Do you have any people surrounding you that are "negative nellies"? People who mean well but they are looking at Y O U R fabulous, succulent life through their glass-half-full lenses? Yeesh!! I do. It's my parents. Fortunately and unfortunately, they are the ones I go to when I'm at the end of my financial rope. Not for other things, but mainly for that. Each time I truly appreciate their help. But I have to put clear stoppers on them. Over and over again.
My dad pretty much sent me a scathing email. Saying I am enroute to a destitute path and that I appear to be waiting for something magical to happen without me doing it to fix everything. Whoa and wow! Reign that negativeness far far far away from me, please! That's my interpretation...and the response I got back was he was trying to encourage me. Whoa!
You know, as someone living in gratitude, I love to appreciate my parents for the fabulousness that they are. But they are not always fabulous. They have also been going through some things lately that are sooooo not at all about me.
Good things I've already learned~
When emotions leak out sideways because someone has chosen to not appropriately process it or express it, it is not about me whatever they might say or do to me.
Sometimes it's time to reign it in so you can keep creating fabulousness in your life. Sure, even loved ones veer off the path and turn into energy suckers. That's the perfect time to be clear and set boundaries. Or reset them. As often as I need to. Yikes. Sometimes people are just so living in fear they forget what I have requested or communicated I will no longer tolerate.
So grateful I learned this stuff when I was earlier! Otherwise I might actually take things personally. No thanks.
We must always always ALWAYS be our own champions. I hate to say we have to fight for anything, but for those parts of our lives that are not going very smoothly, we DO have to fight for what we believe to be true for ourselves until it is old hat. Those are the lessons in life.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a magical week!
~Marina~
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Applauding the Dream~Livers
Hola Fabulous Peeps!
Every week is pretty amazing, isn't it? It wasn't all week that death was swirling around me, but I felt it. We had some great patients pass away too recently. And we had other patients that are forging forward with fabulous things!
I think it's super succulent when anyone marches forward fiercely toward their dreams! I think it's especially super wonderful when patients who might be somewhat near the end of their lives, say, buy an RV and plan to drive off into the warm sunset!
It's funny, I may work in a cancer clinic. However, for me it's a great way to earn my keep these days. AND expand myself in the midst of chaos and change in the workplace, challenging economic times the kinda devalue us as employees instead of how we could be boosted up, and more super lessons. I totally appreciate my job and I mostly love it every day. It's incredibly rewarding for different reasons.
I see patients of all kinds. We are taught to show kindness and professionalism. This is easy to do, for I am this way naturally when I am in my work environment. (And I've had soooo many different fun environments!) Most that succumb are left with only a little life to live. Bless them all, and I am grateful they touched my lives.
Even when my doctors advocate one thing, I inwardly love it when patients rebel and decide to forgo continuing with treatment to drive their RV somewhere warm for the winter. I sooooo applaud this. They deserve to live much more than they are meekly able to. I'm jumping for joy on the inside when people tell me about their fabulous plans spending 10 days in gorgeous, friendly Belize. I spent 2 weeks there in 1999, 8 days of that on a 43 foot catamaran with fabulous people! It's still a dream trip in my heart!
I want to honor one of my friends on that incredible trip to Belize. His motto was "no regrets". It fits in with living your dreams until the end! He may have met his end already, so what an incredible life he was able to live! Jungle hats off to you fabulous Bob, wherever you are!
So many of us aren't stricken with a disease that gives us a timeline. I'm super grateful to be alive these days where we can run furiously toward one or fifty dreams OR we can keep marching toward them with our drumbeat continuously beating toward our dreams! We are so blessed with people to connect with who share our dreams, and endless sources of fabulousness and inspiration!
I'm grateful for two direct sources of this for me, Hemal Radia and Leonie Dawson. Super grateful hugs to both of you! Leonie makes me realize how fabulous it is to be alive today where we can create fun words! Hemal is someone I have been working with longer to live better and live more of my dreams.
I am also grateful for you~! Thanks for reading! Keep up the great work of enjoying life!
