What about those long term goals? Yes, that includes 5 year and 10 year goals but it also includes weekly, monthly, or even yearly goals. I have to admit that I’ve always had a vague notion of where I was going, career wise. It wasn’t until recently that I had to actually sit down and put those goals down on paper. My first step? Applying for my doctorate.

Why is it important to have goals? Well, if you don’t know where you’re going how are you going to get there? A goal sets the destination and also gives you an idea of how to get there too.

Of course, that’s a seriously lofty goal and it took me forever to figure it out. I wish I had read “How to Set Goals When You Have No Idea What You Want” about a month ago (that would have required time travel though since the post was only written on 9/1/09). Make sure to read the comments, too, as they contain quite a few ideas that might help you figure out your goals.

So, here’s my goals using the “three list” method (see the comments in the mentioned article for this method):

1. Things I want to do: visit the Louvre museum for at least a month; see each and every national monument in the continental United States; go to a writing and/or fantasy/scifi convention

2. Things I want to have: a fluffy dog (check that off the list); a computer that actually runs all my programs without crashing; a Shelby Mustang GT (red with racing stripes, please, and no wussy convertible top); a good pair of shoes every three months

3. Things I want to be: expert in my field (obtaining my doctorate is part of this goal); a mother who attends her kids soccer games/chess tournaments/art exhibits; the wife my husband needs me to be

So, what are your goals? Were they easy or difficult to determine? Which method from the linked article did you use? Tell me because I want to know!

All 12 of you.

After doing some digging, I (with the help of my friend, Christy) found that I have a whopping RSS following of an even baker’s dozen.

It’s not as if I am a rabid marketer bent on world domination through my blog’s feed. Nor am I a prolific writer who has a driving passion to express my deepest, most inner most thoughts in a very public way. I’m just a very busy mom who works full time and has 4 blogs for which she writes.

So, here’s to you, my loyal few. You rock!

Tip #1: Get into the swing of things now

If you’re like me, you’ve let your kids sleep in until 8 am and get dressed around 10 am all summer long. Which is fine right up until the first day of school when the kids need to be up and dressed by 6:45 and out the door by 7:30. So this year I have instituted a “Going Back to School” schedule. The whole family is starting their day just as if school had already started. That means earlier bed times and wake ups, beds made, dressed, fed and ready to face the day by 7:30 am. At least I can get the grumbling out of the way now instead of on the first day of school.

Tip #2 Plan out those lunch menus

I’ve blogged about menu planning before but I think it’s important enough to repeat here. Sit down with your kids and plan out a couple weeks worth of lunch menus which all of you can live with. And, if your child packs his or her own lunch, they have a guide to what to bring for lunch on any particular day. It really nips the whole “But I didn’t know what to make so I took candy instead” argument in the bud.

Tip #3: Go to Back to School Night

Even if you are exhausted from a long day at work, the kids are cranky, and it’s pouring rain/sunny and 150 degrees. Everyone is nervous about that first day of school and it isn’t just limited to your kids.

The teacher is getting a whole new set of children in the classroom, 5 year olds are heading to a new phase of their life, and you need to get a feel for the classroom and teacher. So, it’s a good thing to meet & greet before that first day of school.

Tip #4: Create a Central Calendar

Everyone in the family has a list of activities that come in to the house through a number of ways, i.e. through papers coming home from school, emails from colleagues, party invitations sent in the mail. The best way to coordinate schedules is to use a central calendar. There are literally hundres of calendars available through stores and the Internet for you to use. Pick one and post it where everyone can see it (even the 3 foot tall kindergartner!).

Tip #5: Spend Time With Your Kids

It will be all too soon that they are gone all day and involved in their own lives once school starts. While you, and I, may look forward to that, the excitement wears off pretty quickly. So, take the time now to let your kids know that you love them and that you are there for them (no matter what happens). Enjoy it becuase childhood doesn’t last forever.

Do you have any back to school tips? Please share them with me!

Photo by evelynishere on Flickr

School starts in 16 days, 2 hours, and 46 minutes as of the writing of this sentence.

Can you tell I’m excited?

My 4 year old is going to kindergarten (don’t worry, he’ll be 5 the day after school starts) and my newly 9 year old will start the fourth grade. There are so many things to see and participate in during the school year that it’s fun for the whole family.

What’s not so fun is back to school shopping.

