Vision Boards

Today I've spent some time meditating about my intentions and I worked on my vision board.

What is a vision board you say? A vision board is a visible representation of the results of your goals and intentions. If you want a particular car, then you'd put a picture of the car. If you want to weigh a particular weight, you'd find a picture of yourself at that weight or someone else at that weight and put it on your board.

Vision boards help you focus more deeply on your intentions.

Do they work? Well, in August of 2007, I put this picture on my vision board:



and 3 months later I took this picture:


So yeah, it works.

So I'm sharing my vision board with you here. I'm making it my desktop background and will print a copy of it for my ACTUAL vision board in my bedroom. My vision board is in my bedroom because it's the first thing I see in the morning - well besides the lovely and talented Moo - and it's the last thing I see in the evening - except for the forementioned Moo.

What are you doing to make your dreams come true?

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President Obama

I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. Atlanta: the home of Coca-Cola, the best sweet tea in the world, and the middle of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement. Folks tend to think of the south as racist and backward with poorly educated rednecks.

My mother had grown up in Atlanta too, went to a public school before desegregation and taught me not to judge someone by the color of their skin. She was staunchly anti-racist and slammed my father for his racism on a regular basis (my dad was from a tiny town in south Georgia and racism seemed to be a way of life in that little town.. things have greatly changed now).

I grew up and went to public elementary school in the seventies - not long after school desegregation, but long enough that I never knew what it was like to go to an all white school. My best friend was a girl named Bridget, a pretty black girl one month older than me. Bridget braided my waist length hair every day during PE and lamented that my hair was too soft to hold the braid.

I tell you this because I was moved to tears last night when Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States and the first black person to fill the office. My daughter will grow up in a world where race is no longer criteria for who gets to lead this country.

He won the presidency not because he's black or because he's a democrat. He won because he's smart and because he has been able to connect with people - black, white, Hispanic, straight, gay, conservative and liberal in a way that made us all want to work hard to get this relatively unknown guy into office.

I never believed that Hillary Clinton would win. I have always thought that she was divisive and, at this time, we need unity, not division. Obama has been able to unite us in the same way that Bill Clinton was able to unite us.

I have ALWAYS believed that a black man would be president before a woman of any race. Why? Because of what happened to Hillary - the comments about her tone of voice or her fashion sense. We're not quite ready to let go of the misogyny, but I really believed that we were ready to let go of the racism.

That's what my mother taught me. That the colors of the rainbow had nothing to do with your intelligence or your potential in this world. She taught me that only I had the power to hold myself back.

Thank God that Barack Obama's mother and grandparents taught him the same thing.

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Ways I will screw up my kid, Part Deux

The second part in my ongoing series of how I will mess up my kid... part 1 can be found here

4. She can no longer rest on the ottoman in our living room like a jewel on a pillow. Why? 'Cause she rolled right off of it today. Scared the hell outta me, but she's ok. She cried for all of 30 seconds and was quickly comforted. I'm paranoid enough that I immediately went to Dr Google to look up concussions to see if Phoebe had one.

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One Day More

Tomorrow is Election Day here in the states. While I've not been blatant about my pick - well unless you count the little sign over to the right of my blog page - I will say that I have already voted.

I voted for Barack Obama.

I have felt that Obama would be an excellent president ever since he spoke at the DNC back in 2004. After that, I read his book The Audacity of Hope and confirmed that his views on many subjects - politically, socially - mirror my own.

Even though I am a HUGE political news junkie, I have to admit to fatigue from this election. So with this in mind, I post the following YouTube video for your enjoyment.

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Today in my reality: Day 1

I had intended to start this a few days ago, but a cold, coupled with going out of town and my daughter's first Halloween, just pushed everything back.

Over the next 100 days, I will focus on the following goals:

1. I have a successful home based business where I use all the skills I really like to make a great income. I get to use my HR and payroll skills and knowledge every day. I use my creativity to solve problems and create products.
   
2. I am healthier today than I was yesterday because I have a moderate diet and enjoy daily exercise. I am at my perfect weight and I feel great
3. Prosperity flows in abundance in my life. Every time I pay a bill, I get 3X that amount the next week. I constantly win prizes. I find new sources of revenue EVERY SINGLE DAY.
   

I state these goals in the present, as if they've already happened. While these goals may or may not be achievable in the next 100 days, I will act as if they are already here.

Tools and Practices

• Vision Board: I have had a vision board for nearly a year now. I need to update it to match my current goals.
• Meditation: I'll spend a few minutes (no more than 10) using deep breathing techniques to quiet my mind and get myself centered on only positive thoughts and actions.
• Journaling: Yep, you guys get to read the journal. Lucky you!
• Positive Affirmations: I'll use these in my meditation sessions as well as during the day to ward off negative thoughts.

I'll go into further detail about vision boards and their uses in another post.

So that's it for today. Any questions?

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Recovering

We just got home from visiting Moo's family over the weekend.

We decorated their house for Halloween since they get kids by the truck load and we get NO - I mean ZERO trick-or-treaters. Halloween is Moo's favorite holiday so we got to try out several props... I've got pictures coming.

So, this is a short post, but I'll share a picture of my little monster with you.

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The best baby gift EVER

I love the Itzbeen.

Oh folks tell you when you have a baby that you must have swaddling blankets (you do) and you must have a wipe warmer (what kind of pretentiousness is that?), but I'm telling you: YOU MUST HAVE AN ITZBEEN.

