Time to fess up!  Yep, I need to confess to you again.

I have been very quiet for the last two months.  I have tried to break the silence a couple of times with no avail.

I have been STUCK!  Ugh!  I do NOT like to be stuck!  No one does and I am sure that that includes you.

When we are in a season of change it requires a lot of energy, discernment, wisdom, and COURAGE.  We want to make the right decisions for our lives and in doing so it more than likely requires us to move out of our comfort zones, out of our safe little boxes.  And there lies the rub where the wrestling begins.

I have been in a place of wrestling.  I still am really but just this very moment in my time of journaling I wrote these words:

I need to be able to rise above the the congested pathways of my brain, move above it and operate on a higher plain so that I can get moving.

And then minutes later came:

OMG!  I have got to lighten up!  Over thinking and over analyzing stops the flow of everything!  It stops creativity, energy – movement of any kind (think stagnation!).  It puts you in fear not knowing what to do first!  Sucks the passion right out of you.  Holy crap!  That is where I have been.  Where is my fun, my joy, my passion?!

Is that not amazing?!  In one moment I am overcome from the weight of my “brain congestion” and in the next moment my answer tumbles out in excitement in a way that has completely shifted my energy.  The pathways have just opened up.

And, I have to bring your attention to one more thing because in writing this article for you, the above paragraph just gave me a gigantic clue in another area I have been stuck in.

“… I am overcome from the weight of my ‘brain congestion’…”

Wow!  Everything about us in interconnected.  I have not been able to reach my health and fitness goals for months now.  Why?  Because I have been overcome from the weight of my brain congestion!!

Girlfriends, it is time for this girl to lighten up, have fun, and re-connect with my passions so that I experience the joy of life-flow once again.

Sooo … who can relate??

___________

Photo found here =>Kelly McCausey.

I don’t remember if it was Saturday night or Sunday morning or a combination of both. I was busy online as usual exploring, tweeting, facebooking, researching, etc. while my mind was sort of doing a free association thing.

The next thing I knew I was all abuzz about doing a Wonder Woman Challenge Give Away that entailed making something that thrills the living daylights out of me. I mean it gives me the biggest charge!!

What might that be??

Making potions!! What? Yes! Making what my son, at the time a little boy, tagged as potion making.

I love to make bath and body products. As some hobbies can go, it is something that I can be crazy about for a while and then it can go dormant. Well, potion making has been dormant for quite sometime until Sunday.

Let me just interject right here that anything that gives you a charge like potion making does to me is something that feeds the spirit. Oh my goodness, potion making blesses me and brings me so much joy in so many ways. It a major win/win especially when I get to give what I make away!!

I put together a Lavender-Mint Foot Soak. Oh, oh, oh! It is soooo lovely!! It smells heavenly, is packaged oh so cute, and feels great to soak those tired, achy tootsie in.

I couldn’t stop there! I couldn’t rest until I came up with an entire Pampering Foot Soak Kit to use as The Wonder Woman Challenge’s first Give Away … and so here it is!!

Our Pampering Foot Soak Kit comes with my lovely made by me =) Lavender-Mint Foot Soak, Mint Bliss Foot Lotion by Mary Kay, and a pair of slipper socks all in a cute little bucket. And it comes with instructions on how to use it, of course.

Oh my! I love this so much that you can bet I am thinking Christmas presents with this sweet gift idea!!

Ok, so … let’s get down to business! I know you want this kit … heck!… I want the kit!! Lol What do you need to do, right, to enter the contest?

Contest Rules

Mandatory Entry:

You MUST be a registered participant of The Wonder Woman Challenge. If you already are, great! Just leave a comment saying so with your email address. If you are not, take a quick minute to do so. It only requires your name & email address … you will receive a free report on “5 Traps To Avoid If You Are Depressed or Down” as my gift to you. Then come back and leave a comment to let me know including your email address. (5 entries)

Additional Points:

1. Follow me on twitter @shileennixon then leave a comment here with your twitter screen name. I will follow you back. (1 entry)

2. Mention the give away on Twitter with the following message:

“I am entered to win a Pampering Foot Soak Kit from @shileennixon at The Wonder Woman Challenge http://shileennixon.com/give-away-foot-soak-kit”

Leave a comment here each time you tweet this message. (1 entry per tweet)

3. “Like” The Wonder Woman Challenge facebook page … Comment here to say that you are or did and include your facebook name. (1 entry)

4. Post on facebook the following message:

“I am entered to win a Pampering Foot Soak Kit from @The Wonder Woman Challenge http://shileennixon.com/give-away-foot-soak-kit.”

