Celebrating Life: My 32nd Birthday Recap

My 32nd birthday was definitely one that I will treasure forever.  When I was on the verge of turning the BIG {30}; I so dreaded celebrating anything over 29.... Now, things are so different!  I am so thankful for this life that God has gifted me with and it is my wish for everyone else to to open the gift of {true life} and experience the goodness of God....

What better place to start seeing this wish come true than with family and friends?  My longtime blog pal Adrienne shared this splendid idea on her blog after she celebrated her birthday this year and I shamelessly {borrowed}it..... I was so touched by it and felt as though it was a great witnessing tool!!!

Instead of having some type of bash I {like Adrienne} invited my family and friends to come to worship with me at church on the Sunday before my actual birthday.  I was overwhelmed by the love and support shown to me by my family and friends... My family drove over  four hours to worship with me!!!! It was incredible... Can you spot me?

God, has answered so many of my prayers this year {more on that later} and this, for me, was the icing on the cake!  It is so good to worship with your loved ones in spirit and in truth! 

After church, my {natural} family joined my {spiritual} family at our annual Christmas dinner... This year we stepped outside of the box and at dinner at one of our favorite local Japanese restaurants, Umi's.  It was entertaining, edifying and efficient!  What a great time of fellowship...

Once we finished dinner, I exchanged gifts with my family members and they headed home... I on the other hand, had a laundry list of chores to complete, gifts to wraps and loose ends to tie for work....

I managed to complete all of my to-do's just in time to celebrate.... On my actual birthday, I wanted the day to be calm and relaxing.... Well, with the exception of my blackberry dinging from the tons of birthday wishes from my facebook friends.  {Side Note:  I made a personal goal to either to "like" or respond to everyone who took the time out of their day to make my day extra special... I did it}!  I actually ended up with nearly 250 facebook birthday wishes!!!  Who needs Hallmark when you have facebook?  LOL!

My boss had given me a gift certificate to spafinder.com a few weeks ago.  So, I found a local spa and scheduled my appointment for the afternoon of December 22nd!  My spa experience was super!  Such a relaxing and refreshing way to celebrate!

 I think that I will do a repeat of all the above next year and add more as I see fit :)! 
So.... there you have it... No bells and cocktails... No hussle and bussle... No stress and no dress... Just a calm, well balanced and meaningful birthday!

What a wonderful way to celebrate!  I think I will hit instant replay next year!!!!

Today is My Birthday and I Celebrate My {Life}

Hi, my name is Melanie and today I am 32 years old! There, I said it... Wow! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday; I was a naïve college girl bee-bopping around Normal's Hill walking in four inch stilettos and going nowhere fast! My, how the times have changed!
As I reflect on my life today… I thank God for seeing a purpose to call me forth out of eternity and into the earth to fulfill the plan and purpose that He has predestined for my life. My heart is overwhelmed with thankfulness this morning… As I celebrate my 32nd birthday I am so thankful for all that He has done in these years.

Here is an excerpt from my early morning prayer time:

Father, I don't receive another gift, I thank You for the greatest gift of all... I thank You for a second chance at life through Son Jesus Christ! Inspite of all of the bad decisions, wrong choices and numerous mistakes...You loved me, when I didn't love myself... You kept me, when I didn't want to be kept... You believed in me, when I doubted... You trusted me, even when I was unfaithful... and You forgave me, even though I thought my sins were unforgiveable!!! Today I am thankful that I am able to celebrate my {birth} and the {life} that you have gifted unto Me!

This prayer only encompasses a portion of what I truly feel toward His love, mercy and kindness that He has bestowed upon my life… I am blessed beyond measure and I have many more years to treasure!

Thank you Jesus for life! For He said in His word… He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life (1 John 5:12). It is because of You that I celebrate my {birth} and {life} on this day…

Happy Birthday to Me! 
 

Our Disney Adventure: Part Three

I am a frequent traveler, but I must admit that this was one of my most exciting vacations ever!!!  While we were there Mr. Falsetto's father turned 60 and we celebrated his 60th birthday with a private birthday bash at a restaurant called Eleven in Orlando.

During the day the girls went out for a round of shopping while the guys enjoyed a round of golf.  We both enjoyed our day activities, but we could not wait to celebrate this awesome man of God.  He is a great husband, a loving father and great example of what every man should strive to be! 

We love to celebrate in this family... and we love to make it special.... this 60th birthday was no exception!  We had to make it exceptional!  So we made mad dash to a TJ Maxx nearby and purchased some pieces to set the atomsphere for this special celebration...

Here's the a photo of the tablescape that we created...  The cracked glass and candlelight made an excellent combination for the warmth that we wanted our space to exude...

He was so excited and suprised that we were able to create such a warm and special celebration even though we were miles and miles away from home!  Here are a few snapshot of us before we went into the restaurant....

