Candee Fick's Blog, page 20

Mid-Year Goal Check-up

Since this week marks the halfway point for the year, I thought it would be a good time to do a goal check-up and see if I’m on track or have some catching up to do. (Of course, I have a strong feeling that I’m behind, but I’ll try to be objective about the whole thing if you promise to do the same in your life. Deal?)

First off, what were those goals anyway? The goal-achieving experts say to post your goals in a place where you’ll see them and then review them every day. So I don’t have to g...

Turtle Power Saves the Day

Once upon a time, there was an author who (mistakenly) thought she’d have an abundance of chunks of creative time this summer to spend toward massive word counts. That ideas would fly and chapters would add up as her fingers danced over the keyboard for hours on end.

Reality? Plenty of other responsibilities and time demands still exist during the summer. And they are compounded with multiple distractions as family and kids are constantly in, out, and around the house. Not to mention a few of...

Mixing It Up

Like I said last week, I love the power of a good routine. But I also know that routines can get boring and doing the same thing over and over can soon land you in a rut that’s incredibly hard to break out of. That’s why I’m also realizing how important it is to be mixing it up with some variety this summer. Sometimes, I just need to turn things upside down.

So, rather than fall back on those same five or six easy-to-fix meals, I’m dusting off the stack of unused cookbooks and pile of magazin...

The Power of a Routine

I love a good routine. Perhaps it’s my natural bent toward organization battling back against the chaos of a busy household, but having certain procedures in place helps maintain my sanity and whip my never-ending to-do list back into submission.

For example, I always make my bed immediately after getting up and before staggering to the bathroom. I tend to pray while washing my face and brushing my teeth and I don’t leave my room until I’m dressed and makeup is in place because I never know i...

Honoring Those Who Gave All – Memorial Day

The post Honoring Those Who Gave All – Memorial Day appeared first on Author Candee Fick.

Related posts: Happy Memorial Day Looking Ahead to a New Year Erect A Memorial

Refill the Tank and Get Back in the Race

How has May been treating you? Ours has been the typical end-of-school-year May-athon with the usual choir concerts and awards nights and final exams. However, this year we also added dueling State playoff appearances since our athletic oldest son qualified for the State Track Finals in two events and then got to rush to another part of the state for Regional Baseball action the next day. Oh, followed by his graduation the day after that…which was yesterday.

I’m exhausted.He’s exhausted. We’r...

Guest Sharon Srock – He Promised Me Wings

Dear readers, from time to time I ask others to share their stories of faith, hope, and love in order to encourage us all. If you have a story to share, you can find my guidelines under the Connect tab. In the meantime, welcome Sharon Srock!

I read a story once about a man in a wheelchair who went to a concert. While the music played the poor man became upset when he couldn’t see the stage due to all the people standing around him. Two men took pity on him and held him up so that he could see...

Momentum on the Back Stretch

I’ve recently found myself struggling to maintain momentum on the backstretch of this race called life. Of course, this is a figurative place not a real one because I haven’t picked up running shoes in, um, a long time. Except when moving my youngest son’s stinky track shoes out of the way and that unfortunately doesn’t count. My Fitbit says I walk my 10,000 steps most days, but actually running on purpose for exercise hasn’t happened in forever. ‘Nuff said.

With two sons participating in tra...

Yada Yada Yada

How often do you have a strange dream that stays with you for awhile? I had one last week that’s still making me think about what I write and why.

In my dream, I was trailing just behind a business-type person and asking for information about someone they had talked to or met with the day before. (Of course, it’s a dream so the reason why I need this information is still a mystery and even if it made sense at the time, those details have definitely faded into the fog where all dreams go.) An...

Take the Baton and Run

I’m a sports-mom which meansthis spring has been full of baseball games and track meets. While watching my youngest take the baton and run in his first meet, I was reminded of this post from a couple years ago. What race are you running?

While I’ve been watching a lot of baseball games this spring, I can still remember the years I coached track. The relay events were a highlight ofevery meet, especially the mile relay.

In the relay, the first runner steps up to the starting line with the bat...