Someone PLEASE tell me why I put this off for so long? I’ve ripped it all apart and I can’t figure out where I thought I was benefiting from NOT going to the eye doctor. I will honestly admit, I do not know when the last time I went to the eye doctor was. Three years, four, six? I hate to say it, but I’m leaning more towards the latter.

Over the last year, but definitely over the last six months I noticed that I wasn’t seeing well. It started out that my contacts would seem too dry out a bit too quickly. Then they sort of started sticking and things were a bit blurry. Then I was having a hard time seeing at night and so I stopped driving after 6pm. I’m 29 years old. That’s not normal.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I knew I was over due, I just kept putting it off. I didn’t have insurance. It would be expensive. I can wait a little bit longer. Excuse after excuse I found not to go and day after day it got worse. I really don’t like wearing my glasses and so day in and day out I suffered with a prescription that was useless to me. Just how useless I had yet to discover.

Fast forward to last Wednesday. I woke up and and noticed that I was out of one of my contacts and it was the end of the month and almost time to change them. Do I re-order the contacts that I currently have knowing that they don’t really work, potentially causing serious damage to my eyes or do I suck it up and go to the eye doctor. FINALLY I chose to suck it up! I called up the very next minute and made an appointment for that afternoon.

A few hours later I nervously sat in the examination chair and started to read the letters off the screen. Right eye, not too shabby. I read about 4 out of 6 letters on the bottom row. Left eye, you’re up. I looked. I stared. I squinted. I blinked. NOTHING. I spit the truth when I tell you I could not read a single letter small OR large. I had no idea. All this time I was thinking it wasn’t that bad, I’ll keep trucking a little bit longer. Ha! More like torturing myself with semi-blindness.

Almost a week later and I could not be happier! How much of life I was missing! It’s so amazing and wonderful to see clearly. Just taking that one little step towards self-care, making that phone call, was all it took to start a trickle effect. I’m enjoying things a lot more and more comfortable going new places and best of all, I can drive at night! YES! Definitely not going to put that off again!

What’s something that you know you should do for yourself, but you always come up with a reason or excuse as to why you shouldn’t? What’s one step that you can take to start doing that one thing? If you feel comfortable to share, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

♥ xo

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.” (Robert Frost or Harvey Fierstein, I’m not too sure and neither is the internet.)

Over the weekend I had a dream. In the dream there was a little girl, I would say between 8 and 10. She was walking and she was carrying something heavy. All of a sudden around the corner a group of boys came on their bicycles and started yelling and throwing things at the girl. Up until this point I was viewing this dream from the outside, watching it unfold and happen. Then something quite magical happened. I stepped out from behind the curtain I was watching and stood in front of the little girl and told the boys to back off. I really wish I remembered exactly what I said, because I know it was something good. I felt it. I felt instantly happy all over, light as a feather and I woke up feeling the exact same way.

The same goes for our own lives. So often we fall into society’s standards, family traditions, or something similar. While it works for some, for others it goes against every fiber of their being. It takes a lot of courage to stand up for yourself and for your beliefs and your life, but it is so rewarding and so worth it. Don’t be bullied into doing or thinking something that does not ring true for you. If it doesn’t feel right, listen to that feeling. We may not always know what’s going to happen next, but if you can trust your heart and your gut and follow that path, your reality will far surpass your wildest dreams.

There are those billboards around “If you see something, say something”. How often do we really speak up? How often to we stand up for something that is unjust? As Ghandi said, be the change that you wish to see in the world. I’m not saying that you have to stand in the middle of a fist fight and try to break it up, but maybe you can get help. Let the person, who is always bullied in class, know that you care and that they are not alone. All it takes is one smile, one out-stretched hand to turn someone’s world right-side up. Help to be the light that causes a chain-reaction of love. It truly will make so much difference in the lives of those around you. Are you up for the challenge? To extend love instead of hate?

♥ xo

P.S. Have a story that you want to share about how you stood up to a bully or how you took the reins of your life back? If you feel comfortable sharing, please post in the comment section below!