~Marina~
Every week is pretty amazing, isn't it? It wasn't all week that death was swirling around me, but I felt it. We had some great patients pass away too recently. And we had other patients that are forging forward with fabulous things!
I think it's super succulent when anyone marches forward fiercely toward their dreams! I think it's especially super wonderful when patients who might be somewhat near the end of their lives, say, buy an RV and plan to drive off into the warm sunset!
It's funny, I may work in a cancer clinic. However, for me it's a great way to earn my keep these days. AND expand myself in the midst of chaos and change in the workplace, challenging economic times the kinda devalue us as employees instead of how we could be boosted up, and more super lessons. I totally appreciate my job and I mostly love it every day. It's incredibly rewarding for different reasons.
I see patients of all kinds. We are taught to show kindness and professionalism. This is easy to do, for I am this way naturally when I am in my work environment. (And I've had soooo many different fun environments!) Most that succumb are left with only a little life to live. Bless them all, and I am grateful they touched my lives.
Even when my doctors advocate one thing, I inwardly love it when patients rebel and decide to forgo continuing with treatment to drive their RV somewhere warm for the winter. I sooooo applaud this. They deserve to live much more than they are meekly able to. I'm jumping for joy on the inside when people tell me about their fabulous plans spending 10 days in gorgeous, friendly Belize. I spent 2 weeks there in 1999, 8 days of that on a 43 foot catamaran with fabulous people! It's still a dream trip in my heart!
I want to honor one of my friends on that incredible trip to Belize. His motto was "no regrets". It fits in with living your dreams until the end! He may have met his end already, so what an incredible life he was able to live! Jungle hats off to you fabulous Bob, wherever you are!
So many of us aren't stricken with a disease that gives us a timeline. I'm super grateful to be alive these days where we can run furiously toward one or fifty dreams OR we can keep marching toward them with our drumbeat continuously beating toward our dreams! We are so blessed with people to connect with who share our dreams, and endless sources of fabulousness and inspiration!
I'm grateful for two direct sources of this for me, Hemal Radia and Leonie Dawson. Super grateful hugs to both of you! Leonie makes me realize how fabulous it is to be alive today where we can create fun words! Hemal is someone I have been working with longer to live better and live more of my dreams.
I am also grateful for you~! Thanks for reading! Keep up the great work of enjoying life!
~Marina~
Saturday, October 19, 2013
It's A Great Place To Be
Quick! Name 3 things you are grateful for in the comments below. It is sooooo good to be mindful about what we appreciate and savor in all parts of our lives.
I don't have a long commute or drive to my work, but for some time now I hardly turn the radio on. I choose to think positively and be grateful and aware of what I am seeing. Just today near the end of my walk with Biggie my pug, I saw a row of maple trees sprinkled with a few others that were just gorgeous with the redness of fall.
Truly, I am finding more and more to be grateful for every day!
The longer I live in my townhouse, I am grateful for the home I live in. I wasn't always. My daughter and I lived with my parents up until May, 2012. We lived in their walkout basement. It was about 1,000 square feet with a full kitchen, one bedroom, and a fabulous bathroom with a big Jacuzzi bath. I miss the bath!
I didn't know how I would be able to move out and if I would be able to pay for everything. And I hadn't been working steadily at that point. I was working two different office jobs through my temporary agency instead of getting a "real" job.
Everything worked out perfectly. Right before I moved out, I started at the job I'm still at. Yes, it's still through my temporary agency, yet I am still there savoring the learning and the fabulous coworkers and the gifts the patients bring.
It's funny, when I came to look at this place we now call home, I wasn't sure. Not sure at all. Yet I put myself in the place of being grateful it is better than what I just came from, along with splashing my walls in ocean, juicy passionfruit, and green grape colors.
Yes, so many parts of me still long to be living at the ocean and in warmth. Especially now that winter's nearly upon us! Yet... I am finding myself focusing on what I love about living here. Daily small things tug on my heart and gratitude muscles. I suppose it is only in being thankful for it all and most importantly the small things that we allow ourselves to keep moving toward who we want to be, who we are meant to be. Most of all, I am grateful for the me I am along with the me I am becoming!
