Monday, February 27, 2012
Bargain Bites: Pasta di Caprese
So easy and its amaze!!! Bargain Bites: Pasta di Caprese: Caprese turned into a Healthy Whole Wheat Pasta Salad? Now that's something to buzz about! Complexity Level: Easy Servings: 8-10 P...
some inspirational motivation (:
So my little brother asked for help writing a speech on how attitude affects leadership and sent me what he had written so far and asked me to edit/add to it. Well, anyone who knows me knows I love writing paper and I am known to be pretty motivational from time to time. Since today is a kind of gloomy Monday I thought I would share the inspirational message. Enjoy! :)
One thing that can shape ones attitude is the circumstances you go through in life. Having to face many trials could cause you to want to give up, to be a quitter and jaded against the world. I have been fortunate enough to have the quite opposite example of handling adversity in my father.
My father had a rough upbringing. He and his family were torn apart by alcoholism of his father. The abuses of this addiction eventually lead to the divorce of his mother and father in the early seventies. To make life even more challenging, my father not only had to deal with this divorce but his mother had to work 2 jobs which lead to him having to raise his sister when he was only 14 years of age.
My father often tells me that he had to grow up real quick due to many responsibilities placed upon him at an early age. On top of all these things going on in his life, he had to deal with the challenges that life dishes out living in The Bronx. Many times there were temptations to do a lot of things that would have made him a much different man than he is today.
Rather than giving into a bad attitude and lifestyle, he chose to do things that would eventually make him a successful person. He remained steadfast in school, took all honor classes and graduated in the top 5% of his senior class of 1000+ students. He stayed active in sports by playing with his friends after school and because took his sister with him wherever he went, he had to make sure that everyone kept the language clean and behaved right. Those around him took notice of his positive attitude and good ethics but still he had to work for everything he got.
After high school, he went on to college but he had to work and go to school full time. This became a very hard thing to do so he joined the military, The United States Marine Corps to get money for his education. My Dad tells me that this was just the “punch in the arm” he needed to help him further grow and develop. He joined an organization that helped improve his attitude on life with special emphasis on morality. This new organization helped bring new focus and direction which also lead him to meet my mother which was the second most important thing that molded his character into the man he is today.
The challenges were not over yet as family life and life itself does not stop. Military life, though shaping his character and giving him opportunity to use his go-getter attitude to gain leadership roles, brought many difficulties. The most challenging of that was the separation from my mother. To this day, they both cherish the letters they wrote to each other.
They were optimistic and courageous in the face of war and they knew that one day they would be back together. My mother had a complication with a miscarriage that caused her to look death in the face as my father was doing everyday while he was in war but rather than feeling sorry for themselves they held fast to love and hope. To this day, my father tells me that this war was very hard on him as he did not know if he would be coming back home but he worked hard to keep his mind off of it and before you know it, he was home in the arms his wife and children.
Now, my father has a Pituitary Tumor and this is his next battle in life. Life never stops- we must keep going and not give up. His favorite quote is: Never, never, never Give Up…Winston Churchill. Watching his attitude remain positive and his faith strong has helped me to understand that in order to become successful in life- to become a leader worth following, I too need to keep my attitude in check. It is far easier to grumble and complain than to use the trial at hand as motivation to not only fix the problem, but grow as a person as well.
“You control how you feel and act every moment of every day. Once you accept that responsibility, you have control over your life.” Oftentimes life can become overwhelming. In these times, a leader with a determined attitude shines. I strive to become a leader everyday by choosing what I feel is right and standing up for what I believe in. If I was to give up every time someone disagreed with me, every time the going gets rough I would never be able to accomplish the things I desire to in my personal life.
You can choose to be a leader by choosing to take control over something that you will always have power over- your mind. We may not be able to control the world around us but we can choose to control how these things affect our attitude. By remaining strong, others will take notice of you and be drawn to you. They will want to become better because of you, and seek your guidance in having the same bright outlook. This is how you can use your attitude to become a leader.
One thing that can shape ones attitude is the circumstances you go through in life. Having to face many trials could cause you to want to give up, to be a quitter and jaded against the world. I have been fortunate enough to have the quite opposite example of handling adversity in my father.
My father had a rough upbringing. He and his family were torn apart by alcoholism of his father. The abuses of this addiction eventually lead to the divorce of his mother and father in the early seventies. To make life even more challenging, my father not only had to deal with this divorce but his mother had to work 2 jobs which lead to him having to raise his sister when he was only 14 years of age.
My father often tells me that he had to grow up real quick due to many responsibilities placed upon him at an early age. On top of all these things going on in his life, he had to deal with the challenges that life dishes out living in The Bronx. Many times there were temptations to do a lot of things that would have made him a much different man than he is today.
