Landmark - The Advanced Course

Wow..14 hour days for the past three days... what a long, tiring, brain draining weekend. I thought I would be super exhausted this morning but it's the complete opposite. I'm extremely happy, grateful, optimistic and truly inspired from all the wonderful tiring weekend sharings I just experienced these past 3 days.

I'm going to use this burst of energy this morning to review the Landmark Education Advanced Course. Some may say I'm insane for going through 14 hour days...even myself had self doubt about what I was getting myself into again but I decided to just check it out with no expectations because the LandMark Forum has changed my perception of life SO MUCH for the better....why not just check out the Advanced Course?
So like I said, I went in with no expectations but also going in with the mindset of "Well why do I need to take the advanced course? I already took the Forum?What else do I need to learn?'' This is the mindset of a human being..nothing wrong with it. It is just the way it is. Until the Landmark forum changed all that in this little head of mine.

The Way Landmark Education's Curriculum works is there are three different courses to take and then you live your life as a Master of Living life powerfully and a life I love..just like a Doctor cannot be a Doctor until he graduates and gets his PHD..you cannot be a full on Master until you complete the 3 courses. Each course transforms your life but if you want to be a master at it, taking all three courses is necessary.

1. The Land Mark Forum is about me. The way human beings are programmed to live our lives from past relationships and experiences. They gave me to tools to create new possibilities for myself in my life and has allowed me to mend relationships I never knew was possible and to really get what this life is about. The experience has been life altering. If you'd like to read more about my review on this pls refer back to my LandMark Forum entry.

2 The Advanced Course is about myself in 'group'. It's about making a positive impact in my family, in my community, in my organization, in society, in the world. I went into the Advanced Course thinking it would be about me again but on a whole new level. ..like a Landmark Forum Part 2...I was completely wrong

It is quite different, and requires a lot more from the participant. In The Landmark Forum, the Forum Leaders are doing a lot of the heavy lifting. In the Advanced Course, this begins to shift to the participants. There is much more individual participation and interaction with the Advanced Course Leader, who are also Landmark Forum Leaders. And it is remarkably transformative – I saw many timid people on Friday of The Advanced Course who were no longer shy by Sunday night. Something magical happens when you strip off all the harsh opinions you place on yourself and others. It's allowed me to realize that my passion doesn't just have to stop at my passion. I can take action and make it possible to live my passion.

Many people leave The Advanced Course and make drastic changes in their lives, because they suddenly see what’s really possible for themselves and for others, and can actually overcome what’s been holding them back. I now have more tools to use when I make difficult decisions. The realms of possibilities I never knew existed is now reachable.

Did I enjoy the course? Yes, however there weren't as many aha moments as I had in the Forum. Most people love the course. There were some bright moments, like when I finally had the sense of self-realization, or during some of the exercises where I felt very connected to people in the course, and most of all, during the moments of radical metaphysical discussion about reality. That said, ultimately, just about everyone is thrilled that they took the course. The value is enormous, especially compared to the price. I will continue to recommend this course to anyone who has taken The Landmark Forum.

Part 3 of the Landmark curriculum for Living is the 'Self Expression and Leadership Program' -This program is where I will be taking on a project I am passionate about. The great thing about this course is I will have my own personal coach for 6 months! They will help me in mastering and completing a project! Exciting!!!
I will be attending this course in March to Complete the entire program so I can be a master in living a powerful life and the life that I love in all aspects of my life.

So as you can see, Landmark is awesome for EVERYONE. If I had all the money in the world I would make sure all humanity had access to this. Worth a million dollars

Thank you Landmark . You're Pretty Nuts.

Failure is the Highway to Success

Failure is the highway to success. Tom Watson Sr. said, "If you want to succeed, double your failure rate."

Like I've always promised myself, I will leave this earth living life to the fullest by taking risks, giving back, and doing life big. I believe EVERY SINGLE ONE of us has a talent within us that we need to share in this world but a lot of us are just too afraid to fail. I say EFF it. That's what life is about. Failing breeds success.
If you study history, you will find that all stories of success are also stories of great failures. But people don't see the failures. We usually only see one side of the picture and they say that person got lucky: "Ah, he must have been at the right place at the right time."

