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Listen to the podcast HERE If you have your own business, putting your child on the payroll may be a good idea. The amount you pay your child is a tax deductible expense for your business thus lowering the taxable income of your business. Plus, the income is tax free to your child as long as it stays under the standard deduction amount. That amount is $13,850 in 2023. Depending on which tax bracket you fall into, if you pay your child $13,850 you could save over $5,000 in taxes. Your child can then put that money into savings or a 529 plan to pay for college. So, not only are you lowering your taxable income and thus your tax liability, you are also helping your child do things like avoid student loan debt or start their savings for their long term investment goals. Getting ahead young is key to achieving financial goals and when you can help your child in this way while also lowering your tax liability, that is a WIN WIN in my book! So what types of jobs can my child do? This is where you want to make sure you are following labor laws and paying your child a reasonable rate. And of course, have plenty of documentation to substantiate the work your child did. If you were to be audited and you don't have the proof as to the work your child did, then the IRS will disallow the deduction. The types of jobs that are good to have your child do include things like cleaning the office, filing, basic paperwork, and computer entry. You can't have your minor child doing something dangerous such as operating heavy machinery. You also don't want to pay your child an excessive rate for the work they are doing such as $30 an hour for filing paperwork. There isn't a minimum age requirement for putting your child on the payroll but you want to make sure the job is appropriate for their age. If you are a photographer then you could justify using your 3 year old as a model for your sample portfolio. However, if you own a plumbing business then a position for a 3 year old would be difficult to justify. Bottom line is ask yourself would the average person think this is a reasonable job for a child their age and is the pay reasonable for the work being performed? You may be asking but what about payroll taxes? Well, that depends on what type of entity structure your business is. If your business is a sole proprietorship, LLC, or partnership then you generally (there are some rules to follow) don't have to worry about payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare taxes or FICA) if the child is under 18. However, depending on what state you are in, you may need to include your child on your workers comp policy. If you have an S or C Corporation then the withholding piece isn't quite as easy but there is still a way you can do this! If your structure is an S or C corporation then you would have to do the FICA (payroll tax) piece. You would process your child's payroll as you would other employees with withholdings and payroll taxes. Whatever your structure, you want to do withholding on your child's pay when you process their payroll. As long as their pay doesn't go over the standard deduction amount ($15,000 for 2025) they will get a refund back for all withholdings. By filing a W2 for your child they will also be able to contribute to a Roth IRA. If you are already running a payroll, it will be simple to add your child. Note that if you choose to report your child via 1099, they will be subject to self-employment tax so the W2 is the better way to go in almost all situations, especially when the child is under 18. For example, my son is 16 and he does work for my business. He does mostly computer work. I am not a tech-y person and he assists with website and digital editing. It is a reasonable role for his age and I can substantiate the work he does. He is legitimately doing work that I would have to pay someone else to assist me with so it is a WIN WIN when we are able to work together, I get a tax deductible expense for my business, and he receives income that he uses to put gas in his car while also starting to save and invest for his future! A job in high school can be a great experience for kids! They can learn responsibility, expose them selves to new things, and earn some money in the process. The problem is, scheduling can be hard especially if your child plays sports. When you are able to put your child to work in your own business, you have the ability to schedule their work in a way that still allows them to prioritize school and sports. Maybe your child only works in the summer for your business. When I was in high school, I worked in the summer at our family business doing filing and stuff like that and then in the evenings I worked at a restaurant. It kept me really busy but I learned a lot and I was able to save money. Even if your business is a side hustle, consider hiring your child if there is work they can do for you. They can learn so much if you are in the start up phase and they help you grow. It just may spark their own entrepreneurial spirit. In an age where teens are glued to their smart phones, exposing them to other avenues of life can give them a different perspective on their own life and what they want to do with it. The world is a very different place than it was when I was a teen. Giving your child learning experiences can help them gain confidence. Summer is right around the corner so if you have a small business and your child is ready to work and earn some money, this just may be the answer you are looking for! NOTE: This information is for federal tax purposes. States will vary. Information contained in this post is for educational purposes only and it not considered financial advice.

