Renew

Free Day

Monday, May 19, 2008, by Leigh Anne

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“The take care of yourself stuff”

If you were to survey a group of homebased business owners and ask them to tell you their number one reason for having a homebased business I bet 9 out of 10 of them would answer FREEDOM! I know it’s mine. I don’t mean the freedom WHETHER to work or not (if you want to make money - you’ve got to work) but the freedom to choose WHEN to work!

That choice is why I started my homebased business 17 years ago. I have the freedom to work around my families schedules and other priorities in my life. It also gives me the freedom to take a Free Day once in a while.

According to an article I read from the Kauffman Foundation, a Free Day is a 24 hour period where the entrepreneur does not engage in any business related thinking, communication or actions. They also stated that the best Free Days are planned in advanced. The Free Day concept can also be used by people who don’t have a homebased business but just need a break from the stress and busyness of everyday life!

I decided to take a Free Day this past Friday. On Wednesday, I received an email from a friend who was organizing a hike in the Columbia Gorge, about an hour from my home. I had a work day scheduled as well as a dental appointment. But Friday promised to be a beautiful day, one of our first in a long time, and the wildflowers are in full bloom - what to do?

I got on the phone and rescheduled my dental appointment and worked twice as hard on Thursday to accomplish all the things I had scheduled for Friday and I took a Free Day on Friday!

I enjoyed a beautiful day in the Gorge with a wonderful group of woman. The view from Coyote Ridge was amazing and the flowers were beautiful.

I was a little worried about keeping with this group of woman, many of which are experienced hikers, but I did it! I will admit there was some huffing and puffing along the way but I enjoyed a wonderful Free Day. And look at how many steps I took!!

I was feeling pretty good about myself and my ability to keep up with the group until I woke up Saturday morning and I could barely move!! Advil was certainly my friend this weekend!!

So my recommendation - schedule a Free Day soon - a 24 hour break from any business thinking, communication or action or a break from life! Protect those days - don’t allow pressure, guilt or other people to get in your way. Taking a break from business and the pressures of day to day life can make a huge difference in your mental outlook and energy level (unless you’ve walked 20,000 steps!) It is a time to rejuvenate yourself physically, mentally and spiritually.

Have you ever taken a Free Day - what did you do?

Plan a Free Day now - let me know what you are going to do!

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I’ve Been Bitten!

Monday, May 12, 2008, by Leigh Anne

“The take care of yourself stuff”

The nice weather is on it’s way to the Northwest - finally! In fact, I think we are going to bypass Spring all together and go directly into Summer with temperatures of 85-90 in the forecast for later this week. There is nothing like a sunny day and soaking in a little Vitamin D to help you feel renewed and alive again after a long, cold and wet winter!

The gardening bug has finally bit - much later than usual this year. The fact that my garden has been under water most of the winter may be part of the reason. I usually have my containers planted by Mother’s Day and dozens of plants lining the patio waiting to be planted, but it didn’t happen this year - maybe by next weekend but I did get my small herb garden in this weekend.

If gardening isn’t your thing or you don’t have much space to garden you might want to give an herb garden a try. You only need a small piece of dirt or even a large container will work! Herbs like 5-6 hours of sunshine a day and a dryer environment (which makes containers a great place to grow herbs).

Some people grow herbs for medicinal purposes, ointments or potpourri. I grow them for cooking. I love having fresh herbs just outside my back door so I can add them to things such as roasted potatoes or vegetables, herbed butters for corn on the cob, salad dressings and marinades for meat.

My favorite herbs to grow are rosemary (this will winter over year to year), chives, marjoram, thyme, oregano, parsley, flat leaf Italian parsley, cilantro and lots of basil. In the Northwest the slugs love basil so you need to keep slug bait nearby.

So if you are new to gardening or don’t have much of a green thumb give an herb garden a try - just get a container, some potting soil and a few herbs starts from your local nursery (even Fred Meyer has them), find a sunny location and you are ready to go. Next time you are cooking something that calls for rosemary, oregano or thyme just grab your scissors and clip some fresh herbs from your own garden!

Happy Gardening!

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Renew - Light a candle

Thursday, April 10, 2008, by Leigh Anne

“The take-care-of-yourself stuff”

I love candles and I have them scattered in just about every room of my house.

A burning candle says home and comfort to me.

One of the things I do to nurture and renew myself is to light a candle. Sometimes during the middle of the day when I am working in my office or just working around the house I love to light a few of my candles, especially the scented ones. Taking a hot bubble bath surrounded by burning candles is so decadent!

Working in my office actually seems somewhat of a treat when I light my verbena (my favorite) scented candle that sits on my desk.

How many candles do you have around your house? If you’re like me, it’s a lot. But how often do you light them? Do you only think about lighting them when you are having a party or special event or when you burn something in the oven to cover the smell?

When we were in Seattle over Spring Break we visited the glassybaby shop and factory, something that had been on my To Do list for several years. I first heard of glassybaby’s 2-3 years ago on Martha Stewart. Glassybaby’s was started in l998 by a three-time cancer survivor named Lee Rhodes.

This is how Lee’s 12 year old son describes a glassybaby -

“A glassybaby is physically a small, colored, glass cup, candleholder or vase. But the light of the candle coming through the glassybaby generates more; it gives warmth to a cold day, a calm token of peace in the busy world.”

I love that description. I have wanted to own a glassybaby ever since I first saw them - and now I finally do. In fact I own two - they are both different shades of green - hidden moss and greenlake.

I love them. I love looking at them and I love watching the light flicker through them. They make me happy. And I hope to own many more in the future.

Glassybaby’s come in 53 different amazing colors. The little card that comes in the box they package your glassybaby in says the following…”glassybabys are useful in many ways. But their real use is lifting bad moods and loneliness. Their warm and colored light flickers like we do in everyday life.”

You can read more about glassybaby at their website. They have a blog too where you can read lots of fun stories of people who visit their shop and the glassybaby’s they buy.