Fall Event

We are looking forward to our Fall Leadership Dinner! 

Elevate wants representation from EVERY office at this event! 

Each office was given 3 by-invitation-only 'spots' for leadership wives... Talk to your Lead Tech or Manager to see who is being sent to represent your office. If no one is RSVP'd for your office and you're interested in attending, ask them to submit your name ASAP! 

Questions: Email antaylor@vivint.com 

Packing Tips

The summer is coming to a close! Here are some packing tips that you may find helpful while you're trying to figure out how to fit everything into your car or suitcase.

Learn from your own experience.  What did you bring out this year that you could most likely go without next year? What did you leave at home and wish you had brought with you? Take notes and keep them handy for next summer. You’ll be glad you did!

Keep "summer stuff" separate: This is the best advice I could give. I have a box of summer kitchen things like cheap plates, cups, silverware, pots, etc. that I keep separate from my nice dishes at home. When I get back home in the fall, I keep the box from the summer all packed up and I store it on a shelf in my garage. This saves time, money, and space: I don’t have to worry about sorting through my kitchen and figuring out what to pack for the next summer, I know that I’m bringing out only what I need, and I’m not re-purchasing the same cheap dishes every single year.

The best part is that if, at the end of the summer, I don’t have room in my car for everything I need to bring back, I can just donate my cheap-o stuff and it won’t be all that upsetting to me or my wallet.

Don’t use boxes-Sure, boxes are convenient, but they take up a lot of space. I usually have a couple of boxes for kitchen accessories, pots and pans, etc. but other than that, I use what I’ve got. For example:  I use laundry baskets for my clothes, the bathroom trash can (cleaned out) for my cleaning supplies, duffle bags/backpacks for toiletries, etc. Pairs of shoes fit nicely under the seats in the car. Bedding can be draped over everything when you are done, saving space and keep your belongings covered.

Roll your clothes-This may seem like a lot of extra work, but I guarantee that rolled clothes take up much, much less space than regularly folded clothes. The extra time you put into packing your wardrobe may give you just enough space to fit everything into your car.

Donate food and belongings-Despite my best efforts to empty out our pantry and refrigerator before the end of the summer, I always have extra food. I hate throwing perfectly good things away.  If I have any items left over, I will ask neighbors, members of my church, and even the staff in the clubhouse if they would like my surplus.

Non-perishable (and unopened) items can be donated to the local food bank. Get together with some of the others on your team and see if they have extras they would like to donate as well. This makes it so that I don’t feel like I’m wasting money and it also frees up space in my car for other belongings.

This tip doesn’t just apply to food! Donate books you’ve finished reading, clothes you’ve grown tired of throughout the summer, and kitchen accessories you don’t need anymore.

Rent a trailer-if there is no absolute way you're going to fit everything into your car, you are definitely not alone. Whether you over packed in April or you just accumulated things through out the summer, renting a trailer may be your answer. Even small cars may be able to tow a small trailer. Ask around your office, others may be in your same boat! Team up and split the cost, but make sure that you plan ahead. Reserving a trailer near the end of any month may prove difficult without proper notice.

Elevate Highlight: How Rachel Stays Motivated!

Hey Elevate! My name is Rachel Varella. This summer is my husband’s third year selling for Vivint and our second summer being apart from each other.  The first summer he sold I went out and lived with him for 3 out of the 4 months and came back early to find a job. I thought being apart for one month was hard! Little did I know, there was about to be many more months being 2000 miles apart…  The second summer I stayed home because I had a great full time job I just couldn’t walk away from while Thiago sold in Florida - clear on the other side of the country. After that first summer of being apart, I told him we would never do that again and I would definitely be coming out with him next summer. Well, here we are again. 2000 miles apart.