The food was delish and the cake was delectable! 

Happy 60th birhday!!! You are the greatest!!!!!

Up next, our day adventure at Magic Kingdom!



Our Disney Adventure: Part Two

Shhh!  It's no secret!  I love Thai Restaurants!!!  Prior to leaving for Orlando.... Mr. Falsetto's sister and I planned the events for our arrival night!  Thai Food it was!!!  So, the whole family packed up and headed to Thai Thani in Orlando!  It received raving reviews on trip advisor! 

We arrived at the restaurant in record time and proceeded to indulge in fun and laughter after we placed our orders!

Finally, our food was ready.... and we were ready for it!  It was delish! 

After we finished dinner, we walked around in the shopping center... It so was hot there!  They did manage to get a little snow though!  LOL!

As were neared, we realized that it was not make shift snow.at.all!  It was bubbles and they were having a blast!  We continued our journey and we saw Mr. and Mrs. Claus.... We also saw this huge Christmas tree!  A family of two was kind enough to take this group photo for us!

We completed our walk around the outdoor shopping center, visited a Wal-mart nearby to purchase snacks for the week and figured out how to avoid tolls on the way home!

Up next, a day of golf for the guys... outlet shopping for the girls and a 60th birthday celebration for one of the greatest men on earth!

Our Thanksgiving Disney Adventure: Part One

Yes, Thanksgiving update and we are less than two weeks away from Christmas!  Life has been extremely busy for me.... Actually, it has been quite an adventure!  I will start from the beginning and bring you up-to-date...

Almost every Thanksgiving I take a trip with Mr. Falsetto's family!  This Thanksgiving...they chose to go Disney World and my oh my was I excited!  I had never been to Disney before and this for me... Well, it was a dream come true at almost 32! 

We left for Orlando on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving... I checked Mr. Falsetto and I in online and to my amazement, we were given the opportunity to upgrade to first class for less than $100 for the both of us!  Yes, that was only $10 more than the baggage fees... And once we upgraded, our bags were free!!!We were off to a good start!  My first trip to Disney, our first plane ride together and our first time flying first class!  God is good!

Side Story:  Okay, we had a little mishap on the way.... I bought a PINK track suit from Victoria Secret in Arkanas and I shipped it back to home because I wanted to take it with me on my trip.  Well, it was the morning of our flight and I still did not have it!  So I decided to be proactive and contacted FedEx.  The driver agreed to meet us at a gas station that was on our way to the airport!  Score!  We met him... I packed up my PINK outfit and we were on our way!  Mr. Falsetto was a little annoyed that I was making us late for an outfit and he wanted to make up the five minutes that we lossed by stopping at the gas station and he speeded up a little... It started to rain heavily and just as we topped the hill...the blue lights went off... Yes, we were stopped in the rain by the police...  We were praying that he was merciful... but the time kept ticking away...He was not merciful, but God is!  We still managed to get to the airport on time, board our flight and take our seats in first class together for the first time ever! 

We listened to music, ate snacks, laughed, talked and before we knew it we were in Orlando!   The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful and I was only days away from visting the happiest place on earth! 

Mr. Falsetto's mother purchased us a house in The Villas; so that is where we resided for the week!  It was gorgeous!  Here are a few shots of our arrival!

The home was beautiful and tastefully decorated... Here are a few shots from the home!  Mr. Falsetto's mother did an excellent job!  We were all so thankful!

We were all so full of excitement!  Excited to be there... Excited to see one another (Mr. Falsetto's sister and brother-in-law currently live in LA and they met us there).... and excited just see the glory of God manifest before our very eyes...

We took a few moments to wind down and unpack.... We managed to unpack, but we never winded down!  LOL! 

Up next, we found an awesome Thai restaurant to have dinner our first night in Orlando!

Soooo....

It has nearly a month since I last posted {insert blank stare}....

I am not sure where the time has gone {insert puzzled look}....

I was on a role for about a week or so there {insert smiley face and slowly release}....

But life has a way of slowly sucking away your time and before you know it there is not enough time to tend to this little bloggy of mine....

I often visit it and began to post only to realize that I have 5.5 seconds before my next meeting or appointment....

But after all this my little corner of the virtual world and I love it.... If I get to tend to it fine... If not fine... I have learned a long time ago not to allow this little bloggy of mine to become a task... It's something that I created to be an outlet and that's what it will remain for me... It's the only thing in my life right now that I can neglect and come back only to find it the way that I left it...

Soo......

With that being said....

What have you been up to?

Well, for me.....  The month of October has been super-de-duper BUSY!  Let's recap shall we?

• I had to coordinate a major summit for my line of business----talking about a tremendous undertaking!
• Our church celebrated our 24th Anniversary!  It was wonderful!
• I attended AAMU's Homecoming!  And I celebrated a 10 year reunion with my sister's!
• Custom Creations has been on the move!  YAY!
• This past weekend I planned and decorated 5 events in 2 days!  Yeah.....
• And..... DRUMROLL.................................................
• I have been planning a trip to Disney!

