5 Tips for Getting Up Earlier

Getting up earlier isn’t all about getting more done, sometimes it’s about just sitting and reading or listening in quiet or drinking a cup of coffee at the dining room table by myself.  Some days it’s going for a walk around the block and returning before everyone is awake, working on the day’s cleaning tasks, and other days it’s getting caught up on some emails or working on a blog post. Take the time to journal, plan in your planner, or even work your devotions. Whatever isn’t getting time during the day, make it your purpose to get up earlier so you can do it.

5 Tips for Getting Up Earlier

1. Start the evening before.  Making this a good, sustainable habit begins the night before. I recommend a clean kitchen at night as one of the things that really makes getting up earlier a little easier.  Why?  You won’t have to wake up to a mess from the day before – you’ve already reset your kitchen.  This is a huge component in keeping up with this habit because you aren’t waking up to work.  You’re waking up to do something that will make your day run more smoothly.

2. Turn off the screens.  Turning off phones and computers and televisions a little earlier is the best way to get yourself ready for bed.  Stop sleeping with your phone – the EMFs (electro and magnetic fields) aren’t good for you and it messes with your natural body rhythms. Get an old-fashioned alarm clock and use that instead of your phone.

3. Go to bed when you’re tired.  Stop fighting through the tiredness and just go to bed. If you are used to staying up late, try going to bed earlier and see how you feel.  See if it makes a difference in your day.  Everyone needs to sleep but everyone’s perfect amount of sleep is different.  Make your goal 6-8 hours and experiment to find what amount makes you feel the best during the day.

4. Get your morning drink going.  Coffee, lemon water, a smoothie, tea – whatever you drink first thing in the morning, get that going.  While I’m waiting for my tea to steep I empty the dish drainer that sits on my counter by the sink. This is a small, but integral step in starting the day off well because the sink and drainer are empty and ready for dishes.

5. Start small.  If you want to get up at 5 am but you’re getting up at 7am, don’t just jump into the two hour time difference.  Set your alarm for 6am for a week or so and go to bed earlier.  When you’re ready to make the adjustment to 5am work in 15-30 minute increments over a week or two.  If you like the results, keep going to bed a little earlier and waking up earlier until you’ve formed this habit.

 What are some your tips for getting up earlier in the morning? Please share you tips in the comments below!

9 Ways to Make the Most Out of Your Day

Do you always feel pressed for time? So, you are certainly not alone. Lack of time can be detrimental to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. When we are pressed for time, we tend to exercise less, spend less time with family and friends, and spend little time on our spiritual well being and growth.

9 Days to Make the Most Out of Your Day

Here are some simple ways you can begin to take back some of your time:

1. set aside a certain amount of time each to do what you want to do.  Try an hour each day and if that is not possible start with smaller increments of time, like 15 minutes and then work your way up.

2.  doing something is better than doing nothing. Even if you cannot complete a task or projectit is better to break the task into smaller chunks. This way the task is completed much quicker.

3. Learn to say "NO". This is not always easy, but it can make a huge difference. Try to set limits around how much you will do and when.

4.  Bundle your tasks. Save up errands that are not so important so that you can do them closer together logistically so that they can be completed much quicker.

5.  Delegate. How much is your time worth? It may be worth the cost of hiring someone to do things like mow your lawn, clean your house, and you will suddenly be given more time. It's more than okay to ask for help.

6.  Do the yucky stuff first. Take care of the tasks that you dislike first.

7.  Are the things you feel you "have" to do really necessary? It can be easy to get caught up in the details to the detriment of the big picture.  It can be easy to get caught up in the details of the big picture.


8.  Take an honest look at the activities and people in your life that are "energy drainers". Do they need to be a part of your life? Can you eliminate or even reduce your time spent of them?


9.  And most importantly, set aside time each week to do something special.  Make sure, no matter how busy you are, you take time to play. Spending time with friends, spending time outdoors, at the movies, whatever makes you happy, it is essential in helping you be the most focused and effective you can be with your time.


How do you get more out of your day?