I think we can all agree that putting up the Christmas decorations is way more fun than taking them down and putting them away but it is so worth it to take the time to put them away in an organized manner. Since I like to put the tree up early, we now use artificial trees. The downside is storing them because they take up a lot of space. I keep mine in bags and put them away in the walk-in part of the attic that is right off my storage closet. My storage closet is climate controlled which greatly helps preserve the longevity of my decorations. I keep the garland in large clear bins that are labeled. When I drag it out next November I know exactly where each bin goes, i.e. front porch east side, etc. I don't have to wonder about the length being right; I know it fits! I keep my ornaments in labeled ornament boxes. Since I put up 3 trees, I label the boxes by the tree. For shatter-proof ornaments, I can just fill the boxes full but for my breakable ones I can use the dividers and keep them safe. I keep the tabletop decor, like decorative trees, out on shelves but it could easily go into a large clear bin like the garland if you are keeping your decorations in a garage or attic. I hang all my wreaths on a wall in my storage closet but if you are keeping those in the garage or attic, I would recommend a wreath bag. Christmas decorations are expensive and preserving them is important! When you are ready to put everything away, be sure to assess any decorations that you didn't use this year. If you don't foresee yourself using them next year either, go ahead and get rid of them now so they aren't taking up storage space! Storage space is valuable and there is no need to keep decorations that won't be used. I like to organize my bins by room or area. The front porch garland bins go together, the foyer garland bins go together, the living room tree ornaments go together, the dining table decor goes together, etc, etc. Taking the time to do this when you put the decorations away will allow you to decorate a room at a time next Christmas without having to drag out every bin trying to find what you are looking for. Oh, and one last tip before you take those decorations down: if you love your tree or tabletop or any decorated area, take a picture to help re-create it next year! Need to get bins and storage boxes? Check out my favorites HERE ! Happy organizing! This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

I love to be in the kitchen and my top 10 kitchen items are the things I use day in and day out and, truthfully, probably couldn't live without! Le Creuset casserole dishes. I love these cassserole dishes because they are attractive and they cook very well and are easy to clean. I have them in multiple sizes and they come in a huge assortment of colors! Lemon press This is just a small gadget but I use it daily. I love to drink lemon water so it's perfect for keeping the seeds out. If you cook using a lot of lemon you will find yourself reaching for it over and over again. Berry bowls We eat a lot of fruit for breakfast in our house. Having the fruit cut and rinsed and ready to serve is essential for busy mornings. These bowls will help your fruit last longer and also make a pretty presentation. Cutting board trio I love this set of boards because the stand allows you to leave them out for quick access without being in the way. Plus, they are available in several colors! Olive oil sprayer I found this sprayer when I wanted to cut down on using non-stick spray and use more olive oil. This sprayer allows you to pour or spray the olive oil so it is a convenient and attractive option for leaving out. Toaster oven air fryer I have to admit this was my husband's idea and I was not for it. Until we got it and I use it all the time. Salt box We like to use course kosher salt when we cook so this pretty salt box can stay on the counter and and is the perfect size to easily get a pinch. Hand soap dispenser Hand soap and cleaning supplies at the ready in an attractive countertop presentation is a must! Glass display jars Keep flour, sugar, pasta, and other cooking essentials right at your fingertips while making a pretty presentation. Pizza wheel We cook a lot of homemade pizzas but I use this wheel on quesadillas, sandwiches, and all sorts of things. And the cover allows for safe storage. This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

This Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake isn't the prettiest dish I've ever made but it sure is easy and delicious. My boys gave it a thumbs up and said to add it to the regular rotation. The pesto gives so much flavor without the sauce being heavy. Click File for a Printable Version.

The great thing about this Fajita Steak Bowl recipe is that not only is it easy and delicious, but you can vary the amounts of everything based on what you like and don't like! This recipe serves 3-4. Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, sliced into strips 2 8.5 ounces packets Cilantro lime rice, cooked (you can add more rice if you a bigger meal) 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained 1 10 ounce can Rotel, drained 2-3 bell peppers, sliced into strips 1 sweet onion, sliced into strips 1 packet taco or fajita seasoning 1/4 cup diced red onion 1-2 jalapenos, seeded and diced 1 cup sharp cheddar 1-2 avocados, sliced Cook the rice per the packet instructions and divide amongst the bowls. Combine the black beans and rotel and simmer over low heat. In a large saucepan, add 1-2 tbsp olive oil then add the sweet onions, steak strips, and seasoning. Cook for several minutes, tossing and stirring well. Add the sliced bell peppers. Continue cooking, tossing and stirring well, until steak is desired doneness. Divide the diced red onions, jalapenos, black bean and rotel mixture, and avocado in each bowl. Top with the steak mixture and cheddar cheese. Serve and enjoy! In case you are loving these shallow bowls as much as I am, you can get them HERE!

