Home Improvement Part III

Last year we set the bar high for our home makeover projects.    We put new flooring in our living room, dining room and family room (including a hallway).  We went from hideous carpet to a beautiful dark wood laminate. We also purchased stainless steel appliances and purchased a much needed dining room chandelier. The house went from old fashioned to modern in a matter of months.  Once that was completed, it was a defining moment for us.  We realized we could and we should.  We opened some credit and made a pact to pay it off before interest kicked in.  10 months later I am proud to say we did just that.  Talk about knocking two birds with one stone - we built our credit and paid it off same as cash.   

 A few months ago, my husband and I wanted to move forward with our next project, but the question was, “What would the next project be?”  Honestly, we have a list a mile long, but we narrowed our decision to redoing our guest and master restrooms and giving our master bedroom some new carpet. 

Guest bathroom would receive new flooring (tile), paint, trim, vanity, faucet, toilet, mirror and light fixture. 

Master bathroom would receive a standing shower, new flooring (tile), paint, trim, separate vanities, mirrors, toilet and light fixture. 

Bedroom would receive new carpet.

We used our previous contact to complete our flooring, standing shower and carpet.  They were done in 3.5 days.  The rest of the work was completed by my husband.  He removed the old vanities/mirrors, removed wallpaper from bathrooms, painted and did all the installation.  He also cut and installed the trim that went into the bathrooms.   

Guest Bath:

 

 

Before - (Vanity and Mirror were removed)

 

      

      

 Master Bath:

Before

 

We found 70s wallpaper behind our mirror. 

 

Carpet use to live here.

 

 

 

Finished product - his and hers vanity duo with a lovely reminder between the mirrors.

 

 Master Shower:

 

 

 

We will eventually replace the shower curtain with a glass door.  Unfortunately, due to our budget being exceeded, we don't have the money available right now, but we plan to get it done before the end of the year.



This new standing shower is my favorite part of it all.

 

 

 Master Bedroom:

 

The carpet we had in our Master was so OLD, stained and gross.  This one change made our bedroom look so different.

 

Doing a lot of the work yourself can have its drawbacks, but at the end of the day it makes you feel very proud and accomplished.  For me, it wasn’t just an investment of money, but an investment of time, work and sacrifice. My husband did the majority of the labor – I did all the cleaning, but I was also able to do the fun part which was shop for new décor.  Overall it was a team effort and while we are still recovering from the long hours  of hard work, we have enjoyed marking this project off our list.



Amor Eterno

Here we are in the month of the May.  This month signifies so much – bright sunny days, graduations, Memorial Day, Cinco de Mayo, but most importantly, it is the month in which a day is set aside to recognize all mothers.  I LOVE Mother’s Day – not only do my husband and children do a great job of spoiling me, but it gives me the opportunity to spend the day with those who I love most and celebrate the woman who gave birth to me, raised me and molded me into the woman I am today.  What would I do without her?  It also gives me an opportunity to spend time with my mother in law, who raised my husband into the great man that he is.  We should always show this type of love and gratitude to our mothers throughout the year, but this day is extra special. 

This year I will be out of town for Mother’s Day, and I hate the fact that I won’t be in town to celebrate with my mom. I came up with this idea to take her and my mother in law out to brunch to celebrate a week early.  I’m the queen of surprises and last year, my siblings and I surprised my mom with mariachi at our Mother’s Day celebration.  Out of nowhere, here comes a group of mariachi into my sister’s home and my mom stops, covers her face and starts crying.  The moment was perfection and our plan worked – she loved it.  This year, I wanted to surprise her again.

I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day.  The weather was gorgeous, sunny with a cool breeze. We got to the restaurant, placed our order and grabbed a seat outside on the patio.  Shortly later, the mariachi arrived and began to serenade our table with “Las Mañanitas” and for a whole hour we danced, laughed, cried, and enjoyed the beauty of family, friends and even strangers. 

