There is No Balance

I have a serious problem.
I don't admit defeat often by any means, but recently with a lot of life changes I've decided to use my blog as a way to help me, not just ramble on about parenting crap.

So, my problem...

Time management.

I am horrible at it. Complete shit. I'm so damn lazy, and it has only been getting worse in the past six months. I really need someone to kick my ass back into shape because I am dropping the ball and fucking up deadlines left and right. My newest book is due out on May 18th. Had to push that back. Thankfully only by a week, but I have fucked myself on my timeline for writing.

Oh, that kidney stone fucked me pretty good too but I am done bitching about him for the time being.

I get on the computer with every intent of working, writing, or whatever is on my agenda for the day... and I end up shopping. Like, five minutes ago I was looking at Biggie Small's t-shirts instead of writing this blog post. I am the epitome of that damn dog in Up.

What was I saying?
Exactly...
See how it goes?

Why am I calling myself out?
In hopes that I will be able to work on this problem. I am thinking of writing myself a schedule, or actually using the fancy Erin Condren planner I spent $75 on last year. By the way, I recommend it completely. Especially with children who all have different schedules. It makes my life way easier most days. If I could only use it for myself too I would be golden.

I'm at a loss.
Maybe I need a new work space?
Maybe I need to de-clutter my life. Because if you could see what my desk looks like... you'd probably have a panic attack. No, seriously. I think that is part of my problem. I'm overwhelmed in a sea of shit that needs to get done.

HELP ME!
I am sending out an SOS.
How do you manage your time? Especially if you work from home.
And when I say work from home, I mean literally WORK from home. A real job. With real deadlines and real expectations that your family depends on to eat.

5 Things I Don't Have Time For

Once upon a time I had time for the simple shit...  Brushing my hair for instance. Now, simply chopping all my hair off seems like a better option. I'm a time saving genius! (But seriously, I want my long hair back.)

The more I thought about this, the more I realized there are a lot of every day things I just don't have time for.

1. Charging my Phone

Can we talk about the fact that no phone has the battery life of the Saved by the Bell size phones we had in the early 90's? Because I feel like the battery life on my iPhone is a constant struggle. I have chargers EVERYWHERE.  Bedroom, at my desk, in the car. I plug this bitch in EVERYWHERE. But I don't have time to sit around and wait for it to charge. I just don't.
Why can't I plug it in and have it magically charge in like 10 minutes?

Apple, get on that shit!

2. The School Pickup Line

Before I moved to Florida... I had never seen a real school "pickup line" because in Connecticut the kids either got a bus, or the pickup took all of five minutes. No... not in Florida. If I don't want to sit within the eternal lanes of HELL I have to get there 45 minute early and just SIT in my car and wait. Wait. and WAIT.

I got shit to do. I don't have time to be sitting in the car twiddling my thumbs and playing Angry Birds for an hour. And this is a daily thing. Florida. Get. Your. Shit. Together.

3. Staying Hydrated

Through the course of having kidney stones and having yet another hospitalization recently... I also discovered I just don't have the time of day to drink enough fluids. Do you realize how much water and bullshit you are supposed to drink in a day as a human? I bet you don't. 

I've bought more toilet paper in the past week than I have all year. You think I am joking.

4. Reading My E-mail

I have more than one email account, and all of them are exploding full of junk. Shit I didn't sign up for, and don't want. Especially my blog email. Do you know how many PR emails I still get from when I wrote for Babble? People want me to review everything from their gestational diabetes testing kit to pregnancy related stuff. Newsflash folks. I'm not pregnant. Nor do I plan on getting pregnant anytime soon. Not happening. 

Oh, and a big thank you to my assistant Stefanie who cleaned out my author email account for me because if she didn't I was just going to do a mass delete all. BURNITALLTOTHEGROUND!

