snow day mixtape

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oklahoma's first official snow day in the public school system enabled me to work from home and these beats made it all the more magical:

1. wagon wheel- old crow medicine show

2. forget you- cee lo green 

3. peaceful easy feeling- the eagles [top 2 favorite song of all time]

4. sweet pea- amos lee

5. ridin' solo- jason derulo [to pull me & maile away from the "adele slump"]

6. i wanna dance with somebody- whitney houston [song that i survived on summer 2011]

7. young blood- the naked and famous [thanks to my music guru]

8. all these things that i've done- the killers

9. wedding dress- matt nathanson [after being mesmerized at his concert last night]

10. where i stood- missy higgins

11. stronger (what doesn't kill you)- kelly clarkson [a pleasant treat in my email from maile]

...& of course anything that plays on the brett dennen pandora station.

warm tea & smooth melody,

Love Letter To My Body

(source)

Dear Body.


I'd first like to thank you for all that you do for me. I am thankful for the breaths you give me each day. I am thankful for vision to see the beauty that surrounds me, even in the least illuminated spaces. I am thankful for the ability to manifest creativity from my hands. I am thankful for my legs and the strength they host that allows me to travel as desired. I am thankful for the ability to feel, which serves as a constant reminder that I am alive.


I love you for all that you are, as you are- your smile brightens the faces of those around you & your brown eyes are always honest. Your skin is soft & ticklish and the arches of your feet mimic a rainbow. Your countless freckles remind others of youth and serve as lasting memories of adventures in the sun.


I love how your belly button is both an "innie" & an "outie." I love the tint of pink that your cheeks create when you blush, and how impossible it is for you to conceal. I love how your eyes, ears, nose, mouth & heart have an undeniable craving for sweet things. I love how impressed I am by the strength of your toes when I balance my weight on them. I love how all of your parts create a symphony of movement when you are compelled to dance. I love your awkward pencil grip & the scar on your right arm that resembles a snake bite. I love your long legs and how well they manage to sit in a pretzel fold. I love how strong your core is, providing you many hours of strength for laughing. I am amused by the freckles on your face that are parallel to the Little Dipper constellation & how much your feet enjoy being naked. 


You deserve to be showcased with perfect posture. You deserve to be nourished with food that makes you feel strong & energized. You deserve to be treated to deep sleep & colorful dreams everyday. You deserve to maintain hydration & have your lungs filled with fresh air.  Your mind deserves to be filled with positive thoughts & good intentions. Your soul deserves to be hosted in empowering & enriching environments. 


I know that I do not always hear you when you ask for what you need. I will be better at listening to you and answering you.


You are one-of-a-kind & I am lucky that you are mine. You are the reason why I exist & why I exist well. 


eternally grateful-

What does your love letter to your body sound like? Is the language different than what you would write in a letter to your lover or your best friend? It shouldn't be... Give it a try. Be gracious, kind, and complimentary to all extremes. Act as if your spirit has stepped out of your body. Your body deserves to know how you feel about it. No one else has to see it (trust me, this is not my full version) -you just need to feel it.

happy happy joy joy

things that made me blissfully blissful today...

waking up extra early to make chocolate chip pancakes before work & enjoying them with Maile. puppysitting Lexi for my manager while she is away. my nails layered with As Good As Gold & G-listen To Your Heart nailpolish. listening to "here comes the sun" on my way to work with the sun shinning brightly through my sun-roof. bringing ants on a log to share with my coworkers during our Monday meeting. doodling skyscrapers. Maile sharing tortilla chips & strawberry yogurt as dip with me. having a Twitter conversation with a new friend.. & by new friend I mean Terrell Owens (#funny). being on day 3 of not washing my hair. the fabulous company of my coworkers. skipping to get where I'm going. peeling an orange all in one piece. meeting with school leadership & feeling inspired by new insights. pink blush. doing the february-photo-a-day-challenge on instagram. taking Lexi for walks. getting a parking spot on my street. listening to the Pandora Motown radio while I make dinner. morning star vegetarian corn dogs... if I hadn't seen the package I'd have thought someone was fooling me into eating meat... they're unreal. discovering that I have 3 bottles of mustard in my fridge & new-found fear of running out of mustard(!!!). eating chocolate chip pancakes & corn dogs with Maile for dinner & talking about how great it is being a "grown-up." group texting with my mom & little brother. the sound of ballet flats on the floor. enjoying a chai tea latte out of the new lovely starbucks cups. watching season 2 of "sex & the city" while I reply to emails and review teacher plans. this stuff (oh! baby!). washing my hair. the scent of MorocaanOil curl defining mousse. Thunder victory in overtime!!!.

