Inspiration and NEWness...

Many many things and people have influenced my life, but in the last few DAYS it has been cosmically and comically amazing! 

We ALL deserve the best, correct?  So why would we possibly settle for LESS anyway?  How do we get ourselves in that position!?  We (women especially) can overthink something to death, but at times what is the harm in thinking deeply about our lives, our direction and being open to receiving sometimes needed changes?

I am just going to say it out loud - I like who I have become, who I am, and who I will be - partially because I think about my life, my actions, for myself and the affect on others - friends, family, my children, my future.  I don't want to be any different!  I joke that sometimes I'd love to go 'bumbling' through life oblivious, to give my brain a rest - but I don't want to live that way...I like the way I live.  And while I am in the health, wellness and coaching field, we all know we don't follow our own advice, so it took some nudging from the universe to make more changes, be more open, accept some things...and I'm LISTENING ALREADY!  ;)

Others around me happily or unhappily married or single, my children's needs of me, my own needs for me to grow, learn, change, live...have affected me this week, here's how:

• A friend willing to take a risk and let go of someone 'old' and book a flight to meet someone 'new'; or another friend unhappy in her job took action, updated resume and is doing something about it to make that change!
• Unhappily married friends teaching me what I won't settle for and that we all deserve the most minute ounce of respect - I'd rather remain single forever...
• Someone being inspired by what I had to say or a post on Facebook, this blog, or shared over a glass of wine
• Actions as well as lack of actions of others; either way you get to see someone's character and whole being and that's a good thing!
• Meditating the way I see fit through a labyrinth (More on labyrinths coming up! o OK I have blogged about the labyrinths now - click here!)- unconventionally perhaps by instrumental meditation music in my ears to block out the world around me for a bit, and dancing...yep, dancing and moving my body through it - and moving me to laughter, tears, smiles, and JOY and CONTENTMENT, and inspiration TODAY - hence this blog! 
• After the labyrinth and meditation, hitting shuffle on a playlist of 450 songs and having the first song move you to tears - thank you Jana Stanfield and "Amazing Things" 
• Further refreshing myself on several of Jana's and others songs that inspire - If I Were Brave was the FIRST I ever heard and I am even IN this video! Others I like are All The Good, Let the Change Begin, and I'm Not Lost, I am Exploring...good stuff! :)
• Time with my Life Coach (more on life coaching soon!) and a meditation/angel card on "Abundance" that all good is coming to me, abundance of life, love, money, career, anything...and you know what???? Believing it is KEY!!!  Thank you Alissa.  :) 
• Spring cleaning my own house, creating order (okay any of you who have been to my house know it already IS orderly and tidy, but even I can just feel better about it and improve!) and rearranging, redecorating, purging (which is a bit difficult when you are NOT a pack rat!) and moving toward something, spring - a season of newness, growth, and joy....

Joy and Contentment - two words I set my intention to with my coach a couple months ago - and I am feeling it today!  :)

Peace, Joy and Love to all!

~Daring, Delightful Diva

Hittin' the Road

I love travelling....of any kind....weekend getaways....but also don't mind traveling for work.....traveling with kids.....combine them? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I have a few weeks of travel coming up for work, and this first 7-10 days I am taking my kids, so we all know what that's like.  BUT...you know what I have learned?  I have GREAT kids and while traveling I am more relaxed, more go with the flow...a fanTABulous combination! 

I choose to have fun in most all of life, but especially while travelling - I have been told I can make a trip to a podunk Montana town fun - true story!  Life really IS too short to not have the most fun you can grab out of it.

SO, we have packed our bags tonight, one last load of laundry, toys ready, Kindle Fires (newest thing, YEAH!) and more.  We plan ahead for what we can, but we go with the flow and wing it really.  I have prepared for work items of course, and the kids will come home with school work, the rental car is reserved, family is awaiting with a basic itinerary of what I 'have' to do, other than that????? Anything we want.  This firm  mom will allow later nights, junk food more than ever, and fun in every possible avenue...and it will BE OK! 

We're OFF!  Oh, we have 14 hours to drive and you will be delighted to know we do the first 3 hours to our former home town for a visit...last year on the  remaining 11-hour drive my kiddos made a contest to see if they could NOT watch any movies on the DVD I got them...yep, they did it...and were GREAT!  We visited, sang, played games, they brought a few toys...that was it!  Pretty great huh?

Gender??? Personality??? Both???

Boys, girls, men, women, nature, nurture - what is the deal? Here are my thoughts...

Prior to having children of my own, I thought society placed gender differences and there were no 'natural' differences...then I had a girl, followed by a BOY...and WOW was I surprised!  The exact same bucket of infant toys - and yet they played with them differently!  My daughter would touch, look at intently, a little more calmly.  My son was attracted in the bucket of toys to ANY of them with wheels or balls and made more noises...like the vroom vroom...I was shocked!

As they have grown and grown I do see some gender differences, but also personality differences, and raised by the same mom!  I now believe it is a blend of everything that molds our youth into fanTABulous members of society - some nature, some nurture, some teaching and encouraging of masculine and feminine qualities...and ultimately??? 

We just hope we do not screw them up too badly on the way to the world! HAHA 

Here is a funny clip on the differences between the male and female brain, enjoy!

Daring, Delightful Diva... :)

Chivalry DEAD???

Recently I asked if chivalry was dead...we women do not get to experience it much anymore and I believe our standards have changed and it is lost.  Many things have affected the chivalrous revolution - from feminism to a desire to get back to more polite and old-fashioned dating or courting. 

