Oh no! It's already 6pm and I have not done a single darn thing toward cleaning the house... unless you count yelling at the kids to clean up the backyard. Other than picking Zoe up this afternoon from her friend's house and hitting the McD's drive-thru on the way back, I haven't left this computer chair. I've been blog hopping all day! But can you blame me when Tim Holtz & Donna Downey post not only blog messages but real live actual video feeds for cryin' out loud?
So for good measure, I also checked in on Ali Edwards today... (she's Big Time by-the-way - another superstar that we stalked at CHA)... Well, she is the one that suggests choosing a single word at the beginning of each year to help you achieve your goals. I chose the word "Balance" to help me remember that I have to give to each of my worlds (family, business, home) equally. I need to better balance my commitments, being attentive to all aspects of my life without neglecting any others.
Turns out that last weekend Ali posted a challenge to revisit our chosen words.
"Your creative prompt this weekend is to check-in with your own word. (Don't have one yet? Read here for more info on the one little word concept.) Where does your word live? Is it a beneath-the-surface or in-your-face sort of word? What are you doing to actively reflect on your word if yours is one that needs something a little bit more participation? Or maybe your word is simply percolating which may be just the perfect place for it to be at this time. Either way, take a bit of time this weekend for a mid-February date with your word."
Since choosing my word (Balance) I've made a concentrated effort to walk away from The Pink House at night with enough energy left over for my family in the evenings. I'm trying to be in bed, asleep each night by 10:00pm, and I'm aiming to get more house cleaning done in those in-between moments (like tossing some dishes in the washer before heading to work in the morning & throwing the clothes in the dryer before I sit to watch an hour of tv.)
I definitely have a long way to go toward achieving my desired balance, but just by making the committment out loud, I've been able to feel good about some of my choices. For instance, I've consulted Mom & we've agreed to close the store at 6:00pm now until summertime. That little extra hour is now going to give me so much more time with my kids at night. But in return, I'm trying to get to the store by 8:30am each day. That actually gains me 7 1/2 more hours a week which is basically a whole 'nother work day. cool!
So now, in an effort to better balance my home/work/life I need to drag myself away from this computer... go clean up the house as much as I can manage before the hubby gets home... and then I'm going to take Mom up on an all-nighter option at the store.
Come see me. You know where I'll be!
We ended our first day of shopping at 5:30pm and headed over to watch the Project Runway Fashion Show followed by the Keynote Presentation by financial guru Suze Orman. The fashions were outfits designed from paper, embellishments, & other crafting mediums. There were some amazing dresses you would not believe! And Suze was as impressive as I had hoped. She gave us all some sound financial advice that even had Ronee reaching for the pen & paper. :)
