From here to there!

Found this cool illustration to share from Bread and Puppet Theatre company. Have you ever thought about the journey from here to there?

The journey to a new job or out of a rough patch or moving to a new home?

Don't we all feel the 'plains of fear' and 'broke as shit mountain'?

As a visual person, sometimes I find graphics like this to be funny but also extremely insightful into a topic that is more transparent. 

So often we hear the phrase, it's not about the destination it's about the journey. This little map really illustrates that process. Thought I'd share with you all today! 

Love Your Mother

Stop and smell the roses! (Or in this case the pansies!) Remember that all life is fragile and there is a gorgeous world of plants and flowers and creatures for us to share and enjoy. I've seen a lot of violent behavior towards nature lately and I'm really not feeling it. Winters are so harsh here and it's a miracle every year that green life returns! Please don't stomp, pick, or pull apart flowers, plants, or trees for fun. Not only are you minimizing the beauty of public spcae, but it took a lot of hard work for that beautiful little plant to grow! Enjoy it! Take in the bright colors and fresh scents! We only have one earth, so treat her right!

Grateful diagram

What are you grateful for?

We get asked this question a lot, but who really thinks about it? I saw this photo on Instagram and had to share it with you guys. 

Why not make your own chart? What would it look like? 

Are you grateful for your community? Your food? Your environment? Your soul?

Really challenge yourself and ask the deep questions. Where have you been blessed in your life?

Put your diagram on your fridge or in your bedroom, somewhere you see it often. Let it remind you of all of the ways in which you are blessed and lucky to live the life that you live!

Try a beet of something new!

I mean... Come on. This cuteness is far too much to handle.

When was the last time you tried beets? Red or gold? I know most of us as kids probably hated beets, but they're SO good for you! (And crazy cheap) I encourage you to try beets again! Step out of your comfort zone! Mix them in a salad with feta cheese or eat them with spicy pecans or even just plain. I'm sure you'll love the 'steak of the earth'.

Stay healthy friends!  

Recycle!

Sorry it's been such a long time everybody! We've been crazy over here with lots and lots of upcoming grant deadlines!!

I thought I would talk to you guys today about the environment. With spring in full swing, the flowers in bloom, the trees finally sprouting leaves, let's think a bit about the nature around us!

One thing you can do is recycle. I know you have heard this all the time, but one thing I bet you didn't know is that Detroit has one of the BEST recycling centers! (Seriously you must check it out) 

Sort all of your paper, plastic, and aluminum cans into different bags or boxes and head over to the recycling center! The staff there will show you where to put your trash for recycling.

They even have a bookshelf with leftover books for the taking! Not to mention thatits a great place to find lots of salvaged wood or other materials for home projects!

Get excited and get outside!

Salad!

Mixed greens 

Cherry tomatoes 

Red onion

Pecans

Red beets

Balsamic dressing

Voila! A super healthy, energy packed lunch or dinner! Greens give us the natural energy we need from the sun. Try to avoid processed foods as much as possible!

Eat Your Greens!

Happy Tuesday everybody! I hope you are all doing well on this April day!

I know, you've been told over and over again to eat leafy green vegetables, but seriously these cheap goodies are SO GOOD for your body!

Thy have So many vitimins and calcium and some even have a bit of protein! I love to eat big salads to get in my leafy greens. If salads aren't for you, do you know that you can't taste spinach or kale in your smoothies? 

I know, it sounds weird to mix vegetables in with berries and yummy sweet ingredients, but I PROMISE you can't taste them! You are getting all of the vitimins without the heap of lettuce on your plate! 

Eat more greens, you'll feel cleaner inside and out!

Detox Drink

Lemon detox drink recipe:

A few slices of lemon

3 Tbs of chia seeds

One part juice of your choice

Water and ice!

Let it sit overnight in the fridge and voila!

Do you know lemons jump start your metabolism and cleanse your entire body? Start your day with this drink or even just some lemon water and you are off to a clean start!

It's Smoothie Time!

Things have been crazy for us with the arrival of spring! Do you find that when the season changes things start to get super busy?

Anyways, we have an awesome healthy spring recipe for you today: Green Smoothie

3 bananas 

1 handful of strawberries 

3 Tbs of chia seeds 

2 Tbs of flax seeds 

2 cups of almond milk (or any milk of your choice)

1 handful of spinach

A bit of ice

Blend all of these together and voila! You have a super healthy power lunch or breakfast! You can exchange any of these ingredients for different fruit or dairy! Have fun with it! Believe it or not you can't taste the spinach!! Trust me!!!

