Last moments

I think it is funny how you can tell a lot about a person by what they post on social media.  For instance, looking at my Instagram, you will learn that I like theater, New York, food and flowers :-)  I probably post a picture of flowers at least once a week because I buy a new bouquet at least once a week.  It has gotten to the point that my home feels incomplete without some fresh flowers hanging out somewhere.  

Want to put a smile on my face? - buy me flowers :-)

I had a birthday about a month ago and was blessed to receive a couple of bouquets of flowers.  I even had a dear family send me flowers at work.  

Want to REALLY put a smile on my face? - send me flowers at work :-)

These flowers stayed on my desk for a few days before I took them home for the weekend (there is something very wonderful about walking down the street carrying a bouquet of pretty flowers). That Friday evening I stood on the subway platform enjoying the flowers in my hand and thinking about how much they made me happy.  Then I got to thinking about how not everyone shares my love for flower bouquets.  In fact some people don't like them because they just see them as these plants that are dying - and it's true - they are dying.  These flowers are cut off from their source of life and they are actually dying.  But when you take these dying flowers and present them to someone like me, the last moments of their life are spent bringing someone pure joy and happiness.    

In life, we will have many "last moments".  It might be the last moment at a job, in a city, with a loved one ... and the list goes on.  Last moments can be sad and the sadness of a last moment can suck the life out of it.  But last moments can also be used to make lasting memories.  Last moments can be used to bring happiness and joy to someone else.  Last moments can make a lasting impact.  

When I think of last moments, I can't help but recall a very dear loved one - the most important person in my life - someone who used the last moments of their physical life to completely transform mine.  This person literally came to my rescue - I mean LITERALLY came to my RESCUE.  I was dying and they brought me life.  

In case you have not guessed it by now, the person I am referring to is my BFF - Jesus.  Jesus used the last moments of His human life to defeat death.  His last moments were the ultimate sacrifice and paved the way to eternal life in a way that only the perfect Son of God could accomplish.  Jesus' last moments of life brought life - the power of an empty grave.  Now that is using a last moment to do something wonderful :-)  

My Single Valentine

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I celebrated in singleness.  Some people may read that and just think it's sad, but not me.  I love being single and I wanted to celebrate Valentine's Day in my own way.

I bought myself chocolate:

I bought myself champagne and made a little trip to Tiffany and Co. for a new champagne flute:

This truth is for all my single friends: you don't need a "Valentine" to experience Valentines' Day.

You don't have to have a "special someone" in your life to enjoy flowers and chocolate.  Girlfriend, if you want chocolates and flowers - go buy yourself some.  You are completely, 100% WORTH IT!!!  And don't worry, just because it's the day after Valentine's doesn't mean you are too late.  It just means you will be able to make your Valentine's purchase on sale!  Cha-ching, look at you savvy sister :-)

For some more wonderful thoughts on who you don't need a Valentine to celebrate Valentine's Day, check out the blog of my favorite YouTuber Kandee Johnson: "5 Reasons You Don't Need A Valentine".

Once upon a time there was a girl ...

Once upon there was a girl.  She was creative, adventurous and filled with joy.  Her life had taken her to many exciting places and one of the stops along the journey led her to the United States Capital - Washington DC.

She spent many years in DC spending time with wonderful family members, meeting many wonderful people, and being a part of a very wonderful church.  But suddenly life hit her pretty hard (as it sometimes has the habit of doing).  There were lots of circumstances that made it difficult to be around people.  And suddenly that girl that had always been so full of joy found herself feeling very alone and very sad - it was not fun :-(

One day, she had enough.  Sometimes you just need to get away - and so she did.  She took a very spontaneous trip to the city of New York.  One Friday she booked a bus ticket and hotel room and early the next morning she was on her way for a little NYC getaway.

It was the first time she had been to New York in years and when she saw the city skyline her heart filled with joy.

She went to a Broadway show:

She walked through Central Park:

She had bagels and coffee:

There was something about being in New York City that just felt right.  She felt like she belonged there.  But she knew she was just visiting - DC was her home.

Only DC did not feel like home anymore.  When that creative, adventurous, and filled with joy girl left New York her heart sank.  When she pulled in to DC her heart sank even further and the sadness came again.

She had recently made a life decision that meant she was going to be in DC for at least another year and one Sunday night after coming home from a wonderful time in New York, she went to sleep feeling like she had made a big mistake.  

