Planning fun Portland weekend trip
Getting house cleaned (letting go of control)
Taking care of sick kids (doctor visits)
Writing new and translating old blog posts
Finishing Whole 30 diet
Pumpkin Patch Trip
Meeting Bandit, the horse
Reading Happiness Myth book
Walking to school/office and back 3 x per week
Taking Tim and friend to PacSci (long time promise)
Getting coaching sessions
Taking Food Handler training and getting permit
Going to 4 week running group
Running Monster Dash 5K (39 min)
PEPS Girls Night & Amie's Birthday Party
Going to massage
Booth at Harvest Festival (giving out 300+ apples)
Fun Date Nights (Dinner at 10 Mercer, Ignite Seattle)
Signing up for Consignment Sale
Goodwill Meeting & bank account for Stuffmapper
Volunteer for school library field trip
Eating well enough (wheat, rice, corn, diary free) ;-)

Improvements:
Sleeping more, bed by midnight
Gratitude letters
Eating better, planning meals
Feeling warm
Organizing garage
Finishing path to vision

Another thing I really had to read up on as an European descent not having any idea what these sport scholarships are about, I now did my homework and don't see any point in this at all.  

UNLESS (you will need to answer all 7 of these questions with 'YES')
- you have one of the 2 % wunderkinder
- that are really so talented 
- and sports obsessed performers 
- from an early age on 
- and continuing on the path all the way through high school (not just obsessed in 4th grade)
- not wanted to do anything else then 'playing' their sport
- AND there obsession is in one of the 6 sports that give full ride scholarships. 

So, chasing after this as a parent, is highly unrealistic, especially if your kid isn't really into it in the first place.

'Any sports scientist or psychologist will tell you that in order to pursue any achievement activity for the long term, children need ownership, enjoyment and intrinsic motivation.' 

“The youth sports culture is overly aggressive, and while the opportunity for an athletic scholarship is not trivial, it’s easy for the opportunity to be overexaggerated by parents and advisers, that can skew behavior and, based on the numbers, lead to unrealistic expectations.”

(Outcome)
Then the average scholarship runs around the same amount ($10K) you'll have to spent on practice, equipment, camps over all these years leading up to it. And then the scholarship is only for one year. Most athletes won't practice this sport for much longer after college.

(Investment)
And it is basically a full time job on top of school just to keep up - leaving not much time for other interests and childhood.  It will also screw up your family calendar badly, not being able to go on vacations, enjoying life as a family, giving the parents time for their own hobbies and sports. Although athletes receiving scholarships are viewed as the winners, they typically find the demands on their time, minds and bodies in college even more taxing than the long journey before to get there.

(Solution)
If you are really look for free college education, why not look further and explore beyond the US? There is a lot of great free education out there, giving your child a great experience, broadens their horizon, makes them open minded and in the end way hopefully way happier then being dragged to practice for their endure youth. 

Comment from athletic wunderkind scholar: “And if I had it to do over, I would have skipped a practice every now and then to go to a concert or a movie with my friends. I missed out on a lot of things for soccer. I wish I could have some of that time back.”

And let's keep sports a leisure activity for the rest of us that is fun and healthy.

Or is this solely about parents bragging? 
Do I miss anything?

Want to read more about it?
8 things you should know about sports scholarships

What You Don't Know About Athletic Scholarships

I think, I started my mid-life crisis, as I have a strong urge to downsize and getting rid of all the clutter in the house, sorting out everything to make life easier, reading up on minimalist life styles, the tiny house movement, throwing stuff away, cleaning out cabinets, scheduled a house cleaning and working with a Life Coach along the way.

I spent a lot of time thinking why I do what I currently do, and what I do not  want to or should do, and also what I've done so far with my life and why. I currently read ' Do More Great Work 'and' The Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, but Does not, What Should not Make You Happy, but Does'. Yeah, very profound. 

