Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Pet Peeves

Yesterday, the podcast Modern Musings talked about pet peeves. It was a fun discussion, but it also made me realize that I have a lot of pet peeves. One would even say that my pet peeves have pet peeves. I joke…I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and when you have OCD, your life is a pet peeve.

What is OCD? According to the National Institute of Mental Health, ”Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and/or behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.” People can have mild to severe cases of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. 

I feel like my tics are not life-altering, just annoying sometimes. I first noticed that I had odd tendencies when I was very young. I would get hyper-fixated on certain things. For example, I was obsessed with making lists and checking things off my list. I also had to have everything in alphabetical order. I would spend days alphabetizing and re-alphabetizing my books, movies, and magazines. There was nothing more satisfying to me than putting things in their place and having them organized. Over the years, I’ve found that without organization, life sometimes falls apart. Over the last eight years, I’ve also learned that sometimes you have to readjust your perception of how things should be and when to fight your battles.

My biggest OCD-related pet peeves:

• The trash should be in the trash can. I am so obsessed with this that I will throw trash away that’s not trash. My OCD has gotten me into trouble in the past. I have gotten so hard into “throwing away trash” mode that I have thrown away checks, important bills/papers, and keepsakes. In my classroom, if students leave their homework on the desk or the floor, I will throw it away (I do give them a disclaimer about this at the beginning of the year). One of the major problems I had with my ex-husband stemmed from his trash-hoarding (another form of OCD).
• The dishes should be in the sink. One thing I can’t stand is going to another person’s house and seeing dishes sitting everywhere. If the dishes are in the sink, I’m okay with it. But if they are sitting around the house, I fight the compulsion to take their dishes to the sink. If I have finished with a dish, I try to take it to the sink immediately. If I don’t, I will stare at it until it is in the sink.
• Dirty clothes should be in the hamper. That is another thing I can’t stand when I go to another person’s house. However, I don’t have an urge to pick up others’ dirty clothes. I can’t stand touching another person’s dirty clothes, especially if they smell like body odor. On the flip side, I won’t let anyone else touch my dirty clothing either.
• Pet hair on my skin or clothes. I know you are saying, “but you have four cats!” Just because they have insane amounts of hair (and compulsively shed in the summer) doesn’t mean I don’t love my cats (or anyone else’s pets). I have separate sets of clothes. Clothes I wear out and clothes I wear at home. I wash both sets of clothes separately. I have multiple sets of sheets and blankets that I am constantly washing to keep down the pet hair. I also groom my cats regularly to keep the hair at bay. If I go to a person’s house with pets, I am mindful of where I sit or what I wear. My reaction also stems from having a mild allergy to pet hair. I obsessively wash my arms and face if I feel hair sticking to them and making them itch.
• Stains on my clothes. This problem came to the forefront recently when I was on vacation. Jason and I ordered a seafood boil to share. I typically buy clothes in mixed patterns and avoid wearing solid colors because mixed patterns tend to hide stains on shirts better. So, I wore a solid shirt, not thinking about the restaurant where we were going to be eating. The boil we ordered was swimming in a butter sauce, and Jason immediately dug in, not caring if he stained his shirt (he usually only wears black anyway). By the end of our meal, I was freaking out because my shirt had stains all over it. I went to the bathroom and compulsively scrubbed the shirt in hopes the stains would not stick. I felt embarrassed afterward because I was having lunch with his family and I felt like they were looking at me oddly with my wet shirt (they weren’t).
• Food in my teeth. Like the stains on my clothes, this drives me crazy. If I am out and about and I do not have dental floss on me, I will not order something that I know will get in my teeth, otherwise, I will pick at my teeth until my teeth are bloody from trying to get out whatever is stuck in them. For this reason, I refuse to eat popcorn, whether it is a flavor I like or not. The memory of popcorn getting stuck in my teeth prevents me from eating it. I don’t like seeing food in other people’s teeth, either.
• Body odor. I do not have a good sense of smell. There are certain things I cannot smell and, in return, taste because I do not have a good sense of smell, except when it comes to body odor. If someone is not wearing deodorant or did not brush their teeth, I can smell it. I might not be able to smell dinner, or the flowers Jason buys me, but I can smell if you didn’t take a shower. I also take extra pains to make sure that I do not have body odor, myself. I compulsively shower and wash my hair at least once a day because I do not want to appear dirty or greasy. Back when I weighed over 400 pounds, my doctor commented on my obsessive cleanliness because she had never met someone of my size so clean.

