The best laid plans sometimes fail.  Or do they?

When my daughter started Kindergarten in August, I had planned on taking a week off for personal reflection and rejuvenation.   I was going to recharge my batteries and jump into my website work and household management with gusto.  That didn’t happen.

I found myself with all this “free” time on my hands and just kindof went crazy.  I slept late, a lot.  I wasted time browsing around the internet, a lot.  I went out, a lot.  All of a sudden being home completely alone didn’t seem like such a wonderful idea.  I felt isolated.  So, when friends said “let’s go”, I went. 

Once I finally had time to figure out what I wanted to do and how I was going to do it, I couldn’t do it.  I have been so busy taking care of everyone else for so long that I didn’t know who I was any more let alone what I wanted to do now that I was grown up.  Having my children at home was a really good excuse to hold me back, but my excuse was pretty much gone.

Best laid plans?  WHAT plans?  I hadn’t really made any plans.  I was floundering.  I was (am) depressed.

Looking back at the past few months I realize that I have accomplished nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  (Okay, I may be being a little too hard on myself here.)  Instead of picking up business and getting my house in order, it’s worse than it has ever been.  I was suffering.  My family was suffering.  Our finances were suffering.  I even considered going out and getting a job!  GASP!

What frustrates me the most is that I know better.  The whole concept between this blog and my website is about how to balance so THIS doesn’t happen.  But I guess there is my reality check.  It does happen.  It happens to the best of us.

So, what am I going to do about it?  I am going to continue to see the therapist that I began seeing a few months ago and I’m going to start following my own advice.  I’m going to go back to the basics.  I am going to re-read my 5 part email series on How to Achieve Life Balance.  (Look for the purple subscription box and join me!)  I am going back to scheduling work hours, setting daily goals, and holding myself accountable.

Again, I invite you to join me.  Accountability works so much better when you share it with others.

I was going to name this post “I Love Nicole!”, but didn’t figure it would be a big traffic draw, so I went with the next best thing I could think of: “Help For Your Online Business“.

I have been networking with Nicole Dean online for years now. I have watched her grow from a struggling work-at-home-mom to a professional business woman. She never ceases to amaze me with her caring personality and knowledge.  So when Nicole posted What are Successful WAHMs Doing that you Aren’t?, I paid attention and finally decided that I needed some coaching from this woman.

One hour into my coaching with Nicole Dean and I am PUMPED and feeling optimistic about the future of my work-at-home career.  I already have a better understanding on things like finding a profitable niche market, why I need aweber email services, how to draw and keep website traffic, and what to do with all my not-so-successful endeavors so far.  Most of all, I know she will hold me accountable and make me stay focused.

You may be wondering why networking with and watching Nicole grow her business didn’t help me learn all these things before.  Yeah, well, me too.  Her answer to me was “because you weren’t ready”.  Now, I’m ready!!

My friend Nicole blogged about her home office and asked her readers to share pictures of their offices.  Here’s mine:

There is a bookshelf and filing cabinet behind my chair and a small child’s table and chairs to the left of my desk under the window.  (The idea behind the child’s table was to keep my children occupied and with me while I work, but it never quite worked out that way.)

What is your home office like?

Buy office furniture, electronics and more at:

Last night was my daughter’s preschool graduation.  I don’t even know where to start with all that I’m feeling.  I almost wonder if it is more of a transition for me than it is for her.  Even though I was right here for the past five years, I don’t know where they went. 

When the children received their diplomas, the teacher read quotes from the children on their future.  My daughter’s went like this:

“When I grow up I want to be a mom, just like my mommy.  I am going to live at home with my mom and dad.  I am going to have two kids.  I am going to make $2.”

What I heard out of that, loud and clear, is that I have done a good job as a mom so far, that my daughter looks up to me, and that there is nowhere else in the world I should have been for the past five years.  (Even if I only made $2!)

This is really the beginning of the end of my “stay at home mom” years.  Even though I don’t intend on working outside the home once Kindergarten starts, I won’t be staying home with my baby any more. 

But….

I am so proud!  She looked so grown up already.  She was happy and smiling and oh so sweet. 

Everything is as it should be.