Get Motivated

Today I, along with half of the population of Kansas, went to the Get Motivated seminar in Wichita.   I have been to Wichita hundreds of times, and never have I sat on the interstate before 7:00 in the morning waiting at a dead standstill to get off at an exit. 

We covered two miles in a record-breaking 40 minutes, finally found a place to park about six blocks away, and accurately judged walking to the arena to be faster than waiting for a shuttle.  Once inside, we made our way up to the nosebleed section (featured as "Premier Seating") to find the place completely packed. 

This kind of situation always lends itself to some entertaining people watching.  I am intrigued to observe how individuals handle various types of adversity.  Some people were disgusted with the fact that they had to go to overflow seating and watch via satellite.  Many were annoyed that the event planners oversold the number of tickets for seating in the arena.  For the most part, however, there was no major revolting...at least that I saw. 

All in all, it was a pretty good day.  I am not typically hung up on celebrities, but it really was a lot to take in from some fairly prominent people.  Here are some of my favorite points gleaned from each of the speakers.

Rick Belluzo - INTEGRITY MATTERS! - Treat people well, do what you say you will do, set a high standard for behavior.  (Amen to that!!)

Lou Holtz - Do what is right, do everything to the best of your ability, show people that you care.  Never criticize the performer; you may criticize the performance.

General Colin Powell - Trust is the key factor.  When trust is built, people will follow you through almost anything.  When trust is destroyed, there is no foundation.

Rudy Giuliani - Keep Reading Books!  (He said a lot more really great stuff, but that key point was enough for me!)

Bill Cosby - GET UP and just DO IT. Oh, and my favorite....if you want to motivate your employees to do better and work harder.....just start showing them videos of unemployed people looking for work.  I loved, loved, loved Bill Cosby when I was a kid, and he did not disappoint today!

Terry Bradshaw - It's all about people and relationships; show people you care.

Bob Harrison  - I was shocked to hear that when asked what people wanted more of in the seminar, the top answer was spirituality.  This guy did a great job of presenting the Christ in a pretty straight forward way. 

Steve Forbes and Bill Self were also on the list, but one spoke first thing while we were searching for seating, and the other spoke at the very end, which looked to be about 45 minutes after the day was actually supposed to end.  As much as I love KU, heading home at 5:00 trumped Bill Self (not to mention, my Ohio, Alabama, and Florida-raised colleagues didn't have quite so much affection for my Jayhawks!). 

Yes, there were some frustrating moments.  Yes, there were some sales pitches that we had to endure.  No, I didn't win the flat screen TV, the Disney vacation, or the $10,000, but I can safely say my motivation level was raised at least slightly.  That's good enough for me!

But $10,000 sure wouldn't have hurt my feelings.

5 Year Old Obedience

From daddy to the 5 yo while handing him a cupcake:  "Try to be really careful and not make a mess and get chocolate everywhere."

5 yo:  "OKAY!!"

Holding It Together.....Or Not

I'm sure I have mentioned this multiple times in the past several weeks, but this has not been my favorite summer.  Aside from the never-ending heat and dry weather that is wearing us all down, this summer has just been too FULL.

Most of it has been my own doing.  We have had the typical baseball, VBS, swimming lesson, and harvest things going on.  That is all normal.  Add into that the summer dentist and orthodontic appointments, the "Oh, how I love to be a female" appointments, and the yearly CT and bloodwork appointments, and life fills up pretty quickly.

I also chose this summer to start my master's degree.  Again, my fault.  We knew we would be jumping into some craziness by making this decision; however, after analyzing time frames and getting some great friend advice, we decided that right now when both boys are in elementary school is better than attempting it when they are in junior high and high school. 

What I did not expect was to be working quite so much this summer.  I knew my job would entail some summer hours, and I also knew that once August hit, I could pretty much kiss summer good-bye.  However, what I thought was going to potentially be a jam-packed two weeks of summer turned into a VERY crazy six weeks, and has at points become a tad overwhelming.

In the mix of this, I have been trying to document my teaching experience and upgrade my teaching license.  Several years ago, our state made it more difficult for a stay-at-home mom or a private school teacher to keep a professional license.  I had a five year period of time where I did some of both, and my license suffered for it.  I have been on a quest for a few years to move from a Conditional license back up to Professional.  This is important not only because it is a personal goal, but because it affects my master's program, and my ability to take an enormous state test at the end of my program.