 

 

 

At one point, the mariachi sang “Amor Eterno” which is a very popular song that speaks about a loved one who has passed.  I asked my mom to dance and with tears in her eyes, she said “This song reminds me grandma.”  I looked over her shoulder and I see my dad crying as he thinks of his mother who passed away a few years ago. With a hug I console them and I take in their pain. For a brief second I begin to think of that one day when I will no longer have my mom, but that day hasn’t come yet and I thank God for days like this where I can enjoy her and indulge in her presence and her love.  We stopped dancing and sat down to finish hearing this beautiful song.  Strangers were sitting all around us and this one man caught my attention – he was videotaping the mariachi while singing his heart out and tears were rolling down his face.  His hand that was holding his phone was shaking and I couldn’t help but feel touched by his emotion over this song. 

I loved that the people who happened to eat here were able to partake in this beautiful celebration.  We had several ladies join us for a dance and couples – including the owner and his wife got up to dance.  The day was perfect and it will definitely go down as one of the best celebrations I have been able to share with my family.

 

Mom,

 

Thank you mom always being there for me.  I honestly would not be where I am, or be the woman that I am if it wasn’t for you.  Several times I steered off course, but your prayers and support pulled me back on track.  I firmly believe that those prayers and the prayers of grandma have been answered and I am able to reap the blessings now.  I enjoy our talks, your advice, and our trips to Marshall’s and Ross to look for stuff for the house.  I love that every Sunday when I get there at 8:30 to start serving, you are there too, drinking your coffee waiting to go downstairs to help with the kids.  That makes me really proud.    For everything you’ve done and continue to do for me, I just want to say Thank You.  Being a mother isn’t easy, I know that now.  But because of the magnitude of the difficulty, I now know the true meaning of all the sacrifices you made for me.  Thank you, thank you and may God continue to fill your heart with love, protect you from harm and grant you health for all the days of your life. 

Why you gotta be so rude?

 

How are you supposed to react when someone treats you unfairly?  What do you do when someone is rude to you?  There is always some part of us, (if not a BIG part of us) that wants to reciprocate those actions right back.  Let’s be real.  When someone is rude, don’t we just want to say, “Excussssssseee Me……….oh no you didn’t.”

Well chances are, we can’t always come out with those words or actions.  If you are dealing with someone in authority, we just can’t be that way.  I remember one day my mom and I were at Macy’s.  My mom was checking out and I had a coupon I wanted my mom to use to save an extra 15%.  The lady at the cash register couldn’t figure out how to apply the coupon, so instead she told me that we couldn’t use it.  I responded very nicely by saying, “Can you try again?”  She looked at me as if I was stupid and said, “You can’t use it.”  I began to get irritated.  The problem was I pulled the coupon up on my phone.  It was not printed.  Most times, the associate would pull the code from the phone and key it in and viola, the discount was applied.  I’m assuming she did not know how to do it and rather than ask a coworker, she proceeded to tell me I couldn’t use it AND she was rude.  I had been going to church for a while at this point and I was trying my best not to be rude back.   I knew I had to represent kindness, love and compassion.   “Mam, I use these coupons all the time.  Usually the person just keys in the code and it works.  Do you think you could ask someone to help?”  She got so upset and proceed to tell me once again that I couldn’t use the coupon.  She then stared at me as if I was stupid and I couldn’t hold it in anymore………I stared at her right back.  (It was a staring contest at this point.)  “Can you please not look at me like I’m stupid?  I’ve used these coupons before.”  By this time, her coworker came over and showed her that all she had to do was key in the code.  Just like magic, the coupon was applied and I received 15% off.  She was so upset.  She wanted to have the last word (of course) so as she finished ringing us up, she went on to say that those coupons are supposed to be printed, yada, yada, yada…..  I let her talk, but by then I was already upset.  Part of me was mad at myself for slipping.  After my mom paid, we walked off and she laughed.  “I just saw the old Vickie come out.”  I can look back and laugh too, but at the moment I was still upset.  Why did she have to be so rude?

I don’t know how I would handle if this happened again.   The old saying is so true, Kill them with kindness, but sometimes that doesn’t seem to get you anywhere (at least that’s how you feel in the moment). 

