Here they are: The winners from the “I Heart Organizing” Giveaway! This was such a huge hit and so much fun for me, I’d love to do another one! Maybe around Mother’s day… stay tuned….
Thanks to everyone for your insightful and hilarious answer to all my daily questions.
2/1
MomAgenda 2010 Planner— Stacey Parzik, Woodland Hills, CA
2/2
Buttoned Up Coupons— Shelagh Cummins, Toronto, ON
2/3
Julie Morganstern Balanced Life Planner— Jennifer Gerace Kinkade, Port St. Lucie, FL
2/4
Alice.com $10 New Customer Gift Card— Tricia Love, Albuquerque, NM
2/5
Pear Budget Year’s Subscription— Nicole Abbott, Rego Park NY
2/5 BONUS
Alice.com $10 New Customer Gift Card— Amy Reichbach Studio City, CA
2/8
Erin Condren $50 Gift Certificate— Danielle Collins McIntosh
2/9
Russell and Hazel Mini Smart Date Set— Whitney Trujillo, Denver, CO
2/10
Knock Knock “So Much To Do” Notepad— Tricia Love, Albuquerque, NM
2/11
Buttoned Up Would You Pad— Whitney Roberts , Marina Del Rey, CA
2/12
Muji Chrononotebook— Dawn Morrison Wagner, Thousand Oaks, CA
2/12 BONUSES
Alice.com $10 New Customer Gift Card— Irina Jordan, Oswego, IL
Alice.com $10 New Customer Gift Card— Amy Starr Allen , Broomfield, CO
2/15
Alice.com $10 New Customer Gift Card— Dawn Morrison Wagner, Thousand Oaks, CA
2/16
Buttoned Up Catch Up Pad— Irina Jordan, Oswego, IL
Grand Prize— Amy Hoppock, Boise ID
Clutter Diet Year Subscription
Whomi Clarity Agenda
Muji Chrononotebook
Alice $10 New Customer Gift Card
Erin Condren $50 Gift Certificate
These days, so much of your life is password-protected. Just about every website worth visiting requires you to “Log In,” leaving you to try and remember dozens of case-sensitive codes. Either that, or every password is the name of your childhood dog, Swifty, and you’re one hack away from digital destruction. Our identities are wrapped up in these bits of information, so much so that just the other day my husband referred to me affectionately as “Carleyknob” (my Gmail username). Poor guy, his brain is buckling under the pressure.
Enter Passpack, one of the best password managers I’ve ever seen, for a bunch of reasons. It’s web-based (so you can access it anywhere, unlike those scribbled post-its you stick to your monitor), extremely secure, and it does all the work for you. I’ll walk you through a couple of it’s amazing features, and you will DEFINITELY want to sign up and start using it!
Last weekend, I fixed a batch of my famous balsamic BBQ chicken wings, toasted a big ol’ loaf of garlic bread and watched the Oscars with some friends. The kids ran around and played while the grown-ups ogled the gowns and watched the acceptance speeches.
I marveled at what it must feel like to be up there on that stage, in front of millions, accepting an award. And how gracious everyone is about accepting the Oscar on behalf of all the people in their lives who made it possible for them to achieve. My mind wandered to where I was in my business this time last year, how far I’ve come, and how many people have helped me along the way.
Now that the Perfect Moms Finish Last launch is over, the class is sold out, and the first class has started, I wanted to give a shout-out to all the fabulous people on my team who have supported me and helped me bring my products and services to you.
(sniff) I promised myself I wouldn’t cry! (sniff!)
Rebecca Buscemi, professional and fun-to-work-with virtual assistant who set up the entire PMFL Blog for both the interview series and the course. (Twitter: rbuscemi)
Sawyer Hollenshead, my blog builder and all-around secret weapon. There’s nothing he can’t do with Wordpress, and he’s quick and professional to work with.
Lana Goldenberg, marketing strategist and my social media guru, she’s a whole lotta smarts in the sweetest package. She ran a Facebook Ads campaign that helped my “I Heart Organizing Giveaway” rock! (Twitter: lanagold)
The lovely Sarah Burns, all-knowing virtual assistant and fantastic blogger, who helped me architect my product launch and handled all the minutia of the I Heart Organizing Giveaway. (Twitter: SarahBHawaii)
Josh Schuyler at Every Angle Media, fearless audio engineer who put together all 20 PMFL interviews: He took dropped calls, interrupted interviews and some baa-aad sound quality and made it all sound amazing.
Jacqui Malouf, fabulous foodie, fellow Cannuck, great actress and even better friend— that’s her beautiful voice introducing me on all the PMFL interviews.
Nicole Dionne from Primal Scream Music who was kind enough to gift me the fabulous piece of music you hear on all the PMFL interviews (I begged her to let me have it!)
and
Amy Swift, Whitney Roberts & my SMARTY inner circle of support. You guys helped me take all the junk in my head and turn it into something amazing. If you hate networking and roll your eyes at most business coaches, you should check out SMARTY.
Everything’s great right now, right? Your husband’s a good guy, kids are healthy, there’s food on the table, and the house is clean enough so that no one sees the mess. You should be so happy.
So why are you so frustrated and upset all the time?
Don’t you know how lucky you are to have all these choices? That you’re able to pursue work or stay home if you want to? No matter that it feels impossible to keep up, and like everyone else is doing it better. There’s probably something wrong with you, and it’s better just to keep working at being “better”.
