Christmas Has Past! New Year Here We Come!

Who is ready for the New Year?? 2024, here we come!! 

I love Christmas, but it always comes and goes really fast! I usually love listening to the last few days until New Year's Eve of Christmas stations until the New Year; because it just isn't long enough for me at least! Our family does a White Elephant only to make it more fun to steal, take, or grab a new gift that hasn't been taken. This really makes the holidays less stressful and we really get to enjoy the food, time together, and napping on the couch from being full. My job is less stressful and I love this as a family! We still buy presents for our littles and it makes it fun for them. This makes my heart happy that all of us adults get to watch them get excited opening presents from Santa! It really does take a village to raise children these days. I believe this so much because all of us in our family help each other and work together to accommodate our little ones.  I really got the time to talk to them about how we should be more grateful and the importance of saying, "Thank you" or just writing a thank you note or even drawing a photo of thanks to someone who did something nice for you. They loved this idea!

With all of this talk about spending time together, I decided to really make the photos that I take from my phone and display them in my home. I took this advice from a person that I admire dearly and it spoke so much life into my heart. What a great idea! 

I love my family and want the best for them! I think this is a great reminder of how grateful I really am as a person. Life is too short and we aren't promised tomorrow. So with that being said, I will work harder on being better at organizing photos for them. My grandmother did this and my mom does this. 

This New Year, I have many goals, and trying to organize my life seems so challenging at times. With this being said, I have an organizational way of putting these into general topics to allow you to be more specific. Let's jump right into this:

• Spiritual - Just use two to three examples that you want to improve in your life for each one. 
• Family
• Mind 
• Health 
• Relationships 
• Personal Development 
• Work / Career 
• Finances 

I think that a little progress is better than none at all. So let's start something new ~ what are your goals and dreams?

I would like to wish everyone a most prosperous and Happy New Year! Have a safe and fun New Year's Eve and a great 2024!

Love Shell

Christmas is my favorite time of the year! I love the scents of cinnamon, pomegranate, and vanilla! All of the things that I love to do when getting ready for Christmas are making sure that my candles are where I want them when trying to put me in a great mood and having Christmas music in place as I prepare my meals or get food ready for our parties. The candlelight and music are what I love to create when in a room in my home. Everything else really comes together while preparing meals or decorating during the holidays. How about you? 

I love to create new dishes and make all of our bellies full! This makes us happy and we love our space as we get to be creative! This holiday season has been really busy with all the things that allow me to stay productive. I am pushing through making new decisions for the new year on what is most important for my family and myself. Have you thought about what your New Year resolutions will be this coming new year? I have tried to sit down and be more intuitive about what is most important for us. Sometimes it can be difficult to be clear about what your needs are and what is at the top of your list. Here are some pointers for thinking most clearly when it comes to goals: 

• Specific - Be clear and specific about what it is that you are trying to achieve. 
• Measurable - Is it measurable? 
• Achievable - How long do you think is a reasonable amount of time to achieve your goal?
• Relevant - Is the goal that you have decided on, relevant to what your business is related to?
• Time Bound - Will the time be sufficient for you to be successful? If not, allow yourself a good amount of time to get off track or re-circle back towards your goals.

I learned these in school and have always used them to help me get back on track. This is not for everyone but it helps me to focus on what is important for myself. What helps you? Please share with us.

I hope you all have a great holiday this year! 

Merry Christmas! 

Love Shell

Happy December 1st!

It's that time of year! It's December 1st! Time to get all of those things together that help you prepare for the holidays. Tell me what are some things that help you get ready for your family to celebrate Christmas! What are some things that are important to your family or family traditions that you make sure to pass down for generations to come? Here is a list of things that I do to help us prepare for the holidays:

• Decorating your home, putting up the Christmas tree.
• Prepare a menu for Christmas dinner or brunch (we are doing brunch this year).
• Make a list of what you need at the grocery store before hand and right before preparing your meal.
• Focusing on the elements in the room that I am decorating for that room, for example, candles are important to me and I love all the smells of Christmas and the ambiance it gives. 
• Make a gift list of all the gifts you need to purchase as well as your Christmas cards.
• Within two weeks prior to Christmas, mail your Christmas cards to friends and family, start wrapping gifts, and make sure all Christmas photos are taken. 
• Plan things to do with the kids such as decorating a gingerbread house, or any type of Christmas crafts. I usually love to make cookies with the kids for Santa so there is enough time and we aren't rushing during this time.
• Prepare Christmas brunch and set up the table.
• Enjoy Christmas brunch and have fun spending time with family.

Christmas is a great time with family in the past and I really love it! 

Let us know what you do to plan for the holidays. 

Love Shell

Let's Celebrate Zackary!

 

Hello everyone! 

I hope you are recuperating from all of the time spent in the kitchen preparing meals for your families. What a great time was had! What was your favorite dish of Thanksgiving dinner? Mine was the turkey and the dressing, for sure! I think the time we spend with our families is what sets the example for generations to come that our children will spend with their grandchildren one day. I hope that the time that I set for my children will be enough to have them understand that I love them always. As mothers, we love our children unconditionally and will be proud of them. We teach them to do right, but sometimes they may choose to not listen. This is the love that when we try to point them in the right direction it doesn't go as planned BUT tough love isn't always the easiest. At this point, whether good or bad, it is our duty to love them and help them grow. We push them, so they can continue to learn from their mistakes. 

