I had the strangest dream last night . . .

I was returning to college (apparently after being away for a while). I was walking through crowds of people--students, the men's basketball team, RAs, etc.--headed to find my old room. I was confident and felt beautiful and that all eyes were on me, something I had NEVER felt in undergrad.

When I made it back to my dorm room, it had turned into one big room with about 8-12 women staying there. We were all assigned a bunk bed, and the walls were covered in bright, bold colors. The ladies were glad to see me back and welcomed me with open arms. I felt like I had gone away and come back a changed woman! Then someone passed around a bucket of apples for everyone to eat. I thought it was strange bc the apples were all missing their cores. But they were bright and shiny and in perfect condition.

So what does this all mean?

According to dreammoods.com, dreaming about college "indicates that you are going through some social or cultural changes. You want to expand your knowledge and awareness. It also suggests that now is a good time for you to experiment and try new things." To eat an apple in your dreams "denotes harmony, pleasure, and fertility."

Interesting, eh?

Tell me if this makes sense to you

A friend of mine sponsored a toy and gift drive at his business this season and had great participation from his clients. After it was all said and done, his customers gave 6 bags of toys and plenty of canned goods!

So my contribution to the drive was to help find charities that would accept these items. The food was simple: everything went to the North Texas Food Bank, a non-profit hunger relief organization that distributes food to those in need. But the toys were another story . . .

I searched online and ended up finding a lady who was matching needy families to those willing to play Santa for a day. Everything seemed to be going well until this morning during the drop-off.

My friend confirmed with the receiving mom the delivery time and that he'd call as he neared the home. When he made the final call, the husband answered the phone. To make a long story short, the husband said that the toys should go to someone else, that he didn't want some stranger coming to his home, and that they had PLENTY. Then he hung up! Thinking that the call just dropped, my friend phoned back and explained the purity of his giving and that he was only trying to help a needy family provide gifts to its 8 children. Guess that wasn't good enough because the husband hung up again. Can you believe that! Evidently the mom was trying to take advantage of the giving season or the dad was responding out of pride. Either way, it was rude with a capital R.

When I saw this video on YouTube, it made me think of the husband:

To give is to receive

I had the opportunity this holiday season to give to a brand-new charity.

A dear friend of mine was notified of a need at Jonathan's Place, a “home-style” emergency shelter for abused, abandoned and neglected children in the DFW area. The emergency shelter provides specialized services and 24-hour residential care to children age newborn to 17 years and is the only emergency shelter in Dallas County that provides residential services for children in crisis under the age of 10.

He and I teamed up to provide gloves, winter hats, toothbrushes, toys, T-shirts, and more for the residents of Jonathan's Place. Noticing the large purchase, the manager of the store where we were purchasing the goods inquired about our intention. When my friend explained what he was doing, the manager threw in 4 FREE comforters for the cause! What a blessing!

*Entering a deeply reflective moment . . . *

Life's lessons have taught me that it's better to walk through each day with open arms. If you hold on to stuff with clinched fists, it hurts more when God tries to replace what's there with something better. So adopt an "open palm" perspective as you experience life. There's nothing like giving!

This Christmas video cracks me up!

I felt the need to do something different today since everyone else is shouting, "Merry Christmas!" (Seems like a fellow blogger thought the same.) :)

Here's a funny Christmas video that I found on YouTube. It's a short clip showing two young siblings finding out that Mom is Santa:



Oh, and Merry Christmas! (I couldn't help myself.) ;)

Simple Pleasures

I recently thumbed through Love Notes to Our Moms And Other Women Of Influence and wanted to share this one love note in particular. It's an encouraging TO-DO list:

1. Celebrate yourself.


2. Make plans for a relaxing getaway.


3. Take advantage of spur-of-the-moment fun, too! Not everything has to be planned.


4. If you have a significant other, remember the importance of "date night." You will feel refreshed and vitalized after an evening away from the daily stresses.


5. Being your best also means looking and feeling your best. Take a little time for an "at home" spa day.


6. Don't let friends drift away--even if you think you're "too busy."


7. Say what you mean and what you expect.


8. Know that everyday gifts always surround us . . . from the joy of waking up every morning to the small ways our loved ones show they care.


9. Make sure you take an active role in your life -- don't just LET things happen to you. You're worth it . . . take control!


10. Stop worrying. Instead, concentrate on the things you can control and make positive changes.


11. If you train your eyes, you can change your life. If you begin looking for the good in every situation and every person, you'll inevitably find it.


12. Open your mind to receiving lessons from unlikely teachers. Lessons are not always overt -- be aware that you might be learning, even when you don't realize it!


13. Recognize your needs and differentiate between "needs" and "wants." Find healthy ways to meet your needs to boost self-esteem and cultivate a happy, balanced life.


14. It's great to indulge in a treat of tasty dark chocolates or a savory red wine occasionally. The key is moderation!

Hope this list reminded you to take time out for yourself . . . because you're worth it!

