When I think of the word "situation", it no longer carries the same meaning to me. I remember the word situation referring to set of circumstances, not an actual person. Before you know it, we are going to start referring to getting a good tan as gettin' a "snooki". 

I finally am working my blog back into my day to day and this morning I was looking through some articles I had clipped, I came across a "Life Lesson" from Real Simple 's September issue. It was titled 5 mistakes everyone should make .  In my opinion, these might not necessarily be a mistake but more of a situation.

The list reads:

1. Totally embarrass yourself.
2. Ruffle people's feathers.
3. Follow trends blindly.
4. Be willing to fail - doing something you love.
5. Carelessly put yourself at risk.

In my lifetime, on more than one occasion, I have found in these "situations". In the heat of the moment, yes, I can agree, these might be considered a mistake, but really the author is right... a mistake worth making!

I remember when I clipped it out I wanted to blog about it. Because first of all, I have definitely done every item on this list (some more than once). And secondly, because when I have found myself in these "situations," embarrassing or not, my life somehow changed. In each instance, I learned a valuable lesson about myself that dramatically the changed the course of my life... for the better.

So, when you find yourself wondering "oh my gosh... should I, shouldn't I my vote is to take the chance. Be bold .Stand for what you love.

Picture this... You are invited to a friends house for the first time. She is having a dinner party with a small group of friends. You feel slightly at ease knowing that most of the people attending are mutual friends. You have brought with you a nice bottle of wine and as you are walking up to the front door, you mind starts wandering. You think...

Is her house cleaner than mine?  She is probably more organized than me? I wonder if she has... or maybe she's....

Frequently, I find myself answering the door to these types of guests. Just recently I invited a friend over who had never been to my house before. When I answered the door, we chatted the usual greetings of hellos and did you find the house okay. I noticed her eyes darting left then right, up the stairs and around the corner. I didn't get much of a chance to pick up before her arrival and the usual random toys were all over the floor and a thin layer of dust coated the piano. To make things a little easier for her... I said as I chuckled, "I may be an organizer by trade but I am human too." She laughed and I could tell felt a little more at ease.

That night, after my friend left and I told my husband about our initial greeting, he too laughed and said that "it's like you have to live by a different set of rules just because your an organizer." I wonder sometimes, do you think that all lawyers live by the letter of the law every minute of the day? Do you think that all chefs come home from a long day in the kitchen and cook for themselves?

I think the reason why I enjoy helping people get organized is because I am human too and I wear my baggage for all to see. It makes the reality of trying to get organized seem a little more attainable for those that struggle to attain it.  Here's my baggage...

I have two kids... who need a lot of guidance and care when it comes to managing their lives.

I have a husband... who, God love, him doesn't see things the way I do (not that he should have to, but just that he doesn't) and also requires a little help in managing.

I have a cat... who leaves more hair behind each and every time I vacuum the floor no matter what!

I have my job... that requires more attention and time than I am ever able to give it because I am too busy doing other things.

I have bad days, dirty laundry, dishes in the sink, weeding in the yard, cloths on the floor, magazines in a pile and on occasion bills laying out to be paid... just like everyone else does.

There is more but you get the idea. The point is that I am just like everyone else. Just because I am an organizer doesn't mean I don't have baggage too. Just because I am an organizer, doesn't mean I struggle to get back up when I fall down. 

We all have struggles. It's how we choose to respond that makes us more capable in maintaining our lives.  So remember, that if today didn't work out the way you wanted, tomorrow is always another day to try again!

Yes, I am still here! I've been enjoying my summer and believe me it's been great! Things will get back on track soon... thanks for hangin' in with me!

It's amazing to think that we are about 40 days from the first day of school. It's time to start thinking and planning ahead. Don't procrastinate, just start with the basics... here's what I am thinking about...

Back to school supplies: Get the list from your local Walgreens ... I know the lists are in stores now (I know people) and they have the best pricing on most school supplies! Watch your circulars because the sales are on! 

Closet Inventory: Start looking through the kids closets. Clear out the clothes that are too small, too worn or just plain done! Make a list of only what they will need for the coming year!

