WoW: Classy, Sassy, and a Little Bad-Assy

Classy, Sassy and a Little Bad-Assy

 I introduce you to a new business I am starting with two friends…

Radiant. Inspiring. Unstoppable.

 

It’s a company designed and run by women that provides opportunities for women to empower themselves with new skills, income revenue and the knowledge and confidence to participate in the growing movement to change the equation for women in the world.

 

It’s time – don’t you think?

 

We are just starting Phase I, which is to gain a presence and following on social media. Sometime in April—June period we will provide self-enrichment/empowerment trainings and then we will produce beauty/health products women can market, creating their own businesses to advance their lifestyles, independence and earning potential. My partners are brilliant in the field of marketing and product development and I’m pretty good at the trainings, so it feels like a winning formula!!

 

Please check us out on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/Sassy-Lass-100360828098552/

We are posting some great quotes, short articles and anything that promotes women in the world. Please “Like” whatever you think is good and please pass it on to ALL your Facebook Friends. Right now we are building a base, so your support is GREATLY appreciated. The more the better right now and your comments and suggestions are welcome. Or maybe you have some good posts to support women??

Please join the movement and send them to me: marthaborst1@gmail.com and I’ll share them with everyone.

 

I’m really excited about this venture as I believe it’s going to make a significant contribution in the lives of countless numbers of women.

etc., etc. etc.

 

Let me be clear…

 

Sassy Lass is not here to blame men, society, or anyone for these numbers. We are absolutely intentional about empowering women to take 100% accountability for the success of their own personal and professional lives.

Please support us:

www.facebook.com/Sassy-Lass-100360828098552/

WoW: Happy New Year!

I know the solstice has passed, but I love this message!

This year coming up needs to be one of deep reflection…

 

Who am I?

 

What moral values do I stand for?

 

And what kind of country and world am I here to create?

 

Thank you to Marcela Pecanac for sharing this message above with us.

WoW: I’m Full!

“I’m full!” “I’m full” is what we will probably say as we push our plates away at the end of our Thanksgiving feasts. Fully satiated, we will stagger to the living room to have “just a little” dessert, watch a football game or just talk. There will be much to be thankful for.   But why wait for a holiday to give thanks? What if we could say, “I’m full” every day of our lives, if we could wake up in the morning and be full of gratitude, appreciation and excitement as we anticipate what the day will bring?   What if, for one moment, we could put aside the frantic striving to achieve and accomplish, the desperate need to compete, earn, prove, sell, buy, fix and change that propels us out of the bedroom to immediately look for our phones, full and endless lists that tell us what to do, where to go, who to meet? What if we could simply pause and give thanks for what we already have? Every day. . . without one iota of concern for what we have to do?   What if we took just one minute at the start of every day to simply be content with what we already have? It won’t take but one minute, one simple, quiet minute to recognize how “full” we already are with all our blessings. Even with our personal struggles, fears and life challenges, we are among the most fortunate people on this earth.   So let’s not wait for a special holiday to give thanks, let’s make every day a time for humble gratitude. As we go through our days, let’s take a moment here, and a moment there, to simply appreciate — to say “Thank you” right out loud for what is already good in our lives. I think we’ll find it all boils down to very, very simple things.   If we sit very quietly and just for one minute, let go of the angers and hurts from the past, let go of the worries of the future, let go of not being enough or having enough or doing enough and simply savor each breath in the present moment with what we already have, we’ll open the space to feel “full”.   It’s the perfect time to thank the universe for the gift of life, the opportunity to begin again, the chance to choose every single moment what we will say, how we will think, who we will be, how we will act, what we will feel and what we will do.   What greater gift could we ever ask for – than this moment?

A Life Well Lived

“Life well lived, is long enough.”

 

I only have a minute

Sixty seconds in it

Forced upon me I did not choose it

But I know that I must use it

Give account if I abuse it

Only a tiny little minute

But eternity is in it . . .

 

Elijah Cummings’ first speech to the US Congress 1996

A Time To Begin Again

“Sunrise . . . a time to begin again . . .”

 

A huge thank you to the unbelievably heroic firefighters and first responders who saved so many of us from the Kincade fire. Their tireless efforts have been nothing short of extraordinary. . . and I personally thank all of you – my friends, family, colleagues and clients, who so generously shared your well-wishes, offered your homes and help. Your kind thoughts and words of encouragement meant a lot during this very unsettling time.

 

Here are some of the statistics:

 

• Over 78,000 acres burned so far
• It won’t be 100% contained until ~ Nov. 7^th
• 5,000 fire fighters came from across the USA, Australia and New Zealand
• Over 200,000 residents were evacuated (almost all of Sonoma County and part of Lake County)
• More than 2.5 – 2.8 million residents and businesses were without power for 5 days to 1 week. Many have still not been restored power or gas.
• Fire threatened 90,000 structures with 59 structures damaged and 372 destroyed, including 90 homes.
• Winds reached 93 mph (close to a category 2 hurricane) in Healdsburg and were directing the fire straight toward my house.
• With wind, fire travels at the rate of 100 yards per second.
• Embers can travel over 1 mile away with the wind and quickly start a new fire.
• Deaths = ZERO!!!

 

Sadly, as you can see, not all have been as fortunate as I and my heartfelt sadness and empathy flow to those who lost their homes and everything they owned for a lifetime. Lots of people have been out of work for over a week, but our incredibly, hard-working farm workers have been especially hard hit as most live paycheck to paycheck.

