I haven't blogged since June 16, the 44th anniversary of "Sidetracked Home Executives." A lot has happened since then and it has taken me this long to write to you.

In this video you'll see my pathetic garden in spite of help from a master gardener who showed me exactly what to do to grow enough to feed the harvest to an entire neighborhood.

WELL, the biggest lesson learned is in this video. Watch to find out.

I will warn you, there are just some things we SHEs should not attempt.

Very frequently I hear from SHEs (Sidetracked Home Executive) lamenting that they wish they'd used the SHE 3x5 get organized system for home and family earlier. My answer is always the same, you weren't ready and until you're ready you won't use it. It's interesting to find out how much these precious women have achieved in spite of their disorder! It's testimony to how talented we SHEs really are. Here's an excerpt from "The Joy of Being Disorganized" that conveys this thought.

The grass in the foreground of this photo is our grass and you can see our neighbors' grass is not greener, ours is. That's because our neighbors have been mowing their lawns and we haven't.

Do you love to make a "To Do" list every day?

If your kids are grown and you've gotten used to the reduced workload, of raising a family, you've probably forgotten how busy young moms are these days. All it takes is to have one or more grandchildren for a few days and it all comes back to you what our busy moms are dealing with today. One mom of four said, "When my husband comes home at the end of a long day and wonders what I've done all day, I figure if I can account for all four of his children, I've done my part." 

Do you ever put things you’ve already done on a list, so you can cross them off. That's great if you do. We need all the sense of accomplishment we can get when it comes to running a home successfully. That got me to thinking, what if we made a list of things we don't have to do today, it'd be very fun and give us a sense of relief! It's so important for us to seize every moment we can in joy, and do things that tickle us, especially when we're on the verge of feeling overwhelmed. 

This thing called life is whizzing by us without our notice. Just like we aren't aware of how fast our little planet is spinning and flying through the cosmos, we miss the speed in which our lives are hurtling through time. 

So, if you’re inclined to make lists and add auxiliary tasks you did that weren’t on the list in the first place so you can cross them off and feel more productive, you'll love this list of 5 things you don’t have to do today. Now if you want to write them down so you can cross them off, you’re going to have to write the word “don’t” in front of each one, but really, just enjoy the list!

Let happiness come from you before you seek others to make you happy.

I love this quote by Abraham Hicks. Happiness is just a string of happy moments. But most people aren't aware of the happy moments, because they're too busy trying to have a happy life.

Children's existence is a string of happy moments. My 3 year-old great grandson came over to our house with his mother, the other day and almost the entire time he was here he was happy. We adults did any distracting him away from his happy play, mostly to minimize messes and keep him safe. Children have a natural desire to have fun and as we grow up, we douse our happiness with being adults. 

What's exciting to me is, we can be adults and follow all the adult rules, but that child in us can help us be aware of the happy moments that bombard us every day. June is filled with potential happy moments just waiting to be had, but if we get too busy, too adult, the happy gifts of June will be gone and then there'll be July to miss. 

I met Nelly in 2002. She’s my inner child and constant companion, I discovered that keeping in touch with Nelly helps me catch lots of those happy moments, and when a few hours go by and I haven’t heard from her, I do as any mother would do; I check up on her. 

I might ask myself, “Is something bothering you little girl? You don’t seem very happy right now.” If I’m still and listen, I’ll get an answer that would've remained unexpressed had I not questioned myself.

When children are ignored, whether they are real or within, they want attention and they will get it.

"Hey, the Internet's Down!"

I had to go to Target to buy a router. (Earlier that day I’d purchased one at Walmart, and it was the wrong kind so had to return it.) I used the verb “had to” because buying a router is not on my list of exciting things to buy. (And returning things is right up there with having a pelvic exam.)

All I knew was the router we had quit letting us watch television on the internet and we needed a new one. Finding the right one when you don’t know the difference between routers and alternators was like going to a plumbing supply store to pick out the sump pump of your dreams. I wasn’t in the greatest mood driving to Target from Walmart.

The kid who helped me had a "techy" look, but he seemed to be in training and kept asking me questions I had no answers for. I ended up with a box about the size of a toaster with a picture of a router that looked nothing like the one we had that died, or the one I bought at Walmart, but he promised it would do everything it needed to do for us.

"Don't be afraid of the storm."

We dedicated “Sidetracked Home Executives: from pigpen to paradise” to Fred. It was a secret who Fred was (I’ll tell you why in a minute) and we didn’t tell anyone but family. Our mom and dad were tickled when they found out who he was. So were our grandparents.

When we wrote “Sidetracked Home Executives,” we prayed together every day to be guided to use our humor in writing on a subject that’s not funny…getting organized. God has the most exquisite sense of humor and our co-writing sessions were filled with laughter mingled with His. We took turns writing longhand in a notebook, which was then given to our assistant to type up for the manuscript, we had no clue what to do with when it was finished.

The video you're about to see is rather embarrassing, but at least it was a long time ago and I can just wonder 'What was I thinking?'

It reminded me of those people who go on America's got talent and they don't...got talent. 

The idea behind it was great, but the end result was hmmmmm well you judge.

Giving money as a gift is fun for the giver and the receiver. The "Stick it Right on the Money Gift Giving Kit is full of post-it-note sticky disguises for the faces on our currency and sticky frames to hold the money in greeting cards. 

If you purchase the kit, I'll give you the "Everybody Loves Money" video download with ten creative ways to give cash.

Here's a video with two ways to give money as a gift for that special occasion.