What's your wagon?

Over the past few months, we’ve all heard someone say, “ I’ve fallen off the wagon.” In fact, I find myself saying it much more lately. Oprah recently announced she had fallen off the wagon by gaining weight. While on the campaign trail, President Obama stated that he had fallen off the wagon by having a cigeratte. So I began to wonder, what’s the point of the wagon? I mean do we ever acknowledge that we’re still on the wagon or loudly sing our own praises about being wagon-riders. Of course, we don’t. But if we fall off we feel ashamed of ourselves. I think we should set goals for ourselves and try our best to reach them. I also think that we should realize that we aren’t perfect therefore we will always “fall off the wagon” at some point. So from this day forward, I am embracing the fact that I will occasionally fall off the wagon. I’m also happy that wagons are pretty low to the ground and tend to move pretty slowly so when I fall off I won’t get hurt too badly. What’s your wagon?

My Lunch @ the Sun Dial Restaurant

Recently, I was attending a conference and had an opportunity to dine at the Sun Dial Restaurant. I truly had no idea what to expect but had heard some good things about the view. Well, the things I heard were definitely an understatement. I have never felt such perfect peace. The view was unbelievable. However, the fact that I was alone permitted me to be still in the moment. I could just gaze out the window and just be. As I sat there having my lunch, I began to wonder how can I capture this peace more often. While I still don’t have an answer, I feel so blessed to know it exists. If you are ever in Atlanta, I strongly recommend you eat at the Sun Dial. In the meantime, have you ever experienced perfect peace and if so, when?

Happy Birthday Man-Friend

This past weekend, I helped my man-friend celebrate his birthday. I made this heart using 33 tealight candles. Each candle represents one year of his life. I'm happy to say that he LOVED the heart. What the most creative thing you've done for someone's birthday?

The Innocence of Childhood

During one of the Inauguration events, I saw a brief clip of a concert in honor of the new first family. Malia Obama, 12, had a digital camera in hand and was taking pictures of the performers, in particular Usher. I chuckled to myself thinking sweetie don’t you know who you are? You don’t have to take a picture of Usher from a distance. You’re the President’s daughter and not just ANY president but the first Black one. That means you can meet anyone your little heart desires from Usher to Oprah to Hannah Montana to the Jonas Brothers. But then I remembered the innocence of childhood. Children are so innocent in their thinking and while the Obama girls are two of the most recognized people on the planet it hasn't gone to their heads. The Obamas have done a fabulous job of maintaining an unbelievable level of humility. Clearly, they (the children) have not gotten caught up in the hype. Kudos, to the Obamas for keeping it real and not letting the hype destroy their children's innocence. As we all grow older, we unfortunately lose our innocence and often times become quite sarcastic, ego-centric, and just downright mean. Let’s think back to our childhood, if you could reclaim your innocence and optimism what area would you apply it to in your adult life?

What does success mean to you?

Recently, I was reading PINK, a magazine for professional women that focuses on tips and tricks for balancing the demands of a career, family, and self. This was my first time reading this magazine but I think I would probably read it again. As some of you regular magazine readers know, there is often a question posed of the staff and their responses are printed next to their names. The question in this issue was, What does success mean to you? As I read through the staff’s answers, I was pleasantly surprised to see a variety of answers ranging from material things to spiritual awakenings. Of course, I then began to think what DOES SUCCESS mean to me? I will attempt to answer this question relative to specific areas in my life in opposed to one broad answer. So here is what success means to me:

Spiritual: To lead a life that reflects God’s grace (i.e. my actions and interactions clearly show my desire to encourage and love others.)

Mental/Emotional: To spend the majority of my moments being content regardless of my circumstances

As a Mother: To have the children in my life shine brighter as a result of my parenting

Relational: To be in a committed relationship with a man that inspires me, encourages me and loves me in an especially different way (all you Jill Scott fans know what I’m talking about)

Financial: To be debt-free!!!!!!


Of course, the cool thing about success is that it can be measured on many levels and in many different ways. As I review my success criteria, I’m so happy to see that it encompasses my vision of life being a journey not a destination. I am aware that some days I will feel more “successful” than others and that’s okay. So what does success mean to you?