Re-imaging, Threshold Ceremony of Discovery building community as we paddle together . 

Fall - a time to enjoy the cooler weather(or maybe not...Global Warming is sort of becoming more and more prominent year after year), pumpkin patches, leaf color changes, and maybe a pumpkin spiced latte or two. 

As fun as it all sounds, fall has a lot more to offer. As a matter of fact, every season has a lot more to offer than you may imagine. What if I told you, that as cliche as it sounds, every season is a time to embrace a new transition? 

It's not about just claiming new season new me! It's been proven that different seasons will affect our moods, mental health, and our well being in different ways. Our bodies react to receiving less sunlight, more pollen (for those of who suffer from allergies), seasonal foods, and so on and so forth. 

Time may be moving so fast that our bodies may not be able to keep up and that's ok. What's important to note is how we face these changes and conquer the challenges at hand. Accepting the transition and working to make these changes work in your favor rather than allowing it to harm you. How can you learn to adjust to the changes ahead? What can you control and what can you not change but maneuver around? 

Our great-fulness season of beautiful fall colors and cooler temps is transcending to morning frost and celebratory lights.  May we all dive a little deep into self-reflection to reignite our own inner light so that we can shine bright throughout the holidays and coming new year.   

What store front and why?
Well, to really start at the beginning of this development we have to go back a few months. Earlier this year, 2019, a few of the Celebrate Life team members (myself included) held a meeting at a local school to help brainstorm an affordable and do-able program for a specific group of students on that campus. Many of the students in this group come from either low income, migrant families or identify as persons of color and most of them have never experienced -- or let alone heard of-- this thing called "kayaking." 

The proceeds of these sales are all to be directed towards a fund dedicated for groups who may need financial assistance affording their own Adventures in Learning program and to fund professional developmental trainings for our staff. Our programs would not be possible without the great work that our facilitators do, so we aim to help fund their growth as well.  

For our first launch, like aforementioned, we wanted to create pieces that would be fun, bright and positive. With this in mind, our designs (all made by our team btw) were selected to go on bright blue tops with the motto "unplug, connect, co-create." Celebrate Life believes it's important to unplug from the technological world in order to connect to those around you in order to co-create a place that we all want to be living in. We are not asking you to ban technology from your life as that may be hard to do for several reasons. For one, even I'm taking the time to type this up on my MacBook in order to share with you what this launch means to us and why we decided to drop this collection. Rather, our aim is to have you take the time to disconnect from the technological world and step outside the walls of comfort that your smartphone or other devices offer you in order to experience something new.  

Future plans?
Our storefront currently offers more than just tops, we also offers art prints and many of these items will be in constant rotation so you won't want to miss out on this first launch or any thereafter. And before we forget, we want to take this moment to thank Oceanna Talbot for donating some of her works to our fundraising efforts. Our art print products would not be possible without her. 

Please feel free to lurk our store front and snatch some pieces before they're gone. And don't forget to follow our social media accounts to stay updated on new releases, new items and other things Celebrate Life! 

Osh and I added another piece which we learned from Ann Van de Water - we share a vision statement or weekly mantra with action steps A and B, which we share at the beginning of the week then check in at the end to see how we did and what may move up in priority from the B list to A. ​

​While we were sharing around a backyard fire recently it became very clear to me what we are invited to do with OHS, skill sets needed to develop and action steps we have to put in place

• Migrant Student - language - building rapport, trust and empathy - inviting each of the ropes / kayak facilitators to learn key phrases and basic social Spanish.
  • Enlisting facilitators to learn Spanish in a fun engaging way
  • Hiring bilingual facilitators 
• Adventures In Learning - ​
  • Building the admin structure to support the programs
  • In-service trainings for personal and professional development 
  • Develop a mentor, Elder, internship, facilitator guidelines 

#2 Energy - Be the power plant - producing energy 
Here is where the pedal hits the metal - I get my trampoline bounce going, peddle to paddle, dance, jiggle and take 10 minute wake up breaks where I work for a solid 50 take 10 then jump back to it or take a little longer break and go for a fast paced beach walk - just get the motor running - and yes just being more aware of my overall wellbeing, supplements, organic healthy diet (most of the time), attitude, sleep and creating balance which is what I need to work on more - somehow work - play get a little mixed up. 

