September Dreams/Goals

I don't know about you, but I am excited for Fall to arrive! I know technically there are still a few weeks until Autumn rolls in, but September will be here tomorrow and I am dreaming of all things Fall - crisp days, hot cider, apple picking, pumpkin spice, beautiful foliage...

So let's see how things went with my dreams/goals for this month.

August Dreams/Goals:

• Successful delivery of professional development to local school district: Yes, I spent 10+ hours with a committee designing a School-Wide Positive Behavior Program. Not something you probably ever heard me mention here before! This project is a remnant of my past career focus and when it ends next year I will no longer be doing this type of consulting.
  
• Have fun & make new connections while doing all-day workshop on the Living Wellness Lifestyle for adolescent girls at a local university: Yes! I had a great time spending the day with about 20 girls. We practiced yoga and meditation, created skits about assertive communication, crafted empowerment jewelry, and more! I will definitely be offering more programs like this in the future!
  
• Host private yoga class for local agency: Yes! I really enjoyed this group and hope that they will be back for more yoga soon!
  
• Host the YaYas for Girls Night: Girls Night was downsized to just my bff and I so we opted to go out for sushi instead of staying in. I adore monthly girls only time!
  
• Continue with new rules for work schedule - no more than 3 clients back-to-back and time for lunch scheduled in every day: Yes, I think I stuck with this all month and it has continued to make my days more relaxing. I am loving the laid-back pace I've set for this summer.
  
• Family picnic at parents' lake house to welcome family from Boston: Yes! It was wonderful to spend the day by the lake chatting with family and enjoying good food!
  
• Travel to Long Island to visit my husband's family: Yes! We just got back Sunday night after visiting with family and friends. We also spent a day on Fire Island laying in the sun and dipping our toes into the ocean - one of my favorite ways to spend a day!
  
• Review recent journal entries + notes from e-courses to create lists of to-do/to-ponder/to-read: Yes, this is one of the first things I did this month and I am now working on doing, pondering, and reading all of the things on the index cards I created :-)
  
• Read for pleasure + business development: Yes, I have been reading a lot lately! Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (which makes me want to write fiction and I don't even read fiction), The E-Myth by Michael Gerber, and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle were my main reads this past weekend while we traveled.
  
• Write every day for 30 minutes: I'm going to call this a work in progress. I have not been working on my book every day for 30 minutes, that is for sure! Ugh... I hit a bit of a wall and I'm still working through it. I have been journaling (but not daily) and, as you may have noticed, I have not been blogging as much either. Maybe I'm just in a writing funk lately. I'm sure it will work itself out soon enough!
  
• Publish Yoga for Living Wellness CD: Ugh... STILL have not done this!
  
• Order that wallpaper...: Yes! Finally! The wallpaper is here and.... my husband doesn't like it. LOL! I am still working on him though so we will see...
  
• Clean out my daughter's room in preparation for new school year: I have not done much of this, but for some unknown (but welcomed) reason my daughter has been doing this herself! Awesome! I will probably help her out a bit over the long weekend, but she has done a pretty amazing job on her own.
  
• Continue with self-care routine of monthly massage and pedicure, weekly Artist Date, weekly yoga class at another studio, and daily creative mini-retreat: Yes, yes, yes! These are the things that keep me sane!
  
• Brainstorm what I want my Fall schedule to look like and start taking steps toward making it happen: Yes! I've decided I want my Fall schedule to look a lot like my summer schedule! So that is my plan! I'm not completely sure if I can maintain my 3.5 days working out of the house routine, but I am going to try.
  
• Start free-weight routine to strengthen arms (any suggestions on resources for this?): Never looked into this...
  
• Go to the beach, play with my new stamps, pack a picnic and head down to Shakespeare in the Park, take a bike ride with my husband, go out for sushi, drink some amazing wine from California, and just generally savor every moment of August! Yes! I did all of those things except take a bike ride. August has been a fabulous, relaxing month for the most part.

