Do You have a Bad Habit to kick?

 

Happy Friday! YAY!!!!!

 

It is getting to be that time of year where we reflect on the year we are releasing and dream and plan for the new one we are about to embark on! 

 

 

Do you have a habit you want to kick in the New Year? Or a goal for something you want to add to your life?

 

Making a change in habits can be hard as our brain becomes wired in one habitual way and we basically have to work hard to rewire it into a new set of pathways and keep AT it until it is really ingrained otherwise the brain can be tricky and try to detour you back to an old path!

My 3 tips for helping kick a habit:

 

Write it down! 

 

Making a public declaration of your goals helps to turn it from a wish into an action plan cause now it is out there in writing for you and others to see. You do not have to do it online you can write it down and pop it on the fridge or your desk at work!

 

Make sure your goal is SMART ... 

 

Is it specific?

 

If your goal is too broad it is easy to get lost in the focus or direction you are going and feel defeated. So for example setting a goal for World Peace is WAY to broad - break that baby down into the goals you need to achieve with that as your end game! 

 

Is it measurable?

 

 How you are you going to know you have reached your goal? So for example I can say I want to loose weight  - but that goal is not really a clearly measurable goal as in I could loose a pound and whoop technically someone could say I met my goal - but if my goal is to loose 100 pounds well I have a journey ahead of me! I might need to break that down into even more measurable goals in order to succeed at it! I want to reach a goal weight of 150 pound - that is more specific.

 

Is it attainable/achievable?

 

So again is your goal about setting you up for success? So going with the weight loss cause that tends to be a popular goal this time of year. If my goal is to reach a goal weight of 150 pounds but than I add in the idea that by a wedding that's 4 weeks away - well that might not be attainable or achievable unless you are starting at 158 pounds. Conventional advice on healthy sustained weight loss is to aim for a 2 pounds per week .... so to ensure your goal is attainable you need to figure out how many pounds you need to loose to get to your ideal weight and than if losing 2 pounds per week to help you determine what time line is needed to achieve that?

 

Is it relevant?

 

This is a tricky one for some - you need to dig deep and ensure that this goal is REALLY something that you are doing for YOU and that you are motivated by a need/want that is within you! An example for my own life - I am a former smoker! Started when I was 10 smoking the butts of my and my friends parents cigarettes in the gravel pit fort we had made and by the time I was 14 I was smoking a pack a day by the time I was in my 20's that was a pack and half or more! I tried to quit NUMEROUS times over the years because loved ones complained about it, because doctors came out and said it was dangerous, because society was starting to shame smokers and restrict where you could smoke .... all reasons that were NOT relevant to ME in any meaningful way. I finally quit when I herniated my disc and found myself immobile for months and the  smoking on top of that started collecting in my lungs and I was waking up coughing up nasty crap ... now that was a RELEVANT reason to me because first GROSS but secondly have you ever coughed when you have a herniated disc or even if you have not herniated that if you've had an abdominal surgery - it is PAINFUL. I quit cold turkey because I was truly motivated to not have to experience that pain because of a nasty habit! 

 

 And lastly is it time based?

As mentioned early with the weight loss being attainable - having a realistic time line is vital when setting a goal! If your time line is unrealistic you are setting yourself up to fail from the start!

Set up a Support system! 

 

Ask someone to be your accountability partner to follow up with you daily or weekly or however often you agree to check in with how your doing and cheer you on or help to put you back on track with your goal also helps with successfully kicking a habit! 

 

Choose that partner wisely - you want to choose someone who actually been through what you are going through so they have understanding and empathy as well as the knowledge of what is going on. Someone who will actually HOLD you accountable to your goals, who can give you both positive feedback AND constructive criticism where you need it! Someone you trust to be both inspiring when you need it and that hard knuckle coach when you need that too!

 

Keep the eye on the prize ... part of setting a goal and following through is to have a very good 'visual picture' of where you were and where you want to go and WHY! As you set your goal you want to create a daily mantra of what you are going to GAIN by changing this habit.

 

Word your mantra as if you have ACHIEVED your goal! Something like "I have reached my ideal weight, I am able to run and play with my grand-daughter without pain. I am strong and confident and comfortable in my skin again! I am living my happiest and healthiest life surrounded by those I love.' 

