New Year, Project Standings, Latest Happenings

We are almost a week into the new year and so far I am just trying to get into the groove of what I want 2014 to be like for myself and my family. Since my last post I have had some major things happen. A week after my Nov 19th post I received a call from my step mom who told me that my dad was in the hospital after being rushed by ambulance when he had trouble breathing. Turned out that the 2 bottom chambers of his heart had stopped beating and they had to use the paddles and whole 9 yards to bring him back. My family and I rushed to Las Vegas to be with him and after a couple of days he was doing great but then they had to put in a pacemaker and things went south quickly. My dad crashed on the operating table and his brain swelled. The brain damage was too much for him to come back from and we lost him on December 8th. Although this has been just as hard as losing my mom in 2012 I was able to keep it together because my dad and I were at such a great place in our relationship. I have been peaceful knowing that now both of my parents are watching over myself and my family.
Using this time and experience to remember what is important and how I want my life to go. Neither one of my parents ever had a project list that didn't get completed quickly so I have been using their ways to inspire me with my ridiculously long To Do List. First off we did find plans for a new chicken coop which will be built next month, I have thrown out a lot of paperwork and rearranged my 2 car garage. I was also able to turn my garden beds and get more soil in so that they can't be planted (as soon as I get my seeds in the mail). Getting some of this clutter that accumulates without even realizing it cleared out has also been a daily task. I have been cleaning out 2 spots a day whether that is 2 drawers in the kitchen, 1 toy box & 1 cabinet or 2 drawers in the kids rooms, etc. In the last 4 days I can already see a huge improvement! The holidays, as bummed out as we were, got us off track with our diet (surprise surprise) but I have been able to reel that in too with menu planning because it saves you time, money and frustration.
I hope your 2014 is everything you want it to be and that the things on your resolution list come easy and that you are filled with inspiration, joy, good health and determination!
Happy New Year!

Will The Real Project Completer Please Stand Up?

I don't know what it is in me that makes me 100% sure that I can take on way more that any person should but I love love love the feeling of being busy. Between my husband and I we have a To Do list full of great and wonderful projects but can't seem to get our schedules to calm down and therefore these projects move along at a snails pace. This problem does not just save itself for my family as I have many friends with the same problems and if this is my only frustration then I am very blessed. One thing that keeps popping in my mind is that both my dad and my husband have a saying- "Proper planning prevents piss poor performance." I've got to take this to heart and starting to plan more. If it has helped my dinner time madness by having a meal plan, doctor appointments, house cleaning, school schedules, etc. then surely it has to help with the projects, right? So here is a few of the top items on our list
-Build new chicken coop
-Repaint our two youngest bedroom
-Turn the garden beds for our Winter planting
-Finish the garages (turing the 1 car garage AKA- workshop into just a workshop and making my 2 car garage into a man cave)
-Finish the upstairs living room (we've been making a couch out of pallets)
-Get Master bathroom remodeled
Between having 4 kids, working, running a business (which includes assisting others run their businesses), working on the 15 websites we own, creating a non profit, writing an eBook, keeping up with our house, animals, wanna be urban farm and staying on track with our diet--- well its crazy! Even though I am up promptly at 5am everyday and in bed at 9:30pm I still don't think that I have enough time in the day.
So now I'm off to grab my family binder and get the section 'Projects' a good workout and get some proper planning done! Good luck to you and whatever craziness you may be facing this Fall.

Knowing Your Weaknesses is Important Too

I prefer to focus on what I am good at, like most of us, but that doesn't mean that I am not aware at what I lack in. For example I can't do algebra problems, calculus, geometry but I sure as heck can pay my bills and make sure our budget is spot on! My husband on the other hand took his calculus test for a college class and passed it... without ever taking the class, amazing but yet when it comes to the bills, he's lost. My point is that none of us will ever be amazing at everything and that's ok because if you find the right partner in life or find your own balance it will help you will find balance and happiness. Again I was never created to be an EMT but I can and have made a businesses in just a few weeks. No not some crazy corporation with world domination in the plan but I have certainly helped many people find their focus for their business and got them organized. I have helped them all along the way and it makes me very pleased to assist wherever my strengths may be of assistance. I believe we would all be better off is we looked at our weaknesses and our strengths equally. Sometimes you have to evaluate what your not good at so that you can decide what you are good at.

Amazon Store

I just re-did my Amazon Store and added some new items that my family and I really enjoy. Please take the time to look at it. the page is located at the top of this website. I will be adding more items as I continue to look around our lives for the products we love. If there is a product you are passionate about please let me know!

Positively Positive

I heard something recently that made me think a lot about interactions with friends and/or would be friends. It was something about how we, as humans, are attracted to those who love themselves. If you love yourself and are happy with yourself then others will want to be around you. I happen to love myself, not always proud of my decision making but overall I am impressed of where I came from, what I have gone through and where I am now. When I look at my inner circle I see a lot of great people that I believe love themselves as well. Part of this seems a little basic but when you think it through it makes a lot of sense. It all goes along the lines of positive thoughts attract positive results and the same for negativity. When I think about the negative people that are somehow tied to my life I see negativity all around them and even how that affects those around them. Busting my butt the last year or so on some different projects I got advice from a great friend. She said that I should visualize these projects getting accomplished and how my life would be affected. I took the time to think each project through thoroughly from the point I was at to completion and the results I wanted. It has made a huge difference it how I feel about each project and how much I get accomplished. I have also come across ideas that I would have never thought of before. I recommend trying this, even for 5 min a day. I think this will improve your current results almost immediately. It was simple for some projects and situations and a really bitch for others but every person is different and some of my projects tested my ability to visualize how I wanted situations to go but in the end even when some things didn't go as planned I was a lot more prepared than I would have been therefor saving stress and that in itself is great! If you want more help or guidance I will put some suggested books at the bottom of this post for you to check out. Positivity is all in how we approach and view situations, projects, other people, etc. Some situations may call for you to force positive thoughts but at least your are trying to see the good in the things or situations around you. Good luck and if you have a similar story I would love to hear it!