That's So Random

1. I am LOYAL. I will go to bat for almost anyone, as long as I feel a genuine relationship and connection with them. I do what I think is right always, all ways.

2. My kids just found out that I am a vegetarian. I have always cooked meat for them and I don't make a big deal out of it. Ashton hardly ever eats meat and the other two kids and Myles love it.

3. I was born in Iowa, but I have lived in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Colorado. Loved the city of Sioux Falls as a single person, the weather and scenery of Fort Collins, CO, but Spencer, IA is right where I want to raise my family and have my business.

4. I believe that it is our responsibility to take care of our earth. I cringe when I see junk flying around or when I see someone liter. I love seeing our recycling pile higher than our trash pile.

5. I don't believe in miracles. I believe in God, hard work and good people.

6. I do not ever tolerate lies. Trust is a big deal to me and once it's gone it is really hard to get it back. I would rather face a hard truth than what someone else would consider a small lie any day.

7. I think things are funny all of the time, even when they should be semi-serious...hilarious. Love to laugh until my belly aches.

8.  I love giving gifts. I would rather give than receive any day, and I can never wait until the event to give the gift.

9. I love playing pranks. Just ask my youngest brother. ;)

10. I love cooking, but I loathe baking. I make a mess baking, I never seem to have all of the ingredients and I don't like the exactness of it all. Cooking is fun to me because I can just make something up and it always seems to turn out!

Write It OUT

I have had a very private, "locked" online journal for more than 10 years. That is where I write it all. It's where I still go to have those teenage temper tantrums in writing. It feels so good to do that, even as I get close to my 30's. It's where I went when I was 18 years old, pregnant and freakingthefuckout. It's where I went when I thought my parents were better off on a different planet. ;) I love that I will always have that journal to go back to read about my high school graduation, all three of my pregnancies, birth stories, marriage and divorce, my kids growing up, marriage to the love of my life, college and so much more. It is my real therapist. I can mention names of anyone I want to without worry that anyone will "find out" and no one asks for an explanation. 

Just like this blog has readers and followers, my locked journal has friends added by me. It is very rare for me to let anyone into my journal, but I have actually met some really great people. My husband calls them my e-friends-LOL!!! I feel like they know me better than anyone else could know me because I put it all out there and do not ever hold back. They support me. I have "watched" their kids grow up and they have watched mine. They are from all parts of the US, Australia, England and Canada. I feel very blessed to have met the people I have from writing in my journal. The first flight I ever took was to meet a girl from Michigan that I met through my journal. Some would call it risky. I had a blast, got a tattoo and fell in love with her family.

I truly believe that writing is therapeutic, reading what you've been through and how far you've come is even better for your soul. You know when you're going through a certain situation and you think that there is no way, no how you'll make it?! I love to look back at those journal entries and laugh and say "Wow, if I made it through that dark time...there is no way I can't make it through this."

I haven't been as faithful to my journal as it has to been to me over the last little while, but it's there if I need it. I encourage everyone to write. Writing is free and will get whatever it is off of your chest in a New York minute. My kids all have a thankful journal. I doubt that they write in it everyday, but I know that they write in it because they share them with me periodically.

-From Ashton's Thankful Journal-

Snap Out of It

For the last few years, each November I have tried to write down something that I am thankful for each day.  I like to do it on Facebook so that others can see and so I can read about what everyone else is thankful for. It just feels good to know that people can be grateful when a lot of times we are not.

The other day, I found myself feeling SO UNGRATEFUL. I hated my house, I hated my car, I had no clothes to wear, I needed to color my hair, I had four zits, my kids wanted to eat all of the Halloween candy and no one would listen to me. I remember saying "I just want to get checked in to the mental health place for some me time." WHOA! I let myself feel sorry for myself for only a little bit and then I had no choice but to feel grateful. I remembered when we first moved into our house. We loved it and we were so excited about it. This is our first house and it IS great. Our kids love it. The neighborhood could be better, but it's safe. Of course, someone else always has a more expensive, fancier house but we have made a beautiful home inside and that is what counts. What is it about young people today that think that they need to start out where their parents are currently? All of our kids are healthy, our car runs great, I have a shit-ton of clothes to wear, I can get my hair colored any time by any of my talented friends, and I should feel youthful still getting zits (righhhhht?).