You see?  I am certain that I left something out, but at any rate you get the picture....Life had been keeping me pretty busy.....

Just wanted to peep in and give you a brief update.... I will recap the individual events in the days to follow....

Until next time,

M'Shonta

De-Masked for Destiny

Last week I ran stumbled across Richie Carter's Blog and it truly "captured" my attention... He is a local photographer that is allowing God's creative power to work through a project that he is calling “Project 50/50″.  Throughout the month of September, he is going to take 50 photographs over 50 sequential days of 50 different people telling their stories in 50 words or less with a 50mm lens.  Very interesting!  You can follow it here!

After reading his Mirror, Mirror entry from Day 15 of Project 50/50; I began to reflect....
One can't help but to reflect upon themselves when seeing this work of art. For me I saw a Mask!

So many things opened up for me in my life when I removed the mask... Beyond the beauty, brains and boatload of accolades was a broken girl whose pain was masked by glitz and glamour...

When I removed the mask, I was healed from the inside out and the beauty of God radiated in every way imaginable!

I was De-Masked for Destiny!

Today My Dad Retires!

My relationship with my dad was not always the best one... in the beginning we did not have one at.all!  However, over the years we allowed God to come into our lives and I was free to forgive and he was free from guilt.  We have grown to love each...respect each other....and celebrate with each other!

On this day so Godly proud to celebrate with him as he end this old cycle in his life and start a new...  May the mercy and the grace of God guide him.....

In the Mind of M'Shonta

Around 578,678, 325, 998, 546 thoughts run through my mind each day.  Sometimes I capture them and most of the time I don't!  LOL!  In some cases that may be a very good thing!  LOL! 

Below are a few of those thoughts that I have managed to capture to share in this post... Some are deep; some are not so deep... but never the less...they are mine :)!

• I need to write a few prayers... Maybe I should even post that on fb and allow others to comment on the prayers that they would like to write...
• Would people think that I am a Holy Rolly if I did that?
• Who cares?  I will pray and see what the Holy Spirit is leading me to do...
• Gosh, my to-do list is as long as the bathroom line at Disney World in the middle of July....
• Speaking of Disney World... I need to finish planning my trip!  My dream is finally going to come true at almost 32!
• Did I just say that out loud?
• I wish I had a Milo's in Muscle Shoals... I could surely use a burger RIGHT NOW!
• Some days I miss college...
• On 2nd consideration....
• NOT!
• Oh my!  My boss is still asking for that project and I am still not finished!
• Why is it so hard for adults to concentrate!
• Sometimes I wish I had a professional organizer in my brain.
• Traveling for work definitely has it perks.
• I want to join Pinterest!  What's up with this being invited?  But I have to admit that it has a great marketing plan!
• I miss the beach!
• What does it take to become a vendor at this game?
• God gives us witty inventions and new ideas, but it is up to us to pursue them!
• I had a weird dream the other night...
• I need to create a website for all of my businesses...
• Yeah I want that one!
• Can't wait for Disney! 

Carry on... I am tired of typing... My mind is still racing!

Until Next Time,
M'Shonta

Top It Off Tuesday!

Over the past few years; I have learned to never commitments in blogging... THE.HARD.WAY! LOL!  But today I am going to feature a post that I am dubbing as Top It Off Tuesday.  Wait!  Let me explain! I am not talking about a drink or latest stop at the gas station... But that one thing that "topped it all off for me!"  It may range from a centerpiece at an event or an eclectic pair of earrings on a stylish sister!  Get it? Got it?  Good!  LOL!

Months and months ago, I was planning a shower for a client who was having a baby girl.  Fun huh?  Well, here's the kicker!  She did not want any PINK!  NO Pink!  So I began to peruse the internet for inspiration.... Naturally, I started with PURPLE since it is my nextest favorite color to pink! And found this beautiful baby shower that was conceptualized by Corrie S at Teacups and Trucks.

And this is the image that "Topped It All Off" for me!  I thought that the cake was very original for a baby shower and it fwas a perfect for theme! 

What images have you seen that Topped it Off for You?  Please feel to leave a comment and a link!  I love to explore!

Until Next Time,

M'Shonta

Serenity by the Sea

This past week I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a few days in Destin, FL at a hotel that was on beach front property... God knew just what I needed and as always He provided!

I started my mornings with 5:00 AM prayer as usual... But with this breathtaking view....

At 6 AM after prayer... I walked along the beach admiring the masterpieces painted by our Creator....

After a brisk walk... I began my day.... Refreshed, renewed and revitalized...  No stress, no worries, no rinnging phones and dinging email alerts... Just me and God!

