An Encouraging Word

I've been writing - just not on my blog. I've been on my website - just not my blog. I've been networking and even talking to other bloggers - just not on my blog. So now here I am. On my blog. And I've got some cool people for you to meet. (and by the way, my new blog designer should have had her baby by now and hopefully in December - in time for my birthday or Christmas maybe? - I'll have a fresh new look in the place. It's gonna be great!)

You see I am writing a book. (You knew that.) But the first part was actually writing all my thoughts down and figuring out the chapters. (Check.) Then I needed to write a proposal. (Check.) Then I wanted to show it to an agent and get feedback. (Check.) The agent's feedback was for more info that I had already planned to write about so now I'm on the fourth thing - talking to other moms for my book. This has been so much fun so far and very encouraging...for me! Talking about the book keeps me writing for the book.

Teachable moment: So, if you really want to do something, my friends, don't keep it to yourself. Putting it out there helps you do what you need to do and keeps the momentum going. The vision in your head can't come to life if you don't let it breathe and circulate among others.

Who have I met so far, you ask? Well, I want to talk to 100 moms. I've got about 30 so far. I need to start getting them organized anyway so I thought I'd share some of them with you. I think you'll like them. Say hello to:

Coach Carrie Bliss - Get Your Bliss - Carrie is also an author and oh my goodness, this woman is a true multi-tasker!

Hypnotist Fern Tausig - My Healing Hypnosis - Fern is really disciplined and had some interesting things to say about making the family her priority.

Writer Rhonda McKnight - Urban Christian Fiction Today - Rhonda is a writer worth emulating and she's an editor too and you know how hard it is to find that combo? Very.

Coach Felicia Pratt - I Complete Me - Such a sweet person. She's just getting going but she's clearly got a vision and a message for moms in particular about finding themselves in the hustle and bustle.

Virtual Assistant Angel (that's her web name) - The Corner Office - I was amazed by Angel who is a blogger I follow. (Look for her in my followers.) She got her business up and running AND has employees in I won't even tell you the amount of time! Awesome.

Web magazine editor Diedra Chatman - Noir Mommies - Deidra knows what she wants and never hesitated about the steps she's taken. Like Carrie, she's independent and unstoppable.

Product developer Jennifer Covello - Frittabello - Fun person with a fun product - a journal for the first 5 years of your child's life. She's selling in stores and already getting accolades and it's barely been 2 years.

I am so inspired by these women and it's been fun talking to all of them. I have more on tap and some previous to them who I now need to call since I revamped by questioning. Some of these moms blog, like Angel and Felicia. I'm stalking them. You should too. Some of these moms are also on Twitter, like Jennifer and Diedra. Shoot. I need to go make sure I'm following them everywhere they are myself!

I can't wait to share what they shared with me for my book. I can't wait to talk to some more moms next week. If you are a mom and you want to start a business but you have a job, that's no reason to not move forward. It really depends on how much you want to do it and if you are open to the unknown. The first step is truly knowing who you are, how you do things, what you want to do and why. And even the what doesn't have to be crystal clear just yet. You can research that. It's all about being true to you while being the mother/wife/significant other/employee that you are. You were created for a purpose and frankly, while I know it's not easy and we all have different priorities, I don't believe God intended for you to hide your light under a bushel at any point in your life. It may need to manifest differently according to whatever is going on at that time, but no matter where you are or what you are doing, take the time to shine.

I need to talk to 68 more moms for my book. Moms who created businesses while working a job and taking care of a family. I want to talk to you if you feel successful, whatever success means to you. That means you don't have to be profitable yet. I just want to know you know you are on your road and have some wisdom to share. Should I be talking to you? Here I am. Contact me.

Time's Up!

Tomorrow I go get the kids. Summer at Camp Grandma must have been really good because this was the first time ever that no one said, "Mommy, when do you come get us?" They are growing up and getting used to it and I'm glad. Mr. T is too. I know he was happy that he was able to take every overtime opportunity that came at him at work, which is good for the bills but takes away from our time. Still, we found our moments so it wasn't a total waste of freedom. Plus, I got a chance to get my book proposal to near completion. I had hoped to have it mailed out today but I found another expert to add to it and I waited to hear from her and some of the others I had already talked to about being in it. So now I'm shooting to mail it on Friday because I really want it moving before September hits. It will have been 3 months and a week since I last talked to the agent and told her I didn't have a proposal yet but I would do one. On that front, time's up as well.

