A Break For Lent

Source: www.openbible.info

I am taking a blogging break over Lent. If you're stopping by between February 18 and April 5, you will find no new posts. I plan to return with new material on April 6th. I hope you'll join me then!

In the meantime, please scroll back through my past posts, check out my most popular posts (in sidebar), and my "About Me" tab to learn more. 

And if you're looking for a speaker for your women's event, check out my "Need A Speaker?" tab at the top of the site. I'd love to come to your neck of the woods and share the "More To Your Story" message. 

I hope you enjoy this time of preparation for Easter. If you're giving up something, what is it?

In Praise of Productivity (A Book Roundup)

With the new year, my thoughts turned to becoming more productive. I am almost certain this happens to everyone around this time, but the difference was, for me, the thought stuck around past January 1. I've continued to read up on and seek out ways to become more productive, motivated, and effective in the areas of parenting, time management, organization, clutter, writing, exercise, etc. It wasn't that I wasn't doing these things before, I am just trying to do them better. As with all things in life, I turned to books to discover new ways I could do that. Here's a list (with descriptions) of the ones I've read or aim to read very soon:

What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam

Mornings are a madcap time for many of us. We wake up in a haze—often after hitting snooze a few times. Then we rush around to get ready and out the door so we can officially start the day. Before we know it, hours have slipped by without us accomplishing anything beyond downing a cup of coffee, dashing off a few emails, and dishing with our coworkers around the water cooler. By the time the workday wraps up, we’re so exhausted and defeated that any motivation to accomplish something in the evening has vanished.

But according to time management expert Laura Vanderkam, mornings hold the key to taking control of our schedules. If we use them wisely, we can build habits that will allow us to lead happier, more productive lives.

Drawing on real-life anecdotes and scientific research that shows why the early hours of the day are so important, Vanderkam reveals how successful people use mornings to help them accomplish things that are often impossible to take care of later in the day. While many of us are still in bed, these folks are scoring daily victories to improve their health, careers, and personal lives without sacrificing their sanity. For instance, former PepsiCo chairman and CEO Steve Reinemund would rise at 5:00 a.m., run four miles, pray, and eat breakfast with his family before heading to work to run a Fortune 500 company.

What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is a fun, practical guide that will inspire you to rethink your morning routine and jump-start your life before the day has even begun. 

What The Most Successful People Do On The Weekends by Laura Vanderkam

Many of us breathe a grateful TGIF when Friday rolls around, envisioning a weekend full of both productivity and refreshment. Yet too often our precious weekends seem to disappear, eaten up by unproductive work or leisure that fails to energize us. Monday morning comes too fast, finding us still unrested, with too much still undone.

Time management expert Laura Vanderkam, continuing her series on What the Most Successful People Do, shows how we can take control of our weekends to get necessary R&R, while also using our downtime as a springboard to a productive week. 

Drawing on real-life anecdotes and scientific research, Vanderkam explains why doing nothing can be more exhausting than doing something and why happy people make weekend plans in advance. She shares weekend tips gleaned from busy people such as politician and talk show host Mike Huckabee, former CEO Frank Baxter, and TV producer Aliza Rosen. She reveals the kind of weekend activities that make people happiest, explains why it’s important to unplug at least for a little while, and shares the secret of why Sunday night may be the most important part of any weekend.  

What the Most Successful People Do On the Weekend is a fun, practical guide that will inspire you to rethink your weekends and start your workweek refreshed, renewed, and on track.  

How She Does It: An Everywoman's Guide to Breaking Old Rules, Getting Creative, and Making Time For Work in Your Actual Everyday Life by Anne Bogel

Today’s working woman looks a lot like you. 

She’s a: 
• stay-at-home mom, working on her passion at naptime 
• a part-time professional sharing childcare with her husband 
• a full-time creative planning a future on her own schedule 

She’s a woman – like you – with the opportunity to find fulfilling and profitable work without the mother guilt of previous generations. The possibilities are endless for today’s woman in this shifting work place – but the roadmap for getting there hasn’t quite been written. 

Until now. 

In How She Does It, author Anne Bogel unpacks these trends in family & work culture, and gets to the core of HOW you can make your work goals fit into your unique family situation. 

Inside, you’ll find the personal success stories of 30 women who found – by playing to their unique strengths– solutions that really work for their families. 

Better Than Before: Mastering The Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin

The author of the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home, tackles the critical question: How do we change? 
 
Gretchen Rubin's answer: through habits. Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life. It takes work to make a habit, but once that habit is set, we can harness the energy of habits to build happier, stronger, more productive lives.
 