One of my coworkers just resigned and after talking more in depth with her, it seems she was dealing with an unpleasant group of girls who have been referred to as “The Mean Girls”.   The stress was weighing on her.  My coworker is a Christian woman and a big ray of sunshine.  She was always so happy and peppy, so to hear she was dealing with this stress for the past 9 months was surprising.  I had no clue.  She really hid it well.  She told me, “I didn’t want to run from this.  I wanted to be the bigger person and kill them with kindness.” Amongst all her efforts, there was no avail.  A personal issue occurred that called her back home to Louisiana, but the damage had been done and the decision to leave was made easier due to the problem at work.

So what do you do when things like this happen?

One thing I’ve learned though many of my trials/valleys is that every time you face some sort of adversity or injustice or hardship, it’s placed for different reasons, but ultimately, I’ve seen that those times are there to build your character.  How are you going to handle it?

But it’s unfair, I don’t like it……… Yep, I’ve said those things before.  God, I’m trying but I just can’t anymore.  God then proceeds by telling me, “You can’t or you won’t?” 

You got me.  It’s because I don’t want to.

I’m still going through my sharpening so I can’t really tell you the key factor that gets you to the other side other than communicating with God and reflecting on the word.  When I do that I get a brand new perspective and I feel convicted when my actions don’t match with his direction.  

Whatever difficulty or difficult person you are dealing with right now, learn to look at the situation differently.  Instead of fighting against it, try to accept the situation as a way God is sharpening you.  Give thanks and change your perspective.   

You will get through it and you will become a better person because of it.  I have no doubt.
 

The Oak Tree

A mighty wind blew night and day It stole the oak tree's leaves away Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark Until the oak was tired and stark But still the oak tree held its ground While other trees fell all around The weary wind gave up and spoke. How can you still be standing Oak? The oak tree said, I know that you Can break each branch of mine in two Carry every leaf away Shake my limbs, and make me sway But I have roots stretched in the earth Growing stronger since my birth You'll never touch them, for you see They are the deepest part of me Until today, I wasn't sure Of just how much I could endure But now I've found, with thanks to you I'm stronger than I ever knew

Touch the Sky

Music  can be an array of things: entertaining, soothing, romantic, energizing, and even motivational.

Have you ever felt like your day is starting off as a total bust?  Ever felt in need of some inspiration?  Music comforts me and it gets me through most days.  I’m a big fan of Spotify and I wanted to share my different playlists with you. I hope you can find some inspiration or an uplift in mood through my playlists.

Follow me on Spotify.

Touch the Sky – inspiration/uplifting faith based music/worship music
 

I Need You the Most - upbeat, dance, hip hop/rap music




Fiesta - party music (mainly Spanish)




Chai Again - slow jams, mostly acoustic (mellow/chill mood)

Girl Chat

I was joined by one my favorite friends this Saturday to a workout session by Grit Fitness held at our local mall in Dallas, TX.  We found ourselves sweaty and pushing through each set as strangers walked passed us.  We didn’t care, we were on a mission to feel good!  After our sweat fest, we found ourselves hungry (of course, right after a workout) and found a nearby spot to catch up on girl chat.  A hour later, we departed and it felt great to catch up, laugh, share and vent. 

After I left, I was on my way home and I got a text from my sister-in-law Rita, “When can we have a one on one date?  I miss you and we need to talk about life.”  Before I go on, I have to tell you, I had a million and one things to do that day, and although I wanted to respond and say, “Yes, let’s meet up” all I could do was think of my to do list.  Just as I was going back and forth in my head.  I stopped mid thought.  I just started reading “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” and I remembered a passage I had just read the night before.  I can’t remember it verbatim, but it said something along the lines of don’t obsess with to do lists.  When you check off your items, there will immediately be a new list of items to check off.  When you die, you will still have an inbox of things to do.  Sometimes you just have to enjoy life as it is without worrying if things will get done or not.  Now, I feel this applies to personalities like mine who can’t just stop and smell the roses.  If you are like me, you’ll understand.  I’m always on the go, with things to do and sometimes there just isn’t enough time to relax.  Although, I love that about myself, it can also be a negative factor.  So instead of putting it off for tomorrow, I gave my sister in law a call and said, “I’m free today.  What time do you want to meet up?” 