September Dreams/Goals:

• Seamless start to the new school year for my family
• Publish Yoga for Living Wellness CD
  
• Create all new marketing materials for Tree of Life Yoga Studio
• Host first-ever Vision Board PLAYshop at the studio on September 16th
  
• Launch my first online course, Dare to Live Your Dreams Online Circle
• Renovations finished at the wellness center + 3 new offices rented to like-minded professionals that will add to our center's community
• Gather another fabulous group of women for the Living Wellness Lifestyle for Women starting September 23rd
• Buy new houseplants for home + re-pot office plants
• Plant some mums at home + office
• Play board games around the warm fire on a cool night
• Work with LonoWood Art Company to create the perfect sign for Living Wellness of Niagara
• Add some variety to my physical activity routine - maybe swimming laps or a free weight routine in addition to my typical running + yoga
  
• Ponder taking a solo Fall retreat...
  
• Shop for new picture frames and update family photos around the house
• Purge more clutter when I transition from summer clothing to fall wardrobe
• Spend time every week working on my book - schedule it in pen in my planner!

What are your plans for September?

What's on your bookshelf?

This week my writing teacher asked me to bring a list of books by my bedside. For years now I have read at least 5-10 books at a time. I read almost exclusively nonfiction so reading many books simultaneously is not a problem like it might be if I was trying to keep straight several plots and characters in fiction books.

Here is what I am reading right now...

• Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach
• The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
• If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
• Style Statement by Carrie McCarthy & Danielle LaPorte
  
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
• Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port
• The Not So Big Life by Sarah Susanka
• New Moon by Stephanie Meyer (yup, I am pretty far behind with the books, but don't worry I've seen all the movies... lol)
  
• Reinventing Eve by Kim Chernin

What's on your bookshelf?

Image credit

The Power of Play

Good afternoon darling readers!

I hope you are doing well and enjoying a fabulous Friday!

Let me tell you about my day so far...

I awoke naturally around 8:30am, today being the only day this week I do not have to set an alarm. I wandered downstairs and found the hubby making his coffee, which meant I couldn't make mine (he drinks regular and I am strictly decaf now). So I meandered back upstairs, started checking email and pondering what to do with the day. I worked on my book for a few minutes, but was feeling uninspired so I went back online to browse some blogs.

Eventually, I went back downstairs to make my coffee and chat with the hubby about our most recent renovation project at the wellness center, the grocery list, and other such enticing topics! Finally a bit after 10am I decided to start reading through my visual journal. I used three colored index cards and labeled them "to-do, to-read, to-ponder." My visual journal dates back to March 2010 and it was really interesting to see how my ideas and my business have grown since then. By this time it was about 11am and I started to think "I'm wasting the day away." It is pretty unusual for me to spend that many hours basically doing nothing...

So I hopped in the shower and that is when it happened! I had a gorgeous aha moment!

More to come on that later, but my point here is that all of my idling and "doing nothing" lead me up to that aha!

That moment in the shower reminded me of my theme for this summer -PLAY!

Play is an important part of creating and no matter what you "do" with your life, you are creating something!
Looking back on my index cards from earlier this morning, I see that I jotted "the difference between being lazy and giving myself space" on the To-Ponder card. I think all too often we perceive playtime as laziness, especially those of us who tend to be "doers," but there is immense value in "being" without any goal to be achieved or tangible thing to be produced. Although I schedule in an Artist Date for myself every week and a 30-minute creative mini-retreat nearly daily, I still struggle with idleness - particularly when I am wanting to create something. What am I learning and re-learning is that you can't force creation AND that periods of "doing nothing" are an important and natural part of the process of creating.

So go ahead and take some time to "do nothing" today or over the weekend - you may be surprised by the results!

August Dreams & Goals

I can't believe it is August already! July went by so quickly for me, especially since I was on vacation for the last two weeks of the month. Today is my first day back in the office!




So let's review July's Dreams/Goals:

• Celebrate 4th of July with a party at my brother's house! Yes! We had a great time - my brother has an awesome backyard - perfect for parties - and there were grilled veggies galore!
  
• Enjoy every second of being in Paris!!! Yes, yes, yes! SO much more to come on this - I promise!
  