This is not all of my pet peeves, and I am far from a perfectionist, which is one of the common misconceptions about someone with OCD. I don’t care if I cut straight, draw straight, or hang pictures on my wall straight. I cannot color inside the lines, and I don’t have a problem if my furniture or spice cabinet is aligned a certain way (just whether my spice cabinet is in alphabetical order). I do find myself repeating things, counting over and over, and hyper-fixating on certain tasks, but nothing to the detriment of my life or health. Yes, I have a lot of pet peeves, but I can live with them.

I want to hear from our readers. Do you have any pet peeves? Do they affect your life? Please, comment below or continue the conversation on our Facebook group: MMC Chat.

My Cats

Everyday Tasks

Let’s face it – cleaning is hard. It’s hard especially if you have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It is like the angel and devil on your shoulder. My OCD says, “Clean,” and my ADHD says, “Do Everything But….” That is why I need to have a cleaning checklist.

In my last blog, I talked about my tendency to hoard and how difficult it was to move to a new place. What I didn’t talk about was how cleaning my old place after I moved was a nightmare. I had two years' worth of cobwebs on my ceiling, two years of dust on my blinds, and two years of grime on my baseboards. When I moved to my new place, I vowed to never my place get that dirty again and I resolved to make an effort to keep my house clean, if anything, to be able to invite company over.

Because I struggle so much with consistency, I try to keep a daily checklist of things that I need to do for that day on my fridge. Not all the things on my checklist are cleaning-related. I have the simplest things on there such as “drink water” because I find that I have to constantly remind myself to do things. I’ve tried cleaning my house in a variety of ways over the years but I find it best if I complete one task every day and I do that task immediately after I get home from work or I will sit down and all will be lost.

• Sunday: Laundry and Vacuum Day. I do this simultaneously between laundry loads.
• Monday: Kitchen Day. I typically run the dishwasher, clean my counters, and stove, and clean out my fridge on this day.
• Tuesday: Bathroom Day. I typically clean most of my bathroom this day. I clean my shower daily as I shower. This is a hack I picked up from TikTok (featured on ThisYouNeed).
• Wednesday: Miscellaneous Dusting/Clutter Day. I typically try to lightly dust my bookshelves, window sills, and blinds for cobwebs if needed. I also try and go through any clutter that is amassed during the week and get my trash ready to be taken out.
• Thursday: Date Night/Rest Day. Jason is off on Thursdays so we typically have our date night on Thursday.
• Friday/Saturday: Deep Sweeping Day/Deep Cat Box cleaning. Caring for cats is almost a daily task but I typically wash out their cat box at least once a week. Over the week they also tend to get litter on the floor in the area of their cat box or track it across the house.

My cleaning checklist isn’t perfect and I don’t follow it 100% every week but I have lived a much cleaner existence since I have implemented it. I want to hear from our readers. Do you have a cleaning checklist? What do you do to make your life easier when cleaning? Continue the conversation on our Facebook Group: MMC Chat.

Fascinating Food Videos and Where to Find Them

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a foodie. I like to do what I call “experimental cooking”, and I am always looking for new ideas to experiment in the kitchen. The topic for this week on our podcast was relaxing YouTube videos and nothing relaxes me more than watching a good food video whether it is on YouTube or TikTok. I can scroll for hours watching videos and getting ideas.

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

Where do I find the best food videos? We live in a time where most social media is interconnected, so one video on YouTube can also sometimes be found on Facebook or even Snapchat. I probably watch most videos via Snapchat. You can also find some great videos scrolling on Facebook, Instagram Reels, or TikTok.

Favorite Video Channels:

• ChefClub®: I like ChefClub because they make bold food videos and recreate classics. You can check out their YouTube channel here and their website here. Warning: their videos are not diet-friendly but that’s what fascinates me about them.

• Tasty®: Everyone loves BuzzFeed®! Tasty® is an offshoot of the company that compiles comfort-food recipes and recipe videos. I have been a fan of these videos for years, and I have even bought one of their cookbooks as well as cookware sets with their logo. Tasty has cooking and baking products on the shelves now. You can find their videos here and their website here.

• SoYummy®: SoYummy is another site that has simple and affordable meal videos that I like to watch. I like them because they make videos out of simple ingredients that most people have in their homes. They are very similar to Tasty®, and they also have their own cookbook on Amazon and Kindle. You can find their videos here and their website here.