Let me share someone's life history with you. This was a man who failed in business at the age of 21 ; was defeated in a legislative race at age 22; failed again in business at age 24; overcame the death of his sweetheart at age 26; had a nervous breakdown at age 27; lost a congressional race at age 34; lost a senatorial race at age 45; failed in an effort to become vice-president at age 47; lost a senatorial race at age 49; and was elected president of the United States at age 52.

This man was Abraham Lincoln.

Would we call him a failure? He could have quit. But to Lincoln, defeat was a detour and not a dead end.

In 1913, Lee De Forest, inventor of the triodes tube, was charged by the district attorney for using fraudulent means to mislead the public into buying stocks of his company by claiming that he could transmit the human voice across the Atlantic. He was publicly humiliated. Can you imagine where we would be without his invention?

A New York Times editorial on December 10, 1903, questioned the wisdom of the Wright Brothers who were trying to invent a machine, heavier than air, that would fly. One week later, at Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers took their famous flight.


Colonel Sanders, at age 65, with a beat-up car and a $100 check from Social Security, realized he had to do something. He remembered his mother's recipe and went out selling. How many doors did he have to knock on before he got his first order? It is estimated that he had knocked on more than a thousand doors before he got his first order. How many of us quit after three tries, ten tries, a hundred tries, and then we say we tried as hard as we could?

As a young cartoonist, Walt Disney faced many rejections from newspaper editors, who said he had no talent. One day a minister at a church hired him to draw some cartoons. Disney was working out of a small mouse infested shed near the church. After seeing a small mouse, he was inspired. That was the start of Mickey Mouse.


Successful people don't do great things, they only do small things in a great way.

One day a partially deaf four year old kid came home with a note in his pocket from his teacher, "Your Tommy is too stupid to learn, get him out of the school." His mother read the note and answered, "My Tommy is not stupid to learn, I will teach him myself." And that Tommy grew up to be the great Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison had only three months of formal schooling and he was partially deaf.

Henry Ford forgot to put the reverse gear in the first car he made.


Do you consider these people failures? They succeeded in spite of problems, not in the absence of them. But to the outside world, it appears as though they just got lucky.

All success stories are stories of great failures. The only difference is that every time they failed, they bounced back. This is called failing forward, rather than backward. You learn and move forward. Learn from your failure and keep moving.

In 1914, Thomas Edison, at age 67, lost his factory, which was worth a few million dollars, to fire. It had very little insurance. No longer a young man, Edison watched his lifetime effort go up in smoke and said, "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burnt up. Thank God we can start anew." In spite of disaster, three weeks later, he invented the phonograph. What an attitude!

Below are more examples of the failures of successful people:



1. Thomas Edison failed approximately 10,000 times while he was working on the light bulb.

2. Henry Ford was broke at the age of 40.

3. Lee Iacocca was fired by Henry Ford II at the age of 54.

4. Young Beethoven was told that he had no talent for music, but he gave some of the

best music to the world.





IF YOU THINK



If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don't!

If you like to win, but think you can't,

It's almost a cinch you won't.



you think you'll lose, you're lost;

For out in the world we find

Success begins with a fellow's will;

It's all in the state of mind.



If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.



Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger and faster man,

But sooner or later the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can

Revenge

Earlier today, I ran across this blog with the Title: Success is the Best Revenge.
It wasn't the only time I've heard or read the saying and when I was younger, when I'd come across it, I would think, " wow, this is so true..!" Because of my life experiences as an adult, I now think this saying is very sad.
For those that believe that "success is the best revenge" I invite you to look at life a little differently.
Revenge. .... in any way shape or form does come at a price. Instead of helping us move on with our life, it can leave us dwelling on the situation and keeps us remaining unhappy. To me it's evil. It all comes down to not having true peace within and not forgiving those who have done wrong. So why not show happiness, success or whatever it may not to seek revenge, but to really...just be happy for yourself.
We're all human. We're all flawed..we all go through times of disappointment. Hey, it's life. You can choose to hold grudges, seek revenge, or let go of your hatred and FORGIVE. When I'm around folks that just decide to dislike someone just because they rubbed them the wrong way, it makes me really sad for them. If only they knew what true peace was and how they can use that energy to create something more meaningful and bigger...and to really focus on greater things in the world. We are given this itty bitty amount of life we have to live ..we can't allow peoples opinions of us let us down. Dream a bigger dream. Do something huge. We all have so much talent and positivity in us if we really try to dig in and think kinder thoughts.
Success shouldn't be the best revenge. If one must really seek revenge, let forgiveness be the best revenge.. It heals the soul.

