Category: Owning my Story

The Day

Posted on by nrosep in Owning my Story

Todays the day.

The day that my world was almost ended by my own hands and brain.

It was a very traumatic day that I still am working to heal from. Every moment I’m choosing to move forward towards growth, even when it is excruciating for me at times.

One year ago today was a perfect storm of sorts. So many changes happening in our family life, so much uncertainty, the 420 house situation was so tough to get cleared up, the lack of meds for the OCD, the underlying CPTSD, sleep schedules being so off along with my eating schedule, the heavy load of grief and so much more.

One year ago I was saved.

First by my husbands brave and quick actions.

Then by emergency responders.

Followed by the biggest blessing of a CNA who was assigned to sit with me in my room. I would have died that day if she wasn’t fighting for me to breathe as my care was being ignored by others that were tasked with helping me..

One year ago I got to see firsthand the brokenness of our mental health system.

One year ago I went from a woman having a mental health crisis to being treated as though I was a woman in active addiction. That may be shocking to some that you get treated differently between those two but you do. I lived through it.

I lived through it. Through an OCD intrusive thought episode that tried to take my life. Through the difference in treatment when they got my drug testing back. Through getting mental health help. Through hard diagnosis. Through healing all kinds of trauma.

Making it through it was the only way to the other side. It required me to own the traumas I knew about and allow the ones that bubbled up to have space too. To have ownership in how it affected me and created the world that I was living in.

Through it looked different each day. Some days were filled with weepy tears as all kinds of emotions flowed over me. Other days it was the hard task of trying to process whatever trauma was surfacing that day. Every single day there was a choice to be still in the midst of this storm. Choosing stillness even when it was incredibly hard or uncomfortable was one of the biggest challenges but also was absolutely the best way for me to get through each day.

Therapy and medications are key tools to this whole journey, realizing the severity of my OCD and CPTSD I knew that it was time to do more than just try to manage it on my own.

For goodness sakes I was in the hospital, on the verge of death because my brain was far too sick, I needed to truly let it all go and focus on leaning on the tools that were being given to me.

Choosing to be transparent on this journey has been incredibly tough on me but God was telling me that he plans to use my mess to help others. So I obeyed and shared even when I didn’t really want to, I wanted to heal in the shadows but he wants me to bring it all in the light.

My biggest worry about sharing or going in to detail is the judgement that will come from people who I am connected to. For sure have lost connections from sharing and that is ok, makes me sad but I know it’s for the best. The whispers in messages about me and their speculations. Or the accusations of sharing for attention when for me I sure would share anything other than this if I wanted attention, you know?

A year out and I feel insanely thankful for the path God has provided through all of this, I smile every time I notice even the slightest bit of his doing in all of this. He had me the whole time. He saved me from me. He has plans for me far greater than I could ever imagine. He is going to use my mess to help others. After smiling as I realize yet another God wink in all of this I typically start to cry. Allowing the tears to roll down my skin as they cleanse away another layer that I need to heal through.

One year out and I have such a mountain ahead of me to climb as I still have so much to work through. But now I have the tools to tackle each trauma as it bubbles up or each hard moment that comes my way.

One year out and I get to be here to celebrate with all of you that I survived.

Blessings,

Nicole

PS: Thank you for the prayers and support during this last year, please keep it coming as I continue on this hard path of healing. Thank you for reaching out to me to share how this has helped you on your healing journey. I do struggle with responding, chatting and such, please just know it’s not you-it’s me. So if I haven’t been able to respond, pick up the call, etc it’s something I am actively working on with my therapist. Thank you for respecting my boundaries and giving me so much grace.

Team Posh Blessings: Connection

Posted on by nrosep in Blog Blessings, Owning my Story, Posh Blessings, Team Posh Blessings

A little yet powerful message I wrote out to my incredible team mates this morning and thought it might be nice for others to read it too. Team Posh Blessings is more than just selling soaps and lotions, the amazing connection that is woven into our business is absolutely cherished and we are so grateful to be connected to so many through Perfectly Posh.

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Today I hope you see this post and are reminded of the amazing power you have with your posh business. The power to see people, to truly connect with the world around you.

The products you share are fun, affordable, made with incredible ingredients and come with the message of self care. Reminding others that they deserve to take moments for themselves using a product that makes them feel amazing and brings a smile to their faces. Reach out today and connect with the intention of just bringing a smile to their faces. Of giving them a reminder of self love.

Our parties are another way to build this human connection, reaching more people who may need to hear your pampering message. People who are crazy busy and during the time you get with them for a party you get to make an impact on them. Showing them about self care and touching them even now while we are still social distancing. Everyone is craving that connection and you have a way to reach them.

