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?

Sunday Family Time

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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. 

I am content and thankful. Today was good.

Happy Sunday!  Wishing you a peaceful week to come with those you love. 

xoxo

Here’s Your Sign

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Maybe you’ve been looking in the wrong direction.  Happiness is obviously this way. Follow me. 

Wouldn’t it be great if the path to happiness was this easy?   Maybe it is. 

We just have to know what we want and which direction to head and we’ll find it. It’s very simple, obviously. 

Do you know if you’re heading in the right direction? I hope so!! If you’re heading in the wrong direction, turn around and begin again.

Wishing you a path of happiness, every day in every way.

xo

Stay Weird

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Be you. Be wonderful you and shine. Don’t worry what anyone else thinks unless they are praising and lifting you up. And love yourself. And love other weirdos. You are perfectly imperfect and okay, okay?

Stay weird was the advice from a video clip that Lisa sent me today, where kids of every age from 4 to 95 gave each other advice about how to age gracefully. I loved every minute of it and loved that Lisa thought of me when she saw it. 

Here’s the link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sycgL3Qg_Ak

Does she think I’m weird?  I hope so. Because I am.  My motto has always been if you’re not weird, you’re weird.  Isn’t that weird?  Think about it. And if my weird connects with your weird, then we’re lucky!  

Stay weird and spread the love!  We have a planet to change.

  
This is me and my mama at IKEA today, being weird and sending a selfie to Julie so she could see what we were doing while she was at work. Totally weird, so “exciting” and totally happy. I love this life. 

How are you weird? Celebrate wonderful you in all your weirdness and laugh out loud!

nAMaste 

The Power of Nothing

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I was happy to do nothing today.

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Doing nothing is quite powerful. Having quiet space to do absolutely nothing felt exciting to me.

I didn’t make any plans except to get a pedicure right before the kids got out of school.  I wanted the day to unfold without an agenda except to get the house back in order and without rushing or being interrupted every five minutes.

It felt so good to read the paper this morning and to shop online. I had four hours to do nothing and I filled them up with joy and structure and organization.

After I had my hours of solitude, I was ready for the chaos to return. This is how I always feel. I want a break from the routine and then I want my routine back.

I was happy that the kids were back at school and then I wanted them home again with me. Sooo ironic! That yin and yang thing is every where I go!

I love this balanced life!

xoxo

Back to School Finally!

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The summer honors assignments are done.

Hell week is over for their sport teams.

Constant needs and demands will now occur before 8 am and after 2 pm.  The house will stay organized and neat for greater periods of time.

Driving continuously around town between 8 am and 8 pm will slow down now with a few less trips.

Summer ends today according to our school calendar. We visited the doctor, made lunches for the teachers, bought new shoes and enjoyed our friends while making homemade pizzas and pretzels. We drove by the school to see the new class lists and went to summer practices. We ordered dinner in and will go to bed early in preparation for our big day tomorrow. 

  
I am grateful for the time we had together this summer. It was a much more challenging year for me with the kids growing up and doing their own thing and needing me to be more of a chauffeur than a playmate. We still enjoyed each other however with less frequency as there were more demands on their time this summer.  I am fully aware that they are becoming more independent and it’s a beautiful thing and challenging too as their adoring mama observes life changing in front of my eyes.

Life is good. I admire each of you and the gifts you each bring to this world. Wishing you all a wonderful new school year, filled with adventure and hard work and friendship, happiness, love and laughter.

xoxo Let the journey continue. We are so lucky! xoxoxoxo

Cash or Credit?

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I’m doing a little awareness and mindfulness experiment.

I am paying with cash instead of credit to help raise awareness about how much money I spend.

I have realized that it is so easy to swipe a card and not to really think of the money that is going out with each swipe.

For some reason, taking cash out of my wallet makes me more aware of the amount than just handing over a credit card. This is weird. Have you tried it?

I am more aware of how often I am spending too as my wallet gets thinner.  I am also thinking about what things actually cost.

For example, this weekend I was at Rite Aid and bought razors and deodorant for my husband and kids. I forked out $56. Isn’t that crazy??  That’s a lot of money for basic essentials that most probably don’t consider when making a budget.  I am also teaching my kids about choices and how much things cost as we discuss careers and majors and college and working hard.

