I was running out to the bus stop this morning with my daughter and as I realized that I forgot to unlock the door – she closed it. Oooops I was now locked out.  After trying to contact everyone with a spare key – I had no success.  I decided to enjoy my intention of my Monday morning walk on the beautiful Fall morning that it was.  Luckily I had a loaded ipod (and my blackberry) so off I went!

I gave it up to God and the Universe that somehow I would find a way into my house. I came home and it soon became apparent that it wasn’t happening very soon.  I went into my happy little beetle bug in my garage and sat with my blackberry and my ipod.  I listened to a course (that I haven’t had the time to get to) and tweeted and chatted with Facebook friends while I waited.

I gave a shout out to my #mamo friends, which stands for Manifesting Monday on twitter http://www.affirmingspirit.com/blog/2009/03/mamo-on-twitter/ to help me manifest a set of keys somewhere!   Of course, I began to get tweets from friends who were intending for me a way into my house.  One of my regular #mamo friends is Joel, @truthscompany, who sent me three tweets – here they are:

Tweet #1 @truthscompany

Part 1: deep breath – “I AM AT ONE WITH MY SPARE KEY NOW” :0) #mamo <—of course, this one made me laugh…and bring needed humor to my situation. 

Tweet#2 @truthscompany

Part 2: Lesson – How have I been ‘locking myself out of my own house’ lately? #mamo <—-this one got me thinking…and not yet sure I have that answer yet figuratively speaking.

Tweet #3 @truthscompany

Part 3: It’s happening for you not to you (via @ByronKatie) Now enjoy the fresh air and perhaps wonder how this is the most loving experience for you now #mamo <—now this got me REALLY thinking…I’m a mover and shaker – always things on the to-do list.  I have a really hard time slowing down sometimes.  To be locked out of my house knowing my planned to-do list for the day was really frustrating, but I tried to focus on the fact that I had my blackberry so I could send e-mails and make phone calls as needed and I had my ipod.  I had just synched my ipod prior to running out the door with an audio portion of a course I really needed to get moving on.  I just haven’t been able to make the time to work on it.  Well, I figured this was my time to listen up!

After finally deciding to give in (2 hours later) and have my husband come and get me – the phone rang and we located a spare key…10 minutes later I was back inside.  Phew!

I wound up having another HIGHLY productive day even after the crazy start I had.  My attitude and mood, which initially was not good, shifted and opened me up to some wonderful energy throughout my entire day.  Even though the whole thing was honestly a real pain in the butt, I think Joel was right and maybe, just maybe it was the best thing for me to start off my day…but hopefully now with all the spare keys we made this won’t happen again!  At least I can laugh about it now!

We haven’t been to the stadium since we went to training camp last summer.  At the time only phase 1 of Patriot Place was completed.  It was a lot of fun to go back up and see it now all finished.

We went into the “Hall” which is like a museum to the Pats.  It was so much fun and neat to see all the memorabilia and rich history.

As we entered the Hall we were ushered into a theater for a 15 minute movie narrated by James Earl Jones (love his voice)!  It featured many veterans and more current players like my favorites, Tom Brady and the ultimate die hard – Tedy Bruschi.  Since we were there early, we wound up being the only ones in the theater so as I entered, I proclaimed that it was so nice that daddy had rented out the theater just for us!  Well, my daughter got a big kick out of that and had to ask her dad if he seriously did. 

The movie was short, but really captured the essence of New England and what we have here from cranberry bogs, lobster boats, to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.  They interviewed fans who have stuck with the Pats even from the very early days.

Oddly enough – I became very emotional. I blotted my eyes so that my husband and daughter didn’t see.  I let it go and moved on with the rest of my fabulous day.

As I was running around on Monday, I thought about this teary moment that I had.  It’s not the first time I’ve gotten teary eyed with a football moment.  I gave it some thought and realized that football to me is more than just a game.  I come from a family of football die hards, players and fans alike.  We are rich in high school, college and pro football tradition.

Football to me, means family, pride, tradition, and history.  It’s what my dad and I share – our love for the game.

It was great to get to meet some fellow mommy bloggers and twitter friends in person and of course, Today’s Moms Mary Ann Zoellner and Alicia Ybarbo.  Together with Pampers, Today’s Moms announced a campaign to raise enough diapers (by Mother’s Day) to supply Baby Buggy for an entire year. Every mom paid the price of admission, a pack of diapers to help Today’s Moms reach their goal!

It was a fabulous morning of networking, sharing, and getting to meet these two fabulous and inspiring ladies!  As the morning went on, we got to meet Natalie Morales of NBC, who I remember from her days on local TV here in CT.  My Aunt and I really enjoyed chatting with her and of course getting our picture taken with her.

We had lots of great goodies and giveaways and the biggest surprise of the morning – a visit from Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York! She is one classy lady and so heartfelt, warm, and caring.  It was such a treat and I have to say, my grandmother – rest her soul - would have been so proud to see my Aunt and I with the Duchess.

In all, it was such a wonderful experience and I am so honored and thrilled to have been able to participate!

I won tickets to attend the Today Show’s – Today’s Moms VIP Book Bash and Diaper Drive tomorrow in NYC!

It will be a very exciting morning.  I am really looking forward to this event and of course, the surprise celebrity guest – hmmm who could it be?

I will be tweeting during the event, so be sure to follow @gratitudecircle to read my tweets.  I will be blogging about it as well when I return, and of course – taking lots of pictures!

