Welcome Spring 2013

I welcome the first day of spring with gladness!  I am so happy that you are here.

Yesterday my area was blanketed with snow on and off all day.  I had to go out and shovel twice.  As the day progressed it turned into wet snow, so much of it washed away.  I really hope yesterday was the last of snow for the winter season this year.  I do enjoy winter and that is one reason that I choose to live on the east coast.  It is just that by March I have had enough of it for the season.

Thoughts of spring weather is so exciting to me.  It is a reminder of the wonders of Mother nature.  I love witnessing the plants and trees waking up after several months of rest and rejuvenation.  Four trees in my backyard have gone to rest permanently, so I have to cut them down.  The first warm sunny day this week or next, one of my neighbors will be taking care of the task for me.  Once the trees are gone my backyard will have so much more light too.  It will be perfect for growing vegetables.  I am going to plant tomatoes (as usual), kale, eggplant, different varieties of peppers and whatever else I fancy.  My beautiful rose bushes will appreciate the extra sun.  Every summer my roses are like the belle of the ball and they receive lots of compliments from the neighbors.  I will plant pink peonies this year too.  Peonies are some of my favorite flowers.  Maybe I will plant a Rose of Sharon bush too.
  

With the arrival of spring I hope a new job arrives as well.  I was laid off in December.  I was not down about it because I see these things as the Universe opening up a better path for me.  I reached a crossroads and it was time for me to step forth to a new chapter.  There were two job openings recently that I was really interested in, and would have been happy to get either position, however, both went to other candidates.  I wanted to cry.  Well, actually I did cry, but not for too long.  The Universe, which is God, has never, ever failed me.  I know that my next job as a payroll administrator has already been worked out and secured by my Higher Consciousness and unfed Flame within my heart.  Even if I do not yet see tangible evidence of it I know that I have it already, so there is nothing for me to cry about, and it is even better than those two positions that I thought I wanted so much.  That is always how things turn out.  I thank God for my strong and resolute faith.  It is that faith, knowing and conscious connection to the Presence that abides within me that has given me every good thing in my life.  I don't know how people without any faith do it, because if I did not have mine to cling to I don't know what my life would amount to.  My faith that there is something Greater keeps me in joy and happiness.  Where there is discord I always know that I will be victorious.       

 

In this case I will be victorious again because I know that I already have the prefect job that pays me the salary that I require, desire and deserve.  It is near my home and the people are wonderful to work with.

  

I look forward to the upcoming retreat that renews my heart, soul and spirit.
 

I give thanks to my family and friends.  My friends include those in the world of blogging, yes YOU. 

Thank you to blue skies and bumble bees.

 

  

Thank you to tulips and nasturtium.

Thank you to morning glories.

 

   Thank you to the spring elf.

I say YES to life every day!

 

I Won The Liebster Award....YAY!!!

After a little over a year of blogging I FINALLY won something.   YAY!!!  I would like to thank Veganopoulous, Blogger, my parents, and well....ME.  The Liebster Award is one of the most PRESTIGIOUS awards, so I am starting off winning something BIG!!!  I would like to thank  the Academy of Bloggers Arts and Sciences. 

There are a list of 11 questions that one must answer after winning the Liebster Award, so I will jump right into that now.

1). If you had the choice to travel either forwards or backwards in time (one way trip), which would you choose and why?  

I would definitely go forward in time.  I firmly believe in the Golden Age of Enlightenment which will lift humanity out of darkness.  The world will be a place where only love exists.  Wars is a thing of the distant past and people are walking the earth as fully engaged Christ beings.  Get me there right now!


 2).  What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?  

I once worked for a company where my co-workers were some of the  most evil people I ever met.  I enjoyed what I did for a living, but the people I had to work with made the environment extremely toxic.  The experience stressed me how daily and I developed stress related eczema.  


3).  Describe an outfit you had as a child which made you feel all super special important.  Photos if you got ‘em. 

