I am seriously thinking about putting my house on a diet. We have a really small place, and seemingly a whole TON of stuff. OK, I know this seems like a REALLY random thought, but let me tell you what brought this on. I have a friend who is a financial adviser for, let’s just say, for people who have WAAAAAY more money than I have. Anyway, he sent me a whole bunch of information today on how I can make my financial dreams come true, and HOLY MOLY!! I realized I have a lot of work to do, the first HUGE thing I need to do is to get myself COMPLETELY out of debt, AGAIN (I have done this once before believe it or not!) Once that is done, I have to figure out how to figure out how to live with only 50% of my income!!! AAAAGH!!! Can you imagine??? So I either have to learn how to live with a whole lot less, or I have to learn how to make more money!! Which brings me back to putting my house on a diet. While I am trying to decide what small business I can start in my free time, I thought I would try selling some of my literally hundreds of unused items from our house. Kind of like an online garage sale!! I am not sure how to make this happen though – so I thought I would just throw it out to the universe and see if maybe anyone out there had any ideas??? Let me know in the comment section – I would be greatly appreciative for the help!!! 🙂
I just got done swimming with family!!! I LOVE doing that, especially since playing with the kids is THE BEST DISGUISE for exercising!!! WHEW!! These kiddos REALLY WORK ME OUT!!!! Man, I am soooo sore, but so HAPPY!!!
Anyway, I heard a Bible verse in the car on the way to the office this morning, and it has been running through my mind all day. The verse was:
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
Proverbs 27:17 (New Living Translation)
All day, I was thinking I think this is a verse that I have to share with my husband because somehow it meant he was lacking something and I was going to be able to share this verse to help open his eyes, and I would be the hero that helps “fix” him. Well, as the day went on, I realized that this verse was really presented to me this morning to open my eyes to my own flaws. I need to learn to lean on my girlfriends more. I sometimes have a tendency to shut myself off from people for fear of getting hurt, and this verse tells me that if I have faith and let people in, they can actually “sharpen” me and make me a better person. What a great lesson! Thanks, I needed to hear that!!
It is only Tuesday and work is pretty rough!! BUT God bless my husband!!! He totally came to my rescue this afternoon – YES, I do need to be rescued every once in a while!! He met me with one of my favorite interior design magazines, a small Canoli, and he made my favorite feel good food – spaghetti!! Thank you, Baby!!!
I am working on some new brainstorming for some future endeavors. I will keep you posted after I make some hard and fast decisions on working on creating a more creative future for myself. My goal is to just start where I am, and see where the good Lord is going to take me! I know that there has to be more to life than what I am doing now – not that I am not ABSOLUTELY GRATEFUL for what I have achieved so far in my life, but I am ready for some new adventures!!! Wish me luck!! 😉
Starting this week, my sweetie and I now have two swim nights every week, which we can tell is already going to be a lot of fun. One night is with one sis-in law and her family, and the other night is my other sis-in-law and her family!! Have I ever mentioned that it is SOOOO MUCH FUN to live close to the fam!! I have a few more fam members that I wish would move up here – wink, wink, nudge, nudge, you know who you are!!! LOL!! 😉
I am not sure what to say about that but I am really proud that my hard work is paying off!! 😉
Anyway, I am tired, I have been working out like a fiend today. I have incorporated mini walks throughout my day, I didn’t you use the elevator at all today, and I spent a rambunctiously fun time swimming with family this evening!!! WHEW!!! 😉
I received a new/old book in the mail yesterday. It is a book that Diane von Furstenburg wrote in 1976, and it is about beauty, style and being your sensual self! So far I am loving it!!! I am hoping to get this read quickly!!! The advice is very sensible and is still applicable to today’s woman!!! It is really GREAT to hear her thoughts, she seems like a kindred spirit, or a long lost sister or something!!
I am off to bed early tonight, I am taking a new fitness class for the next 6 weeks, and it starts tomorrow morning at 6:45 AM. EEK!! What I do to meet my hidden inner self! 😉 It will be worth it!! Tomorrow is also weigh-in day, and I have high hopes!! So we will see!!
Ok, not that kind of hump day…hmmm…at least not YET anyway!!! LOL!!
I have had a pretty good day today! I just got home from work and finished some house chores. My sweetie is grilling some chicken out back and I have got the veggies all ready to go! YUM! We have some peppy music playing, and every once in a while, Jason will stop wherever I am at, and spin me around so we can start dancing! God, I love that man!!! 😉
Anyway, I will put my feet back on the ground – at lease momentarily!!! I have been doing some more research on Diane von Furstenburg, and I ran across some of her really AWESOME quotes, and I can see why I just LOVE her soooo much!!!
