Thanksgiving

Every year I think maybe I should do the daily Thanksgiving posts... then I think. There is way more than 20 some things in my life to be grateful for. Since our loss of Calvin I am a master at counting blessings. When a portion of your daily life has a sad part you have to count a lot of blessings to still have a happy day! So here I am Thanksgiving morning doing what I have the past few years, letting you all know what this life means to me. 

First of all, I am in this warm home, full of the many things we have worked hard for. It is full of love, and the pantry is full. My dogs and cats snuggled up in their respective places. Lucky curled up on the toes of a little girl who is growing much too fast now. A handsome husband that proves daily that he is too good to be true. Within these four walls is everything I could ever want, everything that I really need. I can't say I knew how much these guys meant to me until after we lost Calvin. Of course my love for them is growing and growing! I am so thankful that they are a part of my life. That every day they wake up and work towards the same goals I am. This home would not be what it is, without each one of them. 

John much deserves his own line. This man wakes up everyday with the goal to make people smile. Very much a believer in your decision to be happy regardless of what is happening. It is a conscious choice to have happiness, and he'll do whatever he can to see it happen. I love him, and am so grateful for him as he constantly changes his life for whatever Heavyn and I need. Thankful for his strong hands, steady mind, and loving heart. Thankful that he knows time with us is the most important thing, he doesn't work sooo hard that he doesn't see us. We have him home at the dinner table every night!

Heavyn also gets her own line. How can you not be grateful for this beautiful face. Those sparkly green eyes, light brown hair, and freckles. She wakes up every day with a thrill for life. She seeks out anything she can to learn about. She loves reading and writing. She knows unconditional love. She sees the butterflies and reminds me that Calvin is always here. She is easily pleased with time spent with her. She may bounce around all the time with lots of energy, but she also knows how to slow down and appreciate the small things in life. Love her learning to dance and swim this year. When I count blessings... I am sure I always count her more than once!

Calvin. My one and only son. My baby. I miss you so much. I am thankful for the things you taught me in your short life. Thankful for your cute face gracing my walls, and your presence in my heart always. 

My family. Each one of my family provides something special to me. From my Mom, my brother, my sister in law, my nieces, my uncle and aunt, my cousins. My friends, from Moe, Brandi, Aubry, Nicole and many more. Each one of you are a part of me. Each one of you are counted as blessings. I may log in to Facebook every day and never post a Happy Birthday on your wall. I may never just write you to say how is going? But I love each and every one of you. I love the pictures you share, and things you post. 

Work. You'll find in life that you have to do this. There will also be a time that you'll be grateful for it. Sure I don't love going to work daily, but I do love what I do. Sometimes you have to make some sacrifices and some changes. Some might see it as a step back, but it most definitely is a step forward. As I changed jobs quickly this year, it was because I knew exactly where I needed to be. It might have taken me a while to realize it. I might have needed a push in the right direction. Thankful for our ability to choose what we want to do. Thankful for the opportunity to be an entrepreneur in these days. There is no one telling me because I am woman, because I am weak, because I am less than. I can do anything! Everyone should make sure they wake up every day loving what they do. It might be as simple as deciding you're going to love what you're already doing.

Thankful for my business. Thankful for my clients. I truly love my graphic design, and photography. I can't wait to see myself in a studio space making lots of art! I hope each and every one of you knows that I am Thankful for you. I hope to be your go to time and time again for design. Thankful for attorneys and accountants that help everything be legal. Thankful for the learning I keep doing for this thing I love.

Thankful for health. I may be having my struggles health wise, but I look around and realize it could be worse. Thankful for good doctors, and great nurses. Thankful for wonderful dentists. Thankful for insurance, and for cash to pay them! Thankful for the womans body, and its amazing abilities. Children truly are miracles. 

Thankful for living. For some life can end far too short. This world is full of good and bad, but it should be experienced. There is so much to learn here, so much to experience and enjoy. Thankful for every breath of air I take. Thankful for the choice to pursuit happiness.

Remember to count your blessings. The blessing that you have food on your plate today. The blessing that you are healthy today. The blessing that your very old vacuum is still working. That the sponge doesn't need replaced yet. That your little girl cleared the coffee table for you... which means she just rearranged the pile. Thankful for every little thing. 

It will be a quiet day at the Nation home, over good food and football. We try to live everyday like thanksgiving, always counting blessings, always looking for the silver linings. 