Our incredible team here is another form of connection that your business offers. We have a wide range of amazing people here from all over the US. We are all crazy busy, have our own goal and yet we all love this product line so much that we share it with others and earn ourselves extra money. We’ve grown together over the years as leaders, posh lovers, friends and team mates—all of it is connection. Which is insanely powerful and has helped many of us through tough life situations with just having this happy Poshy place to plug in to during all of the chaos.

You are here because you love the products and have the power of connection in multiple ways with your business. I’m thankful you are here in TPB and look forward to watching you grow. 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

Love Brené Brown

Take a break…..

Posted on by nrosep in Blog Blessings, Laugh with me, Army Wife Mom Life, Owning my Story, Posh Blessings, Product Review, Skin Care, Uncategorized

Take a break, if you’re a Hamilton-Fan too, now you’ve got this song stuck in your head.

Take a break. Often times I find myself overthinking this simple yet powerful task. I’ll talk myself out of taking just a few moments to fill up my cup by thinking about all of the other things that I should be doing in that moment. When in fact the time it took me to overthink taking a break could have been used in a simple pampering moment.

That’s why I’ve learned over the years to set up my products so that they become part of my daily tasks. Like this little hand scrub station right here next to my kitchen sink, I placed the sweet melon scented sugar scrub right next to the hand soap(I love shopping grove!) so that atleast once per day I can easily treat myself to a hand scrub. We are all washing our hands way more lately and that leads to drier skin which then needs to be scrubbed, so this simple set up leads to an easy peasy pampering session.

Of course after washing and scrubbing, my hands need that non greasy moisture packed posh hand creme so I be sure to set one there so it’s easy peasy to use it too. What’s your favorite posh hand creme scent? Is it current or retired?

This simple pampering set up is placed on a vintage hot plate which I’ve collected over the years. They have silly sayings that make you think and I just love them. This one is my most current findings and wow is the meaning so powerful for me. Anyone else feel it too? The hurrier I go the behinder I get.

Truly a lesson I’ve learned over this last year that has been filled with many lessons of being still in the busyness. When I would try to hurry through whatever I was facing it felt like things just got messier and messier. It wasn’t until I learned the true meaning of being still that life seemed to become more manageable, I was content and learned the power of being still.

So this little pampering set up helps me take care of this body that I have been given, which then fills up my self care cup, all while making it simple. Everything I need for a 1 minute pampering session is right there on that hot plate with the reminder to be still. Do you set things up for yourself like this? If not then I’d highly suggest to take a few moments to set up something like this for yourself. I’ll be sharing more of my set ups over these next few weeks and I hope that it inspires you to be still and refill.

Blessings,

Nicole

Connection

Posted on by nrosep in Owning my Story, Team Posh Blessings

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Seen this graphic today as I was scrolling and it spoke to me so much and made me think of all of the members of our Team Posh Blessings.

We are all going through life and finding out what our gifts are, some are more obvious and some are slowly uncovered.

One thing that everyone on our team has in common is that we found a product line that we all fell in love with, so much that we decided we wanted to share it with others. So much so that we are willing to put our smiling faces in the same frame as this company and say “Hey, this product brings me joy and I would love to share it with you.” That makes each of us a connector, someone who sees something and then wants everyone else to experience it too.

Think of this when you are sharing your business, you are a unique individual with your own goals and set of skills then you have this pampering business as a way to connect with your established network of people and the community of people around you that you haven’t even met yet.

We each use this gift of connecting in different ways, some of us are more outgoing than others but we can all connect people with a product that brings them joy and reminds them that they are seen and enough.

Each of us can use the power of connection by sharing a squirt of hand creme with someone standing next to us, seeking out people to share a sample with, bringing people together for a party or impacting your community by hosting a fundraiser or so many other amazing ways.

How will you use this gift of connection!? How will your grow that gift this week???

It’s truly so amazing to get to be connected to all of our team as I see them use their gifts like their creativity, positivity, logical sense, motivation and so on. Team Posh Blessings is such a fabulous community and I’m thankful for this product line that we all love and are connected by.

Connection is what we all crave the most and to have the gift of connection is a powerful thing to discover and share. We can truly bring so much joy to the world around us.

Blessings,

Nicole

You can do this.

Posted on by nrosep in Marriage Lessons, Owning my Story

Thoughts are the most powerful tools when you are facing obstacles that seem impossible. I’ve learned this from years of facing mountains and weathering storms.

You can do this.

These four words are often repeated over and over to myself until I actually believe it and by that time I’m usually through whatever I was facing. These four words come from the verse, “I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me” (Philippians 4:13), I feel these four words deep in my bones.

You can do this.

