Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!
This is what I've been creating for the past hour...As everyone is celebrating the New Year,
I'm celebrating a new found creative skill ;)

Credit Card Tips

The Christmas holiday is over and I know some of you are dreading the fact that you have to pay off those credit cards. I really wish there was no such thing as “credit” - at least credit with high interest rates and crazy fees.

However, I must face “reality” and just accept that credit is something that is going to be around for awhile... Since many people come to this blog looking for a way to get on a “debt diet”, here are a couple tips to help you to get your credit under control (from my own experience) and maintain your good credit rating. That’s part of being prosperous!

• If you have high interest rates on your current credit cards, you may consider looking for cards that offer 0% balance transfers. This means you can transfer the balance on your current credit card onto the new card and pay 0% interest on that balance.
  

• Make sure you shop around and compare credit cards. There are tons of different cards out there these days and many banks vying for your business. I would try to stay away from department store and retail credit cards because they tend to have high interest rates.

• The less credit cards you have in your wallet, the better!
  

Do you have any tips to share?

Related Post:
Oprah's Debt Diet Challenge

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A Day of Firsts

Remember when you got your first apartment or your first laptop? I went into Starbucks today to write and the cheerful and bubbly cashier asked me how my day was going so far...

"Oh, it's an awesome day!" I replied. "How's yours?" (Who can complain with this phenomenal San Diego weather we're having here today?)

"I just moved into my first apartment!"

"Oh, I remember when I got my first apartment..." Memories of a time so long ago came to mind. It really was exciting to finally be on your own ;)

Then as I started to set up my computer at my "work station", a man walked by and asked me what kind of computer I had.

"A Toshiba," I replied.

"I'm going to get my first laptop today," he told me with a big smile on his face.

As I finished setting up, a thought came to me...

What's it going to feel like when I get my first million?

I'm grinning from ear to ear...I guess I already know! I'm feeling it! I'm feeling it!

(Pictured here is a glimpse of the beautiful San Diego weather for you to enjoy too! The guy on the right with his back towards me is the guy who will get his first laptop today...)

2006: The Year of Learning

Ben Yoskovitz over at the Instigator Blog is doing a group writing project on things you’ve learned in 2006. I’ve procrastinated a bit on doing this write-up, but it looks like Ben is still accepting submissions, so you can still get in on the project!

As for me, well, 2006 was quite a phenomenal year in terms of learning. I did do a post on the ten things I’ve learned back in September, but there are a few more things I’ve learned since then…

1) A happy life is living a more balanced life. Little did I know that I was working too much and not stepping back to enjoy the life I’ve dreamed about!

2) I’ve learned that you are the one who is sole responsible for your happiness. You cannot depend on others to make you happy or live up to your standards or expectations.

3) I’ve learned to take “worry”, “stressed out”, and “I’m sick” out of my vocabulary. These things can be overcome with a simple change in attitude!

Wow, I think I can go on and on with this, but I’ll stop here for now…

What have you learned in 2006?

**Clipart taken from Instigator Blog

Happy Birthday to The Good Life!

I’ve been meaning to post all week, but my focus has been on my jewelry business! Hope you understand!

Two days ago “The Good Life” reached its second birthday!! Woo hoo! What started out as a place to post my thoughts has turned into something quite extraordinary and I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you readers for all your support ;) Your comments here are inspiring!

Let’s go back two years to my first post, shall we?

“It's time for a break... I sit in bed coughing up a lung and drinking tea- wondering why I stress so much and work so hard. I must always remind myself that I need to take some time out for myself.”

Now fast forward two years and I’m healthy, prosperous, less stressed, and always taking time out for myself ;)

And who would have known I would become known as a “sexy blogger” ;) Ha! Ha! Thanks to Bill Perry of Lucid Blog for nominating me...and to Lorelle for coming up with this blogging challenge. Er, um...me, sexy?

Dream On!

