August Book of the Month: The 5 Love Languages

As we all know any marriage or relationship takes work.  A few years ago while talking with my friend Christy she told em about this book she had read, The 5 Love Languages  by Gary Chapman.  She said it literally changed her marriage and made her fall in love all over again.  I had picked up the book after she told me about it but hand not taken it off the shelf until a few days ago.  I love that it is a quick read so far.

"By learning the five love languages, you and your spouse will discover your unique love languages and learn practical steps in truly loving each other. Chapters are categorized by love language for easy reference, and each one ends with specific, simple steps to express a specific language to your spouse and guide your marriage in the right direction. A newly designed love languages assessment will help you understand and strengthen your relationship. You can build a lasting, loving marriage together." Read more here

Check out previous Books of the Month

August Goals 2013

I can not believe it is August already!!!! Where has the time gone? Where the heck did July go? Seriously I think I just wrote my July goals! And is Emerson really 3 weeks old already? How can this be? Here is a pic of my little man. Big sister is so excited! As I sit down to write my August goals something has become very apparent to me. I have not really achieved any of my goals I have set for myself over the last 2 months. I mean I have some big ones, but not as many as I have set and not as many as I would like. So it is clear I need to reevaluate my goals and my priorities. My top 3 priorities have not changed they just got bigger. 1. Be present in my children's' lives and be there for them when they need me 2. Create a healthy environment for my family; mentally, physically, emotionally 3. Provide for all my family's financial needs With that being said I went through all my on-going and up coming projects, reevaluated, prioritized & reorganized them. I came up with this great system for keeping myself on track and from over piling on too many things. (Will be posting that later) I have also decided to narrow my August goals to one simple goal: Finish every project I started and do them one at a time. Granted that is probably going to take more than just one month especially with building my own business and the new addition to our family but that is ok. Just being able to actually cross items off my list one at a time will be so gratifying.

How I Start My Day

It is so important to start your day off right. Your morning determines the tone of the rest of your day. Your mindset is determined when you wake up. Ever heard the statement, "I woke up on the wrong side of the bed"? Well there is a lot of truth to that. If you start your day off grumpy and un-centered that is how you will spend the rest of your day. So how do you start our morning off on the right side of the bed everyday? Well, that is truly different for everyone. For some it means getting up early and getting in some exercise. It can also mean getting outside and enjoying some fresh air with morning tea or coffee. It ALL is about honoring what works for you and what your mind and body need. Growing up a gymnast my body is accustomed to working out in the evenings. If I even attempt to in the morning I am a big grumpy mess. It is a sure way for me to quit my workout half way through. However, the early morning my brain is focused and will retain everything. In high school I would get up early to do my homework as I rarely had time to after school so that is how my brain is trained. I love sitting and reading my Personal Development book. (click here for my book of the month). I can also bang out about half of my to-do list in the morning especially if the kids are asleep. I do have to be flexible especially with a 3 year old and a new born so my mornings are not always perfect, but I find when they are I end the day feeling soooo accomplished. Today was a good day. Here is what my morning looked like: 6:00 am- wake & feed Emerson 6:30 am- Morning cleanse while reading my devotional from The Daily Grind by family friend Susan Diamond (buy here) 6:45 am- Personal Development Book 10 minutes. I am finishing up Goal by Brian Tracy, again. (buy here) 7:00- Make coffee, journal, review goals for day, week & month. Look over to-do list for day. 7:30- Make breakfast for myself & McKalyn, usually eggs with Ezekiel toast or Oatmeal 8:00- McKalyn is a late sleeper so I usually have to get her up. Sit down and have breakfast with McKalyn 8:30- Take McKalyn to school 9:00- Begin my work day focused and refreshed.