Putting Hopes into Action

If you don't set goals at least once a year, I have news for you.  You're wandering around aimlessly.  I mean, no offense.  I know we're all busy. But you need to decide where you want to go or you'll never end up there.

Today, we want to focus on just one year. This year.  Don't know where to start with making goals?  Think about some things you would like to change.  Tired of being broke?  Wish you could be more organized?  What are some things you might want to start doing?  What are some things that you want to stop doing?
Now breathe.
Relax.
I won't leave you.
I promise.

I break my goals into categories.  Here's how I do it:

• Home - These are projects I want to do this year around my house.  It might be as large as re-doing your kitchen or as small as having a coffee bar somewhere.
• Me – Ladies, you cannot skip this category.  The first thing to go in our lives is…well…us.  What are some things you want to do for yourself?  Take time to get your nails done once a month?  Read more?  Always wanted to do one of those painting classes (you know, the ones that involve drinking wine?) Well, why aren’t you?  BE SELFISH.  I give you permission.
• Health -  This is usually my shortest list and usually says the same thing every year (insert laughter here)...eat more fruits and vegetables, drink more water, go to bed by 9.  What are things you can do for a healthier, more energetic you?  
• Social – These are things I want to do with other people, including hubs.  Want to have date nights? Want to spend more time with friends?   Always wanted to go to a cooking class with a girlfriend?
• Finances – Do you need to pay off some debt?  Buy a new car?  Have more money?

Here's the awesome news.  You do not have to figure out how you're going to do all this yet.  That would be overwhelming!  Get a piece of paper and write down goals in these categories (or make up your own!). And yes, you HAVE to write them down.  My goals take up a whole page. Some are really "small" and some are going to require more work.  Write down everything you can think of, this is like a brain dump.  Give yourself at least a good hour and some peace and quiet and think about what it is you want.  What would your ideal you look like?  What would make your year awesome?  This is not meant to be a quick assignment. Sorry.  But you don't have to do it all in one sitting.  Breathe again.

Now, the thing with goals is, you have to be specific.  “Need more money” needs to look more like “Need $100 more a month”.  But if you start out vague, that is ok.  (Keep reading.)  The other thing about goals is...you gotta look at them.  I know, right?!  Geez.  You need to put these goals somewhere you will see them.  Often.  Because seeing them often is key.  I keep mine in my discovery journal, because I am in that a lot.  When you are flipping through your discovery journal, you can look at your goal page.  The more you look at it, the more you will get ideas on how and when to accomplish these things.  Remember, you are still and quiet when you are looking through your journal.  Things will come to you. One of my goals this year is to have at least one date a month with my hubs. Sounds easy, right?  Wrong.  I know because that was one of my goals last year.  I kind of sucked at it.  Oh, I was great in Jan. and Feb....but then, what happened (sound familiar?)?  Remember...be specific.  (I thought "once a month" was specific!) This year, I decided that every last Saturday of the month was date night.  And yes, I got my calendar and wrote it in on every last Saturday.  But when I first wrote my goal it just said "date nights with Chris".  Things will come to you.

OK.  Again we are breathing.

This year I decided to put my most important goals in a picture frame.  I saw this idea here:
                            New Years Goals Photo Display
and totally loved it.  Also, taking her idea (and adding to it a little), I put my 'frame' goals into this format:

• Start:
• Stop:
• Learn how to:
• Try:
• Be More:
• Project:
• Trip:
• Bucket List:

I loved this format for my "main things" and felt it was a great way to focus for the year.

Based on how many goals you want to display, get a collage picture frame.  I went to Hobby Lobby and found a frame that had 9 spaces.  I got it on sale half price, it was about $12.  Now there are probably a million ways to print out your "cards" but I did mine on  PicMonkey.  I didn't know anything about using PicMonkey and it was super easy.  And pretty fun.  (go to design and select 4x6 canvas).  You can make a background color and add text in all different fonts.  You can make patterns, frames or add pictures like hearts, stars, etc.  Here is one of mine after I cut it out of cardstock:                                                                

Trust me, if I say it is super easy on the computer, it's super easy on the computer.  Check it out! PicMonkey  Or save yourself a ton of money on ink and print it on already colored paper.

