John and I are preparing to let go of the Lawrence Bombshell location to Emmalee. I know that Bombshell will be in good hands with her. Emmalee has been ingrained with us for months now… learning, growing, and training… integrating all aspects of the business into her core.
Handing off Bombshell has been a struggle for me. Bombshell is my baby! Oh, she is a baby, alright! Sometimes she kicks and screams, requiring ALL my time (ha!), wanting ALL my attention, and is constantly underfoot as she grows and develops. Can we say “growing pains?” Yes, it’s all about her! Then, just when I’m at my wits end, she is sweet as pie, smiling, cooing and looking at me with those big beautiful eyes. Sigh. My heart melts! Ah, yes, this is why I do what I do. Bombshell is so worth it all! She is growing into a beautiful Bombshell Girl!
Tonight is the night. The almighty contract signing! It’s just a little ‘ole contract, right? No biggie! Just months of preparation, months of training, months of stuff! We are talking attorneys. Meetings with Small Business Owners. Contracts. Negotiation. CPA’s. Discussions. More discussions. More contracts. Changes. Nuances, ideas, plans. Paper trails. Training manuals. Blah, blah, blah. What wardrobe pieces does Emmalee keep? Which ones do we take with us? What props? Does she get the infamous bicycle from Bombshell #14? Hmmmmmm. That bike is sentimental to me! But, girls request it often, so I should leave it behind for them. Who knew photographing beautiful girls was so complicated?!?
So… let’s talk about Emmalee! Who is she? What is she all about? Let’s define her! Why Emmalee? How does she fit into Bombshell? Well, let me tell ya! For starters, let’s talk about her appearance. She is nothing short of adorable! She is tiny. She is gorgeous, perky, funny, smart. She is little alright, but not short on the, uh… cough, cough, girls up top. So yes, she really does have it all. Too bad I actually like her so much, because I would love to hate her! She has these big gorgeous eyes, that look right at ya! Audrey. That’s who she reminds me of! So, I ask her, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like Audrey?” She giggles and says her husband calls her his little Audrey. Sigh. She is perfect!
Let’s go back to the beginning days of meeting Emmalee and negotiations, months ago, when we just considering whether or not to allow Emmalee to try and fill our shoes. Hmmmm. Do we, or don’t we? Is she the right fit? Let me dig a little deeper, let me dive into WHO she is and WHAT she is all about! I’m sure I can find SOMETHING I don’t like about this girl! After all, anyone that looks this good on the outside probably doesn’t look so good on the inside, right?
So, I ask her, “Why Bombshell?” I’m sure I can trip her up on this one! She is probably going to talk about our branding or something else generic! Right? Yeah, you know it! Nope! Instead, she says, “I love mid-century, vintage stuff. I’m big into Steam Punk too. (Really? You’ve got my attention!) My husband and I love to go antique shopping and often go to places like Good Juju or the Antique Mall to buy stuff for our house. (Good answer so far! Ugg!) So, awhile back, before you created Bombshell, I decided to try pin-up photography and dabbled in it, took some shots. It was fun! I really liked it. I put some of the images up on my website, but didn’t have time to really pursue it the way I wanted to. I even chose a name. I called it Pinned Up. (Sigh, very cute name! Shows a lot of thought). Then, Bombshell came out and I saw your stuff. It blew me away! I knew I could never compete with that! (Good move- a little kiss @&# never hurts!) I just loved what you did with the whole look! I’m so excited to be working with you, it’s such an opportunity to learn from you both and grow with Bombshell and see what I can bring to the table too!!! Knowing your mission statement with the girls and how important it is for you to help other women truly like themselves and see themselves as beautiful is so special and gives the whole thing meaning!” (Ok Emmalee, you had me at Mid-Century, you drove it home at Pinned Up, and now I’m completely won over with you loving my mission statement! And yes, the compliments are gracefully accepted ☺ )
What can I say? Months later, after working with Emmalee and getting to know her… SHE’S IN! Girls, I screened her hard for each and every one of you that is yet to walk through our doors. I know you are thinking about getting Bombshelled!!! You want to do it! Well, don’t hesitate! Do it! Don’t wait, do it now! John and I are moving to Vegas, I know! But…. It’s ok! You are in the best hands. Still! Emmalee! I just know you will love her as much as we do! After all, she is a true Bombshell Girl™. Just like you. Just like me.
