Self Management

Blessed be the person who has nothing to say who refrains from giving wordy evidence to that fact.
--George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans

"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself."
Wayne Dyer Psychotherapist, Author and Speaker

"You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him." Leo Aikman

Solomon in all his wisdom made this meaningful statement: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Prov. 16:32.)

How Do You Make Decisions?

Values and Purpose
Intuition
Logic and information
Expert Advice
Feelings and Emotion
Fate and Chance
Divine Guidance
Past Experiences

Evaluate how you normally make decisions. Now ask yourself which one you never use to make a choice. What if you had a decision to make and you stepped into each one of these and tried it on for size. There might be some benefits.
When I did this exercise in coaching school, I generally made decisions out of Divine Guidance and Logic and Information. After exploring myself more and learning and growing as a person, I went back a year later and did the exercise again and was surprised that my decision making process expanded into more areas, I hadn't been using.
The exercise was this. They made a big wheel on the floor out of tape. The wheel was divided into categories. Each piece of the pie was labeled one of these. We were to walk around the wheel and stand in each section and see what it felt like to make a decision each way. After we had gone around the circle, each person had to pick the one they used the most and tell why. Then we had to go stand in the piece of pie that we used the least and tell why. What was interesting about this was that you heard each person's perspective. They each made a lot of sense. I could see the benefits of using different methods. Sometimes we get into our box and don't want to do things a different way. I realized that the other perspectives were valid and useful. Now when making a decision, I have so many more ways of looking at things and deciding.

Wheat Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup

Butter Milk Syrup
1 cup white sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup butter
2T. corn syrup
1tsp. Baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla

Boil for 7 min.
Remove from stove
Stir in vanilla

Whole Wheat Pancakes
Blend in blender for 4 min.
2 eggs
1c milk
1c. Wheat
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3T. Oil
Also good as waffles

Pig Candy

Arrange bacon on a broiler pan. (My daughter made these on cooling racks on a cookie sheet)
Sprinkle bacon with brown sugar liberally. (Cinnamon or nutmeg can be added)
Cook for 20 min. at 350
Turn bacon, apply more brown sugar, and cook for another 20 min.

If you have never tried this, you have really been missing out. It is sooo good!!!!!!! It is a sweet, fattening, smoke flavored delight. If you don't have lots of people around to help you eat these, DO NOT try this recipe. You might end up eating way too many.

Cook until they are flat and look crispy, not floppy.
IF you have any leftovers the bacon would taste great cut up in a salad although I have never had that opportunity.

This has saved me 100's of hours

For years I was the only one in my household that could iron. Yes, I tried to teach my husband but he didn't give it much effort. Why should he when I was so good at it?:)
About 10 years ago I saw this professional steamer at Costco. It was expensive but I thought it was worth a try. It turned out to be one of the best investments in myself and my time that I have ever made!
Why is it that when men have a job to do they go out and buy the best tools for the job and women seem to scrape buy with cheap irons and vacumes and use them many times a week for decades?
My children, starting at 5, could steam their own clothes. My husband has no trouble either. Our family uses it about 98 percent of the time. I rarely ever get out the ironing board. Clothing stores use these because what would normally take 10 minutes to iron, takes 1 or 2 min. to steam.

Today is a gift

Time flies whether you're having fun or not.

Yesterday's the past. Tomorrow's the future. But today is a gift. Thats why it's called the present.--Family Circus,Bill Keane

If I worry a lot about tomorrows today it won’t help with tomorrow’s challenges, but it sure might mess up today’s joy.

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
John Lennon

My Sweet Kids

Can you see the lace?

My Daughter's Wedding Cake

It was a gorgeous fondant covered cake. She saw a cake like this in a bakery window in London.

My daughter knows me well

Mindy gave me this dish towel for my birthday. It was the perfect gift. LOVE IT! Thanks Mindy!

Remembering Successes

They say that when you ask someone what they are good at you get blank stares, but when you ask people to list their faults they start listing them page after page.
How sad is that! We should be able to share our victories as well as share our tragedy’s.
How about writing some of the good stuff in your journal. Here are some ideas.

A time in your life when you were at your best.
When you landed a job or got a promotion.
When you succeeded at a hobby, sport or event.
When you had one of your dreams come true.
Something you worked hard for.
Something you overcame.
Something you are proud of.
Something you accomplished.

Dancing Lessons

I have been talking about taking dancing lessons for years. I kept thinking my husband and I could do them together. Well, it was never one of his goals. He doesn't like to dance. I thought I can either mope around because no one will take lessons with me or I can do it by myself. So last week I took action. I was frankly sick of talking and thinking about it. I drove myself down to Fred Astaire dance Studio and signed up for 5 classes. I went 2 times last week and it was really fun. I danced about 40 min. each time. It was physically and mentally stimulating. I came home and danced with my 11 and 12 year old girls. We had a ball. I am going to keep taking lessons. When I get better I hope I can teach my husband and girls.
This wasn’t a huge goal. It was just one of those things I thought would be fun to try. Is there anything you have been talking about doing? Are you waiting on others to do it? Do it on your own. Your enthusiasm might be contagious.

