Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Happiness

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the best of everything they have.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Quotable Women

My eldest sister gifted a subscription to More magazine to me for no reason last year. More magazine caters to women over 40. I am 38. Hmmm.

I do admit to finding value in the magazine. This current issue was especially poignant. I'd like to share with you three quotes from the magazine that hit me in the oomph spot.

"'We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.' - J.K. Rowling, 43 in her commencement address at Harvard." (p. 27)

On living in Afghanistan, Jean MacKenzie says:

"If you cannot tell the difference between a sexual come-on and a death threat, then, in the words of one of our great political thinkers, you are in deep doo-doo." (p. 88)

And every corporation in America should take a lead from the following job negotiation between the University of Chicago Medical Center and breast-feeding-mom Michelle Obama:

"...she went to the interview with two-month-old Sasha in her arms. "I had on a breast-feeding top. I strolled in: 'Hi! This is me! New Baby!...'" She launched into her deal breaking list of demands: high salary, decent budget, an absolute right to structure her own hours."

Guess what? They gave her everything she asked for and she built a "whole new arm of the hospital." (p. 214) Don't let anything prevent you from breastfeeding your baby!

Check out www.more.com if you'd like to learn "more" about this magazine.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Fantastic Friday: 100 Things

I stumbled upon a blog called Skip*ngo today and read the authors list of 100 things. My favorite author, Jack Canfield, writes about the power of the 100 things list in his book The Success Principles. The concept? Create a list of 100 things you want to do and then do them!

I created this list this morning, written as if they have already been completed. Some of the things I have already done, but I felt it important to list them again. I challenge you to make a list of your own. If you've read, watched or listened to The Secret, then you know why you should write the list in present or past tense. If you haven't, trust me, just do it. Writing the list in future tense will make the items things that you will do in the future, and that future may never come.

Here's my list:

  1. I’ve met Jack Canfield.
  2. We live on a small farm or ranch with a furniture studio and store on the property.
  3. I have completed my Bachelor’s Degree.
  4. I have seen the Lucy Skeleton in person.
  5. I own a Mercedes convertible, or something better.
  6. My daughter has a horse.
  7. My family has medical security.
  8. My daughter defines success for herself and others based on a happiness factor.
  9. I have a gorgeous head of hair.
  10. I surround my self with positive, happy, forward thinking, and successful, motivated people.
  11. I have a million dollars in liquid assets.
  12. I have donated large print books in my memory of my Aunt Dorothy to her local library.
  13. I have walked in a 5k.
  14. I inspire others to be their best.
  15. I have viewed the Nisbet Castle in Scotland.
  16. I have visited the Coliseum in Rome.
  17. I have enjoyed Disney World with my daughter.
  18. I have visited Alabama with my daughter.
  19. I have visited Alaska with my daughter.
  20. I have visited Arizona with my daughter.
  21. I have visited Arkansas with my daughter.
  22. I have visited California with my daughter.
  23. I have visited Colorado with my daughter.
  24. I have visited Connecticut with my daughter.
  25. I have visited Delaware with my daughter.
  26. I have visited Florida with my daughter.
  27. I have visited Georgia with my daughter.
  28. I have visited Hawaii with my daughter.
  29. I have visited Idaho with my daughter.
  30. I have visited Illinois with my daughter.
  31. I have visited Indiana with my daughter.
  32. I have visited Iowa with my daughter.
  33. I have visited Kansas with my daughter.
  34. I have visited Kentucky with my daughter.
  35. I have visited Louisiana with my daughter.
  36. I have visited Maine with my daughter.
  37. I have visited Maryland with my daughter.
  38. I have visited Massachusetts with my daughter.
  39. I have visited Michigan with my daughter.
  40. I have visited Minnesota with my daughter.
  41. I have visited Mississippi with my daughter.
  42. I have visited Missouri with my daughter.
  43. I have visited Montana with my daughter.
  44. I have visited Nebraska with my daughter.
  45. I have visited Nevada with my daughter.
  46. I have visited New Hampshire with my daughter.
  47. I have visited New Jersey with my daughter.
  48. I have visited New Mexico with my daughter.
  49. I have visited New York with my daughter.
  50. I have visited North Carolina with my daughter.
  51. I have visited North Dakota with my daughter.
  52. I have visited Ohio with my daughter.
  53. I have visited Oklahoma with my daughter.
  54. I have visited Oregon with my daughter.
  55. I have visited Pennsylvania with my daughter.
  56. I have visited Rhode Island with my daughter.
  57. I have visited South Carolina with my daughter.
  58. I have visited South Dakota with my daughter.
  59. I have visited Tennessee with my daughter.
  60. I have visited Utah with my daughter.
  61. I have visited Vermont with my daughter.
  62. I have visited Virginia with my daughter.
  63. I have visited Washington with my daughter.
  64. I have visited Washington, DC with my daughter.
  65. I have visited West Virginia with my daughter.
  66. I have visited Wisconsin with my daughter.
  67. I have visited Wyoming with my daughter.
  68. We own a store where we sell our custom furniture.
  69. I know how to fly a plane.
  70. I have met all of my SuperWAHMz buddies in the flesh. (Diane & Noelle, check. Look out Hedy, Lynn & Peggy!)
  71. I have been to an Oprah taping.
  72. I own income producing rental property.
  73. I cook on a gas range.
  74. I have a deep freezer.
  75. I have a pair of oval shaped gold hoop earring.
  76. My husband buys me jewelry.
  77. I have visited Dinosaur Valley State Park with my daughter.
  78. I have come up with 22 more things for my 100 list.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Presidential Election

