"How's the campaign going?"
It's the question I get most often. It's also the question I'm never quite sure how to answer.
Good? ... Great! ... Your guess is as good as mine. ... We'll see May 17th!
The truth - I suppose - all depends on what you're measuring.
This weekend we hosted a Winter ONE-derland party in honor of Felix's first birthday. Considering this child was born during a snow, it seemed like an appropriate theme. Well, the weather had other plans and it was 70 and sunny! I could have hosted the dang party outside!
For my 30th birthday, I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do. One was to write a historical fiction short story. This is the story and as Ruby keeps calling to me here lately. I thought I'd share it here.
One of Nicholas's New Year's resolutions was to try freezer meals. He'd prepped meals for the week on and off through 2015 and wanted to see how it would work to prepare an entire month's worth. Then, we could just pull a meal from the deep freeze, throw it in the crockpot, and on a busy day dinner would be waiting for us.
One of the things that worked for me in 2015 was a capsule wardrobe. Paring my wardrobe down to 36 items made me think hard about the items I wear a lot and the items I hardly wear. Not everything in my collection was new and I'd thought I'd share the pieces that made the cut and that I've been coming back to for years.
If my Facebook feed is any real reflection, I spent part of my holiday break like many, many of you - binge watching Making a Murderer.
For those of you who spent your break in slightly more productive ways, Making a Murderer is Netflix series that tells the true story of Steven Avery, who served 18 years for a rape he didn't commit and then was arrested for a murder two years after being released.
Three years ago, I began participating in One Little Word®. A project begun in 2006 by one of my favorite bloggers Ali Edwards, One Little Word® is choosing a single word to guide your year.
“A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow.”
My words have had incredible impact, particularly in 2014 when I chose growth. I wrote that I wanted to grow my family and my business and I got all that and a heaping helping of personal growth that year as well. Despite feeling like I missed the mark with last year’s word, I’m excited to choose another word to help me steer the ship in 2016.
I’m excited for 2016. Barring any unforeseen circumstances or Immaculate Conception, I won’t be pregnant for the first year since 2013! Felix will be turning one and, while he isn’t a walk in the park, I’m beginning to see then end of the infant care tunnel. I can’t wait to see what the year holds for Pantsuit Politics, my coaching business, and the blog.
I confessed in my weekly email recently that I’m uncomfortable with money. It makes me nervous discussing money or fees or negotiating. My friend diagnosed me as having a low money tolerance – meaning it doesn’t take very much to make me nervous.
I want to work on that in 2016. I want to get more comfortable charging for the work I do because I bring a lot of value and I deserve to be paid for it. I want to do my best Amy Schumer and state unapologetically, “I like money.”
So, I’ve decided my word for 2016 is… prosper.
It was my brilliant cousin who first proposed prosper after we had rejected value, achieve, and worth.
I wanted something positive but concrete. I wanted the word to push me to seek financial success, but not stop there.
Prosper is perfect. The definition is “succeed in material terms; be financially successful.” It can also mean to “flourish physically; grow strong and healthy.”
I want to my podcast to prosper. I want my business to prosper. I want to flourish in all areas of my life – emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and physically.
I want to prosper.
So, that’s my one little word.
Here’s to a prosperous 2016!
The few days between Christmas and New Years are some of my favorite of the year. I love spending time reflecting on the past year and strategizing for the year to come. Last year I followed Modern Mrs. Darcy's lead and reflected on what worked during the past year and what didn't and I'm here doing it again for 2015!
Beth Silvers and I launched Pantsuit Politics this year and it has been so. much. fun. I've loved learning this new world (and sharing it with our Executive Producer - my husband!) I'd had the idea for a political podcast for a while but realized I didn't really want to do it by myself. Adding Beth and our "meet in the middle" format has been fantastic! We've been getting really positive feedback and just got major love from iTunes which has been so exciting.
As I shared last week, I've doubled the amount of books I read this year. What worked for increasing my reading load was deadlines and audiobooks. Deadlines either through reading with friends OR by reading library books that I know have to be returned. I've used the heck out of OverDrive, an app that allows you to check out audio books and e-books from your library and I LOVE it!
The Roomba is my MVP for 2015. I love it SO much. I realized I felt like my house was messy when my floors were messy. Now, even if my counters are dirty and my shelves are dusty, the Roomba keeps my carpets clean and I feel like I'm winning at life. This year I didn't just offload vacuuming. I also re-arranging my kitchen and my life to allow my kids to help with chores which has dramatically decreased my household load and my stress.
This fall - using unFancy's guidance - I built a capsule wardrobe of 37 items to carry me through the season. I bought a few new items and worked with several I already own. I LOVED it. I loved really thinking through items I could combine in different ways. While I liked having options, I really liked having fewer choices over all. I get decision fatigue very easily so not staring at a closet full of items that I didn't love or didn't fit or didn't go together stressed me out. Now that I have one season under my belt, I'll post more information and pics in January!
I've said it before and I'll say it again - this book really is life-changing. Having fewer but better options - from my underwear drawer to my bookshelf - has made my life so much calmer and simpler and BETTER.
Last year I chose vairagya and, while I still like the meaning of the word, a word in another language was hard to keep in the front of my mind. Going back to English this year...
Ugh, I'm so bummed to have this on my didn't work for me list two years in a row. I tried squeezing in exercise where I could this year but I need to go back to my yoga classes - I do better with a outside schedule I have to stick to.
With a new baby in 2015, I know I didn't have much a choice but to let Felix (and his sleep or lack thereof) predict much of our schedules. However, it left me scrambling and frustrated so much of the time. I realize I need to set an alarm and get up and set goals even if Felix woke me up in the night. Luckily, he's getting bigger every day and easier to take care of. So, here's to a more structured 2016!
At the beginning of the year, I took the GoodReads Reading Challenge (AND Modern Mrs. Darcy's 2015 Reading Challenge). I set my goal at 30 books, which was TWICE as many as I'd read in 2014. I thought this was pretty bold considering I was having a new baby, but reading is a priority for me ... plus, I found some sneaky ways to get more reading in.