Xoxo, Carol Ann
Let’s start with the title and subject matter. “Juice” and “fast”. Juice is self explanatory. It involves pulling liquid from a solid matter. But… fast? I’m at the end of Day 1 of my Juice Fast. Let’s be clear. There was nothing fast about it! It was one of the longest days of my life…. right up there with high school public speaking class, pap tests, and the time that lapses between seeing the flashing lights in your rear view mirror and the moment the cop writes you a ticket and drives off (it seems like a week has passed, ya know?). Can we say S-L-O-W?
I CHOSE to do this. My choice. Me. Mine. Yup. No, I can’t blame someone else. No, I wasn’t coerced. No, I’m not on my death bed with no other options. My body aches, it’s kinda rusty. It could use some help. But I’m not backed into a corner against the stretchy ropes with someone pounding my face in. Nor am I laying there with the count down from ten to zero seeing stars. I chose this. Keep reminding yourself that, Carol Ann!
So, the question then becomes, “Why?” Why did I choose this? I’m a researcher. I like facts. I’m a black and white kind of girl. I like questions and I like answers. I like to be in the know. No grey. I want to be convinced. I want to learn something new that I didn’t know before. I want to improve. I want to feel good about myself.
After watching, “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead!”, I decided to do some research. What I found out was really incredible. I learned we have come so far off the healthy beaten path of what we SHOULD be eating. But, my inner voice whined at me, “the food I’m currently eating tastes so good!” I know, I know. Sigh.
Juicing vegetables and drinking the juice means that you will drink a glass loaded with all kinds of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. What are enzymes? These busy-body little microscopic things that are active and increase your health. They don’t stay alive very long. I can see why! They are like us running the fastest sprint we can and never stopping! They are gone within moments after you juice a vegetable. So, it’s crucial to drink your drink very soon after juicing.
When you juice vegetables, it takes lots of veggies to make up a 16-oz glass. You’d be surprised! It’s like eating one apple, one cucumber, parsley, 4 carrots, one green pepper, 2 stalks of celery, kale, a tomato, some garlic, some ginger, several chard leaves, some cabbage leaves, blah blah blah. I know! You’d be full and probably couldn’t eat all that! Plus, yuck! Who can get through all those veggies raw … not cooked, no butter, no dressing, no salt, no nothing? I know I couldn’t do it.
So, that little 16-oz glass of juice is chock full of goodness! It’s amazing really. And when you juice it, your body doesn’t have to work to break down the solid food into liquid. It’s like a shot in the butt of instant nutrients! This allows the body to use it’s energy on the important stuff like cleaning house, tossing out decayed and diseased cells and repairing tissues, organs and cells. It’s impressive what the body is capable of, given the right food!
So, I prepared my first glass. I sipped on it. Nit great, but not bad. Definitely tolerable. I literally got tingles, like chills, while sipping. It felt like my body was alive and I could feel every nerve. The tingles ran all through my body, up and down. I’m sure it was the enzymes running around. They were like firemen putting out a fire. “Over here, George! Bring the hose! There’s another fire to put out!” “Oh look, Joe, here is a cell that’s badly damaged. Let’s get it on a stretcher and get it out of here! There is no saving it!” And, “Oh man, the haze… I can’t see through it with all the garbage in the way. Crap, there is another huge fat cell in my way. I need the Jaws of LIfe to move this bad boy!” Oxygen! Oxygen! Where is the oxygen? HELP!!!
Day 1 end. I’m tired, I’m kind of hungry, I’m badly craving my usual junk food I eat and I’m hoping this is all worth it! I’ve had about a gallon of fresh squeezed juice today. It’s 10:30 p.m and I’m off to bed. Tired won and I concede. Round one goes to the Juice. I will be back in the ring tomorrow!
