I'm Mfing Awesome, Yo!

I hope y'all are ready for some more Brené Brown fangirling! In my dark moments in life, somehow she always shows up to show me the light. Whether it is in a social media post, a video I run across, or a book I pick up to read at the right moment. Brené, thank you for being you and having the courage to show up and be seen.  I recently finished reading Brené Brown's book Dare to Lead . In that book she discusses values. She says that we all have two core values and the rest of the values we believe in are supportive of our two core values. I believe my two core values are: courage and legacy. When I would talk about values in my classes, I would mention integrity and authenticity as being some of my core values. I now believe those have a supporting role in my core values of legacy and courage. It takes a lot of courage to show up and be your authentic self and to sometimes stand alone in integrity. I want to be represented accurately which is why I get so upset when people...

This week has been a learning experience for me. I have been very introspective-processing a lot of information on relationships and connection. The universe sometimes likes to give me a lot of data to work with, so I can learn a little somethin' somethin'-then I share it with ya'll. Lately, I have been trying to figure out what "family" is. When we are young, we are taught that "family" is made up of our relatives, period. As we grow into adults, that is what we often continue to believe. Then sometimes, something funny happens. You start to realize that you have strong amazing connections with non-relatives. You may notice that you really are not that connected with your relatives. If you are anything like me, you start to feel some kind of way for not having what you think you are supposed to have-start questioning yourself-start forcing a square peg into a round hole-toss out the beloved rock you love. Okay, I just got kind of weird with my analo...

I had a fairly solid plan. It went to sh*t! I recovered and devised a new solid plan. It went to sh*t! I am weary...but will build a new plan...later because: I am currently baking cupcakes without frosting at my brother's house because my car is in the shop and I have barely any food in the house. I am using what I have to make these cupcakes, now muffins I suppose. I even had to sub' an ingredient. I live out in the middle of no-where, not even a corner store is within walking distance for a girl that grew up in the 80s/90s where we walked everywhere! Cupcakes are my therapy. Making them helps me focus on something else and eating them feeds my sorrow. Let me back up a little for you.   I was aware my new plan was falling apart, but I kept focusing on things working out. On a daily basis, I am looking for new strategies on how I am going to fulfill an agreement I made when I moved here and survive, then become successful. As discouraging as things have been, I have be...

Why is it hard for us to reach out? When you are in the midst of a painful, shameful, or fearful moment, you hesitate to reach out. I bet it's because you are protecting yourself. You are already a hot damn mess and you are afraid of being rejected, dismissed, or shamed by others. My favorite statement I love hearing after sharing with someone that I had just overcame something painful, shameful or fearful is "you should have reached out to me." Well damn! How was I supposed to know? I was afraid to reach out to anyone. Or maybe I reached out to someone who had said that to me in the past and they were not as receptive as I had hoped. We all struggle sometimes. Unfortunately, most of us struggle alone and in silence because it is scary to be vulnerable and past experiences proved we cannot trust anyone to give a sh*t. Or maybe we attempted and failed. It's so hard to try again because that rejection just added more to the pile of steaming sh*t you currently cal...

I was once told I am not creative because I cannot free paint. Anyone that knows me, knows that I asserted a very strong argument against that statement. First, I have taken a strengths survey annually for the last four years. It has told me every year that my top strength is "creativity." Second, I am an excellent process and performance improvement professional. It takes great creativity to accomplish making processes and performance optimized. Third, I have had a challenging life with many sharp turns that required a lot of creativity to keep moving forward. Why did it bother me so much that I was told I was not creative? I do not think the statement is what bothered me. I think it was the assertion that I could not accomplish certain things because of  a narrow belief that our talents, personality, and thinking style determine what we can accomplish. I do not subscribe to such a belief. Let me share a story with you. I recently attended a parent engagement a...

Some times you have to re-pot a plant so it can grow. When a plant outgrows its pot, it gets root bound and is cramped in its surroundings. The roots will begin to spill out the bottom or over the top. The plant's growth will be stunted. In some cases the plant will die. When a plant is re-potted, it sometimes goes into shock. But, with some care, it eventually begins to grow again. You cannot always see what is happening in your life. I did not know I was "root-bound." I felt like I  had more to give. But, where I was, there was no room for me to be the person I wanted to be. Something felt wrong. I felt wrong. I was persistent and kept trying to grow beyond my surroundings. When I got too big, I felt like I was being cut down. It took a lot of courage and encouragement for me to uproot my life and move to Texas. I had no idea why I was moving here. Using this analogy for a move to Texas is oddly fitting because everything is bigger in Texas, right? Moving to Te...

I was gifted with a very diverse set of daughters. When you ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up, they will often tell you various careers like police, officer, fireman, lawyer, teacher, etc. When I was asked, I would often say "a mom." I never thought anything of that statement until I started to feel like a failure when it came to my careers and marriages. I learned about values-based living and realized I had failed at things I did not value as much. I value being the best mom I can be and the legacy I leave through my children. My parenting journey has been a rocky one, just like everyone else. What I can tell you is I am the best mother my daughters could have. Yes, I said it! I am very confident in that statement now. I am the best mom for them because I remember what it was like being a daughter at all stages of growing up. I am also intuitive, an excellent problem solver, and dare I say: manipulative. Manipulation gets such a bad rap, but it is a goo...