A Beautiful Day~ India Arie

If I were to have a inspirational song, this would be it, Thank you India Arie! Everytime I hear it - it makes me smile.

~ A Beautiful Day ~ India Arie

Life is a journey,
Not a destination,
There are no mistakes,
Just chances we’ve taken
Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now

Wake up in the morning
And get out of bed
Start making a mental list in my head
Of all of the things that I am grateful for

Early in the morning
It’s the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today
Early in the morning
It’s the dawn of a new day
New hopes new dreams new ways
I open up my heart and
I’m gon’ do my part and
Make this a positively beautiful day

La la la la la la la la la (x3)
It’s a Beautiful Day (x3)

Life is a challenge not a competition
You can still smell the roses and be on a mission
Just take a moment to get in touch with your heart
Sometimes you feel like you’ve got something to prove
Remind yourself that there’s only one you
Just take a moment to give thanks of who you are
Early in the morning
It’s the dawn of a new day
New hopes, new dreams, new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how life will surprise me today

Early in the morning
It’s the dawn of a new day
New hopes, new dreams, new ways
I open up my heart and
I’m gon’ do my part and
Make this a positively beautiful day

La la la la la la la la la (x3)
It’s a Beautiful Day (x2)

Let’s make this a wonderful
Let’s make this a powerful
Let’s make this a Beautiful Day
It’s a Beautiful Day

Life is a journey,
Not a destination,
There are no mistakes,
Just chances we’ve taken
Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now

What if?

Did u ever play the question game What If? I know I have a few times and more importantly I think I play that game in my life way more often than I should. I find myself looking back wondering What If all the time. I look at my life, my friends' lives and my family's lives and wonder:

What if I had stayed with him?

What if i had married him?

What if I had looked past the bad and stayed for the good?

What if my brother had stayed in Australia?

What if I had moved to San Diego?

etc, etc, etc

I hear people say not to look back BUT I think we should look back and learn from our past. We should remember all the reasons we did what we did. Not to look at the negative, but instead look at the positives we can take away and learn from. I will face my demons head on and I will show them that even when life is tough I will still succeed! I still believe in fate and destiny and I know this time is not my destiny. There is still so much more to come! Hopefully my future will be even better than my past.

And on a side note...to my friends who discussed Karma with me.. thank you- i still believe in it- just have to remember Karma is on its own schedule, not mine, right ;)

Sex and the City 2 - Movie Trailer 2

OMG! I am sooo excited! Can't wait for May 27th! :)

Re-reading my perspective...

Tonite I re-read something I wrote earlier this year and felt it was due a re-visit:

Isn’t it funny how it is so clear to see how to help the ones you love but you sometimes can’t see your own situation? I see the beautiful people they are, inside and out, and what they can offer the world. I beg them not to settle for mediocre. And yet, I can’t ask myself to do the same.

Not this year. Change is my word for 2010. I am not going to sit still and let things happen to me. I am going to go out there and fight like hell to make life the one I know I deserve. I am tired of being walked over and forgotten. I have been through so much in my life already and for what? What has changed? Am I always going to be the tragic heroine in my own story? Hell no!

Conversations lately have discussed possible paths, I could have gone career wise. Instead of looking back with regret, it's time to take the education I did receive and use that to make my life better. I spent over 9 years gathering knowledge in college. It wasn't like I was just playing on the swing set during recess, so it's time I did something with my intelligence.

Some of my girls tell me I inspire them to be better people and somehow my own inspiration is lacking. Don’t get me wrong I have had my moments of strength: the day I finally walked away from my abusive first love; the moment I made a decision that changed my life forever; the day I lost my father and became the head of my family, the day I gave up holding onto someone that was lost. Oh yeah, there were moments but there are times when I can’t find my path. I stand and stare out at the abyss and wonder what am I supposed to do next? I have climbed out and started over 3 times- do I have to start again?

This year I am moving forward- that’s the only direction this carnival ride is taking. I know it will take time, nothing is overnight. But it will be worth struggle. I have had a love/hate relationship with myself and now that is done. It is time to love myself. To remind myself that I am freaking fabulous inside and out! There is a reason I have so many beautiful loving friends. They love me for me and don’t ask for more. So I’m single- has anyone died from being single? Nope. Will love find me? I hope one day…A friend told me recently that you can’t love anyone else unless you love yourself, and he was right. He met me right after I walked away from 7 years of love and abuse. That was self love. To know, that no matter how much I loved this man, it was more important to love myself and know I deserved better. And I found better in the next man: a man whose love crossed oceans with concern when I was sick; a moment of happiness that wasn’t meant to last. Each man to come, a lesson in my path of self discovery. Taking the lessons learned from each one and using them to better myself.