Fresh tuna and asian flavor makes for a great combo in this easy and delicious Tuna Bowl recipe! Plus, it's easy to vary the amounts of different ingredients based on your preferences! This recipe serves 3-4 Ingredients: 3-4 fresh tuna steaks, cut into strips 2-3 8.5 ounce packets brown rice, cooked 1-2 cucumbers sliced 3-4 green onions, diced 1-2 avocado, sliced 1 cup diced carrots or carrot shreds 1/2 sweet onion, slivered 8 ounce can diced water chestnuts 3/4 cup tamari or soy sauce 1/4 cup sesame oil +2-3 tbsp for cooking 1/8 cup honey fresh ginger 1-2 tbsp tuxedo sesame seeds 1/2 cup Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise (you can also use regular mayo) 2 tbsp sriracha Divide the cooked rice into bowls. In a small mixing bowl, combine the tamari, 1/4 cup sesame oil, and honey. Whisk together. Add fresh grated ginger as desired. In a spearate small mixing bowl, combine the mayo and sriracha and mix well. In a large saute pan, heat the 2-3 tbsp sesame oil. Add the carrrots, onion, and water chestnuts. Saute 3-5 minutes stirring regularly. Add the tuna to the saute pan and cook until desired doneness. Add the cucumbers, avocado, and green onion to the bowl. Top with the tuna, onion, carrot, and water chestnut mixture. Top with spicy mayo, sesame seeds, and fresh ginger. Serve and enjoy! In case you love these shallow bowls as much as I do, you can get them HERE!

I recently shared the exciting news that my son had committed to play baseball in college and I had a lot of sports moms message me asking for tips for the recruiting process. While I am by no means an expert on recruiting, I learned a lot along the way and there are several things I wish we had known before we got started.  I will also clarify that if your child is the kind of star player that the top D1 schools are fighting for then these tips probably won’t be needed. But the truth of the matter is, most athletes are competing for their place on a college field. Worse, many great players get missed because of the way they approach the process. I have also had a few people ask how much experience my son had because their kid started late but is talented. My son started baseball in 6th grade at his small private school that played a handful of games each spring. He never played T ball or little league. His 7th grade year was Covid so no baseball. In 8th grade he played on his school team again and then played Babe Ruth that summer and made it to the All-Star team. 9th grade he played on his small school team again and played junior Legion that summer. In 10th grade he played fall Babe Ruth, his small school team in the spring, and then senior Legion that summer. It was during spring of 10th grade that he really started to want to pursue college ball. He decided to transfer to public school in 11th grade in order to play more competitive baseball. Fall of 11th grade he played on a travel team of area high school kids but it was just a 4 weekend season. Other than that, he never played travel ball. The reason I am saying that is because many people think they have to play travel to go on to the next level. That wasn’t our experience. He then played public high school baseball in the spring of his junior year. With that being said, here is how we started the process. While he was in 10th grade, we got him registered with the NCAA for eligibility. Shortly after that we learned about an organization called NCSA. While you can navigate the process without it, it did help us since we knew nothing about it and his small private school was not equipped for the process either. NCSA is a platform where your child builds a profile, has their transcript and test scores, videos and stats, etc. This allows coaches to search and filter looking for kids to fill the spots they need. NCSA also “matches” you to schools based on specifications you put in, notifies you of roster openings and things like that.  The biggest thing I wish I had known as his sophomore year was coming to a close and we were beginning this process was how to target schools. Some kids will be fine playing anywhere that wants them. But the majority of kids (and parents) want to land at a school that is aligned with their intended major and what they overall want in a school (size, location, etc). My son said early on that he wanted to play baseball in college but only at a school he would love to go to without baseball. Also, if your child does well academically there is “high academic” recruiting you can target as well.  That first summer (rising junior) we attended two prospect camps. One was a stand alone camp at Washington and Lee. This camp had about 25-30 kids, rising juniors and seniors. The coaches were able to evaluate skills, get to know the kids, etc. The next camp we did was a high academic prospect camp at William and Mary. This camp had significantly more kids, I would estimate around 75 and there were coaches there from 15-20 academically competitive schools. The thing about the high academic camps is that the coaches know a kid they are interested in should be able to get into the school. Coaches don’t want to waste their time pursuing a kid that can’t get in academically. During early spring of junior year we started looking at camps to attend that summer. We planned to do the one at Washington & Lee again as well as William & Mary. We also added a large high academic camp in Richmond that would have about 30 coaches attending. In May, he got more aggressive sending emails to coaches (more on that later) with updated videos. We were originally trying to keep the school list to places that could be a “weekend” drive but in May he started receiving correspondence from coaches in Ohio and Pennsylvania. While they were fantastic schools they weren’t where he wanted to be. We looked at how far away those schools were and decided to revise our search in NCSA with a bigger radius but staying in the southeast. Several additional schools came up and we did some homework on them and began emailing those schools. One of which happened to end up being where he committed.  