So yesterday was a blur! I am hoping that I am able to accomplish more today. I wasn't able to read any further in the book yesterday, but I did read the first section to my husband last night at...about midnight, when we were finally settling down. I am really excited about getting this momentum going. I am just hoping that I get it going enough for when the time comes that I have no motivation that it kind of keeps going until the crash is over.
It feels like there are a million things I need to get done today. I need to:
1. check my celebration calendar to make sure I have cards for any family and friend celebrations that are in the beginning of June so I am not late.
2. send an email to my Girl Scout Troop about our meeting next week.
3. set up an Open House for my stamping business (please see other blog for information about Sassy Stampin' Girl) and send an email with my class information.
4. call back the college I am trying to schedule a pre-admission meeting with
5. send out my daughters assessment to the school (Jon and I ended up working on this last night which was why I didn't have time to read).
6. Mail out the paperwork for the money that is going to help me pay for school.
7. Call back Cross Cultural Solutions to talk about funding for volunteering abroad.
8. Pick up my stamping "office" which is still a disaster from the workshop I had last weekend!
and then there is the normal, everyday things...
9. do at least a load of laundry because I didn't get to any yesterday.
10. put away the dishes and clean up the kitchen.
11. make the kids beds and put the messiness on their beds (so they can pick up their rooms easier).
12. feed/walk the animals (we have a turtle, a cat and a dog)
13. neaten up the kids bathroom
oh yeah and that doesn't count...
14. preparing dinner so it can simmer all day
15. reading the emails and do any follow-up from my upline for my stamping business
16. try to catch up on at least one lesson from my business coach
ALL before 2:45 when my youngest one gets off the bus. OK, so not quite a million, but that's a lot! Tomorrow starts my mentoring program through the Smokin' Hot Mama club, so I want to be prepared so I really wanted to finish reading that book before then, but I don't think that's possible. Maybe I just won't sleep tonight!
I have been trying to think of different areas/aspects of my life that I want to work on to improve or do differently so here is the beginning of my list, although I am sure this will change or at least there will be additions over the next month as I try to prepare myself for a kick-ass second half to 2012:
#1. Health! Eating better, exercise often and increase water intake
#2. College - need to go back and finish my degree. I have four years of college and nothing to show for it! Unfortunately two of those years were at a technical school so I can't do much with those credits, but I have two years and am very close to an associates...i will get into more specifics when i lay out my goals and my plan over the next few weeks.
#3. Community Service/Giving Back - its something that brings me much joy to be able to help someone do something they want to do or get something they want or need. I need....ok, no I WANT to get back into Rotary. I have missed it the last two years...
Ok, well that's a start anyway. I'm gonna head out to get some of those million things done today!
Take care and remember...
Change doesn't come from the sky. It comes from human action. ~the Dalai Lama
*hugs,
Mel
P.S. Don't be afraid to leave me comments below! I would love your support in this challenging journey. Just make sure to keep it positive please. Thanks!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
DAY TWO - next?
So tomorrow is my second anniversary...while it was only two years ago that we got married, it seems like it was not that long ago and yet it seems like it was forever ago! So today I do need to spend some of my time making a card for the hubby.
The one thing I also want to do today is keep reading the book 2012 A Life Pursued by Lonnie Crim, the husband of the the Head Mama at the Smokin' Hot Mama's Club. I started reading it yesterday and there are so many times that I have said, "Yes! Exactly!" so I am excited to keep reading. One of my favorite quotes is in the first paragraph of the book, "A wish is something you hope comes true. A goal is something you make come true." I am done with wishing that my wants and desires will just happen. I am done with accepting what is handed to me and just coasting through life wishing and hoping that I will get what I want out of it. I don't even know what I want...but I do know there are some really cool things that get me excited and this is going to be my journal of how I make that happen.
