Today has been a surprisingly productive day. The first surprise was that I slept in! When I say slept in I mean I woke at six instead of five which is pretty great for me. I still had time to get my self-care practices in because my kids slept in a little too. 

I was able to run an errand and still get some laundry and vacuuming done. Lunch was still on the table at the usual time and a good portion of my productivity is owed to my girls for playing so nicely on their own this morning.

I'm grateful for this stage where my kids are a little more independent but still cuddly. I'm grateful to get a little extra sleep after staying up late last night. I'm grateful to still prioritize my self-care. I'm grateful to cross a lot off my to do list. I'm grateful to never be bored, haha! I'm grateful for another week that has flown by and for a fun weekend to come.

How do you find ways to sneak productivity into your schedule without disrupting other things like self-care? 

​May today help us clear off the to do list so we can enjoy the weekend. Have a beautiful day!

There is something so renewing about being out on a walk with a good friend. It really helps bring things back into perspective and balance. 

The park was so beautiful today with the cooler breeze and cloud cover. Even the rain we got toward the end was so refreshing! Just walking, exploring, and catching up with a friend I haven't seen in too long has renewed my spirit.

I'm grateful to have made this lunch date. I'm grateful for a park big enough to share. I'm grateful for the beautiful trail and areas to explore. I'm grateful my kids were content to wander along while my friend and I spoke. I'm grateful for my friend and all our spiritual connection. I'm grateful to reconnect after a long pandemic year. I'm grateful to spend time in nature together. I'm grateful for the turtles, fish, ducks, and geese that made their magical appearances. 

What renews you? Who do you enjoy hanging out with and connecting? When was the last time you did these things that bring you joy?

May we remember to take time to connect to those who are important to us. May we take time in nature as well. Have a beautiful day!

After getting a decent night sleep last night I was up before the sun and ready to get the day started. Thankfully, my husband took today off so he is around to help with the kids while I run errands and get tasks crossed off my list. I love starting the week on a productive note!

I'm grateful for an early start this morning. I'm grateful my husband has the day off to help with the girls while I tend to work. I'm grateful to feel like all the hard work and waiting is paying off and I am on the verge of flying. I'm grateful to have a great colleague by my side, as we fly higher together. I'm grateful to keep exploring ways to grow. I'm grateful for all the awesome tools I've found. I'm grateful for all the second-hand stuff we've been able to find to make a beautiful new space to work.

When do you feel most productive? What gets you motivated?

May today remind us to find passion wherever we can. May we find ways to make even the mundane tasks fun. Have a beautiful day!

It is beginning to feel a lot more like June this week. After a very rainy start to the month, the rain has moved out and brought some scorching heat. It has been a big adjustment but not unwelcome.

For weeks I worried my vegetable garden was going to drown and now I am out having to provide water every day or two. Isn't it funny how things shift? I definitely got the sunshine for which I was asking.

There are camping trips planned, Fourth of July celebrations in the planning, and all combined with a new business up and running. I am loving all the blessings this summer brings!

I'm so grateful to have had such a productive week. I'm grateful to have a little down-time starting tomorrow. I'm grateful for all the ways things are lining up and falling into place. I'm grateful for the sunshine, even with the heat. I'm grateful to have air conditioning to keep my family, and dog, comfortable. I'm grateful to have a little time to rest before jumping in full scale next week. I'm grateful to take time to meditate and center myself. I'm grateful to keep a watchful eye on balance. 

What are some of the blessings June brings to you each year? What do you love about the summer months?

May we always remember to count our blessings. May we find joy in the simple pleasures. Have a beautiful day!

I have found myself watching the bees a lot lately. Perhaps this is because it is the time of year when they are out in mass collecting pollen from the flowers or perhaps it is just the mode I am in right now.

Each day has moments of slow, in the moment, strolling along with my kids. We explore and observe a lot. Then there is my brief work time that is a flurry of key strokes and emails and phone calls. It is exhilarating but also a little chaotic.

I feel a connection to the bees. I watch how they gather the pollen slowly and methodically then fly with their wings moving so impressively fast to find their next flower. I feel that. It resonates. But what am I gathering?

I am gathering joy. I am gathering beautiful moments with my daughters, husband, colleagues, clients. I am gathering confidence. I am gathering skills. I am gathering all the little pieces that keep building me in to who I am becoming with each step. And all these things are joy- my joy.

