The power of prayer - oops.

This past Tuesday was my birthday. I realize I didn't write anything on that day so I just wanted to jot down for my own memory that it was really nice. My dad called first thing in the morning to sing Happy Birthday to me (which is the best gift I could ever receive from him). Him and Gladys got to speak to Joshua and Juliette - yes, Juliette. She talks a lot at a little less than 3 months. It was cute. I also got dozens upon dozens upon dozens of cheers and regards from my friends through facebook. Pierre and I took the evening to eat at Pure Food and Wine in Manhattan, and we saw the moving Knowing (Nicholas Cage, one of my favorite actors). I didn't enjoy those activities much except that I was with my best friend and that made it wonderful.

Ok, so now on to today. I had a slumber party last night and there were about 13 ladies plus me. We stayed up talking until after 5am. One of the subjects we touched was knowing that I Am. We pondered the question, what if we walked in our authority to such a level that everything we said literally came to pass exactly when we said it? A lot of us would have to live with regret until we got our tongues in order. Well, little did I know that I was walking that out.

Earlier in the week my pastor asked if he could come to the slumber party and speak with the women for about an hour. I reluctantly said yes. I say reluctantly in all honesty because I really wanted the women to have a night of rest and relaxation, where they just spoke openly to one another and could enjoy being with other women of like faith. The entire week I was complaining, literally, about how I didn't want him to come and do some heavy thing. I wanted the get together to be light and fun. I even prayed, "Yahweh, please just let him not come somehow. Speak to him or something and convince him not to come." I didn't believe that prayer for a second because obviously I thought my pastor had the upper hand in getting his desires across before my selfish desires. I was wrong.

The night progressed and everyone got here. Turned out I was the only one who really didn't want him here. Everyone kept asking for him, looking forward to hearing what he had to say. We kept calling him on his cell phone and only got his voice mail. The women all stayed up talking, laughing, ministering, praying, and laughing some more until around 5am - but something was missing. Pastor Dan never showed up.

I found him on facebook just now and IM'd him. Here's the conversation:

8:52amYadira
pastor dan we missed you last night

Dan
Oh my gosh.... My wife was in such severe pain that I completely spaced it. We had her in the doctors office.
I am so sorry.

Yadira
her teeth again?
is she ok??
:(

Dan
No, not this time. It was her hand. It is all swollen.
Oh, my gosh... I can't believe I did that. I didn't even remember until you said something. Please give my love to everybody and my sincerest apologies. Wow... I never do that. Something must have completely blocked me.

Yadira
wow - well you know you were exactly where you needed to be exactly when you needed to be there. no worries...:) her hand - is that random or did she do something to it?

Dan
It seems random. It has an infection. She didn't cut it or sprain it. I hope you had a wonderful evening.

Yadira
we had a girly evening of talking, talking and more talking. went to bed after 5am
Yeshua was lifted up. it was good

Dan
Great. How many ladies? Sonya, Drea, Neubela, Rachael, Eunice, Kim M., Jo,

Yadira
Drea's 2 friends, Christine patterson, kelly jones, Jo rolle,
not eunice

Dan
Kelly, Christine, Dreas friends? Kiana

Yadira
tamiko and yvonne comordo

Dan
nice...

Yadira
Drea's friends Aya and catherine
gloria bradford
satoya
i think that's it. 13 in all, + me

At that point he went offline. So my question is, how many levels of that is my doing? Him not coming? Him completely forgetting, which caused him not to come? Pastor Annie having an infection in her hand, which caused him to forget, which caused him not to come?? I'm a bit sobered right now, and sad that I let my own flesh get in the way of whatever blessing was meant for the ladies last night. I don't believe anything is coincidence, and although I am a firm believer that things happen the way they should - I don't think they happened the way they should've last night. I think last night was simple sowing and reaping on my part, and my reaping had negative affects on other people. That's real.

Calling ALL married ladies...let me TRASH YOUR DRESS!

This is a casting call for any woman who would be willing to put on their wedding dress one last time for some amazing photos...

Why suffocate your wedding dress in a box for the rest of its life? You are married now and you have wonderful memories to cherish from your unforgettable day! You know darn well your daughter will not want to wear your dress 20-30 years from now! lol

Why settle for your beautiful gown being stashed away in a closet somewhere when you have the possibility of getting some amazing photos - you sure paid enough for it. Bring your dresses out, steam them or have them pressed and put them on for the photo shoot of a lifetime!