Set Your Goal

You know what Tuesday means...blog time! This month is all about health and fitness! Now that you've taken stock of how you are feeling and how you want to feel, are you ready to dive headfirst into spring?

Set a goal for yourself! Do you want to eat better, exercise more, lose weight, learn more about nutrition, go outside more often etc etc! 

You might be thinking that you want all of these goals, but it's important to start small and give yourself a chance to kick butt and succeed! 

Pick your challenge and length of time. Maybe you want to eat better on the weekends or maybe you want to work out daily for the month of April. 

The important thing is to make your goal as clear as possible and COMMIT to it. Just for a month! We'll be right here by your side! 

Check in with Yourself

Welcome to April! The month of fitness & health in ECHO land! 

You guys know by now that I like to start with the basics at the beginning! I want you sit wherever you are and take a moment and ask yourself:

How am I feeling right now?

Take stock of your body. I dont mean how you look, I mean how your body feels. Does anything hurt? Does any part of you feel really good? Do you feel light or heavy? Do you feel clear or clouded? Do you feel full or empty? Is your skin and hair oily or dry?

To start, observe yourself. Write it down!

You guys know I'm big in writing things down, I think it solidifies our ideas and makes them feel real. 

Take stock. How does your body feel within?

April Workouts bring May birds out!

This month is all about getting FIT! 

With spring right around the corner, it's time to start thinking about food, exercise, and getting all around healthy!

Where should we start? Oh the things we will learn together!

First off, consider us your personal resource! If you have any health related questions or concerns, please send th our way! Leave a comment on our blog, send us a tweet or call the ECHO hotline! 

We want to know all of your health and fitness questions! So let's kick off this month right! (Literally!) send us your questions! Get ready for an awesome April everybody!

Face Your Money!

Get out your notebooks, pens, receipts, and documents today! FACE YOUR FEARS. Did you know that most of America's hold up with money is that we're SCARED of it?

Are you scared of your money? Do you avoid it? Do you deny it? Do you criticize it? 

If your money was a person, how do you treat it? Are you tender? Aggressive? Angry? LEARN about your relationship with your money. Write down your family history with money. How did your parents handle money? Friends? Coworkers? Write down everything! How do you want to handle your money? How do you want your children to handle their money? 

Make a list of goals. Remember, you can do ANYTHING you intend to do. The world is at your feet. So stand up!!! 

Mindfulness & Money

Be mindful with your money! 

I've been thinking about mindfulness a lot lately. To me, mindfulness is all about noticing the world around me. Noting my emotions, influences, observations, and being intentional about my life and the decisions I make. 

So how does this apply to money? 

Well, I've only recently started to think about money and mindfulness so forgive me if my ideas are a bit scattered. I think in the same way that we are spiritually mindful or mindful of others or even mindful with our food, we can give theat same awareness to our money. We can stare at it in the face. Not run in fear. We can make intentional choices about our spending, saving, and earning. 

This can provide a joy with our money that we have never known before! So try it! Try to form a relationship with your money. Look at it. Note the way it goes up and down. Observe your feelings towards money and your past history with it. This is a step towards mindfulness! 

JARS.

Let the money management madness continue!!!

This week we're gonna talk about jars. Yup, jars you read that right. 

Before you turn away and think I'm crazy, hang on for one more moment and I promise it will all make sense!

A fantastic budgeting tool whether you get paid in cash or checks is JARS. Use containers of any kind. Label each container with what you want to save for. Example, retirement, wedding, college etc. each month take out cash from your bank and put the money in the container! The big thing with this is DO NOT SPEND that money for anything else!!

In my house we stared an "extra jar." This means that any extra money's that was made that month after paying bills and adding to the savings jar goes towards the extra jar. This can be used for wherever fun purchases your heart desires (as long as you only use the money from the extras jar!)

Pictures to come :) :)

Get Money Creative

Happy Friday everyone!! 

Looking for something fun to do tonight on a budget? How about bundling up, grab some hot cocoa and  head to River Walk for a nice brisk walk! 

There are SO many things to do for free or almost free! Just get creative! How about a make your own pizza date night? Or make a craft project with your special someone! You'd be surprised how much you can create from a few scraps of paint  and canvas? 

Try not to feel too down and out about your money situation...look at it as a creative opportunity!! 

You Can Own Your Life!

What do you think about this quote?

Do you agree with this? It doesn't mean you have to have money to be powerful, it means YOU can be powerful with the money you do have! 

