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How do you recharge?

December 17, 2015 by Liz SanFilippo Hall

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, I’m not quite sure where the time went! When I started this blog I had a plan: I’d blog at least once or twice a week. Not all posts would be long, but I had a HUGE list of topics so I figured: easy peasy, right? Wrong!

Life has been insanely hectic lately. October through December is the busy season for my makeup business, as people are throwing holiday makeup parties and events left and right, in addition to doing lots of holiday shopping for themselves.

The other part of it was my job at The International Kitchen, where I’m responsible for updating all pricing for 2016 — and with over 100 vacations, that’s a LOT of updating when you only work part time!

Our family walks are a highlight of my weekends.
Our family walks are a highlight of my weekends (and a great way to hit the ‘reset’ button).

But anyways, I’m still here! I just got over yet another head cold (my second one this season already), but I’m back at it and enjoying this December even more than usual. I’m not sure what that’s about… maybe it’s because I feel like I’m in a good place this year? Maybe it’s also partly that Little Miss has become quite the fun little companion (and no, I’m not counting the days she pretends to be a pterodactyl)?

Whatever the reason, after all the busy-ness that’s defined the last couple months, I’m thinking about how to best recharge before we head into the new year. I used to curl up with a good book, or watch a movie. But with a toddler, I literally get a few minutes into either and end up falling asleep!

Luckily this “Winter” in Chicago has been crazy mild (knock on wood!) and our little family has taken to going on walks together on the weekends. (Walking around the block with a stubborn bulldog and a year and half old literally takes 45 minutes). I find that restful, and recharging, in its own way.

But what about me time? Me time… it pretty elusive after becoming a mama, isn’t it?

For me, personally, I take it moments here and there when I can… mainly when Little Miss is asleep. My me time — my time to recharge — is in the shower, in the quiet moments before she wakes up in the morning. Honestly it’s also when I put on my makeup. It’s how I get going, how I feel ready to take on the day. It only a few minutes, but sometimes it feels like it can make a world of difference.

Then again. It is about time for another hair cut and nail appointment — I’ll take those moments as me time too!

How do you reset and recharge? Or how do you spend your free time?

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Filed Under: Family & Lifestyle, Parenting Tagged With: little miss, makeup business, me time, recharge

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Let’s get that story out of your head and onto the page | Editor, Creative Writer, Author, & Coach