We have been married for 3 years now, and when we got married we set a five-year-plan for ourselves.  Basically, we set a bunch of goals like where we wanted to be financially 5 years from when we got married.  Although it is definitely hard to be apart, he is out there working hard for us and our future family while I am here working hard every day for us as well. I have never met someone who sets such high goals and does everything he can to accomplish them. I’ve never worked so much and so hard in my life! Although it is exhausting and a struggle being away from the love of my life, I know that we are getting our goals done and in just 2 more years from now we will be beyond where we hoped to be and this will all be worth it! I am only 23 and Thiago is 26 and we already own a house and have traveled to 4 different countries! It feels so great to see hard work paying off! Hopefully, in 2 years from now we can start a family, go on more trips, and not have to worry if we’ll have enough money for things. That is just a worry we do not want to ever have.  From a larger perspective, this is such a small sacrifice we have to make to have a greater future.  

I am so grateful for a strong, supportive, positive, and loving husband and for my friends and family who have made it a little easier for me to be apart from my love. As hard as it is being apart, we have grown so much together, worked so hard, and have come so far.  I think every couple should set goals for themselves and go above and beyond to reach them.  When we laid out our goals for our five-year-plan 3 years ago, I never thought that being apart for so long would ever be a part of the deal. It’s tough, but in the long run it will definitely be worth it and we've been able to enjoy ourselves along the way.

Elevate Highlight!

Greetings from Detroit! My name is Stacie Johnson and my husband Dusty and I have been married for 4 years. We met at school and it was kind of a whirlwind relationship right from the get go. We both love the outdoors, animals, movies, and pretty much anything fun. I am a complete child at heart; I love coloring, crafts, candy, and Disney everything. We have 2 dogs that are more spoiled than most children and we love how our life has turned out so far. Dust and I have been selling vagabonds for 4 years now and we just love this lifestyle. We enjoy traveling so why not move somewhere different each summer?! We have worked our way up to management which has been a great learning experience and something we are very grateful for. We plan on staying in this vocation for as long as possible. You gotta stick with what comes natural.

As you all know, the life of a summer wife can be difficult at times. After go, go, going all the time we become very stagnant and I have started to learn what works for me to keep me motivated and not deathly bored. I have picked up some new hobbies such as crocheting, sewing, and cooking new dishes. I also try to find new things to do around town because let’s face it; we will never be back in most of these cities after the summer so we better make it worth it. This is where Elevate steps in! They treat us wives very well and are conscious of our situations. The other Detroit Wives and I have had so much fun with their different activities/competitions they have set up. It is great to have a goal for a couple days and it is fun to work together to come up with something funny and crazy to show off our personalities. These are times that I will never forget. 

Like I said, summers can be hard. But if you let them, summers can be SO fun! I get to meet new girls that become close friends and we make memories that truly will last a lifetime. Dusty and I are forced to depend on each other while we are across the country from family and because of this we have learned a great deal about each other and the kind of marriage we want to continue to have. I always tell myself and others…Who can say that they have lived the life that we have? Not many. Live up this time because it truly is a blessing. You won’t get this opportunity again. 

Elevate August Raffle

https://www.facebook.com/notes/arm-summer/elevate-august-raffle/340123482786740
Details are up NOW for Elevates last summer event!! Hello awesome!! Good luck everyone.

Elevate Highlight!

Liam, David, Norabel, Dara Chessmore

"Home is now behind you, the world is ahead"--Gandalf. 
Much like Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, I have never been on any great adventures. I'm a suburban Nebraska girl and never had plans to leave it all behind. 
The opportunity to join Vivint presented in December, we made our decision mid-February and we moved from Nebraska to a permanent home in Minnesota by March 1st. With a 2-year-old, 1-year-old and one on the way, I agreed to begin our adventure.
I had the impression this "adventure" would be humbling.

This isn't just about my first summer as a Vivint wife - it is my first summer in 25 years away from family and my home town. This is my first summer living in a third floor apartment, my first summer without familiar faces to spend my afternoons and my first summer in three years unable to spend Saturdays with my husband. 
With all nerdy Hobbit quotes aside, I believe a lot of the women I've met on this journey have a long list of sacrifices all their own. I've questioned my decision to begin our adventure more than once and I'll admit I've found myself homesick on occasion, but its a decision I knew was right for our young family. I knew in my heart we would be taken care of.


I've made it through my first summer of my husband's three emergency room visits, potty training, a crawler becoming a walker and even my toddler escaping our apartment naked. I made it through my first summer because of nine incredible women, who have become great friends. And, because of a company that more than motivates, it ELEVATES - not just its employees - it ELEVATES families.

