Dancing with my fears

I feel positively thrilled to begin this year!

I am a stronger person than I have been in the past...
I am willing to move forward EVEN WITH FEAR.
I am not dictated or stifled by others thoughts or opinions of me or of what they feel I should or should not be doing in my life.

I will not allow anything, most of all, fear and self-doubt, to stand in my way.

This is MY STORY and it is going to be an amazing one!!!
Here we go 2015...let's dance with our fears and watch magic happen!

Our Climb

Sometimes we get so focused on the difficulty of our climb
that we lose sight of being grateful for simply having a mountain to climb!

One of my major goals for this year is to find gratitude in all things...
Bring on those beautiful mountains!

Make it a good one!

I LOVE this time of year. ..
the anticipation,
the dreams,
the wonder,
the excitement,
the energy,
the determination,
the will...

Seldom does one find all of this so perfectly bundled together at any other time of the year.

I am crazy excited about the plans I have deliberately put together and cannot wait to see the beautiful results that will come from the energy I WILL be attaching to them.

Every area of my life I have spent effort and prayer as I have focused on what is thriving and what is dying...FOCUS and INTENTION are key for me.

Sooooo ready for the beautiful story 2015 is sure to tell!

"Oh, That's Glamorous..."

Add a large side of sarcasm to the above line
and that's the lovely response I received recently while at one of my business meetings.

I'm certain she didn't mean to be so...
so???
So downright rude as she made her remark after asking me the standard
"So what do you do?" question.
To which I responded something to the effect of,
"Oh, I own a carpet cleaning company...blah, blah, blah, blah."
I know it truly doesn't sound that "Glamorous", but it is my life and I'm pretty okay with it. :)

And to give her credit,
I am certain she would have loved to have eaten her words as soon as they left her lips,
but the fact is once words are spoken they are there,
can't erase them,
can't erase the good
or the bad they may cause.

I felt squeamish and uncomfortable with this more-glamorous-than-I woman standing in front of me...
I honestly couldn't tell you what she does or even what she looks like.
I was a bit shell-shocked...
but only momentarily.
I joked back with her agreeing that no, carpet cleaning in itself may not be glamorous,
but it sure has afforded me a life that is
and just how much I love the company that my husband and I own.
That was about all that I said to her and went on about my merry business of meeting and greeting others in hopes to NEVER have that same response.

I should actually thank her on a couple of accounts:
First, I need to find JUST THE RIGHT WORDS to make this wonderful little family business of ours sound FANTASTIC...it deserves more credit and I will choose my words more wisely from now on so that I leave a lasting impression on others.
I'm liking the ring of "I own the WORLD'S GREATEST CARPET CLEANING COMPANY!"
Sounds a little arrogant, but I bet it will catch some attention. :)

MORE IMPORTANTLY,
I left that meeting with "those words" ringing in my ears and ended my evening with positive thoughts replacing them...
"Oh, that's glamorous" just doesn't sit well.
No I'm not some fancy shmancy super model with the "career" that backs it up.
I don't sell any products to make me beautiful,
I don't sell fancy houses,
I'm not an interior designer,
I don't own a sweet little boutique on the edge of town,
I don't...
I'm not...
(fill in the ideal glamorous job here...the list could be endless)


But I am pretty fantastic in my very own way, sometimes I just have to remind myself of who I am and knock out those ugly thoughts that so easily flood my mind.

I wonder had I said to her,
"Oh, I'm a writer/author and psychology junkie!
I am a parent educator with a focus on teaching families how to embrace mutual respect, resiliency and self-reliance!
I am raising a large family and enjoy my days teaching my children and many others that come to our "school" each week (when I'm not running our business)!
I'm a wife to a man who thinks I am about the most glamorous thing that ever walked the earth and he makes me feel it day in and day out!
I am ....!!!"

As I left for my drive home that evening, I replayed in my mind the many people I had visited with, yet, SHE kept coming back to me...
Yes, I was bothered...
I was even a little irritated and felt a little less-than compared to all those that are selling the "glamorous items" in life...
And then all of a sudden, I was talking myself out of these ugly feelings and talking my self up!
That's what we need to do at times, talk us back up!

I wasn't about to let this one little line change me for a second...
time to move on and look at all that is full of sparkle and shine in my life!
I have one ROCKIN' GLAMOROUS LIFE...and I am so happy to be living it!!!

Looking for a way to keep your blog organized?