Yep, most things I’ve faced in my life others just are puzzled that I made it through with such a positive attitude. From growing up in a tough childhood, being a teen mom, overcoming marriage obstacles, medical battles, grief and just plain life struggles. Even when I feel like I’m crumbling under the stress or feeling like this is going to be the thing that makes me snap-I remind myself-You can do this.

It may be terribly difficult, you may feel like you are falling apart the entire time, you may barely make it to the other side but the only way to do it is to go through it.

Yep, to embrace whatever is going to fly your way knowing that you can in fact do it. You can in fact withstand the rain pouring down all around you. You can in fact do the big scary work needed to get you through this.

There is no secret magic pill that makes everything you face turn into sunshine and rainbows. The truth is that the only thing in this life that you can control is your own attitude, your own thoughts which will lead you to the actions you choose in every situation. That’s no secret, just facts.

If you can wrap your brain and crisis routine(the go to dialogue that you repeat to yourself when something goes wrong) around that then you can seriously do this.

It will not be easy.

It will take practice.

You will fail over and over.

But never stop reminding yourself that you can do this because you can.

And you will be stronger as the rain stops pouring over you, when you make it to the other side, when the pain doesn’t hurt as freshly, when the wounds are healing because you can do this.

All of these thoughts have been swirling inside my brain as I’ve been struggling with this deployment in these last few days. The weight of the emotions comes and goes for me and the kids. Doesn’t matter what we have planned or how much we talk about our feelings, some days it just feels heavier. For me I feel like I’m moving in mud, weighed down and just plain sad.

With no end in site all I can do is say “You can do this.” Over and over. Because I can, it may not be fun or what I would choose for me and our family. I certainly would choose to always have our soldier home safe. But I know the only thing in life I can control is my thoughts, which then controls my actions.

You can do this.

Even if it means just sitting in your feelings because your brain is too foggy to do anything else.

Even if it means putting on a smile and forcing yourself to get the things done that need to be completed.

Even if it means repeating those special four words just long enough to make it through the day.

Life is tough but it’s incredibly beautiful too. Even when you face hard things there is joy around you and that joy is what will help propel you through this because yes-You can do this!

Blessings,

Nicole

Face the Clouds

Posted on by nrosep in Owning my Story

If you’ve been following along with me via social media then you know that I’ve been going through a particularly tough spot these last few months. Tough as in exhausting, emotional, surprising, difficult and all around very heavy. Leaning on my relationship with God, friends and family has been what has been pulling me through along with learning to face the clouds. Feeling the pain and not running from it. For the only way to find the lesson in all of this is to…..”…face the clouds
To find the silver lining”.

These lyrics from the song What Faith Can Do by Kutless just felt like they jumped out of the air in my mom taxi and slapped me in the face. Ever have one of those moments, where you are singing along to a song for the millionth time and somehow you hear the words for the first time? Like hear the words in a powerful time stopping way?

That is what happened to me in that moment, I heard those words “You gotta face the clouds To find the silver lining” as I was doing one of the many runs to and from the old house to the new house. Just a month prior to this in March, Trav was away on an exercise for the military and he was told that his job was being changed right there on the spot and that meant he’d have to deploy in 3 months. All of the emotions rush in at this moment, you know that it’s part of the job description but you also know you have 4 kids that are growing up so quickly and all sorts of selfish feelings arise.

It’s really not alot of time to prepare for such big news but atleast it is 3 months away and not weeks or days is what I kept telling myself.  It wasn’t just a deployment we had to face though, our lease was up in 3 months as well and when we contacted about signing another contract we were told they wanted more money since we’d be “making more” deployed. We weren’t about to stand for that gross behavior so we hit our knees. Yep, our first instinct was to pray and to pray boldly.

We knew from past hard lessons that if you call out for God’s plan that he will guide you through it. Often times we get sidetracked by all of the emotional distractions that it takes you a bit to go to him but in this case we knew we didn’t have time for that. So we prayed to be shown where he was leading us, if he meant us to move and to move quickly to show us where to go. All sorts of emotions erupted during this time, uncertainty is one of the biggest disruptors for relationships with yourself and others. I could feel myself being pulled into the doubt pool and I swear I could see my name written on invitations to the daily pity party. Instead of giving in, I chose to be a #joyseeker- check out my previous blog post for that reference, I chose to face whatever was being thrown at me and to search for the joy, the silver lining.

That doesn’t mean I was all flowers and sunshine all of the time, the pain and of all of the emotions were absolutely still there and I’m human failing daily. With all of that I chose to stand tall with the pain getting soaking wet as the storms of life poured down all around me and face those clouds looming above. Letting the tears flow, the emotions to come and prayers to cover all of it. The deployment. Having to move. All of the heaviness.

