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Prescriptive, delightful, and packed with girlfriend-style advice that is right on the money, this funny yet practical, month-by-month guide helps busy women strike a balance between family, work, and home.
Franticness has invaded all of our lives at one time or another. For some,
living the hectic life is a day-to-day occurrence. For others, the
scatterbrained lifestyle might come in spurts like during the back-to-school
crunch and at the holidays. Sure, we've all mumbled, "If I can get through this
week, life will be easier." And we want to believe it.
Sometimes it even holds true for a few blissful days. Then, pow, another shift
occurs in our well-planned agenda. That curve might involve a minor incident
like a car pool mom who's stuck in traffic, leaving you to take the kids to
practice-although you're already running late for a meeting. Or it might be
something as unsettling and uncontrollable as a sudden illness or being laid off
from work. The level of franticness and the cause are different for everyone.
And yet the very existence of it remains constant for most of us.
Since we've had our share of minor and major incidents (though overall we
consider ourselves to be trulyblessed), we can identify with you. In writing
this book, one snafu after another cropped up, adding to our frantic pace. And
yes, we found ourselves repeating, "When this xiv.book is completed, life will
return to normal." But did it? Definitely not. Why? Because we choose to pack as
much into our days as we can-harvesting from life as much bounty as it has to
offer. Though there are times when we would readily welcome five minutes of
peace, on the whole, we wouldn't want life any other way.
Between us, we have five kids ranging from kindergarten to college age, two
husbands with long, nontraditional working hours, two writing careers, one job
outside the home, an hour's driving distance between our homes (and that's
without construction traffic) so we can say, "Feeling frantic? Us too!"
From our experiences, then, we've collected the tips and ideas that have helped
us get by (along with those of others who were so willing to share) and created
The Frantic Woman's Guide to Life. Take your time, browse through the book, and
pick and choose which suggestions you'd like to put to the test.
How This Book Works
In The Frantic Woman's Guide to Life, we've developed a system that will enable
you to refer back to timely tips month after month, making a less hectic
lifestyle more possible. Before you start, we suggest you obtain a notebook or a
spiral-bound journal that we'll refer to as your Frantic Journal. Throughout the
book, we'll suggest you jot ideas and answer quizzes in your journal-a book
that's for your eyes only. It will contain your dreams and wishes, along with
your long- and short-term goals.
Part one of this book, "Year Round," addresses the primary responsibilities of a
woman's daily life-all those duties that must be accomplished every day, week,
or month of the year from the swishing of the washing machine to the sizzling of
the frying pan. Though many frantic women have the chance to surface-clean, the
nitty-gritty, deep-down (from the closets to the garage) throwaway type of
cleaning seems to escape us at every turn. Therefore, in addition to our
time-tested traditional tips, we've included suggestions for adding a new twist
to the old standbys that will help you zip through those mundane chores.
Part two, "Month-by-Month," focuses on every month of the year.
In chapters covering "January" through "December," you'll discover steps to help
you organize life's crazy schedule and the course you find yourself taking
whether you want to or not. You'll find memory joggers for everyday jobs,
seasonal tidbits, and holiday reminders you might need to execute. Each month is
divided into three sections starting with "Whip It into Shape." This segment
deals with the organizational, hands-on process of maintaining your household.
Next, you'll move into our section called "Darling Little Angels (And the Whole
Blissful Bunch)," where you'll come across techniques to involve the gang in the
cleaning process, to keep the peace surrounding your immediate and extended
members, and to plan family fun, too. And last, but not least, is our "All About
You" installment highlighting suggestions for tweaking your family, home, and
work life into balance, while carving out the time you need to rejuvenate. At
the end of every month, the "One-Step-at-a-Time Checklist" offers a detailed
summary of what you should have accomplished throughout the month. For
simplicity in tracking where you've been and what you've completed, all you have
to do is mark for each task performed.
In part three of the Guide to Life, "A Wee Bit More," you'll read lists
detailing everything from what to stock in your pantry, to what to pack when
sending the kids off to camp, to the must-have necessities for a college-bound
student. These lists can be photocopied and laminated for your convenience.
The final "Resources" segment provides a quick reference for the books, Web
sites, software, and organizations recommended and referred to throughout the
book, eliminating the need for you to search through the entire text for a
specific telephone number or Internet addy (address).
We realize life will still bamboozle you-throwing zingers, obstacles, and
roadblocks your way-but our goal is to provide you with the tips we've
accumulated along our own frantic paths, leveling the bumps and smoothing the
course just for you.
And we're off!
Frantically,
Mary Jo and Judith
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Frantic Woman's Guide To Life
by Mary Jo Rulnick and Judith Burnett Schneider
Copyright © 2004 by Mary Jo Rulnick and Judith Burnett Schneider.
Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
| Introduction | xiii | |
| Part 1 | Year Round | 1 |
| Getting Started | 3 | |
| Part 2 | Month-by-Month | 69 |
| January / Organizing | 71 | |
| February / Connecting | 97 | |
| March / Spring-Cleaning | 121 | |
| April / Meeting Deadlines | 137 | |
| May / Healthy Life | 157 | |
| June / Summer Kickoff | 175 | |
| July / Cruising | 197 | |
| August / Back to Reality | 219 | |
| September / Adjusting | 237 | |
| October / Balance | 265 | |
| November / Giving Thanks | 287 | |
| December / Entertaining | 307 | |
| Part 3 | A Wee Bit More | 335 |
| P.S. | 337 | |
| Resources | 377 | |
| Index | 383 |
Anonymous
Posted March 18, 2004
Using this book, we can all have the kind of organized life we dream of; it's almost like having your own personal butler. Not only does the book help us take care of our homes but our lives, too, with easy readibly guides on such things as how to pick a summer camp to how to apply for college. The most inspired addition might be the second chances -- not only do these ladies set out for us what month is a good time to attend to something, whether it's tuning up the AC, or cleaning the winter coats, but they remind us again in a later month, for all of us that didn't get to it the first time around. A guide to keep and use over and over again.
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Posted January 12, 2004
As a young, single mom of two kids, I don't have a lot of time or money or energy for that matter. I have found so many tips to help me get my life on track. This book offers the average mom, like me, advice that I can easily accomplish in minutes with the things I already have in my household. There is so much information for every part of my life that I can feel like I'm learning something and at the same time I don't have to give my household or life an overhaul. This book was recommended for libraries and we all know librarians see a lot of books.
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Posted January 13, 2004
I opened this book and immediately loved the simple style and layout. It's a warm, light read and contains tips that even I can do. Rather than burden readers with big, change-your-life ideas that seem overwhelming and impossible, these ladies show you how to add a few changes to your daily routine a little at a time. You can pick and choose to incorporate the ones you like. Since I started reading this, I've cleared out one closet, organized my kids sports equipment, and finished my list of thank-you notes while at my daughter's swim meet. I'm so motivated! I highly recommend this book to all working moms.
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Posted December 14, 2003
I was fortunate enough to go to the authors' prepublication party and to get two copies of the book--one for me and one for a gift. There were many people behind me in line that were not so lucky and had to order their copies. When I got home, I jumped right into the December chapter of the book and was thrilled with many of the tips that will help me during these stressfilled weeks. I wish I had it sooner. There's several ideas for quick fix decorating tips that even an uncrafty person like me can do. And now I know what to do with all those neat containers holding fruit and popcorn that I hate to throw away. There's a lot of stuff packed inside this book.
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Overview
Prescriptive, delightful, and packed with girlfriend-style advice that is right on the money, this funny yet practical, month-by-month guide helps busy women strike a balance between family, work, and home.