Dare to Dream!!!

Today I would like to blog about dreams.  You can dream big and have a vision of it. I know it is fun just to dream about having fancy cars, big house with swimming pool or even a vacation getaway. It feels like a kid again. But you know what, if you can put everything in a plan and work towards your dream, it can happen. And yes, it is not easy to get there, we will fall several times but learn to pick yourself up and not give up. If plan A doesn't work, then have plan B. Keep trying till you get it. If you want that dream to come true, then you better work hard. Push yourself!!

I have big dreams. I want to be successful in life. I maybe short of things from here and there but I am grateful at the same time. I know I can't have it all but I know that if I have a dream, I will work towards it. And of course, there are times  I feel discouraged but there's always an inner voice that reminds me of who I am and would not let me give up. 

I am proud to say that I never give up easily and I will continue to dream big. I believe that I am closer to my dream everyday. My goals, my achievements in life are slowly getting there. Slowly but surely...lol.. so I'm sharing some mantras that represent me and how I live my life everyday:

Because I am happpyyyyy.......

Are you happy? Why don't you take a second now and ask yourself if you are happy? Take 5 minutes and breathe in all the oxygen you can get, close your eyes, and let your mind flow. While you are doing that please play this Happy song by Pharrell Williams. Feel it? Doesn't it make you want to move and be happy? Go on...and get up and dance to it!! Yeahhhhhhhh!!!!!

"Happy"

[Verse 1:]
It might seem crazy what I’m about to say
Sunshine she’s here, you can take a break
I’m a hot air balloon that could go to space
With the air, like I don’t care baby by the way

[Hook:]
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do

[Verse 2:]
Here come bad news talking this and that, yeah,
well, give me all you got, and don’t hold back, yeah,
well, I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine, yeah,
no offense to you, don’t waste your time
Here’s why

[Hook]

Hey, come on

[Bridge:]
(happy)
bring me down
can't nothing bring me down
your love is too high
bring me down
can't nothing bring me down
i said (let me tell you now)
bring me down
can't nothing bring me down
your love is too high
bring me down
can't nothing bring me down
i said

[Hook 2x]

Hey, come on

(happy)
Bring me down… can’t nothing…
Bring me down… your love is too high…
Bring me down… can’t nothing…
Bring me down, I said (let me tell you now)

[Hook 2x]

come on

Cold Weather and Dave Ramsey....

It is so yucky outside today and it will be cold this whole week. I am very grateful that I get to work from home in my jammies and warm slippers. And I pray for the safety of everyone that needs to be outside and if you don't have to be outside, then please don't but be careful if you have to. Geez..I sound like my moma...lol...
For some of you that have been reading my blog, I  have been thinking about what to blog this week. So I turned my iHeart radio on and started listening to Dave Ramsey. I don't know why but he gets my adrenaline going about budgeting and saving every time I listen to him. Those of you who have never heard of him, I encourage you to check him out. His principles are all common sense. And here is what I will blog this week. 

First of all, it takes a lot of determination and persistence to get to where you want to be in life. If you know where you want to go in life,  you have to write down your game plan. ONLY YOU can make the decisions in your life!! Dave teaches about financial planning and how you can incorporate this into your daily life.

So here's what I learned from him:

Budget -- Nope, not fun but well worth it. Yes we overspend and will tell ourselves that it is alright, well I know I do it sometimes but then I would turn around and ask myself again...is it a NEED or WANT? Trust me, I can persuade myself very well when it comes to things that I want. So I always visualize my game plan in my head and that will be the answer to myself. PUT IT BACK IF IT IS NOT A NEED!! I will walk away heart broken at the same time I feel proud of myself. I gained self-control.

Cash -- If you listen to Dave, he is always saying Cash is King!! It is amazing how you can actually tell where your money is going if you carry cash. For example, I setup a budget for my gas every month and I set it aside which in Dave's term, the Envelope system. I use my little Post-It-Note. And I can actually see how much I spend on gas. Even for groceries, I have never master this task but with this setup, it helps me to plan my meals and what needs to be on my grocery list. Ta--dahhh!!! Cash also helps you to spend within your means lol!!

Savings -- Cha ching!!! It is very hard to save but it is very important to save. Before listening to his show, I was already a saver but didn't know what I was saving for. And with his principles that he teaches that is relevant to our daily lives, everything makes sense. We will have rainy days like it or not so we have to save for those days. In his Total Money Makeover Book, he came up with 7 Baby Steps:

• Baby Step 1 $1000 to start an emergency fund
• Baby Step 2 Pay of all debt using the Snowball system
• Baby Step 3 3-6 months of expenses in saving (For rainy day!!!)
• Baby Step 4 Invest 15% of household income into retirement plan (Saving for retirement)
• Baby Step 5 College funding for children
• Baby Step 6 Pay off home early
• Baby Step 7 Build wealth and GIVE!!

Now, I have my financial goals where I know to allocate my savings to and to give when I can. Because when I retire, I want to live in a house paid for and enjoy my retirement money.

It's alright if you haven't done so, but if you can start to save today it is not too late :) Sometimes I wonder if the term, "The older you get, the wiser you will be;"is true and now I can totally agree with it!! That doesn't mean that we will not make mistakes but we become stronger and wiser.

I hope this is not too crazy boring but it is something I truly believe in and always love to share.

Thanks for reading!!

