Sometimes Life Makes You Feel Like Your're Hanging

I actually skipped my "About Me" post last Monday because I had been hit by a string of bad luck.  I was going to skip it this week too, because for some reason good luck seems to be not following me. However, I decided to post and share a little, because that string of bad luck is WILL change!

MORE CAR PROBLEMS

In short, I mentioned a few weeks ago I paid $550 for some unexpected car repairs.  Just when I thought things couldn't get more expensive something else went wrong on my car a week or so ago and it cost me another $700.
Surely nothing else could go wrong with my car that has been pretty much fabulous until recent... Well that was until the other day when now it has a problem wanting to start.  Which means, yes I am off to the repair shop again this morning.  My only hope is, maybe this is something related to the other and it won't cost me anything.  (Yes even with all the bad luck I am into wishful thinking!)

But I did get to hang with these 2 cute kiddo's and that
was a definite bright spot!

TENDON ISSUES

In other news, my tendon has been giving me more pain.  I think I mentioned 3 weeks ago I had a little flare up.  Well it's my own fault, I worked a little too much standing on my feet in job #2.  At the same time I have been getting things ready for a huge event I had last weekend, which actually was one of my largest events ever.  Which meant lots of time on my feet, which of course has left me with an extremely sore tendon.

It doesn't bother me to run on it, so I have been.  However, I have even cut the mileage down on that to 3-4 miles, just to be safe.
I am hoping now that the event is over, and I haven't signed up to work job #2 this week, that I can get back to normal and flare up will go away as quick as it came!  Fingers crossed!

My niece and I enjoying some spooks!

WEDDINGS & EVENTS

I think I mentioned before that in over 6 years, this has been my slowest event year ever.  Which hasn't helped the bank account all that much.

This past weekend I pulled off one of my largest events ever.  You may laugh but it was a Hindu Baby Shower.  They seriously go all out for these things, decorate and spend more than most people do on their weddings.  I also pulled it off being very short staffed.

Despite a few things, we actually had a lot of things go right at the event, that really could have gone wrong very quickly, I really do consider myself lucky in that sense.
However, since I was running short staffed and a bit behind, I never broke out the camera to grab a few shots, before I left the family to do their thing.
Which I am kinda bummed about because I pulled off several room decor things that I have never done before, and it looked amazing and now I don't even have a single picture to show for it:(  Oh well....
However, the good news is on this.  I was able to make my client happy, who was an extremely picky 7+ month overly hormonal pregnant mother.  Which I have to say was a worry, because having had a couple of hormonal pregnant sisters, I wondered if it was even possible to really please her.

I have a lot of fun times with this cute niece!

LOOKING TO THE POSITIVE

Although the past few weeks have been filled with a few not so good moments, (a few more than I even shared and I won't go into the 6 pound weight gain that makes me cringe...)
I have had some good things happen too and I have to keep remembering that.
Sometimes it's really easy to let the bad and negative cast a shadow across the good things.

It really got me to thinking the other day.  Sometimes bad things just happen, and they may keep on happening.  But really attitude is what gets you through it and sometimes the worst thing we can do is focus only on the bad, as it in my experience has a tendency to just make things feel worse.

I remember when my tendon injuries were at their worst, the only thing that got me through it was attitude, thinking to the positive knowing that eventually that trial would be over.
I need to keep that focus and positivity in my daily life.

Which is why this week and each week going forward I am going to give myself a little challenge. A challenge to better myself and lead way for good things to happen.  If not to me, maybe I can be the person that brings good to someone else.

So this week, my challenge for myself is: 

Compliment At Least 2 Different People, Each Day on Something I Notice About Them. 

You are welcome to join me in this challenge.  

Hopefully getting my priorities straight and putting more focus on others, will help me bring my own luck back into my life.  Even if it doesn't, at least it will give me something positive to focus on each day instead of what is going on with my own life!

*** All pictures this week are of me having a little fun with my sis, niece & nephew at Lagoons "Fright Mares", a local theme park decked out for Halloween.***

Do you ever have times where you have to regroup and remind yourself to focus on the good?
Do you set weekly challenges for yourself that are meant to focus more on others?  Are you going to join me in this challenge this week?

Learning the art of the compliment

Learning the art of the compliment, it sounds easy doesn't it?
But as easy as it is to compliment someone, it's also even easier to criticize.
Its a fact, if you are having a bad day its so much easier to find fault in everything and everyone around you. Which is actually the likely reason, your one bad moment of the day has turned into a series of bad moments. When in reality if you could harness the power to look toward the positive and look for ways to share compliments instead of criticism your days are likely to go much better even if you have a few bad things happen during them.  Not only that, but people are going to want to be around you and want to try to be more like you.

The term "misery loves company" it does ring true.  But the same goes in reverse, positive people want to be around other positive people.
If your complimenting your best friend on one thing.  Then a minute later sharing a bit of gossip of criticism with them about another.  Think about what that says about you, that you pick and choose who you accept. That friend you just complimented and then gossiped with about another will walk away wondering what you say about them when you are with someone else.

So the questions are. Who do you want to be around?  What type of people do you want to surround yourself with?  What type of person do you want others to view you as?

If you spend your days looking for things to compliment others on, you will radiate positivity.  People will want to be around you, you'll be looked up to.  You will make the day of others.
You never know what one simple compliment could mean to someone.  We never know what is going on in other's lives, which is why it is so important to focus on sharing compliments instead of criticism!

If you find yourself in conversations with others who are gossiping or criticising, you can be the force that stops it.  You can change the subject or point them toward the positive instead.  Eventually people will notice it and possibly you'll even change their way of thinking towards others.

If you are on the lookout for ways to compliment others, and reminding yourself not to criticize.  You will elude happiness and inner beauty.  You will motivate and inspire others to do the same just by following your own actions.

I challenge you to try this each day this week.  Find a way to compliment as many people as possible that you come in contact with.  Then see how it makes you feel, see if you notice new positive differences in your life because of it.  See if you can learn the art of the compliment.