21 days of discipline

My newlywed best friend sent this email this morning:

"Hello, all. After a conversation with Gabi before the wedding and a conversation with my amazing husband after the wedding, I've decided to take on a new challenge. Now, I recognize that using the word challenge implies that I'm about to something major and the reality is that I am. I'm making a decision to be faithful in the smallest of things for the next 21 days. So here's what that means to me.... Many of us have discipline problems and we do our best to move beyond them. As a result, we each plan to get serious about our discipline problems and make a list of things to work on and fiercely go about accomplishing the list. The only problem is that we usually give up or amend the list a quarter of the way through. So inspired by Gabi and Jose, I've decided to begin what I'm calling 21 days of discipline. You should know that I'm not starting off with something big like working out three days a week, but instead with washing my face (cleansing, toning, and moisturizing) twice a day. Hopefully, in 21 days this will become a habit and I can move on to something new. My goal is to be faithful in the little things and then move on to the big things. I know that accomplishing this task will be tough, but I also know that the victory we'll experience on the other side will be more than worth it. Will You Join Me????"

I think this is a great idea and will take her up on this 21-day challenge. Think about it and see if you're willing to do something different. I expect only great things to come from demonstrating faithfulness! Will you join in the fun?

Sometimes I push myself too hard

I've been under the weather since my best friend's wedding back in November. I thought I could kick whatever it was by self-medicating, but that didn't work. I tried Claritin, Tylenol Cold, Nyquil, Alka-Seltzer Cold, hot tea and honey . . . even Flintstone's vitamins! But I hit a wall this week. I went to work Monday with no voice and by Tuesday, I sounded like Barry White. :) I finally gave in and went to what I call a "doc in a box" (aka, Primacare) and was prescribed some real meds. Thank God for common sense kicking in!

I took a sick day on Wednesday but ended up working 12+ hours on my laptop. Tell me, how does a sick day turn into a work-from-home day?! I'm befuddled! Same on Thursday, but a little better: I only worked 3 hours. The cRaZy thing is that I felt so guilty not going into the office today and not putting in more work yesterday. Why is that? I do realize that if I don't take care of myself that I can't take care of my son or contribute at work. So I honestly have to MAKE myself slow down and take some time for me.

The great thing is that I have wondeful family and friends around me who look after me even when I don't look after myself. 3:3 friends counseled me to not push myself further and to allow my body to truly rest today. Honestly, listening to their concern made my decision to stay at home so much easier.

But that led me to think about why we as women, moms, single parents, first borns, over-achievers, etc., push ourselves so much and can't see when it's hurting us to our core. What is it about us that produces that blind aspiration? Does anyone else ever feel the guilt of not being all things to all people all the time? Please chime in and let me know I'm not alone.

God's blessings are always right on time :)

First of all, it's been a very good weekend. Not only am I trying out a new hairstyle, but I sent out my Christmas cards and did some sping cleaning. I also saw an NBA game last night, did some grocery shopping, and purchased a few "gifts from Santa."

But the fun news is that just the other day, I received some GREAT info from my step-sister. All I have to say is praise God for His wonderful gifts, because what He gifted me was a kiss from heaven. :) It's times like these that cause you to reflect and once again, re-evaluate your priorities.

Nothing much else going on. I need to draft a feature article for our local magazine but also need to sweep and do the dishes. Choices, choices . . .

Anyway, hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend. Don't forget to live each day with purpose and love fully with integrity. (It's really the only way to go). Cheers!

Bucket List Update!

I'm proud to say that as of today, I can cross the following off my list:
#4, #8, #10, #13, #15, #19, #21-23 (ongoing, of course), #26, #30 (ditto)

Only 19 more to go! w00t! :)

A Little Extra Never Hurt Anyone

Now that football season is over, our schedule has opened up quite a bit--(which is great, BTW; I'm not complaining in the least). But I thought it would be great for my son to have a different kind of outlet--one that exercises his brain muscles.

Enter Kumon.

We've only been working the program since Monday, but I find myself getting more excited about my son's take-home packets than he does!

For those who don't know, Kumon is a long-term academic program that focuses on self-directed learning, and they offer two tracks: math and reading comprehension. It's exercise for the brain, and it's something the kiddos do 5 days a week. They meet with an instructor at the center twice a week but are responsible for completing packets of timed work every other day while at home.

My son is a typical 7-year-old boy, so sitting still to focus on schoolwork doen't necessarily come natural to him. :) But just in these initial days, I've seen him come into his own a bit and even get excited about timing himself.

It's a process, I know, but one that is well worth it. Ivy League . . . here we come!

Q: what are other parents doing to supplement their child's education? I'd love to hear your feedback.

Peace is such a wonderful thing

As difficult as it was, I swallowed my pride and called my ex the other morning to extend the olive branch.

It was a good conversation that centered around our son and not us . . . for once.

As I get older, I truly value living a healthy lifestyle, and that includes emotional balance and what takes up your mental capacity.

So with our respective white flags a-waving, my hope is that we can continue to build on our co-parenting relationship in a positive light.

Amen.