So if habits are a key to change, then what we really need to know is: How do we change our habits?
 
Better than Before answers that question. It presents a practical, concrete framework to allow readers to understand their habits—and to change them for good. Infused with Rubin’s compelling voice, rigorous research, and easy humor, and packed with vivid stories of lives transformed, Better than Before explains the (sometimes counter-intuitive) core principles of habit formation. 
 
Along the way, Rubin uses herself as guinea pig, tests her theories on family and friends, and answers readers’ most pressing questions—oddly, questions that other writers and researchers tend to ignore: 

• Why do I find it tough to create a habit for something I love to do? 
• Sometimes I can change a habit overnight, and sometimes I can’t change a habit, no matter how hard I try. Why? 
• How quickly can I change a habit? 
• What can I do to make sure I stick to a new habit? 
• How can I help someone else change a habit?  
• Why can I keep habits that benefit others, but can’t make habits that are just for me? 

Whether readers want to get more sleep, stop checking their devices, maintain a healthy weight, or finish an important project, habits make change possible. Reading just a few chapters of Better Than Before will make readers eager to start work on their own habits—even before they’ve finished the book.

Listful Thinking: Using Lists To Be More Productive, Highly Successful, and Less Stressed by Paula  Rizzo

What do Madonna, Martha Stewart, John Lennon, Ellen DeGeneres, Ben Franklin, Ronald Reagan, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Johnny Cash have in common? Each is (or was) a list maker. These successful people, along with CEOs and successful entrepreneurs, all use lists to keep track of their ideas, thoughts, and tasks. Finding enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished and allow for some downtime can be a struggle. It's no wonder so many of us are stressed, overextended, andexhausted. More than half of all American employees feel overwhelmed, according to a study by the nonprofit Family and Work Institute. For the 54 percent of us who feel like we're chasing our own tails, Listful Thinking is here to prove that it doesn't have to be that way. You can still find time to relax, read a good book, and do the things you love. Listful Thinking is the book that will give readers their lives back with indispensible tips on saving time, getting organized, improving productivity, saving money, and reducing stress

Manage Your Day To Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus and Sharpen Your Creative Mind by Jocelyn Glei

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky

According to productivity expert Scott Belsky, no one is born with the ability to drive creative projects to completion. Execution is a skill that must be developed by building your organizational habits and harnessing the support of your colleagues.

As the founder and CEO of Behance, a company on a mission to empower and organize the creative world, Belsky has studied the habits of especially productive individuals and teams across industries. Now he has compiled the principles and techniques they share, and presents a systematic approach to creative organization and productivity.

While many of us focus on generating and searching for great ideas, Belsky shows why it's better to develop the capacity to make ideas happen-a capacity that endures over time.


Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey

Franz Kafka, frustrated with his living quarters and day job, wrote in a letter to Felice Bauer in 1912, “time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle maneuvers.”
 
Kafka is one of 161 inspired—and inspiring—minds, among them, novelists, poets, playwrights, painters, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians, who describe how they subtly maneuver the many (self-inflicted) obstacles and (self-imposed) daily rituals to get done the work they love to do, whether by waking early or staying up late; whether by self-medicating with doughnuts or bathing, drinking vast quantities of coffee, or taking long daily walks. Thomas Wolfe wrote standing up in the kitchen, the top of the refrigerator as his desk, dreamily fondling his “male configurations”. . . Jean-Paul Sartre chewed on Corydrane tablets (a mix of amphetamine and aspirin), ingesting ten times the recommended dose each day . . . Descartes liked to linger in bed, his mind wandering in sleep through woods, gardens, and enchanted palaces where he experienced “every pleasure imaginable.”

Here are: Anthony Trollope, who demanded of himself that each morning he write three thousand words (250 words every fifteen minutes for three hours) before going off to his job at the postal service, which he kept for thirty-three years during the writing of more than two dozen books . . . Karl Marx . . . Woody Allen . . . Agatha Christie . . . George Balanchine, who did most of his work while ironing . . . Leo Tolstoy . . . Charles Dickens . . . Pablo Picasso . . . George Gershwin, who, said his brother Ira, worked for twelve hours a day from late morning to midnight, composing at the piano in pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers . . .

Here also are the daily rituals of Charles Darwin, Andy Warhol, John Updike, Twyla Tharp, Benjamin Franklin, William Faulkner, Jane Austen, Anne Rice, and Igor Stravinsky (he was never able to compose unless he was sure no one could hear him and, when blocked, stood on his head to “clear the brain”).