The weekend after finding out about the deployment and housing situation, I was standing in the hallway after just enjoying watching my oldest daughter perform in the musical the Little Mermaid and chatting with her boyfriend’s parents. Small talk about how tired we were of driving to the school for all the prep and practices for the amazing production. From where we lived it was almost a 30 minute drive to the high school each way, so about an hour round trip, so much time driving.

As we were chatting I made the comment that we were needing to move and it was going to have to be quick with the deployment so soon, how I sure wished I could move to the area they lived in which was less than a 15 minute drive. Our family is big so we needed a house that would fit us as well which made the search even more complicated and we wanted to stay in the same high school district. I shared with them a bit about that then our kiddos came out and we went on our way. Though the prayer just kept echoing in my mind, it sure would be nice if we could be closer to the high school.

The next morning I pulled up the Trulia App as I did every morning to search for a house that would be big enough and worked for our timeframe of being moved in before Trav left. Searching the entire high school zone for a 4bed+ house and praying for a green dot to pop up indicating that a house was available. Up until this morning, it was always flop, nothing was on the market that worked for us to rent. We had wanted our next move to be our last by buying our forever home but our home in PA hadn’t sold yet so we couldn’t buy down here, also this quick deployment meant we didn’t have enough time to either. This morning was different, those heavy emotions slightly lifted for a moment as a green dot popped up with a house that would work and it was just a few streets away from where Abby’s boyfriend lives. Exactly the prayer that had echoed in my heart the night before, prayer answered!

All of this happened so quickly with me choosing to face the clouds, to embrace the pain because I knew that it was here to teach me something. I ran from pain in a very destructive way just recently and I’ll have to share about that at some point so I knew that running wasn’t an option. That facing those clouds of emotion and pain was going to be my only way through it that would be productive and not destructive. The whole moving process was full of stress but surprisingly it was very calm and went so smoothly. God surely provided in every aspect and for every curveball thrown our way at that time.

That moment in the mom taxi when those words stopped time is so cherished, it was such a powerful moment from God to show me that I was getting this lesson right. It came in the middle of the storm during the emotion filled time of quickly moving our 3000+sq foot house with just me and our family(my SIL and MIL came to help too!) to do all of the work. It was affirming to me that the only way to find the good in the chaos that life throws your way is to keep your head up and facing those clouds. The clouds may be heavy and dark and full of all kinds of scary emotions but the quickest way to get them to move along is to face them, to see the rays of light peeking through them, the silver lining.

Sharing this with you today because maybe it could help someone out there to be reminded to choose to focus on the growth, the goodness, the joy that is waiting for you during extremely stormy times. During times where you aren’t sure you are going to be able to stand through it and are soaking wet, there are rays of light for you to find in those heavy clouds as you face them. The light is always there, you are never alone and will get stronger with each storm that you face.

 

Greatest Numbers Fiasco….ever

Posted on by nrosep in Blog Blessings, Creative-Vintage Vibes, Laugh with me, Army Wife Mom Life, Owning my Story

C15-C15-C15-C15 I tell myself over and over as I’m waiting my turn as we board the plane. C15-C15-C15….then I sit in C13…..completely thinking I sat in C15 until the owner of the seat questions me and I realize I did it again, embarrassment washes over me as I gather my things and make my way to my seat C15.

I’m the worst with numbers and remembering them even when I’m aware of it. It doesn’t matter, my brain over thinks and pulls a fast one on me anytime there is pressure and numbers combined. Such a huge weakness of mine that I wish I could solve so badly.

This weakness reared its ugly head yesterday as I woke up full of excitement to attend a Hamilton show that Abbs and I were looking forward to since August. Abbs even worked hard to pay for her ticket by selling her string art, so many hours creating designs for others to earn the money needed.

We counted down the days to be able to purchase tickets and were able to buy some of the last two tickets crazy close to the stage when they went on sale. It was a frenzy and many didn’t even get the chance to buy tickets that day so we felt so lucky to get tickets for Dec 2nd for the 1pm showing, writing it in our calendars and were looking forward this day as we talked about it daily.

Waking up to tasty waffles and coffee made by my hubs, then heading off to get around for this big day. See neither of us grew up getting to attend concerts or shows like this, so today was a giant deal. We spent hard earned cash on this moment and we knew how exciting it was for our Theatre loving kid too.

I realized that I hadn’t downloaded the Ticketmaster app yet to get our mobile tickets so before I started my hair and makeup I sat down to figure that out. I pulled up my email that I remember coming in but didn’t read it and that’s when it hit me.

Dec 1st at 2pm…….ummmmm NO, that can’t be right I have written down Dec 2nd at 1!!! What is happening!?? How can that be?? Help!!!!