How I Make Time to Read

I love to read. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and I taking trips to Waldenbooks or Hastings (both are closed) and picking out the newest Sweet Valley High books (gotta love those Wakefield twins!). Now as a 46 year old mom, wife, and blogger finding time to read can be a bit tricky. In this blog post I will be talking about how I make time to read because I know so many of us struggle to find that time.

How to Make Time to Read

At night: I try to read before bed every single night. Even if it's for 30 minutes. If I can read a chapter a night then I am happy.

Driving/Audiobooks. Obviously I don't read while I am driving, but I do listen to audio books. It's at all my preferred form of reading books, but it does my the car ride more enjoyable.

When the girls are having their quiet time. If I need a break from work or if I am having a rough day I will the girls' quiet time to read.

Waiting rooms. When I am waiting for doctors appointments or anything of that sort I always bring my book with me. This works well because doctors offices are always running behind.

Road trips. Whenever we take a family road trip I always bring a book with me. The girls even bring their books. This is always a good time because it keeps the girls quiet since they aren't fighting!! LOL!!

Doing these things gives me a few extra hours to read each week! Sometimes a lot more!

When do you find the time to read?

Happy Homemaker Monday {1/27/2020}

Hello Friends!

Good evening, I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

All of us have had colds for the last week. My cold turned into sinusitis, my oldest just has a plain old cold as did my husband, and my youngest has an ear infection. Needless to say, we have all been miserable. Thankfully, we are finally feeling better. I'm disinfecting everything we have touched and have washed blankets and sheets so we can keep from getting these colds again.

On the bright side, my oldest starts Black Belt Club this week. She is so excited! She just got all of her equipment, nun chucks and sticks. She can't wait to learn how to use them.

Anyways, it's getting late, let's get started on this post!

The weather: It looks like this week is supposed to be cooler than last week.

How I am feeling this morning: This morning I felt miserable from the cold that I have. As the day went on though, I began to feel better.

On my mind: My meal plan for the week and for next month and just the usual stuff I guess.

On the breakfast plate: I had scrambled eggs with sausage and I glass of milk


On my reading pile:

Right now I am reading a couple books that I haven't read in a while. I will have to get the titles later.

On my tv: I watching some old tv shows on Hulu.

On the menu this week:

Still working on the meal plan for this week. I will post sometime tomorrow.

Looking around the house: The house needs to be cleaned, every room is a mess.

Chore I m not looking forward to this week: Laundry. My dryer is not working, and since I don't have a clothes line, I am hanging our clothes around the house so that they can dry.l

To relax this week, I will

read one of my books.

On my prayer list: My husband and the kids. I want our colds to go away.

Inspirational quote:

5 Tips To Keep Up With Laundry

I loathe laundry, like really hate it. It's one of those things I wish I could have someone else do it for me. Perhaps one day when I'm rich all of my laundry dreams will come true. I mean a girl can dream, right? To ease the pain of doing this daunting task, I have come up with 5 tips that have helped me keep up with the laundry and will hopefully help you do the same.

5 Tips to Help You Keep Up with Laundry 

1. Schedule it

Laundry is a household chore, plain and simple. So, you will probably never feel up to doing it. So to ensure that it gets done schedule a day and time that you will dedicate to doing the laundry. Some families have a day where they tackle all of the laundry for the week. Personally, I like to wash one load per day to avoid what I call Mount Washmore. I tend to do this first thing in the morning so that it starts washing while I am working on breakfast.

2. Recruit help

Don't place the entire burden of doing laundry on yourself. If your spouse or one of your kids knows how to do the laundry ask them to help. It will make things much easier on you.

3. Don't wash it.

There are several things that don't need to be washed after the first use. Have your kids wear their pajamas for a few nights before they place it in the dirty clothes pile. Let your towels dry so that they can be used more than once. Not only will you have less laundry to wash, but your clothes won't wear out as quick.

4. Put it away the same day.

Now, this is a great concept, but it's one I don't always follow. There are days that the clothes just sit in the dryer waiting to be folded and put away. Don't start a new load if you don't have plans on folding what already dried.