I am not talking about posed, every day, and sometimes rather boring wedding photos. I'm talking about edgy, artsy, wild and crazy editorial type photos. I need to build my TTD portfolio, so I'm offering this to my friends for $35. You read right! This is something I will be charging hundreds of dollars for. You can take advantage now for this incredible low price + you will get a few prints of your favorite photos as my gift to you. Hey - throw a suit on your hubby and get him involved, too! I'm willing to do (6) of these shoots. First come, first served.

Monday: Weekend Update

Soooo...on Friday Pierre went away to a men's retreat and I was here with the kiddos all weekend. We actually had a great time. Friday night I watched The Family Man after I put Joshua in bed. I really enjoy Nicholas Cage in all his movies. The Family Man is an oldie but a goodie. I liked it. Catch it on Hulu if you haven't seen it.

On Saturday I opened my business bank account - yay! I'm officially official. The fact that I have to have $1000 minimum in the account after the first year bothered me a bit, though. Not because I don't think I'll have $1000, but because with everything the way it is I want to stay as liquid as possible. I realize now, though, that $1000 is not a lot to have tied up when you consider the big picture. I'm sure there are business accounts that require more. Then again, what do I know? I'm just happy to be legal.

After the bank I took the kiddos to the park. Watching Joshua in public places with other children is always amusing to me. He literally went and stood in the middle of the playground to watch all the children. He's the supervisor, always has been. He finally decided to play, and even that is funny. He was running up and down the ramp saying, "Weeeeee!" I didn't bother explaining to him that the ramp is not "the fun part" of the playground. He seemed to think it was. Eventually he made it over to a slide.

That night we went to celebrate my friend's 40th birthday in the city. Joshua danced the night away and Juliette smiled at everyone who came over to say hello. It was a lot of fun. We didn't leave there until midnight, and then I had to drive back to Jersey. You would think Joshua conked out in the car as soon as he got into his seat - but no. He was talking the whole way home, mostly about all the foods he ate. He had a blast.

Speaking of food – let me just go on record as saying that cooked food sucks. I've been eating cooked foods all weekend and I feel like crap...lethargic, foggy, heavy. The dark circles under my eyes are back, I’m craving junk food and I’m tossing in my sleep. That said, I had THE MOST AMAZING toasted almond cake the whole weekend and that, my friends, was worth it all. Back to raw.

Sunday was chill. I overslept and missed church, so I took the kiddos to the local park. Today I spent a good portion of the day updating my website. I got my exercise videos in the mail - watched one with Joshua. I’ll do it tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it!

Oh my goodness…I almost forgot the best part of the whole weekend. On Sunday night, my friend (Barbara Lindorme) called to pray with me. We used to pray together all the time back when I was single. We talked for a little bit, set up a weekly time to pray, and decided to pray a little right then and there since we were already on the phone. Well let me just say that I haven’t cried like that in a long time. We both wept because of the presence of the Lord. It was cleansing, affirming, beautiful. I was so inspired that I was actually going to pray on the daily prayer call this morning instead of just listen…but I fell asleep a few minutes into it. Darn cooked foods. :)

Thursday: I did it!

This morning I woke up bright and early to take the car before Pierre had to leave for client meetings. I drove down to that court and registered my trade name in Bergen County - yay! It was one of the easiest things I've ever done in my life...why the heck did I wait so long? Fear of the unknown. I had to fill out a piece of paper with like 5 basic questions, look through some huge archaic book to make sure my business name wasn't already taken, sign my name four times and pay $52. Seriously. That was it. I am the official business owner of YL Designs. I feel like registering SIX businesses! lol. This weekend I will open my business bank account.

I spent the rest of the day playing with my children, scanning old photos into fb and reading people's responses to them. I'll start on a schedule next week. Haha:)

Oh yeah...I almost forgot! I started listening to this interview about the affects of gluten on the body. Really interesting! ...And as an update, I am officially at my pre-Juliette pregnancy weight (178 lbs)! My next goal is to get to my pre-Joshua pregnancy weight (155 lbs).

Wednesday: Left without excuses

I am a work from home mom of two small children. I run a business and a household, with a women's ministry on the back burner. It's pretty difficult for me to get a decent amount of things done on any given day - and definitely no where near the amount of things that need to get done in a week . I've had a lot of "reasons" for my lack of efficiency. I'm pregnant. I have a newborn. I have a toddler. I'm pregnant and have a toddler. I have a newborn and a toddler. Pierre and I want f-o-u-r children. This life cycle is pretty much going to be a part of my life for a very long while. It's about time to stop letting them be excuses.

