Authentically Nita

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Do it with grace?” Many of us have experienced moments where we had to hold our chin up and face a situation that felt uncomfortable or difficult. We should not let those moments tear us down, or make us hard. We should choose to live with grace instead. Living with grace means having the ability to face life’s challenges with poise, elegance, humility, and forgiveness. It is about finding the beauty in life despite the negativity around us. Even when things seem bleak or uncertain, when we live with grace we are able to see the silver lining.  Here are some tips for living with grace and ease despite the challenges you may face in life. Photo by Ogo 1. Find Your Center When facing a challenging situation, take a deep breath and find your center. This will help you remain grounded in the present moment so that you can make decisions from an informed place rather than from a place of reactivity or fear. Take your time to assess the situation and dete...

Photo by Rahul Pandit Where's the magic? When was the last time you got up in the morning brimming with excitement, unable to keep still because of all the exuberant possibilities that the day ahead was holding for you? All those fun adventures, mischievous plans, playful projects... Kids will often experience this kind of unbearable excitement for the day ahead - for life itself. They have not yet taken on so many beliefs about life that many of us, adults, have accumulated over the years. What are your beliefs, the messages playing in your head? Tune in, look at what's there. Is it something like: life is hard; you don't get anything for free; you work hard and then you die; it's always a struggle; you have to pay your dues; you have to take things seriously; life isn't fair; my life stinks; I never get a break...? You've probably had these, or other variations of such thoughts spinning through your mind at various points - either consciously or not. And what...

I literally had to grieve my divorce.  The stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, letting go and acceptance. I have gone through each one of these stages. I had to remove someone from my life that had been part of it for sixteen years. I met him when I was 22 and my divorce was finalized when I was 38. The relationship had ended years before the divorce, but it took me a long time to accept it. I was gone mentally, long before I had physically picked up my things and drove off. I was hurt. I was sad. I was angry. I couldn’t understand how HE could do the things he did to me. The one person who was supposed to love me unconditionally broke me down bit-by-bit until I didn’t even understand why I was living. I didn’t understand why I was suffering. I didn’t understand why God put me in that place. I was angry with God. I felt myself breaking down and it was getting hard to pretend that everything was normal. I hated going home. I worked late and went into the office early when...

January : I started the year off at an RMA networking event at the Pyramid Club. I could have sworn I would be doing fabulous Banker stuff all year 🤔 ....2020 had other plans. The World Health Organization announced on January 9th that a deadly coronavirus had emerged in Wuhan, China.  Then, on January 26th, Kobe Bryant, his daughter, three members of the Altobelli family, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester & the pilot all lost their lives in a ass helicopter crash. It was devastating news and the entire country mourned.  February :  For Valentine's Day I got some beautiful roses from Vaughn. I love flowers so much and red roses are my favorite!  My grandma wasn't doing well in February and we spent a lot of time at the hospital.  On Feb. 24th Harvey Weinstein was convicted rap and sexual abuse which started the #MeToo movement.  I paid little attention to this, because on Feb. 24th, my grandma passed away.  March :  I was so heart broken w...

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your Christmas Eve was amazing.  I was so exhausted by the end of last night.  I had planned such a fun time, but two of my daughters weren't speaking when we started. Then my mom hurt one of my daughters feelings. Another one was being rude to her sister for no reason. I tried to pull it together with some board games, but one daughter was shut in her room and another left to go upstairs after Clue. I have three daughters and the third one was so hurt by her sister's rudeness she started crying. My mom was starting to feel a little down after that.  The pizza came around this time and I pulled out my phone for a game of Heads Up! My son sat this one out but I was okay with that because the had participated in everything,

I knew it.  All the signs were there.  This man flipped the script so fast!  We were just in love and planning on starting our business so we could really build something.   Ex had enrolled in school and began classes.  Soon after, he started going out without me.  He was staying out really late.  At family events he sat in a corner with his face in his phone texting and smiling instead of talking with the guys.  I wasn't stupid.  I confronted him and he denied any wrong doing.  I waited up for him so many nights.  The bars closed at 2:00 am.  Sometimes he didn't make it home until 5 or 6.  He said he was at the "after hour."  I called him a liar.  I argued with him every day.  I bitched and yelled, and he wouldn't tell me the truth.  I tried talking and reasoning with him, but he wouldn't tell me the truth.  I had to find out on my own.  So I did.  After only three months...