I want to find the woman you all see when you look at me. I can’t find her sometimes – she is hidden behind the mask. I would give my friends my heart and soul if I could but I can’t do that for myself- it would feel too selfish. Is that wrong? Loyal is the word used to describe me recently from more than one friend. And for one second, I thought that it had a negative connotation. Imagine thinking that people calling you loyal was a bad thing? My loyalty is not given lightly, so why would I ever think of it as negative!

Some people don’t believe in fate. How could I not. This is the path I was supposed to take - the life I was supposed to live. But never once did fate say I had to settle. I only have to do the best I can with what God gave me. So this year, I say to myself – Self, it’s time to move forward. Give yourself permission to make the most of your life and take that leap…as the quote said: “Leap, and the net will appear” :)

Wow these words have even more power when I re-read them this time than when I first wrote them. Let's hope I do a better job this quarter of 2010 following my own advice! Lol ;)

~Lisa

"I Shall Believe"- Sheryl Crow

Heard this song today and it caught my attention:

Come to me now

And lay your hands over me

Even if it's a lie

Say it will be alright

And I shall believe

I'm broken in two

And I know you're on to me

That I only come home

When I'm so all alone

But I do believe

That not everything is gonna be the way

You think it ought to be

It seems like every time I try to make it right

It all comes down on me

Please say honestly you won't give up on me

And I shall believe

And I shall believe

Open the door

And show me your face tonight

I know it's true

No one heals me like you

And you hold the key

Never again

Would I turn away from you

I'm so heavy tonight

But your love is alright

And I do believe

That not everything is gonna be the way

You think it ought to be

It seems like every time I try to make it right

It all comes down on me

Please say honestly

You won't give up on me

And I shall believe

I shall believe

Some thoughts from others...

Reading through one of my Favorite Books "Girlosophy" both the soul and love survival kit by Anthea Paul, i always find something that hits my own soul. So I am sharing with you....

Picture Perfect- the question is not is he perfect? That's not the issue. The real question is: are you perfect for each other? And don't compare anyone new with your previous partners either. They are all in your past and there's a reason for that. Focus on the present and the potential in that for your future. Who's in the picture RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW?

The walls in your heart should be made of glas, so that the light shines through

Make all communications CLEAR OPEN HONEST

Give from the heart, not because you have to- but because you want to. And because you can.

It's whats going on in your head thats important- not whats going on in theirs

Say NEVER~ never mistake kindness for weakness, never take advantage of another person's time or good will, never stoop to conquer, never think you'll get away with it, never forget where you came from, never give up

Men are not the enemy, even if you've been told they're from Mars. They can be your best friends. But if you date younger men, be careful and remember- big girls shouldn't play with little boys.

KEEP YOUR HEART SWEET

Protect your self-image. Don't believe the hype. Physical beauty is a poor standard by which to judge anyone.

and finally:

It doesn't matter where you've been, you can still change where you're going. HOPE is a driving factor in helping us stay on course in life. It may feel as though it comes and goes, but in reality there is always hope. There is always a chance for something else to happen, and you need to have faith that it will.
HOPE IS THE FINAL WORD.

Bumble Bee?

I love my Mom and she always gives me such a laugh.

This week was no different.

We were sitting at an outdoor restaurant and there was a single bumble bee flying up to us and our food. We start discussing Bumble Bees and she mentions something about the "bumble bee song" - thats on the radio now-a-days. And I have no clue what she is talking about. So I am now trying to figure out what song she speaks of? My first thought is the kids song "baby bumble bee" - she's like "no, its on the pop stations". So my next thought is maybe she means "fireflies" by Owl City. Nope...Hhhmmm

Next day, we are at dinner with friends and the question is re-addressed. Have you heard of the "bumble bee" song on the radio? Nope same situation - same songs are thought of.