The group that I am in called The Virtual Love Fest recently started discussing what would happen if we asked ourselves the question “Wouldn’t it be cool if……” and just see where our imaginations take us and the miracles that unfold when we venture in the world of the unknown. So yesterday I climbed aboard the train at Grand Central Station after a trip to Brooklyn and  a few minutes before the train left that I realized that I never bought my ticket. Not wanting to miss the train I decided to purchase it on board. As the train departed I thought to myself “Wouldn’t it be cool if this train ride was free?” and I noticed that the woman next to me was counting out money, probably looking to buy a ticket of her own. I decided that if she didn’t have enough for her ticket that I would help her out.  Then the conductor came by the processed her order (without my help), asked me where I was going, then answered a question of the gentleman across from me….and then the most amazing thing happened. The conductor walked away and never came back. Me? I got my free train ride! 🙂

Miracles DO happen everyday. We just have to believe.

Have a miracle story that you would like to share? Please post below!!

♥ xo

This girl needs a serious foot massage! Yesterday hubby and I headed into the city to see Harry Potter: The Exhibition. It was definitely cool to see the costumes and props up close, but the long lines and crowds definitely made me antsy. I think we spent more time in line then we did viewing the exhibit. No bueno!! Needless to say, by the time we left I was definitely ready to enjoy some of the great outdoors. For those of you who’ve been to Manhattan finding serenity amidst the concrete jungle can sometimes be a difficult task, but with a little effort you can have a blissful day soaking up nature, entertainment, peace and conversation – all in one place. Welcome to Central Park.

We walked for HOURS through the park and I promise that we never saw the same place twice. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and even though it was a little chilly, the sun (and all the walking!) kept us warm. We entered the park at Columbus Circle and were immediately greeted by street performers. One of the performers jumped over 4 kids who were bending down touching their toes and it was so graceful too! He cleared them, but didn’t quite catch his footing when he landed. Instead of just falling, he actually slid and ended the jump rather artistically. From there we started to walk up toward Sheep’s Meadow where everyone was out playing, throwing frisbees, running around, playing baseball. We walked over to the big fountain where we were greeted by two huge groups learning to salsa dance, one man blowing giant bubbles, a beautiful wedding party and two guitarists and a marionettist with a guitar playing puppet. If you haven’t seen this famous fountain, usually sprawling with all sorts of activities, check out this video from the movie Enchanted. It shows some of Central Parks highlights and it’s also a really fun video!!

Making our way past the fountain we ducked around The Boathouse which is one of the staple restaurants in the park. It is beautifully located directly on the lake and is a popular spot for weddings and special events. In fact, the wedding party that we scoped out at the fountain was actually having their reception there! Right past the Boathouse is The Rambles. This is one of my favourite parks of the park. It is a little piece of rural hiking in the middle of the city. The trails are nicely lined with wood chips and you can get off the path a little and climb over some seriously large boulders. There are also little waterfalls and lots of nature to see. We passed quite a few people bird-watching and meditating in The Rambles. A serene place indeed!

From there we made our way up to The Great Lawn, passing the Swedish Cottage Puppet House and the Delacorte Theatre. We took a break on The Great Lawn for hula hooping and stretching and people watching as we’ve been walking for over 2 hours already!! We only stayed for a short time so that we could also work in a walk around The Reservoir. The Reservoir is HUGE and it has a wonderful running trail going all the way around it’s perimeter. The sun was starting to set at this point, so I snapped a picture before it disappeared behind the skyline completely.

Getting hungry, we started to make our way back downtown through the park, but first making sure to stop at Strawberry Fields. There is always something happening here. Usually music of some sort whether live or via radio, but almost always The Beatles, John Lennon or something equally from that era. Today it was beautifully decorated in flowers and mementos, a tribute to one of the greatest musicians of our time; John Lennon. I always get goose bumps walking through Strawberry Fields or passing The Dakota (the hotel that John Lennon called home and was ultimately the last place he was seen alive). He’s definitely left an impact for sure.

As many places that we did visit in the park, we didn’t even come close to seeing them all. It’s a really really HUGE park, but I highly suggest visiting and seeing as much of it as you can. The official Central Park website gives you tons on information and places to visit. There are also maps everywhere in the park so you never have to worry about getting lost. Definitely give yourself time though because there really is a lot to see!! After our park excursion through the park we headed down Columbus Ave, walking past the magnificent Lincoln Center and finally ending up at a lovely little Turkish restaurant called Aba. We ordered and shared several appetizers and the food was delicious! After dinner it was time to head back to Grand Central Station and home, it’s been quite a day!

Below is a little snippet from a song that I wrote called Manhattan (and the title of my blog post is some of the lyrics!) Enjoy! 🙂

♥ xo