Alloy Necklace giveaway . . . .

Today I am very happy to tell you that I will be giving away a beautiful necklace from Alloy Jewelry. I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to a wonderful young mother, Leah from Vermont, who not only makes beautiful jewelry, but has a beautiful story behind what she does and why she does it. First, take a look at this lovely necklace........

This 'Listen to the Surf' necklace is hand stamped on to this 1 1/2" copper bar. The bar is hand hammered to give a rustic texture, and a sterling silver starfish charm and freshwater pearl charm finish it off. Chain length is 16".

And now, please meet Leah. . . . . 

First and foremost, the most important thing I do is take care of my children.  That being said, while I think there's a certain amount of becoming a mother that comes naturally, I think people overlook the aspects of motherhood that DON'T come naturally.   Motherhood was a shock in many ways, and making jewelry (and the myriad of other half-finished creative projects I have strewn around the house) became my daily practice of paying attention to myself, even if it was for five minutes.  I began to see that the more I took care of myself the more patience I had with my kids. I went with it, and soon people started asking if they could "commission" a piece here and there.  I opened an Etsy shop and saved and saved, buying a new piece of equipment with the money from each necklace I sold.  I sent out samples to magazines, relentlessly looked for other ways to market myself and dreamed of the day I would have my own website and be able to call this my "job".  (All this while I had been editing legal books for a former employer as my "profession" and it was just SO not me!)

Eventually, I got an edit mention in Family Circle Magazine, and boy do they have loyal readers there! It made Alloy Jewelry more visible to the public and the business took off from there. I started doing quote and zodiac pieces to make the business more attractive to retail stores since custom work is hard to stock in stores.  I found that the quote pieces were becoming an obsession for me-I have a love of reading and words.  I started to see that as I would choose a quote for a necklace, I would associate that quote with one of my dear friends-for example "be with those who help your being"-Rumi necklace is for my girl, Anne, who lights up our lives even though we are far apart.  The necklaces I made had a new meaning to me now-I wore them and could hold that friend close to my heart-AND I could connect with customers in a different way, because they would ask for suggestions and would tell me the story of who they were buying for and I could help them pick out a quote (or design a new one) that was perfect.  Fun! 

More of her lovely creations.......

"I began to see that the more I took care of myself,

the more patience I had with my kids."

-Leah

All you have to do to win is leave a comment below before 11:59 p.m. EST on May 7th. The drawing will be Tuesday, May 8th and is open to readers worldwide. Good luck!

No better reasons to return to work . . . .

Good morning friends! How's life? I hope it's treating you well. Today I should consider doing a post about how crazy busy life can be, and how it can so easily become a blur if you let it. And that is exactly what could happen to me right now if I'm not careful. I am now back in the workforce again after taking a 7 year hiatus, and as busy as it is, it feels so good to be engaged in our business again. So I'm setting priorities and working hard to make sure I can keep the balance in my life that has proven to be so very vital. (More to come on that topic!)

But today I want to share with you a little bit about why my husband asked me to come back to work. He asked that I reengage in a completely different way. He wanted me to bring a bit of the human element to the business atmosphere that he thought was lacking, and he knew it was right up my alley. I was so willing to do that! I go to work to chat!.......to talk to, and more importantly, to listen to our employees, to talk and listen to our customers, to fix minor annoyances, and to simply pay attention to what we can do to add more of the human touch. We all know that happy employees are productive employees, so I have the awesome task of making sure our employees are happy. I am loving this kind of reengagement! 

So what does human element mean? 

My favorite description comes from Tim Stepp........... 

It means sending thank you cards in your own hand writing even if your writing looks like a 5 year olds.

It means dropping your business to talk to a client/customer/employee about a life issue that they may have, and caring, not just because they're a client, but because they're a human being.

It means stepping outside of your role as a businessman/businesswoman, and extending yourself as a person. 

I believe there are no better reasons to return to work. I'm so happy to be back, connecting, caring, and extending myself in a way that I believe is so important. 

Being happy at work rocks! 

....and have a wonderful weekend!

xo, Connie

Being persistent means never giving up . . . .

