Getting Buck Wild With Life!

This morning I woke up to the lovely sound of the beautiful sea. The waves were beating ever so gently on the shore. The Seagulls were busy up above and the sun was out saying hello. This is a typical days beginning here at our families beach house.

We visit our beach house at least twice a year and spend anywhere from a month to two months at a time. This has always been a dream of mine and now I’m living out that dream. One of my reasons for wanting to own my own beach house was because I love the ocean. Sometimes early in the morning before anyone else is awake I put on one of my free flowing long skirts, halter top, cute head-tie, and walk down to the water. At the water I am at peace. I sing, I dance, I pray, I meditate and I see the things to come...

Did you enjoy my early morning manifestation story? I know I did! I make it a priority to write one of these stories before I start my day. I keep it in a journal that I call, My Life’s Creation. I'm deliberately creating the life that I want through my writings. Did you know that you have the power to do that? I can look back and read some of my intentions and am always amazed to see me living them out here and now in my reality. It motivates me to create more of what I want in my life. It also reassures the power that I have to do so and keeps me in a state of always turning my attention to those things that are wonderful in my life.

If you would like to start your own manifestation journal and don’t know where to begin, here are a few pointers:

• #1 Be deliberate about it! Focus on what you want and only that. If it sounds to good to be true, write it! If you are having a hard time believing right now, write it! Writing it down with deliberate focus is power in and of itself to bring it into your here and now.
• #2 If it feels good then it’s a clear indicator that that’s what you want. It's your pleasure so claim it. It's what you desire so be proud of it!
• #3 Act like it’s happening now, don’t wait for it to happen, act it. Own it like if you had it today! Walk in it like you already have it. You will attract what you want if you are ready for it and the only way you will be ready for it is if you believe it is real.

When I first got started it was a whole lot of fun coming up with  a huge list of my dreams, hopes, desires and aspirations. All of the  things that I used to believe I couldn't have I put on my list and then create all of my stories. I'm a firm believer that this will work.  I no longer believe that I can't have them.  Who says that I have to believe that crap anymore? Who says that you have to believe someone or something telling you that you can’t have what your heart desires? The only thing stopping you from having everything you want is the little voice in between your ears. I know it may sound like a cliché but it’s true. The other day on my Facebook page, I made an update that said, “What we think, we become.” This is so true and not to be taken lightly. 

When we finally accept this for ourselves it will come with a humongous amount of responsibility and it will force us to start paying attention to our thoughts.

Take a look around you, you have created everything in your life right now whether you believe that or not and if you want better you have to begin to think that better is here for you. You can not leave it up to anyone else or something else to create the life you want. You have to focus your energy and time in creating the life you dream of having as if it were the very oxygen you breathe.

Now, with that in mind don’t wait, begin today to type or write down the life you want so desperately to have. Get buck wild with it, it’s your life! It doesn’t matter what it is. If you have children who behave badly, write down that you see them having good manners and acting “right”, so that every time you go out in public people are compelled to compliment you. If you have a husband that doesn’t help out enough, write down that you see him getting up every Saturday morning, before you, to get the chores started. If you have a wife that doesn’t like to go out with you, write down you seeing her dressed and ready every weekend to go out and party like a rock star with you. It doesn’t matter what you want, just be intentionally deliberate about it. You have to mean it and believe it!

While you are in your motion of your deliberate intentions begin to notice things shifting in the direction of your manifestations. Begin to appreciate what’s new in your life and as always things will continue to unfold. Life will begin to open up for you in ways that are so different from the old ways that you will have to acknowledge the change. You will want to welcome the change. Love yourself enough to change the things you don’t want and like in your life. It doesn’t matter how old you are or young, this is the law of life. You will get out of it what you put into it, believe that!

Be Blessed!

It Was Smoking Hot And I Was Dripping Wet

Somebody pinch me because I swear I have died and gone back to my original place…LOL!! Jeju is an amazing getaway place for all to experience peace and bliss!! Pronounced, Je (Zhey) Ju (Zhu), it is a Bath House where healing begins and never ends.