School starts on Friday and Mr. T keeps mentioning Daughter getting on the school bus. I don't recall him mentioning it quite as much when Son went for the first time but it's probably because she is still the baby and there's that whole father/daughter thing I'm sure. He's right. It's a big step. New school; a public school. Riding the school bus. New teacher (for the school as well). New friends. At least she has Son and that makes it easier for me to handle it. Plus she, unlike when Son was in kindergarten and we were living with my MIL, is getting on at the last stop before they hit school, which makes it the first stop home so I know they won't even have to deal with a long ride. I'm looking forward to the new adventure for her but it conjures up thoughts that time will be up in another way as well - deciding on that 3rd kid.

Yeah, God is in charge ultimately but we're not exactly winging it here. Deliberate decisions would still have to be made but that's OK. We have enough on our plates with kindergarten and having to refinance our mortgage soon. I'll just wait until my 38th birthday at the end of the year and see what's what. I told Mr. T about a dream I had recently that I saw some boxes in a store that had my MIL's name on it. They were baby shower gifts being held for her to buy for us. Surely just a random reaction to a topic that stays at the back of my mind. The first part of that dream was he and I running around France trying to catch a cab to the airport to get back home. The only thing we had were the suits we were born in. ;-) Not likely to happen either, right? So I guess nothing is for certain.

Some Cool Stuff

I have a friend, Bonnie. A fantastic artist. Actually, we've never met but we've spoken on the phone. I have at least a dozen friends like that - never met 'em but we click and I adore them. Anyhow, my artist friend came to me and my business partner a few years ago with a concept that we LOVED but couldn't produce for her at the time. Well, it's out there now and I think it's great. If you know someone in the hospital right now or who frequents the hospital due to some chronic condition(s), these cards are not only something that can brighten up their day but they make it easier to communicate when talking just isn't something they are up to. Check these out! I am so proud of Bonnie for getting this done. It's awesome. I already ordered mine.

Last night, I was watching a challenge initiated by a business coach - Andrew Morrison who does Small Business Boot Camp. For 16 weeks, he's got 12 business owners striving to get their businesses to a profit level they've never achieved before. In the meanwhile, he's going to take his new Internet TV show and by the end, have something he can pitch to major networks as a new reality show. So last night he recommended a site called http://www.ning.com/. This is where you can create your own social network. I thought that was pretty cool. His thought, though, was this is one way to get all your "team" together in one place because often the people helping us build our businesses are scattered across the country, maybe around the world. Interesting concept. But if you feel like having a special place for your special group, you might want to check this out.

So the incident with Son made this website stand out for me. Actually, this woman is in my new business networking group. So I saw her profile and saw her site and I loved this. Though I don't know yet if I'd do it because I'm always concerned about skin issues. My kids have a little of my eczema. So sorry. It's called SafetyTat. "Get the tat that brings them back!" I really love this though. Very creative.


One of my favorite magazines is Domino. That, along with Real Simple, is just such a fun magazine that marries design with organization so I can spend hours with one magazine if I cared to. This month's Domino had this interesting little cutting board that might not make the average person's heart leap, but you see I live with people who can't seem to put things in the trash even when it's right next to them and empty. Cartons are opened and left on the counter. Mr. T's coffee-making habits leave clues even a blind detective could pick up. It drives me nuts to come home and have to throw trash INTO the trash can; wipe up spills; sweep up crumbs. So this flexible cutting board made me stop and go, "Ahhh!" It's called a Chop Keeper and you can chop on it and then bend it to pour the contents wherever you like. It even has sides! It says you get 3 for about $13 so you can be sure I'm ordering this.

Now if you have disposable income - very disposable - you may like these convertible heels I read about in Daily Candy. Camileon heels. They turn from 3" to 1 1/2" in a snap! Now THAT is cool. It's also $300 but it's at least 2 pairs of shoes in one! OK, so I won't be buying them because my kids are 2 pairs of shoes in a month - each. But maybe, one day, when I'm old and gray and can spend my money on me again. Just maybe.