Tip #1: Do your homework on schools you would want to attend. Divide them either by preference, geographically, etc. Don’t just make a list of 5 schools, shoot for 15-20 and create a target list for your campaign. It is easier to dwindle down the list than try to reinvent it. About those emails. You have to do them and you have to be persistent and consistent. The good thing about NCSA is you know if the coach opened your email and you know if they looked at your profile. We found that short and sweet emails with pertinent info worked well. Include something personal about the school in the email. For example, if you are interested in Finance and they have a fantastic program, mention that. Let them know you have done your homework on the school. Including a video link is also helpful. We created videos with a variation of content, games, plays, etc. You can post the video to You Tube as private and then whomever you share the link with can view that video. A lot of times the reply you would get to an email (if you got one) was an invite to their camp (more on those in just a minute). You have to remember that these coaches get A LOT of emails.  Tip #2: Create a Google doc where you write your email and then cut and paste that email adding in the coach’s personalized name, etc. This saves a ton of time. Create a spreadsheet or log so you can track who you have sent emails to, when you sent them, what was the response etc. You will target a lot of coaches initially and it can be hard to keep up with.  Back to the camps. There are a lot of showcase and prospect camps. Some of them are huge with hundreds of kids and dozens of coaches. If you attend camps like this, have dialogue going with coaches that will be there in advance. You may be a stand out athlete but they won’t be looking for you otherwise. We found the stand alone prospect camps to be the better avenue. These camps are at the school so you are able to tour the school at the same time. These camps are smaller with usually less than 50 kids and all of the coaching staff is in attendance so you have a much likelier chance to stand out. We repeatedly heard from coaches at these stand alone camps that they did the majority of their recruiting from those camps because if you make the effort to come to the school then you are making a statement about your interest in the school.  Tip #3: Attend stand alone camps at your most desired schools. Email the coaches and get dialogue going before you arrive.  At this point you are probably thinking, how much is all of this going to cost? The large showcase style camps are sometimes over $1,000 just to attend before you even factor in travel. The stand alone camps are generally about $250. While they are cheaper you are also only getting in front of one school. If you don’t have the time to attend a lot of stand alone camps and you go to a large one, make sure it has several target schools and you get the dialogue going in advance. Tip #4: Make a plan for how much travel you have time for and how much you can spend. That will dictate the type of camps you attend and the number of them. Do grades matter? Yes. As I mentioned above, if your child is doing high academic recruiting they matter greatly. A coach doesn’t want to waste his time on a potential recruit that the admissions office isn’t going to give the green light to or will be a problem academically once they get to college. Coaches have enough on their plate and they don’t want a player that has a high likelihood of being ineligible to play due to grades. Plus, while D1 schools can offer large athletic scholarships, D2 is more limited and D3 does not give athletic scholarships. But good grades and high test scores can get you merit and academic scholarships. You want to create every opportunity you can so keep the grades up, take a challenging course load, and prepare for standardized tests. Many schools will do a “pre-read” on your academic qualifications and you don’t want this to hinder the coach’s ability to make you an offer. Tip #5: Make good grades, do well on tests, and take a competitive workload so that you have the advantage over another recruit in the admissions process. Lastly, the portal. If you watched the College World Series you probably heard a lot about the portal and a lot of talk about transfers. That landscape has already changed greatly in the year we were in this process. We attended some stand alone camps where the high school kids were competing with 20 year old college transfers that had entered the portal. When a college coach loses a junior in the portal then he needs to replace that player with another at that level, not one that needs a few years to develop. That being said, if your kid is a D1 athlete or aspires to be, don’t rule out D2 or D3 to get playing time your freshman and sophomore year, prove yourself as a college athlete, and then enter the portal yourself. While the portal is making things different and harder for the high school kids, you might as well use it to your advantage when you can.  Tip #6: Know how active your target schools are in pulling in transfers from the portal versus filling roster spots with high school recruits. Likewise, know how you can use the portal to advance your athletic career later down the road.  These tips are just a summation of what we learned along the way and I definitely wish we had been told this information before we began navigating the process all on our own. It is time consuming and can be stressful. The better you plan and the earlier you get started, the easier it will go. I feel like we were late to the party getting started but we stayed consistent and persistent. We focused on finding the school that was the right fit but also came with a baseball opportunity.  Your child is their best advocate. They need to be coachable and respectful. They need to exhibit great character and be a good teammate. They need to have self control and lose gracefully.

