Quote for the Day: Eleanor Roosevelt

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt

My Top 5 Songs of the Day for Motivation, Inspiration, and Encouragement

Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”

Unknown Author

During hard times, especially during my divorce I would play songs that would express what I feeling when I couldn’t. Sometimes I would dance around the house by myself while my daughter was sleeping or I would blast my tunes when she spent the weekend with her father.

Music was always the thing that I could turn to when I felt there was no one else that would understand. I could always find a song that would encapsulate exactly how I was feeling at the time. I would cry, I would find the courage, I could just let loose and be free that moment.

It was a moment when nothing else matters except the rhythm, the beat and the words that would flow from the speakers. The words would speak to me and only me. 

Below are my Top 5 Songs of 
Motivation, Inspiration, and Encouragement

5. I Will Survive- by Gloria Gaynor

This song is best played loudest. It is one of my favorite songs that got me through some very tough times during and after my divorce. When I didn’t think that I was going to make it, I just turned this up and danced around the house! Its powerful and gives great encouragement to go on even when you don’t think you can!

 

4.  When You Believe by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey

This is an amazing song about the power of hope and faith. If there are ever any times when you’re losing hope, I would say listen to this song and just hang in there. Things eventully will get better. The miracles you want to create in life comes from first believing in yourself FIRST and then others. 

3. Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'OleI

I have always loved the wizard of Oz since I was a little girl. ( I will admit that the witch still scares the hell  out of me every time I watch it). But the one thing I will always remember when Dorothy, sings "Over the Rainbow" after unsuccessfully trying to get her aunt and uncle to listen to her regarding an unpleasant incident involving her dog Toto and the evil Miss Gulch, whom Toto bit after she struck him with a rake.

That part hit home with me as a child and it probably did for most. You could relate and understand exactly how she was feeling. You wanted to run away and find something better. And that something better just had to be over the rainbow. A place where you felt appreciated and understood, where it is just perfect! There are times now where I want to go over the Rainbow but you also realize there is “no place like home”

I have included both the original and the version by by Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole(which my daughter absolutely loves)

 

2. Survivor - Destiny's Child.

This song is truly inspiring and empowering from women. No matter what comes our way we will survive.  The lyrics truly hit home during my divorce. The last words that my ex said to me was “you can’t do it by yourself, you need me” I would listen to this song every time those words would creep into my head and I felt that I couldn’t do it alone. Gave me the strength and encouragement and the fight to keep going!

Like my mom always said “ you can do bad by yourself”

1. Eye of the Tiger – by Survivor 
Enough Said!!!

Times are a Changin'! : Weekly Blog Series

 

This my next list of things that our parents (especially our moms)  said to us a children that I promised myself I would never say to my daughter.

These weekly posts will include the phrases, my reactions when I was kid, my daughter’s reaction to me and my reaction to my daughter.

Some of her reactions are just Priceless & others…well I will let you decide for yourself…

Ø  “Do you think mommy is made of money?”.

o   My Reaction to my mom as a kid:   I would just simply and quietly say no, with my head hung low as not to meet my mothers’ eyes

o    My daughter s’ reaction:  She has been a tear lately wanting every toy on t.v. and wanting to go the Toys R Us. I said this to her and she simply said “yes.” Then looked at me as if it was a stupid question.

o   My Reaction to my daughter:   I asked her why did she think that I was made of money? And she responded “because you are awesome!” Really? How could I be mad at that J

Ø  “Beds  are made to jump on”

o   My Reaction to my mom as a kid:   stop cold (almost as if in mid-air) and sat down on the bed and said nothing.

o   My daughters’ reaction:  My little one…she laughed at me (as she continued to jump) and said “yes they are? That is why they made them so bouncy.”

o   My Reaction to my daughter:    I thought to myself, it is a logical reason for why she thinks it is okay to jump on the bed.  However; I explained to her that if she continues then she will break her bed and then would have to sleep on the floor.  Of course she has a response to this….” Well if I break my bed I will just come sleep in your bed.” I just shook my head and as I was walking out said “don’t let me catch you jumping on the bed again ( in my mommy tone)”

Ø  “I brought you into this world and I will take you out!”

o   My Reaction to my mom as a kid:   simple…I was scared shit-less (once again)

o   My daughter reaction:  She looks at me and stares me straight in the face and says…”no you can’t Jesus brought me into the this world”

o   My reaction to my daughter:   She messed me up with that one. What could I really say? She is four? And she is technically right? Guess that is what I get for sending her to Private Christian school.

