I'm too old or too young

Hey Everyone,

I've been reminded several times these past few months of a great advice I read from a book called "The Magic of Thinking Big" a few years ago. We tend to make excuses to ourselves when it comes to putting forth action. We all have great ideas and intentions but very few actually puts in the action. Some people have the "age" excusitis which will get you nowhere.

An example of someone with age excusitis is a person who we will call Stacy wants to change her career in a whole different direction but she feels she's too "old" to start now. She says, " I'd have to start from scratch. And I'm too old for that now. I'm 40."

The truth is it's never too late.

The book say's to look at it like this:
When does a man's productive life begin? Let's say 20. Then, when does a man's productive life end? Let's say they stayed in good shape and they love their job, so around 70 years old. So, a man's productive years stretch from 20 to 70. That's 50 years in between or half a century. So if Stacy's 40 she's only spent 20 years of her productive life. She has 30 more years left. In other words, she hasn't even reached the halfway point.

If you were Stacy will you spend another 30 years doing something you don't like to do or start what you love now and spend the remaining 30 years feeling more fulfilled?

It's not how old we are that's important but our attitude towards age that makes it a blessing or a barricade.

It's the same thing for the "I'm too young" age excusitis. A lot of young adults including myself are worried when they have to manage/ supervise people older then them. We have to remember that we never would have been given that position if someone didn't think we had the right skills. Age has nothing to do with your expertise. Have confidence and be respectful. Youth is a liability only when the youth think it is.

I had to break away from this when I was 22 years old. I was supervising people much older then me and it was hard for me especially because of the whole Korean tradition. Some Korean people really take the age gap seriously and expects a certain type of respect automatically from someone who's younger. This book really helped me to build more confidence and not let the age get in the way of striving for my dreams.

I hope this helps you guys as much as it helped me in my life.

Love,
Sandy

IN THE MOMENT- Neon

Hey Everyone,

Usually spring marks all the pastels, ivory, and whites but this year a lot of designers have been introducing bright neon's. I love pastel tones but this year I've been very fond of all the neon accessories such as watches, purses, shoes, and bracelets. Here's a versatile watch I thought would spice up an outfit. I'm really debating if I should get this. What do you guys think? Accents of colors can really make a world of a difference! I'm so ready for Spring!!

www.shopbop.com

Love,
Sandy

The best parenting tip we most neglect

Hey Everyone,

I had quite a few request to talk about parenting tips so I wanted to share a tip Chris and I learned to have a great marriage and a family.

The most important tip we learned was: Protect your marriage
The husband-wife union is not just a good first step towards child rearing. It is a necessary one. (based on the book"Baby Wise")

I've learned that the greatest overall influence we will have on our child isn't as an individual parent, but in the joint role as husband and wife. A healthy husband-wife relationship is essential to the emotional health of children in the home, and it infuse a stability within the family. A strong marriage also provides a lot of security for children as they grow in the nurturing process.

Chris and I are very conscience of this as we are walking into the world of parenting. I have to be eve more mindful of this because I'm with Topher all day and I can easily make him the center of my attention. I tell Chris when I feel we need more alone time and I crave it if we don't have it on a daily basis.

Here are a few things we do and the tips the book "Baby Wise" recommends to have a strong marriage/ family:

1) Life doesn't stop once you have a baby. It may slow down for a few weeks, but it should not stop entirely. When you become a mother, you do not stop being a daughter, a sister, a friend, or a wife. Those relationship must still be maintained.
2) Date your spouse. Chris and I use to have weekly date nights so we do what we can to keep those sacred. We do what we can to get a babysitter.
3) Continue those loving gestures you enjoyed before the baby came along. I still tell Chris how much I love him everyday and we always give each other a kiss goodbye every morning. I also text him random text messages throughout the day. We also try to keep doing the activities we loved to do together such as singing, working out, outdoor activities, etc.
4) Invite some friends over for food and fellowship. This forces you to plan your child's day around serving others as you work together to prepare your home for the guests. Chris and I invited friends over to watch the football games or to play basketball.
5) At the end of each day, spend fifteen minutes sitting with your spouse discussing the day's event. Chris and I call this "couch time" which takes place after we put him to sleep around 11pm. We realized that the living room had too much distractions so we do it in our bedroom.

Hopefully these tips will help you guys as well!


Love,
Sandy