I have spent many exciting years in the fashion industry, which I love. But I have come to the conclusion as I approach age 43 that fashion isn’t everything. Odd to say considering fashion is my business and this is my blog. Yes we all want to look our best as often as possible and I will work to help you accomplish this. I guess that is why I love fashion accessories so much. They really make it easy to turn most any pieces of your wardrobe into great outfits, easy on easy off and one size fits all. But when it comes right down to it many things do take leaps of importance over fashion. For example love of a wonderful partner or the love of your children and family to mention just a few. That is why my blog title is Ask Nannette not “What Not to Wear”.

While I am still inspired by the fast pace of the fashion industry, I often long for a slower life with some time remaining for me. It may sound selfish but I am sure you find yourself sometimes feeling the exact same way. However as women we have multiple jobs and demands for our time that only we can understand and relate to. The list is long. Many of us have jobs we are paid for but we also have many jobs that do not pay, well at least not in dollars. We are wives, mothers, daughters and good friends. We are family nurses, the family chauffer, cheerleaders of our children, family personal shoppers, family chefs, entertainers and party planners, family councilors, and we are teachers when school lets out. We are family motivators, coaches, family CFOs, appointment makers and the family maid. We are laundry and stain attendants, pet care sitters, booboo kissers, tear wipers, butt wipers, butt kissers to keep family peace, and the list goes on.

I recently took a class about getting organized and if you know me at all I needed it. Well actually I am so unorganized I should have splurged for some hypnosis for my problem instead of a class. However I took something away from the class that was far more important than “How to Get Organized”. In class we were given a blank piece of paper with 24 blocks on it representing the 24 hours in a day. We were told that as women we book ourselves a 37-hour day. I secretly thought to myself “Sure ok, I am busy but this is ridiculous”. We were instructed to fill in the blanks beginning with the hours we sleep. Well I sleep 5-6 hours a night so hey I am already ahead right? We continued to fill the boxes with hours at our jobs, hours for the commute to work, hours for care of our children, meal preparation and other “must dos”, well you get the picture.

After we all dutifully filled in our squares a few of us had 5 blocks remaining empty, clearly indicating 5 hours left in the day. A majority of the class had only 2 or 3 squares left I had 2. I was in shock. No wonder at times I feel a bit overwhelmed. Two hours left what? What about time with my husband, time with my parents, time with my friends and taking care of my dogs? Hold on what about time for me?????? The instructor told us that in order to find time to knit, which she loves she shaved an hour off of her sleep schedule. I thought there has to be a better way.

After the class I determined that if I cannot survive on less sleep I guess time for me is OUT! Wait a minute many families survive on one income especially in these tough economic times, so I should consider it a blessing that I have the time and energy to be able to work for myself because it truly is for me. Each day I choose to do it, and I love it because I love helping women feel more confident. You and I do hold the power to make decisions with regard to our time. I guess it simply comes down to perspective, you choose how to view your life, what is in it and what is not. May I recommend that you fill in your own 24 blocks and evaluate your time? Don’t forget to include time for shopping if you like it. LOL! Your time, your life, and you only have one so make part of it about you.

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