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Boots McBlog bio picture

bonjour, y'all!

I'm a dash of Jackie O.  A pinch of Elly May.  A splash of Quelques Fleurs.  A jigger of pickle juice. My friends call me Boots. My name is JoBeth.  I'm just a southern girl who adores a great tune, a delicious meal, beautiful flowers, a frilly dress, and the perfect shoe. I'm married to a curly haired boy I call "The Angler".   By day, I'm a healthcare stategist with a passion for NonProfits.   I have a Masters degree in food.  Literally.  I am a registered dietitian, but I do love burgers and chocolate chip cookies.   I survived being President of the Junior League.  I'm a daydreamer, an avid i-pod shuffler and a novice photographer.  I love to laugh.  I'm often silly with a heapin' helpin' of sappy. I'm blessed beyond measure and amazed by God's grace. I try to keep my high heels walking in faith one step at a time, It's my prayer to help other women live beautiful, gracious lives. 

Like all true southerners, I come from a long line of storytellers. My favorite stories paint pictures.  And great pictures tell stories. I hope to accomplish both on this blog.  So,  grab yourself a glass of sweet tea, kick off your Manolo's and sit a spell on my virtual veranda. Flair and folly awaits.  

Do tell!


{ for my style files and daily favorites come visit my tumblr:  bootsmcblog.tumblr.com }


gracious leadership: align & astonish

Earlier in the week,  I wrote about how I approach setting and achieving my resolutions and goals.   As promised,  I am following up with a few more  nudges towards making 2012 the best yet.   These are perhaps the most difficult tips to reaching goals.   Ideally,  these steps will precede the resolutions.  The good news,  it’s never too late to apply them.

By now we are making a couple of weeks headway into those resolutions.    This is a good time to do a gut check.

If there is any hope of achieving the plans and goals written prettily across the page,  they must first ALIGN with the plans that God has for us.

We must ask ourselves,

“Are these plans MY plans?  Are they for me and my benefit?   Are they for  my glory?”

If the answer is yes, even if we successfully check off every lofty goal we’ve set,  we’ll ring in 2013 feeling hollow.

Last week,  I sat down with the CEO of our company.  We reviewed my 2012 goals and plans.   Before our meeting, I had studied our company’s strategic plan and used it to guide my  professional goal setting.  My boss seem well pleased with the presentation. He gave feedback and encouragement. He tweaked a few plans for the better.  Both the company and myself are poised for success.

Can you imagine the disastrous outcome had I walked into his office with what I conceived to be GREAT ideas that had nothing to do with who our company is or where we going?   What if  I did what I wanted to do,  without regard to the bigger picture?  Without aligning my goals with the company’s goals, I labor in vain.

The same is true when I fail to align my heart with God’s plan through prayer, scripture reading, and friends who hold me accountable.

 

 

 

Getting our vision, personal mission, our values, our strengths,  our goals,  and resolutions in line with God’s plan for us is a tough, soul searching process.   If you don’t even have a clue to this process,   a great place to start is with the Woman on a Mission Bible Study written by Linda Slaton.  I participated in the group two years ago, and I am forever grateful for the clarity and peace God gave me through the work.

I have an audacious vision of where I am called to go in life.    The goals I’ve set, put me closer to achieving that vision.   My intentions are good and I’ve done my best to align my ways with His.   Here’s the rub and possibly my greatest challenge… leaving room in the plans and  the good to allow God to astonish me.    I think it’s a challenge for most of us.   We take our grand ideas and our human brains cannot begin to fathom them in higher ways.   He calls us to seek Him first. Put him  FIRST ….at  the top of goals, our dreams, our visions, our resolutions, our to-do list….and all these things…. these wonderful, amazing opportunities we could never have orchestrated in our own ways…will be added to us. I have total faith if we yield to Him and give him space in our plans and our hearts,  he WILL wow us.

 

It’s my prayer and a challenge for us as we set sail further into 2012,  let’s go back to those resolution lists and add at the very top:

#1.   Let God Astonish Us

 

 

gracefully yours,

boots

xxoo

monday mojo: start

 

(image via etsy)

gracious leadership: Word(s) of the Year

Hip Hip Hooray!  Let’s give 3 cheers for 2012 is officially here.

 

Along with the new year are new hopes, resolutions, and dreams.

I’ve been impressed and inspired by the BIG ideas that have crossed my blog reader and twitter stream.

