This is my grandmother. I think this picture is about 3 years old now but it's the most recent one of her that I could find in my files. I need to take a few more. You see, my grandmother has cancer and it's inoperable. Nobody knows how much time we have left with her...so I'll be enjoying every moment that we do have....






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I'm down today and watching my behavior has reminded me that this post has been brewing for months and I haven't taken the time to write it. That happens to me quite a bit. I have all these great post ideas but then I start to feel down or overwhelmed and I let them go. It's something that I'm working on and that makes me feel better. The knowledge that I'm not letting life defeat me boosts me up. Isn't it funny how circular things can be?

Have you ever noticed that when you're down, you let things go and when you let things go, you feel more down? There's that circle again. I just want to let you know that you're not alone in this. This happens to most everyone at some point or another. Don't feel alone and don't beat yourself up over it.

I don't know if there have been studies but it has long been my opinion that a messy space is the sign of a messy mind. Not a dumb mind or a mind that doesn't work but a mind that is filled with chaos. When our minds are filled with chaos, they're not functioning at optimal levels. Things seem more overwhelming. We look around us at the clutter and the disorganization and we think, "Woah, I can't deal with this. I don't know what to do or where to start." Then, we leave the mess there and before we know it, the mess is even worse and now we're really freaking out.

Of course, there's that whole same side of the coin problem. For whatever reason, our space gets chaotic. It gets messy. It gets disorganized. We look at it and it smacks us in the face. We put ourselves in a negative mental space. We beat ourselves up for how it looks. We tell ourselves that "so and so" wouldn't have allowed this to happen. Guess what. We're not so and so. We're us. Nobody's life is as perfect on the inside as it looks from the outside.

I'm going to give you an example and I sure hope that she doesn't mind me using her. Some of you know, Leah from Mamavation.com and Bookieboo.com. For a while, on a fairly frequent basis, I was envious of her. Then, today, her wonderful hubby, Mark (MrBookieboo for those of you on Twitter), was showing pictures of the home office that they're re-organizing for her. I admit. I sighed longingly at the new pieces of furniture. I did. I desperately want some for my own space. Then, he showed a picture and in it, I could see her desk. Guess what, folks...it was just a normal, plain old desk and I seriously thought, "Wow, she has a plain old desk. She's not so different from me." Leah is fantastic but, and I hope I don't hurt her ego saying this, she's just like you and me. She has a house. She has kids. She has a wonderful hubby. She has a thriving site/business. She has all of that, but she has problems just like you and me and I would bet you, that sometimes she gets overwhelmed too.

We're all human. We all have bad days. What matters is how we deal with the bad days, the depression, the feeling overwhelmed, the chaotic brain problems and the chaotic space problems. So, how do we do it? We do it one thing at a time. Just like weight loss or any big project or journey, you start it one step at a time. Find one corner of one room and clear the space. Throw out the trash, donate the unwanted items and hold onto only the treasures. Keep that space just like that and each day, slowly expand out from that space. Before you know it, you'll have an entire room that when you walk into it, you'll smile. When you smile, your brain will release the "happy juice" and you'll relax. When your body relaxes, your mind will relax. For me, I start in my bedroom because what better place to relax in than the room you sleep in? Trust me, a chaotic bedroom will mess with your poor brain more than any other space. Clear that space, clear your mind and you will sleep so much better!

As for me, I'm off to spend just 10 minutes clearing a space. I'm putting the Hershey kisses away (no need to add to the chaotic body fat problem too!) and I'm going to make my bed a place that I want to curl up in tonight. Let me know what you do! Comments = love and support. If you leave a comment, it allows me to support you in your journey as well as gives me the support in mine.



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School is nearly upon us and I wanted to share a fun idea that I had stashed away in my "This is an awesome idea I had and someday I'll find the time to use it" stash. This particular idea is for a College Survival Can but you could easily adjust it to different grade levels.

Find yourself a clean, empty paint can (you can buy these at home improvement stores), decorate it up and fill it with:

A teabag - in case you ever get into hot water, make tea and share it
A pack of tissues - to remind you to dry each other's tears
A toothpick - to pick out the good in yourself and others
A package of salt - to remember to take some things with a grain of salt
A lifesaver - to remind you that Friends are lifesavers
A penny - so you are never broke
A package of sweetarts - to take the bitter with the sweet in life
A rubber band - to remind you to stay flexible
A kiss - to remind you to kiss away boo-boos and that you are loved
A star - to remind you to shine and always try your best
A pencil and eraser  - to remind you that we are all sharp, but we all make mistakes too
A paper clip - to hold your life together
A snickers - to remind us to laugh more and enjoy life
A graduation cap - to remind you to always seek knowledge
A duck - to remind you to let some things roll off your back
A mint - to remind you that we're all worth a mint as long as we work together
A hug - of which we can never give or receive too many

Hmm...now that I read over this list, this would make an awesome wedding gift for some friends of mine. I wonder if I could do one by Friday.....




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Hey all, I'm back with another book review and seriously, this is one book you are going to want to get your fingers on. I fell in love with this book and I know that it's one that I'm going to read over and over again. This is the story of a blind man and his guide dog on the day that the twin towers fell. Michael worked there and not to spoil it for you, his wonderful guide dog kept her cool and helped lead him out of the tower. This book is more than that, however. It's also the story of his life intermixed with the events of that day. Honestly, I couldn't put it down. Thank goodness I received an ebook copy to review so I could easily take it with me everywhere I went. Personally, I haven't read any books regarding 9-11 and what happened that day. This is the first one and I'm so glad I read it. Even though I knew he would get out (after all, how else would he write this book?), I still held my breath as he made his way down 78 flights of stairs. I nodded my head as he described what it was like to be blind from birth. I learned from him and I cheered for him. Seriously, I could go on all night about how wonderful this book is, but I'm just going to trust that y'all will go out and find a copy for yourselves and read it.

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review from booksneeze.com. All comments, thoughts and feelings are 100% mine. 



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