I can't believe my son is going to be applying to college in just a few short months. With that being said, we have been busy doing college tours to find just the right fit! We all want our kids to find the perfect fit and getting the right vibe on the college tour is essential. The first college tours we did were over a two day period and we toured 5 schools! We left early one morning and drove 4+ hours to the first tour, hurried to the second tour, then stayed in a hotel halfway to the next day's tour. We got up early and quickly toured 3 more schools before driving back home. It was a whirlwind for sure. While we were able to take in each campus and see the amenities and things like that, it was so rushed you never got to stop and "feel the vibe" of the school and how you would fit into it. Not to mention we had a few annoying tour guides that were a huge distraction. The one really good thing that emerged from this whirlwind tour was that my son knew he wanted a small school. Mom and dad's alma mater, NC State, was bigger than he wanted. That was super helpful in making a list of additional schools to go see. The thing with small schools is that they are usually in a town setting. He liked that as well so I changed my approach with how we would go tour schools. While I knew my new approach would be more time consuming, I was certain it would help us more confidently find the right fit. And we have some strong contenders now before the application process starts. So what was this new approach? Before I scheduled the tours, I decided to do a little research on each town. Instead of just rolling in off the highway for a tour and staying at a chain hotel along the interstate, we wanted to get a feel for not just the school but the town. So I booked a room at the local inn that was walking distance to campus. I made a dinner reservation at a restaurant right in the middle of "college life." We got up in the morning and had coffee and breakfast at the local spot as well before walking to campus for our tour. You can't always "get the vibe" on a 2 hour campus tour. By slowing the tour process down we were able to experience the school rather than just seeing some classrooms, the dining hall, and a dorm room. Walking the town allowed us to gauge the personality of the area. Seeing the way students interacted getting morning coffee and studying at the coffee shop with friends told way more about the school than a tour ever could. We have now toured multiple schools using this approach. It has taken some schools that we thought were near the top of the list and bumped them down while also taking some we thought would be a maybe to the top of the list. All because my son was able to gauge how he would fit in there and if he felt it was the right place for him. Where our kids choose to go to college is a huge decision. It greatly impacts their life and the trajectory of their future. Finding the place they will thrive is essential! Plus, another huge perk of this approach is that it turned college tours into quality family time. Vacation like time. We have had some fun road trips and cool evenings at rooftop airport restaurants. If you are having trouble finding the right fit, slow down the tour process and soak in the experience the school has to offer.

Listen on the podcast HERE or watch the podcast HERE I confess! I have been a people pleaser my entire life. I have focused on fulfilling the expectations of others ahead of my own. It causes stress, frustration, overwhelm, and can wreck your confidence. Most people pleasers were conditioned to be that way as children. They would receive positive affirmations, love, encouragement, and all the positive emotions when they would do what pleases others. The child quickly equates their self-worth to their ability to keep others pleased with them while ignoring their wants and desires. My Start as a People Pleaser Growing up, I was conditioned to be a people pleaser. Life was peaceful when I kept others happy. It wasn't worth the ramifications to step out of line. When I was about 18, I made a life-changing decision in the name of people pleasing. I had wanted to be an architect since I was a little girl. However, when it came time to declare my major, I people-pleasing sat down for a conversation in which I was told (and sold) that I should go into Business and Finance and the family business. It would greatly please everyone if I did that. And so I did. An Adult People Pleaser Fast forward about 15 years and I was still people-pleasing. When my son was about 8 years old, we planned a week in Ocracoke during his spring break. I notified everyone at the family business and officially took the week off. However, I was quickly guilted that I was going to miss an important meeting. I was letting people down and disappointing them by not being a part of the meeting. What did I do the day of the meeting while I was in Ocracoke with my husband and son? I got up at 4am, caught the 5am ferry, arrived to the mainland at 7:00, then drove two more hours to the office to make the meeting at 9:00. Nothing pertinent occurred in the meeting and I turned around and drove 2 hours back to the ferry then made the 2 hour ferry ride back to Ocracoke. I was angry and frustrated and I had let my husband and son down because I was focused on making sure I kept everyone at work pleased with me. That's the thing with people pleasers, we constantly let ourselves down and we generally let down the people most important to us because we already feel loved and accepted by them. Misconception of People Pleasers People pleasers get a reputation of being reliable and dependable. Therefore, people keep asking and taking but you can never do enough to satisfy everyone. You begin to feel unappreciated and taken advantage of so you put your foot down. Then you get labeled as being unreasonable. This label is triggering to a people pleaser, guilt sets in, and the people pleasing begins again on a whole new cycle. Boundaries to Stop People Pleasing While I still have tendencies to fall back into my people-pleasing mentality, I have to focus on my boundaries and what gets put in the Yes column and what gets put in the No column. I have developed 5 questions I ask myself when evaluating if something I have been asked to do is going into the Yes column. Is this aligned with who I am and the person I am becoming? If there isn't alignment, then it goes into the No column. Is this the best use of my time? I relate this to opportunity cost in Economics. What will I have to give up to make room for this on my calendar? Which task is the best use of my time? Is this investing me in the right relationships? Who will I be surrounded by and what types of people will I be creating new relationships with? If these relationships aren't the type to support the best version of you, then the "No" column it's going to have to be. Will this matter in 5 years? Or 1 year? If you don't see long-term value being created then it is most likely not worth you doing. Will I be appreciated or taken advantage of? I don't mean this in a recognition way. I mean this in the gratitude way. When people are truly grateful for your help, it makes the experience much more meaningful and worthwhile. If you struggle with saying no to others because you are a people pleaser, ask yourself these 5 questions before saying yes. They will aid the logical part of your brain in taking over the decision-making process. If you found this helpful, check out my freebies page where I have plenty of resources available such as my Habit Tracker or my Vision Board Template.

