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I'm treating myself to a little Summer and what's Summer without a good read or a fabulous mojito or both? You know exactly what I'm talkin' about don't you! So in order to make that happen in my life I'm cutting back my hours a bit. I mean someone's got to watch the kids before the sitter shows up and I can join my girlfriends for an evening cocktail on the patio. (ok... that doesn't happen everynight but it doesn't hurt to dream now does it;) )
MY SOLUTION:
I've called upon my favorite organizing and lifestyle bloggers and asked them to share a favorite didy of their own. Each week I'll introduce + share their chosen words with you. I'm excited to have you meet them and discover that we aren't a tribe of stepford wives infultrating the nooks and crannies of people's lives. So cheers to my guests for aiding and abetting ( i have no idea if that one's spelt correctly;) ) my pursuit of Summer bliss!
First up meet my gal Megan Spears! This mama got it going on... and will help you get it together this summer as well! Thanks Megan!
Free and Fun... two of my favorite words!
What a privilege it is for me to guest blog here at Organize in Style! Basically, I am embarrassed to admit that I really have no style. I do love to read about those who do have style, and clearly, Krista is all about style. Well, let me introduce myself…. My name is Megan Spears (aka an organizing consultant) and my company isDisorder2Order, I help busy families create functional household management systems. Krista and I both belong to NAPO Oregon, and as the crow flies… we live pretty close to each other. If it wasn’t for that big river, we would be a short 20 minute drive from each other…
Krista and I are both moms of two children. Hers are a bit older than mine, but I could relate to her post last week about what to do when the kids are bored! It is funny how as a mom, you really have to get creative with ideas when mother nature is working against you! I have spent hours preparing and planning out our summer just to keep my boys busy. Which to be honest with you was really exhausting, but now is really paying off for me! They are happier people when they are on the go-go-go and for some reason I am happier too. With two active kids summer can get really expensive, so I am always looking for fun and free (two of my favorite words by the way) activities to keep them busy. The problem with finding fun and free activities is time… it takes some concentrated time to search out various activities. Lucky for me, I love to do research. Most of the time it’s just getting that little trigger to spur an idea for something to do. I thought it might be nice to share some of my ideas for keeping the kids busy through the summer months… maybe something might trigger an idea for you! Enjoy!
Most of these activities revolve around the Portland/Vancouver, but I have no doubt that if you do a little Google searching, you might find something similar in your area!
· Check out Around the Sun a blog for Portlanders, listing various activities, events and gatherings for families… and most everything is either free or at a very low cost.
· Make sure to check into your local parks and recreation calendars most often there are free family related activities for summer, not to mention the local pool schedule might be handy to have available. Regal Cinema has a summer family fun movie festival from now until the end of summer with free morning movies.
· Finally, my personal favorite is the summer reading program at the local library. Most libraries have a summer program and really all ages can participate and some level. Not only does it get you to the library, but you can’t beat encouraging reading through the summer in a fun way!
· Some other blogs I like to check out every now and then that feature fun activities for kids either at home or on the go are Fun Activities for Kids, Little Elephants and Activity Village Blog.
Now that the sun is out and we are looking towards eighty degrees, tank tops and flip flops things seem to be a bit easier… happy summer!
guest post by:
Megan M. Spears click here for her blog!
w: www.disorder2order.com
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LOVE this Pottery Barn piece... wish it were in my garden! Do you get
Turn off the ringers on your phones and mute the answering machine. Check messages only when you want to, keeping in mind that "not at all" is always an option.
Send an "out of the office" e-mail" to everyone you know (even if your office is a corner of the playroom). Say you won't be checking your e-mail till you're back from vacation. Then power down the computer and throw a towel over it.
Stop the newspaper-maybe even the mail- for a week. When you banish the source of stress, the stress itself may follow. The earth will continue to turn even if you're not reading all about it every morning at 7:30 sharp, and sadly, the bills will still be there when your vacation is over.
