My First Blog Entry! Yay!

Welcome to my very first blog post!  WooHoo!  I am sure you are as excited as I!

As this is my maiden blog (HA!  Like maiden voyage!  Get it?  Although hopefully this will not have the same ill-fate as that other well-know maiden voyage..Yikes - not a good reference...). 

As you can probably tell, my blog writing will most likely be somewhat of a stream of consciousness...almost like a talking dialogue. 

To describe myself, you can actually think the exact opposite of a Serenity Goddess.  More like an Anxious Freak.  In fact - that was my initial thought for my blog title...Anxious Freak.  I tend to be quite an accomplished worrier, such that I was thinking of writing a book titled: "A million ways to die...at least in my head" or "A million ways to die...or just another day in my life" .  Such is the life of a worrier/ panic attacker.  Life is never dull!

Here a some of the names I was thinking of for my blog (most of which were already taken):

1. Anxious Freak (so me!)
2. Stress Maven, Stress Goddess (Thank you Pammy for some of these ideas!)
3. Mellow Mama (Thank you Trace for your support of my goal!)
4. Seeking Serenity, Serenity Diva, Serenity Now, Breathe Serenity (all taken)
5. Just Chill, Just Relax Already, Just Breathe, Don't Worry Be Happy (all taken)
6. F$#@ You, I'm dying (This would be Nick's suggestion.  I love that off-beat humor of his.)
7. Storm and Sunshine, Anxious Serenity (to show where I am and where I crave to be...)

But then I tried to see the bigger picture, and think about what I would like this blog to become down the road.  (My sister - Ker Ber - would be so proud because she is all about the 5 year plan and such!)  Hence, I would like this blog to eventually be a source of all things motivation (such as books or quotes or music or beautiful pictures).  Any or all things relaxing to us stressed out souls (but then again - it might just be musings of life from a stress freak!).

A little more about myself for this maiden blog: I am a wife and mother of three.  My husband and I both work full time.  Household chores and clutter seem endless (I foresee so many blog topics there...).  I crave all things relaxing...such as relaxation massages (Debbie - you ROCK!!), sitting on a secluded beach (under an umbrella of course), sitting in front of a fire, curling up with a good romance novel, NAPPING (Mmmmm...I LOVE napping!), etc.

My thoughts for this blog are to write about my life experiences as well as philosophical musings, with the main purpose being to make you laugh with my sarcastic and self-deprecating viewpoint (or at the very least make you feel better about your life since you don't live in my brain) as well as to offer some motivational / inspirational / relaxational (ok - this last one is not really a word but it sure fit well) references.

For example, I love motivational quotes.  I will read or hear something, and I will be like "Oooo - that is deep!  I need to really do that or live that way."  It's like every inspirational quote I come across is supposed to change my life because I read it (IF ONLY it were that easy!!)...hmmmm - this could be a blog entry all on its own...

Alright - that is enough for my Maiden Blog.  I wish you all a good day.

In Hopes of Serenity,
Me.

Acknowledgements (ooooh - it's like I am an accomplished book writer...I have always thought about what I would say...):

To Pammy!  My inspiration and 'push' to do this blog (she came up with the title) and, even more importantly, she was my example and my supporter to leave a job I had been in for a long time but was not a good fit and was horribly stressful.  I love you girl!  Thanks for being you!  (Pammy is a maniacal - uh I mean AVID - bicyclist.  Check out her blogspot - Cyclophiliac!!)

To my momma!  She is an amazing woman who seems to have endless energy to help out others all the time.  Without her, I am not sure how I would have gotten thru my first ten years of motherhood, let alone my entire life.

To my sister Kat!  You are such a cool Kat.  Thanks so much for always being such a great listener.  (Kat is to shopping like Pam is to bicycling!  In fact, she loves shopping so much she got a part-time job at one of her favorite stores - Bath and Body Works.  Love their foam hand soap!!  And my kids and I get to benefit often from her shopping prowess!  Yay us!)

To my sister Ker Ber!  Ker and I are kindred souls when it comes to seeking peace and happiness in this life.  Ker is an amazingly strong woman who has conquered a full marathon, is an attorney, and is a strong believer that we all have good souls within us, we just may have to work to bring out the best in ourselves.  Ker and I have all kinds of dreams for an inspirational tea/card shop!

To my beautiful daughters who bring so much love and laughter into my life.  You are all special in your own way.  My wish for you is that you enjoy your lives no matter what you do or who you are with.  We only get one chance at this life of ours and it is too short to waste it in misery.  Only be with those whom add happiness to your life; for it is up to you - and only you - if you allow others to dampen your spirits.  Soar my girls! 

Last, but certainly not least, to my husband who has to, on a daily basis, hear the constant worries that are on my mind.  Thank you for being here with me on this journey.  You are a wonderful dad.  I love you!

I could truly go on with thanking so many more people - friends and family - who are wonderful and have helped me throughout my life..but alas, I don't want to drag this maiden voyage on forever!  :)

I am not sure if I will always be able to do this - but I sure like the thought of ending my blog entries with some type of motivational reference.

Today's is a song (yes Pammy - a sappy song) and a local photographer:

1. Song: I came across a YouTube link for a mash up song of As Long As You Love Me (Backstreet Boys and Justin Bieber Medley) sung by Michael Henry and Justin Robinett.  It is soothingly soul-ful and I love it.

2. Photographer: C.W. Banfield.  He had a booth at a local summer art festival and I thought his photographs were absolutely beautiful.  See for yourself at his website: The Wilderness Gallery.