Listen to the podcast HERE Last May I did a series on my Instagram stories about my daily habits. I also wrote a blog about it HERE. Since there are 31 days in May, there were 31 habits. I am going to break down my Top 5 Daily Habits and WHY they help me make the most of each day. Make the bed. We've all heard this one. There is even a book with this title. It is a game changer for me for a few reasons. When you make your bed first thing, you are setting up your brain to accomplish tasks. You subconciously check off something in your head and without even realizing it, you are motivated to continue getting things done. When we were first married and my son was little, I was in the habit of making the bed everyday. But then, in the last house we lived in I got out of the habit. Our bedroom was upstairs so once I left in the morning, I wasn't back through the room again until that evening. For some reason, I told myself that there was no reason to make the bed. What's funny is that this was a stressful time in my life for a multitude of reasons and neglecting this one task was making it worse. When we moved a few years ago, I got back in the habit of making the bed. I was working from home now and I was in and out of the bedroom throughout the day. I realized by making the bed with the pretty pillows and linens that I was creating my sleep sanctuary. An inviting place that I would want to retreat to each evening. I realized what a disservice I had done to myself in the last house. By not making the bed, I was avoiding the bedroom each evening therefore I wasn't having quiet reading time each night and I was actually procrastinating going to bed. Yes, making the bed can have that big of an effect on your mindset! It only takes a minute. Get 8 hours of sleep. This one goes hand in hand with number one. When I wasn't making the bed and I was procrastinating going to bed, I often fell asleep on the couch or made it up there super late when I just couldn't hold my eyes open anymore. I didn't have a bedtime routine, I would just brush my teeth and hop in the bed and turn out the lights, oftentimes around midnight (or later) and the 6:00 alarm always came way too early. I would then have to drag my very tired self out of the bed and do it all over again. When I was younger I could survive on less sleep but as I have gotten older, my productivity is just not there if I don't get enough sleep. By making the bed and creating a sanctuary, my husband and I both often joke each morning over coffee that we are excited to get in the bed that evening. The beautifully made bed is always welcoming and we get in bed early and read. I am in bed most nights by about 8:00. I read for a bit and then we take the dogs out about 9:30 and turn the lights out by 10:00. I usually wake up before the alarm because I am well rested. When you wake up feeling good, it makes you begin your day in an entirely different mindset, a better mindset, for being your best self! One other little side note about sleep, invest in a quality mattress and linens. We spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping. It is an investment in you. Our Tempurpedic mattress and pillows were life changing for the quality of our sleep. Silence your phone at 5:00. Our phones have become an extension of ourselves. They often rule our lives without us even realizing it. When I get home each day, I turn my phone to silent and set it down in the kitchen. My husband and I often enjoy sitting on the porch and watching the sunset with the company and conversation of each other, not our phones. I cook supper without being disturbed by my phone. Yes, I check it a few times throughout the evening but it isn't ruling my life and it makes for a more peaceful evening with more quality family time. Also, I do not have notifications turned on for any social media or my email. I take it one step further and leave my phone in the kitchen at night. I use a "sunrise alarm clock" that gradually has a light come on ten minutes before the alarm that emulates daybreak. It is much more peaceful. Additionally, my son is 16 and his phone stays in the kitchen at night as well. We can't live without our phones these days but I can minimize the negative effects they have on my life. Purge the mail and the trash in your car daily. Well, this one is technically two but they go hand in hand for me. Our mailbox is 1/4 mile from our house so I stop when I pull in each afternoon to get the mail. When I pick up the mail to carry it in, I grab any trash from the day as well. I go through the mail immediately when I bring it in. I used to bring the mail in and set it on the counter day after day and before I knew it the mail had taken over and I had missed a date on something pertinent. I sort it right away. Any magazines like Southern Living immediately go to the coffee table to be read. Unless I am in the market for something specific, all catalogs get purged to the recycle bin right away. I may flip through them just for a peak but they don't stick around. All junk mail like credit card offers etc gets purged and all pertinent mail goes straight to the basket on my desk. If you get a lot of mail and catalogs, purging the mail daily will be a game changer in the amount of clutter in your life. Clean the kitchen nightly so you awake to a kitchen ready to do it's job each morning. Doing the dishes after supper has been a chore for my son since he was little. Each evening after supper, he still takes everyone's plates to the sink and