Sustainable & Creative Living
Spring is right around the corner and theme park trips are a top weekend to-do in our house. Some, if not all, of my favorite items to pack when we head to a theme park, are from Amazon. Check out our list of Theme Park Essentials right here this week. They’re all linked below so grab them before your next trip!
Last Christmas when I was shopping for gifts, I saw this adorable little trinket that said “follow your dreams” on it. It’s the kind of cute little thing I’m always buying for one of my girls. I picked it up, examined it, thought for a moment, and put it back down. I wasn’t in the mood to promote my kids following their dreams if they didn’t involve them living within a fairly close proximity to me or the rest of their family.
I’m the kind of person who likes to have a plan. More importantly, I like things to go as planned! I imagine most people probably do too. Of course, I know this isn’t always reality. Owning and running a service business for almost 30 years—not to mention raising 3 kids—has definitely taught me this.
Still, every time I start my next big project I get a low-level gnawing feeling that maybe my plans won’t go as planned. I never let that feeling stop me from moving forward. I’d never get anywhere if I did, but I’m trying to be more comfortable these days with the uncertainty that comes with the unknown of new projects and new stages in life.
I’ve been taking the last few days, like a lot of other people, to think about goal setting for 2018 and beyond. But this year, goal setting is more of a struggle. Most of this is due to the fact that I’m going through a lot of transition and change in different areas of my life. There have been so many milestones in my life this past year—finally finishing my bachelor’s degree, my youngest graduating high school and then starting college, and of course Christina’s wedding and all the preceding festivities.
The New Year’s celebration is one of my favorite holidays. New beginnings can be so hopeful, exciting, and scary all at once. Who doesn’t love a chance to start over?
I like to think that any day is a day to begin again so I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions, but it can be very motivating to use this time as a marking point for a newgoal or for tightening up existing ones.
A goal I shoot for every year is being as productive as possible. I’ve found the number one tool to accomplish this goal is list making. But not just random list making. I use a method based on what’s called the Ivy Lee Method. Ivy Lee was a businessman and productivity expert in the early twentieth century. His method is simple but effective.
Going to my first wedding expo was like diving into a swarming beehive. Except everyone is really excited to be there. Some brides are determined to find the best deals; some brides are just trying to see what the vendors have to offer. Vendors are trying to get everyone to sign up for something. And the few grooms that tagged along are hanging out at the bar or looking for free food.
So it’s an exciting time for everyone – congratulating each other and exchanging wedding details all while trying to move through the masses.
Related: Unique & Affordable Engagement Rings
I attended the expo last weekend having no idea what to expect and trying not to take it too seriously. My wedding is over a year away so I was just interested to see what it was all about and maybe win some free stuff.
About a month ago I got engaged. I’ve probably been dreaming about getting married and planning a wedding for years. I can, without a doubt, say that just because I’ve been dreaming about it doesn’t mean I have any idea how to actually plan a wedding.
It’s strange because for such a long time getting married and planning a wedding was just a fantasy. Something I could plan on Pinterest without any real thought of executing it. Well now it’s really happening and I’m [Read more…]