 It is too challenging for me to pick one out since I loved everything that my Mom bought for me and made me feel special.  I picked this photo below to scan and post for this question because it takes place during my very first Christmas in the United States of America.  I had just immigrated to the USA  from Panama a few months before with my family, so it was also my first winter.   In the photo I am holding my baby doll.  I am wearing a dress which is actually tucked into my snow suit pants.  We had not long returned home from being out in the winter snow and I did not take the snow pants off yet.  The dress was actually very pretty. 
 

No cracks about how old the picture is.  I was born somewhere between 1900 and 1972.

4). Say you formed your own nation.  What are three of your laws?   

- All electricity and gas to heat your home is FREE
- No one is allowed to speak in negative terms, EVER.
- Animals shall never ever be used as food.


  5).  What is the theme song to your life?   The Candyman song sung by Sammy Davis Jr.

Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew
Cover it with choc'late and a miracle or two
The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

Who can take a rainbow, wrap it in a sigh
Soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

The Candy Man makes everything he bakes satisfying and delicious
Now you talk about your childhood wishes, you can even eat the dishes

Oh, who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

The Candy Man makes everything he bakes satisfying and delicious
Talk about your childhood wishes, you can even eat the dishes

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good
Yes, the Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good
a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man
Candy Man, a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man
Candy Man, a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/s/sammydavisjrlyrics/thecandymanlyrics.html


6).  What shoes would you love to wear but can’t (for whatever reason).  What is that reason?  

I can actually wear any type of shoes.  I have great feet that I take care of with bi-weekly pedicures.  I usually wear flat shoes though.  I used to wear heels all the time, but not so much anymore. 

7).   What’s one thing you wouldn’t ever eat, even for a million bucks?  

 Red meat.


8).   Describe the worst hairstyle you’ve had.  

It wasn't so much a hairstyle.  I colored my black hair auburn many years ago and it came out fire engine red.


9).   Which is the greatest ABBA song ever?   

I don't know because I never listen to them singing.


 10).  Think of a family tv show you watched as a kid.  Which character did you have a secret crush on?  You’re disqualified if your answer is Phillip Drummond.  Bonus points if it is a parent character.     

 I had a crush on Steve Frame from the soap opera Another World when I was a little girl.  Actor George Reinholdt played the part.  Steve Frame was an early day Jasper Jax.  He was very rich and suave.  I was delighted when Steve fell in love with Alice Matthews.
  

 George Reinholt.

Mr. Reinholt is 73 years old as of this post.

11). You have a magic wand (or magic baguette, or something).  You only get one turn and you must wish for something that improves the world somehow.  What would you wish for?

The raising of the consciousness of all humanity into Christ Consciousness.

 Well...that does it for my answers.  Now I have to give the Liebster Award to five people.  If your blog name appears below you just one the PRESTIGOUS Liebster Award!

Phylly's Faves

Hamelette's Soliloquy

LouLou Sucre

Flowers of A Quiet Happiness

Wayfaring Girl On A Mission

I have to add a sixth blogger and she is The Madd Rose 

 

Now that you LUCKY ladies have been awarded this very PRESTIGIOUS award here are the rules:

1. Link and follow the blogger who awarded you
2. Blog about the award
3. Give the award to 5 other bloggers – preferably bloggers with less than 200 followers
4. Answer the 11 questions I asked you and then you create 11 questions for the 5 bloggers you award.

Here are your 11 questions:

1).  To date, what has been the best time of your life and why?

2).   Describe your dream life.

3).  What book do you treasure most and would never loan out to anyone?  Why?

4).  When you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?

5).  Want country would you most want to relocate to?

6).  Are you a city gal, country gal or must be near a beach?

7).  What is special about you?

8).  What is your all time favorite movie?

9).  What is your favorite song?

10).  Do you prefer Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy?

11).  Would a trip to see the ancient city of Petra interest you or do you find touring boring?