Gratitude is an important part of feeling happy and a way to a better awareness, so keeping a list with things that you are grateful for or that make you happy and journaling (or in my case 'blogging') are actually really helpful. My life is in a pretty great stage. All is quite cozy. My husband is great. The kids are way easier on me and a lot of fun to have around. 

Between 'blogging' and spending way too much time on Facebook lately where I the information overwhelms me and and many news are very superficial, I wanted to write again more privately (diary) and here on my blog.

My coaching homework was to discover my personal highlights and to analyze what made these so special and how I can have more of these meaningful moments. And spending more time on what is important to me before making new plans

I just received a long letter from my Mom listing all the things she worked, learned, trained and studied over her life, as well as hobbies she enjoyed. 

From childhood, helping her mother with her work, 
- decorating candles, folding boxes, knitting and stringing beads,
- to her first housekeeping degree, 
- winning prizes for best in her grade, 
- working in the local automated factory handling double cylinder knitting machines, 
- doing an apprenticeships as certified retail sales person, 
- music teacher (6 degrees in teaching, folk music, common, old music, new music and rhythmic), 
- certification as food handler, 
- farm hand for cherry harvest, Bodensee,
- opening a toy store,
- property manager for our apartments rentals,
- courses on many major toy brands (Playmobil, Lego, Ravensburger, Hasbro), 
- courses on model making, knitting, stitching, clay working, whittling, crafting with fimo, straw,
- crafting workshops with UHU,
- music teacher certification for early development,
- special training on Orff Instruments, African & Arabic drums, dulcimer, flute/recorder, guitar
- held classes for playing the harmonica,
- founding a music school and choir,
- learnt how to build a harp, 
- mushroom identification class,
- courier service for tax adviser office,
- shipping service for a paint company (temp job),
- bookkeeping for a cattle dealer,
- Sales Rep for Cambridge Diet,
- running a vacation apartment
- board member of the local tourism association,
- 15 years as certified public accountant,
- trained on reproduction for photography and photo development,
- computer courses,
- countless conventions on tourism, toy market (ITB Berlin),
- backing with spelt,
- creating and painting hand puppets, 
- gifts and balloon wrapping classes, 
- drawing classes on tempera and water colors, 
- being an extra in the movies: 'Filserbriefe' and 'Stahlnetz'
- learnt English, Italian, Russian and Spanish,
- First Aid/CPR,
- Volunteer for a school for Japanese Orphans,
- certification for gymnastics trainer,
- working as gymnastic trainer in Gruenwald/Munich,
- certification as in-house day care provider/nanny,
- bus driver for a montessori school,
- Promotions Rep for Fissler,
- Sales person and cashier for Mueller Drogerie Markt,
- Cellagon Sales Rep, 
- certified Cellagon nutritionist,
- instructor for Schafkopf, a trick-taking Bavarian card game,


I counted 15 professions, countless jobs, 37 classes/training, partially degrees and continued education, many temporary jobs and volunteer positions in between, 21 hobbies on top of running her retail business for 35 years, being an accountant for 15 years and doing a fabulous job on her most important work of all, raising my brother and me.

If you ever wonder why I am doing all what I am doing, she is my inspiration and the answer to the question. ;-)
She is my role model and showed me how it is done. Let's honor and celebrate all the great Moms out there that do work beyond their limits and often miss out on recognition and praise.

Here is a little wisdom my Mom sent with me with her life time list:

Know that every time something ends, you are attached to, is a chance for personal growth.  
In every new beginning lives a special magic and it's up to you to discover it. 
Change gives us the opportunity to change our behavior and our experiences. 

Never begin to stop and never stop to begin.

I just recently started blogging again - as I try to spend less time on facebook (just sharing there and reading up on stuff about once a day instead of checking every hour - huge life improvement), but want to share some stories, thoughts and reviews with my friends and also keepstake some memories online for myself and my family.

A lot of blogs online only show a few entries and don't go back for long. Mine here had 2 entries for last year and 1 for 2012, til I remembered I actually blogged before and I actually have 4 different websites I formerly blogged on before I started using Facebook on a daily basis and totally forgot about journaling online and writing more then just the usual 2 line bragging post.