the little things  always bring such joy my way.

the secret to hair full of secrets

The tool to creating uber happy curls may actually look more like a torture device, but I consider it a magic wand... Rsession Tools NaluWaver ...

It could easily be the best beauty investment I have ever made (yes, ever). The possibilities are endless. You can use it to make loose beach waves or very structured and crisp waves. You can make crazy big curls or crazy loose curls & so much more. The more I play with it the more I learn. I once even managed to create a vintage inspired finger wave. I can curl my hair with it in under 10 minutes ...even with my wonky sometimes straight/sometimes curly/mostly nappy hair. It's insanely efficient. It's also what I use to create my curly side bun (which takes a total of 7 minutes!).

The videos on the Rsession Tools website teach the basics to using it (which you have to watch or you'll end up with an uncomfortable burn!). It comes with a heat-protecting glove that you must wear. Trust me, I try to rival fate and sneak around having to use the glove and it always gets me!... plus it kind of makes you feel like MJ.

So, the secret to fetch curls that are full of secrets is not the secret ingredient in Toaster Strudel, it's the NaluWaver. You go Glen Coco!!!

...& none for Gretchen Wieners... bye!

February Ambitions

February

Romance Myself

Write my own manifesto/mission statement: There is something so powerful about proactively defining my mission. I wrote something like this last year and found it to be so invigorating to lay out what I truly wanted in life and how I wanted to go about getting there through my actions. Another approach I may attempt is to write a letter to my younger self. Often times I seek so much information from books and websites yet neglect the overflowing wealth of wisdom that I have simply collected through my own experiences. By taking the time to do this I will be learning from my past and previous lessons.  I should be operating like this daily but I know that I ‘m not. This is going to be one of the first things I chip away at in February.  When I’m done with it I’m going to frame it for myself… after all, I know I’m never really going to get to printing out the pictures that are meant for all of my empty picture frames…

Some great inspiration to get started...

 “If I Had My Life to Live Over” 

Girl on A Mission: How to Write a Personal Mission Statement 

Letters To My Younger Self

The Turned On Woman

Figure out what I truly want: Start with a vision board. I haven’t done one of these since before Miss USA. For some reason it’s been very challenging for me to set a clear vision because my previous vision had an expiration date and I've struggled to navigate past it. I’m a huge advocate of vision boards; I truly believe they have played a large part in all of my accomplishments. This is a project that I’m going to commit to this month. I don’t want to finish it because ultimately my vision should continue to evolve and adjust as life does. 

My vision board creation madness looks & feels like this: I commit to a night either alone or with a friend (shout out to Sarah and our vision board frenzy we had back in December 2010). I gather all the supplies that I’ll need, glue stick, push pins, assortment of magazines, stickers, foam or cork board ect. I set up my favorite Pandora station and have at it. I start by just flipping through magazines and tearing out any pictures or words that compel me… some may not make sense, but I don’t believe they should. Some things may feel superficial but I try to navigate my way around judgment, this is for me and value judgment should not exist. Then I start to lay everything out and plaster the pictures and words onto my board. When all is said and done I step back and marvel with pure giddiness. Then I put it up and let it work its magic. 

The most important thing to remember is to just do your own thing. Let your vision form naturally; don’t force yourself towards something that has been influenced by someone else or societal expectations. Listen to your heart.

“The paper collages you probably made as a teen were feverishly personal manifestations of what you loved. Vision-boards, the grown up alternative, can be just as passionate- with more intention…” -The Oprah Magazine (& here is what Oprah has to say about the art of a vision board) 

Journal 3 things about myself that I love every night: Through continuation of journaling my gratitude  I will also be journaling things that I love about myself.  I am hoping that through this endeavor I will come to learn more about who I am and what I believe my strengths are. I’ll also be journaling things that make me happy, and compliments that I have received along with compliments that I want to give. 