The clothes we can deal with since we know our boys are going to need school uniforms each year. Plus the school has a locker to exchange gently used items for clothes that fit. We take advantage of that service but always make sure to leave something in its place.

I’m not so complacent about the school supply list. When did we become responsible for buying wall balls for the classroom? Or colored copier paper? I can understand the penciles, paper, and glue but sandwhich bags? And lets not forget the hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes. I told the hubs that if there had been face masks on the list our boys would have been homeschooled this year.

And they still might considering the state of California’s economy.

Teacher’s are being laid off and the size of the classroom is increasing. I wonder how our children are going to learn what they need to pass the useless tests that are required by the state? The teachers cannot keep up with thirty or forty kids in the classroom. Parental involvement is becoming required not requested in many areas but how can parents be involved in the classroom during the day if they have to work?

Can you tell that this makes me hot under the collar?

The hubs and I debated these questions while shopping at Wally World* the other day for those school supplies. We couldn’t solve the problems of our economy but it was nice to commiserate at the checkout stand when we handed the cashier our hard earned cash.

Okay, so this post was more of a rant about the rising costs of just about everything rather than an opinion. Surely someone out there feels the same way? If you do, leave a comment!

* Yes, Wally World. In this economy I cannot afford to go anywhere else, particularly when the supplies for two little boys costs me nearly $150.

Our family, it appears, puts out about 39 tons of carbon per year. Considering the national average is over 50 tons, we’re doing pretty good. I guess we can do better but that’s another post.

What the Carbon Footprint Calculator did, though, was get me thinking about all the things that we can do to be green, business wise. As a matter of fact, now would be a good time to start up a small green business. Not only would you be doing a service for others but you’d be helping the planet and making a living at it, too. Not a bad set of circumstances.

So, without further ado, here are five green small business ideas that you can get started with:

1. Worm Farming - otherwise known as vermicomposting. Okay, it’s not glamorous since we are, after all, talking about worm poop. And you have to really like wiggly slimy things but worms are Nature’s recyclers and, according to my husband, vericompost fertilizer is the tops for any garden (notice how I avoided writing “its the s**t).  Here’s more information about vermicomposting to get you started:

• Worm Farms and Vermicomposting
• Ups and Downs of Wormfarming Keep Georgia Farmer on His Toes
• Making a Worm Farm
• Vermicomposting (PDF)

2. Small Space Gardening – This is a very cool idea for those of you who have a knack for gardening. Here are a couple ideas: put together seed packets and instruction booklet for people in your climate zone, go to peoples’ homes and take care of their gardens, set up patio gardens for apartment dwellers for a fee, set up and run a community garden (if you have the room on your property), etc. You may want to start with The Edible Garden (book by Sunset) or the National Gardening Association.

• Small Space Gardening
• Recession Garden Plan for $20
• Vegetable Gardening on Small Space

3. Solar Panel Rentals – Sounds weird but it actually does exist. The upfront costs of solar panels is a little steep, to say the least, but if you can rent them from someone, the rental price is typically lower than the energy bill from the big power company. To start up a solar panel rental business, you’ll need to know your solar technology. Take some classes, install your own, install some for others, read about it, etc.  Additionally, you’ll need to be located in a sunny spot with decent solar subsidies to really make a go of it. Of the green businesses discussed in this post, this is the most expensive upfront but one with the longest lasting impact.

• U.S. Homeowners Can Now Rent Solar Panels, Saving Money
• Rent Solar Panels (gives you a basic idea of how the rental biz works)
• How to Start a Solar Energy Business (cost effectively)

4. Green Clothing – Renewable sourced clothing is very hot right now plus it’s good for the environment. And, if you focus on pet clothing, you may have a niche market. Or, you could source the fibers for others to use in their projects (think organic cotton, bamboo, soy, and hemp). If you want to go the route of making clothing, you’ll need to know how to sew really well. So, this particular business is not for me but it might be for you!

• Daisie Janie (maker of organic cottons; small business on Etsy)
• Envirotextiles (wholesale hemp fabrics)
• PM Organics (started and run by WAHMs!)
• The Bamboo Fabric Store
• The Wool Peddler (recycled silk saris are made into yarn)

5. Going Green Consultant – Why not help other businesses become greener and environmentally responsible? Any business can go green, from the office supplies to investments to business practices. All you need to do is take your passion for helping the environment and apply it in a new direction.