It means to keep grinding it out regardless of the obstacles that keep coming your way. Think of obstacles as just bugs on a windshield, and persistence as the windshield wiper.

Have you seen the video entitled Caine's Arcade? Caine is a 9 year old boy whose dad owns a used automotive parts store in east LA. Watch how being persistent pays off for Caine. 

The sky is not your limit......you are!

You can't change what you don't acknowledge . . . .

Are you getting real with yourself about your life and everybody in it? Are you being truthful about what isn't working? It's time to stop making excuses and start making results. If you are unwilling to acknowledge a thought, circumstance, problem, condition, behavior, or emotion--if you won't take ownership of your role in a situation--then you cannot and will not change it. If you refuse to acknowledge your own self-destructive behaviors, not only will they continue, they will actually gain momentum, become more deeply entrenched in a habitual pattern of your life, and grow more and more resistant to change. 

If you hope to have a winning life strategy, you have to be honest about where your life is right now. Find the strength and courage to ask yourself the hard questions, and to give yourself realistic answers. You cannot afford the luxury of defensiveness, and you cannot afford the luxury of lies and denial. Denial, after all, is what kills dreams. It kills hope. It kills what might have been a real chance to overcome a problem had the solution just been pursued in time. If you are unwilling to recognize a problem, you won't take the necessary action needed to correct it. Period. 

What isn't working in your life?.....your attitude, career, ongoing anger, fear, your weight-----whatever it is-----if it's not working, acknowledge it, then change it. 

From the book

Life Strategies


"Face it so you can replace it."

"You will lose someone you can't live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through. It's like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly--that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp."

-Anne Lamott

Manhattan bound . . . .

If my flight's on time, I'll be in New York for happy hour! This is one city that inspires and energizes me to no end. There is inspiration on every corner, and I'm planning on bringing plenty of it home with me. I always go with my eyes and my mind wide open. You'll miss out if you don't!

As soon as I drop off my bags, I'm heading straight to Acme, a new restaurant on Great Jones Street that replaces a Southern and Cajun restaurant of the same name. My son is a bartender here (second from left), and I'm hearing they are turning out some seriously impressive Scandinavian food. Can't wait to check it out.

Photo by Matt Dutile

And I'm so exited to be staying at 

The Standard, East Village. 

Sister to The Standard on the Highline, this new Standard offers big city views in a cozy, residential setting. It comes with complimentary bikes that I'll definitely be using to ride to The Standard Grill on the West side for a delicious breakfast. Honestly, I don't mean to make it sound like this trip is all about the food, but I'd be lying if I told you that it's not a big part of it. 

I am going without much of plan, and I love it that way. Being spontaneous in a city like New York is the best. I wander. And wandering is when I find the most inspiration. I choose to roam through the city of ooh's and ahh's without an agenda. I'll let you know what I find this time. 

Wild thing, you make my heart sing . . . .

.......and that's because wild things live lives of pure action. In his book, Reinventing Yourself, Steve Chandler writes......

Today, the more I remember to live like a wild thing, taking action instead of brooding on my sad self, the faster self-pity drops away. Chronic sadness seems to become a thing of the past. Sadness is almost never anything but a form of fatigue. And fatigue, paradoxically, is almost always a result of living a life of too little action. The more action I build into my life, the better I sleep, and the less self-pity I feel. The better I sleep, the more energy I have. The more energy I have, the more will I have for taking action. And the more action I take, the happier I feel. The happier I feel, the better my relationships. The better my relationships, the better I sleep. It's the cycle of self-reinvention. 

From the book

Reinventing Yourself

by Steve Chandler

"Sometimes you just gotta give yourself 

what you wish someone else would give you."

Dr. Phil McGraw

Photo via flickr

by Anirudh Koul 

Take ownership of your spirit . . . .

If you've ever attended a concert and watched a performer "put it all out there", you'll know what I mean when I talk about owning your spirit. It can make your hair stand on end when you witness someone living a life that you know comes from deep within their soul. They loose their inhibitions and all concern for what others may think. 


