New Year's Eve

Well hello All:

It has been a very long time since I last posted there.  It has been
 a real roller coaster of a year....I am here to tell you!

I have decided that one of my goal's this year is to do a much better job of posting here...as I have so much that I want to share with you and I will in time.  I am really looking forward to a fresh start in 2018!  What better way to look forward to 2018 by finishing the year with a year end post?

Think about it...a New Year actually begins on a Monday too.  A double shot of starting over...not only a New Year but also a new week!

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 As we looking forward to a new opportunity we have a chance to begin over again!

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Goals - Why I have been having problems achieving my them

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I am normally a planner.  I have lists...lots of list!  I have a goal list, a bucket list, a daily "to do" list but I had one of those moments this weekends.

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I do not know how I missed this critical part of goal setting...I mean after all...it is a definite part of goal setting.  When I set a goal - I need to be able to identify the steps to take to turn the goal into a reality.  For instance - for several years now I have had a goal to visit all 50 States in the U.S. but I really did not identify the steps that I need to take in order to accomplish this goal.  This in reality was only a wish and not a true goal since I had not have a plan in place to achieve this goal.  It took that light bulb moment to turn my wish into a goal.  I have now created a list of all 50 States with a tracking list.  It shows all the States that I have visited thus far and then identifies the States that I want to visit in 2017.  What I have now done is set a goal with a well defined time frame of when I will be accomplishing this goal.  ~Voila~  It is written down and I now have finalized a plan.  

Some of the steps that I have added to my goal of visiting one new State each year includes:

> Where am I traveling to?

> When am I traveling?

> Adding a pre-determined dollar amount into my travel fund each pay period

These three steps now may my goal of travel to a new State become measurable and I am now accountable for making this happen.  I have committed to write this goal down so it is no longer a wish but a well defined goal.

After all these years of lists and lists and goal setting, I realized the missing piece!

How about you?  Do you set goals as well as list the steps you take to achieve the goals?

How Essential Oils Changed my Life

Well hello everyone!  I had to think hard and long before posting this topic today but after deciding it was too important not to share, I decided that I needed to share with you my newest find!

I have always been a fan of essential oils and I have used them for years.  Matter of fact - lavender is my favorite.  I love everything from lavender soap and lavender lotion to lavender oils.  I have never been too particular about where I bought them because...they are all the same...right?  Well..the real answer is "NO"....there is a huge difference when it comes to the quality of oil.  How do I know this?  Well, it is because I have learned the hard way through using every variety of oil that I can find.

Recently I was re-introduced to Young Living Essential Oils.  Many years ago I met a Reiki Master in Sedona, Arizona who used this oil in her meditation sessions.  I was immediately impressed with the fragrant oils that she used and asked her what she used.  She promptly told me about Young Living Oils and that her belief that they were the best oils in the marketplace.

I didn't think much about this conversation until I kept reading more and more about Young Living essential oils and felt like I needed to give them a try.  I started slowly, taking my time learning all about the natural healing powers of these oils as well as how these oils can help rid your home of toxins as well.

The thing that I appreciated the most about Young Living is their "seed to seal" promise.  This means that they cultivate their oils from their own seeds, cultivate these seeds on their own farms in a true environmental, toxic free land.  They distill their own oils which means that every bottle of essential oil is the highest quality that you can find.  There are no fillers in Young Living Oils - each bottle of oil is 100% pure natural oil.

Now - there are many, many ways that Young Living essential oils have changed my life but I wanted to just share two ways today.

I have a VERY stressful job and by the end of the day, I am tired and exhausted.  I decided to buy and place a Young Living Home Diffuser by my desk.  Each work day, I place a few drops of Young Living Peppermint Oil in my diffuser and "voila" - it is just like magic.  The glorious scents of peppermint calms my senses and puts me immediately at peace.  Folks - I am telling you...it is 

incredible!  I don't know how it works but it does...and that is all that matters!

Each night, I place a few drops of Lavender oil in my Aria diffuser that I keep by my bed.  I can not believe it but since I started diffusing lavender at night, I have been able to give up the Simply Sleep that I took each night in order to have a full night of sleep. AGAIN...MAGIC OILS!

I am now a firm believer in the powers of Young Living Essential Oils.  I am learning something new each and every day about the healing powers of essential oils.  

I have another post planned to talk about how to use Young Living Essential Oils to rid your home of toxins.  AMAZING!!!

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about Young Living or even order some oils for your own use, please visit the link below:

Pat's Essential Oil Information Page

Thursday's Thought of the Day - 03.02.2017

Hello all you beautiful people out there in the world of blogging - 

Why do we blog?  I started my blog to have a record of family events...an online scrapbook shall we say?

