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!  

Pizza Sex Metaphor

Ted Talks:Al Vernacchino

I love Ted Talks! I found them when looking for entrepreneur advice. There are a great deal of Ted Talks that are leadership and business influential. I honestly don't remember my first Ted Talks experience was, but I know I quickly became addicted to them. I love the thoughts and ideas the speakers bring to each of their speeches. They are all extremely different from each, none are alike. I've watched some on self esteem, on entrepreneurship, and now I've seen one on a new metaphor model for sex.

These talks are fascinating and I couldn't help but smile throughout the video. But there were other parts where I went into deep thought, remembering high school and being a confused teen. The speaker, Al Vernacchio, goes over a comparison of the typical Baseball model for sex and his own Pizza metaphor. I remember the boys talking in the halls Monday mornings, "Did you score, man?" I remember hearing girls even speak about the bases, "Really, you let him get to second base?" But there was something that hit me when the speaker claimed the Baseball metaphor implies a competition. Sports are competitive. If our sex metaphor is based off of a sport doesn't that imply that it is a competition as well? Maybe not right away, but for those who are struggling teens trying to be adults, sex suddenly becomes a goal that is a must reach because someone is going to beat you to it.

The speaker talks of how Baseball is a sport, which in some cases someone who is not extremely athletic can already feel singled out. And how talking about it like a sport is pushing teens to think of it as a goal or win once achieved intercourse. Creating a bad taste in some mouths while in other's a taste of how behind am I than everyone else?

The new model or metaphor for Sex should be Pizza the speaker suggests, because everyone loves pizza but you're not always in the mood for it. Perfect! All of a sudden sex isn't a must or goal, it has a time and a place. Pizza is when you are hungry, when you're ready. It's delicious and the toppings change based on the person you are dining with. No more First Base, Second and Third. Now it can be what everyone is comfortable with, and when.

I loved this talk and the idea of it. I plan on teaching it to my kids if and when I have any. The idea is simple and yet it could change a the way teens think about sex. I imagined myself as teen and thinking about the Pizza Metaphor, not only do I think I would have laughed hearing it, but I think I would have been more comfortable with idea of it. Teens are still going to talk about sex, they are still going to pressure one another, and they are still going to have it before they are ready. But the idea of taking your time about it. Especially with someone who shares your likes and dislikes, which also takes time to learn.

What do you think of this new Sex Metaphor? Do you would have thought about sex differently growing up?

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!

Relax!

Busy, busy, busy! I have been all over the place. We got settled into our new home and then work and life happened. Been trying to get some sort of schedule down. For the past couple months we have gone through a lot of ups and downs. Been under quite a bit of stress lately. Because of all the stuff going on, I have been having trouble sleeping. And if you have trouble sleeping you know, the next is really hard on your body and your mind.

One night I was doing my usual, worrying about things I couldn't change, and I caught myself wondering why I was wasting all this time instead of getting my beauty sleep. Have you ever tried to force yourself not to think? It's a little difficult.

The next day I made a point to look up yoga videos and start making a plan on yoga and mediation. I needed to learn to not think and get a part of day where I could recharge. Check out this article on basic ways to Recharge your body and your mind. I did a little of both. Being active or physical as well as meditation.

Once I found a yoga video that I felt would be at the pace I wanted I got settled in and pushed play. After a few poses I found, I wasn't listening to the instructor but still in my head worrying and just following the yogi's moves. Frustrated I thought back to my Maine Yoga Fest weekend. I had so much fun and the rest of the week I felt amazing and happy. I tried thinking of those couple of days and what maybe I needed to add to my routine. And then it came to me, music. When I was in my yoga classes, they would play music in the background, calming tones without lyrics. Where do you find music for yoga for free? YouTube! Well, that's where I found mine.

I now have my favorites. Following several channels and returning to the videos that I felt the most relaxed and comfortable listening to. The one above is for when I'm doing yoga or when I just need 5 or 10 minutes of silence in my head. I love it when I'm working and I just need to concentrate or just dealt with an unpleasant person. The customer is always right ya know! So it's just nice to center myself and get back into a neutral mood.

The videos are all different lengths. They start out at 3 hours but some are as long as 8 hours long. The one above I play right before I go to bed. Placing my phone near my pillow, I play the video and pray. I start out asking for help with everything going on and what I feel I can't handle. Once I feel that it's going into complaining mode, I start thanking God for the things I do have and things I can do. At some point I fall asleep.

Now these videos, yoga, and praying has worked for me, but it's understandable that it may not work for you. Some steps to figure out what does? Check out the link above titled Recharge and pick out a couple to try. Do them for a week and be consistent. A certain time every day or after a particular unpleasant event. Figure out which one works best for you. Your body isn't meant to continuously take on stress. That's why we are able to laugh or cry. We have breaking points that help us let go of everything all at once. Or we have some breaks from pain with a smile or giggle. Don't let stress hold you down. Take the time every day to push Reset. Your mind and body will thank you. You'll be more adaptable to your situations. You'll be more productive. And you'll be happier.

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!