What Inspires Me Wednesday: Cleaning Supplies & Method Product Review

It's not often that I share product reviews and when I do it is either because I highly recommend the product or .. I highly do NOT recommend it. I really like cleaning supplies, and honestly a new cleaner often inspires me to clean either something new that I am not regularly cleaning, or for me to find a new use for the products I have.

Let me tell you about this! I am in love with this Method All Purpose Cleaner! I mean seriously! I decided to go with the pink grapefruit because it smelled light and clean. Here is what their website says about this product:

"grease + grime don’t stand a chance. not with the cutting-edge green chemistry of powergreen® technology in your grasp. each squirt, in all its lovely non-toxic glory, delivers a mighty cleaning punch with naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients. its cleaners, derived from corn + coconut, break down dirt naturally, so every spray leaves nothing behind but a fresh scent + gleaming clean. knock out dirt with the power of plants."

I have used Lysol All Purpose Cleaner in lemon for a long time and loved it. Until... I used this!

I daily wipe down the surfaces in my kitchen and bathrooms so it surprised me that by using this how all of a sudden I have these amazingly shiny sinks and faucets! Even though I cleaned the faucets really well there was this gunk that hung around the deep edges in between the handles and such. Not anymore! 

Method products come a more variety of scents and cleaners so I am excited to try more of them because really ... when you use a cleaner that works in your home it does inspire you to keep your house even that much cleaner! 

I know when I first heard of Method via several YouTube vloggers I was a bit concerned about the cost and where to find them. I have answers to those questions for you! 

1. Cost? This 28oz bottle I found at Target for $2.99. Compared to my usual cleaner it is about the same price but for a greater product! 

2. Where to find? Obviously you can order it from their website, Amazon, Target, and Kroger (locally). Our Walmart does not carry it as of this moment. If you do not have a Kroger you might check your local larger chain grocery store. 

This is NOT a sponsored product and all opinions are my own from my own experiences. I purchased this cleaner with my own money and was not or will not be paid for my opinions. If you desire to order from Amazon feel free to use the link below and I will get a tiny proceed from that purchase for referral.

What Inspires Me Wednesday: Inspiration is EVERYWHERE!

How hard is it to believe that is already yet again, another Wednesday!? Time is flying by! This Wednesday I want to talk to you about a daily necessity that is often over looked or taken for granted. For me, it is just as important as pulling out my planner and making sure I know things that need to be tended to. In fact, I sometimes ADD them into my planner so they are in my face often. It's a habit, and just like breathing it happens naturally. Though it didn't used to be. In fact, I used to allow it to happen as it did, instead of making it a priority. Until one morning I got tired of waking up feeling like I was in a fog of some sort.

What am I talking about? Inspiration. See, If you live your life going through the motions and doing the same things in and out you will NEVER discover the purpose in which you were created for. It isn't until you actually go searching for more in this life that you discover you ARE more than you allowed yourself to be and do.

Who are you? What do you want to do in this life? What are your special talents, gifts? What do you have to offer the world that no one else does?

The definition of inspiration is a feeling of enthusiasm you get from someone or something which gives you new and creative ideas. The other definition for the word AMAZES me because it truly is what I live for! The other part of the definition is drawing in of breath or inhalation. Without breathing air in you die. Without inspiration ... a part of you also dies. I know I have felt it. I have seen it in others, and I have seen the aftermath of what happens when they allow that in their lives.

Where do you find inspiration?
Inspiration is EVERYWHERE, you just have to look for it! Sometimes you can get caught off guard and it will be a gift of the day,but like I said in the beginning I have made that a priority in my life because at one point I did feel like I was dying. I had lost who I was in the midst of becoming a good teacher, a good wife, and a good mother. Sure those things I love about my life but I knew deep down inside that there was more because well... I had a hole deep inside. A hole that even spending time in worship, prayer, and the word didn't fill completely. So... I did what I knew to do ~ search it out! I found various podcasts/videos on YouTube that grabbed me just where I was, and shown me that I could find that missing puzzle piece if I put my heart and mind into it. I also found some amazing pages on Facebook that flood my news-feed with tons of quotes, thoughts of the day, articles that got my heart and mind on the same track. Yes, I look in the Word, listen to various Christian speakers but I also look for what is missing at that moment. Some days I need inspiration to clean (crazy I know), to write, to get out and mingle with friends and neighbors, to be still and quiet. I used to want books upon books, but being a writer I have been inspired to read a little, write a lot. For me it is working right now. Next week I may have to go with a different plan.