For a couple of days now, I try to go through all my former entries and recycle some and re-post them here. That way I can go show and go back all the way to 1997, a full 17 years history of life stories. Isn't that crazy? That is also how old I feel already.

I got really excited to read all the old stories during college years again and also felt a little sentimental and also embarrassed I wrote all this stuff up back then, so open and vulnerable. Then the entries got really spare during the bad part of my first marriage, then my start up time, while I was happily dating, hanging out with friends (pre-kids), also dipped after each child birth (I remember feeling totally over my head). I wrote more entries while I was collaborating, and then after my move to the US knowing just a handful of people, feeling a bit isolated. Many of my entries refer to a blog post written while the kids took a nap. Now the kids can read a book, while I type - or I spent some alone time til very late in the night writing.

I also noticed some important stories, that I tell new friends over and over and some major milestones are completely missing - for shame, no time or other reasons. Some of the stuff I wrote years ago is still very actual and I remember every detail while other stuff is totally lost and I can't even relate to the way I was thinking and acting back then.

My newest project is to fill in the blanks and built a pretty solid history of life events. This hopefully will also help guide me through my work with the 'Do More Great Work' self assessments, I am currently 'soul-working' on. One assignment is to create a map about where you are coming from in preparation to where you are heading. Powerful stuff. 

I'll keep you posted and hopefully also a little inspired.

In theory, you can split life into 3 categories: 

career, 
love life 
and life in general (this includes home, mates, etc.). 

The big problem is that you only ever get a maximum of two out of three working well at the same time.

When I found out about my local options the first year the school assignment in SPS changed, I wasn't thrilled. Our school was one of the lowest performing schools in the district with lots of discipline issues and changing leadership. We decided to enter the lottery for the one 'option school' and didn't get in. Not wanting to mess with our sons education we decided on Kindergarten in a mixed age home school classroom.

Looking into our options I discovered the Advanced Learning placement. My hopes to get into Lafayette's Spectrum program for first grade sounded highly unrealistic after an Open House listening to the principle mentioning first grade can be filled by Lafayette's kindergarten students alone, but will be open to the North cluster with empty seats allowing the South attendance area, which we live in (Denny Middle School reference area) in last. 

Thankfully my son made it into the APP program which meant he could be assigned an guaranteed seat. The only downside was it was far outside our neighborhood. I toured Thurgood Marshall's Open House the year before in hopes we could convince the principle to let me son do early entrance for 1st grade, but learnt APP does not allow younger kids in their classrooms (order from the Advanced Learning Office). I was instantly sold on Julie Breitenbach's leadership style, her clear vision, no BS attitude and student focus.

For first grade we took our chances and sent my son on a 1 hour bus ride to his new school. I felt I betrayed him with this decision, robbing him of his free time and childhood, knowing him on a school bus 2 hours every day. He left at 8.10 am and came home at 5.20 pm, tired, hungry, in need to pee. I just hoped we would have a local option that he could continue with his rigorous curriculum in public school without a long commute.

So, I continued going to school board rep community meetings, PTA meetings and APP Advisory board meetings to see if there could something done about this. I was convinced West Seattle could come up with enough students to qualify for Advanced Learning once there would be a public program offered at a local school.

2012 where first talks about the Boren site, also Fairmount Park and the Westside's schools home, and what could be housed where. STEM, Language immersion, Montessori and Advanced Learning where some options. My PEPS friend Robin and I met with Marty McLaren at the High Point Library asking for more from SPS. A STEM school AND an Advanced Learning site. Marty listened carefully, taking notes and nodding a lot. Would that mean we both would get what we wanted?

