New Blog: PS Petals Place

I'm so excited that my new blog is up and running! PS Petals Place (pspetalsplace.com) is a blog devoted to keeping body positive content in front of tween and teen curvy girls...who I like to call "Petals!"


With topics ranging from dating to parents to fashion/beauty, PS Petals Place offers quality content and opportunities to vent in a safe and supportive environment online.

This month's Petal Spotlight is Zoe Robinson from Friday Night Tykes (Esquire Network). I had the pleasure of speaking with her and her mother and I know her story will be an inspiration to many young girls her age. Honestly, she inspired me to "expect the unexpected!"

My favorite feature of the blog is the Self-Confidence & Esteem page. This page will gather articles from around the interwebs that will help build self-love and encourage young girls to embrace their curves while committing to fitness and wellness. We'll also tackle the difficult subject of bullying and how to cope in addition to providing hotline information in the case of a crisis.

Spread the word to young girls...Petals...you know who would benefit from taking checking out pspetalsplace.com --the place where you are more than a number on a scale. I really wish that there was something like this for me when I was a tween/teen and that's why I'm committed to providing this service to today's generation of curvy girls...Petals!!!

Book Review: Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck

Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck
(Three Rivers Press)

I will never be the same. I am on my way to my North Star. I have a clear path to get there and I am attuned to my "compass."   My mom has stacks and stacks of books in her room that she has received as gifts through the years, but never had the time to read.  One morning, my son and I camped out in her room to spend some quality time with her. I was drawn to a little blue book sitting atop a pile. Little did I know that my life would be changed forever. The first line, "Right in the middle of my life, I realized that I wasn't where I wanted to be."  I was stopped dead in my tracks. I tuned out the TV and the conversation my son and mother were having. I heard only my heart beat and those words resonating in my head. It felt as if I had written those words myself. I actually have, but in my journal...countless times. I read on:  It was like I'd wandered off the right path into a very, very bad neighborhood." Yep, this book is for me! I whizzed through the introduction, but had to put the book down because I realized that I was about to make some major changes that I needed some time alone to accomplish. I went on with my day and life got a little busy. But, the book kept "calling" me. I needed to get to work on my destiny and the nagging feeling that I was wasting time agitated me.

One evening, I swiped the book from my mom's nightstand and that's when it happened: I began moving toward my North Star. Less than a week later, I had a "catalytic event," I was at "square one," and I was in perfect position to actualize my "WIGs." You will definitely have to read the book to find out what the heck I'm talking about, but you will be blessed, changed, altered, and emotional when you read the book. If you want clear, easy-to-follow instructions and exercises to  get your life on course, this is the book for you. She gives clear examples to use as points of reference for your own situation. I actually felt my perspective shift during the course of the book; where when I looked back at some of my early answers, I had a different response. Puh-leez, get this book for yourself, a new graduate, a retiree, anyone who wants to "claim the life you were meant to live."

My coworker ordered it immediately and I know that after a week on the beach (she's not going in the water because she loves her limbs), she will come back with a new perspective!

Have any of you read this book? How has it changed your lives. Leave a comment below!

Follow-up: I started my own business... Scaled-uP Apparel http://www.scaled-up.com/
Thanks Martha Beck!!

Eyesight

This month has been a whirlwind! So much has and hasn't happened. But, I just read a tribute to a wonderful woman of God who had to battle an illness which eventually transitioned her from this life to the next. I usually shy away from reading such things in the morning or at all, but because I'm feeling rather vulnerable today, I bit. I read about her life and how she met her husband. I read about her commitment to serving God and man. I read about her family, but it was the words of her husband that touched my heart and brought on the tears. He praised her for braving the illness with a renewed faith in God. The fact that she was ill did not change her spirit to serve. She impacted the lives of anyone she came into contact with while she should have been the one receiving the encouragement. Whenever I read how a husband praises his wife, I immediately recall Proverbs 31:28 .  Then that sinking feeling comes upon me. I wonder if I'm living an impactful life. Then my heart longs for the day that my "husband' will speak praise filled words of me for living a life well done. I don't even have a husband yet. Woe is me.  "Stop!" I tell myself, "you are looking at life with your own eyes." I must learn from the tribute about this wonderful woman of God. I must look at people and life with Jesus' eyes. So I challenge you to check your eyesight today. Are you using your eyes to judge people and situations, or are you using Jesus' gracious and loving eyes to perceive the world? I'm dedicating myself to doing the latter.

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