Perfect Gift for Your Toddlers

Share the love!

Here's my newest book!! This sweet picture book brings comfort and gently, joyfully builds bonds. Everyone loves to hear how much they are loved. Toddler, parent, and grandparent tested, this book guarantees smiles.

Follow Frog and Duck throughout their day from the morning sunshine to sweet dreams.

I invite you to help bring this book to print by heading over to Indiegogo to join in the campaign. Get a copy of this book for the little ones in your life and something for yourself too by choosing the perks and rewards that you love.

​I appreciate your help in sharing this special book with people in your circle who would love to have a snuggle and a smile with the little ones in their lives. Click the here now and watch the video to see a sample of I Love You So Much.

Thank you for your support!

technical stuff

If you  just signed up to be on the mailing list for NurturingWomen.com and wound up here, so sorry. 

www.NurturingWomen.com

is waiting for you at this link.

Best blessings!

Laya

Have you seen my website lately?

I've been putting a lot of energy into leveling up my website.

www.auntlaya.com

Lots of blog posts there, fun videos, and resources.

There is still a lot to read here with many posts to explore.

I'll keep posting here, but do come by the website for more from me.

Love,
Aunt Laya

Why is this happening to me?

Even the hard things in life are gifts to help us grow and shape us. 

I heard something wonderful, a golden nugget: 

Instead of asking "Why is this happening to me?" 

Ask: "Why is this happening for me?"  

Yes, everything will be a benefit in the end. If you don't see that now, it's not the end!


Love,
Aunt Laya

with gratitude to morguefile.com and cohdra for the wonderful photo

New Blog!

Hi everyone!

I just started a new blog and I'd like to invite you to come on over for a visit. It's all about running a home and creating a home of peace and beauty. From the kitchen to the garden I'll share my good finds with you. It may take a while but I don't believe in keeping my recipes secret, I'll share all.

Here's the new blog address:
http://pearlsforhome.blogspot.com/

I'll keep posting here about your inner environment, your heart and thoughts will still find inspiration here.

See you there!
Love,
Aunt Laya

Joy

 "And the way to sing the song of joy
is by seeking the good in all people,
especially in our selves.
Each good point is one more note in the song of life." 

~Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

Thank you to morguefile.com and Scott Liddell for the perfectly amazing photo

Connect with me on Facebook

Did you know that we can connect with Facebook?  I send out inspiring notes and quotes and I'll usually let you know when there's a new blog.  You can find my Facebook page by clicking here: http://bit.ly/auntlaya then click the "like" button.

Love,
Aunt Laya

Sexually Active--choices, (not just for teens)

This is a PostSecret postcard from Sunday, April 3, 2011

How many people wish they could go back in time and tell themselves something? Lots of people would do things differently if they could go back in time, while others have no regrets since their past choices got them to where they are today. 

Here's the piece that some people don't get (yet): You may not get to go back in time to change things, but just because the past is what it is, does not mean you are stuck in that past right now.  You have the power of choice to create the you of right now. 

You can change your mind. 

You can change your attitude.

You can change your clothes.

You can change your goals.

You may redefine what is important to you in any moment.

You are a living, breathing being and your opportunity to blossom into the best  you is fresh with each breath. Ready? Set? Be true to you! (Even if it means surprising people. Even if it means surprising yourself.) 

Change means stepping out of what is familiar. That's OK, you are not alone. You can change and change again. Experiment with saying "no" when you mean "no" and see what happens inside over time.

I practice what I preach and this week I deepened my commitment to pay attention to the way I speak (or hopefully don't speak: no gossip). 

There is true power in self restraint (that serves you in positive ways).

Pick some thing in your life that you wish you could change. Be true and honest because no one else is in on this. Then take the risk of doing something simple, especially if it's hard for you to think of doing. Take heart. You CAN do this. 

Love,

Aunt Laya

Love and Belonging

“You are imperfect, 

and you are wired for struggle, 

but you are worthy of love and belonging.”  

~Brene Brown

 

Humor

Are you smiling enough? 

One of my favorite quotes is "You see what you look for." 

So, what is it that you would like more of in your life??