We are the owners of our human spirit, and it's up to us to believe that we have it in us just as much as the performer on stage. You can set yourself free by changing how you talk to yourself about your capabilities. The greatness you see in others is also in you. I promise you that you can find it inside you, no matter who you are, no matter who you've invented yourself to be. 

Allow the passion that is buried deep within you to shine. Tap into it! It's there.

Partial text from the book

Reinventing Yourself

by

Steve Chandler 

"Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be. Close your eyes and let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before."

-Erich Fromm

Words can have very different meanings. . . .

"Someday" is not a day of the week . . . .

Hi friends! How was your weekend? I had a very productive one and can't even begin to tell you what a difference it has already made for the start to my week. First, please allow me to tell you what has inspired me to get a move on. We have put our house on the market, so if and when it sells, we will be building a smaller place that is less than half the square footage, and THAT is my inspiration! The thought of having to move all my "stuff" has inspired me to get it together. I've begun to ask myself a few questions as I sort through my things.... "Do I really want to have to find a spot for it in a smaller place?", and "Do I love it?" I've decided that if I'm not using it, it's gone.  This is one job that I cannot procrastinate about. If I got an offer tomorrow, and did nothing in advance, I'd be in big twouble. I don't want to face that kind of pressure. So I know that the best way to get it done is to begin. It would truly be self-sabotaging to not get started, and I know it. Honestly, when you dread a task, it uses up more time and energy than just doing it. It literally exhausts me to think about doing it later. Do you find yourself procrastinating? Do you realize how soon not now becomes never? We make it harder on ourselves when we put things off. I love Mark Twains thoughts....."The secret to getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into smaller manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." Thank you Mr. Twain. 

If you're facing an overwhelming task, and find that you're having a hard time getting started, take Mr. Twain's advice. Break it down into small manageable tasks, and just start with the first one.  

Do it now, brother. 

Do it now.

-Author Unknown

Happy Friday, my friends.

Have an awesome weekend!

xo

Taking responsibility . . . .

One of the saddest epitaphs for many who choose to lead mediocre lives will be that when they die it will be as though they never lived. But what's sadder yet is that when the sweat of their death bed wakes them up to the fact that they've missed their life, they'll be haunted by the classic lament of life's biggest underachievers: "I could have, I should have, if only I would have."

Stop complaining that life isn't fair and begin taking responsibility for your own life. Focus on the things you CAN control, which are your decisions. Understand that one of the best days of your life is the day that you renounce excuses, grow up, and become a man or woman of responsibility and accountability. 

Get clearer about what you want and then resolve to pay the price to achieve it; deciding up front that you'll ditch the excuses and hold yourself accountable for results. Each day you have two choices: performance or excuses. Choose well, it becomes your legacy.

-Dave Anderson


"You are not responsible for 
the programming you picked up in childhood.
However, as an adult, 
you are one hundred percent responsible 
for fixing it. 
-Ken Keyes, Jr. 

Graphic by

Jay Roeder

What's your best time of day? . . . .

Are you most productive in the morning, then begin to fade in the afternoon, or does your best energy kick in later in the day? We all have a more productive time of day. If we know when that is, we need to take advantage of that! When faced with your biggest challenge of the day, make sure you schedule to get it done during your most productive time. It may not always be feasible, but if possible, don't procrastinate during the time of day when you are at your best. Use that time to your advantage! We all have what is considered our best time of day, mentally & physically.....know when that is! Then use it! Get your biggest challenge out of the way when you are at your best!

"It's so hard when contemplated in advance, 

and so easy when you do it."

-Robert Pirsig

Controlling your anger . . . .

We've all been there, right? We've all felt anger either as an annoyance or a full-fledged rage. It's completely normal, and it can be a good thing! It can give you a way to express negative feelings, for example, or motivate you to find solutions to problems. However, the sad irony with anger is that it's always expressed in an attempt to correct or rectify a situation, yet it often ends up doing the exact opposite. Excessive anger can worsen the situation. It can get out of control and turn destructive! It's always a good idea to remember to direct your anger towards the problem, not the people, and to focus your energy on reaching an agreement. 