I think it is so good to just be thankful. It's human to be ungrateful once in awhile, but we have to snap out of it quickly!

How Do You Know You're A Successful Mom?

I started thinking today about how I could be a better Mom to my kids. Actually, I am always thinking that.  Then, I wondered what is a successful Mom like? I think that to each person it is different and that's perfectly perfect.

I decided today, that to me it means that if my kids are caring for others and the earth just because it feels good in their heart then I have been successful. If my daughter or sons can go to school and be a friend to the one kid that doesn't have one, I am a successful Mom. Just like bullying is taught, I believe that goodness is also taught and mostly by example from us. If my kids decide to pick up trash in our neighborhood just because they know that it is not good for our earth to just leave it there, I feel successful. When my daughter asks to volunteer at the local animal shelter, just because she wants to I feel happy in my heart and again, I feel like a successful Mom. If my kids are honest, even when they know they have done the wrong thing (i.e. broke a window in our garage and telling me before I have to find out and ask questions), I know that I have been good in teaching them an important value that will hopefully carry on for the rest of their lives. As they grow into adults and have their own families, if they want to come back home to visit on their own without being asked/invited, I will feel that I have been a good, successful Mom.

There are plenty of times when I know that I do not have it right. Like mornings. I do not do mornings. My alarm clock and I are enemies and by now if we haven't figured it out, we probably never will. I need to be successful in teaching my kids how to do mornings. Typically, because I like to sleep in a little longer than I should our mornings can be hectic. Ew. What a way to start the day!

I am an artist, which means I am a free spirit and that also means that I am not always organized. I have to teach my kids that this is something that needs to be important in their lives. I am a lot better than I used to be, but I have room (lots of it) to grow.

I think that sometimes we focus solely on our own careers and just expect our kids to know how to grow up to be the kind of people we want them to be. "Kids are expensive." I hear that line all of the time. I think being a parent is mostly emotionally expensive because sometimes it's taxing on parents to always do the "right thing" and to constantly teach lessons. It is, however, our job as parents to do that each and every day.

My Acupuncture Experience

I try to do things naturally if I can help it. Like giving birth, eating, and just overall health. When I started dealing with my back issues and started seeing my family doctor and two orthopedic surgeons, I started to get really freaked out about all of the medications that they wanted me to take. First of all, I didn't like all of the side effect paperwork I read. Second, it's pretty dang awesome how the body heals itself anyway so why not let it work it's magic?

I have heard about acupuncture for years, but let's be honest....who LOVEEEES needles? I'm not raising my hand and unless you're a heroin addict, I bet you aren't, either. I felt like I had exhausted all avenues with my back, so after reading on countless websites that acupuncture does not hurt I decided to make an appointment with Dr. Brady Bird at Emmetsburg Chiropractic in Ruthven, Iowa. I had a little drive to my appointment, so I started thinking about all of the "what-if's". What if it hurts? What if I cry? What if I just change my mind about doing it after I am already there? What if this messes up my back more or doesn't jive with the rest of my body? What if I pass out? Yeah, really....I hate needles.

As soon as I arrived, Dr. Brady and I sat down to talk about what areas I wanted to work on. In my case, my back and migraines. He explained in great detail exactly how acupuncture works, how and where the needles would be placed and how often I could come for treatments if I chose to do so. My favorite part is that I could tell that he has passion for this and he believes in this treatment. If you've read my blog before, you know that I love when people have passion for what they do! I trusted him right away and I didn't even worry about the itsy, bitsy needles.  By the way, there is nothing inside of the needles. I always thought there was, which would take away from the natural side of things.

