Dana is...bringing her own sunshine

Thank you for commenting and the kind words! 4 months ago

Well my friends in TN and I are planning another trip together soon, March we are all meeting and celebrating winter birthdays. I am looking forward to seeing them and meeeting a few new friends they have invited and I’m really looking forward to the break from my norm. No plans are set in stone about the trip, but I have 5 days planned for a road trip and at least 2 with them, so we’ll see what happens.

I can’t wait to see the ladies, haven’t seen them since April last year! That is way too long! 4 months ago

I am getting ready to make some major career changes (major to me anyway lol) and I am hoping that will relieve some stress and allow me to be more present in each and every day, having more time to be me and create, write, and dream a little more. 4 months ago

I think my mind is a catch all for 1,000 useless thoughts any given moment. OK not all are useless, but why is it so difficult to be quiet? I’m working on this and not giving up :) 4 months ago

Well, I think it was a great idea, and the friend of the friend had the know how, but I don’t think he had the follow through, which is unfortunate, I’m not saying it won’t ever work out, but for now I believe he is putting this on the back burner. Thank you for reading this and doing it though! If I find out more I will certainly pass it on! :) You never know one day it could all work out and be wonderful :) 4 months ago

I had such a great day, I had a chance to tell some dear friends how much I love them and how important they are. We had a great ‘girls day’ lunch, spa and a paiting class! We had such a great day! Perfect way to spend a day growing a year older. I will be posting pics very soon! :) Such a great day, I’m so very blessed. :) 11 months ago

I do not normally get caught up in ‘sign up for this or that’, but I have a friend of a friend (seriously, not a friend of a friend of a friend, etc. but just a friend of a friend) that has a FREE site that honestly I don’t know how it all works, but this is not the first site he has done.

He gets people signed up (FOR FREE) and then when he starts to make money he pays them ‘marketing’ returns for telling friends. Simple as that. I have been signed up for about a week and have not had an increase in junk mails, no overloads of my inbox, etc, and I have already made ‘points’. SO why not pass it along since it’s free and this might be the actual thing that makes everyone a bit of extra money?! I would hate to NOT share something that might be the ‘big thing’. And IT’S FREE.

3 w’s and briteclub dot com and my number is 5995, you just go to the site, put in my number then put in your email and create a password, it does not require address or any personal info (or I would not be wasting time typing this!) No need to sign up right away, you can go to the site and check it out for yourself :-)

Good luck to all and many blessings :) Dana 11 months ago

Girl, this brought tears to my eyes. Your words mean a lot to me! thank you so so very much for this post. I am so glad to have you as a friend! Thank you again! I will be talking to you soon. 11 months ago

I have a birthday coming up, I would like to say it’s sneaking, but it appears to be rushing toward me with great force. Ending one decade and beginning another tends to do that I suppose. I am not sad about saying good bye to my 30s, honestly they were spent doing a lot of self searching, trying to figure out just who I am, etc. I think I finally realize who I am…what I need to do and looking forward to a new age to help me focus and actually do more than plan and talk about doing.

I have a few celebrations planned. I have a handful of wonderful friends near me and some in TN. And a family (my mother and sister) that all have played such an important part in helping me realize who I want to be and focus on living that truth. I believe a painting class is involved in one celebration (excited about that!), a fun dinner and cake/icecream of course, maybe even a trip to the beach later in the year as another celebration.

I am excited to be celebrating friends and family and saying good bye to doubt and fear; sure I will always have some fear about certain things or major decisions, but doubt and fear will not be defining me. I will be making more leaps then measure the coming years. Happy Birthday to me and celebrating with good friends with open heart, mind and arms. Bring it on. :-) 11 months ago

This is so very true. I have been planning a milestone bday and during that planning I realized I have a very small number of true friends; those I truly want to be with on this particular day. I started wondering if I was a bit too picky, then I realized, i’m not picky, I’m truly blessed! And your entry here was a very nice reminder! Thank you for your words. 11 months ago

I have almost 4 chapters of my novel written. This is a story I have been working on for years, thinking about and outlining, etc. but this is the first time I have actually written concrete story lines and I’m proud of myself for being on Chapter 4, but also realize it’s time to finish this darn thing!

I have a publisher I have ran the idea by and she is very interested in teh final product so that is super exciting, and as much as I would LOVE for it to be published, I want to finish it for me more than anything. As you may know I love Jon Acuff’s blog and he recently had a post about a band that played the same whether playing for thousands or a hand full of friends. He said they had the same heart and passion. That is what I feel about writing – it brings me joy just to write, to dabble with an idea and write it out even if I don’t ever do anything with it, it’s for me…

But I have put it off and made excuses far too long. I write little notes and ideas down to try and keep my creativity going, but it’s now time to focus and feed my writing passion and be happy :-)

Time to free the writer inside me and make time for her. 12 months ago

This is ongoing, but something I do often. 12 months ago

I’ve been writing out cards to dear friends and family expressing that even though life seems super busy for everyone I know, I appreciate them and cherish their friendship. Hope to have them all mailed by Monday! 12 months ago

So where have I been? The non profit work is emotional and hectic, but has many rewarding moments. I’m not sure this is something I will do forever, it’s already been about 2 years and feels like a lot longer, but I am taking it one day at a time.

