How the Other Half live....

Well as many of you know, I was the recipient of a fabulous trip that I got for being a challenge winner for the month of September with Discovery Toys. The trip was a trip on a private jet down to the Claremont Spa & Resort (http://www.claremontresort.com) in Berkeley, CA for 4 days. Here is a breakdown with all the fabulous details:
Day one - fly first class down to San Francisco with my friend Lori Nordquist (from Red Deer; a fellow challenge winner). We arrive around 9:30AM & our car is waiting to take us to the Claremont. We drop our bags & check into our room which has a beautiful view of San Francisco and we are off to San Fran for a day of shopping. We had a longer-than-expected walk to the train but got to see beautiful Berkeley and found a great little bakery where we stopped for lunch. We spent about 4 hours alone just in Macy's. Just when we thought we were finished, we would discover another whole floor of women's clothing!! It was crazy! We made a couple other stops & then headed back to the Claremont for dinner with Jane Leitch, President and Rich Newton, CEO of DT along with the other challenge earners - 4 other girls from the States. When we arrived at our room to get ready, there was champagne chilling on ice for us. We had dinner at the Paragon Restaurant (at the Claremont) - it was fabulous & their Butter Pecan Bread Pudding a la mode smothered in Bourbon Sauce is indescribably divine! I have to say, though, that one of the highlights of dinner for me was sitting next to our CEO & having him ask me what changes I would like to see in the company & then taking notes on what I said!!
Well, after dinner, we did a bit more socializing in our room and then it was off to bed. It had been a very long day (I was up at 4:30 my time to catch my flight and it was now about 1AM my time).
Day 2 - I slept in - unfortunately a bit too late to catch breakfast as I woke up at 9:30 & my first spa treatment was at 10. I grabbed a piece of fruit & off I went. My first treatment was an herbal "krauter" bath. This was fantastic - a very deep jet tub (there were even little jets that pulsed on my neck) and this wonderful 5 inch deep frothy foam - this was not your ordinary bubble bath! There was juice, water and ice by the side of my tub and an assistant to look after me when I needed it. After soaking for about 40 minutes, I headed to the waiting area (with juice or tea and herbal tonics of every kind) and visited with the other girls while waiting for my next treatment - a Moor mud wrap. I made a point of picking things I would never splurge for here and man, that mud wrap was heavenly! It included a mini-facial and a scalp massage to finish the experience off. After that, I spend some time in the steam room (I forgot to mention that when I arrived, I was very, very congested - after my day at the spa, I was not!) After that, we just hung out at the spa for a bit & then I went back to the room to grab a bite & just relax for a bit. As a group, we headed back into San Fran for the evening for a bit more shopping & a lovely dinner downtown. Again, we stayed up too late visiting.
Day 3 - Lori & I had ordered room service for breakfast which arrived at about 6:30AM as we had to head out early for our Napa Valley wine tour (http://www.winecountrytourshuttle.com/index.html). This was a 9-hour tour & was fantastic!! When we headed out, it was raining but as we left San Fran & headed north, it cleared up & was a beautiful day. We stopped at 4 wineries - Domain Chandon, V. Sattui (my favorite!), Rutherford and Andretti (as in Mario Andretti). V. Sattui (http://www.vsattui.com/) was definitely my favorite - we had lunch here as well as they have a deli where you can buy breads, cheeses and meats to go with your wine. There was a lovely picnic area outside where we ate. Andretti was beautiful to see as it has been redone to look like an Italian villa - very nice! This was also the only one where we got to walk around in the vineyards. This was an interesting time of year to go on a wine tour as the picking was all done & the leaves had started to change color - very beautiful! We met the girls back at Fisherman's Wharf (Pier 39) for dinner and then headed back to the spa for a late night soak in the hot tub.
Day 4 - time to go home already! But I was looking forward to this day as it was our turn to fly on the private jet! We had a sumptuous breakfast at Jordan's (at the resort) and were then picked up by our car & taken to the airfield. Our car pulled right up to the plane & we literally got out of the car & onto the plane. Lori & I had the whole jet to ourselves. Now I have to tell you, this is traveling as I have never experienced it! Very plush interior. Our meal was a platter of jumbo prawns with crostinis, a grilled chicken Caesar Salad (huge!), and cheesecake for dessert. In addition to that, there was fresh brewed Starbucks coffee, an entire drawer filled with candy & chocolate bars and another drawer filled with cold drinks (and of course booze!). The highlight of the flight for me was getting to sit in the pilot's seat! The co-pilot told me about all the controls and I got to see the view from the front - very cool! Apparently this plane is owned by one of the members of the board & it was offered to Jane & she offered it to us through the challenge.
This whole trip was an unbelievable experience for me and I am truly grateful to Discovery Toys for offering this challenge. They sure know how to treat their people!

