Making it Stick: Resolutions that Last

A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.
-  Author Unknown

When each New Year starts, do you think up a long list of resolutions? Do those resolutions ever come true?

I'm a list maker. I write everything down. A lot of people use their mobile devices or computers to keep track of things they need to get done. Not me. I like seeing my own handwriting with goals and to-do's  written in each page of my planning journal. This January, I made this vision board. I've done vision boards before, but this year is different. I'm writing down my goals associated with each item on my board. This way, I can both look at the pictures, words, and my own handwritten processes to get there.

Every new year is a time of hope and expectation. If you have dreams to make things happen this 2011, here’s a formula to reach this year's goals. I've borrowed here from the inspiring mind of Zig Ziglar.

1.    Write it down. Record that goal on paper. (I added another visual element with a vision board.)
2.    Put a date on it.  Record when you’ll complete or accomplish the goal.
3.    List the obstacles in your way for completing your goal.
4.    Identify those people or groups you need to work with to accomplish your goal.
5.    Spell out a plan of action to reach the goal.
6.    Ask yourself, “What’s in it for me?” Identify and define the benefits of reaching this goal. (Put those pictures and words of the end result on your vision board. Those images can be very motivating.)

Zig says, “If you know the formula, you’ll reach the goal.” I believe him. We have the whole year before us. Reaching for a worthy goal can be a life-changing experience. Start it now.

Stories Untold

One of my inspiring friends, Julie Hanks.

Women inspire me. Maybe I'm sappy, but I thoroughly enjoy watching, listening, and crafting stories about real-life women. Their resilience, persistence, grace and humility are sometimes too much for my tear ducts to take. I don't ever grow tired of their stories. There's always something in them we need to hear.

Today I interviewed the four honorees and overall winner for the magazine's big award luncheon we hold every year. These women have so much quiet strength, I felt uplifted just by being in the same room with them. Hearing their stories, what inspires them, what keeps them going through tough times (cancer, homelessness, disability, paralysis, to name a few) brought me to tears. A tangible sisterhood enveloped us. We laughed at our similarities and cried over losses. We discovered, too, that we're all going through similar experiences, just at different seasons.

Heart ache.

Uncertainty.

Falling in love.

Moving away.

Living on nothing.

Staying up way too late.

Confusion.

Morning sickness all day.

Unconditional love.

Fat pants.

Piles of laundry.

Crying at the kindergarten door.

Office politics.

Snotty noses.

Piles of laundry.

Financial crises.

Working late.
 
Defeat.

Squeezy hugs.

Pure joy.

Seemingly endless fatigue.

Happiness.


When we feel the overwhelming feeling like no one understands us, reach out to a girl friend, sister, neighbor or stranger and ask her about her story. Interview her. Ask her about her life and what she's learned. Chances are you'll not only stop feeling alone, you'll learn something and you'll make her feel loved. If you ask enough and dig deep enough you'll find a story which will inspire you. Each woman's story is meant to be told. What's yours?

I'd like to tell your story. Contact me at pamelabaumeister[at]gmail.com and I will.

New Adventures: My Big Announcement

I've been the editor-in-chief for a local women's publication for the past two years and eight months. I work for a behemoth publishing company whose main publications are the two largest newspapers in the state in which I reside. When I started working there, the publication I was in charge of was a glossy magazine published every other month.

Recently, the publication has been, in my opinion, downgraded to a newsprint (they tell me it's fancier newsprint paper called high brite) tabloid ensconced within the pages of the newspaper every month. The immature part of me thought, "Ew! I'll be a newspaper editor. How degrading!" But, the sensible part of me thought, "Wait this thing out and see where it goes."

I am not in denial. I know newspapers really aren't going to suddenly become the latest and greatest thing. The horse and buggy aren't coming back either. I don't think newspapers will completely go away, at least for a while. They'll continue to see a long and painful (I've seen countless people get laid off) decline in subscribers.

There will always be a need for a gathering place for people to come, catch up on the latest stories from their community and kibbutz with each other.  I had hoped I could create an online place for that to happen as the magazine was losing traction quickly. I wanted to produce a new forum for local women using the magazine as the brand. I was hoping to set up an online gathering place as a contingency plan — much like a lifeboat for a sinking ship — to save the magazine.

