Cutest Song- Cutest Video

I Am A Girl - The Girls With Glasses Theme Song from The Girls With Glasses on Vimeo.

I'm a huge fan and loved having Summer Bellissa and Brooke White come and speak at Time to Blossom.

2010 Time to Blossom Young Women's Conference Highlight Video

Debbie Forrest and I came up with the idea to do a Young Women's Conference last June (2009). I have spent everyday since working 40 or 50 hours a week on it. It has been the hugest thing I have ever attempted in my life!!! Lots of work but so rewarding:) Debbie compared it to planning 5 wedding receptions at once. I think that is an understatement!

We had 250 girls and 21 counselors June 14-18 staying at the Mesa Hilton. We had lots of speakers with spiritual and inspiring messages, plus service and fun.

I am working on an hour highlight video right now and viewing all the footage of our event. I really believe we did change lives. The girls left with so much confidence and that was so beautiful to see. They actually blossomed:)

Whew....what a year!

Self Esteem in Teenage girls

As my 2 older daughters were going through their teenage years, I could see how their self-esteem took a beating year after year in high school. Pressure came from all sides. These years are especially brutal for girls.

Women, in general, had lower self-esteem than men, although both genders have identical high levels between the ages of 9 and 12. "During adolescence, girls' self-esteem dropped about twice as much as boys'."

At that time I read a book called Reviving Ophelia. It is a book about what girls go through during these years. It says girls are their true selves at 12 and year after year they quit being themselves by trying to be accepted by their peers. They give up their likes, style, hobbies, talents etc. to fit in.

Reviving Ophelia discusses the painful identity crisis many young women in American society experience as they pass from childhood into adulthood.
Girls become “female impersonators” who fit their whole selves into small, crowded spaces. Vibrant, confident girls become shy, doubting young women. Girls stop thinking “Who am I? What do I want? And start thinking “What must I do to please others?”

Here are some sad statistics:

1 in 2 teens who have been in a serious relationships say they've gone against their beliefs in order to please their partner

92% of teen girls would like to change something about the way they look, with body weight ranking the highest.

70% of girls ages 15 to 17 avoid normal daily activities such as attending school, going to the doctor, or even giving their opinion "due to feeling badly about one’s looks."

Only 2% of women describe themselves as “beautiful”

While only 19% of teenage girls are "overweight," 67% think they "need to lose weight"

90% of eating disorders are found in girls

Do Something Fun and Unexpected

Thanks for the video Anne. I got this off of Not Entirely British. http://networkedblogs.com/p6117785

This reminds me of having spontaneous fun. Why are we so stiff sometimes. Look at the audience that enjoyed and started clapping and the people who were stunned into watching. Which one would you rather be?

You have to make opportunities fun and fun up opportunities!

I remember watching Mama Mia the movie. It was the funnest movie I have been to in a long time. These older than me ladies dressed up, sang, danced and ran through the streets singing and gathering others as they went.

I went to the movie with a bunch of women and as we were coming out of the movie everyone was saying how fun it would be to dress up and sing some of those songs. I was feeling it too. It seemed I had grown too old to dress up and be goofy, too scared to put on an 80's outfit and sing and dance outside. But the dream was still planted. How could a respectable, 45 year old mother of 5 do such a fun, crazy thing? Then it hit me. If I did it at a retreat people might go along with me. I could have my crazy fun and allow others to do the same.

So we did. Yes it was scary. Yes it was out of my comfort zone, especially when Jodi led us from a very secluded place over to the street where people could actually see us.

Elenore Roosevelt said "Do something everyday that scares you."

Good Advice. It was exhilarating!



Be Goofy today and do sometime fun and unexpected.

Fun Mom Songs and How to Raise Independent Children

Hillary Weeks



Mom Song Anita Renfroe
Anita is incredibly creative and fun and I did enjoy the video, but I started thinking about how this is a very real parenting style. I have been around moms like this. It is exhausting for the mom, and the kids totally tune out. It is true that a mom's work never ends, but do our mouths really need to run like this all day? Picture having to watch this video everyday. How long would it take for you to start ignoring her? How capable is a child that has to be told everything to do and micro managed on every aspect of his life? It actually cripples him.

I remember a friend of my daughter commenting on the fact that my two little girls could make toast and a peanut butter sandwich at age 3 and her 13 year old brother still couldn't make a sandwich. My style of parenting is a more hands off approach(except for lots and lots of hugs). The concept is....anything the child can do for themselves, I let them do. Some of the things this includes are: keeping track of their own appointments and carpools, reminding me about their activities (not the other way around), making their own appointments, doing their homework and reports by themselves, waking up and getting themselves ready for school, learn cooking and start doing their own laundry at age 8.

Do you know children whose parents were depressed or disinterested and the child had to become the adult? I don't carry it THAT far. But the principle is still there. The kids will rise to the occasion. If we give them responsibility they will become responsible.

