March 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008, by Leigh Anne
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“The things that make you feel, think, laugh”
Today is Part Three of our Finding Focus series.
The last few weeks I have shared ideas on how to find focus in your life and homebased business when you only have a few minutes with the Fifteen Minute Focus or how to get focused when you have a whole day with the concept of the Catch Up Day.
But what about the in between? You have more than a few minutes but not quite a whole day. Try the Power Hour!
The Power Hour is a technique I learned years ago from Sue Rusch, a former top leader with Pampered Chef.
The Power Hour is a catch up technique you can use, like the Fifteen Minute Focus when you are feeling overwhelmed and constantly behind. This technique has helped me to gather that splattered energy and refocus my attention - to focus on what really matters.
Here is how it works - you beg, borrow or steal one hour during the day to devote entirely and totally to your business or some other project you are trying to accomplish.
If you have young children at home, hire a sitter, trade with a neighbor, negotiate with your husband or stay up an hour later or get up an hour earlier than everyone else (this is what I find works best for me).
During this Power Hour you work as hard as you can on that one thing that has been eating at you - those customer care calls you can’t seem to get done (don’t do this one late at night or early in the morning :), the closet that needs organizing, or that exercise routine that keeps getting neglected - whatever it is that has been nagging at you.
A Power Hour is dedicated to one task or a couple of smaller ones. If you are using this concept to help you get more focused with your business be sure to stay focused on business building activities!
We need to realize we can not do everything - at least not all at the same time. You need a clear sense of the activities that are worthy of your time and those that will contribute little to your goals and mission.
Confucius said, “The man who chases 2 rabbits catches neither.”
Having the self-discipline to focus on our best activities - ones that create results that are desired can be challenging.
Focusing on the worthy is the golden key to time management, finding focus, balance and life fulfillment.
Here are tips that helped me during my Power Hour:
- Just like with the Fifteen Minute Focus - use a timer.
- Decide on what your reward will be at the end of your Power Hour - maybe a cup of tea, a movie with your husband or a hot bath before bed or maybe even some chocolate!
- Do not answer the phone during your Power Hour.
- Shut the door to the room where you are working if possible and remember what I tell my children - don’t bother me unless there is blood or you’re not breathing!
In the book “Don’t Worry, Make Money“ Richard Carlson recommends “experimenting with the one-hour solution.” Spending one hour each and every day, doing what is the critical inch of your business. The critical inch being the key parts of our business (not simply busy work), income producing activities.
Just this week, I used the technique to help me get caught up on an Internet course I had enrolled in. I had gotten very behind (15 weeks behind to tell the truth!). I set aside a Power Hour each day and set a goal to accomplish two lessons a day and now I am almost caught up!
So what is the one thing that has been nagging at you, causing you to feel splattered and unfocused? Find time for one Power Hour this week and work on that project. Give it a try and let me know by leaving a comment below how it works for you!
Happy Power Hour!
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Categories: Home Based Business, Inspire, Motivation, Time Management
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Thursday, March 13, 2008, by Leigh Anne
“The people in our lives”
Another new blog post category - Connect.
Connect posts will share ideas and suggestions for ways we can Connect to the important people in our life whether we are Connecting in person, over the phone, through the mail or over the Internet.
The important thing is that we Connect and that we do so on a regular basis.
Today I have been busy putting together a care package for my two sweet college boys. This is something I do every couple of months or so.
A care package is a way to say - “Hi, I was thinking about you” without being there in person. When I send a care package to my two sweet college boys it is a connection to home for them - they know they are loved.
Yes, those are football, baseball and basketball shaped Easter eggs - aren’t they cute!
The first “official” care packages were sent back in 1945 by CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) an organization that would send food relief to Europe when large numbers of people were at risk of starvation in the wake of World War II
Come to think of it - there are probably times my sweet college boys think they are at risk of starvation too - hopefully those care packages from mom come in time!