• Make Your Business Green
• 4 Ways to Go Green
• How to Build a Green Business

It goes without saying that you’ll need some business sense and elbow grease to get any small business going. However, if you have a passion for sustainability and for helping others, then I say go for it! Do your research and touch base with your local Small Business Administration or SCORE office for help (if you need it).

Do you have some other small business ideas that are sustainable and/or green? Let me know and I’ll add them to the list!

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

We should do more of it.

Seriously. It’s been years since we actually got a person on the moon (much less a female or a minority).

This dip we have in national curiosity about space reminds me of the early part of the 20th century when the US became isolationist. The only way to move forward is to look outward and, oh I don’t know, actually make that first move.

Which we did back on July 20th, 1969.

The goal was set by JFK in 1961 and reached by end of the decade. That’s what we can do when we work together and make the effort.

Moving forward, keeping the pace, and getting the job done. We’ve done it with other things, although those were mostly reactionary (9/11 & Katrina come to mind). Wouldn’t it be grand to do something positive & proactive again?

I would love to see my kids get excited about traveling the solar system. My eldest likes to watch the stars at night and, at our new place, we have a great view. I want him to think that he too can make it to the moon or beyond.

So, in my opinion, making that positive first step towards exploration and discovery is the goal the United States should focus on. We should continue what those space pioneers began in 1960′s, build on it, and create a new sense of wonder for the whole world.

Except for me. Yes, I live in the desert. Yes, I knew it was going to be hot when I moved here. And, no, I don’t have  a pool.

The two swamp coolers we have won’t stand up to this kind of heat. We’ll just have to mosey on down to the movie theater this afternoon during the worst of the heat and watch Harry Potter.

So, I guess the heat isn’t too bad. Just as long as I’m not in it.

Case in point: my puppy needed a martingale collar for his upcoming obedience class but I couldn’t find one small enough (he has one tiny neck!). So, I turned to the wonderfully talented Mandy at Pawsh Companions for help. She came up with a professionally designed martingale collar that looks good and works well.

That’s my Charlie there to the left. Isn’t he adorable?

Anyhoo, there are is a mind numbing amount of pet items on Etsy. Here are a few that jumped out at me and I thought I’d share with all the dog (and other pet) lover’s in the blogosphere!

Modern Dog House Plans: for those who prefer DIY and feel manly (or womanly..we can swing hammers too!) about making their best buddy a better designed house than most of us live in.

Eco Dog Coat: Who can resist a dachshund in posh green recycled plastic? I know I can’t and if my grandmother’s dachshund were still with us, she’d be wearing this snazzy jacket! Better yet it comes in custom sizes and colors. Charlie may be sporting some new clothes come wintertime.

Bully Bowl, The Food Station for Short-Nosed Dogs: What a very cool idea for those dogs with smushed in faces! The bowl is tilted so that the dog can eat comfortably. I’ve not seen something like this before so it is truly an unique item! Plus it’s affordable, customizable, and applicable to other dog breeds. A fabulous trifecta!

Chicken Gourmet Cookies for Big Dogs: Finally! Something for the big boys (and girls) to enjoy in more than one bite! These extra large doggie cookies are meant to satisfy even the biggest appetites (the owner has a newfoundland mix so she knows!). The ingredients are pet safe and natural too without processed items. And did I mention they are particularly elegant to look at? Check out these big dog cookies that even the Queen would be proud to serve to her pampered pooches.

Pet Portraits in Oils by puci: Honor your pet with a one-of-a-kind oil portrait. This artist has some serious talent and the prices are reasonable.

Every Dog Has His Day Spa Kit: Lovely presentation gift for that perfectly pampered pooch. This Day Spa Kit includes everything you need to keep your pup clean and smelling good.

Do you have a favorite dog item that you’d like to share? Know of other great Etsy sellers? Let me know!

Honest Scrap Award

So, Carrie Ann (Another Day, Another Thought..or Two) has awarded me the Honest Scrap award. I am, apparently, to publish to the world 10 true things about myself and then nominate 5 other bloggers to pass on the honesty love.

Hmmmm.

Since I am in an expansive mood, having just survived an encounter with a gopher snake hissing at our 10 week old puppy, I have decided to bestow upon you those things that I find true about myself.