This "Quick Study" is missing candidates from parties other than the traditional, but it does seem accurate but it is missing some important information: http://www.barcharts.com/system/downloads/free/Declare_Yourself_08.pdf

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2008 here are the other candidates: "The Libertarian Party has nominated former Congressman Bob Barr, the Constitution Party has nominated pastor and radio talk show host Chuck Baldwin, and the Green Party has nominated former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Ralph Nader declined to seek the Green Party nomination and is running as an independent candidate."

Click around on the Internet to find out where each candidate stands, including the ones that aren't getting as much press! Knowledge is power. Before you vote, you should know all the facts. Don't vote based on hearsay and rumors.

Disclosure - SuperWAHMz is a group of individual women with individual politics. We do not endorse any candidate as a group. All opinions stated are our own individual opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire group.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

S * T * R * E * S * S

Boy oh boy, I can tell this is going to be a humdinger of a week.....yesterday I wrote about panic and today I am going to write about stress.  Not a good sign so early in the shopping season.

Today the feeling of panic has passed, but boy do I feel stressed. It's like if one more thing comes up that I have to do, or take care of, or deal with, I think I will just scream. Really.

So here is my STRESS mantra.....I need help with the last "s"es.
S - slow down
T - take a deep breath
R - relax
E - exhale
S - scream.  okay, not really, but that's what I want to do.
S - ???

Oh Yeah...

I forgot to mention yesterday that last week, when I had to use SIL's computer to do a little work, I was able to hook up my external hard drive and retrieve whatever passwords and info I needed.  It was about a month out of date, but it sure was better than nothing.

So BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE.  You never know when you will need it.  Go.  Go back it up now.  Like today.  Don't wait, go do it.

And I haven't decided what the "I" in PANIC should stand for.  Got 2 great suggestions from you girls....imagination (or imagine) and inspire (or inspiration).

Should I imagine my life being stress free?  Or use my imagination to make things work?

Or should I think of my inspiration?  What inspires me to work so hard here at home.... Or how can I inspire others through what I do?

Hmmm....tough choice. I'll keep thinking about it.

