inspiration

things that inspire me or posts to inspire you

The Pin Making Ya’ll Grin

Every morning for the last week or so I wake up to scores of emails from Pinterest telling me one of my pins has been “re-pinned.”  At first I would flutter with excitement and check with one eye open at all hours.  Now, I don’t even bother opening them email.  I know what pin is making you guys oh so very happy.  It’s this one, and I get it.  I loved it too, that’s why I pinned it in the first place! It’s originally from a mobile twitter account in South Africa tweeting about an article on ottomans.  So, first I wanted to give credit where credit is due and site the original source of this image, SA_Decor Marcia, and…

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What do Kevin Bacon, Oprah and Jeopardy have in common?

Me!! (Possibly). I’m not entirely sure if it’s out of genuine concern or our seemingly inherent nature to love a train wreck, but some of my friends have started asking if I’m afraid my parents will find out I lost my job through this blog. I laugh every time, and I can’t help but laugh for two reasons. The first is that the idea of either one of my parents accessing a blog is simply comical and second, that what I write 3000 miles away from my former home would somehow make it to their IP address. Now, I fully understand how the Internet works and that anyone can read this anywhere in the world and that distance has zero…

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Sit Still

For Mind Blowing Update, scroll to the bottom!  You can’t miss it.   I understand fully why meditation is considered an art and why the most successful people I can think of, both personally and publicly, all seem to share at least some version of “being still” as part of their success.  There is immense power in getting quiet, but I also want to tell you it can be a bit misleading, the “quiet” part anyway.  What I have learned in the 60 days since I lost my job but found my calling is that when you can quiet your mind, the universe speaks the loudest.  And the fastest if that’s what you’re asking for.  Enter all the journals I…

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My Authentic Life

If you haven’t figure it out already, this experience has changed me.  For the better.  I’m not only happier, I’m more connected to my feelings and my thoughts and in turn more present and able to really enjoy my life and all it’s flaws (I’m working on them).  And it turns out this new outlook I have is a tad infectious or annoying, depending on which side of happy you fall on.  And my friends have no problem telling me when I’ve crossed the line into hippyville.  So, to keep it light, I’ve complied the top ten reasons why my friends think I’m going to start wearing crystals and never change out of yoga pants.   1.  I believe in…

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Dance, Before this Moment too is Gone

I’m going to be completely honest here.  Before I decided to go on this journey of mine I was not on Instagram, or Twitter.  I don’t know how to Snap Chat or Vine and I have never ever had a Facebook page or a MySpace account (yes, I’m that old to remember where it all began).  I subscribed to all of zero blogs and YouTube was merely something to occupy my 3 yr olds time.  I was on Pinterest but I hadn’t “pinned” a single thing.  And I wasn’t even on LinkedIn (talk about asking for it) until a few weeks before I was let go — which BTW I have yet to edit because I’m digitally linked to my…

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Gettin’ by With a Little Help From My Friends

I didn’t see the text that came in at 7:11 this morning from my friend Kim because I was asleep.  Not that that is unusual for many but for me, a mother of 3 toddlers, it is.  I was asleep because setting up this blog while having 3 toddlers means I do it when they go to bed and therefore I don’t.  Not as of now anyway, I’m learning just how steep this learning curve actually is.  But this morning my husband was home and the kids were all good (I’m assuming as I still have all 3 of them!) and I got some much needed rest. My friend however didn’t get much rest and needed to talk, so I…

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Happy Dance for Ellen

So in the spirit of dreaming big and shooting for the stars, I’d like to extend my invitation to break the news to my parents to Ellen Degeneres as well. And here’s ten reasons why Ellen and I make good TV (with my messy little dancing monsters of course): Watch them in action as they get down Ed Sheeran, Sesame Street and the Letter O in this video. 1.  Everyone gets a chance to dance on ellen, no-one  sits it out.  By choice, she can literally get everyone and your grandma to wiggle a little somethin’ somethin’. 2. When I close my eyes and think of the happiest people on Earth, I immediately go to Ellen.  No one celebrates happy…

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10 Ways From Crappy to Happy

It happens every day without fail to most of us.  Someone or some thing takes a crap on your happy day.  And I’m not talking in the literal sense for all the moms out there, although knowing I ate poop while wiping a chubby butt on my birthday back in April definitely qualifies here.  I’m talking about the intentional poppers, the ones who just can’t stand to see you happy and the unintentional ones alike.  Crap happens.  And it has the ability flush your day down the toilet.  And often its hard to recover, set yourself straight and get out of the gutter.  So when my friends started calling me for advice, knowing I’m paying close attention to the choice…

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Oprah Made Me Do It

Oprah made me do it.  I think thats what I’m going to tell my parents — when I finally tell my parents that I lost my corporate job and that no, I’m not looking for a new one — that I’m leaving it up to the universe to guide me, along with a boat load of determination and a heap of blind faith.  Sorry mom, sorry dad.  I’m blogging (all the way to happy). Crickets. Now you’re either shocked that its been more than 30 days and I’m more than 30 years and I can’t fess up to my parents, or that I’ve made Oprah my scapegoat.  My guess is both and I’m okay with that.  But before you judge,…

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Mysterious Ways

Roughly two weeks before I lost my job, a good friend of mine resigned from her position at Wildfox and her departure sent ripples throughout the company. Like myself, she was around longer than most who walked the halls and occupied the desks. She had more than my 5 years under her belt and set the bar high for many. She understood everything that couldn’t be taught, knew the history of the company because she lived it and truly gave it her all for years. But the time had come for her to say goodbye and she took a leap of faith and resigned. She had no job lined up and no real back up plan. Instead she wanted to…

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A Not So Little Ditty About Me

Hello! And thanks for taking the time to check out my blog and possibly quench your curiosity about the ‘new kid on the blog.’ I’m Kerri, and I’m messybydesign. I’ll start with me and then go on to explain the meaning behind the name if that’s ok. I read so many “tips” about getting started that all the well intentioned posts had me forgetting this part was literally about me. It’s my life, my identity, my story and I should probably stick to listening to myself and not create anxiety where I previously had none. Because I’m not entirely sure which was to come first anymore, me or the name I made up to be clever. Nevertheless, or perhaps more…

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My Space

It took me less than a day to finish Luna’s book, The Crossroads of Should and Must and feeling really positive I immediately jumped into Badass, partly because I was feeling like one and partly because I still had a lot of time on my hands.  But I also had a project swirling around in my head that I needed to just do. Inspired by Luna and cheered on by Jen, I knew I needed to do what felt right, what made me happy and not get caught up in my own head, tripping up over too many questions or doubts.  Don’t think just do, I told myself.  And what did I do next?  I went to Target. “Most answers…

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Saved by The Book

It was a Monday night, exactly one week after being fired that I got down to business. I knew for my own sake that I needed to begin the job search before I could relax and enjoy my kids for the summer. Because that was the consensus from just about everyone, relax and enjoy your “time off. ” Sounds good right, “time off?”  Who doesn’t love time off?  My brain however, had a hard time making the jump from being “fired” to enjoying my “time off.” It just wouldn’t compute.  Was “time off” the new “fired” and because I have never ever in my life been fired I’m just out of the loop? I knew better and honestly I couldn’t…

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