Journaling for New Latina Renewal Challenge

Journal your way to success...the New Latina Renewal Challenge

I was sooo excited when I got the first packet from the New Latina Challenge. I was celebrating my birthday in the Bahamas when the first one was emailed to us and I quickly opened it and got excited. It reinforced so much of what I had just been doing. I loved it. I loved the idea of shedding and out with the old and in with the new. I had just hosted our annual White Elephant gift exchange and put together two sister boxes and was working on a third, so I knew I was making room for the new and shedding the old and the feeling was good.

But what really excited me was the opportunity to use my special journal. You see, I collect journals and I have many of them lying around and I look for an opportunity to use my very special journals for special occasions.

Last year, I was blessed to have been specially made, three beautiful journals by the very talented Mia…(artsbymia.com)

One was for my son and two were for me and I was waiting for a special writing opportunity to use these very beautiful journals and what better occasion than the New Latina Renewal Challenge. I chose the EMPOWER journal and I am very excited about filling it with my thoughts, and quotes, and anything notes. Thank you, New Latina for the opportunity and mil gracias to Mia for the beautiful journal that inspires me to write and fill the pages with feeling of love, challenge, renewal, and taking the next step. And mil gracias to New Latina for the inspiration!!!

If you have not found the time or the wherewithal to start your journaling to a new you, maybe you need to go SHOPPING for that very special place where you can write and feel inspired to put pen to paper!!!!

Con un pan y cafecito,
Seguimos adelante
Zulmara

The Sister Box

A caixa de irmãs/The Sister Box

Yesterday, I posted how I shedded with White Elephant Gifts...I also do a Sister Box with my sisters on a regular basis, which is a shedding, cleansing, renewal, and keeping in touch tradition all in one. This is something we started after the holidays, after saying our good-byes and missing each other. Parting is such sweet sorrow. It is always a bitter sweet parting, we love those who live far and have a hard time being away from them, but life and living get in the way of us being together regularly.


Our sister box became a way of staying in touch and sharing a part of our lives with each other. Our Sister Box Tradition helps us keep in touch during those times in between the holidays. We start by having one of us fill a box with lots of goodies. They can be new, old, for someone special, or just 'cositias' to put in the box. And we mail it to one sister with cards in it for all the other sisters. Then we go around and when each person receives the box, they take out anything that is for them, anything else they want from the box, and then they fill it with their treasures and send onto the next sister. And the box makes it way around. It is a fun way to stay connected and stay in touch--and do a cleansing where you know your treasures are being shared. We have so much fun with our caixa de irmãs, that we are always looking forward to getting the next box. It does not always work as planned and sometimes, we have a sister who hangs on to long, but in the end, we just start the fun all over again.


We have recently started including our daughters and they are having so much fun and we are teaching the cousins how to stay in touch, no matter what.


This fits in really well with cleansing and shedding...you can fill a box with the treasures you are ready to part with and send it to a few friends, family members, and others who may like to play and keep in touch.


Adds a nice tradition for shedding, so you are making way for the new on a regular basis, having a lot of fun, and keeping in touch...all with one activity!!!!

What fun and interesting ways do you have for staying in touch with your family?

Con un pan y cafecito,
Seguimos adelante,

Zulmara


New Latina Renewal Challenge

New Latina Cleanings

New Latina Cleansings

Serrendipitously, the first week of the Latina Challenge is about shedding as a way of cleansing the old to make room for the new. I have a tradition with my family that is just about this topic that we have been practicing for years.

At this time of year, it is very nice to do a cleansing. A way of taking old things out of your life to make room for the new. However, it can be hard to part with treasures and it can be hard to let go sometimes. One of my New Year’s traditions if I am hosting the dinner at at my home is to do a White Elephant Gift exchange, where I provide all the White Elephant gifts. It is a nice way to part with some items I no longer want and so much fun to see family and friends bargaining and exchanging for the items they would like to treasure for a few more years. I always make sure to add in some goodies for the kids.

So after we eat on New Year’s day, we all sit around and I pass out numbers and we just start choosing gifts, exchanging gifts and having a good time.

Other cleansings is to play Bingo and be the one who wraps and provides the gifts. Again a chance to part with the old to make way for the new, but to make sure the old goes to a good home. As an added bonus, I collect the bags used for Christmas wrappings and use them to wrap the White Elephant gifts and it is such fun. (PS, if you are not hosting a New Year’s Dinner, this makes a great party activity for any time you are hosting...a gift of treasures--for Dia de los Reyes Magos, Valentines Day, Easter...etc...anytime you have la familia over, you can cleanse...and make room for the new.

How do you let go of the old to make way for the new in your life.

Con un pan y cafecito,

Seguimos adelante,

Zulmara

New Latina Renewal Challenge, Week I