I don't have a long commute or drive to my work, but for some time now I hardly turn the radio on. I choose to think positively and be grateful and aware of what I am seeing. Just today near the end of my walk with Biggie my pug, I saw a row of maple trees sprinkled with a few others that were just gorgeous with the redness of fall.
Truly, I am finding more and more to be grateful for every day!
The longer I live in my townhouse, I am grateful for the home I live in. I wasn't always. My daughter and I lived with my parents up until May, 2012. We lived in their walkout basement. It was about 1,000 square feet with a full kitchen, one bedroom, and a fabulous bathroom with a big Jacuzzi bath. I miss the bath!
I didn't know how I would be able to move out and if I would be able to pay for everything. And I hadn't been working steadily at that point. I was working two different office jobs through my temporary agency instead of getting a "real" job.
Everything worked out perfectly. Right before I moved out, I started at the job I'm still at. Yes, it's still through my temporary agency, yet I am still there savoring the learning and the fabulous coworkers and the gifts the patients bring.
It's funny, when I came to look at this place we now call home, I wasn't sure. Not sure at all. Yet I put myself in the place of being grateful it is better than what I just came from, along with splashing my walls in ocean, juicy passionfruit, and green grape colors.
Yes, so many parts of me still long to be living at the ocean and in warmth. Especially now that winter's nearly upon us! Yet... I am finding myself focusing on what I love about living here. Daily small things tug on my heart and gratitude muscles. I suppose it is only in being thankful for it all and most importantly the small things that we allow ourselves to keep moving toward who we want to be, who we are meant to be. Most of all, I am grateful for the me I am along with the me I am becoming!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Grateful For The Laughter!
What do you do during your days? As you might know, for my day job I work at a cancer clinic as a scheduler. And can you believe it~I am still here as a "temporary office employee". I only say can you believe it because I have been here since April of 2012. There has been much turmoil whilst here, but I choose to keep calm and have faith I will keep working. I like that this is one area I can keep calm and have faith, despite others worrying about it for me.
These days, life flows by at our clinic. We miss our fabulous patients that are no longer here, and treasure the ones still here. I also run into fun people from my past, such as my junior high and high school art teacher. Sigh. Seeing her brought warm feelings in my heart for quite a while~she was a person who taught what she loved and so to speak loved you unconditionally. Errr, you can't tell I grew up in a religious home, can you? :)
I think my favorite part about work these days is sharing fun moments that turn into memories with my coworkers. There are a fabulous handful of them. Everyone is of the good sort, but a few make the days go by swiftly and with smiles on my heart. I'm grateful for all of them!
There are lots of projects and parts to our scheduling jobs. I gave up caffeine before September started, so in the morning I am merely trying to find my way into the day. I keep my head to the ground and do my work, focusing on a special project I had been tasked with. Even though we are always busy with phone calls from all our patients, along with scheduling and making the charts for the next few days, we take time now and then to laugh and share stories about each others lives. It's such a treat to have these fun moments. It truly brights your life when you have laughter surrounding you on all sides!
Enjoy the laughter and fun moments in your life!
These days, life flows by at our clinic. We miss our fabulous patients that are no longer here, and treasure the ones still here. I also run into fun people from my past, such as my junior high and high school art teacher. Sigh. Seeing her brought warm feelings in my heart for quite a while~she was a person who taught what she loved and so to speak loved you unconditionally. Errr, you can't tell I grew up in a religious home, can you? :)
I think my favorite part about work these days is sharing fun moments that turn into memories with my coworkers. There are a fabulous handful of them. Everyone is of the good sort, but a few make the days go by swiftly and with smiles on my heart. I'm grateful for all of them!
