Blessed

This week has been such a good week. I went from feeling kinda drab about my full time job last week to now just going with it (which is my usual approach). I had a talk with my boss and you know, whatever happens happens. I am so excited for what the future will bring that I'm not even sure if I am here mentally LOL. I feel God moving and my positive outlook is definitely attracting the same.

This weekend I am going to see my Godsis Ashley compete for Miss Illinois USA. She competed last year but did not win so she's going for it again. I'm so proud of her and confident that she will win this year. I took her yesterday to get pedicures and boy did my feet need it. It was good to just talk with her. She's young but so mature. She's doing so much with her life and I just get excited about the young people making moves. I will definitely keep you all posted on what the outcome is.

Tonight, when the hubby goes to work I am going to do some reading and relax. I ordered about 6 new books last week instead of a pair of shoes. How cool is that?? (giggles). I'm addicted to a few shows outside of reality tv so I plan to catch up on Homeland, Private Practice, Greys Anatomy and Boss. Any fans of those shows out here? Other than those shows I think most of what I watch is reality, which I've began cutting out slowly but its SOOO hard!

I plan to work on my vision board/video this weekend, that besides my reading will be my productive work for the weekend. I am hoping that each of you takes some time to do something productive towards your passion this weekend. A commitment of an hour a day will lead you closer to success. Give it a try.

Have a great weekend!

~smooches
thegorgeousdork

Day 27-31

Today is such an awesome day...Throughout this journey and in my day to day personal journey I am confident in my future. I will share with you the last days of the 31 day challenge.

Day 27...Take yourself out on a date

Well I didn't go alone I went with one of the BFF's (prettydarkgirlstyle)  but I had an awesome time. We went to Red Lobster lol, I don't think either of us had been in a while so hey.. We met at church and then went out to eat afterwards. We chose the new items on the menu and of course a cocktail, we were both in heaven. Full and still looking fabulous we ended our date lol but it was great to go out and treat myself. I came home and watched lifetime since the hubby was at work and then reorganized my closet. What a day!

Day 28...Develop a self care plan..

This was pretty much a guide to getting back in tune with your inner and outer self. To become more mindful of your thoughts. I will share a few things I added to my self care plan

-Salads for lunch

-No soda during the week

-No fast food for a week.

-Make my own lunches

-Eat breakfast at home

-More water

-Exercise a minimum of 30 minutes everyday. 

Those are just a few..

Day 29- Start a side hustle...

I have too many to start a new one but I wrote out plans for each business that I will have to take action on. Some of my readers already know my side hustles but I will share them with you. 

I am almost a senior consultant for Mary Kay 

I am a event/wedding planner

I am the president/founder of a youth development mentoring program

I am an accountability/lifestyle coach!

BOO-YAH lol, there are my side hustles. I don't think I need anymore.

Day 30- Write your own Eulogy.

I hadn't done this since the second year in Sweetface(my mentoring program). I found it and so much has changed since I wrote it. It was 5 years ago and I think we all know how much can change in that time span. I will not be sharing mine but this exercise was deep, however I was happy with the way my life has changed or progressed. I think if I died today my eulogy would've made me proud.

Day 31- Do a vision board. 

I do vision board almost every year. I am actually in the process of  doing a project that makes your vision board come to life (though video/slideshow) I have my music, clips, pics, etc that I have to make into a video to present to my teen girls in Sweetface. Myself along with the other mentors are doing the same thing. The girls this year have a personal project they are doing and I think us showing them our own will inspire them to put more thought into theirs. The vision board is something we started with them when Sweetface first started and I'm happy to say that those that have been in the program a while improve upon theirs every year, so we must be doing something right.  I think ALL should have a vision board. I am actually working on one with my husband as well so we have one for our family. It definitely helps!

Thanks Daphne so much for this opportunity in doing the challenge with you. I hope that I have inspired some of my readers to really look within and re-evaluate. I'm such a better person since self -reflecting and participating in challenges such as this one. I am here for you, a friend, family member etc... that ever needs someone to help them along their way. Be on the lookout for the great things that are in my future.Watch me Work... 