One way to have control over your money is by knowing how much money you have! Keep track of it! Check weekly, daily if possible! You are in control of your life and your money!

Here's another picture from Suze Orman's book (you guys know how much I love her!) 

What do you think about her tips? 

Honestly Budgeting

Time is your best friend with money management!

Even if you don't make a lot of money, you can use time to your advantage! Even if you make $100 per week that's still $400 every month! If you save $50 per month that's $600 per year! 

When you budget, do so honestly. So if you spend money on thing that your not proud of (shopping, restaurants, etc) that's ok. Be honest. Include what you would actually want to spend and see how the power of time can help. Maybe it sounds like spending $200 per month on something extraneous is a lot and it is but you only have to dedicate $50 per week. By being honest with your budget and give yourself the opportunity to make small and manageable changes. This is much better than pretending that you don't spend money on something that you do really want to spend on!

Know your score.

This is a page from Susie Orman's book "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke"

This book is one of my favorites because she is so clear and concise with her advice. This is the first page of her book! Her biggest most important tip is to KNOW YOUR CREDIT SCORE. Find it out. How can we start to help if we don't know where you stand financially?

That's our big assignment for the weekend. There are plenty of websites and organizations that can check your credit for free or a small fee. If you need help finding your credit score, feel free to TALK to us! Meet us at one of our church locations! We'd love to help.

Money Meeting 101

We're keeping it simple today: basic steps to get you to your own money meeting and what to do. 

1. Purchase a small notebook. We're big on writing things down rather than typing. The brain processes writing much better than typing. 

You can find a notebook at DollarTree or Meijer or your local gas station. 

Here's mine: 

2. Once you get your notebook make a list of all the things you (and your spouse/partner) purchased that WEEK. 

3. Divide your purchases into categories. Ex: kids, food, gas, eating out etc.

4. Look at your spending and decide where you spend your most money. From here, you can make a budget! How much can you afford to spend on these expenses per week/month? Where can you cut back? 

5. Consistency! The key to money meetings is carving out the time each week, no matter what! The more you observe your money and spending habits, the more you will save and grow if the long run!

March Money Management!

Welcome to the month of March where we will post all of our goodies on how to help YOU manage your money better!

If you have any specific questions that you would like us to talk about, please leave a comment below or tweet to us! We love hearing from you guys :) 

First and foremost, ask yourself this question:

How often do I sort out my finances?

What is your answer? Do you look at your bank statement or cash once a month? Every other month? Once a week?

How often do you talk with your parter or family about money?

The answer to both of these questions should be ONCE A WEEK. Pick a day and a time. Try to keep it the same day/time every week! (Mine is 10am on Friday) Take out your receipts, computer, smartphone...whatever you use to look at your spending and WRITE DOWN what you spent that week. How much of it was on food? Bills? Random expenses?

The first step is to form a healthy habit of checking your money regularly. A weekly meeting is a great way to do this! 

Stay tuned as March Money Management will keep rolling on! Remember, you can do anything you set your mind to. Anything. 

Read Outloud!

Our system here is down and confused, so thugs are a bit out of sorts for us today at ECHO. While we try to reorganize ourselves and get back on track with or monthly blog themes, we thought today we would talk about the importance of reading! 

If your child is having a tough time discovering the magic of stories and reading, why not try reading together? Before bed is a great time, or even after dinner! Snuggle up and rea out loud or have your child read to you! 

A great book to read together is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster! You  will be howling with laughter!! 

You can find it at your local library or even in your child's school library!

Let's Build A Snowman!

I know winter has been hard on all of us, but don't forget that cold days and nights can be inspiring! Before you know it summer will be upon us, so take a second to spend some time with your kids, put on some heavy layers, and build a snowman! It's the simple joys that kids will cherish for their lifetimes!

Guess Who?

As Black History month is coming to a close, we thought we'd come up with a little challenge, identify these heroes!

Extrovert/Introvert

Do you guys know the difference between an extrovert and an introvert?

There are many widespread definitions out there (if you're interested, search for more info on Google) but I'll keep it short and sweet: Extroverts are energized by being with others and crave connection with others to feel satisfied. Introverts are energized by alone time. They tend to get exhausted when spending lots of time with people and need quiet time to recharge their battery.

There is no right or wrong or bad or good, it's just a matter of who you are and what you naturally need! I found this map of an introverts world and it made me smile (as I am a total introvert!) I thought you would enjoy!

Can you relate to this? Anyone you know can relate to this? What would an extrovert's heart look like? 