Yesterday I babysat my three Goddaughters and as I was putting one of them to sleep, (she’s four years old) I gave her a kiss and told her to dream about good things. I suggested maybe she could dream about butterflies or flowers... She then told me, “I had a dream where I was playing hide-and-go-seek with God and He was hiding behind a tree...” Interesting!

Lately I’ve been wanting to remember and analyze my dreams, so today I went to buy a notebook to keep by my bed at night. I want to be able to write down my experiences in my dream state as soon as I wake up. I believe that our dreams our an indication of what’s going on in our subconscious and can tell you what may happen in the future. I have written down some of my dreams in the past. I just need to dig up those journals to re-read them...

Anyways, Bill Perry of the Lucid Blog has some great information on lucid dreaming. Have you ever been aware while dreaming that you are in a dream? It’s a rare occasion for me. There have been just a handful of times when I’ve said to myself, “Hey, I’m dreaming!”

Do you remember your dreams? Have any experiences with lucid dreaming?

To Live a Good Life is to Travel...

During college the one thing I wish I could have done more often was travel. I have friends who have gone to Europe during the summer or did one of those foreign exchange deals. During college I worked full time as a manager for Contempo Casuals - later bought by Wet Seal, Inc. - so there weren’t very many breaks for me!

Anyways, when I have kids I’m definitely going to encourage them to travel if/when they go off to college. I believe that being exposed to different cultures and different ways of thinking is important. Your mind expands and you learn to be more compassionate towards others.

The reason that I bring up this subject is because I’ve been asked to review a website called Intern Town. It’s a new website that helps people find intern jobs in Spain and the UK (for right now). It’s also a place for employers to find interns as well. Imagine being able to travel to another country and learn their business culture? One of Intern Town’s missions is (taken from the website):

“...To foster international business and cultural understanding by exposing interns, employees and employers to new cultures, working practices and languages, and help a large number of the world's most talented youngsters find their first steps in what we hope will be highly successful careers for all.”

The website is easy to navigate and I do like that they provide many ways to contact them. Those of you who know me know I how much I value customer service. When a company is easily accessible, that’s a big plus for me ;) However, there aren't too many jobs posted right now, so hopefully when companies learn more about this service, they'll want to post their available internships.

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A Collage of Thoughts

It’s Sunday and I took some time to just relax, do some book reading, and even watch my little God-daughter’s soccer game. Boy, it feels good to just live life, doesn’t it? I figure I should start following my own advice ;)

Recently I discovered the I Create Reality website that has a great inspirational video. It’s a short clip, but a reminder that you are the creator of your reality. What thoughts are you choosing today? Watch the video here...

On another note, the game of tag is floating around the blogosphere and I’ve been tagged by Rosa Say of Talking Story. What I’ve learned from this game is that this world is getting smaller and smaller! Doesn’t it seem that we all know each other in some way or another? I’m always running into other people I know on other people’s blogs!!

Oh, and it’s been awhile since I’ve shared thoughts from last year...So, I’m bringing back “This Week in Good Life History”:

• How To Live a Rich Life
• Visualize Your Way to a Better Life
• My Fourth Love
• Dare to Dream and Dream Big!
• Change Your Beliefs and Change Your Life
  

Have an Inspiring week!

I Have a New Music Blog!

Yes, y'all may think I have gone over the edge on this one. You're thinking...another blog, Maria? I can't help it! Writing is my passion...It's not quite official yet, but I'd like to introduce you to...drumroll, please....

No Song Unsung

If you read the "About" page, you'll see why I decided to go on another adventure. This time I have a partner on this new path, so you'll see posts from him as well...

Stay tuned! (Uhh, no pun intended!)

The Game of Tag: I’m It!

Ah, life is so fun, isn’t it? Even as adults we still get to play tag... I was tagged by Kammie of Passion Meets Purpose yesterday (Update 12/10/06: I was tagged by Rosa of Talking Story too!), so I have to share five things you don’t know about me...