• MyCupcakeAddiction®: Another channel I have been following for years is MyCupcakeAddiction. I love to bake and I love watching baking videos as well as cooking videos. One of my favorite things to bake and experiment with is cupcakes. MyCupcakeAddiction has always been a baking inspiration to me. Elise Strachan of MyCupcakeAddiction also has her own cookbook and her own brand of earrings called EarCandy. You can check out her videos here and her website here.

• AllDayIDreamAboutFood®: I have talked about Carolyn Ketchum before when I have talked about sugar-free and keto recipes. Of course, she would be another favorite of mine because I am on a journey to better myself through eating less sugar and gluten-free. I am a recent fan of her recipes and videos, but I cannot promote this woman enough. Go check out her videos here and her website here.

I could go all day raving about food videos because I simply love watching them and trying to recreate them. I want to know what your favorite food videos and recommendations are. Please comment below with suggestions. Also, go check out our Facebook Chat here and continue the conversation.

Grocery Shopping on a Budget

I just want to start off by saying that I am an English teacher and not a math teacher, but I am a shopper and I get that from my mom and Maw Maw who can bargain shop with the best of them. Both women had different views on grocery shopping. My mom liked to go and get everything during one trip to the store, whereas my Maw Maw liked to go weekly and get just what she needed for the week. These are some things I observed while watching my two mentors growing up. Nowadays, I do a little bit of both. As a bargain shopper, you must be able to budget, and that is where the math comes in…I always tell people that I don’t do math unless it involves percentages or statistics and that’s what bargain shopping is all about: the math and science of shopping.

Here are a few simple rules and steps that I follow when I plan to go grocery shopping:

• Ask Essential Questions

• Make That List

• Research

• Favorites First

Ask Essential Questions:

I only get paid once a month, so I have to be strategic in how I stretch out my money. I like to make one big bulk grocery trip for items that I can either freeze or aren’t going to expire soon. Then, as my meal plan allows it, I will shop weekly for perishable ingredients. How do I plan? I have to consider some essential questions such as:

• How much money do I have for groceries this month? This is probably the most important question.

• What is my schedule for the month? I keep my work and life schedule in my Happy Planner®.

• How many days will I need or want to eat out? My coworkers and I eat out at least a few times a month, I eat out at least twice a month with my Modern Musings crew and Jason and I eat out a few times a month when we do our date nights. We switch out on paying.

• What do I want to eat this week/month? I usually keep it simple during the week because I don’t like to eat heavy at work. I cook a big meal at least once a week. For example, this week I am making Keto Chile Relleno Chicken Soup.

• What do I need that I don’t already have? I try to keep a list of things in my pantry and update it often. This process helps with the budgeting process.

Make That List:

After I consider these questions, I write out a list in my “all-purpose notebook” or APN. For those that don’t know, an APN is something I have been carrying around with me since middle school for random ideas and lists. I make a few different kinds of lists. Now, hear me out. You want to maximize your money.

• Wish List: First I make a list of all the things I want or think I need when I go grocery shopping. For example, I have two bags of coffee and I think I may be running low. I put that on the list. I have a few paper plates, so I will also add that to the list.

• Need List: After I write out everything that I think I might need, I consider what I will actually need for the next month and mark them as a “need.” For example, I have cats so I will need to buy a huge bag of cat food.

• Extra List: Everything else that is an extra buy such as coffee or peanut butter (things that are not specifically part of my meal plans), I mark as extra if I have the money to spend on them. On a side note, it is beneficial to keep a running tally of groceries as you put them in your cart and overestimate the amount to avoid surprises.

Research:

When I grocery shop, I am not a “one and done” person because I like to shop around for the best deals that I can find. Luckily, in the area I live in, I have an abundance of shopping options at my fingertips. I grew up in a small town where my family didn’t have that luxury. Once a month, my family would load into the car and drive an hour (or more) away to get our monthly grocery deals. Now, I don’t have to drive more than twenty minutes to my favorite grocery stores. Why do I research? Because I want the best deals for my money and my unique diet, as mentioned in my last blog. I eat low-carb, gluten-free, and mostly dairy-free. When I say mostly dairy-free, I still incorporate some cheese in my diet. Some of my favorite ways to research are:

• Weekly Ads: You can get these ads in few different ways, but most likely you will get the ads of the closest stores in your mailbox each week. If the stores you like to go to are a little bit farther away, you can sign up for the ads online and they will be delivered to your e-mail. Another money-saving tip when you sign up for ads is that you can also get coupons by mail or e-mail.

