Words on Wednesday: A children't poet reminds us that anything is possible

"Listen to the Mustn'ts, child. Listen to the Don't. Listen to the Shouldn'ts, the Impossibles, the Wont's. Listen to the Never Haves, then listen close to me...Anything can happen, child. Anything can be." —Shel Silverstein

Clothing quality—has it disappeared?

Tonight, I repaired holes in a brand name (think fashion icon) sweater. Luckily, they are at the color and therefore hard to see. Also, I repaired holes in a sweater of my dad's that is more than 30 years old. The other sweater I bought last year. Where has the quality of clothing gone? Brand name is no longer synonymous with quality. Too bad!

Ice cream sundae

IAt my last Reiki session, my friend and practitioner, Cindy, asked, "What was your dad's favorite dessert?" My answer, "An ice cream sundae." So she told me to have one and I did so yesterday. It may not have been the best one I ever had, but it was the most meaningful. I felt an instant connection to my dad and my great uncle (his favorite flavor was cookies n' cream), who both died around this time of year. Just from the sundae, I understood how both of these men, who were integral part of my life, would view my life now. I even felt like they gave me so advice too. Often, I wish they were still here to talk with and learn from, so thank you Cindy for pointing out a way to connect to them in spirit and continue to learn. I learned that my favorite dessert is a simple sundae—vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Unlike my dad, I don't like a cherry on top.

Flexibility is key...

I work with my clients to build in flexibility to their daily and/or weekly schedules in case they get a last minute work assignment, the kid gets sick or their elderly parent falls and is rushed to the ER. Well, today it paid off for me. My daughter's school bus was running really late, so we and the other parents and kids waiting, hopped the subway to get o school on time. Since I was just headed to the gym after she got on the bus, I had the flexibility to do this. Having kids, makes flexibility a must.

What's in spirituality?

I have spent this weekend with my best friend and her family experiencing Easter. I went to church for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The services have been moving and reminded me of the services I attend at Synagogue. It has been wonderful to experience the spirituality of Easter and relate it to my Jewish upbringing and current practice as a Jew. And as always I love being with my friend and her family. It always reminds me of the importance of friendships and maintaining them.

Ok, here goes...

I decided to throw myself back in the pond online and start dating. It has been 18 years and 1 marriage ending in divorce since I had a date. II took a workshop, crafted a profile, identified pictures to use and even signed on to an online dating service and yet I can't bring myself to really do it. I even came designed a tracking system in Excel (I am a productivity coach) to track matches that reach out to me and the ones I reach out to. Still no go. Is it the 18 year hiatus that scares me? Is it the between the sheets that scares me? Is it the Single Mom homeowner with a dog descriptor that scares me? Well, it is all of them. It is no longer about me meeting a mate. It is also my kid, my dog, my home and my business meeting a mate. That is a lot to swallow and easily stomach turning. And to boot I am not a water girl, but I guess I just need to dive in and get swimming. Thanks for reading (and listening to) my rant.

Connected once again....

Today I had lunch with a friend that I lost touch with and we live in the same city. It was great to see him and catch-up. Especially, after the personal development seminar this weekend where I learned to let go and see him for him and not some perception in my mind. Now we can connect on an true and honest level. I am so glad to have my friend back.

Wise words....

"Time is a currency you can only spend once, so be careful how you spend it." —Harmon Okinyo

Now I do it...

Today is March 8th and I just sat down to write out my personal, family and business goals for 2016. I used last years goals as my template and they were done on March 8th too. Freaky! As a personal productivity coach, I know first hand about setting goals and why it is important. I preach this to my clients. Yet, it took me this long to do mine. Why? Simple I hadn't made it a priority. Next year I am committing myself to having my goals done by January 8, 2017. I just ask my community to hold me accountable and email me on January 8th to make sure I have done it.

What a week....

There was so much going on this week, that it got out-of-hand. I showed up on the wrong day for a networking event. I couldn't show up on the right day because I was leading my fist ever workshop. Only one person came (it was cold and wet out) and now I can say I did it. Lucky for me the one person is a friend, so it was easier (less never racking) than I anticipated. I put my profile up on an online dating site and to do so did some serious thinking about me as a person and my likes and dislikes. Now I know, I can't live without a good book, a cup of Caffix (all natural coffee substitute) and black and white cookies. By yesterday evening, I sank into a pew at Synagogue for Shabbat Services and was glad to be relaxing, calming the nerves and leaving the hectic week behind for a hectic weekend. Oh, well!

Wise words.....

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give" —Winston Churchill

New Year, New Me and New Name, for blog that is.....

New Year's is fast approaching; well we need to finish the winter holidays and my birthday first. Even before all of this can happen, I need to finish recovering from medically needed breast reduction surgery that was done to alleviate back and neck pain. With the aid of my mom and daughter, I am recovering well and on my way to a "new" me, that is a "pain-free" me.  Carpal Tunnel Release surgery on both wrists and now this qualify me to describe myself as new and not updated. In this vane, I am reinventing my blog to be more about my life— "a mouthful of busy" as I described it in my journal last night. In fact in that same entry,  I described myself as a solorprenuer, divorced single mom, home owner with a dog. Now you see the busy.

So as of January 1st, 2016 look for my blog under it's new name, A Mouthful of Busy.

Thanks and have a great holiday season,
Mali

What my daughter taught me....

This summer I choose to renovate in my house and we were to move back in yesterday and we couldn't, so we are still living at my mom's and I noticed last night that my 10 y.o. daughter was taking this better than I, when she said, "It's just a few more nights. It's nothing major." and in that moment I realized I had a lot to learn from daughter then and in the future.

Digital discarding...

I am reading the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, which is about her life long fascination with discarding and organizing as well as a treatise on her method know as KonMari and in the spirit of her words, I just "discarded" from my Amazon wish list all the items I no longer need (and probably never needed) and the books I will never read (and shouldn't have made onto the list in the first place) and I already feel better and less cluttered.

Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Procrastination isn't my thing.....

My daughter has a project due tomorrow and all weekend and last night I told her to start work on it since we have a family dinner tonight and she said there would be time to work on it at school and then last night she tried to get out of the dinner due to the assignment and I said no way because I am a productivity coach and procrastination makes my brain spin (especially when it is used as an excuse not to honor commitments).

(She called me mean in the end and I said, "Ok.")

I received this yesterday... Makes you think....

Wednesday's words: small steps lead us to big things

"great things do not just happen by impulse but as a succession of small things linked
together."  — Vincent van Gogh

Wednesday's words: Wise words from an elder

"I am convinced that almost anything can be accomplished if one does his or her very best and perseveres."— Rose Sachs

(Ms. Sachs passed away this month at the age of 103.)

Wednesday's words on Productivity

"Besides the noble are of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone." —Lin Yutang

Tuesday's Tip: The help

I am not one to ask for help, but since having wrist surgery (the right last summer and the left currently), I heave learned that when needed, help is the best medicine.