I have not forgotten you - just busy.

Hello
So I am little behind in my posts actually a lot behind. Life is crazy busy and I am just rolling with the flow and stay-in afloat. Amazingly enough I have not had any major anxiety attacks so I am good. Do what I can and BREATHE!!
Our life has been very busy the last month - yes I have missed 4 weeks of posts.  Week 1 missed was dealing with change - sum it up - some times I deal okay and sometimes I suck at it. Week 2 missed checking in on our past goals etc - I do review this - I have it posted in my momcave although I will admit our life has been crazy I have not been in the momcave to much. Week 3 and 4 missed was Time management and planning and the prioritizing - I still have my daily list and use it. My today's goals are my prioritizing. Today - getting this post is on there - I have not abandoned you I just have a lot of job related work (this is our busy time at work) on the list and when I get home I do 3 to 5 things that need to be done,read (for me time) and go to bed. And now break time is over and I need to go back to the real world of work.

Just wanted to say hi and let everyone know I am still swimming to reach the simplified your life goal.

Gratitude

This Challenge thing is great - I am feeling good about this commitment as I have been keeping up with my challenges fairly well and building confidence with these weekly inspiration. Thank You so much to Deb!! Our Home Life Simplified assignment this week was to  incorporated Kindness and Gratitude into your daily routine. Once again I have ventured into my momcave to create - this time actually got my hands into it (felt so good to feel the paper and the glue!!) and created a Gratitude Journal.

I have spend a little time at the end of each day reflecting on 5 things that I am grateful to/for each day. Saying a little pray to God thanking him for each of them. And after making a conscience effort to do this each day I realize I am feeling a sense of calm. Peace.
Random acts of Kindness is a easy thing for me - I have long since learn that one of the things that gives me peace is doing something small like opening a door or helping someone with a small task makes me feel good inside. In our house RAK's (random acts of kindness) earn you feathers for your wings when you get to heaven. This week I have done some RAK's such as tape quarters to a pop machine so the next person can have a free pop - sent some "just thinking of you" cards, help the elderly at the grocery store etc. I love Deb's idea of leaving notes in a book at the library - going to have to do that one!

Once again I can't say enough how this challenge has calmed me. Peace.

May Peace be with you this week.

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(¸.•´ (¸.•´ Melanie

Fears

This weeks challenge was on Fear - Deb at Home Life Simplified has challenged us to honest with ourselves and face our fears. I fear I will never get over my snake fear - I seriously have a hard time breathing just seeing the snake on the children's animated movie Jungle Book. But some of the other fears I have identified with and I feel I can work on these - one way I use to give myself confidence is to use a mantra or saying - so I have found some that relate to my fears and one that relates to them all together.
 And the momcave is finished enough for me to start creating again -insert - one very happy mama -  Life is much better - so I have created a page:

I've posted my strength phrases around and on some days they help and on some days it is a challenge. But as long as I am continuing to move forward - I am facing them.

Do you have fears and how do you deal with them - I'd like to hear from you.


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(¸.•´ (¸.•´ Melanie

Letting Go . . .

This week Deb's challenge was as follows:

"Take time for some self reflection and see if there is anything in your life where changing your expectations / standards / approach could change your life. Is there something you can let go of  (or approach differently) that does not currently serve you?"

This week is starting out with a feeling of being overwhelmed easily -  I missed last weeks challenge by what I am sure was just the international date line - I have a list that doesn't end - I have a momcave that I am trying to simplify and still have a room full of stuff I can let go of - but have no room for it in the momcave. 

So the question arises "Is there something you can let go of or approach differently that does not currently serve you?"

Yes - I am blinded by a curtain of overwhelm - I need to update my daily decor of life - so i step back take a look at it - breathe - and say this is just a curtain - open it up to God's big beautiful life  - pick up one thing and deal with that - then pick up another. Pretty soon my curtain will look like a blind!!

The stuff that overwhelms me is really quite trivial - I just need to realize that at the moment. It is not the stuff that really matters in life.

