New Year Support System

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Family, Friends, Love, New, Support, Year

Moving into a new year is not always easy.  Not only do you have to begin writing (or in most cases typing) 2012 instead of 2011, but it is also important to figure out where you would like 2012 to take you.  What do you want to accomplish? Is it possible to do it this year? Do you need help? What do you need?

Whether you need the assistance or not, a support system is crucial in achieving your goals.  I don’t care if your goal is to learn a new language, learn how to cook something, or change the world; you still need the encouragement from genuine people.

I am confident that 2012 will be a great year because I will make it a point to create an environment for happiness, love, success, and good relationships.

Do you have the reassurance that you need to get things done in 2012?  Don’t be afraid to ask; people who care will be there.

Cheers to the end of 2011 and to a happy and prosperous New Year!

My Holiday Wish

Tags

Caring, Christmas, Holiday, Wish

For this holiday season, I have one request for you and that is to CARE.

Care about those you love.
Care about those who are less fortunate.
Care about those who are lonely.
Care about those who make your world a better place.

At the same time…

Care less about your brand versus his/her brand.
Care less about how much money you have, as well as material possessions.
Care less about showing others how much better you are.
Care less about fitting in with those who are superficial, yet popular.

Don’t forget to…

Care more about giving and respecting.
Care more about people.
Care more about how your actions or words affect others.
Care more about helping to change the world for the better.

Let’s make this world a better place. We cannot create peace and love without caring first. THIS is my holiday wish. Can you help me?

Birthday Intention

Tags

Birthday, Commitment, Gifts, Happy, Intention, Presents, Resolutions

Well it’s my birthday, and I have made a decision; I am going to make a birthday intention.  I refuse to employ the word “resolution” because typically resolutions are quickly “yesterday’s idea.”  With that being said, this commitment will be big, yet realistic.

Some people celebrate their own birthdays with large purchases for themselves like diamonds, cars, or a clothing shopping spree.  As for me?  I am really going to do something for myself.  I have decided that I am going to commit to my health and wellness.  I will also redesign the way I have allowed negative events in my past define me.  This is just one of the many things that will make this next year great.

To some, this birthday intention may seem silly but in reality, it’s priceless in comparison to clothes that can fade, cars that can depreciate, or extravagant trips that can put me into debt.  I have never been so clear about what is truly important, and this is what birthdays should be all about.  That super duper smiley little girl is enough motivation for me to stay happy and well.

Spreading the positivity: Here’s a good song for today!

Worth

It’s 3:20am, and I’m enjoying the tranquil, cool breeze on the patio while listening to “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” Every time I hear it, it has this calming effect over my stressful day. I can’t help but think, “this is so peaceful. Why did I bother feeding energy into all of those stressors today?”

I don’t want to keep thinking about negative things like grudges, hatred, and why some people may not like me. Honestly, I am so ecstatic with several important aspects of my life, and I’ve been through so much hardship that I deserve this. I deserve to be happy and won’t let anyone or anything take it away.

My amazing husband and I have created a little family, and with them, I am completely content and need nothing else. At the end of the day, money doesn’t mean a thing, neither do our material possessions. Coming home and kissing my ohana is what keeps me going and my heart blissful, and I want to help keep them just as happy. Negative emotions can spread like wildfire if you let them. I’m putting my guard up; bearing hurt and anger is not worth even a penny.

So I ask you, what keeps you going? What keeps you happy? Are your worries worth it?

As much as you can, focus on being at peace. Free your mind, and your feet will follow.

Nice To Meet You – I love you

Tags

Love, Special Event

One year ago today, I met the love of my life. They say that everything happens for a reason, and I completely believe that now.

I was scheduled to be at this tweet up at The Vig on August 5th, 2010. I was thrilled to finally meet the Tweeple that I had been tweeting with for over a year.  I was so excited, I got there SUPER early…like a couple of hours ahead of schedule (also because I got off of work & didn’t think it was efficient for me to drive home. Anyway, I digress…).  THEN, I get this tweet…

 ”Don’t leave! I want to meet you!”

This tweet was from @lafinguy, whom I was not even following. I had seen his name come across my feed a few times since we had several mutual friends, but I was not expecting this.

I was incredibly intrigued, and now I <– had to meet him! So I waited…people started showing up. I mingled with many awesome peeps, and then all of a sudden, Mr. Mike (@lafinguy) Shaldjian appeared. I extended my hand for a formal greeting, and he wouldn’t have any part of it.  He gave me this giant bear hug, and I was hooked!

We migrated to the bar and after some tequila shots (YUM), we began to chat and got to know each other (as much as two people can in a loud bar with tons of people around).  Tweeps were passing by and thought we were just two friends catching up after a long time apart.  The truth is, we had known each other in another life and were reconnecting, but this time for good.

I’m not kidding when I say that this day changed my life. I was so happy to finally find a caring, loving, sweet, and intelligent man who I loved spending time with, loved talking to, and absolutely adore.  Not to mention, we discovered that we share many of the same interests.

