Lookin Lively Friday, April 8, 2011

So, in my earlier post, I referenced the interview I watched on Oprah with Jenny McCarthy. I wanted to share a little bit more about that interview and how it changed my life.

Before that day...I had been through a lot of uncomfortable dates, online dating, and basically was over it. As a divorced mother of the two coolest boys in the world...I wanted to give them a complete family, like I had.



However, the harder I pushed for it..the worse it got. I realized that I hadn't fully turned it over to the Big Man Upstairs. I was still white knuckling the steering wheel, pretending I was listening...but I wasn't.

So as I turned it over...and spent a lot of time by myself...I began to remember how much I like myself. I remembered that I am an awesome Mom to the boys..and that's what I'm in charge of, not the rest.

During that time, I saw Jenny McCarthy on Oprah and it opened my eyes. Here is a snippet of that conversation, courtesy of www.oprah.com. Read it and think about it.

One thing Jenny didn't do after her breakup was place blame. "If I went and blamed him, I miss the lesson," she says.

A simple exercise helped Jenny learn what she needed to from the breakup. "I actually wrote down a list of all the things that I would say were blame," she says. "[I wrote], 'He did that.' And then I crossed off 'he' and I put the word 'I,' and then I reread them and I was, like, 'Oh my God.' I found my participation also and really used those as life lessons."

Jenny says the most important lesson she learned was that she didn't need a lover to have love in her life. "I came out of it going, 'I am the love of my life,'" she says. "Now everybody that comes into my life is just whipped cream, but I come in as the full sundae."


Through listening to her in that interview, I realized, I had to let go of the past, turn it over to God, and remember that I am the love of my life.


So now you know how Jenny McCarthy changed my life. :)

Lookin Lively Friday, April 1, 2011



So..I thought I would start my new blog with 29 things about me today…as a freshly turned 29 year old.  Yes, I really am 29…not 29 and holding for the 4th year.  Will I feel different at 30?  Probably yes…but TODAY…I am still in my 20’s.  So here goes…
29) I am a Mom to boys.  This is quite possibly the coolest thing about me.  A lot of who I am today can be directly related to the fact that I am a Mommy to amazing sons.
28) My life’s goal is to love big time.  I am one of those people that does everything in a big way.  The most important thing that I do big time- is love. 
27) I am pretty tall for a girl.  I am 5’9”.
26) Cotton candy is one of my favorite things in life.
25)  I love sports.  I love to play sports, coach sports, watch sports…I am basically a sports junkie.
24) Math is not my strong suit.  I can’t add, subtract, multiply, or divide very well.  I wish I was better at it...but I don't stress over it.  I usually just say, you can't be good at everything.  It just sort of is what it is…words are my game…not numbers.
23)  I came from good stock.  My parents are awesome.  As an aside, my family plays a hugely humongous part in my life.
22)  I desire to be more organized and even buy the supplies to make it happen.  However, thus far, my organizational skills are a little lacking…and the supplies are in the closet.
21) I have a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication.  I am a very organized communicator…but that does not mean I keep my closet in any sort of organization.
20)  One of the most monumental things I have ever heard came from Jenny McCarthy. I will share it with you because I feel like it might mean as much to you as it did to me…”I am the light of my life.”  I will revisit this at a later date on the blog…just thought I’d share it in my 29.
19)  I wear knee socks of various colors and patterns all the time.  Even if I am wearing knee boots, there is a very good chance that I am rocking some striped or argyle socks underneath.
18)  I don’t collect anything.  I am fascinated by people that collect things…cards, coins, etc.  I have never liked anything enough to gather a bunch of something.  I think it’s awesome that people collect things…and I always like to look and hear about other people’s collections.  I just don’t have my own collections.
17)  I am ADD.  You will probably notice when you become a loyal reader (here’s for hoping you already are!!)  It doesn’t really bother me that I am ADD, it helps me be more creative and to think 17 steps ahead of what I’m doing.  My bf, RDaddy is finally learning to just go with what I’m saying or doing…we will clean up the tornado my mind has left behind later.
16)  I am Aquarius.  I find that I pretty much fit the definition to a T.  I have never met an Aquarian that I didn’t like.
15)  I believe in humanity.  I think the spirit of being a human is amazing…we can overcome unbelievable things, we can create amazing things, and we can achieve things that are beyond our understanding.
14) I can still do a toe touch.  I took dance forever and was a cheerleader.
13)  I rarely forget a face…I won’t say never…because that would be an unrealistic expectation of myself…and then I will feel like a giant nerd when I can’t remember you. 
12)  I tried online dating.  After a series of unbelievable fails in real dating, I hopped on a few online dating sites-at the urging of a loving mother who wanted nothing more than a loving relationship for her favorite daughter.  Online dating led to a series of uncomfortable and awkward situations that I will never forget.  However, I do have friends that are married from being on such websites, so I know it can work.  Suffice it to say, I was not successful-more on that at a later date.
11) I am in an amazing relationship with a man who rocks my world..that lives two blocks from me.  I had a rule against dating people from my town…I broke the rule and I am super glad I did!  RDaddy is crazy awesome and makes me laugh all the time. 
10)I have a bucket list.  (I will save this for a later blog post…but will give you a taste of it.)
  •  Sky diving 
  • Be in a flash mob
  • See Oprah Winfrey
  • Visit the Grand Canyon   
  •  Fly in a plane with no doors
  • Go upside down in an aircraft
9)  I like things that don’t match.  When things get too matchy matchy, I get uncomfortable.  For instance, come to my house for dinner…and I don’t have a “set” of plates.  I have random plates that I like- polka dots, stripes, circles, squares, purple, aqua, etc.  

8)  Cooking is not my favorite thing.  I don’t really stink at it…but I wouldn’t consider myself (nor would anyone else) a Martha Stewart type.  I have friends that are fantastic at presentation, food quality, taste, and make it look easy.  Chances are if it’s dinner at my place…it’s not all done at the same time…something didn’t turn out quite like I planned…and there is not a wine pairing going on with the meal.
7)  Learning to grill has not come easy.  Many dinner time fails have occurred as a casualty of gaining grilling experience.  I am getting better…but let’s just say, it’s going to be a while.
6)  I have a familiar face.  People always think they know me from somewhere.  I have no idea why…but it’s just sort of one of those things. 
5)  I believe people come into your life for a reason.  Conversely, I believe sometimes people exit your life for a reason too.
4)  I love birthdays.  I am a HUGE fan of people’s birthdays.  I usually call mine, birthday month…and ironically I share that day with one of my sons! 
3)  I tend to be overly optimistic.  This lends itself to being a poor gambler-the next hand is always going to make me rich! 
2) I wear my heart on my sleeve and have no poker face.  Sometimes, I wish I was one of those people that could mask how I am feeling…but you will typically know exactly what I’m thinking by looking at me.  Believe me when I say, you don’t want to be on my team if we are playing Trivial Pursuit.  I will give away the answers every time.
1)  I am stoked about blogging more.  I have lots of friends that pen fantastic blogs and have inspired me to start my own.  So, hold on to your hats kids!  Lively is ON it!