And here is my final product....

Again, $12 frame...some white cardstock and a color printer.  That's it.  I love how it turned out and I love that I can look at my "main things" for 2015 every day.  Now, what I would REALLY love would be if the colors actually matched something in my house.  Word to the wise...think about where you are going to hang this first, THEN pick out your color scheme.  I'm not sure what the thought process was in my head when I picked green and blue.  Sigh...

We start each new year full of hope.  We hope for wonderful, new things.  We might hope things get better.  We might hope that things change.  But we hope.  This year, let's put our hope into action.

Here's to making dreams come true!
K

I Have a Dream

In one of Martin Luther King's most noteable and well remembered speeches, he talks about having a dream.  Do you have a dream?  It doesn't matter how old you are.  When I was 37, I decided to completely change careers.  Was I scared?  You betcha.  Was it easy?  No way.  Am I glad I did it?  Every minute of every day.

First, let me talk to the people who don't know if they have a dream.  Sure you do.  You have goals right?  You don't?  Oh man, we need to talk.  Have you ever heard of the expression "if you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up there?"  We don't want that for you in 2015! So we are going to spend some time this week thinking about what you want. It's really important that you do this.  I don't want to hear that you don't have time.  You will find that if you:  1) know what your dreams and goals are and 2) actively look at and think about them, then 3) you will achieve them.  Or at least be moving in that direction.

The next post will be about setting goals.  For right now, we are going to start with the big picture. Some of you might be feeling like you don't know what you want or even what you like anymore (people with small children and lives that are too busy, apply here).  Take a deep breath, you're going to re-find yourself.  And it's not nearly as hard as you think.

I like the spiral bound kind

Years ago, a friend of mine gave me a book called "Simple Abundance" by Sarah Ban Breathnach.  It was big back in the...80s?  early 90s?...well, I don't know, awhile ago.  I got some great things from this book all those years ago and several of them I still do today.  One of those things is having a discovery journal.  This week, take time to go buy a drawing book or sketchpad and make sure you have a pencil, glue stick and scissors that you can keep with it.  You will also need some magazines you can cut up (Don't have any? Me neither! I promise if you ask friends or co-workers, someone gets magazines and would be happy to get them off their hands!)
                           
On the first page of that sketchpad I want you to write "Bucket List".  A dream can be "a wild or vain fancy", per Webster.  That's where the bucket list comes in.  You can write down anything you want to do, no matter how much it costs, how crazy it seems, or how long from now before you can fulfill it. Remember, a bucket list is supposed to be things you want to do before you die so these are not goals we are trying to accomplish this year.  Go nuts!  They don't have to all be super expensive or outlandish though!  Keep adding to it.  All the time.  Like anytime you think of something ("I always wanted to..." or "I wonder if I can..."), add it to the list.

Back to Sarah Ban Breathnach, who is the author of that Simple Abundance book I was telling you about.  She suggests you go through magazines and cut out any pictures that are visually appealing to you and put them in your discovery journal.  You don't have to know why.  Cut them out and paste them in your  journal.  Now, in my discovery journal, I also draw sketches of things I want to do.  Believe me when I tell you I cannot draw at all.  But, if we have a dream to re-do the front porch, I want to sketch out my vision and maybe colors or things that I like for it.  Last year I cut out pictures of flowers from a gardening catalog and designed my yard with the pictures and drawings of the yard.  It's your journal, do your own thing.  But if you have a dream to re-do your living room, it might all start here.  Just sayin'.
 