Do A Little Dance, Ditch A Little Book

Ever have one of those days where you just want to dance? Just because? For the past 2 weeks as I've been embroiled in projects at work, taxes, and small business development, I've had Kool Moe Dee running around in my head rapping "I Go To Work!" He came out with that one while I was in college and in college I kept up with music religiously. One of my girlfriends still swears if you wanted the latest of anything (in the genres I listen to, that is), go see Monica!

Every now and again I remember the songs that moved me way back when and I download the good ones in iTunes. People from this generation are free to disagree with me, but the music from the 70s, 80s and even the early 90s are leaps and bounds above the mess going on the airwaves today. Every now and again someone breaks out from the pack and originality (with a dose of old school) prevails. (NeYo, for instance, or Alicia Keys. Love them.) But iTunes didn't have "I Go To Work!" Imagine my dismay! YouTube, however, did and along with my love of KMD returned my respect for the truly great rap artists who could shake and bake those words with nary a profanity in sight. It's an art, I tell ya. They are artists.



This includes Will Smith who - gasp! - some people didn't even know was a rapper before he was an actor. Honestly. Am I REALLY that far along in life now? For those who are too young for my train of thought, KMD did Wild Wild West which Will re-did for the movie. (Great example of dancers in rhythm too.) So here's that one because I was feeling them both all day yesterday, as my co-workers will attest to as well as my son who laughed while I put these on one screen of my computer and danced my heart out while he played his Disney game and jumped up and down with me.



I did and still do adore good music and a really good music video where the beat is contagious and the dancers are in step and in rhythm. I just love watching it. Makes me feel good.

You know what doesn't make me feel good? Bad writing! (See that seague? See it? Good huh?)

This book had me SO annoyed when I read it to Daughter recently that I was forced to go on Amazon and blast it because it was just plain stupid. As a writer, I wait in line with many others who are hoping to get traditionally published someday. Granted, I've been too busy to really make an all-out effort but there's stuff I could show an agent if they really wanted to see if I was worth the time. Now how this book was deemed publishable, I'll never know. But instead of restating what I wrote on Amazon, let me just show you what I wrote there word for word. I am on a crusade to stop people from at least buying this book. OK, you probably have to read it to understand the sheer horror I felt after reading it, but please DO NOT BUY IT! You'll encourage this poor soul to do it again and that I do not want.

Read on:

I don't know how the previous reviewers used this book, but this was a book my 4-year-old chose to check out of the library to read before going to bed. We go every week. She picks books that look good to her and pile them on a chair to take out. I am certain she was drawn to the color of this book as anyone would be. But boy did this book strike a wrong chord with me, corny pun intended.

I started reading it to her and by the end I had to apologize to her for wasting our time when we could have read something that made sense. I understand the INTENT was to have a book about a jazz virtuoso that followed color value and musical notes, etc. But this does not succeed. The result is a book with words broken down in syllables seemingly scattered all over the page which would be fine if:
1 - the words WEREN'T in hard-to-read cursive
2 - the words were in some sort of easy-to-follow order
3 - the writer/publisher didn't assume that everyone could read musically

I showed this to 4 co-workers to make sure it wasn't just me. They were a mix of parents and single, writers and nonwriters and every one of them stepped back upon looking at the first page. "They aren't ALL going to look like this are they?" Oh yes, my friend. They do.

I have never been so annoyed by a book before! Did the author and publisher think about the kids who were learning to read? The parents who would be reading to them? I must have sounded like I just started hooked on phonics myself!

The mystery here is figuring out how to overcome the instinct to read left to right in order to read the blasted thing and I could MAYBE forgive that. But you don't even walk away with a real lesson about Thelonious Monk to make it all worth while.

I didn't even want to give it the one star I gave it but that star would be for visual interest. We love color and THAT it has in spades. Nothing else.

Books I've Read in 2007

OK, so a friend of mine from one of my writing groups was chatting with us lately saying she keep a running list of books she has read on her blog. (Aside: If you are a writer, I highly recommend joining a critique group. I've been with my group for a couple of years now and I adore them. They are not only a smart, diverse group, they are published and inspirational.) What a great idea, I told her. A perfect way to track my own growth, if you will. So, while I am not going to wrack my brain trying to recall every book from the beginning of the year, I'll just start with now and back track to through summer. This is more for my own record than anything else but you never know. You may see something interesting and want to ask about it, or maybe you read it and wanna chat! Cool! SInce I write for kds and adults, some of the books on my list are kids books I've read as my group and I studied the latest popular works.