Well, 2011 has been an amazing year filled with a whole lot of love, laughter, curveballs, serious talks and desicion makings.

I LOVE my job, if I can even call it a job. For the past 8 years, I can say that the passion inside of me to change a man, woman, or child's life and to allow them to live again has changed my perspective in life. Don't get me wrong, we all have our ups and downs, but the most important thing to me is to deliver 101%. I believe that in life, you are worse than a failure if you haven't even attempted to be successful. Give it all you've got. Take risks. Do it big.

I received some really sweet emails recently from higher ups in our Corporation which was also sent to the entire company and WOW I am so so incredibly touched. It's not through anything that I have done and I can' t take credit for inspiring others but I am truly touched and humbled to make somebody's life just a little bit brighter by the simple fact of just being myself and not letting not so good life circumstances be turned into changing peoples lives.
I usually keep a journal of sweet letters and compliments in my diaryjust to brighten up my day when things aren't going so well, but since I've moved on to public blogging I will post some of the recent ones one here.
......
To All,
As someone who is always looking for the right words to say…I want to start the New Year 2012 by taking the time to Thank Melissa Poquiz for her nothing short of Stellar Performance over the past year.

Winning War Boards…Contests…along with placing high on the Top Closers list in the nation. Watching her Team Work, Camaraderie and Support…reminds me of how truly lucky I am!

So…the only correct words I can come up with is THANK YOU!!!

The Best is Yet to Be!!!
A. Regional VP
................................
Thank you Melissa
Not only are you an amazing consultant(can I clone you?), but you are a very good person.
You are friendly, likeable, passionate and truly care about everyone and our clients.
That means the world to me.
Thank you..
If I was closer, I’d give you a big hug and a smooch.
National VP
...............................
Melissa
In the 17 years that I have worked at HC
I have never been more impressed by anyone in this company! You really are a bright star and are so so so very talented! Gina better be damn grateful and blessed to have you! If not, I will punch her! :O)
Regional Sales Manager
....................


gets me all mushy reading this and cannot take credit for anything I do when I TRY giving the best of me to those I care about. God expects this of me and us all, so I will continue to be more loving especially during the toughest of times.

Ok, bedtime. Happy New Year to all.

Love Like THIS

As I've gotten older, I've learned to live life differently not only like it's going to be my last but also to live life like it's going to be my loved ones' last...because one day one of the two will be true. There are times I feel frustrated with my loved ones and my pride wants to overtake the love I have for them. In that moment of stubbornness I think to myself, what if something happens to the person I'm having qualms with? Is this stupid feeling of aggravation worth it? Nope. The answer is always no. So I tell myself , "Dude,suck it up." I Acknowledge my part in it and move on with LOVE. My point IS in this lifetime, holding grudges with loved ones is NOT worth it. Overall just do it. We are all emotional creatures, we get our poor little feeling hurt. Sometimes you just have to say EFF those feelings and forgive,apologize, move on with love. My saying in life is Enjoy life like it's your last and your loved one's last. Be kind, be sweet. Eat sweets. Mel

Thanksgiving

I love my BHF Derik, my Mom and Dad, Monica and Marco, the rest of my family,my best friends, no matter what we go through and no matter how much we argue because I know, in the end, they will always be there for me.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I am so thankful for all the people in my life.
Give love and receive love.

Give

Laying in bed with the hubby on this fine morning in LA and we stumbled upon a Kobe Bryant Commercial: Fight Homeless in LA. 40000 homeless folks in this city.
It got me thinking about how many people are suffering/dieing from lack of food, medical care, and shelter.
I pray to God for them every night and although I don't have all the answers and all the money in the world to help every single being, I know that I can make a difference by giving back to my community and society.
It's during the Holidays when I feel the most compassionate for the poor and less fortunate. I imagine myself being in their situations - rather than being with family and loved ones. Me being in a shelter, old folks home, on the streets fighting for my life... lacking the love and warmth that most of us are fortunate to have on a daily basis. I would be so grateful to those who showed me they cared enough to feed me.
I am so grateful to those that have made it easier for me to find spots I can donate to. Selfless acts of kindness makes this life worth living; knowing that we each can take a step back to take a look at what we fortunate people can do to make their worth living is an awesome feeling.
I want to share some of the places Derik and I involve ourselves with in hopes of maybe allowing others to share a small piece of your heart by giving a little back.