Sometimes I think Ex loved me more than I loved myself.  He loved me so much that he put me on a pedestal and held me to a higher standard. There were so many things that I was supposed to be.  Pretty but humble, kind-hearted but unyielding, well kept but natural, conservative but open-minded, reserved but out-going, strong but soft, cordial but not too friendly.  It was almost impossible and quite draining to keep up with.  Still, I was determined to keep it up.  Ex thought more highly of me than I thought of myself and I wanted to be everything he thought I was.  So I did....or at least, I tried. Sometimes I was too friendly or didn't say the right thing.  Other times I held back too much and came off as awkward.  It was a little nerve-racking to not know when I should or shouldn't speak to someone.  Normally, I would just speak to store clerks to be polite.  Now, I needed to make sure I wasn't being, "joe."  It really wasn't...

I feel compelled to fill you in on what happened to change me as a person and stop me from writing for so long.  It has been a long journey and I think you will understand me more if I explain. Let me tell you about my marriage... I met Ex long before we got married.  We married in 2011 in a very rushed ceremony while he was on house arrest fighting a case. (He was later aquitted of all charges). You will never hear me say that I did not love my ex-husband. I loved that man. From the moment I met him, I felt like no one else on the planet understood me the way he did. The night we met, we sat on bar stools next to each other and talked for an hour and a half. We talked like we had been friends for years. We talked about life and family, about current events and politics and about music and movies. I wondered why I had not met him sooner. I was 22. Now, here I was, at age 30, feeling doubt in my heart while standing at the alter holding his hands. The doubt was not from me thin...

What a day! Look at my hands! I was leaving a meeting at our corporate office in Souderton when my tire got a big 'ol hole in it!! 😞 I was able to pull over at Wawa when I noticed the Low PSI warning, but when I got out of the car I could hear air seeping out!!  Their air pump would not do.  Fix-a-flat would not do.  I don't have AAA (anymore ☹).  I would have to get out the donut 🍩 and change the tire myself!!! 😭😭😭😒.   "This will definitely delay my afternoon meeting in Mt. Airy," I thought.  Not to mention, my outfit looked really cute!  Plus, I did my hair & make-up so nice!! 😍 Even the security guard noticed when I got to Souderton this morning she was like, "You look different. Did you straighten your hair? It looks good!" The last time I had to change my own car tire I was 21!!  And even then someone pulled over and helped.  No such luck today. 😠  I guess I didn't look cute enough! 😮  After it took me l...

Why do we give ourselves to people who don't deserve us?  It changes us.   It chips away at us piece by piece until we are shaped into something else;  something different.   We don't even recognize the old person.   Who was that girl?   My, how she's changed. I feel like everytime that I've accepted something I didn't deserve it took away from who I was.   I don't know when I started allowing people to treat me so badly.   It just sort of happened and then it never stopped. I guess it doesn't really matter when I started it, what matters is that I stop.   I'm done letting people take from me!  My time, my love, my attention; is valuable.   I will not let anyone else hurt me, or make me feel like I am beaneath them.  It hurts so much when the person you love makes you feel like you are nothing.  I've decided, that's over.  It's time to rebuild.  And rebuild, I shall. ...

Image (c)  deliberateLIFE DeliberateLIFE is a new magazine founded by Fay Johnson. DeliberateLIFE challenges its readers to acknowledge that the choices we make in our lives can affect us, the people around us, our community, and our entire world. It focuses on inspiring people to "live a better life by making a deliberate choice to live well and do good." Both deliberateLIFE’s substance and visual content make it a high quality magazine that I believe readers will appreciate. It's positive message and upbeat tone is a refreshing change from the typical content that I read on a daily basis. One of my favorite sections of the magazine was, the "In The Know," section. This section raises awareness and gives insight on global issues. DeliberateLIFE is currently available exclusively through the iPad Newsstand. However, it will eventually move to the Android platform and be available to everyone with a tablet. If you have an iPad, I would recommend that yo...