Try out a PLANNER!!!

Yeah, I know...novel idea...why didn't I think of it before???

I use a planner for our business, for my homeschooling and for our family life...but sadly never considering using one for my beloved blog.

Well, lucky for me April Starr
 
at The Flourishing Abode
did the work and is sweet enough to share it with all of us!

Let me tell you all about my experience with this wonderful little blog planner...

I had never considered the idea of having
an organized space for my thoughts, notes,
wishes, future dreams, etc. for my blog ~ 
until this handy little blog planner entered my life!

I recently joined
The Mosaic Reviews Team

and our first "assignment" was to choose from ten different blog planners.
THIS was NOT an easy decision!!!

But I finally chose the one that I knew would work best for me.
It is relatively simple, which is one of the reasons I loved it!
The other thing that appealed to me (Greatly!)
was the "feel" of the page!

I REALLY do LOVE my blog...so this spoke to me in a BIG way!!!

The Flourishing Abode

http://www.theflourishingabode.com/2012/03/welcome-to-the-flourishing-abode.html

I love the fact that one page is all I need for an entire week!

Having this blog planner has given me new thoughts and new hope as I look at my blog and what I hope to do with it in the very near future.

And IF I utilize it to its fullest...

I will no longer be searching the napkins in my purse, 

the notes scribbled in every scattered notebook on my desk 

or the backs of envelopes that have all been desperately written on; 

for as some of you may readily agree-- 

there are times when the perfect thought just comes to you and it MUST be written down so as to never be forgotten!

I LOVE this planner...and honestly wouldn't change a thing about it!

AND if you need one more reason to love it...I have it for you!!!

IT'S FREE!!! How great is that???

Just click on this handy little link and VOILA...it can be yours with the simple click of your mouse!!!

http://www.theflourishingabode.com/2012/03/welcome-to-the-flourishing-abode.html

A huge THANK YOU to April for her beautiful work!

I would also suggest taking a peek around her blog ~ but I will give you a warning ~ 

LEAVE PLENTY of TIME for yourself 'cause you are not going to want to leave!!!

Now if you'll excuse me... I have some blog planning to do! ;)

Where will I walk?

I find it fascinating that during the times I am in the midst of deep introspection 

regarding my passions, 

my purpose, 

my desires and my dreams...

that things such as these two little gems of thought cross my path...

I do not think this is happenstance, 

chance, or luck of the draw...

There are REASONS these came to me...

and 

now

it is time 

for me to decide...

Where will I walk?

What I am afraid of?

What is out there waiting for me...and what is it that is holding me back

from seeing places I've never seen before?

Time to take that first step...

Where

Will

I walk???

And what does this journey hold for me???

(to be honest, I'm feeling a little giddy...

I've always LOVED a great adventure,

and this may prove to be one of the greatest!)

Awards, Rewards and The Real Stuff...

Each week I attend meetings through the Boise Chamber of Commerce for our family business.   Each person in attendance has a few moments to introduce their business, tell some highlights and then address the specific topic of the week...

The topic for this week (which we find out just moments before addressing it) was to tell the rest of the Chamber Members about the most recent or most significant award you had received. 

DANG IT!!!

Not a darn thing to share...I've never been awarded with anything fabulous...what was I to do?  What could I say?  Was there anything to share?  Any thoughts?

As we went around the room, there were so many great awards that these people had received during their lifetimes...many had recently been nominated to receive additional awards...only a couple had as little as I did to share.  Some shared funny stories, some inspiring, some very recent and some from their pasts...

So as I left this meeting and started my journey back to my life at home, being the mom, doing my homeschool thing and running our business and family life...I pondered what this meant to me.

Does it matter that my walls are not filled with awards for this and that, does it matter that I haven't REALLY done anything note able, does it matter that I don't REALLY care? 
I kinda thought I cared, but only for a moment or two...
then I thought about the things that do hang upon my walls... 
Photos of the most adorable little people in the world, photos or paintings of things that make me smile and help me keep dreaming, calendars of our life, artwork from all my little artists...these are the things that make my walls and me happy!

My awards, my most precious of all things, are not REALLY things at all. 
And guess what,
I have done some pretty darn note able things in this world...I am raising some mighty fantastic kiddos and I am proud to be their Momma. 
I don't have awards that say I've achieved great things, but I have the reward of spending my days with the people I love the very most in the world.