This was my first time going to JeJu, Home of Well Being and it will definitely not be my last. I enjoyed myself (maybe a little too much ;-) so much that I didn’t want to leave. But the amazing thing is that it’s opened 24 hrs of the day seven day a week so you don’t have to leave until you are good and ready, until you’re done getting all that your body can take.

When I first arrived I was given my locker keys, one for my shoes and the other for my clothes. When I walked into the ladies locker room I was pleasantly greeted by two Asian women who guided me to my locker and waited for me to put my things away. Hold up, let me rewind…when I walked in to the ladies locker room I was hit by the jolting energy that sparked through my body as I watched all the nude bodies walking around so freely. Who me? Well, yes, even though I’m not the squeamish type when it comes to nudity I just wasn’t expecting to see it right smack in my face as soon as a walked in. Sometimes it’s best not to role up on a Sistah unexpectedly, Ha! After getting past my initial shock I wasn’t sure if I was ready to get butt naked with the rest of the beautiful flowers walking around. Oh, ok…I didn’t have to get naked if I didn’t want to but if I wanted to enjoy the showers, baths, the sauna's or the many different massages I would have to. So, I decided to get familiar with the place a little before I dove in to the deep end. But I could not help but notice how free those women were.

   

I made my way outside in the commons area where men, women and children mixed and mingled. Some quietly reading a book, others eating, others relaxing in front of the plasma t.v or enjoying a lap in the pool or relaxing in any one of their specialty sauna’s. You could take your pick as there is so much to do. I walked around and read brief descriptions of the many benefits each of the saunas offer. There is the Gold & Silver Sauna which is lined and covered with gold and silver because it is said to have, among many other things, a positive effect on nerve stability, poison counteraction, and neurosis. The Charcoal Room eliminates toxins and wastes increasing perspiration and your resistance to diseases. The Rock Ice Room lowers your body’s temperature contracting your skins pores and leaving your skin healthy and resilient. The Jade Room increases metabolism, improves circulation, and relieves arthritis pain. The Red Baked Clay Sauna helps to flush out impurities and release dead skin cells for clean and refreshed skin. All of these rooms and more (The Jewel Room and Rock Salt Room), are open for you to walk in and out as you please. It’s up to you how ever long you want to take as everyone is moving at their own pace. There is literally no need to rush, they have something for everyone.

 

I chose to go into the Charcoal Room and the Red Baked Clay Room at first before going back into the ladies locker room where I finally took my bath! I chose those two rooms first because I wanted to detox my body, removing the toxins and refresh and revive my skin. The rooms where quiet, although you can hear people talking in the commons area, it was peaceful, you didn’t feel disturbed.  I spent a good hour and a half between both rooms. I contemplated going back to my locker and putting on my bathing suit to swim in the pool but the pool was not what I wanted. I wanted to experience the baths tucked away privately in the ladies locker room.

Back in the locker room, nervous at first, but after awhile letting all my inhibitions go,  I had decided that, when in Rome you do as the Romans do. So off went my clothes, next, I grabbed a towel (which you’re only provided small hand towels that barely cover anything, so why bother?), and then walked into the bath room. As large as this room is you don’t feel entirely exposed because there is so much going on. No one has the time to stop and stare or feel like you’re being stared at. Everything is open except the dry and wet sauna rooms. Showers to your left, three bath pools (hot, warm and ice cold) in front of you, and the massage area to your right. Just in  front of that area there is a sit down shower area where you can sit in front of your own mirror with your handheld shower hose and bathe as if you were in your own bath. Except, this bath has multiple shower heads with multiple mirrors with multiple seating, and there is bath soap, shampoo and conditioner provided for you. I hope your imagination can make sense of it all. The next best thing to your imagination is for you to go and experience it for yourself. It was great!

