Day 133 - What's Up Today? Do you ever feel like things need to freshen up? Yep! I feel I need to do something fresh on this blog. My 4 year old daughter has been obsessed with collages. She has been cutting little pictures from old magazines for days and gluing them to pieces of paper. She then makes up stories within her collage and draws overlays. It's pretty incredible thinking. What happens to us as we get older? Why do we loose that sense of unabandoned creativity?

4 Year Old Creating.

Well, I decided to take a clue from my 4 year old and create a collage for today's project and you should try to do the same. It's incredibly enlightening and fun. You just need glue, discarded magazines, scissors, paper and imagination. 

Food. I Think Of You Often.

It's really interesting how this did created a freshness to my thinking and added a new approach to my tool box. I hope you find it does the same for you. Happy clipping and gluing. See you tomorrow!

Day 132 - Hey there. This post is going to be super short because today the altMBA assignment is to create a video and describe the change that I am hoping to make in the world. First, who loves to talk in front of people? Glup. Second, a video?! Oh gosh. Third, I need to discuss something I am passionate about. Holy moly. This is the hardest assignment ever. Fourth, it's taking me forever to do this video!

As I did take after take, I realized I have lots of nervous ticks. It was eye opening to create a video but also unnerving and enlightening. It's a good thing I am not a news anchor. Clearly that was not my calling.

Notice The Background. I Did Takes For 5 hours!

Todays, project is to create a short video of yourself communicating something you are passionate about or something you want to change. Watch it and then send it to a friend. Now talk about it!

Let me know how the video goes. I need to get back to making awkward pauses, sweaty palms and fluttering my eyes. See you tomorrow unless I croak from this stress!

Day 131 - Hey there! Who wants to have a barefoot moment today? TOMS shoes is shouting out a campaign today called One Day #withoutshoes. Today, May 10, Instagram your feet #withoutshoes or your TOMS and help give 100,000 new pairs of shoes to children in 10 countries.* Learn more here at TOMS. Who doesn't want to spend a little time with their tootsies in the sand or grass today for a good cause? Today's project is to liberate your little piggies, snap a photo, share on Instagram and create kindness today.

Let me know how the glamor shots turn out and see you tomorrow everyone!

*Up to 100,000 pairs of shoes, limit one photo per person via Instagram. Profile must be public.

Day 129 - Hello! Happy Monday. You know I love that phrase. Oh how I need to learn to embrace Mondays. What would make Monday better? How about some cool pink lemons? Yes, it a stretch but once we see how we can make pink lemons into pink lemonade snickerdoodle cookies that can then be made in into ice cream sandwiches, we won't care at all on how this post started because you will doing a Google search on where to find pink lemons.

Let's start with pink lemons.  

They look really neat right? The lime green stripes melt all over the warm yellow body of the fruit. Inside is a light pink flesh that is so sour and bright. Delicious.

Now, let's talk today's project. Let's create a batch of homemade Pink Lemonade Snicker Doodle Cookies. Here's the recipe:

Pink Lemonade Snicker Doodle Cookies (adapted from "The Best Snickerdoodles" at Averie Cooks)

Dough

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• Juice of 2 pink lemons
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pink food coloring (optional)

For Rolling

• 1/2 cup granulated pink sugar

Step 1: Make the Dough. In the bowl of a stand up mixer whip the butter for 3 minutes scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the sugars and mix for another 3 min. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Step 2: Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla and mix for another 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tarter and salt. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed for about 1 min. Add 1-3 drops of pink food coloring (optional).

Step 4: Place the dough in the refrigerator and let set for about 20 min. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and turn the oven to pre-heat to 350 degrees. After 20 min remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll into 2" balls. Place pink sugar in a bowl. Add the dough balls one at a time and cover the dough ball on outside completely. Place the sugar dough balls on the baking sheet approximately 2" apart and repeat until all dough has been rolled into a ball and on a sheet? Bake for 14-18 min.

Step 5: Remove cookies from oven and let cool. For an extra special treat take two cookies and add ice cream between them to create a pink lemonade snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich. Now hand it to mom.

Best Monday ever! See I told you pink lemons and Monday had something in common. They are both better with ice cream. Enjoy the recipe! See you tomorrow.

Day 129 - This is a special post for my mom. Mom thank you for: all the times I threw up on you, you took care of my bottom, you were there to let me cry, you told me I didn't need a bandage, you smothered me with cookies, you made a warm dinner to fill my belly and that you generally let me know that you loved me from the bottom of you beautiful toes. You are amazing! xoxo.

Today's project is to get out there and create something for mom. Make her a card, send her an e-mail or call her up. Let her know that you love her and you are thankful she is your mom. That's it for today! More tomorrow.

P.S. Mom, I am pretty sure a photo of my sister. 

Day 128 - Hey there. Ah. Saturday. It's a day for getting outside, hopefully connecting with the family or in my case catching up on everything that fell through the cracks this week. As I was cleaning off my desk, I was reminded of another part of a recent assignment from the altMBA. The assignment was about "closing the sale." For most of us, we don't think of selling much unless we are faced with buying something expensive and urgent. However, we sell to each other everyday. We sell ideas, emotions and actions. One key point in the learning was: to sell is to create stress. To be good at selling, we have to practice being very comfortable in a tense situation.