Here are a few jokes I found and wanted to share. Please post a (clean) joke you like (even if you think it's an old one we've all heard before!!) in the comments section below.

Super Granny

An elderly lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her car. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at them at the top of her voice, "I have a gun and I know how to use it! 

Get out of the car you dirty rotten scoundrels!" 

The four men didn't wait for a second invitation but got out and ran like mad, whereupon the lady, somewhat shaken, proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver's seat.

She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried and then it dawned on her why. A few minutes later she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into her car and drove to the police station.

The sergeant to whom she told the story nearly tore himself in two with laughter and pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale white males were reporting a car jacking by a mad elderly woman described as white, less than 5' tall, glasses, and curly white hair carrying a large handgun.

No charges were filed.
(True story!) 

(found at http://www.cleanjoke.com/humor/Super-Granny.html)

Area 51

You've heard of the Air Force's ultra-high-security, super-secret base in Nevada, known simply as "Area 51?"

     Well, late one afternoon, the Air Force folks out at Area 51 were surprised to see a Cessna landing at their "secret" base. They immediately impounded the aircraft and hauled the pilot into an interrogation room.

     The pilot's story was that he took off from Vegas, got lost, and spotted the Base just as he was about to run out of fuel. The Air Force started a full FBI background check on the pilot and held him overnight during the investigation.

     By the next day, they were finally convinced that the pilot really was lost and wasn't a spy. They gassed up his airplane, gave him a terrifying "you-did-not-see-a-base" briefing, complete with threats of spending the rest of his life in prison, told him Vegas was that-a-way on such-and-such a heading, and sent him on his way.

     The next day, to the total disbelief of the Air Force, the same Cessna showed up again. Once again, the MP's surrounded the plane... only this time there were two people in the plane.

The same pilot jumped out and said, "Do anything you want to me, but my wife is in the plane and you have to tell her where I was last night!" 

(found at http://www.jokesclean.com/Flying/)

Cheap Therapy

Joan went to a psychiatrist. "Doc," she said, "I've got big troubles. Every time I get into bed, I think there's somebody under it. Am I going crazy?"
"Just put yourself in my hands for one year," said the shrink, "Come to me three times a week, and I'll cure your fears."
"How much do you charge?" 
"A hundred dollars per visit."
"I'll sleep on it," said Joan. six months later the doctor met Joan on the street.
"Why didn't you ever come to see me again?" asked the psychiatrist.

"For a hundred bucks a visit? No way! Instead, I went on one of those 'Dude Ranch' vacations, and an old cowboy cured me for the price of a bottle of whiskey." 

"Is that so! How?"
"He told me to cut the legs off the bed!
Ain't nobody under there now!!!"
(found at http://www.danggoodjokes.com/cheap-therapy/)

Keep smiling. I hope you'll share a joke in the comments below...

Love,

Aunt Laya

Thank you to morguefile.com, pietervleu and gracey for the happy photos!

Dream on

What are your dreams? Are you moving in the direction of your dreams?


I knew a guy who loved Rock 'n Roll. He was in a band that was popular in the clubs on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. His band recorded an album. Then they filmed a music video that closed Sunset Boulevard for the night. I asked him if that was his dream come true. He said yes.


His band never went any further. Outside of the locals that knew about it, no one's even heard of the band. Does that mean he never "made it"? He had that dream come true. As he grew as a person, new ideas about how he wanted to build his life became important. He has gone on to touch lives in a meaningful way. He's "made it." Only it just looks different than he expected.


Someone shared something  about prayer that I thought was pretty wonderful. When you ask God for something there are three possible answers: "Yes", "Not yet", and "I have something better for you!" 


When things don't work out as you originally hoped, planned, and prayed, never lose heart! It could just be that there is more that needs to ripen, and it could be that there's really something better for you.


Keep taking the steps to create what you want in life. Even little steps that feel too easy are great! They move you forward. Lots of little, easy-shmeasy steps add up. One, and then another. 


It starts in your thoughts and heart, you dream, then you take action. You can do this!


Love,
Aunt Laya

Caterpillar Soup

This is not a recipe!!! 

Well, it’s not a recipe for something to eat.

