Category: Family

Posted in Family

Managing Mondays-Expect the Unexpected

Posted on by shesipscoffee

I started writing this post Sunday morning but something kept pulling me away while I sipped coffee. That something was mostly my mind. Ever have days where your mind wanders and you lack focus? That was me yesterday. I thought it was because I was thinking about my trip and needing to finish packing and delegating at work and home. So I put the blog post in draft and walked away. And drank more coffee. Then I turned on the television and caught up on my DC shows on The CW Network. Escapism is not productive but it was what I needed yesterday until I was ready to tackle what was on my mind.

A pot of coffee later and caught up on TV I picked back up the planning and looked at my spread for the week.

I realized there was a lot to be done before vacation and I needed to highlight the fun things and the trash. And only those. Any week before I take time off is hectic and this week would be no exception.

So keep loose and don’t overly commit is the plan I went with. And I am glad I did. Monday was crazy and so will be each day. But when I look at the plan, I see the important things and the end game: vacation. Some weeks I don’t focus on the pretty stickers and washi tape or the meetings and priorities. Just the end game.

How about you? How do you plan and get ready for the weeks you know not what to expect?

Posted in lists, packing, Planning, travel, vacation

Another Travel Dilemma…Eating Gluten Free

Posted on by shesipscoffee

My excitement is building and I cannot wait to be on vacation. This past week has been a worrisome work week and my annual reset trip is just what I need to escape and come back on the other side with a renewed sense of strength and dignity to face the challenges ahead.

Traveling comes with worries because I have to avoid gluten. It makes me sick. Celiac Disease is not something that everyone understands and this post is not aimed to explain or complain about the challenges I face every day to maintain health. It is simply to share ways to plan options for healthy dining and ensure my traveling companions aren’t worried for me either.

Step One-while I count down days

Before I leave town I am making sure that I am taking care of myself all week. This includes:

  • Clean eating at home
  • Sleeping at least 7 hours each night
  • Taking supplements like probiitics, multivitamins, and immunity boosters like vitamin C
  • Diffusing essential oils at home. Thieves blend is in my diffuser while I sip coffee
  • Relaxation via detox and destress baths, reading, and quiet time whenever possible

Step 2-Know when not to worry

Once I am on the cruise it is easy. Norwegian, like most cruise lines these days ask for dietary restrictions and truly make an effort to provide safe eating options while on board. And for that I am very grateful. I feel quite special when the chefs and dining staff go out of their way to guide me on food selections and specially prepare foods for me when needed…even in the main buffet lines. As long as I seek the help offered I will successfully avoid gluten and fully enjoy my holiday focusing on friends, fun, and non-stop live music. One guideline I follow, no eating in ports. So eat a good solid breakfast and take a prepackaged snack from my go bag.

Step 3-Make a List

New Orleans is a whole different dilemma. Where do I find safe, inexpensive options so that my three days in an amazing city allows me to enjoy the sights and sounds? Research. Lists. Have a plan.

I relied on my friend, Google, and review sites like Yelp, Four Square, and Find Me Gluten Free. And will continue to research. Honestly, I am not the only person in my motley crew of rock boat family who are looking for healthy options. Well, they should be. So I will make sure we have options for vegan, vegetarian, paleo, and diabetic diets. And Coffee! I want to enjoy gumbo, crab cakes and king cakes and anything else that is part of the experience. I cannot eat beignets but my research uncovered a gluten free recipe so if I felt like I missed out, when I get home I will make some.

My list is ready and on paper and in my phone. Why both places? A phone battery can die. A phone can get lost or stolen just like the paper. I am that person who plans for all kinds of outcomes. Crazy? Maybe. But my friends and family, the motley crew, are used to it and sometimes glad because I tend to be the go to person on what to do and where to eat. It is a burden and a blessing. I love them and cannot wait to be spending vacation in a city that is alive with music and festivals.

Step 4-Pack options

As I finish packing, I also bring along in my suitcase and carryon safe snacks like LARA bars, cashews, pecans, Dang chips, and dried fruit. These items are small and can easily slip into my Vera Bradley hipster for times when I need something and in a time crunch, my friends can grab something from a place not gluten friendly and not worry about me. I can always drink coffee and chicory or some famous New Orleans drink and good company. I have a plan for everything.

Any recommendations on where we should eat? What we should see? I have 3 days and I am sure we can squeeze in more options into the plan. Comment below.

Posted in Family, Goals, Planning, Reflection, Vision

Managing Mondays with Weekend Wisdom

Posted on by shesipscoffee

“Six o’clock already…I was just in the middle of a dream.” Do you remember that song, “Manic Monday” by The Bangles? What about, “Rainy Days and Mondays” by The Carpenters? Why do we let Mondays or whatever day is the start of our week influence our moods such?