And how glad was I that I let go of my to do list for the day.  Not only did I accomplish letting go of a planned day of list checking, I managed to not only get my items done, but I also got to spend time with 3 special ladies in my life.  I met my mom for a pedicure and a little shopping and still had time to go to the groceries and clean house.  I spent that night relaxing and having more girl chat with my sister-in-law.  The best kind of girl chat is being in your comfy clothes and grabbing a coffee or tea.  We sat outside of Starbucks with the night sky as our backdrop and sipped our lattes and expressed our frustration with work and shared topics that were weighing on us.  We closed down Starbucks and we were the last car in the lot.  Talk about girl chat to its fullest. 

Having time to reflect on life with friends is like sunshine on a darkened day.  It cheers us up.  It helps us release what we hold in that our husbands just don’t understand. 

My take away for today is make time for a girlfriend in your life.  Sometimes you’ll realize you need it more than they do.

All Things Co.

 

Eight months ago, I left some of you in suspense.  I was about to embark on something very special.  Unfortunately, my bad habit of procrastinating kicked in along with self-doubt and my dream stayed closed in a box – literally.  I was inspired in the summer of 2014 to start my own T-shirt Company.  I was so gung-ho at first, which happens to me with everything.  Somewhere along all the hype, the excitement fizzled, but only because I started second guessing myself.  “How the heck am I going do this? Where am I going to get the money to get this all started?  I don’t know the first thing about running a business.”  After all that negativity consumed me, All Things Co. came to a halt.

I’ve been reading Mark Batterson’s The Circle Maker 40 Day Prayer Challenge.  This book has breathed new life into me.  It has sparked the desire to follow through on the dream God placed into my heart.

It is now with great excitement that I announce All Things Co. WILL launch this year.  Before my website goes live, I wanted to share with you how the name came to be.

I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens Me. – Philippians 4:13

And we know that in ALL THINGS, God works for good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28

It felt right to name my T-shirt line ALL THINGS after these two important versus.  After all, they have gotten me through some of the highest and lowest times in my life.  This line of motivational wear will serve as an approach to spread the message of hope, faith and love into this world.  These shirts will express all the things that are important to me from my faith, to expressing my love of being a woman, to my culture, to all things in-between. 

Stayed tuned, I’ll be revealing my company logo soon. 

To close, I’m leaving you with what helped me reignite the fire for this dream.  I hope it does the same for you.

From “Draw the Circle 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson”

You’ll never be ready.  You’ll never be ready to start a business or go back to school or move to the mission field.  You’ll never be ready financially, emotionally, or spiritually.  You’ll never have enough faith, enough cash, or enough courage.  And if you are looking for an excuse, you will always find one.  I never been, and I’m sure I never will be, ready for anything God has called me to do.  And that’s OK.  God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called.  If you wait until you are ready, you will be waiting for the rest of your life.

What’s the first step or next step you need to take in your journey?  If you take the first step, God will reveal the second step.  The problem is that most of us want the 25 year plan before we’re willing to step out in faith.  We want to know exactly where we’re going and exactly when we’ll get there, but God doesn’t operate that way.  He gives us just enough revelation, just enough grace, just enough strength.  Why?  So we will live in daily dependence on Him.  Sometimes there are moments in life when you need to quit a job, make a move, or end a dating relationship.  And you need to take that step without knowing what the next step will be. 

Faith is not faith until it is acted on.

Lose Control

Music make you lose control, Music make you lose control…..

I along with the rest of the world was watching the epic Missy Elliot Superbowl performance.  She killed it.  The very next day, I went on Spotify and added all her hits to my playlist.  “Lose Control” was on repeat, giving me the boost that I needed to get through the day.  It was pretty ironic that I was sitting at work listening to this song about “losing control” and all the meanwhile, that’s what was happening in my work life.  No, I was not going bonkers at work, but I was battling with a situation that I was unable to fix.  I had no control over what was happening, however, I had just spent the last six months trying to do so.   