Mix all of the above situations together.  Stir for several weeks.  Add a severe lack of sleep and fighting children.  Bring to a boil.  Then call the state education department to check on the status of said license. 

This, my friends, is a recipe for disaster.  As soon as the lady at the state office told me my upgrade had been denied, I lost it.  Not uncontrollable, can't-catch-a-breath sobbing, but tears streaming down my face, can't-speak-a-full-sentence crying.  I was SO EMBARRASSED. 

I suddenly thought of a time six years ago when I was at my OB-GYN's office right after our 6th miscarriage.  I asked him what the Rose symbol on the front of my file was for.  He said it was to alert the doctors and nurses that the patient was there due to problems with a pregnancy, so they wouldn't come in with the "we're so happy you are expecting" smile. 

This left me wondering....what is the file symbol at the state education department for "EMOTIONAL FREAK"??!!

The Happiness Project

For the last year-and-a-half I have been a part of an amazing book club.  The idea started when my friend picked up this book off the shelf at Barnes and Noble.  She said, "I've always wanted to do a book club.  Would you be in it?  Let's do this book." 

I secretly thought she was a little bit crazy. 

I LOVE books.  I am a reader, so the book club part was not my issue.  But the The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society?  Seriously?  That did not sound good to me AT ALL.

Turns out she knew what she was talking about.  The book was great, and getting together with old and new friends was even better.

Nineteen books later, we are reading The Happiness Project.  I am on page 38, and I am already all worked up about this book. 

"Worked up" is the best description I can come up with, because I cannot tell if this is going to be a good thing or a bad thing, but at the moment it is definitely creating some angst. 

I am currently pondering this quote from the book:

"I wanted to change myself but accept myself.  I wanted to take myself less seriously - and also more seriously.  I wanted to use my time well, but I also wanted to wander, to play, to read at whim.  I wanted to think about myself so I could forget myself.  I was always on the edge of agitation; I wanted to let go of envy and anxiety about the future, yet keep my energy and ambition."

My first thought:  This woman is crazy.

My second thought:  This woman could be me. 

I forged ahead to read about her journey of identifying twelve resolutions to tackle, one for each month, excited about what I might discover that I would want to transfer into my own life.  I read through month #1 - Boost Energy. 

How?  Go to sleep earlier....Exercise better....Toss, Restore, Organize...Tackle a nagging task....Act more energetic. 

There were some good things in there, really.  But by the end of chapter one, I was not feeling motivated, I was feeling TIRED. 

This has not been the greatest summer ever.  I have been working too much, seeing my kids too little, studying enough to get through class, and trying to keep family life running somewhat smoothly. 

It's possible that I need a Happiness Project.  I am going to forge ahead in the book and hope that my perspective changes.  Because if a book called The Happiness Project leaves me feeling depressed and deflated, I am not going to be impressed. 

I have already earned the label "Emotional Freak" this summer, and once in a summer is plenty for me.  That may have to be tomorrow's post....

I Love It....I Love It Not.....

I have a love/hate relationship with summer. 


I love the freedom, the relaxed schedules, and not having to wake up at 6:00 a.m. every morning.


I love time at the pool, longer evenings to enjoy the outdoors, and spending time at the lake.


I love fresh produce from the garden, fresh fruit from the store, and eating popsicles on the front porch.


I love bike rides, combine rides, tractor rides, and jet ski rides.


There are a few things, however, that I do not love.  Summer, in fact, would be perfect without the following...

• Sand -- It is everywhere.  I just told my husband in May that our boys have outgrown the sandbox and we could get rid of it this year.  I KNOW they did not hear me say these words, but three days later they rediscovered the sandbox.  The countless hours they spend out there with their neighbor friends are delightful moments of quiet me-time.  The countless hours after they come in are spent sweeping and mopping the floors, and doing laundry.  It is  not worth it.
• Dirty bathtubs.  For the love.  How can one child actually have that much dirt on his body?
• Storms -- I don't hate them, but my oldest child is T.E.R.R.I.F.I.E.D. of storms.  It is beyond normal.  However.....I was nearly as bad as a child.  I know my parents are secretly laughing at me and dancing a little jig every time he gives me a dose of my own medicine. 
• The fighting.  Oh, the fighting.  The stupid, trivial, "I am only doing this to provoke and irritate my brother" fighting.
• 107 degree weather.  Way.too.hot.
• Burning fields --  Yep, still hate it.  Whether it is the field we live in, or the endless...."please respond to control burn out of control...." screaming through my husband's pager, I am not a fan.

