Plain Advice

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I last posted. I am making a pre-New Year’s resolution to get back to blogging. A lot has changed in the past 12 months! Two of the biggest changes are:

1. We purchased a new home in January. We are loving all the extra space, the neighborhood, location, and being close to family. I never want to move again. Almost a year later we still have boxes in the garage that are unpacked! But that is the beauty of having a 3 car garage. Lots of extra space for things like that!

2. I started graduate school. I am working on my masters in social work(MSW) at the University of Utah. This was an unexpected turn of events for me… last time I blogged I wasn’t thinking along these lines at all, at least not anytime in the near future. But my employer was offering to pay for the program for a small window of time, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity at a free masters degree! It has been a challenge, being a mom, a wife, working and going to school. But I think overall I have done pretty well with the challenge.

So there you go, a little bit about what has been going on with me in the past year. What about you? What are the most significant changes that have happened in your life during 2008?

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Vivien at Inspiration Bit recently collaborated a group writing project, with the focus being on Time Management.  Thanks to Vivien for compiling the following list of great reads, including recently posted Plain Advice article “A Routine Shall Set You Free“.   You are sure to find some useful tips for managing your time in the resources listed, if you can only find the time to read them!

Enjoy!

1. All For Time and Time For All: The 10 Commandments of Time Management by Simonne
2. Lessons in Time Management by Em Dy
3. Guru Natalie weighs in on Time Management by Natalie
4. 9 Reasons to Wake Up Early by Y.Graf
5. Time Management For Bloggers and Photographers by Brian
6. Manage time by sorting your blog comments in 6 ways by Bes
7. My Troubles With Time Management by Ronald
8. It’s URGENT, Urgent I say… but is it? by Marques
9. Time Management: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Jenny Mcb
10. Time Management - Don’t put Everything off until later by TeaMouse
11. 8 Work At Home Time Management Strategies by Char
12. Time, Time, Time by WG
13. Thoughts On Managing A Precious Resource by Ajay
14. Time Management - tackling K2
15. Time Management Tips for Using Email
16. Stress Can Be Good by Lauren Mari
17. Secrets To Successful Time Management by Gleb Reys
18. 3 simple time management tips by Carey
19. How I manage time between blogging and studies by Shankar
20. Better living through sticky notes by Lisa
21. How I Manage My Time by Keith
22. 6 Essential Time Management Strategies by Randa
23. Time Management: Managing Large Multi-User Projects by Jennifer
24. A Routine Shall Set You Free by Brooke
25. Supercharge Your Job Search by Saving Time by Jacob
26. Time Makes Me Cuckoo by Shelley
27. 11 Time Management Tips - How I manage Work and Blog by Ashish
28. Simple Tips for Managing Time by Pearl
29. Strategies for Effective Time Management by Janie
30. Time management: the un-techniques by Peter
31. dIstressed or dEstressed? by Em Dy
32. Freelancing And Time Management by Tara
33. Internet Is The Devil In Disguise by Vivien

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When I graduated from high school (looooooong time ago) I was SCARED to become an adult. Really really scared. I imagined that being a grown up was something that I would never be able to successfully pull off. The finances, the relationships, the responsibility… all of it just freaked me out.

Something my dad said to me always stuck. I’m sure he was more than a little frustrated with my seemingly irrational fears about leaving home to go to school. He said “Try being an adult. You’ll like it!”

Well, turns out my dad was right. Although it took me awhile to get the hang of it, eventually I did become an adult and I really do like it!

Getting older gets such a bad rap. People are constantly trying to look young,feel young, and act young. While I can understand the obsession, I have found there are some really great things that come with age. Why not have gratitude for those things, instead of constantly wishing for the “good old days”?

Here are a few of the things I am talking about (By the way, I am 34, and aging every day).

20 Things I Like About Getting Older

1. Knowing what I like
2. Knowing what I don’t like
3. Comprehending intellectually and emotionally that the zit in the middle of my cheek is not the end of the world.
4. Having a sense of my spirituality; no longer needing to question and test my beliefs constantly. They are comfortable and they are mine.
5. Having a basic idea who the significant players are going to be for the rest of my life
6. Knowing what looks good on me (haircuts, clothing, makeup, etc.)
7. Being friends with my parents
8. Being friends with my siblings
9. Knowing who my true friends are
10. Having compassion for those in pain, because I have felt it
11. Knowing that family never goes away,and those ties only get stronger with time
12. Being embarassed much less frequently, and easily, than when I was young
13. Looking back at my life and seeing the purpose in things that didn’t make sense before
14. Realizing that fruit really is good on salad
15. Being a mom, teaching my kids the things I have learned
16. Being in charge of myself
17. Being a wife, having another grown up that shares my life and responsibilities. Being able to spend a wild weekend in Vegas with my husband, without anybody raising an eyebrow
18. Directing my own life
19. Making my own choices
20. Deciding what is for dinner every night

While I am sure there are things I have missed that belong on this list, I think you get the point.

