off to a great start...day 3 of 2012

happy new year, friends.  it's day 3 of 2012 and i'm off to a good start.  the 2nd day of the year was spent working on my books...prepping for tax time.  it felt good to see the year in review...what sold, what didn't do so hot, just where i need to go this year with burlap & roses. 

and, on a personal level, i know where i want to go, too.  more family and friends, taking time for i and my hubs, hoping to get a little travel in too.  what about you...

share your thoughts with me here and may all your ideas and plans come to be.

Summon the will...

“So many of our dreams at first seems impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” (((♥))) ~Christopher Reeve

Have you, do you, find this is true in your life?


Leave a comment and tell me  when this has came true for you.  

Lessons learned and new understandings...and I have FAITH

My cousin made a comment the other day on Facebook regarding her happiness and contentment in her life.  She finished the statement off with "Thank you, Lord!"  Yes, thank you Lord!

I responded with this, "The hard part is having Faith in Him when things aren't so rosy...but, Faith I do have and that gets me through the rough spots."  And, it does!  

At the end of last year, December 31, 2010, exactly; I took a leap of faith and put my real estate license into referral.  I've never looked back.  I applied for several jobs~now I have an understanding and empathy for the unemployed looking. See, a lesson learned and a new understanding.  I gave it a few weeks, then I had to make a decision.  I also believe that a job never came about because my heart and soul is with my shop and the expansion of it, developing the B&B and making better use of our farm in "today's" market.  

I've never been one to put my goals in writing and map out a plan to achieve them.  This has been no different!  I'm haphazard that way...but, I know my heart and I know where it leads me.  It's not on paper, but it's in my head.  I decided it was time to "follow my own advise" to so many others, "if you do what you love, what makes you tick, success will come!"  AND, I turn 50 this year, and I can't think of a better time or age to make a change!

My hubs and children have not been so "excited" about what I've done, wondering "what is she thinking," I'm sure.  It's not been the wisest thing financially, either.  However, let me stress here, I was in real estate...an independent contractor, and with that, no sales~no moola; so, having a steady and normal income is not something our household was used to.  And, real estate has been ODD at best the past few years.  I enjoyed much success in real estate...it just didn't hold my interest anymore.  As I said, I've not looked back.  

Now, what my hubs has witnessed is how things just come together and weave themselves in and out of our life.  One thing leads to another and things just take shape.  He said to me one day, "it is funny how things just seem to come together for you".  Oh, ye of little faith.  I live with gratitude in my heart, mind talks with God all the time...and Faith.

I'm reminded of this constantly.  As I said, leaving a career in real estate may not have been the best decision~OR, maybe it has been!  When the other stresses and demands on me are gone, I can get to the business of my LIFE.  The life I'm supposed to live...the life I have imagined.  

We also had an investment property that was draining us financially... Something had to go...and it did~we sold it!!!  I hope we never get to where we were again.  I like living a more "authentic" life, where less is more!  Lessons learned and new understandings.

We're strapped like we've never been before.  It's been fun, actually!  I shop wiser, we eat at home more, and my meals are planned with longevity and frugality in mind. We started getting books at the library, instead of purchasing them.  I put things back on the shelf that I otherwise would have purchased without a thought.  We got rid of the frivolity in our household...no home phone, we didn't use it anyway!  The Directv is out of our budget, too.  It's all been well and good.  I actually think I could live without t.v. completely.  I find I'm more active and look forward to creating, rather than watching a program.  It's really, really been good.  And, regular t.v. offers more than just a few channels now...who knew?  If anything, I have gotten "wiser" as to what I spend, where and when.  It's certainly been a time of adjustment...but like I said, it's been really, really good!

I'll sell something from the shop when I'm there working, a forgotten refund check will come; I say "NO" more, rather than "Yes" to everything.  And, I've put it out there.  I'm not ashamed or embarrassed.  I'm willing to sacrifice for the things I really want.  My life is more in balance and I'm happy and content!  

And, I have FAITH.  I always have had.  I've always felt that I had guidance and safety from the Man upstairs.  He's led me thus far and he'll lead me further.  With that said, if I fail, my Faith in Him will continue...it always has.  He's never forsaken me.  I.Have.Been.Tested.  There's always a lesson learned, a new understanding that one would never have had, if they had not walked down a certain path, taken a different turn or kept the monkeys on their back.  

Here's a funny thing...I'm finding dropped coins all the time.  Not just pennies, but nickels and dimes.  Each time I see one, I'm reminded that God does provide.  Sometimes I pick them up and sometimes I leave them, hoping someone who really needs them will find them.  It's just a gentle reminder to me...it inspires me!