One Night in Miami

Have you heard of the play, "One Night in Miami"?

In honor of Black History Month, let me give you a little synopsis (summary):

February 25, 1964. Twenty-two-year-old Cassius Clay has just won the world heavyweight boxing title. Instead of hitting the town, Clay chooses to celebrate in a Miami hotel room with three close friends—activist Malcolm X, singer Sam Cooke, and football star Jim Brown. This fictional account of a real night imagines what might have happened in that tiny hotel room. As the Civil Rights movement stirs outside, and the melody of “A Change is Gonna Come” hangs in the air, four men will emerge from that one night ready to define a new world. 

Center Stage: One Night in Miami

This play is currently playing in Baltimore at Center Stage Theatre. It has been SO successful (sold out nearly every night!) the theater agreed to extend the show for two more weekends! I'm not saying that you all should pack up and head to Baltimore, its just that this is something to celebrate. The show has only been performed one other time (it is still a new play) but I'm sure after this success it will continue to blossom. 

So here's your mission, if you choose to accept it: You know the scenario. Imagine for yourself what would have happened in that hotel room with these four incredible men gathered. What would they talk about? What would they think is funny? What would make them sad or angry? What kind of questions would you want to ask them? How do you think the play ends? Use this as an exercise to expand your imagination and learn something new. Challenge yourself and imagine big. 

Egg Inspiration

Take a second to check out this picture: 

Think about it...think about it...

Does anyone else find this super inspiring? For me, this means great things come from WITHIN. Meaning, the joys/successes/restorative things that happen in your life all come from within you. Stop waiting to win the lottery or for the perfect job to find you, go out there and MAKE it happen from within you. Does that make sense? You can look at the world and be angry about our messed up systems, power, and economy and allow those outside influences to dictate your life. OR you can  love yourself from within and share all that you are with the world. 

Stay hopeful. Stay strong. Command your inner light and bust out of that egg!

Basics in Balance

Restoring your life is more than just employment. It's about getting your all of the pieces in your life in balance and in order. 

Think about the basics: 

1. Your home

2. Your family

3. Your health

4. Your employment 

How many do you have a grip on? Where do you need to spend more of your effort? Mending relationships with family? Taking better care of your body? Think over the basic elements of your life and see if they are in balance. 

YOU ARE NOT ALONE. We are here to help along with many other Detroiters. We found this graphic from Rowhouse 4 and thought it very appropriate for today. Don't forget to thank your family, friends, and deepest supports because we all need each other more than ever.

Inspire

Art, art, and more ART!

What do you guys think about this piece by Don Griffin called "Sun Ship"? 

First things first, ANYONE can understand art. You don't have to go to school. You don't have to understand art history. You don't have to love every piece you see. All you have to do is look!! Talk about it!! Think about it!! 

A great way to look at art is to take in all of the shapes, colors, and textures first. What do you see first? What does it remind you of? Anything in your own life or memory? How does the entire piece make you feel?

Check out more of Don Griffin's work at:

Unexpectedartspace.com

Don't forget about our beautiful DIA! Take your child or family or significant other and wander around. There's lots of beautiful art out there to explore!

Let's Talk!

Did you know Harriet Tubman rescued 300 slaves from the south using the Underground Railroad system? 

Can you even imagine 300 people? Think of a chunk of the Tigers stadium or a small concert...that's A LOT of people. 

Stay hopeful. Stay strong. Let's learn together this month!

Who are your favorite Black History month heroes? Who would you like to learn more about? Leave a comment below and let's start a conversation! 

Black History Month

As we ring in the month of February, we're excited over here about Black History month and learning with all of you.

Be sure to follow our Twitter account for little question and answer trivia! All of us are learning, so why not do it together?

Here's a fact from our Twitter account today:

@DetroitECHO:

Nov. 2, 1983, Pres Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor King. It was observed for the 1st time on 1/20/86

Let's learn together! Stay tuned for more facts, stories, and history this month!

Cheap Project

What inspires you? 

Found these little toy cars with house plants in them! Talk about cute and $$ saving! Take an old toy and get a plant from a friend or even the grocery store, Home Depot, or try (if your feeling brave) to revive one from your garden! Totally cheap and joyful. It's important to keep green life around you in dark gloomy winters. Plants can help! Get creative, get happy!

Ziplock Tip

Fun craft/tip of the day! 

DIY (do it yourself) pencil case/wallet/compartment!

All you need is a ziplock bag and some duct tape (which I know most of you have or can find at Family Dollar!)

