An Essay

Every once in awhile, you think about whether anything you do is being noticed, heard, or appreciated....and then you get a sign that you are noticed, heard and appreciated.  This past week, one of the most amazing teachers in the world, pulled out an old assignment he used to do with the students and had this year's class do it once again.  My daughter just happens to be in this class.  The assignment is to write freely for 15 minutes about someone you look up to.  She wrote about me....her mom....and this has made me realize my actions are being noticed and everything I do is worth doing.

I look to my mom as a very strong woman because even though when we have bad times, she is always trying to make the best out of it all.  Even though her business has been taking awhile to build, she still tries to make an effort and tries new things. I am really proud of her for going back to college and graduating, to make our family more happier, and for me to be successful.  I was also proud of her when she joined Leadership Racine.  She got to experience being with homeless people.  Sometimes when she went to the HALO Art House, she would bring me with too, and I got to experience that.  My mom and some of her other team members decided that they wanted to make an art house for the kids so they could be more active and a place where they could feel safe instead of in the streets, where something bad might happen to them.  I am really glad to have her as my mom.  This is why I look up to her.

This is why I became a mom, a wife, a volunteer, an entrepreneur....because I know I can make a difference and this is proof I do make a difference.

Beautiful Drive

Last week I had to go up to Blue Mounds, WI for a business meeting.  It is a long drive from the southeastern corner of Wisconsin where I began, but the drive is beautiful.  Unfortunately, it was an overcast day, but there still remains plenty of snow in Wisconsin which made for a beautiful drive.  On my way back home I could not resist the urge to take some photos while driving.  Yes, while driving.  Something I would not suggest anyone try for safety reasons.

Frosty January Morning

Upon waking this morning, I looked outside, and to my complete surprise saw nothing but a white haze.  Our weather has changed over the last few days, which is a good thing considering we have been well below normal for weeks, and now we are at about normal to a bit above.  The fog and heavy mist in the air had formed a frost on just about everything.  When I walked outside to go to the store at about 8 a.m., there was a beautiful silence and clean aroma in the air. 

Lost My Mind

I have been working extremely hard at keeping my newly designed routine for 2010 in both my personal and business life....and it was going pretty well until yesterday.  It started with my morning routine when I decided just a quick shower would do, no fancy clothes, no makeup, and well....the kids and I skipped breakfast.  Probably was not a good idea!

The day went straight down hill from there.  I felt out-of-sorts and just could not keep my focus or routine going.  It began with walking out of the house, closing the door behind me, the kids already in the car, and no keys in hand.  Yes - all the doors into the house were locked and there I stood in the freezing garage with two kids angry at me because now they were going to be late for school.  I called my husband, he drove home quickly to rescue us, and off to school we went.

After school, I drove to pick up the kids as usual, parked in the lot and waited.  My daughter came out and got in the car as usual....and then we sat and waited for my son....and we waited....and we waited....and we waited...until my daughter went to check on where he might be.  But before continuing her trek into school, she returned to the car and stated, "doesn't he have basketball today?"  Well, if I were paying attention to my usual schedule, and did not steer off course, I would have certainly remembered the routine.  Yes, he was in basketball practice.

While making dinner, my daughter asked what we were having, and my reply was a Potato Lasagna...a vegetarian dish.  My daughter's reply, "why are you cooking bacon then?"  My reply, "I guess it isn't vegetarian lasagna after all."  This was one of those "Pam-ism" moments that so many of my friends and family members know me to do so well.

There you have it!  Day six of 2010, my new routine, and how steering off course can cause all sorts of confusion.  Lesson learned -- stay with my routine because it is a good thing!

 

IKEA

Day two of 2010, my daughter and I took a ride down to one of my favorite stores -- IKEA! It was great mom and daughter time even though we really were not there to shop for my daughter. I purchased a table to match my desk and shelving unit so I can spread papers out even more than I could before. Funny how the table already is filled with a work project and taxes. We hit IKEA on Jan. 2nd in order to take advantage of the cheap MALM 3 drawer dresser deal for my son. And, of course, just as usual....more things made their way to my cart than anticipated. The only drawback to shopping at IKEA on a weekend is the crowds. It was like driving through Chicago traffic during rush hour.

Back To School Eve

Christmas vacation has finally ended and the kids will be returning to school tomorrow. Back to running again...in the car that is. I absolutely hate schedules, but it will be nice to force myself back into a schedule. Funny how kids and school can force a schedule upon a mom.

In my continuing efforts to celebrate a new year, and new outlook for myself in 2010, I began creating an organizing binder for myself. I did this through the Fly Lady. In a matter of one morning, I have created a month of dinner menues, grocery lists, a daily routine for myself, a honey-do-list for my husband, chores lists for my kids, and a work routine for myself (this is especially difficult considering I work from home and have ADD tendencies).

I feel so much more organized already, but for some reason have more stacks of papers on my desk than I did about eight hours ago. My kids are also not all too happy with me right now considering their chore list has gotten a bit longer.

Julie and Julia

I spent new years day pretty much as a vegetable and in my pajamas most of the day until my husband requested soup for dinner. Not just canned, but homemade soup -- chicken noodle soup to be exact. About 4 p.m. I finally peeled myself away from the computer and television, got dressed, and braved the freezing cold air to go to the store.

While at the store, I stopped at the infamous Red Box to see if there were any good movies in. It was almost as though I was cheating on my favorite movie vendor -- Netflix. Both services are cost effective and easy to use...which is why I admittedly have officially cut up my Blockbuster card as of today.

Enough about video services, I could only find one movie to rent I had interest in or had not seen already, and that movie was Julie and Julia. What a fantastic movie! I never really cared about Julia Child...she was always a bit of an oddity to me. The movie definitely showed me a new side to Julia I can appreciate and understand. The parallel story of Julie and Julia was extremely interesting and the fact someone actually cooked out of Julia's cookbook for a year and blogged about her experience -- incredible! I can completely relate to the joy cooking brought to both women as cooking is definitely a meditation for me to escape from life.

Not sure which chef would be my pick for cooking 365 meals in a year and blogging; however, if I could tour restaurants and write about my dining experience for a year with Guy Fieri I would be ecstatic! My husband would definitely have to come along as he loves Guy as much as I do.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thank goodness 2009 is now just a piece of history and hello 2010! The year of the Tiger was brought in by a blue moon -- hopefully this all means a better year for the world.

As I reflect on 2009, it has been a sad and frustrating year, but my sense of 2010 is a much more positive one. Maybe it is because I like the even number, it is the beginning of a new decade, or it is due to a new zen sense of living I want to incorporate into my life this year. Whatever it is, I hope it will be a great year, not only for my family but for all.

Ten things I want to change in my life in 2010:

1) Become more focused in all I do.
2) Be a better mother and wife.
3) Live richer.
4) Live life with the mind set that less is more rather than more is better.
5) Practice my spirituality.
6) Step away from the computer and spend time outdoors.
7) Take on a new hobby.
8) Continue my education.
9) Create stronger friendship bonds.
10)Think first then react instead of reacting immediately.

I am not going to say these are new year's resolutions but rather life changes which I want to bring into my life in 2010.