10 Things to make you happy right now!

Life can get pretty crazy sometimes, but its important that even in chaos you remain happy. Yes some things are stressful, but stressing out about something doesn't fix it or make it go away. All it does is add to your problems, and it can even make you sick. So today I want to focus on things that make me happy and help me relax, and of course, I'll share them with you.

10.  Call or text your best friend.

9. Madlibs. Seriously, no one can be upset after reading the hilarious story they just created!

8. Have a cup of coffee. It gives you energy and perks you right up. Especially when you drink it out of a cute or sassy mug. ;)

Ok, so it doesn't really say "not shit" but it definitely should, cause that's what I'm doing today.

7. Dance. Turn up the music and dance like crazy. Jump around, booty pop, drop it like its hot, salsa, twerk, Gagnam Style and do some weird seizure thing when the bass drops. It doesn't matter how well you dance, just that you have fun. Music gets you pumped and excited & that's just what you need when your feeling down.

6. Give yourself a spa day! Mani, pedi, facial, hair treatment. The works, you've earned it & since you're doing it at home it won't cost you more than a few bucks. It's a great way to unwind. Not only are you treating yourself nicely but you're also going to look super cute afterwards. It's a twofer.  #selflove

5. Read. Forget all of your responsibilities and just get lost in a really good book. It doesn't matter what you read as long as you enjoy it. It could be something...

• Inspirational: Honestly, we could all use a new perspective.
• Informative: Learn something new. Educate yourself. You can never be too smart.
• Romantic: Who doesn't appreciate a passionate, cheesy love story every once in a while? #50shadesofdoesthisstoryeverend
•  Silly: Read something that make you laugh. I recommend Napalm & Silly Putty by George Carlin. Sarcasm is my kind of humor.

This is the book I'm getting lost in now.

4. Meditate.  It clears your mind and rids you of insecurities and anxiety. Anybody can do it. You don't need an instructor or a how to video. It's simply going within. (Did I mention it's free?)

"Quiet the mind and the soul will speak."
                           -Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

3. Watch a feel good movie. Mine is Mean Girls, yes I've seen it a thousand times, but its so fetch. Let's be honest, all the best quotes come from this movie. (Psst, It's on Netflix now!)

OMG Karen! You can't just ask people why they're white!

 
2.  Find a new hobby or activity you can do. A lot of the time when people think they're sad,  they're actually just bored and unstimulated. Try something new, you could join an improv group, volunteer in your community, go Geo Caching, go kayaking, take a hike, go skating, just do something.
 If you think there's nothing to do in your community, think again. Check out these great websites:

http://www.meetup.com/  
(Where you find all the groups in your area, go out there and make some new friends. Trust me, there's a group for everything)

http://www.geocaching.com/
"The real-world treasure hunt, that's happening right now, all around you."



1. Be happy. Happiness is a choice. Sometimes it doesn't just come to you. You have to work for it. Remember these wise words? Don't worry, be happy! Put on that beautiful smile, they're contagious and your happiness will spread to others.




Peace & Love
Shelly xox

Random acts of kindness

I went to the dentist today and got some unpleasant news. I left there feeling pretty upset and I wanted to cry, but I didn't instead I just got in the car and drove. I started feeling more and more sorry for myself. Why is this happening to me? Why does life have to be so hard? When am I going to get a break?!

When I got to the end of the street I saw a homeless man. He was leaning on a post holding a sign that read "HOMELESS PLEASE HELP. GOD BLESS YOU." I immediately felt guilty. How could I be so ungrateful? Yes I have some problems, but I also have a roof over my head, food in my stomach and a warm bed at night. This man had none of that.

I didn't have any cash on me, but I knew I had to help him somehow. I know if that was me, I would want someone to care. I couldn't just drive past him, it felt wrong. I needed him to know that someone cared.

Lucky for me there was a SONIC Drive-in right around the corner. OH YEAH! I got this. I pull in and order him a #6 All American dog with tater tots and a Coke. Then I drive my emotional ass over to the Walgreens parking lot behind him. I walked over to him and I said, "Excuse me sir, I don't have any cash but I thought maybe you might be hungry, so I brought you this." He said "Thank you, God bless" and we went our separate ways. As I'm walking back to my car I look over and he's sitting by the bushes. I think about going over there and sitting with him, but that would be weird, so I get into my car and sit down and the moment I shut the door I start bawling my eyes out.