The American Red Cross- I figure a simple donation every quarter will help. Also blood donations help! The Red Cross offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war, the American Red Cross distinguishes itself by also aiding victims of devastating natural disasters. You can also register to receive text messages from the red cross to inform you when donations of blood or money are needed asap during a natural disaster. Awesome! www.redcross.org

One Warm Coat - Donating coats to help families / children stay warm during the cold season. Why NOT? Every year, Derik and I will gather our coats that we know we will not pull during the 4 months of winter and commit to donating them. onewarmcoat.org

Second Harvest Food Bank - Donating canned food to the less fortunate. I'm always complaining about how full I am after a good meal. If I can afford to eat and cook meals for myself and my family, why not make a difference in another family's life? Find a donation center near you. Around October/Novemberish each year, Derik and I will purchase 2 bagsfull of cans from Big Lot's - 50 cents to a dollar a can and donate to local drop offs. FeedingAmerica.org ...also there's the SVC Turkey Trot who also benefits to Local charities including the Second Harvest Food Bank. svturkeytrot.com
Derik, Darin, and I have committed to making it a family run every year; the morning of Thanksgiving. A nice family run before eating great meals and it benefits the less fortunate? Wow, amazing!

If anyone has any recommendations please let me know. Sharing is caring. We all can make a difference by doing one simple act of kindness.

Pretty Girls and Rich Dudes - Too Funny

Sometimes I do analyze why a not so good looking guy ends up with a hot girl...or why a not so good looking girl ends up with a good looking guy...this read is pretty funny.



Amazing reply by J.P. Morgan CEO to a Pretty girl A young and pretty lady posted this on a popular forum:


Title: What should I do to marry a rich guy?


I'm going to be honest of what I'm going to say here. I'm 25 this year. I'm very pretty, have style (http://g35driver.com/forums/#) and good taste. I wish to marry a guy with $500k annual salary or above. You might say that I'm greedy, but an annual salary of $1M is considered only as middle class in New York . My requirement is not high. Is there anyone in this forum who has an income of $500k annual salary? Are you all married? I wanted to ask: what should I do to marry rich persons like you? Among those I've dated, the richest is $250k annual income, and it seems that this is my upper limit. If someone is going to move into high cost residential area on the west of New York City Garden ( ? ) , $250k annual income is not enough.

I'm here humbly to ask a few questions:

1) Where do most rich bachelors hang out? (Please list down the names and addresses of bars, restaurant, gym)

2) Which age group should I target?

3) Why most wives of the riches is only average-looking? I've met a few girls who doesn't have looks and are not interesting, but they are able to marry rich guys

4) How do you decide who can be your wife, and who can only be your girlfriend? (my target now is to get married)


Ms. Pretty


Awesome reply:

Dear Ms. Pretty,

I have read your post with great interest. Guess there are lots of girls out there who have similar questions like yours. Please allow me to analyse your situation as a professional investor. My annual income is more than $500k, which meets your requirement, so I hope everyone believes that I'm not wasting time here. From the standpoint of a business person, it is a bad decision to marry you.. The answer is very simple, so let me explain.

Put the details aside, what you're trying to do is an exchange of 'beauty' and 'money': Person A provides beauty, and Person B pays for it, fair and square. However, there's a deadly problem here, your beauty will fade, but my money will not be gone without any good reason. The fact is, my income might increase from year to year, but you can't be prettier year after year. Hence from the viewpoint of economics, I am an appreciation asset, and you are a depreciation asset. It's not just normal depreciation, but exponential depreciation. If that is your only asset, your value will be much worried 10 years later.

By the terms we use in Wall Street, every trading has a position, dating with you is also a 'trading position'. If the trade value dropped we will sell it and it is not a good idea to keep it for long term - same goes with the marriage that you wanted. It might be cruel to say this, but in order to make a wiser decision any assets with great depreciation value will be sold or 'leased'. Anyone with over $500k annual income is not a fool; we would only date you, but will not marry you. I would advice that you forget looking for any clues to marry a rich guy. And by the way, you could make yourself to become a rich person with $500k annual income. This has better chance than finding a rich fool..


Hope this reply helps. If you are interested in 'leasing' services, do contact me....

