January was a struggle regarding my weight loss. I was not in control and did not feel on track towards my weight loss success. I failed to meet 2 out of my 3 new year’s resolutions, which including exercising more and going to Weight Watcher meetings every week.

The truth is, the more off track I went, the more I didn’t want to go a Weight Watchers meeting.

**Sigh**

I know success is standing up every time I fall. So here I am, standing up again. Tomorrow is another day.

Click here if you can’t see this Weight Watchers video.

Add a some back fat to this picture and you’ll get a sense of what I’ll be looking like tomorrow…. read more.

This morning I changed my blog’s tagline to “Where living my dream unfolds” because I am living my dream and am finally reading to write about it. I want to write about…

• How I left my corporate job.
• How I started my business.
• How I’m growing my business.
• How I’m living my passion.
• How vital my support team is to me.
• How I use the law of attraction to work with my dream clients.
• How much I love social media engagement and relationship marketing.
• And…oh…there is still so much more I want to write about.

Living my dream means being full of gratitude, listening to my intuition, and being open and receptive to abundance and prosperity.

Living my dream means…

• Sending out my ships knowing some will return full of treasures.
• Trusting the Universe.
• Being mindful about my business choices.
• Taking responsibility for my financial decisions.
• Allowing myself to take a nap in the middle of the day if I’m tired.
• Embracing courage and letting go of fear.

Are you living your dream?

photo background credit

Can You Meditate For Five Minutes A Day?

Last Friday, I saw this tweet and decided to join @upsdownsyogamom in a daily 5 minute meditation practice for one week.

I know there are different ways to meditate and different meditation techniques out there, but I prefer guided meditation because it helps my mind from wondering.

I love all things spa and find it extremely relaxing listening to guided meditations that have spa-like tranquil meditation music. I have several meditation CDs, but when I want something new to meditate with, I can find endless free online meditation options on iTunes (podcasts) and YouTube.

This is How I Have Been Meditating for the Past Week…

Day 1:  Grounding Meditation by Sunny Dawn Johnston

Day 2: Mommy Meditations by Kerri Parks

Day 3: Archangel Michael Protection Meditation by Sunny Dawn Johnston

Day 4: Tranquility Meditation by Stevan Pasero

Day5: Morning Chakra Meditation

Day 6: Ocean Guided Meditation by Deepak Chopra

Day 7: Mindfulness Guided Meditation with Deepak Chopra

Do you meditate? If yes, how do you meditate?

Needless to say, December was a very challenging month, with temptations everywhere I looked. But I did manage to lose 1.6 pounds on Weight Watchers last month.

The hardest part now is getting back into weight loss mode, to track everything I eat, and to really get focused on hitting my goal weight. On some winter days, there’s a sabotaging voice inside my head trying to convince me that eating comfort food really is better than losing weight….

…and I’m guilty of sometimes listening to that sabotaging voice inside my head.

Moving Forward!

A new year for this evolving family means new rules and new chores for my kids.

New chores means I need some sort of system or chore chart for kids to ensure this is going to be successful. I was invited to review chore charts for kids from GoalForIt.com and thought it was a perfect tool to try because it’s free, interactive, and online (3 of my favorite things).

I created a chore chart for both of my kids on GoalForIt.com using pre-populated chore options. We are starting with the following chores on our charts…

1. Ready for school
2. Put things away
3. Clean my room
4. Practice my reading
5. Help clear table
6. Go to bed on time
7. Brush my teeth
8. Exercise

The chore charts were easy to create and I hope my kids will be motivated to fill their charts in everyday (and I hope I’m motivated enough to remind them).

There is a “moolah bank”, which is an optional point system I can use as an incentive for my boys to complete their goals each day. I can assign point values to each goal and the boys can spend their moolah points on things like watching TV and Wii.

Love the concept…but will it actually work in this household?

Time will tell. Stay tuned.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

I’ll Start Monday

It’s January 7 and so far I am not meeting 2 out of my 3 New Year’s Resolutions (exercise and tracking my Weight Watcher points). I know it’s a cliche to say “I’ll start Monday”, but I’m going to say it anyway. My kids were out of school the first week of January and it was too much for me to get focused on anything not related to my boys.

So, I’ll start Monday.

How are you doing with your New Year’s Resolutions?

Here’s what some of my blogging friends had to say about their New Year’s Resolutions…

1. Honest And Truly – Happy New Year: Year of Me
2. My Thoughts Ideas and Ramblings – Trop50 True Resolutions
3. Making Time for Mommy – Resolutions ($25 Visa Gift-Card Giveaway)
4. Confessions of an IT Girl – I Resolve
5. Just Another MommyBlog – Cherish-is-Word
6. Tiarasta n Trums.com – Ringing in 2012 with the Juicy Truth
7. Way 2 Good Life.com – New Year Resolutions with Trop50
8. Meg Ryan”s Mom – Resolutions for 2012 Blah, Blah, Blah
9. Windy City Mama.com – Confessional: True Resolutions
10. 30ish Mama – New Years Resolutions Take 2
11. Frosted Fingers – True Resolutions with Trop50
12. Mummy Deals – Trop50 Review and $25 Visa Gift Card Giveaway
13. Couponing For4 – Trop50 Coupon and $25 Visa Gift Card Giveaway
14. The Night Owl Mama – Trop50 True Resolutions $25 Visa Gift Card Giveaway
15. Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy – New Year New Me Trop50
16. Just Heather – My True Resolutions for 2012

photo credit: http://www.jucoolimages.com

Disclosure: I am working on the Trop50 True Resolutions campaign and was compensated for this post. My opinions are 100% my own.

