MamaManagement

To know me is to love me...and to accept my weird obsession with resolutions and goals and betterment-seeking. I sent this picture to my dear friend Wendy the other day. Here's our text conversation that followed: Me: Do you think I have a New Years resolution planning problem? Wendy: Yes! But I appreciate your attempt at organizing your life, self, etc. Me: Are you questioning our friendship right now? Because I'm working on my personal mission/vision/values*...and I'm using colored pens. Wendy: No, I am rooting for you...and your pens. Me: I love my pens. That's the love of a true friend, yo. I am one of those life-long leaner types. I am a seeker. I am always looking for ways to broaden my horizons, deepen my understanding, and better myself and my life. I am always on a path of enlightenment of one sort or another. And the beginning of a new year has a tendency to really amplify this characteristic in me...so does getting older, I think. I know ...

The problem with these brownies is that they're so good we always start eating them before I ever remember to take a picture! No beauty shot here! So, it's January, and I'd say there's a decent chance that you're currently trying to eat healthier...and possibly you're wavering in your efforts. Eating a clean, healthy diet is an awesome goal. But completely giving up all indulgence isn't my kind of thing. I tend to be a eat super healthy 90% of the time, kind of girl...the other 10% is mainly pizza and chips...and brownies! BUT, I love it when I find indulgent treats that are good for me, too. I found this recipe on Danette May's website. She calls them "No Guilt" brownies. I call them healthy and delicious. These are as good as any brownie out there--just ask my husband and kids--but there are no "bad" ingredients in them. I'm pretty sure I'm still not supposed to eat an entire pan (I totally could...just by nibbling...

So my 9 year old daughter is a voracious reader, like her mama. But, unlike her mama, she has, at any given time, about 5-10 novels in active reading mode. (I tend to have one fiction and one non-fiction book going; or one hardcopy and one audio book.) She switches from book to book depending on her mood. She carries at least three novels in her backpack at all times (that sucker is heavy!). And always has one in her hand when she climbs into a car. She takes them with her when we go out to dinner or, really, anywhere where there is even the slightest chance of a few minutes of downtime when she could slip in a few pages. She moans at bedtime when I tell her it's lights out and she has to put away the books. This, not so secretly, gives me unending pleasure. I LOVE that she is so into books. Love, love, love! And I encourage it. I support it...like a dealer supports a junkie. I'm constantly picking up another book from the library (or Amazon) that looks good. And now that she...

I LOVE the new year...like, really love it. After the crazy indulgence of the holidays, there's something just refreshing about the blank slate of a new year. Everything seems possible at the beginning of the year. The fatty, sugary food gets trashed. The decorations come down. The kids go back to school. New calendars and planners come out-- fresh and clean . It all makes me want to deep clean the house and get rid of all the junk. It makes me want to detox my body and rekindle a healthy relationship with food and exercise and meditation. I make lists of all the things I want to do...all the things I want to be. I brainstorm and read articles and listen to audiobooks and meditations. I get so excited by all the possibilities! I mean, I could be a completely different person this year, than I was last year. I could be anyone...anything. More of this. Less of that. What will I be? What will you be? Every new year, it's like being young again...if we let it be. Th...

Hey friends! It's that time of year again! New year...New you! Last year at this time I was gearing up to start my first Danette May 30 Day New You Challenge. I completed that, went on to join her Forever Fit program, and have stuck with her eating, workout, and meditation plans ever since. (If you want to read about my experiences from last year, you can click on Danette May's name in "Tagged Stuff" in the righthand column. Or start with this post here: https://mamamanagement.blogspot.com/2017/02/30-days-to-new-me-danette-mays-30-day.html ) Buuuuuuuut... November and December were kind of crazy months with Nanowrimo and the holidays and some anxiety (insert dramatic eyeroll here) and, well, let's just say that I fell off the Danette May wagon (don't tell her). I almost completely stopped my workouts and meditations and I'd say I was eating on-plan about 60% of the time. And my belly will tell you...not so good an idea. So, here I am at the st...