John and I work in front of a computer 12 hours a day or more, every day. We even schedule ourselves Saturday off, just to make me feel better. It never happens, but the calendar says it’s so, so I continue to hold out hope for our one day off per week!
Because we are so busy, we eat out. We get coffee for breakfast, skip lunch and eat an early dinner which we call lunch and then eat junk later. Or sometimes we eat a late lunch and a very late dinner. This is more often the case. We start the day eating very little and end it with a whopper of a meal followed by dessert. Supersize? You betcha! Bring it on! After all, I’ve hardly eaten all day, so I’m good.
Who has time to cook? Not me! This is sad, considering I love to cook. “Healthy” and “eating out” are still not often able to be in the same sentence. Sure, it’s possible to eat out in a healthy manner, but it’s not easy, and it’s not usually fun. Even on my salads I prefer ranch dressing over vinaigrette.
Our daily food supply consists of hamburgers, french fries, fried pickles, pasta, mexican food (cheese dip? of course!), dessert and an occasional salad thrown in the mix. The salad always comes before the loaded gourmet hamburger, so it leaves us feeling pretty good about ourselves, right? And, we drink iced tea with lemon and no sugar, not sodas, so again, we can feel pretty good about ourselves, right? So what if we follow up our evening meal with dessert? We split it, so again, that’s good, right? Haha!
We sleep terrible. John has chronic indigestion and heartburn and my arms often get numb and wake me up so I can reposition my body. I guess the numbness is from typing and being on the computer so much. I wake up with hot flashes a couple times a night. Yes, this is a different issue, I know. Sigh. Sometimes I can’t get back to sleep for hours after a hot flash. We go to bed between midnight and 1:00 a.m. and get up between 8-10, depending on our schedule. Let’s be honest! It’s usually closer to 10! Sometimes I’m actually able to get some sleep from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. after I’ve been awake for several hours in the early morn. Again, sigh.
None of this could be because of our terrible diet and the fact we never exercise. No way! I drink water all day and sometimes take a multi-vitamin. Occasionally, I have a green shake for breakfast or a fruit smoothie. I drink coffee, and like Dr. Oz says, that should help me avoid alzheimer’s, right? My blood pressure is normal, I’m only 20 pounds overweight, and I look pretty good for my age, so that’s all the matters, right? Cholesterol? What did you ask about that? Mmmmmm, I don’t know. I don’t go to the doctor so I have no idea what my cholesterol levels are. Denial and avoidance are my best friends! What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right? After all, I’m healthy. I don’t have heart problems, cancer, diabetes, or any other disease. I’m lucky, you say? Shame on you! I’m sure it’s attributed to my healthy lifestyle. I hear you laughing! Don’t think I’m deaf!
So, it’s Friday night at 10:30 p.m. John and I have just finished working and have returned from one of our favorite restaurants with a full tummy. We have decided to curl up in our comfy green chair big enough for two, and watch a movie. We are trying to decide what to watch on Netflix. We love documentaries. John’s friend Will has told him about this documentary, “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead!” It sounds interesting and entertaining, for sure. Will tells John because of this movie he has been on a juice fast for several days and he has never felt better! A JUICE FAST! What the __ ? The only “fast” that comes close to my diet has the work “food” after it! I’m not into deprivation, starvation, strictly vegetation or any other word that ends in shun!
We watched the movie. Yes, it was impactful. Yes, it made a lot of sense. Yes, I could easily apply the circumstances from it to my own life. Yes, I’d recommend you go watch it. You probably know the end of this blog story. John and I watched the movie Friday night. By Monday, we started our juice fast together. Misery loves company, right? I am a Bombshell Girl, after all, and why be alone in it if I don’t have to be?
Today John and I interviewed and videotaped my parents. Dad is 89 and mom is 88. They have been married for 60 some years. My goal from today was to have some footage outlining their life for me and my brothers and grandkids to keep and cherish. What I didn’t expect was to learn something!