The actual treatment was actually pretty cool. After all of the needles were placed (even one in the top of my head), we chit-chatted for a couple of minutes and then Dr. Brady left the room for me to relax. I love that you can't move so you are literally forced to relax. If I hadn't been forced to relax, guess what I would have been doing? Business on my phone. It was so relaxing that I could have fallen asleep.  I had to take off my watch, and I don't think there was a clock in the room (if there was I didn't pay attention). It was just great laying in peace for maybe 30 minutes. It felt like forever. Anyone with a busy schedule, especially mom's and dad's can relate...peace is a rare and beautiful thing!

I can't explain to you everything that acupuncture does or how it channels energy, but I really believe it works. I am already feeling better after just three treatments. There is a reason it has been practiced for thousands of years! I say if you've been struggling with anything at all whether it be mind, body or overall health just give acupuncture a try!

I liked this read: http://www.myacuherbclinic.com/Acupuncture.html

My Ex-Boss is Suing ME

You read that right. The employer is filing a lawsuit against me. For what you might ask. I ask the same thing and the answer I get keeps changing.

I have a feeling that it has something to do with the fact that (I think) she's a jealous, insecure person who is upset that I am opening my own salon about 60 miles away. That's my best guess because without a concrete answer, even from her attorney to mine I don't know.

The first response was something like she had no idea I had a problem with my back and I just up and left. (That is a lie because she borrowed her back support belt to me until I was prescribed one.) The most recent response, I believe, says that I caused her business to lose money because I planned to quit weeks in advance and she has evidence of that. Either way, they are all lies and quite frankly I could dig them out of the BS folder that I filed them in just to double check the exact lies but I don't feel like it.

What really happened? I was in a car accident in July that totaled my car on my way to work. After many appointments and an MRI I found out that I tore a disk in my back, which has caused me a great deal of pain and weakness in my leg. My doctor advised me to take two weeks off of work to heal and take the meds that I otherwise couldn't take, so that is what I did. The day after my first day of leave, I requested to get some of my things from work to give my children back-to-school haircuts. When I arrived at the salon some of my things were in a bag, including my cosmetology license, which was previously in a frame on the wall. There was a letter, not in an envelope, sitting on top of the bag from my ex-boss requesting thousands of dollars and accusing my back problem of being made up. I was confused because after two weeks I was going back to work. I had clients booked that I wanted to bid farewell to and thank. I went to my ex-boss's office to talk about the letter and she was in there with boxes in front of the door so I couldn't get in. Strange, right?

I do know that the dollar amount of the lawsuit has changed three different times in the last couple of months. I know that I worked hard for very little money and was treated poorly for a very long time to end up with a lawsuit?! What?! I also know that from what I've received so far in her paperwork are many lies. Gross, disgusting lies that I get to prove wrong in front of a judge. Good. I also know that she didn't pay me my last paycheck that I earned and that she kept my supplies that I paid for before I was ever an employee of hers. One quote I love is "Just tell the truth because its too hard remember all of your lies."

Good for me, I keep everything and I'm honest, sometimes brutally honest. I've been jokingly called a hoarder by my husband, who is an extremely neat person. I keep emails, paycheck stubs, voicemails, letters, receipts, the whole nine yards.

The day that I received the original form of paperwork from her stating "You need to pay me $x,xxx or I will contact my attorney." one of my then co-workers said "Don't you know, she sues everyone that quits?!" Well, not really or I wouldn't have accepted this job in the first place. I had been warned by many not to work for her and not to sign her legal papers, but I like to think for myself. I can admit that I read her completely wrong and trusted her when I probably shouldn't have. I didn't know it was necessary to do a background/court history check on a salon owner! Yeow!

Anyone that knows me, saw me working there or was a client of mine knows that I gave everything that I could and more to the extreme training, my work and my ex-boss. I really love what I do.

To be completely fair, I learned a great deal at the salon, I fell head-over-heels in love with Aveda and I met a lot of great people that I still connect with each week and who are supporting my new business. I can always find good in any situation. I didn't plan to blog about this because in my opinion it is a rather ridiculous matter, however, I am grateful that our country allows freedom of speech. I am also grateful that I can be heard, even if just through my own blog.

