Metamorphosis

{Etsy}

met·a·mor·pho·sis

• a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.

Aside from sweating my buns off in the morning attempting to burn off those ice cream cones from the night before (it's okay to indulge once in a while, don't judge!), hustling at home to create the perfect villa to host my little sister's bridal shower and bachlorette party all in ONE full day (mind you this means ripping off our previous deck and building a new one topped with a gorgeous pergola) and planning a 5-day beach voyage with my family.......I woke up one morning and had an awakening: it's time for change. And since I simply do not have enough going on my life, let's just add another item to the list, eh?! All is peachy though :)


Have you ever had an epiphany? A feeling that washes over you and you can literally feel the difference within yourself, whispering, it's time. I have always been one to trust my intuition, that gut feeling or sometimes I will refer it to the planets being aligned, the stars are shining extra bright......something out there is calling my name. I might sound crazy to those that have never felt this way, but I hope one day you will. Its a pretty amazing feeling. As of that morning a couple of weeks ago, I have been on the edge of my seat, trying to keep alert and present for whatever the change might be.

I have a few area's in my life that I know for a fact will be changing (because, I just know). But I am keeping these in my pocket for another day to share with you (is the suspense driving you mad yet?!). Other aspects of my life that I have been diligently working on have already brought about change within myself and family.

Feeling fabulous on the outside. Coming to terms with the way I was born and cannot change.......like being half Irish and half Italian, yet being as white as a fresh blanket of snow and no matter how much sun I get, I cannot tan. If you tan, you may never understand the angst of us permanently pasty peeps. My best friend whom has the same exact heritage as I, bakes to the most golden glow.....what gives? As far as I can remember, I have always been self conscious of being so WHITE. Every summer I would spend money on self tanning creams (of which would make me look like an oompaloompa, thank you very much Jergen's), self tanning gels, then a membership to the spray tanning booth (one time I stood in the booth and unbeknownst to me the spray mechanism wasn't working right. As I stood there with my eyes shut tight waiting for the blast of my beloved faux tan,  I was dribbled on and the tanner ran down my body in streams leaving me a striped mess!!). Let's just stop the madness already!!! This summer, I am embracing my porcelain skin and rocking it like I own it! I am so over not enjoying summer to it's fullest or the person that I am because in my mind I have had this general perception that summer is correlated to being tan. In an attempt to boost my ego (LOL!), I have done my research of celebrity's or gorgeous models that rock the porcelain glow....have you ever turned off the lights on a someone who is pure white.....hahaha. But, what I find as a flaw, makes me who I am  and I am embracing them, as of now. My advice, embrace your differences and work on loving the body you were given. Let go of some of that peer pressure to be anything BUT you! Because, you're beautiful just the way you are.

And on to feeling fabulous on the inside. Liking the person you see in the mirror.  I want you to have an outter body experience with me for a moment......or however long it may take you to really envision yourself, outside of yourself. Yes, we are getting trippy here. But stay with me on this one. Don't allow me to scare you away!! Envision the person you are, your personality, your characters, your morals. Would you respect you? Would you become friends with yourself? Do you think if you met yourself in a group of people you would leave with an impression.....and a good one at that? I have been working on myself and working on those old skeletons in the closet. We all have our own inner demons. But do we feed into them more than we aught to and does it reflect? Now, take a step back and truly think to yourself, who do you want to portray yourself as? What life do you want to lead and whose lives do you want to touch? What do you want to bring to the table as a wife, mother or friend? How can we obtain these qualities or characteristics within ourselves? This may lead you to making some real life decisions. Cutting out people or a change of lifestyle. It has been a true awakening for me. I have made some changes within myself and I am not sure I will ever be finished with this project. I feel that we will always continue to evolve, but right now I feel like I am coming to terms with myself and loving the person I am more than I have months ago. And its a great feeling!

I am currently working on refraining form saying the words I wish.  I need to stop making excuses and take the steps to get to where I want to be within my career. One of my BIGGEST goals is to commit my time and energy into my blog. I love it here, this is where my passion is. Whatever your passions may be or whatever you feel drives you......set your sails to glide on its current! If you have passion behind you, you cannot fail.

Being gracious and showing gratitude to those I love and respect, making the time to visit, taking time to make a simple phone call and be present in their lives. Alot of times I neglect this area of my life because I am so focused on life within my bubble (home life). It gets hard for me to spread myself and devote that attention on others. But just like a marriage, friendships need to be nourished and given love. Relationships to me are like a garden, in order to grow, we need to be watered with love, fed to sustain and warmed with just being present.


These are just some of the currents that have been flowing through me. Like I stated previously, their are major changes taking place in my life. Some are behind the scenes that I haven't even become acquainted with. I embrace change. I live for the adventure of life and evolving into a better person, even if at times its painful. Never stop trying to be a better you. Never stop challenging yourself. And remember to surround yourself with those that love you and truly want the best for you. They are a rare breed, so make sure to show them your appreciation!

Thank you to all of you that have been supporting my blog, pushing me to be a better me, reminding me that I am doing my best and to STOP saying wish, and to start DOING. Ya'll  ROCK!

The Best is Yet to Come

I love this phrase. I want to bask underneath it’s glow and soak up all the possibilities. Lately I have felt this ball of excitement within the core of my being, very similar to the feeling of falling in love. Is this how it feels to fall deeply in love with life? I have never experienced this feeling when it comes to choosing a career or an avenue of what might be.  I truly feel within my gut that the choice I made to become a blogger and journalist is THE missing puzzle piece to my life. And why or how come it took me so long to fall into this niche is beyond me, but I am welcoming this new path with arms wide open.