So far I have read (or am reading) the following. As you can see, I'm currently nurturing a new Kinsella habit - despite those awful "erms" she uses:

1. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella (book 3 in the series)
2. The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
3. Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
4. Mr. Sebastian and The Negro Magician by Daniel Wallace
5. Guide to Organizing Your Life by Donald Wetmore
6. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (kids' book)
7. Ida B. and Her Plans to maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save The World by Katherine Hannigan (kids' book)
8. Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (book 1 in the series)

Johnny Cash Would Be Proud

At last! The post I had to remove on Oct. 11 when this was originally supposed to run. Of course I have blogged since this went up then came down again so the whole "I've been busy" thing may not work so well now but I don't want to re-write this blasted thing! Pretend it's Oct. 11th.

I've been too busy living my life to blog about it. But that's no excuse, now is it? Bloggers have a responsibility to blog or else they not truly bloggers. I concur. Kerri is posting in a couple of different places now and I told her that my blog saw her OTHER blog, tugged my shirt and said, "Why does HER blog get a post and I don't?" So here I am saying, yes, I am alive but it's been nuts. I can prove it.

You know that Choice Hotel commercial that is using Johnny Cash's song? I've been doing everything, man!

I've been to cub scout meetings business meetings wrapping up a school fundraiser mother-in-law's church award thing selling popcorn at CVS business expo held in New York writing editing and shooting a script and in between dealing with sick girl and working long hours on my job projects - I've been everywhere man. I've been everywhere!

The shoot is something my co-workers and I created for our Boss' Day, which is next week but we're doing it tomorrow because one co-worker will be out of town next week and we're all chomping at the bit anyway. (OK. Clearly that didn't happen. Thus the late posting.) Lady Boss is fantastic and deserves this. We all agree. Three of us are writers so we wrote it. One of us is a video goddess so she and her fiance shot it and edited it and we know it will be hilarious. Stress relief for Lady Boss and us too, we expect. We used sock puppets, people. Yes. I stayed up late one night NOT blogging because I was IMing with my co-workers as we worked on the script and made our puppets. We also created T-shirts to go along with the day. Yes, I am 36, not 6 and no, I am not currently pledging a college sorority. Honest. But it was fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. This is me (being animated by Co-worker):



And this is me in the drawer with all of us:



We did this AFTER WORK so no finger wagging in my direction! Nyeh!

Now, in addition I have also helped 2 of said co-workers to create a visual representation of the Battle of the Brides. They are getting married next year - no silly, not to each other! - and they are doing it a week apart at that. One co-worker who knows I hate wedding talk (I didn't do a lot of it for myself either) says, "Oh, can't you play with us for just a LITTLE while?!" You asked for it, missy. So I took her idea for the timeline they wanted to create and said, "Squash that. This is what you do..." And this is what they did:



Can you see them? They are building wedding cakes tier by tier. Each cake represents what they have accomplished on their way to their respective wedding alters. Grimace and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle are racing to the top to ring the wedding bells in victory. Yes, this was my idea folks. I was determined to see it through. Good job, ladies!

Now, the rest is A LOT of cub scout stuff (Son sold lots of popcorn at CVS and his being cute helped a lot. Good for him! [I will not pimp my son. I will not pimp my son!]) and lots of library visits as I try to keep my kids in new books weekly (and me monthly) and me realizing that my business needs me to really put the pedal to the medal because these kids are just expensive! I've said it before and I say it again - kids (not babies, believe it or not) cost mega moolah. I wish I had time for a part-time job.

Oh, and in addition to what I've written here, I've been writing with my crit group twice a week and working on my novel outline for NaNoWriMo. What is it, Theresa asked. Why this, of course! See my little award over there in my sidebar? It's getting married next month. Mark my words - literally. I need 50,000 of them to win.