I decided to take my shower first, standing up in the stalls. (You have to shower before entering the baths and you can choose between the sit down or stand up showers.) My back was turned so that wasn’t such a bad introduction to bathing nude. Then I walked over to the hot tub (which was short of boiling….why didn’t they warn me? LOL), took my time and got in. After that I decided to go into the wet sauna (guess I wasn’t done baking) and realized that I needed a shot of O2 before walking in there. Seriously, you have to be prepared for how hot that place is so that if you have breathing issues you won’t be caught off guard. I decided to leave just as soon as I went in, I was enjoying my soak in the tub much better. At one point it just seemed like everyone was moving in slow motion. I mean really taking their time to do whatever they pleased and no one was worried about what she looked like. With the exception of a few ladies who were trying to use the small hand towels to cover up, all the rest of us were as free and comfortable as we wanted to be. They were trying to cover up after they were told they couldn’t even wear their thongs in the baths. When they say nude in this place, they really mean it. The atmosphere is so relaxed and free, to be consumed with covering yourself would take away much of the experience for you. However, if you want to bring your own towel you can, no need to worry about that.

I made my way back to the locker room to blow dry my hair a little because it was time for me to catch up on some much needed zzzzz in the sleeping room. In this room you can choose to be nude or clothed it’s up to you. It’s quiet, with dim lighting and has sleeping pads for you to get comfy. I took the time to meditate before I fell off to sleep for about a half an hour, I needed the rest. After leaving there I went back into the bath area, this time to sit in front of the mirror and take my time lavishing in the warm shower water. From my head to my toes I bathed, relaxed and enjoyed the moment…unlike  any other I’ve ever experienced! Thank you universe, is all I kept saying. Why? Because I’m open to receiving and I’m grateful for whatever experiences help me to feed my feminine energy.

Thank you my Love for feeding my feminine energy, and as always when I’m fed my family is fed, my friends are fed and my community as well, I love it! So, ladies if you are ever in the ATL or live here (hint, hint to my girlfriends in the ATL) and want to go visit the Bath House, hit me up so that we can go together. Let’s feed the girlie girls in us!! Or, if you want to go alone, whatever!, just go and please have a grand ole time! And, if you have visited before then that’s even better because you know what I’m saying is divine. You can spend all day and night if you want, indulge yourself in the pool, baths, showers, saunas, specialty rooms for only $25!!! I know, I’m speechless myself. Kids to under 12 are only $15. If you want a massage of any sort, from body scrubs, to green tea massage, to hip baths it’s going to cost you extra but if you think you’re worth it then it’s absolutely worth it. And, if you’re into to getting acupuncture therapy they have that as well. So are you ready to let your hair down and have an experience of a lifetime? You won’t be disappointed, trust me.

Doughnuts And Dinosaurs on the Dinosaur Train!!

We had a blast Saturday morning at Doughnuts and Dinosaurs, thanks to Everywhere and Georgia Public Broadcasting. We were invited to be amongst the first to view the new Jim Henson show, Dinosaur Train!

Dinosaur Train is a new t.v. show that will be airing Monday – Friday on PBS kids. The series is scheduled to begin on September 7th at 8am. Make sure you and your kids hop on aboard the Dinosaur train because you’ll be in for a real treat. We absolutely fell in love with the characters, the lessons and the positive messages that surrounds their adventures!

The show stars a character by the name of Buddy, who is a funny, curious and intelligent T-Rex. Your kids will love to take adventures with Buddy as he explores and makes his discovery’s with the help of his Mom and Dad, the Conductor and the new Dinosaurs he meets on the train along the way. Buddy’s siblings are Don, Shiny and Tiny who are very close with their Mom and Dad which teaches our children the importance of family and working together as a team.

PBS is very excited that the show is based on teaching our kids more about science, especially for our younger audiences. This is what I feel will make this show a success with our kids. I know my children will enjoy exploring nature, natural science, natural history and paleontology. Dinosaur Train begins when Buddy (a Tyrannosaurus Rex) is warmly adopted into a family of Pternodon’s, it’s funny watching the children on the video try and pronounce these names, but at the same time the education is priceless.