Raffle winners announced!

Huge thanks to all the teams who joined in on the fun! We are so excited for the raffle winners. Click on the link to view the drawing!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5tT6OGBYxk&feature=share

Show me the TALENTS

The deadline for Elevate’s July Event is fast approaching. You and your team need to submit your videos showcasing your talents by Wednesday (July 17^th). That’s THIS Wednesday!

Remember how nice it was for your whole team to go to dinner and have us foot the bill? Well, Elevate has upped the ante for July's Talent Event. Five talented teams will win a day at the spa including three services! THREE! Oh, the possibilities. Twenty-five teams win white and orange Vivint HQ ear buds with ceramic casing, Skull Candy components, and a carbon fiber Nixon style case.

As much as I would like to tell all of you not to submit anything so that my team would be a shoo-in for the spa day, I can appreciate some healthy competition. Plus, I want to see what all of the other offices put together. I was so impressed with the humor, talent, and creativity from May’s Introduction pictures. I just know that these videos are going to be awesome.

I love having these monthly events to work on with the girls. It has gotten our office communicating more and working together to produce something we can be proud of. This month has been my favorite event to date. Our team organized a potluck so that we could get together and brainstorm about how we wanted to approach the video. We then met three separate times to record segments of the video. One of the girls is now editing the video so that it will be ready and submitted by Wednesday’s (July 17) deadline.

I’m not giving away any more details about our office’s video though- you’ll have to wait until the videos are posted online to see how awesome and talented our office is!

Remember, all videos need to be two minutes or less. Get together, get creative, and showcase those talents! More details about the rules and submission for the event can be found on Arm Summer’s Facebook page.

ALL VIDEO ENTRIES WILL BE VIEWABLE ON SATURDAY MORNING... HERE ON THIS BLOG!!!

Watermelon Popsicles

My girls love popsicles (they must be my daughters!).  I started feeling guilty about all the sugar in most store bought popsicles, and last summer I started making my own all fruit ones.

These ones are our favorite, and perfect for us, since we can never eat an entire watermelon.

6 cups watermelon, cubed

2 ripe banana, peeled

2 tablespoons agave nectar/maple syrup/honey (or more to taste)

Zest from 2 limes

Juice from 2 limes (about 4 tablespoons)

Put it all in a blender.  (during the summer I don't have my big blender, so I just do parts of it in a little magic bullet, and then stir it all together in a bowl.)  Then pour them into popsicle molds.  

I bought these ones at Walmart for a $1.50.  The dollar store sells them too.

If you have a yummy recipe you want to share, leave it in the comments or email me at stayce581 at hotmail dot com.

4th of July Treats

Wow! Can you believe it is already the middle of the summer, and we are celebrating the 4th of July this week? I can't... I have always loved the 4th of July! I feel truly blessed to live in such a wonderful place and to have the freedoms that I do! Each year when the 4th of July rolls around, I always want to make some festive treat; I want to share a few of my favorite festive treats with all of you.

Red, White and Blue Strawberries! YUMMY!

What you will need:

• Strawberries
• White Chocolate (you can use chocolate chips, almond bark, etc).
• Blue Sprinkles
• Wax paper

Directions:

• Wash and dry your strawberries. Make sure the strawberries are completely dry or the chocolate won't stick.
• Melt the chocolate over the stovetop. Chocolate burns really easy, so make sure the temperature is on medium-low or low. 
• Once the chocolate is melted, dip each strawberry in the chocolate. Once you have the strawberry dipped, you can then dip a 1/4 of the strawberry into the blue sprinkles that you have poured in a bowl. Then set on the wax paper. If you'd rather you can just sprinkle the blue sprinkles onto the strawberry as it sits on the wax paper.
• Enjoy eating your yummy and festive red, white, and blue strawberries! 

American Flag Fruit Pizza

I am a sucker for fruit pizza, so of course I have to make a festive one for the 4th of July. 

This is really yummy for Breakfast. 