I left my blog open as I went to a meeting last night and came home to this adorable message that I must share: 

Congratulations Stacey Lytle! You were nominated and after careful consideration, a unanimous decision was made, it is our great honor to award you with The Greatest Wife and Mother award. You earned it! Love your family :)

It is moments like this that I just have to smile...my life ROCKS!!!
It's the Real Stuff that makes me happy and makes life worth living, not the awards or the rewards or the trophies or the plaques...Just the sweet comments, the hugs and kisses and the smiles that tell me just how they feel about me!

BEING the MOM is the only AWARD I need and I got it day in and day out!

Come What May...

and LOVE it!

My dear friend, Corrie, gave me a framed copy of this beautiful saying as a Christmas gift.

It could not have come at a more appropriate time in my life...
not that life is awful or disappointing or falling apart.
It is just changing.
It is challenging.
It is complex.
It is unexpected.
It is demanding.
It is intense.
It is unknown...


Sometimes the unknown is the very hardest part of all...
IF we knew what was around the next corner, we might find ourselves less apprehensive of the walk.  But...that is not the plan,
we would fail to grow.
Because, guess what???
We have the CHOICE to make that walk or turn around and not ever take a single extra step...
We really don't have to face that "scary corner" that lies ahead...
we could bury our head and avoid it OR we can push our way through with eagerness and courage!

I'm not sure what is coming.
I thought I knew...
I was excited,
I felt all giddy inside,
I was anticipating something BIG to be on my horizon.
I was ecstatic at the thought of living out part of my dreams,
BUT...as life sometimes shows us...things are not always as they seem.
In looking at some opportunities in life, we fail to see the BIG PICTURE...
Quite possibly the big picture for me wasn't fitting all together quite right...
a few pieces were missing,
or perhaps,
a few too many pieces were lying on the side of the puzzle not fitting in quite right.
Whatever the case may be...
I've decided to keep looking up...
keep believing,
and keep dreaming that AMAZING things are coming my way.
I'm just going to have to work like the dickens to bring them on...
I don't think they are going to walk in and plop themselves right into my lap (as it appeared was happening...maybe that saying "if it sounds/looks to good to be true, it probably is" was quite in effect)  Bummer!!!  Hate it when that happens...

BUT
the good news is...
I have thoughts, I have dreams, I have determination, I have the will to make something OUTSTANDING come to pass...

Now
I just have to roll my sleeves up and get to work!

Keep
your eyes watching...
This little girl is going to tackle the world and I plan to give it all I've got!

Come What May and LOVE it...

Many Hats...

First I will start out with a statement...
I love my life and ALL the many things I do...
but there are times when I wonder IF i can really do it all...

Maybe more importantly, can I do it all well? 
Can I give 100% to all the different areas of my world? 
This, I am finding is not the case and I DO NOT LIKE IT! 
I don't like to give a little here and a little there. 
It feels as though I am "cheating" if I'm not giving it my all.

So...with the many hats we wear on a weekly if not a daily basis...what are we to do?

Since this is my blog, I'm gonna just throw out all the hats I switch about wearing each day...
If you've ever seen the book
Caps for Sale,
this is how I picture myself ~

The one exception, I can't recall the last time I was able to sit down beneath a tree and catch a little snooze...BUT check out the hats...I'm pretty sure I could take him on...I'm thinking I'm sportin' around a great many more hats than this little guy!

Anyway ~ the point being (give me a moment....aaauuugggghhhhh!)  okay, the point is HOW on earth am I to do all the things required at my hand AND do them well?

Wishing I had a visual for all of these hats...but the list will just have to suffice ~
*Mom,
*Wife,
*Grammy,
*Daughter,
*Sister,
*Friend,
*Teacher,
*Business Owner & Scheduler & Collections & Accounts Payable & Accounts Receiveable & Marketing Specialist & Networking Person...
Oh my, this business stuff is a BIG ONE!
*Young Women's Leader & Mentor,
*Cook (maybe I should go with CHEF, that sounds a little more official!),
*President of Homeschool Group,
*Maid or Master Delegator (preferably the delegator!),

I'm just gonna stop there cause we all know this list might never end if I put ALL the things that entail running a household...

So...my dilemna right now is that I feel that I am falling short in so many areas...and not a single one of these things can I take away (nor do I wish to take them away)...REMEMBER I said in the beginning of this post that I love my life, I really do like all the things I do AND I feel that they are important and very worthwhile. 