You may want to remove the small children and elderly from the screen. No? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Truth #1: I like cookies. While I realize that this isn’t an earth shattering admission, it does have its consequences. Namely to my thighs and hips. Cookies are a bit of an obsession with me and I cannot have them in the house. Just so we’re clear, graham crackers do not count as they are a cracker and not a cookie.

Truth #2: I like to read. I will read a book from beginning to end in a couple of hours. I just pulled out all my books from their boxes after moving and found that I need more shelves. Well, more like 5 more book cases. My husband says its an addiction worse than crack cocaine. I don’t know what he’s talking about, too many books. How can you have too many books? I just need more shelves.

Truth #3: I am a mouse potato. I would rather spend time on the computer than watching the TV. Of course, there isn’t much on TV that I’d like to watch and at least my computer’s spam filter is a good one. Just an FYI, you know you are a mouse potato when you have to deliberately turn away from the screen to have a two second conversation with your spouse and/or child. Not having access to the Internet for the past 4 days has been a good thing for me. Jittery but good.

Truth #4: I like to color but not to draw. This is a bit of an odd admission for me since I am a pretty good artist. I can draw, mind you, I just prefer to play with lights and shadows than figure out the lines beforehand. Coloring books rock!

Truth #5: Pink is my favorite color. It didn’t used to be. However, the fact that I have 1 husband, 3 sons, and a male puppy has forced me to remind them with a subtle clue that I am, in fact, female and not “just one of the guys.” In other words, I don’t appreciate them farting, burbing, or pulling things out of their noses at the dinner table. Or any other time for that matter.

Truth #6: I wrote a book. Okay, it was a really bad one but still I took the time to write it. As a matter of fact, I’m stuck in the editing phase for it at the moment. I can’t figure out how to get the main characters from point A to point B and still kill off the henchman. Anyhoo, the book was the product of National Novel Writing Month (and yes, I did win!). I plan on writing another book this November and will be posting about it on my other blog, Write Chronicles.

Truth #7: I am a bad granddaughter. I should call my grandparents more often but I don’t. It isn’t that I don’t love them because I do. I’m just lazy.

Excuse me for a moment.

Okay, just confirmed that my grandparents still love me. Now we can move onto….

Truth #8: I swear like a sailor. Well, not all the time but I have been known to exhibit more salty language. This only becomes a major problem when the two year old begins to repeat everything I say.

Truth #9: I hate snakes. Okay, I admit it. I do not love all of God’s creatures. Snakes creep me out. There is a gopher snake living under the timber shoring up the lawn in our backyard and I can’t send the kids out to play until it leaves. Which I have a feeling it won’t. It hissed at my puppy which automatically puts it on my s**t list. Plus they ick me out with their wide mouths and eating of live animals. Eww.

Truth #10: I have a hot temper but just as quickly forgive. As my hubs puts it, I’m a bit high strung (and high maintenance but those are separate issues. I think.). I pray every day for access to the Fruits of the Spirit and, on some days, I fail miserably. On the flip side, I’ve learned to forgive and ask for forgiveness which you would think is an inherent behavior but isn’t. It was a tough learning process that made my family stronger in the end.

Okay, that’s done. Kind of cathartic. Anyhoo, I nominate the following people for the Honest Scrap award:

• Christy
• Natalie

No, I realize that isn’t five people on my nominee list, and yes, I can count. I’ve nominated 2 very special people that I respect and admire. I’d nominate Carrie Ann, too, but she’s already gotten the award and we don’t want her head to swell too much. She’s fabulous and she knows it.

And then I think to myself: I bet I could do that. I know I’d save money if I had a plan of attack, so to speak, when payday comes around. All I need to do is sit down and write it out!

And then I get home and two seconds into the meal planning process I give it up as hopeless.

Meal planning can be tough! Who’d a thunk it, right?

So, for today, I’m going to talk to you (and hope that you listen) about the ins and outs of menu planning and how it can benefit you, the working parent.

For starters, knowing what you are going to eat for the next two weeks (more or less) really helps keep down the whining and pestering around 4 pm.

“Mom, what’s for dinner?”*

Those are words you may never have to hear again. All you have to do is point to the refrigerator where the menu is posted, which your child may or may not be able to read. If they can’t, direct them to their other parent or older sibling for translation services.