What are some things you are enjoying about getting older (it is happening to us all!)

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For those of you who are regular readers of this site, you may have noticed some recent changes in the appearance. This post is to give you a quick update about some of the new things you are seeing here at Plain Advice.

First is BlogHer, which will now be advertising both products and other sites within their network. Plain Advice was accepted into this program a few weeks ago, but I just got the codes installed last night. Regardless, the large ad you see to the left of what you are reading is from BlogHer. Underneath the ad box are the most recent post titles for a few other blogs in the network.

Second, if you scroll down a bit, you will see a widget (box) with 5 titles inside it. This comes from a new online project called BlogRush. The service provides advertising of this site and others who have joined across the internet. The best part about the service? It’s absolutely free! If you are a blog publisher, you may want to check it out. Go to the bottom of the Blog Rush widget on this site, and click “Add Your Blog Posts Free”. Follow the instructions from there. I installed the widget yesterday and have already seen a 100% increase in my traffic.

The third business I have joined up with, DealDotCom, is all the buzz around the internet. This site will be launched tomorrow, Sept 18 (at midnight). Deal Dot Com purports that they will be selling items related to internet marketing, at rock bottom prices. They will sell one item per day at limited quantities, which enables them to offer such hot deals. They offer a great affiliate program, which I am signed up for. Only time will tell if DealDotCom is going to fly or not, but I don’t really see a downside to joining and taking a “wait and see” approach. If you are interested in joining DealDotCom as a customer or an affilate, click here.

I know this post is a little different than what you usually find at Plain Advice. But occasionally, we’ve got to shake things up a bit!

Let me know what you think about the changes you see by leaving a comment below!

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Several months ago, I wrote an article titled Your Inner Voice. At the time it was published, readers consisted mostly of family and close friends (who by the way, I appreciate greatly!) However, I do not feel that this article reached the audience it was intended for (you!)

Your Inner Voice contains the most important advice that I can give to anyone, period. Above and beyond any recommendations you might find on this site, the guidance coming from your inner voice trumps all.

Today I ran across a blog post from Erin Pavlina (yes, she is the wife of A-list blogger Steve Pavlina). She is a smart lady who understands a lot about the importance of following your intuition. In her post titled “Pesky Logic”, she shares personal experiences related to this subject. It’s a good read, and illustrates exactly what I am talking about.

Go check out both mine and Erin’s writing, and then check back in here… Let’s get a discussion going via comments!

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I spent a good part of today with my mom, going through items in my parents storage. Until now, their basement has been the resting place for boxes and boxes of my childhood, adolescent and college days memorabilia. But now my parents have bigger and better plans for this area (they are finishing it into liveable space!), so the boxes have to go.

It is hard to know what to keep and what to toss when going through items that hold sentimental value. Do I hold onto the horse crap shaped frisbee simply because I got it while I was a missionary in Texas? What about the letters and postcards?… it seems that every piece of personal mail I ever received until adulthood has found its way into those boxes. What about the stuffed animals that sat on my childhood bed?

What do I do with all this stuff?

Well, I don’t know all the answers, but I found a place that has some really good advice on this topic. Ariane Benefit at the Neat and Simple Living Blog has posted an article titled “Sentimental Treasures or Clutter? 8 Ways to Sort Through Your Sentimental Things”.

If you have a hard time deciding what to keep when it comes to sentimental clutter, I highly recommend that you read through this article and use it as a guide.

Mom, I hope you’re reading this

(I’m not the only one in the family who struggles with this issue).

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A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a blog that I have been reading ever since. It is the online journal of a boy who was suffering from rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of childhood cancer. Miles Levin was 17 years old when he was diagnosed with the disease. After 18 months of aggressive treatment, Miles was declared cancer free. However, the cancer returned with a vengeance, and on August 19, 2007, Miles Levin died. He was almost 19 years old.

The story of Miles has caught the attention of many. CNN’s Anderson Cooper has spotlighted him, as well as numerous other widely read publications. Although his story has a tragic ending, his writings during his battle with cancer are poignant, honest and above all, inspirational.

After reading through a few of his journal entries a few nights ago, I turned to my normal evening task of writing an article for this site. I found myself in a strange situation. I could not write about anything. Nothing seemed worthy or important to address at that moment, after reading the writings of a young man, who had death on his doorstep.

My heart aches for his family, who fought long and hard, in every way they could, to combat the cancer that took Miles. I especially identify with his mother. I have not experienced her grief, but I do know the intense love of a mother for her child. The loss of one of my own children, I think, would be the most painful thing I could experience.

The reason I am writing about Miles Levin, however, is not to depress you. My purpose is to share with you a bit of the wisdom and “plain advice” of this young man.

