Smart Habit Saturday

So far I've been doing pretty well on all my new habits. I was worried when I started SMART Habit Saturday that some would drop off as I picked up new ones, but I've not been doing too bad. I think it's the whole accountablity factor and the fact that I know there are others out there striving to reach their goals right along with me. If you're not familiar with SMART Habit Saturday, visit The Lazy Organizer's blog to find out more.

Here's a recap of what I've been up to so far:

• Change sheets every Sunday
• Eat breakfast everyday
• Take some me time (you'll have to read about my latest find!)
• Replace not-so-healthy foods with healthier varieties
• Moisturize everyday

This week I'm adding:

• Take my vitamins EVERYDAY!

Check in with me next week to see how it's going. What new SMART Habits can you come up with to be a better you?

A Life Less Cluttered

Don't take my word for it...visit The Lazy Organizer to see what others are saying about my book, A Life Less Cluttered: Expert Secrets to Your Own Organizing Epiphany.

"Are You Stretched Out, Mommy?"

The title words inspired by my 4 year old probably have you all conjuring up a myriad of images, I'm sure. But, after my initial outburst of laughter was under control, I realized how profound my little one was.

Let me give you the background. It was a particularly difficult day last week. Lots of things going on and going wrong. I was about to be called upon to be referee between my daughters for the umpteenth time that day, when I let out one of my patented sighs of exasperation (which is apparently a sign for those around me that Mom is near her breaking point). My youngest daughter comes up behind me, lays a hand on my shoulder and asks in her most concerned voice, "Are you stretched out, Mommy?" See, what she really meant was, "stressed out", but the common, everyday term got turned around...or did it?

I realized, I have been stretched out lately, stretched thin, to the point it doesn't feel like there's enough of me to go around. Between my organizing business, my job (normally 4 days a week as a paralegal) and home and family, there's just been very little time for me. No doubt about it, I'm stretched out! No time to think, to ponder, to read, to relax, to do any of the things I enjoy. I'm almost to the point where I've forgotten what it is that I enjoy. Scrapbooking, what's that? A manicure? Never heard of it.

I took my plight to my husband. "I need time out. I need time to recenter. I want to take yoga. Not just pop in the cd at home either. I want to go somewhere and "take yoga".

He's usually a really supportive guy, so I wasn't surprised that he was very agreeable to the idea. (Plus he knows if mom's not happy, nobody's happy.) He even suggested he'd call his friend who owns a local fitness center and set something up for me. It's this great place, he told me, with a kids area right next to the class and a big window so I can keep an eye on the kids. You know, if he ever needs to drop them off to me for any reason.

"No way, bud! The point of me getting out alone is to get out alone! You know, like you do when you play softball twice a week."

"Oh," he says. "Is that what you meant?" He was even more agreeable then. Lucky for him.

I took my first class this past Thursday and it was great! Aside from the sore, stiff muscles in places I didn't know had muscles, it was very relaxing. The balance ball was interesting. I always felt slighted as a kid because I never got a "hippity hop ball". Now I figure this is my chance to re-live my childhood. And as I bend and twist my way into "downward facing dog" (that's a yoga pose by the way) I think to my self, "Now I'm really stretched out!"

Moisturize, Don't Agonize!

For awhile now, my catch phrase has been "Organize, Don't Agonize!". I think I'm officially (or not) changing it to "Moisturize, Don't Agonize!" It's going to be my new SMART Habit Saturday mantra. I'm tired of the scaly, flaky legs and with winter coming, it's bound to be worse. Plus I just saw a 70 year old woman on Oprah who didn't look a day over 40 and her secret she said, was moisturizing! So, my habit is to start using lotion everyday...of course I already missed this morning. But tomorrow...promise! So, maybe by the time I'm her age I'll look 50ish. I'm 34 now, so I have some time to work with, but I'm not expecting miracles here!

So, what new habit can you start picking up this week? See what others are tackling over at The Lazy Organizer's blog with Lara Gallagher.

SMART Habit Saturday Recap

This week for SMART Habit Saturday I've decided to just recap what I've been working on, re-center, re-focus and re-group. Here's what I've been working on so far:

• Changing sheets every Sunday This one is easy for me...I love those clean sheets!


• Eating breakfast everyday I've done very well with this on the weekdays, weekends are hit and miss


• Taking time for me I've not done this at all, except for the day I got out without the kids to get groceries (for the record...I don't think this counts!)


• Developing healthier eating habits I could do better. I have substituted wheat for white bread and cut back on the sugar, but I could still do better in other areas.

So, this week, I'm going to continue with the SMART Habits I've been working on and add a new one next week. If you want to find out more about SHS and The Lazy Organizer, visit Lara's blog.

Healthier Eating Habits

So far, I've been doing amazingly well on my new habits. This one will put me to the test. I've really been trying to eat more healthy. Tonight I didn't do so good. Ever have one of those movie-night dinners where you plop down for a family movie and eat snacky food for dinner? Pizza Rolls, mini quesadillas, cheese sticks...mmm! It only happens about once or twice a month (more often in the winter) so all's forgiven.

But, my new habit this week is to make better food choices by replacing not so good foods with better ones. Like wheat bread for our usual white, yogurt instead of a cookie, fruit added to my cereal instead of the ususal heaping spoonful of sugar. You get the idea.

I think I'm hoping the small changes will fake out my body and not be such a shock to my system. Maybe by the time this habit sinks in I'll have forgotten what junk food tastes like and I won't miss it so much!

Have you been over to The Lazy Organizer's blog to find out more about SMART Habit Saturday? SMART Habits are all about Saving, Money, Associations, Resources and Time. Check it out to find out more!

Good for the Soul Time

Smart Habit Saturday

(to join in on SHS, visit The Lazy Organizer)

I realized today that I'm really missing some "me" time, that little bit of time I used to tell my husband was "good for the soul" time just for me. One of the things I really miss is getting a manicure. It's been months, I tell ya! I'm not "high maintenance" or a real "girly-girl", not that there's anything wrong with that, but I did enjoy the occasional hand massage/manacure.

I'm fortunate enough to have fairly nice, natural nails. Mainly because I hate doing dishes. If they won't fit in the dishwasher, I ask bribe my oldest into doing them...or hide them in the oven. So, I enjoy keeping my nails painted most of the time, which I could do at home. But the best part is the relaxation I get from having them done at a salon. It makes me feel like queen for a day (or at least an hour). A good hand/forearm massage will leave you feeling almost as good as having a full back rub...almost.

Plus, it was a place I wouldn't dare take the kids; the older one because she'd beg me to get her's done and the younger one because I'd be fishing her out of the foot tubs. So it was alone time by a default. I did try to take my husband once when we were going out for the evening, but he poked so much fun at the bad voice-overs they had on the foreign movie they were playing that I told him I would never take him with me again. He was crushed.

So, I think my habit for this week will be to re-introduce an old one. I'll become a re-habitual offender! While getting my nails done may not be a weekly habit, I'm sure I can find something else to do for an hour or so on the off weeks.