Enhance Your Life in 5 Minutes--Task 1 from Ms. Cellaneous

If you haven’t read what the “Enhance Your Life in 5 Minutes” series is all about, please click here.

To get started off this month, the task for the day is:

Write 4 goals to accomplish in January. ...WAIT!! Before you click away from this page in disappointment due to my lack of originality, read my reasoning! Yes, it is the beginning of the New Year. Yes, everyone already thinks about writing goals at this time of year. You thought this series was going to be exciting, non-boring and full of fresh new ideas. Well, maybe there will be some of that, but you have to admit that there are some old but good ideas out there!

With all that said, let me expand on today’s project. Write 4 goals, yes, but do it in this manner.
Minute 1 should be used to clear your mind. Take a deep breath and relax. Allow your focus to shift away from all the daily matters that plague you. (Just for 5 minutes. Then you can get back to tackling all those things!) Allow your mind to be ready to receive the inspiration that will surely come!
Minute 2 will be used to begin ponderous brainstorming as you initiate the process of answering the question “What 4 new and important things do I want to accomplish this month?” You must let yourself consider any and all options. Do this with pencil in hand.
Minute 3 finds you furiously writing down the ideas that flood your mind.
Minute 4 is reserved for looking over your list and highlighting the 4 items that leap out at you, begging to be accomplished ASAP.
Minute 5 can be for rewriting these goals legibly on a 3X5 card or colorful post-it note to place in a conspicuous location. Put the “achieve by” date on the bottom of the note and cross off anything you get done. That’s it! Nice work!
Try not to take more than 5 minutes. If you take 15 or longer, you are cheating! (Not really, but by taking only approximately 5 minutes, you don’t take time to second guess your top 4 picks. You just go with your first impression, wish is usually good.)

I plan to try for goals in these areas:
Something out of my comfort zone
Something unusual for me (but not necessarily uncomfortable)
Something difficult but fulfilling
Something uplifting

Use those suggestions, or not. Do try to pick a specific thing. Don't say, "Lose weight." Rather say something like, "Eat 4-5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day this month."

If you accomplish the task of Write Down 4 Goals to Accomplish in January, leave a comment letting me know you did it. I’ll leave a comment when I get it done too. (Not the goals themselves, just the act of writing them down.)

How I Do It ALL! (Or...Peace & Quiet)

AHHHH! Home alone for a short while. Well, at least mostly alone. I just put the baby down for a nap. Truth be told, I put the baby down, sat down at the computer, heard a cry, ran down the hall to pacify him back to sleep, found him to be still sleeping, came back to the computer. Whew!

It is funny, I really get people asking me the question in the title of this post. How do you do it all? If ALL were a thing on the roof of my house, I would be standing in a deep hole in the ground, trying to claw my way to the see-able but not do-able thing. That is what it feels like a lot of times. In my mind are hundreds, thousands even, of things that all would encompass. Do I do a lot? Sure, but I am a far cry from doing it all.

I have good days. I taught my kids many things in school that they seemed interested in learning about, we shared smiles, played a game or two, made homemade bread from fresh ground wheat and homemade noodles for chicken soup for dinner, snuck in my scripture study, played a little piano, took time for a friend in need, etc.

Wait! Pause. I am just remembered, I can turn on the classical music station with no complaints. Be right back.

I'm back.

I have bad days. Nothing I planned to do got done, one kid got sick, someone else shattered another light bulb, so-and-so had to be taxied to such-and-such but they forget their watcha-ma-call-it and this cost an extra trip, fighting and arguing was at an all time high, the bathroom is disgusting and there's nothing ready for dinner and everyone is hungry, etc.

It is strange, but sometimes the good days can be bad days and the bad days can wind up being good days. As I was rocking (walking/bouncing) the baby to sleep, I was thinking about clever things I could say about this subject. Of course now that I am sitting here, I have misplaced my original adjectives and inviting verbs in some miscellaneous file folder at the back right corner of my brain. Okay, that was a bit of a tangent. But then again, maybe not. That is what my life is about. "I flit. I float. I fleetly flee. I fly." from task to task, sometimes combining 8 tasks into one. {I think I quoted something from a movie--perhaps accurately, perhaps not. I can't even remember what it is from. I am picturing a little girl singing that. Can anyone tell me what that's from?}

The question turns from "How do you do it all?" to "How do you do a lot?" One of the things that is significant is how I deal with things mentally. It is generally quite helpful to me throughout the day if I have gotten my morning scripture/ponder/pray time. That gives me something to draw from when I am tempted towards impatience, frustration and/or tears. Oftentimes I'll read just the right thing to recall later in the day. Pondering and praying give me a chance to start the day with a clear head.

Things don't always go so smoothly, though. Sometimes the baby decides sleep is not important or decides to get up very early which prohibits me from any amount of sustained focus. On occasion, it seems as though everyone's soul purpose that day is to test and try mother. On these days, I often succumb to internal abuse, feeling like a failure. Sometimes I am on edge and grumbly to my family. But each new day, each new hour, each new moment brings with it the opportunity to do things differently than I did the last. Whereas one minute I may be harping on Peanut for doing a lousy job of making his bed, later I may be dealing with the situation of Nanner spilling yogurt all over the table by excitedly calling all the rest of the kids to grab a spoon and eat to help their sibling in distress.

What's with the other part of the title? You thought it was just that the house has peace and quiet right now with everyone gone, huh? Well, that too. Finding peace and quiet in a split second, cherished minute or blessed hour is how I hold things together. What I mean by that is peace and quiet on my inside. Capturing even a small moment to recall a blessing, send up a prayer of thanks or feel God's love in another way keeps me renewed. It is only when I find this kind of peace that I can leave the bad days behind and have hope for good.

Baby is awake again.

Praying for internal peace & quiet for you today. Hoping my unedited ramblings made sense today. :)

AAAAH!!

Sometimes God knows exactly what we need. Okay forget the sometimes on that statement. I guess it would be more proper to say that God always knows exactly what we need. Sometimes we agree with Him.

We were given the opportunity to get out of the summer heat and go spend a week up in the cool mountains in a beautiful cabin. We were surrounded by trees, greenery, wild flowers, great views of mountains and a partly cloudy sky.

The trip was refreshing and rejuvenating. How wonderful to have the opportunity to be outside and breathe the energizing mountain air. We took lots of walks and were outside a bunch.

We went to some parks.

Chubby got to play with some bigger kid toys. Obviously this made him very happy.

We played fun games like Uno...

And Go Fish! (I realize the picture is a little blurry, but look at how she is sitting--crazy, huh?)

The kids spent time playing video games and watching movies too. (Too much time according to worrywart mother.) Kevin and I got to spend some time refueling dreams and setting some new goals.

On a nature walk, we learned about Alligator and Utah Juniper trees. One tree has a bumpy, scaly type of bark. The other tree's bark has a shredded look to it. I'll let you guess which one is which. We also learned that if you scratch and sniff a Ponderosa Pine tree, you get a nice whiff of butterscotch. It is pretty cool, you’ll have to try it sometime. Here's three of the kids peeking out between two Ponderosas.

I am writing this on the way home while I still feel the euphoria. Once I get home, I am sure real life will rush up and smack me in the face! Hopefully I refueled enough to get a lot of “mileage” out of our rejuvenating trip.

(P.S. Now that I am home...Sigh! Reality was ready and waiting for me as soon as I got home. I am glad I have some pictures to serve up as fond remembrances as I try to relax and enjoy life even though life is usually hectic, busy, etc.)