And in the midst of this breaktaking beauty, I began to reflect on the Serenity Prayer:

God grant me the serenity  to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;  Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

That day I embraced the strength of serenity and I did so by the sea.... The waves of the sea; helped me to get back to where God purposed for me to be!
 

 
Until next time!
 
M'Shonta

Talents are Like Tokens; Destiny is Like a Treasure!

This year has been extremely busy for me... A brand new position in which I travel nearly 85% of the time, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, cultivating a consistent prayer life, volunteering at my church and running three successful businesses have proven to be quite a challenge!

I really admire those of you who do all of the above and yet still find the time to be nurturing mothers and loving wives! I pray that when the time comes for me to begin a family; I will able to sustain all that I am doing now as well as meet the needs of my family.

But for now, I have a full plate with corn to boot! Amazingly, I have been able to fulfill all of my obligations…but I question whether or not I have been fulfilling my purpose….

I have always been a creative individual, but since I have started serving God in Spirit and in Truth my creative ability has continued to multiply. My steps of faith have granted me miles of favor and blessings. I often liken my current state in life unto the servant in Matthew 25:14-30 who was blessed with ten talents only after he was obedient and maximized the gifts that God had initially given him. 
 
I am in awe of all of the gifts that God has entrusted in me. I am thankful for His creative power. I glorify the works of His hands through mine… Nothing is more rewarding than the smiles on the faces of happy clients… And no one can imagine the joy that I feel; the connection that I feel with the creator when I am creating… It is so pure! But yet when the smiling faces have disappeared into the shadows of their personal lives, the events are over, my “big” project was a success and I have made my final sale at the craft shows… There is a still small voice on the inside of me that says….. “This is not it!”
 
Although, I have a great job and all the endeavors that I’ve pursued have been lucrative…. I have learned one great lesson in life…. In time my talents have brought fulfillment, but only my purpose will fulfill my destiny.
 
And so the desire to fulfill my purpose and destiny deepens and the heart to seek the Kingdom of God and all of His righteousness develops daily. Your talents are like tokens and your destiny and purpose are like treasures. Guard it with your life! After all, it is one the most valuable thing that you will ever possess.

Think Pink Wine Glasses

A few weeks ago... I made these "Think Pink" wine glasses to sale at a local craft show.  I was really pleased with them after I added the pink ribbon.  They just looked bare before! LOL!

I don't drink wine but I do enjoy tea and Kool-aid and these fit the bill... These wine glasses are just $10 each and 20% of the proceeds will benefit the 2011 Liz Hurley Ribbon Run!

Let me know if you are interested in purchasing one!  They are shippable!

Asha's Awesome 21st Birthday!

My baby sister, who graduated from high school on what seemed like only yesterday, has turned 21!  Growing up... we never really celebrated birthday's, due to financial constraints, so I wanted to make this day very, very special for her.  So, I drove 3.5 hours with centerpieces, candles, cutely {is this a word?} wrapped gifts and a custom birthday cake in tow.  

I wanted this to be a surprise for her as I was sure that she was only expecting the normal gifts and a card from me via snail mail due to my new job and extremely demanding travel schedule.  However, it is often said that love is measured by sacrifice and I wanted to show my love toward my precious little sister by making some major sacrifices in order to join her in celebrating her 21st birthday.

Enjoy the photogs that follow as they highlight the night that we celebrated my little sister entering into the world of  womanhood.  Enjoy!

Happy 21st Birthday Asha!

This is the cake that added 30 minutes to my normal travel time... I just wanted to make sure that it arrrived in a single piece and not crumbles!  It was beautiful and fitting for the occassion.  We received tons of compliments on it. 

I truly enjoyed bringing this night together for my sister.  If I could do it all again... I would.... only bigger and better!  I love you Asha!  May the blessings of the Lord continue to overtake you in this year!



Nobody's Greater

Nobody's Greater than God!  I just wanted to poke my head for a moment and give God all the glory, honor and praise for what He has done in my life and in the lives of my family members!

He has been a:

• Healer
• Deliver
• Inspirer
• Motivator
• and a Job Finder!

Thank you JESUS! Nobody's greater!

10 Secrets { Day 10 of 10}

10 Secrets

I love to write poems...

I am a country girl at heart...

I can't swim... {I actually flunked swimming}

I hated my middle name until about a year ago...

I can't watch Titanic all the way through....

I wanted to go on the Oprah Show before it ended....

I snore....

I couldn't hold a note even if you put it in my hand...

I am a facebook addict

Victoria is a man!!!!

HA!  This was fun!   LOL!

And just like *that* it's over!  I think that I was making this waay to hard! 

9 Loves { Day 9 of 10}

Nine Loves

1. God
2. The People of God
3. Family and Friends
4. Thai Food
5. Seeing Dreams Come True
6. Helping Others
7. Creativity
8. Mr. Falsetto
9. Life