Catching Up

I have about three posts saved as drafts since the last time I posted, but I'm still not ready to finish them. Sorry! Busy, busy, busy! I just had to post today because I was looking at my Mother's Day gifts and I was feeling so thankful. My kids all made heartfelt gifts for me and they just mean so much. How nice that they think so highly of me that they want to create beautiful things by their own hands for me to cherish. I am so blessed. Also, my husband (who I told not to get me anything) got me a beautiful new outfit that I was able to wear to church yesterday and the card he picked out was so sweet. I remember when we were dating and he always seemed to feel a little awkward about giving me cards because he wasn't very good at expressing his emotions so he would get so embarrassed when I would start to well up and want to hug & kiss him. Now, he writes beautiful messages full of emotion and I always know they are straight from his heart.
Even though I had a great Mother's Day, right before I went to bed, I was feeling so low. I was asking God how I could possibly change who I am. How can I go from seeming to always make the wrong choices to making smart choices and having an organized, fulfilled life. I just wanted to go back and rewind my life so I could fix things. I know it is impossible, but I just couldn't see my way past... well, my past. As I was talking with God and asking how I could possibly change, He brought this verse to my mind, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil 4:13 NKJV) My initial reaction was, "I know, but this is so hard!" Of course I was just whining, so He repeated it, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!" I got it that time. All things means ALL THINGS! No matter how big your problems seem, even when you feel like you are drowning, you CAN pick yourself up and try again. You may be behind on your bills, behind in school, behind in work, suffering from a broken heart, estranged from your family - whatever the case may be, you CAN go on. Of course it feels like there's no escaping from your problems, and maybe their isn't, but even if you cannot escape, you CAN find your way through, wade through, muddle through, whatever you have to do, just remember with the Lord on your side, nothing is impossible! NOTHING.
So, I may feel a little lost right now because I am not living my life exactly how I planned it, but I WILL still make it. I'm not going to ask God to let me rewind my life because I need to live with choices I made. What I am doing from now on is taking one step at a time and seeking God first, but even if when I make the next not-so-good choice, I will still hold on to His hand and not let go. I know He will always pull me through the darkest depths.

Finding a Purpose and Accomplishing Goals

I started a post yesterday, but somehow did not finish it. I did however accomplish things today and yesterday that I had set out to do. First of all, today, I have achieved my daily income goal. Due to the fact that I have to rely on multiple streams of income and, unlike at my previous jobs, I do not get paid for downtime, :-( I figured the best way to make sure I am bringing in steady income is to decide on a specific dollar amount I need to make each day. Unfortunately, after deciding on that amount, I realized that I haven't been consistent in making that much money each day since I've been home. The only thing to do now is move forward and reach higher.

This has nothing to do with the blog post, just some flowers my husband got for me one time (just because!) I'm re-gifting them to myself LOL

The other goal I accomplished is that I have consistently working on improving my house - focusing on a certain area and working on it each day until it looks the way I want it. Sometimes it's hard, for instance, when I have done the basics, kitchen, bathroom, floors all look decent, I don't feel like going around and finding something else that needs to be done - I already feel like my entire life is a juggling act! I really am learning, though, because I find the more I accomplish what I set out to do, the easier it is to look toward the next thing, instead of feeling as though a huge scroll is chained to my feet.
I'm tired so this doesn't contain as much substance as I would have liked.
Goals for tomorrow:
Write blog earlier in the day, not right before bed
Be patient with the kids
Figure out what's for dinner
More de-cluttering

Dinner tonight was Baked Spaghetti. My version: I used 1 lb of ground beef; 3/4 jar of Ragu Old World Style Six Cheese sauce + 1/2 jar Kroger mushroom sauce - I should have just used both full jars; I also didn't measure the cheese, I just covered the top with shredded Colby & mozzarella, then sprinkled a nice amount of Parmesan all over it. Rating from the family: **** (out of 5) My husband said pepperoni would have made it better, but he and my daughter are the pickiest ones and both of them really liked it. :-) Weird thing about my youngest - he didn't really like the cheese so I ate his cheese. (He also doesn't like the cream in Oatmeal Cream Pies! :-O He's just different LOL) I also made homemade garlic bread using regular wheat bread, spread with margarine (or butter), garlic powder, a little mozzarella and a sprinkle of parsley :-) I threw it on a cookie sheet & put it in for the last 5-7 minutes of the spaghetti.