Ultimately, though, my biggest frustration with summer is that it goes by too fast! 

I guess that means I should quit complaining and just enjoy the moments that make the memories....except for the sand.  Will.never.like.sand.

The Events of Summer

Typical summer so far.....

HARVEST

PLAYING IN THE WHEAT TRUCK FOR THE LITTLE GUY.  THIS WOULD SEND THE OLDER ONE TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM.

 T-BALL FOR THE LITTLE GUY, BASEBALL FOR HIS OLDER BROTHER.

JET SKIING.  HE WILL NOT RIDE UNLESS HE DRIVES.  NO CONTROL ISSUES THERE...



AND S'MORES, OF COURSE.



FUNNY HOW I DON'T HAVE ANY PICTURES OF THE FIGHTING, THE DAILY CHORES, OR THE "MOM, I'M BORED...." MOMENTS. 

THERE'S BEEN PLENTY OF THAT GOING ON THIS SUMMER AS WELL.

40 Before 40 Update

Today's my birthday.  36.  Let's not dwell on that number for too long.

Last year I wrote a 40 Before 40 post.  It only seems natural that this list should be revisited each year for a little self-evaluation. 

If I've done the math correctly, I need to accomplish at least 8 each year. 

Here goes nothing....

1. Catch up on my kids' scrapbooks. {Progress made....but definitely not 'caught up'.}


2. Exercise faithfully. No more four weeks on, three weeks off. There is a reason no one markets that routine. {Ummmm.....Does 2 weeks on, two weeks off count?}

3. Go on vacation for an entire week with just my immediate family, and not because work sent us.

4. Read 5 classics recommended by my classic literature fanatic friend. {Shoot, now I have to read more than one per year.}

5. Go snow skiing for the 2nd time. The first time was okay, but everyone says you have to go a second time to really enjoy it.

6. Take my children to a professional football or baseball game. {DONE!! Colorado Rockies vs. Chicago Cubs - last summer.}

7. Visit at least half of the States. So far I think I've only been to 15.

8. Develop and keep up a habit of drinking 6-8 glasses of water each day.

9. Landscape - or better yet, hire someone - to landscape our front yard.

10. Begin and maintain a well-tended garden. {DONE!! Does 'maintain' mean more than one year? I'm gonna say no.}

11. Go through the entire house, basement included, room by room, throw out junk, and organize everything.

12.  Go to the Mall of America.

13. Complete a family scrapbook - One that my husband and I actually appear in.

14. Read the Bible through in a year. I started this year, but at the rate I am going, I may hit the New Testament in 5 years.

15. See the Grand Canyon.

16. Get my Master's Degree. {Started....but many years left.}

17. Repaint all the walls in my house.

18. Remember my friends' and family members' birthdays by sending cards, calling, or at least sending emails. {Not bad this year.  If I'm desperate, I could say DONE!}

19. Get new living room furniture.

20. Teach, by example, my kids to volunteer and think of others more.

21. Eat less sugar. {On again, off again.}

22. Begin recycling and keep it up faithfully. {DONE!!}

23. Relearn to play the piano well. {I have decided the easiest way to do this is to keep playing the songs my son plays as he progresses through each level.  I have successfully mastered Level 2.}  :-)

24. See Niagara Falls.

25. Make a family recipe book. I come from a family, and married into a family, with slews of amazing cooks. It would be sad not to pretend that I like to cook and document all of their fabulous recipes.

26. Still be taking girls' weekends. {So far, so good.}

27. Lay on a beach. Since we love going to the lake, let me qualify this by saying a beach at the local reservoir does not count. I should not be able to see land on the other side of the water.

28. Write an adoption book for my son.

29. Have my entire wardrobe be in a single digit size for the first time since I was twelve years old.

30. Go on a mission trip, preferably a family mission trip.

31. Tell my kids everyday that I love them. {Unless I don't see or talk to them....}

32.  Spend more time putting others before myself. {I should have made these a bit more measurable!}

33. Consistently do family devotions.

34. Visit my brother in Oregon.

35. Lead a workshop at a Teacher Convention.

36. Be able to run a 5K.

37. Try more food that ends with -ese....Chinese....Japanese.....

38. Spend an entire weekend at home without kids.

39. Water ski for more than a minute without screaming. {What was I thinking??}

40. Practice saying "forty" so I don't pass out when the day arrives. {No way....}


Shoot. 

Not even close to 8.

And was I thinking I was going to win the lottery to do all that traveling? 

There's always next year....