I Have to Do What?!

Part of growing up is learning to do what you need to do as opposed to doing what you want to do.  It is not an easy concept to grasp and people learn to be selective with it.  It is easy to do what we need to do at work or school because we know we are expected to do so.  However, we may not always do the right thing when it comes to other people because we feel as if we are not expected to do so.  The truth of the matter is that in order to have growth as a person, you have to learn to do what has to be done and discern what exactly that entails.  Sometimes doing the right thing takes much courage and patience.  And most of the time we find an abundant amount of excuses as to why we cannot do the right thing. 

Let me tell you the story of a young stubborn young lady who always held a grudge.  When someone hurt her feelings, insulted her, or put her down, she would replay the scenario over and over in her head.  It became such a big problem that it made her stress level go through the ruff.  She wanted to let go of those not so great memories and focus her attention on the people who brought good things to her life.  One day she felt God tugging at her heart and He said to her: “you need to forgive and really forget.”  She thought “I really have to forget?!”   

Not forgetting those negative events in your past is a defense mechanism and we all do it in order to protect ourselves from what we think could possibly happen again.  Throughout my personal growth I have learned from experience that doing the right thing requires me to have amnesia about the events that have hurt me in the past.  I have to do what?!  I have to learn to really forget negative things and move forward.  Ultimately it is not up to me to fix other people’s mistakes; I can only do that for my own shortcomings. 

 

There are a few things that I personally do to help me move past hard times in my life and to help me with what I NEED to do.  First, I look at a clock and remind myself of how precious and short my time is here with my loved ones.  Second, I write out exactly what is bothering me, this helps me understand why exactly I feel the way I do.  Also, I remember that “forgiveness is a gift to the other person” and “forgetting is a gift to myself.”  At the end of the day we are all called to do different things that may scare us, but that might just be the opportunity to help you grow in your personal life and that will spill over into all other areas of your life.  By the way, the young stubborn lady above is me and she is a work in progress day in and day out.  

Mally Beauty: Evercolor Eyeshadow Stick

Everyone who knows me well is fully aware of my make-up obsession.  Make-up is something I love to do to release stress.  I am a full believer that make-up cannot fix problems, but can it boost your confidence & your day!  I have been experimenting, learning and practicing with make-up and God bless my friends for allowing me to use them as my dolls.

If you are not aware of who Mally Roncal is, please go google her!  She is much more than a make-up artist, she is a beautiful soul!  Mally has created an amazing make-up empire called Mally Beauty.  I first learned about her on QVC and her personality drew me in & I ordered her products to give them a try.  I have been hooked ever since!  I have been wanting to write a review about my favorite Mally products and I will do that in a different post, however, today I am going to tell you about the Evercolor Eye Shadow Stick.

A couple of weeks ago, Mally had a Twitter give away & by the grace of God I was one of the winners!  My prize: my choice of an evercolor eye shadow stick.  I decided to try Mally's "deep plum" shadow stick.  Plum is a beautiful color and I fully intend on using it for my fall smokey eyes.  The eye shadow sticks are amazing because they have primer in the product already and it gives you a long-lasting effect for an all day wear.  The best part is that you don't have to have great make-up artist tips in order to
obtain a beautiful eye look; you just apply it on your lid & you go!

 The deep plum is amazing for a smokey eye and so I tried it (on my friend) and I wanted it to look darker and smokier. The shadow stick also serves as an under eye liner which gives it an even smokier effect!  For this look I also used Mally's eye primer and her volumizing mascara. This was the first time I used a deep plum for a smokey eye and the first time I used a shadow stick to do so!  I love the finished product and I will definitely be practicing it more & more for my fall looks!




Mally's Evercolor Eye Shadow sticks come in a variety of colors. My favorites are: saddle shimmer (my all time favorite shadow!), violet, copper rose & this deep plum!






Xo~God Bless!

SUMMER FUN

Well, we are almost through with summer time.  I love everything about summer: the weather, parties, free time & all the fun that comes along with this season.  This summer has been interesting and definitely a time of preparation for the changes that are rapidly approaching in the Fall.  It has been raining so much, which in Florida means two things: it's hurricane season & Fall is around the corner.  So before it is officially time to say Adios to summer, I wanted to take a stroll down memory lane & relive all the goodies summer brought!

I made a delicious and not so healthy summer dessert in a jar!  What could be better than s'mores & cheesecake in a mason jar?!  They were the perfect size and now it is one of my staple summer desserts. 




Party time! I attended a birthday party in which we had to dress up as if you were in your favorite era.  It was interesting to say the least, but so much fun.  My friends are so creative & they rocked their eras.  
My outfit was "recycled" and I actually cut part of my sleeve so that I could have a matching head band.

One of the best events of this past summer was the Rendezvous Conference in South Beach.  This was the third year I attended and it was unbelievable.  Part of being a Christian is always feeding your spirit through different outlets and conferences is a great way to do so. Israel Houghton & the New Breed performed and there were various pastors who preached amazing words.  I love that my friends share the same interests when it comes to our Christian walk. ~Surround yourself with those who lift you up!~


 My hunny & I went on a little adventure to Pikes Peak in Colorado.  It was beautiful and it took a lot of faith for me to go on such a scary drive. When we reached the top it was snowing & it was a beautiful scene. God is definitely a talented artist! 
                                         *Apparently BIG FOOT lives on that peak! Yikes*

Stay tuned for upcoming blogs by subscribing.  Feel free to leave me comments (you must have a gmail or blogger account.)  Hope YOU had summer fun! Xo 

A Life of Hopes, Dreams & Endurance

Being a Christian does not mean that life will be perfect or that you won't go through tough times; it simply means that you have encouragement and love because you believe Christ died on the cross for your sins.  It is a life of hopes, dreams and endurance.  You get endurance when you overcome the hardships of this world. But this cannot be done on your own; because if you it alone then you will feel overwhelmed which can lead to looking for comfort and peace in the wrong places: alcohol, drugs, anger, etc... 
I personally have chosen my Christian walk to guide me through my life, whether it is a good or bad situation.  God is the only being who has always been there, continues to be there and will always be with me. I choose a life of hopes, dreams & endurance...what will you choose?