3 Key Habits of 2014

I am going to create 3 key habits that I will do weekly hopefully till the end of the year. This is part of my 2014 resolution and I will rekindle at the end of the year to see how I do. 

3 Key Habits:

• Read an hour a day
• Run 3 times a week
• Blog once a week

Reading:

I am a Kindle person so here are my ebooks that I have started on:

• 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller - I have read tons of good reviews about this book about doing the job you love. Do you enjoy your job? What is it that you love about it? Is this job for you? His point is to enjoy what you do and if you don't then, it may not be the right job for you. I picked this book because I wanted to question myself about my job. How can I move forward and what can I do to move forward. 
• Born To Win by Zig Ziglar - Zig is a great teacher that teaches about winning big. How do you win and what can you win? I have always wanted to win big in life and be successful in everything that I do. But winning big isn't everything. It's about helping others to win too. And that is how you will grow. I told myself that I needed to improve myself, to grow and to give which is why I picked this book to read.
• The Noticer Returns by Andy Andrews- He writes about life and how we should appreciate every minute of it. Don't take anything for granted. He narrates his book through a character which makes it an easy read. I am sure I can reflect about my life after reading this book. Can't wait to share!
• Start by Jon Acuff - This book is about punching fear in the face and go do what you want to do. Live your dream and not let fear gets in the way. I have always wanted to become a business woman when I was growing up but fear was always there to stop me. So this year, I want to start my own business as a photographer. I want to be a successful photographer because it is my passion and I enjoy every minute of it. I pray for guidance everyday and will work very hard for it.

 The next ebooks that I would like to read is:

Can't wait to share them. I have read their sample and there are very informative and motivational. 

Running:

I have never dreamt that I would enjoy running. I want to train to run at least a half marathon for next year in the Little Rock Marathon. Not only do I want to run, I want to continue with my weight training. Bodybuilding.com is where I get my workouts from and sometimes just from random websites or Youtube. I have found that exercising has made me really focus and productive throughout the day and yes, I sleep so soundly at night. My skin even looks better because I drink so much water. There maybe days that I might skip, but I always make sure that I will make it up.

Blogging:

I will try my very best to blog once a week because there are days that I can just sit and write but there are days, I am not inspired to write. Sorry but I am being honest. It will be something that I have to embed into my habits like brushing my teeth twice a day. I know I have grammatical errors too but hey, I think I have to write more often to improve right?  (My mom is good at telling me that too lol )

This 3 habits may sound so simple and easy to do but it will take dedication and discipline. I have those good traits from my mom  so I think I am able to keep it up. Will see!!!

Thanks for reading!

Thinking about life in a whole new perspective

I have been thinking a lot about how short life is since I heard one of my sister's friend who was diagnosed with cancer and had no sign of sickness. Then I learned that one of my friend who I used to work with passed away suddenly. They were both great people. You can never know what tomorrow  holds for us.

It is important that we tell our loved ones how much we love and cherish them everyday because you might not be able to tell them tomorrow. Be grateful for little things around you and be thankful for what you have. Stop complaining and stop whining. There are some people who would do anything to live another day, to be with their family and loved ones. Have faith and pray daily because He listens. 

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

- Romans 8:31

I am grateful everyday for my family, Loren, my health, my life and my job. To have another day to live is such a blessing. Sometimes I do wish for more things, but then again, what is the point of having all those and be unhappy and not well. Every minute and every second counts in life and that is how I live my life. I put my worries away because I stand before Him and I trust that God will take care of it. If it is not in His timetable, then I will wait patiently. I pray for those who are in need of prayers everyday because prayers work. 

We are not perfect but we can chose how to live our life. Be You because you are special and you are one of a kind. I am special too which is why I chose to live my life to the fullest and not to waste a second of it. I love me, I love my family and most importantly, I love God!!

So go out there today and be the change you want the world to see! 

Quotes from some of the successful people I read and listen to :)

New Year's Resolution

2014 is here!! And here's another year to make new resolutions. I am happy to say that I have met most of my 2013 goals so I am excited to hit all my goals for 2014. To be honest, it was hard but I was very determined that I can do it. I have done couple changes in my life last year that I would never dreamt that I will do. I read, ran, workout, invest and plan for my retirement. And I shot 6 weddings, 2 engagements, 1 engagement party, and 1 family portrait last year all by myself.  Now, that is some accomplishments don't you think?
And I volunteered for the first time at Baptist Hospital in December at the NICU department which was definitely an eye opener for me. Seeing this little troopers fighting for their life was just unbelievable. Some are as tiny as your hand and some has grown to be healthy, fully grown babies.  I just wish that people would see this and how we should be thankful everyday for having another day to live. Make the best out of life!! After all we are here for a reason right? Be the change that you want people see in YOU!!
So with all this, I am excited for what 2014 holds for me. It will be better and hotter as EVER!!!

Amen.

Ho Ho Ho for 2013

Our Christmas was short and sweet this year as Christmas fell on Wednesday. Kelly and Sean came back on the weekend so we had dinner at mom's. Christmas time is the best especially when there is a little one around. Of course, I am talking about Cyrus..lol he was excited and was good the whole night because he wanted to open his gifts :) I would be good too if most of the gifts under the tree is for me. I can't wait till next year to have another little one running around. And Christmas will be all for Bentley and Cyrus. So here's just a couple snap shots of our Christmas:

Many faces of Cyrus opening his presents :