And then there is Village Works for which I have been working on an email campaign that went out this week. I've been through about 1,000 emails that I had to get added to our mailing list program so that took a few days, plus creating the email itself. You see, the fundraiser was a huge disappointment in that it never got kicked off properly and the kids just didn't do the job. Yeah, we got some orders. Yeah, we're talking high school seniors, which may be more than half of the problem here, but that just gave us a huge task for the next couple of weeks to get those orders bumped up to PROFIT level. We've got a one-week special going on and we'll see what comes of it. For certain all this business stuff going on (we met with an accountant in all this busy time too) and all the kid/family stuff that is breaking the bank is making me think it's time to get on the Ladies Who Launch bandwagon and see if we can make a profitable difference in 2008. It's too soon to give up. We KNOW we have something here. It's just a matter of making it work. Maybe I'll watch a little more Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane so I can get inspired. That woman is truly a dynamo and fun to watch. I don't want her life, just her money!

Oh and just so you know, I am also busy reading at night when I should be watching TV - or sleeping, as another co-worker would say. What am I reading? Two books I dug up from the library.

I got this one at the beginning of September and it's actually not bad but it didn't grab me as hard as I would like. Still it's a little bit of a tease so I hold on. The author is Daniel Wallace. He wrote Big Fish which became a movie. You've got a circus and a black magician who is really white. My favorite line so far from Henry the magician to a racist heckler in the audience as he tried to guess the card the heckler is hiding from him:

Henry closed his eyes and took a deep preparatory breath. A quizzical look appeared on his face. "I'm...I'm having trouble locating it. Your brain, I mean. Where do you keep it? Oh there it is. It was so small that for a moment I couldn't see it!

That had me rolling for 2 days. This is why I hang on.

And there there is his one by British author Sophie Kinsella. It caught my attention pretty quickly, something that is not easily done. But the British text can be a little distracting at times. She has this awful habit of having her somewhat gawky, a little inept character say "Er" and "Erm" a lot and that Erm thing is bugging the heck out of me. What is that, anyway? "Er" I can stand but even that is getting run over repeatedly and stabbed with a big stick in this book. Still, she makes me want to know what the heck is going to happen to this girl. She reminds me a bit of Bridget Jones and... darn it! There is someone else too but I can't grasp her book title. It was about a working mother and the juggling she had to do. Anyone recall it?

I think I am sufficiently caught up until the next time I get behind. See you soon!

Putting It Into Practice

WARNING: This is no short post. You may want to read it in bits and pieces.

My time management book continues to be the center of my life right now. I read it cover to cover and just passed it on to someone who I hope will get as much out of it as I did. I started it a week ago. I think I read a huge Stephen King book faster once upon a time when I was not quite 20-something and living carefree at home, but with my life right now - sans kids for the next few weeks - finishing a book in a week is pretty good. I'm two chapters now into another one I'm reading with my writing group and I want to finish that before Saturday, so boy will I feel accomplished - and empty-handed - when it's time to board that plane!

This one was good though. Really good. And this is how I know it's timely and meant for me to pay attention. This is from the most recent newsletter from Valerie, the life coach I follow:

We can sometimes buy into the notion that following our passion is supposed to be fun and exciting, but living purposefully is journey of character-building and evolving into the person you always knew you could be. The process is not always fun, but it does bring us rich rewards. I took an honest look at my life. It wasn’t bad, but “not bad” was not the goal. Admittedly, my schedule was a bit unruly. I managed to get a lot done, but with very little structure in my life, I was feeling scattered and ineffective. While I was not excited about embracing more discipline, I knew a change was needed. What I discovered in the process is that discipline is not about taking things away, but about giving you what you truly want.

This week, I challenge you to take an honest look at an area of your life where you know you are not living up to your potential. Consider the five key areas of your life: Relationships, Health, Work, Finances and Spiritual Life. Perhaps you need to exercise discipline when it comes to eating junk food or watching television instead of going for a brisk walk. Perhaps you need to be more discipline by leaving the office on time so that you have more time for yourself, family and friends. Maybe the area where it’s time for more discipline is spending. It’s time to take control of your finances by increasing what you save each month, taking steps to increase what you make and decrease what you spend. You know the area of discipline is that’s calling you. Your next step is to embrace the change, then enjoy the reward.

