Are you living your life in accordance with your values?

Many of us like to "take stock" at the start of each new year.  I find this is a good tool to help me do that.  I used this assessment once with a development program for emerging leaders and it was extremely powerful.  I feel that this might be a better way to start the new year and get your life in better balance.  There are a few steps, so bear with me.  I think you'll have some profound results.  You can print this here.

1. Think of a typical week and make a list of how you spend your time.  Divide this however you wish, but think about time on sustaining the basics (eating, sleeping, exercising), time spent in service of relationships (with a spiritual power, your spouse, kids, friends, family), time spend in service of a career, serving others, etc.  Make a pretty exhaustive list:
2. Now rate your values.  The list on the worksheet is a good start, but feel free to add more.  Rate yourself 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest importance to you.
3. The next step is to go through the list and pick your top 10 most important values.  Highlight these.
4. From those top 10, circle the 5 most important values in your life.  It's sometimes hard to get down this far, but most of us can only really focus on 5 core things at any given time, so try.
5. Now, here’s the hard part.  Compare your list of how you spend your time with what your top 5 values are in life and answer the following:
   ·         Are you spending your time in service of your most important values?
   
   
   ·         If not, is there anything you can minimize or eliminate to make space for the really important things in your life?
   
   
   ·         If you are, what support and commitment do you need to sustain this connection to your core values?
   
   
   ·         Who do you need to elicit support from to get on a track towards alignment with your values (friend or family member you can share this commitment with who can “call you out” if they see you starting to stray)

This might be very eye opening and powerful for you.  I hope it is.  Consider this my New Years present for you.  It is my hope that you can spend 2012 on the things that really matter to you.

Another favorite... the top 10 posts on Positive Parenting for 2011

I especially like #2, #5 and #10 (that one made me cry)!

My Top 10 Posts of 2011

10 Things Not To Do To An Upset Child and A Couple of Things You Can Do

More good advice from Authentic Parenting... some ways to help our kids learn to manage their emotions while still feeling supported and building your connection with them.

10 Things Not To Do To An Upset Child and A Couple of Things You Can Do

A great reminder about what cooperation really means...

Compliance vs. Cooperation: 5 Ways to Talk To Your Children That Will Get You Nowhere!

Homemade Vapor Rub

Check out this easy way to make Vapor Rub.  I made some bath salts with Eucalyptus too with just some epsom salts, sea salt and Eucalyptus essential oil.  Good combo!

http://networkedblogs.com/s4mcQ

THE EASIEST, YUMMIEST, CHRISTMAS GOODY EVER!!!!

Thanks to one of my co-workers, my hubs and daughter made the yummiest Christmas treat ever in like 5 minutes last night!

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel sandwiches!

You need:

Square pretzels
Caramel Hershey's Kisses

Lay the pretzels out on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.  Put the kiddies to unwrapping the kisses and top each pretzel with a kiss.  Bake in a 150 degree oven for like 2 minutes (just to soften the kiss).  Pull out of the oven, then smush the kiss down with a second pretzel.  The caramel might break out of the chocolate a bit making them a tad gooey.  Put them in the fridge or freezer for about 30 minutes to get the chocolate to harden back up a tad.

OMG, these are perfect!  The perfect ratio of pretzel to chocolate with a tad of ooey gooey caramel!  What could be better!  I think they are Santa's new favorite treat at our house.  Samantha will have to put them out every year for the big guy for sure!

*I would add a picture, but there aren't any left to take a picture of! 

Superfun Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

I kind of got on to this homemade Christmas gift thing late, but I wanted to archive some fun things I'm seeing now so I don't forget for next year.  These were great teacher and office mate gifts.  And I had lots of extra made in case I forgot anyone.  Here's what I did make this year:



Brown Sugar Chocolate Sugar Scrub, Green Tea Cucumber Lotion Bars, and some homemade facial scrub



Lotion Soap Bars

2 oz beeswax pellets
2 oz coconut oil
2 oz avacado oil
1 oz shea butter
a few drops of essential oil

In a double boiler, melt the beeswax pellets, then add the coconut oil and shea butter and let it melt, stirring together.  Once that is all melted, add the avacado oil and stir.  Take it off the heat, then add a few drops of essential oil.  Then poor about 1/2-3/4 inch deep in a muffin tin.  I found this really cute Wilton Christmas cookie tray that made the fun litte shapes.  Let it cool, then turn it over and pop them out.  I packaged mine in little plastic bags with a tag stapled on top. 

*I made several batches with different combos of oils, essential oils, etc. and they all turned out fine.  The more beeswax, the harder it will be, the less beeswax, it would be more of a massage oil bar.

Sugar scrub
1 part Epsom salts
3 parts sugar ( I mixed in some brown sugar on one if the batches)
a touch of castor oil
Olive oil, Avacado oil, sunflower oil, or any other carrier oil
Essential oil
soap coloring (optional)

Mix the dry ingredients together, add a touch of castor oil, then add whatever combo of other oils you want to make it "stick" together.  This works great on hands, feet, elbows, etc.  I made some pretty many smelling with pepermint and chocolate.  The hubs tried it and gave it a thumbs up.

Bath salts

1 part epsom salt
1 part Course Sea Salt
Essential oil
soap coloring (optional)

Just mix it all together and put it in a pretty bottle.  I made a nice batch with eucalyptus essential oil and called it my "cold remedy bath soak". 

OCM Starter Kits
I also made some Oil Cleansing Method Starter kits for a couple of friends who want to try it.  I got some travel bottles with squirt tops and mixed my favorite blend

40% Olive Oil
40% Avacado Oil
20% Castor Oil

I also added a container of the all natural facial scrub I use once a week:

1 part raw almonds
1 part oatmeal

Grind both in the blender, food processor, or magic bullet.  Then, mix together.  To use, put a teaspoonful in your palm and add a couple of drops of OCM mix.  Mix together into a grainy paste and scrub away.

Here's what I want to try next year:

Homemade Hot Drink Mixes and for sure this Homemade Vanilla Chai Tea Mix.

Homemade Hot Chocolate Card Kit

Spice Rubs for Grilling - awesome for the dudes... the rest of these things are pretty girly! 

If I get some spare time (and that's a big if!) I know my work peeps would love to get a homemade ornament from me.  Here's a really neet one, Snowflake Ornament!

For my daughter's 4th birthday coming up I'm going to make some Homemade Soap Crayons for the goody bags.  And maybe some pretty Melted Crayons.

So, my plan is to hit the after Christmas sales and see if I can get deals on:

• plastic bags for the drink mixes
• pretty Christmas papers or large labels to label the homemade goodies
• small tins for the spice rubs
• trays or tins for cookies
• a Silicone candy tray for the soap and regular crayons

?The best part about all of this, is you can spend less money and make gifts that are more meaningful to people than things you buy.  Merry Christmas!

New Year's Self Improvement that lasts... starting now

This year, I'll be sharing some nuggets of insight about improving the things that really matter in life, rather than making silly new year's resolutions.  This post really hit me as making sense.  People don't often understand why I have not spoken to my father for 14 years.  And the #1 item on this list just about sums it up.  Yes, blood is thicker than water, but sometimes there is a force in your life that is so dark and evil and sucks the joy and happiness from your life, that the best gift you can give yourself is to let go of it and move on.

Enjoy the read:

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself