Have YOU made YOUR vision board yet?

It's been a while since my last post since things are falling into place all around me...

So seriously, what are you waiting for?? All you are losing is valuable time!

I've been telling everyone and anyone that will listen to me, about "the Secret", and how it has noticeably had an affect on my life, but as I lay here with the hot sun beaming on my back,with classic Dalida echoing out of the (**newly renovated**) kitchen door, I KNOW that my dreams are coming true! I can feel them and see them. I am living several of them already, at this very moment!

Even as I write, it's as though the universe is agreeing with me, confirming 'tis true.
The perfectly light summer breeze suddenly picks up, as if in accordance with my thoughts, and as I look up, there is my Freddy, smiling back at me. Life is truly amazing, and I am so grateful.

I am so grateful. That's it. That's the secret in a nutshell.
All it is is the "The Law of Attraction."
Positive energy. Warm, grateful thoughts.
The laws are already working and proven - otherwise it wouldn't be a "law" (doh!), i.e. the Law of Gravity.

There is that warm breeze again. Everything around me is signing to the energy, like even the birds know it's true. ... is this real, or have I just become a Disney cartoon??

So I embrace it, and feel in love all over again - not just with my husband or my wonderful home and yard, but with life in general and the path I am heading down. These feelings evoke more positive energy, and more positive energy, and so on and so on.

Nobody made a rule that says you cannot have everything you want in life, so GO GET IT!
Why not believe in yourself, and in what you want? Feel**key word** like it is waiting for you, and just you wait and see what happens...

The journey that lay ahead of us, The Forfaits, are all dreams come true. Both of ours - as partners and as individuals, goals are being achieved. From something as simple as bringing our new puppy home in a few days; to something we dreamt about 5 years ago during those steamy, almost poverty stricken, hazy days in Mexico! I remember specifically lying together one morning and longing for a Sunday far from then, in a plush, cozy bed, in a place where all we had to do was enjoy the day. (Our bed in Mexico only had 1 flat sheet and 2 pillows. We had geckos on the walls and the alternative sleeping arrangements were either the hammock or the beach. we earned $2500 Mexican pesos per month per person - about $500 CDN total.)

We finally woke in that dream bed this very morning. After 4 years of married life, sleeping on a mattress on the floor. It took me a minute to understand it was real.

Mexico was one thing, but believe you me, we know our fair share of heartache and life-upside-down-heavy-duty-out-of-control...what would you call them...episodes? Issues? Challenges. Speaking only of since we've have been a couple, you name it, we've been there done that. (With the exception of children.)

Somehow, miraculously, and coincidentally(?) since we started our Quixtar Independent e-commerce business, and then after watching the Secret a few months later, we have moved on from all of those "challenges". The sorrow, uncertainty, near-bankruptcy, marital issues, as well as the career issues are all just things that are quickly becoming distant memories...What doesn't break you, right? And we have never been stronger.

Which reminds me - getting back to the vision board.
There are things on each of our boards that a few months ago were just magazine cut-outs and miss-matched words. Now they exist. Even the ortho work on my teeth is about to begin...something I have been desperately wishing for since the age of 7.

Whatever had been obstacles in our way, making the possible seem impossible, have since fallen away. The puzzle is filling in and the missing pieces are floating clearly within reach.

Today, with only 2 days left in my 2 current jobs (!! yes, two), and only a few more away from my step up in my career with TPS, I feel as though I am back in control of my world. And what a happy world it is :)

Close your eyes, take a deep breath and smile. Think of something that you are thankful for.
Do it again, shut your eyes tighter and imagine something. Anything that makes your smile grow bigger.
Now open your eyes, and make it happen!

It's all I did and I promise, it's working.
See my links for the official website, and stay tuned for more dreams come true.
You will see me on Oprah someday sooner than you think ;)

Peace ~ Love ~ Gratitude
JF
PS: Even our fortune cookies were in sync! (Best take out ever, just for the record.)
"Your present plans are going to succeed."

nos·tal·gi·a (no-stal'j?, n?-) n.

Definition: A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.The condition of being homesick; homesickness.

Funny. That has such a negative tone to it... When I am stuck in a moment and swept away by "nostalgia," it usually feels good. All warm and fuzzy. Dream like. I usually want it to last...
I have been feeling nostalgic ever since Camstock 07 (3 weeks ago), and it has been awesome!
I haven't felt sick at all...

If anything, blown away at how fast time goes...and yet how the 10th grade seems like only yesterday. I am amazed at how grown up we all are, and impressed by the adults we have become, the careers we've established, the families we have created. It is so cool to see the friends that remain BFF (best friends forever) and the "new" people whom you suddenly have soooo much in common with...