gets the dishwasher loaded. Pots and pans from supper get loaded or scrubbed. The counters get wiped down and I lay out the lunch box for the next morning. Walking into a clean kitchen each morning, free from dishes stacked in the sink, completely changes your motivation and mindset. Nobody gets excited about making breakfast and packing lunch when they walk into a huge mess of dishes that are in the way and the dishes that you need are dirty. Mornings can be stressful enough. Don't set yourself up for failure by walking into a dirty kitchen each morning. The few minutes it takes each night sets your mindset up for success the next morning. While I have many more daily habits for living my best life I find these to be extremely important and also useful to almost anyone. It's the little things we do each day that add up to big things and big successes. The actions you take day in and day out become your habits and these habits build your character. Taking action towards good habits determines your character and destiny. If your daily habits aren’t working for you just think about the flow of these 5. When you create a sleep routine and commit to 8 hours of sleep, you wake up in a better mindset with more motivation. Then you knock out making the bed and get something checked off the list and have already set up your sleeping routine for success again that evening! Silencing your phone at 5:00 lets your brain gradually unwind from all of the stimulation as you go about your evening, helping that sleep routine work even more! Walking into a clean kitchen each morning keeps the stress from overwhelm and frustration at bay. Another win in your mindset and outlook for the day. And purging the mail is a step in reducing clutter. Clutter overwhelms us more than we often want to acknowledge. It truly is the little things each day that set us up for success! Now go make your bed and start creating habits that lead to your best life! Want to track your habits and hold yourself accountable? Download my free habit tracker HERE. This post contains affiliate links. 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Summer is so busy that it can often be hard to stop, take a breath, and take care of you. Whether you have camps, social events, sports, and the list goes on, the summer calendar fills up quickly and we want to soak it all in and do it all. Sometimes that means we end up putting ourselves last. I am a big advocate of self care. I'm not referring to spa days and things like that (although they are awesome too), I am referring to what we do each day to maintain our best selves and properly take care of us. Like the oxygen mask on a plane, if we don't take care of us first then we may not be able to take care of anyone else. Here are my tips for taking care of you this summer! Sleep: I used to be able to survive on 5-6 hours a night but the older I get, the more I need my 8 hours. And a good 8 hours. As much as I want to stay up when I get my second wind, I have been going to bed by 10:00 (except on late baseball game nights). It makes all the difference in the world with my energy level the next day. Fruits and Veggies: I find it's easier to eat lots of fruit and veggies in the summer. I love the local produce stand and it inspires me to add more veggie sides to our suppers. I do keep my morning spinach and berry smoothie on the menu though to make sure I get all the fruits and veggies. From digestion to the appearance of my skin, I notice a big difference when I make sure to get my fruits and veggies. Meal Plan: Speaking of fruits and veggies, I have found that I have to stick with my meal planning in the summertime. It helps me make sure I have what I need for my smoothies and lunch salads so that I am less tempted to eat out when we are on the go. Our weekend cottage is at least 30 minutes from a grocery store so I have to be on my A game when I do the meal plan for our trips there. Exercise: My workout classes don't always work for my summer schedule so I have to make other plans. I continue my daily 3 mile walk, I just try to knock it out first thing before it gets too hot and to minimize how much sun I am getting. I have found some great hand weight and pilates type workouts on both Instagram and You Tube and I can do them any time. There are ways to make it work even when your schedule doesn't allow for classes. Throw in a round of tennis with friends or a bike ride. Skincare: The older I get the more important this one becomes, especially after my hubs had a scare with a skin cancer a few years ago (thankfully was able to get it removed). The entry way coat rack becomes the sun hat rack in the summer and while I do wear sunscreen daily, I like to throw on a hat whenever I take the dogs out, water plants, etc. Those 10 minutes a day can add up really fast! Summer can be crazy busy! So, stop and ask yourself: what little things make you feel your best? are you doing them? when you start to feel off course, what have you let go from your daily habits? what is causing overwhelm and how can you change it? As much as you probably don't want to do it in the summer, get up early before the rest of the house and enjoy quiet time. I love to sit on the porch with my coffee, my dogs, and a devotional while my boys are still sleeping. It sets the tone for the day. Sometimes that little bit of self-discipline to get up is the best self-care you can give yourself. Enjoy your summer. Make memories. Don't let summer overwhelm you. It will be over in a flash.