During the taping, my parents were snuggled in together side by side with no space between them. They were holding hands the whole time and dad had a continual smile on his face reminiscing about the details of their love story. I didn’t tell them to do this. This is just what they do. They have always been affectionate for each other for as long as I can remember. My dad even occasionally pats mom on the butt and then my mom gives a little squeal and acts surprised. To this day, mom can bend over and take cookies out of the oven and I will see a “pop” and an “Oh, Art!” soon following. Dad would also find “excuses” to come talk to mom when she was getting ready, standing in her slip in front of the mirror putting on makeup. Witnessing this growing up, I decided I’d know if I found the right guy when he gives me a little smack too! Dad complimented mom every meal and mom always talked about how handsome dad was. I learned at an early age just how much power a female can hold and in what ways. I witnessed how alive and vibrant my parents enthusiasm for each other was.
Being divorced twice, I’ve spent lots of time analyzing where I went wrong, why relationships haven’t always worked out the best for me, and what my parents have that I don’t. I’ve spent lots of time placing blame on the men in my life. After all, it HAD to be their fault. I was close to perfect because my mom had always raised me to do what’s right! Haha!
After listening to my parents today, I had an awakening. It goes to show we can always learn from our parents no matter how old we are. Being grown up and 46, I had really gotten to the point I thought I knew more than them! After all, I’m technically savvy and they are old fashioned. I’ve been to college and they haven’t. I can build a computer. I can finish a basement. I’m an outgoing, knowledge seeking, self-help book reading, city girl! I’ve lived on my own. I don’t need a man! I’ve managed businesses and started my own. My parents grew up on a farm. They never left Ottawa. They have barely traveled. They haven’t been to Europe like I have! What can they possibly know that I don’t know? Right?
All throughout the interview, I started noticing common threads. The same words kept coming up. Words like… Respect. Love. Appreciation. Happiness. Giving. Mom said she had always wanted a home and a family. Thats all she needed. Ive heard that line from her a million times. Funny, but today I finally got it. She said dad gave her a home. I could tell she is still grateful for that. Really, honestly, grateful! She never takes dad for granted. How is this possible after sixty some years? After the interview was over, she looked out the window and commented how nice the neighbors keep their yard and what great neighbors they are and how lucky they are to have neighbors like this.
Then, mom went and got the corsage out of the refrigerator that dad bought her for Easter. She wanted to show it to me. Everything that happens with mom is an event. During my visits to Ottawa, mom always shows me the many cards she gets from friends. She shows me whatever new knickknacks she has bought or dad has bought for her. Today, she showed me the new vacuum and all the accessories. Usually I’m bored with this process but I pretend to be interested since I want to make mom happy. But, you know what? Today I enjoyed the process. I tried to see the world through her eyes. Mom is Grateful. Every day is a new day. One more day with dad. She appreciates her home. Always. She still loves it as much as she did the day they moved in, back in 1971. She loves her yard. She loves dad just as much as the day she married him. She loves all her neighbors. I hear stories about their lives. She loves the decorations in the home. She loves their old Chrysler cuz it’s big and they don’t make cars like that now. She won’t let dad sell it and buy a smaller compact car. She talks about what all dad does for her.
Dad feels the same way. He always shows me old pictures I’ve seen a million times and tells me stories I’ve heard just as many times. I laugh and smile and pretend it’s the first time I’ve heard it. He takes me to his office and brings out something old. Once again.
I usually think to myself, what a boring life they lead. How can they stand living in Ottawa, eating at the same places, never going anywhere, just the two of them, no Internet, no FB, no drinking cocktails, heck they can barely even drive anymore. How can they be happy? They have very little “stuff.” The stuff they do have is old! Same ole, same ole. What do they have to even talk about? The latest crossword puzzle? Bingo? Walmart?
Today it hits me. I’m busy seeking, seeking, acquiring… trying to earn more money, trying to buy a fancier car in addition to my Jeep, trying to grow my business, and trying to gain eternal peace and happiness. I’m busy looking for security. I’m listening to self improvement podcasts and spiritual audio tracks. I have the latest and greatest including an iPad, iPhone, a laptop and a desktop Mac. A beautiful home and studio. Still I’m seeking. What I have isn’t enough. I want more. I also want peace and right now I’m struggling with that. Then it hits me. I need to listen to my parents. I need to emulate them. They were right after all! (Who knew?!?)