A sketch page

Magazine pics

I have found the best place for me to work on my journal is in bed and therefore, I keep all my supplies in a bag beside my nightstand.  I think it works for me because my mind is in a relaxed state and my body has finally stopped for the day.  Make yourself a cup of tea (I would rather die than drink decaf coffee) and flip through a magazine.  It will only take a minute to go through one magazine.  Don't read!!!  See a picture you like?  Rip it out.  You can glue your pictures down as you go or stick them all in there and glue later.  Whatever works to get you started.  Don't sit down with 20 magazines.  Unless you have time to.  In which case, I am totally jealous. By the time I get in bed, it's a fight to stay awake.  You too?  5 minutes.  I just need you to give me 5 minutes.  Now, once you have started, and you have been doing these for awhile, you can flip through your book and see what kind of things you are cutting out.  I suggest waiting until you have 10 pages or more done.  If you know what appealed to you in a picture, you can write that in the margin ("love the color of those plates!").  If you don't know, that's ok.  Patterns will emerge.  You will be amazed at what you learn about yourself.  I found out I love the color purple (who knew?!).  I also got the inspiration to totally transform my front porch (more about this at a later date).  One of the best parts of this exercise is that you are quiet and still.  These are 2 qualities that I do not excel at.  But, they are also two qualities you need to hear that still, small voice that you will begin to recognize as God.  I don't mean you are going to start hearing voices, don't worry.  But God gives us ideas and suggestions and talks to us in our minds all the time.  The thing is, you gotta be listening.  You might be really surprised at what He has to say to you.  I call these "my epiphanies".  But really, they are His.

Martin Luther King had a dream.  His dream was...big.  He wanted to change a whole country.  We might feel like we aren't going to impact the world...but, how do you know?  Your dreams can seem small to you but they all start with an idea.  That small idea might keep evolving and turn into something bigger.  Maybe you have a goal to help one person somehow a month.  Think you only helped one person?  You never know how far a ripple will go.

Dr. King said '1963 was not an end, but a beginning'.  Let this year be a new beginning for you.  Take time to rediscover yourself.  Decide on your dreams, both big and small.  Some dreams will feel impossible.   It doesn't mean you shouldn't have them.  Imagine if Dr. King thought that.  Sure, he impacted the whole world.  Do you think he knew he would when he started out?  He too started with a still, small voice telling him to do something.  Then he decided where he wanted to go.  And look where that led us.

Take the time today to listen to Dr, King's speech.  It is so powerful.  Thank those that have gone before us and had dreams that they were brave enough to follow.  And in the words of Dr, King, "as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead.  We cannot turn back."  Let 2015 be a year of accomplishment for you.  It can start small.  It can start with baby steps.  But it all starts with a dream.

Audio of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech"

Keep Dreaming!
K

Unexpected Gifts

Snow days....there are no words more beautiful to a teacher.  Ok, "It's summer." definitely wins. But other than that, snow days rule.  I was talking to a co-worker last year and asked, "What is it that makes snow days so awesome?"  She replied, "It's an unexpected gift".  Yeah, it is.  It's a beautiful, unexpected day given to you to use as you wish (All right, mostly).

Today was our first snow day of the year.  I try to start each snow day with snowman pancakes.  It's fun, it's easy.  And it starts the day special.  (As if not having to go to school wasn't special enough!) We have this wild burst of energy when we hear the announcement. So why not make breakfast?  I have a couple of pancake recipes that are extra special and SUPER delicious.  But if you want to make these guys with a regular old mix, no judgment.

There are lots of different variations of snowmen pancakes, but here are a couple I have made.  Look in your pantry, frig and freezer and get creative!  Powdered sugar, whipped cream and mini marshmallows always come in handy!  I promise your kids won't care if your snowman looks like it is 45 degrees outside.

Now, if you are wondering why one of my snowmen are red, check out my recipe below!  Keep this one handy for Valentine's Day!  Or...if your kids are nuts like mine and want red snowmen!  Who am I to judge?

Red Velvet Pancakes
  2 cups red velvet cake mix
½ cup all purpose flour
 1¼ cup milk or water
1 egg

Super easy, right?  If you would like to make a more traditional snowman, you can substitute funfetti cake mix for the red velvet (because who DOESN'T love a snowman with sprinkles!)  Now, if you would like to really kick it up a notch, here are a couple of "syrups" to use with the red velvet pancakes that really make them AMAZING!

