The Birthday Ritual+10 Things

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"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

-Abraham Lincoln

Happy Birthday fellow Scorpios! This week I'm in the process of setting intentions -things I would like to have happen in my life between now and my next birthday. Self-care pro Cheryl Richardson has a great little self-honoring ritual she does every year on her birthday as a powerful way to create a life with intention, and I've decided to give it a try. Here's the ritual:

1. Schedule at least an hour of uninterrupted alone time.
   
   
2. Think carefully about the year ahead and the intentions you have for your family and self.
   
   
3. Review the prior year's intentions, and write about whether or not they came to pass and how they've affected your life.
   
   
4. Set new intentions for the upcoming year, taking into account all areas of life. Your intentions might relate to your finances, your health, your career, spiritual growth, the dreams you keep putting off, or the areas of your life that need your attention for a while. Whatever type you set, keep them simple. What matters most is that they feel right to you. You'll know this is the case when you look back over the list and think, "Yes! This is exactly what I need to focus on or what I'd like to have happen!" Make sure to choose intentions that you're ready to put your time and energy behind. Setting intentions in and of itself is only one part of the process. Taking action to fulfill them is what inspires doors to open and pathways to clear.
   
   
5. Finish the ritual by writing a letter to yourself, acknowledging how you've made a difference in your life and in the lives of others.

As Cheryl notes, it's sad but true: Most people spend more time planning their vacations than their lives. If we don't take the time to stop and consider where we'd like to be in a year, we may not like where we end up.

The beautiful, Micaela of Dolce Vita, was sweet to include me in her list of fabulous Sugar Doll bloggers and asked me to share 10 things about myself. I thought it'd be fun to make the 10 things about me, 10 things from my list of intentions. In no particular order...

1. Live in the now and appreciate where I am in life.

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2. Finally take that trip to the wine country.

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3. Take more photographs to document my life.

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4. Make those albums and scrapbooks I've kept pushing back to do later.

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5. Read one book per month from my reading wish list.

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6. Meditate everyday.

7. Take the time to practice yoga 3 times a week.

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8. Alkalize my diet.

9. Give.

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10. Remember that everything happens for a reason.

10 Honest Things & 7 Brilliant Bloggers

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As mentioned yesterday, I was tagged by Kristin over at Discover Interior Design for the Honest Scrap Award. Following the award rules, I am to share 10 Honest Things about myself :

1. I permed and highlighted my hair in high school...it was pretty much a frizzy dry mess!

2. I'm so bad at maintaining my plants. They certainly don't look this good:

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3. Although I took a few levels of advanced calculus in college, should someone need help with that subject, I'd be totally useless because I can't remember a thing!

4. When I was younger I hated my name because when we'd go to theme parks, I could never find a souvenir with my name on it.

5. I get nervous if I'm traveling to a new place and I don't have my GPS navigation system with me.

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6. I can be a total crybaby.

7. On days when my hair is "second (or third) day dirty", I'll put it in sleek ponytail...it usually looks better than when I try to do a ponytail with freshly washed hair.

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8. I wish I had paid better attention in my accounting classes -it'd really come in handy right now that I'm starting my own business.

9. I live in a big city but eventually I plan on moving to a smaller city, particularly one where there's less traffic. I love being in laid-back relaxed environments, preferably near the beach!

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10. I hate washing the dishes and usually leave that chore for my husband to do :)

Now, to pass on the award to 7 brilliant bloggers, here are my picks (in no particular order):

I hope you'll spend some time checking out each the blogs above. You're sure to find great inspiration! Have a lovely weekend!

7 Things About Me & 7 Fab Bloggers

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A huge thank you to everyone for all your supportive comments on the business card design and name. I truly appreciate all your feedback!

A special thank you to Ashley from At the End of the Day who selected me as a Kreativ Blogger and Kristin from Discover Interior Design who tagged me for the Honest Scrap Award!
Ashley's award asks me to list seven things about me that people may not know. Here are my 7:

1. I've memorized pretty much every line in the movie Anchorman with Will Ferrell and love quoting it randomly.

2. I majored in Sociology at UCLA and was the first in my family to graduate from college (and high school for that matter!).

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3. I was very much involved in competitve cheerleading (did you know it's a sport?) during jr high and high school and I loved defying cheerleader stereotypes.

4. I can be very clumsy.

5. When I was in grade school, I was a huge Baby-sitters Club and Baby-sitters Club Little Sister books.

6. My absolute favorite thing to eat is cherry tomatoes sprinkled with chili powder. Simple but sooo yummy!

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7. One of my many goals is to write (and publish!) a socially conscious children's book within the next 3 years.

The award also calls for seven Kreativ Blogger nominees. I've chosen the authors of the following fabulous blogs (be sure to check each of them out!):








Tomorrow I'll select 7 other bloggers for the Honest Scrap award and share 10 honest things about myself. I hope you'll stay tuned!

Camping at Lake Cachuma

Today I will be spending the evening packing for a little family camping trip. We're taking advantage of the last summer days and the long weekend to visit the beautiful Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara. Going to this lake is particularly special for me because its where I got engaged!

Around this time two years ago, here's how it went down:

After some persuasion I agreed to join David on a late night walk to take advantage of the beautiful night. I was feeling lazy from the day's activities and just wanted to sleep on the hammock and it took awhile for him to get me to get up. Anyways, I followed him as he took me through the trees, past all the other campsites...I could barely see in the dark... until we began to approach the lake where the moon was reflecting on the water...and it was just gorgeous. He led me towards a point at the edge of the lake. As we approached it, I noticed several small candles arranged amongst the rocky platform. He stopped and turned to look at me. As I turned, I noticed a bright flash of light in my face. My sister and her boyfriend had been following us with a video camera (either they were really slick or I must have been half asleep because I can't believe I didn't notice!). At that instant I realized exactly what was going on...I took in the moment... "Will you marry me?" he asked as he pulled out a pink ring he had gotten from a 25 cent machine (seriously) that we had previously joked about giving me as a proposal ring. He told me my real ring wasn't ready (the jeweler messed up the engraving) but that he wanted to propose at the lake and reminded me that i said i wouldn't mind if I was proposed to with a 25 cent ring. I laughed and said yes of course I would marry him!!!

I have video (which we have yet to transfer to a digital format) but no photographs of the actual proposal. The pictures above are set on the scene of the proposal. Imagine it at night...with the moon light reflecting on the lake...and small candles spread among the rocks...

Taking a Leap

I've taken a bold leap and quit my well-paying stable career job as an appraiser to start my own business as a de-cluttering consultant and budget-friendly interior decorator. Is it crazy to quit my job considering so many other people have been losing their jobs in this rough economy? Yeah maybe, but I've always held the belief that you should do what you love. I thought I would love real estate but after 2 years I've decided that although its a fascinating industry its not what I am truly passionate about and I'm not one to settle. I've learned a lot and I have no regrets, but I have decided its just not the right fit for me. I believe that if you don't get it right the first time it's okay to change direction because you never really know til you try. To me, going for it just feels right. I'm young and don't yet have any kids so I feel like now's the time I can afford to take a little risk. As of today, I have 2 weeks left at my current job. After the two weeks are up I'll probably be taking a part-time job to help pay the bills while I go through the start-up period. Stay tuned! I'll be posting updates on my progress including a peak at my future website.