Feeling Extreme Joy!

I am feeling so much joy in my life right now! Things have never been better and I absolutely feel at my happiest. One of the biggest reasons why is that I'm getting married in less than 3 months! The big day is April 25th in Las Vegas. My fiance & I couldn't be happier and more excited! All of the planning, preparations, details, ect...have been nothing but a fun and joyful experience for us both. I don't think weddings should be stressful, they should be a wonderful time! I only plan on doing it once, so why wouldn't I want it to be the best time of my life? Why wouldn't I want certain things to be just perfect and exactly how we want them to be? I feel extremely lucky and grateful right now. I am grateful to have such a wonderful relationship with someone that I love more than anything. Someone I could never see spending my life without! That is something to truly appreciate. We've grown so much together and continue to grow and become better people everyday. We share the same goal: to have a happy, healthy, and successful life together! We make a great team and I am so grateful for that one day in March when I was fortunate enough to meet him. When our eyes met for the first time, I was like "wow, he is really something special!" (and so handsome!!) I had a very good feeling about my fiance from day 1. There is no doubt in my mind or his that we just belong together. We know we were meant to find eachother! When you have something so special like this, hang on to it forever....Never let it go!

I am so excited to marry my best friend!!!!!!!!!

Just thought I would share. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best,

Kimberly

Happiness is Music!

One thing that really keeps me in a happy state is music. More and more it's become so important to me! I love music!!! I listen to music when I'm not feeling so great, when I'm getting ready in the morning, on the way to work, sometimes during my lunch break, when I'm working out, driving in my car, and many times when I'm home just cleaning or hanging out. I am so grateful for music! Right now I'd say it's at the top of my list as far as things that make me really happy. What is the one thing that truly lifts you up every time you do it? For me, it's definitely listening to my favorite music.....

I enjoy all kinds of music, but mostly R & B and Alternative Rock. Sometimes I love to go back in time and listen to my old favorites...The Fixx, The Cure, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, (Morrissey) ect... I love to crank it up loud and sing and sometimes even dance! (it's a good thing people can't see me dancing by myself-at home in my living room! ha ha) One of the best times I ever had was taking a road trip to the Grand Canyon with my fiance. (last year) We spent many hours driving and enjoying great music all the way there! (you've got to love Sirius Satellite Radio!) What a great time...

I've also had the privilege to see many great shows in my life! Lets see if I can remember all of them..... Journey, The Lilith Fair (Sara McGlocklin was my favorite artist there) Portland Jazz Festival, (many great artists there too such as Erykah Badu!) Everclear, Morrissey, The Cure, Neil Young, "X", Psychedelic Furs , Beck, and Romeo Void. I'm sure there are many more that I can't think of right now!

I've also had the honor of a few friends sending me their own cds. They are very talented! What a great thing! I listen to their music often and have such an appreciation for that kind of talent....

I love and appreciate music so much. Aren't we so grateful for these talented people who bring so much happiness into our lives? I know I am! What would my life be like without music...don't want to imagine!

What's your favorite music? What do say- time to crank it up??!!!

Great music is that which penetrates the ear with facility and leaves the memory with difficulty. Magical music never leaves the memory. -Sir Thomas Beecham

If music be the food of love; play on. -William Shakespeare

Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent. -Victor Hugo

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best,

Kimberly

Love

Love is a beautiful and powerful word. How lucky that we get to experience love! Think about everyone you love, everyone who loves you, and everything you love to do. What a wonderful feeling to love and be loved. What a wonderful feeling to be doing things that you love the most in life. Think about how much you love. Are you giving enough love? Are you saying I Love You to the people who mean the most? Are you doing what you love as much as you should be? It is important to reach out and love those even when we don't feel like we have it to give.

It is important to give love to total strangers, to love those that need it the most, and to love ourselves no matter what. Your loving gestures will never go unnoticed. And what you're giving back to yourself is just simply unmeasurable. It is important to be doing those things you truly love and to fill yourself up. What puts a huge smile on your face? What brings you a ton of happiness? Do it more! You will have so much more to give this way...... Help others to feel more loved in any way that you can. There are so many that need it!

I feel love from people everyday....whether it's in a smile, nice comment or conversation, a hug, a phone call, a note or card, a message, ect.... It never goes unnoticed with me! I love everyone and when you meet me, you usually know it right away. I feel good about that. I feel good that I am able to be a loving person and be there for others. I want people to have a good, warm feeling when they walk away from me. I want others to know that I was there for them and will always be. I have made making others feel good and loving everyone a top priority in my life. And no, you won't please everybody. But you can keep trying. You can continue to love them. We all deserve to be loved. And we should all be giving the love right back. I'd like to see more of this in the world.

Love More!

Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.

-Barbara DeAngelis

If you have love in your life it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you don't have it, no matter what else there is, it's not enough.

-Ann Landers

Love is a choice you make from moment to moment.

-Barbara DeAngelis

Take A Big Interest In People!

I think it's very important to take a big interest in other people. I've always done it and I always will. Not only is it creating better relationships, it's also being a contributor and making others feel good. You can learn so much from other people too! So give people your time, really acknowledge and listen to them, remember names as much as possible, give them your full attention, look for the good in people, show a big interest in their life, be there for people! You will see that the rewards are endless. We all need to feel important and appreciated. I have many fans just at my job alone! (patients and employees) Not trying to boast, just making a valid point. I believe the reason I have so many fans is because I care about people, I invest my time in them, I'm always complimenting or encouraging them, and I make sure I'm enjoyable to be around. I make people feel good whenever they see or talk to me. I always try to make it a good experience when I come into contact with people. Everyone is important and I want them to feel that way when they walk away from me..... We are all in this world together and we all have something great to offer! I love being that person to remind someone when maybe they aren't feeling so important.....

