in her shoes - a feature with a woman's haven

i hope you all are ready for another in her shoes feature.  the lovely chas of a woman's haven
is here on scenic glory to share a day in her shoes.  thanks chas for being here!!

what motivates you to get your day started?

Before going to bed each night I set a list of intentions for myself for the next day. I tell myself that I will get a good night's rest and will wake up energized. I will admit that I am not a morning person. I don't like to get up before 9 a.m. and I don't like to have to hurry in the morning either. Luckily my job allows me to take my time getting around in the morning. It is my belief that life is about perception & your day is what you make of it. I choose mostly to be positive. Having faith knowing that the universe will take care of my needs is what motivates me each day. I also love my morning cup of coffee. It is the morning ritual that I savior! My morning commute to work is beautiful and I love taking photos so quite often I am able to pull off the main road, take a photo or two and savior the beauty as well. Picture #16 was a foggy morning where the sun looked like the moon in October Picture 131 was another photo taken one morning where everything looked so still.

what part of your day do you most look forward to and why?

The part of my day that I most look forward to is eveningtime at home with my family. I like being at home and cooking dinner is my favorite part of the day.

what do you like most about where you live? 

Although the great state of Michigan has been hit hard in the last decade of economic downturn it is still just that "GREAT". It is a beautiful state with a ton of wonderful places & people to meet. I love Autumn & Summer! I love Lake Michigan! I love Traverse City! What I love about where I live in Michigan is that within an hour's drive I can be on Lake Michigan, In Grand Rapids, or North to Traverse City. See my post for BlogTrotting here

what part of your day is the most difficult and what do you do to overcome that?

I would have to say that the most difficult part of my day is mid to late afternoon. It is the time of day when I am anxious to get home or I get the mid afternoon munchies which I do not like having. I drink Tazo Calm tea daily and usually that is when I will get a cup of tea to calm any anxiety I may be feeling at that moment.

what do you love most about yourself today? 

What I love most about myself is my commitment to celebrate every possible thing I can in 2011. I also love my creativity, positivity & faith. I love to honor & nurture myself. I try to mirror these commitments for my children so that they grow up to honor themselves as well.

My favorite quotes:

Our beloved planet is in desperate need of women who have moved from self-loathing to self-love, from self-criticism to self-celebration.------Patricia Lynn Reilly

My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage! ~Practical Magic~

I am perfectly imperfect. I have embraced my perfectionist personality enough to make it a part of who I am, for better or worse. And surprisingly, I have come to celebrate what makes me imperfect, to shed light on the parts of myself that don’t fit together cohesively into a nice neat container. While part of me craves structure, routines, labels, and definitions, there is a huge part of me that wants to venture beyond the known, the safe and cozy comfort zone. For it’s through venturing off into side roads and unmapped territory that we can discover and create rather than steer solely in cruise control.

That’s where I am today and where I hope to be tomorrow, one step at a time nourishing the sparkly moments along the way as well as overcoming the less-than-sparkly moments that are always a part of the journey.  I feel like I’m finally settling into my identity rather than trying to constantly redefine it. This is me… who I am, authentically and wholeheartedly. I am all in.
A Beautiful Ripple Effect /Carolyn Rubenstein

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okay friends....go visit chas and say hello!  thank you again chas...your shoes are absolutely beautiful and i really enjoyed reading about why  you love yourself...so amazing!

have a nice afternoon! xo lindsay