I know the power of the resolution and of goal-setting.  I do.  And I"ve advocated for having an action plan on numerous occasions.  I guess what I need to know is why it's so hard to stick to those goals.  So very hard.  I wrote about setting blogging resolutions here and about my personal resolutions here.  When I wrote these posts, I truly meant what I was saying, but now that I've sat down to try to write my plan, I'm coming up blank.  I got nothing.  Zilch.

I've been feeling so guilty lately, too.  I feel like I should have been more dedicated to starting my writing career.  I know it takes time and work to really make a go of things.  I've blamed much of my lack of productivity on my terribly temperamental computer.  It really is hard to get work done on an old fossil that freezes up on you at least four or five times a day.  And it's kind of tough getting the opportunity to use that computer that's all the way in the bedroom when you're stationed in the living room with the cruising baby who's now into EVERYTHING.  But I truly do want to be more productive, and I know that if you really want something, you can make it happen.  

 

I've been catching up on my Google reader a bit this weekend (yet another thing I'm chronically behind on), and I"ve been reading other bloggers' New Year's Resolutions posts and finding that you amazing women are having many of the same struggles I have!  Lisa at Work At Home Mom Revolution posted a great list of resolutions.  She was so forthcoming about the areas in her life she'd like to improve.  You should really take some time visiting her blog if you're interested in working from home - she lists numerous, legitimate work-at-home opportunities of all kinds.  Because she puts out such awesome content with such regularity, I thought she must be a time-managment maven.  She admits that she's not and that she needs to firm up her schedule and get more organized.  Hey, she's just like me!  She also sets one of the best resolutions I've seen, which is to get paid what she's worth.  You go, Lisa!  All writers to need to adopt this attitude.

In a post entitled "Because It Needs To Be Said", Maggie of Okay, Fine, Dammit, talks about the many bloggers she's come across lately who seem to be trying to find their voice and their place in the blogosphere.  She sees the dynamic that exists of folks wanting to fit in, to be one of the popular bloggers, to meet others' expectations.  And to this, she says, "Don’t worry if you go a week or two or three or nine without posting. Don’t apologize, or explain. . . Don’t write words mimicking the voices of other bloggers you think have got it made. Don’t post obligatory anythings. Hang each post upon the walls of your space and don’t worry about whether or not it matches the hangings around it. If you are being honest and true to yourself only, the entire thing will speak for itself. It will be its own mosaic of unabashed, unapologetic beauty.

Bless Maggie's heart for this heartfelt sentiment for her fellow blogger.  While I don't necessarily feel the need to conform to anyone else's standard, I do often feel guilty for not posting or for not incorporating some of the great things I'd like to into my blog.  I suppose what I feel is an obligation to explain.  I may not post regularly, but I will post when I can.  I've got hours upon hours of interviews with mom bloggers to transcribe, just waiting for their stories to be told.  I want to bring them to you, I do.  But transcribing is not my favorite activity, and I know I put it off sometimes.  I'm hoping my new laptop, which I won from Family Eden, will help me in my productivity.  Please be patient with me.

When I first began this blog, I wrote out my short-term goals for the summer.  One of which was, of course, to lose some of the weight I gained while pregnant with Brady.  I'm sure I mentioned to you all that I failed in that area miserably.  That's okay, I've done pretty well on most of my other goals.  And I am taking baby steps here, right?

But then I watched a bit of The Biggest Loser last night on TV.  That's the show where people compete to lose the most weight in a given time period, for anyone who's not familiar with it.  I was shocked and scared by what I saw.  Contestants were given their biological age in comparison to their chronological age and actually shown some of the trouble spots of their anatomy compared to that of a healthy person.  They were given visual proof of their clogged arteries, over-burdened hearts, and impaired lungs.  It really hit home for me.

I know I eat terribly and exercise very little.  It's a vicous cycle, I know that as well.  It's a cycle I must admit I haven't worked very hard to break.  I think I've been so focused on and overwhelmed with everything involved in starting a new career that I've neglected my health.  Everyone knows food is used as an emotional crutch, and I'm sure I'm guilty of that, too.

However, just as I've taken baby steps to move closer to my other goals, I will do the same with this one.  First thing is to resist the vicous sweet tooth I possess.  I will not eat the Cocoa Puffs for breakfast or snack mindlessly on the M & M's (though the peanuts ones are the very best!)  The next step will be to purchase groceries that will allow me to avoid wheat and milk, which I'm allergic to.  It is possible; I've done it before.