There are lots of projects and parts to our scheduling jobs. I gave up caffeine before September started, so in the morning I am merely trying to find my way into the day. I keep my head to the ground and do my work, focusing on a special project I had been tasked with. Even though we are always busy with phone calls from all our patients, along with scheduling and making the charts for the next few days, we take time now and then to laugh and share stories about each others lives. It's such a treat to have these fun moments. It truly brights your life when you have laughter surrounding you on all sides!
Enjoy the laughter and fun moments in your life!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
1 Lesson From Our New Beardie
Hola Fabulous People! I hope you're living succulently! :)
My daughter bought a baby bearded dragon at the very beginning of September. She's only about six inches long, possibly seven. It's pretty awesome having her! She's cute and likes to bask under her sun lamp~I mean who wouldn't want to sit under bright warmth all day long here in Minnesota? :)
Right now we are only feeding her live small crickets. However, our fabulous supplier (Chuck and Don's) was out so they gave us medium crickets. Whoa! We have a cricket keeper but we put all the crickets in her aquarium cage. They hide in the hole in her fabulously long log (the same one she basks on). In the morning and at night (feeding times) Bella or I pick up the log, which is about a foot or so long. We shake out the crickets that are hiding.
I'm telling you~these humongous crickets are neverending! We used to go buy the little crickets twice a week (3-4 dozen each time we went). We haven't bought any in over a week!
Guess which crickets our bearded dragon Mango goes after first? The BIGGEST ones! I love it! What a metaphor for all of us~go after what you want. It's fabulously rewarding as you reel it in. It's even rewarding if you change goals midstream. The point is to go after your goals, those big things you want out of life!
I just reeled in my next car! This morning I heard one of my favorite songs for right now and rocked out in my car on the way to work~Keith Urban's Little Bit of Everything. I blasted onto the freeway feeling goooooood! I love it when life flows so graciously and we're having all the fun in the world!
What are the big thing(s) you are reeling in right now? I am working actively on growing my businesses so I can work from home. I am continually releasing my old mindsets that tell me 'I'm a poor single mama' or 'I don't have enough money to travel yet'. No more! I'm enjoying the journey as it happens while at the same time stretching myself to bring more in! It's time!
My daughter bought a baby bearded dragon at the very beginning of September. She's only about six inches long, possibly seven. It's pretty awesome having her! She's cute and likes to bask under her sun lamp~I mean who wouldn't want to sit under bright warmth all day long here in Minnesota? :)
Right now we are only feeding her live small crickets. However, our fabulous supplier (Chuck and Don's) was out so they gave us medium crickets. Whoa! We have a cricket keeper but we put all the crickets in her aquarium cage. They hide in the hole in her fabulously long log (the same one she basks on). In the morning and at night (feeding times) Bella or I pick up the log, which is about a foot or so long. We shake out the crickets that are hiding.
I'm telling you~these humongous crickets are neverending! We used to go buy the little crickets twice a week (3-4 dozen each time we went). We haven't bought any in over a week!
Guess which crickets our bearded dragon Mango goes after first? The BIGGEST ones! I love it! What a metaphor for all of us~go after what you want. It's fabulously rewarding as you reel it in. It's even rewarding if you change goals midstream. The point is to go after your goals, those big things you want out of life!
I just reeled in my next car! This morning I heard one of my favorite songs for right now and rocked out in my car on the way to work~Keith Urban's Little Bit of Everything. I blasted onto the freeway feeling goooooood! I love it when life flows so graciously and we're having all the fun in the world!
What are the big thing(s) you are reeling in right now? I am working actively on growing my businesses so I can work from home. I am continually releasing my old mindsets that tell me 'I'm a poor single mama' or 'I don't have enough money to travel yet'. No more! I'm enjoying the journey as it happens while at the same time stretching myself to bring more in! It's time!
Monday, July 8, 2013
What If I Buy A Toolbox?
Happy Sunday! Hope wherever you are in your fun corner of the world you are having an awesome day!
I just put my hammer and nails away...into my kitchen junk drawer. Well, er, I could rephrase that...into my everything drawer. I have a few tools, like the hammer, a long-nose pliers, regular pliers, and a spackle flat thingy. Hammering away made me wonder if I needed a toolbox to put my few tools in, now that I have a house.