No one should be able to prevent anyone from doing something that they love. If I can save one person from this, then sharing my story has been worth it.

On a much happier note, I am more than thrilled about my new salon! Like us on Facebook for all of the fun details: www.facebook.com/SalonMSpa

I Believe In People

I have never been much of a sugar coater. I typically tell it like it is and sometimes that gets me into "trouble". I just know that I would much rather be told the truth than be told a lie, and I think that goes way back to the golden rule. I can handle someone being blunt with me rather than someone dancing around an issue and finding out the cold, hard truth days, weeks or months later.

I firmly believe in karma and if you're a bitch you better be prepared. That's it. I'm not perfect, but I try to do what I think is right. I believe that people are mostly good. Yes, even today when people lie, cheat, steal and sue every chance they can...I still believe in people. I love all kinds of people and I love fiery passion. I love the kind of passion that some mom's have about making sure they only give their kids all natural foods, I love the kind of passion that my favorite barista has at Starbucks, I love the passion that my in-laws have for each other after being married for so long, and I love the passion that so many of my fellow artists in the beauty industry share with me. It is so fun to see what makes people tick! Whether it's making lattes, putting make up on people or restoring an old building...people are so talented and I love that we can share our talents with each other!

Do you work at a job or do you enjoy something you are passionate about each day? Can you honestly look at yourself and say that you are a good, honest person or do you have some work to do to make sure that karma comes back to you in good form?

Winner Winner!

 

Keeping things in perspective.  I hope you are, too.

It's Not So Bad

As I sit at The Dream Center (Starbuck's) sipping on my large iced vanilla latte, an older gentleman came in with an oxygen tube in his nose. He shouted to the barista "I am looking for some girl's shoes! Do you have any girl's shoes?!" My world stopped. They told him that they are only open for donations on certain days and he just walked out the door after thanking them. He looked like a really nice guy. I wanted to ask him what size. If the size was close, I wanted to give him a pair or two of mine or Ariah's shoes. Why do we need 25 pairs of shoes anyway?! I am not sure why I didn't say anything? I have a friend who is a teacher and she says that so many times students come to school with their little toes hanging out of their tennis shoes. I am just taken back from my life where I think that things are so bad or have little pity parties. This stuff is real. Imagine being a little kid and having to worry about not having a pair of shoes. How hard would it be to concentrate on school work when you have things like this to be worried about? I just cannot even imagine!

I am going to try to just be thankful for what I have. I know that it's an "easier said than done" sort of thing, but I am going to give it my best shot. I encourage you to, too.

FRAUD!

I leave town tomorrow for a couple of days for a very exciting class with AVEDA. What does that mean? It means that I have a lot of lists, calendars filled out and a tiny bit of anxiety because for some reason I feel like I do more than my husband (NOT THE CASE). I have a list for what I need to pack for me, a list for what to pack for the class, and a few lists for my family at home. I have a great weekly calendar filled out for them, which is fantastic. They can't forget anything, right?

Keegan will be attending his very first day of Pre-K on Monday. People have been asking him if he is in preschool and he is very quick to let them know that it is PRE-K! He is very excited about his class and he teacher is great! I have no worries. It will be special for Daddy to take him on his first day!

Just an hour ago, Myles received a call that someone was using our debit card to make purchases in St. Louis, MO (at Wal Mart of all places). Awesome. I am leaving out of town and I won't have a debit card. We do have emergency credit cards, however, I just hate to use them. Looks like this is an emergency. I don't know how/why this card fraud junk is still happening, but it is more of an annoyance than anything. Luckily, we have great banks that check on our accounts!


 I found a fun quote today:

"I can't clean the house and save the world at the same time!" — Unknown

Back To School

Today, our two older kids started a new adventure. They started 2nd grade at Sacred Heart Catholic School. No, we are not Catholic, however, we have always heard great things about the curriculum and so we made the decision to send our kids.