 

I know it sounds simple but in my experience those are the top 3 things to have success! It is basically setting SMART goals, accountability and gratitude for what you have now and will have when you get where you want to be!

 

You've got this and if you need an accountability partner - message me I love to help others rock their goals or come on over and join us on Facebook either in my Totallyawake4-life Community or my Totallyawake4-life & Nailin' It community or both they each off a bit different content focus on living a healthy happy life! 

 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

 

Sensational Sleep Tips

Growing research over that past few years shows that children and adults in North America and SLEEP DEPRIVED and it is slowly killing us. The epidemic has gotten so bad that over a 1/3 of participants in a recent study reported using over the counter or prescription drugs to get their children to settle into sleep at night ... that is over 30% of children who, for what in my opinion is totally preventable reasons, are unable to do what comes naturally and SLEEP? 

Having suffered with pain induced sleep deprivation myself and seeing the damage it did to my own mental and physical health learning more about sleep and its importance has become a mini passion for me leading me to advocate for protecting sleep for myself and others as the first line of defense in creating and living a healthy life.

In addition as an early childhood educator who is passionate about giving children their best foot forward in life these growing statistics on sleep deprivation in younger and younger children are heartbreaking. During the first 3 years the brain is working so hard and setting itself up for its lifetime it is during this time that we need to ensure it has all the tools it needs to do the BEST job it can! So rather than looking to 'big pharmacy drugs' to treat a symptom and MASK the damage that symptom might be causing we should be looking deeper into WHY is this trend emerging and what can we do naturally to improve healthy sleeping patterns in North America! 

Sleep requirements by age:

Image Source

 What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency? (source)

 

Sleep deprivation (DEP-rih-VA-shun) is a condition that occurs if you don't get enough sleep. Sleep deficiency is a broader concept. It occurs if you have one or more of the following:

• You don't get enough sleep (sleep deprivation)
• You sleep at the wrong time of day (that is, you're out of sync with your body's natural clock)
• You don't sleep well or get all of the different types of sleep that your body needs
• You have a sleep disorder that prevents you from getting enough sleep or causes poor quality sleep

11 Signs You Are Sleep Deprived (source)

1. You are always hungry
2. You've gained weight: 
3. You are more impulsive
4. Your memory is shot
5. You're having trouble making decisions
6. Your motor skills are off
7. Your emotions are all over the place
8. You get sick often
9. You are having trouble seeing
10. Your skin is not looking good - prone to rashes, acne and so forth
11. You think you have fallen asleep at the wheel

Risks to your health and well being not sleeping:

Image source

While there is lots of documented articles with citing research coming out on how this issue of sleep deprivation and how it is affecting children I do not need to read research to know some of the changes that have been occurring in childhood that are impacting sleep I have seen the slow change in family life over the past 25 years working as an Early Childhood Educator .... as a society despite modern conveniences meant to make life easier we are busier than ever, children are scheduled out the wazoo with extra curricular activities often during their bodies natural 'nap period' so we have infants that are supposedly outgrowing the need for a nap before a YEAR but are only averaging 8 hours a sleep at night so are missing out on over 40% of their required sleep, we eat fast food and are always go go going in one way or another in today's family. So for life to suddenly 'stop' and children be expected to turn it off and sleep its a challenge specially when sometimes bedtime is 7 and other nights it might be 9 cause of an extra curricular or family commitment! 

When I worked in centre care client's in my programs were continually coming to the team with requests to 'eliminate the nap' because Little Johnny is up until the wee hours of the morning wanting to watch TV or eat waffles or just bouncing off the walls cause they cannot lie still and some how the 'nap' at daycare is being blamed for this because he must not be 'tired' otherwise he would just got to sleep. Eliminating the nap is NOT the answer though ~ specially when you look at the 'signs your sleep deprived' these behaviors are ALL attributed to not getting enough sleep! 

Young children still of daycare age need between 11-14 hours of sleep a day with families busy schedules today there is low statistical probability they are getting that all at NIGHT so an afternoon nap is paramount!  The reality is that ALL the research out there shows that Little Johnny is likely OVER TIRED and has entered a phase of 'sleep resistance' that is why he is not settling into sleep! 

Setting a consistent routine and environment that promotes healthy sleep patterns in early childhood is KEY to help stave off the sleep related issues and create a relationship with sleep that should ideally last throughout adulthood! 