We have lived in our townhouse a little over a year now. Lately I've been reflecting how I've been back in Minnesota since 2009 (technically~with my two bouts of a few weeks in the late summer/early fall of living with that wacky friend in the keys in 2009 and 2010). That makes it four years we've living in Minnesota again. And it's actually going really well here!
To think about how fabulous life has gotten makes me feel great about adjusting and being grateful for the good things. Mainly, I no longer find myself longingly looking back at the fabulousness we lived in Key West and Miami Beach. I sure loved those times and I'm grateful, yet I do my best to make each day count here!
What makes me appreciate life right now? Soooooo many delicious things! My work~challenging and always changing. I learned scheduling in an incredibly busy cancer/hematology clinic #1 starting in April 2012. Then in January I was miraculously sent to clinic #2 to help with scheduling. This second clinic was such a godsend. Amusingly a coworker full of venom and depression and other health concerns warned me away from everything that has turned out wonderful.
I have adored working in the second clinic along with the ambiance there (it's known for healing and spirituality~so me!) and the loving coworkers even as our schedule gets busier. In both places I've loved many of the patients. Saddened when the good ones pass, yet treasuring the hugs I get from the ones who miss my absences. This brings a big smile to my heart.
Physically I am doing better, too. I still grapple with (yikes! gasp!) the voices inside that pronounce if I would simply start juicing I would lose all my weight miraculously and quickly. I guess I'm human and that's not completely the last thing I will tackle, yet it could be close to last. I am simply grateful to feel so much better this summer. I imagine its my mind and my day to day grooviness I'm living that helps this summer to be far better! Are we ever grateful for the tough times? I don't do depression well, so I am ever grateful and giddy with happiness to get over the bad parts. It's lovely to come home and actually have the energy to cook a healthy meal, go walking with Bella and Biggie my fabulous little pug after dinner, work on the kitchen, working on the house, and have time for my creative stuff/writing/the downtime stuff like facebook and reading.
This has been a fantastic summer~and it's far from over! I'm also learning to be more kind and much easier on myself. Who knows, I may feel compelled to find a toolbox when I visit my next yard sale!
I just put my hammer and nails away...into my kitchen junk drawer. Well, er, I could rephrase that...into my everything drawer. I have a few tools, like the hammer, a long-nose pliers, regular pliers, and a spackle flat thingy. Hammering away made me wonder if I needed a toolbox to put my few tools in, now that I have a house.
We have lived in our townhouse a little over a year now. Lately I've been reflecting how I've been back in Minnesota since 2009 (technically~with my two bouts of a few weeks in the late summer/early fall of living with that wacky friend in the keys in 2009 and 2010). That makes it four years we've living in Minnesota again. And it's actually going really well here!
To think about how fabulous life has gotten makes me feel great about adjusting and being grateful for the good things. Mainly, I no longer find myself longingly looking back at the fabulousness we lived in Key West and Miami Beach. I sure loved those times and I'm grateful, yet I do my best to make each day count here!
What makes me appreciate life right now? Soooooo many delicious things! My work~challenging and always changing. I learned scheduling in an incredibly busy cancer/hematology clinic #1 starting in April 2012. Then in January I was miraculously sent to clinic #2 to help with scheduling. This second clinic was such a godsend. Amusingly a coworker full of venom and depression and other health concerns warned me away from everything that has turned out wonderful.
I have adored working in the second clinic along with the ambiance there (it's known for healing and spirituality~so me!) and the loving coworkers even as our schedule gets busier. In both places I've loved many of the patients. Saddened when the good ones pass, yet treasuring the hugs I get from the ones who miss my absences. This brings a big smile to my heart.