What kind of inspiration are you to others?
We cannot just look for inspiration to fill our void. We also need to understand that there is something about who we are that inspires others. Sometimes even the  negatives in our lives inspire others to keep watch on their own lives in those areas of negativity. We cannot expect to be inspired and not required to be an inspiration to someone.

But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48

I love that verse because it is a GREAT reminder when we receive, we should give back!

What Inspires me Wednesday: More than enough

This time last year I was in crunch mode trying to finish working on a book with a message that God had been putting on my heart to share with the women of today. Mothers, wives, and women who just didn't feel like they were measuring up to the worth that that they desired. It was such an amazing experience and I have to tell you it changed me a lot.

I am learning this new balance of understanding that I am worthy of living a great life, and humble enough to appreciate it. I am learning that God is sovereign and He has planned my life for me, but in everything I have free will to choose which path I take. His or mine.I also understand that sometimes He waits for US to make known our own desires, and how in fact do they line up with His will?!  I am sensitive enough to understand people in a deep manner, even if they choose to remain distant and secretive. I often can read someone's motive before they can, yet I sometimes struggle with my own. I love to be with people, but I also love to be alone. I can be loud and in the next breath be seeking for silence. This is me. This is who I am.

With all that said, I want to tell you right now that YOU are enough! Right now, just as you are YOU are ENOUGH! But please do not feel like that being enough is anything outside of you. Also, do not feel like being enough right this minute is enough to last you the rest of your days. While you are enough right now  you will not be enough a week from now, a month from now, and especially a year from now. We were not created to remain the same or every single one of us would still be infants.

You need to realize that you are more than enough to remain the same as you are today. Every single dream you have, you have the ability and determination deep inside of you to achieve those dreams. NEVER ever under estimate the power that is inside of you, the abilities that you were created with when you were born. The desires, ideas, and thoughts you have are trying to get you to the next level. Yes, you will have some of those desires,ideas, and thoughts that will steer you the wrong way if you allow them to arise and take root. There is this feeling deep inside that gets us to know right from wrong. The feeling that stirs when you know your doing something that might not be a good idea just as well as that excitement leap of joy when you begin to do something you have always wanted to do. You have got to know that you are enough and you need to learn to trust those feelings, and the decisions you make. We get so fearful of making a mistake so we just do not do anything. FEAR will be one of your biggest dream and goal killers. Fear might move you to make choices, decisions that look promising but it will not sustain you! You have got to let go of fear of failure and take each step as a promise to the future ahead and the next step on the path that will lead you to living life completely and fully.

We need to rise up and realize that we are enough and nothing outside of us can make us any different. It all has to come from the inside out. How we feel about ourselves is huge and a big determination of the choices we will make. We need to understand that our daughters MUST be equipped with knowing they are more than enough or some boy (or even friends/acquaintances/school friends) will tell them differently. Let's stop leaving holes within ourselves and each other that need to be filled and begin to build one another up and remind each other just how much we really are worth this to world, to this moment of now.



Would you like to read my first book and discover how four women begin to discover that they are more than they ever thought they were? You are More can be purchased from Amazon today!

What Inspires Me Wednesday:

This is the SECOND time I have heard this quote by Paul Coehlo, "The secret to life is to fall seven times but get up eight!". Does that NOT inspire you?! I know there is a HUGE message in that for me!

In this thing called life things get tough! And we all get knocked down a time or two, sometimes back to back. Let me be the one to encourage you today that giving up simply means the things you fought for yesterday mean nothing today. Simply put,I fight daily for my marriage, relationship with each of our children, to write compelling and life inspiring content both in the blog and the books, and to be the keeper of our home, as well as my classroom! THAT is a LOT of things to fight for and many times, one will have a priority over the other. It happens.

Dani Johnson is someone that I recently discovered online and has been sowing a lot of things into me whether she knows it or not! Between helping me find ways to cut back our grocery budget, to being reminded to trust my instincts as well as God's leading ... how can you go wrong!?!

I am a firm believer you have to have a wide array of inspiration in your life! YOU MUST find a way to be inspired to be a better you, otherwise you will waste away in the mundane of everyday boredom. As a teacher, I have seen first hand what it is like to have a classroom of bored kids. WE (adults) are no different! We need daily inspiration, reflection, and wisdom and we must have a variety in the ways we get those needs fulfilled!

Here are a list of some of my favorite inspiration as of late!