A few weeks ago I had a long conversation with my husband about this sort of "awakening" I was having about me and my life. I was struggling with thinking that I couldn't have what I have now, a stable family with three great kids that I absolutely adore and an affectionate husband, and still have what used to be my wishes, but are now some of my goals. I thought that because I chose to have a split-up family, where my kids don't see their dad(s) every day or even every week, that it would make me a bad mother for dreaming and wanting to travel abroad to help others with and without them. I know now that I can have both and that by making my dreams a reality will be good for my children because they will see what happens when you put hard work into something. Also, one of the things that I am sort of ashamed that I haven't taught them enough about is giving to others. So many people, including myself and my kids, just want and want and want more and more material things...there are people in other countries that don't even have safe drinking water and we are concerned about whether the cell phone we have is the current model or whether we have the most recent version of the iPhone (or in our case iTouch). While all of those things are great, and I definitely will need a computer and internet if I want to keep this blog thing going, they aren't necessities. Kids nowadays, don't even know the difference between want and needs...they think they NEED a laptop, they think they NEED a smart phone, they think they NEED a soda or an energy drink - they don't NEED any of those! They aren't grateful for the roof over their heads, the clothes from designer stores, all of the technology they have readily available to them - they aren't even grateful for the safe drinking water they have, they take all of those things for granted. That needs to change! That needs to change all over America or we will just continue to lose the spirit of who we are supposed to be.
So, to end my note for the day, as part of an assignment from the book I mentioned above:
Things I Am Grateful For...the list is endless, but here are just a few:
1. my overall health - even though not perfect, I am not dying from any disease, I can still take care of my myself and do everything and anything I want to do.
2. my children - without them I would feel completely lost at times (even more than I already am!) I love them so very much and feel so lucky to have all three of them in my life. I would not be complete without them. They aren't perfect, but then again, nobody is and that's what makes them uniquely them and I would't change it for anything!
3. their health - I am so lucky and fortunate that my children are healthy. I do not know what I would do if any of my children had to suffer from an illness or disease.
4. my husband - i don't even know where to begin with this one. How we met was...a miracle? Everything needed to happen exactly how it happened in the exact timing that it happened we would have never even met. We have been the world to each other and to the point of unhealthiness, and it took it's toll on our relationship, but we are still together and I am grateful for everything we have been through. We are completely like each other's clone - finishing each other's sentences, saying things at exactly the same time, having the same thoughts at the same time - quite frankly its sickening, but I wouldn't change it.
5. my family and close friends - I am so fortunate that I have family and friends that I can rely on if I need them. You all know who you are! And they are all fairly healthy! How lucky is that!?
Those are the top five things that I am grateful for. I hope that who ever reads this today, stops for just a few minutes and thinks about at least a few things that they are grateful for. As for the rest of my day...card making for the hubby, picking up the house a little, reading 2012 A Life Pursued and trying to organize my notes and scribbles that I will need for some goal planning over the next few weeks!
Take care and remember...
Change doesn't come from the sky. It comes from human action. ~the Dalai Lama
*hugs,
Mel
The one thing I also want to do today is keep reading the book 2012 A Life Pursued by Lonnie Crim, the husband of the the Head Mama at the Smokin' Hot Mama's Club. I started reading it yesterday and there are so many times that I have said, "Yes! Exactly!" so I am excited to keep reading. One of my favorite quotes is in the first paragraph of the book, "A wish is something you hope comes true. A goal is something you make come true." I am done with wishing that my wants and desires will just happen. I am done with accepting what is handed to me and just coasting through life wishing and hoping that I will get what I want out of it. I don't even know what I want...but I do know there are some really cool things that get me excited and this is going to be my journal of how I make that happen.
A few weeks ago I had a long conversation with my husband about this sort of "awakening" I was having about me and my life. I was struggling with thinking that I couldn't have what I have now, a stable family with three great kids that I absolutely adore and an affectionate husband, and still have what used to be my wishes, but are now some of my goals. I thought that because I chose to have a split-up family, where my kids don't see their dad(s) every day or even every week, that it would make me a bad mother for dreaming and wanting to travel abroad to help others with and without them. I know now that I can have both and that by making my dreams a reality will be good for my children because they will see what happens when you put hard work into something. Also, one of the things that I am sort of ashamed that I haven't taught them enough about is giving to others. So many people, including myself and my kids, just want and want and want more and more material things...there are people in other countries that don't even have safe drinking water and we are concerned about whether the cell phone we have is the current model or whether we have the most recent version of the iPhone (or in our case iTouch). While all of those things are great, and I definitely will need a computer and internet if I want to keep this blog thing going, they aren't necessities. Kids nowadays, don't even know the difference between want and needs...they think they NEED a laptop, they think they NEED a smart phone, they think they NEED a soda or an energy drink - they don't NEED any of those! They aren't grateful for the roof over their heads, the clothes from designer stores, all of the technology they have readily available to them - they aren't even grateful for the safe drinking water they have, they take all of those things for granted. That needs to change! That needs to change all over America or we will just continue to lose the spirit of who we are supposed to be.
