Black Cap Mountain

Black Cap Mountain Hike

Finally went on a real hike in Maine! Well, on the border of Maine and New Hampshire. A little past North Conway, New Hampshire are the White Mountains and some beautiful trails. Before work, a friend of mine drove us out to North Conway to hike the Black Cap Mountain. I should have kept track of our time but I was too excited. First time on a mountain. We geared up with lightweight backpacks and water. My friend told me it should be no more than an hour up and then hour down. We started our day at 7 am. Got to North Conway by 8:30 and made it home by 1 pm. A pretty good morning! 

The path starts out just like a forest path should, lots of dirt, winding roots and scattered rocks.  It's still pretty early in the season, so the weather at 9 in the morning was perfect. Not to cold and not at all hot. Insects must have still been asleep, we forgot bug repellent and got lucky, didn't need it. I couldn't get over how green everything was. The leaves were almost neon with the sun shining through.  

Getting closer to the top, the dirt path started to become just rocks. All my previous hiking experiences have been through woods and mostly hills. Once we started actually trecking up the mountain, I actually had to climb rocks and boulders. Though it was more than I had expected it was perfect. 

 

The view from the top was gorgeous! The rock or stone in the picture was literally all around us. It was very quiet and peaceful, because it still kind of early in the morning, we only saw 2 couples while going up the mountain. Perfect for yoga and meditation! I was super bummed I didn't even think to bring my yoga mat. 

Descending we took a different trail which was mostly dirt and tiny pebbles. We actually had a tougher time slipping and sliding then we did climbing up. Once at the bottom we drove down the mountain a bit and saw some water I had to take pictures of. While walking along the stream we came across a Rock Balance sculpture someone had created. I love the simplicity of the art and the complexity of the balance at work within them. 

As always thanks for reading everyone! 

& 

Have a Sweeter Day than Yesterday

Baby Shadow Box

Baby Shadow Box

A friend of mine was having her first baby. Super excited I wanted to make her something special. I liked the idea of the Book of Firsts. I love the thought of filling in the blanks and putting in pictures of the memories, however, I didn't want to make a book, I wanted something she could have and see often, not sitting a bookshelf. Answer? Shadow Box!

First I found out the gender and went shopping for paper! There are so many colors and patterns, I was overwhelmed with all of them. I didn't want anything to flashy, but I definitely wanted cute patterns for a cute little girl.

Originally I wanted to write or stencil on the bits of scrapbooking paper that would decorate the inside of the shadow box. While shopping though, I ended up finding scrapbooking paper that already had tags and fill in the blanks for all "Baby Firsts." Half the work done, I just needed a slightly darker background color so everything else would pop.

While gluing everything in, which didn't take as long as deciding where to put it all, I realized I wanted her to be able to put keep sake's in it also. So I made an envelope for "First Hair Cut," and a tiny box for "First Lost Tooth."

Here is the link on how I made the Mini Paper Box. I did have a little difficulty with it just because ot the size I wanted. Large enough for a baby tooth of course, but super tiny so it wouldn't overwhelm the rest of the memories. After a lot of unmentionable curse words, I finally got the size if wanted and without crumpling it.


1)   Baby Scrapbooking Kit


2)   8" by 8" White Shadowbox Picture Frame


3)Clear Tip Glue Pen


As always thank you for reading, comments are always welcome and I would love to see your crafts and/or shadowbox projects.

Have a Sweeter Day than Yesterday

Wedding Gifts Shadow Box

Wedding Gift 

Marriage is a beautiful thing! One of my dear friends got married this year and I really wanted her to have something hand made. I just didn't know what to make her! I really like making things for people. It's nice to know someone put in some thought when creating a gift for you. However, without knowing her house themes and colors, I didn't want to make something that she couldn't use year around or just in one room. So I decided on her wedding colors and a shadow box for wedding pictures. 