Falling from the Sky

So I have been doing this "abundance exercise" to help me not feel chest pains anytime I think about money. The idea is that I have a chequebook register & every day I write in a deposit that grows by $1000 every day. So on day one, I "deposited" $1000 & day 2 $2000 and so on. The other part of this is that I "spend" that money everyday (this is mental spending, not actual spending). This was pretty easy for the first couple of weeks. But now I am up to over $30,000 - it is, surprisingly, difficult to spend that much money, which is the point of the exercise. First of all, in the exercise, I have everything I need - I've renovated my entire house, gone on some really nice trips, bought new clothes and donated a whole pile to my favorite charities. That is actually what I have been doing all this week - giving money away to World Vision & Free the Children. What this causes you to do is to think bigger. If I had $30,000 to spend today, what would I spend it on? I spent $29,000 yesterday & will get to spend $31,000 tomorrow. It is a very neat exercise.

But here's the cool part - since I have started doing this exercise, I have had many things just given to me: a whole pile of new clothes, a Blackberry, 2 tickets to see Brian Tracey (worth $300 each), a new china cabinet, a slurpee, a coffee at Starbucks (this one was cool - I went to pay & the girl said, "Oh I can't take debit today - do you have any other way of paying?" I said sorry, no & she said "That's okay - it's on us today), and (drum-roll) a big screen tv. I just laugh now when it happens because it just keeps happening!

The whole point of this was to help me feel better about finances. Well it has certainly done that! Try it! It's fun & you will probably end up with some freebies out of it!

Off to the Coast

Well on Wednesday we are off to Vancouver & Salt Spring Island for my brother's wedding. We are quite excited as we have been talking for years about taking the kids to the coast. I've never been to Salt Spring but everyone who has says it's just beautiful! We are staying in a cabin there - saw pictures - looks great! I am looking forward to a break. We had our Discovery Toys leadership retreat a couple weekends ago and it was also in a cabin. We had someone come in to give us pedicures, somebody else to teach us bellydancing, we made gratitude journals & we were broken into groups so that we each only had to look after one meal for the whole weekend. But I think my favorite part was that once we got there, I didn't drive a car, answer a phone or touch a computer the entire time. It was a wonderful thing. I know there is a place in Edmonton that does spiritual retreats & I think I am going to look into it. I have been trying this exercise that I learned about for meditating & it is simply to count from one to ten without any other thoughts entering your head. You try it!! I couldn't believe how easily I got distracted. "One...two...think about your breathing...crap....One....two...." That went on for about 10 minutes & I don't think I ever got past two. It made me realize how used to chaos & noise & distraction I am and how difficult it is to just try to focus. I can see how important it is to make sure our children get quiet time too. So I will keep practicing & let you know when I get to ten. Until then, I am looking forward to a family vacation on the coast!

The Hard Truth

This came to me via email today & I just loved it. So much truth. Apparently Bill Gates (love him or hate him, his words are right on the mark) was speaking to a group of high schoolers & shared with them this list of things that you do not learn in school. We are so focused on political-correctness that we set kids up for an unrealistic picture of the "real world."
I don't have all the source information from this, just that it is from an address Bill Gates gave to a high school.
So, read & enjoy!

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity . Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now.. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

A Big Surprise!

So Troy & I were having a conversation a few weeks ago about I'm not even sure what when I suddenly said, "You know if I was going to learn another instrument, I'd want to learn the Steel Guitar. And I'm not getting any younger....Maybe I should make that a goal for this next year."