Strangely though, and at the same time, it's as if no one has changed at all. That time has somehow stopped. Or that we have managed to warp time backwards, and that we're all still the same group of hooligans we once were... When we would scream "Argos...Blue Jays" at the top of our lungs, from one field party to another. Was that only a few months ago? I would do it again tonight...if anyone is in? I can even still see what hung in my locker, can remember reading Shakespeare out loud in English class. Can still smell the nasty air in the workout room. I still have old boxes full of pictures and notes and souvenirs from the old days that I just can't bear to throw away...

I am not sure at which point the nostalgia goes away. Or when/how it is mysteriously replaced with a sense of pride. We have all evolved so amazingly well and I am so proud of us, our extended group of friends, old classmates and spouses. Once again, proud of our "generation", if you will.

We are a rare and special breed, and it is so wonderful to be able to share the old memories while creating new ones together again. I guess it's true what "they" say... there is no place like home. Who woulda thunk it?

See you at Camstock '08! ;)

Peace and love and warm fuzzy hugs.
JF

PS: CAM - if you're out there, let me know if you want help planning...and no pressure ;) LOL

So I just quit my job.

Again.
But I am excited - don't get me wrong... really excited about my new opportunity. I have surpassed the 9 month curse, (check one) although it's only been 2 years exactly on Aug, 29th...and only technically a year and a bit in the current role... but when opportunity knocks, you must answer... And even if it was you who was searching for that knock, it still counts.
You can either sit and wait for things to happy and hope you might get lucky.
Or you can seek things out and make them happen.
...Not to mention that when I had a hand in getting my sister back on her feet, with Metroland (check two) that somehow I knew that my time had come. I knew that I had accomplished whatever it was that was keeping me here, since in all honesty my restraints were starting to feel really tight... I needed to spread my wings again and be encouraged to do so... This is what I am achieving with this swticheroo. Freeing up some wing space. Going to work for a company whom actually values my skills, and what I have to offer, and wants to see me grow. Not the other way around, and I will not be pushed to regress.

It feels like somehow this new move has lifted me onto a new platform. That I am now officially a career woman. In a new tax bracket, in a new level of my career. And I can't wait to see what happens...

My Career. Woman.
Wow.
So strange to hear that coming from me... I am still only a kid afterall.
But isn't it funny...(or is it just me...) that it doesn't matter how exciting a new opportunity is or how bad an old job was, that the second it comes to an end, time to walk away and leave your desk behind, suddenly all the bad things don't seem that bad, and the good things seem like they still have so much potential...??

Or is that just me. Me and my sentimental, emotional nature? Being blinded by the good?
All of a sudden the people whom I have never even had lunch with (other than at staff BBQs or someones retirement party) appear to be all really great friends, and people that I will sincerely miss.

And the projects that were never going to be completed, (surely not by the deadline,) are suddenly swarming with activity and the only thing that will be missing will be me! Me, present to reap the benefits of my endless hard work, struggle, stresses and efforts.

Or is it just me, and I am over thinking things as usual?

Must be that I am over thinking things...if you, my loyal blog, had been around for the many moons prior to today, I am sure you would have had your fix and then some, of my daily work frustrations and stresses... My journal and my husband are both up to capacity with the complaint ritual. So at least it is comforting to have the three-strikes-you're-out-theory in my pocket. And I know that there have been more than three strikes. I have given it a full shot. Made the best of it. And am now ready to keep on trekking down the road to my dreams...

So to answer my own question then, and clearly for the record, when it is time to move on, it quite simply just is. When the spark dies, it's usually time to get re-inspired. When something just sucks or is not working well, fix it! This is what I have done. And I will not let my self feel guilty for giving in my resignation!! Gosh darn it! They had me. They lost me. (side note to self: time to realize that even the best are replaceable and "they", the bosses, will never put my interests first. It is up to me to do that.)

And now I am finding my way back... to the top...oh yes... I will be at the top... oh yes, with all my dreams a reality...I can see it now... oh yes... **sorry, getting lost in Wayne's World-like dream sequence...

Today's Bonus:
Speaking of dreams coming true though, another 3+ just happened since creating our (Fred's and my own) vision boards! Another reference to "The Secret", and again better to save it to get into another time...since I have SOOOOO much to talk about on this...