Oh. My. Gosh. I super imposed the numbers. We missed our show. In the really close to the stage, really expensive, great seats. I wanted to puke. I cried and screamed, this was a HUGE mistake, how am I supposed to fix this!? Abbs worked so hard to go to this show, we both are huge fans but letting down my kiddo was the worst feeling ever.

Not really knowing what to do next I posted a quick status to my Facebook account.

This was far more about praying for a good outcome for Abbs and not anything about the money lost or any material thing. I just wanted it to work out smoothly and not have to let down my daughter, she’s such a good and hard working kiddo.

I was going from bawling to screaming and truly freaking out as I tried to critical think my way of what to do next. The venue for the show was the Durham Performing Arts Center and their phone lines were closed this early so we decided to call Ticketmaster when they opened at 9am to see if they could do anything for us.

That didn’t get us very far because in my frenzy to purchase the tickets in August I missed the box to buy ticket insurance. Another mistake due to excitement. So we were completely out of the money we paid for the original tickets, the ones that I mixed up the dates and completely missed sitting in our crazy good seats. There was nothing they could do for us other than say there were a few tickets left on their site for the last two shows of this location.

Devastated and sickened that all of that money was gone, what do we do now? We don’t have the cash with the holidays here to just buy more tickets but really that was our only option to make this right for Abbs.

With my two businesses, selling pampering products and creating fun earrings, I knew that I could work really hard to cover the price of the second tickets. The seats were not even close to as good as our originals but they would get us there. Giving us those memories that will last a lifetime, so whatever I had to pay in total for this moment was worth it to me and I’d work as hard as I could to provide the money for it.

That’s where that status I posted comes in, as we were figuring out what to do and searching for tickets. My friends were going through the emotions and coming up with a plan of their own without me asking for help.

I just needed prayers for it to workout smoothly. They took it in their own hands, a few of my best friends even offered to get us tickets themselves. I told them I already snagged tickets and my plan was just to work my businesses really hard to pay for them. That’s where their overwhelming support started, they went to my site and began buying earrings. Then sharing my link to encourage their friends to do the same.

The support, friendship and compassion they showed was flowing and all I could do was cry. My phone was blowing up over and over with order after order. I couldn’t believe that people would rally with me over this crazy embarrassing mistake.

Post after post of friends showing their support and lifting me up during this time. As I got ready to rush up so we wouldn’t miss the show, more people were sharing and more orders were rolling in.

By the time we made it to DPAC, got Abbs her special program, took pictures and waited to take our seats the sales from all of that sharing was reaching the amount we had to pay for these second set of seats. I wanted to bawl standing there seeing the joy in Abbs’ eyes and knowing what my friends were doing for us.

The show was INCREDIBLE, if you ever get a chance to go, run. Enjoy. Sit there and take in the genius of Lin Manuel Miranda. Being super fans for years, the butterflies in our tummies were going overtime and we were smiling from ear to ear. Thank you.

Seeing the stage for the first time took our breath away and Abbs sat there telling me all about the stage. Sharing all of her theatre knowledge, chattering a mile a minute. We sat there excitedly, feeling the joy that was all around us. The lights darkened and I could hear Abbs let out a quiet giggle.

How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore 
And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot
In the Caribbean by providence impoverished
In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

-Alexander Hamilton the first song of the show began and we were overwhelmed with emotions. I tried my best to keep in the tears while soaking in all that was happening on stage. Trying to watch the show and watch Abbs watch the show because her face was so priceless. Wow.

Intermission came, we stretched our legs and chatted about the actors, what we were wowed about and what we couldn’t wait to see in the next act. The boy sitting in front of Abbs turned and joined in our conversation as we geeked out that we were actually seeing Hamilton.

He was kind of shy and we could tell he was there by himself, getting to see a show that he’s loved just as long as us. The way he chatted you could tell that he just wanted a touch of human connection during this huge moment that we were sharing. I know that feeling all too well as an independent person who isn’t afraid of doing things alone but finding people to connect with makes that moment even better. We chatted with him more after the show and now I wish we would have connected in social media, but his kind conversation was such a joy in the chaos of yesterday. We hope we were able to be a bit of a blessing for him too.

The 2nd act was just as amazing as the 1st and it brought out all of the emotions perfectly. So good, more just wow moments. We clapped, cheered, laughed, cried and took in every single second. Wow.

After it ended we said goodbye to the people around us including that sweet kid in front of us that we shared that incredible experience and felt that magic with. Beginning to exit with the masses of people, some people had faces of awe like us and others of relief that it was over, ha.

We found a table and chairs to sit out and really let it all soak in. Creating a quiet moment so that we could really cherish what we just got to be apart of and share together. The look in Abbs eye was of wonder and something I’ll never forget.