• Apps: If you are a phone app person, most stores have their own app that you can get ads and coupons directly. You can search and “cut” digital coupons that you can use at the store. Also, you can use the apps to shop for groceries and budget your money.

• Newspapers: If you don’t like apps or digital coupons but still want to look for savings, you can choose to buy a print newspaper or get one delivered. Every Sunday, the major newspapers carry weekly ads and coupons.

Favorites First:

When I am shopping and budgeting, I have a few favorite stores that I like to shop at first for my products. I don’t ever limit myself to one store. Sometimes you can save the most by shopping around. For example, if I am making chicken soup this coming week, I will look at the ads to see which stores have chicken on sale and what quality of chicken they might be offering. In addition to that, there are certain stores where I go for certain things such as the “healthy junk” I mentioned in my previous blog. Here are my favorite stores and why they are my favorites:

Items from the Manager's Special at Sprouts

• Sprouts Farmer’s Market: This is the store that I always go to first when grocery shopping because it’s a small store and I like the quality of their products. Aside from that, as I mentioned in my previous blog, they cater to individuals with special diets. This store also frequently runs “buy one, get one” free sales and “manager specials” on their meats, so it’s my first choice for “healthy junk” such as grainless granola and keto protein bars. I also buy my favorite low-carb, gluten-free bread here.

• WinCo Foods: I first fell in love with this store when I lived in Utah years ago.  They are relatively new to Texas, but now they are popping up all around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.  The premise of WinCo Foods has always been a favorite of mine. It is a discount store that is employee-owned. Another plus is that most WinCo stores are 24 hours. They don’t have as big of a selection of certain items that bigger stores such as Walmart have, but the majority of their store brand dry goods you can buy in bulk. This is the store that I go to for most of my regular baking supplies, herbs, and spices. I also buy bulk candy here for gift baskets. You can also buy bulk vegetable bags at this store for large gatherings. This is also a good store to go to for ready-made meals and breakfasts. One thing I should point out if you have never been to WinCo is that they only take cash or debit cards, and you must bag your groceries yourself.

• Kroger: I used to think that Kroger was expensive but my best friend, sister, and fellow MMC Christen introduced me to Kroger’s clearance section. Every Wednesday, Kroger marks down their products that are almost out-of-date. Kroger is also another store that has great weekly-ad deals on meat and frequently offers certain meats as “buy one, get one free.” They also have alternate diet sections in their store in special sections, and they do carry some of the brands I like to buy for my diet. Aside from that, I really enjoy shopping at Kroger’s deli and cheese section. They make in-house charcuterie boards as well.

• Market Street: This is a great store to go to for their weekly ads as well. This store does not have as many special-diet options as Sprouts, but when you catch certain items on sale, your bill will be even cheaper than going to Sprouts. They frequently offer their meat selections as “buy one, get one free” and they have great deals on their store brand items. I especially like to go when protein shakes are on sale.

• Aldi: This store is still a favorite when it comes to discount shopping, and it is probably the cheapest place you can get certain items such as cheese, produce, and eggs. My only problem with Aldi is the fact that they are inconsistent with their items that are not in-store brands, so you never know what you will find when you shop there. However, you can shop at this store on any budget and still feel like you are winning by saving money. Aldi even carries some alternative diet items so anyone can eat healthy on a budget at this store. I typically only buy “extra” items at Aldi.

Other ways to save:

If all of that didn’t blow your mind, here are some other tips I have to save money when I shop:

• Don’t throw away your receipt: Often, receipts have coupons that you can use on your next visit. For example, Sprouts offers a $10 discount on your next visit if you spend over $75.

• Check your product boxes: If you have non-perishable items in your pantry, oftentimes there are coupons on the box. So, don’t throw away boxes without checking first.

• Go to product websites: My mother was a big fan of this concept. She would often go to product websites and download coupons off their websites. She would also go to couponing websites. It takes a lot of work and you have to sift through a lot of e-mails but saving money is worth it in the long run. Also, a lot of websites will allow you to try their products for free.

