I’ll be out of town for the next week but I look forward to returning to the blogosphere when I get back! And hopefully I’ll have some fun new stories and photos to share. Have a wonderful 4th of July!

How do you keep your sanity during summer vacation?

Wordless Wednesday HQ

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Family Wordless Wednesday

It never ceases to amaze me how we’ll push simple cleaning projects back on our lists over and over. It’s not that they’re big, just that they’re undesirable.

Today’s tip: Just Do It

This morning I spent about 10 minutes cleaning my microwave. It wasn’t hard and it looks so much better! Two cleaning tools that I’d die without in my kitchen are my scratch free-scouring scrub brush with soap filled handle and disposable disinfectant wipes. The brush makes short work of scrubbing on all my kitchen surfaces with the aid of just the right amount of dish soap and the wipes are the perfect finisher. Both are great in the kitchen because both cut grease and we all know how fun grease is to clean up. *frown*

I’ve put off cleaning the microwave for several weeks and every time I’d open it I’d groan. I’ve probably cleaned the darn thing 100 times in my head! It only took once and it took less than 10 minutes but man it sure feels good. The payback of satisfaction and motivation far outweigh my procrastination reasons. There’s power in just doing things that need done.

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Homemaker Sharing Housework Balance Blogging

I’ve been blessed in my life with sisters. One older, two younger and one sister in law. This picture was taken last summer when we all got together for a weekend.

Sisters fill a need in a girl’s life. If you didn’t have one you likely adopted a close friend or associate in place of one. If you were lucky enough to have one, you had a need filled long before you knew the need existed. Women need women and the meaningful relationships that result in their lives. It’s why the bonds of mother/daughter and sisters are so powerful. These relationships aren’t just handy, they’re down right convenient because no matter how mad you make your sister, how terribly you fight they are still your family and there’s that unwritten rule that family has to love and accept you no matter what.

We’re all totally different, yet so much the same. I cherish every relationship for what it is and can’t imagine losing it. My older sister was my comrade as a little girl. We played together, laughed together, cried together. I was so sad when she got married before I’d hit the dating stage as I’d always dreamed of doubling together sometime. I got to make up for that years later on a double date with our spouses. *big grin* My younger sister and I got off to a rocky start. She was just enough younger that we didn’t have the comrade bond as youngsters but she looked up to me and tried so hard to do and be all the things she saw her teenage sister doing. Only now that I have my own daughter wanting/trying to be a teen do I fully comprehend this great pull. Now that we’re both moms we seem to have the most in common and what our relationship lacked as kids it has found ten fold as adults. My youngest sister shared a special bond with me because I was old enough to be more of primary care giver to her and I adored babies. Her baby is due during the same time we will be visiting next week and while we can’t put a finger on exactly what it is, there is just something really comforting to both of us that I’ll be there for it. Then there’s the sister in law that plays a solo role because we only have one brother. She’s like the back scratcher that reaches that itch you just can’t quite touch on your own. I love talking with her, sharing stories, views, opinions and experiences. Her wit and warmth radiate from her. And I have to include my mom in the sisterhood circle because she’s always been one of the closet to me. It sounds corny and cliche to call her my best friend but in so many ways she’s always been just that - always there for me when I needed her then and now.

The unfortunate element of the family bond is that because we tend to believe there’s a no matter what clause we often treat our family members the worst. I look back on my relationships with my sisters and I can see where I was better to my friends most of the time or even complete strangers than to my own siblings. That makes me sad now. The upside is that time is a great healer and the relationships I share with my sisters now is so sweet and so wonderful.

I’m sure I wasn’t always the best sister. In fact, I’m sure the same could be said even today, but I am truly grateful for the chance to have sisters and for all they’ve given me. So to the comrade, admirer, baby doll, back scratcher and confidant I send my heartfelt thanks for helping me learn how to be a sister and how to appreciate having one.

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Family Sharing Relationships

I was browsing the $5 value DVDs yesterday with my daughter and came across a copy of Footloose. Just seeing the cover made me giggle. If I’m not mistaken, the soundtrack to this movie was the first tape of “our” music at my home growing up. It wasn’t mine, it was my older sisters but it was like a rite of passage which is probably why I remember it. My daughter saw my distraction and asked what was up so I told her this movie just brought back a lot of memories for me. She asked what it was about and I told her basically it was about a boy who finds himself in a tiny town kicking back against the rules. The message that stands out the most in my mind from the show is the argument he uses against the preacher that there is a time and a season for everything, even dancing.

This is a message I’d like to get across to my children and the teens I work with. I’d like to really get them to see that there is a time for everything. It’s part of why I’m so passionate about charm school which focuses on this through decorum. To really understand this concept is to master self control and self-discipline. This is so important in a world that is screaming instant gratification all the time.

When I was recently asked to start teaching some charm school classes again, I began to form my own outline of the materials and knowledge I’ve acquired over the years. I broke it down into three basic keys that will unlock potential and open doors to really acquiring and mastering the art of charm. My three include:

1) Self Concept: Know Thyself
2) Appearance: The Power of Image
3) Social Interaction: Conquer or Crumble

As I compiled the list and organized some of my materials I realized again how critical the truth of everything having a time and season is. Now that I’ve had some personal experience in life I’m better able to compile these courses and their materials, things that I wouldn’t have been able to do as well a couple of decades ago. And so the story goes with so many things in my life, there is indeed a right time and season to many of life’s experiences. Figuring out what those are for you and not messing up the time line will result in greater happiness.

