Super Angie... we did it!

Today, something incredible happened. I promoted to SENIOR TEAM LEAD (STL). And one of my team members, Barb, promoted to TEAM LEAD.  I am so thrilled for both of us. And for our entire team. 

Write down your goals.
Let other's know your goals.
And then WORK HARD and ACHIEVE!

Super Angie... words

I gave Tanith a picture of Jesus holding a lamb.
Tanith- Did Jesus marry Mary?
Me- Mary was his mother
Tanith- okay, but who was Mary who had the lamb?
Me- umm??
Tanith- you know, "Mary had a little lamb"

Super Angie...Super mother nature

 Today on the way to school, we saw this beautiful moose

 It was so exciting!

After we saw the moose, the day continued to get great. A rainbow. An Eagle. And a sea-gull with a fish.

Mother Nature is awesome

Super Angie...SUPER CAUSE

Dear Friends. My 19 yr old nephew fought hard and won the battle against Hodgkin's. I'm raising money for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light The Night Walk. Please consider buying something from this origami owl link. Even a $5 charm goes a long ways. I will be giving 100% of my commission to this foundation.


http://superangie.origamiowl.com/parties/waibelswarriors434691/collections.ashx

Super Angie... watering yourself to grow

Blessings come in GOD'S TIME  not ours. 

Let that soak in. Absorb it. 

The best things in life take time to grow.  You have to water your plants as seeds or else you will never see the blooms, right?

It's easy to get anxious and want blessings to come quicker. This is human nature. If we sing to the Lord with Thanksgiving, and count our blessings, we will change our focus from "what we think we deserve" to "what we already have received".

Start a gratitude journal. Write in it daily.  Not just when someone on FB challenges you. Not just during November.  But do it daily!

The greatest blessing I've found is... FIND THE SILVER LININGS IN YOUR DIFFICULTIES.

 Last week, our family went to Winter Quarters, the site where the Mormon pioneers spent the winter on their trek west.

 It was cold. It was snowy.  It was yucky! They were on the banks of the Missouri River. There was sickness. They lived in small cabins.  There were many deaths.

 And yet, with all these trials, they never lost their gratitude.

So, don't get discouraged dear friends. Life is hard. There are ups and downs and more downs and some ups.  Its tricky.  It always has been. But if you take time to water yourself, count your blessings and find the silver linings in your problems, life DOES get better and you will notice God's blessings showering down all around you.

Comments?  What do you think? Find me on FB. https://www.facebook.com/superangielockets

Super Angie...embrace your inner super

How did I become Super Angie? 

Many many years ago, I had a friend who was INCREDIBLE (well, she still is). She homeschools. She makes bread from scratch. She farms. She takes her kids to this thing and that thing. She is constantly doing service projects for needy. She does Meals on Wheels. She leads classes for other homeschooling parents. She participates in play groups and museum outing and space camp and most of the time, she does this without the help of her husband because his job has him living far away.

SHE IS SUPER.

It was quite easy for me to feel less then dirt, when I compared my "I didn't burn supper" daily accomplishment list to her "I solved the world's problems" list.  Who was I?  Sure, I had three cute kids. And a loving husband. I had my special talents...duh...everyone does. BUT...I wasn't canning peaches while teaching my kids Latin. All before 7am

That's why this blog started. I realized I was heading down a bad path. A path that surely would end with Angie thinking she is dumb and lame and well...dumb.

Who is Super Angie?  It's me. Plain and Simple. 

I have things that are SPECIAL to me. Things that other people don't do.

In fact, did you know I'm the very best German speaker, canvas painter, actress, singer, Figure skater, rock climber, traveler, mom to Tanith, Brennan and Dallin, wife to Rick, Stand up Paddleboarder named Angie in the ENTIRE WORLD! Truth!

It's true. I am. I checked. And it's true.  I do that above list, collectively, better then anyone else on this planet. Do you realize how freaking awesome that is?

Okay...so maybe I don't can peaches, and my kids get yelled at when I feel hormonal and haven't had enough chocolate...but I do do some things that are pretty dang super.

Example:  Skating.  So two summers ago, I injured my back doing flying camels.  I love flying camels and I was so excited that I was learning to do them.

But then...my back gave out. It was the straw that broke the camel's back (pun intended).  I was told- NO SKATING FOR 6 WEEKS at least! And then I was only allowed to skate for 30 minutes a week. And only allowed to stroke around...borring!  It was HORRIBLE!

So when I was finally allowed those 30 minutes a week, I was depressed. How do you go to a rink and skate around and do NOTHING. No spins. No jumps. No fun!  

I remember going to the rink, and skating around all depressed and this more advanced skater came up to me and told me "Don't be down. You are still an amazing skater. You have this special ability to make people feel things...even if you didn't jump at all, people would still be moved by your skating".