Six months later, this happened…

@littlebitofmoni became @lafingal.  Mike and I became Mr. & Mrs. Mike Shaldjian. I know that this is totally cliche to say, but THIS was the happiest day of my life.  C’mon. I married my best friend, my soul-mate. I thought, “it just can’t get better than this” (oh, but it CAN).

In the year that we have known each other, we have done so much together and have all of our memories captured in photographs…over 6,000 but who’s counting?  I am happy, WE are happy…I mean, take a look at us!

We greatly appreciate the support of our true friends. Mike and I are not afraid to express our love for each other over social media or even in public.  There is so much hatred and negativity going around in this world, it wouldn’t hurt anyone to see some positivity.

Spreading love, hope, and lafter is what we’re all about!  Happy meeting anniversary, Mike! Nice to meet you…I LOVE YOU!

Goal: Happiness & Love

Tags

Death, Family, Happiness, Love, Reflection

There is something to be said about achieving a goal of happiness and love. This goal is not as simple as most may think.  I have always held this as a personal mission because of what I went through as a child, but it was reinforced after a memorial service I attended yesterday.

I did not know this man who passed, Mr. Mike Machanian; he was a good family friend of my husband’s family.  Despite the fact that he was a stranger to me, the wonderful words of his family and friends depicted a man who was humble, strong, helpful, loving, patient, and most importantly, happy.  He served in World War II, and as we all know this changes the attitudes of solidiers after they come home.  Typically, they return detached, troubled, depressed, and distressed.  Fortunately, he was not tainted by all of the conflict and stress. In fact, this experience gave him a “code” to live by, and he stuck to it (despite the fact that every one saw this as being stubborn).  This code allowed him to keep a steady flow of love and happiness.

I learned a lot from Mike, from his life. I discovered that at my memorial service one day, I would like to be recognized as a happy person, a person that loved and was loved.  I was worried that I would never feel this way about my life, but thankfully, I do.  I am blessed to have an amazing husband who loves me.  He also has given me the opportunity to love him to my truest loving potential.  All of this added to my new outlook on life provides me with happiness.  I will continue on this mission for as long as I shall live.

Mike Machanian, you will be missed by those that love you, for the lives you have touched and for the memories. Your memorial service has shown me that death and funerals do not have to be a glass-half-empty experience.  You would be so happy to know that your life was celebrated yesterday, but I’m sure you were present in spirit.

For those of you who fear death or avoid funerals because they are too depressing, take a moment to look at it from a different angle of celebrating a life and memories.  Passing on does not need to be seen as someone’s spirit being diminished. Allow those memories to carry on the spirit of someone you love.

Happy Father’s Day!

Tags

Father, Fathers Day, Reflection

Father’s day has a different meaning for everyone. For me, it’s somewhat confusing. I’ve never really celebrated Father’s Day because my grandfather passed away before I was born and my father was only in my life until age 9.  From what I can remember, he was an okay dad: he couldn’t help me with my homework, he never restricted sweets or soda, he would bring me lunch at school so I could be the only one at the lunch table with an off-campus lunch, and he taught me the saying “I’m the boss” so that I could run around his flower shop saying it, feeling important.

My papa wasn’t a horrible person, from what I knew, because I saw him give back to my school when he had the time and would make time to hug me and love me when I needed it.  I felt like that love was strong and unconditional.  I felt that we had a true bond and he would never do anything to hurt me.  Little did I know that this was all part of the show.  At the age of 9, I lost my mother at the hands of my “loving” father.  I quickly discovered that he was a money-hungry, selfish, greedy guy who was truly NOT my papa.

Throughout my life I was in the company of men who were fathers (i.e. father figures, uncles, etc.) but celebrating them just didn’t have the same meaning for me as it did for their own children.  It wasn’t until Father’s Day 2011 that I finally felt excited to celebrate this day, to celebrate my husband being a loving father, as well as HIS father.  Despite the fact that parents and kids may grow apart or go their own ways, memories will not be forgotten.  What counts are those times, those opportunities that these dads had to BE a real father and not just a guy who had a kid.

My husband, Mike and I had planned on taking his father out to an early breakfast to celebrate.  I named my alarm “Father’s Day,” and had this strange revelation when my alarm went off.  It just so happened that I woke up before my alarm and was already tweeting (surprise, surprise).  My alarm interrupted my tweeting and immediately I thought, “hmmm….I can snooze Father’s Day?” Where was this option years ago when it just seemed like any other day or when I would be jealous of everyone else who had real fathers on Father’s Day?  THIS YEAR, I could confidently press “OK” and go along my merry way.

Regardless of the poor choices my papa made, there was a small part of me that missed him and made me want to pick up the phone to call him and wish him a Happy Father’s Day.  There was a part of me that wished I had happy pictures with my dad just like the many I saw posted on the Facebook walls of many of my friends.  Nonetheless, reality set in and I quickly realized that none of it was possible but missing him maybe meant that I had forgiven him.

Real dads do the best they can, to be the best that they can be.  This day is to celebrate all of the great fathers out there.  I’m happy to be able to honor my husband, Mike this year.  Happy Father’s Day, my love.  I admire you for the unconditional love that you give, and you deserve to know how AMAZING you are!