So this book is very encouraging in terms of wrangling that elusive creature that most, if not all, mommies seek - balance. How do you have and do it all? Well, I know and I've said before that you can have it all - whatever that means for you - and you can do it all. It just can't be all done at once. You have a whole life to acquire "it all" and I believe that's how you have to take these things. Plan for it over the span of your years, assuming you shall have the full amount you should and even if you don't, you still would have led a full life if what you do every day is another step in that direction toward a fulfilling, meaningful life. You do nothing, you get nothing. You do one little thing and all your little things eventually add up to big ones so make those little changes and revel in the fact that you did something. Many people choose to talk about change but never make it because they are too busy, they will do it one day, or they are looking to make a huge change all at once. Your baby steps actually will put you ahead of the game.

So now I am done reading. Allow me to share what I am taking away from this book. That is to say, these are the things I started implementing as of the moment I read about it. I am doing my best not to think beyond today in doing these techniques because I am hoping to simply convince myself to do them every day where necessary and to one day look up and see I've been doing it long enough now for it to become a habit. I know it takes about 30 days to makes something a habit but instead of counting to 30 days, I'm just going to celebrate every day I can do what I want to and just see what happens.

So having said all that, this is what I liked and I am doing, in no particular order:

1 - Assessing my current state of balance
This little task has to do with assigning value to every one of Wetmore's 7 facets of life and then seeing just how balanced I think I am, as well as thinking about what kinds of improvements I need and want to make in order to get that balance. There is a chart in the book and the example shows that you want to rate everything from 1 to 10 but in an ideal world, you may not choose to rate everything a 10, or the highest value to you. I do.

Health - 4. I've been higher.
Family - 6. Kids absolutely need more of me.
Financial - 6 and that's an improvement over years before.
Intellectual - 5 mainly because I don't read as much as I used to.
Social - 5. The friends see me even less than the family but they all know the deal so that's good.
Professional - Now this depends. My job is a 9 for sure. If I didn't have to commute, it would be a 10! My business is a 7 because we still aren't as organized there as we should be. But we're working on that as I write. Things go off for the rest of this year and we'll at least be at an 8 and 8 is great! My writing is a 5 because I don't do it like I should. If I did, I'd have a shorter procrastination list. (See that later.)
Spiritual - 5 because I don't do anywhere near what I used to when I didn't have kids. But I am working on that right now. (See The Waking Hour.)

Now if I multiply my ideal by my real, a balanced life for me would be a 700. With these numbers - using an average in the professional areas - I'm at a 380 right now. Just past half way. Man I have a way to go! But part of making this assessment is also determining what changes I want to make now. For me, it's not about what I want to change overall, it's about what can I honestly do right now and feel good about because it's that small step in the right direction. That I can't spell out for you - too much information! - but the numbers will come out to a 510. Significant boost and the things I did weren't big but they will make a difference for me.

2 - Index cards
I like this one. It's simply a method of notetaking that allows you to transfer it anywhere at any time. Surely I can keep a notecard on me, huh? One of the things Don said to do was to write out birthdays and such on these cards, one for each month, and clip that to the appropriate month in your planner so you don't forget. Well I don't plan to have another written planner so my PDA will be set to remind me of things. Still, I like the note cards for the other stuff - hear about a book? Write it down. Pull out the list next time you're at the bookstore and wondering what to get. Someone say something good for a Christmas gift for the hubby? Write it down and when your shopping time comes, the list is already done. One thing I like was an Irritations list. Every time something bothers you - car making noise, clogged sink, etc. - but you can't do anything right then and there, write it on your irritations list. This is part of reducing the stress in your life because stress makes you do crazy things too.

3 - 7x7
This is where the baby steps come in. Don Wetmore says that in order to effect the change you seek, just do one little thing - an improvement - in each of the areas every day and you will have made thousands of little improvements in the course of a year. Now, my challenge is to find little improvements to make in every single area but right now if I can do something every day in even one of them, I'm good. Still, it's not easy figuring out what they should be. My little changes would be the same as my big ones most of the time but I am thinking about it. Notes to the kids and Mr. T. - used to do that a lot once upon a time. Gotta do that again more regularly. Compliments. Learning a word a day. Saving a dollar a day. Stocking up on something you use a lot to avoid running out at the wrong time. Choosing NOT to do something. All that counts.

