New Year, New Goals, New Problems, New Gifts - BRING IT ON!

Someone sent me this in a BBM msg today and I thought it only fitting to start my first year's blog entry with it:

2011 HANDBOOK

Health:
1. Drink Plenty of Water
2. Eat Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and Supper like a Beggar.
3. Live with 3 E's: Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
4. Make time to Pray
5. Play More Games
6. Read More Books than you did in 2010
7. Sit in Silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
8. Sleep for 7 hrs.
9. Take 10-30min walks daily - and while you walk, SMILE :)

Personality:
10. Don't overdo it, Keep your limits
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip
13. Dream more while you are awake
14. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
15. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past That will ruin your present happiness.
16. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
17. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
18. No one is in charge of your happiness expect you.
19. Smile and laugh more.
20. You don't have to win every argument - Agree to Disagree

Society:
21. Call your family often.
22. Each day give something good to others.
23. Forgive everyone for everything.
24. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
25. Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.
26. What other people think of you is none of your business.

Life:
27. Do the right thing!
28. God heals everything
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
31. The best is yet to come.
32. When awake in the morning, thank god for it.
33. Your inner most is always happy. So be happy.

2010 was certainly a challenging year for me in every way, shape and form.
I've got zero regrets about anything I've done and
I plan to make 2011 a reflection of all that I learned in 2010.

What does 2011 have in store for you?

Fall to Winter 2010

And what a winter it's turning out to be!

• I've finished renovating my house in New Brunswick - and learned SO MUCH as I had help of friends and family to teach me how to screw drywall, mud, tape, sand, prime and paint; not to mention laying laminate hardwood flooring, replacing windows and installing a new bathroom (plumbing).
• I found some really sweet new hassel-free tennants who are happy with the fact that the inside of the house has recieved a lot of TLC, but are also patient with the fact that I won't be able to focus much on the outside of the house until the Spring months arrive. It's turning out to be a very cute house though!
• I've moved back to Toronto, with a great new job, close to a great man in my life and found a great new apartment that I'm going to be moving into very soon in a fabulous part of the city!
• I've landed a new job/career as an Online Media Strategist with a small advertising agency in Toronto. I'm working with some young, energetic and inspirational minds. My brain is being challenged once again and it feels good to be back in the saddle as far as work is concerned.

For Christmas this year I won't be with my family, which is a bummer but on the flip side I won't be lonely this year. In fact I'm going to meet my boyfriend's family for the first time ever on Xmas eve and Xmas day! Soooo exciting!

It's fast approaching that time again where I love to sit down and put together my TO-DO list for the upcoming year. It's worked really well for me over the past few years so I have no intentions to pause this tradition. What should I put on my list this year? Suggestions anyone??

Happy Holidays People!  xoxoxo

Summer to Fall 2010 - Oh How the Seasons Have Changed!

You'll notice that I took Pretty much most of July and then all of August off from blogging. There is a reason for everything. My July was spent packing up and saying goodbye to Toronto. I've made the nagging decision to move myself back to Moncton, New Brunswick for a few months in an attempt to save some money and get my life back on track. I feel strongly that now is the time for me to prepare for the next chapter in my life.

For me, 2010 has been a year FULL of tests, trials and tribulations. I know what I'm about to write is conceited in the eyes of most, but I have to say it anyway - I am so damn proud of myself for holding my head as high as I've been holding it throughout this all. :) At the end of the day, if there is one lesson I can teach anyone who may be going through a rough patch in life it's simple: STAY POSITIVE - ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!!!! Positive people are drawn and attracted to more positive people, just as successful people are drawn to more successful people and so on. Yes, it works the other way around - depressed people love company too... Don't fool yourself into thinking that you deserve a pity party, no matter what you are going through. And that's my rah, rah, rah, cheer for the day. LOL

So what's new? Let's see:

Mega-focusing on my Health and Fitness.  I've finally completed ALL of my FIS training and passed my final practical. I am officially certified as a Fitness Instructor Specialist through Can-Fit-Pro.
 
Additional certifications that I've taken upon myself to earn include a "Flirtification" with Flirty Girl Fitness as a Flirty Girl Instructor to teach a class they call Booty Beat as well as a licensed Zumba Instructor.


For the next few months, my schedule looks as follows in terms of the classes I'm teaching:
Mondays, 7:30pm - Booty Beat, St. Pat's Family Center
Tuesdays, 7:30pm - Zumba, Goodlife Fitness
Wednesdays, 6:30pm - Cardio Groove, Goodlife Fitness
Thursdays, 8:15pm - Zumba, YMCA
Saturdays, 10:30am - Zumba, Goodlife Fitness

If you're reading this and are in Moncton, I hope to see you in one of my classes soon!

After little to no luck with the job market this summer in Toronto, I am now back in full swing of job-hunt mode on the East Coast.

I've had a TONN of weddings to attend in the past few months, including one that I was in as a Bridesmaid as well as an Master of Ceremonies and yet another one coming up in October which I am also MCing as a favor to a good friend. I love that there is so much love in my life and in the life of my friends right now! I hope it lasts :)

My tennants of a property that I own have chosen to move on to another place and so I am investing a lot of time and money into renovating this house and preparing to market it for new tennants in the very very near future.  It's been fun learning about how to do these renovations and working on my own or with a contractor helping...

Lastly, but certainly not least of all - I went out and got myself a boyfriend. Someone I trust and enjoy, who treats me like gold and I can't wait to spend more time with. Those who know me well know how out in left field this last one is for me. LOL

So in short, I'm dancing a LOT these days and having a blast with that while earning some extra cash for teaching, dumping cash into my investment property, looking for work and trying very hard to make time for a great man. Believe it or not, that really does not leave me with a lot of extra time in my life. 

My plan is to get a full time job so I can put some money away and start saving again, work part time teaching in the evenings and get some new tennants living in my house. I'd like to do this before the end of the year so it's been a busy summer but it's going to be an even busier winter for me.

I've got 2 new business ideas that I'm going to start working on and get ready for launch in the new year, I need to study for my GMAT and finally take that damn test so I can pass the results on to grad schools I'm applying to for my MBA, and of course save money to be able to attend in the next year. Whew! What a mouthful! 

So now that you all know what's going on with me, please comment and let me know what's going on with you! I'll be sure to keep you all posted on my new venture ideas.  It's so important in life to have a TO-DO list at all times. Know what you're doing, know what you want, know what you need in order to succeed and go out and get it! Don't stop growing - when you stop growing, like all living things... you DIE.

Love! xoxo