A glimpse at my most favorite Christmas celebration yet! Moments like these force you to stop, pause, look around, and feel absolute happiness and gratitude for those you love and admire. I selected just a few of my favorite pictures and topped it off with a lovely group picture….for at the end of the day, family is both 🔑 and my 🌎

Always give love to the young ones of the family and seize the opportunity to mentor, positively invest, pour love and impactful support and wisdom! They are always eager for love, stories, learning opportunities, attention, and most importantly laughter!

Through thick and thin, my sister and I have always supported and loved each other. Having a sister is not always easy..believe me, we are not always on the same page, nor do we have much in common, but we work hard to support each other, pour into one another, and offer ears when the other is in need of love and support.

Cousins! Cousins!! Cousins!!! Nothing like family!! At times when I feel feel alone, unwanted, or even in need of a simple re-charge, I turn to these girls for support and advice. At the end of the day, family is always there, and to me, my cousins are just like siblings! At times when I lose trust in my friends, or feel like venting or letting some stress out, I pick up the phone and call my “ride or dies!” I truly recommend utilizing the gift of COUSINS!

I truly mean it when I say nothing like family….Throughout the ups and downs in my life and the extreme levels of stress and anxiety I endured since I was a young girl, the only true figures in my life that have consistently served as inspirations, and whom have never, ever let me down are my parents. Through thick and thin they advocate for me, stand up for me, extend loving hands, offer shoulders to cry or lean on, and most importantly, provide priceless memories and life lessons that I will forever cherish and hold dear to my heart! My parents are truly a blessing, and I am so proud to call them my world and light in the darkness!

Christmas! Wow!! Moments of peace, laughter, gratitude, precious reflection, and family fun! This Christmas I focused on being present with my family and exclusively investing my time where it mattered most: FAMILY and FAITH❤️🙏🏻

Each day stress pours into our lives, but only a couple days of the year are we given a chance to have fun, invest in ourselves, and enjoy the presence of family and friends. I was determined to not let my low moments affect my high moments and favorite time of the year! Merry Christmas to all the powerful women out there! Remember what the seasons mean and stay present and intentional with your actions🎄❤️ 

What were you most excited for this Christmas? What brings you joy? What was your favorite moment this Christmas? Let me know!

Thanksgiving! ….A fresh breeze of revivalism …what a beautiful meaning and message! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and I truly can’t think of a better method of encouraging gratitude and appreciation among the nation. 

Personally, when I think of Thanksgiving, I instantly reunite with my love and fascination for the post fall and pre-winter season. But navigating beyond the walls of fascination and love for the aesthetics of the season, I dig a level deeper and reunite with my true admiration for the remarkable celebration: the subtle yet humbling reminders of gratitude, appreciation, and humbleness that invade my world and are embedded in the holiday celebration. I feel as though in today’s society, our lives are full of callous. Whether it be work, stress, health complications, family issues, or simply mental exhaustion we are all in need of a simple, kind, and genuine reminder of our blessings. 

To be honest, I am to blame for allowing my personal issues, life struggles, and busy schedules outshine the positives of my life. As a result, I find myself allowing the negatives of my life to outshine the advantages, blessings, and many opportunities I have been given.

I know many people are in multiple different stages of life, good or bad; therefore, I am aware that gratitude goes unrecognized at times …we are all to blame for that. However, I appreciate the holiday and its peaceful encouragement of appreciation, gratitude, and humbleness because although we may be struggling and ignoring our beautiful features, blessings, talents, opportunities, health, and more, we are so wonderfully given a single day to exclusively reflect upon our talents and blessings. 

My hope is that this holiday season we all put our pain aside and truly give our focus and attention towards the holiday. Not only is the action of reflection upon our blessings crucial to our growth and development, but I strongly believe the practice of gratitude and appreciating our blessings will contribute to cultivating a healthier outlook and personal analysis  upon our daily situations. 

In other words, my true wish is that whatever you are going through, whatever you may be struggling with, and whatever appears to be sinking your boat, you may practice the action of focusing on what y9ou haver and what you appreciate about yourself. The goal is that in the long run your “list of gratitudes” may receive your soul, provide energy to win your battle, to even out-shine the negatives or hardship in your life. 

This Thanksgiving season, my goal is to spend Monday through Friday indulged in self care and self reflection. My goal is to select a gratitude for each day of the week and ponder upon  it. 

Below are my gratitudes:

• Monday: I am grateful for my wonderful family, whom have blessed me with care, love, and priceless memories. 
• Tuesday: I am grateful for my health. 
• Wednesday: I am grateful for my confidence, which has molded me to be strong and bold in my own skin
• Thursday: I am blessed for the many educational opportunities, which unfortunately, not many people across the world are given access to.
• Friday: I am grateful for my ambition and most wildest dreams, which encourages me to advocate for people’s mental health and provide a voice to those who need it. 

I challenge you to select a gratitude for each day of the week, whether it be something you love about yourself or something you are grateful for, and truly devote your attention and focus to appreciating your opportunities. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all YOU strong and powerful women! 

Here is a look inside my Thanksgiving Celebration!

Here is a video of the delicious Lebanese food!

Over 20 different platters

A table fabulously decorated with vases full of gold coated marbles and pebbles..accompanied by marvelous flowers on the top!

Numerous Sunflowers placed around the table..in order to add spirit!

Beautifully arranges bouquets 

……Below is a beautiful seating arrangement! We all enjoyed a wonderful set up.. outside in the beautiful weather! 

Some friends, my sister, and my mom wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking back and reflecting upon yesterday, I am full of pure joy and happiness. Thanksgiving 2019 was one for the books! I was specifically counting days until this year’s celebration because I needed a “re-charge” and longed for moments dedicated to the personal appreciation and pure self-reflection. I shared the idea and method of viewing life through seasons (on a previous blog), which I can confidently declare has indeed renovated and improved my outlook and attitude towards life. This year, I was excited to live in the moment and truly absorb the meaning of Thanksgiving.
I challenged myself to dedicate the full 24 hours of Thanksgiving towards reflecting upon my blessings, identifying my opportunities, and practicing appreciation of my personal qualities. I wanted to be “all-in” and fully participate in the practice of gratitude and appreciation. I firmly believe gratitude and acknowledgment of blessings significantly contribute to self-reflection, self-love, and builds confidence.

For me to be successful in strengthening all of the listed aspects, I needed to make sure I had zero distractions. Therefore, I urged myself to set aside my stress, frustration, and distractions, so that I may be “all-in” and focused on my “Thanksgiving goal.”

I am aware that many people go through all levels of stress and hardship and that many of us are experiencing different stages and seasons of life; therefore, I know putting aside personal struggles and difficulties is a very tough task to execute. I can personally relate to the action of being so consumed in stress, so I encouraged you to try your best to cleanse your mind from your pain. I challenge you to reflect upon the positives of your life, the precious memories, opportunities, and blessings, and even personal pride in your talents and character.

I hope this Thanksgiving you all considered the action of viewing life through seasons and specifically gave much attention to your blessings, so that you all may feel energized and “charged” to continue the year as your best and most rejuvenated self. The more you remind yourself of the good in your life, the less capable the hardships are of taking over your happiness and emotions.

I am working on preventing my stress and personal hardships from outshining the positives of my life. I am excited to continue this way of life, so that I may begin seeing all aspects of my life, no matter the situation, through a colored lens rather than a black and white lens.

What are you thankful for and how do you plan on reminding yourself of your personal blessings and opportunities?

What are you thankful for and how do you plan on reminding yourself of your personal blessings and opportunities?