“Attitude is everything.”
“I design for the woman who loves being a woman.”
“I travel light. I think the most important thing is to be in a good mood and enjoy life, wherever you are.”
“You’re always with yourself so you might as well enjoy the company.”
“Now is the time to become a myth.”
and my favorite that I ran across today:
“Absence is to love what wind is to fire. When it’s a small fire the wind kills it, but when it’s a real fire, wind intensifies it!”
As I sit here listening to “I Don’t Care Who Knows” by Catherine Russell, I realize that life is really GOOD!!! I am so blessed in my life!!!
This is isn’t the best video of this song, and I know the lyrics are really hard to understand, but it is basically saying that “I don’t care who knows, I love my man!!!” 😉 Every time this song comes on, I just can’t help but dance around!!
As for dinner, I am cooking some onions tonight to go with dinner, and I LOVE them!!! They are my favorite vegetable right now!! now I must admit I don’t make them the most healthily, but they are sooooo freaking’ good! !!
Dice one over sized sweet Walla Walla onion, in thin slices. Add butter to pan, about 1 tbsp per 1/2 an onion – depending on size (I add one extra tbsp for good measure)! Cook on med-high until translucent, then turn heat down to low, and make sure the onions are evenly distributed in the pan. Next, this is key – DON’T TOUCH UNTIL BROWNED!!! then flip and do this again, until all slices are gorgeously brown – I do this about 4 – 5 times!!! and I am telling you, the onion is sooooo perfectly carmelized! The onion will have reduced by more than 1/2, so 1/2 an onion is perfect for one person (I can eat a whole carmelized onion as a meal all by itself!!!)
I received a book in the mail today, it is called “Junk Chic”. and so far, I am loving it! I also love that the book cost me less than $5, including shipping and handling! I have two more on their way now, they are both books by or about Diane von Furstenburg – SHOCKED??? No, probably not!! HAHAHA! 😉
I am also going through a bunch of new pictures from our camping trip with my sis-in-law and her family! Some of these are really GREAT!!! I will make it a point to post some of these for you tomorrow!!
Ok, so I realize that my thoughts are just wandering all over the place, but I think I am going to take this new found energy and go for a walk!!!
I know that I should be posting SOMETHING!!! I could always tell you about what a great time we had camping this last weekend; you know, all about our canoe outing where we literally dumped into the water in our street clothes within 30 seconds, or the dune buggy/bus tour that we took that was supposed to be nice and peaceful but ended up making me want to pee myself, while I was screaming like a little girl calling for her mommy because I was sure that we were all going to die! Or maybe you would like to hear about my escapade hiking up and down on this monster trail that I was sure was going to cause my death, and someone would have to send several big men to come pick my fat, dead, ass up, and drag my back to my campsite!!! LOL!!! 😉 But I am tired, and today is an anniversary of something sad that happened in my family’s life 11 years ago, so I am going to keep that short.
However, we really did have a lot of fun camping, and I can’t wait to do it again next year, but next time with 2 campsites – we all were a little too on top of each other all weekend!!!
Anyway, here is my thought for the day:
The kind of image that you have of yourself will limit what you are able to do. When you don’t glorify , or revel in who you are, you are denying a part of yourself. I have been denying my whole adventurous spirit because I don’t have the right weight, I don’t have the right look, I can’t do something because what will people think? You know what? SCREW THAT!!!! I can do ANYTHING I WANT!!!! I don’t want to wait for anybody anymore! I am not waiting to become what I want to be! I am not waiting do anything anymore! Hell, if I want to do something, it is time for me to step up and do it; nobody is going to do it for me and once I decide that something is right for me, that these are the things that I want to do then I will also enable the people around me to do the same thing, which is what I am here for after all!!!
I don’t want to be ordinary any more. I want to be extraordinary. I want to have a fabulous life where everything I believe I should have, I can have. I am fearless, you know absolutely fearless, what can stop that? (I am hoping that if I keep saying it then it will just HAVE to become the TRUTH!!!)
Well it is late, and my husband and I are heading out tomorrow on a road trip down to Monteray, California, which should be a lot of fun!! I am telling you right now, that this is 3 weeks in a row away from home!! Next weekend, I am turning off my phone and squirreling away all weekend!! Reading, walks in the park, swimming, dinners with my sweetie!! I am a homebody that seems to never be home!!! 😉
I will try and blog some times this weekend, and keep you posted of our adventure!!!
Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉
P.S. I will always love and miss you, Momma!!! 😉
How has your day gone today?? Mine has gone pretty well!! I always feel so jazzed when I have gotten the things from my to-do list done for the day, work – check, groceries – check, make dinner at home – check, blog – well, that will be a check, and read some more of my book – check, check!! 😉
I came home after grocery shopping a realized my sweetie has fixed something that has been bugging me since 4 years ago when we moved into this place, and that is, he replaced the house numbers on the front of our place. I always tell you, it is the little things in life that bring you joy!! I am not sure who put them there before us, I am sure it must’ve been the lady who lived here before us, but for some reason the numbers had been painted fingernail polish pink – as in hot pink! They were hard to see, AND they were UGLY!!! I had just been tolerating them there, until I forgot they even existed!! but, my sweetie knew I had hated them and thought it would be a nice surprise, and it was!! HONEY, can you hear the brownie meter going up??? I do!!! 😉
Anyway, I am on chapter two of the book that I am reading, Secrets of Simplicity: Learn to Live Better with Less, has really inspired me to start reading about Henry David Thoreau. He seems like a fascinating man, and I have loved all of his lessons that I have heard so far. You see, it sounds like all of the greats had an oasis of sorts to go to center themselves, and rebalance. Thoreau had Walden Pond, Epicurus had his house and gardens, Buddah had a fig tree, where is your Walden Pond?? Where is mine? Good question. I would LOVE to say it is my home, but I think that right now, it has to be the ocean. I always am able to recoup, and get refreshed there. I am going to make it my mission to create my oasis!
Now for that oasis, what would I take with me??? If you were going to be stranded on a desert island. What would you take with you? What could you not living without? Choose for each of the categories below:
Two articles of clothing.
One food item.
One beverage.
One form of entertainment.
One piece of technology.
What did you choose???
For me my answers are:
Two articles of clothing:Â A day dress, & my mom’s pink jammies (who would I be trying to impress???)
One food item: grilled chicken (I am guessing there is already pineapple, papaya, and coconut there???)
One beverage: iced sweet tea
One form of entertainment: my entire family
One piece of technology: an i-phone
There is soooo much more that I feel I can’t live without, but this will have to be my chosen basics – for now!!!
On to more frivolous matters, it is day 3 of my no shampoo, no brush hair challenge, and so far so good. My showers in the morning take a lot longer than they used to take, but because I am not spending so much time in front of the mirror painfully brushing out my hair, I think the time to get ready takes me about the same amount of time, so that is good! The front of my hair today looks a little greasy, but it feels soooo soft – not greasy at all, that is surprising to me. AND my hair does seem much curlier than it usually is, although it does appear pretty mousy and dull, which I was told, is expected during the first 2 to 3 weeks, so onward I go!!
I am going camping this weekend, so this should be interesting. Not the camping, I know THAT will be a BLAST, I mean the hair care situation there – I will have to keep you posted!!! 😉
Oh, and it has been two days, and I have not purchased even ONE book!! Now, that is not so impressive you say???? Well maybe not, but books are my one weakness and I found that I was bringing between 10 and 20 books a week, I kid you not!! So, I had to have a come to Jesus meeting with myself and put my priorities in the proper order. AND maybe save some money to go on a big trip that I am taking in January!! I am not going to talk too much about that yet, as I don’t want to put a ken ayina hora, a Jewish hex, on it. I will let you know what is going on as soon as I get some more plans finalized on this!! YEAH!!!
Anyway, it is getting late, have a FABULOUS evening!
I am reading this TERRIFIC book!!! It has been in my house for almost a year, but I just picked it up this morning to read through it. This AMAZING book is called ‘Secrets of Simplicity: Learn to Live Better with Less‘. I got through the entire first chapter, and spent the rest of the day doing the first assignment – GOING THROUGH YOUR ENTIRE WARDROBE!!! Whew!! That is soooo much harder than it sounds. I spent the whole day doing that, and bagged up 6 bags of clothes, shoes, and other miscellaneous things from my closet!! It was difficult, time consuming, and at times, I thought I would quit, HOWEVER now that it is all done, I am sooooo EXCITED, and it is nice to have taken stock of everything that I own (wardrobe-wise!)
A few more things that I am taking from this book right away are:
I will focus on reading the books I have, and not purchase any books within the next 30 days
I will not use shopping as my therapist. If I’ve had a bad day, I will do something to pamper myself like a mani or pedi; and if I had a great day, I will let that great mood continue on to my evening by playing some fun music and dancing with my sweetie!
The most important things in my life, are not things – they are people and experiences!
Answer the following questions with “Always,” “Sometimes,” or “Never”
Do I make time to exercise?
Is my home life serene?
Do I have downtime?
Do I take time to deal with incoming mail and bills?
Do I have time to volunteer for charity?
Do the significant people in my life receive my attention when they need it?
Do I keep my appointments?
Do I see my friends?