I bought ice cream treats for us and let the kids pick their sizes. This experiment cost $16 for three servings. That is a lot of money for dessert. We talked about and learned about how stores use pricing that makes us want to pick the larger size since the price for a bigger one isn’t much more than the price of a small or medium. We also talked about food choices and how we can be satisfied with a small size and indulge with a treat and still watch our portions yet our mind is trained to always think bigger is better.  I don’t know if I would have had these conversations had I just handed over a credit card. I think paying cash just made me more aware of my habits, which is a good thing.

I saw results today too. I am obviously talking about money with the kids this summer and teaching them about income and costs, choices and trade offs. Juliana was shopping for swimwear and actually compared prices before picking a bathing suit. I was happy that she was considering price as she chose one that looked cute, fit well and was affordable.  As I pulled out cash to pay for her suit, I told the sales lady about my experiment and she thanked me.  She shared with me how she liked that idea and how she had done that in the past too and how it made a difference. I appreciated her validation and support and she was thankful for the reminder as she wanted to try again too.  I think feeling the money leave our hands makes us think about our consumption patterns a bit more.

How about for you? Are you mindful of your spending? Do you pay with cash, debit or credit?  Have you ever tried switching to raise awareness? I will continue on with the cash process as I think it is making a difference and at least raising awareness for myself and my kids.

Good luck!!  xo

End of Summer

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Wishing everyone a happy end of summer and smooth transition to the next season.  Give it your best and practice being the best version of wonderful YOU!  

Today we enjoyed the cool, foggy beach and escaped the Bay Area heatwave to celebrate Summer Sweet 16 Birthdays with friends.  

  

Dolphins kept swimming in front of us and a sea lion was looking to make friends in knee deep water.The boys dug a deep hole that kept them occupied for hours!  All 14 kids were in the water boogie boarding and body surfing.  

  

They also gathered in a big circle to play ball and when they were done, they arranged their towels in a circle too so they could all enjoy being together.

We sang happy birthday and ate colorful, neon cupcakes.

I am thankful that my kids have picked great friends and that I am great friends with their friends’ mamas. I loved being at the beach today, my happy place, with my kids, my friends, and their friends. Thank you to K&K for being great party planners and driving today and to L for driving and hanging out too!

Life is good.  

 

Summer and Structure

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Those two words don’t seem to fitin the same sentence for stay at home parents of tweens and teens. 

We haven’t had any “real” plans for the past three weeks and I’ve realized (a little late) that this might not have been a good idea.

Structure provides order and helps to create a shared expectation plan.  I think I like flexibility and going with the flow but when you have teenagers, they all have their own plans and agendas and it’s hard to figure out a plan if you don’t plan and then chaos and nagging ensues and that’s no fun! And yet I don’t mind having a plan and then changing it, because at least we have a starting point from which change can be implemented.

So I’ve learned that while I like summer freedom and all, I do like having the kids engaged in what makes them happy and having at least a day ahead plan versus continuously reacting to each demand or request.

I think I’ll be ready for school to begin this week and I’ve already updated my calendars and spreadsheets and am loving the anticipation of what’s to come.  I’m practicing living in the moment with my little micro structures and am feeling happy again!

Wishing all families a safe and healthy 2015-2016 school year!!

1989

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This was the year Taylor Swift was born and this was the name of her concert tour that we saw tonight at Levi Stadium.  It was an amazing and entertaining show that she performed in front of a sold out crowd of 50,000.

 

I love how authentic Taylor seems. She expressed her gratitude to her fans and for the experience of being with us tonight and worked hard the entire time to entertain us. 

I liked the montages she had with her girlfriends, who shared their feelings about Taylor and life and love.  I loved that she brought on a new girl band from the UK and highlighted how great they are and sang along with them. She is not threatened by other strong women and I love this about her.  She also brought on stage her surprise guests, Julia Roberts and Joan Baez, as she sang about never going out of style. 

 

The best little tidbit she shared with us was to embrace our imperfect life and to know what makes us happy. 

I know Juliana and I and ML and J are very happy for having shared this experience on a warm and comfortable night at Levi Stadium. Thank you Taylor Swift for sharing your gifts and talents with all of us tonight and for being passionate about what you do. Your light shined!!
  

 

Life is fun and good!