Well, a few days later, Troy calls me from the guitar shop & says, "I wanted to surprise you with this but I realized you're going to have to come & pick out your own." I was totally blown away. So, here is a picture of my new Dobro Resophonic Square Neck Guitar! Now I need lessons! This is a finger-picking lap guitar. It is tuned differently than a regular guitar & it is played differently - with a slide & finger picks. I am very excited about this. And was so surprised.

So, thank-you Troy for a wonderful & unexpected birthday gift! You're the best!

Grace Like Rain

As I look out the window this morning, the ground is still covered in a blanket of white. The snow continues to fall - sigh... I thought it was April showers.... Everyone has been grumbling about the snow, myself included, but ultimately I realize that grumbling about something I can't control is a waste of energy.

I am longing for those summer thunder storms. You know the kind - you can feel them in the air for days, hanging there. The air is hot & humid, the sky dark with clouds. And then in an instance, the sky opens up and the rain pours down by the bucketful. The hot, sticky feeling disappears & a time of refreshing sets in.

Todd Agnew's "Grace Like Rain" song is one of my favorites these days. The verses are from Amazing Grace but the chorus is:
Halleluiah, Grace like rain falls down on me.
Halleluiah, All my stains are washed away, they're washed away.

So I can put up with the snow for another week or so because I know that when it melts, things will be green and full of life. I love spring, partially because it is the end to winter & the start of newness but also because it is so short, especially this year! It will give way to summer and summer to fall.

I hope that you all had a meaningful Easter. For now, I will be waiting for the rain.

Things you can't "un-see"

So last weekend, Troy & I watched Borat. If you haven't seen it yet, be prepared to look away. There are things in that movie that nothing can prepare you for. Don't get me wrong, it is side-splitting-ly funny but very crude. Don't watch it with your mother... I had seen Sacha Baron Cohen's Golden Globe acceptance speech before seeing the movie & it didn't really register. I went back to YouTube after seeing the movie & then watched the speech again - very, very funny! I just wonder what would have to be going through your mind in order to do some of the things he did. I didn't realize until someone told me as we were watching that the people in the movie thought this was a legitimate documentary. Funny...

We now have the pleasure of watching movies in Troy's parents' new theatre room. But this is not an average theatre room. It is more like an actual theatre adorned with an 11 foot screen & a projector (there are even curtains for the screen), 2 rows of theatre-style recliners, a whoop-ass sound system (complete with Harmon Kardon amp & Paradigm speakers), and a theatre-style popcorn cart. It truly is an experience. The only unfortunate thing is, other than Borat, the only movies we've had a chance to watch on it have been Finding Nemo & Flushed Away.... I'm looking forward to seeing Daniel Craig up close & personal. Now there's an image I won't mind not un-see-ing!

I think I got it.....

If this works, you should be able to click on the link at the bottom (Photo Sets) & go see all the pictures.....

www.flickr.com thetoylady's Rio Baby! photoset

In a moment...

This is a picture of my friend Linda & me in Rio - just a couple weeks ago. (not sure why the picture is sideways - or how to fix that...) Earlier this week, I got word that Linda had an aneurism. She was at home & told her husband Jason she had a terrible headache - the worst one of her life. They packed up the kids (they have 3 of them) and headed to the hospital. It ruptured on the way there. She had surgery & was in the neurosurgical ICU (not sure exactly what it's called). Got an update this morning - she is now awake & has been moved to a "regular" room. She has been eating & talking a little bit. Apparently it was at the base of the brain so they are not anticipating any brain damage.
It just made me realize how quickly our lives can change & how we need to truly make the most of our moments. Our lives are truly a gift from God. I have no doubt that Linda will make a full recovery and am very thankful for that. So I guess this is just a reminder for all of us to not leave things undone. Earlier this year my brother-in-law (30 years old) had a heart attack. I am not fool enough to think that I am immune to these things & I hope you who are reading this will realize the same thing.
Love to you all...

Change is good...

