#1. Take the facebook app off my phone. I don't want my kids to think of me as always on my phone. I also realize that I don't need to be connected to my old high school acquaintances on an hourly basis to see if they did anything more fun than me today. And with this one I could add, take off instagram, snapchat, twitter... If I need at least 35 "likes" to feel good about myself, than I have a problem. It should be more important for me to connect with people face to face and make sure my children like me.
#2. Step back from the mirror. I was reading an article in a magazine and I read this and I loved it. I felt how applicable it is to me. How most women look in the mirror and only see their faults. They point out how their eyebrows need to be tweezed, the miniscule black head, how they need a flatter tummy, or how it looks like they have a ginormous forehead. When we stare at ourselves and get so close to the mirror our breath fogs it up, we need to step back. Allow yourself to be different from Barbie and realize that most people are so focused on themselves that they are not pointing out any faults you have. (And if they are, do you really want to be friends with a person like that?) You are beautiful. No really, don't skim over that last sentence, you really are beautiful.
#3. Be in the moment. To me this means take time to play with my kids. Not yell at them, not just teach them, but to have fun with them. Make leaf piles they can jump in and then jump with them. Compete for best ninja moves with my boys. Brush Izzy's hair and play with her Barbies with her. Read books together and ask questions about what they think or feel. Play board games and card games with your kids, they love spending time with you. This also means put the phone down, turn the TV off and focus. Even if you are no fun, you could color with your kids. If you don't have kids, take the time with your family. At the end of your life, you aren't going to wish that you could have shared just one more story on facebook.
#4. Spend money wisely. Whether you have a lot or a little, this applies to us all. I was thinking that I would like to start wearing a watch. So I put it on my Christmas list. We were at the mall the other night and Paul and I went to Kays to look at their watches. The sales lady showed me some and then started talking about the Movado watch and how wonderful it is and how it will last a lifetime. Isn't it beautiful? It's only $2400. Now, that's more than my house payment, taxes and insurance combined. I do not need to keep up with the Jones' by buying that watch. I would be happier with a $40 watch, and even happier if it was on sale and I could get it for $25. On this ramble my point is, we don't always need to buy the name brand stuff, or live in a certain district to feel worth.