To practice, create stress today by using silence to create tension and then resolution. Stop yourself from rushing into speaking when the moment seems awkward or uncomfortable. Say nothing for 3, 5 or 12 seconds. Just experiment and see what the silence creates. Here is an example where I created tension:

It was interesting to watch my daughter struggle and for me to internally feel uncomfortable with the lack of action I was taking. It felt stressful and the feeling could be compared to a bottle of soda that has just gone through a washing machine. In all the stress, I ended up blurting out a compliment and her face lit up with joy. A few minutes later she ran up to me and thanked me for being a good mom. 

Try that golden silence today and let me if anything golden happens. Have a great Saturday and see you tomorrow!

Day 127 - Hey you! Woop Woop. It's Friday. This is going to be a short post today because although I didn't have any margaritas yesterday, I think I have a hangover. It's a knowledge hangover. The altMBA has pushed me to think very differently and not unlike the Apple Super Bowl commercial of the 80's, it's smashing the idea of myself. (Not to be confuse with the Wendy's "Where's The Beef?" commercial.) It's making me realize how I can be a more generous, a bigger and better person. One idea that we are discussing is how to be a "Goodfinder." 

Here is the project today. Three times today, find someone doing something right. Be a "Goodfinder." Tell someone in person, write them or call them to tell them what they are doing right. Create a practice that nourishes you and the person you are praising.

Let me give you a personal example of how this can be powerful. I have realized I have gotten into the terrible habit of becoming negative. After sending a text praising this person, here is the text exchange:

Gulp. This made me realize I need to do a better job of finding good and praising people in my life. I have spent too much time on the negative. I'm going to work on being a "Goodfinder" today and always.

Let me know how your "Goodfinding" creates change. See you tomorrow!

Day 126 - Hola! Don't worry. I won't try to speak more Spanish today other than saying it's Cinco de Mayo today or the 5th of May! I did a little Googling as to why the Cinco de Mayo holiday is important. It is a holiday "observed to commemorate the Mexican Army's unlikely victory over the French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza." In short, it's an American holiday to celebrate pride, culture and margaritas. In my eyes, it's a day to have fun! So let's shake up the perfect margarita to create an exclamation point on the end of May 5th!

Classic Margarita

Serves 1

• 2 oz blanco tequila (Cazadores brand is the best!)
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice

Step 1: Shake with ice and strain into a stemmed cocktail glass that has been lightly rimmed with salt.

Now sip slowing and raise your glass to Cinco de Mayo and Mexico! See you tomorrow.

Day 125 - Hey. "Are You My Mother?" Who doesn't love that book? It reminds me that Mother's Day is right around the corner. I need to take a break from thinking about business stuff and do a DIY project for mom. What mom doesn't love a good spa treatment? How about lemon sugar hand scrub for mom? It's fast, delightful and mom's digits will never feel better. Let's do this!

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup course sugar (organic or brown sugar)
• 20 drops of lemon essential oil 
• 4-8 drops of tea tree oil (for healthy nails)
• 1 adorable container 
• Lovely Mother's Day Tag and Ribbon (printable here)

Step 1: Place olive oil in a bowl and mix in the sugar.

Step 2: Add the essential oil and mix.

Step 3: Place in adorable container. Add ribbon & tag. Mom's present is complete!

Let me know how mom likes here spa treatment! See you tomorrow.

Day 124 - Hello again! It's Tuesday and it seems like it's one of those days where hitting pause would make life magically fall inline. Speaking of which, I just wrapped up a big project over in my altMBA class which was about pausing before making action. The project had it's ups and downs and team turmoils but the project ended with a developed marketing campaign. I won't go into too much detail about the project but funny enough as I was going through my day today, I used this pause it idea several times. Specifically to stop negativity or stop myself from making a bad of the moment decision. However, there were also a few moments to pause and take in something positive about the day. This pause idea seems powerful. Hum.

Todays, project is to create pause. When you feel yourself making a decision where emotions rule, hit the pause button. Examples could be pause before eating, pause before blurting out words, pause as the kids snuggle into bed or just hit pause when you need to take a breath.

Let me know how hitting the pause button feels. I'm going to get back to studying up for my next project but I will see you tomorrow!

Day 122 - Good morning! Hope everyone had a great weekend. It just hit me that it is May 1st is gone. This means it's this blog has been going strong at four months. The four months has gone by like a flash. There are many people who ask me how I can do this everyday. My new response is "how can I not do this blog everyday?" It makes me think about things beyond myself and provides a challenge to construct meaning beyond me. My hope is it's bringing meaning to you the reader and inspiring change in you. I never went into this adventure hoping for measurable results but I can safely say at this point the one measurable result is the change I feel in myself and I hope you as the reader feel a change too. 

Today's project is to look over the work, projects and life. Think about the progress you have made in the last four months and reflect on where you started and where to go next. Maybe jot down thoughts in your notebook.

Here's to eight more months of this crazy experiment! See later kids.

Day 122 - Good morning, good morning! It's May 1st and that means it's May Day.

When I was about five years, old every May Day, my Mom and I would go out to her garden. We would cut the most beautiful perfect flowers. Together, we would take each beautiful bud inside and then snip them into a beautiful bouquet. Together we would then make a construction paper cone vase with a handle. We would drive to Ms. Carol's house, where we would slowly and quietly inch up the long driveway. My mom would tell me to jump out of the car, run up to Ms. Carol's door, knock on the door yelling "MAY DAY" leave the flowers on the door nob and run back to the car. It was always a May Day surprise for Ms. Carol and wonderful memories for my mom and I.

This year, I decided to start the same tradition with my daughter in hopes she will carry on the May Day tradition. Today's project is to make a special May Day basket, go knock on a neighbors door, yell "May Day" and run!

Let me know how the surprise goes and have a great May Day!