Writing – I still write…I have about 3 chapters of a novel written, yes I’m still a bit behind on this, but have a lot more than I did a year ago! I’m slowly working on actually finishing this one! I have an agent I talked with last year that has given me the “OK” to send it to her when I’m done, so I’m pretty excited about that! My work is so stressful it’s difficult to find down time and focus on writing, but enough excuses!!! This has lingered far too long!

The gym – I have been going in spurts, but now that my mother in law has a heated pool (been open since end of March) i have been swimming more days than not during any given week, so that is going great, and toning up slowly!

My health is a lot better since discovering I have Celiac disease (I have an intolerance to gluten (wheat, barley, malt, etc.) but luckily I have an ‘intolerance’ and not full blown high allergic reaction). I have recently been going through some more tests, but feel a ton better than I did a year ago!

My sister is out of state now, but well within a weekend drive, so that is all working out (I miss her though).

Just saw my TN friends last month, we had a blast. We decided to meet halfway at a cabin and went on a wine tour (WOW that was fun), it was a short weekend, but we had a GREAT time, I love those gals!

more to come soon… 12 months ago

We are hoping for sometime mid to late 2013. Crossing fingers! We sure have been ‘planning’ long enough!!! Now just the savings and booking! 12 months ago

I love following Jon Acuff’s blog (jonacuff dot com). He is always inspiring, even though I don’t read it daily it seems when I do it is just what I needed to hear. Anyway, he made a goal this year to handwrite a book of the bible. I love this idea and plan on being ‘quiet’ and doing this. I have my journal chosen, now I’m just waiting to choose a book. I am sure I might do this for more than one book of the bible, but I am focusing on the first step and will update as I move along with this ‘handwriting’ a book of the bible goal! 12 months ago

Well a river in TN with a tube and raft counts I think! It was amazing and something I’d do as often as possible! 12 months ago

Wow, I can’t believe a place I use to visit several times a day is now a place i have not visited in some time. Too much time. I need to revamp my list. I have completed some goals since vanishing from here, but have plenty more I’d like to add to this list and move forward on! 12 months ago

This is a photo of me on my 5th bday. Check out that dress lol. I remember this day as a good one. I felt special and thought the cake was beautiful and tasted good! I think this photo captures me in a lot of ways.

I recall asking my mom about this photo and telling her how I remembered it and she smiled and her eyes filled up with tears. She recalled the day differently, but was so thankful my memory of it was good. She had been fighting with dad and we did not have the money for a cake or presents. My aunt and mom got together and were determined to make this a good birthday no matter what, they made a cake from a cheap cake mix, put decorations on it from a previous year, let me wear my favorite dress (so she says! I know that was her idea! lol), encouraged me to celebrate the day, the beautiful weather, being a child, playing, etc.

Mom did a fantastic job; if she would not of told me I would never have known it was not a perfect day. In my mind it still was and will always be one of my favorite memories and definitely one of my favorite photos. Thanks mom. 21 months ago

Why haven’t I done this?! http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=6481707&page=1 . I am so slacking in my photography! This would be a great project. I’m going to focus some energy on this, even if in a small way; it could mean so much to even one person…Will update soon! 21 months ago

My sister’s boyfriend proposed to her Saturday. :-) I am so thankful she has found someone that cares for her so much. They are such a great match. They care for one another deeply and compliment each other well. She helps him break from his shell and he encourages her free spiritedness (is that a word?!).

I can’t wait to help them (when they ask, not as in ‘taking over’) plan this wedding; unique to just them. Thank you God for bringing them together and allowing her such happiness. 21 months ago

I have not been submitting more of my writings, but I have been working on my bigger writing goal project. I am focused on this one project and will finish it (finally). I am hoping to complete it by the end of next month! At least a clean draft. It’s a story I have been working on for years off and on, playing around with the idea, etc. I finally feel I have the entire story (outline) in my head and ready to actually complete it! :) To me this is where I need to place all my creative energy. Make this dream happen, then anything is possible! :) 21 months ago

I’ve been inspired by my dear Serenity friend and been doodling wiht the beautiful pencils she gave me! I have purchased some watercolor pencils and a journal I have been creating in more than ever, so I feel this is done, but will always be something I continue to do and enjoy! 21 months ago

I have been getting up 20 minutes earlier than normal for the past several days. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but I have had less stress – no rushing in the morning, traffic on the way to work is less, getting in before most of the others is very nice. It helps me have a clearer head and better start to my day. I might work up to more time in the mornings and start doing my walking then. I have walked in the mornings before and loved it.

The walk in TN last Saturday was amazing. It was so quiet, so relaxing. The mountain view was amazing, the trees and sound of nature were encouraging and good reminders that silence and peaceful sounds do still exist! 2 years ago