A reader once asked me to share a dairy-free, wheat-free recipe.  I'll share my favorite banana muffin recipe with you next week to show you that there are foods out there I can eat, and that taste good.  My cooking bible is called The Gluten, Wheat, & Dairy Free Cookbook and contains lots of recipes that actually taste good and contain no wheat or milk.  Leave a comment if you know of any good recipes or advice for people with food allergies or would just like to encourage me and hold me accountable.  I could use all the help I can get!  Thanks.

Woohoo!  I actually did it this weekend.  I cleaned my office area.  Hip hip hooray!  I feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted.  I'm feeling so good about cleaning up my act, that I'm inspired to keep up the momentum by tackling my basket in the kitchen.  Each member of the family has their own basket, except Brady, and I have to confess that mine is the absolute messiest.  Even the kids have cleaned their baskets out.  My turn.  Compared to the office, this should be a breeze!

So, wanna see the before and after pics?  I'm so proud of my  ccomplishment, of course, I'll show it off!

[caption id="attachment_364" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="BEFORE - Messy desk"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_365" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="AFTER - Clean, organized desk"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_366" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="BEFORE - Trashed bookshelf"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_367" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="AFTER - Beautifully arranged bookshelf"][/caption]

Isn't that better?  I purged things I didn't need.  Reorganized so that the notes and folders I use regularly are within arm's reach on the desk.  I moved other things to the top of the shelf.  I also organized the shelf so categories of books are together in one place.  I moved office supplies from the shelf to the filing cabinet so there would be room for everything without being tempted to just toss stuff on top.  I did all of this while listening to some fabulous music from my library on last.fm.  The music helped to motivate me.  Your tips also helped tremendously.  I also decided to do a little research of my own and ended up with an article called "5 Tips to Tackle Organizing Your Home Office" for doWAHdiddy.  That's my favorite thing about being a writer - I can research and learn about things I'm interested in or need to know, then get paid to write about them.  How cool is that?

It's official.  I didn't win either of the contests I entered over at MomDot.  But that's okay, the kids and I did have tons of fun doing them!  I was entered into a random drawing of five finalists for the blog header contest, but my number wasn't picked.  You know what, though?  I actually do like my flowers.  My blog doesn't look like anyone else's, and I think that's cool.  I was pretty bummed that my hideous earrings didn't win me the cute Little Windows jewelry.  But check out the winner - her earrings deserved the ugliest jewelry ever award!

Now onto what I'm NOT losing - weight!  The email tips from Self.com are not at all the motivator I expected.  I thought I would get a daily exercise and diet tip, but what I received was a how-to for a particular exercise move.  Not that I can blame my lack of willpower and willingness to get off my butt on Self - that's all me, baby!  But I HAVE been focusing on my writing and on making contacts in the media world.  I'll update you on that soon!  Maybe once the kids go back to school NEXT WEEK, I can start trying to improve my diet.  It's hard to resist when they're coming to me every hour saying, "Can we have a snack?  We're STARVING!"

Check this out!  MomDot, an awesome online forum for moms that features bloggers and boutiques, noticed me in their Around the Town Blog Shoutout.  That's where they feature posts from around the blogosphere on their site.  And they picked one of mine!  It's the one about being a redhead.  They featured a bunch of other fun and interesting posts from other bloggers, too.  I feel great about being featured because starting my blog has brought so much into my life,  and this is another sign that I'm on the right track.  Thanks, MomDot!  And, thank you, to everyone who's stopped by regularly and left comments.  Connecting with others has truly helped me to begin working through my life transitions and to continue pursuing my goals.

It's Wednesday - the day we challenge ourselves to step out of our box, try something new, leave our comfort zone.  I have a blogger friend who has motivated me to do that.  She's an aspiring writer (she's written a novel!), and the steps she's taken to pursue her writing career have helped to inspire me to jump in and begin my own writing pursuits. 

But now she's gone too far.  She went and took an actual jump - out of an airplane!  Sorry, Susan, you're on your own for this one!  I'm just not that crazy adventurous.  You can read about her adventure and even watch a video of her insanity here.

Since I refuse to take such an insane big leap, I've decided to go for a more reasonable goal.  If I really want to become a paid writer, I have to send out queries or pitches to paying publications.  So I've decided to really go for it by trying to send out one query or manuscript each day.  "A query a day helps get Mary some pay!"  What do you think?  Wish me luck!

Today's theme is What If. . . Wednesday.  What if. . .?  What if you stepped out of your comfort zone to try something new?  What if you decided to strike up a conversation with that really cool mom at the park?  What if you applied for the fabulous sounding job of a lifetime even though your current job is okay? 