Then as it emptied we were able to snap more pictures , read the signs and slowly make our way out of the theater. No rush, just taking it all in with the songs still ringing in our ears.

We got outside and started walking towards our parking garage. As we passed where they had the tour buses parked we heard an altercation happening with a tall man with bright red hair and the security officers. The man was screaming, threatening and going after them because they informed he couldn’t park where he was. The security guy was calmly asking him to calm down and just to move his vehicle. The two smaller security ladies were making their way to the sidewalk as we were passing and I asked if they were okay, they looked shaken but replied they were and that they’ve called the police. So Abbs and I kept walking, stumbling on the after show cast area.

Abbs face just lit up with excitement as she got this actors autograph. His part in the show was fun to watch. It was so cute to see her be so giddy. As we were just so excited, the sirens went off and lots of commotion unfolded right behind us.

The police arrived and that guy got back in his car and tried to flee. The security and police right on his tail got him to pull over right near where we were standing. Everyone around us asked what was going on and I briefly told them what we saw.

Then one of those sweet security ladies walked up to the crowd to see if we were all okay and asked if I had seen how he was acting. I replied I did and asked if she was okay. She said this time that she wasn’t and looked a bit scared. So my gut told me to ask if she needed a hug, when she replied she did I wrapped my arms around this stranger and could feel her whole body shaking.

Other people there also reached out to give her hugs and connect with her on a human level. You could see there was a ton of fear of the tall man going through her. When the last person gave her a hug, she shared that she was in a car accident the night before so it was just one bad thing after another. That’s when the words “would like me to pray over you?” spilled out of my mouth and her eyes softened from the fear for a moment and she replied “Oh yes, would you???”

She came in for another shaky hug, others standing there gathered around us and I prayed with all of these strangers, all different races, words of love, comfort and peace. Such a powerful moment. Her shaking stopped, she thanked us and went back to where the police were with that man. Boy what an impact this moment had on me for sure, not even thinking I just jumped in, that had to have been the lord using me as his hands and feet for sure.

We went back to getting autographs and soaking in all of the good vibes that seemed to be following us everywhere we went. Abbs totally geeking out to meet these actors up close and realizing how friendly they are. They are people with a love of theatre and have a dream just like her. Exactly what this amazing teen needed, making all of the work to get here worth every single second.

Getting back the van, I pulled up social media and realized that people were still sharing. People were still ordering my designs. People all over the United States were still showing love for me during one of my biggest mistakes ever. What grace and love that is.

We listened to the Hamilton soundtrack on the drive back home and had some of the best conversations as we watch the sunset in front of us. Such a fab ending to a chaotic day but boy was it filled with joy.

We may be out all of that money for those original seats but the memories we were able to make yesterday. The unexpected impact we had on complete strangers. The wonder of seeing a true professional show full of passion. Made every bit of embarrassment, shame, frustration wash right out of me.

Realizing this was a perfect example of how God uses all things for good, in ways you’d never expect. We were meant to miss our original show because we were meant to be there for that kid to connect with, for that security officer to pray with and for Abbs to feel the wonder with this exact show.

When bad things happen, know that we have the choice to seek the joy. Often times joy surrounds you in ways that you never even realized.

Blessings,

Nicole

PS: not sure how I’ll ever repay my friends for jumping in and believing in me in ways I just never imagined. The joy and hope they created yesterday is so beautiful. The only thing I know for sure is that I’ll always be here to share joy, believe in them and support them in whatever ways I can. Thanks, pals-you’re the best!

Love yourself first.

Posted on by nrosep in Blog Blessings, Owning my Story, Posh Blessings

Love yourself first, yep. That’s my message for today, maybe you need to hear that you need self care. Maybe you need to hear that it’s not selfish to invest in taking care of your body. Maybe you just need these words today.

When taking the time to take care of the body you were given, it’s not all about the physical appearance. It’s more about acknowledging the amazing gift you’ve been given and actually loving it. For God calls us to love thy neighbor like you love yourself. The key there is that you need to love yourself. Truly love the body and person that you are. I believe that we must love people where they are and not where we expect them to be. The same goes for loving yourself, love where you are in this exact moment no matter your weight, anxieties, health issues, emotional baggage. How can you focus on loving yourself more to achieve more balance in your crazy busy life?

Pampering is about connecting with that power of self care each day. Less about what the products are doing for your skin. Sure it’s nice to use a face wash that keeps your skin clear from acne or an eye creme that smooths out wrinkles but the true beauty is the feeling you get from actually washing your face or taking care of the skin under your eyes. Pampering is a deeper connection with the vessel you’ve been given to go through life with. The positive energy you get from putting on a hand creme and feeling like your mood has been lifted isn’t superficial, it isn’t selfish, it’s joy-peace-love tapping you into the fruit of the spirit within each of us. Making sure your cup is filled by soaking in a warm bath or tossing on a face mask is essential to living a balanced life. There is a deep meditation and grateful practice that can come when you slow down in the chaotic life around you to make sure you are tapping into the power of pampering.