BUT....what do we ladies do when we run across that rare male specimen that IS chivilrous?  We think something is wrong, it is too good to be true, it will end, and the list goes on and on.  And how about the chivilrous gentleman we speak of?  He feels like a rare bird, weird, like he would be more successful if he just acted like a jerk, and certainly feels like the nice guy always finishes last! 

My girlfriend told me once that she could not get used to her hubby opening doors and things like that and thought there was something wrong with her - that we as women get SOOOO incredibly used to the horrible and rude ways that we've been treated that being treated NICELY actually feels WRONG?????  How wrong and screwed up is that?   He promptly told her to get used to it, deal with it and he was raised that way - and she raised her standards and married him...so the NICE GUY doesn't always finish last! YEAH...

Dancing, Daring, Delightful Diva

Theory on 'Types' - where are you?

What TYPE are you?  What TYPE do you seek in a partner? Where do you fit or NOT fit?  Here I share my theory on girl and guy types, as I have often referred to myself as 'the girl-next-door type' and it leads to interesting conversations....

1. Super Models - aka 'hotties' and other such terminology; defined by sizzling good looks, but because the universe has to balance things out so they may not get the best in the brains department, or  might be horrible person, bitchy, douchey, lack self-confidence at the core, high maintenance, and more.  We all know at least one, right? The second they open their mouth, attraction plummets! 
2. Girls/Guys-Next-Door - These folks, both with men and women are truly the whole enchillada - they've got great looks, plenty of brains, along with perhaps wit and humor, but may be overlooked for super model ambitions in the dating world. 
3. Plain Janes/Joes - These are the regular ol' Joes so to speak, not horrible looking, perhaps smarter than the average bear though, and the Janes may be above wearing makeup, or just too busy or smart to bother.  Not into fashion, etc etc.  You get the idea.  On Big Bang Theory Amy Farrah Fowler is a prime example! Watch this and have fun!  Kills me! 
4. Ugly Ducklings - now these are the folks we see that we may wonder WOW, there is even someone for them!  They were not blessed with looks or brains, and the world is full of them.  Bad teeth, coke bottle glasses, bad fashion, and no brains, or skills for that matter.  I am not certainly trying to be mean here.  Just pointing out various types.  We all have seen them, and sometimes together, that gauky boy and plump gal at the fair making out, both with horrible acne, teeth clanking together....and we wonder HOW on EARTH???  Ok, bad memories flooding back.

SOOOO, now you get the idea! IU am bringin up nothing new here...there are always exceptions of course!  The key is to know and be aware enough of where YOU are and what you want...as a good match for you.  I really AM the girl next door, and in my opionion, those are the types, guys or girls, that you want to end up with in the end...they ARE the whole package - looks, brains, wit, humor, savvy, and more....If you are single reassess who you are looking for....are you a guy-next-door seeking out the eternal holy grail of a super model?  Are you a Plain Jane smart as a whip trying to get the guy next door to notice you?  It's a tough world to date anyway, let's start by being realistic...maybe there is a Plain Joe checking you out too....

We all have to open our eyes more, become a little more self-aware and it might not hurt to watch this hilarious video clip - She's Out Of My League!  Expand my theory to a 1 to 10 scale and I should have gone to the movie makers with MY idea!  The movie is about a 10 falling for a 5, in which NOBODY can even understand!

HAHA Enjoy!

And happy fishing!
Dancing Daring Delightful Diva :)

What IS a douche bag anyway?

In recent days I have been asked "What constitutes a douche bag anyway?"
So it is my duty to define, explain and teach! ;)

Sometimes in defining something, we must first see the flip side - what a douche bag is NOT, which might be perhaps more educational and telling. In fact, I am not speaking to the men here, both sexes can certainly BE douchey, for sure! 

What a douche bag is NOT:  honest, caring, kind, thoughtful, full of integrity and honor.  Saying what they mean, meaning what they saying, doing the right thing and doing what they say.  It would seem to me like simplicity at its finest...but it is apparently NOT that simple, or we wouldn't have a world full of douche bags running around!

So to zone in on what a douche bag IS, you can even find some examples in my previous blogs like The Traveler who did not present himself as he is now, to the Fellow Parent who presented himself full of fine character when all he wanted was a booty call, and the Too Tall Guy that just encompassed so many douchey things!  In general, these men, many other stories my exhibit douchey traits such as conceitedness, exaggeration, deceit, not showing up on time, or at all, checking out other women (or men) when with a fine specimen already, and general rudeness all around.

And drop it like it's HOT because this is the BEGINNING...the BEST time when people are on their best behaviors, still trying to look good and be good - it ONLY gets worse, honest!  So RUN FORREST RUN!!!! 

Well, that's what I can express about douchey-ness, DBags, and DBs for now!
Avoid em like the plague!

New Year, New Direction....

Well, joy oh joy we all get to be hurt - but in the hurts is the most growth and knowledge that we alone get to move forward with.  So I am doing just that, after a few months of dating someone I thought was the real deal.  BOY WAS I WRONG! 

I learned several things -

1. Be who you are, say what you mean, and do what you say - basically, have some integrity and respect.
2. I need to raise my value - if I expect to be treated with some respect and worth, then I shouldn't put up with so much garbage.
3. Regardless of a man in my life, it is full, fun and filled with people who love, support, like me and my kiddos, and clear out the rubbish sooner rather than later....if you keep Mr So-So around, then there is no room for someone better or more fitting to come along...just sayin'!

So here is to a new year and new direction, and the faith that I am one step closer to my match and partner...whom my friends said 'the special guy just for you is just taking longer to cook and be ready for you' and I shall cook up a little more too!

Onward, upward, and let's see how I can make this learning curve even better and faster!