STEM started occupying the Boren site with Robin on the design team. I was thrilled for our neighborhood. Finally one great option to the overcrowded neighborhood schools. Still no decisions on bringing more Advanced Learning options to West Seattle. I attended more meetings and one hot Advisory Board meeting at Washington Middle School where the split from TM was discussed. While some warned, there also where some parents reminding of splits (like the one from TM) that worked well. I came to the understanding that a lot of the very passionate voices against an Advanced Learning option in West Seattle where not families living in West Seattle. Even the TM PTA spoke out against a split and APP program for WS.
They conducted a survey that would let parents pick between stability and close to home. I was really upset. This survey was forwarded to the Advanced Learning office and Advisory board giving proof no one wanted a split and program for WS.

I felt like David vs. Goliath. WS families were not organized, but the TM PTA was and scared the TM families coming from West Seattle in believing they would have to trade the distance for quality.

The meeting at Washington was so hostile that it took me a lot of courage to stand up and make my point for it. I had a talk with the TM PTA president and saw the chances really slim that it would still happen. I was also told Julie Breitenbach herself advised the TM PTA against a split to not 'dilute' the strong program and cohort. I still felt strongly that I needed to be persistent and still voice that WS families would still want that. I just hoped someone would have stood up a couple of years ago and asked for a program in WS so our 6 and 7 year olds would not to travel on a bus for that long. Marty McLaren also attended the meeting and made me really hopeful as she talked to me that she would do whatever she could to make our mission happen. 

There was a final public meeting before the School Board's decision. I told my friends at the STEM PTA about the strong opinion from the TM PTA against a program for West Seattle. I also met with a couple of WS families to craft letters to the School Board, estimating numbers from neighborhood schools, projecting counts. We posted all this on the West Seattle Blog hoping to find more families to join our quest. Everything was on a deadline. We didn't really think we would still get what we wished for.

The STEM PTA was at that same meeting to get a K to 8 school and stay at Boren. They fought the fight in a almost perfect manner, working with the district and school board, giving options, listening, problem solving and being nice. I was really proud of the STEM PTA. I couldn't make it to the meeting, but Robin told me afterwards that the TM PTA spoke out against a split, but Robin stood up and proclaimed 'that doesn't mean families in West Seattle don't want it!'. I just love her for that.

So, shortly after that the School Board decided on moving an Advanced Learning Program to Fairmount Park. I was thrilled. Some TM families still didn't want to leave in fear of the unknown, but that was totally understandable. TM after all is a very strong and successful program with a superb leader. 

So, anticipating the announcement of a new principle (Shauna Heath joked at one of the Advisory board meeting she promises to find a good match for the FP principal and would be, herself, the best qualified but unfortunately not available). She promised to find someone very supportive of Advanced Learning students, but also understanding the needs of Special Ed students as many AL kids also have Special Needs. 

I couldn't believe when I say the subject of the announcement read 'Julie B...' as new principle for Fairmount Park. It was a wish come true. Not only would we get Advanced Learning, we would also get the best principle possible for this school. Following her we would also get the best possible music teacher Mr. Pendergrass, as well as my sons favorite teacher Mrs. Gano.

I was very happy to help with teacher hiring, ask for additional Spring Testing, Vision Planning Team, chartering the PTA, attending Falcon Fest's at Camp Long and hosting a lot of committee meetings over Spring and Summer 2014, so we could have everything ready for school start in September.

Now, one month in, it's still like a dream. I can walk my kids to school. They both get what the need. They can join After School activities and we still have plenty of time for homework and family time and I don't have to feel I deprive my child of his childhood making him ride a bus 2 hours a day.

Thank you Marty McLaren, Robin Graham, Pamela Erickson, Shauna Heath, Julie Breitenbach, Hillary Shaw and all these other fantastic people to make my wish come true.

Go Falcons! Never stop wishing - and asking politely for it!

I did the Whole30 for the last 30 days and did the reflection piece recommended in the daily newsletter (see below).
My husband joined me, which made it so much easier than planning my own, special meals. We just ate all the same every meal. I started to exclude gluten, soy and peanuts from my diet after an elimination diet 2 years ago, and then excluded diary, eggs, soy, peanuts and almonds after doing an allergy blood panel end of 2013. I supplemented a lot with corn and rice and got really tired of my options. 