The other change that is happening this school year is that Ashton will take 2nd grade again. That was a huge decision, but one that we had to make as his parents. He is a very good student and very mature, but we (me-the mom especially) have always felt that he had to try a little harder than he should have. This means that he and Ariah will be in the very same class. They have always been best friends, so this is not a problem. They are only 11 months apart in age, so they already have many of the same friends. The timing was perfect since we were switching to a brand new school.

The first day of school has always been a really exciting day at our house. I do a video interview with each of the kids, which Ashton has decided that he has outgrown. (Nothing a little Bon-Bon bribery didn't take care of!) The videos are so much fun because I like to go back to see if what they want to "be" when they are older has changed from year-to-year or if they have paid attention to who their new teacher will be! Ariah generally has her mind set and knows what is going to happen and Ashton just flies by the seat of his pants. I love the differences in them!

Keegan starts school in one more week. He will also be going to Sacred Heart. I will probably post his first interview. It is sure to be full of belly laughs!

Adult Bullies

I am amazed at the audacity of some people. When I say that, I mean people who will stoop to levels that I hadn't even imagined before. I think it is much worse when they are people who I put a lot of faith and trust in previously. It is sad to me to think that we wonder why kids are picked on and/or bullied continuously at school, but we forget to look at how we treat other adults around us. Our children do not learn this in the womb. They do not learn to disrespect people at birth. They learn this from us as they grow. When we hate, they think this is the "norm". When we cheat people, they think this is okay. If you want to call yourself a leader, a role model, etc. then you should always, all ways be one.  We have to start thinking about how our actions affect other people, not just ourselves.

I had a talk with my Mom about this today. She brought up a very valid point. She said "You know, people that behave this way must be very miserable." That is so simple, but when we are on the receiving end of the bullying it is hard to think about anyone else but our own turmoil. I need to pray for the person treating me so poorly instead of thinking about how this is making me feel. I hope and pray that this person can come to terms with all of the bad in their life and let go of the anger that they are feeling so that no one else has to suffer. I am so happy in my life that I just cannot fathom treating someone in such an awful way.

If You Have The Chance To Make Yourself Better...Do It!

I think that so many times we just settle. Sometimes it is with our romantic relationships, sometimes it's with our health, our jobs, our friendships and sometimes it's just with life in general. Is it because we are scared to make a change or is it because we just get comfortable and maybe even a little lazy?

I know that when I decided to make a major change in my life recently, I was scared but I was also not comfortable with where I was at. To me, I knew that if I didn't make a change I wouldn't be happy. If I am not happy, that affects my husband, my kids and the rest of my physical and mental well-being. I feel good knowing that I am taking the right steps to better my life and my family's life.

One of my clients this last week said it best "If you have the chance to make yourself better...do it!!"

A Missing Tooth...Literally

Tonight, as Ariah smiled at me from across the kitchen table I noticed that she was missing a tooth that was there just a day or so ago. I said "Ariah, did you lose a tooth today?" She looked at me so strange and said "Oh yeah...I told you that. The tooth fairy came. I got $1." Ummm...no. I LOVE playing the tooth fairy, so I knew this was a "story". I said "I would remember that. I am surprised that you just got a dollar."  (They usually get $5.) She just said "Yep...I did."

About an hour later, I was polishing her nails and toenails and I just couldn't get it out of my head about the tooth. I have been known to be quite forgetful, but I KNOW I did not forget about this. I said "Honey...just tell me...did you swallow it?" She said "No..I already told you that the tooth fairy came and took it." I said "Ariah..did Dad know about this? About you losing your tooth?" "Nope." She said. Finally, she said "Okay, Mom...I swallowed it eating my burger the other day! Something felt crunchy and it was a weird swallow...and I figured out that it was my tooth. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to laugh!!!!!" Oh my.....I am still laughing.