Brilliantly compiled and edited, and filled with detail and anecdote, Daily Rituals is irresistible, addictive, magically inspiring.

(I am linking this post to Modern Mrs. Darcy's monthly book roundup.)

What's Working This Week (The Valentine's Day Edition)

A long time ago, I stopped trying to make Valentine's Day uber romantic and decided to make it a fun family evening instead, eliminating the desperate search for a sitter, the crowded, expensive restaurants and the pressure on couples to up the ante. (Really, who needs that?) Instead I make spaghetti (it's red) and something chocolate for dessert, then we try to find a "love" movie that we can all watch together.

But you've probably guessed that's not so easy.

So here are 5 movies we've deemed appropriate and not cringe worthy. As always, do your due diligence and look the movie up on IMDB to see why it garnered the rating it did, and if there are things in it that you would not think appropriate for your kids, or yourself for that matter. Movies are so subjective and everyone's threshold of what's appropriate is so vastly different.

But as romantic movies go, these are about as innocuous (without being vapid) as you can get. However you celebrate Valentine's Day, I hope it's wonderful!

Sleepless in Seattle: Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan star in Nora Ephron's wonderfully romantic comedy about two people drawn together by destiny. Hanks stars as Sam Baldwin, a widowed father who, thanks to the wiles of his worried son, becomes a reluctant guest on a radio call-in show. He's an instant hit with thousands of female listeners who deluge his Seattle home with letters of comfort. Meanwhile, inspired in equal parts by Sam's story and by classic Hollywood romance, writer Annie Reed (Ryan) becomes convinced that it's her destiny to meet Sam. There are just two problems: Annie's engaged to someone else and Sam doesn't know yet that they're made for each other. Co-starring Rosie O'Donnell, Rita Wilson and Rob Riener.

Return To Me: Who knew that when he ordered the special, he d get the dish of his life? David Duchovny ('the X-Files ) and Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) ignite sparks in this warm-hearted winner (JeffCraig, 'sixty Second Preview ) about a widower and a waitress who meet and fall in love. Featuring an incredible all-star cast, this hilarious romantic comedy delivers a lot of laughs, tears and joysthat will make your spirits soar. It took a lot of cajoling to get Bob (Duchovny), a recently widowed architect, to go on a blind date at a quirky Irish-Italian eatery. Once there, he's smitten instantly not with his date but with the sharp-witted waitress, Grace (Driver). With unsolicitedhelp from Grace's matchmaking grandfather (Carroll O Connor), Bob asks her out. And as their relationship blossoms, everything seems to be going great, until an unbelievable truth is revealed one that could easily break both of their hearts for good.


You've Got Mail: The stars (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan) and director (Nora Ephron) of Sleepless in Seattle reteamed for this charming audience favorite. Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton and more great co-stars add note-perfect support to this cinematic love letter in which superstore book chain magnate Hanks and cozy children’s bookshop owner Ryan are anonymous e-mail cyberpals who fall head-over-laptops in love, unaware they are combative business rivals. You’ve got rare Hollywood magic when You’ve Got Mail. 

My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Toula is 30. And unmarried. Which means as a nice Greek girl -- she's a failure. All her cousins did the right thing -- married Greek boys and made Greek babies. So everyone worries: what will become of Toula? Then one day she sees the ultimate unattainable guy and realizes the only way her life will get better is if he gets away from her big, fat Greek family. Toula escapes from the family restaurant. She exchanges her seating hostess jacket for a college diploma, convinces her aunt to give her a new job, and trades in her coke-bottle glasses for contact lenses, just in time for "him" to walk back into her life. Ian Miller is tall, handsome but defnitely not Greek. Their courtship is an Olympian culture clash. Can Ian handle Toula, her parents, her aunts, uncles, cousins and several centuries of Greek heritage? Will Toula discover the love she's been missing right in the heart of her big, fat family? One thing is for sure, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, with Ian's proposal Toula is headed for her big, fat Greek wedding.

While You Were Sleeping: You'll fall in love with WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, the hit romantic comedy that woke everyone up to adorable Sandra Bullock (SPEED, A TIME TO KILL). As Lucy, a lonely subway worker, she becomes smitten with a handsome stranger (Peter Gallagher -- MALICE). But when she saves his life after he's been mugged and fallen into a coma, his hilariously offbeat family mistakes her for his fiancee! Soon, the mix-ups escalate as Lucy fabricates a life between herself and a man she's never met! And when Lucy falls for his charming brother (Bill Pullman -- INDEPENDENCE DAY) the situation really gets uproarious as she's forced to make a choice between the two!

