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