My 2-cents....
the phone: So you're worried about turning off the ringer because the kids may call from camp with some emergency. How about turning off the land line and adding a special ring tone to your phone for the kids. I also need to figure out how to have the phone only ring twice so that the other incoming calls don't drive me batty- anyone know how?
e-mail: Put it on auto-reply. oooh and power off- that's going to be a bit tough but i think i can do it at least on the home computer! Love the towel over the computer trick~
the mail: Definately! I enjoy reading the paper so I'd opt to keep it coming and read it outside after the kids have left for camp. But the mail- love the idea!!!!
Are you up for the challenge?
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The first time I met our guest Gwynne Warner was at last fall's Ladies Who Launch Live Event. I was the emcee for the event and really wasn't looking forward to the Feng Shui speaker... but THEN Gwynne did her 'thang and I GOT it... for the first time I GOT feng shui. Adious Mishee Mushu HELLO feng shui!!!
Gwynne made me realize that I already practice feng shui. I'm just more "me" about it and have my own girly/western way of spreading it's ideals.
Take a LISTEN HERE and see what today's Blog Talk Radio Show was all about. Below are my favorite points that Gwynne made.
Feng Shui means Wind + Water... it's used to find good burial places for our ancestors.
hmmm that's why it felt sooo good to get the placemats and dresser out of my house- they were first marriage items and I AM SO far gone from that era-circa early '90's.
Do a little Feng Shui TODAY:
1. Make a list of things both mental and physical that are sucking out your life force.
2. What's dragging you down?
3. Now schedule time to take care of those things.
Check out Gwynne's blog and if you're feelin' the feng shui bug sign up for her newsletter!
OH.... The Contest Winners are.......
NOW IS THE NEW LATER! Congrats to Karen. She is the WINNER of the $50 Photoworks coupon. Check out her comment- You had me at chocolate. :)
the O myth tip/topic
Mary... you are the winner of the whoMi wall calendar! Thanks for you tip grocery shopping money/time saving tip- you inspired a fabulous segment idea!!!
Brandie's adding her own take on today's show and you can find the book info on her post as well. Check it out.
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This morning I was working with Lara, my fabulous photographer, on her studio supply closet. When she came across a pile of items from a conference she had attended she said that she "bundled them all together so that she could look at it later". I smile and replied.... "Now IS that later." Within minutes Lara had determined what was still useful to her and would could go. I think the thought of going through something is often way more overwhelming than the actual going through the something!
At some point we need to step back and declare
NOW is the time to deal with the LATER.
What you are finally DONE putting off?
LEAVE A COMMENT letting me know what your NOW is!
1 person will be chosen to receive a $50 off Photoworks coupon- but you'll have to act fast because the coupon code expires 6/31/08! winner will be announced on this Friday's "The O-myth" Blog Talk Radio Show 6/20/08 10 am.
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Hmmm somehow I deleted the post when I was trying to save it- now that's a big oops! Click Here to watch the segment!
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Share a tip or O-myth topic
and you'll be entered to win the
whoMi "on the wall" family Calendar!
Today on the O-myth, my new Blog Talk Radio show with co-host Brandie Kajino, we uncovered the organizing myth "There isn't enough time in the day". Our fabulous guest was Ronnie Noize, The Marketing Coach.
Here's a bit of what Ronnie shared with our audience. Oh did we mention how we adore her... she's Smart + Sassy, and that's our kind of gal!
1. Don't rely on your memory
2. Create Routines *this is SO up my alley! Take a look at Shebang 101 you'll find my template for creating your own routines.
3. Only check email 2-3 times per day.
You can listen to the entire interview here: but let me warn you my audio is a little funky because I was on my cell- lesson learned and will now use a land line!
Here's how to find Ronnie:
Veronika Noize | SOHO Marketing Guru Business Coaching & Development LLC
www.VeronikaNoize.com
www.SOHOMarketingGuru.com her NEW website with free report on how to double your business in 30 minutes a day, plus an audio on the science of successful marketing!
Brandie and I would love to hear your Time Management Tip or an O-myth topic! Share your comment, we'll choose our favorite and announce the winner on our next show- June 20th.
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