We all know that caterpillars turn into butterflies, right? We know they spin a cocoon and then, some time later out pops a butterfly. But what’s happening inside the cocoon?

Once the caterpillar is snug in his cocoon, his entire body breaks down. It becomes a kind of a glob of liquidy “soup” that would not look like anything to us, much less a butterfly. Then, when all looks lost, a few cells, called imaginal cells spark the process that will turn that soup into a butterfly. The process has begun and the butterfly is formed!

It can be just like that for us humans in a way too. Sometimes it feels like life is breaking down all around you and things seem like they are all a mess. That is when you can remember that you are simply in your caterpillar soup!

Trust that the down times will not last, things will shift. Let the “imaginal cells” of your mind spark the visions of the good this world has for you (even if you can’t seem to find it right now).

Love,

Aunt Laya

With gratitude to morguefile.com and users xandert and jusben for the really great photos!

What you can do about Bullies

Bullying is one of the terrible, difficult things about life.  That's why you don't see any adults wishing they could go back in time to when they were teenagers when bullying is the worst. But bullying is not limited to young adults; anyone can experience the terror of a bully.  The first thing to know is that "This too shall pass". That may not help so much in the moment it's happening, but this situation will change.

Understand that you do not have to continue to endure terrible suffering from a bully.  Life will always have its challenges. Life, with all it’s good and hard parts will never be the fairytale fantasy, and that said, you can change suffering by changing yourself on the inside and/or changing your environment on the outside. Here is what I have to offer, but if you cannot do this on your own, please, please, ask for help. It’s OK to ask for help. ♥

The next thing to know is that people who bully or do mean things are people who are in pain.  Nobody who feels good about him or her self could be cruel. No matter what they say, they can't feel good hurting others; it's a counterfeit attempt at trying to feel better about themselves. You know that “you can’t be taller by stepping on someone else.” Bullies havn’t figured that out.

A friend of mine went to her high school reunion and a woman came running up to her to hug her. My friend backed away and said, "Why are you so happy to see me? You were the meanest bully and you were so cruel to me!" The other woman said, "I wanted to see you so I could apologize. I was being abused at home and I took it out on you. I'm so sorry." Can you imagine? After 20 years!!

Here are a few of the basic tips for dealing with bullies:

• Avoid the bully if you can
• Ignore the bully
• Stand tall in who you are (Thank God you're not her!)
• Be sure that if there is a dangerous behavior that you ask for help until you get the help you need

Here are some tools you can experiment with, any one of them could bring you the change you want or try them all:

One wonderful and comforting thing to do is to picture yourself in bubble of light, what ever color brings you comfort. See all the angels that are around you at your service to comfort and protect and heal you. There is a place within you—the truest essence of who you are—that no one, I mean NO one, can touch, no matter what. The essence of you is always protected and pure. The essence of you holds its value no matter what else happens. You are filled, surrounded and protected by love in every moment, whether you are aware of it or not. You can plug into the awareness and receive the comfort any time you want.

An inner process that is very powerful is to “return what isn’t yours.” If you go to a store and they sold you something that you didn’t want or is broken, you can return it to the store. If you get a gift that you don’t like, you can give it away or toss it in the trash.  Think of the mean things people say as spam, put it into the spam box and “Delete forever.” Here’s one way you can do that:

• Imagine that you could go into your heart where all the hurts are stored.  (Cruelty, insults, mean looks, even abuse, anything that ever hurt you!)
• Imagine what those hurts look like.
• Now imagine that you give all those hurts back to the people to gave them to you in the first place! It’s their problem to deal with it, not yours. Take your time with this one. Give them back in your mind’s eye and in your heart’s feelings until your heart is clear and clean.

Another very gentle yet powerful action you can take is to pray! Talk with God and ask for the bullying to stop. Ask for help so that you can respond in a strong and good way.  (Stay awake to the different forms for the way that help can arrive.) Ask for an outcome that includes peace inside and out. Be as detailed as you can about the outcome you want and the feelings you want to feel. Then know that there are wonderful possibilities that exist to get you there that you haven’t even thought of.

