When Disaster Strikes. . . Or Does It?

I've decided to write a post today to make everyone feel better about their lives and homes. This is going to take a lot of courage, because we all go through this life trying to put our "best foot forward" and keep our struggles and weaknesses to ourselves. That is a good strategy in many ways. It is helpful for forming relationships, getting a job, "keeping up with the Joneses" and many other things. But it has a destructive side too.

When we think that everyone around us has a "perfect" life, and only see the parts of other people's lives that make them look amazing, we can get quite discouraged. And it's especially destructive because what we are seeing from the "outside" is not usually the truth at all. In fact, it very seldom is the entire story.

I was having a discussion about this the other day with a couple of friends, and it was very therapeutic for everyone in the conversation to realize that we were all "normal", and that we didn't need to hide behind this wall of perfection just so others would accept us.

That said, there is a time and place for everything. No one wants to hang around someone who brings them down or makes them feel sorry for them. No one likes to hear someone complain all the time. At the same time, no one wants to be around someone who is always bragging either. In fact, as in many many things in this life, there is one extreme on the right and one extreme on the left, and the truth lies somewhere in between.

And so, for the sake of truth and encouragement, I am going to show you some pictures of what my house looks like this morning, after a very fun weekend (gulp). Yeah. I am. Everyone knows that a picture is worth a thousand words, right? And after all, I'm short on time this morning, so here goes. . .

The Den. . . 

The Family Bathroom. . .

Time Management for the Jumbled Mind

So I've spent the last several weeks experimenting with various different time management apps for my new HTC Inspire phone. Ironically, I wanted to do this so I could keep better track of the project I've been working on, which is Hannah Keeley's 30-Day Power Purge. It's ironic because I've spent so much time setting up various systems and experimenting with their various features & etc, that I didn't do the power purge challenge for a couple of days now. OUCH! Is that crazy or what?

Image Courtesy of  clipsahoy.com

For the past couple of days I've gotten so hyper-focused getting my day organized, that it was suddenly noon before I had gotten much done! Don't get me wrong, I did accomplish things, but I let my intense focus on getting my time organized distract me from my main project right now, which is getting my home organized! So crazy. Do you ever find yourself doing something like that? I have a very strong feeling that I am NOT alone! Haha.

It's been a really interesting ride, not just this past few weeks, but over the years. You see, when I choose a new time management app, program, or system, I am really picky about wanting to understand it completely, apply it to my own scheduling needs, learn how everything works in theory as well as in practice, and of course I have to make sure it does everything that I need it to do for me. So not only do I have to completely immerse myself in learning how to use the tool, I have to also "live with it" for at least a  day or two before I know if it will work for me. Seriously, I have reviewed so many different time management systems over the years that I am probably an expert on what works and what doesn't and why! My husband has gotten smart and he never starts implementing something new I'm trying until I've done it for at least a few weeks. Otherwise, he will find himself just getting used to it when I abandon it. haha!

Happy New Year!

I bet you all thought I had given up on this blog already, didn't you? HA! Not me! Not this time! At least not this year, that's for sure! ;) Haha, pretty funny, eh?

I love saying stuff like that during this last week of December. I am always telling people, "See you next year!" and "You won't have to worry about that again until next year!" and so forth. I know, it's corny, but I don't care - it's fun! That's one of the benefits of getting older - refusing to care what others think about what you do, and just being YOURSELF!

So - we have had a marvelous Christmas at the Ward household. Very different in a lot of ways, but oh so wonderful. I will have to write all about it and post-date the entries so they will coordinate with the Christmas holiday dates. I am so excited to take pictures of all the great gifts we exchanged this year, most especially all the homemade ones! Yep, homemade. And that comment has a story behind it.

A few years ago, we decided to do homemade gifts for our "Secret Santa" exchange in our family. We primarily used items from the "wood pile" from a nearby cabinet factory whose owner gave us permission to use some of their scrap wood. So everyone got all excited with hammers & saws and all sorts of things were created! Some of the kids had so much fun that they didn't want to stop with only making something for their "Secret Santa", so they made things for everyone! It was a ton of fun, so the fever kind of caught on, and now often many of our gifts to each other are handmade. It has become one of our favorite parts of the holidays.

