I am back from a couple back to back business trips – with a trip to Saudi for my husband sandwiched in between that. Add a birthday party for our five year old and I’m looking forward to some downtime at some point this weekend! If you’ve been following me on snapchat (user name: bramble-berry), you know I didn’t take a lot of downtime today – there was lots of crafting, Farmer’s Market, friend time & some quality email time.
Life has been full lately. When I feel like I’m going a million miles a minute, I often pause and remind myself that I created this schedule and I have complete power and control to change it. That thought + color-coded calendars and to-do lists usually give me the sense of calm I need to focus my mind on the task at hand.
I managed to injure myself a few weeks ago, so my workouts have been less running and more yoga. I joked with a hard-charging friend of mine that does TRX with me (an insane pseudo-military like exercise series that uses just ropes and body weight), “I’m getting back to my yoga roots.” She looked over, surprised, and exclaimed, “But, you don’t have yoga roots! You don’t DO yoga!” We had a good laugh and I explained I’m growing yoga roots. I need to give my peroneal left tendon a chance to heal up. It’s actually a win-win because remember that splits goal from 2016? Well, I’m diligently practicing every single day (have not missed one day since November 2015) yet my hips are nowhere near the floor. I’m looking at this injury as a good way to ramp up the splits goal.
The kiddos are doing great. Jamisen is five years old now and we enjoyed planning his birthday party together. He was very particular about what he wanted for dessert (blueberry, strawberry and vanilla cupcakes). We made them together and then I surprised him with another treat: Jell-O. He has never had Jell-O, and the jiggly, miraculous, sugary treat really amped up the happiness level. And, for the kids that attended the party that were gluten free? We had dessert for them!
Lily is almost three and we’re working on her party plans now. We’re thinking unicorn theme but that’s about as far as I’ve gotten. I found a downloadable template here for a unicorn party and that’s a great start. Lily is ridiculously happy in nature, hates dresses (Grandma got the one on her in the above photo because Grandmas are magic) and doesn’t play with dolls. She is strong-willed and a natural leader.
My Nutritional Therapy school certificate program is going great; or rather, about as well as you would expect with school, family and a more-than-full-time job. I’m up on my coursework, have my first practice client, and just finished up a group of 14 women on a 21 day elimination diet, lifestyle program. I’m getting ready to lead another group through the WholeLife plan (join my team here). If you want daily emails from me and accountability that’s centered around community, encouragement and laughter, I’ve got an entire (free) extra overlay support system built on top of their formal program. Do note that this sounds more impressive than it is: it’s literally me emailing the group every day with an update on how the day went, encouragement for the day, sharing food choices etc. Everyone else chimes in and voila, group accountability and support. It’s fun; and I do better with my own eating and disciplines when I’m doing it with friends.
The area I’m struggling with right now is my over-committed state. Life is always like a teeter totter for me; I’m rarely in perfect balance and right now, coming off of two business trips, kids in school, Bramble Berry, Handmade Beauty Box etc., it feels like there’s a lot going on. But, I know that it’s temporary and things will slow down as soon as school is over with and I’m done hobbling around with my injury. Thank goodness for my sweet husband who is supportive and generally on board for the roller coaster of dual-entrepreneurship with kids. And, thank goodness for my goal of feeling joy every day; recognizing and finding those small moments has kept me going this month.
Even with all the things going on outside of Bramble Berry and the beautiful distractions, I am lovin’ on all things soap and DIY hard. I’m soaping this upcoming week (and planning on a Pineapple themed live soaping session Monday so watch me on Facebook Live for that. If you don’t ‘like’ our page, make sure to ‘like’ us to get the notification when I go live). I blessedly have only day-business trips scheduled for all of May. I’m so looking forward to being in the office 40 hours a week thinking of new products, working with the team on Fall 2016 fragrances, planning out new soap designs, testing new products and generally immersing myself in all things small business, crafts, and fanatical customer service. Thank you for being along for the journey with me. I love our soaping and DIY community. ❤❤❤❤
My Lily is just like your Lily! Thanks for the great article!
Awww, I love that. =) Aren’t little girls fun? I have such a good time watching her personality grow and also watch her struggle for dominance in a house with an older brother. Being a parent is quite a roller coaster. =)
Happy to be on your team, Anne-Marie and to be working on my teeter tottering skills. 🙂
YAY! I can’t wait to have you on the team. I sent you a message in the WLC system with my email to get in on the round robin accountability of awesome =)