Pampering is about giving you really great products, made with the best ingredients that allow you to connect with yourself and with the world around you in such a needed way. You must love on yourself, love on your body, love on your soul. If you are not doing this then you may feel unbalanced, rushed, uneasy, and lacking in many areas of your life. There’s a reason when you are on a plane and they tell you to put your oxygen mask on before helping others. If you try and help others first then you are putting yourself at risk. Why would you choose to do that in normal life too? By leaving yourself last on the list you are shorting yourself in every relationship around you.

What’s the relationship you have with yourself? What’s that chatter that you replay over and over in your head? Is it kind? Let go of any negative words, literally stop them as soon as they start and focus on the joy all around you. Of course we all have our baggage, scars from hard times and our perspectives are all so different but each and every one of us is surround by joy. Joy that you just have to slow down and intentionally look for, this is what helps you grow into the person you were meant to be. You are here on this earth to build a relationship with God,  be the best human you can with the gifts you’ve been given and to impact this world by growing from all of the relationships placed in your life, which it all starts with you. The way you treat yourself is one of the biggest keys to happiness, success, balance and building strong relationships.

How about how you treat your body? Are you washing with love? Slowing down to pamper is just one way to focus on growing your self love. Use products that make you feel great and intentionally set aside time to use them. Clear your head of all of the stress, laugh at the names, feel the textures, notice your skin and fully allow yourself to tap into the moment you’ve created, even it’s just 10 seconds of applying a hand creme. If you don’t love yourself how can you expect to love others without feeling drained? You need to make sure your bucket is being partially filled by yourself, just like putting on your oxygen mask first.

In the hustle and bustle of life all of these lessons can quickly get lost. Here’s your reminder to tap into the powering of pampering to truly focus on loving the body you’ve been given. The benefits of being intentional with self care are worth every penny you spend on great products and every second you use to experience a few moments of pampering time. You deserve it, you are worth it and always remember that above all we must show love to ourselves to truly be able to show love to the world around us.

Blessings,

Nicole

Crazy Busy Work at Home Mom Life

Posted on by nrosep in Blog Blessings, Creative-Vintage Vibes, Laugh with me, Army Wife Mom Life, Owning my Story, Posh Blessings

Any boy moms out there relate to these dudes giving me a tough time about wearing pants today? They would be content with wearing their athletic shorts daily, no matter if it’s been raining or the temperature has dropped significantly. But today I had to push them to put the pants on just in case they needed to walk home from the bus, I needed to make sure they’d be warm. Normally I pick them up daily from the bus stops in my #poshmomtaxi but hubs car was hit in an accident yesterday so we are down to one vehicle. Yep, the hubs has my #poshmomtaxi and I’m keeping busy here at the house, the car wasn’t taken to the shop today so I could carefully drive the car to get the kids from the bus stop. So the jeans weren’t absolutely needed today but it did make me feel better knowing they’d be warmer, totally worth the battle.

 

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After getting kiddos off to school, I then start my day each day by going over what needs done today by checking into my planner. I use the Law of Attraction Undated planner that I get from Amazon, this is my second year using it and my creative brain just loves it. I’m a paper planner girl for sure, I’ve tried using apps to keep it all together but I just can’t get my brain to work well with digital planning. Are you a paper or digital planner? Or not really a planner kind of person? I’ll do a whole blog on my planning habits because I truly feel like it helps me keep this crazy busy life somewhat together with far less stress than when I don’t plan.

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Abby pulled these hand cremes from our vendor event luggage last night so that we could showcase one of our favorite gift sets for the holiday season this year. We love getting to come up with fun pampering gifts for our customers to give out. Self care gifts are often cherished long after the holiday ends so giving a pampering gift with us will truly make others feel special and cherished.

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How sweet is this hand creme with a hearty hand towel just tied with a simple bow? We will be giving these to everyone on our list and invite you to do the same. If you’re interested in ordering a few, email us at poshblessings@gmail.com or joining our VIP group on Facebook!

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Every month Perfectly Posh launches a fun exclusive product and November’s was this old school product. It’s a lip plumping lip balm, full of mint, shea butter and menthol which leaves your lips tingly yet highly moisturized. While I began designing earnings for today it launched and was so fun to share with our team and our customers. If you’d like to shop for your own Smoocheroo then head to our site, we’d love to spoil you for ordering with us.