1) Like Kammie, I was a big tomboy when I was a kid (still have a little tomboy-ish qualities!) I played softball in grade school. In high school I was the captain of the varsity basketball team and I also played volleyball. Ran cross-county for one season - a friend begged me to sign up even though I didn’t want to. It was a great experience learning that I could actually run miles and miles without stopping ;)

2) I have a secret (no longer!) dream of being a singer someday ;) I used to listen to Prince all day and sing into my hairbrush. I even joined the drill team to learn some dance moves so I could dance and sing!

3) I played in the junior high and high school band. My parents forced me to play the piano when I was a kid and the music got into my soul! I went on to play the clarinet, flute, and saxophone in high school.

4) I survived the Mt. Pinatubo (Philippines) volcano eruption back in the early 90’s. A friend and I spent eight hours shoveling ashes off the roof of her house so it wouldn’t cave in. Then all of the military dependants (I was a Navy brat!) had to get on the carriers to evacuate the country. So, I know how people in New Orleans feel!

5) My favorite food is prime rib...yum ;) I also love enchiladas! Oh, and barbeque ribs...oh...and....

Well, now I have to tag five other people, so I’m tagging Raymond Salas, Troy Worman, Tim Taylor, Rick Cockrum, Dave Mauder...I was going to tag Debbie Call, but it looks like she’s already played...

Have fun! YOU’RE IT!

Living a More Balanced and Relaxing Life

Part of living the good life is living a well-balanced life. For the past few years I never really understood what that meant. For some reason I thought I was living a pretty good life until a couple weeks ago I was feeling a bit unmotivated and didn’t want to work. Me, not work? I was literally a work-a-holic - making jewelry, blogging, writing, etc. etc. I was doing what I loved to do, so why was I so tired all of a sudden? Duh! I was working too much and not taking the time to rest and simply enjoy life!

I just reread this article I posted last year, How To Live a Rich Life by Carole Pagan, and I realized that simply wasn’t giving myself time to actually relax. My friend asked me the other day, “Don’t you ever take a day off?” I had to think about it for a minute...Uh, no!
That was a good wake-up call!

I also reread a post from back in May where I told myself:

“...Make time for yourself....Paint...Make jewelry...Live your life as if you already have everything you need...and stop trying and working so hard! Because when I really think about it, I do have everything I need at this moment!”

Ok, so I’ve done the making jewelry part, but I haven’t picked up a paintbrush in months! However, I did take alot of photographs from my Thanksgiving trip to visit my family. I’ll post them soon at Flickr.

Here’s a great reminder: Blessed Be the Balanced

Another thing I want to start doing more of is traveling! The last trip I made abroad was the Philippines about four years ago. A couple friends and I are talking about going to Europe next year. I just reviewed a site, 50 Travel Sites - courtesy of Luggage Online, which contains a wealth of resources to help you with your next trip. Ohh, I’m feeling excited! (You have to feel this way to manifest your desires, right!) I’m visualizing myself sitting at a cafe, sipping coffee, and just RELAXING!

What are you doing to lead a more balanced and relaxing life?

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Special Discount on My Jewelry For Readers!

Since the holidays are around the corner, I thought I’d share some holiday cheer with all of you! One of the things that I’d like to share is a bit of my creativity. You may or may not know that I have a jewelry business and have been busy, busy trying to expand my business and create more jewelry these past few weeks.

Just a forewarning that this post is a little bit of blatant advertising on my behalf, but I wanted to give all of you readers (my dear friends!) a special sale on my jewelry. From December 7-14 I will offer you 40% off my jewelry at my little online jewelry store! Browse through the pieces and simply email me at maria [at] salondemaria.info to let me know which piece you would like. Do not purchase it online because you will be charged the regular price. After you email me I will send you an invoice via PayPal reflecting the special discount. Remember that these are one-of-a-kind items, so get it now before someone else does ;)

Yes, if you are reading this, you get 40% off!! I will be posting new items in the next couple days...Stay tuned!