On Social Media As A Time Suck: The One Question To Ask Yourself

Ever found yourself falling down the rabbit hole of social media? You know, the one where you start out on one thing, then find yourself 30 minutes later viewing photos of your college roommate's sister's child's wedding and think... what am I doing???

Here's a question I've started asking myself whenever I look up and realize that I am in danger of this being the case. Before I click any further I ask myself one question-- 

Will this change your life? 

Nine times out of ten, the answer is no. A resounding no. 

Does this mean that all social media is unnecessary? No. There is useful stuff out there. A post about a marriage issue you're struggling with. A link to a workout video that might be just the ticket to get you exercising again. A recipe on Pinterest that inspires you to make dinner for your family for the first time in a week. These things could potentially change your life, or at the very least your perspective.

But will another cat video do that? No. Where will your time be best spent? On the things that will change your life. At least for me, this has been a help... and a way to stop the madness.

What's Working For Me This Week

It's time to share what's been working for me this week. I spent far too much time yesterday going through Modern Mrs. Darcy's linkup, reading about what has been saving other women's lives during these long, dark days of winter. Reading about what saved their lives saved mine, at least in a small way. So along those lines, here's what's worked for me this week. It might not be saving my life, but it made life nicer, which is no small thing...

Love the light on the water, and the lone seagull keeping vigil

A beach trip with a friend. We got away to her mother's condo to write, talk about writing, take nice long walks on the beach, and just retreat. It was just what the doctor ordered.

You might not can tell but those are frosted pinecones in the hurricane. The runner is kinda burlap /kinda golden with pretty beaded snowflakes on each end. Very understated and the table looks so nice with all the candles lit. 

New tablescapes for everyday. After our fall and Christmas centerpieces, I decided to go with something that can be for everyday use and I am enjoying them so much. They are a nice change of pace and I find the less colorful schemes soothing after so much color at Christmas and fall.

I love this black and white runner I picked up at a local favorite store.
And my black iron centerpiece filled with white candles makes it perfect. 

A handpainted wine glass from a friend, featuring all the words I've chosen as my one word for the past five years. You can't tell in this picture but the blocks look exactly like scrabble tiles. I will treasure it for sure!

Grapes: an easy snack to grab on the go, and for some reason they're super sweet right now. Since I'm trying not to eat sweets, I get my fix through fruit. I'm no expert but I'm guessing either grapes are in season or my grocery store just got a really good batch.

This picture makes me smile. I love the purple grapes and the pattern from the colander.  Chances are you will be seeing this photo again. 

A coat for the dog: After having her groomed I realized that she was going to be a bit more prone to the bitter cold we've been having off and on, so I bought her this spiffy little coat in fun colors. I love seeing her in it and she seems to like having it on. I group texted my older kids this photo after I got it and said, "We are now a family that dresses our dog." Their responses were hilarious.

What's saving your life/working for you lately? Share here, or at Modern Mrs Darcy's linkup! I'll be sharing this post.

Fun February Holidays

It's a new month and, after you guys seemed to get a kick out of the quirky holidays I published in December, I thought I'd share some this month as well.

 I'm thinking some nice loud music blasting in the kitchen is in order tomorrow. Which ones will you celebrate??

 1 National Freedom Day

 2 Ground Hog Day

 3 The Day the Music Died (Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash in 1959)

 4 Thank a Mailman Day (I bet some chocolate with a nice note would do the trick!)

 5 National Weatherman's Day

 7 Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day (my kids could totally get behind this)

 7 Wave All Your Fingers at Your Neighbor Day (mine might think I'm crazy)

 9 Clean out Your Computer Day (or at least your inbox???)

 9 Toothache Day (let's hope not)

 10 Umbrella Day

 11 Don't Cry over Spilled Milk Day

 11 White T-Shirt Day

 13 Blame Someone Else Day (My kids celebrate this every day.)

 14 National Organ Donor Day

 14 Valentine's Day

 15 Singles Awareness Day (and all the single ladies say amen)

 16 Do a Grouch a Favor Day (if someone comes to mind, it's probably best not to say)

 17 Random Acts of Kindness Day

 18 National Battery Day

 22 Be Humble Day (I'm thinking that should be everyday.)

 22 Walking the Dog Day

 24 National Tortilla Chip Day (Chips and Queso anyone?)

 26 Tell a Fairy Tale Day (A good day to watch Ever After on Netflix-- a personal fave of mine)

 27 No Brainer Day (I'm thinking a no brainer dinner is in order.)

 28 Public Sleeping Day (just go to the airport to witness this)


( Thanks to Sandra Beckwith at www.buildbookbuzz.com for this list. Go here to see the original source.)