Rather than giving into a bad attitude and lifestyle, he chose to do things that would eventually make him a successful person. He remained steadfast in school, took all honor classes and graduated in the top 5% of his senior class of 1000+ students. He stayed active in sports by playing with his friends after school and because took his sister with him wherever he went, he had to make sure that everyone kept the language clean and behaved right. Those around him took notice of his positive attitude and good ethics but still he had to work for everything he got.
After high school, he went on to college but he had to work and go to school full time. This became a very hard thing to do so he joined the military, The United States Marine Corps to get money for his education. My Dad tells me that this was just the “punch in the arm” he needed to help him further grow and develop. He joined an organization that helped improve his attitude on life with special emphasis on morality. This new organization helped bring new focus and direction which also lead him to meet my mother which was the second most important thing that molded his character into the man he is today.
The challenges were not over yet as family life and life itself does not stop. Military life, though shaping his character and giving him opportunity to use his go-getter attitude to gain leadership roles, brought many difficulties. The most challenging of that was the separation from my mother. To this day, they both cherish the letters they wrote to each other.
They were optimistic and courageous in the face of war and they knew that one day they would be back together. My mother had a complication with a miscarriage that caused her to look death in the face as my father was doing everyday while he was in war but rather than feeling sorry for themselves they held fast to love and hope. To this day, my father tells me that this war was very hard on him as he did not know if he would be coming back home but he worked hard to keep his mind off of it and before you know it, he was home in the arms his wife and children.
Now, my father has a Pituitary Tumor and this is his next battle in life. Life never stops- we must keep going and not give up. His favorite quote is: Never, never, never Give Up…Winston Churchill. Watching his attitude remain positive and his faith strong has helped me to understand that in order to become successful in life- to become a leader worth following, I too need to keep my attitude in check. It is far easier to grumble and complain than to use the trial at hand as motivation to not only fix the problem, but grow as a person as well.
“You control how you feel and act every moment of every day. Once you accept that responsibility, you have control over your life.” Oftentimes life can become overwhelming. In these times, a leader with a determined attitude shines. I strive to become a leader everyday by choosing what I feel is right and standing up for what I believe in. If I was to give up every time someone disagreed with me, every time the going gets rough I would never be able to accomplish the things I desire to in my personal life.
You can choose to be a leader by choosing to take control over something that you will always have power over- your mind. We may not be able to control the world around us but we can choose to control how these things affect our attitude. By remaining strong, others will take notice of you and be drawn to you. They will want to become better because of you, and seek your guidance in having the same bright outlook. This is how you can use your attitude to become a leader.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
moving {again}
I hate moving.
I'll say it again because the once is not enough- I hate moving. However I'm also extremely picky about where I live. Because of this I've managed to move not once, not twice, but three times in the past one year alone. And tonight/tomorrow/Friday (whenever I end up getting around to it) I'm moving yet again.
This will be the first time I have lived entirely alone (besides my dog, who is ferocious if you're reading this thinking about breaking in) and I'm equal parts nervous and excited. Nervous because I have watched waaaaay too many crime shows and happen to have a photographic memory (yes I know stuff like that rarely if ever happens here but what can ya do).
And although I'm very excited about the location, the place and living alone I'm so unmotivated to pack/move that I can start moving in today and haven't packed like, at all. Uggghhhhh.
Once I get settled I'll share some pics of the new place- can't wait to get all organized/decorated/settled. I was not wise when I moved a couple months ago and pretty much threw away the majority of my dishes/furniture/silverware anything I wasn't in love with really. It's kind of nice to start all the way over and do it how I want and also kind of a hassle. Yikes so much to do!! Pray for me :O
I'll say it again because the once is not enough- I hate moving. However I'm also extremely picky about where I live. Because of this I've managed to move not once, not twice, but three times in the past one year alone. And tonight/tomorrow/Friday (whenever I end up getting around to it) I'm moving yet again.
This will be the first time I have lived entirely alone (besides my dog, who is ferocious if you're reading this thinking about breaking in) and I'm equal parts nervous and excited. Nervous because I have watched waaaaay too many crime shows and happen to have a photographic memory (yes I know stuff like that rarely if ever happens here but what can ya do).
And although I'm very excited about the location, the place and living alone I'm so unmotivated to pack/move that I can start moving in today and haven't packed like, at all. Uggghhhhh.
Once I get settled I'll share some pics of the new place- can't wait to get all organized/decorated/settled. I was not wise when I moved a couple months ago and pretty much threw away the majority of my dishes/furniture/silverware anything I wasn't in love with really. It's kind of nice to start all the way over and do it how I want and also kind of a hassle. Yikes so much to do!! Pray for me :O
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