Recently though, my hopes were dashed. The company won't spend money on a new website. The magazine is going to continue (for now) to be the same. It will still have a one-day shelf life as it is distributed one day per month to a dwindling newsprint population. Sadly, the writing is on the wall for me.

I've received an offer to become an online marketing director for an up-and-coming online conglomerate. I'm excited about the company, it's standards and values, the potential for growth, and their vision for the future. Most of all, I'm excited that this new company embraces my role as a mother and will allow (expects, even) me to work from home half the time. The people there are cheerful and energetic; I'm going to love it there.

What's going to happen to my writing aspirations? I guess I'll be on the other end of pitching stories now. That's okay. I know how editor's think. I was one.

Flip Friday: 6-year-old vlog singer

Sometime during the Christmas break, my six-year-old daughter got the Flip and recorded this little song. This is something she might sing to a guy in another 10-15 years...and that worries me.

The sound is kind of low, so here's what she says/sings:

Hi everyone (Is she planning on posting this to a blog?)
What's it all about today?
I don't know what you can say, but I really love the way you act at me.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
I can't stand the way you act at me.
But, I can see that it's just me.
Me, me, me, me, me, meeeee!
Yeah.

Want to be a Race Director?

Over the last three years, I've been the co-director of the Wasatch Woman Love Your Body 5K/10K run/walk, a woman-only event. I've learned a lot and I've had so much  fun in the process. There's a lot of work involved in creating a race, but it's well worth it.

Several people have approached me for tips on how to create a race. "What are the first steps?" "What do I need to know about timing?" "Where do you order t-shirts from?" Those are just a few. Rather than continuing to email people with my advice, I've put together this blog post.

Before you get started, you should know that it's a lot of work and you will make mistakes. If you're not okay with either one of those things, get the idea out of your head right now. A lot of putting together a race is trial and error, you may have to do things twice. But, don't think of it as a waste of time. You're learning and that's important. You're going to make mistakes, learn to roll with them. People do races because they love the experience...you should too.

Here are a few steps to get you started:

1. Secure a location. You often have to pay for this, even if it's a city park. Pick a date that doesn't conflict with too many other events (especially races) so you can get more participants. Additionally, you'll want to consider a location that is easy to get to and easy to create a route around. Ask around about this and do your research.

2. Create a route. If you have your race on city streets, you'll have to hire police to ensure the safety of your runners on city streets. Do a race drive through with the police so they know your route. Ask them for tips and suggestions on how to make the route safer and better, Usually they're all too eager to offer ideas, so listen and work with them. You'll want to run the route yourself, tweak it, ask others to run it and offer feedback and suggestions. You'll also want to use a site like Map My Run to help you with distance calculations. This part of the race is very important because it is what your runners/walkers will remember most. Do it right.

3. Get the appropriate permits. You may have to get a mass gathering permit, depending on how many people you expect; a food handler's permit, if you plan on having food there and possibly other permits depending on what you're planning on doing. If you're going to have a concert, you'll probably have to get a mass gathering permit because of the noise level. There are certain restrictions for noise levels depending on your location.Check with the city or county offices for this information.

4. Figure out how to handle sponsors or an expo. Sponsors will help defray your costs, so this is something you'll want handled well. Before you get sponsors figure out what they get and what you're giving (exposure to your audience, PR, inclusion in your ads, etc.) Create a sponsorship application/contract for them and keep it simple. Make sure they sign your contract, then give them a lot of value for their money.
If you have sponsors, you'll have to figure out if you want to provide tents, tables and chairs for them or not. You'll also want to make sure you have someone designated to take care of them.  If you treat them right, they'll be back. Tip: If you're in Utah and you need to rent tents or anything else, I suggest using Diamond Rental. If you're not in Utah, check with local event companies.

5. Determine how you'll time your participants. Is this going to be a timed race? If you want to time people, you'll need to hire a timing company. I recommend Stride Racing in Utah. They are great to work with and have a lot of experience. Again, do your research and ask around for recommendations.