Joshua slept over his grandma's house last night and Pierre was at customer meetings all day. It was just Juliette and me in the house all day long. I finished editing the photos from last Friday's shoot and I washed a few dishes. Other than that, I don't know where the day went...and there was no Joshua around to blame it on. As much as I hate to admit it, I need a schedule. Coming from one 9-5 desk job after another, to a place where I was free to do whatever whenever, I avoided the "S" word for many years. If I'm going to accomplish all the grand things in my mind and heart, I need to buckle down and structure my days. Tomorrow I will make a schedule.

Oh, I ordered some exercise DVDs from amazon today. They should be here next week. Healthy eating, business legalities, disciplines, clutter busting, schedules and exercise. Got it.

PS: The highlight of my day was this evening when Juliette laughed and laughed as we played peek-a-boo together for the first time :P She thinks I'm funny - I rock.

Tuesday: soooo quiet

I woke up this morning determined to make my business legal down at the courthouse today. The combination of Pierre's work schedule and the court's schedule, however, got me there the moment they were closing. I will get it done this week for sure. I'm going to make it a sole proprietorship for now so that I don't need a separate tax ID number and can still do business as myself. Look at me talking all this legal mumbo jumbo. I'm excited to pay taxes from my own business. Really. I'm not excited about what they will be used for, but that's a whole other blog.

My mil requested that Joshua sleep over tonight since she's off tomorrow, so it has been a quiet evening at the Laguerre household. She informed me of some photography contest they're doing at the hospital where she works. The theme is "quiet time". Since before Juliette was born, I was picturing putting her in this yellow onesie with a frilly yellow skirt and leg warmers, sleeping on a big 'ole stuffed sheep. I figured this quiet evening would be a perfect time to take that shot, especially since it fits the theme of this contest.

Unfortunately, waiting for her to fit into THE outfit I wanted her to wear meant that she is now too large to lay on a stuffed sheep. It wasn't holding her weight, and she no longer likes to be in that cute little curled up sleeping position. Maybe I'll try that shot with my next newborn, several years from now. I'll probably end up entering the picture of her sleeping in the basket. The winning photos will get placed in patient rooms to encourage rest and healing. What a nice thing to do.

So the sheep idea didn't work, but I'm going to put her in that yellow outfit again and take some other pictures - she is too cute.

Monday: Getting down to business

I am an artist. In pure artist form, I write songs that never get sung in public. I draw portraits with such attention to detail that it never looks exact enough to me. My mind is filled with many possibilities, but very few plans. I pour myself into every project until I cannot differentiate myself from what I’m doing. Always chasing the elusive perfection; that is an artist.

Last year I decided to take two of my artistic gifts and form a business. I converted a spare room in my home to a studio and started YL Designs Photography and Graphic Arts. To build my portfolio, I did several photo shoots for pennies and spent many hours editing the pictures to make them look the way I wanted. I didn’t make any money, per say, but I didn’t care – I was enjoying just honing my craft and learning new tricks.

These days I’m realizing that an artist cannot run a successful business. An artist is too personally attached to their product to release it before it’s “perfect”. The problem with that is that the artist is always growing and their idea of perfection keeps evolving, leaving the product perpetually unfinished. Professionals know that it’s not about the craft at all; it’s about letting go of the ideals and getting down to business. That is the journey I am currently on. It’s tedious, but necessary. In the end, I will have a successful business where I am profiting at doing what I love enough so that I can do what I love without having to profit. In the meantime, business plans, zoning laws, marketing tools, and financial statements will be my playground. Yay.

Fun Friday through Sancocho Sunday

It's been a jam packed weekend! Friday I traveled to downtown Manhattan to take some artist headshots for a new show that will be airing soon, American Soul. It's a reality show chronicling several musicians on their way to accomplishing their goals in the industry. My friend is the executive producer and I'm so inspired by watching her do her thing. So many people talk about doing amazing feats, but their journey ends at the talk. This girl is unstoppable. She tried out for American Idol and got shot down in the first round of interviews – not for lack of talent, mind you – so now she's doing her own show. Why should Nigel Lithgow and Simon Cowel have all the fun? I love it.

You know me; I never let inspiration pass me without action. I spent Saturday morning writing out action steps for my YL Designs photography and graphic arts business - and I got a Ning page for Point of Creation so I can link it to the official website once it’s redesigned. I am literally swamped with photography and graphic design projects. Some are my own, but most are those I am being commissioned for – and I get a new request in my inbox almost daily. It’s definitely lighting a fire under my butt to get more organized so that nothing (namely my family and household) falls through the cracks. Pierre and I have made a concerted effort to put our family first. We take weekly date nights and make Saturdays our family day. This Saturday we pulled out the double stroller and spent the early evening at the park. With the summer coming, our weekends will be filled with family activities. As much as I love it, I never want work to take first place.