The answers to these questions must be answered within 48 hours or you will be stripped of the award.  You are free to answer the questions and give the award to 5 bloggers at your earliest convenience. 

Congratulations Ladies!!!

 

What I Learned About Blogging & Tips To Share

I started this blog one year and a hundred and eleven days ago.  I didn’t know much about how to go about it except that I would have to do a lot of writing, put up photos and come up with a blog design that is aesthetically beautiful.  I learned the ins and outs of blogging as I went along.  When I made the decision to start blogging I also decided to be serious about it.  I wanted to consciously make time for it and apply myself.  I even purchased a Kindle book about blogging titled Creative Blogging: Your First Steps to a Success Blog, by Heather Wright-Porto.  It is an excellent book that covers just about everything that a beginner needs to know.  Some of it is common sense, but you cannot assume that everyone has common sense.  Here are the things that I consider extremely important if you become a blogger.


Blogging is a commitment:   Blogging first begins with the decision to become a blogger.  Ask yourself why you want to become one.  Some people blog as a way to keep family and friends up to date on what is going on in their lives.  It is an excellent way for families to stay connected.  You can actually keep your blog private where only invited people can access it.  Or like thousands of others you may want to share your blog with the world.  If you decide that you want a public blog and would like to build an audience, you had better be prepared to work your blog almost as if it is a full time job.  If you are the type of person who usually starts a project with enthusiasm, but after a time you lose interest, then I would say to really think over whether or not you should start a blog.  The internet is already loaded with blogs that were started and after a few months the blogger rarely makes an appearance.  In some cases the blogger seems to have abandoned their blog altogether.  I know that sometimes things come up in life that can take you away from blogging.  If you have been blogging for a while and built up an audience, it is better to let them know that you are taking a much needed break, and then remember to return at some point that isn’t in the way far off future (like years).  If you have simply lost interest for whatever reason, consider closing down your blog.  Closing it down is much better than having it out there on the internet in limbo for years.  I have come across many blogs that have not been update as far back as 2005.  


Blog Design:  Blogging has been around for a long time and over the years it has evolved a great deal.  I remember when blogging just entailed writing your thoughts down and sharing your opinions on various subjects.  Those things still hold true, but now blogging is almost like an art form.  When the audience clicks on your blog for the first time, what they see in the first few seconds is going to determine whether they remain on your blog to browse around or leave right away.  Your banner has got to catch their attention.  Once your banner catches their eyes the reader will be compelled to scroll down to see what else is interesting.  If being creative in this way is not your strong point be honest with yourself about it and have someone else create a blog banner for you.  There are many design companies out there that can create a custom banner for you or even a template for your entire blog.  The costs are not what they used to be either. The prices have come down tremendously.  You can even purchase custom blog templates on Etsy at very reasonable prices.  Click HERE to see a thumbnail list of pre-made and custom blog templates.   Or you can just go to Etsy and type in the words blog templates in the search box.  You can also purchase separate blog design elements on Etsy.  For instance, here on my blog, the buttons that you see on the right hand sidebar to go to my Pinterest, faceback, twitter and bloglovin, I purchased from a designer on Etsy.  Once I made the purchase the designer emailed me the buttons and I installed them myself with the links.  If you don’t know how to install them yourself the designer can do it for you, but they would need temporary access to your blog.  

For my blog design I created the banner myself and then uploaded it to one of Blogger’s templates.  You can choose from a number of different layouts and other settings within the template to create the look that you want.  I also uploaded my own blog background.  What you want to appear on the sidebar is totally up to you, but choose wisely so that the aesthetics of your blog remains of high quality and of interest.  Whatever you do, please do not skimp on your blog design if you want to build an audience and become a successful blogger.  I don’t have a huge regular following yet, but I do get a lot of hits per day and people compliment me all the time on my blog design either through commenting on a post or by sending me private emails.  


Choosing a Host Platform:  As you clearly can see the platform I chose is Blogger, however two other popular platforms are WordPress and Typepad. 