To check out Today’s Moms, click here for their website:  http://www.todaysmoms.tv/

Have a fabulous day!

What a crazy week I’ve had–so many things going on in so many “buckets” of my life right now.  Does this sound like you? Utter chaos is what it feels like, actually!

My poor little girl was home sick this week for two days.  Having said that, I couldn’t wait for today to have a day to myself to catch up on work, do some writing and spend some time tweeting my inspirational online friends.

I participate in a twitter activity called, “Follow Friday” where you recommend people in your tweet stream that resonate with you.  I was so honored and humbled today to be recommended by so many people on twitter as someone to follow.

One of the tweeple in my tweet stream, @HolisticMamma, has a wonderful social networking site called HolisticTwitter.  One of my favorite tweets from her is:

“You ATTRACT what you think/tweet!  Look at your tweet stream.  Are you spreading, POSITIVITY, HOPE, LOVE & JOY?  Impact our world for good!”

I just love this one because it’s so TRUE!  When I look at the tweeple that I attract in my tweet stream, it’s amazing how much in line they are with my niche, beliefs, and thoughts.  The Law of Attraction is at work on Twitter! I’m proof.

As I jumped on twitter for a few quick moments this morning, I noticed the following post from @themojocoach:

“It’s #pifwdf (pay it forward Friday).  Post your random act of kindness to encourage another person to PIF!  Who’s got a PIF act to post?”

I love random acts of kindness and often practice little ones daily.  This morning for example, I was off to do a quick errand.  I was driving along a main road and stopped to let another car out on to the road.  I often do these little acts, but felt like that just wasn’t enough for me this morning.

I decided after my errands to get some tea at Starbucks.  Thinking about random acts of kindness, I thought to call my mother-in-law, who was home baby sitting my niece and nephews all under the age of 5, to see if she wanted me to bring her a cup of coffee or tea.

I wound up bringing her a cup of coffee and decided to spend some time with her and chat.  We wound up talking for nearly two hours while the kids created some chaos – my not yet two year old nephew unrolling the toilet paper down the hallway, and so on. It was nice to have the quality time and I’m sure that she enjoyed the adult conversation as much as I did.

The bottom line is that I left there feeling good about myself! I touched someone with a random act of kindness.

What can you do (and it doesn’t have to be big or cost money) as a random act of kindness in your life?

A friend of mine that I met a few years back was diagnosed in the Fall with Stage 2 Hodgkins Lymphoma. I get chills when I think about it – she’s a young mom just like me.

I’d love for you take a minute to head over to her blog and read her story as my words will not do it justice.

As soon as I heard the story, I knew I wanted to help in some way. Being that we are a distance apart and can’t help in a personal way, I have decided to donate 10% of my sales for those who mention Jenn Ford in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” box on the order page of my website.

I am also currently booking home and office parties (as well as virtual parties). During the month of February and March for those people who book a home/office/or virtual party I will also donate 10% of the party total to Jenn.

I would be most grateful if you could share this story with your friends to see how far we can reach to help this wonderful mom.

Here are some helpful links:

Jenn’s Blog

The Gratitude Circle Home Page

In gratitude,
Deanna

P.S. My new collection will be online very soon – I know you will love it. Why not book your own gathering, share some gratitude, and help someone in need?

Here’s what one of our raving fans recently said about our new collection:

When I saw the necklace from Deanna’s new Gratitude Eclectic Collection for the first time it was on her neck and I *knew* I had to have one for myself. It is just my style. A beautiful silver toggle clasp, a black choker, and a gorgeous bead that is so signature in Deanna’s work. PERFECT. It is understated and funky all at the same time. Just like me. I can wear it with jeans and a t-shirt or with a simple black dress. I cannot wait to purchase other bead charms to allow me to wear my necklace with even more colors. The beautiful hand painted beads used in the Gratitude Collection are the most beautiful I have ever seen. This collection is my very favorite! Great work, Deanna!

Dorothy

P.S.S. Check out Jenn’s blog for other offers to help raise funds for Jenn. There may be something there that may interest you as well.

As I wind down for some much needed R&R during the holiday vacation time, I wanted to wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy, and peaceful holiday season!

I look forward to sharing more with you in the new year!

In the meantime, be well and enjoy a gratitude filled holiday.

Peace, love, and gratitude,

The holidays are coming… and if you’re looking for a little help getting ready, download this free 40+ page holiday guide, full of articles, recipes, tips, ideas, and more!  Yes, it’s FREE!  It’s absolutely fabulous and a must have this holiday season–I know you will enjoy it!  Click here to download your FREE copy.

At any rate, that’s the most you’ll get me to say about it, but I wanted to share with you a great blog post from my twitter friend, Jeannette-the Good Vibe Coach.  Jeannette writes about the upcoming election and the effects of the Laws of Attraction.  Click here to to check it out.  Enjoy!

Anyone that knows me knows I am a football FANatic.  I am very intense and passionate about the game.

I’ve noticed a theme going on in the NFL as this early football season unfolds. 

I see leaders stepping up to work together with their team in otherwise unusual circumstances.  Tom Brady going down in week 1, yikes!  Peyton Manning and the Colts nearly losing two in a row?

I see these fine leaders stepping it up to do what needs to be done to work together and win. 

I often use the analogy that we are like the quarterbacks of our lives.  Sometimes we fumble the ball, but we need to pick up the pieces, figure it out and move on.  You do what you need to do to get the job done.