On Sunday marked 2 weeks of 100% raw…and that was the end of that. After church, Pierre decided he wanted to go visit my dad in Long Island. I prepared and bought a huge delicious salad to bring with me so I would have something to eat in a Spanish household. When we got there, however, we were informed that their friends found out we were coming over and decided to make a sancocho for us. Sancocho is a stew made with root vegetables, a Puerto Rican staple. Their friends are in their 70s and sancocho takes several hours to make. Could I have turned it down? Definitely – and that is why I didn’t. My decision to eat it wasn’t a matter of giving into temptation (if it was, I would not have eaten it); it was a matter of enjoying a meal made with love. I savored every bite and felt great afterwards – no condemnation. Why? I never set myself up by saying I would be 100% raw forever. I never said I would never eat such and such again, so I was free to partake of someone’s act of kindness without going back on my own words. Did it make me want to go back to eating cooked foods? Nope. I’m back to 100% raw until the next “special occasion” strikes.

That was my weekend in a nutshell:)

Too Through Thursday

It's Friday morning as I write this. I didn't "feel" like writing yesterday. That's just the kind of day it was. I didn't "feel" like doing much of anything. I especially didn't "feel" like eating raw. That's when I knew I was on to something.

Whenever you are making positive changes in your life that will undoubtedly bring you further along in your divine destiny, you will hit a wall. I'm not talking about the regular obstacles that life throws in your way. I'm talking about that wall that seems to spring up out of nowhere when you are happily skipping through the field of change. It's a wall you didn't see coming, but will stop you almost every time if you didn't expect it.

That wall only pops up when you're on the verge of breakthrough. It's a wall that brings you to the end of yourself, and reminds you how seemingly "good" status quo was. The wall speaks, Who needs this change? It's not worth the effort. No one else is holding themselves to this standard and they're fine. You don't have to be so extreme. Just relax. When you hear this voice and "feel" like stepping back, that's the time to kick it into gear!

I'm too through with excuses, wilted dreams and half eaten endeavors. I'm too through with thinking, wishing and hoping. Life is meant to be lived to its fullest at every moment. Just DO it! I will. I am.

WAKE UP Wednesday

Today seemed to go by so sloooowly, like I didn't get anything done. Yet it was the most productive day I've had in ages.

I woke up and got on the prayer call, read the book of Joel, did a load of laundry, made some dehydrated chips and zucchini hummus and worked out with Billy Blanks for 40 minutes - all in between the usual toddler/newborn duties. By the time I put Joshua in bed, I was so physically and mentally tired that I decided I was going to leave the house in it's chaotic state until the morning (a decision I have made one too many times).

Then I got the email.

As you know, I signed up for rawdiva's 30-day decluttering program. So far it has just been one pre-recorded webinar and a bunch of "inspirational" emails. Well today's email got PRACTICAL :) You know that surge of energy you get when someone calls and says something like, "I'm in the neighborhood, I'll stop by!"? You spring into action and tidy up as fast as you can, right? Well, they've found a way to give you that same surge even when no one is about to ring your doorbell. It's called the 15 Minute Blitz. You get a little timer (today I used my oven timer) and set it for 15 minutes. Then you race against the clock to get as much done as you can. You are free to reset the clock for as many 15 minute intervals as you want, but you only HAVE to do one.

I read that email and decided to try it. I went downstairs to that pile of dishes, set my timer, and worked as fast as I could. Juliette was kicking her legs and cooing - it felt like she was cheering me on! I had such a blast that I reset that timer for another 15 minutes, finished the whole kitchen and the entire first floor. By then I had so much energy I went upstairs and totally cleaned my room for the first time since Juliette took it over, and finished the night off with a nice long shower (even shaved my legs!).

Yes, ladies and gents. This has been WAKE UP Wednesday indeed. I have woken up to a new way of living. It's productive, powerful and procrastination-free!

Tahini Tuesday

So this morning I woke up and the FIRST thing on my mind was the internet...gotta check my email, gotta see what the latest is on facebook, gotta read the newest blogs on rawmom, gotta gotta gotta! It scared me because those things should not be the first thing I think of in the morning. I should wake up with praise on my lips and thanksgiving in my heart for another wonderful day of life. I should wake up seeking direction from the One that knows what the day is supposed to be. I should not have any idols in my life.

With that, I decided I wasn't going to turn on the computer at all during the day. I lasted until a quarter to 1pm. Baby steps. Haha. When I did get on the computer, though, I made sure to check out the bible reading assignments for this month (Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, Joel, Matthew and Romans). I'll knock one of those books out tonight before going to bed.

