Thursday, July 23, 2015

Life Happens


I was talking with a friend about my absence from my blog over the past couple weeks and her response to my situation was "Life Happens", to which I thoroughly agreed. Life happened to me. I had a family emergency recently that totally turned my world upside down. I had to leave town suddenly to be with my family during a difficult time. I experienced tons of emotional and physical stress. I was stretched beyond what I thought I could take and challenged to step out of my comfort zone. Overall I'm glad I made the trip. I grew closer to my loved ones and was able to support them when they needed me most. All is well now (Thank God) and I'm happy. However my life has been changed by this experience.

First let me say that Life is too short (not the rapper) and tomorrow is not promised to anyone. I've had time to sit and think about who I am and what I want out of life and I've drawn a conclusion that I have to make my dreams become a reality. It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN. There is no question in my mind whether I will be successful. I know I will be successful. I am successful. I know I must sound like a hyped up motivational speaker to those who do not know me personally. Honestly I'm really a positive person. I enjoy encouraging others and making the best out of every situation. I always look for the silver lining and this situation has taught me that I can't waste time. My time is quite limited and to do what I know God has called me to do I must be focused. I must understand who God created me to be and what he has created me to do. My purpose is what I'm referring to. I don't have time to dilly dally. I have to keep my eyes straight ahead which means there are some people and things that I will have to say "NO" to, including myself. I've been making changes to my life ever so slightly but now I'm even more determined to change my life for the better.

With that said, I am officially re-launching my company "Mrs. Kaye's Creations" this Fall. I've been in my lab working on some special things and I can't wait to share with you all. I'm also pursuing my acting and modeling career. I've had my head shots for awhile so now I need to make my selections, have them re-touched and submit them to the sites that I'm a part of before the Fall. And lastly I'm committing to writing everyday. I'll still commit to my schedule here on the blog which is Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays but personally I need to spend time working on my books and screenplay. I have outlines complete and even scenes mapped out for one book and the first chapter written but now it's time to revisit what I have started and complete it. I've had a lot of warnings that I need to work on my craft and this time around I'm not going to be lazy. I will finish what I started at any cost.

It feels good to be home. I missed my hubby. I missed my bed. And I missed my blog. Thank you all for your support it means so much to me. This blog has given me so much life and happiness over the last couple months and for that I'm grateful. OH and I really do like to see comments from you guys so leave me a welcome back comment down below. I'd love to hear how you guys refocus when "Life Happens." Thanks for stopping by and as always thanks for reading!!!

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Grateful for My Life


I had the absolute best time celebrating my birthday last week. From the festivities at work to my playtime at Disneyland all the way to my tea party, I really felt celebrated and enjoyed celebrating my special day with everyone. I'm so full of love and joy and peace. I'm overrunning with gratefulness. This week was a bit tough for me because my mother was in the hospital with pneumonia and a kidney infection. Her fever wouldn't go away and her lungs were filled with fluids. When she called to wish me a happy birthday she broke down in the middle of her speech. (Side note: She insisted that I not call her on my birthday and that she be the one to call me.) It was so hard to hear my mom in so much pain. She kept telling me not to worry about her but to celebrate my life. At first I was conflicted. I felt like I should run to be by her side. I wanted to make sure that she was okay. I think she could hear it in my voice so she kept pressing me with the little bit of breath she had to really celebrate the whole week, heck the whole month. So I did but with a deeper revelation that this life isn't promised to any of us. I was so grateful just to take a deep breath and live life. I had no expectations of anything or anyone. I simply just wanted to have fun. I feel as though when I truly embrace life for what it is then I have the best times. Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday it truly meant the world to me. 29 is my year! 

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Update: Debt Free Journey


Tonight is my most favorite-ist time of the week. That's right it's date night for me and my hubby. We'll spend some time staring lovingly into one another's eyes, professing our deep affections and then one thing will lead to another and I will pull out the budget when he's not looking. That's right it's time for a check in. We're drawing near to our first snowflake payment using the debt avalanche method to pay off $45K worth of debt in 35 months. Which I talk about right here if you missed it. We have set the budget, reduced spending and now it's time to put our money where our mouth is, quite literally. We used June as a buffer month to help us pad this crazy jump in debt payments. We are used to paying more than the minimum payments on our debts but I will be honest and say I was sad when we paid only the minimum on all our other debts. I'm so used to spreading that snowflake payment across all of my debts that it just feels weird not to do it. I have to continually remind myself that setting our focus on the debt that has the highest interest will save us money and allow us to pay off our debt sooner rather than later.

