the process. Have a beautiful day!

This year I have challenged myself to read at least ten minutes each day. It seemed like an achievable goal that would bring me some joy and so far it is working. To add to the pleasure I have chosen a book called A Complaint Free World by Will Bowen. 

I will admit this book has been on my "want to read" list for a couple years now. The Complaint Free World movement started not too far from my hometown which makes it even more special!

The choice to start with this book came from a feeling of not really feeling like a gratitude "coach" anymore. I am great at digging gratitude out of regular days or even rough days but it was feeling like a lot of my words were negative. Even here in this blog I have noticed it goes something like "this went wrong and this went wrong and this went wrong but I am still grateful". While this ability is an important practical step of any gratitude practice, it is better if we focus on what is going RIGHT to begin with; as you may imagine this makes gratitude even easier to find too.

So I am taking the beautiful challenge to make it 21 days without complaining! According to the book this takes people, on average, four to eight months to be able to go 21 consecutive days without complaining. A reminder bracelet is worn and each time a complaint is voiced, the bracelet is moved to the other hand. It trains us to recognize when we are complaining. I imagine this also does a good job of making us mindful of the triggers or situations where we complain most.

Today I have moved my bracelet no less that six times. The eye opening part for me is that a lot of my complaining is actually to my preschooler. I am certain we will both benefit from my commitment to this challenge. I'm excited to bring more positive messages back into my conversations!

I'm grateful for this book. I'm grateful for Will Bowen that started this hoping to impact his community. I'm grateful to hear that so many people worldwide have now taken the challenge. I'm grateful to be learning about my communication. I'm grateful to be gaining mindfulness about my triggers. I'm grateful to see how it plays out within different relationships. I'm grateful to be taking simple steps to be changing my life, holding my power, and voicing my beauty. 

​What goals have you set for yourself lately? Are you interested in raising the vibration of your life? Are you ready to find more beauty, more joy, and more gratitude in 2021? 

​No matter what this year brings, I believe, there is beauty to be found. May we choose to view and voice our story in a positive light. Have a beautiful day!

I will admit I am finding some humor right now in writing a blog about finding peace as I am working through some seething anger. Yet this is exactly why I have chosen to write about it. 

Yesterday I watched the news as they recounted the Capitol building being breached. I listened to the people in the crowd call for something to be done, that something had been stolen from them, for violence. It was like watching another level of my confidence in humanity being peeled back. And as I felt the feelings of sadness, anxiety, and shock wash over me I felt something else creeping in too, anger. 

Outwardly I balked that this "small" group of people had lost their minds. I tried to convince myself that they are the rare few extremists. Yet over the last few years I can no longer feel confident in that ideal. I have witnessed the blatant racism and acts of violence. I have seen the swarms of people turn out to cause damage and chaos. It is not one side or the other because the violence has come from all around. We are in a war even without giving it the name. 

Why are people so angry? I could list a hundred reasons from at least three or four viewpoints. But only one matters. The only anger that matters is my own. If we dealt with what was causing our individual anger then we would have made great leaps to ending the violence and starting a productive step toward solutions. Anger is a great call to action. But it DOES NOT need to be a call to violence. It needs to be a call to look within.

Anger is often the result of fear or a feeling of lack of respect (a lack of being heard). Perhaps even in saying that I am repeating myself because isn't the feeling of lack of respect the fear of not being respected, not being equal, not being acknowledged? 

When I felt my anger creeping in yesterday I can't say I was surprised. I am not knew to this sadness moving to anger or fear moving to anger transition. I do not like to feel afraid. I do not like to question my beliefs, especially one so core as people being mostly good. (Though I do realize the duality the word "good" creates") I do not like to hear about someone being harmed, bullied, or killed by another person. 

Yet anger is not what solves the problem. Anger is just to get our OWN attention. It is then our job to look at that anger and make an action plan. This action plan is not one of violence, not of insults, not of retaliation. It is a plan to decipher what we need to feel at peace and what channels to go about making these changes happen legitimately and to bring understanding. 

We will not get World peace by pointing the finger. We will not get World peace by judging, accusing, and belittling. Peace comes in understanding. Peace comes in compassion. Peace comes in love. 

If you do only one thing this year, let it be seeking to understand your own triggers. Take the time to look at your anger and see what the root cause is and then start open talks about it. Be willing to hear the whole conversation. Be willing to readdress any anger that keeps popping up. Be willing to be the change. We only change the world by starting with ourselves.

I'm grateful to witness my anger. I'm grateful to see how one trigger can make other much lesser triggers more exposed. I'm grateful to know the things that feel like they are seething today are really the root of something much deeper that was triggered yesterday, and the last several years. I'm grateful to take time to breathe. I'm grateful to take time over and over again today to sit with these feelings and dig into the full scope of its roots. I'm grateful to know that we all have the choice to be kind and loving. I'm grateful to believe people want change and are willing to do so with their voices if they are given the opportunity. I'm grateful to ground and reground today so I can continue to make my own choices based in love. 

What makes you angry? What fears does it bring up? How do you respond when a core belief is shaken? How do you respond when you are not in control of something? How can you dig into the root of your feelings this year? How can you offer space to hear someone else?