I felt so lonely at that moment and I thought if I felt lonely, maybe he felt lonely too. So I walked over to him and I asked him If I could join him, he smiled and said yes.

So I sat down next to him and we started talking. His name is Ted. He has lived in Florida for 20 years, he owes 84,000 in child support, so when he works they garnish his wages, he hasn't worked in years. I found out he has a girlfriend, shes homeless too, but she can't be in the sun because of her medication. Her name is Debbie. He is madly in love with her and he feels blessed to have her in his life. "As long as I have her, I'm OK" He says.

We talked about the weather, which is what people who don't know each other talk about, but this was different, this wasn't small talk it was his reality. Last night was brutal on them. He hold me they found an empty trailer to protect them from the wind, which was helpful, but the floor was freezing cold. For warmth they used cardboard boxes, it helped a little but they weren't able to sleep. I told him I might have something in my car I can give him. We talked a while more, he finished his hot dog, but he saved the tater tots for Debbie. It was time for us both to go, so I went to my car and found one of Gigi's blankets and brought it over to him. He was happy and he promised to tell Debbie I said "Hi." He had a kind smile. I noticed he was missing a few teeth. I realized I didn't feel so bad about my teeth anymore. He had given me a new perspective.  He waved happily as I drove away and it felt so good.

Ted is a sweetheart, he taught me a valuable lesson today. If you feel like you could use a random act of kindness, do one instead, because that is so much more rewarding. And if you ever feel like life is unfair or too hard, remember there are others out there much less fortunate than you. Count your blessings not your sorrows.

I feel blessed to have met Ted and if I see him again, I'll be sure to do lunch with him. Hopefully Debbie can join us next time.

Peace & Love
Shelly XO

Cherish your time

I want to share with you guys something that I learned recently...

You should always cherish your time.

I have been super busy lately. (hence, why there haven't been any blog posts) Between working full time, being a mommy and my crazy life I barely have room to breathe. My free time has been pretty limited, which might sound kind of lame but its been a really good thing. 

It's taught me to appreciate my time more and to have higher standards when it comes to how I spend it. I think more highly of myself and my time now.

It's also improved the quality of my friendships. Since I don't have a lot of time to hang out with my friends, I had to weed out the ones who aren't good for me or the ones that should have been gone years ago. I no longer waste my time on negative people, those who lack motivation or who try to hold me back. Now I only spend time with people who are positive, goal driven, and those that inspire me. I can't settle for less than that; My time is too precious to me. If I'm going to give someone three hours of my life it has to be beneficial for me as well as them. There has to be common ground and I have to leave them feeling as though we gained something from the experience. Otherwise, it was a just a waste. I'm a go-getter and a do-er, so the people I hang out with have to be too, otherwise it just feels like we have nothing in common and there's not a whole lot we can share.

Have you ever heard of the saying? "You are who your friends are." That statement couldn't be more true. We tend to look for others that reflect us or want the same things out of life as us.
So take a close look at your friends, are they people you look up to? Do you think your friends are going places? If you're friends are lazy and unmotivated chances are you are too.

Don't think of it as being snobby, think of it as having respect for yourself and your time.

You don't have to go to college

I love learning and I strongly believe that everyone should get a good education. However I don't think everyone should or needs to get a college degree. 

A college degree isnt everything; It's not the be all, end all of careers. 

There's so much more to life than going to school. 

Do what you love, right now; You'll never be this young again. & I mean that for everyone young or old. 

If you want to go to school, then by all means I support that. But its also OK to not go. It's OK to go a different route.  If you're passionate about the arts, pursue it. It doesn't require a degree; It requires your soul. People seem to think that going to school gives you the title of whatever you want to be, but it doesn't; It gives you a piece of paper that says you know stuff on that subject.

It by no means makes you an expert.

How about first hand life experience? Don't just sit in a classroom and learn about others doing it, go out and do it yourself! 

It's 2014, if you want to be an expert on something all you have to do is look online; Do your own research. All the information you need is at your fingertips. You can Google it, you can search through blogs and forums, find DIY's or how to's. Start your own website using your new found expertise, share your own thoughts and ideas on it, write your own book.  If I was a job interviewer that would impress me more than a college degree. 

