Day 288 - Nightly Roundup

Hello! I took a few days off as my mom was here, and I must admit those days off here and there are very restorative! I feel energized and excited for the week ahead. I hope each of you are finding those baby steps adding up.

Marriage - Check.
Parenting - Kirk went home with my mom for two days and so Kai got to have mom and dad to himself, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. I wrote earlier about an article I'd found that suggested looking at time as creating value rather than being productive. That's been a good mind-shift for me as I spent a lot of time singing songs with Kai, despite the fact the dishes weren't done (and still aren't as I type;-). But I realized big picture -that was high value time.
Business - We had a series of meetings last week and have a list of three people with contacts in the manufacturing sphere - so we will proceed with that in the week to come. I will have my focus groups next week and hope to have a better sense of the market. One great book I'm reading about bringing new products to market stresses over and over, You need to build your idea with the customer, not create a product you hope will sell.
Book - I've decided a team approach will likely work best here until I master the art of writing fiction. I put an ad at the University for help with the project and one person really stood out. He's a second year law student and has a real knack for dialogue and action scenes. We met Friday and think it should work well. He will be paid $20 an hour for two hours a week of writing and another $20 to meet with the team once a week (the other members yet to be decided). My thought is this collaborative approach will get results much quicker than just me writing and will be more creative than if we just hired one writer. Wish us luck!
Health - Decided to commit to the Body For Life program, one which Greg has followed for several years to great success as well as another of my friends. It focuses on short, intense rather than long periods of exercise, and a healthy diet. The before and after pictures in the book are mind-boggling. I'm at 140 now and would like to be at 127 by April, with a healthy, energized, more toned figure. Reaching for the stars;-).
FI - Made three dishes tonight - Spinach casserole, a spinach/potato dish, and a black bean/salsa casserole so we'd eat healthy the week to come and not be tempted to order in pizza.
Spirit - Lovely long chat with a very close friend who is at an exciting time in her life - newly engaged to a great guy.
Garden - At a thrift store today on the way home from the grocery store, I picked up the Body for Life book and long with a Garden Gate magazine, which I plan to enjoy with a cup of chamomile tea tonight.
House - Found five items in one dresser drawer to donate. Trying to keep up with a minimum of five items donated/tossed each day.
Bus. Vocab. - business risk, cross hedging, demand guarantee, rule 144