5. Sort as you fold.

What's the purpose of sorting first, then folding? I never understood this concept it's just an extra step in the process. Instead, fold or hang up clothes while you are sorting them in the process. I also find that folding clothes while I watch a favorite show makes the task easier to deal with. Once all the clothing is sorted out, have each family member put away their own clothes. Now, it may not be perfect, but it gets the job done.

So there you have it, 5 simple tips to help you keep your laundry sanity. What are some things you do to keep Mount Washmore at bay?

6 Things I Do Every Day To Keep My House Clean

Want to feel like your home is clean and organized and like you have it all together? Keep these three important points in mind:

(1) organization will not happen overnight and it takes time.

(2) routines and consistency need to be in place and it takes time to accomplish this.

(3) just when you feel like you have it all figured out, something will eventually upset it. That's just real life  and it's okay, so just roll with it and enjoy it the best you can.

There is good news though. You can set your home with routines to make life simpler and easier.I have six simple steps you can  right now to get started. If you are trying to get into a cleaning routine work on these six things this week then start over with your cleaning routine next week.

Six Things I Do Every Day To Keep My House Clean:

1.  MAKE THE BED

As soon as you get up, after your coffee of course, make your bed. Doing this will instantly make your room look put together and it only takes a minute to complete (believe me, I've timed it).

2.  TAKE IT OUT, PUT IT AWAY

Start working on this right away. Enforce this with yourself  and your family. It will making cleaning very easy and it only takes a couple of minutes to accomplish.

3.EVERY DAY DO A LITTLE SOMETHING

Just do something each and every day. For example, do one load of laundry everyday. It will help to maintain the inevitable Mount Washmore that will more than likely appear at the end of the week.

4. DEAL WITH MAIL ON A DAILY BASIS

Figure out a system that works for you and your family. Throw out any flyers or unnecessary mail at the door.

5.  CLEAR AND WIPE YOUR COUNTERS DAILY

This sounds simple, but it does take some effort. Begin with the kitchen counters and wipe then off after meals, at the least after dinner. Once this has been mastered, then ass the bathroom counters to your routine.

6.  WASH THE DISHES AND CLEAN YOUR SINK. 

Do this at the end of every day. Unload or load the dishwasher and it only takes a couple of minutes. Do this after each meal, wipe down the counters and give your sink a scrub. Trust me, when you get up the next morning, you will be glad you did this.

Are you already doing these simple tasks? What can you add to your routine this week?

Have a great day!!

Friday Favorites- My Favorite TV Shows

Hi Lovelies! Today's post is all about some of my favorite TV shows. Some are fairly new while one or two are what I consider classics. So pull up a chair, grab your favorite beverage and enjoy reading about some of favorite TV shows!!

My Favorite TV Shows

1. A Million Little Things

It has been said that friendship isn't one big thing, it's a million little things. That is certainly true for a group of friends from Boston who bonded under unexpected circumstances. Some have achieved success, others are struggling in their careers and relationships, but all of them feel stuck in life. After one of them dies unexpectedly, it's just the wake-up call the others need to finally start living. Along the way, they discover that friends may be the one thing that can save them from themselves.

2. The Masked Singer

Hosted by Nick Cannon, The Masked Singer is a new celebrity singing game show featuring panelists Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke.


The Masked Singer features celebrities facing off against one another with one major twist: each singer is shrouded from head to toe in an elaborate costume, complete with full face mask to conceal his or her identity.

With each performance, the host, panelists, audience, viewers and even the other contestants are left guessing who is singing behind the mask. Ranging from Grammy Award winners to legendary athletes, and everything in between, the singers may attempt to throw the crowd off of their scent, while keen observers might pick up on tiny clues buried throughout the show. One singer will be eliminated each week, ultimately revealing his or her true identity. It's not a "whodunit," it's a "whosungit!"

3. Beverly Hills, 90210

One of the definitive shows of the 1990s, "90210" originally follows the lives of Brandon and Brenda Walsh, who both eventually leave the show, and their friends through high school and college into adulthood. In addition to making sideburns momentarily cool again during its run, the show deals with a steady stream of love triangles and other romantic entanglements, and occasionally touches on more serious issues as well

4. Sons Of Anarchy

Single father Jax Teller finds his loyalty to his outlaw motorcycle club tested by his growing unease concerning the group's lawlessness. While the club protects and patrols the town of Charming, Calif., keeping drug dealers away, its activities also include a thriving -- and lucrative -- illegal arms business.