What Ive Been Into (January)

I found out I was a top blogger over at All Free Casserole Recipes in 2014 so that was fun! To see the full list of bloggers, go to this link.

I read this book, and it made me laugh and cry-- sometimes one page apart. I had myself a good cry at the end and felt both heartened and heartbroken when I was finished. That is so rare in a book. I don't think I will read a better book this year. I listened to it on audio and I think that only added to the experience. Now I can't wait for his next book!

I wish I could say that The Rosie Effect lived up to my hopes but sadly it just didn't draw me in. I took it back to the library without finishing it. I still stand by my rave reviews of The Rosie Project, however.

Curt and I binge-watched The Fall on Netflix. I do not recommend it to, well, anyone but if you can't stop yourself, then you too will know the horrifying yet compelling phenomena that is this show. Once you start watching you cannot look away. Unless you're squeamish, then you will have to.

This month on my blog I also shared

Five Dates To Go On In 2015

Netflix Movies You Might've Missed 

Five Ways to Start the Year Off Right

And finally I shared how gratitude journals overwhelm me, but jotting down one amazing thing that happens each day has been a wonderful way to remember that life truly is amazing. Sometimes you just have to think small in order to find the amazing parts. This habit I started last year has helped me remember to look.

If you'd like to see a list of blog posts I found inspiring this month, head over to She Reads, where I shared those. It's a good list with a lot of food for thought.


** I'm linking to Leigh Kramer's "What I'm Into" roundup today.

What Worked This Week

The Art of Slow Writing. I don't think I've enjoyed a writing book this much in a long, long time. Not since Elizabeth Berg's Escaping Into The Open. I recommend this book to anyone who writes, or wants to write. It's so counter-cultural to the current publishing climate of "hurry! publish! create!" that it is refreshing. Take your time. Focus on the process. Find the joy again. All messages I need to hear.

Here is an excerpt that I think best sums up the flavor of this book:

"So much of life today occurs quickly. All this instant this and instant that makes it hard for us as writers to understand that it might take a long time to write a book, and that we often can't predict how much time the work will take. It might make us expect to write our books more quickly than they can or should be written. It might make the people in our lives believe we should finish our work sooner than it's possible. It might make us feel like failures because we're taking such a long time. And it might cause us to abandon an important work... Sometimes a book comes quickly. More often, a book takes a long time. The only way to finish is to keep working until a book is finished. Rushing through writing a book is rushing through life." (p.225)

Uniball Signo Pen. It's the little things, as they say, and this is one of those little things. I spend the $4 to splurge on this pen (and yes it must be the pink ones) and use it to write in my to-do notebooks (see Monday's post about organization for explanations about these) and it makes the actual writing just so pleasant. This is no small thing, when you think about it. If you've got to make a list of things to do, the action should at least be pleasant. 

Into the Woods. This worked on two levels-- one, I took my 9yo to see this, just her and me, when she had a day off school last week. We were just about the only people in the theater and at one point she climbed in my lap. I held her close and thought about how this very well may be the last time I hold one of my kids in my lap while we watch a movie. All too soon she will be too old and too cool for such things. So I enjoyed this moment when she wasn't.

On another level, I found this movie to be a perfect example of what I teach when I teach story to high schoolers. So many of the elements of story that I point to are so clearly indicated in this movie. It'll be a great example in future classes. And a bonus, I heart Meryl Streep.

This workout my 20 year old daughter has been doing. Not one to be shown up by a child of mine, I started doing it too. It looks so little and innocent but do NOT let it deceive you. You will feel it tomorrow. I do that and this ten minute arm workout every morning as part of my new 2015 morning routine, which I hope to post more about next week. 

So that's what's been working for me this week-- what's working for you?? It's so nice to think about what worked instead of bemoaning what didn't.

(I linked this post to www.modernmrsdarcy.com and her "What's Saving My Life Right Now" linkup)

How A Mom of Six Stays Organized

Inspired by this post, I decided to share ways I've learned to stay on top of things. Most through trial and error. While I'm not organized on all fronts, this post managed to hit on some things I'm already doing, so I thought I'd share the actual tip from the post, then my thoughts about how it pertains to a busy mom of six trying to balance kids, home and writing:

Plan each day the night before: I definitely sit down with my to-do list from the day and go over what didn't get done that needs to be slated for the next day. I also look at my master to-do list (more on that below) and add items from it, based on what the day looks like. If I know I'm going to be out all day, for instance, I'm not going to add a big task to the list. But thinking through the day that's just happened and planning for the day to come is a nice way to both wrap up and anticipate.