My Tips for Sleep Success in the Early Years

ENSURE SLEEP IS A PRIORITY ... like eating healthy and other positive habits in life we need to VALUE the benefits of doing them to keep it a consistent practice! We can ensure we are making things a priority or what  I call 'living  our values and goals' by ask ourselves with every thing we do or choice we make 'will this help me achieve my goals in X', so in this case 'achieving healthy sleep habits', if the answer is NO than consider how to eliminate it from your routine and make room for more YESES in your life. For example while taking the kids to a late movie as a treat cause its the first night its showing and all the other times sold out might be awesome in the moment if you have to pay for that moment for the next WEEK in increased resistance at bed time and the behavior challenges that come when a child is over tired 24 hours and up to several days or longer trying to get them back on routine is it really WORTH that moment which is gone in a fleeting nana second in the course of ones life? Asking ourselves when something comes up that is going to interfere with a child's sleep goals is it worth it or can it be done on a schedule that fits in with keeping sleep a priority for your family? Which brings us to tip number 2. 

 

RESPECT THE INTERNAL CLOCK ... Sleep is regulated by two body systems: sleep/wake homeostasis and the circadian biological clock. Young children need a consistent routine of meal times, sleeping times and getting daily exercise in order to learn how to self regulate these system to optimum health not just for sleep but for all sorts of bodily functions including as they age toilet training and so forth. A consistent routine of when the body can expect food, sleep and exercise allows children to better learn to listen to their bodies cues for being hungry or tired. When ones routine changes and moves around all the time we get very adept at learning to 'ignore' messages from our body in order to cope and this can have long term consequences to our health. We learn to eat when not hungry or ignore our hunger which can lead to imbalance with our metabolism and result in 'over eating' and weight gain, we miss our window of opportunity to fall asleep which creates imbalances in our sleep hormones which is what results in overtired children and adults being wide awake at 4AM ... all of these challenges affect other parts of our body and as a result our physical and mental health! Young children AND adults both need a consistent routine to thrive optimally ... when I worked in Human Resources I use to constantly advocate that we needed to do away with things like 'rotating shifts' for employees because the long term risk to their HEALTH AND WELL BEING was not worth it. As a society we should also be making SLEEP a priority in our policy making. Asking ourselves is this work that MUST be done 24/7 and if not than protect the SLEEP of our workforce and do not work 24/7! 

 
GET ACTIVE OUTSIDE: In an era where we have so many 'electronic conveniences' we seem to loose ourselves in our IPads and LeapFrog devices at younger and younger ages combine these conveniences with the access to information from all over the globe that has us feeling that no where is 'safe' for out children our children spend less and less time actively engaged in outside vigorous play!  However I totally notice in my own front line 'research' the huge correlation between children being active daily OUTSIDE and getting a good nights sleep. When we have a period of inclement weather where we are not getting outside for our 2-3 hours a day of active outdoor play I totally can see the increase in parental complaints about 'poor nights sleep' at home despite the fact that were indeed still active INDOORS. Being active OUTSIDE in the fresh air and sunshine has huge benefits to our health!

• 1. Sleep-inducing natural light
  Regular doses of bright natural light help children stay more alert during the day, elevate their moods and make it easier to sleep at night. Exposure to outdoor light in the morning actually helps set their body clock for a better and earlier night’s sleep.
  2. The soothing dimensions of more time in nature
  Nature has a way of comforting children. It can take away stress and be a haven for kids who are otherwise feeling the pressures of school, family, and social demands Research has found that children who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) get significant relief from their symptoms and are able to concentrate better if they spend some time outdoors.
  3. Outdoor exercise is better for children than indoors
  Exercise can release soothing endorphins into the blood stream and can help with the production of melatonin. Outdoor play encourages activities such as climbing, jumping, running and tumbling that promote muscle fitness and flexibility. Research shows that moderate to vigorous physical activity in child care settings increased from 1% indoors to as much as 11% outdoors. When outdoor play was child led, the amount of time further increased to 17%.

ENVIRONMENTS THAT PROMOTE SLEEP: 

The environment is one of the FIRST places we should look whenever a child is struggling with their development cause often it is there we find the key to why and how to support them. Environment can mean not only their surroundings / external stimulation but also their dietary habits and other factors like routine and stressors in the home, school, life in general.  

