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We all have them. Those secret fantasies of where we want to take our blog or our business. Or taking that step to start from scratch to learn a new skill set. Maybe it’s auditioning for community theatre, making videos to complement our blog, or introducing ourselves to someone that inspires us.
No matter how you slice it, dreaming it is the easy part. Taking that first step to make it happen is scary. It’s uncomfortable. And it’s something too many of us put off.
But why? What’s holding us back? I will tell you…do any of these ring true with you?
- Fear of failure
- Discouraged by the overwhelming work it might take to make it happen
- Doubts that your vision will become the reality
- Burn Out
Yeah, I’ve felt that way before and there’s a project I’ve had in the back of my mind for a few months now that needed clarity but I’ve got my fears and doubts too. But you know what? I’ve spent a large part of this first day of the New Year to map out how I’m going to make it happen. I encourage you to spend a few hours today, tomorrow, next week, but SOON…to do the same.
Besides the potential to create something all your own and bring your ideas and your dreams to fruition, some side effects of going out of your comfort zone include:
- Inspiring others to do the same
- Setting an example for the next generation (my younger sister is pictured here wearing the “Girls Can’t What?” t-shirt I gave her for Christmas).
- Surprise yourself
- Come up with new innovative ideas
So on this last day of my 15 Days of New Years Resolutions series I encourage you to look within, think about what you really want to accomplish this year, and figure out what’s been holding you back. Then I want you to do your best to eliminate that stumbling block and go for it!
Want help reaching your blogging and business goals this year? Want to network with other ambitious, entrepreneurial women to support each other in your endeavours? Sign up for Inner Circle, my on-going, affordable group consulting.
And in the meantime, stay tuned as I will be stepping out of MY comfort zone in the weeks to come (and my hope is that you will benefit from me doing this!)
Cheers & Happy 2009!
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My husband and I are really lucky because both of our extended families live in the same local area. Seeing family at holidays and on birthdays is pretty much a given. However, on special occasions sometimes I feel like we are so caught up in the rituals related to the event that we don’t get that quality time to really connect and bond. In 2009, I hope to create more quality time with family by trying some of the following:
- Turn events centered around a meal into one that includes the interaction that goes along with the meal preparation. Instead of a pot luck where everyone makes a dish beforehand, everyone would bring the ingredients and work together. As a result, we not only create a meal, but we create memories, too.
- Engage in more casual travel with our extended family. We don’t have a big budget for luxury vacations but we do love to go camping. This year I plan on inviting more family to come along for the fun of roughing it outdoors - a bonding experience for sure!
- Make a plan to not have a plan. Sometimes family events can be over scheduled. I’m going to have family over for a down-time day where we bring our favorite books, movies, and games. And if we don’t end up reading, watching, or playing them that’s ok. It will be all about the spontaneity. We all might end up taking naps, who knows?! But it will be a no-pressure time to spend together.
To encourage spending more time with my family, Duncan Hines sent us everything we need to make their Carrot Cake, including the carrots! That’s right, with Duncan Hines’ Carrot Cake mix, the carrots and raisins are included…if you didn’t know it came from a box you’d think I picked it up at our local bakery. We spent some time with my family making the cake together today on New Year’s Eve. A great way to say good-bye to 2008 and hello to 2009!
And Duncan Hines wants to give one of my readers a gift basket filled with all kinds of goodies. Here’s what you have to do to win, each item gives you one entry and the contest ends on January 9.
- Tweet this contest
- Tell me your favorite activity to do with your family and what activity you plan to try this year to encourage for quality family time.
- Blog about how your family spends quality time and link back to this post.
Good luck!
You’ll notice from quite a few of my New Years Resolutions that I am hoping to become more of a domestic rock star this upcoming year. Because of my husband’s odd work schedule (totally beneficial to my work schedule but not so beneficial for taking time to cook and bake) the cooking and baking doesn’t happen that often and I want to change that. Frozen meals in a bag are all too commonplace around here. I’m on a mission to break out the spoon, the spatula, and that other doohickey I have in my utensil drawer and become the gourmand that I know is hiding inside of me somewhere.
How am I going to do it? Here are my lofty plans:
1. You know from Day 1 of this series that I plan to read more Martha Stewart Living
and less about what’s going on in La La Land. I’m going to clip recipes and gosh darn it, I’m going to make them (and share the results here on my blog for your amusement).
2. I’m also going to start perusing awesome sites like BakeSpace and My Wooden Spoon, two sites that are both newb friendly as well as inspiring.
3. Invest in appliances that make the process easier. We have owned a rice cooker for years and it’s so handy and easy to use. This past year we also got a bread maker. Recently, the kind folks at Breville sent me their HealthSmart Food Steamer
and my family recently tried it out. I have to say, this steamer rocks! Hubs cut the veggies, kidlet safely helped load it up, then I turned it on and within minutes we were enjoying the entire meal we made on the one steamer! Here’s some more deets about the Breville Health Smart Steamer
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It offers versatility with three removable trays, allowing you to cook just one dish or an entire healthy meal.
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For the best taste, steam rice and vegetables in the upper trays and denser foods like fish or poultry in the bottom tray.
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The base of each tray even has six indents to hold eggs upright for cooking.
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There’s also an automatic “keep warm” function that can keep food at the dinner-time temperature for up to an hour.
I documented the whole process too…check it out!
Oh, and if you think THAT’S rad…guess what! They’ve given me one to give away too! So here’s what you need to do to win, you’ll get one entry for each and the contest will close on January 10.
