A Day in the Life of My IPhone 5

One full day with my Iphone 5. My Iphone 4S met up with asphalt at a recent MSU game and I took advantage of my upgrade offer and ordered an Iphone5. The phone arrived in 2 days. Within an hour of opening the pretty white box I transferred my phone number, backed up from iCloud, and was in business. Today was my first full day with my Iphone5. Here's how we spent the day together: Checked the time in the morning when I woke up Sent a quick text to the family Saw a linked-In note and responded Sent a fun text to hubby Uploaded Chili-Cook off pictures to Facebook Album from evenings neighborhood challenge (Ours took 3rd!) Set up reminders for tasks for upcoming work week Read ZITE articles and tweeted interesting links Reviewed upcoming week on calendar "Watched" the Ryder Cup with the help of Twitter Did some banking online Researched oblong toilet seat lids Placed Amazon order of oblong toilet seat lid Played a few games of Words With Friends Placed address for Monday's off-site strategy session into Maps Downloaded Audible Book One Shot by Lee Child Sent photo of "found coat" in closet after cleaning to friends and family (no one has claimed it yet) Sent a few messages to Kids on Facebook Enjoyed the newsfeed on Facebook Reviewed news stories on Headlines App Wrote notes focusing an Escan Corporate Strategy Booklet Reviewed Pinterest and Instagram Shared a photo for work on FaceBook Plugged in for the night Set Alarm Am now unplugging myself My Iphone 4S is now happily hooked to our Bose system with Pandora rocking. My kids did have breakfast and dinner and we had 2 "breaks" for card games. I also helped my husband sort and organize the rooms of the house we are "blowing up and starting over" In other words - I had a very fun and productive day. Thanks Iphone5. I'm thinking of naming you. Any suggestions?

Posted via email from MoJoCMO

A Day in the Life of My IPhone 5

Posted via email from MoJoCMO

Morning Wake Up Call!Vote on this photo - Take Your Best Shot Chicago

OK - If I didn't REALLY like the photo I wouldn't enter - but now that I did I want to see how "big" we can go. Vote now!Click on link IF you like this photo of my morning wake up call in Chicago!

VOTE BY CLICKING ON LINK BELOW :)
https://apps.facebook.com/bestshotofchicago/?pbb_qsi=68876167&=PBB_TakeYourBe...

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Did you climb a tree today?

It was intentional.  The walk to the nearby elementary school was intentional.  As part of Living a Full Screen Life I had determined to make my Sunday one filled with exercise, readings and organization at life and home.  (And a few family card games thrown in for good measure.)

I walked with my iPhone tuned into an Audible book, part II of The Absent One, a Department Q novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen.   The time listening to detectives and mysterious unsolved investigations is a mind thrilling escape that I take part in daily. 

As I was walking I had every intention of heading to the playground and finding a swing set to hop onto.  Walking up the driveway  I could see the tops of the monkey bars.  There is a big turn in the drive which leads your eyes to a woody area as you curve up the road.  Smack dab in the straight line of my eyesight was a  big maple tree with perfect climbing branches.  The reason they were perfect is they began at the base.  I'm a bit leery of jumping up and attempting to start a climb without a guarantee of a mere 12 inch drop at the end.  These limbs were outstretched as if to say,  come climb up no matter what your age!

And so I did.

As I perched upon the limbs about 6 branches from the forest floor I gazed up and snapped the picture of the tree limbs above me. 

Why climb a tree?  For me, it is a symbol of continuing to reach for more every day.  When you climb a tree you need to think ahead, plan your steps and look at the next move.  If you falter you can stumble, fall and even break.   There are many different moves you can make while climbing a tree.  You can be risky and jump to the next level.  You can be careful and only go so high or reach for more stable branches.

There are many things we do in life that we stop doing as we grow older.  We may feel we it's child's play and not worthy of our grown up world.  Many people stop climbing trees well before they are adults.  Perhaps they were reprimanded too often from concerned parents. 

I didn't wake up this morning thinking I was going to climb a tree.  But I sure am glad I chose to grab a limb and start the climb, breaking the cautionary thought process that comes with experience and age.  You may be feeling cautious about a project at work.  You may be thinking you already know how to do something well and don't need to take that extra reach to get to the next level.  If so, go find a tree and start the climb.  As you relax and look at your surroundings from a bit higher vantage point you just may see things differently.

C'mon - go find that tree!