Before you choose your platform it is a good idea to look into the pros and cons of each one.  The book that I mentioned in the beginning of this post lists all the differences between these three platforms.Typepad is great, but you do have to pay a monthly fee for it.  Three monthly price packages are offered at $8.95, $14.95 and $24.95.  WordPress has come a long way in just the past couple of years.  They offer more templates than Blogger does.  WordPress also sells templates on their website from all price points starting from $4.00 to $150.00.  Blogger is completely free, but they do not offer a huge amount of templates for your to choose from.  This is where turning to Etsy can come in handy if you don’t see a template that you like.  Do your research on each platform before choosing one.  You can always switch platforms, but it can turn out to be a big to do.  I love Typepad, but I chose not to go with them because I am not willing to pay a monthly fee for something I could get for free.  Especially since I did not know if I could ever make my blog into something that could sustain me monetarily.  Additionally, not all apps for blogs are compatible with Typepad.  WordPress is also very good but I liked how on Blogger you can add a widget to showcase your followers.  I thought that was really cool, so I went with Blogger.  I do have a WordPress account, but I found putting together my blog much more simple and straight forward on Blogger as well.


Good Quality Writing Skills:   This seems obvious, but I will say it anyway.  Using good grammar is very important.   Do not skip spell check!  I noticed that the auto spellchecker on Blogger doesn’t always work.  When you are finished writing your post read it over again to make sure you haven’t messed up anything.  Sometimes I don’t re-read what I wrote and end up wanting to gasp when I catch a writing or spelling error after I published the post.  I think that all bloggers make writing errors from time to time.  I see it when reading other blogs, but that doesn’t make me feel better when I discover writing blunders on my own blog.  The internet has dictionaries and other writing tools for you to use if you need assistance.  My challenge is knowing when to use commas and semi colons.  I do the best that I can.  

I love to laugh and have fun so I do pepper some of posts with humor.  I think that it  is also important to write from the heart and about what you are passionate about.  Do not try to copy someone else just because they have a huge following. 

 Another piece of advice that I would give is to keep profanity completely out of your writing.  It seems like profanity is used a lot in regular speech these days, but it is still offensive to many people.  Don’t include it in your writing.  Some people do it for shock value, but instead it is just plain offensive.  

Windows Live Writer is a great tool to use to compose your blog posts.  I did not know about Windows Live Writer until very recently (like yesterday).  You can download Windows Live Writer for free by clicking HERE.  You can write all of your blog posts from there, including adding pictures, links and videos and then send it to your blog for publishing.

   
Single Subject Blog?:  Many articles online that talk about becoming a blogger advises that you pick a subject to blog about and stick to that if you want to be successful as a blogger.  Personally, I don’t believe that is true.  It seems that the majority of blogs has a focus such as food, DIY projects, style/Fashion.  There are makeup blogs, book blogs, travel blogs, etc.  I have seen successful blogs that write about a variety of things so I am not worried about it.  

I find that I cannot write just about one or two things all year long because my list of things that I love and enjoy runs deep.  If you are going to choose one subject to focus on you have to be able to keep it interesting and fresh all throughout the year.  My blog started out focusing on my Victorian brownstone, but I quickly realized that I did not feel like writing about my home all the time, so I gave my blog the sub heading of Home, Love, Life.  That covers a wide range of topics.  Many of the blogs that I love visiting regularly do focus on one subject and they do it very well.  I have a lot of respect for bloggers who can do it and keep it fresh.


Turn OFF The Music:  Readers and bloggers alike both agree that one of the most annoying things is clicking on a blog and having music auto playing in the background.  Music auto playing on blogs is extremely distracting.  It can also prove frustrating when you cannot easily find the device playing the music so that you can turn it off.  When you click on anything on the blog and the page refreshes the music starts all over again.   It is best to keep music out of your blog design.  If you really want to include music, at least do not set it to auto play.  Give the audience the option to play it if they want to.  Chances are very high that no one will turn it on.