Cream Cheese Syrup
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 T milk
1 t vanilla

Nutella Cream Cheese Syrup
1 t vanilla
1 c powdered sugar
4 T Nutella
4 T plain cream cheese
milk as needed

I wish I could give credit where credit is due, but I swiped these off Pinterest so long ago, I don't remember my original source.  I rarely have original ideas. Just so you know.

My snow day was that perfect mix of being super productive but also having down time and enjoying my girls.  I enjoyed my unexpected gift so much today. I feel like snow days are God's way of smiling down on me and saying, take a rest.  One of my favorite scriptures from the Bible is Ruth 2 :16.  Boaz tells his workers to drop handfuls of wheat on purpose for Ruth to gather.  God also leaves "handfuls on purpose" for us everywhere, sometimes we just have to look.  Unexpected gifts come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, they are as big as a day off work.  Sometimes, they are also small as wheat.

Enjoy your handfuls on purpose!
K

Burning Love

Sometimes the best parties are the ones that come together at the last minute.  One week ago, I was at Chuy's restaurant with a couple of friends and saw a sign about Elvis' birthday and the next thing you know, I wasn't nothing but a hound dog.

I love to entertain..dinner parties...theme parties..football parties.  Sometimes we have a crowd, sometimes it's just Team Holmes.  Sometimes size really DOESN'T matter!  It's not about how many are coming that makes it a party, it's your state of mind.

So over beer and nachos (we're back at Chuy's...stay with me), we hatched our Elvis party plan (God bless Pinterest.  I mean, what did we ever do without it?)  Here's what we came up with for our Elvis menu:

• Fried Pickles       Elvis' Fried Pickles Recipe
• Elvis' Cheeseburger Meat Loaf and Meat Sauce   Elvis' Cheeseburger Meatloaf Recipe
• Mashed Potatoes
• Elvis Peanut Butter Banana Ooey Gooey Cake    Paula Deen's Elvis Cake Recipe

Now.  Can't you just feel yourself getting fatter?  Cocktails are always an important part of our parties!  We found:

• Velvet Elvis     Velvet Elvis Recipe
• We Miss You Elvis-tinis   (ok, so I renamed this one.  Isn't it fun just saying "tini" after everything?)    We Miss You Elvis Recipe

The food was delicious.  I mean, I could just hear my arteries clogging up.  I have never had fried pickles before and not only were they super easy to make, they were a huge hit!  Geez, no wonder I love Elvis.  The cheese sauce on the meat loaf was to die for and so was the ooey gooey cake (if you haven't made one of Paula Deen's ooey gooey cakes, you are really missing out on something!)  So, let's just say after we ate, we were more like bloated, later in life Elvis than sexy, young Elvis.

The cocktails were a little disappointing.  We weren't crazy about either one.  The Elvis-tinis had a good flavor and a nice kick, but the frozen banana made them super thick.  We will have to perfect that one by next year.  Not to worry, we threw something else in the blender.  The show must go on, after all.  (note for next year: try Blue Hawaii cocktails?)

Dressing up for this party was key.  We were trying to work with what we had and without spending very much money, we managed to represent Jailhouse Rock Elvis, GI Elvis, Blue Hawaii Elvis and Elvis in vary states of sexy dress.  Special shout out to my girl who actually Bedazzled her shirt.  Yes, I said bedazzled.

 Team Holmes, in all our glory, glory Hallelujah!

Representin' the King!

I did spend a little money, as I felt some Elvis glasses were clutch.  They were $6.99 at Party City.

Of course, hubs had to have a pair too.

I also bought a 10 pair pack of cat eye glasses for anyone who wanted them.  I knew the girls would love them.

They were $9.99 for the pack (again, Party City).

And a scarf...just cuz.

Throw in some Elvis music and honey, you got everything you need!