Make Time for this Today

Lately I’ve noticed that my schedule keeps getting busier and the same seems to happen with those around me.  Suddenly I’ve caught myself scheduling time within my day to do simple things like call my friends or to catch up with my to-do list.  It’s funny to me that I am “scheduling” time to do things that on a normal basis I would have free time do.  This has become stressful as I feel the same feeling many people have: there are not enough hours in the day. 

            To-do lists are great and efficient, however no matter how many things you scratch off that list, there will always be a new thing to add to it.  They key factor to relieving that stress is to stop and take time for you.  I’ve noticed my stress has lowered during times when I take 5-10 minutes throughout the day for ME time. It is certainly not easy, but it can be done. 

            My favorite “me” time activities are: blogging, reading and watching (or listening when I am at work) at make-up & hair tutorials.  Currently I am working on some material for my blog (subscribe to see upcoming posts!).  I am currently reading a book titled: “Made to Crave” by Lysa Terkeurst. This book has helped me with motivation to reach my personal goals; you can visit Lysa’s website for more insight (http://madetocrave.org/).   Finally, my all-time favorite vlog make-up guru is Camila Coehlo (https://www.youtube.com/user/MakeUpByCamila2); she is amazing and has a great spirit. 

Find those things that you’ve been neglecting & make time for YOU! No better time than the present.  Have a blessed day!  

I Am Worthy!

We are all born into different circumstances and most times we feel as if we got the wrong end of the stick.  It is hard to know your own self-worth when your world seems so unstable. As children we depend on our parents to bring stability into our lives and as adults we seem to always be searching for our safe zone.  The only issue as an adult is that we often look in the wrong places for our safe zone and we find ourselves once again getting the wrong end of the stick.  Personally, I have made the wrong choices because I forgot what I truly deserve in my life.  Our worth is in our own hands and until we find out what our own life is valued, we will never be able to find our “safe zone.” 

       The worth of a hundred-dollar bill is found in the mind of who possesses it.  For some people, a hundred dollars is a fortune and for others it is chump change.  Nevertheless, it is still of value because it is the currency we use to make transactions.  The same applies to our self-worth, the value of it is found within yourself because you are the one who possesses it.  And just as money, to some people they are worth a fortune and to others their own worth is chump change. 

       As this New Year continues to grow on us, maybe it is time to examine what you are worth to yourself.  You see, no one else can tell you how much you are worth because they do not possess you.  I encourage you to write down what you believe your worth is and make a list to support the attributes that you are basing your worth on.  Examine your good attributes and re-evaluate the areas that you need work on.  Give yourself a good pat on the back for doing this because it is not easy to admit your short comings and sometimes it is not easy to give yourself praise for the good you are doing. 

       Remember that your worth is in your hands and it can be increased by the time you spend loving yourself.  Do not wait until tomorrow to start giving your life the worth it truly has.  Do something today to show yourself how valuable you are in this world or better yet, take a look at the list you made above and start working on it.  It is never too late to say, “I Am Worthy!”

      

TODAY

Happy New Year!  I have wanted to post a new blog for 2013 and my first thought was to write about my experiences in 2012, but it is too painful to do so.  It is finally a new year, which means new everything!  January is a fun month in the aspect that so many people have found new encouragement.  Sadly, by the second week in February, that encouragement tends to fly out of the window.  I use to think endlessly about the things that I was doing to take away my own motivation and I would try to fix it, but found myself in a rut.  As a matter of fact, for 9 months of 2012 I found myself in a rut. It was like someone threw me into a cistern and I had no strength to get out.  My whole being was in a rut, from my physical self to my mental self to my spiritual self.  Well, now that a new year has begun, I vowed to do things differently.  I am done over preparing for a day that will bring so many wonderful & unexpected circumstances.  Let’s face it, we can plan all we want, but God’s plan is always bigger & better than ours.  I sure learned that lesson last year. 

I have been doing a lot of reading with one particular book in which the unexpected events of life happen so often.  Events of sorrow and despair, joy and happiness, and of human compassion; it is helping me shift my thinking.  I try to do what makes ME happy today.  I try not to regret yesterday and not to worry about tomorrow.  Yes it is very cliché, but it is a freeing thing to start doing.  Please do not misunderstand my new found outlook, because life still throws its low blows and I still have my low days.  The best I can do for myself is enjoy this day called TODAY and forget the rest. 

My main priority for this New Year is to live each day to the fullest.  I did not set any goals or resolutions for myself this year, because in others years I put too much pressure on myself and by mid-February my goals were far away.  This does not mean that I don’t have any expectations of myself; on the contrary, I expect to accomplish many things.  As I live for TODAY, I try to work harder, be healthier, nourish my spiritual self and trust my life to the Lord.  In trust you find an unexplained freedom and I was created to be free, not to be tied down by things or people. 

This year I hope to blog more and to be able to interact with my readers a little more.  I wish you all a healthy, prosperous, freeing & adventurous 2013!

~2013, I dedicate you to my angels~