May today remind us change starts within. May we find ways to give ourself a green light to flush old fears that are no longer our truth. May we heal old wounds so we can continue moving forward in love. May this year bring positive change and a chance for all voices to be heard without violence. Have a beautiful day! 

Everyone I have talked to have high hopes for 2021. Mostly everyone is looking forward to a "return to normal", meaning the pandemic ending and the return of gatherings while tossing the face masks.  I am definitely looking forward to these things as well.

Even as I celebrate this new year I am a bit skeptical that this year will be able to completely transform back to normal. I think we have a while before this will truly be over and I don't think things will ever fully return to the normal it was before the pandemic. Most of our work protocols for one will still remain in place because they have been effective at keeping clients and staff healthy, even if it is from the common cold or flu. 

When a new year rolls around many of us tend to set lofty goals. For some people that is working out every day. When I asked my preschooler she said "to go scuba diving at this place (pointing to some beautiful, exotic island featured in a magazine)." I have to admit this is now definitely on my bucket list as well but explained that she would have to wait more couple years before she could earn her diving certification. 

Yesterday the communication in our household was off. The kids are getting a little stir crazy being out of a routine for the last week and a half. My husband and I didn't seem to be on the same wave length. And things were being interpreted through our own fears and sensitivities rather than just heard. It happens. We are human. 

At one point I had a feeling of disappointment that on the second day of the new year we were in such friction. Then I had to laugh at myself a little. Why do I hold a random date on the calendar so highly? Do I really expect an entire year to be somehow void of bumps? Until I am no longer human I cannot expect the year to be anything but ...human. It will be an imperfectly perfect year just as I am imperfectly perfect. The bumps will help me grow and learn. The challenges will help my husband and I learn how to grow as a team. And the year, no matter what goes on externally, with the pandemic or anything else, can still be a year of beauty and gratitude.

I'm grateful to kick off the year human. I'm grateful to remember to knock down the pedestals and enjoy the real beauty. I'm grateful my husband and I were able to turn around our communication as always. I'm grateful to remove the filters of past wounds and use my ears and heart to hear. I'm grateful to create a goals list with my whole family's input. I'm grateful for goals that feel very achievable. I'm grateful to set monthly goals that build rather than one large yearly goal. I'm grateful to start with a goal of just five minutes for me. I'm grateful for the time I have had off with my family. I'm grateful for the beauty of my family (myself included!) sleeping in passed seven almost every day this last week! I'm grateful for the return of a schedule and work tomorrow.  I'm grateful to tell my daughter she gets to do (home)school tomorrow which she has been missing so much on our little break. I'm grateful for this special time with her and to get to be her teacher this year. I'm grateful for the year ahead and all the love and joy (and even the bumps) it will bring.

What goals have you set for the year? What expectations are you holding for 2021? Are they achievable? What beauty will you hold on to this year? 

May we remember that a new year is still a human year. May we seek to make it beautiful through gratitude rather than perfection. Have a beautiful day!

We all know we have some choice in how we spend our money. Yes, there are bills that have to be paid and sometimes that eats up a good portion of the income. We always have a say though in which bills are important and what we will do with any extra money. 

Time is the same way. We have a choice in how we spend it. Yes, there is work that needs done so we can have money but there are plenty of other hours in the day too. 

It is said that we show our priorities by what we actually make time for in the day. Sure we can talk about what is important but if we don't actually commit any time to it, then is it really a priority? 

We can all agree 2020 has been a weird year. It hasn't all been bad by any means. It has pushed the comfort levels and opened our eyes to different opportunities and different means of getting things done. 

Tomorrow is the last day of 2020. How will you choose to spend it? Will you choose to spend it reflecting on the beautiful moments of this past year? Will you look forward to what beauty you want to create in the year to come? Will you perhaps choose to take some of the changes this year brought and voluntarily continue them in the coming year? Will you celebrate with gratitude or relief?

I'm so grateful for all this year has taught me. I'm grateful for all the moments of beauty and connection this year blessed me and my family. I'm grateful for a year of truly mixing things up. I'm grateful to see how my family plays a big role in my ability to stay grounded and roll with change. I'm grateful to maintain contact with the grandparents. I'm grateful for health. I'm grateful for joy. I'm grateful for togetherness. I'm grateful to know true love. I'm grateful for the year ahead and the blending of the old normal with a new normal. I'm grateful to keep the aspects of this year that warmed my heart while looking forward to the return of some other things, hopefully, before the next year passes. 

May today remind us to look back with gratitude and ahead with hope. May we find blessings no matter which way we look. Have a beautiful day!

I return from the holiday break with my light shining a little brighter. I can't say I caught up on any sleep or got much accomplished but it sure was nice to focus on family and just relax.

We all have things that help our light shine a little brighter, help us feel our best, and let us know we're loved. The possibilities are endless for what those things are for each individual. Sure we can break it down into basic categories like the Love Languages, just like we can break down a rainbow into basic colors; yet there is a blending, blurring, mixing too.