I have been working for an apartment management company for the last six years. There was a point in which I was so happy. I was promoted within the first two years, I was excelling and learning so much about Human Resources, an area that I had grown to love.  I was getting impressive annual reviews on my job performance, raises and bonuses were given every year and I loved the people I worked with – what more could I ask for?  Well the decline of my excitement started sometime last year.  I was beginning to feel plateaued in my position. Some areas of my work load became mundane, but overall I was content.  It wasn’t until my growth as a person began to excel that I began to want more for myself in all realms of my life.  After I read The Alchemist, oh wow, I REALLY wanted more.  I didn’t feel I had to settle where I was and I figured that I needed to change something in order to get out of the comfortable little bed I had been lying in.  I was so empowered by The Alchemist that I started looking at my job as “not for me”.  I knew I was capable of so much more and so I felt as if I was wasting my time at this job that was no longer fulfilling me. 

So many things started to irritate me – my boss who I realized wasn’t coaching or mentoring me the way I wanted, the co-worker who wore too much perfume and gave me a headache, the negativity, heck – even the super loud typing of my coworker was becoming a beat down. I began to feel unhappy and I am sure it showed in my work performance.  I hated going to work and I found myself thinking of any and all ways to fix the rut I was in.  After all those hours of going back and forth in my head with myself, there was no solution.  Instead, the mind monsters brought more negativity to my life.  Meanwhile, some changes at work occurred and I found myself in a more pitiful stump.  Things just got worse.  So what do you do when you dislike your job?  You just want to get out and find a better job with more money, better coworkers and a way better boss.  I begin job searching and the funny thing is nothing sparked my interest, but I began applying to random job listings, hoping for a quick fix to my situation.  That didn’t work because I wasn’t getting any call backs.  That added to my stress.  Why am I not getting any responses to my applications?  What the heck?! 

Somewhere along all this mess, I mustered up the courage to actually talk to my boss about my concerns and unhappiness.  After I spoke with her, man I felt so much better.  Wish I would have done that months prior, but hey, better late than never, right?  I left her office hopeful of change, but what I found out immediately after was nothing really changed and that became so disheartening.  I then became irritated by my boss and felt that I would give her a chance to change things and if she didn’t, well, I would be out that door so quick………………  I was still job searching, but became more eager to leave than ever before.  Nothing.  No call backs, no interesting and appealing job listings. 

My poor husband.  He became my listening ear and heard all my rants about work.  Friends began to hear some of my complaints and while I asked for prayer for my situation, I honestly wasn’t seeking God in my situation.  Well, yes I did pray, but I was praying for all the wrong things.  Fix it.  Change it.  Make it better.  That’s what I wanted.  I was like a nagging two year old and God was simply ignoring me – or so that’s how I felt. 

Every morning I asked God for patience, for clarity, but it wasn’t really coming from my heart.  One day, I just said, “God, I’m tired of feeling this way.  I know there must be something you want me to learn though all this mess, but I just don’t know what.  Please reveal yourself to me.”   I was over throwing my pity party, and I finally began to take notice of the signs God had been placing in front of me. He was not ignoring me, in fact, he had been trying to teach me something and I unfortunately was just not having it.  But it all goes back to my A type behavior.  I wanted to fix my situation.  I was being selfish by trying to fix it myself first.  It wasn’t until all my ideas ran out that I surrendered and asked God to take over. It was my “Jesus, take the wheel” moment.   

And so Jesus took the wheel and he began to drive and lead me to different rest stops, different cities and towns.  The first stop was learning to love everyone the way he does.  I had to stop looking at the people who I didn’t like at work and begin to look at them with loving eyes.  I remember telling my husband, ugh, this is going to be hard.  I don’t want to be nice to this person, but the funny thing is that when I started being nice they ended up being pretty OK.  I forgave my boss for the different things she said or did to make me feel upset.  I wasn’t going to allow her behavior to bring me down.  I will have to say at first it was hard, but I do remember telling my husband, I’m gonna have to fake it to make it.  What I meant was that at first, I was forcing myself to be kinder, to forgive and to grin a smile when all I wanted to do was throw in the towel and walk out.  Eventually, those feelings subsided and I ended up being the old me, the girl who once loved her job, appreciated her job and went the extra mile.