In diet news, I was completely craving everything today. I had a little roasted garlic hummus to try and satisfy my week long zucchini hummus craving (which it didn't), but aside from that I'm still 100% raw. I ended up having some nuts and I made a salad dressing with tahini that satisfied my craving (finally!)...then Pierre came home with the zucchinis I'd been asking for. I'll have to make the hummus now anyway because I don't want the zucchinis to go to waste...but I'm so over it.

I have lost 9 lbs to date and my skin is glowiingggg. I've been watching season 7 of The Biggest Loser on Hulu and it's so inspiring. These people really push themselves way beyond their comfort zones. I want to sweat like that! Maybe tomorrow. lol.

PS: Juliette rolled over today from her belly to her back, twice. Cutest thing. She'll be 2 months old tomorrow.

Marvelous Monday

I love March. My birthday is coming up on the 24th and I'm going to ask Pierre to take me to Pure Food and Wine, a gourmet raw food restaurant in Manhattan. The weekend after I'm hosting a slumber party at my house for the ladies at my church. That should be fun!

In diet news, I woke up this morning with chunks of mango in my poop. Grose - I know - but it had to be written because I ate that mango at 8pm and didn't go to bed until after midnight. That proves for me that digestion seriously slows down after dark. Imagine what all the heavy stuff I used to eat, way later than 8pm, was doing to my body. Ick.

Today was the first day after my weeklong raw food detox. I had a banana, two green smoothies, a huge salad and a mango. The only difference is that I added a tablespoon of EVOO to my salad because I figured I needed some fat. I'm really enjoying eating this way...now if I could only get my butt to exercise I'd be set!

In other news, Satoya showed interest in the Deeper Life today - a discipleship program going on at my church. I honestly haven't been doing it, but I told her if she wanted to join I would step up my game (since I'd be her mentor in the program). She wants to do it, so step it up I will. It's basically bible reading, prayer, fasting, exercise, acts of kindness, evangelism, increasing your vocab and keeping track of your giving. The hard part for me is remembering everything I did in order to hand in my report at the end of the month - but I can do a better job of tracking.

As far as my decluttering month, I haven't gotten any real assignments yet. I'll let you know as soon as I do and things get clutter-free around here!

Sunday: FINAL DAY of my raw food detox

WOW! I did it!! 7 days of nothing but raw fruits and vegetables. That was an amazing experience and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone for so many reasons:

1. You WILL lose weight, and it just may be the kick start you need to keep losing weight (if you need to).
2. You WILL rediscover how good food is in it's natural state without all the oils, vinegars, spices, sauces, baking, frying, etc, etc, that we feel we NEED in order to enjoy what we're eating.
3. You WILL get an exercise in discipline and denying your flesh - and who can't use that?
4. You WILL find better things to do with your time than obsess about food.
5. You WILL have fun, if you choose to :)
6. You WILL get better sleep, which you need.

There are 52 weeks in a single year. Multiply that over a lifetime and that's a lot of "7-day" periods. Why not use just ONE of those 7-day periods and do something that could really benefit you? You have the rest of your life to eat whatever you want whenever you want...and hopefully after that ONE 7-day period, you'll be equipped to make better choices that will not only have you enjoying your food, but enjoying your TOTAL life experience.

Today was my last day of this detox and it was the first day I was out of the house (church). It was a bit difficult for me because I didn't prepare. We had a meeting after church for which I knew there was going to be conventional fruits and veggies, so I didn't bring anything from home. I've been eating organic all week but didn't think I'd notice the difference. I was wrong - it was grose. So I suggest that when you decide to do the 7-day detox, make sure you bring lots of cut organic veggies and fruits from home wherever you are going. I had to stop at Jamba Juice at one point and the only thing I felt comfortable having was the double shot of wheatgrass...which made me SUPER nauseous. I came home and went straight to sleep, woke up around 8pm and had a mango (yes, that is really late to be eating but I hardly ate today). I feel way better now. Lesson learned.

Tomorrow I start my 30 days towards a clutter-free home! I will continue eating the way I ate this week, except I will allow myself to add fats (avocados, nuts, olive oil) and spices sparingly. I'll still lay off the cooked foods for another week and see how it goes. I feel awesome!!

If you noticed, I stopped tagging people yesterday. It takes too long (haha) and I don't want to fill up your notifications with my stuff. Just know that I will be writing every day, so feel free to stop in and check up on how I'm doing. I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the comments that you all leave. Thank you! You've made this 7-day experience really enjoyable for me!

xoxo

(To do your own 7-day detox, please visit www.therawdivas.com)