Signed,
CEO
J.P. Morgan

Reviewing The Landmark Forum

I'm a well grounded person with the most loving hubby, the coolest 13 month old son and my BFF boxer doggy to go home to everyday. I have a wonderful career and the most awesome staff ever. I am blessed to be able to live a lifestyle I only dreamed about living. All the materialistic things I have I can say I've earned through hard work. The value of Family and friends are much greater than these things. I believe that God's always got my back.

Even with being blessed with having amazing things happen to me in my life, I've had my moments of re-evaluating my life as a teenager or an adult trying to figure out who I really am and how to overcome feelings of irritability and frustrations with obstacles and differences in my life. I've been through counseling sessions off and on for about 10 years, wrote in my journal, talked to friends, went to church.... And they have all been wonderful experiences...so I thought; Until I was introduced to the Landmark Forum. A couple of friends told me about it 8 years ago and I recall them telling me that once I take this class, my life would be transformed forever. They were studying at Yale at the time and it helped them overcome obstacles in their college life. As amazing as it sounded, I was seeing a life coach at that time whom I felt helped me to find the answer to all my questions I had about my life. I've read all the self help books you could imagine and they also had me thinking 'Oohh and ahhhhhhh, I get it'.
8 years passes by. I've matured, I've been through many ups and downs.
I've built meaningful relationships and have had my share of disappointments in life. I couldn't say that my view of seeing the world was any different after
The counseling sessions and the weekly trips to Borders.
I was reintroduced to the Landmark Forum 10 months ago by my hubby's boss. He encouraged the hubby to take it and told him he'd even sponsor him because he has never been so impacted by a forum in his life.
The hubby thought about it and thought about it and forgot about it. Without him knowing, I decided to sign him up and he was NOT a happy camper.
With 500 smackeroos already invested in it, he had to go.
Without going into too much detail, the reason why I felt the need to sign my hubby up was because he works from home and he would complain to me that he hated it. I told him that if he is inspired and gets something out of the 13 hour a day course on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then I would take it too.
Not only has gone from hating working home to loving it; his performance has sky rocketed. And a bonus, our communication skills... AWESOME!
So now. Let's talk about my experience.:)


I took the Forum during my maternity leave in September and the experience has been PHENOMENAL. One of the breakthroughs I had was in my work performance. Previously I had spent a lot of time being frustrated with my boss and the higher ups who didn't understand that sales is not as easy as they think didnt know how hard it was to achieve budget. I had decided that they were "wrong", and that I was going to have to work "outside the system" to pursue the things I was passionate about.

What I got from the Forum was that making others wrong accomplishes nothing, and once I stopped making them wrong, I could take ownership for my experience. Based on this insight I got the power to create my experience at work however I wanted it to be. Rather than being resigned to frustration and dissatisfaction, I suddenly had the freedom and the tools to completely alter my environment, enabling me to do what I was passionate about. To take a single example: I would NEVER be able to be the top closer in the nation. Are you kidding me? I've just taken on this position at my work as a consultant. We are the 5th largest center in the nation and there are over 80 centers to compete with. Most of the centers are smaller and it's easier for them to achieve their goals.Hello? Whereas before I would have been resigned to being dissatisfied, post-Forum I realized that it would be way more fun and fulfilling to create a competition for myself. Because I no longer saw the higher ups as being "wrong" I could build powerful relationships with them, and one of those relationships enabled the best experiences of my life, where I got the Regional Vice President to email me that I have set a new standard for our consultants in the region. I not only over exceeded in my sales by 150% but also won # 2 in the nation... And number 1 in a huge
competition.Won $3500 bucks!.. And brought in 5 figures in commission for the past 2 months.


That was one breakthrough of many that I got from the Forum, and I've successfully applied the training to many other areas of my life.
My relationship with my sister is on a whole new level as well as with my bro, Dad and Mom. Oh btw, sis and Mom took it too and they were blown away. LIFE ALTERING.My hubby and I hardly ever argue and when we do, let me tell you it is resolved faster than ever now. Our photography business has been amazing since then too.
It was definitely one of the best investments of time and money that I've ever made. I was blown out of my socks.
The last thing I have to say is no matter how many books you've read, no matter how many degrees you have,no matter how much money you make,no matter what disciplines you have studied, no matter how perfect you think you are,the Landmark Forum is going to seriously give you the best orgasmic feeling you've ever had... For life

It's Good to me

It's too short. I'll say it again. It's too short. *sigh* It's unpredictable. It's nothing. I create it. I give it my meaning. It's good to me. It's now. It's an awesome gift ..Life.
I'm living it and it's now.
Thank you God, seriously. I am living a fulfilling life and honestly don't know sometimes why I deserve this. I truly am blessed.

