Yoga Girl

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Juliana and Jessica and I met her tonight and I am in love! She’s kind of like a big deal and has written a New York Times Bestseller. Rachel Brathen, you’re my girl crush!!

I don’t remember when we first met, or why – I’m guessing someone shared a photo or something on Facebook and then I started following her years ago on Instagram. She has a BOGA Yoga board just like me, so she’s really RAD!

She has used social media to build a huge following and now has a best seller book. How cool is that?

She reminds me of Jessica Herrin, from Stella & Dot, using social media to build her empire. She could totally build one if she wanted to and I have a feeing she just might. I’m loving watching her journey and seeing where she goes and what she builds.

She was in Mountain View tonight for a book signing and we had front row seats where I could see her eyes sparkle.

She speaks from the heart and is authentic and real and patient and kind. I loved how she lovingly answered questions from the sold out crowd and how she made people happy.

I asked her how she took care of herself, after sharing so much of herself freely with the world and traveling everywhere. She said she makes appointments for herself to do her own yoga practice, meditations, acupuncture, dates with her husband, etc, and drinks a lot of wine. She is my twin!! Can you see why I love her?

If you haven’t discovered her yet, check her out for inspiration!

Instagram: @yoga_girl

Website: http://rachelbrathen.com

Thank you Rachel for signing my book and for the hug and photo together. I love that you brought along your husband and Ringo and your friends and photographer. They all seem so proud and supportive of you too. You are beautiful inside and out.

You made my day and I wish you well!

nAMaste

3Nov2014

Goals and Intentions

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Today I was listening to some tips from the top from Stella & Dot leaders. I still have my business for another month or two, although I have chosen to go out of business soon, as selling jewelry at home trunk shows is not for me. Learning what you don’t want or like to do is also important as knowing what you do want or like to do. Sometimes making a choice to change is challenging because there are benefits to continuing what you’re doing even though letting go might create more space and opportunities to try new things. Can you tell this was a tough decision for me?

Anyway, back to the tips from the top. I was listening to a Stylist share her success story and how she became a leader in the company. One of the things she mentioned was being clear about her goals. She wrote down her goals on several pieces of paper and had them everywhere so she could see them all the time. One list hung in her work space and another on her bathroom mirror. She carried one around with her and was always seeing her list. When she wrote her goals down, she wrote them as if she was already there.

For example, if I want to lose weight, which I think I do, but haven’t 100% committed to, instead of writing my goal as, “I want to lose weight.” I would write down my intention as if I was already there. It would look like this, “I am 125 pounds.” This goal is unrealistic for me personally, but you get the point. She stated where she wanted to be and then worked towards that and all her actions were in line with how she was going to achieve that goal.

So I practiced that today, by setting an intention which I’m not 100% sure is my real intention, but I thought I’d pretend and play with it, outside my comfort zone to see what would happen.

I decided my goal is to become a better tennis player. Currently my level is a 3.0, which should be moving up to a 3.5 by the end of the year. So being a 3.5 is realistic, but being a 4.0 is a stretch, so my goal for myself was, “I am a 4.0 tennis player.”

Just saying that in my head was uncomfortable because I didn’t believe it. But I wanted to practice thinking about it and what that might feel like. When I got out to the tennis court, instead of telling myself I sucked or messed up, I told myself I was a 4.0 and I could and should hit harder. Guess what? I did hit much better than normal. I felt more powerful and more accurate and I played 100% better than my match on Sunday.

I learned or was aware again of the power of my mind in this simple exercise. I tend to forget and get lazy and just busy doing, that I don’t always stop to think if what I’m doing is what I want to be doing because I don’t have clear intentions and just let the busyness fill the space. When I do have a set intention or goal in mind, I feel accomplished and successful and I want to find a way to remember this so I don’t keep forgetting and can be more efficient.

I am setting goals (tomorrow). 🙂

I am a procrastinator!!

So tell me what you want, what you really, really want! And go make it happen. xo

10Jan2014

Three Gifts

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I am still sick but the good news is I was able to lift my head up today. I don’t think I’ve ever been this sick in my life. I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel I think. My appetite came back a bit and I didn’t mind the sunshine coming in. I was able to focus a bit longer and actually could read my book.

I am reading Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine. I love this guy! And I love that I found him via Stella & Dot. He was the guest speaker this week at the Director’s Conference. Jessica Herrin, the CEO and founder of Stella & Dot, is a very positive, authentic, and influential woman. It’s fitting that she chose Shirzad to present to the leaders of the company and that they shared the video presentation with all Stylists.

The way we think creates our happiness and success. This is a premise I’ve carried all my life and keep practicing daily. This book teaches you how to increase your positive intelligence to achieve greater potential.