There are some Mondays when the unthinkable happens and it just seems that Murphy’s Law presides. The alarm clock didn’t go off or I slept through it. I am out of coffee! (Gasp!) The kids refuse to get up. My dog (any of the three) took off with one of the shoes I planned to wear hoping that keeps me from leaving. It is pouring rain. I can’t find my lunch box or my work I.D. Some Mondays just seem like the worst day ever before I step foot out of the house. Tell me I am not alone.

It always seems that Manic Mondays turns into a snowball of a week that continues to get bigger the next day and the next. On a week like that getting to Friday seems to be impossible and all I want to do is crawl under the covers each day in defeat asking if there is a “do over” button somewhere.

Here I am. Another Monday. It has a way of sneaking up on me. Today is not rainy. It is not manic. I am sipping coffee and I am enjoying my quiet time. I am working from home. There is no school because it is MLK Day. But not every Monday is so simple. I decided last year to do my best to take back Mondays from Murphy’s Law. To do that I had to find a way to manage the day. And step one for every Monday starts with some pre work over the weekend.

Weekend Wisdom

I am like many folks and I have certain tasks I plan to do every weekend. I run errands, launder clothes and complete other household chores. I used to feel accomplished but I also became annoyed because it didn’t feel like we were enjoying weekends as a family or with any rest.

My kids are older now and can share these responsibilities. Communicating expectations to everyone is important. So Sunday is my planning day. I plan menus, I set a cleaning schedule, and I batch cook ahead a few meals. I post these lists on the refrigerator and everyone knows what is for dinner and when I would like things to get done. We share the load. With work, school, activities and busy schedules deciding who does what when is something we each own our personal share. I also note important days to remember and post it on the fridge. Then, we can enjoy time together and I nag less. Who wants a nagging mom?!?

Here are this week’s beauties. (As you can see, I don’t make these pretty every time. I should use a pen that erases and I am sure a sticker or two with a splash of washi would be good. Depends on my day and how I am feeling. The kids don’t seem to notice or care.)

Visualize the Week Ahead

Sundays relax me. I love cooking and being in my kitchen. It gives me time ro meditate and start thinking about my upcoming week. I also love the thirty minutes or so I set aside on Sunday to create a visual for my week. Goals and lists. Planner crafting! These tools help me focus. Having a visual plan helps me Manage Mondays. I have more time to sip my coffee when I set my mind at ease knowing what to expect. I spend more time meditating which reduces my stress at the beginning of each day. Next Monday, I will share how I make my weekly visual, another secret weapon in my arsenal of managing Mondays.

Do you have secret weapons to help you plan and organize your days and weeks? Do you menu plan or have a cleaning list every week? How do you Manage Mondays? Please share below in the comments.

Posted in Crafting, Family, Planning, Vision

Crafty Corner

Posted on by shesipscoffee

I learned in the past few years that I love to craft. So as I sip coffee this rainy morning (so rare in Phoenix), I look at my Vision Board. Three areas tie to this:

  • Relationships
  • Creativity
  • Home

I want to encourage myself and others. I want to be frugal, and I want to get crafty.
Over the holidays I made holiday décor for my home, holiday cards and gift tags. It was fun and I enlisted help from my girls that turned into fun together time watching Hallmark Channel.

in 2018 I am determined to do more and share here inspiration, craft fails and wins, and ways to faithfully and frugally plan this fun into daily life.

Here are some things I made in December.

I need to be better organized and devise a plan. I have unfinished projects as well.

Guess I need to start making lists.

January is my organizing, goal setting, and reset my focus month. So today, I am starting here:

Each week I will come back into this virtual crafty corner and hope that I inspire your creativity in posts from my Crafty Corner. You know I will be sipping coffee then too.

Posted in Family

I Have a Planner for That – Part Three

Posted on by shesipscoffee

As a working single mom I have a busy life. My morning time is cherished quiet time to think, read, pray, dream, and plan. As I organize my thoughts, each sip of coffee helps me clear the cobwebs. Slowly, I begin to visualize the day ahead. It is my process. Mental preparation is great, but this lover of to-do lists and goals and busy schedules needs some fun and creative structure. So, what is my plan to manage all of this in 2018? I have a Planner for all of it, and then some!

Choosing a Planner

In early Novemver 2017, in one of my meditations with coffee, I was planning my upcoming week in my Happy Planner with stickers and washi and it struck me that I needed to think about refilling my planners. When? Which one? Why? So off to YouTube I went! Yes, shiny object syndrome is a personal affliction. See why I need lists? I stumbled across an HP expert who did a video on planners for different needs and areas in life. If I recall, she had about 20 different planners for different careers and purposes. With each idea she supported why you might use more than one. I felt so validated! She hit on to one of the thoughts I had. Clutter vs. Clean. I am messy and can lack focus in certain areas of life by nature. Hence, my love and desperate need for planning and lists. She also showed some of the new releases in the HP planner line and I got giddy. I paused the video, went to refill my coffee, grabbed a notes insert page from my planner and a pen and then hit replay. Every planner suggestion that struck a chord that resonated…loudly!
An hour or two later after viewing more videos from the sages of experience and suggestion, extending my coffee time and delaying my Saturday errands; I came up with what I wanted to do in 2017.