A good exercise for me was taking these three keys and applying the principle of times and seasons. For example, my level of self confidence is a direct reflection of my life’s experiences to date. Learning how to put them into perspective really helps me get a handle on who I am, how I feel about myself and what I want to become. And take appearance lessons: When I was a teenybopper it was in style to wear lots of layers, pushed up collars, leg warmers and big airings. It was the right time to wear such styles because that was the current trend, but if I tried to resurrect that appearance today it would be quite catastrophic. Equally valuable is the lesson that some clothing simply looks better on the young bodies it was designed for. And finally, there’s the social interaction piece where all these things come together. Think of all those movies or times when the awkwardness between an adult and teen were palpable because the parent or teacher was trying to be hip using current teen jargon.

There’s simply a time and season for everything. Instead of wishing for the good things from yesteryear, we should be embracing our current time and season growing and developing those appropriate traits and skills for where we are now. I guarantee you that down the road we’ll be looking back on where we are now the same way we do on our teen years. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to be able to look back and smile.

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Sharing Inspiration Perspectives Success Beauty

I’m amazed at how many things can be about business these days. From the business of motherhood to an office in a high rise, business continues to flourish, grow and change. Change seems to be the one constant in the universe. But keeping up with it can be a real challenge.

I’ve often wondered why that is. I think the real reason is that although we often hope for change, even work for it, we are scared of it and we resist when it comes. It’s hard to let go of our comforts and routines, even when they are causing us discomfort or struggles. They’re like the adult’s version of a baby blanket or favorite toy and we cling to them just as fiercely.

The mark of a good leader in any business is the ability to do what is necessary, especially regarding change; to look it straight in the eye and find new ways to adapt. It’s not easy, in fact pain is usually a factor. The good news is knowing the opportunity that comes with every situation. When you focus on that, when you starve the problems and feed the solutions good things happen.

I’ve had to make a few necessary changes lately as both a mother and business owner. I’ve had to give a little more space to my children as they explore some independence. I’ve had to let go of some business ventures online because there are just so many new options out there with blogs, etc. that I can’t possibly compete with and don’t really want to try. But even as I make these necessary changes I’m putting a smile on my face reminding myself that I’m simply making room for what’s coming next and it will be bigger and better!

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Motherhood Blogging Business

Just seeing this picture brings back a flood of memories from the furniture to the carpet to the costumes. These are happy years for me, years from my childhood.

Part of this little girl is still inside me, she represents the dancer in me. I remember the thrill of getting ready for a recital, of dancing in front of an audience. I took lessons in tap, ballet, jazz and eventually ballet on pointe from the time I was about 5 or 6 until I was in high school. I miss it.

When my daughter was four I enrolled her in a summer ballet class. I sat in on one of the lessons and realized that I was more qualified in most ways than the teacher instructing them. I entertained the idea for a short while of doing it from my home as many other mothers I knew were interested. But something held me back, the same something that kept me from teaching the way my mother suggested when I was in high school. I guess the reality is that sometimes we’re far more critical of ourselves and our abilities than we recognize and so we limit ourselves.

I still pull several dance steps out of the closet and dust them off from time to time. I repeat instructions in my head for timeless classics like the time step - shuffle, hop, step. flap step….and the feet follow along obediently even in the quiet seclusion of my computer chair. I remember watching Flashdance as a youth and being utterly inspired. White Nights was another dancing movie I remember well - Baryshnikov is amazing. Dancing is like a secret love affair for me, only now I watch it from a distance and smile.

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Sharing Memories Talents

I have a favorite saying that goes something like this: You teach people how to treat you.

When I first heard it I felt my muscles stiffen. It was so harsh and unfair, surely it couldn’t hold much truth. However, my efforts to prove it wrong ended up only proving how true it really is. It’s as if we hold a mirror up with our actions, words and decisions. Those around us will quickly learn from those things and will often throw them back at us, usually at the most inconvenient times.

I once heard a mother calling to her then nine or ten year old daughter to come into the house from play. The child didn’t want to come in and some arguing ensued. As I had recently been instructing teachers on improving their teaching skills, I was keenly aware of this concept of teaching as well as others. What I’ll never forget is the way the mother responded to the child’s exclaims of not wanting to. I heard in loud tones the words: “I don’t care what you want! This is what we’re doing right now!” I immediately pictured this same scene in future years, though reversed. A time when these words of ‘not caring what you want’ would come back to haunt this mother and she’d be stunned wondering where on earth they came from.

As with most things this concept is much easier said than done, but that doesn’t make it any less true or important. Perhaps if we stopped once and while to think about how we’re teaching others to treat us it would impact our actions, words and decisions. It seems like a reasonable start to improving ourselves and our character.

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Parenting Positive Impact Relationships Perspectives Intellectual

My summer time continues to be somewhat erratic and so today I’m just going to share a simple post with some recent photos of what’s been going on.

My sister in law sent me this picture this morning of my brother’s arm. He’s the one that lost the recent tumbling match with a boulder. This makes me glad of who I’m not.

Tay and mom conversing in his typical fashion of late.

Rescuing a baby bird - another Tay find.

Keeping cool at the pool and with water balloons.

Enjoying Arizona nights.

Cid coloring her T-Shirt. (Never too busy to strike a pose.)

Tay coloring his.

And last but not least more pool side fun with the bubble blower and new sun glasses.