Do you ever get performance anxiety?  If you are a blogger you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about. 

I love to write and I love to talk but for some reason I have a major block when it comes to blogging regularly.

Hmmmm, let’s explore this.  It almost feels like when I was in college and I had a paper due but I kept putting it off and putting it off until I was almost out of time and then I’d sit down and do it.  Afterwards I would always think to myself, it was waaay easier than I thought.  Procrastinating only makes it worse.

After a few years in college I began to put a system in place so things flowed smoother and I rarely got caught up in that OMG, OMG I’ve gotta get this done feeling.

So the key is the SYSTEM.  Doesn’t everything boil down to that?  It’s like brushing your teeth.  Once you have a system it becomes so normal and natural that you don’t even have to think about it – it just happens easily and effortlessly.

Okay, here’s my system that I’m going to try for 2 weeks:  I’ve noticed that when I write things in my planner it gets done.  So I have written BLOG and circled it 2x/week for the next 2 weeks.

What system can you put into place to make your life more effective?

If you’ve ever wondered how some people naturally attract great relationships while you just sit around Friday nights watching movies with your dog here are a few tips and tricks to turn that around and become a LOVE MAGNET!

1.  If you don’t have loving relationships in your life it’s because you don’t love yourself enough.  In order for you to magnetize love you need to dig deep – inside.  Love Magnet begins with loving yourself.

2.  What you think about you bring about.  Switch up that negative self talk with some positive affirmations:  I am a LOVE MAGNET.  I attract loving relationships.  I am overflowing with love.  I am healthy, happy and whole.

3.  Act as if.  Those mental movies in your head need a major overhaul.  Quite whining about what you don’t have and step into NOW.  Create the movie in your head of falling head over heals in love with yourself and when you discover how great you are “they” begin beating a path to your door wanting to spend time with such an incredible person.  Yes, imagine loving partners calling off the hook and lining up at your door to spend time with YOU.  ♥

It’s official – I just finished painting my nails the perfect pink color and I am now ready for Valentine’s day!  I have my pink sweater on with pink eyeshadow and my favorite pink socks with hearts all over them and I am overflowing with LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

I know, just a tad bit crazy but I really love Valentine’s day.  A day where we stop and truly acknowledge what this journey is all about – LOVE.  Giving, Being, Having, Creating, Holding, Forgiving, Helping, Caring, Sharing – all in the name of love.

So whether you are in love or out of love do something nice for yourself today and pick one person (or thing…could be your pet) to shine your love on.  Go out and buy that box of chocolates or that bouquet of roses and keep it for yourself or give it away whatever feels right because YOU are worth it.

And on Valentine’s Day all chocolate and candy are guilt-free!! (the best part)  ♥

There it is.  It’s broke.  Brand new.  No one knows how it happened but it’s broke.

Ever have this problem in your house?  It happened a lot to me when I was a kid growing up in a house with 4 sisters and 1 brother – 6 total.  All of the sudden my dad would start screaming at the top of his lungs and we’d all scatter because we knew someone was in trouble.  He’d line us up in the living room or outside on the lawn and walk back and forth screaming and then pleading with the guilty one to confess and if they didn’t we’d all get punished.

It seems to me like it would have been a whole lot easier (on us all)  to just confess as soon as the incident happened.  But that’s not usually how it worked.  Usually you’d just pray nobody would notice or that you’d be gone when they figured it out.  It’s nice to be an adult now.  I don’t have to worry about someone screaming at me when I break something.  Just the other day I broke my exercise tape.  I was a little upset with myself and the vcr that ate my tape but it really wasn’t a big deal and then my husband told me he could fix it and I felt a whole lot better.

Stuff gets broken.  Most times it’s no one’s fault.  You don’t set out to break things and when it happens you take note of what you did to create that experience and try not to repeat it again.  It’s an opportunity to learn, certainly not anything to lose sleep over.

So the next time you break something or find something broken take a nice deep breath and know that everything is always in divine and perfect order.  And remember, it could be worse.  Your dad could be screaming and grounding you for a month!  ♥

UBC: Day 22

Hi my name is Julie and I wear reading glasses.

When I was 35 yrs old I remember giggling at my older sister because she had to get her glasses to see something she quickly turned to me with a serious tone and said, “Oh, you just wait until you hit 40!  You laugh now but trust me in a few years you’ll be scrambling for your reading glasses and then we’ll see who’s laughing.”

Now I understand what she meant.

I am now 45 yrs old and the whole reading glass thing is a real pain in the ass.  Talk about things I used to take for granted!  And seriously how many reading glasses does a girl really need?  And someone please tell me where they disappear to?  I swear it must be that same abyss that swallows up my socks when I throw them in the laundry.

I am proud to say I have gotten real smart about my reading glasses.  Instead of spending $15-20 at Kmart I now get them at the Dollar Store or if I’m feeling rich I’ll buy a pair at the craft store…Michael’s and Joann’s are a great place to pick up a pair of reading glasses for a couple bucks and Sam’s Club and TJ Maxx offer a package of 3 animal printed ones for $15.