Keep only one to-do list: I actually have two lists, so I guess I break this rule. One list is kept in a 5X7 spiral bound notebook (this is the one I actually use, pictured below), with one page devoted to each week. I also have pages to keep lists for special projects, She Reads, post ideas, monthly goals, etc. If something comes to mind that needs doing but it's not something that can be done that particular week I can add it to a week in the future. That way I don't forget about it, but I also don't add too much to my immediate plate.

The other list is a little yellow legal pad (I get mine at the dollar store-- a pack of 3 for $1, can't beat it). Each day I write down what I need to do that day, using the master list as a guide. When I do it, I cross it off... and boy does that feel good.

Spend at least 30 minutes per day going through emails: I definitely do this. I have a personal rule for myself that I have to respond to emails within 24 hours and I also try to never have more than 25 emails in my inbox, so that means I'm pretty vigilant on emails. I usually check emails first thing in the morning and then in the afternoons after the kids get home from school. While they're working on homework, I can respond to emails. I've found emails are a task I can do in stops and starts so I try to fit them into times when I expect interruptions.

Clear their desk of paper piles: I can't say I do this daily. Usually about once a week I sort through my paper pile. I have two spots in the house I let papers accumulate: on top of the microwave and on my dresser. When those piles start looking unwieldy, I know it's time to put "sort papers" on my to-do list.

Have a morning routine and evening ritual: With a busy family life, I can't say that-- much as I'd like to have a morning routine and evening ritual-- that's always possible. Our days and nights change constantly, which makes sticking to any one pattern pretty much impossible. As I said above, I do end my day (and begin it too) by looking over my to-do list. I'm hoping to write about my morning routine, as in what's working right now, soon.

Spend at least ten minutes a day tidying up: Just ten minutes? (Pause for laughter.) I have no idea how much time I spend tidying up... and I'm not sure I want to know. Suffice it to say I'm constantly tidying lest our stuff overtake us.

Put clothing in their laundry bin: We have one main laundry basket located in our laundry room. Ideally the kids put their clothes in that basket without being asked. (More laughter.) I use the laundry basket as a guide of when it's time to do laundry. Full basket = time to wash clothes. We also have a rule that, once they turn 13 they do their own laundry. This has worked well for us, and it means slowly but surely my workload is getting lighter.

Carve out time for lunch: This is something I've started doing with some intention and it is nice. Since I work at home, it's easy to just shove something in my mouth while standing over the kitchen sink and call that lunch. But with my healthier eating I have to give some thought and intention to what I'm eating. Which has caused me to give thought and intention to how I eat it. I actually treat myself to an actual lunch break, either eating at the kitchen table with a book or on the couch in front of a tv show I've DVR'ed. I've enjoyed this midday break and plan to keep doing it.

Never leave dishes in the sink: I rarely leave dishes in the sink unless the dishwasher is full and we have to wait for it to run through the cycle before there's room to put the dirty dishes in. I have this thing about my sink being not only empty, but also clean. My white sink must always be white, with no scratches. I'm not OCD about much, but my sink... don't mess with it. Clorox and Comet are my friends.

Open up their mail: I make sure the mail is brought in (usually by a child) and I sort it right then and there. My husband has a mail holder and I file any mail for him there, then open and deal with anything that has arrived for me.


I know organization can seem daunting, but just pick one thing from this list to begin with, and commit to do that one thing each day. (That's pretty much what I did, only I did it usually by accident, in the name of survival.) When that becomes a habit circle back and try one more thing.  If you're not already, you'll become what the post called "an organized person."

Netflix Movies You Might've Missed

Disclaimer: Before you read any further, please know I'm not recommending these movies across the board to everyone who reads this. I'm saying I liked them. What I'm not saying is that they're without sex, drugs, violence or curse words. In fact they probably have some combo of those things because, you know, Hollywood. We all have different thresholds of what we can tolerate so if any of these look interesting, look them up on a site like IMDB to see the rating, and why it got that rating.

I liked these movies because of the way they made me feel or what I took away from them, so I thought you might like to know about them too.