Gwen Shamblin
Tony Robbins
Brendan Burchard
Mel Robbins
Dani Johnson
Terri Savelle Foy

Don't be afraid to branch out and find some new inspiration to fuel you for this current stage in your life. Who knows, six months from now you might have OUTGROWN the inspiration that inspired you months ago. It's okay! There is nothing wrong with that! We grow.... our inspiration needs to grow too.

What inspires me Wednesday & Weight loss Wednesday Update!

We will start with what inspires me because I am just getting inspired left and right these days. Aren't you? I had no clue today obviously that I was going to be "inspired" or that this blog post would be what it is indeed going to be when this day began. In fact, I began this day in a weird spot because I had no kids at home. All three had sleep overs and well, the husband left for work. The house was quiet. My mind was not.

I took some time today today to clean out my Explorer. Just over the weekend I had gone through the car wash and I am almost ashamed to say I hadn't had that done in over a year and a half. I was so shocked at how nice it looked. It brought hurt to my heart to know that I was neglecting such a sweet treasure as my vehicle. I mean it gets me to and from, the kids to and from, and well it serves our family well. This morning, I decided I was going to spend some time and clean the inside out. I took out what no longer served me any longer; a whole slew of podcast Cd's, a jacket, a scarf, mittens, and tons of paper trash. *shudders*. Then, I decided I would get out the vacuum and vacuum the inside. It had also been ages. When I finished that I wanted to take it one step further. After I dropped the boys off to football camp, I would come back and shampoo the interior. It did not get spotless because lets face it ~ I have had my Explorer for seven years and that was the first time I cleaned the seats and carpet! *shudders again*

When I finished that I had back inside, transferred clothes into the dryer, and got the dishwasher ready to run. I decided to put some make up on ~ well, just because. Then .... I picked the sweaty stinky boys up, and came back in. Not long afterwards I decided to go outside and use the weed eater and do some trimming that needed to be done. That led to trimming the hydrangea bushes. I had some blooms that were beginning to fade. As I gathered them up in a bundle I was just in awe. Just weeks ago these blossoms were so beautiful, bright, lush. They were attracting lots of compliments from the neighbors and strangers alike. I admired them every time I drove up in the driveway and as I drove away from our home. But here I was .... with those same blossoms in my hand ready to be discarded. Seasons in our life are like that. Sometimes what we have in front of us is so bright, beautiful and lush. It fills it's purpose, and inspires others, as well as shines to bring beauty to a brief moment for someone ~ anyone who looked upon it. There are things in our life that are just like these blooms. We spend a "season" in the bright and lush blooms... and in it's due time, they become dull, faded and it's time to retire them. When you enjoy each bloom that happens in your life, you will know when it is fading. It's okay. It doesn't mean you have lost your purpose, or even that your done. It might mean that its' time to move forward and deeper. It might mean it's time to let go and let NEW things bloom in your life. Just as the picture above ~ it is still beautiful even though it's time to let go.

After I came in from doing the yard work, I changed clothes into something clean and not stinky. I didn't' want my husband to come home to a mess (both the house and myself). I then went on to folding and putting away the laundry, followed by finishing up dinner prep. I made some Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos and needed to roll them up for baking. I flipped on the TV as it had been off all afternoon and discovered that Coal Miner's Daughter was on. I grew up watching that movie and loved it. I haven't seen it in years and thought how fun would it be to watch it while I finished dinner and relaxed some for the evening. I was watching the part where she was just starting out and realized how HARD Loretta Lynn and Dew Little Lynn worked to get their foot in the door. It reminded me that what I am doing as far as my writing goes is worth it. It is my little way of getting my foot in the door in the writing world. I have some ideas and plans on way to get my next book out there in more than just one venue and audience and in just a brief moment I had hope and excitement that I haven't had in a while. Not long after that revelation, I went and looked out the front window. Talk about perfect timing! I discovered that little dragon fly sitting in our bushes. See, at first from inside it looked black with gold wings. I had to grab my phone which was charging, and head out the door in hopes that it was still there. Imagine my surprise when I discovered he was blue! 

The dragonfly, in almost every part of the world symbolizes change and change in the perspective of self realization; and the kind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life. (for more information on dragonflies go HERE)

I am in an amazing sense of change in every single area of my life. Now mind you ~ we see them every late spring into early fall and for the last few years Summer has been the time I grew the most as an individual in every area of my life.

Now, to report my weight loss. This week I am glad to say I have lost 4 pounds! I have come to the conclusion that every Wednesday when I come to share, I will indeed have a loss to talk about! 

 

What inspires me Wednesday: Look UP!