Review the shoe selection: While you're in the closet, be sure to check out their shoes. Make sure the tread is good and that there is still room for their toes. Payless  is running the BOGO so don't wait!

Check the school's website. Over the next few weeks your school will start posting important dates and information parents need to know.

Get the school calendar. It's out there! Just go and get it! Download your calendar and start writing in days off, in service days and vacation weeks. Once it's in your calendar you don't have to wonder...

Volunteer @ School - Anymore, we don't have the luxury of not being involved with your school. You don't have to be the PTO President, just give what you can. The schools need us and the teachers need to know we care!

Every now and then the boys will ask me to look through their box of artwork. We love to go back and look at some of the adorable things they have made over the years. With school coming to a close it seems like everyday they are bringing home stacks of art, worksheets and papers that require us to make a decision...

do we keep it or do we toss it?

I have tried to get into the habit of managing papers throughout the year as they come in, but for some reason I still end up with a HUGE stack of papers to deal with. Just the other day, I noticed piles of papers in both kids rooms, there was a stack on the piano and another stack in my room. They tend to just take over...

Artwork is a sensitive issue for me. I don't know if it's because I kept very little from my childhood or if I am trying to capture every single moment of their childhood. Either way, if I kept every piece of paper they brought home, we would fill our entire house with papers.  So today the kids and I sat down and sorted through it all...

1. We gathered all the current stacks all over the house and pulled out their box of art work in their rooms.
2. We laid it all out on the bed and began sorting.
3. We sorted into piles: work papers, artwork, awards and certificates and items we might consider tossing.
4. After we laughed and enjoyed the memories from things we created and who we created them with; we carefully put all our "keepers" back into our box and decided that the toss pile was okay to take to the recycling can.

Making the decision to get rid of the toss pile was all them. I felt that they needed to make that choice, not me (although I will note that I did "guide" them to that decision). We discussed that if we keep everything, then nothing is really special.

When I asked my seven year old how he felt about it all he said, "mom, I think it's great to get rid of some of our papers because then we know the ones we have are the best of the best."

Teaching kids to sort and organize is an important skill. They start to understand that you have to manage your things and that to be organized (or as my five year old says... so you can find your stuff) you can find what you are looking for.

Can you believe that it's almost June. I am amazed at how quickly this year has flown by. It seems like yesterday when I sat down to write out my goals for the year. Most of us start the new year in the same fashion... Full of ambition and motivation, ready to challenge ourselves and take it to a new level.  All our intentions of achieving various goals quickly fades as fast as the snow, and now we are stuck.

How do we get unstuck?

When I start feeling stuck, I usually try to take stock. and see what I have accomplished and how close I am to achieving my goals.  To give you an idea where things sit with me... some of my personal and business goals for 2010 are:

1. Join a local networking group (business).
2. Enhance my existing programs (business).
3. Make the time to workout at least three times per week (personal).
4. Get a new desk (business/personal).
5. Paint my bedroom (personal.)

As you can see, not a very exciting list, but no less a good list of attainable goals. I carry this list in my planner and look at it almost every time I open it up. It serves as a reminder of what I want, and where I want to be going. What are your goals? Are you close to meeting them? I frequently talk with clients and colleagues about the importance of goal setting and planning.

Often that "stuck" feeling comes from three obstacles that we face like...

1.Bad Timing.
Timing is everything and that's the truth; however, we don't need to be realistic when it comes to our dreams. If you have a goal, write it down, let it sit there for a year, or maybe two years...  however long it takes. For many years I have had "join a local networking group" on my list of goals. For lots of reasons things just didn't work out. Now, the stars have aligned and I finally am able to cross it off my list. Don't be derailed because of the timing. Sometimes you have to look for the reason why it hasn't happened yet to understand.

2. Low Motivation.
Motivation is unfortunately an important component to getting things accomplished. There is nothing worse than doing something you aren't motivated to do. Ask yourself how important this goal is to your overall life and if it doesn't contribute to it, then why is it a goal? To regain your motivation or give yourself a boost, take a moment to think about what life would be like after you accomplish that goal and write down how your life would be better.