On my way to work this morning, I put on the radio and the first song I hear is: "Imma Be" by the Black Eyed Peas...and it hits me- THIS IS THE SONG MY MOM HEARD. LMAO At the same time my friend from the night before texts to say - she has figured out its that song too.  Of course, I called my mom and she agrees thats the song. Of course she still thinks the song is about a Bumble bee even though she has heard it a 100 plus times. She hasn't paid much mind to the lyrics.

LOL- in the end it just proves that each generation has its own language. "Imma Be" and "Im a bee" to my mom are one in the same. Of course even their cover shows a BEE so maybe she isn't that far off.

And that's why i never have to be bored when my mom is around.


Love ya Mom <3

Hats on my mind...

So this upcoming Monday I'm supposed to go to a Mad Hatter party and of course if I go I have to find the perfect hat to wear.

So I started thinking about Hats.

I use to collect hats when I was a kid, I have a collection of some really crazy hats- some purchased back in the day when they had the actual Mad Hatter store at Disney. I came across a box of them just recently when I was cleaning out some storage containers. I had completely forgot that hobby until then. Now I wear an occassional college baseball cap or visor, when I'm having a bad hair day or gonna be at the beach for a while.  And when it's super cold I have a few ski hats. But rarely do I wear a hat now-a-days. And of course all my years of theatre also offered me an array of hats to wear. Hats are great- they say so much without actually saying a thing. They are a way of  becoming someone else.

Once upon a time, it was proper ettiquette to wear a hat out in public and now we only wear them if we feel like it. A man in a hat shows such presence and yet we rarely see that today. Women looked so sophisticated and pulled together. Now if I were to wear one of those ladylike hats, people would think I was heading to a costume party. Then it was customary to wear hats to weddings- I love that!


Now it seems the only time, outside of Halloween, is the Kentucky Derby~ where everyone wears a hat, even better they try to outdo each other to have the BEST hat! I hope one time in my life to head out to those races and try out my own fabulous hat.


So I am looking forward to finding a sexy fedora to sport to my Mad Hatter Party and enjoy an evening of Hats Galour!

A feeling

Sometimes I get that feeling of missing something in my life. It's an emptiness that is indescribable. I'm happy in my life for what it's worth. I am blessed with an amazing mom and wonderful friends. Even though I'm single, I can't complain about that part of my life either. So where's this feeling of doom coming from? I walk around with it in the back of my head, lingering- even if I'm having a blast, it's still there. I wish I could figure out what it means and solve the mystery...


~Lis

Valentine's Day?

I'll start by saying, yes, I am single right now and no I am not bitter. I think that people should show there love 365 days a year not once a year. So why do we need a day that says we have to show our love. I have enjoyed amazing valentine days with and without a man. I think that some women put way too much into the day~ I hear them cry about being single on that day. Well -hell - if you are single you single...Doesn't change because its valentine's day. I mean seriously?
Yesterday I had an amazing day with my (wait for it....) single girls...Yup we went out in public and didn't stay home and cry into our pillows. I know shocking isn't it, I mean how dare we? We had a blast! Doing what we do best any day of the year~ Enjoying our lives!

I feel for those people who put too much emphasis on such a hallmark holiday and miss out on so much. My Dad said it best to my Mom, He said "I will show you love every day besides valentines, because it shouldn't only be done on one day".

Now I love decorating for every holiday (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc) and the Red, Pink and Purple decor is fabulous! So maybe I just like to celebrate the decorations. :)

So I say to all of you out there: Show your love to your self, your family and friends and your significant other ~ EVERY day of the year not just the one day Hallmark tells you to!