Me and family greatly appreciated this opportunity and would like for you and your family to experience the laughter and joy we got from watching Buddy and his family. It’s family based, filled with love, encouragement, togetherness and lots of team work, which is something all families can’t live without. We enjoyed spending our time with all the other Mom Bloggers who were invited to this sneak preview. I have lots of pictures that I’ll be posting very soon!

Take a look at this short video clip so that you can wet your appetite in anticipation for getting on aboard the Dinosaur Train September 7th, 8am!!

DUB Car Show In ATLANTA!

Saturday night hubby and I attended the DUB Car Show Tour in Hotlanta and it was off the chain!! We got in free, thanks to hubby’s company being one of the top sponsors of the event. I love the perks. He loves cars so to him this was a treat! It was especially fun for just me and him to be out without the kiddies who were at home with Grandma. Gotta love grown up time! Ludacris was there performing with some of his artists, he and his crew tore up the event!

I’ve been playing catch up ever since Saturday because after the show we went out and partied until the early morning…you know how we get down. I’m still feeling the after shocks…LOL! Sunday we took our babies to see G.I Joe and they loved it, we all did. Monday I had a busy day at home and hubby had just the same at work but holding on to the sweet and yummy memories of the weekend got us by just fine. We (or should I say hubby) took lots of pics of the show and our night after, you’ll see why we didn’t want it to end! (The pics that we took at our after party came out very dark so he’s working on editing them for me. As soon as they are done, I’ll post them).

Luda performed with DTP (Disturbing The Peace), Lil Scrappy, Shawna and other artists.

I kicked it with one of my good friends from Highschool!

Bought a dress from Ragz 2 Richz Boutique! Located in College Park and Atlanta, Georgia. Shout out to Honey!! The multicolored dress caught my hubby’s eye but she didn’t have my size. So ended up going with the orange one which we both liked. Check them out if you ever need something sexy, funky, hip or chic to light up your evening when in the ATL!

Peace ~

Reflections of A Mississippi Magnolia

I love to curl up and read a good book, especially when that book is filled with poems! A little while ago I was asked to do just that and I am so thankful that I said yes to the opportunity and that’s how I met Patricia Neely-Dorsey. This beautiful women appeared in my inbox with a sweet and gentle request that I couldn’t pass up. She has written a book of life in poems that will absolutely take your breath away! The name of the book is, Reflections of A Mississippi Magnolia.

From the moment I started reading the Foreword I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. I  wanted more of this lady packaged in this sweet book of poems. In Patricia’s own words she says, “I always hesitate to call myself a poet. I feel more like a vessel or a conduit through which the poems flow. I never intentionally sat down to write any of them. They all came to me, fully complete and neatly packaged, title and all.” Her heart and passion for her work shows in every word and puts you in a place of being right there with her as the words were flowing. She also says, "There are so many negative connotations associated with Mississippi and the south in general. In my book, using  childhood memories, personal thoughts and dreams, I attempt to give a positive glimpse into the southern way of life. In my book I try to show that there is much more to Mississippi and the south than all of the negatives usually portrayed. I invite readers to Meet Mississippi (and the south) Through Poetry, Prose and The Written Word." It definitely gives you a greater appreciation for the south, southern life and the men and women who love where they’re from.

I have so many favorites I would love for you to read like: “Southern Man”, “Summer Night (Southern Style)” and “The Magnolia Tree”, from her Southern Life collection that makes you want to experience it all for yourself. “Poetry” and “Little Miss Perfect” are from her Childhood Memories collection, describes personal memories of loved ones in her life, makes your heart say, wow! “One Room School”, from her Family History collection, reminds you of where we came from. “Loving Me”, “Happy (With The Nappy)”, “Shades of Lovely (Good Enough to Eat)”, *“Inside Me” and “Turning 40” (you could tell this is my favorite collection), from her Getting Personal collection, reminds you of how special, beautiful and awesome you really are in your own skin. “Simple Tastes” and “Our Place”, from her Intimacies collection will have you melting from all the love that flows like sweet honey, Yummy. “If Mississippi’s In You” and “Reflections of A Mississippi Magnolia”, from her Summing Things Up collection is the exclamation point, the wham bam thank you ma’am of a Mississippi Magnolia!  