So once we check in tonight on the budget we'll be able to make our first snowflake payment on our loan for our timeshare. I'm really excited about this because I know it's just the beginning and the sacrifices we are making now will allow us to live how we want later. I still need to find a bank or credit union offering a lower interest loan so we can save money on our time share. Right now the interest is at about 15.95% and I know I can find something much lower which will help to decrease the time it takes to pay off our overall debts and save us money. My company has a credit union so I'm going to give them a call today to see how I can consolidate our existing loan or line of credit from our timeshare company. If anyone has any advice on this matter I am open to hear it as this is an area we are not experienced in at all.

Also I'm looking for a debt tracker tool that I can add to the blog so you guys can see our progress and help to cheer us on. If anyone has any recommendations I welcome them. Thanks for stopping by the blog and as always thanks for reading.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

29 Things I want to do before my 30th Birthday


Today is my 29th Birthday and I'm so happy and content with where I am in life. Which took longer than I would have expected but I am grateful for the journey. I've started making steps in the right direction months ago and I am starting to see some of my hard work pay off. It's really inspiring me to continue in the way that I started. I'm not where I want to be but I'm on my way and that's okay with me. Below is my bucket list of 29 things I want to do before my 30th Birthday in no particular order except for the first one. It's huge for me. These are some things that have been on my heart for awhile so now I'm sharing with you so that I have some accountability over the next 12 months.

The List

  1. First and Foremost I want to move from being a full-time employee to becoming a full-time entrepreneur. 
  2. Become a better swimmer.
  3. Learn how to surf. (I have to do #2 before 3.)
  4. Decorate and organize my apartment per the vision I see in my head.
  5. Go on at least 1 mission trip to anywhere in the world.
  6. Take a vacation with my family.
  7. Start studying and practicing my Spanish again. It's been a hot minute.
  8. Grow my own herbs. (Really, like thyme, basil, rosemary, etc.)
  9. Build a headboard for our bed.
  10. Go Horseback riding at least one a quarter.
  11. Visit 5 California Missions I've never been to before. (For those who don't know one of my big bucket list items is to visit all 21 missions in California)
  12. Start using a planner to keep myself organized.
  13. Finish my first e-book.
  14. Learn how to paint.
  15. Decrease my living expenses by more than 25%.
  16. Grow my savings to at least $5k.
  17. Spend time researching my genealogy on both my Mom and Dad's sides of the family.
  18. Host my own tea party in my home.
  19. Encourage at least 10 women to pursue their passion.
  20. Book at least 2 paid acting jobs.
  21. Book at least 1 paid modeling job.
  22. Finish the outline for my YA novel.
  23. Develop the prototypes for at least 2 of my inventions.
  24. Share my poetry with the world.
  25. Buy a bike and ride it.
  26. Volunteer at my local hospital.
  27. Mentor at least 1 young woman not related to me.
  28. Invest in the young people in my family.
  29. Be a better wife.
That's it. Those are 29 things I want to do before my 30th Birthday. These are things that have crossed my mind some way or another and I want to try to make them happen. I may not hit everything on this list or I just might surprise myself. Ultimately I know that working to achieve these things will definitely help to grow me beyond my comfort zone. Thanks so much for stopping by I appreciate you so much. I'd love to hear if any of the items on my bucket list are on yours. Please leave me a comment down below I want to hear from you and as always thanks for reading.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Grateful for My Regrets



There used to be a time in my life when I was ashamed of the mistakes I had made. I felt as though my mistakes disqualified me from becoming the person I knew I was destined to be. I wanted more than anything to wipe away those mistakes from my life. I wanted to clear the slate of my past, erasing every thing I deemed as a mistake. Soon my mistakes became my regrets. That which was simply meant to be a life lesson to learn from became a hindrance to my progression. My regrets became a stronghold around my feet preventing me from moving forward. I knew I had purpose. I knew I had dreams but I felt that they were impossible to achieve because surely I wasn't worthy. I believed lies for years. Lies that I wasn't good enough. Lies that the things I had done were preventing me from moving forward when truthfully they were there to help me move forward. Some of these lies I personally told myself, others were told to me by people and the rest of the lies were from the enemy of my very soul.