We found this cute little letter from the Tooth Fairy online, so we will leave it for her with her $5. http://www.toothfairyletter.net/preview/Tooth_Fairy_Letter_When_Child_Swallowed_Tooth

Celebrate You

Today, at 8:56am I am officially 28 years old. I remember when my parents were in their 30's and thinking that they would be "kicking the bucket" soon. ;) I do not feel "old" or that I am any different than last year as far as my body goes, however, I do LOVE my birthday. I think that it is so strange when adults complain about getting another year older. I think life is a celebration, and I am not ashamed that I made it another year! In fact, I LOVE IT!

I think of my birthday as many do the new year. I make resolutions and I decide what I can do just a little bit differently. This year, I plan to make more well thought out decisions, I plan to eat better (on a schedule-not once per day), date my husband more, save more money and volunteer more in my community with my kids.

I challenge you to celebrate your birthday, too!

Skipping Out For Something Better

Tonight, I was supposed to meet up with classmates for the part one of our 10 year class reunion. I definitely would have been there, but this morning Ashton let me know that it was family night at VBS. Sometimes you just know by the look in your child's eye that certain things are more important to them than others. This was. I decided right away that we would go from 6-8:30 tonight.

We had a blast! The kids were playing in water outside, doing crafts but most of all sharing their love of the Lord by singing, dancing and praying. It was so sweet to witness. :) At the very end, 7 children were baptized in front of over 100 people. I had tears in my eyes. Just to see how excited they all were and their friends for them was a blessing to me! This reminded me of the little things....to be thankful, to not sweat the "small" stuff and just to cherish each moment I get.

I could not be more thankful that Ashton invited us (even if last minute) to be his guests.

I Don't Want To Miss A Thing

I often struggle with the fact that I am a working Mom. Does that make sense? Don't get me wrong for a second, I LOVE what I do at work. I also LOVE spending every second with my kids because there will be a time when they don't think I'm cool enough to hang out with. (Ashton is already there.)  I want my cake and I want to eat it, too. I love being with my kids so much that it makes it hard to leave for work when I am supposed to. I have a great schedule: Wednesday (10a-8p), Thursday (10a-8p), Friday (9a-5:30p) & Saturday (7a-1p). I even have one Saturday off each month. The problem is that most of my kids' activities are on Saturdays. For example, last Saturday I missed Ariah's very first swim meet. That broke my heart and hers. She cried the night before for so long that I felt like the worst Mom on the face of this planet. It's also hard to not be able to tuck my kids in on Wednesday & Thursday nights or to say good morning to them on Saturday mornings. I thought that we would all get used to it but that doesn't seem to be happening. :( Keegan cries every day when I drop him off at daycare. I know he's in a great place, but I know no one is better than Mommy so I feel guilty. Every day. I am sure that I am teaching them something very important, which is work ethic but I just don't want to miss too much...or anything at all. I have a great book called 1001 Things It Means To Be A Mom and it has a special section for working Moms. Number 765 says "Being a mom means deciding between career and family. And forever wondering if you chose right." I also love the very last one in the section number 821 "Being a mom means understanding you can have it all....just not all at once." Amen.

Be a Good Client

I feel like I am a pretty laid back hairstylist, however, there are still some unspoken (now spoken) rules that I have. Doesn't everyone?

1. Be timely. I have 30 minutes for a cut and style and if I lose my 30 minutes of lunch/only down time out of a 12 hour day because you were getting your latte, I will probably not be very happy.

2. Do not consistently "forget" your appointments. I am paid on a commission only pay rate. If you take a spot that someone else could have had and not show up, you just took a chunk out of my paycheck. We make courtesy reminder calls to remind you of your appointments. Please have the courtesy back to cancel if you know you can't make it.

3. PLEASE stay off of your cell phone. There is nothing more annoying than trying to foil around a client with her cell phone up to her ear. I don't care if you are playing a game or looking up photos of hair, but if you are yapping the whole, entire time it's rude to your stylist and everyone else trying to relax and rejuvenate. 