Here is my uncle and I dancing at my aunt's 50th wedding anniversary. See the lessons have already paid off!

My Mission Statement

Mission Statements evolve over time. What is nice about writing one is putting it up on your bathroom mirror and reading it each day. When you say these positive things and know where you are going, your day starts out better with clearer direction.

My Mission Statement
I savor each moment of my life as a positive, grateful, happy, wife, mother, homemaker and successful business woman and coach who delegates, serves and helps others rise to greatness.
I am a strong, spiritual, healthy, organized and an energetic whole person who is self disciplined, a goal getter, who has deep, meaningful and fun relationships with family, friends and colleagues.

John Gray's Morning Drink

I heard John Gray speak last year. He is the guy that wrote the Mars and Venus books. He is not only right on when he talks about relationships. He is just as knowledgeable about health. He drinks this every morning. He really sold me on the benefits of this drink.
Drink it right when you wake up in the morning. The honey feeds your brain, the lemon cleanses your liver and the cell food oxygenates your brain. Wait 20 minutes to eat and you won't be as hungry. This isn't a weight loss strategy it is just a side effect.

To mix activated water, use the following quantities:
8 oz (237 ml) water
1 oz (30 ml) aloe Vera juice
1 tsp (5 ml) honey
juice of ½ lemon
Trace Minerals (ionic plant sourced), in the amount recommended by the manufacturer
Shake the mixture five to ten times in a bottle or jar before drinking. Shaking activates the potency of ionic trace minerals.
Make sure the minerals you use are ionic trace minerals from a plant source. One is a product named "Cell Food," but there are numerous others. The key is to be sure it is plant sourced. Each ionic trace mineral product has its own suggested amount for daily use. Some say eight drops of a liquid while others indicate two tablespoons, etc. Simply follow the manufacturer's suggested daily portion size and include that in your morning activated water and breakfast shake.

Start with only a couple of drops of cellfood a day for awhile or you may get a headache.

I made this for a friend of mine. He was very over weight and by his own admission said that he ate the worst food imaginable. He ended up getting a really bad headache from the cell food.
It is called a health crisis? It has detoxing effects. It dumps toxins that are stored in your organs back into your blood stream to get rid of them. It is healthy for you to do cleanses but if you are unhealthy either don’t use the drops or start out very slowly and only add one drop and then 2, until you build up to 8 drops.

Toastmasters

I just joined Toastmasters. It is a speaking club. My mother was in Toastmasters before I was born. I always knew it was something I would like to try. I had it on my list of life goals for years and years. I finally thought to myself, "What am I waiting for? What is stopping me from going for it?" I decided to do it. I looked on the internet and found the Toastmaster meeting closest to my home. I had no idea what to expect. After going to 2 other buildings I finally found the meeting. I got there late but they acted very excited to see me. They were all very warm and friendly. I was as comfortable as a person could be showing up at a strange place, with new people and standing and giving an impromptu 2 min. speech on holiday goodies. But you know what? I came home so pumped!!!

Cards

So, card playing is a really big deal in our family. We love card games, and I just found this website that has every card game imaginable and all the rules. http://www.pagat.com/

Happy Thoughts

In the book "The Artist's Way",the author suggests making a list about our very happiest memories. Start a journal called "My Best Memories Ever!". What a happy book to look through. You can keep it right next to your gratitude journal.:)

Whatever you spend your time thinking about grows!

Success

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. --Thomas Edison

A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm."-- Charles Schwab

"Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success."-- Dale Carnegie

"Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy." Groucho Marx

Happiness

I asked Kyle why he was so happy and he said it is funner to be happy. I thought is was pretty profound. It is funner to be happy. It is a choice. Abraham Lincoln said "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be".

If I can’t find joy here and now, will I find it anywhere?

Eventually your countenance will match your thoughts and actions.

Self Mastery

"I am the captain of my soul.I am the master of my fate."-- William Hanley

David O. McKay urged us to remember that “the greatest battle of life is fought out within the silent chambers of your own soul”

The Greek philosopher Epectitus also declared that “No man is free who is not master of himself.” This again is plain because he who does not control his impulses, emotions and desires permits himself to be their slave by following them at every turn. A slave, as we know, is one without freedom but does the bidding of his master to satisfy the latter’s every whim which usually leads to destruction and death.

Spencer W. Kimball quoted an unknown author as follows: “The height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. … He who cannot establish a dominion over himself will have no dominion over others. He who masters himself shall be king”

Plato said: “The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile.”

Leonardo da Vinci once said: “You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself.” Then he goes on to say that “the height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment

Dream Big

This is me in 5th grade. I was dreaming big dreams even then. Look at what a grand snowman my brother and I made with no snow on the ground. That was dreaming big!

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered with failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."-- Theodore Roosevelt

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? Dr. Robert Schuller