Oh, I almost forgot! I think I will have a targeted purpose for this blog. Obviously, I like to give my opinion, mainly because I believe my experiences will help someone else. I was thinking of using this blog to give advice. People can send me questions, or leave them in the comments and I will give my advice. Please comment and let me know what you think. Also, if you enjoy reading, don't forget to follow me.

Recommended Site: The Flylady - I love her! Even though I've found it difficult to follow ALL of her principles, she has still helped me to stick to my goals for my house. You can get anything done if you work on it for just 15 minutes a day!

Staying On Track

Before I actually started working from home full-time, I imagined how my days would follow a nice schedule, I would get into some good habits and routines and everything would fall into place causing me to lead a happy, organized life while, eventually, making huge amounts of money. Did I mention that I've always been a dreamer?
As I talked about in my last post, I get these big ideas, but fail to plan properly. Or, if I do plan properly, I have failed to stay on top of things and eventually became overwhelmed and just given up. After years of putting myself through this, I am making changes and now I will push myself to follow through and complete something I've started - other than natural childbirth and marriage, but then those subjects deserve their own separate blogs. :-) Part of pushing myself includes typing this post after 2A.M. because I didn't get a chance to do it earlier and I am waiting for the washer to finish the load of my kids' uniforms that I forgot to do earlier. LOL
I need to make myself feel better so let's list what I did accomplish today:

• Went to a wonderful conference with my daughter's teacher. The teacher loves her (such a charmer!) and she's doing really well!
• Made a great dinner that my family loved (even my picky husband!): Meatloaf, roasted potatoes, & broccoli. I will post the recipe for the meatloaf & potatoes later. 
• Accepted an offer to test for a better paying W.A.H. position
• Remembered to wash the kids' uniforms! Hey, even though I did it late, it still got done & my kids won't have to wear dirty clothes to school tomorrow. It may not be good enough for someone else, but it's good enough for me & I make no apologies. :-)
• Completed my orientation for Varolo to add an additional source of income just by watching commercials 
• Posted to my blog!

I am so tired right now & the washer is done so I will throw this stuff in the dryer & go to bed. Thanks for staying with me. :-)

In one of my other blogs, I have previously mentioned today's recommended site, but I go to it so much for advice and motivation that it bears mentioning again:  No Job for Mom! Anybody looking to make money writing online (quality content, not just repeating keywords) should subscribe to No Job for Mom!

Sometimes I have good ideas...

Sometimes my ideas are not so good, and there are some ideas for which I am still waiting on revelation.
My latest great idea was to start working from home. The benefits of this great idea include:

• More time with my children, especially when my 6th grader comes home from school
• More time to keep my house organized
• No more driving 20 miles to work on the ice in the middle of February
• No more sitting next to loud executives who feel they have the right to be loud because they've worked their way up to their position of entitlement
• No paying for childcare

I could go on with this list, but you get the point. I know there are many moms (and dads for that matter) who would love the opportunity to work from home. I've been trying to accomplish this for years. Unfortunately, now I must also list the downside:

• Sometimes my kids drive me crazy. That's just the truth. My 4 year-old seems to believe his mission in life is to make noise. He has already come into the office at least 3 times while I was on the phone with customers and stage-whispered, or even just talked at a normal volume, the proceeded to cry when I waved my hands for him to leave! All of the calls I take are recorded, so for the next few days, each time, I was checking my email wondering if I'd get the message that my contract has ended due to violations.
• So, my house is going through ups and downs of being organized and not-so-organized. :-) If you saw my room when I was growing up, you know this is definitely an "area of opportunity" for me. The problem is, even though I have more time, I still have to conquer my own tendencies of losing track of time and failing to stick to a schedule. I'm working on it. Some people can't stop smoking, drinking, eating, cleaning, having sex, setting fires, speeding, improperly taking medications, and the list goes on - I am organizationally challenged. Let's all try not to judge each other. :-)  
• Finally, I am no longer afraid to admit it - I am not making as much money as I thought I would be making at this point. In my haste to escape cubicle world, I may have been a little overly optimistic when I was doing my calculations. A factor I should have given a tad bit more weight to is my own lack of self-discipline. (See, I'm just revealing all my dirty little secrets!) It's not over for me though. I am in the process of dusting myself off so you can choose to laugh at me, but I hope you'll be praying for my continued growth.

So, starting with this blog, I am now doing one of the things I originally assigned for myself as a work-at-home-mom, writing everyday. If I don't post in the blog everyday, that doesn't mean I'm not writing, sometimes I will have strictly private issues. :-)

Are you a fellow WAHM needing a pick-me-up as well as great advice on working from home and/or building your business?  Check out Michelle Shaeffer's blog.