The part that relates to being sick today is that when we are presented with a bad situation, we have choices where we can turn the supposedly bad situation into a gift or opportunity. This is how I typically see things, and try to very quickly. I try not to dwell on the negative feelings and try to see things as gifts or opportunities. Shirzad calls this the three-gifts technique.

The three gifts from being sick this week for me are the following: (1). My kids are very resourceful and independent. They can make their own food, help with the chores, look out for each other and get their homework done without my nagging. They also do know how to be quiet!; (2) My friends and family are amazing and empathetic and giving and loving. It’s ok to receive help and I feel extremely grateful, especially to my husband who took over my duties in addition to his own; (3) I got to slow down, and let things go and relax and things didn’t really fall apart.

I am thankful that I had more energy today and hope this continues tomorrow, as I continue to take it easy. As Shirzad says so eloquently, “We can’t control or choose much of what happens in work or in life. We can, however, determine the impact that these events have on us by choosing how we respond.”

So if you’re facing a challenge this week, try and see if there is a hidden gift or opportunity that might come from your “bad” situation.

Namaste

17Dec2013

Waiting

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I have three kids and a husband that works at a startup. My routine is to not really have a routine. Our traditions are to not really have traditions. And to always expect things to change. I think that’s how it is with multiple kids and a non-traditional job.

I am a stay at home mom and I spend a lot of time waiting. And because I’m waiting, I don’t always want to start something because I know I’ll be interrupted. I’m trying to be better at this, but a lot of times it frustrates me. But I always look for the good and to enjoy the chaotic moments

For example, today I volunteered at our teacher luncheon. I was helping out while I waited to pick up Juliana. I dropped her off and unloaded groceries while I waited to pick up Charlie. I walked to school to wait for Charlie to be done playing.

This is me enjoying my walking alone moment and listening to my fun Stella & Dot necklace jingle jangle, which made me smile and take a selfie!

When I came home with Charlie, I sat down and had a snack with the kids. I wasn’t quite sure what to do next, so we hung out together. When I tried to read, they tried to talk. When Charlie started his homework, the doorbell rang with friends looking to play. I told them they had to wait too until Charlie was done with his homework.

They wanted to play outside, but I was mean mommy today and wouldn’t let him go out because the air quality people said we should stay indoors because of the fires nearby and chemicals in the air. Charlie learned about fairness and different rules for different families and I got to hear about it and his protests. Lucky me. And so I sat and waited patiently some more while he practiced controlling his body.

When he resumed some level of calm I taught him about life not being fair and things don’t always go as planned and that we have to deal with the loss and make new fun plans. I mean it’s depressing to miss your scheduled winter water ballon fight at 4:30 pm and it’s really hard to understand why when it’s good outside. Just look outside. Just ask him.

He decided he wanted to play with me instead then and that we should paint. He wanted to paint lawn decorations on cardboard. And so we did. We dug around for some cardboard and he sketched his design. Then Juliana and I joined him in painting in the details. We painted while we waited to take Juliana to her appointment and waited for dad to come home, before dinner.

We filled the time and waiting was good and he taught me something too. Not everything has to go as planned and sometimes not having a plan is good too, if you can be comfortable waiting for whatever shows up. Hmm.

20Nov2013

GGG – Day 20 – Time

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Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. ~Benjamin Franklin

How do you choose to spend your time? Are you proactively setting up your days to do what you really want to do? This is what I’m thinking about today as I think about the gift of time we all are given. We are all busy, but we can always make time for what we love and want, if we know what it is we really want and how to plan for it and do the work.

We all are given equal hours every day. No one is different in this context. Whether you’re the President of the United States, a mom, a CEO, a student, an employee, a child, we all get the same number of hours. How fair is that? I kinda like that thought. So it’s up to us and our circumstances how we choose to live them up.

The other day I was listening to a 30 minute podcast by Jessica Herrin, the founder of Stella & Dot, in the car while I was driving home from the gym. She was talking about this subject of time mastery and I was totally intrigued how she described time as needing to be mastered versus managed. We have to link what we choose to do with our core values and be sure to set boundaries to protect our time. We have to learn to say no and to not feel guilty when we choose to say yes to time spent doing what we’re good at and what we want to do.

Right now I’m thinking about my time on the micro level and planning how I want to choose to spend my hours on any given day. I’d like to get better at this and practice mapping out bigger projects too, so they actually get done versus just me thinking about doing them. I practiced assigning tasks that I’ve been wanting to complete to the hour or half hour windows that were open throughout my day. The cool thing is that my task list suddenly became a priority and I have been able to say no to other distractions. And guess what? I am getting things done that I’ve been wanting to do and the procrastination and time spent on social media and gaming has decreased dramatically. I learned that many times when I don’t know what I want to do, time gets sucked into the vortex of online screen time and house cleaning. Those things are always there and “want” my attention. I want to be more accountable for my time and with the choices I’m making to make my time more meaningful. I want to carve out some time to be creative, mindful, to read, to be a better friend, to exercise, and to sleep more, in addition to my responsibilities. And so I am.

