Let’s Get Ready with Cedar Valley Publishing

Do you know Joe Sabah?  He had a dream.  And a song.  And now?  He’s compiled an eBook entitled Are You Singing the Song You Came To Sing? 65 Stories of Hope, Passion, and Fulfillment.

And yes, you guessed it, I contributed my “Oprah-Inspired” story to this fabulous read.

Let me tell you, the stories in this eBook will make you laugh, cry, and do some serious soul-searching. 

I SO want YOU to sing the song you came to sing!

Visit Joe’s website at http://www.joesabah.com/songbook/index.html today, and share in Joe’s dream.  I’m betting you’ll find your song somewhere on those pages, too.  And I can’t wait to hear you sing it!

Do you get up every day eager to start the day?  Do you love what you do?   Do feel as if you are following your passion?  Does your existing life have meaning? If you answered yes to all of the above—bravo!  I mean BRAVO!  You make up a small percentage of the world.  You need to share your success with others!

If you are still searching for your passion, it might be right around the corner or right in front of your face.  Keep looking!   My “aha moment” came just before turning 40 when I was trying to get my own children ready for school.  I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for so I decided to write, self-publish and distribute a line of children’s educational books.   That’s the pat answer for the media, but really it was more like a brick hit me in the face and I just knew what I was meant to do!

In my case, it started with a series of Oprah shows; first it was the walking buddy show where I started walking with a neighbor to get in shape.  She was telling me what her daughter just learned in Kindergarten.  I was amazed as I did not realize how advanced the Kindergarten curriculum had become.  So I set out to find a book to help my 3 and 1-year-old girls prepare for their first day of school.    I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted.  I did not want a storybook on Kindergarten or a workbook.  I wanted a simple book that I could put my children in my lap that we could read and learn the Kindergarten curriculum.  I wanted something engaging and fun, yet simple enough that I could teach simply by reading it to them. 

One summer day in 2003, I was walking with my walking buddy. I mentioned that Oprah was having something called The Big Dream Contest and I mumbled that I wish I had an idea for Oprah’s Big Dream Contest.  My friends answer, changed my life.  She said,  “How about that Kindergarten book you can’t find, one book for every grade that helps parents, kids and teachers.”  The minute she said it, I knew it was what I was meant to do.  It was my defining moment, the brick finally hit me in the face and “aha” I knew it was what I was suppose to do.  So I started to make it happen with writing and working with educators and curriculum specialists, parents and kids.  I did not submit the idea to Oprah’s Contest at the time, it was just too good of an idea that I was simply meant to do. So I did.

How did I do it?  Ironically, Oprah seemed to answer my questions at every step along the way.  She even had a show on self-publishing when I was at the point when I was deciding how to publish, so it was like a message directly to me complete with the tools to publish it myself.  So that’s what I did.  Oprah had a show on successful Mommy Companies as if to reinforce my decision and a show on her trip to Africa, which inspired me to make my books available with global characters, available in many languages <still working on that>, and durable to withstand the huts in Africa.   

I fell into my passion and have been stumbling and bumbling along the way and still listen to Oprah and watch for other signs to point me in another direction or give me the tools to jump the next hurdle along the way.  Obviously Oprah was a huge influence on my life and this is what I know for sure, if I ever meet her I will do the ugly cry and pray that I can actually get the words “thank you” out of my mouth.  She has had that affect on millions of other people too.  I find it amazing that someone I have never met or spoke too had the power to show me the way.  If this can happen to me, it can happen to you!

Look around and listen.  Are you passing by your signs?  Do you ignore your gut?  Does something keep coming up time and time again?  Listen with an open mind and heart and see what comes your way.  It could be someone you have never met, someone standing in the line at the grocery store that may tell you something that could be life-changing.  Listen and trust your gut.  In my case, it was people I did not know, or those that I did not know very well who became the key to my success.     

Passion has given my life so much meaning.  So now I am on a mission to try to help others find or create passion in their lives.   Might your passion be something that you currently are doing as a hobby or something that you did in the past?   Perhaps, you can try writing down things that make you happy and see if something jumps out at you? 

In my husband’s case, his passion is his hobby — hunting and fishing.  He is most happy sitting in the woods or in a boat.  I encourage him to take hunting and fishing trips because I now understand what joy I get from following my passion, so I know how happy he is when he comes home from a day spent living out his dreams. 

Copyright 2007, Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

Are you ready to find your passion in life?  Might you ask yourself some questions to unlock your passion?  What do you truly enjoy?  We can’t wait to hear about your “Aha Moment” when it occurs for you.  It will be a memorable experience!

I made some positive life changes to my diet and exercise program a few months before I turned 40.  I was working out like a banshee, eating right and the weight was coming off.  I was finally on track until the unthinkable happened.  I had a knee and elbow injury that forced me to take some time off and recuperate. 
I actually had a doctor’s order not to exercise and I was never so miserable in all my life.  The lady who hated to exercise–I still hate to exercise, but I so love how I feel after I exercise–was told to take it easy.  I didn’t listen and ended up having a more serious injury that kept me away from the workout routine that I had been doing for 2 years.