Often when I listen to clients describing their child's sleep challenges I hear things like 'he woke up and would not got back to sleep. He was throwing a fit so we watched a TV show to calm him down but than I could not get him to go back to sleep at all he tossed and turned all night so he's basically been up since 2am.  Or I got up to go to the bathroom and found him wide awake playing with the toys in his room .Or he woke up at 2am and wanted something to eat so we gave him an egg to tie him over. While no one wants their child to throw a fit or go hungry the sad reality is that appeasing to these sort of things in the middle of the night is NOT creating an environment that promotes sleep. It is basically impeding it by fine tuning their internal clock that has become BROKEN to continue to to remain broken because their internal 'alarm' will ring again tomorrow night at 2am and want to be stimulated by the TV or fed. If we want a child to sleep through the night than we need to start by setting the expectation that we sleep through the night and create an environment and routine that promotes that. When they wake up, which is natural during a sleep cycle we need to teach them to close their eyes, relax and go BACK to sleep verses encouraging them to get 'stimulated' into a full wakeful state.  There are lots of books out there on how to 'reset' an internal clock. I have friends who swear by the No Cry Sleep Solution book.

When I was in my sleep study myself the best advice the Dr's gave me was 'a bedroom is for SLEEPING that is all you should do in there'. When I herniated my disc and could not move about so much we had moved a TV into the bedroom and I had grown into the pattern of falling asleep watching TV because when my mind was busy with the TV I did not feel the pain so much it seemed like an awesome solution at the time. However overtime this inadvertently practice broke my internal clock. My brain could not wind down on its own anymore ~ I could not fall asleep unless the TV was on. Because the TV was on the light and energy it gave off while sleeping affected the natural production of Melatonin hormones in my body as well as I was not reaching REM sleep. These two things combined to start creating a cyclical effect of sleeplessness that deteriorated my health until I found myself in a sleep clinic trying to get back to a healthy sleep cause I did not want to be on the array of 'drugs' that modern medicine was offering me to treat my symptoms that the lack of sleep had created. Research shows that optimal sleep occurs when we have NO SCREENS several hours before we are due to go to sleep as the exposure to the unnatural light at that time of day is stimulating hormones that promote wakefulness and therefore impacting our ability to achieve a good sleep! I know for myself I am so sensitive to light impacting my sleep that I actually had to get black out curtains and put a post it note over the alarm clock light. 

Create a consistent routine for bedtime that will help support sleep. 

Turn the TV and other stimulating devices off at least an hour before bedtime, if your wee one is prone to waking up middle of the night 'hungry' ensure that a hearty balanced bedtime snack is provided before bed to ensure they stay full throughout the night. 

A calorie is a calorie but not all calories are created equal ... in my experience typical offered bedtime snacks often are of the 'fast burning carbohydrate' variety which means they are filling for a short time but quickly burned and hungry again. 

A healthy bedtime snack includes complex carbohydrates, a protein and a bit of calcium.If possible have a nice warm bath perhaps with some Epsom salts and essential oils that promote 'relaxation and sleep' such as Lavender and Chamomile, 

Ideal sleep occurs in an environment that is quiet, relatively dark as light impedes the sleep hormone from activating, with no distractions to entice them out of sleep if they open their eyes mid sleep cycle and so forth.  Hence the advise of my Dr above ~ a bedroom should be for SLEEP and SLEEP only. If possible try not to have stimulating toys and so forth in a child's sleep space. Then when they wake up midnight nothing is going to 'catch their eye' and pull them out of their sleep. 

 

Spending sometime together reading before bed is always an awesome ideas ~ promotes early literacy among other benefits. If your little one is struggling with staying in bed throughout the night I highly recommend the approach of the Good Night Fairy book. First cause Renee is a local author and I love supporting local talent and second she gives some awesome tips and tricks for promoting healthy sleep on her website to accompany her book.

 

Good Night Fairy book

I have had a few peers who have had an issue with the concept of the Good Night Fairy because as part of her visit to support sleep leaves behind a 'prize' for the child if they manage to sleep through the night. They do not feel it sends the right message to provide an external prize for sleeping ~ sleep should occur because it is needed and expected.