Open the blinds and let the sun shine.

I feel better already - Thanks for listening.

Happiness Defined

I  have a favorite book titled  How We Choose To Be Happy

 by Rick Foster and Greg Hicks.

 I reread this book at least once a year - when I need to be grounded  in what makes me happy. The main theory is how we get to choose to be happy - and it covers the nine choices of truly happy people.

1. Intention

2. Accountability

3. Identification

4. Centrality

5. Recasting

6. Options

7. Appreciation

8. Giving

9. Truthfulness

 I go over this list when I am questioning my happiness and like I said grounds me  - I have no false happiness.

My list for what makes me happy is this:

My two beautiful children and everything about them - good and bad - God made them special and he gave them to me to rejoice in.

My soul-mate - we were created for each other

Taking care of my loved ones and friends doing things for others - this includes little stuff like helping with homework to washing the college girl clothes - I find great joy in doing things that make someones day a little easier. And that makes me happy

Creating - makes me very happy - it is part of the talents God gave me - and I enjoy using them

 Of course there is lot more that makes me happy - I am a find the happy in any situation kinda girl. But this is the root list - - I too am still trying to find my momcave - limiting my time on the computer - so this is a short post with no creative hands on artsy stuff to add - but I am still playing the challenge and it makes me happy for staying on task. 

Thanks for checking out my post and if the challenge interests you - join in over at Home Life Simplified- Its great and fun also if you are a reader check out How we Choose to be Happy  and great book and staple in my llife.

Have a Great Week and remember

 

52 weeks to Simplify your life - Inspiration Boards

Our challenge this week at Home Life Simplified  was to create a inspiration board. Ideally this is not how I would do this - I love the idea of getting my hands into it and cut thing and pasting, painting and all that creating goodness.  BUT - I am sticking to my plan of get one thing done then move to the next and right now I am in the process of redoin the momcave (craft room). So crafting is at a halt till I get the painting done and things put back in place. I was very tempted to just get some things out to craft - as I am going through serious craft withdrawal symptoms - but non the less  I am sticking to the task - Painting!
I did however manage to create a inspiration board online at  Big Huge Labs Mosic Maker. A wonderful site that lets you choose pics online and then arranges them - Of course my inspiration came from Pinterest - of which I have a serious addiction too. So in essence that also is my inspiration board. Here is my digital creation:

I love this - I can see where this will keep me on track - and bring it more into a conscious level - I am excited to use my digital creation as my screen saver so that I have a constant nudge throughout each day.
Bring on the nudging!!

*images from a variety of sources on Pinterest

Long Term Goals - a Scary thought

Simplify Your Life {Week Six: Goal Setting and Priorities} another challenge. I thought I was kinda a goal girl but here I am finding out that my goals are just a day to day thing - I just don't look out that far - but maybe that is a goal in itself - plan more than today - I have decided go about this with a daily log and set very small goals with a tracking system - I also am going for a monthly goals system.
Here is the Monthly chart I will be using is from Julie Ann Art - monthly goal sheet.

My monthly goals are:
1) 15 minutes of exercise each day all 7 of them! Hopefully working up to longer more vigorous exercise.
2) reviewing a Bible verse each day and quiet time with God.
3) eating more healthy home meals rather than going out - this benefits health and finances.
4) deep cleaning and organizing an area of the house per month, SIMPLIFY
5) Me time - which probably means creating, reading, napping what ever I feel like!!

Daily I am going to use this chart I created.

If you would like to enjoy this chart - that is fine - Please just be christian and give credit where credit is do - in other words Thou shall not steal.

I plan to have a cute little binder and will try to do my best to fill this out each day - using the back or each sheet as a place to journal or jot notes plus I can multi-task use this as a journaling life project also. I have not gotten the cover done yet - as I had the off the wall idea to simplify my craft room and it is now in scary chaos and I really need to complete that before any project - so I will post that later.

I am really enjoying this 52-weeks-to-simplify-your-life challenge - it is opening me to a much calmer Melanie. I like that - Come join me!!