New Year’s Resolutions. I often don’t think too much about them or I start them in September when the kids go back to school.

But this New Years I was asked to participate in Tropicana’s Trop50 True Resolutions campaign that includes submitting my 2012 New Year’s Resolutions.  I’m really glad that I found the time to sit and think about this because there is so much I want to accomplish personally and professionally in 2012.

Here’s my list…

My True New Year’s Resolutions for 2012

1. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day at least 5 times a week. The truth is that there is no reason why I cannot squeeze in 30 minutes a day when I already know the benefits this will provide for my body, mind, and spirit.

2. Continue going to Weight Watcher meetings, even after I reach my goal weight. The truth is that I love to eat and if I’m not accountable on a weekly basis I will gain weight. I want to reach my goal weight and maintain my weight so I feel good about my body and my health…and so I can enjoy wearing clothes again.

3. Meditate at least 3 times a week. The truth is that I feel better all day long if I meditate for even 5 minutes every morning. I want to meditate so I can be more mindful with my family and for my business.

4. Be selective with my social media clients. The truth is that I need to have my business relationships to be win-win relationships. I need to be paid based on what my expertise, experience, and information is worth and my clients need to be able to see a significant return on the investment. This is a no brainer.

I’m sure I create a longer list, but I think I’ll stick with these four for now.

Join Me! Share Your True Resolutions with Trop50!

As I mentioned above, Trop50 is celebrating real truths behind 2012 New Year’s resolutions and they are inviting you to share your true motivations behind your resolutions. You can even submit your true resolution incognito by leaving your resolutions anonymously.

Once you submit your Trop50 True Resolutions, you will receive $1 off Trop50 plus 50¢ off coupons you can share with your friends. Have your tried Trop50? I had it over winter break at my mom’s house. It was delicious and full of flavor! And best of all, it has 50 percent less sugar and calories than regular OJ without artificial sweeteners.

#Trop50 is also giving away four $1,000 gift cards to help you fill your New Year with goodness.

Cheers to a Fabulous 2012!

Disclosure: I am working on the Trop50 True Resolutions campaign and was compensated for this post. My opinions are 100% my own.

photo credit: escuder0_paul0

It is easier to create a balance when you take time to do things you enjoy. Pure enjoyment opens your mind, lifts your spirit, and heals your body. Today I welcome you to be present and engaged with a joyful activity.

During this cold winter, my joyful moments include playing with my children, reaching out to a new or old friend, providing an opportunity for someone to have an ah-ha moment, or curling up and watching Survivor (yes, Survivor is joyfully entertaining).

Choose to take time for yourself. Life is not all about routine tasks and to-do lists. Choose to renew your energy and feel the joy. Your body, mind, and spirit will reward you with more energy, more focus, and more resistance against stress.

Enjoyment is like art, it is in the eye of the beholder. Do what makes you happy.

Take time today, even if it is only five minutes, and thoroughly feel the sense of enjoyment .

Sometimes I feel as if I’m evolving and changing as fast as technology.
My mind is spinning faster than ever.

My ideas are zooming by so fast that often they move out of my consciousness
so quickly that I don’t even have time to jot them down.

I’m stretching my mind and my limits more than ever.

I’m trusting my inner wisdom.
I’m honoring my fear by acknowledging it without it consuming me.

I’m on high alert for opportunities that are aligned with
my spirit, my passions, my goals, and my bank account.

I’m letting my radiant light shine as much as I can on these dark winter days.

I’m currently reading The Barefoot Executive: The Ultimate Guide for Being Your Own Boss and Achieving Financial Freedom, a fabulous book that was recommended to me by my business coach.

I’m reading it every day and applying all of the action steps. So far, it has brought me business changing results.

In chapter seven, Carrie Wilkerson recommends spending two hours to clean out your office, your desk, and your drawers. Her rationale is that a clean, decluttered physical space will allow you to focus on what’s important, on what’s profitable, and on what’s productive.

It only took my 30 minutes this morning to accomplish this task. I cleaned my desk, removed clutter from my office, and cleaned out useless paper from my drawers…and I have to say that it feels great AND after this process I came up with a new idea for my business.

Looking around my clean less-cluttered office, I’m realizing I need more comfort in my space. I need a comfy small recliner chair I can plunge into when I need a break from my desk and I also need better lighting (I’m very picky when it comes to lights and particularly like Himalayan salt lamps and rice paper lamp shades because they produce soft, diffused light around my office). Bad glaring lighting gives me migraines.

And the last thing I did (which I have never done before) was create space in my office closet for easy access to cleaning supplies. I now have my vacuum cleaner and non-toxic cleaning supplies nearby so I can clean my office more often.

Do you have a trick or tip for keeping your office clutter free? I need all the help I can get!