The next day that creative, adventurous, sad girl went to work and as she rode the bus into the district her sadness bubbled inside her.  But then she received an email that changed the course of her life.  There was a change in circumstances and she was released from the commitment that would keep her in DC.  She felt free and while the situation could have been stressful, she was relieved.

And then she had a thought...

“God, are you releasing me to move to New York?”

She pondered that question.  She prayed.  She talked to trusted friends and family members.  She began to think about the great big leap of faith it would be to move to New York.  

Then she started stepping out.  Long story short, she found housing through a wonderful friend, sold her car, quit her job, and took a leap into the great unknown.  It was a little bit scary and while she dealt with the stress of finding a job in New York City, she sometimes doubted her decision - but she never regretted it.

You probably already guessed - that girl is me.  Moving to New York was a huge risk.  I have taken lots of risks in my life and I have to say this is one of my favorites.  I am so in love with this city.  It instantly felt like home.  It’s not perfect and there are hard days, but EVERY SINGLE TIME I cross the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan or emerge from the Subway into the city, my heart swells with gratitude.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world :-)

Musical Monday - A song that encourages me to keep pressing on

I discovered this song the other day.  I love it.  As I watched the video for the first time I might of gotten a little teary eyed because it really speaks to where I am in life right now.

Those of you who know me, will probably fully understand why I love this song so much :-)

I hope you like it too :-)

An instamatastically pinteresting post on #socialmedia

I have been thinking about social media a lot lately.  There are so many avenues to share your life with the click of a button.  My personal favorite is Instagram.  I love getting (and giving) snapshots of every day life.  It's turned into a few of my own little work creations.

Melany's Instagram Vocabulary:
Instamiss (v) - to miss out on the opportunity to take a great photo, thereby not being able to share it with the world through Instagram
Instamatastic (adj) - something so wonderful that a photo must be captured and shared right away

Here is another one of my word creations:
Pinteresting (adj) - a project or recipe that must be remembered so it can be attempted at a later time.
(I even have a label on this blog named "How Pinteresting" that highlights projects associated with Pinterest)

Social media has given us many avenues to stay connected with people all over the world and to share our life with strangers and friends.  Have you ever spent time thinking about what your social media activity says about you?  Take a moment to think about it and look back on what you are saying to the world.

If we are not careful, we can dump lots of negativity and complaining on our hundreds of unsuspecting "close" friends.  And once you put it out there, it is highly likely that someone sees it right away.  Even if you decide moments later that you need to delete a post or a tweet or to remove a picture, there is a good chance that someone has seen it before you hit the delete button.

I know as I look back through my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram there are definitely some things that have been cut off the page and not always because it was something meant to be negative.  I have found that there are things that I may say that can be taken in the wrong way from someone who does not know me well (case in point - sarcasm does not translate well with written words).

Then there is the flip side.  Sometimes it is hard to watch people live what looks like a perfect life.  I think that Relevant Magazine wrote a great article addressing this.  You can read it HERE.

I am grateful for social media and the opportunity that it presents to keep up with people all over the world and I am grateful for the avenues that allow me to share my life with the world.  I just want to make sure that who they see is the best representation of me - someone who is positive, likes to encourage and uplift others, likes good food, desires to live a creative life, has hard times but looks at them through rose colored glasses, and most importantly loves Jesus more than anything else in the world.

You Are More Beautiful Than You Think

Hey ladies!! 

Watch this.

Just do it.

Right now would be a good time :-)

Just press play - and then look in the mirror - and see beauty.

A Daily Dose of Glitter

Sometimes you find a gift idea for someone that is perfection.  This DIY is for a gift that was perfection for my sister :-)

I saw the idea for glitter capsules on Pinterest and just knew that I had to make them for my sister.

Source: theglitterguide.tumblr.com via Melany on Pinterest

They are little capsules filled with glitter. When you have a bad day and need some sparkle, you just open it up and sprinkle away :-)  It's an instant party!!

This is how I did it.  It's actually very easy:

Buy some empty capsules.  I got mine from Amazon.

Choose your glitter (I liked using glitter with a top that twisted off and had a pretty wide opening).  Gold is pretty much the only option for my sister.

Filling the capsules is super simple.

They actually split into two pieces:

All you have to do is split it apart ... open up your glitter ... 

and fill the smaller portion of the capsule with glitter:

Then replace the cap and viola:

A Daily Dose of Glitter :-)