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  • DIY Mosaic Outdoor Table

    August 14th, 2015

    When we first moved to our home we found some furniture in the attic that was old and we tossed most of it, but some I just liked too much to throw away. This table is one of the pieces that I really liked. The beautiful little girl is my talented apprentice.Cell pictures 3 844The table is too dated and doesn’t fit into my décor but I just love its shape and design. So instead of tossing it, I decided to change it up and turn it into an outdoor table.

    I thought it would make a great family project and I was right! My little girl and I had a great time painting the table with a white outdoor paint. The paint brightened it up and protected the table from the outdoor elements. We had a lot of fun painting it, although we did get a lot of paint on each other as well, all apart of the fun!  We let the paint dry for a couple of hours and then applied another coat. We then let the table dry overnight.

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    Once the table was dry we used this blue/green tile blend that we found at Home Depot. My husband used pre-mixed adhesive and grout to secure the Mosaic tile onto the table.

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    Once the tile was secured on the table, we used a wet sponge to take off the excess grout from the tile surface. We then allowed the grout to dry. Because the table is round the edges were a bit off so we got creative by using some small stones we found in our garden to decorate the edges.

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    Here is the final result. I think it turned out pretty great and it was a wonderful little project to do as a family!

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    Hope you are inspired to do your own project!

     

     

     

     

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  • Children

    August 7th, 2015

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    You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth-Khalil Gibran

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  • Fight Cancer

    August 5th, 2015

    Recently a mother from my community passed away after battling cancer. Although I did not know her personally, my heart ached for her loved ones. Especially her children. Ironically, just weeks after this young mother’s death, one of my closest friends was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her news really shook me up. She is a remarkably strong woman and I know she will be OK.

    I’ve had people in my family battle cancer, thankfully they survived but I’ve also lost people who I love to the devastating disease. When my friend told me about her diagnosis all I could think of is after all the years of research why do we not have a cure for cancer? Why do we get cancer? Is it in our water? Our food? Is it the amount of stress we have to endure?

    Another friend of mine who has looked into the same questions and has fought her own battle with cancer sent me an article written by Professor Keith Scott-Mumby, a British alternative doctor. He has what he calls his three pillars to beat cancer and advises that if we are serious about keeping (or getting) cancer out of our lives, we follow these steps.

    Pillar #1 – Diet

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    Dr. Mumby says we have to beat the root causes of cancer. Diet is one of the root causes according to Mumby! The World Health Organization estimates that 40% of cancers are caused by diet. Mumby suggests a diet rich with fresh, organic foods (where possible), salads, smoothies, and brightly colored produce. He claims that dairy, soy, grains, and even certain produce can be unknown stressors. This is no surprise, white sugar, white flour, white rice, processed foods, dairy, and soy should be deleted from our diet!

    Pillar #2 – Emotional Cleansing

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    Negative emotion is also a root cause of cancer.  I can vouch for this! Some of the people in my life who went through cancer smiled through every bad situation in their lives. They never dealt with the pain they were going through.

    A Stanford psychiatrist, was shocked to discover that at the ten-year breast cancer survival checkup, women who included therapy in their lives survived twice as long as those who didn’t. Another Yale research study found that cancer spread faster in women who bottled up their emotions.

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    Stress is known to be a major cause of inflammation. In fact, inflammation has been discovered at the base of all known diseases.

    In other words, stress will kill us through cancer or heart attack or autoimmune disease…if you allow it to control your life!

    Pillar #3 – DETOXIFICATION

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    This pillar is the most difficult one to control in my opinion. I can’t wrap my brain around how much pollution we have around our lives! We are surrounded by pollution! There  are pollutants in our soil, water, and air and that means they are in our food supply. They are also in our cosmetics, household goods and everyday cleansers! From heavy metals and arsenic to formaldehyde and parabens…products we buy every day at our local markets are filled with endocrine disruptors, estrogen mimics, and poison the cells in our body.

