Day 3 - "I Am"

Sunday morning, I checked facebook and the first item that grabbed my attention was a facebook post from the OWN network about a documentary called "I Am".  The title caught my eye.  The facebook blurb said:

"Good morning! Hope you had a great New Year's Eve. If you missed any of the thought-provoking film "I Am" don't worry. There's an encore presentation of it on Super Soul Sunday at 12 pm ET/PT. You can also purchase the DVD of the film on Jan. 3rd!"

Without a thought and without learning anymore, I did something that I almost never do - I set the DVR to record it.

Something told me that I simply needed to see it.

I didn't give it another thought until later that night, after the boys went to bed, Jeff was flipping the channels and I suggested watching that "Oprah thing".  He, surprisingly, agreed.

"I Am" was AMAZING! And I want to share with you a few big TAKEAWAYs that I got from this documentary.

First...Here's the brief synopsis:

Tom Shadyac, a successful Hollywood Movie Director, had a life threatening bike accident and after recovering, he decided to film his quest to find the answer to the following questions:

What's wrong with our world?

and (more importantly)

What can we do about it?

He interviewed "remarkable men and women from the worlds of science, philosophy, and faith."  People like Desmond Tutu and Howard Zinn.


Takeaway # 1:  We are ALL connected.  Science say so... 
We are connected not just by talking to each other, or by knowing each other, or by having share interests, or even because of Kevin Bacon.  But because we are on this earth. Because our DNA is wired to be connected.

Did you know that computer programs are set up all over the world to continually generate random numbers and studies have shown, time and time again, that the numbers generated during significant events (9/11, Tsunamis, the Royal Wedding, etc.) are no longer random? <Que the Twilight music> 

I believe that we (humans, you and me) affect the world in ways we are only beginning to understand.

Takeaway #2:  If we are all connected as is described in "I Am", then what I do, and how I act, makes a difference...
Imagine if we all consciously made a choice to be a little nicer, a little kinder, a little more forgiving, and perhaps even a little less judgemental.  The world would change...if only a little.

But, as I have heard time and time again, I can NOT change for you or anyone else. 

Or can I?

What if I changed my behavior?  What if I treated you nicer, and kinder.  What if I was forgiving and less judgemental of you.  And what if I kept treating you that way.  Might you "feel that energy" and maybe, if only a little, treat others similarly.

I believe that you would.

Takeaway #3:  If how I act and what I do makes a difference, then it is my responsibility to be the best me and to live my best life.
If I am impacting the world, then I want to give it my best.  Offer my skills, my gifts, and my God-given talents to whomever is interested.  Share my strengths, and be honest about my vulnerabilities to whomever will receive. And hopefully impact the world positively. 

And the only way to do that is to know myself and love myself.

I believe that I should continually strive to live authentically.  And I hope that you do too.

Takeaway #4:  I will never know the impact that I have made.  And that's OK.
It is a gift to be told "Thank You."  It is gift to hear that you have inspired someone.  It is a gift to know that you made a difference in someones life.

But, it is not the goal.

It is the reward.  A reward that I may never receive (whether I do not receive it because no one gives, or, more often, because I do not allow myself to receive)

I believe that the goal of life is to simply (but seems so hard) be me and share myself with others... And let the chips fall where they may.

In case you haven't guessed, this documentary was POWERFUL for me!

Here is the trailer so you can learn more!



Happy Tuesday!

Day 2 - Detox

This month's mini-theme is detox...As in no alcohol <gasp...No wine?!!?> for 30 days in January.  (Yes, I do know that January has 31 days.  I am allowing myself one day to imbibe.)

Let me explain why I decided on this mini-theme.

I love wine.

I love the bliss of wine after a long day.

I love the bliss of wine to celebrate a good day.

I love wine with a good dinner out.

Did I mention?...I love wine.

Each night, the boys head to bed, and I head to get my glass of wine - or two, or....


Wine has become the wind-down ritual of most days.

I have wondered about this ritual...

It is really a good idea?

How does it effect my "I am not a morning person" mornings?

Do I love wine too much?

Should I stop drinking?

And, I don't have complete answers to those questions...so I decided to investigate it further.

So last night, the Detox began. 

I have to admit...I wanted to grab a glass...
so I did...

a glass of Hot Chocolate.

