Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Trust that you are doing the best you can!


I had an amazing birthday celebration this weekend! I could not have felt more spoiled by my husband than I did. Not only did he get me floor tickets for Carrie Underwood, in the 20th row, but he gathered some of my good friends together for a day on the boat and a night out on the town.
He also helped me realize something incredibly important, and that is that he loves me more than anything. And sometimes, oftentimes, I forget that key fact.  I think that we just get so very busy with work, kids, household, extracurricular activities and stress, that we don't have much time to show our love to each other. So we both just need to remember that this is where we are in life today. We do have 4 kids, he does travel almost every Mon - Fri, I am trying to sell cake pops, create marketing ideas for the restaurant, pick up serving shifts and make sure everyone is where they need to be, on time, in clean clothes and with a full belly. But I am not trying to work on my run on sentence skills, just in case you were wondering! I am grateful to spend almost all of my time with Andrew. I am so lucky to be able to be where ever Isaac needs me to be, whenever he needs me. But to do those things, Rob has to be on the road. And when he isn't on the road, he is working late into the night to catch up on all of the work he didn't get done while he was on the road. I am so grateful for the life he allows us to live!
So, that is what I learned during my birthday celebration...Life is so busy, I may feel unloved. But needing to be so many places for so many people, should remind me how loved I actually am!  So if I get a little whiny once in awhile, feel free to remind me that I need to live in the moment, and although my moment is controlled chaos, there isn't anywhere else I should be.

On a different note, orders for Faye's Cake Pops are really starting to come in. Which is pretty cool since I haven't done anything to promote them except start a Facebook page and feed them to my friends! I really do love baking and playing in the kitchen. It is a little tough with all of Andrew's help, but still fun.  This weekend I will be making an order for Regions Bank, a bachelorette party and a Spider-Man themed birthday. I am actually letting cakes cool as I type and while Andrew naps.

I guess Rob was right when I said I wanted to retire...He responded with "until you find something else you love to do". I love making cake pops. I also love making a marketing pitch to get more events in the restaurant doors. But i'll be honest and admit that what I love the most is taking a nap with Andrew and feeling his sweet soft head under my chin as he snuggles up to me.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Things worth leaving behind and things worth going back to find


It has been a long time since my last post, and so many things have happened since then. Some good, some not as good, but each a part of the lessons I continue to learn in this great thing I call life!
In 2 days, I will be ending the 39th year and beginning the 40th. I can't believe I am turning 39. The last few months have been full of ups and downs, and in an effort to not let the downs pull me far and let the ups continue to lift me, I have been thinking about what is important daily, and what isn't.
So here goes...
Things worth leaving behind:

  1. Trying to do everything for everyone
  2. Changing me to try and make others happy
  3. Not speaking up for myself
  4. Constant fear of forgotten memories
  5. Conditional relationships

Things worth going back to find:

  1. Church activity - Sunday attendance, scripture study, Family Home Evening, Tithing.  God promises us so many blessings, but he can't bless me for covenants not kept (a great friend reminded me of that today). God isn't judging me harshly for my mistakes, I am. He is just waiting patiently for me to return to him
  2. Healthy Eating - Enough said :) 
  3. Continued exercise - I realized a couple of months ago that I wasn't going to get back on track unless I was accountable to someone. I am extremely grateful to my friend Megan who agreed to run the Nashville Women's Half Marathon with me, therefore requiring that I get my runs in every week.
  4. Journaling - I have to keep track of the good days, not just the bad. I have a habit of journaling when I am upset and not when I am happy. My kids need to be able to look back one day and read about the wonderful days that I experience as well as the tough ones.
  5. Spending time with good friends - I am still suffering with social anxiety, but I feel so much better after I have spent time visiting with good friends, I need to do it more often.
I have done somethings better than others, don't we all? So my goal is to make a real effort this year to prioritize my day. There are some things that have to be done, some things that can wait, and somethings that are just more important than others. I want to know that at the end of the day, I at least got done what was important to me. I do a pretty good job of getting done everything that is important to my husband and children, but I am pretty crappy at doing what is important to me. So I am going to create a little checklist for myself and look at it each evening to see how well I did. I am curious to see how my mood will correlate with my checklist success. I am guessing that the results will not surprise me.  Feel free to join me on this exciting adventure, because something I am going back to find is my blogging voice!