Monday, September 22, 2008

P * A * N * I * C

After the power outage of last week, and combined with being busy all summer, I can feel panic coming on. I usually get so busy thru November and December I paint almost 24/7. I get scary busy. Really.

I do have some help, but as a control freak/wahm, it's hard to "outsource" a lot of what I do. I just like being in control. It's my business and I want to do things my way.

Anyway, as I was shopping this morning, thinking about the upcoming Holiday Season, I could feel the stress starting. The panic setting in. I told myself I have to figure out a way to calm down and take it as it comes. It's not here yet, there's no sense in panicking now.

So I thought maybe if I made a little word game....I'm not sure if it would be an acronym or something else...each letter of PANIC will stand for something else. So, when I start to panic, I can go through these other words in my head and maybe I can de-stress myself.

This is what I have so far. Suggestions are welcome for all letters...
P - patience. Because sometimes you have to take your time and do things slowly.
A - attitude. A positive attitude will take you much farther than a negative.
N - no. Because sometimes you have to say "no." You can't do everything asked of you.
I - I had something thought up for I, but now I can't remember it.
C - calm. Stay calm and don't get worked up over the little things. Or the big things, for that matter.

Well, I need help with the "I" since I forgot what it was I had in mind. Hopefully I can use this as a mantra, or maybe print it and post it here at my desk. Then when I start to panic, I can get a grip and relax. Anything to make things easier this fall....

WAHM w/o Power

I missed last Monday's post. I had no electric. Who'd have thought that Hurricane Ike would strike us here in SW Pennsylvania? It did. And it did bad. Thousands were without power for days. We lost ours for 2 days and the news is saying there are still a few folks without it yet.

Starting last week with no power made for a strange week. My business is internet based, as well as my kiln is an electric kiln. So, no electric meant not much work getting done. I did run over to my SIL's to use her computer, (and shower) but all firing was on hold. And that threw off my groove and put me behind.

I was almost caught up when Ike struck. I could see the bottom of my order pile....it was within reach. Then Ike came and went and my small pile orders grew into a larger one. Funny how many new orders came in last week. Which is good. But sometimes it is nice to know that you are caught up and have some breathing room.

Add on top of the newly placed orders, the current orders I screwed up. I'm going to blame it on our 2 days without electricity, because I want to blame it on something. I am not a stupid person, yet I made a few really stupid mistakes last week that I can only correct by repainting the orders. I'm not taking the blame for those myself, I must have been distracted or stressed or something. I know better.

This is not a good time for me to be making mistakes. Although, it's better to make them now and not in month or two when I am really swamped. It's just that I have SO MUCH to do to prepare for the fall rush and I don't have time to do it because I have to repaint orders that I should have done right in the first place. (How's that for a run-on sentence?) Argh, it's just frustrating.

At the very least, last week showed me I have to slow down a wee bit, take my time and read my orders carefully. Pay attention to the details. Or I will be in a hole too deep to climb out of when the holiday rush hits. And that will be very, very bad.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Super Saturday

Well, after being a whine baby about not having work, the universe saw fit to give me more work than I can handle right now..... so what do I do???? I start a blog...
http://stitchens-morninsunshine.blogspot.com/
I am so happy today that I thought I should start to share. I am basically a positive person, a little hard to be in these days of politics, economy and the lack of world peace but I sure try.
OK, I am off to work.......... :) Oh, how I love saying that.
Since I didn't post on Thursday I should be sure to pop in here now and say a word of thanksgiving that our dear friends are all safe and that Kandas has her electricity back up.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Fantastic Friday: Electricity is Good

This truly is a Fantastic Friday! We have POWER! We have clean clothes. We have hot meals. We have a working refridgerater. We have internet access!

While much of our community is still without power and no where near back to normal, things are looking up. At 5pm today they announce which schools will re-open on Monday. I wonder if the kids realize they will have to make up this past week at the end of the year?

I went to the grocery store yesterday. The shelves were picked over but they are restocking. The store was very busy with people restocking their fridge's (like me). I threw out so much spoiled food!