The Cell Phone

Today I am going to just say it - i am addicted to my cell phone. Urgh! I have an iPhone and last night i plugged it into my computer to update the information and also to sync my new purchases. Suddenly I notice the screen stating "restoring" - WTF! So of course, I panic, I unplug the phone from the computer - thinking its just gonna stop... HAH! If you have an iPhone- you know nothing is ever that easy with these phones. I was now looking at a screen with a USB plug stating Itunes on it. Couldn't shut it down, couldn't get it to stop - it just sat there in my view, if it could have I'm sure it would have been laughing at me. I plug back in and now I am getting a message of "fatal error" please restore to factory settings. NOOOOO I am gonna lose everything. Ok so now I calmly do a quick Itunes help search. And of course, it just confirms my worst fears- must restore to fix issue. Now my head is spinning- when was the last time i backed up - what if i can't get to my contacts- what if i lost my pics- what will i be missing??? Oh the questions... So i have no other choice but to start from scratch. I connect the phone and almost at the verge of a tear falling, I hit restore. I now watch as my phone (over 2 years old) is suddenly back to the original factory settings. I had a moment of great sadness. Now I am praying that I have not lost everything and that most of it will pop back into place when i sync'd with last week's information. So now I take a deep breathe and try to sync everything. Of course, it wasn't that simple. No - now i have to sync each tab and the dang phone keeps shutting down before it is completely sync'd. So i have to unplug, get the phone to stop syncing so i can reconnect and start over. Of course I have over 500 songs to download and 400 plus pics and lets not forget contacts, calendar, notes, applications... it is taking forever! I am finally done about 4 hours later. So now to access the losses..... Seems i have lost an entire album and about $12 worth of application uploads that never saved onto my computer BUT the majority of my stuff is saved. Ohhh and of course I lost my newest notes, my texts, and my webbrowsing favs- which surprise surprise I do not have saved anywhere.. Oh well... I am hoping that now my cell phone will have a positive and start working better! :) Always end on a positive note.

What i have discovered after all this is: "Hello My name is Lisa and I can not live with out my cell phone". LOL

Sixteen Candles

Tonight, I am home chillaxing (yup def in 2010) watching one of my fav movies of all times Sixteen Candles. I swear I watched this movie a 1000 times always hoping to find my own Jake Ryan. You know the guy you swore you could never get - that would come sweep you off your feet. Oh yeah, that's the one. The one who would make it all better, just because he smiled at you. I loved Molly Ringwald because she was just an average girl (not the perfect girl with the perfect body type). Instead she was the one who anyone could relate to and yet she ends up with the guy every damn time! LOL Now we know its all make-believe because I can't remember the last time the average girl won out over the "perfect" girl. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the "perfect" looking girl. I'm just saying MAYBE if guys looked beyond the magazine check-list, they could really find some amazing women. Ones that they would see not just outer beauty but inner beauty as well. And let's just be honest for the other side too. How many men are a Jake Ryan, I mean seriously? We all have our demons, it just depends on how you look at each other. I am happy to say that I am part of the sex that can look beyond and fall in love with someone for the potential she knows is in there.

And I am hoping to find my own Jake Ryan one day

 ~ not the perfect guy ~

but the one that fits me perfectly!

MOVIES

So last night, I rented the movie, Obsessed so my Mom could watch it. I knew this would be one of those movies - where she would scream at the tv telling then how its done. And sure enough - she did just that! Gave it to them good.LOL I think that's what I like about a movie. You can get absorbed into it without even realizing it. I mean it doesn't take much to please me (in the way of movies). I love a story where I can get lost for 1.5-2 hours and forget everything real. I think that's why I love reading so much too. It's the easiest escape you can get. And it also perks your curiosity. Tonight I'm going to watch When in Rome, yes I will probably love the story but its more for the scenery. I can't afford a trip to Italy right now but I can be transplanted there in my mind for one night watching a movie. Not too bad I say for $9. LOL

Writing from the Beach

Ahhh the beach... The one place that always makes sense to me. Doesn't everyone have one of those special places? Mine has always been the beach. Growing up a beach bum, it was the place! I fell in love with sand, snorkeling, surfing, boys, (my first romantic kiss), and most importantly peace. It's also the place now that I feel the closest to my dad. He is one with that ocean. I like to believe that the inner quiet I feel sitting watching the waves roll in is because he is closer to me at that moment then ever since he's been gone. I close my eyes and I can see him, feel him and hear him - telling "Missy, everything will be alright". It's so magical ~ that today I sit here never wanting to go back to my reality. I want to stay looking out at the ocean, feeling the sand between my toes and the calm forever. No one chasing me down for money, no stress, no worry - just me and that ocean.






~ Lis

~ My Friends ~

Sometimes it's nice to stop and remember how lucky I am to have fantastic friends! Each, in their own uniqueness, makes my life a better life. I am blessed to be surrounded by strong women, who will love to their fullest but still know who they are at the end of the day! Men who are kind and gentle, who let their guards down to show you how amazing they are in any situation. They are all there with a shoulder for my bad days and a smile for my good ones. A lil' laugh for my sillyness and a cry for my pain. Time passes and we can take things for granted, I just hope I never take for granted the amazing people I have surrounding me.