Physically I am doing better, too. I still grapple with (yikes! gasp!) the voices inside that pronounce if I would simply start juicing I would lose all my weight miraculously and quickly. I guess I'm human and that's not completely the last thing I will tackle, yet it could be close to last. I am simply grateful to feel so much better this summer. I imagine its my mind and my day to day grooviness I'm living that helps this summer to be far better! Are we ever grateful for the tough times? I don't do depression well, so I am ever grateful and giddy with happiness to get over the bad parts. It's lovely to come home and actually have the energy to cook a healthy meal, go walking with Bella and Biggie my fabulous little pug after dinner, work on the kitchen, working on the house, and have time for my creative stuff/writing/the downtime stuff like facebook and reading.
This has been a fantastic summer~and it's far from over! I'm also learning to be more kind and much easier on myself. Who knows, I may feel compelled to find a toolbox when I visit my next yard sale!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Helllloooooo Again & Making Choices
It's been a few busy months! Happy to say I've made it out on the other side of winter!
So many good things have been part of my life on a daily basis in the last few months. I am still working as a scheduler in a cancer clinic. Learning a new skill has been a boost to my fabulousness! Where I'm working and all the lovely patients I am able to interact with has been such a blessing, too. I love that I know I'm meant to be where I'm at for a while. The biggest gift I get is to live your life right now. Do all your fabulous bucket list things ~ start walking toward them anyways ~ today. My heart goes out to the ones who didn't make it, and I am grateful for them, for the part they played in my days. Very grateful.
Something on my heart lately relates to the writing client work I have been able to bring in. In this journey right now, I can see myself as a single mom with not quite enough money. That makes me make choices. I'm great at manifesting ~ and I happened to bring in writing projects from writing clients who were students. I am grateful now for the extra cash flow it brought into my life. And I'm now consciously say no more.
It's interesting how people are and how they interact. How we allow people to interact with us speaks volumes to where we are at this moment in our souls journey. I needed some extra money, so I brought that in through the form of non-native students needing help writing their papers for their classes. Yes, from the beginning parts of my knew it wasn't the best or right thing to do.
It's been a good journey. So now instead of saying no to:
Whew. Time to go enjoy our gorgeous spring weekend weather! Thanks for reading and I hope you're living fabulously too!
So many good things have been part of my life on a daily basis in the last few months. I am still working as a scheduler in a cancer clinic. Learning a new skill has been a boost to my fabulousness! Where I'm working and all the lovely patients I am able to interact with has been such a blessing, too. I love that I know I'm meant to be where I'm at for a while. The biggest gift I get is to live your life right now. Do all your fabulous bucket list things ~ start walking toward them anyways ~ today. My heart goes out to the ones who didn't make it, and I am grateful for them, for the part they played in my days. Very grateful.
Something on my heart lately relates to the writing client work I have been able to bring in. In this journey right now, I can see myself as a single mom with not quite enough money. That makes me make choices. I'm great at manifesting ~ and I happened to bring in writing projects from writing clients who were students. I am grateful now for the extra cash flow it brought into my life. And I'm now consciously say no more.
It's interesting how people are and how they interact. How we allow people to interact with us speaks volumes to where we are at this moment in our souls journey. I needed some extra money, so I brought that in through the form of non-native students needing help writing their papers for their classes. Yes, from the beginning parts of my knew it wasn't the best or right thing to do.
It's been a good journey. So now instead of saying no to:
- unethical, dishonest writing work
- low pay because they complain about the amount I asked for but supposedly needed the service
- bad communication in order to do the best job I could
- high expectations without clarity, integrity, good pay
- lack of time with my daughter due to scrambling to get their work done after my daytime job
- feeling good about learning about new things and being able to complete challenging assignments
- procrastinating because I don't really want to do it
- More time with my fabulous daughter ~ just in time for spring and summer!
- Allowing myself to better manage the money I do have
- Using other techniques to bring money in such as selling things I no longer use and decluttering
- (DING DING ~ MOST IMPORTANT) My own writing projects and riding the wild donkey to get them out the door regardless of anything and everything weighing me down as to why I haven't done this yet :)
- Getting out in nature again
- Getting away from the computer more to get fit and active and spend time doing what I love!
Whew. Time to go enjoy our gorgeous spring weekend weather! Thanks for reading and I hope you're living fabulously too!
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