This is what I learned from the Hurricane:

    • Electricity is good. But, you can live with out it.
    • However, you CAN NOT live without water.
    • Gas Ranges are a necessity and not a luxury. Guess who is getting a gas range ASAP?
    • Lift-top Deep Freezers can double as coolers in a pinch. Guess who is getting a deep freezer ASAP?
    • Neighbors and community are important. Don't piss off your neighbors, you might need them.
    • Share what you have because one day you might need it.
    • Kids can play outside without too much supervision and still be safe.
    • We have copperhead snakes living in our backyard. Ugh.
    • FEMA is good. That can not be said for all government agencies.
    • Even though you are recovering from a storm that was the size of the state of Texas, your customers will still call to check on the status of their orders.

Our shop is open today. The boys are assessing and planning. We should be back to normal by Monday. We are running a furniture and bedding sale to help us recover financially from the lost week.

Oh, and yesterday my 1995 Ford Explorer decided it no longer wanted to run. :(

But, we have POWER! And electricity is GOOD!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

I Don't Like Ike, Day 5

Day 5. Still no power. Stores are opening and the gas lines are getting to be less than ridiculous. My husband, Shane ventured out early this morning and found another cooler. I was relieved. It's hard to keep that much food cold when there is no room in the cooler for ice.

The "boys" (our employees) are coming over today to clean the backyard. They need money and it's the only work we can give them right now. We call them boys because we are old enough to be their parents. Boy, does that make me feel old. None of the boys have running water at their houses, so they will all take showers here.

A dear friend came over yesterday to fill up water jugs and take a shower.

I am running out of busy work to do. Today I am going to tackle decluttering my office. It's a big chore and a little difficult to do without power. Not only is it full of work stuff, old trade magazines, etc., I also have a huge section of Girl Scout related stuff that needs to be boxed up and moved to our new meeting location. I'll give it my best WAHM effort.

My neighbor bought a generator yesterday that is big enough to run the wash machine. She said I could wash a load of towels today. Thank goodness. A shower is wonderful but what's the point if you have to dry yourself with a stinky towel?

The other two major chores that need tackling are decluttering my closet and my daughter's closet. Those might wait until tomorrow. My office is a doozy.

Yesterday, my daughter and I ventured out to find ice. I had to visit two PODs. Found it at the second POD. FEMA really is doing a remarkable job with the PODs. Lots of city employees, fire department and police were working the distribution lines. KUDOs to FEMA and the City of Conroe!

Anyway, on our adventure we saw a caravan of 15 work trucks with backhoes and other heavy equipment from Georgia. We also saw a caravan of electric company trucks (bucket trucks) parked on the side of the road just a mile from our house! There are electric trucks from as far away as Canada here working to restore power! It's wonderful! I can't wait!

I can't log onto the internet in the afternoons. It's too much of a power drain on the neighbors generator. So, until tomorrow morning... This is Kandas the SuperWAHM, reporting in from Hurricane Ike Central. :)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

work, work, work

I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, although that sounds kind of nice right now! I’ve just been too busy to get to anything extra like reading or posting to blogs. On top of my normal work, I have been doing a series of photos for a new landing page coming soon to Branddoozie’s website. Life has been stressful lately, and I have been feeling out of control, but the events of the past few days have but things into perspective for me. Looking at the devastation that Ike left behind made me realize that I have it pretty good right now. So I will get back to my piles of work and do it with a smile on my face.

I Don't Like Ike, Part 2

Well, this is day 4 after Ike. I thought it might be fun to learn what a WAHM does after a hurricane. Currently, we have water and gas but no electricity. Phone and DSL work. I am running my PC off the next door neighbor's generator. But, I only have a few minutes more before I need to shut down.

Yesterday (Day 3) went like this:

Woke Up. Ate defrosted frozen pastries.