There are things that block our light. There are things that cast shadows or dim it. Sometimes these things are things we allow to be done, sometimes they are things we do to ourselves, and sometimes it is completely out of our hands. 

So how do we find a good place of balance? What is the balance for you to let your light shine its brightest? How often do you do the things that brighten your light and how often are you around the shadows?

I think it is an important question to ask, especially this time of year when the sun's light still hasn't returned to its full length. Perhaps this question can set the groundwork for what goals we need to set for the year to come. Perhaps it can help us reevaluate relationships that need to shift. Perhaps it can remind us to make that extra effort to increase our positive self-talk. 

I'm grateful to take a couple minutes to myself to paint my toenails. I'm grateful for the time normally spent doing such things with my preschooler and yet I was surprisingly grateful to have a moment to do this for myself, by myself, for the first time in over a year. I'm grateful to have had an extra set of hands around with my mother-in-law staying for the holidays. I'm grateful for all her insights and to continue to grow our relationship as she is truly an inspiring woman. I'm grateful for my husband reminding me to just sit. I'm grateful for wine and chocolates. I'm grateful for the abundance of good foods. I'm grateful for the true spoiling that my family received this year. I'm grateful to turn my sights to the year ahead and start planning how to make next year support this shining light.

May today give us plenty of opportunity to do something kind for ourselves. May we nurture ourselves and let our lights shine. Have a beautiful day!

One great thing about the joining of two families through marriage is the sharing of traditions. Between my husband's family and mine there are a lot of traditions this time of year. From advent calendars and ornament painting to gingerbread houses and cookie decorating; there is a lot of creativity (and mess) in the air this time of year.

This weekend we decorated sugar cookies. It was a blast. There was a wide range of how they turned out but all of them were perfect in their own way from the yellow reindeer to the green sprinkled tree. We went through half a jar of sprinkles and three batches of frosting to create our masterpieces. And while I will be finding sprinkles until at least Valentine's Day, it was well worth it getting to see my preschooler participate. (The toddler just ate her cookie and a handful of sprinkles and went on her way.)

We also took the time to build our gingerbread house this weekend. As you can see from the picture above, it's really more of a home than just a house. It is clearly lived in and adorned with love. 

I always laugh seeing the box picture of how the supplies were intended to look when put together. Even if I hadn't had my preschooler do the majority of the decorating it would not have looked anywhere close to the picture. But does perfection really have any room in these kind of holiday traditions? 

I think the real answer to that question depends on what you are calling perfection. The decorating may not look like perfection to an outside eye but for me this is one of the most perfect gingerbread houses we have made. Why? Because my whole family participated!

My husband and I took turns squeezing out some frosting. Our preschooler helped guide our hands to outline the house features and also busied herself sticking on the candies. Even our toddler sprinkled on some candy...at least the pieces we were fast enough to keeping her from eating. It was really fun. My husband and I got a little chuckle out of the end result and my oldest has declared it is the most beautiful house she's ever seen. 

 I'm grateful that perfection is not stuck in one definition. I'm grateful perfection is in the eye of the beholder. I'm grateful that for me and my family participation IS perfection because time together is the most important. I'm so grateful for all the time together this weekend. I'm grateful for all the fun traditions this time of year. I'm grateful to have an advent calendar for the first time. I'm grateful to be enjoying the family activities each day. I'm grateful for the joys of the season being so much brighter and richer when we are together.

What are your favorite traditions this time of year? What traditions have you kept from your childhood and what new ones have you picked up as an adult? How do you define perfection? Does that definition feel good?

May we all write our definitions to build us up with grace and love. May we find joy in traditions, new and old. Have a beautiful day!

In the book I am reading it talks about the word home and all that this one word has to carry. It is supposed to be welcoming and comforting, a place to rest, a place with family and so much more. Yet often it gets crowded with other things. 

At this very moment I can see three piles of things that need to be sorted through to keep or donate. Some things were displaced when my husband started working from home and needed an office. Some things were displaced when we renovated our living room and we still haven't decided which things to keep and which things no longer go with the atmosphere in there. And one whole pile is all supplies that are pulled for helping me prepare homeschool lessons that need to find some home and organization rather than just being a mountain of mess. 

After reading about what home is supposed to be it definitely ignites that feeling of wanting to declutter. Luckily it falls at a time of year when we are also talking a lot with our kids about giving. The special Santa box is out for any toys our girls are ready to pass on, for Santa to give to other children. What better time to model what we speak than now. I am putting out a special giving box for my husband and I to fill. And with a little luck maybe I will even get some time to sort through the piles today.

I'm grateful for this reminder of home. I'm grateful to sit and see where my home fills this and where it does not. I'm grateful to know there are many levels of home, from the structure I live in to the place in my heart. I'm grateful to have a beautiful home. I'm grateful for the reminder of how good it feels to declutter and give myself the gift of space. I'm grateful for this time of year and the gift of giving. 

What does home feel like to you? What do you want it to feel like? What small things can you do to make your home more homey today? 

May we remember the comfort of home is in our hearts and mindset as much as it is a structure around us. May we consciously make our home in a way that feels good. May we recognize the blessing of havign a roof over our heads. Have a beautiful day!