FIND YOUR BEAUTY. FIND YOUR SANITY.

In high school, my friends and I convinced ourselves delicious things happened on New Year's Eve. We’d spend a couple of hours Aquanetting our hair before quietly hoisting each other out of my basement window (unbeknownst to my mom, obviously).

While we weren’t invited to any parties, we were sure if we wandered around downtown a bit, we’d wind up at some sexy, fog-filled, glittery party oozing with hot guys who were most certainly celebrities of some sort or another. We’d laugh and flirt as we sipped our wine coolers, just waiting for the countdown and asking ourselves which cute boy we would get to kiss at midnight.

But this fantasy never materialized. It was almost always snowing and freezing. What’s more, we didn’t know any celebrities, and most of the cute guys we knew were probably asleep. After about an hour of desperately trying to have fun, we’d shimmy back through the window, wash the 8 lbs of makeup off of our faces, grab a bag of Lay’s Sour Cream and Onion potato chips, and curl up by the TV.

Truth be told, every single one of us preferred it that way. We’d say to ourselves it just wasn’t worth it, but a year later, we’d say, “one more time.”

And so it went for the next eight or so New Year’s Eves. My friends may have changed, but my hunt for the sexy, fog-filled, glittery NYE party never died. Well, that is, until I finally made it to a proper New Year’s party. My best friend in college, Andrea, scored an invite to a huge party in downtown Boulder.

Our dreams of stylishly ringing in the new year were about to come true. Except the party was an absolute mess. Far too many people with far too many cocktails. Plus, and this is a big one, no one had a clue what time it was or when the ball would drop.

As I pushed my way toward the exit, some dude (who probably would have been quite dashing had he been able to string three words together) literally drooled on my shoulder. Gagging, I pushed my way through the crowd and escaped into the icy night air, vowing never to try

for a Hollywood NYE party experience again.

Moving forward a decade (or two), I have yet to attend another NYE party. Not because I don’t like a good party, but because I had created an unattainable vision of a party in my head—likely fueled by Weird Science and Bruce Willis’ Seagrams ads.

In my head, everything was romantic and exciting. In reality, it far from it.

My experience with New Year’s resolutions is somewhat the same. In my head, they’re attainable, and in reality, I lose interest somewhere in March.

A few years ago, I asked myself why I was bothered with resolutions in the first place. I’d make a handful of promises to myself and then feel crushed when I didn’t follow through. Lather, rinse and repeat.

Eventually, I realized January 1st is symbolic of “new beginnings,” but the day holds no power. Why do we wait to pursue change?

Why not change what you don’t like when you realize it? Or if you desire something, why not figure out how to get it? Need more sleep? Want to hit the gym? Start now. If you fail on your first try, give it a go tomorrow. And the day after.

Here’s the deal: You don’t need a New Year’s resolution to make lasting change. What you do need is the desire to create the life you want. A less stressful, more joyful life that has you climbing into bed each night feeling content. That, my friends, is what it’s all about because once you have that, you can refocus your energy on other things like pursuing a passion, growing your business, or even painting your house. Whatever fills your heart.

I’ve created a short course called Magic in the Mayhem. It's a self-paced program designed to help you define and design a less stressful life and will show you how to glide through your days with ease.

Join other moms and me in devoting 10 minutes a day that will help you open your eyes to the beauty wedged within your chaos. You will also train yourself to seek out the magic, but you’ll learn how to generate more of it.

UPDATE! THE GROUP CLASS IS CLOSED, BUT THE COURSE IS
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AND DOWNLOAD HERE

How do I know this works? I’ve been doing it for the past three years with great success. For this course, I’ve tapped into my magic-seeking skills, which I honed as a family photographer over the past 10 years, and applied them to our challenges. We’re going to use our creativity and our mama hearts!

What will you need:

• A phone with a camera to catalog your magic

• An Instagram/Facebook account (not required, but 100% helpful)

• A notebook or journal (digital works, too)

• 10 minutes a day for 10 days

• A sense of humor (a must for motherhood)

Who says motherhood has to be stressful 100% of the time? Let’s get back our balance and start feeling good about ourselves again (even if it’s for only a few minutes a day--that’s a few more minutes than yesterday, right?).

With so much love and a few squishy hugs!

P.S. This lovely gem of a journal is one of three I'll be giving away during the kick-off. It's helped me stay focused and balanced. I know you'll love it! I also have several other goodies that a busy mom will enjoy, so look for information on how to win them (hint: it's super easy!).