I think we can have a positive effect on others if we'll just take the time. Our life will be better for it.

“We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken.”

-Fydor Dostoevsky

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

-Albert Schweitzer

A man's growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thankfulness....

I am feeling extremely thankful today and I want to express it! I think it's important that we express our thankfulness every single day. I say "thank you" a lot- it's something that is very important to me and that I've always done! There are many reasons to be thankful and many people to be thankful for! I've come to realize how important my friends and family are. There are many that are loving, supportive, kind, strong, inspirational, and successful. I'm thankful for all that they are and all that they mean to me. I am thankful for total strangers who have shown an act of kindness to me or made a difference in my life, even if it's just in some small way. When someone holds the door open for you, do you thank them? When someone does something nice for you, do you thank them? When someone gives you a call, do you say thanks for calling? Are you thankful when you have an 'Aha Moment' or when someone inspires you? Are you thankful for the good and the bad? Are you thankful for the lessons you have learned? Thankfulness makes me feel incredibly good and I know when I express it to others, it makes them feel good as well. I will never stop saying Thank You and being extremely Thankful! Express your thankfulness and help make the world a better place!

"I am thankful for small mercies. I compared notes with one of my friends who expect everything of the universe, and is disappointed when anything is less than the best, and I found that I begin at the other extreme, expecting nothing, and am always full of thanks for moderate good. . . . If we will take the good we find, . . . we shall have heaping measures." -Ralph Waldo Emmerson

"Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life." -Robert Stevenson

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. -Buddha

Thanks for stopping by!

All the best,

Kimberly

Special People Can Have A Powerful Affect On You!

This post is dedicated to Randy Pausch. Many of us know him as the professor at Carnegie Mellon University who inspired countless students in the classroom and others worldwide through his highly acclaimed last lecture. He died of complications from pancreatic cancer on July 25th. He was 47. Randy has had a profound affect on my life. First after watching his Last Lecture and then recently after reading his book "The Last Lecture." w/Jeffrey Zaslow. Not only does his book touch on his Lecture, but it also has many other powerful gems in it as well. His attitude, courage, optimism, strength, advice, belief in others, and love for his children and wife is amazing to me! He really puts into perspective what's truly important in life. Here are my favorite quotes from the book:

"Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think."

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

"Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something."

He has been a huge inspiration to me and will continue to be. He made me realize how truly precious our time is, how we should be spending it and with who, and to never give up on your dreams! He also reminds us how important gratitude is. I love that I have something in common with him- I too want to have a powerful affect on people, even long after I'm gone!

He will be greatly missed. But he continues to inspire....Thank you Randy!

Faith

Faith, Knowing The Good Is Always Coming!

So what does faith mean to you? To me, it means having an undying feeling that no matter what happens in your life, everything is going to be okay! I have gone through many things in my life as we all have- some great times, some challenging times, some very sad times even.... but the one thing that has always kept me in a good, positive place is the fact that I have a ton of faith. I think it's something important for all of us to have. I have faith in myself, other people, life! I know that things are going exactly as they should and that everything always works out. (for the better in my opinion) Say there is a time in your life where maybe you feel you don't have enough money, your feeling physically out of shape, mentally drained, maybe you have lost someone you loved, you are going through a hard time in your relationship, you are unhappy with your job, or you are just feeling at an extremely low point in your life. We've all been there or are there! Just know that it is temporary and that good things are coming your way! They always do! But you must believe this and just know that it really is true. I'll give you an example in my own life.... Lately I've been feeling like I really need a vacation- it's been awhile since I've had some time off (I'm talking about a week or more) and I am ready for some much needed "me time" and time with my fiance. Well, in one week I will be taking 16 days off! So my point is, I've been looking forward to this time off for months..... To me, there is always something up the road or around the corner (as I like to put it) to look forward to! If you can keep that in mind, life will be much easier. It will be better! Another example, I miss my sister a lot. She moved to Tucson as I've mentioned and although it was wonderful to see her in July..... I really miss her & her kids like crazy! But I also know I will see her in December (she'll be coming to Portland for a visit) where we can enjoy an early Christmas get together. I also get to see her in Vegas next April for my wedding. (she is my Maid of Honor) I also know that when I'm out there exercising everyday and working hard, the payoffs will be huge! That's something great to look forward to! (I've already started seeing the payoffs!) I always hang on to the fact that I have great things ahead to look forward to! If you apply that to anything, you will be amazed how many things you have to look forward to. You will be amazed at how much happier you will feel!

So ask yourself, what do I have to look forward to? How can I feel good in the moment when maybe something isn't quite perfect in my life right now? Don't let the challenging things have power over you, and keep an excellent attitude no matter what! The choice is yours....pick the one that makes you feel good. You deserve to feel good!

"Faith is courage; it is creative while despair is always destructive." ~David S. Muzzey

"To me faith means not worrying." ~John Dewey

"Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith." ~Author Unknown

"As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit." ~Emmanuel

Thanks for stopping by!

Kimberly