I've really wanted to make my husband and I one and just hadn't gotten around to it. This was my chance to play with ideas. Her colors were navy blue, coral and silver. When shopping everything silver looked more gray then anything, so I decided to just have the small flowers representing the lighter color. I like the idea of the coral color popping out while the navy served more as a border or background color. You'll though that there is a small block of navy in the middle so it's not entirely pink taking over the theme. I chose a light colored shadow box frame because I felt it would mesh well with any room she may put it in and also let the colors inside of all the eye attention. While creating the shadow box and moving things around I realized she probably would have other ideas or tastes, so everything is pinned in and removable.  

Supplies:

     Shadow Box / Frame


       Cardstock Paper


Stickers / Decorative Detail


      Extra Embellishments / Flowers


      Pins


Shadow boxes are extremely easy to make and fun. The only time consuming thing about them is how long it takes you to decide on what you want where! But they are quick and very unique to any occasion for keepsake memories. Some ideas for shadow boxes could be; My Baby's Firsts, School Projects, Soccer or Sport Memories, Prom Night, First Date Night, Movie Night (save all movie tickets), Honeymoon, ext. The sky is the limit when it comes to your memories and how they can shy in a shadow box. With depth you can have shells or even the golf ball that won the championship. Hope you got some great ideas! I'd love to hear them! Leave some of your ideas in the comments.

Have a Sweeter Day than Yesterday!  

Goals

So I'm lost. Not going to lie, I'm not sure where I should go from here. My last blog was about being stressed. This one is about understanding there are things you can't change and things you can. Back to being lost. I'm kinda in a rut with my so called career and sometimes I want something different, however, when it comes to sitting down and trying to find out what that something different is, I draw a blank. So what do you do when you're not sure what the big picture is, start small and set some goals!

Goals: the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result. 

synonyms:

objective, aim, end, target, design, intention, intent, plan, purpose

I sat down and tried to think of all the things I wanted to accomplish. I went so far as to write the ones I thought were impossible to see what they looked like on paper. Were they really that impossible? Was there something else on my list that might?

Goals in NO Specific Order:
1) Own a Bed and Breakfast or Event Center
2) Write on my blog once a week - consistently
3) Take Dance lessons with my husband; example Latin Dance
4) Take a Yoga Teaching Training Course
5) Take a Social Media Branding course
6) Start reading novels regularly again
7) Buy a house
8) Start a family
9) Become an enlightenment teacher
10) Be involved in church

So I must admit, I started this list back in November. In fact I started writing this blog posting back in November. Things have changed a little. Life has slowed a bit. For about two months I had 3 part time jobs. I juggled them all through Christmas, mostly for the money and also because I wasn't sure which job was for me. Finally making a decision I found a place that is near wear I live now and I love the people that I work with.

I even managed to reach a couple of my goals. Now in a small book club, I'm reading more and actually have people to talk about the books. I'm involved in a church and help with some of their social media outlets. My husband and I went dancing! I found a Salsa group that meets every 3rd Saturday. My husband actually had fun and we are going to try to go more often.

The more goals I reach the more want to reach my others. They will probably change. I may take some away and add others. But for now here's to moving forward. Trying to reach goals can be difficult. A lot of people get lost when trying to reach the big goals and forget about the little goals that can either lead to great opportunities or just even small victories. For help on goal reaching I found a couple of articles that may help.

6 Ways to Achieve Any Goal

How to Reach Your Goals 11 Steps

Top 10 Reasons Why People Don't Reach Their Goals

One of these tips is telling other people about your goals. Kind of like when trying to lose weight or starting a work out challenge. Having people hold you accountable for your goals and of course having others cheer you on. Hope this post motivates you to to start really thinking about what you want out of your life. I'd love to see your goals!

Thanks for reading. 

Have A Sweeter Day than Yesterday!

Maine Yoga Fest (Day 2)

When I first bought my ticket for the MYF I lived in South Portland, maybe 15 minutes away. Now that I moved I am now 50 minutes away. So it was an early morning for my husband. We both got ready and he drove into town and then went to work. When he dropped me off I was maybe an hour early, my volunteer shift didn't start until 10:30. I found Terri Patterson.