I need to go back to kindergarten. 1. Be nice to others. 2. Help others whenever you can. 3. Appreciate family and friends. You never know when you might need them or they you. 4. Appreciate everything you get and say “thank you” for it. 5. Love others as you love yourself. 6. Appreciate what you have today because tomorrow is unknown. 7. Tell your loved ones you love them. Say it. 8. Give hugs often. 9. It’s ok to argue, but get over it quickly. Kiss and make up. 10. Don’t hold a grudge. 11. Forgive easily. 12. (This one is the most important one of all for couples) Every night, go to bed with your partner at the same time. Don’t go to bed mad. Lay in their arms. Give them a goodnight kiss…. Every night. Say, “I Love You.” Chitchat about the day for a bit. Dream. Scheme. Plan. Tell them why you love them. Tell them what you’re grateful for. Talk about your goals. Find common ground. Be partners in life on the same team. I mean, isn’t that why you are with that person?
You know what common things all the self help stuff has been saying to me? Forgive. Love yourself. Love others. Be grateful. Be happy. Don’t do what you don’t like to do for a living cause you spend too much time at your job to spend it doing what you don’t like. Mom told dad to quit working for Coca Cola and go back to the grocery business. It was what he loved doing. Yes, it paid less. Yes, they struggled financially. You can imagine with five kids. But dad loved it. Mom wanted him happy. It was simple. There wasn’t a choice to be made. It was an easy decision. Dad gave mom her home and her kids, mom gave him the ok to take a pay cut in exchange for happiness. They loved each other. They wanted what is best for each other. Self help: Accept your flaws and love yourself anyway. Let go of anger. Treat others nice even if they do you wrong. What they think of you is their problem, not yours. Believe. Dream. Hope. Think positive thoughts. Don’t dwell on negative. Is all of this sounding familiar? It was to me! Mom and dad are living it. They could write this stuff!
Today I wanted to know the secret of mom and dads lasting marriage in a world where divorce is an epidemic. Just one thing. One secret. I kept waiting for it. When I didn’t hear the secret, I finally asked them what they thought it was. Just one thing, I asked. They looked at each other. They shrugged their shoulders. They said they didn’t know for sure. They were holding hands. Loving each other. Smiling. Grateful for their marriage. Reveling in their happiness. Reflecting on their common goals. Talking about their respect for each other. Talking about their struggles but how much fun they had in the midst of it and all they gained from going through them together. Looking out the window of the house they cherish. Smiling at me so happy I was there to visit. Thanking me for coming. Hmmmmm. What is the secret? Duh.
A few years ago, I listened to “The Secret” audio CD by Rhonda Byrne. I would listen to it every day on my 30 minute commute to work. It always kick-started my day off right. I have to say, doing this has changed my life. I am a completely different person now. I’m happy. I’m confident. I actually love myself now. Within 6 months of listening to that, I was a brand new, changed person and for that, I will always be eternally grateful to Rhonda. Through her soothing, sexy voice and beautiful words, she showed me how to change my thinking and therefore, change who I really am, to become more “me!” That can never be a bad thing, right?
When I first starting tapping into my thoughts, to try to replace them with positive intentional thoughts…. well, I realized just how ugly and mean my thoughts were. I hadn’t realized how much power my thoughts had. I didn’t realize how much talking they were doing! They wouldn’t shut up! Negative, negative, negative. And talk about controlling! Sure, they just lived inside of my head and that’s it, right? Oh no. They controlled my mind and therefore controlled my actions which eventually controlled my life. ME. How unaware I was of just how much power they had. They had me controlled by a leash, pulling me around like a dog on a leash. It’s truly sad. What’s really sad is I wasted the first 40 some years of my life like this. Sigh.
