Friday, January 16, 2009

one little word: MANAGE

With the arrival of another new year, inevitably, comes a rush of resolutions; ideas involving things I want to accomplish/change/aspire to within my life... and so, in my quest for change and instant gratification I (also inevitably) end up setting unrealistic goals for myself, biting off more than I can chew and, before I know it, those resoloutions are nothing but a teeeny tiny dot in the rear view of my daily grind. That said, I've decided that all that resolution crap is for the birds. I've adopted a new approach to making changes in my life and it's all based on a shockingly simple concept by uber creative scrapbooker Ali Edwards.

Within her *One Little Word* project AE explains how, by examining and identifying what we really want, we can enrich many aspects of our lives; about simplifying the thought process and finding a single word that sums up our ultimate goal, and then using that word to reflect upon and use as a guide to help us tackle our challenges.

My word for 2009 is: Manage.

  • I want to learn how to manage all the different aspects of my life so that I don't always feel so overwhelmed and scattered.

  • I want to manage my family life better and make a concentrated effort for each of them to know how important they are to me and how much I value my time with them. I hope to encourage stronger bonds between them and nurture their sense of family.

  • I want to manage my finances better so I can get rid of the stress of wondering if there's enough in my checking account to cover our expenses on a month to month basis. I don't want to pay overdraft charges or late fees any more.

  • I want to manage my home better so that my family feels proud of what they come home to and we can welcome friends graciously and without trepidation.

  • I want to manage my time better so that I don't always feel like I'm playing catch up. I need to learn how to pace myself and plan accordingly. With better time management, I'm hoping to be able to dedicate some of the *bonus* time I'm left with, to doing things to enrich myself.

My ultimate goal at this point is to manage from day to day with a sense of accomplishment and to look forward to the future without feeling like I'm lacking in so many areas of my life. Granted, we're only a couple of weeks into the new year but I can definitely say that the changes I've made so far have made a big difference and I feel a much better sense of balance... I'm managing. :)

...so, what's your one little word??

Thursday, January 15, 2009

funny kid quote

"If I had a house made out of cheddar cheese, I'd be homeless -especially if I had a shed made out of crackers." ~Matt McBride

...is it any wonder I love this kid?!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

booklist: 2008

I didn't fall into love with reading until I was in my late teens but, since then, it's been a genuine love affair. Settling in with a good book relaxes me and helps me unwind; lets me get away from the demands of reality -there's nothing like escaping into a good story. Somewhere, over the course of the past several years I got away from my reading habit -3 kiddos and family life can do that to ya I guess -lol... Anywho, I missed my books so during 2008 I decided to really give my library card a workout. I finally got back on the reading bandwagon and, once I got started, it was just like old times, one book right after another...

~The Story of Edgar Sawtelle -David Wroblewski
~The Front -Patricia Cornwell
~No Time for Goodbye -Linwood Barclay
~Sundays at Tiffany's -James Patterson
~Marley & Me -John Grogan
~Memoirs of a Geisha -Arthur Golden
~love walked in -Marisa De Los Santos
~ Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea -Chelsea Handler
~Shoot the Moon -Billie Letts
~hello, darkness -Sandra Brown
~The Secret Life of Bees -Sue Monk Kidd
~Before the Storm - Diane Chamberlain
~The Faraday Girls -Monica McInerney
~The Last Coyote -Michael Connelly
~The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes -Diane Chamberlain
~Driving Sideways -Jess Riley
~Strip Tease -Carl Hiaasen
~Savannah Breeze -Mary Kay Andrews
~Good in Bed -Jennifer Weiner
~You've Been Warned -James Patterson & Howard Roughan
~Lifeguard -James Patterson & Andrew Gross
~The Friday Night Knitting Club -Kate Jacobs
~Bitter Is the New Black -Jen Lancaster
~the bright side of disaster -Katherine Center
~The Last Lecture -Randy Pausch, Professor, Carnegie Mellon w/Jeffrey Zaslow
~The Next Thing on My List -Jill Smolinski
~The Sweet Potato Queens' 1st Big-Ass Novel -Jill Conner Browne w/Karin Gillespie
~there's a (slight) chance i might be going to hell -Laurie Notaro
~Book of the Dead -Patricia Cornwell
~Beach Road -James Patterson/Richard DeJonge
~Double Cross -James Patterson