Okay, well while I'm trying to figure out the picture stuff, I'll fill you in on some other revelations.
I am an opportunist - when I see an opportunity, I'm going to take it. So it was in Rio. We were at the Awards Banquet & people were mingling and dancing & just having a good time. Then I saw her across the room - Nicky Laman. Now for most of you, I am sure you have no idea who I am talking about. But for anyone who has been in Discovery Toys for any length of time & has done any training at all, you will know that Nicky has been around since the beginning of the company & is a Diamond Sales Director - the top rank in the company. This is a woman of influence & intelligence. I have heard her speak several times & above all, I just really jive with her. I love her philosophy & her way of approaching things. So there she was. I told her I wanted to see the "circles" - a way of diagraming to new people how to promote within the company that she came up with. It's nothing super scientific, by any stretch. It is, simply, circles. However, to spend 10 minutes sitting with Nicky and having essentially a one-on-one training was something I was not about to pass up. Can you guess what I have been doing since I returned? Having coffee with team members & drawing circles....
I have reached a point in Discovery Toys where the only way for me to go up is to help others go up. And I couldn't be happier about that. There is nothing that jump-starts my engine than to celebrate the success of others - especially if they're on my team! But not exclusively. For those of you that are familiar with the 5 love languages, mine is gift-giving. And maybe that's why I get a rush out of doing what Nicky did for me - taking the time to give someone a piece of advice that just might help them reach a new level in their business. It is one of the things that has surprised me the most out of the people I have met in this company. You would expect that a group of women working in the same area would be very catty & competitive but the opposite is true. I have met some of my closest friends in the last few years & we genuinely rejoice for each other at our successes. This is my kind of company - one that rewards you for helping others succeed.

Arg

Anyone used Flickr before? I have my photos from Rio posted there but I am trying to import them to my blog. Anyone know if I can do this & how??
Stay tuned....pictures coming soon....

Jet Lag

It is 1AM in Brazil right now & I am attempting to stay up past 9:00 local time to help myself readjust. So this post will be short and sorry - I haven't downloaded any of the pictures yet. But I do have this one that was actually taken this summer in San Francisco. I was there for convention & a group of us decided to do some touring on our last day after convention was over. So we all went to Bubba Gump's for lunch & they sat us at a table right next to this licence plate and of course we all had our pictures taken next to it. Well, wouldn't you know it, I am now the proud owner of an identical licence plate (except it says 2007) that I bought from a guy on the street outside Corcovado.
There aren't enough words to describe how much we enjoyed Rio. Troy & I have done a fair bit of travelling, together & before we were married. We both agreed that Brazil was our favorite. The people there are just amazing - so very friendly & helpful. My Portuguese was atrocious but every local was very willing to help me - whether it was to get directions or order pizza!
Anyways, I have so much more to say about the trip & no energy to put words together right now. Hopefully I will have pictures up in the next few days...

On Pins and Needles...

Well as some of you know, last week I managed to injure my SI joint (lower back & hip) - don't know how...just know that I could barely walk, And, of course the thought of a 20-hour plane ride had me searching for solutions. I started, of course, with positive thinking - which actually did some remarkable work! I went to bed with visions of dancing in Rio and woke up the next morning feeling much better. However, I was not 100%. So I continued to slowly recover but had told myself if I wasn't totally better by Monday, I would have to look into alternative therapy. Well, alternative indeed. Yesterday I went for my first acupuncture treatment. I could not believe the difference! It was truly amazing! I went again today and I feel basically healed. I have to say that I was a bit nervous about the whole idea - a series of needles sticking out of my spine for a period of time...But I barely felt them go in at all and although I wouldn't say I was totally relaxed, I did manage to close my eyes & take in the soothing music. I have to say that I am glad the needles were in my back so I could not see what was going on. On the first day, after taking the needles out, she told me what she was going to do next. However, I really had a hard time understanding her (she had a fairly strong accent). I didn't mind that I didn't know what was coming - I actually preferred it that way. But then she asked if I was going to be swimming in Brazil, if I would be wearing a swimsuit. I said yes and she said "Oh, then I won't do this because it wil leave a mark." At this point I lifted my head to see her holding a cotton ball in a long pair of tweezers in one hand and a lighter in the other! Maybe it's best I didn't understand her. All in all, though I am now a fan of acupuncture & will probably go back when I return if the pain returns.
But now I must go to bed. Tomorrow & Thursday will be long days. We fly out first thing tomorrow so I will post pictures & stories when we return. I am very excited - although fading fast at this somewhat late hour... That's what you get when you save everyone's packing until the night before.....and try to make arrangements for someone to buy you tickets to the Police while you're away...
Toodles for now!

