Book Review: Have Your Cake and Eat It Too by Mandi Ehman

It was just a little over a year ago that I enjoyed a rare morning out with my sister Jessica in the beautiful California sunshine. Just about everything in my life was about to change. My husband was about to leave his decade-long teaching career in California for law school in Virginia. We were planning a cross-country move, and I was fretting over the drastic change in our financial situation. Over coffee, Jessica and I talked about how I could supplement our student loan income by working from home as a virutal assistant. With Lucie still not in school, it didn't seem feasible for me to take a job outside of the home. One of Jessica's suggestions was to read How to Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too by Mandi Ehman. Of course, I didn't. I got overwhelmed with packing...then the move...and then the process of settling in a new home, community and schools. I completely forgot about the recommendation until I met Mandi in person a few weeks ago when she was in town to meet up with Susan Wise Bauer and some homeschooling bloggers (including my sister).

A couple of weeks ago when I was feeling a little overwhelmed with running my virtual assistant business, becoming a contributor at Life...Your Way, and having my girls at home full-time for the summer, I decided to read Mandi's book FINALLY -- it's available as a PDF and in a Kindle version.

What can I say? Mandi is pretty amazing. She pursues her passions, runs a successful business, and educates her daughters at home. Her book has three main parts:

• A Recipe for Success: In this portion, Mandi begins by telling her story. I just love hearing people's personal stories. Honestly, her story has been a great inspiration to me. It gives me hope that I can accomplish what I want to here at home. She also discusses at length the importance of hard work, sacrifice, being intentional and getting support from others.
• Set the Timer: In the second portion of the book, she talks about schedules, routines, to-do lists and discipline. Although I know in my mind the benefits of all of these, I haven't really put them into practice since we moved to Virginia. This section was a great reminder to me of what I need to be doing.
• The Kitchen Sink: This last section deals with the particular difficulties of managing a household while running a business from home. Mandi offers plenty of tips that are helping me feel more organized at home. I've realized that when my house is in disarray, it is harder to be efficient and successful with my work.

Honestly, I loved the book. It was easy-to-read and packed with inspiration and helpful tips. I highly recommend it!

Looking for other book recommendations? Be sure to stop by Booking It in 2012 at Life as MOM on the 12th of every month. Have a book to recommend? Share it in the comments!

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