~smooches

thegorgeousdork

Days 22-26

Hey there...this challenge is very close to its end and I am a BETTER woman!

Day 22- Plan your reset project.
After weeks of the work we've been doing it was now time to get down to business...how will we make all the dreams/visions come to life? We had to take a specific area from our life maps to make progress on. Listed below is what we had to do with it.. Its very similar to the goal planning/setting I do with the girls involved in my mentoring program. I've got mine down and making things happen daily. Everything I put out into the universe is coming back. As the Bible says, speak those things as though they were which is simply the law of attraction we hear about.

• Brief description of the project: What area of your life map will you work on? Be specific.
• Why the project was selected: How will this project help you get closer to your ideal life?
• Goals: What do you hope to achieve?
• Results: How will you measure success?
• Assistance needed: What will you need to get your project completed or underway? How do you plan to get it?
• Obstacles: What obstacles might you encounter and how do you plan to deal with them?
• Next steps: What do you need to do now in order to see results within the 30 days?

So now on to Day 23 

We were told to find a community to support our goals. I joined a couple sites that are all about uplifting and supporting one another but for me I have a few people I share my dreams and goals with in detail and they support me as I support them in what they want. While I don't mind being transparent to others I also like to keep some things private and share them with those that truly love me and have my best interest at heart. So I joined but my "details" will be left to those that I know will TRULY support me on them.

Day 24- make a new friend.

This wasn't just about randomly going up to someone to make a friend...but those people that you have encountered as of late and "clicked" with. We were to make effort in to building a relationship with them. There are two people that I've clicked with in the past year or so and we have slowly been making progress in our "friendship" to becoming friends. I tend to take the word friend seriously so I am not quick to calling people friends. I also feel like as of late the woman who chose me to do this with her is becoming a friend.  Only inviting people in my life that will add value. You should do the same.

Day 25- Stop complaining for 24 hours

I successfully did 21 days of no complaining a couple months ago and while it was challenging I had no problem on Day 24. I find myself checking myself every time a complaint comes to mind. I quickly try to change the thought and end up laughing about it. I think if we all made ourselves aware of how much we complain we'd all get a kick out of it and make some changes. 

Day 26- List 100 things that make you happy...

I know most of you who read this may thing how in the world will I come up with 100 things...EASY! Once you get started so many start to come to you. I hate to keep repeating myself but I've done this before too but its always good to do it again and quickly remind yourself of all the happy things. I will just name 10 so you get an idea, if you're stuck when you do this yourself. 

1. Sunshine

2. Water ( I love putting my feet into the ocean or lake and looking out, it feels like I'm close to God knowing I see no end ahead of me.)

3. The smell of my husbands cologne

4. Cookies 

5. shopping

6. spending time with my mom, friends, family.

7. Romantic comedy

8. Getting Pedicures

9. Listening to good music

10. Reading

Those are just a few as my list is over 100 LOL.   Hope you're having a lovely day and that you've done at least one of the daily exercises I've done. Life changing I tell ya!

~smooches

thegorgeousdork

Days 18-21

As promised, just a couple days late...

Day 18 was about creating your bucket list if you didn't have one. I actually had one already but added to it.
I will share just a few things that are on my bucket list.  1) Travel to Italy, Greece, South Africa, Australia & Japan. 2) Dinner with Oprah 3) To take my mom wherever she wants to go for a month, even if different destinations. 4) Become a mother, a good one (of my own, since I inherited a daughter) 5) Work with David Tutera or Preston Bailey on an event. 6) To change the lives of many for the better.

Of course I have a few more but I wont share EVERYTHING lol.

Day 19 was reviving your love life whether you have one or not.

Hubby and I went out on a date, had some great conversation and just enjoyed each other. The exact details don't need to be told but we try to make sure the love life stays on fire! (giggling)

Day 20- Get rid of stuff you don't need
Some of you that follow me on FB or in general know that I was previously doing 21 days of decluttering so I had pretty much taken care of this assignment already. However, I did get rid of a few more papers that day and even some more clothes.  I am committing to not keeping anything that I don't need any longer. A lifecoach of mine previously stated that you don't have room to receive all of the new you've been requesting if you're still holding onto old "stuff" so I've promised myself to constantly purge the old.  You should try it. Feel lighter getting rid of all of it.