I was intrigued by a new sort of planner that I had never heard of before from Powersheets.

This is a Goal Planner…different, shiny and new! This is my Master Planner. It houses ALL of my goals. So far I love it! It is meant to help you set a vision, your goals, plan and track all year long. I promise to write more about my thoughts on this new tool throughout the year!!! Watch for a full review in the weeks to come!

But what about weekly and daily? Work? Family? Budget?

I have a plan. Or should I say Planners?

Do I seem crazy? Perhaps, but I really do have a plan. And it is going be lovely and fun, so play along with me this year.

  1. Master Planner-Vision, Goals and Tracking my success. (On the bottom of the stack, symbolizing the foundation)
  2. Home & Budget – If it is working why change? I just bought the 6-month refill.
  3. My new 2018 HP – like last year’s just shiny and new…For details on daily work and life schedules, plans, lists.

Aligning to My Vision and Keeping it Real!

Sometimes my weekly pages seemed too busy and important items were lost or missed. In an effort to have cleaner weekly and monthly spreads, I selected key focus areas from my Vision Board and Master Planner and devised these new and separate planners:

  1. Health-a mini-HP specifically designed for it. This is a top priority for me. I will be launching a regular series here on how I am working on my health and incorporating tools like this planner.
  2. Faith and Meditation – I love studies, journaling, praying, and since this is daily I wanted one place for all of it.
  3. Creativity – so many things I want to do include making gifts for others, this blog, and learning new crafts. It is so important it is on my vision board so I grabbed a mini HP to nature this area respectively. Watch for an upcoming series on crafting fails and successes!
  4. Book Club – i want to read more and I signed up to make it happen. And in my first month’s reader box came this awesome planner that has important dates, notes, trackers, and challenges. This wasn’t originally planned. The format is awesome. Should I share a list of book I am reading here?

My first Weekly Series

You may be wondering how I will manage this without going mad? Great question! Stay tuned. Subscribe and follow me!

Next Monday starts my Managing Mondays posts. I will share tips, tirades, and ways I manage my weeks and how I plan with fun tools and lots of sips of coffee.

I would love to hear from you on what matters most to you. How do you plan?

Pssst! Watch out for a giveaway coming soon. I bought one too many HPs and sharing my love with my readers sounds fun.

Back to sipping coffee while it is quiet..!

Posted in Family, Uncategorized

Why Coffee?

Posted on by shesipscoffee

I have this pattern. Maybe i should call it a habit. Like an automobile, I need a starter and ignition to get this motor started. When I wake up, the first thing I think about is a cup of coffee. Or two. Heck, let’s be honest, I can drink the whole 12-cup carafe. Have you seen my cups? No? You will. I promise. I do not have small espresso or cappuccino sized cups. Go big or go home, I say!

So, every morning begins with coffee. Living in Phoenix has hot mornings most of the year, but that first cup of the day is never iced, never a cold brew. Not for this girl.

I have had friends whom I have known for decades; family members too for that matter, who ask me if I always drank coffee. Well…that is tricky.

In elementary school, when my mother was in nursing school, we lived with my maternal grandparents. I loved buttered toast for breakfast. Or maybe I didn’t love it but my grandparents did. And hot cocoa was my favorite beverage pairing. One morning there was no hot cocoa because grandma forgot to buy the Hershey’s cocoa powder. Do you remember a time before Swiss Miss instant packages? My grandmother was definitely old school. And her cocoa was the best. To this day, I have no idea what she did to make it so great. I just remember it was. (Now, I feel inspired to find or make my own recipe to share in the future.). I digress.

No cocoa?!? What was I going to dip my buttered toast in? My grandmother used her coffee. So I asked if I could try it. And I did. At age 8, I discovered that a cup of classic Folgers with a healthy splash of milk made an interesting pairing with toast. But…always a but…drinking coffee? No. That still was gross. And so NOT hot cocoa. The trend started though. Every once in a while I would pick coffee over cocoa and my cup that I didn’t drink, I just gave to my mother or my grandmother so they could finish it.

Even though my blog is less about coffee and more about things that interest me and sharing stories, DIY crafting, and reviews, coffee is an integral part of the blog. Some folks claim to have their best ideas in the shower. Mine…they come to me while sipping coffee. The only consistent quiet time of my day is my first cup.

So as I sip coffee, I will plan, write, and share here. By the way, I rarely drink Folgers. I am not a true coffee afficianodo. I probably never will be. That isn’t my calling or gift.

I would love to hear from you. How do you take your coffee? What roasts do you like? I look forward to your comments, including suggestions for future posts.