Happy Valentine's Day

For my lovelies . . . Good thing Rachel snapped this picture as this pretty pink cake was practically devoured before I even got home from work today!!  I'm so glad I picked up this heart shaped cake pan!  I love it and I know it will get lots of use!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day and that you were able to spend some time with your own lovelies.  Such a sweet holiday!!

Freedom

My beautiful baby girl is 18 today.  She's been counting the days, anticipating some sort of magic that will occur and give her the golden ticket to becoming an adult as she greets the day.  It's interesting how it goes for each person as they hit that amazing number.  I am sad in a way, but also renewed.   I have had so very much fun with Rachel for so many years of her life, but I need to step back and let her fly.  So go ahead, my big little girl, follow your dreams.

W2 Stories

Today at work I had to call a couple of people whose W2's were returned.  Funny how everyone believes that their W2 will be forwarded if they move and forward their address.  W2's are not forwarded.  They are returned to the sender and they sit there until you remember to inquire about them or someone like me calls you to find out your new address.

I love people's stories.  I think that is part of the reason why I love to interview people.  I work in Human Resources and I interview nurses.  Everyone has an interesting story.  I always like to find out the motivation to become a nurse.   I ask them to share with me their good stories and their bad and it's just amazing how nurses can tell you a story on a moment's notice and it's like they are reliving that moment in time, their passion is so raw.

Each nurse I called had moved out of the State of Florida.  Being the inquisitive person I am, oh okay, the nosey person I am, I had to find out their story.  One nurse moved to Key West.  What fun is that?  Have you ever been to Key West?  I cannot ever imagine living there, but oh what fun that must be!  Think Jimmy Buffett, flip flops and shorts everyday.  She truly loves living there and is so glad she made the move.  She said she feels so much calmer and is enjoying life so much more.  I could hear it in her voice.

Another nurse moved back to New Jersey after having lived in Florida since she was 16.  She reconnected with her high school sweetheart through Facebook and they are now planning on getting married.  She absolutely loves being back on her old stomping ground, feels so content to be back home and is head over heels in love.  She sounded fantastic.

I loved hearing their stories and the excitement in their voices.  Our journey's are interesting.  While we can be so connected with someone day in and day out, one day they could be gone, off exploring new territories, never to connect again.  It's interesting how paths cross.

My Nephew

Philip and his girlfriend, Shanna, joined us for dinner tonight.  It was so very good to see them both.   We all have interesting paths to travel in our lives and Philips journey is no exception.  If you remember my sister that lived next door to me for a brief year or two about a year ago . . . Philip is my sister's son.  They used to live in Florida, about an hour north of where we are.  My brother-in-law, Philips dad, passed away in 2003 from end-stage renal disease.  Philip was 15 and his brother, Kyle, 9.  It was not a good time.  Shortly after, Philip got in trouble for making a bad choice and he paid the price for it.  Coupled with the family's heartache, a big price was paid by all.

Now, just about eight years later, Philip is amazing.  He has matured into a fine young man and my heart was clenched just listening to him talk about making it on his own.  Sometimes we need knocks along the way so we know which way to go.  And sometimes having a pretty, encouraging friend share the journey, makes our travels a bit more exciting.

It was a fun, relaxed evening.  The only way it could've been any better is if my sister still lived next door.

Powerful Words

I had a superb day.  It started with an amazing sermon at my church by John C. Maxwell.  Have you heard of him?  You must hear him.  I don't remember the last time I was so excited to hear someone speak.  I try to go to church on a regular basis, though I am not always good at it.  I've been going faithfully for the last few weeks and I was so excited last week when they announced John C. Maxwell as this weeks speaker.  The man is so eloquent, so funny, so inspiring, so real.  I sat in church this morning, so excited, waiting for everything to start and thought to myself that this was going to be good, it always is. 

He spoke about winning and habits and how, "if you develop the habits of winning, you will make winning a habit".  "Winners are passionate about what they do".  "Maturity doesn't always accompany age, sometimes age comes alone".  He said he was once approached after a leadership conference he presented and someone came up to him at the end and said, "I know what I want to do!  I want to do what you do"!  John Maxwell looked at the young man, smiled and said, "Do you want to do what I did to do what I do?"  Oh yes, it's all a process and the process itself is as important, if not more important, than the end result.

Are you passionate about what you do?  Passion fills one with energy and is the catalyst of self-discipline.  Want power precedes wil power.

Thank you John Maxwell for starting my week with a bang.  I knew you would and it was so good.