This next idea may be the hardest thing of all that I am suggesting but it is also very powerful! Here’s where I’ve written about it in detail (I’m already writing a book here!)

http://auntlaya.blogspot.com/2008/01/when-people-make-you-mad-and-frustrated.html

If any of this is helpful, here are some more things from my heart to yours.

http://auntlaya.blogspot.com/search?q=blessing

Now, there is one more thing I want to share with you. Every difficult experience comes with a lesson and a gift. I can’t say what it is for sure though helping you grow stronger in your own compassion is something a lot of people get out of these kinds of situations. You may not recognize the gift in this for years, but it’s there for sure. Everything that you experience is preparation for the life you will build for yourself in your future. You can probably understand that to some degree if you look at your life from when you were younger. Being awake to the gifts and lessons make all of life even more meaningful.

Hang in there. You’re not alone.

Love,

Aunt Laya

P.S. Dear Bullies who read this: You can ask for help too! All the tools above are available for your growth, too. You can do this!

Thank you to Morguefile.com and Matthew Hull for the great photo.

It's there even if you can't see it

 An interesting thing happened one morning when I was picking figs for breakfast...

This summer I spent many mornings eating breakfast at my fig tree. Divine! The interesting thing about a fig tree, is that the figs don't all ripen at once. New fruits come out each day as the older fruits are ripening. When eating straight from the tree, the trick is to find them ripe enough, but not too ripe. 

One morning I saw the perfect fig. I knew it would be a taste of Heaven. I moved in close between the branches and leaves. As I got closer, it just disappeared! How could it be? I moved out again and saw it. So I knew that when I moved in closer, something blocked my view as it seemed to disappear.  What a metaphor for our goals and dreams in life.

You may know clearly what your goals and dreams are. You may be taking action in the direction of your goals and dreams. Then, as you think you are moving closer, all signs of actualizing it seem to disappear.

Take heart! 

Just because you don't see your goal as close as you thought you were to it, does not mean your heart's desire is not there. 

Try changing your perspective, move about (in thoughts or actions or both). You'll see it, maybe closer than you thought!

Love,

Aunt Laya

Photo by me one morning at breakfast. :-) 

With gratitude to the Creator of figs, cameras, and all of life!

Are you smiling yet??

I was feeling pretty crabby the other day.  I know very well that I have choices about my mood. I know that if we change our perception of something, or our actions, we can transform our lives. So there I was, doing the dishes and feeling crabby but knowing I didn't have to stay that way. I was talking to my daughter and suggested that we start dancing. She thought I was nuts. Not the first time I've been accused of that. When my husband got home, well, he married me, so we danced around the house for a minute. Just long enough to crack ourselves up and get back to life. 


The next morning we were talking and I said something that cracked him up and after decades, I remembered a song from a movie from when I was a kid. 


People, there are times when you need to grieve the hard stuff. There are times when you need to take action toward your dreams. And there are times--probably most all the time--when the attitude of gratitude will lift you up. You need to keep a sense of humor no matter what is happening. So, here's a little reminder that helped me the other day and I hope it will bring a smile to your face. The smile will bring you up. Maybe not literally like in this clip, but in your heart where it really matters most.

Love,
Aunt Laya

Best Teen Gifts for Guys and Girls

Holiday Season Already??

Wow, it's that time of year again--the gift giving season. You always want to give and get gifts you'll like but it's not always so simple. I found this great list that was put together over at Radical Parenting so here's a link for you. It's a great and varied list. I'm not sure why my book isn't on the list, I guess they just assumed that people must have it already. J  

Just in case you don't have "the book", here's a link.

http://tinyurl.com/5j6zow 

If you can't afford to buy this book and you want to read it, please email me and I will email you back with a link to download the book. Please don't be bashful. I'd rather you read it than not! <3 <3 <3

And here's a link to the great gift ideas for teens from the Radical Parenting. If you haven't been to their site before, look around; there is lots to read there too.

Love,

Aunt Laya

Quote for the hard times

If you're going through hell, 

keep going. 

~Winston Churchill

Thanks to Katy who I met on Facebook for the great quote!

Thanks to Imelenchon and morguefile.com for the photo. 

You Are Not a Fly

I know the sound isn't that great, I'm still learning about movie making. :-)



Love,
Aunt Laya