Day 21- Remove the negative people from your life...
Ha, this is something that I've been doing for about 3 years now if not longer but consistently trying to rid myself of the toxic in the past 3. I've had to rid myself of people that have been in my life for years and while I thought it was going to be extremely difficult to do it wasn't at all. I had prayed that God remove them for me and sure enough they slowly start fizzling out. Thank GOD! My life has been so much better since I have done this.  In the assignment she brought up that you might be your own debbie downer and in that case she suggested that

The Elephant in the Room: It is not lost on me that the negative person you need to purge from your life might be YOU. If you are your own personal Debbie Downer, here is a special modification for this exercise.

• Take your notebook around with you today and make a list of all the instances where you express negativity or cynicism throughout the day - either with your thoughts, words or actions.

• For each instance, explain why you said, thought or did what you did. Be honest. Were you jealous? Feeling depressed? Angry or annoyed?

• For each instance, brainstorm what you could have said, thought or done instead. Could you have looked at the glass half-full? Saw the situation from the other person's point of view? Showed compassion instead of cattiness?

So... check yourself as well and constantly check those in your life, on your fb page, twitter, etc that are toxic to your well being/your spirit. Get rid of them as quickly as you can. 

~smooches

thegorgeousdork

I guess...

I guess I shouldn't have made that promise eh, lol.  So, today while working I will be catching up on the blogging while working lol. This journey has been oh so amazing and I hope that out of my few readers that someone took something away from this experience. I will post in 3's so you know. Thanks for following/reading.  This week I will be posting an interview with a friend who's a wonderful chef. You definitely don't want to miss this guy, he's also going to provide us with a recipe for a Thanksgiving dish...how fab is that? lol

thegorgeousdork

Promise

I'm promising that tomorrow evening I will be catching up with my posts. This journey has been so awesome that I've been so into it sometimes I forget to post. Life seems to be picking up even through the random obstacles I am still standing and able to smile through it all. Post tomorrow. Goodnight!

Day 14-17

Hello there...This has been saved in draft for a couple days, thought it was posted LOL.

I promise to actually catch up on my blogging. I had to do a baby shower this weekend and it took up most of my time all week trying to make sure everything was done properly.

Anywho.. day 14 was a day of rest and I definitely took advantage. I was also fasting with my church during that time so I ditched it all and read and went to bed early. IT was definitely good for my mind, body and soul.

Day 15- was all about redesigning your day. I definitely needed this exercise. I committed to making sure I eat a healthy breakfast in the mornings or just eat because I sometimes will skip breakfast. I also committed to a definite 30 minute workout, of course most days are more than that but that's my minimum. Packing more lunches, stop spending so much time surfing the net, getting to bed earlier and cutting down on my tv.  Yes, I have been actually following through.

Day 16-Conduct a time audit. - This showed too much. I saw that I was wasting a couple hours throughout the day where I was just on FB, Twitter or watching television. Spending too much time in other peoples stuff I guess. I've promised as I mentioned on day 16 that I am cutting out quite a bit of that and spending more time reading or doing something productive. Taking a time audit in your own lives may help you discover what's holding you back from fulfilling those dreams you have. We spend way too much time doing "nothing" and that time could be used towards fulfillment. Make those changes...

Day 17- Ditch TV for 24 hours.... I was excited that I actually did it! I thought for sure I was gonna have to watch some but I set up my show to be recorded and have now set aside some time during my week to watch my shows rather than everyday. I'm sure this will work to my advantage of working for myself full time in the very near future. Try it!

~Smooches
thegorgeousdork

Day 13

Sigh... don't be mad, I've been a little busy lol.

So Day 13 we had to craft our ideal life narrative. I had so much fun with this. I love the idea of writing or speaking my life into existence. As personal as it is I will post what my ideal life narrative. Life is so good people!

