2012 Is this the year of change?

2012 just seems like a new era to me.  I think things are looking up for the world.  We have shouldered quite a bit these last few years and maybe this year we can begin to get our sea legs back. 

I read this article today and loved how it touched on so many different parts of health and weight loss.  The hardest part about telling people how to be healthy is there are so many different facets and some of them look as if they cannot exist at the same time.  Everyone has their own particular formula to all these ideas and more and that is the way it should be.  http://health.yahoo.net/articles/weight-loss/8-best-ways-curb-your-food-cravings

2012- bring it!

Mark Cuban ... yup, you heard me

Hello!!! Do not ask me how I got this interview but you single gals will be jealous (What am I saying? You married ones will be too). 

We all know who Mark Cuban is right? Sporty and non sporty gals alike - we might not know his story (until now) but we know that face anywhere. Whit whew!

No, I can not introduce you but I can share with you a little of his story and tell you where to find more. Grab his book for yourself or for your hubby. Hubby will be learn great business and grow richer and you can gaze at the pictures;D Win/Win! (something else Mark knows a thing or two about)

One of my favorite parts of your book, How to Win at the Sport of Business, that completely broke my heart was when your ex-secretary robbed your first company of over $83,000, leaving you only $2000 after a year of work.  If there are moms out there that have lost everything, what advice do you have for them to pick themselves back up?

Keep working. Don’t feel sorry for yourself because it won’t do any good.

There are many young moms who are just beginning their lives and can relate to
you when you said you were sharing a small apartment with 6 people and
sleeping on the floor.  How can someone keep their eye on the prize when they’re
living on Ramen noodles?

Who cares how you are living today? I loved every minute of living in
that dump. The low rent and utilities and eating Mac n’ Cheese all
the time allowed me to afford the startup of my business. Instead of
paying myself much, I could put it in to my business.

There are many mommies out there that dream of creating their own business
but haven't a clue where to start. What advice do you have for them?

Find something you love to do, can do on your own and doesn’t require
any more capital than you can afford to lose personally. The most
valuable asset you have is your time, talents and ability to
communicate. Focus on those strengths and what you can do rather than
what you can’t do.

You were offered many opportunities to publish your book traditionally by the major publishing houses but you were quoted as saying that you didn’t like the financial risk model that most publishing deals would offer you. Why?

Time is the most valuable asset I have. The amount of time required to give the publishers a chance to make their money back wasn’t  worth the money to me.  My preference was to put out an eBook on my own terms and see how it did and what I could learn.  Based on this education, I will be a lot smarter about what I do next.

You have a fanbase of millions. And you have encouraged them to email you their thoughts on your book.  What kind of feedback have you been receiving?

100% positive. I’ve been shocked by how quickly people have bought the book and read it.

Where can we get a copy of your eBook, How to Win at the Sport of Business?
Anywhere eBooks are sold: Amazon, BN.com, and sites that support independent bookstores too.

Meg Johnson - Hero

Every once in a while you have an angel enter your life and Meg has been one of those for me.  In a period of about two weeks our lives crossed three times and now I consider her a friend.  And, Facebook can prove it ;D

To learn more about her check out her website www.megjohnsonspeaks.com/   She is an amazing person.  Take some time and see what she has been through.

Every month she sends out a message that always inspires and I wanted to pass on this month's.

Take it away Meg!

Here in the United States, we’re gearing up to celebrate Thanksgiving next Thursday – with turkey, cranberries, and creamy, gravy-dripping mashed potatoes.

(You just salivated, didn’t you?)

And it’s traditional, well, at least with me, to make long lists of the things I’m grateful for. Being grateful makes me feel, well, strong.  Even though I’m quite the pansy.

I like to think of it this way: if life were a brick house and each brick a blessing or a trial (sometimes it’s hard to tell the two apart), then gratitude is the mortar that holds your house together. And when we’re grateful for each little brick (whether or not it’s worthy of our gratitude), we find we’re not feeling drafty within ourselves. Our character is solid. Our house is strong. 

And the times when we feel financially strapped, or relationship-challenged, or directionless are the times when someone’s come and dumped a bunch of unnecessary bricks at our door – the dark ugly ones that don’t match the beautiful exterior we were going for. And the bricks will kill the lawn unless we add on to the house.

So bring on the mortar!

I just love Thanksgiving. Not because of the food or the family time or the football (go Bengals!), but because I have those things and Thanksgiving reminds me to remember that.

And even though it’s colder around this time of year, my little personal house feels less drafty as I’m busy with the mortar.