So I bid a adieu to a really great long weekend - one of the best ever!
And to a fabulous new kitchen. An exciting new job with new colleagues, adventures and potential.
Cheers to the good times Metroland, and the bad. There were a lot of both.
Cheers to all the people I have connected with along the way - thank you for the experiences and the memories. And thank you to the best husband in the world, ti amo Fred.

07Aug07 has turned out to be a pretty lucky day so far...how about you?
Peace and love and gratitude.
JF


PS: To Muse, we were celebrating in your music and post-concert high all weekend. What an awesome, awesome concert! Me + Fred = True Fans :)

I am in love with the beautiful people!

As we waited in line last night at the WICKED AWESOME SWEET Muse concert at Arrow Hall, I fell deeper in love with out diverse city, our generation, and our planet.

All I could hear in my head was "One" by U2. The lyrics hummed over and over in my mind as I looked around at the mosaic of faces; all different sizes, ages, colours; the blending styles and miscellany of eras... The things that stood out the most were sparkling eyes and easy smiles. It was both inspiring and heart-warming. You could feel only positive energy in the air, as the sun began to set, and this energy was further heightened as everyone slapped high-5s as the line slowly entered the building. Here for a good time, it echoed.

I feel that our generation, has taken the best of everything, from 50s fashion, to 60s/70s hippie love, to 80s originality, to today's ever advancing technology, to the world's variety of cultures, to new ideas and concepts, along with the finest of old proven theories. We have accepted them all proudly and made them our own.

We seem to know how important of a time we are living in. We are the generation that will go down in the books as the people of world world, that banded together across oceans and in every language, to save the environment, to focus on Pro-Peace, to live together as one. The Internet has given us a tool like the world has never seen before, and with it we can accomplish things that only lived in sci-fi stories and comic books. We have taken it and exposed things like "The Secret" ( a whole other blog story in itself - - and working everyday...) , produced things like Live Earth, and Live Aid, and we are uniting people across the globe. There is strength in numbers and in education...

...I could ramble on for hours, springing from one tangent to another, but I really have to get to work before I get myself fired and kill the happy vibe!

I just had to note how wonderful last night was while I can still hear the base thumping and the crowd cheers in my ears. I was honoured and touched to be a part of the shared love and passion for for the music. As always with concerts. But especially this time. In an environment that was safe, friendly, and open-minded.

Thank you Muse. Thank you Cold War Kids. And thank you to all you beautiful people!!

The world is good.
Peace and love.
JF

PS: For more on Muse http://www.muse.mu/index.php

Why??

I have become inspired to blog is because I have a gazillion things going on in my head all day long. I have always thought too much. Over analyzed. I am a daydreamer. My imagination is wild and the possibilities are endless...I get easily excited about new ideas, very sentimental about memories and people, and it makes me want to SAVE EVERYTHING...Like a thought pack rat. By "saving" I mean "storing", and so storing for me now means blogging. Photos of my mind if you will ;)

I have always kept a journal, for as long as I can remember. It has been my therapy.My release. It is my free expression. But as I get older and continue to change and evolve with the times, blogging seems to be the right way to capture moments almost as they happen. It is a much more immediate outlet than my journal, for example, since often when I sit to write, soooooo much has happened, so many thoughts have been piled on top of other thoughts, that something always gets missed... Not to mention that blogging is already helping me practise writing...one tiny step closer to achieving my dream of being a writer. With actual readers. Not just me re-reading my diary ;)

Also important is that so many of you, my friends and family and strangers that I may never meet, live all over the planet! Although we have Facebook, and email, etc., this somehow makes me feel more connected, since I am here only if you want it, and not here if you don't = no pressure :) But here, honestly and openly and trying to spread positive energy...

It has already helped me feel like I now have no excuse not to leave my stamp; to do what I can to make the world an always better place to be. I feel in love with life and like this blog is my new lifeline to the rest of the world. A way to share great moments; provoke thought; inspire...motivate... To track my success and prove (if only to myself) that anyone can do whatever they want, as long as they believe in themselves...

Sometimes I may blog just to vent. It is my new amazing creative outlet. An outlet I have searched for for ages, and never was sure which way to go.

So, this is my blog.
Since life IS what YOU make it after all.
As I follow my dreams and make my life the best life it can be, hopefully if you're reading, I may help you make your best life a reality as well.
You never know... Strange things happen. And dreams come true everyday.

Think. Try. Dream big. Live hard. Love lots.
Peace,

JF

Testing 1, 2, 3

So I had written a beautiful "prelude" /intro to this, my very own blog...but when I hit preview, I lost the whole thing, and so I am trying again...but this time is just a test :)
JF