"The hard part is having Faith in Him when things aren't so rosy...but, Faith I do have and that gets me through the rough spots."  Lessons learned and new understandings...and, I have FAITH!

So many reasons to be inspired...

I find inspiration in many places.  From many different situations.  A multitude of who, what, where and why's...one never knows when inspiration will come, but if we're open to it, it'll find us! 


A gentleman stopped in my office to chat the other day, and said, "wow, this is bright.  I like it."  I told him that I needed bright, happy colors go give me energy, make me happy...inspiration.  He noticed that I pulled the wall colors from the picture I had hanging behind my desk.  He was correct.  A colorful and pretty picture inspired me...first to purchase it and then to use.  I had this picture in my bedroom for quite awhile.  Now, it's in my office.  It makes me happy to be in my office, surrounded by colors and things I enjoy. 


I subscribe to a couple different 'do good, feel good' blogs/websites.  Daily, I receive a new post on my email with a great story and quotation.  I find, the more I introduce these into my daily life, the more I am in tune and concientious of being better.  I think about the situation and wonder how I could incorporate that into my life.  Who could I share a similar idea with...to make someone else's life better.  It helps to keep me focused, and of course, inspired. 

Take a minute to leave a comment here on my blog...share a story, an idea...your inspiration.  Thanks for stopping by today...

Inspired mornings...

Coffee in hand, I settle into my big, comfy sofa in the sunroom.  From this vantage point, I'm able to see the birds at our feeders, the daily coming-to-life of the trees in spring bloom, black cows dotting the landscape and green...our pastures, too, are coming to life.

I find this spot most mornings; and here I am inspired by my surroundings.  A story comes to mind, an idea for another decorating project, I'm reminded of a note I need to pen...I get inspired!

Yesterday, I spent some time with my drawing pad in hand, pencil at the ready.  I worked on my landscaping plan for our new entry way into the recently added mudroom. What colors will compliment?  Shade loving plants are a must...hostas, bleeding hearts, and coral bells are just a few of the plants that will find a home in that spot.  I want it to be very inviting and soothing.  Just a casual walk-way into my home that is void of lots of 'lotsa'...a delightful 'welcome' to my home.

As I started my plan, I quickly realized that it would become a bigger project, because, just like a home remodeling project...you can't just stop at one redo and call it good.  The one redo makes the other rooms look a bit outdated, tired, lackluster.  So, my landscape design continued around to the south side of my home.  The walnut trees will need to come down;  they'll make great planters or a spot for birdhouses.  I'll have to study the growth of the trees and see how that could work.

The southside of the house, with the walnut trees down, will be a great spot for a butterfly and bird attracting garden.  Do I go with a 'cottage' look?  I love wildflowers, too.  Maybe a little of both.  A definate must...a birdbath or two...or three.

Well, I can't stop there.  If I do, the whole east side of the house will look bare not complete.  I can continue the southside landscaping plan here, too.  Not to stop there, it'll have to continue around to the front of the porch and wrap on around to the north side of the mudroom addition...another shade loving garden here, too.

As I sit here with my inspiring thoughts, I'm reminded that none of it will get done while I'm sitting here...dreaming, drawing and not doing.  So, it's off I go.  First things first...I have to mow. 

I need inspiration today!

Last evening, on my way to the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors annual banquet, I thought to myself: ROADTRIP! Thinking on this for a minute, pondering just where I'd like to go, it came to me...Gilbert, Iowa and JB Knacker specifically.

Acting on this energizing thought, I phoned (actually, being hip, like I am, I texted her) my soul~sister, Jill. Want to take a road trip to Gilbert tomorrow? I barely had the text sent and I had a reply~a resounding YES!

If you've not been to JB Knacker's in Gilbert, you're missing something. And, that something is a creative, exuberant shop filled with one-of-a-kind goodies...and by goodies, I mean, home decor...not the edible kind. Food for the soul, eye candy, home decorating inspiration.

Two years ago, I, and Jill, and her friend, Andi, ventured to the Junk Bonanza in Minnesota. Oh My Gosh...talk about creativity, energy, exuberancy...it was here. I vowed, with that visit, that someday I would be a vendor at the Junk Bonanza. I'm happy to say that I took that step and have signed up to be a vendor at this year's show...Sept. 17th, 18th and 19th. Keep it here, as I let you know of my progress...shopping, remaking, restoring, revamping, letting my creative energy do it's thing. I'm sooooo absolutely excited to be doing this...hope I'm accepted to this juried show.

The sun is shining although it's very cold today. The sun just makes all the difference though. I hope you get out and enjoy this beautiful crisp day...and get inspired by all the beauty that surrounds you...and be an inspiration to another.