Turn Word Verification OFF:  When I first started blogging I enabled word verification for the commenting section.  I figured it would be in the best interest of my blog even though I did find it very annoying when I commented on other peoples blogs.  A few months into blogging, Jacqueline from Cabin & Cottage gave me some tips, and one of them was to turn word verification off.  She said that no one likes it and that it was not really needed.  The really successful blogs did not use it.  Since I couldn’t stand the word verification thingy either, I understood what Jacqueline was saying to me about it.  I turned it off and found that, indeed, I did not need it.  

I never had my comments set to needing approval first and after a year plus of blogging I found that you don’t need it.  In Blogger, as long as you don’t allow everyone including unregistered users to comment on your blog you should be fine.  If you click on “anyone”, you will get spammers.  I tried it out once and within an hour of resetting it to “anyone” I got a spam comment.  I deleted it and reset it back to “registered Users”.  Honestly though, word verification is a turn off and sometimes my comment won’t go through because I can’t make out some of the letters and have to do it 3 or 4 times before I am successful.  Besides the one spammer, in the thirteen months since I have been blogging I only had to delete two other comments.  Granted though I don’t have people commenting on a regular basis.  However, very successful bloggers do not use word verification and have no problems.  

I think that in Blogger the word verification is the default so many bloggers that use that platform had no idea that comments had to go through that. Check your settings to make sure it is off. 


Growing Your Audience:  This is kind of a tricky one.  Besides the obvious I am not really sure what makes your audience grow at this point.  Of course you must let people know that you have a blog and you do so by visiting other blogs and leaving comments there on a regular basis.  This is something that I admit I need to do more of.  There are a small handful of blogs that I leave comments on but I need to do it on much more blogs than I am doing right now. 
In the morning I have the best of intentions to visit all the blogs that I love and interact through commenting.  My issue is that once I get on the first couple of blogs I can get so much into clicking on links I find interesting and before I know it an entire hour has gone by without me going to the other blogs I intended to visit.  
As of this post I have 69 charming followers.  My very first follower was Ivy and Elephants, so they hold a special place in my heart.  Ivy and Elephants encouraged me and also offered up some tips.  From there I started to get a few more followers after Jacqueline from Cabin & Cottage featured me on  her blog.  You can see that by clicking HERE.  Now I am up to 69 people after just over a year.  
I have no idea how many people actually subscribe to my blog feed, but I do get a lot of traffic.  During the Christmas season I was getting 5000 hits per day for about a month.  I can’t wait for next Christmas.   Even though many people are visiting my blog daily most of them do not comment even though I made it very easy for them to do so.  For some reason people love to browse around my blog but never say a word.  I do get private emails from people asking me questions about a post they read.  I have no idea why people don’t just comment on the post but emailing me is fine.

I love it when I can help a reader out.   A few weeks ago a woman in Alabama sent me an email thanking me because her daughter is getting married and found her dream wedding dress on my blog.  They looked everywhere and could not find what her daughter wanted until they came upon my blog.  The woman printed the photo of the wedding dress from my blog and it is now being custom made for her daughter’s wedding in May.  Another reader contacted me by email asking me to help her find something she saw on my blog and really wanted for her wedding reception.  I was able to track it down for her on Etsy.   These things make me feel so good inside.  

Joining linking parties is another way to advertise your blog.  I don’t join linking parties much though because I don’t feel I have much to link about.  I am not really a do it yourselfer and I don’t focus specifically on my home enough to join in on linking parties.  I just purchased a DSLR camera though.  I want to be able to take great photos around my home more often and post updates.  This Sunday I have a class about photography for bloggers from 10am to 4pm.  I am so excited about it!   I have a huge backyard that I have been turning into an English Garden.  My pink knockout rose bushes have matured so much since my Mom planted them for me several years ago.  I want to be able to take fabulous photos of my garden this summer and post them on my blog.   As I learn how to use my camera I am going to start carrying it around with me everyplace.  The city I live in has some of the most beautiful architecture in the world that I want to capture more of on camera. 