Something about the Sunset

So as I'm standing on a rock on top of a hill clicking away with my wide angle lens, I'm trying to figure out the perfect exposure before my subjects arrive. The sudden silence made me stop and sit on the grass that surrounds me. Objects surrounding me start to turn black against the orange turquoise sky.
There's just something so peaceful and soft about the sun drifting away. The innocence of the whimsical painted colors the sun leaves behind even when it's long gone allows me to realize that life is passing by and that the day is slowly rolling into night . In that golden hour, a tiny moment in a day, is the most perfect time to adore the stillness and simple beauty around me that I often take for granted.
I then turn on my pandora to listen to some feel good island music as I soak in all I can ...while I can; of this surface of beauty. A perfect time for a prayer.
I feel so lucky to have this moment come into my life... Once in a day. Everyday!
The beauty of the sunset reminds me of a saying that goes something like this:
Whoever comes into your life are the right people. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have. Whenever it happens is the right time... And when it's over, well.. It's over. Keep creating and living your big dreams... So long as there's a sun that sets for us.
Yay,the cute couple arrives... Back to my reality.

My 12 Personal Commandments

I love starting my weeks off with motivational quotes and my personal favorite website to receive pick me ups come from here: http://greatday.com/ ..LOVE him...I always find myself saying: omg this is so simple yet so true.

So I ran into an old Diary Entry of mine from 2008 titled ' My 12 Personal Commandments'.
The commandments:

1. Embrace my inner thinking cap.
2. Love with action
3. Do not give up when failure occurs
4. Be kind to everyone and don't let my thoughts rule me.
5. Learn something new by taking a class or reading a book
6. Be giving to others.
7. Soak in a compliment every now and then
8. Forgive those who do me wrong
9. Follow through with what I say
10. Respect and be open minded to different beliefs and opinions
11. Give up trying to always be right
12. Make things happen rather than waiting for the right time

As I look back at my list, I wonder what things were going through my mind in that very moment.
I do remember that I was at a time in my life when I was doing some serious reflecting on my life and in need of super motivational pick me ups.:)

Let's dissect each one and see how I can put them to use in my life today:
1. Embrace my inner thinking cap. - Well, I love to read. It allows me to feel like..well, I know stuff. Maybe not usual stuff - but stuff. One of my favorite aspects of being a reader is the social applications. I love to chat with the people at work about what they are reading, share with friends and hubby about what books feed my heart, my mind, and my most favorite is to experience literature with my son!
2. Love with Action - Let's face it. I can say, 'I love you' as many times and it won't mean anything unless I prove it with action. I text my Mom, Dad, Sis, Bro, Hubby throughout the week that I love them or tell them on FB; however in the end what really matters is spending the short time I have here on this earth to make it count with everyone that matters.
3. Do not give up when failure occurs. - Well, this definitely applies to my career as a consultant. With me being in sales, I've learned that I cannot let one consultation bring my next one down. Although, things have been amazing for me, it still is difficult to shake that one bad day off to start new. I am so grateful to have awesome co-workers to vent to while I'm dusting the dirt off my hands when I fall.
4. Be kind to everyone and don't let my thoughts rule me. - It's difficult for me to be around negative energy...ha ha whether it's literally in my presence or on FB. I have to remind myself that people are the way they are because...well that's the way they are and who am I to judge one's life and to say that my way of thinking is right?
5. Learn something new whether it's by taking a class or reading a book. Working at the same place for 8 years, I've gotten used to a certain culture and a certain way of doing things.
So every year, I take it upon myself to take classes that has nothing to do with work. This year is no different but byfar the best learning experience of my life.
6. Be giving to others- I've got generous thoughts and yes, I've got the best of intentions. Everyday I tell myself to always do one kind thing for someone whether it's just a simple smile to a stranger to holding the door for someone else to telling my hubby great things about why I think he's such a remarkable person to donating blood or funds to helping the less fortunate or the sick. On my bucket list for this year, I promised to do many simple acts of kindness in one day. I've got a plan for that one.
7. Soak in a Compliment every now and then. - It is quite harder to not focus on the negative criticisms from others .... I try hard not to dwell over them. But it's ok to accept a compliment for what it is.
8. Forgive those who do me wrong- Wow. I wrote that? I believe that with open and effective communication, when I feel like I am wronged, it can be fixed. I don't like living my life holding grudges on people. I don't have the right to kick people out of my life.
9. Follow through with what I say - My calendar helps me with following up with what I say. I don't know what I'd do without it. I am my word (of course if I absolutely have to break a promise it's usually because it's something I can't get out of).
10.Respect and be open to different personal beliefs and opinions - this is why I hate politics.
Who am I to say that my way is the only way and that someone else's is just so wrong.
11. Give up trying to always be right- If I find myself ALWAYS trying to be right, I become an angry person. I hate being angry. The best cure for that is to just apologize for trying to make the other person wrong.
12. Make things happen rather than waiting for the right time- Sometimes I find myself being a risk taker almost to a fault. Maybe because I think this life is too short so why not? I sometimes get upset with those that have so much potential to do better with their life but they wait for things to just happen. Waiting is a state of mind and there is no next moment if you think about it. Create. CREATE CREATE!

