Perks

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

I have a great, life partner who I am so thankful for. Today he worked from home as his new office is being transformed. I was working on my computer too, and I loved that he was nearby. When we first met, we used to work together for several years. I loved the time we spent sharing stories, coffee breaks, lunch hours, happy hours with colleagues, commuting together and working out together. These shared times were many of the perks of my working years.

So today, when we worked from home together, and he asked me if I wanted a coffee in the middle of the afternoon, he made me smile and made me think back to the days when we first dated. The coffee was great. The memories, even better.

Thanks for the coffee, babe! You made my day. I love you.

What are some of the perks of your daily life?

30Aug2015

Are You Happy To Be Alive?

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Make some noise!

I’m watching the raunchy VMAs and this introduction caught my attention, as the star got the audience responding with cheers and claps and building energy in the room.

Are you happy to be alive? Are you bringing energy to your room, your house, your office space, your sanctuary, and to your people?

Are you loving out loud and living with intention and making this life, this moment, your personal best?

I am. Every day I am practicing and making some noise! Can you hear me? Are you making noise too?

Today Charlie made my day. He asked me if he could have a Coke. He’s only allowed to have a soft drink on the weekend, so I said yes. We keep the sodas in the garage fridge. He came in the house and said to me, “Mom, I need to share this with you.” I thanked him for wanting to share something with me and asked him why he wanted to share, and he showed me the back side of the can, that said ‘Dreamer’.”

He said, “This can is for you mommy, because you’re a dreamer.”

This made me smile. Can he see that I have big dreams for him and his siblings and our family? I love that he knows this about me and that he too is a big time dreamer and planner. I love that he wanted to share with me too.

I am happy he’s alive. And I am making some noise!! WOOT!!

Live with intention and purpose and dance and shout, BeLoveRs. Make some NOISE. We are A-L-I-V-E!!

29Aug2015

Recycling Happiness

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

I have been feeling like maybe I’m out of fresh ideas. I’ve shared a lot of thoughts over the past 3 1/2 years and sometimes when I sit down to write at night, I feel like my thoughts are less than interesting and that I’m talking about the same things over and over again.

And then I looked at my stack of magazines that are piling up and realized they have been saying the same things over and over again for years and I keep reading and buying them!

What the magazines have to offer are pretty ideas and recipes and style ideas and stories that we might connect with at the moment we pick them up, for a moment and maybe for longer.
I guess by writing every night, and sharing a sliver of my happily ever after story, I’m hoping to share an idea of inspiration, a refreshed and repackaged idea, a recipe, and hope for positive living for you and me despite our perfectly imperfect lives.

My writing every night is a practice of gratitude, where I stop to reflect on my day and to find something good and newsworthy-ish to share. Just the process of thinking about my day feels good. And my wish is that we all practice gratitude every day and change the conversation in our heads and live happily ever after.

nAMaste

28Aug2015

Full Moon Friday

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Good day.

Good night.

Sweet Dreams.

27Aug2015

Raise the Bar, Ladies

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I like to change the conversation of our daily life chatter and today, this conversation on Facebook from one of my BFFs and sisters, made me shout, “YESSS!!”

“Hey K, mama’s gonna teach you how to buy your own shoes. No fairy godmother. No man. YOU will be equipped to buy YOUR OWN. And if you happen to fall in love with a nice gentleman, I hope you find one who supports your walk in your own shoes.”

My sister is teaching her kindergartener the order of priorities. And if you ask this little one when she is going to get married, she’ll reply, “After I go to college!” This is brilliant and I admire her for starting and sharing this conversation! Good job, Mama.

Do you think about what conversation you’re having with your daughter(s) or the young girls you lead? Are you raising the bar and setting high expectations of them? I think we have a lot to say and can make a difference, especially when we teach them while they are young and offer counter opinions to pop culture that stands in their and our way of knowing what’s true, what’s real, and what’s important. We get to pave the way and shape their journey and guide them. What do you think is important for young girls to know?

#shatteringglassceilings

#makeyourownmoney

#womensequalityday

#letsraisethebarladies

26Aug2015

Falling Asleep While Sitting UP Straight!

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

This is one of my many talents! Luckily no one is taking pictures of me while my head tilts back and my jaw falls open and noise falls into the room.

