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Happy Holidays and Visit a Waffle House!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year as I celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who ironically probably was not even born in the winter time.  It is so easy to get caught up in the commercial hustle and bustle of Christmas that we forget the real reason for the season.  But for me Christmas is special because I get to spend time with my family, eating too much, exchanging presents, decorating the house, and helping those who are less fortunate that we.  My father who is 85 is a hard person to buy a gift for because he has everything he needs and he's very picky - so that is who I inherited that trait from?  Last year, he suggested we not buy gifts for each other, but instead go to a restaurant on Christmas morning where some people are unfortunately having to work on Christmas day instead of being with their loved ones.  The only restaurant open on Christmas in our area is the Waffle House.  We went to the local Waffle House to carry out our Christmas plot.  We both ordered a cup of coffee and when we left we each gave our waitress a $50 bill for a tip and wished her a Merry Christmas.  Needless to say she was shocked and thrilled at the generosity of two strangers.  We look forward to doing the same thing this Christmas which I think is in the true spirit of Christmas.  Merry Christmas.

Christmas Comes Early

Tonight was a wonderful night for my wife and me.  Our son and daughter and their spouses invited us to go to dinner with them tonight which we always enjoy doing.  Any time we spend with our family we consider special.  During dinner our son and daughter-in-law handled us an envelope and told us it was an early Christmas gift.  Inside the card was a cute poem telling us we were about to become grandparents along with a sonogram of our first GRANDCHILD who is five weeks old.  Needless to say we were shocked and thrilled at the same time.  We've enjoyed watching several of our dear friends become grandparents in the last few years.  It is amusing to watch new grandparents dote over their grandchildren.  I'm sure we will do the same thing a few months from now and Captain Tripod as my family calls me due to my love of photography and lugging my tripod and camera equipment around with me on every vacation will take a few pictures of his grandchild too.  Life is good!

Are you organized?

I consider myself an organized person.  I try to live by the motto, "everything has a place, and everything is in its place."  In fact, Order is one of my 13 personal values.  I work hard to keep my life organized.  My clothes are arranged by color in my closet, my tool box is labeled by the type of tool I'm storing, and I use  labeled plastic containers to store screws, bolts, and many other items I periodically need.  My files are labeled and organized aphabetically in three different file cabinets.  One of the best investments  you can make is to purchase a label maker at an office supply store. When I can't quickly find something I need, I become frustrated and stressed because I feel like I'm wasting valuable time.  In fact, one of my rules is that I can find any file in my office or on my computer within 10 seconds.  Like  everything else, being organized is a choice.  A person decides to be organized or not organized.  Organization is a habit.  Do you want to get more oganized?  Here are some steps that will help you.

1.    Decide that being organized is important to you.  It's something you value.

2.    Read a good book on getting organized and implement the principles you learn.

3.    Have someone who is organized help you to be more organized.

4.    Each week pick only one area of your life that you want to organize - closet, car, garage, desk, office, etc. - and focus on gaining organizational control in that area before moving to the next one.  Start with sometihing easy so you can get a quick win.  It will build your confidence.  Be sure to attack only one area at a time.

5.    Use the "Grab 15" principle.  Every day for the next week, schedule 15 minutes a day and spend that time organizing something.

6.    Reward yourself each time you reach an organizational milestone.

Good luck and start getting organized today.