• Order grocery delivery: This is pretty simple. If you order groceries from delivery apps, you sometimes get discounts especially if you are a first-time buyer. Sometimes you can even get upgraded items if stores run out of your order.

• In-store coupons: if you look at certain products you are buying in-store, you will find coupons on the products. For example, the manager’s special that Sprouts has on their meats (see above).

• Know when to go: As I mentioned before, the best time to go to Kroger is on Wednesday when they do their markdowns. But, when do other stores do markdowns? In short, most other stores also do their markdowns on Wednesday mornings, typically because grocery stores restock their shelves mid-week and it is a low-traffic shopping day, unlike Friday and Saturday.

• Look for sales and discontinued items while in the store: Not all sales and discounts are listed in weekly ads, so sometimes you actually have to go to the store to check out low prices. Almost all stores also have a clearance section if you know where to look.

In conclusion, there is no right or wrong way to shop for groceries and my process may seem a little obsessive-compulsive at first but it is something that has worked well for me over the years. What do you do to save money while grocery shopping? Please let me know in the comments below or continue the conversation on our Facebook group: MMC Chat, and don’t forget to listen to our blog coming out this Wednesday

Finding the Fire

I am new to the subject of PowerSheets®. I recently received my first ever PowerSheets® goal planner for my birthday from Cindy. We can all agree that for most, 2020 was chaotic and I’m not proud to say that I didn’t come out of my quarantine a more well-rounded/creative person as most of my friends did. It was a very dark and revealing time for me. At the end of the year, Christen took me aside and introduced me to a creative outlet I could bring with me into 2021 which was the idea of creative goal setting.

PowerSheets® teaches you that to live your passion, it means to live for something worthwhile, knowing that it may cost you something. Living your passion is making bold decisions and enduring challenges, but experiencing the happiness that it brings you afterward.

When you are first setting up your PowerSheets®, it asks you “What makes you come alive?” When you use these worksheets, you really have to sit down and think. It takes goal setting to a new level. 

First, let’s break this down: what makes you come alive? When I see this, it makes me think, what gets me up out of my chair/bed and motivates me to live my day. What are my passions? PowerSheets® then asks you a series of questions to come up with the right answers. When answering these questions, keep your one word in mind. In a previous blog, I told you my one word is “inspire.”

PowerSheets® asks you if you’ve lost your passion. If you haven’t, that’s great! Make a list of your passions and motivations. If you have, begrudgingly admit it. I admit for several years I lost my passion for most things. I decided at the beginning of 2021 that I would get back to me and I DID.

Once you’ve answered that question, PowerSheets® asks you how you feel most days. Lately, aside from school, I feel tired, but I also feel like every day is a new day with new possibilities and new opportunities. Yes, I am overwhelmed and exhausted, but the day still brings possibilities. So back to that first question, what fires me up? What makes me excited?

• Education: I believe that everyone deserves an equally great education.
• Love: I love LOVE...definitely, a hopeless romantic.
• Family/friends: I couldn’t live without them.
• My cats: a huge motivation for me because they are my fur babies.
• The Boyfriend: as of this week, we are three months and going strong.
• My students: they motivate me every day in so many ways because I want to inspire them to be their best selves.
• Reading/Books: one of my favorite pastimes is reading.
• Makeup artistry: one of my new hobbies has been eye makeup artistry. I am still in the experimental stages.
• Writing/blogging: yes, this blog is motivating, as well as the poetry I actively write.
• Coffee: another one of my favorite things to do is try new coffee spots around the DFW area and post about them on my Instagram blog @Ms.Garvin.Writes.
• Cooking/baking: I am a huge fan of the show Top Chef and Food and Wine Magazine. I am always looking for new recipes to try. Years ago, when I was living with my mom and grandma, I would experiment with recipes. My grandma called it “gourmet” cooking because I cooked things that she didn’t normally eat like French Onion Soup from scratch.
• The Arts: without the arts, where would we be as a society?
• Trying new things: this is a broad category, but I am a life-experience junkie. I am always on the lookout for the next cool thing to try, whether it is a new restaurant or staying in a hotel treehouse (bucket list), I want to try it.
• Living a healthy lifestyle: this is a big one for me. Over the last three years, I have lost around 200 pounds and endless amounts of clothing sizes. I want to keep it off as well as maintain an active lifestyle.

Once you have your power list of motivations, you can begin your PowerSheets® journey. What are you passionate about? Let me know in the comments.