Volunteer: My assignment I volunteered for was to assist vendor village. I admit my original thought was that I would check them in, but helping each of the vendors actually set up their tents was pretty cool. Not only did I learn how to set up a tent, but I got to see everything before it was laid out all pretty. I have a thing for setting up events and placement since I set up candy buffet for Candy Craze. Seeing it like a puzzle and watching as everything came together was really neat. And I met soooo many people.

The pamphlet that they had out, Map & Sponsors

Class Schedule

Vendor Village: there were so many different vendors! There were bigger names that I'm sure you have heard of like LL Bean and then some small names I had never heard of before like Garbage to Garden. In between helping put up tents and unloading products I saw jewelry, clothing, yogibo chairs, Bei Capelli salon braiding hair and even rock climbing. Another one of my favorite things to do . . . shopping. Every chance I got I was looking as I walked past to see if I found anything I couldn't live without. And apparently it ended up there's was a lot I couldn't live with out. However, I had to work! When I was doing anything and I walked past a vendor I asked if they needed help and let them know all they had to do was ask, that's what I was there for. Another thing I like to do, help others. I've actually read that people who help others are happier. It works for me!

 

 

 

 


People: Terri, volunteer coordinator. She was awesome! There was a lot to do and as you know nothing really goes as planned. She was on top of it, juggling and placing volunteers where needed and never stopping. Sarah, MYF team member was amazing too. She helped set up and show instructors where their classrooms were and even took time to talk to me about finding passion in teaching others. I also worked along side other volunteers. Everyone was friendly and hardworking. I also saw my new friend from the Yoga Rave the night before doing slack line Yoga!

Ball Rolling Yoga: So my last assignment as a MYF volunteer I helped check in students for a Yamuna Body Rolling Yoga class taught by Maura Reminga the the Willard Beach Studio . Before arriving for the class I was told I could also attend the class if I wanted after helping the instructor with set and anything else they needed. I have to admit I didn't like rolling on the ball at first. The ball was filled with air and did not have a lot of give. And for such a small ball it felt like it hurt more than anything. All the positions were super slow, sitting in one position, then moving every so slightly up, so the ball would go up your backside, then slowly up your back. Even though it was necessary to be slow so you wouldn't hurt yourself, I couldn't wait for the class to be over. We did one side which seemed like forever. Then the instructor had us lie down and asked who our right side felt compared to our left which we hadn't done yet. I was shocked. My right side felt like I'd gotten a deep tissue message. It was warm and loose. I had an Ah-ha moment. Though it was a little painful or uncomfortable I can definitely appreciate ball rolling yoga. Need a deep tissue message? Do it yourself!

Right after the Ball Rolling Yoga class I helped the other class set up and was on my way to see who else needed help, when my husband called. Had to go! He was my ride home. Over all another fantastic day. It was just go go in the morning and by the evening I was all relaxed. I only had one more day of the MYF to go. Which is when all my classes were scheduled for. Super pumped for the next day I hopped in the car for the ride home, wondering why is this only one day a year!?

As always thanks for reading. 

Tune in next time and check out Day 3 of the 2015 MYF

Have a Sweeter Day than Yesterday! 

5k Color Vibe - Portland, ME

Again, getting out and doing stuff is great for you and your personal achievements! A new friend of mine drove all the way up from Massachusetts to do the 5k with me. She picked me up around 8 AM and we were over at Edward Payson Park in Portland, ME. Check out the Runner's Guide to see the course and merchandise.  

Location: Was awesome! The trail was beautiful and in a great part of town. Low traffic and the scenery was lovely for a park in the middle of a city. The water was low but still very beautiful. The track or trail was a semi-perfect circle which made it easy to navigate and wrapped around the entire body of water. I have been to other Color Runs and because of their available space they tend to zig zag up one street, down another in order to get the full distance in.     

Charity: The purpose of the Color Vibe is not only to have some color crazy fun but to help out local charities. This 5K helped raise money for the Wounded Heroes Program of Maine which is a non-profit organization to support wounded veterans who return home and due to their injuries need assistance.   