I am living in the burbs of course in fabulous home that is full of love, laughter and fun. My home is constantly being used to entertain the people I love the most. We have a huge area that I am able to host themed nights at least twice a month and my friends and family love it. I am doing all the things I love and making money doing it. I am a well known sought after event/wedding planner and empowerment coach for young women. I host a week long retreat for teen girls twice a year where they learn personal development skills, self confidence and how to live the fulfilled life. I along with my husband are self mad millionaires. I work my businesses hard and so does my husband. I am earning 5 figures a month in Mary Kay still and often teach new consultants how to do the same. My husband and I travel at least ones a month to the islands and once a year we travel to new, fun and exciting places(other continents, lol). We take our family and loved ones on a trip once a year as a group to an island which we all love. We have a home in Vegas, Florida and Amsterdam. We are very close to our families and friends. I have a personal assistant whom I love and we also have a personal chef, driver and trainer that we have access to whenever needed. We try to stay hands on as much as possible. We are very healthy as we both want to be good teachers in all ways. I have an handsome, adoring, wonderful husband that supports me in all that I do, loves God and is a wonderful business man in his own right. My husband is the head of our household but we hold a partnership on the running of our family and businesses. My husband is a wonderful father as  I am a fantastic mother to our beautiful daughter Asia and our twin son and daughter. Our children are in accelerated programs and on their way to living their own fulfilled lives. I have a large clientele that I empower daily through personal and group coaching. I teach young women how to live the fulfilled life. My husband and I live extraordinary as most ordinary and we teach others to do the same. I am an avid reader as I have to feed my mind and spirit daily. My husband and I meditate to maintain our powerful connection. We are extremely devoted to our family, friends and church. We spend a lot of time volunteering and contribute financially as well to our church and community. My husband and I are blessed beyond measure and it is important to share our blessings with others.

So, there you have it.. that's my narrative on my ideal life!

~smooches
thegorgeousdork

Day 12

Writing a letter to your lizard brain...

At first I was like huh and then before I could even begin to read the message I realized what this was all about.

In a nuthsell, the lizard brain is what stops you in your tracks and keeps you from moving forward.

I know I am not alone at suffering from that damn lizard brain. SO many times I have found myself beginning something and the lizard brain will tell me that "oh you can't do that, or you won't be able to accomplish that". How many of you have heard that pop up before? And not from people but you, yourself speaking down to you.

Well, I wrote my lizard brain a letter and told him to kick rocks. I am no longer allowing the lizard brain to keep me from anything else because its already kept me from so much.  I often have self sabotaged opportunities because of this.

Writing the letter was so liberating. I hope that you can find it in yourself to tell your lizard brain to go play in traffic.

No more procrastinating, self-sabotaging, self doubt....NO MORE!

~Smooches
thegorgeousdork

oops Day 10 & 11

For those of you that follow/read my blog I do apologize for not being consistent with my posts. I have been consistent with all of my daily lessons/assignments though  ;o) .

Day 10 which I was supposed to put in the last post I don't believe I really did. It was all about doing one thing that would move you closer to your ideal life. Now, I'm a Mary Kay consultant (I signed up because I wanted a part time job and it worked best). Mary Kay constantly has classes and seminars you can go to to learn more about how to succeed in the business. Well last week they had an event that had two of Mary Kay's top millionaires coming to speak. My director spoke about it and I quickly agreed. I met two amazing women with amazing stories. I purchased a couple cd's and learned a lot that night. I've already made it to the next level which was not something that I had even planned on. Its a great business and I love the history of it. God first, family second, business third. These women are able to live the life of their dreams all while making others feel beautiful...right up my alley.

Day 11 was about getting an accountability partner. Now, having one of these is great for any one but not every one is able to follow through. An accountability partner is all up in yours LOL. My best friend Jennifer has been mine for about a year now but I have gained a new one... Daphne. If you decide to get one, be prepared for questions on things you've shared, etc. These people are there to make you better, hold you accountable for what you say ad make sure you follow through with your goals. Now, as of late. I have been an accountability partner to a few. Its something that I've been given to do so I do it part time and for no money currently. I have worksheets, etc that I have these people follow, check in often and of course...all up in theirs!!!

If you don't have one, get one...even if you get attitudes about what they say or ask! We all can benefit from one. Our friends are not always the best but someone you can trust with your goals/visions. Make it happen.

Accountability, get some!

~smooches
thegorgeousdork