I also had a lot of sugar and carb cravings not eating enough calories during the day, but then making up with big bowls of tortilla chips and gluten free granola at night. I know I am a sugar addict and wanted to get myself off. So, when I read about the Whole30, it sounded like something that seems to have it all. And for me it was just excluding corn, rice, potatoes, chocolate and GF junk food (there is a lot by now) on top of my long list. It wasn't too hard, but after the first bumpy week, it seemed to get much easier to eat really well. I especially loved grocery shopping and pulling up at the cashiers with a whole cart full of veggies and fruit. It really made me happy. Tomorrow I'll get on the scale (it's not allowed while you do the Whole30) and I'll see if I also lost some weight, but for me all the positive changes to my health where already worth it. 

What went well?
Meal planning, more time spent for smart food choices and cooking, less headaches, pants fit better, clear skin, cleaning up process in general, good focus, sorting out healthy foods from rest, teaming up, kids ate same meals and liked it, new healthy recipes, walks, liked the guidance from the newsletter and my doctor, got more sleep (slept like a baby), no more hefty sugar cravings in the afternoon and at night.

What could have gone better?
First week's moodiness, same days without a set meal plan got stressful, kids didn't sleep well during this 30 days (would have helped), wouldn't pick start of school year (transition) again, partnership and talks about diet, still some cravings for fruit after meals

What I'll do in the future, to keep doing better?
Keep planning food, shopping healthier, exercising regularly, look for social fix for exercise, get family involved, educate others about Whole30, include some starches (like regular potato), staying on track.

For anyone who wants to try it, I highly recommend the daily newsletter. It is a great motivator to stay on track, read up on thinks, see the progress and also understand it. 

http://whole30.com/

After being home with the kids for a couple of years and not being able to work (I didn't have a work permit for the US) as a H4 wife, I started working on a couple of business ideas from my small desk at home. While I spent several hours focused I really missed having coworkers, someone to go on a lunch break, bouncing ideas, someone else who would be interested and supportive of my work and also acknowledge my (rather) small accomplishments. I didn't want to find a job with fixed hours, adding stress on our family life, I just wanted to continue working on my projects in a nurturing work environment.

I found out about SVP (Social Venture Partners) and entered a work space with added child care center to the competition. I attended a couple of workshops that really helped me craft out the idea. One participant walked up to me after one of the workshops and told me about another person that also tries to open a Coworking space with child care. He took my email address and shortly after that Jessie (from Works Progress) contacted me. We emailed back and forth about our ideas and decided to stay in touch.

Another 2 month later Jessie contacted me to tell me she met someone that also wanted to start a Coworking space in West Seattle. In October of 2012, Stefan and I met for our first business meeting at Uptown Espresso in the Junction. Shortly after that meeting we started looking into commercial spaces all over West Seattle, White Center and Burien. We also started a meetup group for home officers that met weekly at Uptown. In March 2013 we found a small work-live unit on California Ave, across from Rite Aid, that was affordable enough for us to give it a go. We opened our doors to the Office Junction on April 1st, offering 15 desks on 3 levels.

In February 2012, I went to the Coworking Conference (GCUC) in Austin, Texas where I got a crash course in all things Coworking, from technical set ups, to community building, marketing, pricing advice from some veteran Coworking pros in one of the most open and friendliest service industries I could think of. The values of Coworking are Collaboration, Openness, Community, Accessibility, and Sustainability.

Within a couple of month we built membership up to 15, then to 18 and 20 members, continuing with our weekly meetups, adding Art Walk, Krypton workshops and hosting other events in our work space. I finally had what I missed over the past 2 years, a work community where I could still work on my own terms, projects, call in sick whenever I wanted, but enjoy feedback, company for lunch, side conversations about travelling, gluten free treats, schools and local events. 

We moved to a bigger space 8 blocks south on California in March 2013 where we have space for up to 22 members.

Needless to say, I am a huge fan of Coworking in general and our Seattle Collaborative Space Alliance.