Change IS Hard....

...and that's ok...

Let me tell you a story about my chickens.....

My husband bought us 7 adorable chicks to raise.  This is my first batch of chickens...

But there are certain universal behaviors that one can expect from chickens.

1) Chickens put themselves to bed at dusk.

2) Chickens nest to lay eggs...

We moved the chickens into the coop when it came time, and they happily and readily accepted it as their home.  They put themselves to bed each night....

Nevermind that it was THE SAME BED......

I tried to make an appealing bed in the nest boxes by adding straw....

However, ALL the straw ended up on the floor....  Chickens insisted: NO straw in the nestboxes!!

The hens began to lay, and I continually found their eggs NOT in the nestboxes!!

Change is hard.....

I had to accept that my hens preferred to lay their eggs in the "upstairs" landing of the coop.  The change to anywhere else was just too hard!

So, I put straw in the "upstairs...  and in the nestboxes...

Do you want to guess where it ended up??

NO straw!  WHY is there STRAW in my nestbox??

NOT in either of those places!

I was getting concerned about the hens staying warm as the temperatures dropped.  I though, maybe NOW is the time for straw!

I Wanted to work with that nesting instinct.  I had seen them nest the grass... So, this time, instead of putting loose straw in, I put it in as a flake!!

I put one flake "upstairs", and 2 flakes in the nestboxes.

...and I waited....

It took them a whole week, this time (as opposed to 2 days previously) to kick ALL of the straw in the nestboxes out on the floor.....

For a week, they sat NEXT to the upstairs flake, and continued to lay on the bare wood.

I'm told chickens aren't that smart...

Finally, one day, the flake began to look different!!

One hen had created a hollow and started laying in the straw!!

Another week, and ALL the hens were laying in the straw!

No more worry about eggs rolling off!

SUCCESS!!

One of these things was just too big for my hens to change.  I don't know why, but it just is.

The other, I was able to use her current habit to HELP establish the new behavior, rather than work AGAINST the current habit!

If we can find a way to make the steps small enough that they work WITH our current habits, we can make change just a little bit easier....

Change is hard.

And it's ok that change is hard.

However, change is still POSSIBLE!

In order for the change to be more successful, make it small.  Make it work with your current habits.  Make that teeny tiny shift it's own new habit...  Then, build from there!

Are you ready?

Let's keep in touch!

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Creative Problem Solving?

The kitchen can really be a disaster zone for me....

My husband cannot cook unless the kitchen is immaculate!

Me, I just can't keep the counters cleared off...

However, the more organized I can keep the kitchen, the better I eat.  So the stakes are high!

For a year and a half, my husband and I have been trying to take the dishwasher. For example:
Once the dishwasher had run, these 2 blue lights are lit up! If you open the dishwasher, they remain lit up... until you latch it closed again......

You know what happens when you share a living area with someone else?

They come in and mess up your system!

I don't know how many times I've told my husband: as long as you don't latch it, I know the dishwasher is still clean, and as soon as I have 10 minutes, I can put the dishes away!

We have continued to have the discussion about: Is the dishwasher clean or dirty?

We originally had planned to use a magnet we could flip for clean or dirty, but the dishwasher is stainless steel, so this imaginary magnet would never stick anyway...

Our magnets will only stick to the side of our refrigerator, and my husband is easily offended if the magnets are not expertly arranged.  And don't put just any magnet up there!!

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One day, a run across "window crayons" at the store...  Could this be the best thing since dry erase markers??

I bought them.  Can you imagine the face my husband is making at me when he sees them?

(My poor husband gets picked on so much when I write...  I wonder if he knows?)

One morning, I started the dishwasher as I was leaving for work.  So, I left a note for myself in case my husband opened (and closed) the dishwasher!

(God forbid he unload it!  At least he can take care of the loading part - if he knows it's dirty...)

#creativeproblemsolving #embracingmyinnerchild #childlikeenthusiasm

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Now, on my window, I keep a running commentary on the state of the dishwasher.

And you know what?

I'm saving a little bit of time.

I've eliminated a steady source of confusion.

My husband still asks me if the dishwasher is clean or dirty, but he notices that I check the window to verify...  Maybe one day he will read it on his own!  LOL

My counters are staying just a little bit clearer!!

Where do you save time in the kitchen?

Does it help you eat any healthier?

Let's keep in touch!

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Delicious Halloween!

Have you seen what everyone is wearing?
The costumes get more creative all the time!

I wonder what candy everyone is giving out this year?

My husband and I live in a neighborhood that doesn't get trick-or-treaters, so I have to live vicariously through Facebook.

And as I started to see the pics going up of piles of candy...  I actually started feeling a little sick to my stomach...

Now, that could just be because of some bug I've been fighting off this week - BUT!

I suddenly realized that, if we DID get trick-or-treaters, I couldn't hand out candy in good conscience!

Don't get me wrong...  I have a sweet tooth!

I can be my own worst enemy.

I try to minimize what I bring into the house, but I'm not ready to give up the decadence completely...

I just try to save it for a treat!

If we ever get trick-or-treaters, I'm going to have to put a plan in order... I'm beginning to think something fun like Play-Doh might be a guilt-free bet!

If you pigged out on the candy (or maybe you still are?), don't beat yourself up for it.  One week night a year isn't going to make or break your long-term health.

I could have made all kinds of pumpkin-flavored creations if I had been ready before the pumpkin carving began...  Instead, our chickens feasted on pumpkin guts and kept vigilant watch for more!

Did you adjust any Halloween traditions this year?

Are you planning to in the future?

Tell me about your challenges and triumphs with this spooky holiday!

Let's keep in touch!

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