I enjoyed every bit of this wonderful book from front to back and I’ll enjoy reading it over and over and over again, I know you will too!! Check out her website and see for yourself and while you’re there pick up your copy as well.

Inside Me*

Inside me,

A well springs eternal,

Hopes and dreams take flight,

Poems spew forth like a fountain,

Flowers bloom in bright colors,

Butterflies spread their wings,

And new life awaits.

Inside me,

There’s a barefoot girl in pigtails,

A woman in silk stockings and high heels,

A sophisticated lady of the day,

And a sultry lady of the evening,

There’s a church goer and a party thrower,

There’s somebody’s mother, daughter, sister,

Wife, lover and friend;

There’s all of that

Inside me.

Can you see it?

 

Pausing To Smell The Roses ~

I’m taking a pause in between my Bond of Sisterhood posts to share a video that hubby created a few years ago when it was just the 6 of us. He’ll have to create an updated version to include little Joshy. I’m taking a pause so that I can stop and celebrate what has given me so much joy through the many life lessons I’ve had to learn and through the pains of stretching myself to grow into the Womyn that I am today.

Through each stage we’ve been blessed with incredible children who has shown us in so many ways what life is really about: love, family, friendship, hope, joy, accomplishments, celebrations and stopping to smell the roses. Through the rough spots they have been there, smiling right back at us to remind us of one of the greatest accomplishments and successes that anyone can enjoy which is simply creating life itself.

Celebrate with me as you watch this video of my family.

(I’m on my way to the IKEA store in downtown ATL with my Mom. She spotted some good sales on kitchen ware which I’ll be needing for my new kitchen when we move soon!!!)

~ In Light N Love ~

Part 2….The Bond of Sisterhood

 

I want to make sure that you guys understand that I don’t have a problem with my husband being the boss man as I talked about it in part 1, shoot….boss man means boss money and there ain’t nothing wrong with that! I understand that it doesn’t matter what the position either, if it pays the bills than that’s all that matters.

I want to start off with our pattern and how it affected everything. You remember I talked about complaining?, well hubby would listen and basically drop everything (which he’ll still do today, just differently now) to come to my rescue to the point where he would leave his job to come home and begin a business just to have more time with his family. Let me clarify a little….he didn’t always leave because of my complaining he really and truly felt burdened by the business, the many long hours and him not being able to spend time with his family like he would have wanted to. He’s a true family man at heart and the business (car business) was beginning to wear him out so he wanted to find a career change that would continue to support a large family. Network marketing was what we put our focus on.

We would push ourselves in the business(s) to find success for our family, not to mention we would get to work together and we all love it when Daddy is home, but sometimes the push just wouldn’t be enough. In many instances it got to a point where we needed to make some sales just to put food on the table and that was not a pleasant place to be in. Then we would make the decision for him to go back to work outside of the home, things would get extremely good for us. Family vacations, cars, shopping and all the bells and whistles. Life was good….at least material wise but that lingering desire would always show itself again and the complaining would start, hubby would begin to get taxed by it, his desire to be at home with his family would come out full force and before you know it…another business and another down sizing, of everything. Time to move…again.Tough. It was tough.

This time around (before he went back to work) we found ourselves asking the question, how can we have our cake and eat it too? Meaning, how can we have Daddy home, with him and I owning and operating our own successful business(s)? The answer, Pay Our Dues! This is where my loving sisterhood has come in to play (this is only one aspect of paying our dues, but a very, very important one). I’ve got them! Those loving sisters I can pick up the phone and let it all hang out and not have to worry about anything! I did it the morning I wrote part 1 of this post. I called her so I wouldn’t have to call him. She was there for me just because and that’s all that I needed. I wouldn’t have felt good doing that years ago because I would have felt like I failed and I didn’t want anyone to  know. My decisions today are different though, I’m paying my dues by sticking it out and not allowing fear to creep in and destroy our bond. It’s a life line, and I’m learning how important it is to have a sisterhood. This goes back to my early relationship with my Mom….