Are you curious? What did my thoughts say to me? We all want in on some gossip, right? Ok, I will tell you the scoop! The top two predominant thoughts which controlled me most were: 1). Who do you think you are, Carol? You are never going to amount to any kind of success. You have never earned more than 40K. You don’t drive an expensive car. You don’t live in the suburbs with 2.5 children and a husband. Do you think you are like those successful people? No! You’re not! You have failed at getting into nursing school. You failed at trying to break into the I.T. field. You failed! Failed! Failed! So you think you are going to succeed this time around? Ha hahahha HA!!!! Go ahead, try. I dare you! Try! While you’re busy trying again, it gives me something to do. I will be busy saying, “I told you so!” I will be busy laughing at you and cutting you down. You are such a mess and it’s a full time job letting you know just how much of a mess you are. You know what will happen? Again? FAILURE! It’s your destiny, sweetheart and you are only getting older.
And then there is #2): What makes you think you can succeed at a relationship? Guys just want you for the outside. They don’t care about what makes you, YOU. They don’t care about what’s inside. They don’t care about your mind, your wit, your sweetness, your caring nurturing qualities. Nope. And you can’t bring money to the table. You have failed at that. Remember? Let me remind you. Guys just want arm candy, so that’s all you are good for. Here is what you should do. Let me tell you. Look your best always! Don’t dare gain any weight! Make sure you put on your makeup every day. Make sure you dress cute and hot. Make sure you please them. You don’t want him to leave you, do you? You don’t want him to cheat on you, do you? Because it would be your fault for failing if he did cheat. You must have deserved it. You don’t want him to find someone else, do you? Oh look, he is checking out that other girl. Oh look, he is IM’ing some other girl. Oh look, he is _____ (emailing, texting, calling, flirting) with that other girl. Hmmmmm. You just aren’t good enough for him, are you? You don’t make him happy, do you? Nope. Go. Look in the mirror. Let me show you why he doesn’t really want you. I will be happy to help point out all your flaws. Maybe you can fix them and then he will want you.
Now this is some UGLY stuff. There should be a law against this and people should be put in jail for thoughts like these! Talk about ABUSE! I was abusing myself. Mentally. That’s for sure! I have a feeling I’m not the only one with thoughts like this. And do you know what, girls? Who owns your thoughts? YOU DO!!! Who is in charge? YOU ARE!!! Are you really going to allow THEM to control YOU? Who do your thoughts think they are, to beat YOU up like that? Are you really going to sit there and take it? And then are you really going to concede and then AGREE with them after you have listened to them? Seriously? If we don’t stand up for ourselves, who will? I mean, if you agree with your own thoughts, then everyone else probably will too. It starts a chain reaction. But, if you tell those nasty thoughts to go SUCK IT, and put your own intentional thoughts in your head instead, others will then see the new improved happy you.
“But Carol,” you say, “I can’t control my thoughts! They are who I am!” “They are me!” You think you are your thoughts? Hell no! Thoughts are nothing but years of conditioning…. from society, our parents, advertising, school teachers and classmates, billboards, magazines, “friends”, blah blah blah. They aren’t YOU! You could easily put a voice behind most of your thoughts and it wouldn’t be your voice! If you had a choice, would you really choose to be mean to yourself? Why would you do that? I can’t imagine anyone would intentially be mean to themselves. YOU are ALL that YOU have. Be kind to yourself! Would you say these thoughts out loud and direct them at your kid? “No!,” you say. “That would be really mean and abusive!” Well guess what, our bodies are our inner child. They are our shell used to walk around in and keep us alive. So you want to abuse it? It’s all you have! Be nice to it! It has treated you right for years, in spite of your drinking binges, overeating, lack of exercise and you yelling at it every day. The poor thing. It gets sick from your lack of caring for it and then you yell at it some more. Even after all this, it’s there for you. It never leaves you. It will be with you always. Don’t hate it! Don’t wish you had a different one! How do you think that makes it feel? You think it was created in imperfection? Nope. It’s perfect. Just the way it is
Here is your goal for today. Every time you go to the bathroom, look in the mirror (like I know you do!) and smile. Smile a big, huge smile. Fake it, if you have to. Then wink at yourself. Flirt a little. It feels really great, so try it! Say, Hiya sexy, how’s it going? You’re lookin GOOD today and I love you!!!! The funny thing about this is it always makes me feel better. It doesn’t even matter if I really mean it. Once I say it, well, it’s OUT THERE. It’s a statement! It’s real now! Someone things I’m hot! Tee hee. I start out faking it and then it makes me laugh a little to myself, and before you know it, I’m believing it. Then, turn, walk away from the mirror, remembering that feeling you just created. It feels good, doesn’t it? You have a little spring in your step now, don’t you? You have a little smile on your face and a sparkle in your eye. When you walk out the door of your house, or out of the restroom at work, people will look at you and wonder. What does she have that is so special? Hmmmm. She has something, that’s for sure! I want some of that! Give them a big smile and say, “hello!” and keep on walking. Spread the joy. It’s contagious.