The word that comes to me is SIMPLIFY...

How does one simplify when there isn't anything to simplify to make the equation any smaller...I have actually taken away all that I can, there is simply nothing left to take away.  I can't take away being a mom or a wife, we must run our business, homeschooling is our life and I'm not willing to ever let that one go, my callings are important and I love the girls I work with, running our household is a must, I love my friends and actually wish to see them more (this is one area that suffers greatly!)  Another area that suffers greatly is being a Grammy (I can't even go here because it tears me apart, let's just say that I am not the Grammy I dreamed I'd be)  Cooking and laundry and all that goes with running this household have looked better in the past, I'm still thinking it would be nice if we could come up with disposable clothing and who needs to eat?  Let's just do away with that one (and I love to cook, so this is a big one to throw away) 

Okay...

There are a few areas that I feel very happy about at this time...
Homeschooling is going great...my kids are happy, they are learning well, the areas that weren't coming together as I wanted them to are now looking just peachy!  I feel like I'm on top of all the schooling part of my world ~ Whew!

My Business World stuff is going well...I've taken on some serious new roles in this part of life.  Early this summer, Chad and I decided it was time to make some changes to our business ~ we need to get to a point that we can say we run our business rather than our business runs us.  This is far in the future for us at this point, BUT we are working toward our goals.  I spend a far greater deal of time working to improve our business than I ever have in the past ~ marketing and networking and such...It's good...takes me out of my comfort zone at times, but a little stretching is good!  And if in the end our business thrives, it will have been worth all of the effort and time.  I do enjoy this time (as long as I don't think about my kiddos that I am leaving for those few hours a week...I enjoy talking with others about how they market & successfully run their businesses and it's easy for me to talk my hubby up!  I truly believe he is the most amazing, hard-working man alive and that he can make a floor sparkle and a carpet shine like none other, so he is easy to sell.

I love my calling in Young Women's...I love working with the girls...I love the Personal Progress program, I don't necessarily love how busy it is, but it is what it is and I do the best I can.

I truly love serving homeschooling mothers and families and feel that I am supposed to be serving in the Homeschool Organization.  I take this one very seriously and LOVE my time here.  It inspires me and makes me feel alive, so I know that it is right.

Running our household is a challenge...I honestly feel that no matter how much time and effort I put into organizing and delegating and planning and cooking and cleaning and washing and, and, and....it just never ends.  I'm pretty sure I should be thankful that it doesn't end, so I'm gonna just go with that thought.  What else is a Momma to do???

Now we'll get into the Wife, Grammy, Sister, Daughter, Friend side of things...
Oh this is a tough one! 
I'm feeling my eyes wellin' up...

Start with my wife job ~ all I can say is that I am very blessed to have such an understanding husband...he "gets" me, he knows what makes me tick and he sits by and watches me do all of the things I do and only when necessary does he come in to save me from myself.  I know that he deserves a wife that is more attentive and less busy, but I also know that he is aware that he means the world to me...so thankfully we are good.

Grammy/Mommy job...This may be one of my hardest areas...I wanted to be the kind of Grammy who would just go over and pick up her grandbabies and spend all the time in the world with them.  What I didn't think through was the fact that I was just finishing up having my babies when one of my babies decided she wanted to have her own babies...So, all I can hope for is that these little people and their Momma will know how much I adore and treasure them even though I am not "The Grammy" I had dreamed I'd be.

Sister/Daughter...Another toughie!  Just a couple of days ago, I was driving with my 4 youngest kiddos picking up stuff to make our Solar System.  My son, Bryce asked me an interesting question, "Mom, if you could see ANYONE in the world that is alive right now, who would you pick?"  My instant reaction and reply was astonishing to him, "I would see my Mom."  He just looked at me and said, "Mom, you can see ANYONE in THE WHOLE WORLD"  I replied, "Yep, I'd see my mom."  At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to talk to my mom, so I grabbed my phone and dialed her work number and told her of our conversation...I made her day.  The reason this one is such a toughie for me is that I rarely see or talk to my mom or my sister and they both live only 30-45 minutes away from me...WHY does life have to be so full that we can't see the people we love more???

Okay, one more...man, I need some tissue!
Friend...I really do try to be a wonderful friend.  BUT it seems that I am forever letting someone down.  I hear the comment often that I'm just too busy...that's a hard one to swallow.  How do I reply?  How do I say something that comforts them and lets them know how deeply important they are in my world?  YES, I am really busy, my life is way too full most of the time, but it is never to full to be a friend.  And yet, as I say that, it seems that many feel that I cannot be a true friend. 