As a little girl it’s so important to know that your Mom has confidence in all that you are, not necessarily all that you do but all that you ARE. This begins your road of high self-esteem as a women. You learn from early on how to have confidence in yourself therefore having confidence in others with you, therefore having confidence in your role as a Mother. Knowing that you don’t have to put up safe walls to protect yourself from other women. Understanding that not everyone is the enemy. If you don’t learn this at a young age it’s harder to learn it as an adult but this is what I had to do. This is the reason I continue to become better in this area not only for my sake but for the sake of my daughters as well. I want my girls to know what it feels like to trust another women, be there for her and cherish the bond that they have. My husband and I are building strong, confident, women who believe in themselves as mother’s, wives and friends no matter what.

I don’t want to end this post….there is still so much more….

The Bond of Sisterhood

I really wish that I knew more about this…but as time goes on, I’m beginning to learn….

Towards the end of last week I was beginning to become unwrapped from all of the pressure of having to be there for my children’s emotional issues about missing their Daddy. It was a lot to manage on top of me dealing with my own feelings of missing him and trying to find my groove.

I’ve been a stay at home mom for 11 years now, and counting. There were times when I didn’t want to stay at home. I now realize it’s because I didn’t have the courage and confidence in myself as a stay at home Mom. Yes, I know….shocking right? It may look like I’ve always had it together and at times I did but there have definitely been seasons where I saw my worse. And in those times I didn’t have girlfriends to turn to and get help from, giving me their motherly and sisterly love. In fact, I didn’t want it because I didn’t trust another women to be there for me. I’ve had glimpses of trust and feeling what it was like to let a sistah in but those times were too far in between and I always found excuses as to why it was her fault things didn’t work out. And, I was very picky and hard to please so things never worked out. Now I’m picky in a good way because I’m not interested in bonding with women who gossip and talk badly about their husbands, I just could never get into that and I despise it. If you have a strong bond with women don’t destroy it with gossip and especially about your man. Your business with your man is your business.

My husband: so strong, so brilliant, so loving would always encourage me to stick it out with my relationships and allow her to see my vulnerability but like I said, the excuses were too many and the bases was fear. I was afraid to open up and let her see me. I thought she would judge, run back and tell her friends and end up hurting me (now mind you, some women are like that but those are not the ones I’m talking about). I now realize I felt this way because I never had a close relationship with the primary female in my life, my Mom. (This post has so many aspects to it, I hope it won’t end up being too long). However, I am grateful to say that my Mom and I have a wonderful relationship today and this all happened within this past year.

Now, back to this past week….

I’m finding my own groove after sharing the responsibilities of the home for almost the past two years with my husband. This is not the first time he’s been at home, it’s a pattern that our home has and it’s a pattern that has held us back from the successes that we wished to have had by now. What do I mean by that? First let me say this, my husband always seems to find these jobs where he is the boss man to be quite frank. He has so much responsibility for the job, employees and what not that his hours tend to be long, a lot longer than the average 9-5. (I want you to see what just happened there, excuse #1). This was one of the biggest reasons I used to always stay in a place of complaining about being at home. I would call him all throughout the day (because again, I had no one else) and complain about what my kids were and were not doing. He would listen, patiently and give me advice and then find a way to come home early. I always appreciated that but realized that in many ways it didn’t help me. He just thought he was being a good husband. To the point where my complaining found a way to get him to come home, leave his job and start a business venture together.

How many times does it take to learn a lesson?….as many times as it needs to. All in all, it’s been a wonderful learning experience!………I’ll have to pick up with part 2 in my next post…..