Duration: Because of how the trail was set up, it was a little difficult to pass those who were walking. So my friend and I pretty much walked a majority and ran here and there. From start to finish it took us about an hour. Which means we kept a pace of walking, but I didn't make my goal. I think we had fun just talking and seeing a place we both had never been before. 

After Party: The crowd at the after party was smaller than I'm used to, but the crowd was responsive and lively. The DJ actually brought some of the audience up to dance on stage! We of course did the Cha Cha Slide and grooved! 


Signage and Set Up: So over all we had a really great time! The only issue we had was that we were unfamiliar with the area. So my new friend and I walked the trail looking for people covered in colored powered. There were no signs leading to the location where we were supposed to meet. It was so confusing. We google mapped and the map was like You Are Here! So we walked the trail that were thought was it and looked for signs or pink and purple people. Finally after walking maybe 45 minutes we see around across from the trail all dressed in white and heard music player. Found It! So I guess we got our warm up, can't complain I suppose. 

After Party: The crowd at the after party was smaller than I'm used to, but the crowd was responsive and lively. The DJ actually brought some of the audience up to dance on stage! We of course did the Cha Cha Slide and grooved! 

Had a blast at Color Vibe 5k! If you would like to join in the fun then check out the official website, Color Vibe 5K Run has events all over the country. So check it out there's probably one near you coming up. Remember that these events are not only great for the whole family but help out charities in your local community. 

Thanks for Reading 

Have a Sweeter Day than Yesterday!

Negative Ninees

You guesses it! This blog is about those Negative Ninees in your life.

They are everywhere. You can't get away from them. They're your friends, your coworkers and even your family members. If you read my blog Be Happy I mention an article that had a list of 39 things or habits happy people do daily. Check out the list. There's some good stuff on there. However, there is number 9, which says, "there best friends are happy people too." Now I'm expanding that thought from just friends but to people in general that are close to you. I've also read in other articles that people who are getting on a track of success need to get rid of those negative people in order to focus on their success and not let those no sayers drag them down. But sometimes these people are not so easy to get rid of and obviously if it's family you still want those people in your life.So this weeks positive thought is just some How To's that I learned the hard way and some I read about.

How to handle with Nay Sayers

1.) Stop telling them your dreams: if you have over the top dreams and you've mentioned it to a family member or friend and nothing good comes out of their mouth, you should probably stop trying to share your ambitions. In fact the people you should be talking to are people who are doing what you want to be doing, aka Networking. These people will help you by giving you advice or you may just watch and learn from the pros. Now some negative people may think that they are trying to help, they believe you are reaching to high. That's understandable, however, hearing over and over again that your dream is not realistic will end up turning into a reality because you too will start to believe it. So stop asking for advice or confiding in the wrong people, they will see your greatness soon enough.

2.) Spend more time away from them: again family and friends are hard to stay away from. But if you know you have to do a big project at work and that certain someone in your life is going to say, "well you don't have enough time," or "you don't have the resources." I read an article that was titled, How To Deal With Energy Vampires: 8 Simple Tips and found it not only a little humorous but helpful. Some people don't know how to be supportive. They are just naturally negative. Just remember that negative energy is contagious and you don't want to catch it.

3.) Ignore their criticisms: The link beside #3 is a pretty good article that might help you ignore negative people. The best way to be around people who are always saying negative things is to ignore them. Or you could try to be extremely positive and always have nice and kind things to say about everything and anything. Why? Just like negative energy, positive energy is also contagious. I do, however, know a few people who can not be happy. In fact they are not happy unless they are complaining. But I still try my hardest to be a ray of sunshine because you never know when you can be a positive influence on someone.

4.) Understand they may be jealous of your passion: a lot of negative people have things in their lives that are dragging them down. So when you come in as a ball of energy singing about a new job opportunity or about your new invention or your new dream to star on The Voice, they are not so supportive. They tend to break your dreams done with realistic logic. One thing to notice though is that these same people are where they are because of that same logic. It obviously pays to think logically when reaching for your dreams, coming up with plans of attack that will align you on the right path. However, you must also take risks and get out of your comfort zone in order to do great things. So again don't let them take your dreams from you because they are afraid to reach for theirs. Instead understand their limitations, but don't judge them.