Leave a comment here telling me each time you post this message – include your facebook username. (1 entry each time you post)

~~~~~

Be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure you do the mandatory entry first, or the others won’t count! Sorry!

Contest is open to US and Canadian residents only.

Contest will close Sunday, October 3rd at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be chosen randomly and I will contact you via email.

Have fun and good luck!! Hope you are the winner of the Pampering Foot Soak Kit … another great tool for your self-nurture toolbox!

Are you turned on? ….

Well, are you? …

Are you turned on to life?? =) (Gotcha!)

Why do so many believe that pursuing your joy is selfish?  Why do so many, especially women, feel guilty when they do something for themselves that makes them feel good in any way?

Let me propose two things to you …

1. We are all unique creations with our own bents, passions, and things that uniquely bring us great joy.

2. We are created to experience joy, pleasure, passion.

I am not suggesting that we are to be full-time pleasure seekers.  No, not at all!  But what I am saying is that experiencing joy, pleasure, passion is part of our design and for each of us that means something different and unique.

When you are turned on to life the world opens up to you in a whole new way … and might I add in ways you might be surprised.  Being turned on to life keeps you young and vibrant.  It fuels you in body, mind, and spirit.  Being turned on to life increases your life force … and it makes you more effective and fulfilled.

Being turned on to life doesn’t mean that there are no difficulties in life either.  There will always be difficulties spring up; it just means that you can deal with them more effectively.

So how does it happen?  How do you get turned on to life?  It’s starts by understanding who you are … how you are uniquely created … and embracing it all!

Does that seem daunting?  It really isn’t but I understand because I have been there.  I needed an emotional wellness coach to help me figure it all out and now I get to pass it on and help others turn on to life as well.

Wow!  Talk about a turn on! =) Love it!

Email me if you need help too … wonderwoman@shileennixon.com

Also, share your thoughts below in the comment section and then stay tuned for more about being turned on to life!

Shileen Nixon

Emotional Wellness Coach

Photo by graur razvan ionut at freedigitalphotos.net

Have you heard??

Today I come to you with a very simple personal passion.  It will not be much of a surprise to those of you who know me well or those of you who have gotten to know me through The Wonder Woman Challenge.

Although it is not my life passion, it is something that I thoroughly enjoy and it literally fills my cup.  It sees me when I’m happy or sad.  It sees me with or without make-up.  It sees me through the thick and thin of life.

What might I be talking about?  Are you ready? You may have already guest given the title of this article …

Coffee!!

I love coffee … all different kinds of coffee.  I love coffee paraphernalia … and especially mugs!  I own quite a collection of the cutest coffee mugs of which I have started a photo album for on the Wonder Woman Challenge fan page on Facebook.

Every morning I open up the cupboard and ask myself, “Which mug do I feel like today?”  Because you see the mug must match the mood for the day or at least for that morning, otherwise the coffee experience is not all that it could it be.

Have you heard??

When you really stop to think about what all we do over a cup of coffee, one begins to understand the experience of coffee … and indeed coffee is an experience.  One of my favorites is spending time with a friend or family member catching up on life over a cup of coffee.  Nothing thrills me more than for one of sons to suggest we go get coffee.  So much happens over that cup of coffee!  Love it!

And so why is coffee the topic today? Well have you heard?  Certainly you have by now, BUT just in case you have not let me fill you in!!

Starbucks is offering FREE brewed coffee on April 15^th, which is tomorrow (I am writing this Thursday evening).  They are encouraging folks to switch from paper cups to travel mugs all for the good of the planet.  How fun is that?!

And, yes! The picture at the start of this article is my cutest travel mug.  Cute! Cute!  I found it at a very sweet, quaint coffee and tea shop.  I say this all of the time, but truly it is the little things in life that give me so much joy!

So!!  Tomorrow (or today, depending upon when you are reading this) grab a girlfriend and your favorite travel mug and spend some girl time catching up with one another over a free cup of coffee.  It will just make your day!!

Oh!  And!!  Afterwards, come back to this article and leave a comment about how you spent your coffee experience.  I will do the same!!

And, if you don’t have a Starbucks near you?  Go out for a cup of coffee anyway with a friend using a travel mug or some kind of special mug and still come back and share your experience with us.

Have fun!!

Shileen

P.S.  As for Starbucks, read more about how you can make a difference.