The Final Countdown

Doo doo doo doo...Doo doo doo doo doo...Doo doo doo doo...Doo doo doo doo doo doo doooo do do doooo do do doooo do do doo doo doo doo doooo doo dooo...

So we leave a week from tomorrow. I am trying something different this time before we go - tanning! For any of you who saw our Mexico & Bahamas pictures, you might remember my classic white -to-pink-to-white-again tanning attempts! And I just burned in all the wrong places. The bottom of my belly was a strip of oh-so-agonizing red while the top of my belly remained white... So I am trying to develop a "base coat" to alleviate some of the pain. It would be nice to also come back from some place tropical & have people look at me and say "Wow - you must have gone somewhere warm" instead of the usual me saying "I just spent a week in Mexico" and them saying "Really?"
I also find it amusing that Stewie from the Family Guy also started tanning on this week's episode. So now when I come home Troy looks at me cheekily & says "It's not a look, Brian - it's a lifestyle!"
Anyways, I do actually have a tan line, which is actually quite sad when I look at how white my legs are and realize that they were whiter than that last week.
Troy and I also watched a travel video on Rio last night. I learned about many things, including Cachaca - a 40-proof drink made from distilled sugar cane....yowza. Think I'll stay away from that one. (On a side note, I couldn't remember the name of it so I googled it & found it on a website that sells not only alcohol, but also windows & doors, sports shoes and granite...)
Well, I have developed a terrible back ache this evening so I am going to nurse myself back to health and prepare for the 20-hour plane ride!

Dancing on the Sand

Well the countdown is on - only 20 days until we leave for Rio!! I am so excited! It was one of those things that I knew from the moment we found out, that we would be there. When I first saw the announcement on the webstie about the trip, I called Troy and said "We're going to Rio!!!" There was never any doubt. I didn't think "Ooo - that would be nice. Hope I can do that but I'm not sure..." Every year I strive to grow my business more & more. I recently adjusted my goals based on things that were happening around me. I have decided to push myself & I will be a Sales Director by convention this year (July). I've learned alot about visualization, both from Jim Fannin's book (S.C.O.R.E.) and from other books & people's stories. It is a powerful tool and right now I see myself walking across the stage being introduced as a new Sales Director. It's already happened in my mind. I read a great story in S.C.O.R.E. - it was the story of John Mackenroe & how when he was just starting out, he beat one of the top champions in the world. Years later, Fannin asked him how he did it & he said "I was number one in the world. My raing just hadn't caught up yet." I love that!!! So now I have been going around saying that I am a Diamond Sales Director & a millionaire - my rank & my bank account just haven't caught up yet! My goal with DT has always been to make enough money so that Troy could quit his job & pursue his dream. I forsee this happening in the next couple of years.

And on a much less serious note, check out these new shoes I got for Rio!!!!!

Ugh! Finally!!!

I was not shirking my blog! I couldn't get logged in. But here I am now. I can't believe how fast January has gone! I find that time goes so fast these days. Looking forward to getting away to Rio in a month - aaahhh!!!

Anyhoo...It's been a good month. I spent the first 2 months in a terrible funk that I couldn't get out of no matter how hard I tried. Then I realized that was the problem - I was trying too hard. I just needed to allow myself a day to let go & once I did that, I was fine. Plus I got this really cool button for my desk at the Hallmark store. It looks a bit like those "easy" buttons they have at Staples, except it's called a "Boogie Button" and when you push it, it plays "Shake your Groove Thing." I think my favorite part is that now Elijah goes around the house singing "Shake your Groove Thing" - very funny!

I am also reading a new book which I highly recommend. It's called "S.C.O.R.E" by Jim Fannin. The letters stand for Self-discipline, Concentration, Optimism, Relaxation & Enjoyment. It is about having balance in all arenas of life & being able to get into a performance "zone" - it's fantastic! I read the chapter on Optimism this morning & it couldnt have come at a better time. Tomorrow is month end & I needed to finish some sales in order to be where I wanted to be. Well, after reading that chapter, I was able to head optimistically into my day & the orders have been flowing & I have been connecting with customers.