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Daily design time, something that I’ve been scheduling for myself for the last few months and have noticed a significant drop in my stress level. Being a creative person, I’ve realized that I need to feed that part of me often or my life feels very unbalanced. That’s why I’m so pumped that these sweet earrings fill others with joy and we’ve been able to smoothly add them to our brand. The whole process is soul filling for me, picking out the fabrics, opening the rings, cutting them out and putting them together. Often while I’m doing it, I’m praying for the person who will be wearing them. Podcasts have become my fave to listen to while I’m designing as well, especially self help podcasts. I’ve been thinking it would be so fun to start one of my own, do you listen to Podcasts? What’s your favorite one?

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These three designs were completed today from start to finish and even posted online for purchase. Jump over to the store to grab yours today. If you’re headed to the happiest place on earth over the next few months these would be the perfect accessory. Snap some pics while you’re there, we’d love to see them in action.

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The biggest thing that happened today is we got some huge good news. They said YES!
I can NOT believe it! (Said in my best Little Einstein voice)
But the hub’s command said YES, we really thought they’d say no.
So I  accepted an all expense paid trip to Puerto Vallarta for the two of us for FREE. Well we worked hard for it but still everything will be paid for by posh! Everything. Flights, food, hotel, gifts while we are there, everything.
As military teen parents we never got a chance for a honeymoon 15.5 years ago or any kind of fancy vacay before so I am so stinking excited right now to get to share this experience with him.
I’ve got to go on my fair share of free posh vacays, you can too by joining our team  and choosing to work to grow a biz like us. All of the trips I’ve experienced were all by myself and Travis was at home with the kids. Always knowing how this guy has been such a huge supporter of this biz and how much I wish he could come along because Posh trips are so well planned and memorable. Now he gets to experience a trip and it’s going to be so much fun.
Thank YOU for your support whether you pamper with us or are on our amazing team!!!!

Now to figure out who’d like to watch the kiddos for us and to book flights for us to get there.

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These are just a few snippets of my crazy busy day but love getting to share with y’all. May you be able to feel the joy that is all around you today!!

Blessings,

Nicole

Joyful Blessings

Posted on by nrosep in Blog Blessings, Creative-Vintage Vibes, Owning my Story

 

A few years ago my sweet friend Diane messaged me after seeing I had just got a Cricut machine for free with our Posh Business. Her and I chatted about fun crafting projects quite often, she was a special friend from our home church in Titusville, PA. She gave the best hugs and her smile absolutely lit up the entire room. This message was about some material that she had gotten from grab bags that she’d never use and insisted that I take it. So the next time we made it back home she was sure to stop by to see us, give me one of her famous hugs and said “I can’t wait to see what you come up with to make with this stuff, I’m sure it will be neat!.”

Well life got crazy as it always does and I put that material in the Cricut suitcase, never really thinking about it. Last December we got the news that Diane had gone to be with the Lord that she loved so much, which was so hard for everyone whom she ever hugged. She was a special bright light, so full of joy. Several weeks ago I thought of that material and decided to pull it out to see what I could make with it. When I pulled out the 4 rolls of material I instantly could feel her hug from that day. Why was she so confident that I could create something neat?

 

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As I pulled the tubes out of the suitcase I instantly realized it wasn’t a sort of vinyl, like I had thought it was, instead it was faux leather. Feeling the softness of the leather and the woodgrain look I immediately thought that leaf like earrings would be so fun to create. I gathered supplies, calmed my brain and made my first pair which quickly led to my love of design to be sparked. Before I knew it I had made a bunch of these angel wing like faux leather earrings that are uber light on your ears and decided that I would add them to our Posh Blessings brand, offering them to our friends who were interested. So they too could have a piece of joy and fun jewelry to wear too. I was blown away as every batch we’ve posted sells out so quickly, such a blessing.

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She was right, I sure would make something neat out of that material. Every step brings me such stress relief too from the tracing to putting the jump rings through the material. I’m a crafter at heart for sure, my very first business was crazy successful as I made custom designed crocheted hats without patterns. Adding this to our blog just made sense to me and I hope it does for you too. Each pair is hand cut, a little imperfect in it’s own way but truly designed with love and joy. Just like Diane’s friendship, they light up any day, make you smile, and brings you so much joy.

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May these creations make you smile too, they are made with so much joy. Check back often for more designs and feel free to send your friends our way. Friends like Diane are so cherished and my prayer for you is that you have a few friends just like her. Remember to tell them often how special they are, how their hugs are the best and their smile lights up the room. Surround yourself with friends like her that see the potential in you even when you may not see it yourself.

Blessings,

Nicole

PS: You can shop these creations by clicking the tab Joyful Blessings right here on the blog!