    Dr. Mumby suggests reading “The Politics of Cancer ” by Dr. Sam Epstein. In the book he tells us how cancers are essentially preventable diseases. He says there are hidden political and economic factors which have blocked attempts to prevent cancer.

     There are so many things stressing our bodies, junk nutrition, stress, and chemical contamination push these stressors past the brink of what we can handle. It’s important that we take it upon ourselves to be aware and do what we can to keep our loved ones and ourselves healthy.

     

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  • Raising daughters

    July 10th, 2015

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    Raising children is difficult in general but I think it’s especially hard to raise little girls. My daughter is nine and I’m already trying to prepare myself for her to enter the tween and teen years. It can be frightening because as parents, we want to protect our children but the reality is, there is only so much we can do. So, I have put together a few things I think would be helpful to mothers of little girls.

    • 1. How we dress and apply make-up will influence our girls

      My daughter really loves playing dress up like most girls. Since she was three years old, she has always loved high heels and make-up. In time, lessons will have to be taught on applying less but for now, it’s just for fun. She notices that I dress modestly. I think it will influence the way she chooses to dress in the future.

    • 2. Telling our daughters about the things to come like their period is really important. They should be prepared for when it happens.

      It’s my job to be open about my body and what’s going to change with her body. She needs to be comfortable talking to me about everything.

    • 3. The world will try to get them to grow up too fast and it’s our job to keep them girls as long as possible.

      That’s why even though my daughter hates it, no makeup when we go out, only appropriate clothes and no high heels. Yes, they make high heels for little girls! No inappropriate jewelry and NO cell phone yet. It’s my job to set boundaries.

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    • 4. Encourage and support the relationship with her father

      A girl’s father is one of the most influential people in her life. They have a big impact on their daughter’s development to grow into a strong, confident woman. He helps shape her self-esteem, self-image, confidence and opinions of men. The type of men that women get involved with are directly related to the kind of relationship a girl has with her father.

    • 5. Be mindful of how you talk about your body in front of your daughters

      You will become their example for how women should view their bodies. I have to admit I have made some major mistakes when it comes to negative talk about my body. Children hear and see everything. I now try NOT to speak negatively about my weight in front of my daughter. At 9 years old, she is already aware of body size and worries about it. I try to emphasize that she should stay healthy by eating clean and keeping active.

    • 6. Protect them but also teach them to stand up for themselves

      My daughter is super sweet and sensitive but she is also a people pleaser. I want her to grow up to be a strong woman. She knows that my husband and I will always have her back but we also want her to learn to stand up for herself.

    • 7. Compliment your daughter on things other than her beauty or appearance

      My daughter always hears about how lovely she is from us all but that’s not the only thing we focus on.  Little girls need to know that there is more to their self-worth than beauty. We make sure to focus on our daughters other attributes, like her intelligence, talent and her kind nature. Things that won’t fade with time.

    • 8. Set boundaries in your life with how people treat you

      Our children learn from what we do more than what we say. So, if you are strong and demand being treated well, there is a better chance she will grow up and do the same.

    • 9. Follow your own dreams and passions

      Set the example that what you love to do is important so she will believe in her own dreams and passions. It’s why I share with my daughter my blogging goals and achievements, so she can know that I have goals and things I do that I work hard to be proud of.

    • 10. Teach them to be smart when it comes to being around the opposite sex

      I always speak to my daughter about the importance of trusting her instincts and gut feelings. It’s never too early to speak about relationships. I talk to her about how important it is to marry someone who will respect her and treat her well, just like her dad treats me.

      These are just some things I think will help other moms raising girls. As mothers, we all need extra support and guidance from each other, especially those that have been doing it longer. Please feel free to express your opinions and share your experiences. I know I am always looking to grow and become a better mother.

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  • Opening doors to their hearts, brought a wonderful change to this young mans Life!

    July 6th, 2015

    I wanted to share this heartwarming story with you all today.

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