by Pam | Jan 1, 2019 | Everyday Adventures, Goals, travel
Raise your hand if you love setting goals? I hate to admit that I kinda geek out about it – I’m really a pro at setting good ones too. My issues tend to be around completion. Seems like I run out of steam or time before the year ends. Through the years I’ve probably tried just about every method of goal setting – and I’ve learned plenty from all of them. I’ve discovered that I’m most successful when I don’t set too many goals and when the goals I set are very concrete. I need to know exactly what completing a goal looks like. To hold myself accountable – and give me a place to come back each month and review my progress, I thought I’d share my 2019 travel blogging goals right here on my site: Publish at least one new post every week. Wouldn’t be much of a blog without new content, right? Take at least one trip a month. A weekend trip totally counts as although I do have a lot of vacation time, it isn’t enough for a week every month! Plus school, sports, the dog, etc. Publish at least one article each month somewhere other than my blog. I really want to expand my experience and reach, so finding new outlets is important. At least one sponsored post each month. This is fairly new to me. I did a few sponsored posts in November and December of 2018 and really enjoyed the experience (and the income!). Attend a blogging and/or travel writing event. I’ve never attended an event before even though I’ve been blogging...
by Pam | Nov 6, 2018 | Everyday Adventures, healthy tips, Holidays, Organization, parenting, Relaxation, stress, travel
All over the internet, I see packing lists, packing hacks, ways to pack your bag smarter, etc. I’m not going to rehash those posts – what I want to share with you are some of the more unusual items I always pack that make my vacations better: Diffuser and essential oils. There have been times I’ve been tempted to leave this at home (it does take up valuable space that could be used for another pair of shoes), but somehow I always squeeze it in. And I’m always so glad to have it. I love coming back to a hotel room that smells delicious instead of stale, and my eyes are never as dry in the morning if I’ve had it running by my bed all night. Curious about which oils I pack? I did a whole post on Essential Oils on Vacation. Rice sock and/or Thera Cane Max: Trigger Point Massager (Blue). Hotel beds can be lumpy. Car and airline travel can make for very sore backs. These two items help with those issues immensely! If I know there will be a microwave available I pack my rice sock. This is simply a sock filled with white rice. Heat it up in the microwave for a minute and enjoy the delicious warmth on sore muscles. My Thera Cane Max: Trigger Point Massager (Blue) was purchased on the advice of my massage therapist and it is a lifesaver for those sticky spots on your back that you can’t reach to rub out. The one I have breaks down for convenient travel and I’ve never had it turned down going through...
by Pam | Aug 20, 2018 | Essential oils, Everyday Adventures, healthy tips, moms, natural cleaners, Organization
Woo hoo! It’s the final week in our clean sweep. I hope you are feeling great about how your house is looking. I know mine is better than when I started, and that’s the goal, right? The final week will help you REALLY enjoy your newly decluttered and optimized household. All you need for supplies are some green cleaning products. Yep, you guessed it, we are cleaning the house top to bottom. I mean a deep clean. Since you’ve decluttered, you’ve organized and you’ve gotten rid of what you don’t love and use, it should be much easier than normal. Feel free to clean one room a day or just dedicate half a day or so to do the whole thing – I’ll leave that choice up to you. If you’ve never used green products before, it can be as simple as making your own or purchasing a few bottles on a site like Grove. Here’s a post I did a few years ago about making your own cleaners – it’s affordable and easy (and they work!). Once you’ve finished cleaning, try diffusing some essential oils for a fresh scent (I’m really loving a mix of Lavender, Orange, and Peppermint right now), sit down and enjoy your home! How was this series? Did it help you get your house in order? I encourage you to go through this process a few times a year – it gets quicker and easier each time. Other posts in this series: Clean Sweep – Week One Clean Sweep – Week Two *This post contains affiliate links*...
by Pam | Aug 6, 2018 | Everyday Adventures, Goals, healthy tips, moms, Organization, parenting, Relaxation
August is the one month of the year we rarely have any exciting trips planned. As my kids are on a balanced calendar, school starts August 1st, so we are in the midst of getting back on a regular schedule. Homework is beginning, sports are heating up – it’s just not a good time to travel. I do find it IS a good time to do a clean sweep of the house. A clutter-free and clean house means that if a fun opportunity comes along, we can take off without any guilt. It also means less time is spent cleaning, which means more free time can be spent planning our next vacation! If I can’t take a trip, at least I can be planning one! For the next three weeks, I’ll take you through a fantastic clean sweep process. It’s based heavily off of Lisa Bryne’s whole house sweep. Week one is all about assessing where you are, clearing out the old and planning for the new. I like to do one or two rooms of the house each day – so it takes me about a week to get through this process. Monday I start with the bedrooms; Tuesday is the living area; Wednesday is the bathrooms; Thursday is the kitchen, and Friday is my office and the laundry room. One room at a time feels less stressful and it typically takes less than an hour to accomplish. Ready to begin? Grab a notebook, a pencil, a trash bag and a laundry basket. Walk into the room(s) you are working on and immediately put any trash in the...
by Pam | Apr 5, 2018 | Goals, healthy tips, moms, Organization, restaurant, Small Changes Series, stress
That first sip of hot coffee, a cuddly blanket with a warm kitty curled up at my feet. Add in my current reading material, and THAT is the perfect way to start my day. Once I have a few moments of easing into the day in that manner, I am ready to do some yoga or pilates, work on a personal project and get ready with plenty of time to spare. How I love a great start to the day. Getting up early to enable such a perfect morning routine is a struggle for me, but the days I am successful are ALWAYS better days. I’m more productive, less stressed and just plain enjoy life more. And since enjoying life and creating a healthier and happier life is exactly what I promote here, I thought I’d share one of my favorite resources to help you create a better start to YOUR day: I’ve taken the online course myself and gleaned quite a bit of useful information. This time around, Crystal is doing a live version – for extra motivation. The class starts April 9th and registration ends then, so if you think you need a little push in improving YOUR mornings, sign up soon! I’ll be participating and I’d love to have you join me! Go check it out HERE. What makes up the perfect morning for you? I’d love for you to share in the comments!...
