Diary of a Business Mom

Anything can be celebrated.   A good grade on a test.   An improved grade on a test.   A winning goal!   Amazing effort on the field   A promotion   A clean bill of health at the doctors.   Scans showing no new cancer growth.     I have always been a glass half full kind of person. I truly believe there is a good in 95% of all situations.  Let’s celebrate the good!  Even if it’s just recognizing the good, recognizing can be a form of celebrating.  I recently interviewed and received a promotion at work.  I am proud of myself!  I had been working hard at my current role but had only been in it for 2 years.  When this role came open, I applied for it.  I applied for the fact that I always want to grow and improve.  I applied to put my money where my mouth it.  You can’t say you want to grow and improve, but not take action when something comes up.  No one will take you seriously if you don’t tak...

I am on the board of directors for the house baseball organization in my town.  My friend and I are in charge of obtaining team and web sponsors.  My wonderful husband was the person that nominated me for this task...... I was excited to be on the board but knew this would be a challenge.  I have never done this before.  In my head I basically knew this was going to be the same as cold calling, which I hate.  I tried being a sales rep for one year after college, not for me.  I get a funny feeling in my stomach just thinking about picking up the phone to call a stranger and ask them for a sale (or a sponsorship).   We also need a lot.  As in 20+!  We are trying to get a sponsor for every team that plays in the league.  Our organization plays against each other, not other towns (that is travel). That means, I need a sponsor for 4-6 T-Ball teams, etc.   Once I sat down to start this daunting task, I realized I didn't have to ...

I love to read!  This has always been the way that I relax at night.  It is even more important now with being in the thick of motherhood and a stressful career.  Reading relaxes me. I am a huge advocate of the public library.  I think it is a wonderful resource to communities.  Two months into the pandemic when the libraries were shut down, I purchased a Kindle.   I didn't think I would enjoy reading on a screen and I resisted this trend.  But... I had nothing left to read at home and I was desperate.  I will tell you this was the best purchase of 2020!  If mine broke today I would buy a new one within minutes.  I love everything about it!  I highly recommend it! Starting last August, I began keeping track of the books I read and ranked them.  I am shocked how many times I have referred to this list!  A friend of mine has been doing this for years and it's a good resource when someone is looking for a new book to try....

The curser is blinking.......  the page is scary and empty.  Can I do this?   Will anyone read this?  Does anyone care what I think?  I am completely unsure, but I know that I will regret not trying.  "Do it scared" has always been a quote that spoke to me.  So, here I am, heart racing, completely unsure of what I am doing and how. I am doing it scared. I have been a fan of reading blogs for years.  The blog that got me started was younghouselove.com.  It is a young couple that are my age and the love they had for their house and decorating.  When I first found the blog, I had also just purchased my first home.  I was so impressed and motivated to see what they were doing.  It was like peeking into the windows of their house, and they were ok with me peeking.  It was so cool!  I still read that blog to this day.  They have evolved and have moved on to a few new houses and a new city now.  But it's still...

Who knew this day existed?!?!  I sure didn't and apparently this is the first year.  Essie started it, doesn't matter, I am happy to celebrate with them. I love nail polish.  I love the variety of colors and the way it completes an outfit.  I love the confidence it gives me of a polished, put together look. I never used to wear it as much as I do now. What changed was an amazing product that my Mom found as well as a cool new trick I discovered.    Now I do my nails in my sleep.  Literally! It's not rocket science but if you stop and think about it, it's actually a genius idea.  My nails dry in my sleep.  I get ready for bed, grab my magazine or book and the polish and top coat I want to use.  I read a while ago you only need about 10 minutes between coats. It is actually true.  Years ago I always thought it was longer so doing my nails literally took over an hour if not more.  Who has that amount of time? ...

We finished the renovation in our master bathroom a few weeks ago.  It’s gorgeous and I am so happy with the results.  This entire process, besides the shower accent (thank Melissa!) came from Pinterest and Home Depot.  Literally, this is a Pinterest Bathroom! When we decided we wanted to redo the space I knew how I wanted the sink area to be.  (our bathroom has a sink area and then a separate space for the shower and toilet.)  The set up works great for us so I knew I didn’t want to change that.  I had pinned a bathroom I loved a couple years ago.  In looking at my “Master bathroom” board on pinterest I had a ton of similar layouts.  It was very obvious what layout I liked.  Thankfully my husband loved it too.   We literally duplicated the picture.  Down to the cabinet handles. As you can see the cabinet color changed therefore so did the granite. We started out with the shower area to mimic this bloggers but in the end w...

Not me!  I garden! Let me introduce you to my gardens.  I don't count the front yard but I do have perennials in the front landscaping. This is what I call the shed garden: Shed Garden We need to freshen up the edge and add new mulch but you get the idea.  Some of the highlights of this garden are the daylillies by the shed door.  They are stunning.  One is red and the other is purple.  Gorgeous.  The hostas are doing fabulous right now and everything looks so lush.  That is why I am posting these pictures.  We weeded and freshened up on Sunday and I was so happy to see all the plants really taking off this morning.  Derek and I planted 2 new hostas over by the hose and I hope they take off.   I split a hosta by the stepping stones that you can't see in this picture.  I hope that wasn't a mistake and it catches back up in size to the others.  At the moment it is barely above the dirt. I have new red bees balm...