I'm grateful for joy. I'm grateful for the bees for so many reasons. I'm grateful to them for how they assist vital processes. I'm grateful to them for the connection and resonance I feel at this stage of life. I'm grateful to just watch. I'm grateful to see the reflection. I'm grateful for all the knowledge and experience I am collecting right now. I'm grateful for this journey and for those whose journeys are moving in step with mine. 

What are you gathering? What brings you joy? What do you resonate with at this stage of your life?

May we all find something to connect us to nature. May we gather things that enhance our lives. Have a beautiful day!

I write a lot about what's important. I try to focus on what really matters. It is how I choose priorities and the basis on how I make decisions.

Yesterday I was having a low energy day. I had been making a lot of decisions and really weighing priorities a lot lately. I had gotten into a cycle of being extremely hard on myself and not giving myself grace for my mistakes. 

Then on my way home last night I listened to a podcast. It was saying that as parents we put so much pressure on ourselves to do everything right, yet studies show that parents are only one of so many factors that influence how a child with grow up and "turn out". The podcast offered the view that maybe parenting wasn't as big a deal as the pressure we put on ourselves to do it right. She said maybe in cutting ourselves some slack and being in the moment instead of focused on the outcome, we may just find parenting to be not only more fun but more connective with our children.

This message resonated with me so well. I study parenting like I study most things, diving in and trying to find all the best information to do it "right". If I choose to do something, I want to do my best at it so why should parenting be any different. Yet at the same time I know the toll it has taken on me; the pressure I have put on myself. I have seen how that pressure on me also affects my family. 

Today I listened to another podcast about tips on letting go, particularly forgiving oneself for mistakes. It was a good reminder that carrying guilt or shame does not help us move forward or improve. It weighs us down. Once again I resonated very well with what the podcast was saying. 

Maybe it is just as important to identify the things that don't matter. As strange as it sounds, the idea that I do not matter as much as a parent was very reassuring. Of course parents are vital to a child's health and well-being, but we are not gods. We are not meant to sculpt our children. We are meant to guide and give space to grow. I felt this was true before but having science back me up that no matter what judgment another parent passes, my child is my child and I can only assist her in the path she is here to take is truly comforting. The mistakes I make will be teaching moments of their own and hopefully above all she will learn that mistakes are okay.

I'm grateful to hear that as a mom I do not need to be a god. I'm grateful to step back and see my daughters with even more calmness and clarity. I'm grateful to get the perspective on what doesn't matter. I'm grateful to see what things I can let go. I'm grateful for podcasts that are a great source of knowledge for me at this stage of life. I'm grateful to laugh as my mom-friends and I share podcasts we appreciate only to find we are listening to the same ones. I'm grateful for my beautiful daughters and all they teach me and all they forgive of me.

What is NOT important in your life? What doesn't matter that you could choose to let go? What helps take the pressure off?

​May today remind us to set down false burdens. May we focus on what is important and let what isn't important fall away. Have a beautiful day!

There are nearly twenty things on my to do list this week. Sunday as I looked at it, the list seemed a little daunting...especially considering Monday was already taken up by the one thing not written on the list. 

Today as I look at the very same list, I have a different feeling tugging at me. That feeling is excitement! Yes, there is a lot to get done this week. Hopefully I can knock it all out before the holiday weekend. Yet I feel like a snowball effect is at play. Now that I have knocked off one thing, the rest seem to be rolling along. I have a plan and I am in the flow of it.

Walking fifty miles may seem daunting. Each step takes you closer to that finish line. The first step is the most important. After that it is just keeping up the momentum and spirit. 

I'm grateful to feel excitement as I cross things off the list. I'm grateful to be able to set it aside for the most part and still focus on my girls during the morning. I'm grateful to feel like I am in the flow and things are moving forward. I'm grateful to have taken the first step...a few times, and now be setting a good pace. I'm grateful for a holiday weekend coming up. I'm grateful for all the wonderful support systems in my life. I'm grateful for this day of progress.

What do you need to get done? What helps motivate you? What makes some days particularly productive for you?

May we always take the first step. May we find the flow, get in our groove, and just keep going. Have a beautiful day!

We may be nearing Summer but it feels like Spring is just arriving here. I'm not talking about all the rain we have gotten this last week. The last month has been roadblocks and hold ups at every professional turn. It has been a time of stress and frustration but also a time of exploration and expanding my dreams. 