 

For those who returned to a home still intact, many still don’t have gas, hot water, heat and electricity and our temperatures at night have been below freezing. For them, it has been a true tragedy. They really need support.

 

We are a strong community here and life will go on. Today is a new day and we will recover together. As the saying goes, ”Sunrise…a time to begin again”, and we shall do so together. But you too, as a fellow human being, are a part of our community and this is the time when many need an extra hand…

your hand…to help them get a leg up.

 

If you are fortunate enough to be in the comfort of your own home right now, and if you feel moved to do something that will make a difference…here’s how:

 

We are a tourist community, so please don’t stay away!! Our hotels, stores, restaurants and wineries are all OPEN and ready to serve you the finest of everything!!

 

Through no fault of their own, Latin evacuees need groceries (food goes bad without refrigeration), baby diapers and formula – simple everyday stuff like toothpaste, etc.

Please donate to Corazon Healdsburg at: https://www.corazonhealdsburg.org

La Luz Center at https://www.laluzcenter.org

and UndocuFund at https://undocufund.org

 

Donate to the Sonoma County Resiliency Fund, established after the 2017 wildfires, donations go toward long-term disaster recovery efforts and mental health support. Donations can be made online at: https://cfs.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?setc=1&funit_id=1652

 

The Redwood Empire Food Bank is accepting monetary and food donations. For monetary donations, visit: https://refb.org/

For food donation information call 707-523-7900.

 

Assist those who lost their homes or businesses by donating to the United Way of the Wine Country’s Kincade Fire Emergency Relief & Recovery Fund at: https://unitedwaywinecountry.org/comm/

and the Community Foundation’s Resilience Fund at: https://www.sonomacf.org/ 

 

If you are local . . .

 

Make meals for the remaining evacuees by signing up with Sonoma Family Meal at https://www.sonomafamilymeal.org/volunteer/

or with World Central Kitchen at https://wck.org/volunteer

 

Volunteer at the remaining open shelters in Sonoma County by emailing Petaluma People Services at admin@petalumapeople.org

or submitting an application to the American Red Cross at: https://www.redcross.org/

 

Open your home to the remaining evacuees by calling or emailing Share Sonoma County at (707) 766-8800 and info@sharefire.org

 

Donate gift cards for groceries and gasoline to community organizations for them to pass out to so many in need of help. They have lost wages and food and struggle to pay the rent and restock groceries in their refrigerators.

 

We are all in this thing called “life” together and we thank you for caring. Your generosity at a time like this is so, so appreciated.

 

Fires in Sonoma County, California!

Dearest Family, Friends and Colleagues,

Thank you to all for your texts and emails checking in with me with regards to the fires in Sonoma County. I truly appreciate your kind words of support and prayers!

Over 180,000 people have been evacuated from Sonoma County – including all of Healdsburg, so I am currently staying with friends further south out of the danger zone. I have both dogs with me and Bill the cat is with my daughter, Gabi. All are safe and sound.

I do not know when we will be allowed to return home as the fires continue and Highway 101 has now been shut-down from to Santa Rosa to all the northern areas where the fires are.

Wifi/Internet access is very limited for me, so please understand I may not get back to you in a timely fashion, should you email or text me.

I assure you we are all safe and sound. I am sending you all – and all those affected by these fires, my love, prayers, and good thoughts during this terrible time of fires, power & gas shut-offs and evacuations.

Please stay safe!

Sincerely,

Martha

Not Everyone Will Like Us

As much as it is a pleasant experience to be liked, the reality is not everyone will. Yet, how much time and energy do we sometimes waste, trying to get someone to like us? We adjust our personalities to suite others’ wants and needs, we laugh at things we don’t think are funny, we say what we think others want to hear, we are overly helpful to a fault and often at our own expense.

When we come to depend on the approval of others and measure our self-worth by their judgments, we lose our way. We lose ourselves.

Like tends to attract like and usually if someone doesn’t like us, it’s because they aren’t like us. They operate with a different energy, have distinctly different opinions or perspectives and see the world through a much different filter. What is important to us, may not be for them and what makes sense to them, may seem ludicrous to us.

This does not mean there is anything wrong with us or with them, it’s just that we are attracted to different things and people, and no matter what we do, they may still not like us. We could stand on our head, twiddle our thumbs and spit nickels and they still would not be attracted to us.

The same is true in reverse. We also may not like everyone we meet. I’m sure we can all think of someone we just don’t “fit in” with, or someone who rubs us the wrong way, annoys and frustrates us. We find ourselves judging and criticizing them as we try to change them to our likeness, hoping they will be more like the person we know they “should” be. Likewise, when we allow our disapproval of them and the way they think and act affect us in negative ways, we lose our own way. We lose ourselves.

However, if we allow others to think as they do about us without taking it personally, then we give them freedom to be themselves and we reclaim it for ourselves as well. When we accept others as they are without making them wrong and accept the differences, then we too, are set free to be whom we are.

Rather than try to shape ourselves into someone we aren’t or try to force someone to change to our liking, through acceptance, we can each move along our life’s path free to be ourselves and free to attract those who do vibrate with the same energy.

If we do this well, we will not only learn one of life’s greatest lessons, we will be a gift of love to all we meet.