Keep on Rollin’

Meg

FUn SiZe

My new favorite treat are the fun size candy bars.  I prefer Snickers or Baby Ruth but I am not prejudice, I am an equal opportunity candy eater.  On my hunt for a treat at the store I, again, am reading labels.  Nothing sounded as good as the cost and yet I all out longed for the days when I didn't even consider the cost.  There was a little tub of chocolate covered cinnamon bears and a tub of chocolate nut clusters that I WANTED.  I knew that if I took them home I would be wearing all 1300+ calories.

I have been buying fun size candy bars in a package of 8 to put in the kids' lunches from time to time.  You can find them for $1.  Did you know that a whole Snickers candy bar is 280 calories yet I can have 2 fun size for only 160?  I often get asked how I don't down the whole package of 8.  I guess I have a gift.  But really, when I am eating my two candy bars I am in full concentration.  I am doing just what I want to be doing.  I am in full indulgence.  Why I can't do that with a little tub of cinnamon bars?  I could only have 4 bears for 180 calories and even 8 bears is not enough for me.  When I buy treats I skip the economy bag.  I am never saving money by buying a larger bag.  I am only buying myself grief and I always promise myself more if I NEED it. 

I am getting tickles in my tummy just thinking about today's treats.  And, that is another plus, while a regular Snickers lasts only a few minutes I get a few days out of a  fun size pack.    

Anna Deskins

I wanted to pass on a little 411 on the blogger/author that interviewed me so I interviewed her as well. 

 

Your children's book, The Adventures of Smitty looks magically. Tell us about it.

It's the story of a magical island of little creatures called Smilies and the mischievous little main character, Smitty. He's such a naughty boy. Haha!  All the moms and kids I've shared it with have been giving me such a wonderful reaction. I cannot believe it.  I have to tell you how excited I am to finally have a life-long dream come true. Writing The Adventures of Smitty was really about finding a story that I would want to read to my children at night. It has to be exciting but not scary so that my two daughters can go to sleep.  Basically, I was looking for that perfect blend to read to my kids at night and decided, "Why not try writing my own?"

 

We've had a lot of changes in our life recently, so I want to make sure that when I put my daughters to sleep that they feel safe.  I have short chapters because I know how busy we moms are but if you can just sacrifice 5 minutes at night reading to your kids, it makes a world of difference.  Your kids will never forget it. And although we're running around the whirlwind of life, our kids grow up so fast, and that time that we'd rather finish watching what happened in our favorite soap opera instead of reading to our kids will never come again.  I hope that The Adventures of Smitty and books like it help moms do exactly that.

 

 

And it's only 99 cents this week. That's what I love about it. Now, You are recently divorced. How have you been able to continue writing when going through such a change?

Yes, it is by far one of the most challenging points in my life. To see a marriage you thought would last forever to not last forever was difficult for the two of us. I really learned a lot about myself and most importantly, it's brought me closer to my daughters.  I think that's what really motivated me to finish this children's book no matter what. When you're going through changes in your life like this, you need something to hold on to. There's a part of you that wants to prove that you can make it, that you will be a success even if it's not with the partner you originally imagined building a life with.  I had to keep writing, for my kids. I want to show them that they have to keep strong, no matter what.

 

We as women, as moms really need to stick together to support each other and our dreams. We're living in an age when I think we're finally realizing, although we want love, the men in our life aren't the answer to everything. We have to stand up on our own two feet and keep going. True love will happen, but until then, we have to keep moving forward. Our children depend on us and we depend on us.

 

 

In addition to being a children's book author, you're also a small business owner. How do you juggle taking care of two daughters and at the same time running a business?

Yes, I am a fashion designer and have a retail store. Any type of creativity is what I'm passionate about. That's why writing The Adventures of Smitty was so important to me.  Let me tell you, running a small business in today's economy isn't easy especially when raising two girls at the same time. But somehow, it seems someone's watching over me because my dreams are coming true no matter what. To have that many moms glowing about my children's book, means so much to me. And I know my girls are proud.

 

When do you ever have time to write?

You mean, in between laundry, running a business, chasing my girls around the house, cleaning the house, and flying back and forth fromMiami to New York? Haha? That's one thing I've learned, when you really want to do something, you find a way.  Things fall into place if you just go for it and that's what I want to encourage all the moms who are reading this right now. Whatever your goal is, you can do it. Don't let the challenges in your personal life stop you from going for your dreams.  Just go for it and it's almost magical how things fall into place.

