finding help

Manifest a Better Now Through Reminiscing

Manifesting better days through reminiscing over your most precious photo and video memories is my secret sauce. I’ve noticed all kinds of stories online, about how people are manifesting their dream lives. Some will say buy a book, others sell a coaching program, or any number of investments. WHAT IF you ALREADY HAVE the tools to manifest your ideal life. What if it’s just hidden in your closet, sitting on your shelf or in your pocket? STAY WITH ME, this is really important :) Photos have magical powers that allow us to attach to transforming positive emotions- if we let them. We don’t need to go back and re-write history, but we can focus on the blessings of our past to magnify the beauty of NOW. One thing I know for sure, is that love felt at one point of time does not die; It is expansive and evolving and so are we. The question to ask ourselves is simply this: Are we manifesting [...]

Lost & Found

Finding Treasure My maternal grandmother is my earliest recollection of the impact of combining words and photos. I was so blessed by her “pen pal” style letters that periodically landed in my college mailbox. They always included a couple of photos from our last visit, or the latest treasures that bloomed in her garden. Whenever I saw my name written in her handwriting, waiting to be discovered in my mailbox, my heart would flutter with excitement. My Mama Dede was such a fun loving role model in my life. She had a laugh that would make anyone smile or join in- whether you were in on the joke, or not. Reminiscing brings it all back again… so much love. I am so blessed.  Partners in Crime Not only a master gardener, Mama Dede (known as Edith to her peers) was president of her gardening club in the town of Elizabeth City, NC.  She would design, organize, decorate and make the town bloom with her [...]

Loud & Proud

Note to the reader: The content in this post is deeply personal. If you are part of my story- YOU didn't hurt me; I love you. How this music teacher finally learned to sing Thank you for being here as I "think out loud" - My  hope is that we can resonate on a subject of growth and healing.  I grew up as the first born of two kids, eager to make the world happy.  I tried to be a good daughter, a good student, a team player, and a good friend because I was afraid of making others angry or disappointed in me.  But one thing I never tried to be good at as a child… was just being ME.  I didn’t know what that meant.  As far as I knew, following the rules meant there were fewer threats. I thought “being good” is the way to make other people happy  Everything I knew revolved around rules; Written and unwritten rules. The 10 [...]

The Worst Thing Ever

When we struggle When things that happen (or don't) in life and we look at our role in the unwanted outcome, stress & overwhelm take over. Assigning blame doesn't help; It just makes the pain increase. We lose sight of the actual facts of any situation when we are drowning in all of the negative emotions that cloud our judgment. It’s as if our FEELINGS become the negative story tellers. Is that really an objective, helpful, constructive voice?  Are you living your worst case scenario in one area of life that casts shadows on all other topics, too? When we're talking about our personal photo collections, this is a perfect example of how the lack of clarity guides us directly out of success mindset and deep into a mental torture chamber.  When we are full of grief, regret and stuck there, often we discover more layers of  “worst case” scenarios unfolding. If you've ready any of my blog before you know I'm no stranger [...]

The REBL(TM) in Me

Ever have a time when you're smiling on the outside, but screaming on the inside? It was like a tropical storm in my head; Wind swirling around, large objects tossed around, smothering any sense of peace and adrenaline was at an all time high. Upset, hurt feelings, raw emotions raked the back of my mind. But they were there to prompt me to practice what I preach. HERE'S HOW IT STARTED Wednesday: A grumpy text message from a friend who wanted to unload on me... I decided to get my family going before reading more. Notifications waiting for me- The tuition check money was withdrawn TWICE rather than once.   I walked away and let the dog out. Headlines of collections for the family who's home had burned down, a sob stuck in my throat as I prepared food for the pets and put the kettle on for tea. Urgent interruptions from family members- not all important The technology that wouldn't cooperate Thursday: The dog [...]