Then there is the money saving aspect. If you know what you are going to eat, when you take your weekly jaunt to the grocery store all you have to do is purchase those ingredients for your menu. This saves on money because you aren’t buying generalities (gosh,  I think I’ll need 5 dozen eggs as opposed to I know I need 2 dozen eggs).  Just as long as you aren’t buying esoteric items, you should keep your purchases down to a manageable level. If you use coupons and sale items for your menu, you’re ahead of the game! As a side note, I’ve learned that you have to add in your snacks, too, or they catch up with you at the check out line.

With a menu plan, you keep the trips to the grocery store down to a minimum. So, if I know what my ingredients are, I can purchase them at one time and not have to make a run to the store every few days for items that I “forgot.” The only exception to this is milk and fresh veggies. We go through both pretty quickly so I always keep a bit of cash on the side to make sure I can purchase these each week (we only shop every two weeks).

So, what are the down sides to menu planning? Well, you have to actually create a menu. And, as I mentioned previously, it’s not an easy task. At least it wasn’t for me. You see, I get tired of baked chicken and salad. Or spaghetti and salad. Or pork chops and salad.

Do you sense a theme here?

When I think of menus, I think of a restaurant menu that has a plethora of interesting choices that are not found in the typical kitchen. This is my downfall. However, when I pick myself up off the floor and return to reality, I realized that I don’t have to spend hours pouring over my recipe box or allrecipes.com to create the perfect menu. There are plenty of alternatives available from the library (gasp!) or on the Internet.

Let us speak first of my friend, the library. How I love her! She is generous with her possessions and stern yet gentle with her reprimands (25 cent late fees, anyone?). Go to your nearest library and look up the following books:

• Saving dinner : the menus, recipes, and shopping lists to bring the family back to the table by Leanne Ely
  • menus planned out by the week and season; be careful though if you live in an area where fish tends to be on the expensive side since at least one to two dishes per week are fish (found that out the hard way!)
• Dinner survival : cooking for the rushed by Sandi Richard
  • haven’t used this one yet but it got good reviews on Amazon
• Rachael Ray
  • particularly her Yum-o! the family cookbook and Rachael Ray 365: no repeats: a year of deliciously different dinners
  • neither gave grocery shopping lists and the recipes have are a bit on the esoteric side; that being said, much of the ingredients can be subbed with stuff that is a) cheap and b)actually available at your grocery store (this is assuming you have time to do that!)

Not into reading cookbooks and copying out your own menus or grocery lists? Me neither. There are other options that will send to your email a list of weekly dinners and accompanying grocery list. Just be aware that these options cost money, typically, and are only for dinners. You’ll still have to plan out breakfast and lunches (the Yum-o! cookbook has many recipes for breakfast and lunch).

• Menus4Moms Basic Weekly Menu (free for basic menu)
  • added bonus of Grocery Deals, a free way of finding the sales in the grocery stores nearest to you
• e-Mealz ($1.50 a week, payable 3 months in advance which works out to about $15)
  • recommended by Dave Ramsey
• Meals Matter (free resource to create your own menu plans from pre-existing recipes or add in your own; simple and easy to use!)

The other option is to use a menu building software that will print out a grocery list for you. There are several available ranging from free to quite expensive. This is a good option if you want ultimate control over what you eat, particularly if you are on a specific diet.

• Living Cookbook 2008 (costs about $35)
• MasterCook Cooking Light 6.0 (costs about $60)
• Cook n’Recipe Organizer 8.2 (A Cnet Editor’s Pick; be careful though since it has mixed reviews; free for trial, $70 to buy)

As a final note, these menus are for dinners only. You’ll have to come up with your own ideas for breakfasts and lunches. Ray’s Yum-o! has lots of kid friendly breakfast and lunch ideas that adults will enjoy too. My kids particularly like the breakfast cereal parfaits!

• Back-To-School Breakfast Recipes
  • if you add the recipes into your meal planner (like Meals Matter), you can get the ingredients into your over-all grocery list; otherwise, just add them onto the list you already have for your dinners
  • scroll to the bottom of the recipe page to get the links
• Creative Breakfast Ideas (pdf)
  • while I am not endorsing their website, I do find the two page recipe booklet to have some good recipes
• School Lunch Recipe Tips
  • Okay, I do realize it is summertime. However, if you are working from home, chances are you are making lunch for the munchkins anyway.
  • Or you can go right to the Lunch Recipes, if you prefer.

Do you plan your menus? Is this information overwhelming or helpful? Let me know!

* I have yet to hear them ask their father this question and he’s in the next room!