OH. MY. GOSH!  What? Really? Me?

I let that sink in. The next time I was allowed to skate for those 30 minutes, I skated my heart out. I used my face. I used my arms. I made every single basic stroke beautiful. THAT was my super power.

And six months later, after training and making my body stronger, I went to Adult Nationals and WON. 

Now, what would have happened if I had compared my lack of flying camels spins to someone else's marvelous flying camel spin? What if I compared my messy home to someone's beautifully perfect one? What if I compared my burned chili to someone's steak?

So...give this some thought...what are YOUR super powers?

When I skate now, I don't throw in all the jumps. I can't. My body can't handle double salchows (sal- cow) or flying camel spins.  But what I do, I do best. I groom my programs to focus on the things that are uniquely me.  I focus on MY SUPER POWERS. 

SHINE ON DEAR FRIEND!

Super Angie... let's do it!

 

How many times do you come up with a good idea but after giving it a shot, it just doesn't work?

Did you quit on your good idea?

Did you decide your idea just must not have been as cool as you once thought?

Now, picture you child (or try to remember back to being a child).... learning to read, ride a bike, taking swim lessons...  Most of the time, the first try isn't successful, right?

I remember when my oldest son, Dallin, was learning to rock climb. He was only 6. We were all new to the sport of rock climbing and bouldering. We had an awesome gym in Utah (Momentum in Sandy) that we went to. They have a fabulous kids wall and Dallin was learning how to read a route and make it around the corner of the wall.  It took a lot of practice. You were practically upside down, going around this sharp corner.  He fell. Again and again and again, he fell. Week after week. He fell.  And the one day, he did it! OH MY GOSH! He did it! He made it around the corner.

About that same time, Dallin was in kindergarten, learning to read. It was hard.  We would always remind him that if he kept at it, he would conquer reading, just like he did rock climbing. 

Now Dallin (age 13)  has very little difficulty reading, rock climbing or anything else he puts his mind to. He learned early on that failing, is just part of the journey to succeeding.

 

   

I LOVE THIS QUOTE!

I remember in elementary school, I fell in love with performing. I really LOVED to sing and dance, but I was kind of an ugly duckling and I was told a few times I wasn't all that great. BUT I KNEW I HAD POTENTIAL. 

I became friends during my Junior high years with a girl named Sarah Baskin. Sarah was a professional actress. She did shows on 5th Ave in Seattle. Like serious, Broadway type of shows. Sarah was amazing. But you know what was even MORE amazing then her impressive resume? Sarah BELIEVED IN ME! She gave me confidence to sing along to her audition tapes.  When I was in 7th grade, my brother was going to audition for ANNIE at his high school. I found out there were auditions for kids to come and be the orphans. Oh man! This was my big break...or so I thought. I didn't get a call back. Sarah did, and she was awesome in that production. My brother also got a part-- as DADDY WARBUCKS!  So i went to every single show. I saw front row. I had the show memorized. I snuck into my brother's room and read the script. I learned all the songs. I sang them day and night. 

 

 The next two years, I spent time training. Training my acting. Training my reading skills for auditions. Training my singing skills. In 9th grade, I was cast as the lead, Fern, in Charlotte's Web  Web.  That was AMAZING!

Next I went on to H.S. knowing what I wanted to do. I wanted to star in a show! I auditioned for all the shows my sophomore year. I was in them all, but not as a lead. I was in the chorus, or in the background.  Unlike some fellow cast members who assumed this meant it was okay to slack off, I came to every rehearsal. I went the extra mile to find out who my back ground character was. I volunteered. I got to know more about the theater, lighting, sets, ticket sales. By the end of that year, I was the director's helper.  Not only was I learning and growing in acting, but I was learning the ins and out of directing!

11th grade was a HUGE year. Our school was torn apart. We had to go part time to another H.S.  It was interesting to say the least. The coolest part though, was they were building us a BRAND NEW BEAUTIFUL theater.  We were going to open that theater with THE SOUND OF MUSIC.  Oh gosh! I was excited. I auditioned.  I ran anxiously to the hall way...where was my name? Did I get a call back?  No.  I was cast as one of the background nuns.  I was crushed. Really crushed. I mean, the nuns sing some incredible songs that my choir was learning, but I wanted to be one of the kids. I looked young enough. Why didn't I get a call back?

I went to my choir teacher and told him how I felt.  He wasn't in charge of auditions and he wasn't directing any part of the show except for the nun's chorus.  He told me something that changed my life. "Call backs for the kid parts is today after school. Just go."  But my name wasn't on the call back list! "Go anyway"

And so I did.

And I got the part of Louisa.

My acting career really took off after that. More leads. Directing shows. Scholarship to college. The lead part in a USA Network show. Commercials. Short films. Extra work on Everwood and Disney films.