Finally- A Breakthrough

It happened when she decided to put her needs first. Then the clouds broke up and the sunlight poured in... Finally. Adversity; conflict, natural disaster, loss, and major changes give us choices. The people who take times like this and create something new and beautiful are the people that inspire me most in life.  Enter Janica.  A single mom of 3 kids, the oldest of 5 siblings. She's not afraid of carrying the kind of heavy loads that many shy away from. Janica LOVES her family above all else, and works 2+ jobs to support them.  They call her their 'ROCK', but she’s still human. Janica’s lost both of her parents in 2014, and she then took on the responsibility of her parents estate, their home, and managed to send her oldest off to college while balancing her own home and two jobs. Strength embodied. Pushing her grief down, to be strong for her family, she decided not to make any immediate decisions regarding the family [...]

My Fire Story

The one time I felt completely hopeless, my house was burning with all of my memories inside…. It was an absolute nightmare smelling something on fire but having NO IDEA where the smoke and flames were coming from. I began checking items like my computer, cords on the baseboards, and that’s when I smelled something. I ran down the hall. Smoke seeped through my child’s bedroom carpeting, but no sign of flames to be seen.. I sprinted down the stairs to find 5-foot flames licking the side of our garage refrigerator.  It was right next to the car with a tank full of gas, the snowblower and a full tank of fuel.  Holy S$&%, I needed to act quickly Shoes, daughter, scooped up the cats into a suitcase … We got out FAST, grabbing my cell phone and then dialed 911.  Then the smoke detectors started wailing … like nails in my ears. Trucks, sirens, helmets, smoke, commotion, adrenaline. I held my daughter on [...]

Confessions of a Control Freak – Letting in Joy

Do you know why babies laugh? I believe it’s because they have no restrictions, filters, or hesitation to keep them from filtering out a joyful response. When I hear baby laughter, I can't help but smile or often laugh along. They snap me out of my trance called “adulthood” and remind me of my natural joyful state. I LOVE THAT.  But over the years, we build layers of skin formed by our experiences, influencers and systems that were designed to make us productive members of society. Things don't always go the way we like, or we don't take criticism lightly and we go to extremes to avoid all faults and opportunities just to be criticized. And the result for me is: perfectionism starts to take over. Have you ever considered that the more room we make for perfectionism, the less space there is for joy? Time to clean THAT closet out; let’s get a little messy for the sake of letting stuff go that [...]

Confessions of a Control Freak

This one’s for my fellow life-long learners and uplifters... the ones who know there's always room to grow. It all comes down to how we talk to ourselves. I hope these words find people who also want to live a better way- to prosper, connect, enrich and appreciate the beautiful lives we have. Let’s add more fun and more beauty as we go! What are we telling ourselves? We gather information from our own experiences and by observing others, often mis-interpreting how things unfold. Then our brains file them away as rules to live by- that’s life. Our ego adds details for our own protection… sometimes making the situation far more dangerous to keep us away. Well, that’s how I lived until recently. Decades of gathering mis-information has grown into layers of self-limiting beliefs for me. I’ve been doing some self evaluation, gained new awareness, and now I’m choosing to give myself compassion & forgiveness. I’ve decided to confess & release those layers [...]

“I was about to slam my computer shut…

...because I couldn’t find my photos, and then your email popped up.” I opened this message from a subscriber of mine recently. I understood. This is what I deal with all the time. Not the first message like this  and it won’t be the last.  It happens all the time. It can feel like some kind of ‘Photo Gluttony’. There are simple fixes that have lasting success and I love to help them get back on track and feel immediate hope and prompt relief! And NO you don't have to stop taking photos... it's what comes NEXT, that needs some adjusting. :)  People take more photos today than they ever have before, in addition to old devices full of thousands of jpegs. They're important and they're in lock down, in all different places. People cannot manage memories trapped in all sorts of places- out of sight; out of reach. They struggle to find the ones they are looking for, let alone sharing and enjoying [...]

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