We LOVE all of YOU! 

*please know I did not list everything, or everyone in my life here. We'd be here all day! ;)

Finally Time Management

I have mentioned several times in my posts that I would like to write one about time management. How do you manage time as a parent, an employee, and a freelance designer/photographer. How do you still squeeze in "me" time and art! Since I've decided to take on these endeavors I've been struggling to make it all fit comfortably. I'm going to tell you how much I've found out and what I still need to know!

As with anything that Amber Nation questions she does some research! Here I am reading lots of articles about Time Management... including clinic studies. Questions like: Are you Overwhelmed by work needing done each day? Do you feel like you can't get it all done because unexpected tasks pile on? Maybe you can't get it all organized? One thing I did find out... you're aren't going to learn what works best for you in a day!

I've tried several things like PLAN EACH DAY! I put down every minute of my day until after dinner time into my Google Calendar. Set it so that it gives me reminders via email and text messages all day long to keep on track. It didn't work. Some of the reminders are useful, but those sneaky unexpected tasks are not accounted for. So if you're going to try this method... leave yourself room! You're going to have those scheduling conflicts and last minute things come up that destroys your whole day. Also when you sit back and reflect on your planned day, and it didn't go as planned... be understanding of yourself.

I have told myself over the past few years I had to learn to say NO more often. That surely would help my planned day run smoother... just tell everyone NO that isn't on the plan. Well, I have learned to say NO more often, but I am not 100% great at it either. Sometimes it just isn't going to work. That is why I said plan for those, they are going to happen! I call this Dave Ramsey's Emergency Plan, you know those things are going to come up when you least expect them, leave some room in the schedule for it.

How do you go about limiting distractions? This is the one I cannot conquer! My place of work I am a manager and I should always be available to my employees and boss for the things that can come up. So I can't bring myself to turn off my phone. My home office is not located in an ideal spot. It is currently in my living room... no doors to shut. My husband was nice enough to have his days off be with my days off so that we could have time together. My dogs think when I am home that I want to hang out with them. My little girl thinks that because I am in the living room this is the family room and we should play and answer 100 questions. I'm not complaining about any of that. However, I do see what I need to do to get through this one. To manage my time here on this given dilemma I need to have an office/studio space. I can't wait to buy a house... that is a whole other story. I will make it so that I have an office space so I can put my time into this business. I truly love it, and this is just a bump in the road.

Time Management always is mentioned with the word STRESS! That word should always be mentioned with Sleep Management, Healthy diet, and exercising regularly. Wait... Exercise Regularly?! Who has time for that in their schedule? Just kidding, for the longest time I though there is NO WAY I can find time for that. I didn't, but I did make it happen. At the end of the day with all of my health issues this year I decided it was important. It was more important for me to be healthy doing what I loved then dragging my body along doing what I loved. Hubby decided to join me on the exercise challenge and we get it done a couple times a week. Which is way better than none at all. I do feel slightly better. I don't think it helped with my Time Management... but I guess you have to give a little to get a little.

Last but not least the one thing I have MASTERED! Take a BREAK as needed! When the things pile up on my desk and my mind starts to wander in 20 directions to try and get it all done... its time to set it down. While I set it down I should take a moment to not think about it at all... take a walk, take a shower, read a chapter... just leave it alone for a moment. When you come back to it decide what you're going to do by re-prioritizing it. Decide what needs done first, and down the line. Sometimes you can't just take a moment either, sometimes it gets to be so much on you mentally and physically... you just need a day! I currently try to make sure that I take one whole day for my family every week. I don't have anything planned but to relax and enjoy my little girl and husband.

As with any questions with Time Management constantly EVALUATE. You should evaluate yourself, your work load, and how you're spending your time. I don't keep a diary of exactly what I did when and where. I do however, take a moment at the end of every day and see where I could have used time a little more wisely. My goal is to do what I love every day and make time with my family happen. Time is invaluable when it comes to life, remember my Golden Birthday I reflected on that. I'd give anything for more time with my Son. So I'm going to use my time the best I can now.

Good luck on your Time Management goals. I know that I haven't got hardly any of mine done, but I am working towards it, and I understand what I need to make it happen. Even part of the way there you'll feel better than you did.

My goal is to do one other post this week... Thanksgiving.