That is something to admire, because along the way you had your ups and downs; Your expertise comes from your trials and errors. That's real and I respect that. It came from you, it's not just something you're reciting from some outdated text book.

I don't need a degree to tell me who I am and neither do you.

You don't need a degree to follow your dreams.

Peace & Love

xo Shelly

Be your own best friend

A best friend is someone one you cherish very much, someone you respect and whose opinion you value. Someone you can trust to have your best interest at heart, and vise versa.

So who better to be your best friend than you? No one knows you better.

It breaks my heart to hear my friends say such negative things about themselves.

"I'm stupid." 

"I'm so fat." 

"Don't take my picture, I look ugly."  

Why is it so easy to love others unconditionally and accept their flaws but yet so hard to do with yourself. Things you'd easily overlook for a friend are the same things you tear yourself up about.

If your friend gained ten pounds would you say mean things to her? Would you call her fat? Would you think any less of her? No, of course you wouldn't. You love her, she's a beautiful person and her weight does not define her. Fair enough, but God forbid you gain ten pounds. You freak out. How could you let this happen?! You pinch at your stomach and call yourself fat. That's hurtful, you'd never do to your best friend. But you're quick to do it yourself, without second thought.

Why are we so hard on ourselves? We're human too, we make mistakes just like everybody else, we aren't perfect.

You have to learn to love your imperfections, those little things that make you, you. Your quirks, your crooked smile, your sarcasm, or your awkwardness. Whatever makes you different is what makes you, you. And that is what makes you beautiful. 

Be-you-tiful. 

If there is something you don't like about yourself, fix it if possible and if not then accept it and move on with your life.

This is your soul, this is your body and you are stuck with it for the rest of your life. So accept it and learn to love it unconditionally. Say it with me... "I am beautiful, I am smart, I am good enough." Say it every day, even if at first you don't believe it. Say it, but say it with meaning.

Think of it this way, you probably think pretty highly of your friends. You think they're pretty, they're smart, they're cool. Now turn around and look at it through your friend's eyes. They think you're pretty, you're smart and you're cool. Thats why they wanted to be your friend in the first place. 

Give yourself a chance and you might find that you're pretty awesome.

Peace&Love

Shelly xo

Believe in yourself

If you can believe it you can achieve it. The possibilities are endless, and it all starts with you. I know this to be true. 

Follow your dreams, if you dream of being an artist, be that artist, start painting. Having a big fancy degree or studio doesn’t make you an artist, your love for art and your creations do. That’s the biggest misconception, that you need certain things to do what you want. All you need is yourself and hard work.

No one was born with a title :doctor, Olympian, artist, writer, cook, ballerina, NASCAR driver, everyone had to start at the bottom and worked their way up. They didn’t settle, they followed their dreams. They worked hard, they busted their ass, and trust me they failed a few times, but they didn't give up. 

These  people that  you look up to, this dream job that you want. You can have it, there’s no reason why you cant. I believe that’s true for everyone, you need to learn a new skill for this? You need to go to school for this? Then do it, do whatever it takes. 

Why? Because that is what life is about, its about living and if you’re spending 40 hours a week hating your life at 9 dollars an hour…are you really living? 

This goes for everything not just your career, if you can believe it you can achieve it.

Another big thing is weight loss, its hard to lose weight. Of course its hard , its certainly a lot harder to lose weight than it is to gain weight or to do nothing about it. No one wants to have to work for anything anymore, everyone wants the easy way (aka diet pills, surgery, magic weight loss dust) it takes effort to lose weight, it takes hard work.  

Once people decide they want to be skinny, they get upset that they aren’t skinny. Going to the gym one time isn’t going to get you a six pack. Great things are worth waiting for and working hard for. Some people never start because they think it will take forever. Trust me one day you’ll get there and you’ll realize that forever was only a few years & now you’re there.

You have to be dedicated to it, you’re going to have to want it bad enough.

If your goal is to lose weight then you need to do something about it. “I want something, I deserve something” No. If you want something, you work for it. You earn it. You don’t deserve it anymore or any less than anyone else. You have to work for what you want, or be willing to settle for less.

“To want” is the ego talking. “I want to be skinny” “I want to be rich” “I want to be successful” It's not enough to want something, you have to work hard to achieve your goals, so that you can have exactly what you want (and deserve) and I promise you, that you can.