5. Doing my Roots

My hair is high maintenance. I never realized the struggle of roots until I cut all my hair off and decided looking like an Easter egg all year long would be a good idea. Like... every three weeks to a month I am in need of my hair dresser (and friend) Raven to come rescue me. This month... I've let it get bad. I think between the hospital and life I just stopped giving a shit. At least for this month. Maybe next month I will care a little more. Maybe. Possibly.

Not likely.

I am sure there is more... a lot more.

But this is my pioneer list of shit I just don't have time for.

I give up. Just... no more!

SAVE ME!

The Bad Blogger

I'm a bad blogger. I will own that.
The past two months of my life have been... insane. That is the only way that I could actually describe them. There have been so many chances in my house and the shift isn't something I've been dealing with well in terms of time management. Or maybe it is just the fact that I take way too much on and set unrealistic deadlines for myself.

For example: my books.
Yeah. I am going there.
I told myself I would write the final book of The Job serial when I was on my cruise in February, which was also a book signing event. Do you know how many times I actually opened my laptop when I was on that ship? Once. And when I realized the prices they charge for wifi I turned it off, packed it back up and called it a day.

Never mind. I lied. I opened it twice, because I wanted to get neat pictures with my laptop on the beach at Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Exactly... You would have done the same thing.

The cruise was awesome, and I can say I am officially booked to go back next year. I reserved a balcony room to travel with two of my best girl friends in the world. And as long as they keep inviting me back, I will keep going annually. I didn't think a cruise would be that fun, but I guess when you go with some of your best friends... it kind of turns into a party. I can say it was much needed after everything I've been through recently.

Fast forward to last weekend when I magically ended up in the Emergency Room on Easter Sunday. Doesn't that sound like an awesome time? It was exactly how I wanted to spend my night. Some of you may or may not know (because many of you actually read along with my past pregnancies with all of my kids) but I get kidney stones. They started when I was a senior in high school, and never stopped. The last one I had was in 2011 when I was pregnant with Addison. Back then I was lucky enough to pass it.

This time, not so lucky.
I am the kind of person who puts off going to the doctor. So, for the past... month-ish I haven't felt so hot. I know the pains, they start in my lower back, and eventually wrap around. I put it off thinking the stone that was brewing would either pass, or go away. I was wrong.

Not only would this stone not pass, I let it go way too long. To the point where my right kidney was shutting down by the time I made it to the hospital. It was scary as hell, and resulted in surgery and three additional days of being stuck in the hospital on IV fluids and antibiotics.
Wednesday I am going in to have the stone blown up and removed.

I am a fucking fool for waiting so long, and I know this time around I genuinely learned my lesson. It was scary to have the urologist talk about some scary shit. I have kids, and they need me healthy to be there to take care of them. I have no excuses.

Now my parents and nephew are here for the week, and I am going to enjoy their company while I recover, and try to get back to work.

Even feeling crappy, I was able to go to Tampa yesterday and sign. I shouldn't have, and I totally over did it for the day. BUT!  It was awesome to hang out with readers again, and I feel SO re-charged to get back to everything I've been working on.

I promise, I am going to be better at blogging. There is so much going on with me and the kids I plan on documenting. I just need to get my shit together long enough to continually remind myself to post. I'm trying! I swear.

Now, off to the pool before I have to bring Benjamin to register for football. Yes, the time has come for popwarner football.

Oh, and Ben also was his classroom's bobcat of the month!
Talk about a TOTAL proud Momma moment!

Anyways... the rest... is a big too be continued! 

Motivation Monday

Be the change you want to make in your life... 

Motherhood Means #2

Day 18 Check In - Advocare 24 Day Challenge

I know today is my 18th's day... and the picture is from day 17 but I am slacking a little bit. Let me spell out my stats now...
Day one: 137 pounds
Day seventeen: 122 pounds
Total loss: 15lbs.
Goal: 115 pounds

If you would have told me going into this that I would make this much progress during the 24 day challenge alone, I would have thought you were a total liar. It has been absolutely amazing how easy it has been to make these minor changes and see the actual results. And I also think that the fact that I can SEE these results is driving me to success. I've tried various diets in the past with little to no results, and I lost interest so quickly because well, I didn't think it was working and in most cases it wasn't.