• Celebrate my 32nd Birthday! Yes! I was actually traveling solo on my birthday, but I took myself out for a lovely dinner at Aladdin's on the canal (photo above was taken there).
  
• Celebrate my 2nd Wedding Anniversary! Yes! We went to one of my favorite restaurants, Schimschacks, with another couple. I savored the Artichoke appetizer and splurged on a fantastic bottle of Pinot Grigio! Yum!
  
• Travel to Rochester for yoga training & reconnect with yogi buddies from training in April! Yes! I spent my birthday weekend in Rochester with a fabulous group of women (and a few men) studying yoga more deeply, especially mindfulness and staying connected with the present moment. It was wonderful!
  
• Celebrate my cousin's baptism! Yes! Another fabulous family party filled with good food & great times!
  
• Welcome newest cousin to the world - she should be arriving any day now! Yes! Violet Pearl (isn't that a gorgeous name?) arrived on July 13th!
  
• Join writing group to be held at the studio. OMG. I'm so terrified/excited! Yes! I am loving "Women Who Write." The teacher, Wendy, is so sweet and patient! And because of her I have committed to working on my book everyday for 30 minutes!
  
• Relax with monthly pedicure, preferably in the company of my favorite 12 year-old! Yes! Actually I think I have had two pedicures in the past month!
  
• Enjoy now-monthly massage with Gina. Ahhh... yes! This is such a treat and I adore every minute of it! This month she even did some work on my sinuses because I had a bit of a headache. Love, love, love getting massages!
  
• Order wallpaper for bathroom... No... (picture me with my head hanging in shame). This seems like it should be a simple task, but for some reason I just never seem to get to it.
  
• Publish Yoga for Living Wellness CD. No... same as above. I just haven't made the time for this. I think the issue is these are things I can't do on my own - I need to ask for some help.
  
• Listen intently during private session with Medium/Psychic Ellen Bourn. Yes! She prepared my chart and it was really interesting. I'm thinking of having another meeting with her.
  
• Finish reading Book Yourself Solid & The E-Myth. No... but I did read part of Style Statement (LOVE this book), Secrets of the Zona Rosa (the book we are using in writing group - highly recommend), and all of The Notebook (a sweet vacation read).
  
• Play as much as possible in order to welcome in Perception & Clarity about next steps for my businesses/marketing of my brand. I think I have been playing A LOT! I enjoyed the two weeks of vacation from my private practice spent relaxing and hanging out with my family (including a few margaritas at my parents' lake house), as well as an entire amazing week in Paris! The clarity is coming slowly, but surely!

For August, I'm keeping with the idea of slowing down and playing more. I will be sticking to my 3.5 day (outside the home) work week (would love to make this a permanent schedule). So with that in mind, here are my August Dreams/Goals:

• Successful delivery of professional development to local school district
• Have fun & make new connections while doing all-day workshop on the Living Wellness Lifestyle for adolescent girls at a local university
• Host private yoga class for local agency
• Host the YaYas for Girls Night
• Continue with new rules for work schedule - no more than 3 clients back-to-back and time for lunch scheduled in every day
• Family picnic at parents' lake house to welcome family from Boston
• Travel to Long Island to visit my husband's family
• Review recent journal entries + notes from e-courses to create lists of to-do/to-ponder/to-read
• Read for pleasure + business development
• Write every day for 30 minutes
• Publish Yoga for Living Wellness CD
• Order that wallpaper...
• Clean out my daughter's room in preparation for new school year
• Continue with self-care routine of monthly massage and pedicure, weekly Artist Date, weekly yoga class at another studio, and daily creative mini-retreat
  
• Brainstorm what I want my Fall schedule to look like and start taking steps toward making it happen
• Start free-weight routine to strengthen arms (any suggestions on resources for this?)
• Go to the beach, play with my new stamps, pack a picnic and head down to Shakespeare in the Park, take a bike ride with my husband, go out for sushi, drink some amazing wine from California, and just generally savor every moment of August!

What are you dreaming of this month?