Happy Father’s Day to all  of you dads out there that do it right! You deserve to have your day!

Super 8 Movie Review

Tags

Movie, Review, Scyfy

If you love sci-fi or even “like” sci-fi, then this movie is for you.  There’s no doubt that it’s full of action and suspense, but the visual effects are what keeps my rating for this movie at a steady three out of five, which is a pretty average rating.

I am not typically a fan of science fiction movies or shows, but there have been some movies in history like E.T. or Close Encounters that have I have personally found entertaining despite their presence in the science fiction genre.  I prefer a good thriller or drama movie over sci-fi anytime. Heck, give me good romantic comedy even.

Don’t get me wrong, I do have an imagination, but it’s difficult for me to “lose myself” in a movie if there are obvious events that would not occur in our world.  Let me explain by drawing attention to the scene where Alice and Joe were watching an old home movie, allowing Joe to relive some precious moments with his mother who had just passed away in a work accident.  This movie takes place in 1979 and during that time, most Super 8 film for the average consumer consisted of 15 to 30 mins and was shot within days if not all at once during, say a birthday, wedding or Christmas morning.  The scene has the title character watching a family movie that spans from his birth thru what looks like 4 or 5 years of age.  Although it’s feasible that the film could have been spliced (combined), the reel would have been much larger than what they showed on the old Bell & Howell. Fact of the matter is that no one spliced their 8mm or Super 8 film for family movies. It was a reach.  I would have never caught this, but my husband brought this to my attention because he used to handle these types of cameras when he was younger and could remember his frustrations with the product that completely contradicts this scene.

There was something else that seemed to irk me throughout the movie.  It seemed liked there were so many relationships or events that could have been expanded further to create more depth in the movie.  I was sitting there wanting more about a conflict between the deputy and the man who kept getting arrested or more about how the young boy’s mother died.  As soon as I got over my curiosity, another scene would pull me in and keep me hanging.

I think that this movie is more appropriate for a younger audience.  I believe it falls way short from crossing over to multi-generational appeal required to become a classic like the pre-mentioned ET or Close Encounters. While I felt it appropriate to rate this movie three out of five stars, I need to completely disagree with several of the movie critics who have ranted and raved about this movie being “this summer’s best movie” or one that they “will see 4-5 times this year.”

Still curious? Check it out for yourself.  Here’s the movie trailer to give you a head start.

Social Media’s Favorite Color

Tags

Facebook, Relationships, Social Media, Twitter

Our country, our world even, are in a state of distress whether anyone would like to recognize it or not.  Some fail to educate themselves on current events, some believe that the problems will resolve themselves and just disappear, but some actually do care.  Those that do care and try to spread the word are also the ones that figure out what is really important: in life, in relationships, etc.  These people cherish what REALLY matters and ignore all of the superficial garbage that encompasses our daily lives.

Which brings me to social media…

Social media is the “cool” thing to use.  Twitter especially, allows people to have an outlet for just about anything.  It also serves as a “breaking” news source or even your reference for the latest and greatest on your favorite celebrities.  But, have you noticed how transparent social media really is?  SM like Facebook and Twitter have been known to bring people together, but it is just as successful at breaking apart relationships.

Having a channel to express your feelings about everything and EVERYONE, doesn’t always mean that your content is shown to only those who you intended.  It’s SOCIAL-MEDIA for crying out loud! It’s as transparent as they come, and that does NOT exclude our beloved TWITTER.

So, just in case you were wondering where I was going with social media’s favorite color, here it is…CLEAR!  Clear who you are, clear what you think and what your true intentions are. You may think you can hide the truth, but there’s much transparency in 140 characters.

Have I made myself perfectly clear?

Sundays Are For Reflection

Tags

Home, Reflection, Self-Therapy, Sunday

Today (and often), I reflect on all of the blessings that I have in my life.  One thing that has been made clear is my sense of belonging in this home.  Before the age of nine, I moved just about nine times for issues only my parents know.  After 10, I moved about 20 times because of problems with extended family.  Clearly, I had stability issues and feared my home could change at any moment.  When I was 17, I moved into a place of my own, and did everything in my power to make the place “home.”  Nothing felt right.

In August of 2010 when I met the love of my life, I visited his home and immediately, I had this sense of belonging.  It was completely unexplainable, but the vibe was there and so strong that I just could not ignore it.  We all know that Mike and I immediately connected after we met and that has a lot to do with it because “home is where the heart is,” and THIS was home.

It is extremely difficult to put all of my feelings of gratitude and appreciation for Mike and for our home.  Last night as I was watching the rain fall from the roof and onto our patio, it instantly triggered those comforting feelings that I felt that first night that I came here.  Who would have thought that a gloomy, cold, and rainy evening would create a sense of comfort in an unfamiliar place?

Please do not mistake my “home” as a place where I focus on my material possessions, square footage, or just as a roof over my head.  It is so much more than that.  It is my happy place, my safe place, and a place that I can freely love.  To me, these feelings are ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS.  Someone please pinch me; this has to be a dream because I just can’t believe that I’ve finally arrived.

So, I must ask you, have you found YOUR HOME yet?