welcome!

When I moved out of my very first apartment in Mahwah I cried.  I was only moving across the street to a different apartment in the same complex, but I cried non the less.  Then when I moved out of that apartment to move here, I cried.  I told Dustin when we move out of here I will cry as well.  And today, as I am moving out of my old blog on blogger to this new space, you guessed it. . . . I am crying.  

I am nostalgic about these types of movements in our lives.  With each of the homes I have lived in, including my virtual home online, so many memories had been created within their walls.  Friends and family invited over.  New loves spending the night.  Relationships beginning and relationships ending.  Dinner parties.  Game nights.  Deep thoughts and dark cries.  Bad dreams startling me in my sleep and good dreams coming true, right in front of my very own eyes.  

Each door closed with a new beginning.  Memories tucked into my pockets.  Stories savored and remembered.  A new journey to take, a new space to make my own.  I have a lifetimes worth of lessons sewn into my heart.  I know the rough roads and the roads of glory.  With each beginning I have a new sense of confidence in myself that I could start again, this time a little bit wiser than the time before.  

I remember each time I closed the door for the very last time.  The quietness in the space.  The emptiness once all my stuff was cleared out.  My ending was someone else beginning.  A space holds whatever you put into it.  If you fill it with love, it will hold that love.  I am so grateful for each of the spaces that I have lived in.  The joy they have brought me.  The shelter they have given.  Each of them a safe haven when I needed it most.   After a long day they were where I had gone to retreat.  

This new space holds my past, but also has a bit more room for me to grow into the future.  I have brought together my separate worlds under one roof. Giggling in the Rain and Love Notes will now live within each other instead of along side one another.  Through this journey I am learning to declare that they are me and are not meant to be separate, but living blissfully together.  I struggled with that for awhile, as I still struggle with it with in the corporate world.  

But my voice needs to be heard and not just pieces of it when I pick and choose.  I am me. . . writer, photographer, gather of individuals, guiding others to find the goodness in their own lives.  This is the journey that I am meant to be on.  Keeping them separate is not serving me or the world the best it could.  They need to be brought together. 

So here I am.  With my heart on my sleeve, tears in my eyes, ready to begin this new journey.  Taking the leap into this grander space.  Opening up my heart and inviting you in.  Thank you for being here.  Thank you for being a part of my story.  I am so grateful to have you traveling along side me.  

xo
Jennifer

i'm imperfect & i'm enough

I am imperfect, and I am enough

This is a lesson I am learning over and over again with the help of Brene Brown.  Her book, The Gift of Imperfections has been my go to read each night as I travel down the road of whole hearted living.  

It is not easy to put ourselves out there into the world.  It is not easy to be seen, to be heard, and to not always be accepted.  But my goodness, it is oh so necessary to living.  

We must . . .
Show up each day
Show the world our smile
Be who we are

There will always be critiques.  People will always choose to judge us.  What matters is what we choose to do.  What road we decide to travel on.  Because it isn't the critiques that count.  What matters is that you took a chance, and showed up.  

And as Theodore Roosevelt has so eloquently said:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." 
 

true love

Love grows stronger and more beautiful when
you laugh with one another (especially when it involves giving the other horns in a photograph)
When you each are yourselves, utterly and completely
Without you being you, and them being them
Who are you?
Love needs each of you to thrive and flourish
I have been through the ringer in relationships
Controlling, lack of self confidence, cheating, non committal
It was a roller coaster ride of learning
But it taught me so much
About what I want, what I need
What I know I can never compromise on
And it was all so worth it
To meet my best friend
The one who makes me laugh and cheers me on, endlessly
We get along so easily
It is natural, real, kind, honest, trusting, and beautiful
We know we are meant for one another
I can alway be my silly, heart wide open, "hippy" self
And he accepts me with open arms
And I fully embrace his wild ways
It is the perfect dance
Together hearts commingling
Loving, encouraging, growing, and true

speaking your truth

Your beauty is within your truth

The moment you share it with the world may be terrifying

But in stating your truth you will shine, brilliantly

choose your path

Choose the path that is  right for you
The one that lights
YOU
up inside
The one that
YOU
are drawn to
Do not worry about the path others are taking
Do not, do not, do not compare
The comparison game only leads to self destruction
What is right for you is not right for everyone
You must follow your heart
Go your own way
What is the one thing you would do right now if there were no limitations?
What is the one thing you always dream about doing?
What makes you laugh and giddy with excitement?
Find a way to integrate these things into your life
Even if it is just a small moment in time
Small steps lead to big changes
Choose joy
Seek out what makes you happy
And continue to take a chance on YOU

guest post :: valerie

Each time I host the 

Love Notes Post Card Project

I wonder how others do with the writing prompts.  Are they a struggle or do the words flow easily?  I also wonder how being a part of the project affects each of the participants.  

This week I received a lovely note in the mail that had me laughing and also brought beautiful tears to my eyes.  The letter from Valerie showed me how this project has helped people step out of their comfort zone with writing and take a chance on the prompts provided.  

Valerie wrote a beautiful definition of gratitude and an awesome list of things to be grateful for.  She has given me permission to share it here with each of you and I am so glad she has.   I am incredibly proud of Valerie for showing up and writing, even when the writing was uncomfortable.  And also for being so brave and letting me post here words here.  They totally rock!  

Here are Valerie's words:

Gratitude is

appreciating all things in your life that make it brighter and more meaningful.  

Don't forget to be grateful for:

~ The small gesture of kindness extended by a stranger

~ The smell of a crisp winter morning that makes you feel alive

~ The warmth of the sun on a cool fall day remind you of the goodness in nature

~ Your family and friends

~ Your dogs and cats who always seem to know when you need extra love from them

Valerie, thank YOU for letting me share your words and sending me this wonderful letter.  I laughed out loud when I read it, then shed a few tears.  I have read it over and over again and will cherish it.  I am so glad that our paths crossed as well.  xo