So that's my thoughts for this week. Hope this helps you the next time you're super excited about your next adventure and you know a Negative Ninee isn't going to have faith in you, don't despair. Just ignore those dark comments and pointed jabs. Keep your distance mentally and if you can try to bring some light to those Debbie Downers, DO IT. Keep your dreams high, reach out to them daily, and be a shiny spot in someone's life.

Thanks for Reading!

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Have a Sweeter Day than Yesterday 

Be Happy

Being positive isn't always easy. It should be and it can be, but you have to work at it. Work at being Positive? Yep. If you see or speak with a highly active and motivated person, you might wonder how are they always so excited and ready to take on everything. First thing you must know is that that isn't 24/7. They have bad days too, so don't get discouraged. Second thing you need to know is that it took that highly positive person a lot of time and work to keep that positive go-to attitude.

If you don't already know I am a worrier and I tend to dwell on things I can't change. Or I used to, a lot. While working at a store called Candy Craze I worked under a woman who tried her very best to solve every issue with fairness and with a positive outcome. Which helped me see that even though things can get bad you just need to get through them, learn from them, and solve them with a smile. Working with my old boss definitely changed my way of thinking, not only in the workplace but in my everyday life. 

Anyway, in my most recent job I am in charge of a couple business Facebooks and other social media networking. Part of my job is to find motivational entrepreneur articles to post on the business websites. While going through my typical sources I came across this list called 39 Habits of Extremely Happy People. I love the idea of the list and out of 39 here are my favorites. 

2. They have nice, positive things to say about others and do not gossip. 

When you say positive things about people you are thinking positive already plus whoever you're speaking to will think of you in a better light. So it's a great starting point when trying to change your outlook on things. If you are speaking ill of others, your thoughts are dark and will continue in that direction. 

5. They don't rehash the bad things that have happened to them. 

The past is the past. You can't go back and change it, so learn from it and move on. Constantly thinking about bad things that happened will make for a bad day and can keep taking up your time. Time you could be using to for the present. 

6. They know that another person won't increase their happiness.

People who look to others to make themselves happy, tend to not only be disappointed in those people they depend on but of course end up not very happy. You need to realize you make your own happiness. Looking more to hobbies to keep yourself busy, doing things you enjoy, or just taking time to find something that relaxes you and centers you. Looking to others to always cheer you up and keep your attitude in check will leave you always waiting. 

12. They smile and laugh a lot.

My husband is an extremely optimistic person. Always thinking of clever ways to help his team. One of his natural charms is his humor. When he tells me about his morning with his team I always end up asking if he even got any work done. You see my husband jokes a lot. But his team is loyal, positive, and they help each as well as believe in themselves. I think it's because their boss is smart but extremely silly and keeps them laughing. When talking to people try to smile more. Smiling and laughter is a medicine that's been around for years. 

15. They donate their time, energy, and money selflessly.

Happy people tend to see those around them struggling and want to spread their great fortune. Even if you are not at your best donating your time to someone can make a change. You may be in a bad mood, but you just made someone's day and that person smiles at you and thanks you. You know you're going to smile back. By helping those around you are creating a positive reaction that will spread, very similar to Pay It Forward. And usually what goes around comes around. By you helping that person out, you set into motion a chain reaction. It may not happen immediately, but you have done something good which will stir something inside of you. 

So if you are having trouble seeing the rainbow in the rain, you aren't looking hard enough. Stop focusing on the rain or how soaking wet you are. Focus on the positives. You're breathing, your belly is full, or maybe that you are about to get into your car and drive home where clean clothes are. And when you get there smile that you made it home! Smile when the clouds clear and you do see the colors of the rainbow. It doesn't matter that you got wet, what matters is that you made it though thinking of something better and knowing you were going to find that something better. Be grateful for what you have and who you are. And remember to share your happiness and wealth with others, because only good things come from great acts!

Thanks for Reading  My Thoughts 

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Hoping You Have  A 

Sweeter Day than Yesterday!