 The key to not giving up is to stay motivated. Motivation is hard to keep sometimes, especially when you’ve already had a setback. 

You only fail if you quit. It you keep trying, you’re destined for success. 

Remember, there is no age limit or time limit on your dreams. 

                                                            

One of the worst things people can to unmotivated themselves, is to compare themselves to others. The reason for that is most likely that you’re comparing yourself to someone who’s successful in what it is you’re trying to achieve, because that’s who we look up to; people who have already reached our goals. 

It's ok to admire them, but you cant  compare yourself to them, because you’re not on their level. (all that is going to do it discourage you and make you feel less adequate)  They worked really hard and long to get to where they are. They didn’t have the success overnight.  They had to learn new skills, try new things, fall a few times, get back up, deal with the ups and down. That’s what gave them the confidence and knowledge they have now. If they had quit the first time something didn’t work out for them, they wouldn’t be where they are now. 

Now its your turn, believe in yourself and go out there and work for it! You’re worth it.

Peace&Love

Shelly xo

Follow your dreams...

You can do anything you want, or be anyone you want to be.  All you have to do is believe in yourself and follow your dreams.

Dream big, dream HUGE, dream out of this fucking world. Dream those dreams they told you, you shouldn’t dream. If you want to be a model, then be a model, if you want to be an astronaut, then be a fucking astronaut! If you dream of being a pirate, then by all means, be a fucking pirate! Be whatever it is that you want to be. Even if you've been told before that you can't do this, or that its not realistic or “normal”. Do it.  Don't listen to anyone that tells you, "you can’t". No one is more capable than you and no one is more deserving of happiness than you. You have every right to follow your dreams, and its in your hands to make them a reality.

Don't let excuses get in your way and don't let life and its problems keep you from achieving your dreams.

Life is about adventure and excitement. Sometimes people forget that because they get so caught up in the 9-5 work routine.
They get up, put up with crap for 9 hours, go home and then do it all again the next day. It's mundane and miserable and after so long it becomes their life. They think that’s all there is and they settle. They forget to play and learn and explore and be happy.

I'm not saying quit your job, I know all about bills and responsibilities. I’m saying, don't settle, work towards achieving your goals, so that one day you can quit your job and do exactly what you want.

Figure out what it is that would make you happiest in this world, then do it. No matter how crazy or far fetched it may sound. Write it down. Has it been done before? Do some research, figure out what steps you need to take to get started. Get inspired, look up people who have successfully done this and get some perspective, take notes.

What if what you want to do has never been done before?
You have a brain, use your  imagination. Create something new. Creativity is your best friend.
Thomas Edison wanted to see better in the dark, so he invented the light bulb. He didn't’t sit around thinking it was impossible, just because no one else had done it. He imagined it and made it happen. It took him a lot of tries, and there were a lot of “not light bulbs” but that’s part of the learning process. So don't be afraid of getting something wrong, just take notes and try it differently the next time.
Channel your inner Thomas Edison. He said, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 things that won't work.” Pure genius.
It takes time, be patient & respect your struggles. Your struggle is a part of the journey, its how you learn, and it gives you strength.

Following your dreams isn’t easy. If it was easy everyone would do it. It requires a lot of hard work and commitment. Its a 100% kind of thing. There is no half assed way of following your dreams. You have to believe you can do it and then do whatever is necessary to make it happen.

Even if you work 9-5 and you're exhausted when you get home and you just want to veg out on the couch and eat cold pizza till you pass out, YOU GET YOUR TIRED ASS UP! Do some extra research, sweat a little... greatness requires sacrifice. Do what it takes. Its not always going to be easy, but if your dreams are worth it to you, you’ll find a way to make it happen.
That being said, not everything you do towards your goals have to be a huge, every little thing  counts and it all adds to that big picture.

Start right now, there is no better moment, start now and I promise you in a year you'll think back to this defining moment and you'll thank yourself. There is no such thing as “too late to follow your dreams.” That is just ridiculous, happiness does not have an age limit.


Remember to enjoy the journey, because following your dreams should be a
joyful thing, not a chore. That’s all for now, hope this served as a little inspiration for you guys and I wish you all the best.


Peace&Love
Shelly xo