Include Images in Posts:    It is very important to include at least one photo image on every post that you publish.  I don’t care how great your writing is, it is very important to include visual interest as well.  Your writing is the cake and the photo images are the needed frosting on top.  When not using your own images be sure to give proper credit and a link back where possible. 


Subjects NOT to Talk About:   Unless you are targeting more a of newsgroup type audience I would stay away from politics.   Usually there is name calling and other insults going back and forth.  There is more than enough of that on Facebook.   In case you are wondering, yes, I did vote for Barack Obama both times and squealed with delight when he won BOTH times
. 
I would also stay away from writing religious posts unless your blog is specifically for that audience.  I do have another blog specifically focusing on my spirituality but I am not going to share the name of it here.  If you happen to find it on your own that is fine but I won’t promote it on Collar City Brownstone.  I do have an image of Jesus and Saint Germain on my sidebar nearer to the bottom but I do not actively promote my spiritual beliefs on Collar City Brownstone as if I were looking for recruits.  I will never do that. 


There are some other points I want to make about blogging, but I will leave them for another time.  This post is already a mile long.   


                        

Little Letters: Second Edition

 

Dear Beloved I AM Presence,  I love you, I bless and I thank you for the gift of life.

Dear Bed, you are so comfortable to sit up on with my laptop.  Who needs a computer desk.

Dear Talbots Outlet Store, keep those huge store savings going.  Your clothes are fabulous without breaking the bank.  I am forever thankful.

Dear T and J Soaps, I love your sweet smelling, home made bath bombs.  Please keep making them.  Your bath bombs makes my time soaking in my claw-foot tub all the more relaxing and enjoyable.

Dear Trader Joe's, thank you for opening up a store in my area FINALLY.  

Dear Ikea, Trader Joe's FINALLY came to my area, now I want to know when you are coming.  Right now the nearest Ikea for me is in New Jersey.  There is a sofa that I love and want to buy, but the delivery charge alone is $300.00.  I desire for you to open a store in my area so that I can buy the sofa and take advantage of all your great sales.

Dear Charles F. Lucas Confectionery & Wine Bar, I had a lovely time hanging out there on Frday night with some friends.  Your appetizers are delicious and tea is served with such class.  I love the little filtered tea pots.  Kudos to the assortment of vegan desserts that you offer too.  See the Wine Bar HERE. 

Dear Usa, thank you for your service to life.

Dear Big Lots, thanks for selling pretty and great quality computer bags for 17" laptops for $12.00.  I really did not want to spend $45.00 for an ugly and bulky black one.

Dear Lodges, love your store.  You remind me so much of Woolworths but on a smaller scale.  You are the only store (that I know of) that I can find sheer pantyhose in natural colors for black women without ripping us off on the price. 

Dear Almond Pocket Cookies, YUM!    

With This Ring I Thee Wed?

The post that I wrote this morning on engagement rings made me think about something else on the subject.  I have heard of women who after accepting the marriage proposal request to take the ring back to the jewelers to get another ring they like better.  These woman feel that the engagement ring picked out by their fiance is not to their liking at all.  Some women want a more elaborate diamond setting.

I personally want the engagement ring that my future husband picks out himself for me.  No matter what it looks like I would not want any other ring. To me the engagement ring is a token of his love and is not about representing my favorites in jewelry.  I would hope that in choosing an engagement ring for me that he thinks about what I would like, but whatever he gets for me I would treasure because I am sentimental in that way.

What are your thoughts?

 
 
   

Will You Marry Me With This Ring?