Overall be the source of energy and we include energy drivers as daily routines. 

#3 Necessity -  BE HUNGRY - “make your number one thing your number one thing” 
I have this underlying need to be of service, to assist others to shine their light as bright as they can possibly glow. My level of gratification is directly proportionate to the need or desire to do a job well done - going beyond what is expected of me - to bring myself up to the next level and in so doing bring others around me to do the same. 

I express myself often to whoever is willing to learn about my passion - to Celebrate Life and I live it - breathe it - be it, as we ask others to come unplugged form the mechanical world, connect with each other, themselves and the natural world around them and then co-create a better world together in collaboration. Our branding efforts, shirts, hoodies, printed materials are all intended to spread the word and to remind us to be an agent of change. 

Our weekly accountability routine is an excellent tool to assist me in staying on focus as I prioritize my goals and action steps to achieve them. Staying HUNGRY

#4 Productivity - vision-plan-action 
#5 Influence - Intentional relationships - who influence me and who do I influence
#6 Courage - to ask for help, harvest the gems from every experience, power of community creating a supportive social and physical environment
#7 Commitment - focus on my WHY everyday - weekly intention mantra and action steps A/B 
​
Now I challenge you to share with each other what your responses would be - what are a few gems you can pull out? 

We invite you to take charge this month. It's March, it's time you take control and march to the beat of your own drum. You may be asking, why now? Why not yesterday or why not next month? Well, to put it simply...why not?

Perhaps January was a time you set intentions for the new year so you created New Years Resolutions but felt too overwhelmed to complete them. And maybe February was too short and you were left trying to catch up with the test of time. Why not prepare for March to be a time to clear your mind, set some intentions and work hard to accomplish those goals? 

Is it really a coincidence that March is widely identified(at least in the US) with the following motifs: luck and the color green? ​

Perhaps, we've always known that three times is the charm. January and February may not have been the best time to challenge ourselves and things didn't pan out the way we intended, but that's why we have today and we have tomorrow and there's nothing to lose. 

As you may have noticed, Celebrate Life has been posting more and more lately. Sharing more and more of our memories, tips and sincere gratitude. We are taking the leap and marching to the sound of our own drum. March is going to be a special time and we want you to join us as we harvest and dance along to this new song. 

Celebrate Life is gearing up for more interaction with you by offering more videos, more helpful posts, more pictures, more memories and all of it full of sincerity--straight from the heart.

As we plant these ideas and harvest the fruits of our labor, we want you to also do the same. From the bottom of your heart, from the most raw and vulnerable side of you, we invite you to set your intentions and pull from them the vision you have.  

"The noblest art is that of making others happy." -P.T. Barnum. Can we use this quote to help us identify our vision? In other words, will this vision  help you find happiness? Will this vision plant a seed and bring happiness to you and those around you?

Perhaps, making yourself happy is the only thing that matters to you. And that's ok. Maybe you've worked hard for a really long time to make others happy but didn't for a second take a chance to make yourself happy. The biggest treat you can give yourself is happiness. After all, you are always going to be the first and last person to help you when you most need it.  

Feel free to share this video to friends, co-workers or family that you believe may need it. Who knows, this may help someone out.

Ventura County! We're calling all educators--teachers, counselors, administrators for this free event. Free? Yes, you heard that right. We are hosting free play days for you!

We are holding an Open House event! We are so excited to be bringing you a full day Ropes Course experience and a full day Kayaking and SUP adventure. We realize not all educators may be aware of Celebrate Life and the programs we offer--also called Adventures in Learning--so we want to introduce them to you. 