I've kept up my gym regiment of going every other day, and after the initial 10 day cleanse the eating restrictions have gotten a lot more... flexible. I don't have to live on grilled chicken and veggies (not because advocare is that strict, its just because I am THAT picky that I didn't like a lot of their meal options).

I have a crazy amount of energy, and I actually FEEL healthy. Like, I can feel a change within me. I don't complain about going on a walk with my kids because it doesn't leave me winded. I want to do things, and I don't hate the gym... I willingly jump into whatever it holds for the day. Except leg day. (Fuck leg day) LOL.

That is my newest update... I look forward to reporting at day 24 and showing everyone the progress I've made, and I can tell you that even after these initial 24 days, I am going to be trying out other Advocare maintenance products to continue to live a much healthier lifestyle.
(Advocare is NOT a diet company. It is a HEALTH and NUTRITION company!)

Raising the Minimum Wage

Over the years as a family I can say we've hit some rough patches. I think it really happens to the best of us. Between taking care of family members or just the economy completely tanking... my family has been hit by the need for help or a new job. Living in Florida has been a life lesson for me, especially on what it means to be middle class or even considered poor.

In the area I live in, minimum wage jobs are the norm. Even if you are working a job that truly deserves more than the pennies minimum wage is. Daytona Beach is the perfect example of the rich getting richer and the poor... well not going many places. I am sure there are so many communities across the country in the same position.

I grew up middle class, and sometimes my father would work 2-3 jobs and I wouldn't see him for days on end so that we could get by. It's just something I've always known, despite wanting better for my own children. Hell, I bust my ass every chance I get to make sure they don't ever have to go without. Life isn't perfect, and we certainly aren't rich. But we make it by somehow... when we get into a tight spot.

Last night I planned on sitting down to watch the State of the Union address but between Grandpa coming home from the hospital, and getting settled in... oh and getting dinner on the table there just wasn't time to sit down and watch television. So, I caught up with the key points today. One of which really stood out to me. Well, two... but I am going to start with raising the minimum wage. President Obama made an excellent point when he encouraged members of congress who are staunchly against raising the minimum wage to live on a mere $15,000 a year and see how far that would get them. I mean, I personally would LOVE to see how far they would get on an income like that. Because so many of those who are against it... live these lavish lifestyles that wouldn't float them for a month with that kind of income.

A month. Maybe a little longer, give or take.

The point being, the majority of Republican's weren't too happy with that. Because it pointed out one of the major flaws in the system we live. The rich continue to get rich... and the poor stay on the same level, or go backwards. Making less money (when the economy tanked) than they have in years previous. The system isn't set up to help people get back on their feet. It is set up to keep people alive, not thriving.

Yes, there are some people who can overcome their situation and move on. Mainly people with educations. Something that I also support the President's ideas on. Community college being in reach for all those students who actually want and work for their education. When I graduated high school I knew I couldn't go to college because I couldn't afford it. It would have been irresponsible for me to take out student loans when I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. So many of the people I graduated high school with had the same feeling. Going to these big universities and now they are waiting tables and paying off huge student loans in fields they'll probably never work.

That isn't a fair start at adulthood by any means.

Back to the State of the Union address... Equal pay for women. It is about damn time we get this taken care of. Hell the President has been talking about it for some time now. Why isn't this done? It has nothing to do with qualifications, and education anymore because there are female CEO's running Fortune 500 companies that continue to be paid less than their male counterparts. What kind of message does that send to our daughters?

"Oh well... I'll just marry rich and become a housewife. Ya know, because it's 1950 and all." Hell, if that is what they want to do, more power to them. But they should be afforded the same opportunities as their brothers, and classmates. They shouldn't have to live in a world where men make more money just because they have a dick. No way. No how. It is 2015, not the 1900's. Let's get our shit together America!

At the end of the day, I think all American's should support raising the minimum wage. It does nothing but better our communities and strengthen our economy.