Yes Virginia, you can still 'staycation'
Summer may be over, but the 'staycation' is still very much in full swing. With the state of the economy, people are not traveling as much as they used to. But that doesn't mean that the holiday fun has to end there. Explore the opportunities in your own 'back yard' to enjoy your holiday season.
Many malls, public areas downtown, parks etc hold Christmas Tree Lighting ceremonies, Menorah Lighting Ceremonies, Kwanzaa Candle Lighting Ceremonies and more! It's a great opportunity to connect with friends, family and neighbors in the process of preparing the places you live, work and shop for the upcoming holiday season. Bring the kiddos, grab some hot chocolate and get a good spot!
It's so easy to get wrapped up in your own family holiday preparations, cleaning, decorating, cooking, shopping etc that you easily forget to take out a moment to enjoy what's around you like the big 'Happy Holidays sign welcoming you to the mall, all lit up and festive. Or the big illuminated snowman outside your favorite store. Stop and get a picture of not only the little ones with it, but make sure you get one of yourself too! (Even more fun, if the same one is used annually, get an annual picture in that spot, it will be so much fun to look back at later on!)
Remember how excited you were to write out your list to Santa? Do it again! Do it this year! Put absolutely, positively, NOTHING of practicality on that list. Put everything on that list you wouldn't dream of getting for yourself. Those things you promise you'll get yourself next week because the house needs this, or the kids need that. or the DH needs some new clothes for work....... It's easy for Santa to forget you if you have already forgotten yourself.
I want to help inspire you to make this your best holiday ever, both inside and out! If we can keep you at an even keel emotionally, the stressors of the holiday season won't be able to bring you down physically!
Right now I'm sure you have meal planning on the brain, and I don't mean tonight's pot roast, I mean the big day, Turkey Day, Thanksgiving! I don't care how many people you are hosting this year, do not overdo it! Do not buy a bigger bird than you need. How many Turkey Wraps, Sandwiches etc do you really want to end up making all week so it doesn't go bad/go to waste? And you know full well that the kids will tire of Turkey Leftovers very quickly and beg you for some un-healthy fast food alternative!
A great place to start today is getting rid of what you don't need. Get two big trash bags or boxes, mark one toss and the other donate, pare down drawers, closets etc. De-cluttering your space will make holiday planning from decorating to meals so much easier for you.
Once that is done. Make your grown up christmas wish list. You can even share them here if you'd like, it would be fun to read each other's wish lists!
While you have the pen and paper out, why not begin your New Year's Wish List? Notice I did not say resolutions. What do you want to accomplish in the new year? Keep this book by your bed at night so if you awaken with a goal you can write it down. Bring it to work and write in it during your lunch break. Do you want to learn a new language this coming new year? Perhaps Rosetta Stone DVD's will be on sale during the holiday season, now that you have identified a goal, keep an eye open on getting the things you need to prepare or achieve that goal.
For example. I plan to begin learning Italian, I have always wanted to learn and I have Rosetta Stone's Level 1 Italian Language Learning System. So I need to begin to carve out specific weekly space to achieve the goal of completing this system.
If you go through this holiday season stress free in every way (and actively breathing your way to a more focused mind, visualizing your life the way you want it to be, deserve it to be and therefore SHOULD and WILL be) you will be putting yourself at an AMAZING advantge for the New Year.
I have come up with a meditation mantra that really resonates with me, 'In 2010, I will begin again'. Find your own soul speak and when you take those 5 minutes to center yourself at the begining and end of everyday, begin incorporating your own powerful soul speak into your thoughts. We do it here daily with our daily affirmation/focused breathing excercise of the day. Just make sure the words are really resonating with you, are powerful to you and are relevant to you!
Use 'Today's Words of Inspiration' as a breathing meditation to still your mind, quiet your thoughts and bring in positive energy. As you inhale bring in only positive energy by saying in your mind, I breathe in positive energy (or you can say creative energy if that is what you wish to create more of) and as you exhale, Affirm out loud today 'I will make way for the holiday season by paring down, de-cluttering and removing stress from my environment and from my mind.'
Spend some time each day enjoying focused breathing AND soul guided meditative visualization, in doing so, you can bring about amazing, profound and powerful changes in your life.
Visualize yourself manifesting something unique, guided by universal forces that emerge spontaneously from within your soul. Do this at least twice today and see how by taking a moment away from the hectic pace and breathing in positive energy and affirming what you wish to create, your thinking will become different.
Remember, attitude really does determine altitude.
It is OK to *Re-Tweet* the link to this post and You can find me (@Tracy_Iglesias) on Twitter here! twitter love: re*tweet by copying and pasting the following into your update field:
OK to RT: @Tracy_Iglesias Today's Words of Inspiration and Five Super Giveaways! - http://tiny.cc/n4Thx
Make this your best day ever, Bless and Be Blessed!
Don't forget to enter the 5 great giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page! The holiday push is going to be fast and fierce on Ascending Butterfly, we will be offering multiple giveaways all through the season! It's just our way of saying Thank You! for choosing to spend part of your day with Ascending Butterfly. We are really happy you landed HERE!
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NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?
NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will have no way of informing you if you win, and will have to select another winner. Make sure your entry and your profile have your email address!
Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:
Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)
1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it
2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'
3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)
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I plan on learning how to play the banjo. I have my grandfather's banjo, something he loved to play, and it just sits in my den waiting for someone to play it. It always brought him, and everyone else, great joy to play it. I am always too busy and I have a hard time making my desires a priority but I really want to be able to play his banjo. What an inspiring post. As for the holidays, I'm cooking a bird that is too large but I like the leftovers. I'm not going to two different Thanksgiving dinners this year and I'm only celebrating with those people I love and who love me. I'm looking forward to it very much this year.
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