1. Tweet about this contest.
2. Share in the comments here what recipe you’d use the Breville Steamer for and why you want to win it.
3. Take a picture of the frozen meal in your freezer that has either been in there the longest is the most shameful (health-wise) and post a link to it here in the comments.
And stay tuned because this domestically-challenged momma is about to turn over a new leaf (of lettuce that is).
808000;">UPDATE!!!
808000;">Win a $50 Bundle from YouCanMakeThis!
808000;">The bundle includes a Child/Adult Apron Set, Women’s Reversible Wrap Skirt, The “She Loves Me, She Loves Me KNOT” Handbag, The Reversible Patchwork Bucket Hat, Easy-Fit Pants, and Boys Ties. Between all of those, items can be made for both boys, girls, and women.
808000;">These instructions are written by everyday moms who have an expertise in an area. They are written in a way that makes you feel you have a friend sitting right next to you, telling you what to do next. They all have detailed instructions and step-by-step instructions so even someone who has never made these before, can do so for their homes and families.
To win, just leave a comment letting me know which project you’d want to start on first and how you’d rate your craftiness on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the most craft-tastically challenged.
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Before I get in to today’s New Years Resolution, I wanted to give those that want to raise the stakes and really put their money where their mouth is an opportunity to do so. Check out PledgeHammer. This easy to use and nifty tool let’s you make a pledge and if you don’t follow through, you’re ponying up to charity. If you decide to use PledgeHammer and need an idea for a charity, feel free to invest through the Social Media Moms Group on Kiva (or even if you don’t use Pledgehammer, we welcome you with open arms!).
If only my present lust for learning was a strong when I was in college. Back then it was all about socializing and then cramming for tests and writing papers at the last minute. But now? I’m always on the lookout for new skills to learn, new things to try. So for 2009, I hope to continue to learn new things and pursue more projects that will enrich my life, my career, and my well-being.
Some options I am currently considering:
- Learn more about SEO. I’ve got the general gist and I’m showing up high in the search engines for a lot of key words but I really want to get to the heart of the analytics and ramp up my own SEO skills in 2009. I’ll be checking into SEOmoz.org
and SEOBook to kick it off! (I’ve been told SEOBook is great to start with so I’m going to take the advice I got from Twitter and begin there).
- You know that Beastie Boys song “She’s Crafty”? I know it was in a different context, but I’m so not crafty. I’m hoping to get inspired and some instruction from You Can Make This and share my creations on my blog for all to laugh at admire.
- I also want to be more conscious of the environment and buy more green products and practice more eco-friendly habits. I’ve subscribed to Ideal Bite
to get tips every day.
What do you want to learn in 2009? If you want to learn more about marketing your small business or building your blog into a brand…check out my uber affordable Inner Circle program.
Share your aspirations for pursuing and learning new things in the comments…let’s all help each other make it happen!
Tags: crafts, eco-friendly, education, learning, New Years Resolution, Pledgehammer, Search engine optimization, sewing, small business, twitter, Web search engine
Photo by Emilie Sommer
Let me tell you a little story about how my husband and I met. The first time we met it was when we were in high school. I went to public, he went to private. One of our mutual friends who lived in his neighborhood but went to school with me brought a friend and me to a party one night. My now husband and I spent an hour that night talking and my friend and I ended up giving him a ride home. We shared a smooch on the way home but he didn’t ask for my phone number and I wasn’t about to offer it up, but I thought about him from time to time for years after.
Fast forward ten years later and I end up working for a consulting firm where another of my now husband’s friends worked. Talking to him in his office one day he mentions a friend and the name jogs my memory! A few months later I run in to my now husband at a benefit and a few months after that, our mutual friend I worked with invited me to go on a ski weekend with a big group, my now husband included. We reconnected and became friends, but I was dating someone else at the time. That guy and I eventually broke up…the weekend before Valentines Day. My now husband found out and asked to take me out on Valentines Day. I wasn’t sure if we were going as buddies or on an official date but I knew part of me was hoping for the latter vs. the former. Well, my hope was realized. Seven months later we were engaged and a year after that we were married. Three months after walking down the aisle we found out we were expecting and in 2009 we will celebrate our five year wedding anniversary.
Why am I telling you this story? Because we all have one or we all will have one. When I think about our story it sounds so romantic, like it was fate for us to be together. But now with our busy schedules, a preschooler, and just trying to stay sane…it seems like too much time goes by between those moments when we connect.
So in 2009, I plan to make this New Year Resolution of connecting more with my husband by doing the following:
- Completing a couples journal together like “Between Me and You Honey” or “How to Love Me: The Lovers’ Book of Questions”
- Invest in hotel quality sheets so that way even though we can’t get away to a luxurious hotel, we can still make our bedroom feel like we are.
- Try to have a “date night” at least once a month. Both of our families live in the area so finding babysitting is not an excuse. We already received a gift card to a fantastic restaurant to include babysitting from my mom for Christmas so it’s just a matter of making time for it.
- Share my husband’s interests more and invite him to share mine. I already tried mountain biking a few years back but definitely didn’t catch on. But my husband loves trying new hot sauces so I think I’ll sacrifice my tastebuds to share the experience with him. I’ll invite him to read more of my blog posts and try to get him to use Twitter a little more often.
- We’re also going to try to play more of the games we enjoy like dominoes and backgammon.
How are you going to connect more with your husband, wife, or significant other this year?
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