So what are you waiting for?  Throw a party!  My house is not big.  It's not fancy.  But it's full of love.  Life is about your relationships with other people.  Spend time with the people you care about. They won't notice all the things wrong in your house that you do.  They won't even care.  People will be happy to be included in your plans and to be able to spend some time together.  It's even fun to have a party just for your family to get out of your same old boring routine.  

Don't have a lot of money?  No problem!  Have everyone bring their beverage of choice and a dish to share.  Can't think of a theme?  

In the fall/winter have:

a chili contest

a soup and bread party

an appetizer and wine party

a comfort food party (wear stretchy pants!)

a football food and beer tasting

In the spring/summer have:

a cinco de mayo party (mexican food!)

a salad and grill party (everyone brings meat to grill and a salad to share)

a sides party (you grill the meat, they bring the rest)

a seafood party

a frozen drink party

a Sunday brunch with mimosa bar (everyone bring a bottle of bubble and a different type juice)

Don't wait for your living room to get redone or to have more time...those things, they never end.  But life does, for us all.  Spend time with the people you love.  In life, every day is a gift   And that is plenty of reason to celebrate.

And now, Elvis has left the building.  Uh-huh.

K

Out With The Old...

I don’t know about ya'll, but immediately following Christmas is the time of year I am most motivated.  I always have this urge to clean out everything, make a lot of lists and organize my life.  OK, I have no urge to take down Christmas decorations.  But in every other way, I am motivated!   A couple years ago, I did a “purge” of my house for Lent.   I decided that year that what I was “giving up” for Lent was all the things that I didn’t really need.  It was a lot of work but I loved it!  Being that I am so motivated at this time of the year, I decided to move that task up to January. I originally got the inspiration to purge from Hannah Keeley (www.hannahhelpme.com), who talked about doing a 30 day purge of her home.  So what is purging?  Going through each room, cabinet, closet and drawer and getting rid of things you don’t use.  You have to be honest.  You have to be ruthless.  And I found it is much easier to do it on your own (My hubby can be a bit of a hoarder and my kids?  Get serious.).  I prayed that God would put on my heart anyone that would want or need things I was getting rid of.  Some things I felt compelled to give to certain people and some things just went to Goodwill.  At the forefront of my mind, I kept thinking that I was blessing others with these things that I really didn’t need.  At the same time, I was also making way for more blessings from God!  I think this mindset was the key that kept me going.
By nature, when purging, you are also cleaning, so it does take time.  In the throws of cleaning out a closet, you will look around and think ugh!  But when it’s done, you’ll feel great.  I say “when in doubt, throw it out!” but on occasion, if I really wasn’t sure if all holy would break lose, (especially if I wasn’t sure if my daughters or hubby would ask for it later), I would put it in a bag and put it in the attic.  Now…you can’t do this for everything, people.  That would be cheating.  And, I would advise you put a date on your calendar – 3 months from now, 6 months from now.  Anything that has sat in that bag in the attic and hasn’t been requested in your set time frame....you got it, it needs to go.  Otherwise, you are just moving everything from your house to your attic!

This is how I approached this daunting task…working full-time, I knew I was going to have to break this down to actually do it.  So instead of saying “purge kitchen”, my list looked like this:
Kitchen Purge:

• Refrigerator
• Pantry
• All cabinets above     
• All cabinets below       
• All drawers
• Baker’s rack

You get the picture.  I continued to go through the house, room by room, and make a list.  Yeah, you need to start with a plan.  Some rooms are easier than others (yeah for the half bath!).  Based on how hard a room or task was, I grouped them together or assigned a date.  In other words, I might take a Saturday to do each step for the kitchen, or take Saturday to do half, and Sunday to do the rest.  I also broke some things into small tasks during the week (one kitchen drawer each night).  Whatever works for you.  Baby steps.  All about the baby steps.

Consider purging your house as a great way to make room for new blessings this year.  You will be amazed at how much lighter you feel on the inside from cleaning out things on the outside.  Holding on to things you don’t need (aka junk) is just weighing you down.  Those items collecting dust can really be a blessing to someone else!  And feel free to start with the half bath.  

Be Mindful to Be a Blessing!
K