So many of us stick to our everyday routines, go with the flow, or hold onto habits.  Since leaving my job as a counselor at the local community college, I've discovered I'm much happier the times I've taken a risk or tried something new.  Take this blog, for instance.  I'd say putting my life, struggles, and insecurities out there for public view is stepping out of my comfort zone just a bit.  But, in doing so, I've developed a renewed sense of purpose, found the motivation I needed to start writing, and met a lot of interesting people along the way.  The rewards were worth the risk.

As I work toward my goals, I will continue to take risks, and I'll share those endeavors with you each Wednesday.  Maybe following my leaps will inspire you to take some baby steps of your own.  And please feel free to make a comment and share your experience; what if. . . we motivate each other?

This was to be the week I started my new blog format.  And I've been really good at not procrastinating lately, so I promise you I've got a good excuse for why I've decided to hold off until next week.  Drum roll, please. . . I'm going out of town to visit a girlfriend!

I never go anywhere.  Really, I'm not just saying that.  The big kids are at their dad's for a week, so there's no reason why I shouldn't have said "yes" when another friend asked me to go with her to visit our girlfriend across the state.  Except for the fact that my first friend can't go now. 

The old me would've said, "I can't afford the trip.", "I have too much to do here.", "I'm too nervous to take the baby on a four-hour long car trip."  So my first instinct was to forget about going altogether.  But this friend has done a lot for me.  She came here after the baby was born to give my sleep-deprived self a break, AND she took ALL the night feedings!  That was wonderful.  So how can I not take this opportunity to visit her?

And what about my list of goals?  Didn't I say I would remember to stay in touch with my friends for support and encouragement?  Yes, I believe I did.  So, in true baby steps fashion, I've overcome my resistance and am looking forward to my mini-vacation.  Maybe next summer I'll take the kids to visit grandma in Missouri.  Maybe.

Well, I've been working on my goals for about a week now.  And, actually, things have been going quite well.  Okay, moderately well.  My biggest downfall has been that dirty four-letter word, my diet.  Food is my weakness.  Especially sweets.  My husband swears I'm going to become a diabetic.  He's probably right.

But at least I'm aware of my food issues, and I've taken steps to nip them in the bud with my favorite strategy, finding a book about it.  And I've found a fabulous book.  Not the traditional weight loss program we've all tried (Atkins, Weight Watchers, South Beach, yada yada yada . . . ), and you know you've tried 'em, The Writing Diet: Writing Yourself Right-Size   by writing guru Julia Cameron (author of The Artist's Way) actually seems different.  I'll admit that I haven't finished it, but just reading the first few chapters has made a difference already - I can't wait to read the whole thing.  When I do, a complete review/progress report will follow.

This book doesn't make you count calories or points, measure your food, or cut out everything even remotely tasty.  Cameron focuses on using the creative outlet of writing to tackle your food issues.  Lord knows I have issues.  The chapters I've read so far are "The First Tool: Morning Pages", "The Second Tool: The Journal", and "The Third Tool: Walking". 

The three tools alone are just the "baby steps" I needed to get me motivated.  If you'll remember, I'm allergic to wheat and milk, which makes eating right darn near impossible.  But it's not impossible with some creative planning and tactical grocery shopping.  So after filling the cupboards with foods I can eat and looking through my wheat and dairy-free cookbooks, I was ready to tackle the tips given in the book.

The Morning Pages are basically a free-write you do each day.  The premise is that letting the words flow onto the page will lead to insight into your daily struggles and problems.  My writing led me to see that I'm really struggling with a loss of identity since leaving my job as well as feeling a bit lost due to lack of structure.  So I'm focusing on my new job title of aspiring freelance writer and sticking with the routine I set up in my goals.  The Journal is basically a food journal.  But you don't just record what you're eating; Cameron encourages you to write about your feelings or thoughts regarding the food.  This leads to more insight.  Per her suggestion, I've also taken out my journal when a "Snack Attack" hits.  And it's actually helped me to avoid bingeing on the yummy things I shouldn't have.

My favorite part, so far, is Walking.  Just twenty minutes a day, according to Cameron, will not only improve your body, but also promises to lead to a flow of creativity.  I was skeptical about this.  I've always enjoyed walking.  In the past it's helped me to clear my head.  But by focusing on creativity rather than all my worries, I was actually able to come up with the idea for a whole new format for my blog, which I will unveil next week.  I mapped out the whole thing while on a quick, twenty-minute walk.  I totally recommend checking out this book.  It's a whole new way of looking at weight-loss.