And, my husband and I watched a phenomenal documentary (more about that tomorrow) and day one of my wine-detox was a success!

What could you give up for thirty days?

I double dog dare you :)

Day 1 - My year long promise to myself

Happy New Year!

In the past few weeks, thanks to Debbie Phillips and Women on Fire and Coach Joelle, I have...

• reviewed, celebrated and reflected upon 2011 - It was a year filled with so much...many successes and a few disappointments that haunt me.
• created big goals - To become healthier, to share my gifts, and make good use of my time.
• made manageable action steps to achieve those goals - To be fast food free in 2012 and to increase my income, for example, and
• set a theme for 2012 - The year of Valuing Self: my Body, my Gifts, my Time.

Inspired by Jamie Eslinger's The Promise 365 I am starting my own year-long promise to myself. 

I promise to spend my year treating my Body, my Gifts, and my Time as valuable and precious.

To support this, during this year I will:

• Be fast food free.
• Read at least one book a month and incorporate something that I learned from each book into my life.
• Monetize some of my gifts and talents so that I am joyfully and financially adding income for my family.
• Purposely scheduling my time, so that I am accomplishing my goals, spending quality time with my boys, and nurturing my relationship with my husband.
• Set a mini-theme each month (that supports my bigger theme) to explore topic to greater depths.
• And write about and reflect upon my experiences.

I am sure that as the year plays out, what I do to support this promise will evolve and grow.  I am sure that there will be times that I will want to throw in the towel and say F-it.  I am sure that I will have moments of amazing success.  And I am sure that I will also experience disappointments and feelings of failure.

But what I promise, is that regardless, I will persist...

all 366 days (damn, why did I choose a leap year?!!) !

Wish me luck - or better yet, join me with your own promise to yourself!

p.s.  Thankfully, I am not going at this alone.  I have joined Jamie Eslinger's You Can Do Anything Coaching Group for support.  There is still time to join me - her coaching group starts on January 16!

p.s.s. I should let you know, that I am only telling you about Jamie, because, after seeing what Jamie did during her year-long promise, I think her coaching group it is going to be amazing!...I am not getting paid, or getting any type of kick-back for sharing her information with you.

A Special Gift for You!

'Tis the Season of Giving!  And I am so excited to share with you a recording of my interview with the amazing Rosemary Nickel of Motivating Other Moms where we discussed...

The 5 Lessons I Learned

from my

In Search of Me in Mommy

one-year purposeful journey! 

During this interview, Rosemary and I talk about life-changing lessons that I learned during 2010 when I took a year to rediscover myself after five years of being consumed by motherhood.  It is my hope that you listen to my story and learn at least one item that will help YOU through the joy and chaos of motherhood.

I would love to hear what you learned from the interview, so be sure share in the comment below or post your thoughts on the In Search of Me in Mommy Facebook page!

I hope that you enjoy this gift!

But before you scroll down to click and listen...there is another gift that I want to share with you...

As you may, or may not know, in January, I am offering, for the first time ever, my 6-week In Search of Me in Mommy Class.  And because I know that we, as moms, are often last on our lists, I want to encourage you to put yourself on the top of the list and do something for yourself. 

There are many ways to do just that...have a spa day, take a bath, go for a run, head to a local coffee shop and sit and read, take a class to learn something new...who knows, maybe you even want to take the In Search of Me in Mommy Class. 

And, if taking the In Search of Me in Mommy Class is something you want to do for YOU **what a GREAT idea :)**...and you sign up by December 31, 2011 at 11:59pm EST and get a 20% discount!  To get the discount use the coupon code "GIFT".

For more information about the class, click here.

Happy Holidays from me to you!

So, without further delay...here is the interview for your listening pleasure...

The interview is approximately 30 minutes of goodness, so grab your favorite beverage, find a comfy chair and get ready for...

The 5 Lessons I Learned from my

In Search of Me in Mommy one-year purposeful journey!

An ISOMIM Interview

Truly, I hope that you enjoy this holiday season and are surrounded with love and kindness!

Thank you for being a part of In Search of Me in Mommy!

Today I choose...

Too often I have found myself letting life happen to me.  I get blindsided by a rude comment, or annoyed by an innocent suggestion, or bugged by someone else's negativity. 