Purposeful ensembles & colorful lipstick everyday: This is my attempt to embrace my creativity and delight myself in my own style. Lately have I become so infatuated with bold lipstick colors, but I’m always so afraid to wear them. Through this endeavor I’m going to stop being so afraid. I know that fear is only stemmed from what I think other people think of me, not what I think of my self…. And that’s just silly. Just a simple effort to make my days a little bit brighter.

Be content in the approval from myself rather than others: Gala Darling is my one stop shop for all adventures on the pathway to what she calls Radical Self Love. I’ve been following and adapting her methods for years and this months I’ve enrolled in her Radical Self Love Bootcamp (how exciting!) and guess what?! It’s half priced right now! It’s a great time to join me on my quest if this is something you are interested in as well. Check her out, she’s beyond fabulous.

I am going to seek SARK! for further wisdom. Two of her books I absolutely adore are Inspiration Sandwich and Succulent Wild Woman. SARK does such a great job empowering women to dance to the beat of their own drum, a practice I very much value & appreciate.  Through this I hope to discover my own ability to approve of myself and identify when I am my best and why, and when I am not my best and how to overcome it.

I will also be seeking opportunity to extend my love and approval outwards so that others are embraced by my actions. I’m going to deliver more random acts of kindness & joy. 

Rabbit! Rabbit!

Ending January.... My Quest Towards Financial Fusion

January has officially come and gone. It was quite blissful. I enjoyed the warm Oklahoma winter weather, I discovered a new addiction for popcorn sprinkled with red chile powder & I put forth all of my efforts into improving myself and seeking opportunity to make life a little bit sweeter.


Back at the start of the month I wrote about my plan for stackable resolutions. Having this plan for 2012 has actually provoked a lot of ideas and reflections to the way I approach my day-to-day life and my future. I'm looking forward to each month and making 2012 amazing through new ideas and approaches.


I have to admit- January's resolutions were the least exciting to me of all. I think this is because they have the longest turnover for results and success, which is why this goal ultimately needed to be first. Though I haven't yet felt the impact of my actions it does feel good to have gained clarity on my finances and to now be more purposeful and proactive with how I am spending my money. Here is a recap of how January, my month of Financial Fusion, panned out:

• Create a budget and stick to it: I actually am still sorting out what this looks like but I found a few great apps for the iPhone that are helping me be strategically plan my budget and be accountable for my spending and my actions. I also found in the past that mint.com is a great tool for taking control over your finances. I like the support of a very structured system and I also like tracking my spending and progress to my goals (in this case my budget). I've enjoyed setting up these tools and using them & I'm looking forward to continuing this. 
• Make a plan to be debt free by December: Dave Ramsey is a financial genius. I spent time reading one of his books this past month and what I really appreciated was recognizing that I am not alone in my financial standings. Hearing about other people's situations (who in most cases were much more severe than my own) and how they overcame them helped me become more optimistic and empowered about my controlling my fiances. I highly recommend you check him out, he has a radio show, several books and work books, and a few other learning experiences. In addition to reading Dave's book and I set a goal for what I'm going to start saving my money for and what I'll be able to do once I'm completely rid of my debt. Doing that has invested me even more in my efforts. 
• Spend only the money I posses, no more credit cards: It simply took the act of naming this goal to commit to it. I'm also going to start only using cash, and then I'll be able to do the $5 Savings Plan.

• Journal gratitude every night, depend less on materials: This is a ritual I have actually been doing for a while, but I was writing down gratitude for all things in my life, even the materialistic things. By being conscious of this I am now only listing things that did not require money to obtain. I have found that I am even more blessed and fulfilled by identifying these things and now materials are less valuable to me than before. I have begun discovering happiness and gratitude in places that I have neglected for far too long. This has been a very eye-opening practice for me.
• Give generously: This is my greatest opportunity for growth. I've given when the opportunity has found it's way to me, but I have yet to proactively seek opportunities. I want to give generously to something that I care about, something that aligns to my values, and to something that my donation will be of true value. I'm still in search of this so if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them. I also don't  believe that this act needs to be in the form of just monetary donations. 