The question many readers might be thinking is "How in the world did you find the time to help all your children make gifts for one another?" The answer is simple - I didn't. As a matter of fact, I had heard this idea of a "home-made Christmas" for years and years and thought that while it sounded like a great idea in theory, I had no desire to try it. Why? Because I knew in my heart of hearts, that while it was a noble idea, it would in reality just mean a lot of extra work for Mom as I would end up basically making 8 homemade gifts!

So I put it off and figured it was only a dream for more ambitious Moms than me. More power to those brave enough to try! But  as my children grew, a miracle occurred . . . I found out that my children could actually do things like that on their own! Not only could they, but they would naturally do it as long as I provided opportunities for talent development and plenty of materials to work with. So by the time we actually decided to try it a few years ago, I really only had to help my youngest with his gift, and everyone else did their own thing. Yay! Freedom!

Now don't think that every gift was made perfectly with all the exact right measurements and materials and instructions. But I did my best to not step in, to just make minor suggestions, and to let them create. After all, isn't that the whole charm of homemade gifts? That stitch out of place, or that less-than-perfect paint job that shows the time your loved-one took to try and make something special for you? Yes! That is truly what it is all about - the love you show as you give a gift from your heart.

I make this point because I know that many Moms feel pretty overwhelmed when their children are young, thinking they need to do *everything* or they won't be a *good Mom*. I remember as a young mother watching a family that had several older children who all played string instruments, so they did a little bluegrass ensemble and sounded really great. I dreamed of something like that for my own children, and worried about how in the world I could ever teach them to do it? I also remember seeing families with teenage children and parents singing together in perfect harmony, and I wondered how much time it would take to teach each of my children their part and get everyone to practice, and still do everything else that needed to be done? And yet, the reason I worried is because I didn't know the secret! If you are a parent of older or grown children, you probably already know the secret. If your kids are still little, do you want to know what it is?

Okay, I'll tell you.
It's this. . .
shhhhhhhh. . .

Customized Design and Layout - or Lack Thereof

So if you've visited Blogger a lot, you probably noticed that I haven't spent too much time on customization of layout and background and so forth yet. I decided this time maybe I'd approach things the other way around. Fill it up with some content first, and then if it lasts I'll spend hours upon hours on customization. But despite the simple set-up I did last night, it's really quite appropriate - the bright colors look so fun and cheerful! I may even keep them long term. . . although you must keep in mind that with me the only consistency you can count on is change. . . so hang on, it's going to be a fun ride!

Now. . . off to my calendar and new card file system to see what I need to do next and make sure I'm not forgetting anything important . . .

So I'm starting another blog. . .

Here I am again. Starting another blog with a head full of exciting ideas about what it could become. It's that kind of thing where you can't focus on anything else and you can't sleep and you can't complete the other tasks on your to-do list until you get going on it. It's so exciting!

And yet I'm full of hesitation and anxiety too. Why? Because every time I do this, I spend hours and hours finding just the right domain name, getting all the colors and layout right, finding awesome graphics to make the blog really pop with that special something. And then I write my first entry or two, add a description, and perhaps even carefully draft an "about me" page or fill the sidebars with lots of great links and information. And then, when the excitement and thrill of the idea has worn off, and I've used up the initial burst of energy driving me to start this new project, I drop it. Totally.

Oh I may come back for a few days or from time to time for a few weeks or even months, writing an entry here and an entry there. I may daydream about all the great ways to expand what I've done, add new ideas, connect to other similar blogs and so forth. But that all starts sounding a little too much like hard work instead of fun. It starts to get boring. So - meh - I move on to something else new and exciting like organizing all of the books on my shelves by topic. Or color. Or size. Even better - I totally re-arrange all the furniture in my living room, because after all, the way it's set up now really isn't working perfectly for us and there has to be a better way.

Hahaha. . . it makes me laugh just writing that because it's so ridiculously true! It's why I loved my Mom so much, because she was full of energy and fun and new ideas and. . . but I digress, that's a whole other topic for another day. . . better get back to this one. . .