How are you choosing to spend your hours?

One last thought, before I get to bed early tonight since I’m actively choosing to get more sleep… I am fully aware how quickly a year goes by after living overseas for a year and being back again already for four months now. When you’re in the moment, it feels like forever. But looking back, I realize and can feel how fast that year sped by and it’s already gone. Where did the time go? I know… it’s just a rhetorical question… Good night.

“While we are postponing, life speeds by.”
Seneca

4Oct2013

Stella & Dot

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Tonight I hosted a Stella & Dot trunk show with several of my girlfriends. Stella & Dot was the entertainment for the evening, with women trying on jewelry and enjoying wine and nibbles and each other’s company.

I love when I have company over to the house because I clean and have a delicious smelling, uncluttered house! My floors are shiny and everything is in it’s place. I worked hard to get ready for tonight and was happy to open my home for several girlfriends.

I loved seeing everyone and watching them mingle and get to know each other, trying on jewelry and just having a good time.

I love that Stella & Dot was started by such an inspiring woman, Jessica Herrin, and that she shared her vision with other women and built a soon to be billion dollar company. Anyone can join and make it what they want it to be. For me, I do this as a hobby to afford my love of the jewelry and accessories and to get together with other women. Some women do this as a career and make six digit salaries! Some women build a team of women and coach and inspire other women to reach their dreams. I love that you can build your business to be what you want it to be and you can be part of a great team.

I had so much fun seeing everyone and only wish I would have had more time to socialize. Let’s get together again soon!

If you’re interested in checking out the company and spoiling yourself, come shopping online with me: http://www.stelladot.com/adrianahartley . If you want to earn jewelry for free, call me to host a party for you with your friends. And if you’re wanting to do more and become a stylist, I can help hook you up. Just send me a reply. All the best!

23Aug2013

Hanging Out & Phone Chats

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I Am still resettling after being back home for 7 weeks. The kids are now back in school. Soccer practice has begun. Doctors and Dentists and Orthodontist visits have been made. Mail has been processed and caught up. Our shipment should be arriving next week. New routines and structures are now reforming this week, and I’m hoping to feel out of this funk hopefully very soon. They say it takes awhile to resettle.

One thing that has really helped me has been being in the same time zone as my family. It’s so much easier to pick up the phone when ever you want vs. having to wait and think if it was a good time or not. I’m really appreciating the reconnections in this way.

I’m also really enjoying the sunshine and just being outside. Today Charlie had soccer practice, and typically when I’m not coaching, I just drop him off and pick him up later. Twice this week I stayed at practice and enjoyed being outside. Juliana joined me today and we played around the track, stopping to do exercises at the various fitness stations along our walk. We played with my Stella&Dot scarf in the wind and took pictures and just kept laughing while semi-exercising. It’s a start and we’ll do the same next week, however I’ll dress more appropriately.

I think I like it here!

3Oct2012

Day 69: Orange and Halloween

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There are so many good things about the color orange:

It’s a happy color.

It’s warm.

It’s the color of the sun – at least in my drawings!

It’s bright and cheerful.

It’s the color of Holland and part of my nationality.

It’s one of my favorite colors (today).

It represents the changing of the seasons – fall and holidays.

And it makes me think of Halloween! I love Halloween. And today, my other family sent us a care package filled with Halloween goodies that made us all so happy!! It was filled with candy and decorations and magazines and even our California mail!

I still have the best wife ever!! 😉 Thank you for making our day and spoiling us, April!! I wish you could have seen the kids’ faces. We love Halloween and we didn’t pack any of our holiday decor and I was starting to feel a little sad about that. Halloween isn’t celebrated in Holland, although the Americans at the school are putting on a Halloween event – nothing like Halloween Happening, I’m sure! But at least we’ll get a taste of tricks and treats. Charlie wants to be a leprechaun!! I don’t know why, but that just makes me laugh! Wish me luck in pulling off that costume!

Back to colors – what is your favorite color?

I mentioned that mine is orange, and sometimes blue, oh, and purple and red too. But today – Orange. Today, I looked through my closet and found these orange pieces – I have to wear these more often because they make me feel happy. I tend to wear black and neutrals, and workout clothes. I need to change this and dress it up a bit! I love to wear my orange Stella & Dot Olivia necklace – it’s my favorite piece from the Fall Collection. Yes, I still love my Stella & Dot and wear it all over Holland. Hup, Holland!

So what’s hanging in your closet? Are you shining in your favorite?

12Aug2012

Day 18: Family Day in Schijndel

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We just finished spending nearly 12 hours with family and we’re all talking about when we can get together again. That should summarize how much fun we all had today.