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Power Planning with PowerSheets®

Two weeks ago, we shared with you how we use a word of the year to enhance our lives. Rather than setting resolutions that will soon be broken, we choose a word to name our focus, and then incorporate it into everything we do. But having a power word is not enough. To manifest a better life, we can’t just think about what we want for the new year — we need to have a plan. This week, we are talking about building on that one little word by setting goals to cultivate our best life, particularly through the use of PowerSheets®.

I will admit, I’m pretty much a newbie to PowerSheets®. My friend, Brandi, tried to introduce them to me many times over the years, but I was reluctant to add yet another “hobby” or something more to keep up with, and I really didn’t understand the value of buying another “planner” or a bunch of worksheets. I felt like I already knew how to set goals and make task lists. But then our friend Susan introduced me to vlogger Cindy Guentert-Baldo (see links, below), and everything changed.

Cindy Guentert-Baldo can be found on YouTube.com. The videos I started with are 2021 Goal Setting – PowerSheets Prepwork and 2021 Goal Setting – My 2021 Goals.

Cindy has a YouTube channel where she shares her adventures in planning and goal setting — mistakes and all. But before you head off to watch her videos, let me warn you, CGB has a penchant for dropping the “F-bomb”, so if you are highly averse to cursing, Cindy is not for you. If you can get past that, or if you just don’t care, then you really should watch these videos I’ve linked below; Cindy has a great way of explaining the whole process while she walks you through her own work in her PowerSheets®. (And for the record, no, I’m not offended by cursing; I just warn you because I was caught completely off-guard by it in my first viewing.) She’s actually quite funny, and I enjoy watching her videos a lot.

I think I mentioned in our One Little Word® podcast that my word of the year for 2020 was “clarity”, and I started out (pre-COVID) with the intention of doing some deep soul-searching. I was at a crossroads, and I felt like I had no direction. But setting my sights on clarity and working on my OLW project just wasn’t enough. So many things changed, and the time I thought I would have to meditate and examine my navel just never came to be. By mid-January, I was already drowning in the responsibilities of caring for my mother who has dementia, and by March we were dealing with a world-wide pandemic that not only decimated my career as a travel agent and crafting event planner, but also wiped out my husband’s income as well. We were in a full-blown crisis. Needless to say, “clarity” did not do much for me that year except to make me realize that clarity isn’t something that just comes to you — it’s something you have to “Explore”.

Brandi bought my first PowerSheets® Intentional Goal Planner as a gift, and when I opened it, my first thought was, “Oh, geez, this is going to be a lot of work.” It took me a couple of weeks to get up the nerve to start working in it, but I took my time, watched CBG’s videos, and eventually got into the swing of it.  I think I caught up to the rest of the world in late January, and after that, I started happily setting and refreshing goals on a regular basis. The whole process has completely changed my outlook on goal setting, and has made a huge difference in my life.

PowerSheets® is unlike anything I’ve ever done before. Designed by Lara Casey, PowerSheets® takes you from the most basic brainstorming techniques right up through monthly, weekly, and daily action plans called “Tending Lists”. It’s all part of the “Cultivate What Matters” community that’s all about positive and powerful change in our lives and around the world. According to the website, the idea is to “uncover what truly matters and do something about it,” and “this powerful goal planner will help you set, plan, and track progress toward the goals that matter most—big or small, the things you’ve always wanted to do.”

I was hesitant at first, but as you can see, less than a year into this process, I am a full-blown proponent. I found the in-depth worksheets to be straightforward, practical, and convenient. The goals I’ve set using PowerSheets® have enabled me to start a family game night, plan several family campouts and outings, sell my mother’s house and get her settled into a long-term memory care facility, begin the process of rebuilding my travel business, pivot the focus of my crafting business into something much more enjoyable and sustainable, clean and reorganize my home, and focus more time and energy on my health, writing, crafts, and other forms of self-care. In short, it’s been pretty amazing. The whole system is so easy and effective! 

Whether you have one goal or many, big dreams or little plans, I heartily encourage you to take a look at PowerSheets®. You can see an unboxing video of my 2022 PowerSheets® workbook on my YouTube site. Now is a great time to get started for 2022, and you can go at your own pace. It’s a great way to manifest what you want in your life and really cultivate what matters most.

Cultivate What Matters® and PowerSheets® are the trademark of Lara Casey Media. You can learn more about both at CultivateWhatMatters.com