Then - during a difficult time for many of my co-workers, I decided to move the direction of this blog more to an inspirational blog in order to keep my co-worker's spirits up.

Do you know what happens when you try to inspire and motivate others?

As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.     

Mary Anne Radmacher

Isn't that so true?  I know in my case it is.  While I am trying to provide motivation and encouragement for others, I find my own special place of motivation.  I can not help but think that is my purpose for blogging...to continue to create light for others!

I will leave you today with some pictures that make me happy...hope it makes your day too!

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May your day be blessed with happy thoughts!  Today - shine the light for others and you too will walk in light!

Wordless Wednesday - 03.01.2017

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Tuesday's Thought of the Day (or saying goodbye to Monday in the rearview mirror)

Well hello everyone!

Am I the only one that is so thankful that Monday is in the rear view mirror for now?  It was a kinda a "meh" Monday.  I have had much better for sure!  Raise your hand if you too had one of those kind of days!

As for today, I have decided that I want to filter out all negativity and concentrate on only positive things!

To start my day out on the right foot today, I baked my favorite cinnamon chip muffins last night

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 and will plan on having a steaming cup of coffee in colorful and happy coffee cup:

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And while enjoying the deliciousness of the cinnamon muffin and coffee - I am going to ponder what I can do to ensure that my Tuesday is so much better than Monday....I think I have it...a word of the day!

I am going to think positive today!

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Care to join me in a touch of positive attitude today?

Make this your year!

Words of Wisdom - Wednesday - 02/15/2017

 (Elizabeth Gilbert - ProductiveandFree.com)

When is it the right time to Retire?

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I love to read blogs and this is a question and subject that I keep reading about.  If only I could create a career reading blogs  *hmmmm*  something to think about. 

One of my favorite blog as of late is a blog written about “FIRE”.  For those of you who might not be aware of this term (as I wasn’t until I started reading about it…imagine – I thought it was strike a match and light a fire) – it is an acronym for Financial Independence Retire Early.  If you are interested in reading more about this mindset – please check out the blog –  Our Next Life Blog

This blog is owned by a couple (she is in her 30s and he is in his early 40s) who have a goal to retire by the end of 2017.    WOW…is that not a great goal?  This blog talks in great detail about their preparation and planning to get to this magical point in their life.  They want to travel and enjoy life while they are still young enough to do so.  

Now – let me say – while I love the idea of retiring early – I am closer to retirement age than I am to “let’s retire early” age.  Nonetheless, this blog has really made me think about doing some serious planning for retirement.  I am the typical American, I have a job, I have a 401K, I have some money set aside as an emergency fund AND I also have a mortgage and credit card debt.  The financial independence part of FIRE is very appealing to me.  I want to take better control of my money as I look down the tunnel to retirement.  I want to be financially independent or as much so as I can be when I reach retirement age.  In order to do this, I must take a good hard look at the steps that I need to take to achieve this goal as I prepare to enter into financial independence/retirement:

     >   Pay off mortgage (only a few more years to mark this off the list) 

     >  Pay off consumer debt (credit card debt) – I have a daily/monthly plan.  I track my credit cards monthly, I have them ranked by balance, monthly finance charge and month/year of when I plan to pay them off.  Will share more of this in another post.

     >  No car payments – I AM THERE!!!!  

     >  Build a larger slush fund.  This fund is my “easy to go to money” for small expenditures that I did not budget for or might have surprised me.  I can use this slush fund for a class that I might want to take such as “Photography 101”  Right now – my goal is to have $3000 in my slush fund

     >  Continue to fund my “emergency fund” which will be used for those truly unexpected expenses.  Prime example of this is having to have the attic of my house completely stripped of all insulation due to “Rocky Raccoon” taking up residence in my attic.  This pinged me for almost $12,000.  If not for homeowner’s insurance and my portion of the deductible I would have had to use a credit card.  YAY for emergency funds.  Now to build this fund back up to before the Rocky episode.

     >  One other thing that I am planning to do is to begin living off the “estimated” amount that I would receive from social security each month.  A couple of reasons for this – it will allow me the confidence that I can live off the amount and it will also allow me to “bank” the amount of my monthly paycheck either into my slush fund or my emergency fund.

 

     >  I have a couple of pensions (very small amounts) that I will be eligible for when I turn 65 however I do not really want to depend on that as part of my monthly income for monthly expenses.  I would like to set that small amount aside for future travel plans during the retirement years.

     >  I would like to find a resource for “after retirement commences” income.  This is something that rather excites me.  An opportunity for something new that I can do and not feel the pressure of a demanding job.

Let me say – these steps could be used for those want to retire early or those who are looking at a traditional timeframe.  I am far from a financial guru but I do believe that if I can accomplish these steps I will truly be good and ready for retirement.

What are your plans to achieve retirement?  Are you ready for

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