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Let's Create a Full Screen Happy Life

Pretty Stress Free Life Pictured Above! 

I've been spending the morning preparing for a cleaning out of now college freshman Emily's bedroom.

She did a great job packing and sorting.   The left behind is her childhood memories that will be stored away until she's ready to re-open the fun in her own home someday.

My Sunday's are often spent preparing.  I indulge myself with readings all morning  while I ponder the task list in front of me.  Today's task that looms ahead is one that is exciting and yet melancholic at the same time.  Two of the articles I read hit home with me today as I prepare for the challenge:  

The first is from http://zenhabits.net/ and it explains how we need to begin living a Full Screen Life.  

In it author Leo Babauta explains how we often are doing two to three or four things at once:

"We’re doing one work task while trying to stay on top of email, text messages and social media. We’re talking with a friend while seeing what we’re missing on Facebook and Instagram. We’re eating while planning. Making love while thinking about work."  Babauta shares his concept on living a "Full Screen Life" by focusing only on the one task you are doing.  If you are engaging in a discussion with your daughter - don't think about work - truly engage in the moment with your daughter.   He showcases how to do this and encourages practice. 

The second reading came from a review on Gretchen Rubin's new book,  Happier at Home:  ''Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson and My Other Experiences in the Practice of Everyday Life.'   Rubin dedicated a school year to making her home a place of greater simplicity, comfort and love.  I would love this book as a Christmas Gift (Hint Hint) and in the meantime have reviewed the reviewer and know that Rubin is on to something.  (‘Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life’ by Gretchen Rubin http://mymindonbooks.com/?p=6142)

Perhaps it is because our home has gone from a loud and open doored place where 6 kids introduced us to every form of friend and foe into a quieter more grown up house with two teenagers who rarely fight and revel in playing games with their ol' Mom and Dad.  Perhaps it's because I'm about to clean out a post-high school girl room and bring more space to what was once a very overcrowded home while celebrating another pretty successful push from the nest.  Either way the two readings that I came across today I believe did not show up by accident.  

The funny thing is - when you are in the midst of the madness of raising kids and raising career goals is when you really need to live a Full Screen Happy Life.  Don't get me wrong. I'm not in any way thinking my life was not full and happy -  I am saying there is comfort in intentional happiness and full attention at work and home. 

I'm excited and humbled at this juncture in our lives.  My work is compelling, challenging and just plain fun.  My life is less stressed with school activities and more open to new learnings and opportunities.  I'm taking the two readings from today and combining them at work and home.  Get ready to practice with me.... let's jump into a Full Screen Happy Life!

Tip #1 for Full Screen Happy Life:    Cards, Dice and Game Boards belong on every table - both office and home - not hidden in closets or drawers! 

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Pride, pain and a comforting blanket: The spaces to fill when your kids head to college.

We call ourselves "nearly empty nesters" because we are down to two at home. Raising our six kids to be independent and happy has been our goal. Who knew they would take the instruction literally and we would be left with hearts heavy with pride and pain. The pride is palpable. Each of our kids is uniquely their own person and truly live in their own skin. And yet together they are bonded with family experiences that have bound them together, for good and bad, with loud and oft times obnoxious laughter. The pain is one that lays heavy like a blanket left out overnight during a spring rain. It is one that comes after forgetting to take it indoors and you know it will lighten over time - to be used again to warm and protect. Where did the time go? We are driving our fourth to a college out of state. She independently took the reigns to make this college dream come true. She woke up this morning and gave us one more "Emily" moment, loudly worrying about the clock and the drive and the potential late arrival for registration. Our immediate family and her closest friends know and love these "Emily" moments--- she saves them for us because it is us she feels the most trust with and trusts us to love her when she lets off steam. Of course she is right to do so. Those "Emily" moments are what we will miss the most and yet can't pretend to miss when they are fewer and far between. When you leave your kids to begin their own chosen paths you end up with something you couldn't wait to have more of: Space. There is space in your home with doors open for return. There is space in your heart once you let go of the sodden blanket in its core. We have given our children the space to go and do and be and live. They have in turn filled up the spaces of our lives with joy and a wonderful feeling of anticipation for their future. In five minutes we begin unpacking our fourth and making her new space her own. The space in between our last hug and her new life is wide open. Our pride and pain mingle as we unpack her new blanket - appropriately a warm, dry comforter.

Posted via email from MoJoCMO