6. Select a sign-up method. I'd recommend having all the sign-ups online.  This will be much easier to track and much easier to manage. I recommend Active.com, there are also local companies who do it as well. Active charges a fee per participant that you can pass on to your participants, split with your participants or pay for yourself. Determine whether you'll be raising your price, by how much and when. Determine when you'll close registrations and how many you'll allow to register. All these questions are included with an account with Active.com

7. Figure out what the runners will get for participating. More than their experience, what are the participants of your event going to walk away with when they're done? Are you going to give away prizes (overall, age category, gender)? Are you going to provide t-shirts? There's a great local company called Inked Wear, I'd recommend.

8. Get plenty of volunteers and train them on what they'll be doing. I think this is a big part of the success of your  If you have sponsors, make sure to get them to help with volunteers. You'll need about 10 volunteers per 100 people. Don't wait until race day to train your volunteers. Keep them in the loop and have them help along the way. For example, have them know the course and help mark it. Also, have them along the way at the water stations, directing traffic, and cheering on your participants.

9. Provide aid. Make sure you have water stations, a first aid station (see if you can get an EMT to volunteer), and an information booth. See #8.

10. Make it easy to donate, if you're doing this for a non-profit purchase. If you cut off registration (which I strongly suggest you do a week before the event to give yourself time to pull it all together), make sure you have a plan in place to still take donations. Collecting donations all the way through is the best way to go.

11. Be ready with answers. You'll get a lot of questions asked of you...be prepared to make decisions and stick with them. Also, make sure you put together your list of responses and post it on your website and on your Active.com page. 

13. Get someone to help with marketing. If this is entirely non-profit, you can get radio stations to do PSA's for free. Ask people with big networks to help you spread the word. Use Facebook and Twitter and everything else you can think of to spread the word.

I'm sure there are lots of other things I could tell you, but these are the ones I can think of right now. If you want to know how to handle whiners, read my experience with that here. If you have any questions, post a comment and I'll answer it to the best of my ability.

Healthy Days Ahead - Get Off Sugar

Diabetes runs in the paternal side of my family. My grandmother and great aunts have all passed away due to complications related to diabetes. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and avoid any and all foods that could compromise my health and longevity. (I want to be around to see grandbabies!)

Many of you know I decided to swear off sugar and processed foods when I was about five months into my fourth pregnancy. That was a year and a half ago and I'm still going strong. I am amazed how much better I feel, how keeping weight off is no longer a struggle and how clear-headed I've become about my food choices. I think taking the sugar out of my diet has fostered a better relationship with the food I eat. I've noticed I never over eat any more. My body has a much better sense of what it needs and when it's full.

I love healthy food. I love to make it, talk about it, and most of all — eat it! So, as the second blog on creating a healthy 2011, I offer my adaption of a healthy granola from a book called The Green Diet by Mary Jolley. Since I believe in making big batches, this one makes a lot more than you'll use in one day.

3 3/4 cup regular rolled oats

1/2 cup flax meal

1 cup chopped nuts (almonds or pecans are my favorites)

1 cup fruit-juice sweetened dried cranberries

3 teaspoons cinnamon

pinch of sea salt

3/4 unsweetened apple juice

6 Tablespoons agave

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking oil. 

Combine all dry ingredients together.

Mix all wet ingredients in a seperate bowl. Combine the dry and wet mixes and stir until well blended and moistened.

Spread the mixture on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Stir. Bake mixture for an additional 10 minutes or until lightly toasted and golden brown.

While still warm, pour some into a bowl and enjoy with some milk. Mm..mm..mm...warm goodness.

Take remaining granola, once cooled, and store in an airtight container, preferably away from everyone else so there's plenty for you!

Just kidding.

Not really.

If you're worried about how to eliminate sugar and not be an ogre with your family or forbid your children from eating sugar...watch for future posts. Feel free to ask me questions about giving up sugar. I'm more than happy to answer.

It Boggles the Mind

Santa brought Boggle (the To Go version) this year. We're a family of word nerds and we can't get enough of this game!

When you play a game so much you can see word combinations in your head with your eyes closed, you know you're an addict. We're all there. Sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep because I can see the Boggle board and I'm worried I might miss a word. Yes, I know. I'm obsessed. But, I'm not the only one.

Even when she's getting her hair braided, Lucy is working on her quick Boggle skills. What else could you be doing simultaneously while working on your Boggle mastery?