 

 

Where can we get a copy of "The Adventures of Smitty"?

Right now, it's available online by going to: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/94655 You can also visit my website:http://www.AnnaDeskins.com where you can read more about my writing process, my recommendations for other books and my own adventures in Mommyhood.

 

I'm so grateful for your support and the support I'm getting from so many wonderful moms who dream of writing children's books one day too.  Writing The Adventures of Smitty has been such an emotional experience for me, a true journey as I was going through so many changes while writing it.  It's truly been a blessing in my life.  It, along with my daughters, and that guy upstairs have really pulled me through a challenging time.

 

Thanks for the interview, Anna. And let's go out and support a fellow mom by getting a copy of The Adventures of Smitty today. I know I will!

Princess You

I have had a fun time raising my daughter lately.  I have been accustomed to cars and trucks and video games with the boys but for my sweet lady it is all princess (with a bit of Katy Parry - the girl loves music.  She is the one I am having to remind to "turn it down".)  For her birthday I downloaded a bunch of princess songs to her ipod and came across this little song.  I love the lyrics.

As we were having a karaoke moment this morning I found the video below.  I thought about how all princess lives are not fairy tales - pun intended.  I myself would not recover from the first fifteen minutes of a Disney princess movie without some major counseling and heavy medication.  

The whole secret to being a princess is the attitude she takes toward life.  Many times it is the only thing she really has control over in her life. Her smile and optimism is really where her beauty comes from.

Now, you do not have to tell me, LIFE IS HARD.  Losing weight or at least feeling good about yourself can feel like that first fifteen minutes.   And, we can not be a princess everyday but I am going to try to practice being a princess as much as I can.  If discouraging thoughts are getting you down then change them for that moment and little by little moments become hours and then they become days.  

Next time you look into a full length mirror, bow.  You are seeing a princess in the making.  (guys - a prince)  

Another Interview

I was recently interviewed for a blog.  Anna is a single mom advocate and I was honored to get to know her a little. 

Here is the link http://annadeskins.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27:an-interview-with-mommy-blogger-mechelle-wingle&catid=1:news&Itemid=3

Check it out!

My Article

My story finally posted online!  However, my own father absolutely refuses to believe the picture is me.  He thinks they mixed it up with another girl.  It was quite a funny conversation with him.

4 hours of phone interviews and 53 emails later...whalahh! 

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-success-story-27

If a mom eats chocolate in a forest does she still gain weight?

So... I have this dining room at my house.  It enters from the entry way and from the kitchen, which makes a great shortcut at times.  The problem is that the carpet is not loving the traffic from the kitchen or from the front door.  My kids love to play chase in the dining room as well, adding to the problem.

I started putting a piece of tape blocking just one of the entrances and it works beautifully.  But, from time to time the tape breaks or wears out and the path is open for a time once again.  Even me, mom, takes the shortcut when the tape comes down.  When the tape is up I never even think about it.  The choice is made.  And, while I only cut through in emergency situations, my definition of emergency gets broader and broader.  I was thinking about how I have to use similar tactics with food.  I have always said that I will eat anything but, anything and everything are two entirely different things.

Yesterday I was at the store and I was going to buy myself a treat.  I was in the mood for something chocolaty - what else?  As a avid reader of labels I had a hard time choosing.  A nice scrumptious Symphony bar was calling my name but it only comes in the king size ginormous.  I knew that I did not have the will power that day to stop eating.  After several "are we done yets?" I chose a small bag of bridge mix.  Thank you bulk section I never once mourned what I was missing.  Man, dang, freak they were good!      

Craving food verses craving everything else

We must see that if food could and would be taken away then something else would take its place.  Look back at your latest and greatest diet.  See if it went something like this.  You hear from a friend or on TV or read something that talks about losing weight - many times there is a person that has lost weight and their life is on fire at the moment.  They are oozing everything that you feel you lack.  You get completely jazzed about this new "plan".  You buy what needs to be bought and then you start.  Life is grand until it is not.  Something always comes along to sabotage your hard work.  Maybe something at work arises or maybe a friend betrays you or you are bored -  whatever the stress is that seems to come out of nowhere.  I am saying they were probably there all along.  Life was not grand while eating life away.  You were just living life on medication.  "Obsession gives you something to do besides having your heart shattered by heart shattering events. " says the book Women Food and God. 

When these moments have come along.  I learned to lean into them.  Make a list of all the horrible stuff and then some of the good.  Ask why.  Cry.  Hurt, and then see if that craving is still there.