3. Have a Plan.
Having a plan of action to achieving your goals makes the act of getting to your goal so much easier. If you have a step by step plan, you can easily break down the goal into manageable pieces; then it becomes easier to achieve them. If you don't have a plan, sometimes it's hard to imagine that end result looks or feels like.

Goal setting can be whatever you want it to be. It might be scratching down five actions on a napkin or piece of paper; or if you feel focused and really want to take the time to do some goal setting write out a goal plan. Make it easy so that you are inspired to do it!

I like to think that there is good in the ordinary.  If look at this picture for example... it's just a rock on the beach, right? If you look a little closer you might see an elephant drinking from the ocean.

Seeing potential in things that are ordinary is one of the best parts of my job. I see things that others don't (or can't) in themselves or their cluttered spaces. The interesting thing is that when I started my business, I had no idea that was going to be so important.

When I started my business it was scary. Really, what did I know about running a business? Was I really going to be able to make money? How was I going to balance babies and a business?

There were moments in that first year that I truly thought I had lost my mind. Now, six years later I am so thankfully for my decisions and the obstacles that I have overcome. Not only do I have the best job in the world but I make a difference, and that makes me feel good.

To achieve your best life, sometimes you have to do something drastic to see the change that you need or want. Change is inevitable. We can't stop it. We either embrace it and work through the discomforts we might be feeling, or we fight it and find ourselves feeling stagnant and unsatisfied.

There are plenty of times when change can be difficult. We struggle with knowing what to do, we fear the results that will be coming, and we judge things that we don't know very much about. So often we don't even realize that the change we are facing might actually be the best thing for us (good or bad).

My kids and I have been reading quite a few books on these little "life lessons" that even adults struggle with. Often, I remind my kids that even mom still has a hard time with learning some of these very important life lessons. The important part of learning is to just try.

If it's starting a new job or having to start over. Just do it. What's the worst thing that could happen?

If it's facing parts of your past that you have buried. Just do it. You might find joy or forgiveness!

If it's dealing with paperwork that scares the living day lights out of you. Just do it. When it's done, you might be able to move on to something that makes you happy!

Facing a change can change the ordinary into something extraordinary!

*image from worth1000 {dot} com

It's not that I don't love to read newsletters. I actually love to read junk mail.

It's not that I don't enjoy hearing what people are up to and what they are doing with their business. I love to be in the know.

It's that I am getting WAY TOO MANY EMAILS. It has to stop. After a wonderful 10 day vacation in the glorious sunshine of Arizona and California I realized that I need to cut back and declutter my inbox. I wasn't checking email daily, but I was checking it every few days and after opening my inbox each time to 300+ emails I quickly came to the conclusion that enough is enough.

Time to start saying NO. Instead of quickly hitting delete, I am going down to unsubscribe.

How do I decide what has to go? If it's an advertisement or non-industry related newsletter. It's got to go. If I see more than one email a week, it's got to go. Really people, do you need to send an email daily?

The other thing I did was changed my settings on some of the group chat's that I belong to (you know who you are). It's just enough to drive a person made with the amount of DIGEST emails we get from various groups.

It's been a lot of work, but really, in the end I know I will be much happier. Less time wasted hitting delete and more time reading the things I truly enjoy!

About six (or so) years ago my husband's grandfather passed away. I remember that it was in early spring (right when the daffodils were blooming) and it was still quite cold outside. We headed north for the funeral and during our visit, we had the chance to visit with his sister (Great Aunt Elmo) and see her garden. As I suspected, it was beautiful. Small but very well kept and full of promise for the coming year. Tucked in the front yard, beneath a bush (I can't remember what it was) was a beautiful primrose in full bloom. I mentioned to Elmo how much I admired it and she responded with "that flower is over 85 years old." I was shocked... "85 years old...no way." She said "yes, and it blooms all year round. I think it thrives on neglect."

As we milled around the garden and then headed off to another relatives house, Elmo approached me and had a small bag in her hand. She thanked us for coming up such a long distance and gave me the small bag. Inside was a start of that very same primrose flower.

