Meaningful Mondays - Finding What You Seek

I think every Monday from now on I'm going to have a quote, piece of advice, or something else meaningful. So I will call these posts "Meaningful Mondays". :) I'll try to get these posted at the beginning of the day, not the end, but oh well. At least it's still Monday, right?

So here it is for this week.

"If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will".
~Abraham Lincoln

I love the simplicity of this statement. If you look for bad things in a person or in a situation you will doubtless find it. And conversely, if you look for good in a person or a situation, you will find that, too. So the idea is to look for positive things in people and situations even when the tendency is to see how bad someone or something might be. Sounds easy, right?

Not for most people.

It requires stepping back and looking at something from all angles before jumping to a negative conclusion, and giving someone another chance who has done wrong in the past. Challenging? Yes. Do-able....?

Absolutely!!!!

So good luck in seeking good this week!

Cigar Breath?

I'm super excited because tomorrow my sister and I are going to Daffodil Hill (a private farm about an hour away with acres of beautiful daffodils) and then driving around through sleepy little towns and picturesque wineries to let the creative photographers within us take over. I haven't done a "photography day" in a long time so I'm so excited that tomorrow will be dedicated to that!

At any rate, while researching some different wineries in the area to see which ones we might want to drive past or take pictures at (no, no wine tasting tomorrow - that's next weekend!) I came across this on one of the winery websites:

EVENTS!

Cigar Day: Join us at CBC for a big ol’ cigar on Sunday March 7th. Special discounts for anyone with Cigar Breath.

Cigar breath?? Really??? I know the event is already past so I wonder if they actually made people blow their nasty cigar breath in their face to determine if it was cigar-y enough to get a "special" discount? LOL. Or maybe it was just their way of being creative and basically anyone smoking qould qualify. Let's hope so. Needless to say I had to laugh when I read it. At least they have a sense of humor. ;)

Wish me luck on my photography excursion!!

Couture Trunk Show

I am so excited! I officially have my Trunk Show scheduled for April 10th! In addition to all of the racks and racks of fabulous designer clothes (all authentic!) I'll also have hors d'oeuvres and wine, and strawberries and champagne... mmm, what could be better than a night with my gal pals, amazing clothes, and champagne?? Terrfific excuse to invite everyone over!

The evite was sent out this afternoon and I already have 4 people coming. :) :) :) Small and intimate or big and loud, I don't care, I will have fun either way!

I'm having my friend come over extra early so I can try jeans on and hopefully choose a fabulous pair that I'm going to buy with my hostess discount... and will of course wear them to the party so I can be a walking advertisement. Now I just need to figure out what smashing top and sexy heels I'm going to wear! ;)

I'm Bringing Sexy Back

YEAH! Thanks to the ever-sexy-herself Polka Dotted Owl for granting me this coveted award!

Rules: List 5 things about me that I think are sexy, then pass it on.

1) Confidence is always sexy, as evidenced by little things like, walking tall, sitting up straight, making eye contact, and SMILING. I'm usually a very confident person and that's sexy.

2) Standing up for myself. Having my own own opinion and sticking with it instead of following others. (Wimpy and non-committal is not sexy).

3) I have to copy Polka Dotted Owl for this one... having a toned, fit body that I work hard for and am proud of. Taking care of yourself is totally sexy!

4) Ambition. I know what I want and I go after it, without tromping on other people to get ahead (not sexy!). I always admire people who have the drive and determination to go after their dreams.

5) Laughing at myself. I know I make mistakes and goof up from time to time or even act like a complete goober, and I always laugh at myself when I do. So sexy!

The girls I'm passing this on to are:
Erica
Sweet Melissa

Have a great night!!!

Hlaf-Marathon Progress

It' been a while since I've mentioned my training but it actually has been going well. So far I've actually spent all of my training indoors on the treadmill, mostly because that is where I am most comfortable. But I decided that I would have to get my butt outside pretty soon since, uh, the race takes place in the great outdoors.

So last weekend I hit the trail. I chose a partiularly hilly section because I figured that would be good preparation for me. I was SO proud of myself! I did much better than I thought I would do, away from the comfort of the ceiling fans blowing right on me, my water bottle secured in the cupholder, towel draped on the treadmill bar right in front of me, and, of course, the distraction of the TV and all of it's wonderfully mindless shows.