The last week and a half has been probably pretty hard emotionally. Well, except for the weekend. I love my weekends at home with my husband and our children and they truly are what keeps me going in stressful times. I say "stressful" lightly because I am learning so much and growing so much in this area. Did you know that stress really is just a mindset? We can choose to let situations stress us or we can choose to look for the good in them. Believe it or not there is good in EVERY single situation we face.

One thing that I often like to do whenever I feel overwhelmed or like I am carrying a heavy load is just to walk outside. Especially at dusk when the sun is setting and the colors in the sky show some beautiful original masterpiece.

Even if it is stormy, I love to be outside and look up. When I walk outside in the mornings to go to work ~ I look up.

There is just something so amazing about looking up at a sky that is so vast and beautiful and realize how small ~ yet big you are in such an amazing world. Our lives are just a vapor yet we live them like we have forever. We often live like the only purpose we have on this earth is breathing ~ and in essence that is just a waste of time.

When I look up, I realize that any situation I may be facing that I feel overwhelmed in is just a hiccup. A tiny little hiccup. They hurt, especially if they are deep but they go just as fast as they come. We have to stop letting the circumstances we face dominate our emotions, and effect our purpose in this life.

Funny thing is, the situation that had me overwhelmed wasn't even a situation I am directly involved in. But I feel for the ones I am close to. When they hurt, I hurt. When they are needing support I try to support them. I am very intuitive and usually know the people I can trust. When that trust gets broken, it often stays broken. Sadly, that has occurred and a tiny piece of me broke too. I keep looking up and reminding myself, it was just divine intervention and for some reason that needed to happen before I trusted the wrong people too much more. I was protected in a very strange way from something.

When life feels overwhelming, go outside for a minute or two and look up!

What inspires me Wednesday: Intention

I love this day..... and these kinds of posts because it is not just lip service.. Last week was the first "what inspires me Wednesday". It truly is what is inspiring me at this point in time. Let me tell you this one is pretty personal, yet a tiny peek into my life as a "REAL" person. Those who know me, know I am as real as it gets. But there are many of you that just read the blog, or live vicariously through my posts making your own conclusions to what my life is really like (or your perception there of).

Wayne Dyer is known for saying "Our intention creates our reality." And I believe it. But the funny thing is, if your intention is not clear ~ it can be misperceived, misjudged, and misconstrued. Well, it's not funny really because sometimes it can mean the difference in respecting and being respected.

I am pretty open with those I am in close contact with. I would hope that my intention is pretty clear. That I desire not to harm anyone, especially emotionally and spiritually. I am not much of one to worry about hurting someone physically. (Ha!) When it comes to work ~ I am all about the kids and am very careful in sharing the observations I make. Kids are precious, and in some ways I truly feel like I have been given the chance at being the voice of the voiceless. The one to find and share the words that need to be shared even if they are hard to hear. Sadly, the intent is often seen as being judgmental though it has nothing to do with a particular person ... only the situation at hand. It has taken me years to find my voice, and the strength to trust my intuition. The same goes in situations with our kids at home, friends, relationships, etc. I love deeply ~ and my intention for those things I love are not to be confused with any sense of obligation. Intention is not an obligation ~ in fact, they sometimes do indeed contradict each other.

The definition of intention is "a thing intended; an aim or a plan". In other words if you are doing something with an intent  .. it isn't an emotional decision. It isn't' something that you just go flying off about because your mad, hurt, whatever. Intention ... is not a "fly by the seat of your pants" action. It is often thought out ... deeply and intently.

When you live intuitively and with pure intention .... it doesn't matter if others get it or not. You can have peace knowing that there were  no ripples put out into the world with ill intent. Even if you are falsely accused of something or your intent was accused of being anything but what it was ~ that accusation has nothing to do with you but everything to do with the person who made it. And more than likely ~ a miscommunication or a communication gap between the intent and the way it was received. Sometimes it works out... sometimes it feels like wasted air. If the intent was pure ~ it was a chance that was missed to change the world, at least at that moment. It wasn't a "wasted" experience. All experiences we face are there for a reason. They grow us. They encourage us to make our intentions that much more clear in the beginning. 

So... if you ever face a situation when your intention is not received as you had intended ~ don't stop trusting your intuition. Not everyone is where you are in your life (perhaps they are ahead of you a few steps). And ... not everyone has the same intention as you. We are all so very unique and must be careful to not be so harsh and quick to jump and correct someone's intention based on what we think it is or should be. It's kind of like opinions and personal preference. We all have one ~ and have a different perspective on every single situation. We need to make sure we don't slam the door in the face of someone who may just have an insight that we really need.