Maybe if you enrolled the kids in that karate class, or got that cute stroller, or picked up the toys more, or bought a sexy nursing bra, or lost 15 pounds, or started a meditation practice, or did more volunteer work, or learned how to use your digital camera, or started buying more organic groceries you’d feel like other people thought you were a better mom, and that might make you feel better. If you need more ideas on how to improve, I’ll supply you with them throughout the day and night. Happy to help.
Speaking of help, shouldn’t you know how to do this motherhood thing without assistance? Look around— so many of your friends are doing just fine on their own. Don’t bother anyone by asking them to share the load. You don’t want anyone to know you’re struggling, do you? You might as well tattoo “failure” on your forehead!
And what’s with all the forgetfulness, the missed meetings, the tardiness and the broken promises? Some people say you’re trying to do too much, but you and I both know that the more you “do” for your kids, the better a mother you’ll be, right?
Lastly, and I’ve told you this before, there is simply no time for your hobbies or passions right now. How are you going to be a good mom to your kids when you’re off taking time for yourself, enjoying life, feeding your soul and nurturing your marriage and friendships? How selfish! No, all your thoughts and energy should be directed at your kids, and if you’re not working, you should be right there with them.
Oh, and you should really question what kind of mother you are if all of this isn’t fulfilling you— this is what you were born to do, so you better figure out how to enjoy it!
Thanks for listening (not that you have a choice). It’s my job to remind you how crappy you are at being a mom. Remember: Don’t ask for help and don’t look beyond motherhood for more. You’ll be able to rediscover yourself in, like, 18 years or so. You can wait ’til then, right?
With love and unrelenting criticism,
Your inner-voice.
I had the idea to write this email last night as I put the finishing touches on the Perfect Moms Finish Last 6-Week course, which starts tonight. I don’t know a mom who doesn’t talk to herself like this: It’s so corrosive and only serves to push us down, rather than help us identify out our obstacles and overcome them. Yet we all do it— we’re all so comfortable beating ourselves down, we don’t even need anyone else to help us out?
If you’re feeling like it’s time to put an end to this self-talk madness and really, REALLY get a handle on your life, it’s not too late to register for the course.There’s just one spot left, and I want it to be yours. After that, you’ll miss this opportunity to get all the nuts-and-bolts systems I teach to transform your life and help you take control, as well as the remedies for your Perfect Mom Disorder.
Don’t let Mrs. Inner Voice talk you out of it. NOW is the time to invest in yourself— your family will benefit tenfold from the improvements you make to your life.
Cool Mom Picks, arbiter of all things indie/eco/uber chic for baby, has a great post today about Perfect Moms Finish Last. Liz Gumbinner, editor of CMP, was also a Perfect Moms Finish Last Interviewee, and you can listen to her amazing interview along with 19 others by signing up here. We talk about everything from Bugaboo backlash, to all the crap you don’t need to buy when you have a baby, to how she’s a “Type A woman, but a Type B mom.” (How does that work, anyway?) She was GREAT to talk to, and for someone who has had a pretty impressive career in advertising before heading to the interwebs, she was very down to earth (the tagline for her personal blog, Mom 101 reads, “I don’t know what I’m doing either.” Now THAT’S someone who has her Perfect Mom Disorder under control!)
Early registration prices for the course end at midnight TONIGHT, so if you’re thinkin’ you need to get a handle on your Perfect Mom Disorder, if you’re exhausted trying to keep up appearances and your search for that ever-elusive “balance,” jump in and be a part of this very intimate, very small 6-Week course.
“Hey Carley, is this Perfect Moms Finish Last 6-week Course a lot of motivational, inspirational hoo hah fluff? Or is it actually going to help me get my life and schedule under control and help me remember to get the milk?!”
Many of you have been asking me this same question, and it’s a good one— no one could argue that being a fulfilled, satisfied, happy mom is a good thing for everyone, but sometimes you’re not in the living-a-strong-life kind of place.
Sometimes, you’re just in the please-lord-let-me-make-it-through-dinner place. What you need then are solutions, not mommy mantras or inspirational tips.
Perfect Moms Finish Last gives you BOTH inspiration and practical systems in a nice little 6-week package. Because no matter how much “me-time” you’re getting, if you keep showing up late to school pick-up, or missing client calls, or staring at the same pile of dirty laundry for a week and a half, you’re going to feel like a FAILURE. And there’s nothing that sucks more than working as hard as you are only to feel like you’re not measuring up.
It’s time for some brand-new systems that can help you regain control of and simplify your life. Plus the inspirational “hoo hah” that puts you on a path to living a life you feel totally awesome about.
Check out the video above: I break the whole Perfect Moms Finish Last 6-Week course down week-by-week. (It’s a long one, but a goodie!). If you’re feeling like this course might be for you, jump in quick— early registration ends at midnight tomorrow!
If YOU have questions about the course, post them here!
Carley was my lifesaver when I was pregnant! I was so overloaded with information, and she really helped me break everything down and figure out what I needed to do, and what I didn’t. More than any book or class, Carley got me ready for motherhood. I know that whenever I need a shoulder to cry on, or some great baby advice, she’s my go-to girl! — A. Jacobs
Here they are: The winners from the “I Heart Organizing” Giveaway! This was such a huge hit and so much fun for me, I’d love to do another one! Maybe around Mother’s day… stay tuned….