Clean Slate Mondays

I'm a pretty messy person in general; my hubby can vouch for me. I used to ask myself, was I born messy? No. Do I prefer to be messy? No. I do believe that living as a child with an OCD clean freak Dad, who scolded me for leaving books on the dinner table contributed to me feeling free as an adult to leave things where I please and that I wouldn't be punished for it.
However, I do take responsibily for my scatters therefore am pretty darn grateful that Monday comes around once a week.
There's something about getting up in the morning knowing that I HAVE to start my Monday mornings off (my days off from work) with cleaning the house spic and span before I can treat myself to anything else. In that moment of spraying and wiping the mirrors clean, vacuuming the carpet, putting Darin's toys away where they belong, cleaning the fridge, dusting off the table, stacking away the dishes, folding the laundry, hanging my clothes, etc, it does something to my wellbeing. This ritual allows me to create a new slate for the week; to start fresh with new ideas and excitement.
Everything happens for a reason including the mess I create. Hello, that's what Monday's are made for.

I declare No Cell Phone Sundays

Remember the days when the ancient landlines and snail mail were the only ways to get in contact with close friends and loved ones? What a great factoid to tell my son when he's 4 years old and knows more about technology than I will. =x

In this day and age, I confess that the reinvention of the cell phone, has allowed me the option to do pretty much everything and anything to keep in touch with society and to follow many things that really aren't important to me...rubbish that can sometimes get in the way of truly creating a fulfilling life. It was about a year ago, I was given the gift of the iphone from the hubby. Connection to the universe in the palm of my hands. Bad Idea.

I sometimes find myself taking for granted the precious time I could be spending doing some things far more important. If there were something that resembled AA for cell phone users, you'd probably find me there because my hubby would have signed me up already.

I found myself making excuses to my hubby telling him when he asks me to put the cell down ,"Hey, I keep my phone on vibrate when we go to church on Sundays, in the evening when I'm putting Darin to sleep, or when I'm at work. WHAT now?" =x
I'm the type of person who, when I realize things after a while are getting a bit too much, I try to make a change for the better.
It was about a month ago when I realized that I was making the cell phone rule my life and that that continuing to abuse my cell phone privileges is a very very naughty habit that needs to have limits...Something definitely needed to be done. The cell phone even at one point used to stress me out when I didn't receive replies back to my texts right away and even had me assuming that the other end was rude or probably was mad at me for something I said or did? Uh, physcho-me.

So, I've decided to declare *NO CELL PHONE SUNDAYS
Before you judge the little asterisk right next to my assertion, let me explain.

