The FlyLady's 11 Commandments!

While living on the East Coast, a good friend introduced me to the book "Sink Reflections" by Marla Cilley, aka The FlyLady. Marla is a recovered clutter-aholic who developed her own personal system/tools/ideas to dig herself out of chaos & misery and create order & peace in her life and home. I have been re-reading her book for fun and thought I'd share her 11 Commandments.

Fly Lady’s 11 Commandments
1 Keep your sink clean and shiny!
2 Get dressed every morning, even if you don’t feel like it. Don’t forget your lace-up shoes.
3 Do your morning and before bedtime routine everyday.
4 Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked by the computer.
5 Pick up after yourself. If you get it out, put it away.
6 Don’t try to do two projects at once. ONE JOB AT A TIME.
7 Don’t pull out more than you can put back in one hour.
8 Do something for yourself everyday, maybe every morning and night.
9 Work as fast as you can to get the job done. This will give you more time to play later.
10 Smile even when you don’t feel like it. It is contagious. Make your mind up to be happy and you will be.
11 Don’t forget to laugh everyday. Pamper yourself, you deserve it.

**For a WAY CUTER version of this, click on HappyHomeHabits! You'll also see an ad for a Home Routines i-phone app. Haven't tried it but it looks good.**

AND if you are feeling especially disorganized and overwhelmed, check out the FlyLady's book. Each time I browse through it, I get immediate support via an idea, thought, encouragement, etc. She also has a blog if you want to check it out at http://www.flylady.net/.

The Gospel Path is LESS Rocky

Now that we've decided to stay in Flagstaff, I've taken up mountain biking again. This morning I went out alone on some trails near our home. A few gnats in the eyes/mouth later, I realized if not my eyes, I could at least keep my mouth shut. :)

I started on some shorter trail loops then jumped onto the Walnut Meadow Loop, an almost 4 mile ride. It is beautiful country in Flag but rocky. Near the beginning, I hit some clumps of rocks in the middle of the trail that caused me to swerve a little, so I jumped off the trail momentarily to avoid more rocks and instead hit some bigger ones. I jumped back on the path as fast as I could, realizing my mistake. In my naïveté, I had figured avoiding any rocks was the goal until I saw how uneven and more potentially dangerous the outskirts were.

This got me thinking that sometimes when we live the gospel, we think the path should be straight, narrow, and paved! But that's not the point of the gospel path. It is safer, but there will still be bumps and bruises along the way. The point is that the path will always be safer than the off-road alternative.

As I continued on the loop, I started to worry I wasn't on the right trail anymore.  I had gone for a long time without seeing a tall, brown trail marker, and after constant twists and turns in the path, I didn't even know what direction I was heading anymore. I was tempted to stop and backtrack. 

But I resisted the urge, committing to finishing the trail I had started. I had stayed on the main trail the whole time I assured myself. Eventually, it would bring me back to the beginning I reasoned. After some time passed, I did finally pass a trail marker and finished the loop. Whoo-hoo!

In life, we each receive confirmations--like the trail markers--that we are indeed heading the right direction or on the right path for us.  But sometimes when it's been a while since we've received a witness/answer and the road begins to twist and turn in unfamiliar/unplanned ways, we are tempted to say: "This is not the path I meant to choose" or "This can't be the right way anymore," and we lose faith and want to abandon it.

Just hang in there though and know that if you knew it was right before, it still is right, even if Heavenly Father is presently silent. Eventually, you'll come to the end and be grateful you didn't quit.

Green Drink!

My brother is a naturopathic doctor in the Valley and sends out a monthly newsletter to clients/friends/family. I subscribe and always glean something helpful from it each time. This month, he wrote about training for a triathalon in September and becoming re-energized through Green Drinks. He includes he and his wife's personal recipe, which he says has transformed their excercise.

I'm excited to try it and hope it helps you too!

http://www.eastvalleynd.com/blog/journey-of-a-tri-athlete/?utm_source=July+Newsletter&utm_campaign=July+Newsletter+2012&utm_medium=email

Archery & Self-Respect

My son and I signed up for archery lessons together this summer, and when he wasn't able to go to lessons today, I unconsciously decided not to go either since signing up had mostly been for him. I instead started doing a bunch of chores, then went to rock my toddler to sleep for a nap. It was then, unshowered and already tired, I realized what I had done: I had made myself an appendage of my son, instead of treating myself like an individual. The thing is...I actually really like archery and I'm not too bad at it either. After the first lesson, I had called my hubby and told him excitedly how much fun I had had. He told me he later he noticed I was happier that day than usual and said I should try to do something every day I enjoy. After his observation, I noticed too I felt differently after each lesson: I was more positive, excited, enthusiastic about life... As I reflected on all this, I decided I needed to respect myself the way I respected my son-enough to get him to lessons! So I threw on makeup, jumped in the Tahoe, and raced to Fort Tuthill in time to practice shooting 3D targets (animals). I "killed" a badger my first time around. It was a good feeling ;) I'm glad I went too because I found out next week we get to go on the 3D course the club uses. Duncan's excited too. Either way, son or not, I won't miss it. I just have to keep reminding myself every day that I matter too.