 

I personally feel that just like the elf on the shelf concept you have to use it in a way that works for your family. I do not think that the 'prize'  referenced in the book necessarily needs to be an actual tangible item. I honestly am not a fan of using 'external motivation' for doing what needs to be done either.  So I read this book in the daycare when transitioning toddlers from the crib to a cot. When they stay on their cot and rest their body as requested the 'prize' from the good night fairy is getting to do something fun at wake up time. She leaves a little jar with 'activity suggestions' in for them to choose from. For me this helps with the natural correlation that because we are well rested we all have the time and energy for doing something fun. On the flipside if they have undesired behavior at nap time and keep the others awake or do not allow my to get a break in cause I am redircted them back to bed than the period after wake up time is 'quiet stuff' so we can rest our body than cause ultimately we NEED rest.

The kids in the house are grown now but I still had young children I would do the same thing for the 'big sleep' at night ~ she can leave a note with a fun invitation of something to do with mom or dad the next day with all that energy they have from sleeping well. Once they are sleeping well she stops visiting so often until she is no longer needed. Just like a soother children will not be walking down the asile at their wedding needing the help of the good night fairy to get to sleep.

Image Source

For me I basically love the idea of a book and resources that are giving parents and kids tools in a fun way that will keep them in bed and empowers sleep well.

Plus I love fairies and the little add on items for the Good Night Fairy are adorable ... like this is the little crochet REMy Fairy! Again a treasure sourced locally and each handmade from the amazing Kimberly Poole Designs! Plus there are coloring books and other things to help extend the discussion around healthy sleep!

I am also excited that Renee has a NEW book The Good Night Fairy Helps her Change her Dreams in the making ~ so excited that I helped with her Kickstarter fund to help her get this one off the ground! The new book is about teaching children about the power of lucid dreaming and how we do not need to be afraid of our dreams we can actually control them!

Visit the Good Night Fairy Website to pre-order yours

And look at the amazing creations that will be available with them .... children LOVE to role play so having access to dolls that they can use to role play the messages in the book will make the message about sleep and dreams that much more powerful for them!

 Do you have any sleep tricks and tips you'd like to share?

Have an amazing day!

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

 

New Year ~ New Vision

 

Manifesting your VISION for 2016

While I totally subscribe to the philosophy that every DAY is a chance to start new I just love New Year ~ mostly for its tradition of being a time of reflection for everyone, turning that new page in  your book and having a' blank slate' to create your next chapter! Setting goals for  your life and even for just that moment 'living your life with intention' rather than just letting life and time run away on you ... the KEY that many people seem to miss is that this is something one needs to KEEP doing every day as they turn the pages in their book otherwise you tend to fall off your wagon that you set in motion on that 'New Year."

Part of the challenge with New Years resolutions is that so often, my past self include, we make wild resolutions for change in the New Year without a solid PLAN of what we REALLY want. This practice is sort of akin to jumping blindly into a passing wagon and hoping it goes where we want it too and then we are disappointed when  we either fall out of the wagon and go no where OR the wagon takes them in a direction we did not intend! 

To avoid that happening one must make sure that they are riding in a SMART wagon ~ a sustainable wagon with measurable and attainable goals, while engaging in the practice of reflecting daily on the state of the wagon and the direction its going so that in time you can be assured to get where you wanted to go in the first place!

As a huge fan of Bob Proctor's teachings and a firm believe in the Law of Attraction I am all about creating 'vision boards' for my upcoming year! A vision board can be 3D item where you cut out quotes and inspiring imagery or things you want to manifest in your life and adhere them to an actual board that is displayed in your home OR in the world of growing technology they can be a 'digital creation' that you create a collage in a program and save as your desktop or phone background .... the point being you want your Vision board to have a place of honor in your daily routine somewhere to SEE it regularly and to take a moment each day to intentionally reflect on the things you want to manifest in your life! 

 

I will often have several vision boards on the go for various aspects of my life. 

So for example this one is my 'health and wellness' vision board ... a digital collage that is filled with inspiring quotes, reminders and imagery for me to envision myself healthier, stronger and returning confidence!

It is part of my screen savor for my computer along with a couple other boards I created for last year! It helps me stay motivated each morning to make healthy choices in regard to my food, exercise and wellness goals!

