2019 has been a year.......

After writing about my journey in 2018 ​I thought it was important to take some time to think about my journey in 2019.

I find too often that I let my experiences control my life and I forget that I don't have to allow that to happen.  2018 threw me for a big loop and I allowed it to get out of control.  It took a trip to the ER in September for me to push pause, slow down and really take a look at my path and current direction of my choices.

I have always enjoyed journaling and I created a weekly journal that I can use as a form of reflection and personal guidance.  It has been a good exercise for me, I am not always dedicated to it, but every time I find my way back to that journal I am thankful for the time and energy that I choose to give to it.
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So what has my 2019 journey taught me?  

I have learned to focus on what is really important to me. 

My family is so important. I didn't quite realize this until I saw the breakdown and struggle of families in our circle of friends.  My job is my job, it doesn't come before time with my family.  I will dedicate to it what I need to in order to fulfill the requirements, but I will not give it more than it needs.  Too often I was answering emails and phone calls at home during my "family time".  I do not need to be a member of several boards and committees.  I took the emails off my phone, I put my phone away when I come home and I choose to be present with my family when I am home.  My daughters are in grades 11 & 12, I don't have a lot of time with them while they are living at home.  A new reality of parenting is right around the corner, I am going to enjoy this time and be the Mom they need right now in this time of their lives.  This is a decision that I will never regret, I believe that by building into this time now will only further our relationship after they go out into the world.

Not only am I building into my daughters but also my husband as well.  How often I see couples struggling after their children have moved out.  Years are spent building into our children, while our marriages have been set to coast and then when the children are gone building their own lives we don't know how to relate to our spouse.  Then we feel like our marriage is breaking down - when in reality it has been breaking down for years because you haven't been building into it.

My family is built on my relationship with my husband.  We choose to be married to each other and build a life together and watch it grow and flourish, then we added our daughters to that relationship so that it can become fuller.  How could I choose to neglect that which my life is built upon?

I have named my golf set "Peg" and my husband and I have found a great little par 3 course where we can go for a nice walk and hit a few golf balls - hopefully in the direction of the hole 😁 and we have a chance to spend 90 minutes talking and challenging ourselves each game.  I always keep score, not to compete with each other but to see how we are doing from game to game, and I set the rule that we can never score higher than a 6 on a hole, I just give us a 6+. 😉

Priorities are important and we need to make sure that they are what fill up our lives.  So many little things and things that are not necessary can start to invade but we have a choice.  My family is important, they will be the ones that I am thinking about on my death bed.  They are the ones that I think about when I fall asleep at night and when I wake up in the morning.  They are priority.

I also know that to be what I need to be for them, means that I have to make myself a priority as well. I will share more about that in my next post, in this year of journaling ​​I am going to be dealing with a lot of heart healing, purpose searching and goal making. ​ You can find out more about that in my next post.

I am excited to take you on a journey on how to begin a weekly journal practice.

Journaling is about writing down your thoughts, feelings, memories, goals, and desires. It explores who you are, what you think and how you feel. Your written word allows you to get to know your true self.

The workshop will be held: Friday, November 15th, 7:00 to 9:00 PM at Perfect Balance Yoga, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Cost for the workshop is $50 which will include a journal.

This will be an intimate gathering, which will limit registrations.

To register call 306-960-7489 or click on the link below.

There were a few students that weren't too sure about the project.  But after they got the sequence down they were determined to complete the project.  Once a few of the students were focused that encouraged most to keep moving forward.

This project gave them a purpose.

​I can't wait to teach this workshop again!!

Interested in hosting a workshop?  Please contact me and I would like to see how we can make it happen.

When you feel like your life is controlling you - then you know that things must change.  

Firstly, I am tired of being connected all the time.  Cell phones have made life easier in some aspects but far too difficult in others.

By being at your cell phones beckon call you are separating yourself from those around you.  The picture above is a clear explanation of that.  I would never want my family members to feel that way, but I know at times they do.  It is time to make change - here is what I have done to start making changes:

1. turn off notifications- get rid of the little red dot that is telling you that you need to check your phone right now.  Everything can be changed and modified in your settings, make time to implement these changes - you will be thankful.
2. put the phone down - when you get home from work have a place for your phone and leave it there.  This is your time to spend with your family - you do not work 24 hours a day - whatever it is, it can wait until morning.  Let your friends and family know that you are not checking your phone 24 hours a day, just because you receive a text message does not mean that you have to reply immediately.  
3. At night do not place your phone on your night stand.  Keep the temptation away.  Sleep is for rejuvenation and relaxation - that is not provided by your phone or any app.  Our family placed a table in the hallway which is our charging station, all our "stuff" is left there for the night.  It sets a good example when your devices are located on the table with the whole family.
4. When going out with friends leave your phone in your car or your purse.  Keep your focus on those that you are spending your time with, not the random people on Facebook.  Even if your phone is face down on the table, it is a distraction.  Put the darn thing away!
5. Speaking of Facebook- take a few minutes to go through your "friends" list and start deleting.  I took a look at my list and I started to be selective.  I found a portion of my "friends" never talked to me in real life when I saw them so I wasn't sure what relationship I was having with them so I had to delete.  I had a few "friends" that spent most of their time complaining,  why would I want it in my feed?  Which led me to ask, "What do I want to see in my feed?"  That led to going through groups and pages that I liked and I cleaned house on my Facebook page.  I only want to see things that are going to encourage and inspire me.  I refuse to invest any of the precious time I have on this earth filling myself with negativity.
6. Just because your phone rings does not mean that you have to answer.  A pet peeve of mine is people who chat on their phone while they are checking out at the grocery store.  I am really not interested in hearing your conversation and honestly - it is really rude.  

Not only are we making changes with how we interact with our phones but also that black rectangle in our living room.

A couple of years ago we built a house, it's not finished yet.  I am married to a contractor, it probably won't be finished when we celebrate our 50th anniversary.  😁  But that's okay because it is about the family that lives in it, not it's finishes.  When we were working with the engineers we designed a room around our TV.  We dedicated a room so that our family can sit around and be entertained by box on the wall.  Why did we choose to do this? 

Now we are seeing the err in our ways and we are making changes.  I have disconnect our cable, and honestly we do not miss it.  There are a couple of shows that we like to watch and we can catch them online and we have Netflix.  It is amazing to see how many other things that we can find to do now that we are not focused on that box on the wall and we are saving $100 a month!  Score!

Take time to figure out what this looks like in your life.  Where are you investing your time?

I love teaching journaling workshops.  I basically tell everyone to throw out any idea that they have about journaling and start fresh.  

There are so many different opportunities in journaling, one of them is to practice gratitude.  Studies show that by doing this simple exercise daily you will have more alertness, enthusiasm, optimism, attentiveness, energy, more motivated, likeable, generous, helpful, more likely to volunteer and give back.

I think that those are all qualities that we would appreciate being described as - so my challenge for you is for the 31 days in August to share three things that you are grateful for.  I even created a printable that you can print off for yourself to be accountable for the next month.  Think about how beneficial this will be for you, your marriage and your family.  Print off a few copies and share them with your children, your friends, even your husband and grow together on this journey of creating a grateful heart and life.