What if I had quit after that first Annie audition? Or what if I hadn't even tried because someone in elementary school told me I couldn't do?

So, what are YOU going to do to MAKE it happen?  Do you just WANT it to happen? Do you just WISH it would happen? Or are you going to MAKE IT HAPPEN?

Let's talk. Find me on FB. https://www.facebook.com/superangielockets

Super Angie...Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer

 Can we talk candidly for a moment?  Who here loves changes? You just LOVE IT when FB changes something and you have to relearn it all. You just LOVE IT when your phone updates and bam! Its like day one again and you have no idea how to get to your apps? You just LOVE IT when your favorite restaurant changes the menu...oh great. Where is my old stand by comfort dish?

If you found any of the above statements to be irritating, make you nervous, dig up bad memories of last week's FB update (grin), then LET'S SIT DOWN AND TALK!

Let's have a TEA party. 

CHANGE HAPPENS. Let's all just agree on that. And if things didn't change, there would be no butterflies. Beautiful, right?  There wouldn't be Spring flowers. There wouldn't be Caramel Apple Cider and pumpkins in the fall. Did you learn and grow when FB did it's last update? YES you did.  Have you gradually been able to accept the changes with out the daily I HATE THIS rants? Probably!
Change can be really good!

 I recently had the chance to listen to Dr. Casey Reason and read his book.  He illustrated Change really well.  When someone who was not born into the Internet Age (me! I was born in 1975), is faced with a technology change, we freak out. We rant. We moan about it. BUT when someone who was born into this age (1994 and later), they LOVE the challenges that technological changes bring. "Whoa! Cool!" "Oh fun! Something new to learn". "I wonder what this does". 

Notice the attitude difference?

Okay, let's have that TEA PARTY NOW!

T:  Take time!  Change requires patience and time. Change in your business. Change in your fitness level. Change in eating. Change in parenting.  Change takes TIME.  If you try to rush it, you will only frustrate yourself. Remember, CHANGE MUST HAPPEN but you can take time to get to understand it better and make it a part of your daily routine.

E: Enjoy the journey.  Since we've established that there is no way to avoid change, you might as well enjoy it, right?  Make up your mind to ENJOY THE CHANGE.

A: Always be AWESOME.  Don't let change get you down.  Wake up remembering, it's your duty to be awesome. :)  Start a gratitude Journal and write down, daily, 5 AWESOME things that are going on in your life.  Focus on the Awesome. Focus on being AWESOME.

Let's talk about this. I'd love to hear from you. Find me on FB https://www.facebook.com/superangielockets  I'd would love to continue this chat.... please pass me a caramel apple spice!

Super Angie...being super doesn't happen over night

RELAX!  Growing up in this day and age, we are used to things happening RIGHT NOW! We are accustomed to drive throughs, fast internet, instant test results. We freak out (or at least I do) when our computer is slower then we think it should be.  And yet...do we ever try to rush a sun rise? Do we force a baby to grow up fast? Do we take our cake out of the oven early? (well, if you do, it certainly won't be cooked the way the directions say to)

Life moves at the speed GOD wants it to.

Yes, I said it.  Life isn't in our control. It's in God's.   

 

  Let's for a moment think about this pic. Its Gracie Gold. 2014 National Champion.  This was Gracie's second year competing as a senior lady at the US Nationals.  If Gracie is this awesome, then why didn't she win Gold at her first Nationals?

Simple... it wasn't meant to be! God is in charge.

If Gracie had walked into her first nationals in 2013 and won, would she have worked as hard as she did in 2014? Maybe...but maybe not.

OUCH!!  That just hurts!
But...its true.  To be SUPER....well, it takes time. I mean, I'm sure some people are just born awesome. Like immediately, as soon as they are born, they are just a darn awesome little baby.

But for the rest of us...it takes time. It takes effort.

Stop it. Okay? Just stop doubting yourself.  You CAN do this. You CAN go forth in life and WIN. That's right...you can get the Olympic Gold Medal in LIFE!

(1998 Olympic Gold Medalist Tara Lipinski)

Satan installs SELF DOUBT in us.  He wants us to wake up each morning thinking we are so much less then we are. He wants us to think that things should come easy...but guess what. They don't.

God has a plan for each of us.  And being SUPER is part of that plan. Trust me. It is!

Question for you... did you wake up one day, reading?  Did you suddenly, one day, without any instruction ride a bike?  Was the very first cake you baked, your very best one ever? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please close your browser and go forth in life. You already got this. lol
BUT...if you are like me, You answered no.  You didn't just hop on a bike and suddenly you were the best in your neighborhood. The first cake you made wasn't perfect. You didn't start reading the first time you picked up a book.  Life doesn't work that way.

Second question... Do you know how to read now? Well..I think you do, otherwise you wouldn't be following this blog post.

Third Question...did you give up on reading?

Fourth question...did you have struggles along the way with reading?