My husband is pretty sweet – he loves it when I wear my glasses.  He thinks I’m HOT.  I guess when he comes home with a wig and pair of stilettos pumps is when I’ll need to worry, but for now HOT is good.  ♥

UBC:  Day 16

Anyone who knows me knows I do not cook.  It’s not that I haven’t tried it’s just that I easily lose interest and end up burning it or I follow the directions in the wrong sequence or while reading the directions forget an important part which ruins the whole dish.

Well, I am happy to report that I’ve moved to a whole new level of cooking in the kitchen so those of you out there who can sympathize with my lack of success in the cooking arena listen up!

Learning 2 Love 2 Cook: 3 Tips 4 Success

1.  Attitude
As with most things in my life I realized I had the wrong attitude.  Instead of being resentful that my husband wasn’t cooking (although we now divide kitchen duties down the middle) or feeling rushed to get the job done you need to walk into the kitchen with the RIGHT ATTITUDE.

2.  All We Need is Love
I know it seems cliche but they really do know what they’re talking about when they say to cook with love – it really does change the vibrational frequency of the food and makes for a completely different experience.

3.  Spirit of Adventure
Once a week (okay, I’m lying it’s usually more like once a month, but there’s nothing wrong with aiming high) I try something new, even though my family cringes when I announce this.  Don’t let them get you down.  They are creatures of habit and if you don’t introduce new things into their life they’ll never know that pea soup is quite delightful when it’s made the old fashioned way, from mother’s heart with love vs. poured out of campbell’s metal soup can filled with salt.

So there you have it. I am thrilled to announce that the last 3 NEW meals I made my family actually applauded with “WOW this is great!” (instead of OMG do we really have to eat that?!?)  Even though it’s taken me 25 years to learn how to cook – it’s never too late to find your Inner Divine Chef.  ♥

UBC: Day 7

I must admit that I am a church goer.  My reasons for going to church have evolved over the 45 years of my life time, but overall the reason I go to church is because it makes me feel GREAT!

Growing up I went to church because my parents made me go.  Now I’m happy to say that I’ve passed down that tradition to my own children forcing them, sometimes dragging them out the door listening to their plea’s “But Whyyyy?”  “It’s sooooo boring”  and the #1 argument “I’m TIRED.”

There’s something to be said for consistency.  I believe even though consciously I didn’t want to go to church just like my own children when I was growing up that attending church sets the foundation of long lasting faith that has gotten me through some REALLY REALLY tough times in my life.  There are many, many things we have to do in life even though we don’t want to.  Making your children attend church with you sets that building block of “sometimes we do things just because.”

Once I moved out and got to decide if I wanted to go to church or not the OR NOT reigned.  Sometimes it’s good to take a break. Then I became involved in a serious relationship (with my now current husband) and I found a small spark of desire forming and we went occasionally.  It seemed to strengthen our relationship and it was fun to try out different churches and compare services; albeit, sporadically.  But the BIG kicker was when we began to have children of our own.  Then all of the sudden we both wanted to go to church and regularly.

There came a point in time when I got bored with church and began to question if it really mattered.  After some deep contemplation and personal reflection I began to realize I was going to church for all the wrong reasons.  I was attending because I wanted to ensure that my children grew up with the same values I had as a Catholic Christian, that was certainly noble, but I was beginning to feel like I was going because it was the “right thing to do” and for some reason that wasn’t enough.

Suddenly I had a SHIFT in consciousness; I began attending church because it had deep meaning for me.  I began seeing it as a place where I could purge the stress and emotional trauma of the week and be renewed and replenished.  It was a time where I could pray for my family and friends on a completely different level.  I began to connect with the deep spiritual vibration only found in a church or center where others come together to seek solace.  I began to realize we are all one on this journey of pain and suffering and for a brief moment we can unite and heal leaving with hope that next week will be better or at the very least next week I can come back here again.

So there you have it. To go or Not to go is a VERY personal question that can only be answered by you. But as I always tell people who express frustration over religious dogma in a church setting:  “It’s all about perception. Focus on the semantics of the word and the division of religions, and that’s what you’ll get. Focus on love and healing in a church setting and reconnecting with your spirituality and that’s what you’ll get.”

Remember…whatever you choose to see is really just an illusion anyway.  ♥

UBC: Day 5

I thought it might be fun to share some “little known facts” about myself with my readers so you could get to know me personally a little better.

Here goes:

1.  I used to be a cheerleader captain in 7th grade, but decided that wasn’t the career for me because it was ridiculous to stand on the sidelines and shout things into the crowd that nobody really cared about.  I totally didn’t get the whole “team spirit” thing.

2.  I write a sidebar for a local magazine, Queen of the Castle, and I absolutely LOVE it (and so do my fans I’m told.)

3.  I dropped out of high school my senior year.  It only lasted a week.  My boyfriend (current husband) threatened to break up with me if I didn’t get my a– back.  I switched over to a parochial school where I could work full time and go to school part time.  I eventually got my masters degree and was a school teacher for 10 years.  Go Figure.

4.  I did everything backwards:  I had a baby, went to college and then got married.  I am still married today to my high school sweetheart.  We’ve been together 29 years and passionately in love.  Whoever said a baby will ruin your life was WRONG!

So, you know a little more about me now than you did then. Remember: “Judgments are for people who don’t have enough life experiences to know better.” ♥

UBC: Day 4