My body was ready to begin at the 6 months mark, but it took another 3 months before my mind was ready to actually begin the journey again.  Sadly, in 9 months I had gained back all the weight it had taken me 2 years to lose.  I was back to square one. 

Fortunately, it only took me 6 weeks to get back on track and settle into a daily routine which included exercise and healthy eating habits.  I am down 10 pounds and I’m ready to share what has been working for me this second time around:

• I schedule 35 minutes on my exercise bike every day before the kids wake up.  From 6:30-7:30 every morning, I bike ride while catching up on work reading.  I am in the publishing business and have piles of books to review, so for me this is killing two birds with one stone.  Yes, I don’t burn as many calories reading a book, but it is making a dent in my reading pile, so it is a trade off that works for me.  Also, I often find myself riding longer than the full hour allotted because I just can’t put down a great book!  It provides me with the added bonus of being eager to exercise and read the next day!

• Twice a week, my husband and I take a group exercise class with weight training/ball/kickboxing.  It is also a scheduled date with my husband on the calendar.  We do it together as a team and enjoy it greatly.  With school starting, I will be moving to mornings two days a week, to allow me to be home at night with the girls, staying on homework detail.  But we still will be working out on the same days doing the same class, just at a different time. 

• I watch what I eat.  I am at the point where I don’t need to journal, as I know what works for me.  Breakfast:  Fruit or 100% orange juice with oatmeal, whole grain cereal, or a slice of whole grain bread toasted dry, with a thin layer of peanut butter spread on top; Lunch:  Fruit with either soup, salad, baked potato easy on the margarine and light sour cream or a bagel with melted cheese and a slice of ham; dinner is always a protein, veggie and fruit.  I am in charge of the kitchen, so it is easy to keep the entire family on track with making healthy choices.

• I don’t eat after 6PM. 

• I have healthy treats, veggies and fruits on hand when I need a snack.

• I am lucky that I get to read books on weight loss, motivation and self-help for my job.  Filling yourself full of positive thoughts goes a long way to keeping you away from the refrigerator.  Call a friend, read a book, take a bubble bath, clean a closet, do something else (anything positive and/or productive) to redirect your energy when you are feeling the urge to eat out of boredom.  

• Listen to your body.  If you are in need of more fuel, fill it up.  Protein is a great choice to give you some long lasting energy:  a slice of cheese, a spoonful of peanut butter, cottage cheese or a glass of 1% low fat chocolate milk will take you much farther than a bag of chips.

• I use the scale every morning to help me stay on track and help me plan my day.  If it is up, I need to try harder that day.  Perhaps I add more exercise and make better food choices.  If it’s down or the same, I rejoice!  You can’t expect to loss weight every day, 2-3 pounds a week is realistic and staying the same means you are closer to a loss!  So rejoice that you are going in the right direction!

• I like myself.  I live in the present and look to the future.  So it happened, I am trying again, working harder this time to not re-injure myself and taking every day as one step toward my goal.

• Keep Moving!  I am doing this for my family and myself because it makes me healthy, happy and terrific.  It has become another passion that I don’t want to live without.

Copyright 2007, Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

What’s working for you on your quest for healthier eating and daily exercise?  Is it a journal?  A firm plan?  A promise to yourself or your family?  Let’s do some healthy dishing!

Have you heard of Everyday Math?  It is used as the elementary math curriculum in many schools across the nation and the concept is simple:  do math everyday.  That I like.  Show children how much fun math can be and show it used in everyday practical matters.  Everyday Math introduces math at the core and presents it in a fun and positive environment.  Math is everywhere in everyday practical matters:  cooking, traveling, banking, simply everywhere.  

My children are at the beginning of Everyday Math so our family has yet to get into the meat of the program to see first hand the benefits in action.  I do hear from frustrated parents who are not happy with one thing about Everyday Math:  they do a different math concept everyday.  One day it could be fractions, the next it could be patterns, the next day measuring, and the next day decimals.   The idea is that at some point the light goes on and children understand the concept and if you are spending an entire unit working on fractions and then move on to measuring, the child might never have had that “aha moment” about fractions.  That might have been my problem with math in school.  The light never turned on for me with math.  I honestly still get nervous about fractions and storybook math problems and I am the first to direct my children to Dad for help on those units.  Math was his favorite subject in school and he uses it everyday in his job.  It is his passion.

So, I am going into Everyday Math with an open mind because math has never been one of my favorite subjects in school.  I am not going to let on to my kids that math was not my favorite subject, instead I am going to attempt to oversee the math homework links, to see if I could possibly start over with math at the core.  It may not be too late for me to have my own math epiphany.  I do believe in the importance of practice and at some point enough practice over and over might lead to that light bulb burning brightly between myself, my children and math. 

Copyright 2007, Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

Do you have a secret subject that’s still “Greek” to you?  Are you working towards making it more you-friendly?  Tell us how it’s working out!