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup margarine
• 2 beaten eggs

Cream Cheese Topping:

• 2 - 8oz cream cheese
• 6 TBSP. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Toppings to make the American Flag:

• Strawberries, Bananas, and Blueberries

Directions:

• To make the crust you will need to sift the dry ingredients. Cut in margarine until crumbly. Add beaten eggs. Mix. Press into greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes and cool. 
• For cream cheese topping you will mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread over crust. 
• Then place your sliced fruit on the pizza forming the American Flag. 

Red, White, and Blue Fruit Salad

This is pretty self-explanatory so you don't really need directions... :) 

This Fruit Salad has 3 fruits:

• Sliced Strawberries (or raspberries), Blueberries, and Diced Apples

I hope each of you have a wonderful 4th of July that is FULL of Fun, laughter, gratitude, and of course YUMMY TREATS :)! 

Independence

I want to share with each of you a word I think is an important part of supporting a spouse with such a demanding job. I know that most of you are probably much better at this than me. Conveniently, because of the upcoming holiday, it’s a word that is on most of our minds. It’s also a trait we will all need to work on during this holiday and the upcoming weeks as our family's job will continue to (and increase) demand.  

Independence.  

To me this word represents strength. One’s ability to do things that may be hard on our own and doing so without dragging our feet. We all know that we are our husband’s biggest fans and cheerleaders, but as his family, can we also be his marching band? Be someone with strength, force and independence. It’s a demanding family job, but our job is to be the parade. Our lives will go on while he’s at work and we will be much happier and more successful if we can do that with independence. This has been one of the most valuable things I have learned during the summers. I learned that I couldn't just wait around for activities to happen or for my husband to come home and want to play. If I was going to make my summer worthwhile, I was going to have to learn to be more independent. I had to learn this when I've stayed home for the summer, when I've gone out before I had children and as soon as I had kids, when I've had a car or didn't have one.  I've had to relearn it as my life’s situations have changed. Maybe it comes naturally to some, but for me, I've had to make a conscious decision to tell myself that I can do things on my own.  

Instead of thinking that I couldn’t do things without my other half, I’ve had to learn to do things for myself and by myself. It can be scary. It can be lonely. It can be exhausting and hard. But it can also be rewarding. It can make us stronger. Instead of just waiting or feeling sad and depressed for ourselves, we can take action and move forward to do those things that are sometimes a lot of fun, and sometimes very hard.

I've greatly enjoyed watching the pictures of your charity projects being posted on Facebook. Not only are you being independent, you are serving those who may not be able to be as independent at this time. Many of you did things beyond your comfort zone. Whether you recognize it or not, you have all shown independence through this activity and throughout the summer. You are all an inspiration to me. I hope that despite the long working hours and extreme heat each of you can enjoy this Independence Day! 

Healthy Treats!

Doc McStuffins Muffins!

Full of fiber, fun easy recipe for kids!

1 pre sliced banana

1 1/3 oatmeal

1/3 shredded coconut

1/3 raisins

1/4 c strawberry preserves

Mash bananas, mix in all ingredients.

Press into a greased/sprayed muffin tin

Refrigerate overnight. OR minimum of 2 hours

Top with almond butter or sunflower seed butter and fresh strawberry slices

Double recipe for granola bars:

2 pre sliced bananas

2 2/3 C oatmeal

2/3 C shredded coconut

2/3 C raisins or craisins

1/2 C strawberry preserves

Mash bananas, mix in all ingredients.

Press into a greased/sprayed 9x9 pan

Refrigerate overnight. OR minimum of 2 hours

Top with almond butter or sunflower seed butter and fresh strawberry slices

Banana Ice Cream!

Freeze sliced bananas (4-6)

Throw frozen slices in the blender a small amount at a time. Blend until they're creamy. 

If your blender isn't doing the trick, add a little milk. 

Top with sprinkles, fresh berries, or almond honey butter drizzle. (melt almond butter and honey)

Mix-in opitons: Choc chips, nuts, brownie bites, cookie crumbles, graham crackers, any other yummy thing you can imagine. 

Do YOU have a favorite recipe!? Share it with us and we'll post it. 

Family Business

Family business

    
      Every year when my husband and I are ready to go out for our summer, I get asked by multiple people, “Are you going with him?” When I first heard this I thought it was the craziest question ever. When we signed up for this job I believed “we” signed up for it, not just him. 

