More snow?

When life hands you a polar vortex…make a luau

After more below freezing days indoors than most of us care to count, it was time to shake things up a bit. So, a luau theme seemed in order. 

Here are some photos of "luau lunch" - sunshine sandwiches and even chocolate and coconut bars. 

Stay warm out there!

Settling in and building momentum

Isn't Friday a great day? Even if you have to head to work at 6am, or maybe something crazy late, if you get the weekend "off" then Friday rocks! I put off in quotes because there are so many people with smartphones and jobs that never quite shut down, the weekend is more like a long coffee break. But, maybe it's just me who thinks this. 

Anyway, I'm settling in for a weekend of family time, snow shoveling, writing, editing and hopefully, some movie watching. So, while I plan to relax there are things to do, lots of them. 

Whether you have fun, chores or work planned, try to make some time to relax. Even if it's only for a little while. My mind may be racing, and my To-dos piling up, but I made sure to stir up some hot cocoa this afternoon. It was my way of capping off the week and settling in for the long weekend. 

If you're a regular reader, Thank You! You might already know it's been a race these last few months to complete my book. I hoped to have it published before our grandma passed away, but I just couldn't work fast enough. She was an amazing person, and well-read. I'd hoped to get her advice on what I did right, and maybe a little constructive criticism on what needed changed before it got launched to the public. Plus, it would have been nice to show her I could do it. 

Thank goodness we have family and friends who will see me get published, but there is a sadness about this I just can't shake. Instead of losing my way and stopping completely I took a break, shed a lot of tears, and got back to it. Now, I'm building momentum again. 

I invite you to join this journey. Be sure to check back in the coming weeks for some cool previews, updates and giveaways. If you want, you can even share the news with your friends, and their friends. Blog subscribers will get some cool swag, so make sure to sign up to receive my updates. It would be helpful, and very kind of you to do so. 

The plan is to publish this work before grandma's birthday anniversary, so I have to get back to work. Here's to a happy, positive and productive 2014! Enjoy your weekend!

Nash-Bash (the good kind)

It’s no secret, I love Nashville on ABC. I’ve talked about it before, like here and here. But, I just watched and listened to Nashville On the Record and I had to share it. 

The clips show interviews and jam sessions with the singers and songwriters. I completely got lost for almost an hour the songs are so good. The talent, music, and vision on this show amazes me. The songs help move the story forward, and most of them are on repeat at our house. Sure, there’s a lot of drama (hello, crazy Peggy) but I love the fact Callie Khouri and the entire team of writers, songwriters, actors and staff give it so much depth. 

The Nash is back tonight. Watch, listen, and get swept away. 

Doing it up in the D!

This week kicks off the North American International Auto Show. I've attended and worked this show many times, and let me say it's grueling and awesome at the same time. 

Here is a link to the main show site if you want the latest across all manufacturers. Since we're in the middle of Press Days, there are some vehicle reveal clips online. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, my incredible husband works for a major manufacturer and I'm attaching links to vehicle reveals related to the company's brands. You might want to fast forward the second one to about 6:20, unless you want to hear about vehicle manufacturing facilities. Either way, it's a cool distraction, and maybe you'll find your next ride. Even if it's a Porsche - sweet! 

We do more before 9am than…

If you recognize this slogan, then the ad folks did their job. Actually, you might recognize it more as: In the Army, we do more before 9am than most people do all day, or Be All That You Can Be. It’s kind of motivational if you ask me. I want to get up and kick some butt before 9am, most days. (Here’s a YouTube video of it if you’re interested.) 

As a way of implementing some New Year’s self-home-work-flow improvement, I decided to get up earlier than usual on the weekdays. It was not a big stretch considering our kids don’t let us sleep much past dawn anyway. Perfectly doable, or so I thought.

See, just about anything can look good in theory or on paper. When it comes time to actually do it, is when you’ve got push through. It wouldn’t be so bad except we shoveled snow five times in the past three days, last night I somehow got sucked into a montage of funnies on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (here’s a preview) and set aside my book edits and stayed up past my bedtime—the one designed to help me have the energy to get up earlier and Be All That I Could Be.

Since then we got even more snow and school is closed. While my amazing husband did not wake me for the morning shovel, I did get up at my “early” time. We enjoyed breakfast before he headed off to see if he could get through the snow to work in under an hour. 

After a brief feeling of accomplishment at getting up early, I have cleaned up milk messes, dyed six fingers and my new favorite sweatshirt several shades of purple, placed three of the world’s tiniest balloons filled with water and food coloring (how I dyed my hands) on wax paper and set them on our front porch in hopes they freeze before a delivery guy squashes them. Water balloons and dye may seem like a bad idea in winter, but it looked cool on Pinterest. The water inside the balloons is supposed to freeze and make some kind of pretty colored ice balls, although as small as ours are they will be ice marbles.

I had good intentions, but sometimes things just go their own way. I’m perfectly content to keep writing/editing with purple fingers, complete more fun experiments with the kids, and Be All I Can Be. We’ll just have to see what else the day holds.

What are you doing to 'Be All You Can Be' today?