So, to end my note for the day, as part of an assignment from the book I mentioned above:
Things I Am Grateful For...the list is endless, but here are just a few:
1. my overall health - even though not perfect, I am not dying from any disease, I can still take care of my myself and do everything and anything I want to do.
2. my children - without them I would feel completely lost at times (even more than I already am!) I love them so very much and feel so lucky to have all three of them in my life. I would not be complete without them. They aren't perfect, but then again, nobody is and that's what makes them uniquely them and I would't change it for anything!
3. their health - I am so lucky and fortunate that my children are healthy. I do not know what I would do if any of my children had to suffer from an illness or disease.
4. my husband - i don't even know where to begin with this one. How we met was...a miracle? Everything needed to happen exactly how it happened in the exact timing that it happened we would have never even met. We have been the world to each other and to the point of unhealthiness, and it took it's toll on our relationship, but we are still together and I am grateful for everything we have been through. We are completely like each other's clone - finishing each other's sentences, saying things at exactly the same time, having the same thoughts at the same time - quite frankly its sickening, but I wouldn't change it.
5. my family and close friends - I am so fortunate that I have family and friends that I can rely on if I need them. You all know who you are! And they are all fairly healthy! How lucky is that!?
Those are the top five things that I am grateful for. I hope that who ever reads this today, stops for just a few minutes and thinks about at least a few things that they are grateful for. As for the rest of my day...card making for the hubby, picking up the house a little, reading 2012 A Life Pursued and trying to organize my notes and scribbles that I will need for some goal planning over the next few weeks!
Take care and remember...
Change doesn't come from the sky. It comes from human action. ~the Dalai Lama
*hugs,
Mel
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Day One...How do I even start...
I have to be honest, I have no clue how I am about to do what I am going to do. When I was working in my last job one of the things I did best was analyze where we were as a team and develop plans for solutions to any issues we had. Yet, for some reason, in my personal life, I can't seem to get to the developing plans part. I feel stuck on the analyzing...I don't know...maybe it's because I'm not done. Maybe there is something that I have yet to admit to myself. I am hoping to figure that out in the next few weeks.
I absolutely hate being in the middle of analyzing and planning stage, even though I know it's necessary, I much prefer the implementation stage. I also feel scattered and messy if I haven't completed the analyzing and planning stage, so I have to say I am completely frustrated. If it were up to me, I would just go away to a remote island, or even better, to India for a month just to get back on track and focused and finish my steps one and two. However, that's not possible as I do have three children and a husband that I can't really leave hanging, oh yeah and then there is that thing called money - I don't have any of that either! So I guess I have to improvise...Unfortunately I still have to fly the plane while I am trying to figure out what''s wrong with it!
So today I have taken a few steps that would typically be in the implementation stage. I called Empire State College today because I haven't heard from them about scheduling a pre-admission meeting with a counselor. I do know that I would like to graduate with my Bachelors in Business from UAlbany, but I have to take some classes to bring my GPA up before i can apply there. I have also, obviously, started this blog. I am hoping that having this as a release will help me and maybe the accountability of making sure my readers (however few there may be) has something to read will keep me going. I have also signed up for a mentor group for the month of June - thanks to the Smokin' Hot Mama Club. I don't want to wait to get my momentum going. On top of that I have also contacted Cross Cultural Solutions to get more information about volunteering abroad, something I have wanted to do since I was a teenager.
You see! I am completely scattered! I need this plan in place...YESTERDAY! Well anyway, I will try to work on some of it tonight, although nights are the busiest time for me as the kids are home and need running around and dinner. Luckily I have my husband to help me out! Until next time a blurb from a website I have been studying...
To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or 'way of life'. It is a philosophy because philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path can be summed up as:
(1) to lead a moral life,Here's to my Journey to the very Best Me I Can Be! ~Mel
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)