My theory is that I am raising a child to be completely independent by age 18, with every skill necessary when they are thrown into the real world. This means they need to have self management, be able to cook, clean, shop, manage money, earn money, manage time, be a hard worker, know life skills. If I do everything for them, I get tired and they learn very little. If I am always doing everything for them, when they move out and don't have me around to help them, they won't know what to do or even how to think. I know it might sound selfish to have your children do so much but I have seen the results. I would rather have them doing too much for themselves now and find the real world easy than the other way around. I think my older kids can tell you that there wasn't much of an adjustment period when they moved out. They felt like competent adults at age 12. This method develops confident, competent human beings. Instead of me being a worn out, do everything for everyone mother, who nobody listens to, I have more time and my kids become independent. Which method do you prefer?
Authors note:
I don't want to come off looking like I'm the perfect mother. I do think there are many styles of parenting. Here are the comments from my grown kids. Mindy said "I agree that I was very independent, but I also wished growing up that I had a mom that took care of me more. But, maybe that's just me, and I definitely wouldn't be who I am today if you were any different." And Jade said that she didn't like going to the grocery store as much as I made her go. Maybe the real point of this post is to remember to have moderation in all things:)
Here is another perspective. I believed that kids should do their own reports and projects and I didn't help them with these, but I was talking to my sister the other night and her fondest memories were helping her children with their projects. I can see that it could have been some fun family time if that was the intention.
I know each of us do the best we can. For me it is helpful to hear how others view things, so I can choose the best way for me. Hope these ideas helped.

Dove Beauty

When I first started coaching I assumed that I was the only one that was unsure of myself. The people that were in my first class were 2 MBA's, 1 PHD, 1 President of a well known company, a motivational trainer, and a professional speaker that traveled the world speaking. Then there was me, a housewife and mother.
Was I ever intimidated. These women were the people I had always dreamed of becoming but because I wanted to stay home with my children, I hadn't done all of those grandiose things.
When I started coaching, I found one thing in common, no matter how beautiful, no matter how successful, no matter how confident on the outside, when you speak to people heart to heart, everyone has insecurities and doubts on the inside, some people just hide it better than others. This was eye opening to me.
When I see this photoshopped billboard it makes me sad. There are so many women who feel bad about themselves because they look at fake perfect people in magazines and on TV and know they don't look like that. They compare their morning face with no make up and hair done, to this billboard model that isn't even a real person.
Why do we continue to read magazines with airbrushed faces and photo shopped bodies? It only makes us feel less confident.

As I skim through fashion magazines, I unconsciously ponder on what qualities I can fix with myself. For a few hours, after looking at the glamorous pictures of celebrities and cover girl models, I become much more aware of my flaws. My sense of self may be dampened for a few hours, until I hit reality.

What I and billions of other females around the world are being fed is a lie.

Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman said, "The big success story of our entertainment industry is our ability to export insecurity: We can make any woman anywhere feel perfectly rotten about her shape."

I wholeheartedly believe this. Research conducted by Stanford University and University of Massachusetts found that 70 percent of college women say they feel worse about their own looks after reading women's magazines. Another study by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that the more frequently girls read magazines, the more likely they were to diet and feel bad about their body shape.

Ladies, these magazines are ruining our self-esteem. I won't go out on a limb by being so broad as to say that everyone is affected, but ... This was written by a college age girl.

Let's quit buying the magazines that make us feel inferior.
The only person we should be comparing ourselves to is our self.
Are you being the best you, you can be? Not perfect, but a good version of yourself?
Are you following your dreams? What have you been putting off that you would love to do and would make you feel fulfilled?
Are you being authentic? Do you follow the crowd or are you being your true self?
Are you doing a little better than you did last month? Baby steps are great!
Are you taking care of yourself? Are you in need of a haircut or color, new outfit, gym membership, massage, pedicure, nap, lunch with a friend, movie, an hour at the library, a song from Itunes?
Do something nice for you. You deserve it!!

"If I Were Brave" by Jana Stanfield

I just bought this song off of Itunes. I liked it so much I found a youtube video for you to enjoy too:) Have a SPECTACULAR day!!!

Are you familiar with her? I had never heard of her until last week. Is there any other songs you recommend?

J.K. Rowling Delivers Commencement Address

Author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivers her Commencement Address, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Harvard Alumni Association June 5, 2008.

I found her sincere, humble and funny. I enjoyed listening to the path she followed. She continued to follow her passion no matter what. It was her failure that gave her courage. She said "I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realized, and I was still alive..."

If you prefer to read this 24 min. video click here:

http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

Trace Adkins "You're Gonna Miss This"

How many times have you said when I get this done then I'll be happy?.... when I am married, ...when we are making more money....when my kids are older, ...when I get a bigger house....when, when, when. Do you know that "when" never comes? When you get close to it, it magically changes and it is still ahead in the future? I have lived this way most of life. I was always waiting for this or that to happen. I am now trying my best to enjoy the journey, and not wait to be happy when I get to the destination.
If I am not happy and fulfilled today, with what is,...... then I won't be happy and fulfilled tomorrow. People can be happy in dire circumstances and be miserable in the best. Happiness is a state of mind. It is not determined by the things we achieve or where we are in life. We can really just choose to be happy. I heard it growing up but never believed it. But I have put it to the test and can tell you it is absolutely true.
"You're Gonna Miss This" reminds me of me. I couldn't wait to get out of school, get married and start a family. While I was wishing ahead I was actually cheating myself out of enjoying the present.

The Perfect Homemakers, "The Mollies"

I have no idea what the words to this song mean, but it is very cute. On youtube someone commented that it is addicting.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all could be this happy and peaceful while baking.

I don't like the terms "housewife" and "homemaker." I prefer to be called "Domestic Goddess." Roseanne

I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave
a man I keep his house.
--Zsa Zsa Gabor

Housework can't kill you, but why take a chance?
Phyllis Diller

A bright person can always think of something
better to do than housework.
Ruby Lou Barnhill

I got these quotes off my sisters website. She is a famous quilter. www.WinsorArtQuilts.com