Stuck In Love:  Three years past his divorce, veteran novelist Bill Borgens (Academy Award® nominee Greg Kinnear) can't stop obsessing over, let alone spying on, his ex-wife Erica (Academy Award® winner Jennifer Connelly), who ignominiously left him for another man. Even as his neighbor-with-benefits, Tricia (Kristen Bell, ''House of Lies''), tries to push him back into the dating pool, he remains blind to anyone else's charms. Meanwhile, his fiercely independent collegiate daughter Samantha (Lily Collins, MIRROR MIRROR) is publishing her first novel while recoiling at the very thought of first love with a diehard romantic (Logan Lerman, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER); and his teen son Rusty (Nat Wolff, PEACE, LOVE AND MISUNDERSTANDING) is trying to find his voice, both as a fantasy writer and as the unexpected boyfriend of a dream girl with unsettlingly real problems. As each of these situations mounts into a tangled trio of romantic holiday crises, it brings the Borgens to surprising revelations about how endings become beginnings.

A Long Way Down: In this touching comedy based on the acclaimed novel by Nick Hornby, A LONG WAY DOWN centers on four strangers (Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots) who decide to end it all on New Year's Eve. However, when they meet by chance on a London rooftop, they agree to halt their plans for six weeks. Along the way, they discover that even accidental, dysfunctional families make life worth living.

Last Night: Michael (Worthington) and Joanna Reed (Knightley) appear to have it all. Young and successful, they're a married couple who share a comfortable and seemingly perfect life. But when Michael finds himself alone on a business trip with an attractive new colleague (Mendes) and Joanna encounters the other great love of her life (Canet), each is thrust into an evening of temptation.

The Joneses: The Joneses, a seemingly perfect family, are the envy of their posh, suburban neighborhood filled with all the trappings of the upper middle class. They are the ultimate trend setters with an endless supply of high-tech toys, designer clothes, fast cars and the latest gadgets. But as the neighbors try to keep up with the Joneses, none are prepared for the truth about this all too perfect family.

Phoebe in Wonderland: This heartfelt, fantastical story of a troubled, imaginative girl (Elle Fanning, The Door in the Floor) devoted to Alice in Wonderland explores the agonies of growing up as an outsider and the complexities of parenting. Oscar nominee* Felicity Huffman (Transamerica, TV's Desperate Housewives) gives one of the most powerful performances of her career as Phoebe's guilt-ridden mother. She and her perplexed husband (Bill Pullman, Independence Day) initially see Phoebe's unusual behavior as signs of creativity, but with the help of an unconventional drama teacher (Oscar nominee** Patricia Clarkson, Lars and the Real Girl), they soon realize that their daughter is in danger of falling "through the looking glass."

Arbitrage: Dynamic performances by Richard Gere and an all-star cast highlight this riveting, suspense-filled thriller about love, loyalty, and high finance. Robert Miller (Gere) is a New York hedge-fund magnate who appears to have it all - money, power, a loving wife (Susan Sarandon), and a devoted daughter (Brit Marling) working by his side. But behind the gilded walls of his mansion Miller is running on borrowed time, trying to unload his crippled trading company before his frauds are revealed. A deadly error throws Miller's "perfect life" into a tailspin, raising the suspicions of a detective (Tim Roth) and threatening the future of his financial empire. As the line blurs bet ween what is right and wrong, legal and criminal, Miller is driven to desperate measures to protect the only thing more precious than his considerable fortune: his family.

One Day: After one day together – July 15th, 1988, their college graduation – Emma Morley (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter Mayhew (Jim Sturgess) begin a friendship that lasts a lifetime. She’s a working-class girl who dreams of making the world a better place. He’s a wealthy charmer who thinks the world is his playground. Somewhere over the next two decades, these two very different people realize that the love they’ve been hoping for has been there for them all along. Directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education) and based on the bestselling novel by David Nicholls, it’s a touching story critics call “a smart and endearing romantic comedy.” 

What's Working For Me This Week

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for me to share what's been working in my life, saving my sanity, etc.

Blistex Lip Medex: This stuff is addictive, but worth the dependency, especially in these winter months. I have this thing about my kids having chapped lips so I have little blue pots tucked in strategic places for quick application. (Why do children lick their lips until they're bright red?) I've been handing it out a lot more than usual these past few weeks. I am so glad I have it and it's entirely possible that I bought a case or two of it because I don't ever want to run out.

Tyson Frozen Grilled Chicken Breast Strips came in handy last week when it was way too cold to actually grill out, yet I needed to add grilled chicken to a pasta dish I'd planned to cook. Though of course it wasn't as good as homemade, it really wasn't that bad, especially tossed with the pasta. Keep it in mind if you need to add some grilled chicken to something and don't have the time or the weather to make your own.

My McAlisters Deli cup: Like a Tervis tumbler, but it looks just like the large cup they serve tea in. Every time you bring it back they refill it for just 99 cents. I love their unsweet tea with a few packages of Splenda added to it. It's a small thing but it makes me happy. And with this cup I can also make my own tea at home and enjoy it at home too.