This week finally feels like the wheels are starting to roll again. It is tiny steps forward but it's something. And at this point I will take any forward progress!

I'm so grateful to feel the energy building as I prepare to bloom into this next phase of life. I'm grateful to know I am not a solo flower in the garden but am surrounded by other beautiful buds ready to bloom as well. I'm grateful for those who have gone before me and paved the way. I'm grateful for those who will follow that I may be able to guide. I'm grateful to feel movement again after this time of stillness. I'm grateful to see now that I wasn't stuck as I felt but rather just building the energy to burst into something more. I'm grateful for the process and all it taught me and even more grateful to be moving on to the next phase!

What phase are you moving through right now? What does the energy of this phase feel like to you? 

May we remember every journey has different phases and cycles. If the space we are is uncomfortable, may we remember it will pass and a beautiful new phase is waiting. Have a beautiful day!

I love a good, sunny day. I can just hear Ella Fitzgerald crooning "blue skies smiling at me". I can hear John Denver, "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy". And it is true; blue skies and sunshine bring me happiness. 

Luckily, my happiness is not limited to blue sky days. In fact, from my kitchen this time of year I can barely even see the blue sky. As I searched out the window this morning for hints on if it would be a sunny day or rainy day there was just not enough sky for a clear answer. My backyard is a forest with tall trees and a thick underbrush of honeysuckle. Even with the steep incline that tends to draw my eyes up toward the sky, very little of it can be seen through the canopy. 

I got a little chuckle to myself this morning as I sang "green skies smiling at me". I love the shade of our back deck. I love the mature trees towering overhead. 

I began thinking about the other types of sky I enjoy. I enjoy when the sky has big puffy white clouds that shift into shapes. I enjoy watching to see what I can create out of them with a little imagination. It is one of my family's favorite car trip games. 

I love when the clouds look wispy, like there was just a little white left on the paintbrush and someone tried to wipe it off. It reminds me of the beautiful creation that is this planet. 

I love when dark storm clouds move over and make colors of flowers and trees more vivid. If it comes with the soothing rumble of thunder, all the better.

As strange as it is to say, I even enjoy the slight greenish hue the sky gets sometimes during a storm. It is something you don't get to see everywhere and it reminds me I'm home...even if it also signals the need to get inside.

Last but certainly not least, I love the night sky when it is deep black with the twinkle of stars and planets far above. It makes me feel so small and yet also a part of something so vast. 

Blue skies are great. But the truth is, I just love the sky. I love looking at it whichever way it is that moment. 

I'm grateful to be in love with the sky. I'm grateful to appreciate her beauty no matter how she is feeling or looking each day. I'm grateful to be reminded this is how love is meant to be, even with our fellow humans. I'm grateful to see the beauty in each form. I'm grateful to try to apply this to the people in my life, even the stormy ones. I'm grateful for the view from my windows and for the clear view outside. 

What skies do you love? What songs speak to your heart? How can you find beauty in each person around you?

May we remember there are blue skies, clouds, and storms in all of us. May we be willing to see each other's rainbows. May we take the time to enjoy the beauty that is this amazing place called Earth. Have a beautiful day!

I have a tendency to set the bar high for myself. I don't want to do something if I can't do it my best. Sometimes I overestimate where my best will land, however. 

I am at a crossroads. The path less traveled is calling to me. As I find myself trying to step forward I am realizing that rather than just walking it; I am trying to pave it. I am trying to get every paver stone leveled and lined up perfectly. 

This is my nature. Perhaps it comes from my parents but I have a feeling it is a long line of ancestry. Measure twice, cut once. 

I appreciate a job well done. I appreciate doing my best. But what about when these goals stand in the way of moving forward? Maybe it is time to lay down my pavers and get reacquainted with the dirt. 

I'm grateful to feel the earth beneath bare feet. I'm grateful to lay down the weight of the pavers. I'm grateful to know I can find a balance between my best and progress. I'm grateful to take some time today to just sit quietly. I'm grateful for the wonderful sounding boards I have in my life. I'm grateful for honesty.

Where do you find your balance between doing your best and getting the job done quickly? What are you grateful for today?

May we each walk the path that suits us. May we do our best and without perfection and hesitation to weigh us down. Have a beautiful day!