4 - The Waking Hour
Ah. Here's the real challenge that I am finally going to try to accept. I am not a morning person in the least. Wetmore says that everyone takes about an hour to wake up, whether you choose to do it at home or at work, it takes about that long to leave the alpha, dreamlike state you are in when you awake and enter beta which you operate in otherwise. His thought is to get up an hour before you need to and start the day slowly. Let it set the tone for the day, which should be stress free and in as much control as one can be on this side of heaven. 15 minutes of sitting on the edge of your bed and just visualizing, he says. Then 15 minutes of some sort of inspirational reading. Then go outside and walk for 30 minutes and THEN start your day. Now, I've known about that whole waking up an hour early thing and I detested it. Still do hate the thought of being up early for anything EVER. However, for the past 2 days I did it. Now that first 15 is a wash. It takes me that long just to get myself together - sit up ALL the way, go the bathroom, throw on something to wear for that time - so I take advantage of the next 15 and read my Bible. Presto! An improvement in my spiritual life. Just like that. This alone will help me feel that closeness to God again that I too often let slip because I get caught up in life. (Sure glad He doesn't operate like I do!) Then off I go, walking around the neighborhood for 30 minutes. Chango! A benefit for my health AND spirit as I continue talking to God as well as visualize. (See? That first 15 minutes got back in there after all.) This might even be good for the social life if I finally start talking to the neighbors I don't know but so far they haven't been out. I've only spoken to other strangers on the street and the trash guys. I suspect when the kids come home, I'm going to have to push this time back from 6 to 5:30 so I can be home by 6:30 to start getting my slowpokes together. But I don't want to think about that. I'm living in the now. And for now, I come home feeling pretty awake.

5 - Keeping it All in Check
Part of keeping the balance is keeping the information straight. I started straightening up my office again. I still can't do what I need to because I still don't have what I need to get the stuff physically organized. But I'm going through boxes, tossing what I can and just making it neat to my eye. That tends to make me want to go deeper and I'll do what I need to in time. When you have a whole house that needs little things here and there, it adds up so some things have to wait. That was a huge sidetrack! Anyway, I came across a calendar I tried to deal with back in 2004. Too big. I have one in a purse at home right now that I've been carrying for the past year. Not too big but it's very presence bugs me. So that's where the previous PDA discussion came in. Still on my to-do list for next month. In addition, it's time to put a Family Calendar on the fridge so everyone knows where everyone else is as much as possible. I'll do both of these before the end of September and let you know where I stand in December.

6 - More reading
Having the chance to read when the kids are gone really makes me miss it. I'm hoping to make it a habit again so my goal is a book a month. That taps my need to improve the intellectual side of my life and it may help the professional from time to time too since I love to read business books that apply to what I do. I've got a little list going on already in my Amazon favorites and on my trusty index card too so I should be set for quite a while.


7 - What do I value?
I think I answered this question once a long time ago. Probably while I was in job transition. The idea is to know what matters to you so while you are doing other things, you can keep it all in perspective. Some things are simply a waste of your time if it's doesn't somehow enhance what matters to you. Getting a huge job with big money is great but if family is what you truly value, that job may actually take away from the time you need to spend with them and then is it really worth it? Probably not. My values are pretty simple I think: family, friends, faith and freedom to be me. My job is a blessing because it doesn't compromise any of that. Nothing I do does. But I need more time for the first three, that's for sure. Thus my current foray into self-evolution.

8 - Procrastinated Items
This is one thing I need to do and I am procrastinating about. Actually, not so much. It's just that I know I won't do what I need to do right now so why fake the funk? My mission? To write that darn thesis. That requires calling the college to find out if it's simply too late and I need to let it go and forever have to say that I completed some grad work when in fact I completed ALL the classes and just didn't write the book. And speaking of, I have my children's book and another adult-focused one to finish too. Hmm. I'm sensing a theme. I know I can do it because I have a NaNoWriMo award to prove it. I write for my job regularly. I can do it.

One day at a time.

PDA PDQ?

