Did you do it? Did you set a goal for the end of this week? Did you achieve it? Me too! Isn’t it exciting? I got that email list started. I got my response email with my special holiday tips out and actually working. It’s been a ride; I can tell you. Like I said yesterday, if I hadn’t had this self-imposed deadline I may have bagged the whole thing because I really couldn’t figure it out. I had to reach out to tech support from my website to get it going and I’m still actuall

I know this should be a no-brainer but your morning routine sets your past for the rest of the day. Do you jump out of bed and rush to get out the door every morning? Then you start your day with stress from the moment you wake up. If you give yourself a few minutes to relax and take in your surroundings, you will start the day with calmer and more able to set your intentions. I get it. As a country we are all lacking sleep and we want to get every possible second we can. But

I’ve been focusing on making this week the best of the year. Finish strong and go into your holiday break feeling proud and good about yourself. That was my plan. But now….I have found myself with a terrible cold. I have always been the type of person who powers through when sick because things still need to get done, right? But I’m not going to do that today. I feel terrible and the best thing I can do for my body is to help it recuperate. I have almost never called out sick

It’s true. You really don’t have to eat every single treat you come across during the holidays. If you are like me, you are probably trying to manage your weight while still indulging a little at all the gatherings that are taking place. There is a good way to go about this and then there is the way I always go about it. I grew up in a dieting household. My mother was always on a diet. We never had typical goodies in our house like chips, candy or pastries. So, I think what e

We are halfway through the month and this is the last full week of work. Let’s finish up this year strong! Let’s work our butt off this week and then we can feel so much more satisfied when taking time for ourselves the next two weeks. Give this next week everything you have and I assure you…it will be a great feeling to have no guilt or worry about what you need to do when you get back. Is there something that has been weighing you down? Is there a big project you’ve been pu

When it comes to forgiveness and having peace of mind, the most important person you need to forgive is yourself. This may be the hardest of all when it comes to forgiving. We have all done things that we aren’t proud of but as long as we’ve learned and are doing better things than it is time to let it go. I’ve done some pretty awful things in my time. I’ve hurt friends. I’ve been totally selfish and outright nasty to some people. I like to pass it off that I mostly did these

This is a big one for me. As most of you know I have many issues with the relationship with my mother. I’m not blameless in how our relationship turned out but I feel like my mother gave up on me and having a relationship with me the last few years of her life. And the fact that she decided to leave me out of her will feels like she was sending the message that I wasn’t a good enough daughter. It’s extremely hurtful that this was what she wanted my last memory of her to be. I

There are times in our live when something so horrible happens and it totally sucks. Things that seem unfair and make you wonder if there really is any justice in this world. The truth of the matter is, sometimes there is and sometimes there isn’t. We all like to think that people who are jerks or who have treated us badly will get paid back for their dirty deeds. The fact is…sometimes they just get away with it. And we must figure out a way to be okay with that. The first th

I always so I was not prepared for how many friends I would lose in this life. And it continues to happen which makes me very sad. I always try to reach out and rectify situations. If someone seems distant, I will ask why. If my relationship doesn’t seem the same as it used to be with someone I will reach out and ask if there is a problem. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and sometimes it comes to bite me in the butt! Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m a bad friend and I just d

We are going to have to work on this one together because I am not a good forgiver. In fact, I’m quite the opposite, I’m a grudge holder but I’m working on it. I’ve been reading quite a bit on forgiveness lately and all the information says that you must really let go of the hurt, anger and pain before you can truly move on. Now, that sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? Not only do you have to get past it but you have to forgive the person who hurt you. I’ve always been ver

What is your favorite flavor of the holiday season? Do you love peppermint? Is it any kind of cookie? Does drinking hot chocolate or eggnog by the tree light you up? Then do any and all of it as often as possible! It’s the time of year where you make or find all kinds of goodies you don’t see the rest of the year. It’s perfect for people like me who love peppermint. In fact, I will be making some of my famous candy cane fudge this weekend. (a recipe I got from my sister. I ha

Do you like Christmas Shopping? If yes, congratulations! You don’t need this blog today. But if you don’t. Hang around and I’ll tell you ways you can make it a little more enjoyable this year. First, how amazing are all those decorations? Focus on them. The amount of shiny, sparkly things to look at is overwhelming. But never too much, right? Well, sometimes but mostly the stores do it with taste and elegance. Soak in the season. Give yourself so time to just stare at the bea

Isn’t this the most gorgeous picture? I love it. I know I would drift off to sweet dreams every night in this room! I do know people who put Christmas trees in their bedrooms and this picture makes me want to do it! We had a skinny tree that we got rid of over the summer to make some room in our storage shed and now I’m so sorry. It would have been perfect for something like this. I think you know how much I love my Christmas tree and I have typically stick with a red theme s

Do yourself a favor and take a little off your plate for the new year. We all tend to think we will start making improvements once the new year hits. We have a whole month to go in this year. Do you want to coast or do you want to make it the best Christmas/holiday season ever? I’m hoping you are going with the latter. The Hopefulist is all about living a happier, more joyous life and this is our season! If you are anything like me, you love everything about the holidays. The

It’s December…already! Can you believe it? Is this the time of year that you usually take your foot off the gas and coast into the new year? I’m here to tell you no way, Jose! This is when we should be working the hardest on ourselves so we can enjoy all the end of year festivities to the fullest! So we can feel present and worthy of all the good things to come. When we feel worthy, everything is better! You are always worthy of good things but I know that we don’t always fee

It’s time. There is only way day left until the Thanksgiving feast. One day until we get to wake up at whatever time we want and hopefully see a parade. I’m hearing the winds will be over 40 miles per hour which will surely ground the balloons but fingers crossed! Are you cooking? Will you prepare everything the day of or have you been at it all week? My mom used to cook the turkey overnight and this was when I still participated in the “Biggest Party Night” of the year. So,

I came across this picture in my memories yesterday and I had to laugh. I’ve often said that my dog, Tucker is my greatest inspiration. This is just one example of why. That rawhide bone is bigger than she is! She didn’t care. She wanted it and did her best to get it. Luckily, the other two, much larger dogs decided to humor her and let her think she could have it while she was visiting with me to my brother’s house. When she got tired of pulling it all over the house, she la

It’s a holiday week. That fills some of you with joy while others may feel a sense of dread. Family dynamics can sometimes make gatherings a little volatile. If you are one of those people who are made to feel less than when around certain family members, remember this… be you, always. If you like who you are then nobody else’s opinion matters. Yes, of course you want to be liked. Even more, you want to be accepted but if that isn’t the case…be happy with who you are and try

Yesterday I talked about how important it is to live your purpose. But I know some of you don’t know what that is. It can be anything that brings you joy. It can be anything that you want to share. It doesn’t have to be something huge and grand. It can be knitting scarves for your family. Or selling them online. It can be about becoming the best Words With Friends player ever. It can be about helping at your local soup kitchen. It can be whatever you want it to be. But it mus

Do you want to be happy or do you want to be satisfied? Is there a difference? YES! You can feel happy every single day and yet still not satisfied. What brings you satisfaction is…living your purpose? Whatever that may be for you. The first time I lived at the Jersey Shore full time I had a full life. I had a job that I loved co-hosting a morning show at an area radio station. I great group of friends at work that I spent a lot of time with. I also had a great group of frien