    
     Some of you may not be able to come out at the first of the summer, stay until the end, or even come out at all. That doesn’t mean you can’t be the biggest cheerleader for your business with your husband/ significant other.  You have the potential and opportunity, no matter where you are, to become a huge support in making your family business successful.

Here are some ideas to making your summer career more of a “family business.” What are some of your ideas?

- Get involved

·               If you make an incentive board for your significant other, throw in some incentives for you. A new shirt, or twenty bucks for each of you when he hits a certain level.

·      Bake for the team

·      Clean the office

·      Cut some fruit for the team to before/after the meeting

- Stay Positive

·       Keep busy and positive. Positive attitude will always have a great influence on your business, come what may.

·       Encourage your other half to keep working hard even though you may secretly want them to come home a half an hour earlier. 

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

― Helen Keller

Local Eats

Traveling and living all over the US is a great way to try all sorts of different foods. I LOVE FOOD. period. One of my favorite things ever is to try different dishes and local restaurants wherever we live and visit. This year we were lucky enough (again) to get to live in the big state of Texas and not only do we get to have BBQ here, but we are on the coast as well and get to have seafood too! Best of both worlds right?! My recent favs have been Rudy's Famous Creamed Corn, Shrimp Po' Boys, and Cobbler!

I'm all about easy when we are out for the summers especially since the hubs gets home so late I want to have dinner nice and warm when he gets home. So me and my crock pot are best of friends. The first weekend we got out here we had Rudy's cater a BBQ for us and I fell in love with their creamed corn and even told my mom it was better then hers (oops). So I just had to find their recipe and share it with you all.

Rudy's Famous Creamed Corn

2 lb corn kernels, frozen

1 - 8oz cream cheese - cut into chunks

1/2 stick butter

1 Tbsp sugar

1/4 c  whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

 Mix all ingredients and put in a crock pot and cook on low till the cream cheese and butter are melted. Stir occasionally.

This next recipe is for Shrimp Po' Boys (courtesy of Emeril Lagasse) and it would be so fun eating these bad boys around a fire at the beach or just picnicking it with your husband late at night on the living room floor. (hey, it's hard to get out with kids, so you just have to improvise for date nights).

Shrimp Po' Boys

Vegetable oil, for frying

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 tablespoons Essence, recipe follows

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal

2 small French bread loaves, each about 10-inches long

4 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup mayonnaise, or more to taste

Red pepper sauce

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 large ripe beefsteak tomato, thinly sliced

Sliced dill pickles, optional

Hot sauce, for serving, optional

Potato chips, for serving, optional

Directions

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan or preheat a deep fryer to 360 degrees F. Season the shrimp with 1 tablespoon of the Essence, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour and cornmeal and season with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the Essence, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne. Dredge the shrimp in the seasoned flour mixture, coating the shrimp completely. Fry the shrimp in the hot oil, in batches if necessary, until golden brown, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper-lined plate. Season with salt and hot sauce. Split the French bread loaves in half and brush both cut sides of the bread with some of the melted butter. Using a spatula, spread the mayonnaise on both sides of the bread, then sprinkle with hot sauce. Divide the shrimp evenly between the 2 sandwiches and garnish with the lettuce, tomato slices, sliced pickles and hot sauce, if desired. Serve with potato chips.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Did I say I love dessert? I usually have to end each meal with something sweet to keep me happy.  My husband hates most sweet things but the one thing he can't get enough of is Peach Cobbler! So, it's definitely a staple in our house and I usually have to make two of these, one for sharing and one for just him! It's THAT good!

Southern Peach Cobbler

 8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges

 1/4 cup white sugar

 1/4 cup brown sugar

 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

 2 teaspoons cornstarch

 1 cup all-purpose flour

 1/4 cup white sugar

 1/4 cup brown sugar

 1 teaspoon baking powder

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

 1/4 cup boiling water

MIX TOGETHER:

 3 tablespoons white sugar

 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.

Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.

Its been so fun trying the local Texan foods while living here. We would LOVE to know where you are living and what new exciting foods you have tried and share with us your recipes!!