Since 1945 the term Care Package has been adopted as a generic term for a package of food or supplies sent for relief or comfort purposes.
One of my first memories of receiving a care package is from my childhood. Our family lived in Wisconsin but all of my mother’s family was in California so each summer my mother, my sister and I would make a trip to California where we would stay for a month or so. My mother was terrified of flying when I was a child (she has gotten better with age) so we would travel from Wisconsin to California via train. It was actually a very fun and memorable way to travel.
The thing that I really remember though was when we would be ready to leave California and board the train back to Wisconsin our Aunt Lulu (not really our aunt, just a good family friend) would bring us a care package to take on the long train ride home.
This care package was full of fun little gifts that were individually wrapped. We were to open them each day of the trip - most of the gifts were toys/games to help keep us occupied on the train ride.
Honestly, I don’t really remember specifically what the gifts were but what I do remember is that connection that was made - our Aunt Lulu loved us and cared about us. Each day, as we opened one or two of the gifts we were still connected to her even though she was hundreds of miles away.
My Aunt Lulu has passed away but I never send or receive a care package without thinking of her.
When was the last time you sent a care package?
This week find someone near or far who just needs a little connection, someone who needs to know they are loved.
It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Once when I was sick in bed with a terrible flu a sweet friend brought me over a can of chicken noodle soup wrapped with a bow - I knew I was loved.
Remember you don’t need to spend a lot of money. I made a quick trip to the dollar store for most of the things in my boy’s care package and picked up a few bags of candy from Target.
Since this care package had an Easter theme I also made them a homemade treat - some Bunny Munch.
So have fun with this little project and come back and let me know what you did by leaving a comment below. Have fun connecting!
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Categories: Connect
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Thursday, March 13, 2008, by Leigh Anne
The homemade treat I put in my sweet college boy’s Easter care package is Bunny Munch.
We love popcorn at our house, especially when it is combined with some form of chocolate. Several months ago I shared a recipe for White Chocolate Popcorn with Candy Corn. Bunny Munch is a variation of that recipe.
It wasn’t actually called Bunny Munch - I just call it that because I think it sounds cute and it goes with the Easter theme I have going.
The difference between Bunny Munch and the White Chocolate with Candy Corn popcorn is there is no candy corn in it. Candy corn is hard to find at Easter time and there is also peanut butter mixed in with the white chocolate. This is a yummy combination. The popcorn also has Reeses Pieces in it.
Somehow, some bunny (aka sweet husband) got into my Reeses Pieces and munched on them so I didn’t have enough when I went to make it. So I used part Reeses Pieces and part M&M’s - a great combination.
I found some cute inexpensive containers at the Dollar Store and filled them with Bunny Munch. Now sweet college boys will have something to munch on!
Bunny Munch
2 bags microwave popcorn
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 bag white chocolate chips (2 cups)
1/2 - 1 cup Reeses Pieces (and M&M’s too if you want)
Pop the popcorn then sift through to remove all unpopped kernels. Soften the peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir into popcorn to evenly coat. Melt the white chocolate either in a double broiler or in the microwave (over 2 minutes on 50% power, then stir chips until smooth) Pour over popcorn and gently stir to coat popcorn evenly with chocolate. Add Reeses Pieces as you stir in the chocolate. Spread out popcorn on waxed paper to eat. Enjoy!
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Categories: Family, Recipes
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008, by Leigh Anne
”Feeding the people we love”
At least once a week, sometimes more, I will be sharing a Nourish post. A recipe for you to try as you work daily to Nourish your family.
As mothers, one of our biggest jobs is to Nourish our family - physically and emotionally. I hope the recipes I share with you will help make the job of physically Nourishing your family a little easier and a little more enjoyable!
The last two “Lovely Lemon” recipes I have shared have been for sweet lemon treats - Lemon Cheesecake Bars and Snow Pudding.