Ø  “When I was a little girl….”

o   My Reaction to my mom as a kid:    I use to dread when conversations started off like this cause I knew I was in for  a long conversation that I didn’t want to hear. I rolled me eyes most of the time (although in my head cause if I ever rolled my eyes to my mom….) , sighed and sat down to listen.

o   My daughter reaction:  No sooner did I start that sentence; she (in a very angry tone & and with her little hands on hips) yells at me and tells me that I was never a little girl.  

o   My reaction to my daughter:   I laughed so hard. She was SO serious and then I realize that although she may act grown from time to time she really is only 4 and doesn’t understand that all adults at some point were little children.  It was very cute and made my day. I actually forgot what I was going to lecture her about…

More to come next week!!!

Quote for the Day: by Stedman Graham

“When you have a sense of your own identity and a vision of where you want to go in your life, then you have the basis for reaching out to the world and going after your dreams for a better life."

~Stedman Graham

Quote of the day: Unknown Author

“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”

~Unknown author

Quote for the Day by Catherine Pulsifer

Our ability to achieve success depends on the strength of our wings gained through knowledge and experience. The greater our knowledge and experience, the higher we can fly.
~Catherine Pulsifer

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Song of the Day: Martina McBride - In My Daughter's Eyes (LIVE) Lyrics & Video

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the
world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me
strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand
around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart
has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy
she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes

In My Daughter's Eyes

In My Daughter’s Eyes by Martina McBride

Every time I hear this song it brings a tear to my eye and if I am listening to it with no one else around after a long day or a rough patch in life it makes me just weep and allows me release and get every emotion that I may be feeling out.

This song encapsulates everything that mothers want for their daughter(s) and how our daughter(s)  truly see us as mothers.

I listen to this song when times get hard, whether it is financially or emotionally.

From time to time I find myself thinking about my divorce and the reasons why I left.  There are those time when I do question if they were valid reasons for leaving. I question whether I   should I have tried harder and should have pushed through the worst  of times just one once more to see if the better was just around the corner. But then I think about this song and it cements the true and only reason I left was because of my daughter and that is all that matters.

When I want to give up and not push anymore or when I think that I don’t have the strength to go on. I listen to this song and somehow, and from somewhere I get the strength and energy to keep pushing. Not for myself but for my daughter. She is the reason why I push and will continue to push each day.

If I have to struggle day in and day out EVERYDAY by myself I know that I can do it! I will do it!

Why it pays NOT to GO OFF on the Oil Company (Even though I should have)

Yesterday was quite the interesting day for me 

( need to give a little background first before I get to the Oil Company)

1. Had a balls out fight with my boyfriend over our relationship, where it’s going, where it has been and where we are now with things.  About his immature and  pain in the ass ex-wife and my “still need to grow up ex-husband.” 
2. Which resulted in 4 hours of sleep
3. This means I overslept and had to run around like a chicken with its head cut off in the morning to get myself dressed, my daughter dressed, and lunches made and out the door on time to get her to school. Of course no help from the boyfriend because he was still mad about the argument from the night before . 
4. Then there was the call from the oil company (while I am pulling into work late) insulating that I had lied about not getting oil delivered the day before to my house. 

Ø  The day before I called the oil company because I realized that I only had ¼ a tank of oil left.

Ø  I told them that I would leave the check on the door, however; there was freezing rain the day before and the steps were completely iced over so we taped the check right under the fill tank outside of the house. (Which was still there when I returned from work the day before and my tank was now less than a ¼ and a snow storm was coming).

Ø  I got a call from the owner and the oil driver. He insisted that he put 100 gallons in and left the receipt and then was pissed at me because the check wasn’t on the door. (mind you this is the second time they delivered to my neighbor’s house instead of mine).

Ø  I asked him what color was the house. He said “tan” I said “nope, its grey”

Ø  Then i asked if there was a truck in the driveway “he said yes, a car with snow on it” I said “nope, my car stays in the garage and the only other vehicle is a truck that my boyfriend drives.

Ø  This went on for about 10mins with him and the owner trying to make me tell them that the oil had been delivered. After a while I just laughed at the entire situation. That was all I could do. And just said, “Look I am not mad, this is the second time it’s happened, could you please just come back and put oil in the tank?” With that I received a very hesitant “yeah we will try to make it out there today”

Ø  About noon received a call from the owner of the company apologizing profusely for insinuating that I was lying because my neighbor called them trying to figure out what was up with the receipt that was left and they didn’t order oil.

Ø  The driver came by after I got home and actually rang the doorbell to apologize

Ø  Result: I received and extra 30 gallons of oil. Which I was thankful to God for because I am a tight budget especially in the winter months. 

 

Usually I would have went the hell off on the owner and the driver, however; yesterday I was so drained and tired and I had this little voice inside me saying “stay calm.”

The older I get the more I listen to that inner voice as it has served me very well in many situations especially this one.

All I have to say is sometimes it pays just to remain calm and keep your wits about you and it will pay off in the end.