I ended up doing 7 1/2 miles and even did it faster than I would have had I been in the gym! I couldn't believe it! Now, I'm still really slow, too slow to call myself a runner (and I still have to alternate with speed walking - which I am totally fine with) but I don't care how slow I am, I'm just proud that being on the trail wasn't as mentally difficult as I thought it would be.

I've got less than 6 weeks to go and right now I'm feeling pretty confidant that I'll be able to do it. *sigh* That's a good feeling. :)

Rude People

Okay, so these girls weren't exactly rude, but indirectly, I think they were.

Picture this....

Me, arms LOADED with bags of food and materials hanging off my shoulders, elbows, wrists, and yet more stuff in my hands that my fully loaded arms could barely wrap around. I'm not sure how I made it into my client's building with all that extra weight or how I managed to get through the door. But, I did. And as I entered their suite and approached the reception desk one of the precarious packages fell from my arms and to the floor, contents spilling everywhere. Out of the corner of my eye I see two ladies dressed nicely in business suits with folios in their hands, talking quietly to each other as they waited for what I assumed was their appointment.

After getting signed in, the packaged food items still lay on the floor where they fell because the two ladies behind me couldn't be bothered to take 2 and 1/2 steps forward to pick them up for me. So, not able to set down all my other stuff I laborously bent down to pick up what fell and almost toppled over at the awkward weight of the other bags. Still, no assistance from behind emerged. I finally managed to retrieve the fallen goods and the receptionist leaned out her window to kindly take what she could from me and escort me inside.

Is it just me, or were those two women standing there with their arms neatly folded around their precious leather folios very rude for not assisting me???

If the situation had been reversed I can say without a doubt that I would have stepped forward to help that person. It wouldn't even take much effort but a small, sincere gesture can make a big difference. A little kindness can go a long way... don't you think?

Designer Fashion at a Discount

Last night I went to a party for a new company owned and operated by a friend of mine called Couture Connection. Through her business she buys designer clothes at wholesale pricing and then re-sells them at a slightly higher price, but only at a fraction of the original cost. Most of what she has is denim and tops, but also sunglasses, belts, and other fun accessories. And with brands like True Religion, Rock & Republic, Miss Me, and Laguna Beach, she's got some really great stuff!

So last night was her launch party to get her business going. All of her merchandise will be sold online (website is up but not totally finished yet - I'll pass that on as soon as it is) but until she really gets her name out there she's doing Trunk Shows at the homes of people that want to host them. It was so much fun! She had racks and racks of designer clothes so all of us girls were sipping champagne while trying on hot stuff.

I fell in love with these darling jeans by Miss Me. It's hard to see in the picture but there are tiny sparkly rhinestones on the crosses of the pockets and the belt loops. SO cute! I'm all about fun pockets on jeans (you gotta make the butt look good... am I right, ladies?). ;)
And I also really like these ones (also with some rhinestones).

BUT, trying to be a good girl during these more difficult financial times, I agreed to do a Trunk Show at my house next month so I can get them at an even further discount. Yippee! I can't wait! I'm going on a trip the first week in May (I'll do another post about that to explain) and I'd love to have these jeans to take with me! Plus, it's a great excuse to have the girls over for a fun night. :)

Oh, and she also served snickerdoodle cookies so I got have my snickerdoodle with champagne. YUM! ;)

Spring Dreams

The weather lately has been absolutely gorgeous. Still cool, needing a chic wool coat in the morning and then just a sweater by lunchtime, but sunny, clear, and blue. It's gettting me ready for spring, even though I know it's not really here yet and we're going to have plenty more storms before it really arrives. Nevertheless, it's made me think about what I want to start wearing for when it actually gets warm enough for all of this.

So here we go:

Pretty, classic dresses.

Cool summer scarves.

Fun jewelry.

Light, feminine blouses for work.

Breezy tops, and pretty much anything in coral.

The classic tank.

Soft, flowy maxi dresses.

Did I mention I love maxi dresses? ;)

Casual metallic sandals.

I can't wait to start pulling this stuff out of my closet! Not that I have all of it, but variations, to be sure. And I'm sure I'll manage to find some great bargains along the way to add a few more pieces (yes, I had to write a few, which means that I will make a conscious effort to control my shopping, otherwise it'd be bags and bags of fun summer stuff!).

I could've kept going and going with this but I had to stop myself, otherwise I'd just end up wanting to go shopping even more! ;)