Today we have a savory lemon recipe. This pork chop dish is simple and quick to prepare and one of our families favorite ways to serve pork chops. The recipe comes from my favorite cookbook - the Portland Junior League’s “Portland’s Palate”.
LA Notes - the recipe calls for hazelnuts, which I love, but this week I didn’t have any so I just used chopped pecans and they were just as yummy. I also like to use the thin cut pork chops. Don’t skip the lemon pepper - it is an important flavor for this dish. I served it with a wild rice mix and a salad with toasted almonds, craisinets and a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
4 boneless pork loin chops (1/2 inch thick and trimmed)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. finely chopped hazelnuts
4 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. freshly grated lemon peel
Fresh lemon slices for garnish
In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt butter. Season chops on both sides with garlic salt and lemon pepper. Place chops in saute pan and brown until pork is tender. 5-7 minutes per side. Remove chops to serving plate. Sprinkle with hazelnuts and set aside.
Stir lemon juice into drippings in saute pan and heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Spoon over cooked chops and sprinkle with lemon peel. To serve, garnish each chop with a fresh lemon slice.
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Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Sunday, March 9, 2008, by Leigh Anne
“The things that make you feel, think, laugh”
Last week I introduced you to my new blog post category - “Nest” with a fun idea of planting your own Easter grass.
Today I introduce my second new category - “Inspire”. On Monday’s I will be sharing ideas and tips that have inspired me and that hopefully will inspire you. The majority of them will have something to do with balancing a job/business or just life with a family but you never know what may inspire me during the week!
Before I share this week’s idea I want to explain why I chose the above picture to represent my “Inspire” posts.
One of my favorite things to do is to sit in my kitchen or my office and watch the hummingbirds out in my garden. They are amazing little birds.
Did you know that not only can they fly vertical and horizontal but they are also the only bird who can fly backwards. They are able to hover midair as their wings flap 15-80 times a second! They amaze me.
So I chose a picture of a hummingbird in the garden - it inspires me and I hope that my “Inspire” posts will inspire you!
You may remember that last week I shared with you a disorder I suffer from - A.A.A.A.D.D. -
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.
Today I will share a strategy I use when I am really having a hard time focusing.
A Catch Up Day is a great idea when you are really feeling overwhelmed with all those unfinished projects and having a hard time staying focused long enough to complete any of them. But sometimes a Catch Up Day is just not in the picture, so here is another strategy you can use to help you focus on a project that needs to get done!
The 15 Minute Focus
When you don’t have a whole day to devote to those unfinished projects use the 15 Minute Focus. I found that I can accomplish just about anything in 15 minute increments.
I have cleaned and organized my garage, weeded the garden, gotten caught up on my scrapbooks, sewn a quilt and organized every room in my house by using this technique!
I have learned that you can suffer through anything for 15 minutes (and longer if a new baby is the result of your efforts!)
So what job have you been putting off and dreading? Is it cleaning the garage, getting those photos into an album or something else?
The trick that really makes this technique work though is that you only do it for 15 minutes. I use a kitchen timer to make sure I don’t work for more than 15 minutes. It is important that you don’t think “Hey I’m on a roll, I’ll just keep going.”
The problem with that is that next time you need a 15 minute focus you will say to yourself, “I can’t do this because I don’t have 30 -45 minutes.” Only work for 15 minutes at a time - NO MORE!
You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes of FOCUSED time. Allow no distractions, no phone calls, etc. Set a timer!
Tell your family that they are not allowed to talk to you - lock yourself in the room if you have too. I tell my kids “Unless there is blood or you are not breathing - LEAVE ME ALONE!
(Those of you with younger children will want to make sure another responsible adult is supervising the children!)
So give it a try and let me know how it goes. Let me know what you are able to accomplish during your 15 Minute Focus.
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Categories: Goals, Home Based Business, Inspire, Motivation, Organizational Tips, Time Management
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Thursday, March 6, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Nest - “the place life happens”
I am introducing a new blog “category” today - Nest. I will be sharing a new Nest post every week or so. Nest posts will have to do with the home - “the place life happens.”