I love how the Dutch entertain. It’s very laid back and there is no sense of hurry or rush. People sit together and really just enjoy one another’s company and that’s entertainment. The young and the old together, drinking coffee, working together, eating together and playing together. I’m not used to sitting still for so long at any given time, so this is new for me and I am beginning to become more comfortable with it.

Today we enjoyed coffee and homemade delicious chocolate torte cake with homemade whipped cream soon after we arrived at Gerard and Anita’s house. Afterwards, Anita set out a lunch buffet for us which included some new foods to taste like filet americanse, and kruiten boter (which I hope I’m spelling correctly!). Several types of Hagel slag were also available and we all made our own sandwiches or broetjes as they call them. Oh and sandwiches are made with butter, which I remember my mom making but I forgot about it. We typically make sandwiches with mustard and/or mayo. I love doing things differently and lunch was delicious.

After lunch, the kids all went to play the Wii, and Risk and Twister. They played outside with balls and a hula hoop, and everyone played together, including the high school girls. This was impressive as the girls are beautiful and sweet and interested in family and being together. I loved that they weren’t too busy or too “cool” to want to hang out. I’m impressed and thankful and J Is making plans with K to get together again next week. Love it.

After lunch, Opa Tijn came for a visit. We all sat out on the patio and enjoyed another cup of coffee. Opa Tijn doesn’t speak any English and just talked to us in Dutch like we understood. One day we will understand better but for now it was just fine. Anita and Gerard did a great job bridging the language barrier and we all enjoyed just being together.

When Opa Tijn left to go to a party, we left to go to Rio and Helma’s house to visit and check out the dairy farm. We all had so much fun.

The kids rode on a tractor and learned how the harvester machine worked. They got to pet and feed the cows and learn how
milk production works. I got to be Rio’s helper for the evening milking at 6 pm.

Stella & Dot on the farm!!

The cows are milked twice daily, once in the morning at 7 am and again at 6 pm. It was a very cool experience. Little C was having fun riding a pedal go cart around… Just good old fashioned fun. And then they all went swimming and moved the trampoline close to the pool so they could jump off and into the pool. I think they had a great day! I know I did.

And the day wasn’t even over yet. There was still time for a BBQ! Lil’ C loved helping Gerard with the grill and CJ was happy using the deep fryer to make fresh frites. The girls all helped with setting the table and bringing food out. We had a large variety of mixed meats and sampled our first frickadel (spelling?) sausages topped with frites sauce, onions and curry sauce. Yum! Dinner was amazing and BBQing felt like home.

The days are long here in the summer and we didn’t leave until past dusk at 9:40 pm! I hope we didn’t overstay our welcome. We were just having too much fun to leave! Thank you G&A&R&K for sharing your day with us and for all the delicious meals. Thank you Rio and Helma for having us over for drinks and snacks and sharing farm life with us. We had a wonderful day with y’all and look forward to seeing you again at our house.

Life is good!!

The cute and loving farm dog!

13Jul2012

Day 13: Lucky 13

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When I found out we were moving, I decided I was going to do everything I’ve been wanting to do before we actually left. That has been the biggest gift of all – to actually enjoy every minute of where I am right now. And I have and I AM and I still have 12 more days to soak it all in before our next adventure begins. What are you doing with your minutes?

Today was full and fun and I even got some work done! Michele and I took the kids to Sausalito to enjoy lunch on the boat, and to play with the kids on the beach. They loved finding and catching little sea creatures and moon jelly fish. Michele brought her paddle board and let me try it out. She has a Surftech board that is very stable and glides through the water. I liked trying another board and think the next board I get will be one that moves quickly through the water.

After our time on the beach, we went into town for coffee and Lappert’s ice cream. It was beautiful and sunny in Sausalito yet foggy and cold crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. I never tire of seeing the beauty of the bridge. We didn’t have a plan or schedule and the day just flowed.

Afterward, we drove back to Michele’s and she took C to a Palo Alto Play and let the kids swim after dark. I was lucky enough to drive over to Redwood City to check out the awesome new fall jewelry line from Stella & Dot. I don’t know how Blythe and team keep creating new designs that are so artistic and cool! I want them all! I loved running into friends – Vickie, Debbie and Kristen. Vickie gave me a gift, which is one of the new layering pieces just because! How lucky AM I? Thanks, Vickie!! I’m going to miss you… Debbie and Kristen too!

And to top of the minutes, Jeff was having a meeting right down the road. We were able to meet up for a quick dinner date! That never happens!! We enjoyed the break and I was able to still get back to pick up C by 8:30 pm but he was still swimming! Guess he’s enjoying every minute too. Michele and I looked over the new Stella and Dot Look Book and I just ordered my new samples! Wanna come see them? Stop by next week… They should be here by Monday!!

Life is good… Enjoy your minutes and make them count!!