Take your zip lock, cut across the bottom and line the whole bag with duct tape to keep it sturdy...voila! You have a new case that cost you only a couple of cents to make! Enjoy!

Stand.

Here's a quote for you all that we've been thinking a lot about today:

"Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up."

We found the Chinese proverb today. What do you think it is saying about failure?? Let's take little kids learning how to walk as our example today. Maybe many of you are parents or aunts and uncles or even God parents. Imagine that little child in your family learning to walk. When they stumbled and tripped or fell to the ground was that a failure? Or would the real failure be if they fell down and refused to try walking again! Does that make sense? 

It's not a failure to fall, but it is a failure not to try again. So get up, hold your head high and try, try, try again!

Look at this beautiful house plant trying to grow, grow, grow in this frigid winter! You can do this.

You Can Do This.

What do you think this picture is?

Before you sign off and exit out of this blog, look at it! You might think I'm crazy, and maybe I am but I've got a message here today. 

This is a fallen tree. The roots beneath. This is what a tree looks like when it's fallen to the ground. 

FACT: Storms make trees grow deeper roots. 

Did you know that?

How can we take this and apply it to your life? Well, all of the struggle, hardship, pain, and suffering you are going through is not for nothing. It's all building you into a stronger more resilient person. All of the chaos in your life, helps you plant your feet in the ground just a little deeper.

Keep your head up. Remember, storms make trees grow deeper roots. You can do this.

Help Us Out!

Happy Friday everyone!!

Here's the deal readers: 

WE NEED MORE PEOPLE. 

We need to serve more Detroiters and we could really use your help. Please, please spread the word about ECHO to your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors!! We want to help our community FIND JOBS and get your life RESTORED. If you know anyone who might be in need of our services please, please leave a message on our Facebook, Twitter, Blog, or come into our sites! We're here for you.

5 Tips for Getting Rid of Negativity

1. Move around! Go for a walk, run, or even hustle up and down a staircase a few times. Moving your body will help release endorphins (happy brain chemical) and rid the negativity!

2. Mediate, pray, or take a moment of silence. Sometimes a quick break and deep breathing can really help get rid of yucky energy!

3. Listen to music with a great vibe! Music is a very powerful link to our emotions and sometimes listening to a favorite positive song can help!

4. Spend time with your pets! Animals have a peaceful impact on our emotions and love unconditionally. Snuggle up with a dog or cat and you'll definitely feel happier!

5. Get it out. They key to ridding yourself of negativity is getting it out of you. I do this by writing, lots of other people rid negativity by painting, reading, playing an instrent. Using your creativity is the best way to rid yourself of negative vibes!

Passing Storm

How are you passing through the storm? 

We all go through rough times, rocky waters, cloudy skies... How do you make it through?

We're calling out to all of our readers out there, how do you get through the rough times?

Family? Friends? Faith? Let us know in the comments below!

5 Tips for Waking Up On Time

One of our staff came up with a great idea for those of us that have trouble waking up in the morning in these dreary, cold days. 

1. Place your alarm clock or phone on the other side of the room so you actually have to get out of bed to turn it off!

2. Set multiple alarms. My little sister sets so many alarms that it sounds like a carnival in her room in the morning!

3. Take a shower or stretch first thing when you wake up! Moving your body (even if your still asleep) will help! 

4. Set goals. It's easier to get up if you have somewhere to be at a certain time. If you are not working right now, make a plan for yourself! For example, I will get to the library by 9 am to work on my resume. This way you will give you a reason to get up and start your day right!

5. The battle of the snooze. Try this, set up a reward system. For every day you don't use the snooze button, you can earn and save that snooze for later in the week as a reward! How awesome is that?

We're here with you guys on this one. It's hard to do anything but sleep in the winter, but you are not alone. ECHO is here to help. Give us a call or stop in to one of our sites anytime and we will do our best to help!

Eat your vegetables.

Don't forget to eat your vegetables! We know your mama told you to eat them when you were a kid and guess what? She was right! Vegetables are the cheapest, cleanest, healthiest food group out there! Take advantage of Detroits AMAZING produce and head to eastern market this weekend or Dearborn for some cheap produce!

Remember, restoring your life comes from the inside out! If you nourish your health your life will follow suit!! 

Have you ever tried beets? They are CRAZY cheap and beyond good for your body!

Write your Life.

It's do it yourself Thursday.

Have you ever thought about writing your own story? 

Where would you start?

Your birth? Your first accomplishment? Your first failure? 

