First Month is Almost Over

Quick wrap up of January 2012.
I decided to start the year with a list of 5 goals. So far, there is only one goal that I have
done NOTHING with. Pretty good, in my humble opinion. To start, my first
goal was: To keep 5 goals in place. They are in place and being worked on.
Second goal was: Get my office/ studio workable. I am nowhere near done in there, but I can walk to get to the printer and 3 upper cabinets and one lower cabinet is all cleaned and organized and many of the beads are organized and in their own plastic boxes with labels! Third goal was: Get belly in shape. Yes, that is the goal I totally ignored; however, I am looking at photographs of our Florida Trip last year. I was not in shape and I know I can be better. Fourth goal: Keep household running better. I have been doing better with laundry. Maintaining the
house (others would call this cleaning, but with two toddler there is no such thing as a clean house.) The bill paying has been ok. I need to set up a spreadsheet, new Quicken system and set aside time to look at budget and bills at least once a week. Fifth goal: Work on KABbeading and Votre Vu more. I have been doing ok with KABbeading, but need my office clean and organized to really do anything productive or to even concentrate on the work.

There are a few things I am working on to keep my goals in sight. I have made dry erase goal
worksheets. Simple laminated sheets of paper with an inspirational quote on each one, space for me to write the goal and three ways to accomplish the goal.
When goal is met, then I can just erase the board and start over. I am working on a daily planner, so I can see what I have got done in a particular week and what I still need to do. Blogging is helping me keep everything in sight and keeping me accountable. I don’t have much of an audience, but that is fine with me. As long as I am improving myself, I am happy.
The first month of the year has almost ended. In February, I would like my office to be completely
organized and workable. I am also trying to fundraise for a RELAY for LIFE campaign and I am going to try an auction on my Facebook Fan page for KABbeading.

Here is to MONTH 2 – FEBRUARY!!!!
http://www.kabbeading.etsy.com

http://www.votrevu.com/kellyb1

I read a book

Not having a lot of free time or a way to connect with other new moms when I was pregnant with Michael, I joined a pregnancy message board. It was organised first by due date months. This board made me realise that all these goofy things going on in my body were normal. As the babies were born, we talked about the milestones, crazy family members, vents about hubbies, the thoughtful things our hubbies may have done. We built relationships that have evolved. My due date board that I had when I was pregnant with Michael, has had a few meet ups. Including a trip to the Wisconsin Dells.

We "met" other moms from the other due date threads as advice or WWYD type questions came up. We would pray for each other and try to support each other during trying times. And also annoy each other for fun.....

Then, MSN decided to do away with our message board. Now, we are a "secret group" in Facebook with a few sub-groups. One of the sub-groups is a Book Club. Since the addition of the kiddo's, I have not managed to read a real adult themed book in about 3 years. When the suggestion of a Book Club came up, I was excited to attempt to find time to read again. We are not organised, but I did take a suggestion from a member to read "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson (non-fiction).

I am a fan of fiction. Most recently, I have read "Harry Potter" or Dean Koontz. I have always looked at non-fiction as bland. This book was anything but bland.

I am not going to give up any of the interesting nuggets of this descriptive novel. Some of the parts were amazingly beautiful and others were disturbing. It is amazing on what got accomplished in three years in Chicago at the turn of the century. Essentially this is a tale of two inter twinning stories. One story is magnificent and inspiring tale of the people and event known as the 1893 World's Fair. The other story is a tale that would have happened anyway, but the World's Fair added fuel and "resources" to a sinister mind.

Wonderful story telling by Mr. Larson. I am happy his story sucked me in. I am happy I was able to read an adult book within a week!

Now, the new challenge is to read as many books in the TIMES -100 Greatest Novels list. http://www.listal.com/list/times-100-greatest-novels-1923

Listal has the books in alphabetical order.

I have the "Adventures of Augie March" by S. Bellow, already checked out and on my bedside table. I have decided, if I can't "get into" the book, then I will skip it. I will chronicle my journey through the list. Maybe someone would care to join me? This seems like a fun challenge. Like I NEED any more challenges.....

SHE BELIEVED SHE COULD SO SHE DID.

She believed she could so she did.
I came across this quote a couple of weeks ago when I was making my Dry Erase Goal Sheets. (More on that later.) The quote is so simple. I have had a rough start this New Year. We have been busy at the office, so not much has been getting done at home. There is so much that needs to be attended to. I was going to have a pity party for myself, and then reality slaps me in the face.

My struggles are tiny compared to the struggles of others. I have been following a blog called “EBing a Mommy.” It is a narrative of the struggles a Mommy has caring for a toddler son that has a rare genetic disorder (explanation is at the end of this post.) Courtney (the mom) has unbelievable strength and grace in her writing. I know her days are hard and trying, but her posts are so calm and inspiring. Her little boy passed away this weekend. With extraordinary grace she wrote a small post to let everyone know. Her life has revolved around the constant care her son needed. I don’t know if I could have done all the things she did. SHE BELIEVED SHE COULD SO SHE DID.

There are struggles all around us. Some are very public. Some very private. My life is trying because I see the struggles every day. I get a bit numb. As a funeral director, every detail at work is important. At home, the details of running a household are not very important to me. But my children, family and home need to be as important as the families I serve. I need to work on me. I need to work on my goals. I need to be there for my family. I need to find pleasure in the small things. I need to slow down. We only do this once. There are no do-overs.

She believed she could so she did.

The information below is copied from http://www.debra.org/
Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic disorder that is painful and can lead to disability, disfigurement & early death. There is no cure or treatment today. EB makes the skin so fragile that the slightest friction causes blisters and skin tears. The eyes, mouth, throat and other internal organs are also affected.

Here is to the New Year! I have a few “Goals!” The word “resolution” just screams “fail!” to me.

The First Goal is to have a “Running List of 5 Goals” As one Goal is met or becomes a habit, then a new goal is determined.

Second Goal: Is to get my office/ design studio cleaned and organised. Right now it totally feels like something out of “Hoarders”! Step here, here, squeeze through…. Oh it is terrible. I just need to be able to find things. Yesterday, I got the three drawers cleaned out and I made garbage! It is a start!

Third Goal: Work on getting my “C-Section Belly” back into shape! I don’t even want to think about that one…..

Fourth Goal: Keep the household better. I have been terrible about keeping up with cleaning and bills. The house still looks great from the Christmas clean up, so I just need to keep up with the cleaning at least once a week (Hubby does the upkeep & de-cluttering— CONSTANTLY)!

Fifth Goal: Work on my two at-home-businesses, more! I get so many great ideas, but then don’t follow through. One part of this goal is to blog more. I have a blog about my jewelry and a blog about Votre Vu (a new direct sales skincare comapany that has wonderful products! I’m not biased or anything…..)

Here is to a New Year! May it be an organised and prosperous year!