Well...I'm going to go back to something I've had to remind myself of over the past few months when I feel like I do at this moment...

I am enough...


I have to be enough
because I can only do what I can do and I simply cannot do anymore.

I just pray it is enough for those that I love and that they will know my heart is 100% with them even during the moments that I'm wearing another of my many hats.

Home Sweet Home

Well we made it home late Sunday night and this is the first chance I've had to sit for a moment to post anything. My wonderful little kiddos passed on their fever and headache business to me. Hit me hard on Sunday and just hasn't wanted to let up...can I just say that it's about impossible to catch up on life when you just want to hang out in your jammies and stick close to your bed. (Not that I've been able to do any such thing, but how I've been dreaming about it!!!)

Had to laugh as we walked into our house ~ almost in unison, we all sighed and said, "Wow, our house is huge!" And it certainly felt that way after being in a small home with two families packed in and then ending that experience in little tiny motel/hotel rooms making our way home.

Wow, has my own bed felt great!

I'm really glad to be home...but it sure was great to not have to live in reality for that short amount of time ~ I just wish that some fabulous little fairies would have snuck in while I was away and done all the work that just sat here waiting for my return ~ one must dream now and then!!! I know that was just too big of a dream, darn!
Wish me luck getting caught up with life...been crazy busy trying to come back to homeschooling and mountains of laundry and then to top it off --our business world ~ I am pretty happy with our website www.superiorcarpetcleaningboise.com for our carpet cleaning business and I'm desperately trying to figure out how to do the whole facebook/twitter thing for business. aaauuuggghhhh, I'm so behind the times it's scary!!! Guess it's true that we just keep on learning -- something new each day :)

I'm starting to think cloning might not be such a bad idea after all...anyone with me???

HOME SWEET HOME

Well for those of you who saw my post not too long ago that looked a little like this...

We were in the midst of complete and total TURMOIL over our situation of where we were going to be living. Not wanting to leave our home that we love so much, but not knowing what we were really to do...well, just this week all is final in this chapter of our lives! HOORAY!!!

We are STAYING and I feel so much peace with this decision. The bank was not great to work with and we don't LOVE everything about the way our loan is structured, but after talking with three separate Financial Advisors, 2 of the 3, advised us to stay. All along, we've so desperately wanted to be here, not to move our family away, but the times were just so uncertain and we felt lost in the moment of what the best decision was for our family.

I am so very happy to say that all of this uncertainty and stress is behind us ~ I can now be a Mom again, I can be Me again, I can find Me again. I think I felt so very lost in all of this and the freedom I feel at this point is so refreshing!

Anyway, I just wanted to pass on our happy news!

HOME SWEET HOME ~ we are here to stay!!!

My Marketing World...

So in addition to being the Momma around here, my husband and I also own a small business and I am quite involved in the whole business world because that is just what it takes to make our whole financial world work.

With all of this life can be a touch overwhelming at times, but I cannot complain because I do have the luxury of being home with my children each and every day (well, almost each and every day). There are several outside appointments that have to be handled each month, but still I am blessed to be home with our kiddos!

Well, over the past couple of months we have been wracking our brains trying to figure out how to make a business thrive in these down times. We've never had to advertise as all of our work has been repeat and referral business, but there just isn't enough of it to keep feeding all these hungry kiddos. So...we've decided to do some advertising. With advertising comes marketing skills...we hired a couple of different "professionals" to give us a hand and show us how it is all done. Well what we ended up with essentially was a lot of frustration and very little of what we had hoped and prayed for!

So it was time to take things into my own hands...at the end of an afternoon of photography and some time on the computer we came up with what I think is just about as perfect as this Mom can come to...
Take a look!


By the way, those adorable little feet belong to my little ones! Sweet, huh???

They will have famous feet ~ who ever thought of being a model but only for your cute little toes?

That is how I bribed them to stand FOREVER as I snapped photo after photo after photo!

I told them their cute little feet would be in magazines all over the valley ~ woo, hoo!

It worked, what can I say!?

Well ~ there's another look into the day of my life...NEVER BORING...always something new happening around here!

I'd love to have your thoughts as this is our first real attempt into advertising...Thanks!!!

Have an awesome week!