As soon as we got home that evening, I quickly planted the flower in my yard and waited for the ambitious little flower to spread it's delicate white flower petals... I waited and waited. The following spring there it was, peeking out of a small clump of snow in mid February. From that day on, each year I would get three or four rounds of flowers.  Amazing.

Every year at our family reunion, I would see Elmo and I would keep her posted on how her flower was growing in size. She always had this gentle smile on her face as I would excitedly explain the details of it's location etc.

Elmo died in 2007 and then we moved shortly after that. I was determined to bring the primrose with us to our new house and throughout the transition it was a little touch and go if it was going to make it.

This past weekend, when we came home from our Spring vacation, I walked into my back yard and there it was... full bloom.  it was like that little flower was saying "hello... welcome home."

I don't know why it is, but even something can stand the test of times. 90+ years ... that's amazing!

We are getting ready to celebrate Earth Day. It's such a good time to remind ourselves that our Earth is only as good as we maintain her. However lately, I have been feeling like things are a "little cuckoo for coco puffs" here on our Mother Earth.

Between the earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and now Los Angeles, and the crazy weather happening on the East coast... I just have to wonder. What the heck is going on? Can a disaster really happen in my backyard, in my lifetime?

I live about 25 or so miles from the top of Mt. Hood, which is still an active volcano. I also am about 200 miles from the Oregon coast, where there is always potential for plate shifting on the fault lines. Not that I am complaining, I love where I live, but I do feel as though the potential for disaster to strike is probably pretty good in my lifetime. So, what do we do?

For years, I have blogged about getting a preparedness kit together and so this past month I finally got it started. Thus far, I have collected:

• food and water (four people + four days + kitty)
• tools (can opener and a few miscellaneous garage tools)
• first aide kit
• safety items (masks, blankets etc.)

What's always held me back from getting this started is that we are "campers," so we have all the gear and equipment to survive a disaster in the garage, already packed up. Now that I have my kit started where do I put all this stuff I have packed? I have a nice sealed container, but what if the house comes crumbling down, will I be able to find it? Will we be able to get to it? Will it get destroyed? All valid questions that make you really stop and think.

So help me out here, do you have a kit? Where do you keep it?

There is no greater job in the entire world than being a parent. When that joyous day finally comes and that little bundle of joy makes their grand entrance, no one tells you what comes next. Sure, there are lots of nurses and doctors (and sometimes family members) sharing their expert opinions on what you are "supposed" to do, but really there is no step by step manual to tell you what comes next.

As a parent, I look back at the last eight years of my life and I think about all the struggles we have overcame and how many books I read telling me what to do and why.

As an organizer and someone who functions well from a "check list" I was thrilled to have had the opportunity to read, A Mom's Ultimate Book of Lists, by Michelle LaRowe.

This book is by far one of the handiest books I have ever read. No new mom has time to read the reason why babies cry, they just want to know how to calm them down and make them stop. A Mom's Ultimate Book of Lists is the perfect book for every new parent and what' even better is that it's "ultimately" organized!

Every good project needs a plan. Michelle starts you out with many lists on what to do when preparing for baby's arrival, trip to the hospital and specific questions you really should ask your physician. She walks each parent through the first few years arming you with valuable techniques and methods in dealing with those unexpected moments.

Throughout the book she takes on the journey of life preparing and arming you with some helpful advice and how to's.  My personal favorite is Michelle's Top 10 Tips for Time Management. All extremely valid and truly important to any parent!

1. Have a routine.
2. Be organized.
3. Have a place for everything.
4. Use a family calendar.
5. Keep a daily to-do list.
6. Delegate.
7. Learn to say no.
8. Prioritize.
9. Keep a running grocery list.
10. Plan a weekly menu.

What I really appreciated was that throughout the entire book, Michelle walks mom's through all the many challenges that require us to plan ahead and most of all be prepared. Dealing with friendships, working through family budgets and how to feed a picky eater just to name a few. There is no situation that Michelle doesn't cover. Being a parent is a demanding job and being a mom is a lifetime career. Why not arm yourself with the best book of lists!

Thanks Michelle for this powerful book!

Available January 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”