5. The Conners

After a sudden turn of events, the Conner family is forced to face the daily struggles of life in a way they never have before. This iconic family, Dan, Jackie, Darlene, Becky and D.J., demonstrates that laughter, conversation and love can overcome anything. The family grapples with issues include parenting, dating, an unexpected pregnancy, financial pressures, aging, and in-laws. Through it all, the fights, the coupon cutting, the hand-me-downs, the breakdowns -- with love, humor and perseverance, the family prevails.

What are some of your favorite TV shows?

January 2020 Goals

Here we are finally in 2020! Yesterday I shared my goals for the new year, so today I am sharing my goals for January. Hopefully this will inspire you to share some of your goals as well.

In January I want to......

• read at least 2 books
• practice yoga 2 times per week
• work on instagram growth
• have blog posts written through February
• work on blog growth
• start planning A's birthday party
• have two date nights at home with the Husband
• drink more water
• track my food daily using MFP (my fitness pal)
• walk at least 1 mile 5 times per week
• eat healthier (more fruits and veggies)
• cut down the sweets (major sweet tooth here)

Do you do monthly goals or yearly goals? I would love to know some of your January 2020 goals?

2020 Goals

First, I want start off by wishing everyone a Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful New Years. This year we decided to stay home, had some dinner, and played a few games. I cannot believe that it's 2020 and that it's also time to share my yearly goals. I plan to share my January 2020 goals this week.

In 2020 I want to.....

• read at least 24 books
• have a successful year blogging
• set up a fitness plan  and stick to it
• eat healthier
• have at least 2 at home date nights with the Hubby
• take the Littlest to the library more
• work on my meal plan
• open my own merch online shop 

What are some of your goals for 2020?

5 on Friday

1. DO THIS DAILY

If there is one habit I swear by it's making my bed every morning. So as we begin this new year, if you don't already do this, then just try it. Trust me it will be a gamechanger. Making my bed every morning puts me in a productive mindset for the day. Also, it so much nicer at night to climb into a made bed.

2. BEVERLY HILLS 90210

I rediscovered on of my favorite shows from the 90s! I started watching the series when my daughter started her winter break and I love it just as much now as I did then.

3. PANTRY CLEAN OUT

After the holidays I always to a major clean out of my pantry and I also clean my fridge as well. However, I have a very small pantry and I am still looking for a better organizing system for it.

4. A NEW FAVORITE

My bullet journal. I am still fairly new to the bullet journal scene, but I absolutely love the notebook that I found at Walmart for under $5. I love the lined pages since my handwriting tends to be crooked when I use wither dot grid pages or blank pages.

5. BIRTHDAY PREP

My oldest daughter's birthday is in March, so we typically start planning now. She picks themes that usually take alot of planning so the earlier I start planning the better her party will be. Right now she keeps changing her theme, so I am just waiting on her to finally pick what she wants to I can start.

Hello 2020!

2020 started off with a bang.....my oldest got sick around 11:30pm so while tending to her I wasn't able to ring in the new year with the hubby. She is now feeling much better and is back to her cheerful and smiley self.

 

2019 was a year of ups and downs. It was a trying year that taught both my husband and I some very valuable lessons that we hope to continue into the new year. It was a year of celebrating birthdays, taking the kids to the zoo over the summer, to my husband finally landing a full time job, and to me finally starting a fledgling business that I will continue to work on in 2020.

2020 is a brand new year. I have decided not to make a list of resolutions but rather a list of goals that I hope to implement and complete by the end of the year. I will share these goals in a future post soon. My husband and I have a few lofty goals that we hope to complete at the end of the year as well.

So here's to a great 2020! May the Force Be With You and May You Live Long and Prosper! My husband would be so proud of me for using two of his favorite movie quotes! LOL!!!