My new reading journal. Thanks to Modern Mrs Darcy's recommendation I finally took the plunge and bought an actual reading journal instead of the old spiral notebook I used to use. This feels very official and has several fun sections to fill in. My favorite is the list of books to read in the back. I'll be adding, and adding, and adding.


Chocolate Almond Milk: I'm back on the healthy eating bandwagon but let's face it, sometimes you still just need a little chocolate. Having this in the fridge enables me to get the taste of chocolate without feeling like I totally blew it. A little glass is usually just enough.

What To Do With Your One Word

If you've spent any time on this blog you already know I'm a huge believer in the my one word concept. What is it? Just venture over to this site to learn more. I'll wait till you get back...

Ok? You're back. So you're inspired to pick a word for the year but then... what do you do with it after you pick it?

Well, I've got some suggestions for you today. After five years of doing this I've learned how to put your word to use so you don't forget all about it in the midst of your busy life. (Ask me how I know this can happen...)

1. Start a journal just for your word. In it you can record thoughts about how the word is showing up in your life, verses that pertain to your word, quotes that make you think about your word, etc. By writing in the journal a couple of times a week (or every day) you will be thinking regularly about it.

2. Get a piece of jewelry that has your word on it then wear that piece often.

3. Print up a sign with the word in a pretty font, add the definition of the word and maybe a few quotes or verses that you'd like to keep in mind. Then frame the paper and put it somewhere you will see it daily. (Mine goes on my bathroom counter where I get ready.)

4. Find someone to hold you accountable to the word you picked. Make a monthly date to get together for coffee and talk about how the word is challenging and growing you. Can't think of someone? My good friend Rachel (co-author of the book My One Word) is now offering monthly coaching packages where she'll hold you accountable.

On the far left is Rachel Olsen. And this is also a group of friends so this picture works for two reasons.
It's good to have friends to hold you accountable, even better if they make you laugh. That's Zoe Elmore in the middle and me on the far right. 

5. Organize a book study and go through the book with a group of girlfriends. There are dvd's available to enhance your study, or you can just gather and discuss a chapter at a time.

5 Dates To Go On This Year

Been thinking about strengthening your marriage in this new year? Here's some fun date night ideas to get you out of your usual rut.

Curt and I on a recent date-- this was to a local pub for a mini high school reunion over Christmas

I am a big believer in date nights, and these are either dates we've already done or dates I'm looking to try in 2015. Maybe you'll find one (or more!) you'd like to try too!

1. The Groupon Date: Choose a Groupon offer for something you wouldn't normally do-- a tour of a local vineyard, a Segway tour of your city, a restaurant you've never tried, or a local event that just sounds fun. Let the Groupon be your guide into an experience you'd ordinarily never think about doing-- and save money at the same time... win/win!

2. The Goals/"My One Word" Date: Since it's early in the year, there's still time to steal away to a local restaurant or coffee shop to share your individual, family, and professional goals. You can also each share one dream you'd like to tackle in this new year. If you don't want to do it now then think of some other times during the coming year it would make sense to do this. Your anniversary is a nice time, or back to school or the start of summer. Pick a time that means a fresh start to your family. There's nothing magic about January. Another idea is to each pick a word for the year and then "reveal" it to each other over dinner. This is a great conversation starter as you discuss how and what you want to change about yourselves. Sometimes it's nice to talk about something other than the kids or why the car is making that funny noise. You'll walk away feeling inspired, and closer to each other.

3. The Book Club Date: Read the same book and then pick a night to discuss it. Consider making a meal to coordinate with the theme, time frame, or location of the book, or come up with a special cocktail along the same lines. Then compare notes on the book. Need some book ideas? Unbroken by Laura Hildenbrand, The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (this is the one we are doing), A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion or most any Harlan Coben book that looks good, if you're into thrillers.


4. The Overnight Date: go away somewhere with your spouse, even if it's to a hotel in your same city. Beg someone to watch the kids and then get away from them. This is good for the marriage. This is good for the two individuals in the marriage. I can't promise this will be a magical evening, but I can say you've got a good shot at it.

5. The Play Cards and Popcorn Date: Pop real popcorn, not that microwave junk. (We learned how from this book.) Then pick a card game that you either loved as a kid or have been meaning to learn. Then kick the kids out of the kitchen, take your places at the kitchen table and play. If all goes well, you'll both win, and you'll find yourself talking about things as you deliberate over your respective hands.