I was recently the keynote speaker at the Crystal Coast Women in Business Conference. My speech, Pivoting Towards your Purpose, focused on finding a fulfilling purpose and carrying it out to success. I have decided to break it down into a series of blog posts so stay tuned for more! Oftentimes, we find ourselves in careers that are unfulfilling to us. There is a constant search to fill that void of an unfulfilled purpose. We tend to not feel successful, not only in our career but life in general, because our days are not aligned with our purpose and what fills us up. It is key to discover what your purpose is, what you find fulfilling, and what you want your story to be so that you can begin the process of pivoting! What exactly is purpose? If you look up the definition you will get answers like "the reason for which something is done" or "one's intention or objective." Some may also define it as your passion, the reason you get up in the morning, or the central motivator of your life. Many of us can't nail that one thing down which is why we are lost and on the constant search for our purpose. First, you have to ask yourself, what are my talents, values, and strengths? Second, are your daily actions aligned with your talents, values, and strengths? If your daily actions are not aligned then it will be very difficult to find your purpose because you won't be doing actions that will fulfill you. You have to repeatedly take action that is aligned and you will begin the process of discovering your purpose and what fulfills you. It's like the domino effect, one action leads to more action. Even if the path changes along the way, each action drives you towards more action whether it's on the exact same path or starting down a new one. Each action must be intentional; leading to the discovery of who you are, what your purpose is, and what fills you up. It's also important to know what purpose is not. First, purpose is not static. It is going to change and evolve with the different seasons of life. That is why you have to continually try new things (i.e. step out of your comfort zone) and find new purpose within yourself so that you grow as a person. We don't want to just be fulfilled but to completely fulfill what our life's purpose(s) may be. Complete satisfaction and contentment! Purpose is not someone else's expectations of you but rather what you want from this life and what internal success looks like to you. If you focus on other's expectations then your actions won't be aligned and you will be on a hamster wheel searching for purpose and fulfillment. What you focus on grows!! Focus on fulfillment, purpose, and growing into the best you! Success is defined as "the accomplishment of an aim or purpose." Therefore, true success can only be achieved when we are living our purpose. That is why when you are focused on the expectations of others, you may be successful in their eyes but you aren't fulfilled. You have to define both your purpose and your success from within. We get focused on defining success by what it looks like from the outside and we abandon living our purpose on the inside. Thus, the never ending hamster wheel. In Part 2 we will look at taking action! Even if you are someone that knows your exact passion, you have to be able to execute it with your actions!

Make a meal with fresh tomatoes from garden with this Spicy Tomato & Sausage Pie recipe! Summer tomato season means tomato pie time! I spiced this up a notch with hot sausage and pepperjack cheese. It isn't overly spicy, but has just a little kick. Pairs great as the main dish with a salad and fresh sweet corn.

A perfect side for summer suppers! Feta tomatoes pack the fresh, juicy flavor of vine ripe tomatoes with the tangy kick of feta cheese. You will make these on repeat!

This is Lemon Butter Salmon is my go-to salmon recipe. It is quick and easy and so is the cleanup. It works well on other types of fish too, especially grouper! For a variation, use Smokehouse Maple seasoning instead of lemon juice! Simple Lemon Butter Salmon Recipe Yield: 4 Ingredients for the Simple Lemon Butter Salmon 4 4-6 oz salmon filets 2 lemons 2 tbsp butter Salt to taste Instructions for the Simple Lemon Butter Salmon Preheat oven to 350 degrees Cut 4 aluminum foil squares about 12-15 inches square Spray foil with non-stick spray Place a salmon filet in the center of each piece of foil, skin side down. (I leave the skin on because the meat flakes away easily after cooking but you can remove the skin before cooking if preferred.) Squeeze the juice of half a lemon on each salmon filet. Add 1/2 tbsp butter on top of each salmon filet. Sprinkle with a dusting of salt. Roll up the foil around the salmon filet to create a tent. Put the foil-wrapped salmon filets into a 13x9 casserole dish Bake for about 20 minutes. Open up the tents for the last 5 minutes of cooking. My go-to casserole dish is always this Caribbean Blue Le Creuset one!