Do I eat regular, healthy meals?
Am I in control of my calendar?
Are my home repairs done in a timely manner?
Is my pantry stocked?
Do I find time to get out and enjoy nature?
Am I getting enough sleep?
Do I take regular vacations?
Do I work less than 10 hours a day?
Is my work fulfilling?
Total up your “Always,” “Sometimes,” or “Never” responses. Place stars by the questions that surprised you, and think about what they reveal. Are your “nevers” standing in the way of your livelihood, your healthy, your ability to ultimately grow? Has “always” become a burden, leaving you without control, without the ability to make a conscious choice? As you review your responses, think about whether they represent a life of your choosing.
I would HIGHLY encourage ANYONE wanting to find balance in a materialistic culture, GO OUT AND PICK UP THIS BOOK!!
On a side note: it is day two of my new NO SHAMPOO, NO HAIR BRUSH routine from the book I finished reading yesterday, Curly Girl. My hair is looking alright, a little greasy this evening, not itchy, I am still passing the sniff test – my husband says “hmmm..smells good!” Thanks, Baby!! 😉 I promise to get a picture posted tomorrow!!! My pics this morning didn’t turn out!!
Today has been a very productive day!! Work, a long lunch with one of my favorite girlfriends, more work, home, shower, jammies, chores, dinner, more chores, take a breath to write to you this evening, do some more chores, head upstairs, do a little reading, bed, sleep!! Ok, so obviously not ALL of that has happened yet today!!! 😉
I am excited about tomorrow! After work tomorrow night, my family is coming over for dinner and then we are all going to go swimming!! YEAH!!! I always have SUCH a GOOD TIME swimming with the kiddos!! They have such a MARVELOUS way of making you feel like a kid again!!! GOD BLESS MY LITTLE KIDDOS!
Well, today was weigh-in day, I am not sure if I told you, but I am on Weight Watchers and am doing my darnedest to lose weight! I am following Weight Watchers, am on a 24 week walking plan, and have a personal health coach!! So, all of that combined with the fact that I have such a great support group around me, I am optimistic that I will be able to get healthy ONCE AND FOR ALL!! I will keep you posted of my progress!!!
OH, you know what has really been on my mind today?? It is called the 100 Thing Challenge. I have heard about this a few times over the past 6 months or so, but for some reason the idea just really intrigued me today, and made me start to think, “If I had to limit belongings to just 100 things, what 100 things would I choose?” Well, right off, I think that would be REALLY, REALLY DIFFICULT!!! Second, there are a few things that I would have to group as one thing, right off the bat, like my library, that would have to equal 1 thing, but really I have almost 1,000 books, So with that in mind, here is a stab at my list…
My wedding ring
My mother’s dresser
My library
My bed
My couch
My dining room table that my mom-in-law found for me
My piano
My artwork – can that count as one thing??
My little black antique leather chair
My cornet
My laptop
My i-pod
My Kindle
My tele
My DVD player
My DVD collection
My pink bicycle, Roxy
My grandfather’s art box
My art easel
My costume jewelry collection
My shoe collection
My clothes (OK, you can see where this would get REALLY DIFFICULT!!)
My CD collection
My game collection
My puzzle collection
My decoration collection
Ok, I am going to stop myself here! I think this might actually be an impossible task for someone like me. Sometimes I just get sooo disgusted with myself because I am such a stuff person. Don’t get me wrong people are more important than stuff any ol’ day, but there is something about being surrounded by my things that make me feel some much at home. With that said, I want to leave with a bit from George Carlin talking about stuff. Enjoy!!!
I am seriously thinking about putting my house on a diet. We have a really small place, and seemingly a whole TON of stuff. OK, I know this seems like a REALLY random thought, but let me tell you what brought this on. I have a friend who is a financial adviser for, let’s just say, for people who have WAAAAAY more money than I have. Anyway, he sent me a whole bunch of information today on how I can make my financial dreams come true, and HOLY MOLY!! I realized I have a lot of work to do, the first HUGE thing I need to do is to get myself COMPLETELY out of debt, AGAIN (I have done this once before believe it or not!) Once that is done, I have to figure out how to figure out how to live with only 50% of my income!!! AAAAGH!!! Can you imagine??? So I either have to learn how to live with a whole lot less, or I have to learn how to make more money!! Which brings me back to putting my house on a diet. While I am trying to decide what small business I can start in my free time, I thought I would try selling some of my literally hundreds of unused items from our house. Kind of like an online garage sale!! I am not sure how to make this happen though – so I thought I would just throw it out to the universe and see if maybe anyone out there had any ideas??? Let me know in the comment section – I would be greatly appreciative for the help!!! 🙂