We cordially invite you to come take the leap of faith and meet our team! Come play, meet other educators and see what's possible! Come with us to do the impossible and have fun along the way. And yes, it's completely free.
​ 
(*Note: The ropes course event is scheduled to occur at Camp Ramah. Lunch provided at Camp Ramah is $10 as no food is allowed to be brought onsite due to kosher diet restrictions.)

The even is happening in October! Why not enjoy the fall season by playing outdoors! 

*Note: The following is not a complete itinerary. The dates and location are subject to change. Follow our social media accounts for any future announcements.

Space is limited so reserve your spot ASAP! Only two people per department please!

Call now to reserve your spot.
Office: 805.628.3418     Cell: 805.798.3427 

or
Email us at: info@celebratelife.today

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us. We aim to provide the best experiences for the most wonderful memories. With that said, we can't wait to have fun and see you at our event! 

Howdy!
Friends of Celebrate Life, we hope you are all doing very well. We also hope you are living every day with intention and purpose. Recently our team has gone through some updates and we wanted to make sure to share the news with you all here today.

Here at Celebrate Life, we aim to inspire, collaborate, empower and teach--in order to do this we must live now. With our former address, our message was not properly being related. While, yes we must live and we must enjoy the journey for as long as we can, that doesn't show the immediate response we must have in order to make our lives fulfilling--not just down the road but also in this moment. With the new address we can nurture our true intentions as a team dedicated to inspire.

With our team going through some updates, our website getting a facelift and our team slowly growing to accommodate for the program's growth, we have some important information to share with our clients. Not too long ago, while we decided to revamp the website and change our web address--we also lost some of our contacts, our old email, and we had to start anew.

As a closing statement to this array of updates, on behalf of our team--we would like to thank YOU--our friends, our clients and collaborators for being patient and working with us through our transition period. As August beings to unravel, we have many new programs rolling in and we cannot wait to share more about our time together with our participants. We will be participating in so many adventures; from Cedar Lake to Camp Ramah to Leo Carrillo Beach to CI Boat Center, we really cannot wait to go out play! If you're curious about how much fun we'll have and how in tune with our bodies we will be, make sure to check out our social media pages and perhaps go check out  our program descriptions so you can join us in our next adventure! 

This week we are happy to share that Celebrate Life was featured on the Oxnard High School weekly update online! 

Celebrate Life coordinated a kayaking adventure under our Adventures in Learning program. Our program took place on Monday May 21st, 2018. It was organized and in conjunction at the CSUCI Boating Center located at the Channel Islands Harbor. This program was organized for the junior class of the Multimedia Business Academy at Oxnard High School.

​The day began early in the morning and shortly after the big yellow school bus signaled the arrival of the class--there was nonstop fun. As a matter of fact, it was a day full of firsts. 

For Celebrate Life, it marked the beginning of a wonderful collaboration with CSUCI Boating Center. In the past, Celebrate Life had used the harbor for its kayaking programs without the access to the large and incredible space of the CSUCI Boating Center. Programs had already proven to promote unity, communication and strong team building skills, but with the new access to the information and equipment available at the facility--the Celebrate Life kayaking program has improved immensely. 

For many of the students in the Multimedia Business Academy, this turned out to be the first time they visited the harbor. With funding constantly fluctuating and affecting the availability of money for extracurricular activities or field trips for students across the nation--it is no surprise that many of the students experienced their first time kayaking through this program. ​

Although the kayaking played a large role in this adventure for MBA, it was not the only focus of the program. With the help of the boating center, MBA students were exposed to information about how multimedia helps assist the boating center-- through ocean art in the facility, posters created by graphic designers, or the running of the boating center's social media accounts by qualified individual. In this excursion, they received details about possible future careers. 

Moreover, after the kayaking took place, the students were exposed to game-like activities meant to strengthen their bond. As an academy, the students are expected to be placed in similar (if not the same) classes which can become overwhelming for individuals who are only beginning to bloom. This is where these game-like activities really prove to be useful. 

Celebrate Life's aim is to promote a healthy environment where communication can thrive within the group and create a network meant to transcend through high school and into early adulthood. 

If you would like to check out the post on the OHS website yourself, make sure to click here! ​