This morning as I was on my way back home from Trader Joe's I was listening to a radio program in my car that gave me an idea for this blog post.  The radio program is hosted by a man and a woman and each day they ask a question for listeners to call in and answer.  The question this morning was directed at women.  Say you have been dating a man for some time and he pops the question.  The engagement ring he presents to you he gave to another woman that I loved and proposed to before he met you.  He took the ring and had it melted did, redesigned and the diamonds reset into it differently before he proposed and presented it to you. 

The questions is would you accept the ring or would you be upset that he did not buy you a totally different ring?  

While I was listening to iut, all of the women who called in said they would not want it because it first belonged to another woman that he made memories with.  The female host of the radio program said she would happily take the ring and I agree with her.  I would take it too.  YES, I would.

 The way I see it is that he melted it down, had it redesign and reset differently, so to me the ring no longer is associated with the other woman.  Once it was all melted down it amounted to parts and the parts no longer appear the same after it's reconstruction.  

 

The women callers though were adamant that they would not take the ring and that it was insulting.  I think that it takes quite a bit of thought, time and money to have a ring melted down and redesigned, which shows me that he was only thinking of ME and not the woman he was first in love with.  What I wouldn't want him to do is take me to the same place that he proposed to the first woman.  It had better be a different restaurant...LOL  For me it doesn't need to be anything fancy either.  He would not have to come up with something original or different.  All he would need to do is tell me straight from his heart to mine how he truly feels about me, how much he loves me and that he never wants to spend another day of his life apart from me.  After all that he can pop the question. .......

....and I will happily say YES as he slips on that beautiful ring that he had redesigned especially for ME.

What would you do?

 

Little Letters: First Edition

Little letters is a new series that I am starting on my blog.  I first saw it over at Flowers of Quiet Happiness and thought it was such a grand idea.  Here is my own Little Letters, the First Edition.


Dear "I AM", I love you and I bless you and I thank you for the gift of life.

Dear Mom, thank you for loving me unconditionally.  

Dear Father, thank you for pairing up with Mom to be my parents in this life.  Both of you were pains in the neck, at times, while I was growing up, but I would not want any other two people to be my parents. 

Dear Siblings, you are all the best and I am proud to be your sister.  

Dear Book, this is my second time reading you and it is such a pleasure.  I am taking my sweet time reading you again to savor every written word.  You bring me so much joy.

Dear Spiritual Center, I have not forgotten you.  All the plans are being meticulously laid out.

Dear House, I am in my ninth year of living in your rooms.  Every moment is a joy.  I am honored to be your present steward.

Dear Former Job, thank you for releasing me to begin this new wonderful chapter of my life right at the dawn of a new age.  Over the past month and a half I have had all the time I need to reflect and regroup and simply enjoy this world.  It has also been nice not to have to get up early and head out in the snow and cold freezing wintery weather.  If you are going to get laid off it is nice for it happen just as winter begins.    

Dear Sacred Covenants, I will fulfill my promises that cannot be broken and I am more than happy to see them through to fruition. 

Dear Friends, I am so grateful for your friendships.  You all mean so much to me and have enriched my life in this town.  

Dear Blog Readers, I appreciate each and every one of you that stops by Collar City Brownstone.  Blogging has expanded and enriched my world and I am so happy to meet you all.  I want to get to know you all better.

Dear Car, It has been two weeks since I replaced the other car that I was driving for thirteen years.  Now you are my reliable ride and I give thanks a thousandfold that you came into my life.  You are looking pretty sharp too!

Dear Netflix, thank you for keeping me so entertained any time of the day or night.   

Dear Amazon Prime, I love the free second day delivery and you as another source of streaming movies.

Dear Blogger, thank you for this platform to express myself.  You are awesome.  Using Blogger instead of creating a website makes my life so much easier.  I can still be original without the headaches.

To All the Ascended Masters,  Xenia loves you all and I thank you.    