Remember, you can't eliminate anger - and it wouldn't be a good idea if you could. In spite of all your efforts, things will happen that will cause you anger; and sometimes it will most certainly be justifiable. Life will be filled with frustration, pain, loss, and the unpredictable actions of others. You can't change that; but you can change the way you let such events affect you. Controlling your angry responses can keep them from making you even more unhappy in the long run. If you hold on to resentments, anger will never disappear. Learn to let go of resentment, and watch how you begin to ease into a more peaceful state. 

"Speak when you are angry,

and you'll make the best speech

you'll ever regret."

-Dr. Laurence J. Peter

.......pass it on.

Children want limits . . . .

"You don't have to be the world's strongest man 

to earn the respect of a child or a teenager, 

but you have to be strong enough 

to stand your ground against an onslaught of resistance."

-S. Truett Cathy

Children all around us are growing up without strong positive guidance from their parents, who are busy, distracted, absent, or choose to be buddies instead of parents to their children. You see them in your neighborhood, your classroom, your troop, your team, or your family.

These children cannot build themselves into responsible adults. They cannot teach themselves respect, trust, generosity, or common sense. They need for you to teach them. They need for you to reach out to them in love - to love them into a sense of belonging. They need for you to be available to talk - to be a friend. They need your firm instruction. They need honest encouragement and to be reminded of their strengths and opportunities. 

How many families have you seen that are ruled by the child? By age five, some children already dictate to their parents what they will do. They know their parents would rather give in to their demands than deal with a tantrum. I've seen dozens of children through the years who never understood respect for authority. Their parents rarely enforced discipline at home until the children were completely out of control. Their inconsistent message only amplified the problem. Be so consistent with your discipline that you're boring! 

"Children want limits,

and they want to be able

to respect the adults

who set those limits."

From the book

It's Better To Build Boys Than Mend Men

-by S. Truett Cathy

Sweeping issues under the rug . . . .

I don't know about you, but I am one who doesn't do well by avoiding issues, conflict and problems. I need to confront issues as soon as possible for my own well being. Are you perfectly happy sweeping them under the rug, pretending they don't exist? Honestly, I can't deal with the dust it leaves behind. The more you avoid problems, the more dust collects, and I don't like dust. That dust causes anxiety and tension, and it's unhealthy. Dealing with issues as soon as possible will allow you to move on. To me, it is SO worth the discomfort to be able to put them behind you. 

If you're having to confront an issue today, make a choice to deliberately start your sentence with "I" instead of "You". Keep the blame game and the aggression out of it. You'll only regret that later. State your case without attacking the other person, then be prepared to listen. It's only fair. This doesn't guarantee that you'll have a painless confrontation, because unfortunately, there will always be times when an issue can't be resolved. Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree. But more often than not, you'll find that it was a more positive experience than you may have expected. Chances are you may even enhance your relationship by developing a deeper connection. 

"You can sweep all your problems under the rug, 

but sooner or later

someone is gonna pick up the rug and shake it."

-Susan Gale

Oh, the difference you can make . . . .

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.  I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.  When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town.  I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family.  My family and I could have made an impact on our town.  Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world. 

-Author Unknown

Can you imagine the HUGE difference we could all make in the world by starting with the one thing that we have the most control over? Ourselves. It's true, we have the most control over ourselves and what we pass on to others. We have the ability to think differently. To pay closer attention. To act differently. To care. There are huge numbers of people saying "I wonder why somebody didn't do something?" Do they realize THEY are "somebody?" If you think you can't make a difference, think again. Something as simple as a friendly greeting and a kind word can make a world of difference. Think of it as today's gift that you can easily give. The gift of acknowledging another human being just because you can.  And if you think there has to be something in it for you, change that thought. You can make a difference in the smallest ways, by paying closer attention to the needs of the people around you. And that's when there will be something in it for you! You'll receive more than you could ever imagine. You are healing yourself when you give to others. 

Once people realize that they can make a difference in this world by starting with themselves, the world will indeed become a better place. 

"Go the extra mile.

It's never crowded."

Pssssst . . . .