The second stop was letting go.  I am very much a planner, super organized, OCD, super detailed and very much a type A personality.  I plan everything.  My weekly dinner meals are always done, laundry and household chores have to be done or I freak out.  If I forget something or if something is thrown off I freak out as well.  I live off to do lists and I tend to hold the stress of work and home and it’s not a very good mix.  I found myself lying in bed next to my husband on a Sunday night watching Super Soul Sunday with guest Devon Franklin, producer and author of Produced by Faith.  If you have a chance, catch the episode.  I was laying there with tears running down my eyes because it was as if this person, Devon Franklin was speaking directly to me, about me. One of the things he said, and I will never forget.  I even jotted it down in my journal that night.

There are only (2) two things you can control in life.  1. How you prepare for what may happen and 2. How you react to what just happened.  Dang Jesus, you got me.  There was my answer to what He was trying to tell me.  Not only that.  The next morning as I was pulling into work, I was finishing my prayer by asking God again (cause I couldn’t believe it the first time) to reveal himself to me just to let me know this is what he wanted me to hear.  Well low and behold, this is what I found:

                                             

Sometimes it's not a bad idea to forgo the corporate, routine 9-to-5 gig in favor of your own biz: SELFMade Collective blogger Brittani Rettig (check her out on GritByBrit.com!) recently quit her high-profile consulting career to open my own fitness studio, and hasn't looked back much since. In doing, Rettig's not missing the weekly travel and expense account—but know it wasn't a knee-jerk decision, rather, this was something she prepped for for over two years. Check out her insights—all summarized into nine neat questions—before you decide to go out on your own.   

1. What do I dislike about my current job?  

Generally, job dissatisfaction tends to fall in one of two camps: 1) “I dislike my job because it’s hard,” or  2) “I dislike my job because I don’t care about what I’m doing.”  

If you fall in the latter camp (like I did), this may signal that you should change career paths.  

Hardships and challenges are actually good. They build grit and help us achieve long-term goals.  I highly discourage quitting your job because it’s hard or because you have to work with difficult people.  These are temporary situations and you can control how you handle them.  But if you don’t care about what you’re doing, it’s difficult to be passionate about your work.  

2. Am I emotionally stable?

My dad always told me to never send an email when I’m angry and to never make a decision in a valley.  Likewise, it’s probably not a good idea to quit your job if you’re in the midst of tough life experience.  I considered quitting earlier this year when I had to work with a leader that I simply did not like.  At times I was so angry and frustrated I just wanted to throw in the towel.  But now I’m glad that I toughed it out because I was able to reach my savings goals and leave my firm on good terms with a positive reputation.

3. What energizes me?

Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t dislike my consulting career.  In fact I LOVED it. However, once I started teaching group fitness, I realized that I had an excitement about leading workouts that I simply didn’t have in consulting.  I’m learning to lean into the things that energize me—and I encourage you to do the same.

4.  What is my gift?

I love this quote from Pablo Picasso: “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” I believe that our “gift” is any talent/skill that we can share with others to help them live life more abundantly.  It’s often something that we are both naturally good at and enjoy doing. Often, you can discover you gift by answering question #3 – find what energizes you!

Okay, I got it.  So lesson is I can’t control what life throws at me.  The only thing I can control is the way I respond.  Got it. 

I have been going into work each day now with a brand new attitude.  At the end of the day, God sees it all.  If he wants to open a door for me, he will.  He’s God.  He has the power.  He has the power to change my situation at any given time, but if he had opened a door prior to me leaning this valuable lesson, I wouldn’t have the wisdom that I have now or the ability to let it go.  Don’t get me wrong, everything still isn’t peachy keen, but all I can do in the meantime is control the way I react.  I’m choosing to let it go and be happy knowing that God is proud of me for paying attention to his direction, for allowing myself to listen and persevere in the midst of trouble. 

Take away for today is stay positive.  If you don’t feel like God is listening to you, take off your blinders and let your situation go – fully.  Once you give up control of the situation, you will put your dependence on God and seek Him.  He will make all things work for good, if you just believe. 

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. – Psalm 32:8

“Lord, if it’s you, “Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said.  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” – Matthew 14:28-32

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds. - James 1:2

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.  In all your ways know, recognize and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6