The Mondays

     Am I the only person that feels like every Monday that rolls around, and I have a whole new list of things to do or that the goals from last week seem to drag into every other new week? I know I can't be. Just know that you're not alone. I too, am in a perpetual race to get my proverbial shit together. Here's the cool part: every Monday is really an opportunity to start over again. Stop giving Monday's such a bad rap! Instead, instead embrace every Monday for what is; A "do over". Make a commitment today that you're going to get your shit together too. The next Monday's going to be different. That you won't wake up with the same dread that you did today, and that come from the first Monday in 2016, you will have accomplished a few things. So let's toast to Monday's! (No vodka this early. Try coffee instead. Mmmmkay) Cheers!

Showers are for sissies!

So it's Saturday. 

And other than looking in the mirror this morning to brush my teeth (barely), I have not done anything "personal" since Thursday night. 

Gross. 

I know.

I didn't consciously NOT shower. I literally didn't have time. Even when I realized that I'd gone into "B.O. Overtime" at 6:00 a.m., I knew that I had hungry babies to feed, a group to meet, and work to do.   A shower would have to wait. 

Again.

The thing is; I know that I'm not alone. A lot of moms find themselves too busy to do the basics because they just don't have time. The worst part, is when we do have time to ourselves, we wind up doing asinine tasks like dishes and scrubbing floor boards!

"Oh look! I have 10 minutes to myself! I should definitely use it to load the dishwasher. "

This literally happened to me today. The baby was finally asleep, I find myself with a killosecond of free time and I found myself looking at this:

Sick. 

I know, but midway through loading plates with half eaten Mac and cheese and mugs of chocolate milk (because; Who rinses?!), I realized that I could walk away from the sink and do something for myself for just a change. That the dishes could wait. That, dammit, I smelled like a billy goat.

I took a shower...

And that's ok. 

In fact: It's all ok. Don't feel like you're the only mom who doesn't look like a super model, and smell like fresh lilies. Don't feel like a failure if you have dishes in the sink, and don't beat yourself up if you feed your kids non-organic, non-free range, gluten filled pizza.

It's ALL ok. 

Take a few minutes for yourself everyday. Even if it's just a hot shower. Just remember that you aren't the only mom who forgets about her needs while caring for her families.

💚

RIOT

ON BALTIMORE:

I understand the anger.

 I am angry too. 

How many lost lives can one community handle without become enraged? 

How many injustices can one group suffer without looking for some recompense?

Now listen; I do NOT agree with the violence. It makes no sense to me. 

It's reckless and self harming.

It's unorganized and misdirected. 

It's dark and its leaving behind destruction that community  themselves will have to suffer through later, but let me ask a question: 

Have you ever seen a mother that has just lost a child respond to her grief? Have you ever watched them scream and cry and beg, and when that doesn't work, fly into a rage so incredible, that only a hurricane rivals their damage? 

It is reckless and self harming.

It's unorganized and misdirected. 

It is dark and lonely and will leave behind more disrepair. 

NO ONE  believes that these riots, that this immense outcry of anger, or that this damage will solve ANYTHING.

This is the result an entire people reacting to their grief. 

This is a nation tired of burying it's sons and daughters and having no one held accountable for their loss.

This is a battle cry for justice out of pain DECADES in the making. 

This is the language of the unheard, the grieving mothers, the forgotten.

It doesn't make sense.

It isn't supposed to. 

💚

Eating frogs.

     Everyone wants to be successful. 

The issue of actually accomplishing succes is two fold, IMO. 

1. People don't know exactly what they need to do to get there. 

2. People aren't willing to do what needs to be done in order to accomplish it.

     Lets use the issue of weightloss in this post just to illustrate my point. It's hands down, the most difficult "problem" of our society to overcome. We live in a nation where more than 1/3 of its constituents are obese. According to the CDC, approximately 78 MILLION people in the greatest nation on earth, are not just overweight, but seriously obese. It doesn't really make sense if you think about it. How does a country full of financial and knowledge wealth, also maintain the worlds largest population of overweight adults and children? Is it because we are all genetically predisposed to obesity? Is it because there aren't enough food choices where we live? Or maybe it's simply because there isn't time to eat healthily, exercise, or meal plan. Whatever the issue it seems we are trying to overcome, there are always excuses for why we simply can't overcome them, but if you were to ask me, the true cause and solution are far more simple than most people really want to believe. 

    It's far easier to give a a scientific or socioeconomic explanation for failure than it is to do what it takes to be successfully. So what is it? What exactly are people at the top doing that's so much different from the rest of us? I'm going to make it very simple.

     Here it is: Short and sweet. In fact, I really am just going to cut it down to two very easily understandable solutions. Number 1: What exactly needs to be done to be successful? The answer: Reduce the minutae. I'm laymans terms: Cut the bullshit/the crap/the "extra" out of your life. My father, who is a minister preached a sermon this past Sunday that I wasn't able to hear (he lives 2300 miles away). Fortunately his words were so powerful, they carried themselves through social media directly to my ears. His message was simple: Your productivity is directly related to your ability to reduce the minutiae in your life.  Number 2: You must be willing to do what other people aren't willing to do in order to achieve your goal. The issue with part two, is that we are inherently lazy creatures who are constantly searching for the easiest and the fastest way to get what we want. Success doesn't work that way. There is a reason CEOs are usually first to rise in the morning, and last to hit the bed at night, and I assure you it has nothing to do with insomnia.

So let's see these two simple steps in action, shall we? 

     Going back to one of our nations greatest failures, weightloss, let's set aside excuses and find a way to succeed. 1. Reduce minutiae: Cut out unnecessary eating. Lunch with the girlfriends, fast food, junk food, mindless snacking, and alcohol are all (however enjoyable) completely unnecessary. Eat and drink what you need to live. Forget about fad diets. In the long run, you will never maintain a low carbohydrate, gluten free, south beach, diet while injecting b vitamin shots into your arm once a week and holding human chorionic gonadotropin drops under your tongue for the next 30 years! It's impossible. Eat what you need to survive and thrive and forget everything else. Part two: Do what unsuccessful people aren't willing to do. In this case, it's exercise. I know you didn't really want to hear that, because frankly, I don't either. The mere thought of heading to the gym after writing this post, makes me sweat profusely and break out in hives. The only way to get it done, is to "Just do it!" I read an amazing book by, Brian Tracy, called, "Eat that Frog!". The premise was incredible, and incredibly simple. He urges readers to cut their "to do" list short, and simply to do the most arduous task first. For me, it's exercise. There will never be a point where I just LOVE the gym. I'm not that girl. The point he made is this: If, in order to accomplish your goal, you have to eat a live frog everyday, it makes perfectly good sense to do that first. Don't wait till the evening when you've had it looming over your head all day. Get the worst part finished, so that, not only are you free from thinking about it all day, but you actually get it accomplished. Think about how awesome you feel when you FINISH a workout, especially early in the morning. It sets the tone for the rest of the day. 

     I use weightloss as an example here because it plagues so many of us, but in reality, these premises can be used in any area that you struggle with. Cut out the shit, and eat your frog FIRST. Don't make success any harder than it really is. Don't push it back any farther because you refuse to make it simple.

     Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to the gym. I'll respond to any emails regarding this post when the most important things in my list are finished. See how that works? 😉 Bon appetite!