I don't recall when I realized that my regrets were really for my good. I don't know that moment where I reached within to overcome outwardly or really what motivated it. Maybe I was tired of playing the blame game. Maybe I was sick of being disappointed in myself. Or maybe I realized that we all have regrets in life and that I couldn't change mine. Whatever it was I'm grateful for it. I no longer feel as though I am disqualified. I now know that it is my regrets of the past that will help me accomplish my purpose. I now see my regrets as stepping stones to my destiny rather than obstacles in my way. I really want to encourage you not to run from your past failures and mistakes. The very things that you wish weren't a part of your story might be the very thing that creates a platform for you to share your life's message with the world. Don't be afraid. Take courage my friends. Your regrets just might be fuel for your dreams. Thanks for stopping by, hope you had a great Independence Day weekend and as always thanks for reading.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Debt and Clutter


I feel like the two are more connected than I realize. I haven’t done any real research on it so please don’t take this as fact but merely my own insights on the matter. I shared in this post here, that I decluttered my bookshelf and found almost $60 worth of used books to sell on Amazon. Quick update: I’ve made $35.15 off the books I posted on Amazon. I’m just $23.06 away from my estimated earnings and I think I might hit that goal by the end of the summer. Anyway after decluttering my bookshelf I felt great as well as it looked great. There was more room on the shelf and it looked cleaner and sleeker. I guess as sleek as books could look.

I have known for a while that I needed to declutter my apartment. And by a while I mean more than 5 years. Yikes! I know I’m really bad especially since I had a conviction about it 5 years ago and have been working ridiculously slow at actually making it happen.  As I find myself shedding excess expenses I am more inspired to shed excess stuff. I know for a fact that I have too many clothes. I have been blessed with awesome women in my life who give and buy me clothes all the time and so I rarely have to go shopping but since I’ve lost weight this year most of my clothing does not fit me so it’s time to pass on the good stuff, throw out the bad and stop tricking myself into thinking I need to keep stuff for sentimental reasons.

I’m the queen of saving. I wish I were the queen of saving money but unfortunately it is stuff. I save everything. I still have the program from my school plays and my journals from high school and college. Which I don’t think I’ll part with those but then there are the birthday cards, bridal shower cards, wedding cards, anniversary card, get well cards, just because cards and valentine’s cards (only from my hubby). I just can’t seem to part with them. I want to keep them but the truth is I don’t have the space. I don’t have the room. We have a 2 bedroom apartment but there’s not a ton of storage space at all. I’ve known this since I moved in a few years ago but I didn’t have nearly as much stuff then. Over the last 5 years I have accumulated enough to fill a small home and it’s with this realization that I am de-cluttering this holiday weekend. I really don’t need the stuff. I don’t want some of the stuff but sometimes it's just hard to let go.

I am looking to try the Kondi Mari method for organizing and decluttering. I've watched a few YouTube videos on the process and it seems really freeing. I haven’t read the book but from what I’ve seen it’s based on feelings…sort of. One step I saw Organized Jen do, is she put all her clothes in one pile in the center of the room. She took everything out of the drawers, closet, shelves, etc. and she just stacked it in a pile in the middle of her bedroom. It was a big pile but I’m sure mine will be just as big. And the next step I think was the key to it all. Instead of deciding to keep things based on need it was done based on want. If shed picked something up and there was no excited or happy or positive responsive then it was either trashed or put in a pile for donations. You’re not supposed to try anything on but I think she said she broke that rule. All in all it was really eye opening. In the end her closet and drawers looked very clean and organized even though her closet and drawers were pretty organized before since that’s what she does for a living. I plan to document the process and share with you guys. Let me know if you feel that debt and clutter are connected and what your plans are for the weekend. I’d love to hear from you and as always thanks for reading.