( A ritual that my sister Tina and I share, tea time inspirations. She is truly my kindred spirit. Keep those that inspire you to be your best around, nurture them as much as they nurture you. These relationships are like flowers, they need water and sunlight. They should be a forever investment. )

I am in my early 30’s. At times in my life I have felt like a drifter. I suppose you could call me a free-spirit of sorts. I have never been one to settle down and plant roots. I've lived a rather nomadic life, I wanted to experience life on a whim, no schedules or strict structures. Along the way, I have made some poor decisions. I have never been one of those people who knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life or what direction I  would take to  pave the road to success. I simply lived in the moment. But in saying this, I have learned a lot throughout my travels, trials and tribulations. My life planted roots once I met my husband and we created a family, which in itself was a major fulfillment since it brought to life the person I am today. But there is something that comes from being successful. So, I suppose this makes me a late bloomer as far as choosing a career goes. And you know what, it’s OKAY! I am going to stop judging myself and start accepting the person that I am. I have always been a sensitive soul, others opinions held me down in the past regarding the way I live my life. Respect what makes you different, what others might view as "flaws". Be sure to show the same respect when dealing with others. If we showed a little more respect, imagine the difference it would make! 

(Heck yeah! Please do.)

Break free of labels. Just be YOU. Don't try to change because people might view your lifestyle in a negative way. You are always going to have those that support you or those that are against you. Do not be afraid to try something because you feel it goes against the person you are. Be open to new experiences, because who knows, you might be introduced to a side of yourself that just needed to be awakened. Dive into who you are and what drives you. Getting to know the person you are can be a journey in itself and very exciting. Make choices that you alone have decided to make and aren't made under the influence of others, or what others push you to be. Only you alone know what is right for you.

(I stumbled on this amazing poem. It fits my sensitive personality. One of which I used to find as a flaw. I feel as we grow and become acquainted with who we are, we realize its these flaws that make us stand out among the rest. I am smitten with Victoria Erickson, her poetry has such depth!)

In conclusion, I urge you to FOLLOW your dreams and simply allow yourself to FLY! Age is just a number. And we have one life to live, no re-do's or reset button. Stop making excuses, do not allow fear or anxieties weigh your decisions. If it’s the right decision, you will know, because your gut will indelibly tell you and life will fall into place. Remember, everyone has their opinions, but the opinions that truly matter come from those that genuinely know the person you are and love you unconditionally. Just be the BEST you. For you and for those around you. Treat yourself with respect, the same respect you treat others with. Nurture your soul and love the person you reflect. There is no time like the present to start all of the above!

XO, Carla 

Focus, Darling

If you are anything like me, I want to accomplish SO much and just about everything under the sun inspires me to be something or go somewhere. Focusing is not my strong point. I find so many different topics in life interesting and find myself yearning to take on a vast number of projects. I drive myself crazy!

When it comes to life goals, such as a career, I believe having your head in the clouds (yes I admit to it,okay!) can cause pinpointing what avenue you'd like to take, daunting. I want to take ALL of the different avenues! I love an adventure, exploring is the root of my nature. But as I stated in a previous post, writing out what my focal interests are and revolve around,  have truly helped to put the blinders on and start to dwindle down the list of what I would love to do, to what I WILL do (because you have to have faith in yourself!).

 

 

(Have faith in yourself!!)

 

Another benefit of following through with yourself is that it leads to inspiring others around you! Today I was warmed right to the core to be on the receiving end of such an awesome compliment!!! My blog has inspired my sister-in-law to share with me her four aspirations she would like to succeed in. Like me, she is a lover of everything and motivated to take on the world! I loved that she shared her aspirations with me, all of them are absolutely wonderful ideas! But each goal needs time, water to grow and full attention. FOCUS. Thus I will use this vivacious gal as my prime example!

 

(Carrie on the left, myself on the right...this was a glorious day!!)

As the outsider, sometimes it's easier to give advice on the big picture. As long as I have known Carrie (my sister-in-law), she has always been driven to be healthy, motivate others around her to follow a fit and healthy lifestyle. That is her passion! She has a plethora of knowledge on the topic, as well as the aspirations to become a personal trainer. Of course I couldn't resist to cheer her exploration of aspiring this goal because it has always come naturally to her and she has a burning passion for it. But with all the other goals stacked on one another her focus was being spread too thin. She felt with so much to accomplish there really wasn't time to make it happen. Add into the equation a hectic life of a working mother....that alone can place anything on the back burner. But with a little encouragement to concentrate on just one goal, write down an outline of what she would like to portray and accomplish, including a proposed date of accomplishment (even if years from now) and square away at least one hour every night to work on this one tangible goal...it's totally doable!! I also encourage her to create her own business blog to kick start her vision, getting her name out there and creating a network AND the best part of that, IT'S FREE! ( I know she will ROCK this!)

Sometimes we need someone to fan our passions. I want to inspire, as well as be inspired. I have found that the rewards from following through with what drives you, has a way of counteracting. Who knew that my very own blog would cause me to be inspired! Its driving me to be much more adventurous within my own neighborhood, as well as other local towns. I am creating a list of places I want to explore and share. I have networked with others, been inspired with their knowledge as to where I want to go, what I envision for future topics and discussion. You know you are doing something right when it has a domino effect!!!

 

(my quiet time with my son, one of my favorite places, in his race car bed!)

Follow your heart. Take a moment to set aside some quiet time to reflect the person you are, what drives you, what knowledge you have on the topic. Ask yourself, "do I have a thirst for more knowledge on this particular goal?". You can rock it too! I know you can!!! And of course, please do share!!

XO