CHD video

A fabulous mom of a heart baby, named Ashley Meyers, recently created a video of CHD (Congenital heart defects) warriors and angels. Kaia is one of the babies in the video. I want to share this with you all, not just to show you that Kaia made a video, but to tug on your heartstrings a little and help with CHD awareness. Did you know that two times as many kids in the US alone dine from CHD than all childhood cancers combined? It's the #1 cause of birth defect related deaths. This year, 4,000 heart babies won't live to see their first birthday. Kaia was one of those babies. She appears in the video at 8:24 into it, but I think that changes as kids get added all the time. Please spread the word and let's all work to help get funding for this epidemic! It gets VERY LITTLE, and therefore, there is little known about it or what causes it or how to prevent it. I embedded the video below, but I don't know how to make it so it fits the space. So, if you'd rather, please go HERE.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

New year is coming, let's make it green!

Hey ya'll! I just decided that January is going to be "Green month" for Out of habit. Every day (or every day I'm able to) I will post a "did you know" fact about the environment or organic facts or some other miscellaneous sustainable living tidbit. Keep checking back to help make your new year, a new year of changes to better your lifestyle and your impact on the earth and your health!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas! I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve already. We will be heading to Eric's family's tomorrow, and to his sister's on Christmas day and then we are off to PA to visit my dad and Aunts and cousins. For everyone else who is traveling, please have a safe trip and a Christmas full of love...the most valuable gift of all!

Peace,
The Urbans

etsy is the new ebay

I just read an article on the FRONT PAGE of yahoo today about a girl who quit her real job to sell knitted items on Etsy.com. She now makes $140,000/year. It would be amazing if I could get even 1/3 of the way there! Please share my site with your family and friends and help a local gal in her new *hopeful* career! Orders are slowing down, and I need to see the light again! Gotta keep believing.
Thanks all! http://www.littleliondesigns.etsy.com/

Excellent lesson

I was really upset after a bout with our neighbors regarding smoking in the hallway this morning. She had me fuming because after asking her dozens of times not to smoke in the common area because of the fact that it blocks ability to get pregnant and causes miscarriage and birth defects if you are pregnant, she responded with "karma's a bitch n maybe u should eat some meat n ur kid won't have heart problems". It took everything in my power not to walk downstairs and rip her head off. And I got this from my girlfriend right afterwards (in regards to the situation) and it helped a lot. So, I thought I'd share.

"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

--MT "

And as my Aunt told me, if you look in the mirror and are 100% happy with the girl looking back at you and know that your decisions were the right ones for you, then that's all you need to worry about. She said it so much more eloquently, but you get the drift.

Peace to you!

exclamation point!

A friend of mine has a blog, which is in my blog list, and she's an amazing writer. I read her blogs and think "wow, this woman is in my head stealing my thoughts!". Anyway, she's brilliant at writing, and I completely missed this one blog she wrote mentioning Kaia. She just told me about it. I wasn't spending much time on the internet then, because the internet is not a place to be when you need to heal. I think I didn't touch it for weeks and had hundreds of emails stacking up. But I just now read it, which means I was meant to read it this morning. And I'm glad I did. the sun is shining just as it did on the day of her calling hours. And I'm reminded of her. It's not a sad remembrance. It's full of light and love and it has me smiling. You can read it here. Thank you Shan!

oh Christmas tree!

Saturday we are going with Eric's family to get our first real Christmas tree. I've always been against real trees, but I am now picturing all of the face plastic trees filling up landfills. I'd love to get a bulb tree and plant it, but we rent...
I'm contemplating going with LED lights but haven't seen any that I like so far. They all have a purplish tone and aren't warm and friendly like the regular white lights. Eric wants colored but the big bulbs. Those are fun, but I prefer the white. They are more serene.

Anyway, I was just thinking about Christmas and what it means. We are not doing many gifts this year. We want to focus on what it really means. Well, I do at least. ;)
I'd also like to take this time to say that we won't be sending out cards. Between the cost of cards and stamps and the environmental impact, I just don't think it's right for me this year. So, I apologize if it seems we are bah humbug about it. But we definitely still wish everyone a fabulous holiday with their families. Be safe, be merry and over all, be healthy.

Merry Christmas!

Yay for tarot!

Here's my reading for the day:
"The Wheel of Fortune
The wheel of fortune is turning in your favor. Many projects can now enjoy great success. Soon be time to reap benefits of what you are sowing. A cycle is continuing. Success. Unexpected luck. Happiness. Something new is emerging and will bring new and exciting energy. Opportunity. Have faith in what is happening at the moment. Divine forces at work to bring good fortune into your life. Trust in the cycle of life. Possible new money on the way."

I love it! I do have lots of orders to fill right now (so I really shouldn't be on the internet, but I need my fix!).

Two days ago I made a huge change in my life. I had to let go (hopefully temporarily) of something that I allowed to consume every thought, which pulled all of my energy out of me. My fault for choosing those thoughts over healthier ones. But I couldn't stop, no matter what I tried...meditation, yoga, art, music, therapy. I struggled with having to let go for the sake of health and my own productivity. Negativity can be a straight jacket for my brain. Only being able to focus on that was a wedge in everything I've been trying to do in my life....heal, move on, grow a sustainable and productive business, have another baby, etc. Though it was hard, I believe that it will be better in the end for EVERYONE. Since then a weight has been lifted. I've been working on myself, and I'm already seeing positive results in my life. I feel better about myself which is giving me more confidence in what I'm doing. I'm now realizing my blessings and reveling in them. When I realize where my life has taken my career, I prance around, giddy with knowing that this new venture of mine, is the real deal. After not even two months of doing it, it's already a success! It is only now that I can focus on that and know that our baby girl has had the biggest hand in getting it to work, and for that I owe her all of the credit.

I see people who live a life where they are always seeing themselves as the victim of something. (insert me in my last career here). To that, I believe the only one doing the victimizing is yourself. You choose your thoughts. You choose your path. Last week someone told me "you can't change anyone else, you can only change yourself. Don't get caught up in other people's lessons. And remember, there are no friends or enemies, there are only teachers." Two huge lessons in one honest statement. It turned on a huge light in my life that I intend to follow and remember forever...which is why I decided to put that on here. Not everyone gets to talk with such great advisers, and maybe it will help someone else too.

This post is my big cheers to positivity! May it fill all the little crevices of you and overtake the negativity. Bottoms up!