What can I say except… I have BIG news! 🎉💖 What can I say except… I have BIG news! 🎉💖#WritingLife #DreamComeTrue
No day is ever the same for @erinkuhnkrueger, and No day is ever the same for @erinkuhnkrueger, and the same can be said of her “creative time.” But rather than lament it, she’s embraced it, because she enjoys the process… whether she’s writing in dribs and drabs between calls and time with her kids, or in the sweet quiet of the night when everyone else is asleep.“When I’m writing, I’m a different person,” Erin told me on my latest #CreativityChat.Writing has always been important to Erin, but it wasn’t until after launching her blog and her work in writing took off that she fully owned herself as a writer.Erin and I chatted about why it can be hard to claim your creativity and writing… after all, our stories are important. Our stories are valuable. They help us connect and relate to other people, but owning that fact can be hard.That said, Erin doesn’t shy away from honesty and vulnerability in her writing. And I’d dare to say that her mantra when it comes to writing boils down to something she told me about herself and why she writes, “If I can help one person, I’m doing good.”Thanks, Erin, for holding space for your creativity and taking the time to think deeply about what works for you and what doesn’t.*** My chat with Erin was #CreativityChat number three, and I’m on a mission to have 100 Creativity Chats this year. I truly believe we all have stories to share, and I love discovering the different ways people fit creativity into their busy days — whether it’s at work or as a hobby (because no matter how we fit it into our lives, it all matters). I want to talk to people from all walks of life about what creativity means to them.Want to share more about how you fit creativity into your life? Let’s chat!#CreativeLife
“Why’d you get picture books? They’re for yo “Why’d you get picture books? They’re for your class right?” - my 9 year old after our visit to the library 🤣Yup, my kids are done with picture books… but I’m not!! Buster (aka Pizza Blackhole Machine, my son’s chosen online nickname) only wanted Plants versus Zombies books 🤷‍♀️#KidLit #LibraryHaul
I’ll never get tired of writing “the end” wi I’ll never get tired of writing “the end” with every draft I finish. Draft number two of my New Adult contemporary done! Now to get these pages into the hands of some writing partners… because this is just one another step toward getting this book into the world.#AmEditing #WritingLife
National Book Day seems like a good day to remind National Book Day seems like a good day to remind you that I wrote a picture book! Etta Betta and the Beast is about a girl who thinks her parents brought home a beast for a pet. He sits on her puzzles, slobbers, and his farts? They’re the absolute WORST. But the Beast is determined to prove he’s not so stinky - and rather silly - in this tale about the eventual friendship between a girl and her bulldog.#BookDay #KidLit #MomLife
My 6-week in-person picture book workshop launched My 6-week in-person picture book workshop launched last night! My students are all starting with a seed of an idea and building it from the ground up. For most, it’s the first time they’ll ever workshop their writing, and I know how intimidating it can be, so we’re spending the first half of the class pre-writing and getting to know our stories (and each other) before we start providing feedback in week 4.I can’t wait to dive in with this fabulous group of writers and see what stories emerge!#WritingWorkshop #PictureBook #AmWriting #MomLife
Let’s talk about waiting. (This is for the peopl Let’s talk about waiting. (This is for the people who hit refresh on their email inbox countless times a day).So much of life is waiting. As Dr. Seuss once wrote, “Waiting for the fish to bite or the wind to fly a kite… or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.”And when it comes to the publishing industry, whether you’re looking to publish in a literary magazine or with a book publisher, you hit send… and wait.And wait.And wait.And wait. x100There is no promise of a yes. No promise of even a ‘no’ to be honest. (Sometimes, it’s just silence).Waiting is something to get used to. So what can we do? Keep writing. Keep creating. Recognize that waiting is just a part of this game called life.And then, one day, you open up your email, and you’re hit with a… “Congratulations! Is this story still available for publishing?” And it makes the waiting all worth it.So, if you’re in the trenches, I see you. If you’re putting yourself out there and feel like you’re shouting into the void, I see you.But I encourage you to keep writing and keep hitting send… because you never know when you’ll get that yes.#DontGiveUp #WritingLife #AmWriting
I feel like every time I start a new journal, I’ I feel like every time I start a new journal, I’m starting a new chapter in the “book of Liz.” And it feels really appropriate starting this journal on 3/3, a time of a lunar eclipse, signaling new beginnings. #Journal #NewChapters #MomLife
February weather was all over the place — one da February weather was all over the place — one day, my kids are having a water-balloon war with their friends in the yard, the next, I’m insisting they bundle up in their winter gear. It kind of felt that way with my work, too, a combination of super busy weeks brimming with client work, and slower weeks, which I’m OK with, because it gives me some flexibility to work on my creative writing and some other projects I have in the works.So, without further ado, here’s what I’ve been up to work-wise, including my creative projects, which, I promise you, will see the light of day:🌸 Wrapped up teaching a six-week in-person journaling/creative writing workshop (and making plans to do it all over again!)🌸 Ghostwriting projects for my clients, including writing about community-health centers and access to mental health care.🌸 Started submitting my poetry to literary magazines and kept pitching some essays to a wide variety of publications🌸 Held my Creative Writing Accountability Club every Thursday morning (it’s free! If you want in, let me know)🌸 Shared four new posts on my Substack, Where Daisies Grow - on everything from journaling methods to creative cross-pollination🌸 Posted three blogs to Oops and Daisies, including two interviews with some incredibly creative moms🌸 Nearly finished my next draft of my New Adult contemporary and started to get feedback from some trusted writing/critique partners🌸 Learned how to use Adobe Illustrator (and I can’t wait to tell you why… but you’ll have to wait to find out!)🌸 Released a new short story in the latest Writing Journey anthology, Awakening… and seriously. The things I have in the works? They’re still growing “underground,” if you will. But I promise you this: I have some things I CAN’T wait to share!#MyCreativeLife #AmEditing #MomLife
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