3 ways to deal with hardships

Hey y'all!

Have you ever had someone or something knock you down? Have you ever had your expectations lowered by an unexpected obstacle? Life can sometimes hit you with surprise problems and let downs, until it eats away at your self confidence and discourages your dreams. Here are 3 tips I have learned to deal with the hardships of life:

Find the message in the madness: Every season in life leaves a residue in your character. In order to mold you in a positive and healthy way, you must try to look objectively at your circumstance and ask yourself the question: What has this experience taught me? How can I use what I have learned going forward? Doing this, will break down the immensity of your stressor and help you cope with whatever you are going through (hopefully). In addition, it will help you avoid similar problems in the future because you will have learned how to deal with and hopefully avoid those same problems.

Find and lean on support: No matter what you may think, everyone needs someone and usually more than one person to talk to and support them through their difficult times. Having that support could mean the difference between recovery and surrender. This is so important. If you are reading this and can not think of a single person you can talk to than please talk to me. Send me a message and I will do my best to be supportive and help you in whatever way I can. Having support can help put things in perspective and shrink the problem down to something manageable.

Live in the moment: There are times and situations that benefit from planning ahead but when you are going through a hard time, sometimes thinking of the arduousness of the task ahead can feel daunting. In these cases, I suggest living moment to moment. You will find that pretty soon the obstacle is behind you and the next season has begun.

Just remember that nothing is forever and things are constantly changing. The Goliath like problem that you are experiencing today will be a distant memory tomorrow. Take courage and if you are going through hell, keep going, don't let your struggles be in vain. Continue on and see how the experience transforms you in a positive way and helps you build yourself up. Find mentors that can help guide and support you and most of all: Don't lose sight of who you are. The devil is in the delusion meaning sometimes you get side tracked and forget or forgo your principles. Don't let that happen. If anything, let this situation strengthen the morals you live by and make you a more secure and confident individual.

Well that's all for now friends!

Lots of love

Maureen

Cornbread, colours and the many faces of Eli

I absolutely love any opportunity I get to be creative. The idea of making something great and unique is super exciting and rewarding to me. Lately, within the last year or two, I have gotten into cooking and baking (one of the newest outlets I've discovered for being creative). I usually cook or bake whatever I personally feel like eating (I am in love with southern soul food) but every now and then I'll make something that the hubby or someone else will love and then I'll cook it especially for them once in a while. One example is my cornbread (it's really more like corn cake because of how sweet it is). I've made cornbread many times now because my husband loves it but this last time was the best yet! I used a recipe off the Internet and added some cinnamon and rum. *Just a warning, this corn bread is very tasty but super unhealthy so I recommend saving it for special occasions.

I wish there was some way you could smell the cake through the computer because it smells heavenly, like what I imagine a southern kitchen would smell like at momma's house right before a big family dinner hahaha. If you'd like the recipe click HERE


The other update is on Elijah, my son. He's been growing at an insane rate. He is only 2 months old but his pediatrician said he's the size of a 5 month old! He is already wearing clothing for 6 month old babies. Yup, he's my big little guy *sigh*. He is so expressive and dramatic about everything it makes me laugh. He has no shortage of kooky facial expressions to melt my heart. So I though I'd share some of my favorites with you all:

and finally.... my favorite expression.... the one I live for:

Those smiles are the best thing in life!



In other news, I think this may be the last week with my fiery red hair.

I love this colour, it makes me feel vibrant and sassy but I'm too anxious to try something new. I'm going to continue with the unnatural colours for a little while, until I get it out of my system. I absolutely love colour and the way it makes everything prettier. I'm sure my mom won't be thrilled but she'll get used to it eventually, she always does. So say goodbye to the red and I will post an update with my new hair colour once it's in effect.


Lastly, I just wanted to deliver a quick message that's been on my heart lately. So many people seem to be suffering with various illnesses from depression, to cancer and everything in between. Others have been going through financial hardships or relationship issues. I just want to let you all know that my heart is with you and to be strong through this difficult time. The great thing about time is that it is constantly moving forward, so these difficulties will soon be a thing of the past.  I can't imagine how hard life has been for some of you and I'm sure it's hard for many people to understand but I do believe in the age old adage: "whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". God is allowing you to be refined through the flames and giving you a great story of victory to tell. I hope your pain passes quickly and that your experience allows God to reveal something wonderful to you whether it be showing you that you are more loved than you thought, more resilient than you expected or any number of other things. 

ta ta for now my loves

Maureen

Amazing love

Love is a word that is hard to describe. Many great poets and writers throughout history have attempted to express this profound emotion. Now that I have a son, the word seems almost too shallow to use to explain how I feel about my baby. I have been very privileged to know love in my life. Love from my family, from my friends and from my partner. I don't want to sound like those loves were not as true or strong but the feeling I get when I see my son is more powerful than anything I've ever felt in my life. Here is God's truest form of love, without any expectations or limits. He has made me change how I feel about others and about myself.

I have a deeper appreciation for my parents and elders. I can better grasp the sacrifices and work they put in for me and my siblings and although I could never repay them fully for what they have done for me, I intend to follow in their footsteps and pray that I may be as good a parent to my baby and future children.

I am already dreading going back to work, even though I still have over 6 months of maternity leave to go. I will miss him so much. If I could work at home and get paid in baby smiles I'd be the happiest mommy ever. His smiles are worth more to me than all the money in the world. I hope and pray that all of you get to know love like this in it's all consuming and pure form.


In other news, I have made a review video of the urban decay perversion mascara on YouTube and will attempt to do more regular review videos. If you're interested you can watch and subscribe to see the upcoming videos Here and I have a second (older) channel Here.

well ta ta for now my loves

Maureen