So as I read this book this week, I am just about ready to take the plunge. Managing my time better has always been something I wanted to do and never really got around to doing. I tend to go with the flow but I usually know where the flow is coming from first. I hate schedules with a passion so I don't like dictating to myself what I am going to do everyday and when I am going to do it. I do however, love To-Do lists and feel somewhat discombobulated without them. Hmm. Is that a little conflicting? Don't know. Anyway, the challenge, as I've written before, is to keep the list with me and to keep the other stuff I need on me too in order to stay somewhat organized - my calendar, my business idea notebook, my cell phone to remind me of things. The thing is, my job is the one place where I've managed to be pretty organized and it's time to carry that over to the rest of my life.

So Dr. Don Wetmore is the author of this book and I think I've mentioned him by name before too since he came a couple of times to one of my business groups to talk about time management. Now, just to talk about this book for a minute, I've heard the man talk so I know his style and this book is so him - his way of talking and his wit. His thoughtful examples. Plus, this book has pictures! Lots and lots of pictures. You can breeze through a chapter not only because he gets your attention but also because the little amount of text there actually is on a page so you just have to finish a chapter because really, it's just not that long. I took this with me while dropping off the kids and I read about 6 or 7 chapters in that time.

Now the man has some good thoughts about how to organize your time. Some of it I've heard from him before but re-reading it is good and makes me think about what I'll want to take away from this. One thing I did was assess where I stood on the 7 things that make up a person's life. (This book is about managing ALL your life. Don believes in life balance, as I do, so he is trying to help people figure out how to keep your various facets of life in balance. Those seven things, just so you can think about it too, are:

Family
Health
Professional
Intellectual
Social
Spiritual
Financial

Basically you rate these on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 meaning you are satisfied with this area of your life. You think about each area and consider all the things you want to accomplish in each area as well as assess how it really is right now. Wherever you are falling short, you may be thinking you don't have the time to deal with and that's why it's lacking, but Don thinks you do and so do I. It's about prioritizing and thinking about how one area affects another before you decide to do or not do something.

Well, this got me to thinking about ways to sync up my various calendars (mostly mental calendars) and I think I am about to do what I never wanted to do - go tech. The fact is I had already been thinking I need to put up a family calendar on the fridge. We've had too many mornings where Son needed something for school and we had to scramble to get it though we knew about it for a week. And Daughter will be in kindergarten in another year. So a calendar will kept the upcoming weeks before us and we can keep the peace.

I keep things in my cell phone, I write them down on to-do lists. I have an address book which is at home and never with me at work when I seem to address letters the most. I have my idea book for my business and I've lots of time when I thought about something I wanted to write and had no paper to write it down. The problem really is my disdain for carrying loads of things. I think I loathe that even more than tech gadgets, which is why i am now considering a PDA. I could, in theory, keep all the above mentioned stuff in one little streamlined place and that, along with my cell phone, I should, in theory, have no problem carrying around. Right now I don't imagine I'd want a Blackberry or mix of PDA and phone because I prefer flip phones and these portable computers don't flip. I don't think. Who knows. But I don't think I want to merge the two just yet. That would be going too far.

So do I want to go PDA? I'll look to buy one next month, if I decide it can do what I need it to. I'll still need to handwrite some things because after all I am a writer and I like the feel of pen to paper. But this search for easier and lighter feels eternal and I really want to bring it to rest now. It's time to sync up all my calendars and try to keep all my crap in one portable place. So if anyone has a PDA and wants to regale me about the virtues of this device, feel free. You can knock it too and tell me what works for you because I'm open to the discussion - this month. After then, I'm taking the plunge.

Waiting Games

This is what I am looking at right now and for the next hour and a half. I took the kids down yesterday, got to my parents house after midnight, took about a 3-hour nap and then my father drove me 3 hours north to Atlanta to catch a 9:33 am flight home. Orbitz called to say the flight was delayed 45 minutes so we stopped to eat. That plane sat on the runway so long they were about to give us jobs. When we got in, we then sat and waited for the gate people to show for so long we were ready to heave ho the apparatus ourselves. So my next plane left sans me. And here I sit book in hand, happy as a lark praising Jesus this did not happen yesterday when my bundles of energy, as one nice man put it, were in rare form. Well, now I get time to think. I think I will enjoy my book.