Slow Snowy Day

Here in northern Wisconsin we have had a mere dusting of snow all winter long.

Today, we had a blizzard come through which shut everything down. All schools closed. Most businesses too. Everyone just stayed home.

I made a pot roast.

It simmered on the stove for hours.

My daughter layed on the couch and read.

My son went on a snowmobile ride with his Dad.

They met friends, had burgers, and even got on T.V.! The news wanted scenes of resilient northerners at play.

Lesson of Joy for Today

Savor the "Snow Days" in life. Little impromptu gems. Gifts of time when we least expect them. Slowing down, with no particular place to go, no one to impress, nothing to prove, can feel positively blissful.

Ahhhhhhh.

♥ K.

The Wisdom of TUT

For some time now I have been receiving emails from a brilliant website.

The man at the helm is Mike Dooley. He's written books, gone on international speaking tours, and manifested the life of his wildest dreams.

One of the free gifts from his site is found here http://www.tut.com/resources/notes/

Please check it out. You can easily sign up and get these "notes from the universe" in your inbox. They're so GREAT!!

The one I want to share with you is this:

 

There is perhaps no more empowering belief, Kimberly , than understanding you're always in control of how you feel.

Similarly, understanding that just because you're not always skipping through tulips with joy doesn't mean that something's wrong with you.

You rock,
    The Universe



I've read and reread this and every time I smile. There is nothing wrong with me if I feel sad, or discouraged, or mopey, or reluctant to skip through tulips. And since I'm in control of how I feel, the ability to change it up if I want to is completely up do ME!

Love it.

Check out TUT. The universe loves you in many wild and wondrous ways.
♥ K.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Giggles

My sister Lisa and brother Dane and I all wanted to sit on Grandma's lap at the same time. This was a game we loved to play. I think my Mom took this picture. I was about four years old. It sits next to my computer and I see it every day. I see my Grandma's laughing smile, my brother struggling to hold on, and pure joy on my own face.

I can remember that joy.

I can look at this picture, even on dark days, and know that in that moment EVERYTHING was perfect and free and surrounded with love.

Find a picture of yourself as a child when everything fell into place, when you were perfectly happy. Really look into your own eyes and know, that that moment can be ANY moment. The joy you felt then still exists in you today, even if only in a memory. Call it back. Feel it again.

My Grandma's love is that big. I'll bet you've got someone or something in your past who can travel through time and give you a jolt of joy.

Give it a try.

Saa Da,
♥ K.

Monday Motivation

"Hey Kim!"

"This is your motivated I'd-rather-have-a-good-day-than-shuffle-around-in-a-ratty-bathrobe-self talking.

Get dressed.

Make a plan for the next hour. (Write. Post a blog entry. Sew. Brainstorm. Create. Eat something healthy.)

And for crying out loud fix your hair and put on a face."

(I don't know about you, but my age is just a number to me. I'm forty-four. Still, some days I look in the mirror and say YIKES!)

I listened to my motivated somewhat bossy self and...



...piled my hair into a high, young, and hip ponytail, put on a one-of-a-kind Pinterest inspired scarf I made, munched on a lemon Luna bar, and here I sit.

                                                      When does Joy Win!?

When you love on yourself people.

    YOU are your own best company, and most constant advocate.

TAKE CARE.

MAKE PEACE.

LOVE YOURSELF.

That's all I've got today.

Peace, blessings, and ponytails,

K. ♥

Compare and Contrast

  

Our family has a small cabin deep in the woods in northern Minnesota. We spent the weekend there, just the four of us, to take our snowmobiles out across the lakes and down the trails.

It was a balmy 32 degrees with bright sun and gentle breezes.

A wonderful time with my family.

Our cabin is 16x32, powered by solar and propane, with no running water, four rooms, and an outhouse.

It’s comfortable for us, and we’re used to the rustic nature of the place.

What always gets me is what I notice when I come home. We live on a small hobby farm in northern Wisconsin. Our house is of unknown age and sits alongside a big red barn on 20 acres. We have a few chickens, and a goat.

I have one bathroom, no family room with a giant T.V., no master bedroom with walk-in closets, no new and impressive furniture. The house is old, with tilting floors in surprising places, drafty windows, and a spider filled basement that used to be a root cellar.

I confess I have spent a lot of time wishing I lived somewhere else; in a larger, newer, prettier house.

Yet I come home today from our humble cabin, and I walk from room to room on carpeted floors. I get a glass of water from the faucet in the kitchen. I use the bathroom. Sunlight streams across the fields through old rippled panes. I am so grateful to have this home. I am blessed by the luxury of it all.

If I don’t see JOY, it means I’m looking in the wrong place. Within my own life JOY wins when I see the abundance that is uniquely mine. That is key. It’s easy to look outside ourselves and see the good stuff we want that other people have. It’s a different thing to look at OUR OWN LIVES and see the great stuff that is already at the door!

Where in your life can you find something that beams JOY in a way that speaks to you?

What already exists in your life that sings abundance?

Make it personal.

That’s where it counts.

The "green grass" is growing in your own back yard, you just have to appreciate the shade.

                   Love to all,

                                                                                                    ♥ K.

Ahhhhhh.....oxygen!

                 Feeling low??

Stand up.

Bend at your waist.

Soften your knees.

Hang your head and your arms and dangle like a rag doll.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

With each breath let your hands droop a little closer to the floor.

Just hang out for awhile.

You're getting blood to your brain.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Zzzzzzzzz.

Now slowly stand up.

One vertebrae at a time.

Until your eyes face forward.

Stretch your arms over your head with one last inhale and exhale and I guarantee...

...YOU WILL FEEL BETTER!!

Bless the beautiful, free, life-giving air,
♥ K.

The List in My Head

Ever listen to the chatter in your head?

For me, there are two distinct voices. One that continually tells me where I'm falling short. (She's a pain in the ass.)
                                                                      

 "You'll never amount to anything...blah, blah, blah."

And one that reminds me gently how far I've come. (She's sweet and kind, sitting in a field of wildfowers and no one listens to her.)

   "You're perfect just the way you are, sitting here doing nothing, just think happy thoughts."

To choose JOY today, I'm kicking the crank to the curb. And I'm letting the beautiful redhead stay in the field with the flowers.

I need a new voice. One that is ALL me. A voice that is strong, complete, honest, and kind. A voice that tells it like it is with love and inner wisdom. A centering, powerful voice that resonates in my gut, my heart, and my mind.

Finding Balance

If you feel pulled by negativity, or aloof and floaty and stuck in unproductive positive thinking, try this:

Hold your hands out with elbows bent at your waist and imagine you are holding the grump in one hand and avoidance in the other.

Now bring your hands together over your heart.

Breathe in and LOVE these parts of yourself. Breathe with your belly. Breathe with your mind. Feel centered and strong.

Dissolve these two voices into one clear voice and note the first word that comes to mind.

This simple directive is your guide.

My word today is BOLD.

Let me know what you discover. I'd love to hear.

Peace to you all,
♥ K.