Being My Authentic Self

One of the things that I can absolutely attest to is that being your authentic self is one of the best things that you can do for yourself.  For the most part, I have never been much of a follower; especially when it came to my own personal values.  If something does not feel right and is basically against my values, I don't care what anyone says.  You will never get me to participate.  A perfect example of this is the taking of narcotics.  I have never ever tried any of it.  I have never smoked a joint.  When I tell people that you should see the looks that I get sometimes...LOL  However, to me, it was perfectly natural and normal not to deliberately indulge in anything that would negatively affect the life that is gifted to me.  In addition to that I was never fond of taking prescription drugs, so why would I take street drugs meant to alter my behavior and get "high".  I don't even like to take aspirin.

I can recall during my college years attending parties where marijuana was being passed around.  I never accepted it.  I had a boyfriend at the time who liked to smoke pot and I hated the smell of it.  I asked him to please not smoke when he was around me.  At first he respected that, but the day came when he picked me up for a date and his car had a faint smell of pot.  I was annoyed and made a remark about it.  His reply was that he enjoyed smoking pot and would I smoke a joint with him sometime.  I sat there thinking OMG is he kidding me????  He went onto say that if I cared about him I would smoke with him once in a while.  Now, the thing is that I never told him that he had to stop smoking it for me.  All I asked was that he not smoke pot when he was around me.   I also never made any self righteous speeches to him about being a pothead.  If he wanted to be a pothead that was his business; just don't do it around me.  So you can imagine my indignation when he started trying to turn ME into one.   What was wrong with that picture?  Lesson learned after that.....date men who share similar values to mine.

Several years later when I was in my mid-twenties,I went out to dinner with some co-workers.  We went to a really nice Italian restaurant near where we worked.  Somehow the conversation got around to smoking pot.  A female co-worker started telling the rest of us incidents of her silly behavior after smoking a joint.  The next thing you know all, except ME started talking about how drunk they got at past Christmas parties and the foolish things they did as a result.  Everyone (except me) thought it was funny.  After I said that I don't drink or take drugs, the female co-worker looked at me and asked me what I do for fun.   I replied that I have a great sense of humor, love to laugh, dance, etc and that I was already a blast to be around without needing to "enhance" myself with the use of drugs.  The female co-worker would not let it go at that.  She wanted to make fun of me and make me look like some type of weirdo.   I stood firm.  I let her know that she could take all the pot highs she has had and all the fun she has had getting drunk from alcohol and I was still ten times happier than she will ever be.  I don't know where that line came from, but it was the first thing that came into my mind.  After I said it, I smiled at her.  The female co-worker finally shut up and let me be.         
     

Always be your own authentic self.  If you try to be someone else you could end up looking like a fool or worse.

In this new year of 2013, I want to not only remain my authentic self, but also become happier, more joyous and free of limitations that impedes one's spiritual growth. 

I started reaching out to my Higher Mental Body more.  I desire it to become second nature to me to always look to and depend on my Mighty Beloved Magic Presence that is the Light that never, ever fails.  IT forever enfolds, sustains and protects me.  

My Higher Mental Body is definitely a female and I rejoice in it.  I have always celebrated that aspect of me.  My Goddess Being is never ceases to amaze me.  In the past when I was at my lowest She picked me up and gently carried me to rest and and to recharge me.  I like to call Her My Sunshine.  She lets me know that I AM a wonderful individualized expression of Divine Source.    

Another aspect of my authentic self is my deep love of the color pink.  I have a MAJOR love of pink.  Pink also represents the dispensation of Divine Love, Will and Grace and I say YES to that.  

In 2013 I want to pour more love to the urban city that I reside in.  I love retreating to the countryside, but there is no reason why anyone cannot experience, peace, love and beauty in the city too. 

The I AM Temple of Love and Light is a project so dear to my Heart.  May the Temple be raised as a place for all people to honor the Presence that is all of us.  I command and demand My Sunshine who IS the Light of God that never fails to guide me.  You know all things and can do all things.

 My Magic Presence already knows what I desire and require.

I offer up a toast to being my authentic self!  Thank My Sunshine!
 

Love Always