I look forward to sharing some fun tips and ideas that I use and passing along ones you share with me for making our nest more fun, more comfortable and an enjoyable place to be.
I chose the word nest because a nest is a “a snug retreat or refuge; resting place; home.”
Whether your nest is a house, an apartment, a condo, a trailer or on a limb of a tree it can be a retreat and a refuge. A resting place for ourselves and those we love.
Spring is here and that means Easter is not far behind.
One of our families favorite Easter traditions (besides the visit from the Easter Bunny and all that chocolate) is growing our own Easter grass.
Easter is only a couple of weeks away so it is time to get it started. It is quick and easy to do.
All you need is some kind of container. I am using a fun, square metal container I found at the craft store. You can also use a plastic lined Easter basket or clay pot. Use your imagination. You just don’t want any drainage holes in the bottom.
Fill your container with potting soil to within an inch of the top.
Sprinkle rye grass seed over the soil. You can buy wheat seed at the local “Feed and Seed” store. I actually found mine at the craft store! (Craft Warehouse in Portland)
For extra thick grass, put a light layer of soil over the top of the seeds and then sprinkle with a second layer. Spritz with water, place in the sun and within a few days your grass should begin to sprout. Spritz with water as needed to keep soil damp (not wet).
You can also “cut” the grass as it grows to keep it from getting too long and leggy.
It makes a fun centerpiece for your Easter Dinner or Brunch table.
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Categories: Nest, Traditions
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Tuesday, March 4, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Today I will share my second in a series of lemon recipes. If you missed the first one - be sure and check out the Lemon Cheesecake Bars. They are yummy.
In fact one of my sweet college boys called tonight with a question about the recipe - he and his girlfriend were making them together (or at least he squeezed the lemons!) Hope they turned out good!
Today’s recipe is for Snow Pudding. I had checked out some cookbooks from the library recently and as I was reading through them one evening I came across this recipe.
It brought back a flood of memories. My junior high years growing up in Wisconsin were spent at Kemper Hall. The best description of Kemper Hall I can give you is - think “Dead Poet’s Society” - the female version.
Kemper Hall sat on the banks of Lake Michigan and had been an all girls boarding school for many years. The year before I started there they admitted ”day students” and also, lucky for me, they allowed boys to attend as day students too.
Lunch each day was served in the old dining hall where students were seated at tables with a teacher (many of which were nuns in full habit) or some adult administrator, including the headmaster and principal. Lunch was served family style.
Being the picky eater that I was, I did not eat the lunch prepared at school. Instead I would bring my trusty old peanut butter and jelly sandwich from home and eat in the back room along with a few of the other “day students” including my best friend LuAnne.
The only time we ate in the old dining hall was for special events during the year such as the Epiphany Banquet and the Founder’s Day Celebration where we all wore our matching white dresses.
O.K., so what does Snow Pudding have to do with all of this…..get to the point Leigh Anne…
The one dessert I remember being served at these special events, and that I have remembered for over 30 years is….Snow Pudding. When I think of Kemper Hall, I think of Snow Pudding. So when I found the recipe in ”Sara Moulton Cooks at Home” I had to try it.
One of the best things about this recipe is that the Snow Pudding has NO FAT (now if you add the Vanilla Sauce it is a different story) and it is delicious served with fresh berries.
Sara describes it as follows, “Imagine a lemon meringue pie in which the meringue itself has been charged with lemony tartness and the gluey filling jettisoned. Snow Pudding may well take you by surprise”
My neighbor Hannah taste tested it for me and loved it and has been asking me when it was going to be on the blog - so here it is Hannah!
Let me know if you try it and what you think!