What do you want? Something for yourself? More happy, shiny friends? Better health? A new career? More money? More time? Or are your burning desires along the lines of helping others? Giving unceasingly? Lending a hand? Making a difference?

Think. Think. Think.

Ah-ha! I knew it. A true spiritual maestro, you want it all. Bravo! Now, please remember, if you really want to make a difference in the world, you will be most effective if first you are selfish.

Selfishness doesn't mean you don't love others; it simply means that you love yourself, that you honor your dreams and preferences, and that you finally understand you can make no one happy until you first get happy. And thus the pursuit of your happiness is the worthiest of all.

Besides, you're not here to save the world. You're here to save yourself from boredom and limitations. And as you soar, the world will become a better place.

"The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts. Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good pictures, good company, good conversation, are the happiest people in the world. And they are not only happy in themselves, they are the cause of happiness in others."

-William Phelps

Happy Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!

No more excuses . . . .

Thank you Nike.

Remember when . . . .

........it was REALLY FUN to catch raindrops on your tongue, walk under archways because they were there, and roll around in the sand at the beach? To go all the way to the store for a tiny treat, lie in the grass looking for God in the clouds, and make scary monster faces in the mirror? To watch the stars because they are winking at you, count the flowers in the garden by the doorstep, and put Cocoa Puffs up your nose?

-The Universe

Photo by Sandy Nicholson

Put forth your best . . . .

Happy Monday! It's a new work week, and for the most part, you probably have somewhat of a clear idea as to what is expected of you this week. How are you approaching it? Are you dreading it already? Are you scheming about ways to skirt your duties, or are you heading into your work week with determination, challenging yourself to put forth your best? I can tell you this.....if you're sporting a negative attitude already, you can count on it being more difficult than it needs to be, and I guarantee you, you're only hurting yourself. When you give your best,  people notice. When you don't, people notice. If you're showing up early, staying late, and doing it with enthusiasm, you make yourself irreplaceable. Competition is tough! But when you put forth the best of yourself, show a willingness to do what it takes, and work one more hour, 90% of your competition will drop out. Roll up your sleeves, and show 'em what you've got! Do it for YOU!

"When we do more than we are paid to do, 

eventually we will be paid more for what we do."

-Zig Ziglar

Make time to make it happen . . . .

Does this sound familiar? You say to a friend......"Can we do lunch on Tuesday?"  Your friend responds, "Tuesday won't work for me, how about Wednesday?" You reply, "Nope, I'm booked." It doesn't work out, then we don't see our friend for months. We all know by now that if we're not making an effort to schedule time to catch up with our friends, it just doesn't happen. It worked in the past, but it doesn't anymore. Our schedules are crammed! So if we're not being persistent with scheduling time together, we might as well say...."How about never? Will never work for you?" 

If you don't make time to make it happen, 

it won't happen.

Today, the rush and the gush threaten to diminish or even destroy our most important connections. Unless you consciously and deliberately preserve time for, say family dinner, or lunch with a friend, or Sunday dinner at Grandma's, or a weekend away with your spouse, or physical exercise, or playing the instrument you love, or keeping up with the team you have always followed, or taking your dog for a walk, or going to your son's or daughter's play or game, or weeding the garden you so adore, or working on your boat, or reading that stack of books by your bed -- unless you consciously and deliberately preserve time to connect with what matters most to you, your connection with whatever it is will erode. The waters of the rush and the gush will rust it out and sweep it away. You will find yourself less energetic, less optimistic, less hopeful, less confident, and less enthusiastic than before, and you won't know why. You'll ascribe it to being too busy or to growing older, or depression, or being too disorganized, or just to "life." That fact is, it's none of those things! It is that you have neglected what matters most to you. In this era, you must deliberately preserve and cultivate your most valuable connections to people, activities, and whatever else is most important to you. Anyone can cultivate these connections, but only if you plan to do so and insist on adhering to your plan.

Select the connections you care most about and cultivate just those. Realize that being deeply connected to what matters most to  you is the enlightened way of life. 

"When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another, and ourselves."

-Jack Kornfield

Partial text from the book

Crazy Busy

by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D.