Elevate Wife Highlight!

Megan, tony, and Rocky Lee

This is my 4th year doing summer sales!! I've been an office assistant twice, had a summer with no wives and no car, and last summer I only got to see my husband for 3 weeks because I had a baby and he was traveling, living in hotels. Each of those summers we were with 3 other companies. I can honestly say that it is a relief and blessing to be with Vivint. No other company has given our family this amount of support, let alone any support to the wives.  I love all of the competitions and activities that we do with ELEVATE! It makes the summer go by faster and makes for fun memories! :)
 What I have learned and what helps me be the best wife during the summer is just going with the flow.  As women, it is very hard to accept change. -Especially without notice... And that is what summers are all about :) It's hard not to freak out when you find out you have to move, or that your beds aren't there yet, or your husband has to go stay in a hotel away from you. DEAL WITH IT! I say that in the nicest way possible. I've come to realize that the summers are about the husbands, (the rest of the year we can be more selfish haha). If an area will make them sell better, then go there. The more willing we are to roll with the punches and smile when it's not something we want to do, the better. I know my husband has told me multiple times how much he appreciates me being so easy going about everything, (in my head I am not so easy going...) but in all reality it's only a few months!! I love traveling around and being a tourist!! Take advantage of not having yard work!  I love being a Vivint wife :) xoxo Megan

Mid-Summer Move

Are you about to make a mid-summer move -- or did you just finish making the trek to your new area?  Maybe you are bouncing around a few times this summer.  Regardless of how, when, or why - a move in the summer represents both a challenge and an opportunity! (Doesn't it feel like that is the way it is with a lot of things in this job??)

I've had two different experiences with the mid-summer moves, and we will be coming up on another one in the next month.  They were pretty opposite experiences - one planned and expected, the other not planned and a little more hectic.  The important thing to keep in mind is that everything is an opportunity and our attitude makes all the difference in what is created from any situation.  Knowing beforehand that you will be moving helps you to pack light and be prepared to go to a new city...hopefully one with new and fun experiences!  But if you find yourself in a position of unexpected traveling, or heading somewhere else when you'd rather stay where you are...try to remember it will all be over in a few months and to make the most of now.

Here are a few pro's that I have noticed in moving throughout the summer:

-It breaks up the four months of summer into shorter segments. When we have had one half of our summer in an area, and then we move to a new one end of June, we all know that we are at the halfway mark, and it seems like things really start to fly by.  Sooner than I expect it, we are packing up and heading home!

-Gives everyone a good "reset".  The team seems to be more focused, and the short time left to reach goals seems to be an exciting challenge.  It gives that fresh start that some people are looking for, and provides lots of opportunity for the team to bond and push forward to have the strongest finish possible!

-New places to see and things to do!  Even though it can be hard to leave the newfound comforts and favorites of your current city, it is a rare opportunity to get to know so many places like we do in summer sales!  Pushing yourself to find the new restaurant, shop, park, walk, museum, or bakery makes the most of it!

How do YOU make the most of your mid-summer moving?  Share your fun ideas and tips to make the most of this summer experience!  

Summer Reading

The first thing we do each summer is find the local library and get a card.  You normally have to show proof of address which can be hard if you don't get mail.  I usually use my Netflix dvds as proof.  It is a great place to go to get out of the heat too.  Depending on your area, most libraries have great summer reading and other programs for kids too!  Don't forget you can check out movies too.

I love to read!  The slow paced life of the summer allows me to read lots of books.  The summers can sometimes be stressful, and for me, reading is the perfect escape.  I love being in another world while I am reading.  It allows me to forget about any frustrations I may have for a few hours.  As soon as my kids are in bed, most nights I pull out my books and read until my husband comes home.

 

End of summer tip: Every summer before we leave for our long drive home, I go to the library and check out a few audio books.  I put them on my itunes and have great books to listen to on the way home.  I usually delete them when I am done.  Then I don't feel guilty about having them on my computer!

Here are two series of books I have read recently and am reading right now.  They are easy reads that I loved!

Have you read any good books lately!?  

Please leave a comment and share your good reads with everyone!