Threw some undergarments in the bathtub with some liquid detergent. Stomped around in the tub for a few minutes. Rinsed out the garments. Rigged up a clothes line using my husband's weight set on the backporch and hung the garments on hangers to dry.

Hooked up the generator line to the laptop and read some email. Could not respond to messages for some reason. Also posted to our business blog and website that we'd be without power for up to 4 weeks.

Washed the pots from last nights grilled spaghetti dinner. Yes, we made spaghetti on the gas grill.

Made cheese sandwiches for lunch.

Cleaned out the fridge and freezer. Threw out over $100 worth of food. Fridge sparkles.

Garbage truck picked up. Thank goodness.

Mailman delivered someone else's mail to us.

Entertained 6 neighborhood kids with sidewalk chalk and a parachute.

Filed a couple months worth of vendor bills and correspondence.

Raked the front yard.

Swept the living room rug and floors.

Cleaned out some of the garage.

Went to neighbors house for hamburgers.

Slept like a log. Exhausted.

Day 4 agenda:

Email and Blog Posts
More in the garage.
File Customer Correspondence and Invoices
Clean out the pantry
Watch neighbor's kids
Drive to POD to pick up MRE's (look that one up on the internet)
Grill chicken for dinner with the neighbors

No school all week. So entertaining the kids is high on the priority list.

Hopefully, I can post more tomorrow!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Resume?

OK, I need a resume. I have owned and operated D's Stitcheree for 16 years. I know there must be something good I can put in a resume other than I am a SWAHM. I love being a SWAHM but find that I may now have to seek outside employment, at least for a little while. hhhmmmmm how does one compete with much younger workers when she has been at home for 16 years and does not have a formal education. Went to college 26 years ago. Do I go back to school at 56, hubby says no, I would never recoop the cost because employers would rather hire younger workers. I LOVE being a SWAHM and this will probably be mute in another month when my business picks up, BUT, for the time being this is an interesting predicament I find myself in.

Me & Angie - best buds

This quote came to me through my Google Alert for "wahm." I just had to share it...make sure you don't have a mouthful of, well, anything. Ready?

"Angelina Jolie really has a lot in common with the average WAHM, which means Work at Home Mom. They both have to figure out how to manage their time, household, and families while looking pretty."

You have GOT to be kidding me. A multi million dollar actress has something in common with me? There ain't no way our lives are even remotely similar. Sorry, I don't buy that. There is no way she works as hard as I do and makes as little money.

And since when does she work at home? I don't think a movie set in some far-off place constitutes home.

And the last part of this quote, "while looking pretty." Uh...apparently the author here has not worked at home long. Or has a whole different idea of it. While I get up and shower every morning, brush my teeth and fix my hair, I sure don't go out of my way to look pretty while working at home. Really, for who? The dogs?

Anyway, this just amused the heck out of me, so I posted it. What do the rest of you wahm's think about it?

Here's the whole Google Alert......I'll give credit where credit is due.

Angelina Jolie is the Perfect WAHM, now what does that mean?
Angelina Jolie really has a lot in common with the average WAHM,
which means Work at Home Mom. They both have to figure out
how to manage their time, household, and families while looking pretty.
Debbie Cluff went from a simple SAHM (stay at home mom) to a
WAHM and has ideas on how to market the at home phenonmenon.
Go to powerstrategies.tv for the entire article.
Links for Learning: Online Coaching - http://linksforlearning.wordpress.com

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Fantastic Friday: I Don't Like Ike

I'm writing this post on Thursday... not really Fantastic Friday... but I had to get this off my chest today!

I don't like Ike! No offense, I'm sure he's a perfectly nice storm but he is causing panic here in Southeast Texas.

At 8:30 this morning, I popped over to the grocery store because we were out of milk and coffee. The kid needs milk. The husband needs coffee. One hour and 30 minutes later, and after much trauma, I finally checked out.

It was mass panic! People were bumping into my cart and shoving their way to the check out lines. At 8:30 in the morning no less!

