"I Choose Love"

Check out the newest addition to the "Live YOUR Life" store.  It is a really nice design that looks great on both apparel and other items such as cups, keychains, and candle holders.  It makes a great gift for yourself or someone you love.  Show the world that you choose love over hate.

Check out the items at http://www.cafepress.com/LiveYourLifeShop

The Store is OPEN!

The official "Live YOUR Life" shop has opened at CafePress!  Check it out for some neat apparel and household items featuring the logo below.  Let everyone know that you are choosing to live YOUR life and spread the positive attitude around!

As I get more creative, I will work on adding different logo and quote items to the store.  I will also let you know via this blogs Facebook page as to what sales are being offered throughout the year!

Check out our store at http://www.cafepress.com/LiveYourLifeShop 

Roots Before Branches...

This post is inspired by the song "Roots Before Branches" by Room for Two. Many people try to take on so many things in their life before they are stable themselves.  You may have heard the phrase, 'before you can love someone else you need to love yourself'.  Well that has many meanings and applies to all the things that you do and the people you let in your life.

You need to take time to get to know the most important person in your life....YOU!  What do you want out of life, what do you need, what aspirations and dreams do you have?  Who are you? Not the material things like your house, car, job, partner.  But instead who are you, who is the soul inside your physical body and what do they want out of life.  Take others opinions and outside expectations out of it and ask yourself "What do I want?"

"There is always a seed before there's a rose.  The more it rains the more I will grow" 

Know that by finding out what you want out of life and what your purpose is that you will come across people who do not fit in your plan or who will try to make you take a detour from your plan.  However if you are conscious of what you want and have establish strong "roots" of who you are, they cannot change you.  There will be plenty of rainy days in your life, but just know that those are there to water the rose that is you to help you grow.  The seed is you at your core.  It needs trials and tribulations, experiences and care to grow.

"The wind can come and do its best.  Blow me north and south, east and west.  But I'll still be standing" 

Stabilize your life by being clear about what you want.  Firmly stand up about what you believe and who you are.  That way no wind will blow you down.  It may bend and cause some surface damage but in the end you are still you and still standing.

"I gotta have roots before branches.  Before I know who I am, before I know who I wanna be.  Faith to take chances and live like I see a place in this world for me."

Never be afraid to take a chance and do what you feel is right.  The worse you can do is look back and learn a lesson from it, but be all the wiser for doing it.  Have the faith to do what you want and take that chance to live YOUR life!

Do You Believe??

This is all my opinion and can be taken as you wish.  I am not a huge fan of religion, though I am consider myself spiritual.  Therefore while I know the story of Jesus, think it can be a pretty story, and I have a manger as part of my decorations, that is not what Christmas means to me.  With that being said, Christmas is my favorite time of year!

There is something about the sights, sounds, smells, and just the overall atmosphere around the season.  I love it all and don't get sick of it.  I even get a little sad when I see the countdown calendars to Christmas because I know it will be over soon.  While the actual day is great I enjoy the season as a whole more.  We can all get lost in the shopping, the presents, the weather, the traffic, and the cranky attitudes that sometime come around with it, but its also all part of the season and still adds to the atmosphere. 

Christmas has a sort of magic quality to it.  When you were little you can remember it more so than you do now I bet.  The idea of Santa Claus coming was always a mystery but also such an exciting thing.  You went and saw him at your local mall, wrote to him, and did your best to be good all year long.  All so that you would make his "Nice" list and get a present under the tree for him.  As you grow older you tend to stop believing in Santa and the logical side of your brain kicks in and says there is no way it is real.  Well I am here to tell you that he is as real as you and I.  And how do I know? Because he IS you and I. 

Through the years I have read many cute poems, stories, and seen many movies about the man in the red suit.  At times it has made me sad that I don't get that excited feeling Christmas Eve that he is coming and that I lost the belief in him being real.  When in reality he is the spirit of Christmas represented in all of us.  Christmas means love, kindness, gratitude, giving over receiving, family &  friends, magic, togetherness, and peace.  All of those things are what Santa Claus is and represents.  Santa, through all of us and all the parents around the world, helps to bring presents and watch the behavior of all of us throughout the year.  Santa is the feeling of happiness, joy, and comfort that we all feel in the air around Christmas.  It is the end of a year and it is time to look back at what has come and gone and spend that time with those in your life who mean a lot to you.  Why do you think when we watch movies like "Polar Express", "Miracle on 34th Street", "The Santa Clause", and even "Grinch" we all can't help but smile?  Because even though we may not be little children waiting for a man in a red suit to come down the chimney, we still FEEL Christmas and what he represents.

So asking if you believe in Santa is not necessarily if you believe in the actual person so much as if you believe in the true spirit of Christmas.  And in doing so you hold it in your heart throughout the whole year, not just for a month or so at the end of the year.  If you still believe and can still feel the magic of Christmas then you should be grateful and spread it to those around you.

Do the bells still ring for you?  Do you Still Believe?