And I react...I may get cranky, or feel bitter and resentful, or snap at my children and husband, or indulge in emotional eating. 

These reactions just happen.  Often unconsciously.  And then later I wonder why I am not happy.

What if, instead of reacting and letting life happen to me, I lived my life more intentionally.

What if every morning, I choose to be happy, or grateful, or forgiving?

What if every morning I choose to eat healthy or exercise or meditate?

What if every morning I consciously choose how I wanted to life my day? 

What if I picked 2-4 items each morning and decided, ahead of time, the focus of my day.

Would that change my life?  I am not sure - but I bet it would, at least change my day!

So, TODAY I CHOOSE...

What do you choose for your today?

Feeling Lost in MOTHERHOOD?

I did!

I was married in '03, had my first baby in '04, bought a new house in '05 and had my second child in '06.  My world had drastically changed in a few short years.  And while marriage, and a move were both big deals.  Neither rocked my world the way motherhood did!

In 2009, both of my boys were in preschool and, for the first time in 5 years, I had 2 hours - on a regular basis - to myself!  Although those hours, during preschool, flew by, it was just enough time for me to notice... 

...Notice that I wasn't as happy as I thought I should be. 
...Notice I didn't know what to do with myself during those moments that I set aside for "me time". 
...Noticed my friends, my conversations and my interests had changed.


And I realized that I did know who I was anymore.  Motherhood had consumed the "Kim" in me.

So I set out to find myself.  Through a purposeful journey I began to become reacquainted with me - the "Kim-me".  And I felt so much more fulfilled - as a person, and as a mother.

And *BONUS* I found my passion for encouraging and teaching other moms how to not lose themselves in motherhood.

By taking what I gained from this life-changing purposeful journey and combining that with what I learned through my degrees in Family Studies (BA) and Education (MEd) I have developed a class to help other moms learn how not to lose themselves in motherhood.

If this sounds at all interesting to you - click below more information about the In Search of Me in Mommy class. 

The class starts in January and this is the CHARTER class - limited to only 16 moms - so, don't delay...sign up today!

:) Kim

No. 53 - Put Yourself Out There

I am continuing to add to my 50 Ways for a Mom to Connect with her Authentic Self. Number 53 is all about sharing yourself with the world!

Want to get the first 50 ways?...just subscribe and get it for free (and I promise not to share your information)!!!!

Right over here :) ------>

In January 2010, in the middle of a "Is this really as good as it gets?!!? life crisis, I decided to start my In Search of Me in Mommy blog. I was trying to find myself.  After being so consumed by motherhood for 5 years, that I no longer really knew who I was.  My reasons for starting a blog was two-fold. First and foremost, I wanted to journal.  Secondly, I had often said "I want to be a writer", so I figured that my blog would force me to practice my writing skills.

What I didn't think too much about initially, was that in choosing to blog, I would be putting myself "out there". It wasn't until I was ready to click "PUBLISH" after writing my first post, did I feel the butterflies and fear of sharing my thoughts with the world.

But, since I had told no one (except my husband) about my blog and that the chances of anyone reading it was slim to none, I swallowed the fear and butterflies and clicked away.

As time passed, I became more and more comfortable sending my thoughts into cyberspace.  Which, admittedly, was pretty easy, since I still had told no one about my blog.  And I began to wonder "what is the purpose of a blog if no one reads it?!!?.  So one night, with some help from a couple glasses of liquid courage, I posted my blog on my facebook page. 

Eek!  That was scary!  I felt so vulnerable.

What if someone didn't like what I wrote?

What would people think?

Who am I to write a blog?

What if no one cares?

A few friends read.  A few friends passed it onto their friends.  And, I even got some positive feedback <insert big grin>. 

And still, I know that some people have not like what I have written and that others may think that I have no business blogging and I certainly am aware that there are many who could care less about my blog. 

But, do you know what?  I honestly don't care anymore.

Why?  It is simple!  What I have gained by putting myself out there is way too valuable!

By putting myself "out there" I have...

connected with people that I never expected to,

learned more myself,

let others know that they are not alone,

found value in myself that I never knew existed,

plus so much more...

And all of that is... priceless!

When have you put yourself "out there"? 

What did you gain?