I am tired. By the end of the day, I’m exhausted and can fall asleep in the middle of a sentence, and God forbid, if I’m trying to read something. Sometimes I fall asleep while writing my blog and wonder if I’ve included all the content I had planned to write before falling under a spell and if I’ve inserted any run on sentences that also fall asleep. So far, I think it’s all good. I could be wrong, but I haven’t heard yet. I don’t go back and edit most of the time. I prefer my writing to be free flowing without a lot of time spent editing and rethinking and making it look pretty. It is what it is and I’m okay with errors here and there and am always thankful when my posts make sense!

Tonight, I am exhausted. I have to start getting to bed earlier as I keep waking up at 5 am and don’t close my eyes until after midnight!! Now wonder my eyes keep closing and my mouth keeps yawning!

I wish you rest and peace, BeLoveRs!

(just now I was falling asleep as I was writing and started combining email thread discussion topics with my blog post… so weird!!) Do you ever do this?

25Aug2015

Evening House Patrol

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We have a new cat patrol officer in our house!

We’ve actually started a new routine this past week that I’m REALLY liking that I’m calling House Patrol. At 9:00 every night, when we’re usually all home, I have an event on my calendar with an alarm that pops up on my phone that tells me it’s House Patrol time. It pops up at 8:50 pm, which is a good 10 minute warning to share with everyone that in ten minutes we’re all gonna stop what we’re doing and gather for 10 minutes and pick up all the clutter that has fallen throughout the day. My husband takes the lead and guides the kids as to what has to be done, as they usually don’t see clutter the way we see it. I love that it’s his voice getting everyone on board and sharing commands instead of mine.

We usually have a couple pairs of shoes, several pens and pencils and papers lying on the table, dishes not in the sink or dishwasher and laundry on the floor. We all pitch in and pick up and get the house ready for the next day. The kids also do the cat chores and finish any chores they haven’t had time for like taking out the trash or putting away their laundry. We grind the coffee and set the automatic timer on the clock to have the coffee ready for the next morning. This has to be my favorite part of the House Patrol process, besides Jeff’s voice leading the kids. I also love the result. Everything feels orderly and I’m not the only one seeing the clutter and doing all the 5 minute chores by myself, not that I’m the only one who picks up of course, but it sometimes feels like it. Everyone is good at helping and everyone is really busy and having this little call to action helps us all share the clutter workload.

This 10 minute sweep is also a good way for us to transition and start getting ready for our individual night routines. This makes me happy.

So for this new house patrol process, I am thankful and hope it lasts!! For now, I’ll enjoy the clean moments and the magic of tidying up.

What little things do you do to keep up with clutter?

24Aug2015

What Simple Thing Made You Happy Today?

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Have you heard of Google Express? GE made me very happy today.

For some reason, I was up at 5:30 am and began planning my day. I keep a little planner in our kitchen to highlight kid events and times and there is a section for the grocery list, where the kids and I can jot notes of what we need and when we run out.

I was transferring the paper list to my NOTES list on my phone, when I decided to go online and place an online order for the bulk items. Google Express allows you to pay an annual fee and then someone else runs your errands for you and delivers the goods to your door for “free.” I love that I can go online at 6 am, and pick a delivery window between 1 and 5 pm the same day and never have to leave the house. I love that someone else does the gathering from store to store for non-perishable goods, stands in line, pays, moves the goods to a car, and then back out of the car and to my porch. I don’t have to spend time doing this chore and I LOVE having the gift of time back. I also love that I am spending less money by not being tempted by the aisle displays and holiday decor and new snack items that are being offered. I am just shopping for what is on my list, which is hard for me to do once I enter the store.

I was able to get a workout in, shower and blow dry my hair and get dressed today. I had a board meeting and ran an errand before heading home. When I got home, my delivery was waiting for me and I unloaded everything before running out again.

I am thankful that Google Express gives me “one less errand to run” and gives me my time back.

Thank you Google Express – and no, I am not paid to endorse anyone. I am a happy customer!

What simple thing made you happy today?

23Aug2015

Sunday Family Time

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

I love my family and I love when we are all together. It’s getting more challenging as they get older which makes me treasure the moments even more.

Today Jeff decided we should all go out for breakfast after Charlie’s soccer game. I loved that he planned our outing and that everyone was available. We tried something new and we all enjoyed a filling and delicious breakfast.

I love that the kids actually like each other and share tastes of their food and sips of their drinks. I sat and watched from across the table as everyone shared their meals. It’s the little things that make me happy, that make us feel connected.