WHY?

How about the non-stop news coverage about Ike? He's coming to Houston, don't you know? EVACUATE! Get the heck out of Dodge.

Now, here's the thing. I live 150 miles inland and 60 miles north of Houston. By the time Ike hits my community, it will be nothing more than wind and rain. There is no reason to panic, and certainly no reason to ram your grocery cart into someone elses.

My heart goes out to the folks down south under mandatory evacuation. They are sitting in their cars as I type in 95 degree weather in bumper to bumper traffic, hoping that when they get home, their homes will still be there.

But HERE!! Where I live? That's not an issue. At worst, a few trees might fall down. No reason at all to panic.

Okay, so maybe it's not Ike's fault. It's the way that people are responding to Ike that I don't like.

Have a fantastic Friday! I'm going to enjoy the day with my husband and daughter. Hubby is staying home because even though our shop is well out of harm's way, he doesn't want to drive in the traffic. Daughter will be home because the school district figured no one would show up anyway, so they closed the schools. I have plenty of milk and coffee. It will be a great day! Thanks Ike!


Today is September 11th. Here's the famous flag of flowers to honor those that should never be forgotten:

Now that I think about it, someone bashing my cart at the grocery store really isn't that big of a deal compared to what thousands of people went through just 7 years ago today.

Lessons from my mother

My mother is a saint - or she should be granted sainthood! My father & mother have more patience than anyone I've ever known - they needed it! Life wasn't perfect, we were your typical average "middle class" American family in the 60's & 70's.

I've tried to become my mom on occasion - yes, I don't think "being like your mother" is an insult! Since I had my children she has tried and tried and tried to teach me certain ideas and ways to be a mom.

The other day I asked her advice. Told her she could deny my request OR be honest with me and I wouldn't be offended by anything she said. After years of suggesting things to me, she said "yes"! Sometimes our conversations are going over the same struggles of being a mother - she says I'm too hard on myself and still talk to my boys too much. This time, she said a few things she had never said before - how can that be? Not only that, what she said hit me like a ton of bricks - I could ACTUALLY follow this advice...at least I think I can LOL It was a light bulb moment.

The lessons I've learned from my mom have helped me get thru some rough days of motherhood. How blessed I am to have her and my father in my life. I don't take a moment
of them for granted. I thank God for all the lessons they have taught me, even the ones that took YEARS to make sense.

They helped me when my business was struggling and I thought I'd have to give it up. Our boys were young and I was more of a mom than a business owner. They loaned me money and support. But didn't hesitate to say "Peggy, it's time to either make this company work or let it go". That was an important one.

I hope I can teach a few lessons to my boys that will stick with them and make them better people and great fathers.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Hump Day

Hump month. This morning I ran my reports from last month so that I could pay my taxes. D's did not sell anything last month. First time in 16 years I had a $0 report. This bothers me on so many levels. I am wondering if when the election is over, things will get back to normal? This is such a historic election, such an unsure time for our country. Personally I am tired of all the pettiness on both sides. Get on with Country Business and get jobs and money flowing again. What is wrong with these people. Small business is the back bone of our country but what are we gonna do if small business close because of $0 monthly reports. I am trying to stay positive. I wish we could get across to them (the politicians) that we don't want partisanship. We want results.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Cleaning Day

Well, school has been back in session for over a week now and do I feel like I am getting on a schedule?  Ummmm, not really.  Still can't seem to get organized. But things are getting done, so maybe in the near future I will be ready for the fall rush.

I know getting my desk cleaned off would certainly help with the organization. Plus it would make me feel good. But something always comes up and that task gets pushed to the back of the line (again). I think they call that prioritizing.

So while I prioritize it to the bottom of my list, the papers keep stacking up, and I get to feeling cluttered. Physically and mentally. Not a good thing for a wahm.