• Miles compared his life to a golfer swinging aimlessly at a bucket of golf balls, until only a few remain. “Now with just a handful left,” he wrote, “each swing becomes more meaningful.”
• “…remember how much fortune is going unaccounted or unrealized in your life, and more importantly, that that which seems terrible at the time may reveal itself in hindsight to have been a blessing. I have had a chance to be inspirational. Its not something most teenagers can lay claim to. Not because they are incapable of inspirational feats, but simply because most young people do not come across an opportunity to really show what they’re made of to inspire and teach others. Getting this chance, and from what I’ve been told, succeeding, has been a true privilege and an honor.”
• “It takes the darkest bleakest of human tribulations to bring out the best in us. It is in the face of hopelessness more than any other time that we unite and rally around what is really important.”

This was a boy who was wiser than his years. My advice today is that you visit Miles Levin’s Carepage, where his writings remain. Browse through them. There will surely be something that will impact you, and inspire you to not just live, but live well. In the process, you will be honoring Miles and all those children who suffer from incurable childhood diseases.

Note: When you click on the Carepage Link above, click on “Visit a Carepage”. You will be directed to do a quick (free) registration on the site. After registering, type in “Levinstory” to bring up Mile’s page.

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Maria over at Never the Same River Twice has asked me to write 8 Random Facts About Me. So here goes!

1- I love to vacuum (I think it’s the instant gratification of seeing something go from dirty to clean).

2- I once rode a bull (for about 3 seconds).

3- I love garlic bread with jam…(it’s a family thing… you should try it! The mixture of salt/savory and sweet is to die for!)

4- I am a ketchup freak… I love it on just about anything (especially tacos).

5- On the day I graduated from college, I won $500 from a local radio station (pure coincidence… but it sure made a nice graduation gift!).

6- I love, love, love autumn. The crisp air and leaves turning colors never fail to put me in a good mood.

7- I have had an insatiable craving for banana pudding lately (you know, the kind with cool whip, bananas and vanilla wafers. Yum!) I haven’t had it in years so I don’t know where this is coming from!

8- Whenever I watch a movie about ballroom dancing, for days after I wish wish wish I could dance like that and have a body like that. (think Vanessa Williams in Dance With Me).

So there you go!

Now, it’s my turn to tag some fellow bloggers to share their own randomness!

• Pam at Mothers Against Blogging
• Jen at Jenny’s Blog
• Food Inspector, Cook and Chef at Big Bowl of Soup
• Aymee at My RAD Kid
• The Closet Millionaire at Millionaire Mommy Next Door
• Jay at Dumb Little Man

Thanks for stopping by…

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Do you have a “junk drawer?” If not, you may have a junk basket, or some other type of container that holds those things that I am going to talk about.

What exactly do you find in a junk drawer? That is a question that will never have the same answer from home to home. But a generalized way of describing the contents are: Odds and ends that you occasionally use, things you may use sometime in the future, or items you are afraid to throw away because you are not sure if they are important or not (think a random key).

Most of these items are a nuisance and create some confusion when you try to clean up. Here is where the junk drawer comes in! You compartmentalize your clutter and feel better about the fact that you don’t know where to put the stuff, because now it has a home! Some examples of things typically found in my junk drawer are tape, random spools of thread, paper clips, safety pins, stapler, bobby pins, rubber bands, screwdriver, nail clippers, thermometer…

OK, I guess I should pause here to admit that most of these things do have a home, other than the junk drawer. The toolbox, office, sewing kit…

But I know I’m not the only one who finds it difficult to keep them all in their rightful places. They just never seem to get put away. And if I do put it away, I often regret not having it in close range because I find myself needing it again.

A junk drawer is not a bad thing. As a space that is designed (or not) to hold nothing in particular, it provides for a bit of controlled chaos in an otherwise (mostly) organized home.

The problem with the junk drawer for me is that it ends up collecting layers of “stuff”, and becomes a frustrating mess when I do go looking for that random item that ends up there.

A few months ago, a friend told me about a friend of hers who had found a different way to manage the junk. Finally, a solution! A simple, affordable solution at that.

It is an over the door shoe holder, or similar apparatus. I bought mine at Wal-Mart for about $7. There were more expensive models, but I chose the one I did because the pockets are made of clear plastic. I wanted to be able to see my junk.

I hung this puppy up (it took about 10 seconds… even the most amateur home organizer can do this), took my junk basket (substitute for the junk drawer since we moved into a home that has a lack of drawer space). Within minutes, the “junk” was organized into the pockets. And ~wallah~ it is no longer junk. It is now a collection of random, useful items that I can find easily anytime the need arises.

I considered putting labels on each pocket, signifying where each thing belonged. But then I decided against it. I can just see how irritating it would be when my 5 year old, who is just learning to read, would put the “scissors” into the “stapler” pocket. Even worse, when my husband, who is nearing completion of a Master’s Degree, (… he can definitely read!) would totally disregard my labels and mix it all up.

So, the labels are definitely not something that would work for me. I am enjoying the flexibility and small bit of chaos as I look at my wonderfully organized junk drawer that is hanging on my laundry room door.

Do you have any tips on decluttering, or home organization? Please, share by leaving a comment.

Thanks for stopping by!

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