4. Let me know if something isn't right with your cut/color, instead of someone else. I LOVE it when my clients feel comfortable enough to tell me when they need something adjusted between appointments. It really doesn't hurt my feelings to use my lunch break for these sorts of things. Communication is key in any successful relationship!

5. I have many pictures of cuts and styles, but I love it when you bring your own ideas, too. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words!

6. My schedule is generally very busy, so please re-book ahead of time. I might not be able to just squeeze you in, so please don't expect me to if you don't want to schedule ahead of time.

7. Do not gossip to me about anyone else in town. I'm okay with venting about daily life because I love being that "go to" person, but I will not gossip so don't try it. You are with me to relax and get spoiled! :)

8. Understand that if I am running behind at all, it is probably because someone(s) else did not follow #1. I am sorry, but I still provide the service that you pay for even if you are late. Be patient with me on days that I am not right on time.

9. When I ask you to re-schedule, someone is deathly ill, I have a funeral to attend or it is something close in seriousness. Please understand. It doesn't happen often.

10. You probably have no idea how thankful I am for you and how much I love seeing your beautiful faces everyday. This is my job, but it is also my passion and I couldn't be where I am without YOU....my awesome guests!

Technology Has Taken Over My Life

A few weeks ago, a friend posted a blog that said that our children feel less important because we are constantly ignoring them for our cell phones, the computer or another piece of technology. This hit home for me because my iPhone is generally glued to my hand. I immediately felt guilty and promised myself that I would "do better". Have I? Absolutely not.

Just last night, as I was tucking my 7 year old daughter in I heard my phone ding from my hoodie pocket letting me know that I had a new Facebook message. I don't know what was so important that I needed to check it, but I could tell right away that I hurt her feelings by staring at my phone instead of spending those moments with just her. She said "Mom, we talked about this......." I said "I know..I'm putting it away and I am going to do better. I am really sorry." What a LOSER.

Today, as I was browsing eBooks from our public library, I came across this book:

Description

Have you ever stopped to think, Maybe the Amish are on to something? Look around. We tweet while we drive, we talk while we text, and we surf the Internet until we fall asleep. We are essentially plugged in and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Rather than mastering technology, we have allowed technology to master us. We are an exhausted nation. No one has enough time, everyone feels stressed out, and our kids spend more hours staring at a screen each week than they do playing outside.

It's time to simplify our lives, make faith and family the focal point, and recapture the lost art of simple living. Building on the basic principles of Amish life, Nancy Sleeth shows readers how making conscious choices to limit (and in some cases eliminate) technology's hold on our lives and getting back to basics can help us lead calmer, more focused, less harried lives that result in stronger, deeper relationships with our families, friends, and God.

I will let you know what I think after I get done reading it. There are 15 people on the wait list ahead of me. Until then, I AM GOING TO DO BETTER.

Blogging IS Theraputic

I thought about therapy or medicine or something for anxiety because sometimes life is really too much to handle. (I can't believe I am typing this.) Then, I remembered that for years and years I wrote in my online journal about whatever it was that was awesome or awful and it helped. I also remembered my friend and client, Nancy, saying that her blog was her cheaper/free form of therapy! What a beautiful idea! You will probably see me blogging more and more.

As I sit facing what seems like a mountain of junk mail, bills, adorable artwork from my children's school year and a plethora of summer camp opportunities I can't help but wonder if I am the only mom in the world that is this disorganized?!! Deep down I know that I am not, but why can't I just stay focused on one thing instead of my head going like this: "Okay, let's tackle this pile...oh, I wonder what's on Facebook, Twitter, oh...that blog of mine needs a new background, oh...it's time to get Ariah from swim team soon...Oh, I am just so sad for that family that lost their child and for the owners of that restaurant that burned down, oh dear....I hope my Aunt is doing okay in the hospital." That is my head in a really nutty nut shell. I found this link today: http://zenhabits.net/27-great-tips-to-keep-your-life-organized/ Great tips...I am going to try a few!

What do you guys do to stay organized each week and month?!