In 2015 I had a vision board around BEING FEARLESS by letting go of 'fear' which often held me back in both my personal and professional life and manifest confidence in myself and my abilities .... this vision board helped me to learn to find BALANCE in accepting that in order to say YES to trying more new things I needed to empower myself to start saying NO where needed as well! As a result I met lots of new people last year and tried new things like Ariel Yoga, Art classes and even made a few phone calls with less phobia setting in (that is still a work in progress). I let go of a few things in my life that were no longer bringing me joy and made changes that I was afraid to make. I changed my views on my Celiac disease from letting it control my life in a focus of all the things it prevented me from doing to instead viewing it as an opportunity to learn and try NEW things! I embarked on my 'grain free' living and with my new frame of mind no longer feel that this is 'depriving' me of things but rather is empowering me to find new ways to nourish my body in a manner that heals and empowers myself!

As we move into 2016 my goal is to continue on with my health and wellness journey as well is to manifest more ABUNDANCE in my life making better use of organizational tips and tricks to create more time for myself, for my family and for my passions! 

I am totally making a list of the things that make me happy and bring me joy and ensuring that there is BALANCE between that list and my daily to do list ... working to remove 'busy work' from my life of things that I have always done as part of my routine or work habits but that might not actually be things that NEED to be done in the grand scheme of things!   

In 2016  is my year to LIVE in ABUNDANCE ... I vow to laugh more and worry less, to dream bigger, to truly live in the moment, be joyous, to add more meaningful memories and see the magic in the mundane moments, to continue to give with no expectations!

To have an abundance of time to CREATE more often and explore more mediums of art and definitely to READ more and most importantly an abundance of HEALTH and WELLNESS with increased energy, stamina and focus to keep me on track! 

So those are my 'resolutions' to myself ~ my VISION for 2016 as I move forward and my tips and tricks for actually manifesting them!

Have an amazing day!

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

Can you relate to this?

 

If you had a magic wand?

It's Election Day in Canada .... tensions are high and its looking like a tight race and at the end of the day we will either have a same majority government we've had for the past 10 years OR we will have some form of 'new government' either a majority with a new leader or a minority with its work cut out to put partisanship aside and get things DONE in the interest of Canada!   

This election has been a particularly stressful one with all the 'negative campaigning' at the focus throwing mud and accusations of scandal around ~ so much focus on what is 'wrong' with our country verses what is RIGHT or what we can do to make it BETTER ... it really makes it hard as a VOTER to choose between LEADERS who behave in such a manner or who allow others to behave in such a manner on their behalf ... seriously our focus on elections and campaigning needs REFORM as does now our leaders are chosen!

I have no political background or expertise but if I had a magic wand to waive and only ONE thing I could change than I would like to try instead of having to vote for a 'party' as a whole would be to instead have each person running either as part of a 'party platform' or as an 'individual enttity' put their 'platform' for all the key subjects out there and we voted for the platform ... aka Economic Platform, Foreign Policy platform, Social programs platform, etcs the platforms with the most votes is what we work towards as a country and the person with the most platforms chosen would official 'lead' the country as our Prime Minister moving us towards those platform goals the majority chose even if it means supporting someone else's platform while doing it! Seems like a far more 'democratic' way to do things to me?

Plus, in my humble opinion, THAT is what TRUE LEADERSHIP is  ... it is not about arguing who has the 'right or wrong' idea and trying to make everyone accept YOUR idea but rather the ability to take what is voted by the group as the BEST idea and than to mentor the team to run with it and make it happen in the most efficient and timely manner! 

We need to stop focusing on what was done 'wrong in the past' and instead learn from it and make a plan to do BETTER in the future and we need to stop shooting down an idea for change just because of WHO suggested it and instead focus on really looking at would it work!

So regardless of who wins tomorrow we have another chance in 4 years to promote MORE CHANGE to continue to strive to make Canada BETTER for all  .... and we can start by continuing to let them know NOW what you WANT and NEED in the years to come so that when election time rolls around again MAYBE we can have REAL CHANGE verses just the lip service they play toward 'change' with the SAME OLD BEHAVIORS behind it once the election passes .... lets see ACTION for REAL CHANGE in politics over just the typical electorial SPEECHES about change? 

So that's my election day rant ... and I am totally grateful to live in a country where I can make a rant and judgement about our leaders in a public format, to VOTE for change if I so desire! 

So if you had a magic wand to wave to create Election reform what would YOU change? 

Have an amazing day!

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Totallyawake4-life