Are you following what I'm saying?
Great things in Life TAKE TIME. They just do.

(hahaha ^^^^ but true!)

You want to be a great skater? It takes time!
You want to be a great mom? It takes time!
You want to be a great business owner? It takes time!

So...in our fast food, drive through, instant movies on Netflix life, are we moving at God's pace, or are we forcing ourselves to move our journey at a rate it's not supposed to?

 Final words... The other day, these teenage girls came to Keystone Lake. They were INCREDIBLE! They were doing all these amazing things on a SUP. They made it look easy.

 So I tried it. Here I am trying to lift up my foot. A second later, not caught on film, I fell in. Why? Because I was trying to do something my body wasn't ready for.

But I didn't let that fall into the 40 degree water stop me. I got back on my board and tried again. 

Being super doesn't happen over night. It takes blood, sweat, tears and sometimes, falling into a very cold mountain lake. But its through these experiences that your Awesomeness starts to develop.
Stop letting the fear of success stop you.
Continue finding joy in YOUR journey.
Pat yourself on the back.
And look forward with faith.

Super Angie... believing in Self

 

Let's be honest here. Satan doesn't like your accomplishments.  He hates it when you are happy and feel good about yourself. He LOVES selfdoubt and HATES Self confidence.

So I have been a competitive figure skater for not very long. And yet I have accomplished all my goals. Why? Because I didn't let self doubt creep in.

Self doubt comes in slowly-- often as stress and panic.
"I have so much to do! "
"That's an impossible task"

Often self doubt comes from our "friends"
"That wasn't very pretty"
"Why did you pick to do that?"
"You won?  That didn't seem very difficult"

FACT- All self doubt, no matter who is bringing it into your life, is based in Satan.

Everyone faces self doubt. Everyone gets freaked out or panics because of an upcoming event or goal. Its natural. If it were easy, everyone would be accomplished.  Look around you...how many true SUPER STARS do you see? Not many, right? Why? BECAUSE IT'S HARD!!

So here are some steps to believing in yourself. Try one or all. Let me know how it changes your hour, day, week, month, life...

1.Stop taking yourself so seriously and stop trying to please everyone!  Here I am with two time Olympian, Johnny Weir.  Johnny is well loved because he skates for himself and the fans.  He goes against the grain of the stereotypical figure skater. He fights the status quo. Johnny isn't afraid to put on some makeup and perform.  BUT at the same time, he isn't puffed up and vain. He is so down to earth and humble.  Johnny stopped trying to fit into everyone else's mold and found HIS voice. 

2.Try Something NEW!  You will be amazed what happens when you break out of your day by day and try something new. Now I'm not saying you have to go to extreme and try ice climbing. But how about try a book club? A cooking class? Visit a ceramic painting place and learn to paint! Pick up a new hobby. You'll meet new people AND your self confidence will grow. Be Un-stoppable!

3. Participate in a Charity.  Giving your time to a charity just feels good. Here I am with National champion, Max Aaron.  By participating in Skate for Hope every year, I raise money for Breast cancer, and I meet some incredible people who continue to inspire me. Serve others and find yourself!

4. Remember past accomplishments. Here is a pic of me from 2009. I competed at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO and I won the bronze medal. Amazing!  Wow. If I could compete at such a huge and inspiring event, and do so well, what else can I do?

5.  Focus on those who are uplifting and who believe in you.  Here I am with Olympic bronze medalist, Jason Brown.  I have the extraordinary opportunity to train with him once a week. Jason LOVES my skating. He tells me everytime he sees me. He isn't so caught up in the fact that he has an Olympic Medal and I'm a 38 yr old housewife. He seems me as a beautiful skater- no matter that I only jump singles and he jumps triples!  There are so many people around us that LOVE to tear us down. Stop hanging out with them. Just stop it! You don't need that toxic attitude in your life. Focus on those that uplift and believe in you!

6. Be a friend to ALL!  Can you have too many friends? No way!  Open your heart to all-  no matter the age.  Here I am with my sweet friend Rachael.  I have known Rachael for 4 years now and I just adore this girl. I get to see her when I attend SKATE FOR HOPE in Ohio.  She sees the beauty in me, and I see the beauty in her. Try branching out in your friendships. Who out there has something that can add some sparkle to your life? And in turn, watch how the friendship blesses both lives!

7. Walk on Sunshine! Too often people walk around glummy, finding fault in all situations and just being miserable.  Learn to be happy. Fake it till you make it, like they say. If you aren't happy, put a smile on your face anyway.  Learn to see the beauty in ALL things!

Start focusing on the beautiful, wonderful things you have done and accomplished. Stop focusing on what you can't do, or what hasn't gone right in your life. JUST STOP IT!

You are a beautiful child of God.
Believe it. Live it.
Stop letting Satan tell you are otherwise.