One of the women I connected with was a new mom & their baby has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy & micro-cephaly (the brain does not develop at a "normal" rate). My heart just broke for her & I was once again so thankful to have healthy children. I cannot imagine the struggles and trials they have and will go through. I will have the pleasure of meeting with them next week. It's at times like this I feel very inadequate & ill-prepared. But who knows, maybe all that mom needs is someone to talk to. I just hope I can be of help in some small way. I thank God every day for my children and the blessing they are.

Anybody Out There??

I've been reading "Me to We" lately - a book written by Craig & Marc Kielburger. It's about how we help ourselves by helping others. They talk alot about community and our need to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Our society, although more connected globally now than at any point in history, is also very individual. We do so much in isolation, whether it's work, entertainment or whatever. Look at me - instead of calling people to share all these thoughts, I sit in my office by myself posting them on a blog that you can read, also by yourself, and maybe respond to. Email, although very efficient and a great tool, is so impersonal. One of my favorite quotes in the book is "We watch Friends instead of having friends."

When we lived in Winnipeg, we experienced community in a very true form. We had the unique priveledge of attending Grain of Wheat church. The church was in Wolseley and the majority of the people who attended also lived in Wolseley, many in walking distance. For them, church was not just Sunday morning. They really had a sense of what "community" meant. Living in Wolseley was very deliberate - it kept everyone close and connected. There were local businesses run by people in the church that were heartily supported, including Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company (the absolute best bread & cinnamon buns in the world! I can't go back to Winnipeg without stocking up) and the Wolseley Oak restaurant. It was such a unique experience - people were there for each other. When someone was sick, there was no need for a sign-up sheet to look after them - it just happened. My friend Mona went there as well & after we had moved she told me that one of the things they started doing was common meals. At supper time on weeknights, they would have 5 (I think) houses who ate together. The meal was rotated between the houses so that each family only had to cook one meal a week (it was just a bigger meal). This was just a supper thing - people came & ate and then went on with their evening. Because everyone lived so close, they could just walk to each others' places. I feel so blessed to have been able to share in this community. It was a truly unique experience.

I find it hard to reclaim that sense of community but feel a longing for it. I don't do well in isolation. None of us do. Just look at the statitstics of depression today. We are social people & we need each other. We need to return to a place of being involved with other people in a more meaningful way - beyond just email and the occasional telephone call. It is in helping others that we truly find peace and fulfillment.

Goal Setting Time

It's that time of year for me again. Well, actually I set goals many times during the year but I always look at the big picture at the beginning of the year. In a couple weeks, I will be in Red Deer for our annual Business Builders' Retreat. One of the traditions of this weekend is dream-mapping - cutting out pictures & words and adding photos & things like that and gluing them on a large colored sheet. I have these hanging in my office by my desk & I see them every day. Last year's included pictures of Rio, family pictures (and the words "Smart Kids"), a picture of a woman doing yoga on the beach and lots of words ("the power of positive", "life is too short to waste time", "surrounded by miracles", "take time to take care of yourself", just to name a few). I love this exercise. I find it very meaningful and motivating.

So I got together with my friend Holly this morning & we talked about business goals & personal goals. One of the things we talked about was how so often we feel the pressure to take on other people's goals. If someone else is doing great & we maybe aren't, it's so easy to feel bad about yourself. But who's to say that that person's goals are the same as mine? I know I have done this lots and I have learned to take a step back & look at my own goals & evaluate myself against that. Another thing we talked about was something that I struggle with & that is giving myself permission to just take time for me. I used to be very good at this & I remember saying at one point that I would always take at least an hour for myself every day. Well, that was before kids & careers & all the rest of it. I have fallen out of the habit of taking time for myself, other than my 15 minutes of reading each morning. So that was one of my personal goals - taking 30-60 minutes for myself each day. That might mean a trip to the gym or it might mean watching Oprah in the afternoon (something I always feel guilty for whenever I take the time).

I have a feeling this is going to be a very exciting year and I am looking forward to everything it has in store. I know that the challenges are there as a neccessary path to growing. Later this week, Troy & I will be going out on a date to do our own family goal setting. Another habit we've fallen out of. I am so glad I have a husband who sees the value of goals. My biggest piece of advice to anyone who is reading this & going to do goal setting of your own:
1. Make it tangible and measurable.
2. Write it down & post it where you will see it.