So today, I am going to get my desk all cleaned off and see if that helps my overall being. Physical and mental. It certainly can't hurt and I know looking at a clean desk will just make me "feel" better....I'll let you know how it goes : )

p.s. After the Dust Settles has a new look. Check it out!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Thankful Thursdays

Of course we all know how thankful I am about just about everything so I wont bore you with that today. :) My dad just sent the cutest little PS that I could not help but pass it on. I think we need to remember this, as WAHMz. Keeping in mind what is important to each of us.

Thought for the day

Handle every Stressful situation like a dog.

If you can't eat it or play with it,
Pee on it and walk away.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Picking Your Battles

Ready the last few posts, helped me decide what to write about today. Working from home for the last 25 years has taught me a few things about setting priorities. When you work from home it’s easy to blur the lines between stay at home mom and work at home mom. When you leave each day to go work somewhere else, I think it easier to not fret about the fact that your house isn’t clean or your dirty dishes are in the sink. But when you work at home you suddenly think you are supper woman and can do everything at once.

Let it go. Pick your battles. A clean house is great, but the only one who really notices it is you. Give your self a break and only worry about those things that really matter at the end of the day.

Stress and guilt are killers, and I wish we could figure out a way not to be so hard on ourselves, but as woman I think we are just wired that way

Sarah Palin - WAHM or not?

So, I've been thinking of whether or not I should write a post about something "political". I decided this wasn't so much political as it was professional. Regardless of what you think about Sarah Palin's politics, you have to admit that she's a successful woman, wife and mother. All I could think of last week when she was on tv, was "how does she get thru a day - how does she do it?".

I wasn't so much caught up in the immediate attention of her being a WOMAN that was selected to possibly be the Vice President of the United States, but the fact that she was a MOTHER who could possibly be the Vice President of the United States! Not a mom of grown children, but a mom of 5 kids spread over 18 years and one is a BABY! My respect for her as a politician and professional woman is one thing, but here she is taking on this HUGE opportunity with kids in tow:)

Sarah Palin may have lots of help. Something tells me she isn't doing the laundry at midnight, but we do know she's nursing a baby at 2 am! She probably doesn't dust either, but something tells me, she would if she had another hour in the day. As a Governor, doesn't she "work at home"? Is her office in the Governors residence? I'm sure there is one there. She probably has times when one of her kids will come into her office and not even care that she's the governor, to them she's just "mom" and they want something to eat or $5 LOL. OK, she probably has a secretary that just might ask them to wait - I'm sure they don't have to make an appt.

I write about her because I've been having an exceptionally rough patch as a wahm. I wrote about the guilt /regret thing and it's just not "in me" to whine and pout for more than a few minutes. This summer seemed to be a combination of "life is wonderful, enjoy every minute" and "life is hard, how do I get thru the next minute".

When I saw Sarah Palin on stage, I started getting excited about my life and the possibilities that lie ahead. She obviously has worked hard to get to where she's at, threw a few punches along the way and certainly took some...she most definitely will be taking on alot of folks that would rather not see her succeed past being Governor of Alaska.

I've put things on hold with Comfy Cozy because of how it might effect my kids and husband. I've also used that as an excuse to not take chances. Sarah Palin is an example for us to take those chances. She may not be perfect - who is?

So, my point is that Sarah Palin was and still is a wahm. She was a small business owner and we all know that means you work at home even if you have an office somewhere. The next time someone doesn't see me as a "working woman" or comments that I don't have a "real job", I'm going to let it roll right off my shoulders...we could have a WAHM in the White House.

I'm wondering what you think?

Monday, September 1, 2008

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day to all you wahm's and wahd's out there. One of the hardest things to do if you work at home is to take some time off. Really take some time off. Work is always there and it is easy to say I'm just going to do this little bit.

But sometimes you need the break to recharge and refocus. So, this is our holiday, we labor at home, take the day off, relax and enjoy yourself! (I'm going to try to take my own advice : ) And it will be back to work tomorrow.