I've declared that because Sunday is our Family Fun Day, anyone that wants to get a hold of me can get a hold of me through my land line if I'm at home. If we are out of the house, which we usually are, there is no reason I need to respond to anything right away. And that also gives me no right to EVER assume that when someone doesn't respond to MY texts right away, that something is wrong. Apologies to my loving mother *cough.
Therefore on Sundays I will not be responding to texts, sending out texts, calling people, no social media, no googling, no yelping places. No taking pictures. No itunes. No blogging. *sigh*

*The only valid reason why I would need to use the cell phone is because we're meeting up with someone and we need to locate them...and if that were the case, we would be using the hubby's cell phone.
How about that for a start? Who knows, maybe this will eventually lead muah going back to using pagers. hee haw.
Nite nite - (sent from Liss's IPHONE) errr..=)

Darin's 1st Pumpkin **TCH

Today was such a pleasantly warm and sunny Sunday so we decided to take lil' D-boy to the pumpkin patch for the very first time and told him he could pick his pumpkin all on his own! He didn't quite understand what a pumpkin was so we warned him about all the orange round thingies he would be surrounded by and he just mumbled ,"Mine".
Once we arrived it was pretty obvious by the look on his face that he was overwhelmed by the thousands of pumpkins that surrounded him. It's THE most delightful experience watching his "firsts". Since they do only come around once, I always mentally tell myself,"soak it all in. These are some of the moments I live for and will miss" and attempt taking as many pictures as possible because from what I'm starting to learn, these little monsters don't stay little for too long.
Moving along, The hubby and I agreed that which ever pumpkin he touched first, he takes. Other than the dirt he attempted to grab and eat, d-Boy decided on the most garganchuan preggo looking pumpkin. Marked it with drool and started playing on top of it. Anyway, here are some photos we captured with Darin enjoying himself at the pumpkin patch:)

bLISSYism

Hi!
I'm not quite sure who I'm saying hi to because I really don't have any followers on here. As an avid private blogger, I've decided to go from private journal blogging (used to use my diary app on my iphone)to sharing my blogs.

Those that know me well, know that I love writing in my diary about life; the good days and the tough. I've lost a couple of hard copies...passwords to my Xanga blog...Well, I've probably thrown them away and regret it so hopefully with this bLISSYism blog of mine I'll be able to keep track better. We'll see.

I've always been into reading different blogs as much as I love blog rambling myself - occasionally I have a point I want to share, a memory I want to document, or use the opportunity to write about a new experience. But sometimes, I just need a chance to hang out in my own thoughts.

My ongoing Thoughts - These days, with a 12 month old son, I often find myself wondering about suggestions for diaper rashes, recommendations for pre-schools and daycare, or advice on how to raise a healthy and happy child. For those that are mommies, have you noticed that once you enter mommyville - all conversations abruptly changes to children. Your children. Other people's children. Children. Don't get me wrong - I am GUILTY. Guilty, guilty, guilty.
During the rare times I'm able to do other things I love, I am usually either editing photos, taking photos, reading books...and also have been working full time at the leading hair restoration company...for 8 years now; blessed to be doing a job I love.
I definitely try at least twice a month to have adult conversation outside of working; whether it's a night out with my girls or a night out with my wonderful hubby. We are blessed to have parents that are able to give us those must needed breaks. =)


I came across this blog today with a writing prompt - 10 on the 10th. Think of it like English class - the writing prompt on the 10th of each month is to create a list of 10 - on anything you want

10 Things I promised to accomplish in 2011

1 - Write at least one journal entry each week that has nothing to do with my kid. Watch out readers, since I'm making this public now.......you might be able to find out more about me. I might not be as candid as I am in my diary..we shall see =)

2 - Conquer and fight for my rights under CFRA law in California with my company...even if it meant getting fired over it.

3 -See real adult people and have real conversations twice a month. This will double my current night out of once a month.

4 - Read bedtime stories to Darin every night

5 - Really pray often for those in need and pray with Darin.

6 - Commit to having a date night with my husband - once a month

7 - Focus on Photography and do at least 5 sessions.

8 - Take a class, course, anything that I find may be inspiring or will allow me to be a better person.

9 - Read. I considered taking the 52 into 52 challenge (read 52 books in 52 weeks). But, really......I don't need anything else on my "to do" list. I love to read - reading is not, nor has it ever been a chore for me. This year I will make time to read - when I am not soo tired that my eyes close on every other page.

10 - Be generous. I have generous thoughts........sometimes I find myself lacking on the follow through. In 2011, my goal was to actually do the kind deed that comes to mind. Follow through.

So, there it is.
I've accomplished all of the goals listed but most of them are ongoing...
Yes, and this is why I love blogging my thoughts down. Create the goal. Speak the goal. Apply. Succeed.... Next.

<3,
lissy