So now, I want to share a little bit of the glory of my middle grandchild, Zackary. He has struggled in the past with his speech and other things however, we still help him grow every single day. My daughter does a great job with him and supports him continuously. Well, with that he received the title at school of "Student of the Month" for the month of November! We are so proud of his accomplishments! He knows his ABCs, sings in such great pitch, and is a sweet boy! He looks up to his sister Natalya and loves school! This is such a prime example of why we should continue to support the children of the next generation. They are our future! His teacher let us know that he is such a great helper in his class and is so sweet to his classmates. What a fantastic boy! 

I believe teaching children at a young age discipline and deep core values are crucial to their success in the future. Discipline means explaining to them why they are getting in trouble and explaining to them how they can do better. Kids do not get enough credit these days and they are really smart. As parents, it is our job to show them and be the example they are meant to see. 

Have a great day! 

Love Shell

A Time of Thanks

Hello Everyone,

I want to wish you all a "Happy Thanksgiving!" This is one of my favorite holidays, because we get to spend good quality time together as a family. Time to eat, watch football, pray, and just be grateful for having each other as a family. We love just eating and lounging around together in a place we call home. I hope this is the time you get to enjoy your family and love on each other. Tomorrow is not promised and we need to make sure we enjoy this precious time. 

This year I have planned a wholesome meal for us all and each family member will bring a dish that we all get to participate in cooking for each other. Our dinner will be a fantastic Turkey and Ham with dressing and gravy, Homemade cranberry sauce, Homemade mashed potatoes, Green bean casserole, Waldorf salad, Classic fruit salad, Mac n' Cheese, Garlic Herb Cheese Bombs, and a Thanksgiving Punch added garnish with oranges and apple slices, and cranberries. I am so excited! What have you planned for your family? Please share with us. 

Have a great Thanksgiving from our family to yours! 

Love, Shell

"Sometimes Distractions are a Gift from God..."

Distractions are always happening. It is like someone always told me, "Life happens." But, who knows distractions better than myself? But here is my question, is it really a distraction? Or is it God preventing harm or keeping me safe from something coming up? Well, this is not easy to just allow what is coming and say I will leave it to God to put me on the right path. As I have endured life experiences, I have allowed myself to leave it in his hands. It is not easy, but what can I really control? I know that I can only control myself and this is something that I have learned to just allow. Distractions are usually illnesses that pull you from your daily routine when we least expect it or when things are building momentum at work or a business, a death in the family or a loved one, an accident that you did not plan, and when you get that call from the school of how your child is acting up. 

I can remember a time when JT and I  were on our way to a show in Fredericksburg. As we were driving there, it seemed we were in a time crunch to be there soon. But, it seemed that life was about to happen whether we were ready or not. It was stressful but the wreck we were going to come up on was about to change our perspective about the situation. As we were in our cars, the line of cars down the highway was like playing a waiting game that would put us into a stressful situation. So let's talk about this...was this really happening? Was it a safety move on God's part? As we grew near the accident moving slowly in our car, someone's life had been taken at this time. It was such a sad scene to be experiencing! This was a moment of relief and a moment of gratitude. God is good and God is good all the time! 

Sometimes when I am taken off track on my goals, I try to say, "It is time for a small break." God is saying, "Go, now! Do something for yourself!" I have to set smaller goals on a daily, even weekly basis. This allows me to stay productive and to be more accomplished. Another tip to keep in mind is to practice being grateful. We have to be grateful for the small things in order for God to bless us with the big things. I am still learning this one to this day. And lastly, I have to make sure I get enough rest every single day. This helps me stay focused and it helps me improve my overall health. If I feel good, then I can help others to do the same! 

I hope this helps someone and if you feel that you know someone it can help, please share with one person. Thank you! Have a blessed day! 

Love ya! 

Shell

Daily Grind, Goals, and Depression with Ermie

 

These past few weeks we have been talking about purpose in life, goals, how things can interrupt our routine, and how these can impact us regularly. Today, I want to talk about my dear friend, Ermie Garza Madrid, RN, and how life interfered with her daily grind, goals, and the toll it took. Here she is my friend, Ermie! She graduated in 2008 and began her journey as a Critical Care Nurse, and has worked as an Emergency Room Nurse. She currently works for a Fortune 500 company doing many things that she loves. We'll talk about her goals and how it could affect the people in the community that deal with diabetes and educating them in selfcare. Ermie talks about her daily grind, and one of the things that I love is that she gets the opportunity to work from home. One thing people who work from home forget is dressing appropiately not pajamas, LOL! But, she tells her secrets as she gets up and gets herself ready even putting on her makeup. I LOVE THIS! I asked her about what has interfered with her life most recently. She tells me that she was recently in a terrible car accident in Colorado, rolling over on an icy day, and that Monday is the one year anniversary of her nighmare. It touches me to hear the details of her accident as she fought to keep her eye and learned to walk again. She doesn't realize that she has already impacted, inspired, and given people hope. She feels this humbling experience helped her grow, develop, and overcome, through grace and her support system! Wow! What an experience! She is forever grateful for all the things that have lead her to who she is today! Thank you for sharing! You can hear our interview in the link below: 

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/listenwithshell 

Ep 3 Daily Grind, Goals, and Depression with Ermie

          Here are some photos of her road to recovery and the process.