I'm thankful

This has been a really hard month. I've had problems with my husband, problems with my health, problems at work and problems with family. But today, I just want to be thankful. The song "It is well" keeps going through my mind. It is well with my soul. While life around me in a lot of ways seems to be falling apart, it is making me stronger. This is what I'm thankful for today:

1) My amazing children
2) My cute puppy, whose fleas we can't seem to get rid of, but who is still happy to see me every day.
3) My friends- I don't feel like I have a lot of close friends, but the ones I have are amazing- whether it's letting me cry on the phone or coming over in the middle of the night to take care of my kids while I'm at the hospital- I am so thankful.

4) My family
5) My in-laws
6) I'm not sick anymore
7) My creativity and the opportunity to express it thru this blog and my other sites.
8) My iPhone that let's me type this even tho I'm not at my computer
9) My bed- it is one of the most comfortable places in the universe
10) Podcasts- free and inspiring. What more can I say.

Have a good weekend- look for things to be thankful for and it can really change your attitude no matter the situation. It won't fix the problems or make them go away, but thankfulness can remind you how strong you are and how you can get thru it.

Adios!

Creative Blog Inspirations

I'm so inspired by the Rockstar Diaries, Hip Tranquil Chick, Naturally Nina, and Pennyweight Online blogs. I want this blog to inspire others like theirs inspire me. But I'm not super Internet savvy, and I'm not indie rock chick. I want to be indie rock chick, but the fashion doesn't suit me. I'm better in some nice work trousers and cute, work appropriate tops and jackets. Not ever ever ever an actual suit, but the pieces. Skinny jeans don't work on me because I'm not, and I've never had much luck at vintage shops- apparently the women of old didn't have my body. Actually, I think it's more the proprietors of the vintage shops that don't have my body, because my grandma had some rockin' clothes back in the day that I had no problem pilfering. But anyway- I want to be inspiring. I want to post my photography and have other people grab it and go. I want to have my blog linked to by other people- not because I'm so super cool, but because it is somehow inspiring to them. I want to be inspiring to my daughter as she gets older. She seems to have a bit of an art streak in her- I want to encourage that as much as possible, without pushing her in a bad way.

My book will be published by December 3, 2011. Wow- that's coming up quick. I need to get writing!

Goals for the Day

Today this feels more like a to-do list than a goals list, but what can you do:

1) Do more research on online masters programs

2) Either walk or ride bike for 45 minutes

3) Figure out how to keep Austin awake all afternoon- it worked all weekend, why can't he sleep during the week when we work????

Pilates 101: The Cadillac

Check out my latest examiner.com post. It's the first in a new Pilates Equipment series- I'll be posting a new item each day this week.

Goals for the Day

1) Plan Meals for Week

2) Not puke

3) Go through closet and clean it out.

Blog Addiction

I have a confession. I have an addiction to blogs. Not so much to blogging, but to the idea of blogs. I think I want to make another blog about my efforts to deal with my stress and to become more content. I am going to sleep on it for the night. Thinking about trying to find a guided Bible study about contentment, but wondering now if striving for contentment is the wrong thing- I should instead be striving for thankfulness. Because if I'm truly thankful for what I have, then I will be happy. And it's not bad to be working towards being the best, but it's being dissatisfied with where I'm at that causes the problem.

Monday Goals

I'm having a hard time thinking of goals for today that go beyond a list of to-dos, and at the same time I'm thinking that I should start setting weekly and monthly goals in addition to my daily ones. I've really got a problem with biting off more than I can chew.

1) Pull out all creativity books so that I can at least see what I have

2) Indulge in sweet potato fries for lunch. (Homemade. Yum.)

3) Clean bedroom.

Book Review: The Knockout Entrepreneur by George Foreman w/ Ken Abraham

Rating: 2/5

The Knockout Entrepreneur is told through a series of analogies from George Foreman’s business and boxing experience. You can skip all of the stories, though, and read just the “Knockout Ideas to Stimulate Your Success” at the end of each chapter to get the gist of the book.

While the analogies are often entertaining, they aren’t often incredibly relevant or inspiring. There is little organization or flow to the order of the stories, and many seem like they have been included in the wrong chapter. Some of the analogies- such as his statement that your accountant is akin to a technician in the boxing ring (the man who scouts the competition for you and helps you strategically fight) are downright wrong. Yes, an accountant can help you make strategic decisions, but I’ve yet to meet one who is a scout.

George does to an excellent job encouraging integrity and honesty in all business an personal situations. However, it appears that George has built his business entirely on the success of endorsement deals and he has never been involved in the inception of development of a product or idea. This begs the question: What makes him an expert I should listen to? There are better business books on the market which follow the same ethical standards.

Book Preview: http://thomasnelson.insidethecover.com/widget/?isbn=9780785222088

Goals for the Day

Take Lily to playground down the road

Set up indoor trainer and ride bike for 30 min after Lily's in bed

Take a nap

Evening Check In

On my way to bed, but reflecting on my day and thought I'd post an update to my goals:

Clean House: Didn't happen.
Make meal plan for next week: Sort of- have decided to try Super Suppers for next week's meals, actually, in order to use my coupon I essentially have to buy enough for 1/2 a month.
Hug Chris- Did it!

Best part of my day: my nap!

Goals for the Day

So, yesterday the goals didn't go so well. In fact, I didn't accomplish any of them. However, I do have an idea for the PilatesforMommies post and plan to do it as soon as I'm done with my Morning Pages. And I had an amazing Pilates lesson. I tried to go for a walk, but Chris had the double stroller. So...goals for today:

Clean House
Make meal plan for next week
Hug Chris

Goals for September 10

1) Write a post for Pilates for Mommies
2) Create a plan for creative time a few days a week
3) Go for a walk.