More Inspiration from Bryn J

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a lover of a good quote or positive affirmation. It has since become one way I get my mind back on track when my day isn’t going as planned.

Below you’ll find three of my favorite affirmations that I use to refocus, and keep perspective.

Affirmation #1: Is it a bad day, or a bad five minutes?
This one is key for me when everything seems to go spiraling out of control. One incident (or one child meltdown) doesn’t have to ruin the whole day (for you or for them).

Affirmation #2: Everything is happening for me.
This helps to rid my brain of the “why me” attitude when things aren’t going well. If you believe that everything is happening for you, then even the tough stuff is placed in our life to teach us something! What a game changer!

Affirmation #3: This is just the beginning.
Good, bad, or otherwise, we all need reminders that this is not the end of our road. When things are going well, it’s important to remind ourselves of this because it reminds us to not just sit back and smell the roses, but to keep going, the abundance in your life will only continue to multiply. The same can be said for the tough times. This is only the beginning – there will be struggles along the way.

The thing with affirmations like these, is repeating them enough so that you are actually living in line with the belief that these things are true. You might be able to fool others, but you can not fool the universe (God, Gods, the cosmos, whatever you believe in personally). All we are, all everything is, is energy. We attract what we put out there.

Stay inspired, friends!

Effie. Fee. Mom. Grandma. No matter what name she went by in your life, there’s one thing every person I’ve ever talked with called her – tough. Born in the small town of Port Jervis, NY and then moving to Rochester, NY. The oldest child of Muriel and Francis McCullough’s seven children, working hard was an undebatable truth. Effie married Thomas Glitch on July 21, 1956 and they raised their family, to include five children, in Victor, NY. Tom passed away in 1983, leaving Effie with two of their children still living at home.

Effie was the owner and operator of the Donut Hole diner in downtown Victor for over 20 years. Everyone that knew her described her as hard working, and tough. In fact, I (her granddaughter) once was afforded a waitressing job because the owner knew how hard my grandma worked. It wasn’t until her oldest daughter, Brenda, was very sick that she finally walked out of the Donut Hole’s doors for the last time, despite a myriad of health concerns herself. She was a very social person, who truly never met a stranger. Within minutes of meeting someone new she would be in deep conversation with the person. She was a true connector in that she would find something she had in common with anyone and everyone she spoke to. Of course, she had plenty of life experience to speak from. This is what drove the atmosphere of the Donut Hole. A melting pot for people from all walks of life. Topics of conversation ranged from politics, to astrology, and life, to the telling of dirty jokes and joking fun.

Effie was a woman who lived a life of service to her family and her friends. Despite leaving the restaurant business, Effie was still always cooking up something in the kitchen and was always called upon for family gatherings and celebrations to make the macaroni salad, because it was hands down the best. She was so proud of her family. She never missed an opportunity to tout to her friends about what her kids and grandkids were up to, or to insist we bring our musical instruments out and put on a “concert” for her and whoever else she would insist needed to hear us play.

Christmas. Christmas was always a huge deal to Effie. She loved the decorations – the tree, the poinsettias, homemade crafts. In fact, during her years at the Donut Hole she hosted an annual Christmas craft show where she proudly showed off her crafty friends by having them all set up in her restaurant to sell their creations for the holidays. Christmas Eve was routinely hosted at her home, which also was always a birthday celebration for her son Brian, because nobody is ever too grown up to have a birthday party thrown by their mom, as was Christmas morning breakfast. This Christmas was different, but it was done in true Effie fashion. She was terribly ill, and the plan was to have Christmas at her home. She had other plans. She passed away Christmas Eve morning, in her home. Effie now can finally not work so hard, and rest. Effie leaves a legacy of hard work, passion, and a truly beautiful family with an attitude of “if you mess with one of us, you get us all”. We walk tall because we are proud of where we came from, and we owe that largely to Effie Glitch. We love you Effie, and will miss you every day until we meet again.

First, you’ll need a spray bottle. I really like these pretty blue cobalt 4oz, glass bottles from Amazon. Glass is perfect for this recipe since I like to use essential oils to help keep their hair looking clean and healthy between washes, and to help keep the critters away that get passed head to head when school is in session. You know the ones I’m talking about.

If you love those glass bottles as much as I do, you can get more recommendations on my oily extra must haves here.