To me, there’s nothing better than sitting down with a clean slate, daydreaming big (and small) ideas and the steps to achieve those goals.

 

 

I’ve spent the better part of the last 2 weeks on my own and working with others to hone my own plans for 2012.  Planning, strategizing and putting goals and programs into action is what I  do professionally.  It’s what I’ve always done, whether it was planning a party,  a patient’s health goals, a clients diet plan,  or a marketing plan,    The strategy remains basically the same.    What I use at the office, I use on a personal level to build a better …well,  me.

In my experience,  a key element  to move lofty goals and pretty plans from paper into action and results is effective communication.

Effective communication allows us and others to understand, internalize and focus.  I do this by whittling and wordsmithing my goals into a single word or simple phrase.  Quick bites I can easily recite and use  to outline / structure my actions.

For my personal goals, I post these words in places I see numerous times a day.  For example,  they are on the home screen of my phone &  the inspiration board by my desk.

 

 

 

I also use them daily/weekly in MyAgenda ( yes, I’m old school.  I like a handwritten calendar).

Along the side bar each week, I write my 5 words/ phrases.  Then, I make sure I’m doing something each week to move me closer to achievement of the particular benchmarks I’ve set within each goal.  I schedule my workouts,  write my meal plans,  track my volunteer commitments, and make notes of birthdays and names of friend to whom I want to drop a note.   This is where I’m also adding my blog post ideas this year.

 

5 words or phrases.  I love the simplicity.

move more• eat well • share • save • grow

The repetition becomes a cadence  for marching forward to better self in 2012.  Now that is something to cheer for!

 

Do you have a secret to organizing and achieving your goals?   Do you  word or phrases to inspire you this year?  I’d love to hear.

[ In the next few days, I'll SHARE with you another strategy I use in successfully setting & meeting goals ]

 

Cheers + Happy New Year!

xxoo,

boots

monday mojo: halfway

Yes.  Yes, I know it’s Tuesday, but it’s the Monday of this abbreviated work week.   I’m trying to embrace the lull, the utter stillness and quiet desolation of the office and be productive.    It’s the perfect time to  review accomplishment of my goals of 2011 and write my professional and personal goals for 2012.

More good things are ahead.  I believe that.

 

 

 

xxoo,

boots

 

(image found via Pinterest // It’s a Crafty Life blog)

~ suite dreams ~

The first strains of the Overture from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite play and I still get a lump in my throat and butterflies in my belly.   My initial appearance in our small town production of the Nutrcracker was by default.  My dance teacher invited me to be a party child alternate.  A kid got stage fright and I got a part. Oh, what fun I had, twirling and dancing in that blue party dress and brushing my feet in my pink capezios to the children’s march.

The following year,  I tried out again for the same role.  I will never forget walking to the door of The Ritz Theater with my Dad to see if the results of the day’s tryouts were posted.   It was far past the time of deliberation, yet there was no sign of a sign. Disappointed,  we turned to walk away when one of the casting agents opened the door.   She leaned her head out and gave us the “pssst” sound.  We turned.   She whispered,  ”We’re still working on all the parts, but I can tell you,”  and she looked from my Dad to me, “JoBeth,  you will be dancing the part of Clara. Congratulations.”

The following months of rehearsals after rehearsals and the two weekends of production remain my happiest childhood memories.  When I close my eyes and remember,  I am filled with pure joy.

I danced several other parts in the Nutcracker the following years. The Nutrcracker grew to be part of our Christmas tradition.

Although I no longer dance, I’ve  kept the Nutcracker tradition alive and well by watching the classic 1977 Barishnikov Production. It is by far  the most impeccably performed version I’ve ever seen.   Year after year, I am awed by  Mikhail’s choreography coupled with the intense beauty and moving strains of the music.   I could get lost in the The Grand Pas de Deux.  As Drosselmeyer (the Godfather) summons Clara to leave her Prince and the Dreamland of Sweets to return to reality, the dancers bid adieu with an undeniable passion that is rarely seen in a performance without words.

Give yourself a beautiful little gift  this season, grab a cup of cocoa and enjoy the 10 minutes of  dance and music below.

(If you have time to watch the entire production, parts 1-10 are available via YouTube. This particular video features the well known Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,  The Tarantella, and  The Pas de Deux )

 

 

Thanks for sashaying down memory lane with me.   Only a few more hours until Christmas Eve

Until then

Suite Dreams, Friends!

 

xxoo,

boots

 

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