All-in-all I found great success in January and feel even more invigorated to hold steady with my goals as I move forward towards approaching my February goals. One thing I did learn is that the more clear I am with how I will meet my goals the more successful I am. Tomorrow I plan on sharing my methods & clarity for February...

"It doesn't cost a thing to smile, you don't have to pay to laugh..."

pennies, poise & poodles-

The One Line Journal

Back in December I started what I call a One Line Journal. It has since become part of my nightly routine and I absolutely love it. For Christmas I created a One Line Journal for my friend Maile and she has found it to provide her the same level of joy. Maile says that she loves the art of routine and her One Line Journal has helped her create a nightly routine that excites her.

What makes the One Line Journal so great?

If you’re anything like me you probably have a container or draw that is full of partially full journals. I always get excited about the idea of a new journal and the endless blank pages dying to be filled with words. I’ll spend hours decorating my new journal or listing inspiring quotes on the inside of the cover. Then when it comes time to actually “journal” I start off really strong, I commit to writing every night and begin to fill up page after page. Sure enough, a few days/weeks will pass and one night I just don’t have the energy, then the next night I’m not as invested after already skipping one night, then by the third night I’d have too much to write so I don’t even know where to begin…. You see where I’m going with this? On top of that when I go back to read my old journals (if I ever do), I find that my thoughts and experiences 1.) aren’t really as exciting to me now as they were to me then and 2.) always make me chuckle because they really have no purpose or meat to them. The One Line Journal is a simple and fun solution to all of that.

So what exactly is a One Line Journal?

It’s actually quite simple, and something you can start today.

Supplies:

Journal

Pen

How:

Step One: Write the date.

Step Two: Reflect and think about the events of your day.

Step Three: Write one line that sums up your day or one line that jumps out at you about your day. These can be a synthesis of your day, a question you’ve been pondering, a feeling you had, something you or someone else said, a Haiku (sure, we can count that!), a song lyric, a quote ect… (it can even be a run-on-sentence… hey, after all, it is your journal)

Step Four: Make it count. You only get one line a day, what was most important or impactful? What do you want to be sure to remember?

Step Five: Do it again tomorrow.

What I love about doing this is that it provides an opportunity for me to reflect on my day & determine what is most important by helping me put my life into perspective. It also forces me to get creative & think more visually rather than just being focused on the product of writing. It helps eliminate the boring details of my day that aren't important but that I had felt compelled to write about for the sake of “writing.” Along with all of this I love going back and looking at my writing as if the lines were little snapshots of my days or experiences. Some entries are very reflective and insightful; others may just be a funny quote... none-the-less that simple one line always takes me back to that feeling or experience (good or bad).

It’s kind of a like a more personal and purposeful Twitter.

1/22/2012

The sweet wouldn't be as sweet without the sour.

Saturday Swag

Wine Lounge Girl's Night by brittanytoll featuring a military style jacket

A girls night at a chic wine lounge affords the ultimate opportunity to tune into your inner sophistication. For me that looks like deep red lips and a chunky stack of bracelets that I just barely manage to squeeze into the arm of my military blazer. I may live in Tulsa but I'm finally starting to grow into my own style. Oklahoma provides me the perfect landscape to take just enough of a risk and try new things out. 

Don't let your environment determine your style, let your style* determine your environment. 


*style isn't just a garment or something you wear.

late night talks & mismatched socks,

Kicking Off The Week

(source)

have an adventurous and meaningful week-

Saturday Swag

Forever Young Saturday Swag by brittanytoll featuring kitten heel boots

Lazy as can be and looking forward to the OKC Thunder vs. the NY Knicks game with some of the greatest company I could possibly imagine tonight. I drank my first soda in 2012 with my mac& cheese lunch (thanks to Mike) and it was delightful. I slept-in & took a nap all before 2pm. I've been wearing my charm bracelet again & today I'm going to wear my frozen yogurt charm since this has become my greatest obsession lately (Mmm... Cherry Berry).  I love enjoying every second of my youth.

have a fabulous MLK weekend,