Remember. It all starts with a thought. Remember. YOU are in charge of YOU. So, have a great day! See ya later, sexy!
Have you ever noticed how some people have to stifle their own growth and creativity in order to be with someone… in order to stay in that relationship? And yet, they stay, even though they know it’s wrong, that it’s not what’s best for them. You can look at them and see their misery written all over their face and in each line on their face. How sad is this! And if kids are involved, kids know when their parents aren’t happy. They aren’t stupid. Kids learn from parents. Do we want to teach them that they should stay in a negative relationship because it’s the “right” thing to do or because we are afraid to leave it? Is that the type of example we want to set?
Sometimes we have to leave a relationship in order to accept our next phase in life. It doesnt mean that relationship was “bad”. It was a piece of our growth process. A friend once told me he believes there are no failed relationships. It serves the purpose at that time in your life. We could go so far as to say we should be thankful for each and every relationship. We shouldn’t regret past relationships even if they would be labeled as bad, because of the change required to pick yourself up from that negativity and heal yourself and move on as a better you.
Of course there are relationships of abuse and that never seems like it could be a relationship that was meant to be. I would think abusive relationships would fall under the category of a “failed” relationship. But, I do know many amazing, strong people that came from relationships of abuse. They wouldn’t be the person they are today if they wouldn’t have had to overcome that abuse.
Of the few people I know that have admitted to me of having suffered abuse… I REALLY like them as individuals. Each one has helped me to grow myself, because of what they have learned in life. I can’t be the only one they are helping. They touch many people and I’m sure they help many others. For that, I’m so grateful! Out of that horrible abuse, so much good can possibly come… so many people can be helped by the lives one person touches. Selfishly, I wouldn’t want them to be any different than they are, in any way, because I look up to them and admire them. I want to be like them. I would never, ever wish abuse on anyone or any animal. It’s horrible and makes me sad. I’m not condoning it. But, can it be said that it does make us who we are?
I do believe that we are a mixture of all our past experiences and if you make any changes to that past, we would be different today, and not the same person. It’s interesting, really, that personality is part nature but also part environment. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? If you haven’t, you should. It’s a crazy, mind blowing movie.
So, think about it. Appreciate your past regardless of the “good” or “bad” you’ve experienced. It’s made you who you are and you are an amazing person! You are unique! You are loved! You are YOU and no one else can be you, and if they try, they still can’t do it. Only You can be You! So, it’s time to forgive yourself, move on and forgive others… not because they deserve it (often they don’t), but because YOU deserve it. Each time you remember and dwell on your mistakes and all the bad things of your past it’s like reliving them. Let it go! Don’t let that garbage live inside you anymore. Push it out! Thoughts are powerful! Don’t underestimate them. Your body is a temple and deserves only the best. Heal. Love it. Move on. Do you really want to relive the junk from your past? No, I didn’t think so. Release the junk. Remember the good things. Be grateful. Command and bring on the good for tomorrow and be happy you are YOU!!!
Hello all you current or future Bombshell girls and Bomber fellas,
I wanted to express my absolute enjoyment with the experience of helping Carol and John redesign and launch their new www.Bombshells.info website. I have enjoyed watching the Bombshells Pin-Ups business grow via/Facebook. I know that Carol and John are very excited to hear everybody’s feedback as this website was built for YOU!
P.S. Absolutely the most fun, sexiest web project I have gotten my hands on.