It's important to tell our stories to the world and to learn about ourselves, each other, and our communities.

You guys know how much I love lists...so start with a list! What are your major life accomplishments and events? What has made you the person you are today?

Stand up and do it for yourself. So what if it's Thursday and it's freezing outside ? No better time like the present to restore your life and WRITE YOUR STORY. 

Clean your space, free your mind!

Let kick unemployment in the butt!!!

Get up. Start the job hunt. Edit your resume.

RESTORE YOUR LIFE.

Your work space makes a huge impact on your brain and your ability to organize your life. Have you ever felt out of control in a messy room? Have you ever felt free after cleaning it up? 

Think about the workspace that you want to be in when you get that job! We've all got busy lives, but just take s moment to stop. What do you need around you to get focused on thy resume? Clean space? Good food? A cup of coffee? A fresh notebook? Think about the details and get EXCITED to bang out that resume. 

Here's a pic of my desk. I personally find little trinkets inspiring and meditative, but do what works for you. 

Let's do this 2015.

Resume 101

Who is out conquering the world today in the snow and freezing cold?

RESTORE YOUR LIFE. 

This week we're focusing on employment. 

Do you know how common it is to find spelling mistakes on your resume?

Do you know how common it is to give an outdated resume to an employer?

Do you know how common it is to have incorrect contact information on your resume so the employer cannot call you back?

ALL TOO COMMON.

Set yourself apart from the rest:

1. Edit your resume for all spelling errors

2. Keep it updated with recent experience

3. Provide correct contact info 

4. Keep the paper clean and unwrinkled 

5. Make sure your name is in a BIG font at the top of your resume

We know you can RESTORE YOUR LIFE and we're here to help. Let's start 2015 off with a bang. Brave the cold, we're here for you. #DETROITECHO

Dream Big, Start Small

One more personal story to kick off the year! Remember yesterday when we were talking about New Years resolutions? How I almost got to 50 books? Well, I've been debating about my own 2015 goals...which reminded me of your developing 2015 goal lists!

So often we see people make outrageous goals and resolutions that only last for the first few weeks in January. I encourage you to DREAM BIG but START SMALL. Start with a list of dreams. Go wild. Go big. Then pick one or two and break those dreams down imp the tiniest steps. Maybe your dream is to start your own landscaping business. How can you break this into smaller steps? How about focusing on equipment costs, researching local competition, and is any lisencing required? See how we can take a big dream and turn it into achievable stepping stones?

So I've been thinking about my own 2015 goals and following my own advice. I'm aiming this ear for 50 books again and I would like to read the classics that I avoided because I was intimidated by the advanced reading level required! So I'd say it's a fair amount of pushing myself with realistic expectations. 

Any thoughts? What are your wild dreams and baby steps?

Story Time!

I thought I would share some personal inspiration today (hope that's alright with all of you!) Since January is all about goal setting and new beginnings, I thought I would take some time to share one of my goals from 2014. 

I love to read, but I always found myself making excuses - my life is too hectic, work is too stressful, etc etc and reading always got pushed to the back burner. For me, reading is more than just filling time, it's a way of loving myself. Giving myself permission to sit in silence, grab a cup of tea, and treat myself to some relaxation. This time last year I decided to prioritize myself and finding moments to do what I love: read. I set a pretty high goal (50 books!) which was challenging and totally fun. 

Today I thought I would share with you my book list. Notice anything?

I'm 3 books shy of 50! At first I really best myself up about not completing my goal in time for the new year, but I caught myself. Look how much I accomplished! I prioritized my hobby and myself and I read 47 books in 2014 which is pretty amazing! 

It's all in the way you think about things. YOU choose to look at your life or goals and a failure or as a success!

Show your MIND

We can't stress enough the importance of CLOTHING during an interview. We have big goals for 2015 and we're sure you do too! One of our goals is to get even more Detroiters employed in 2015 than we did last year (we would love to double that number!!!) so, let's start with a basic interview tip: dress. 

It is so important to look professional for a job interview, even if the job is working in a factory or casual atmosphere. How you dress shows the world how you view yourself! If you wear pajamas or pants down to your ankles it will show your employer that you are not tidy and timely with your appearance and life. 

Check out one of our favorite graphics for some simple, straight forward advice on appearance:

Sales & Discounts!

Now is the time to pick up discounted holiday chocolate and goodies from Dollar Tree and Meijer and all of the local stores!!! Now is a great time to purchase discounted clothing and decorations too for next year at an extremely low price!