Snow Pudding - Serves 6
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest
3 large egg whites at room temperature (If you are concerned about salmonella, use pasteurized egg whites or powdered egg whites)
1 cup fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or strawberries
Vanilla Sauce
Pour 1/4 cup cold water into a small saucepan. Sprinkle on the gelatin and set aside for 5 minutes to dissolve. Add the sugar, salt and 1 1/4 cups cold water. Set over medium high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar and gelatin have dissolved, about 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Pour into a large bowl and refrigerate until almost set, about 2 hours.
Use an electric mixer to beat the gelled mixture until light and airy, 3-5 minutes. Add the egg whites and continue beating until the mixture increases in volume and begins to form gentle, soft peaks, about 5 minutes.
Place a few berries in the bottom of decorative glasses or dishes. Spoon in the pudding, cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. Serve in the glass with the vanilla or raspberry sauce on top.
Vanilla Sauce:
LA Notes - I did not have a vanilla bean so I just used a teaspoon of vanilla extract. It is VERY important that you do not let it boil as you are cooking it - it will curdle and you will have to start over - guess how I know that?!
2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
5 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt
Combine the milk and vanilla bean in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until small bubbles form around the edge. Remove from the heat, cover, and infuse the milk for 10 minutes. Scrape the seeds of the bean into the milk. Rinse and dry the bean and save for another use (such as putting it in your bag of sugar, which will turn it into vanilla sugar). Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and salt in a large heatproof bowl until thick and light, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the hot milk. Return the custard to the pan and stir over low heat until slightly thickened or until a finger drawn across a wooden spoon dipped in the sauce leaves a mark (about 160 degrees F). Do not boil, or the sauce will curdle. Strain into a large bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours. Serve over top of Snow Pudding.
Popularity: 19% [?]
Categories: Recipes
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Sunday, March 2, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. -Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.
This is how it manifests:
I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.
As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I’m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I’d been drinking. I’m going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over.
The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke,a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye–they need water. I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I’ve been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I’m going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I’ll be looking for the remote,
but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table,so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day:
the car isn’t washed
the bills aren’t paid
there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter
the flowers don’t have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can’t find the remote,
I can’t find my glasses,
and I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all stinking day, and I’m really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem,
and I’ll try to get some help for it,
but first I’ll check my e-mail….
And I thought I was just having a hard time focusing - now I can blame it on A.A.A.D.D.! This fun little description was sent to me by my sister in law last week and I thought it so perfectly described how some of my days go.
Is it just me or do the rest of you have a hard time focusing sometimes?
I guess this also explains why more times than I’d like to admit I find myself out in public with only half my makeup on.
I have this morning routine. I put on half my makeup and then blow dry my hair. I wait to put on my eye makeup until after my hair is dry because sometimes my eyes water while blow drying my hair and my eyeliner and mascara run.
More times than I’d like to admit though I get distracted after blow drying my hair. This week I was distracted by deciding I needed to clean out the makeup drawer.
My makeup drawer is now amazingly clean, and you can once again tell the inside of the drawer is white and not every shade of makeup I’ve every worn. But I ended up out in public again with only half my makeup on.
I didn’t even realize it until I was over at the high school, working in the costume shop, and my sweet high school freshman daughter (aka Makeup Maven) walked in and announced to the entire room - “Mom, you only have half your makeup on!”
One of the moms commented,”Oh, I thought you just had a cold.”
My goal for this week is to stay focused while applying my makeup and not go out in public with only half of it on!
One of the challenges of trying to balance being a mom with a homebased business is dealing with the many distractions we encounter on a daily basis - everything from phone calls, emails, doorbells, laundry, dirty dishes etc. There are a lot of distractions that come with just being a mom let alone adding a business or job on top of it!
Over the next few weeks I will share with you some tips and ideas for finding focus in your daily life/business so that hopefully I’ll be showing up in public with ALL my makeup on and both of us will be saying the following a little less..
“I start, but I get distracted and never finish.”
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Categories: Home Based Business, Team Talk
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