What is an Itzbeen you ask? Well, I could say that it's a timer but that would be too simplistic. It is a timer on acid. It is a work of art. It has prevented more than one argument here at Breakdown Central. It is a GODSEND.

OK, the official description is this:

The ITZBEEN Baby Care Timer has a host of helpful features all designed with the new parent in mind. As every new parent knows, your memory is one of the first things to go when a newborn arrives. The ITZBEEN Baby Care Timer is a multi-purpose tool that helps you remember the basic details of baby care. ITZBEEN has four timers, changing, feeding, sleep or awake time. Nursing reminder, which side nursed last. Display backlight helps count up with the touch of a button...so you will always know how long it's been!

So here's the down-low: It's got 4 buttons, each with a little icon: a bottle, a diaper, zzzz's and a button for anything. When you get ready to feed the baby, you push the bottle button. When you change the baby, hit the diaper button and so on. When you hit the button, it starts a timer. There's also a little switch to denote which side you started breastfeeding from last time. Just slide the little switch and you're reminded. Later, when your kid is screaming their head off, you can look at the Itzbeen and know that the baby last ate 45 minutes ago so that may not be the issue, but the diaper button says it's been 2 hours so that's probably your best bet.

When we first brought Phoebe home, I was writing everything down, but realized that I knew just from looking how much she was eating (was only washing bottles once a day so it was easy) and I soon understood Phoebe's potty routines but that what I really needed to know was what time it was and when was the last time she ate, was changed, hold old the bottle was, etc. Enter the genius of the Itzbeen.

So now this amazing little item is my new baby shower present. It's the gadget you never knew you needed but once you get it, you won't be able to live without knowing how long ITZBEEN.

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Ways I will screw up my kid

I believe that like the previous "Things I'd never do" segment, that this will become an ongoing series where I detail how and why I will screw up my kid making her as dysfunctional as the rest of us.

First...

1. I bonked her head on the handle of the carrier the day we brought her home from the hospital. She cried and then settled down and was fine. There was the lightest mark on her pristine little head that faded quickly, but I'm sure I damaged the part of her brain that will do long division or the part of her brain that will decide what nursing home to put me in one day.
2. When she's crying hysterically or just really needy but I'm at the end of my patience, I have a tendency to put her down in her crib or pack and play and say "Kid, you'll need to hang out for a minute. I've got other stuff to do." Then, I take a break and regain my senses and then pick her up again and deal with whatever the issue is. I am sure she will have some sort of trust issues and will put me in a terrible nursing home one day.
   
3. I call her "Kid" a lot. I am sure she will never learn her proper name and will go through life saying "My name is Phoebe, but everyone calls me 'Kid'". I have always jokingly said that I thought my own middle name was "Damn it" until I was 12. I am sure this is punishment for besmirching my parent's good name.
   

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100 days old

Phoebe Elizabeth, you are officially 100 days old.

A year ago, my goal was to get pregnant for a chance at a child like you. Now? My goal for the last 100 days was surviving having a newborn.

You are a delight, Phoebe. You waken every morning with a smile. You pull your little body into the most amazing stretch every morning - both feet pulled up to your chest, your arms stretched wide.

Your daddy and I are constantly amazed that we have a child that appears to be a morning person, whereas Daddy and I are .. well, we're afternoon people.. well on second thought, your Daddy is a night owl. But, I digress.

You've started laughing this quick hearty chuckle that I can't help laughing at. I still don't know what will set off your little laugh but you seem to be developing your own sense of humor.

You are growing like a weed. You started out at 8 pounds 15 ounces and now you're up to almost 13 pounds.. you've also grown from 19-1/2 inches to nearly 24 inches long. We had to go clothes shopping for you because you've grown out of nearly all of the clothes that were gotten for you before you were born (there's a few items that are still WAY too big).

You are a fabulous eater. You're eating about 4-5 ounces every 3-4 hours. But, you know your limits. If I try to push you to finish a bottle, you wrinkle up your little nose and screw up that gorgeous little mouth. Mommy alternates between preparing bottles as needed by using room temperature water and formula powder and prepared bottles. Mommy finally got a formula pitcher to mix everything in.. there's few lumps cause Mommy takes her aggressions out in shaking the bottle!

We've got a little routine, you and I. You wake up about 5 am, about the time your daddy gets up for work. Then, you get changed and eat. Then, you take a nice long morning nap - about 3 or 4 hours. Then it's time for another bottle and you're awake for a while. Mommy loves to sit with you on her lap and just talk talk talk... then it's time for another bottle and then you're down for another nap. Your afternoon nap is about 1-1/2 to 3 hours.. and then you're up and time for another bottle. Then it's time for Daddy to come home, dinner, a little family time and then time for bed.

Have I mentioned that you're a great sleeper? You sleep through the night 5 out of 7 nights. And Mommy has learned that if she reads the signs right and puts you down when you're comfortably sleepy but not EXCRUCIATINGLY EXHAUSTED, you go to sleep with a smile on your face too.

Thank you, my darling girl, for the most exciting, most amazing 100 days. My life is forever changed. I would not trade ANYTHING for the last 100 days. And I wouldn't trade anything for being your mom.

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My little monster

Internet access was spotty and in fact went out last week. I am fending off a cold with fluids and positive thinking. (I feel great. I feel great. I am clear. My nose is clear.)

Working on a few items and hope to have some posts up soon for various projects I'm working on. Meanwhile, you need a picture of my kid to make you as happy as me.

This is my little monster. This picture was taken this past Saturday and she was a real trouper even though mommy wanted her to get pix done in both her monster Halloween costume as well as a little dress.

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