The people we surround ourselves with. I suppose it is a good idea to evaluate the people that you keep closest to you. Those that you would go above and beyond for. Maybe, one should consider if these same people would do the same for you. Are these people like you? What does their presence in your life mean? Are they helping you, hurting hurt, or having no effect at all. The places we go. We make the choice of where to go on any given day, or in life in general. Let's suppose you plan to go to Wal-Mart, and you know that you have to catch the number 7 bus to get there. You make your way to the bus stop, ride the bus and arrive at your destination. If only arriving at your life's destination could be as simple. Where are the people in your life going and where are you going with them? Are they leaving you behind, holding you back, or neither? The things that we do. What are the things that we do in life that hinder us? The things that lead to our success? Things that make us ...

I went to the Wissahickon on April 9th, 2011 and planted trees with the Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers and students from the University of Pennsylvania. There were 35 trees that needed to be planted. There were flags marking where the trees were to be planted. Our group picked the spot where we would plant our first tree. We had to do a little invasive plant removal to clear away three feet around where the tree would be planted. Most of it had been removed already and the dead vines of the plants were everywhere. We also had to dig up the root of the invasive plant that was in the spot where the tree would go. Once the invasive was removed and the hole was dug. We planted the tree. The first tree we planted was a Hackberry Tree. The Hackberry Tree produces berries and it’s a good food and shelter tree for wildlife. The second tree we planted was a White Oak Tree. The White Oak is going to grow big and also provide shelter and food for wildlife. After we planted the trees we then ...

Sources: David's Bridal Unique Vintage Retro Wedding Dresses Vintage Gowns & Bridal Gowns

Santa Says  Santa's Blog shares children's Christmas wishes and many aren't asking for toys: My Grandma’s nightgown has holes in it you can see through and I don’t like to, so she needs a new one, and her Mix Masters broke too. I want $500 to help Mommy pay all the bills because we are getting a little poor and she worries so much. You can skip all the toys this year. What I want is for my brother to get better, to speak and act like he used to and not have to take pills all the time. Can you make me magic? Dear Santa, will you let dad spean time with us. I need your help. Dear Santa, All I wish is to see my Grandpa for Christmas. Please for me. All I want is for my baby cousin Brandon to get better. Visit his blog to see what Santa Says!

Is it just me, or is Back to School shopping extra-expensive this year???? I think it's a combination of my pay check not going as far as it used to and the fact that all of my children are in school now. I only have to buy uniforms for three of them this year, but that doesn't really matter. Looking on the bright side: At least I don't have to buy one of those expensive calculators this year.

I could go down the list of everything that went wrong for me today, but instead I will just hope tomorrow is better. Gotta think positive you know?

I guess there comes a time when every mother has to come face to face with their teenager and let them know who's boss. Mother/daughter relationships can be difficult during these years. This Thursday's Thought: "Mother Nature is providential. She gives us twelve years to develop a love for our children before turning them into teenagers." ~William Galvin The reason behind the thought: My daughter crossed a line last night. This line crossing showed blatant disrespect and has changed our relationship forever. My daughter turned 13 in March. It's only been a few months and one of my worst fears has already come true. The fear that she would one day forget how much I love her and how much I've been here for her through the years. I've never had a teenager before and this is all new to me, but one thing I am not going to do is play friends with her and allow her to disrespect me.

Check out our Walk Team Video for the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. We're getting an early start this year and I am hoping to get more people involved. I chose the song "Some Say Love," sung by LeAnne Rhimes. I think this song is so beautiful. It's like she is singing a poem. Here are the lyrics: Some say love, it is a river, That drowns, the tender reed. Some say love, it is a razor, that leaves, your soul to bleed. Some say love, it is a hunger, An endless aching need. I say love, it is a flower, And you it's only seed. It's the heart, afraid of breaking, That never, learns to dance. It's the dream, afraid of waking, That never, takes the chance. It's the one, who won't be taken, Who cannot, seem to give. And the soul, afraid of dying, That never, learns to live. When the night, has been too lonely, And the road, has been too long. And you feel, that love is only, for the lucky, and the strong. Just remember, in the winter, Far beneath, the bitter ...

Not long ago I posted a Blog about this wonderful organization and how they are helping inner city youth experience life outside of the city. I think this is great because it is at no expense to the children and could make a world of difference in their lives. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so! A group of generous donors has decided to match all donations received in the month of June, dollar for dollar. Please donate by June 30th so that your donation can be matched. If you'd thought about this before and thought to yourself, "$25.00 is nothing." This is the time to erase that thought. This month $25.00 is $50.00. So if you can spare it, and you feel that this is a good cause, please contribute to The Fresh Air Fund .