Simple Pleasures
Hiya!
FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY!!! Ok...note to self, the coffee is working. Yay....Friday. How was your Thursday? Fab I hope!
Today's topic will OF COURSE include Christmas - seriously, you make me giggle! However, not just yet. Patience Gentle Reader, patience.
Back in 1999, my life (all areas) was pretty much out of control. I was in a very unhappy place at home and work wasn't much sunnier. Everything back then was so overwhelming. I was heading towards my 40th birthday so had lots to think about then. All I wanted to do was escape to the alps and tend the goats with Peter and Heidi. Truly! I would have taken my then kitty Macy and a few books, my flannel pjs, and my portable cd player and that's it. Kitty, music, books, flannel. All happy things.
I started hanging out in Indigo stores (Canada's version of Barnes and Noble) and set up camp at the self-help section - where else! I was looking for something to calm my frazzled nerves and that would allow me to breathe. The first book I touched was called "Take Time for Your Life" by Cheryl Richardson. The start of my journey! Finally someone said it was ok to put me first. Wow. What a new concept! Cheryl was on Oprah's show quite a bit during 1999-2000 telling women the very same thing. She was actually booed the first time!!!
Also treasured "Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy" by Sarah Ban Breathnach, "Your Money or Your Life" by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin (MUST-HAVE - this book is an eye-opener about work and money), and "Living the Simple Life: A Guide to Scaling Down and Enjoying More" by Elaine St. James, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" by Richard Carlson, and "The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living" by Janet Luhrs.
Once the light went on, there was no stopping me. I started reading books about simplicity, and the simplicity movement. I found MY people!! Folks who wanted the world to slow down, and then take a long deep breath and appreciate the things they had in life as opposed to striving for more stuff. Walden by Henry DavidThoreau is the ultimate simplicity manual. Truly. Written in 1845. A wonderful visionary.
Fast forward to now - 10 years later. I have been re-reading these favourites just to see how far I've come. My interest is still in the simplicity movement but am also very keen on organizing my life - the things in it and ME! Hellen Buttigieg's book "Organizing Outside the Box: Conquer Clutter Using Your Natural Learning Style" will help you do just that in a very comfortable and practical way. I mean you've enjoyed Hellen's show NEAT on HGTV for years so you know she's wonderful at helping others and she can help you too! Trust me on this one! http://www.amazon.ca/Organizing-Outside-Box-Conquer-Learning/dp/192664509X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259944872&sr=8-1 Makes a fabulous Christmas or Hanukkah gift! Just saying.
Ok, so you're saying, hey Linda, what about Christmas? Oh yes, the most wonderful time of the year! Well the real theme of the simplicity movement has to do with appreciating what you have in your life and celebrating the positives. So for this holiday season (uh-huh, just 20 sleeps!), please embrace the traditions that make your heart sing and let go of everything else that stresses you or only adds more unhappy memories. We don't need that in our lives. There is so much that we can't control in this world so let's just hold onto what is good and fabulous and fun! That's my mantra.
Thanks for the visit today and we'll get again on Saturday. Have a terrific Friday!
Linda
FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY!!! Ok...note to self, the coffee is working. Yay....Friday. How was your Thursday? Fab I hope!
Today's topic will OF COURSE include Christmas - seriously, you make me giggle! However, not just yet. Patience Gentle Reader, patience.
Back in 1999, my life (all areas) was pretty much out of control. I was in a very unhappy place at home and work wasn't much sunnier. Everything back then was so overwhelming. I was heading towards my 40th birthday so had lots to think about then. All I wanted to do was escape to the alps and tend the goats with Peter and Heidi. Truly! I would have taken my then kitty Macy and a few books, my flannel pjs, and my portable cd player and that's it. Kitty, music, books, flannel. All happy things.
I started hanging out in Indigo stores (Canada's version of Barnes and Noble) and set up camp at the self-help section - where else! I was looking for something to calm my frazzled nerves and that would allow me to breathe. The first book I touched was called "Take Time for Your Life" by Cheryl Richardson. The start of my journey! Finally someone said it was ok to put me first. Wow. What a new concept! Cheryl was on Oprah's show quite a bit during 1999-2000 telling women the very same thing. She was actually booed the first time!!!
Also treasured "Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy" by Sarah Ban Breathnach, "Your Money or Your Life" by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin (MUST-HAVE - this book is an eye-opener about work and money), and "Living the Simple Life: A Guide to Scaling Down and Enjoying More" by Elaine St. James, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" by Richard Carlson, and "The Simple Living Guide: A Sourcebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living" by Janet Luhrs.
Once the light went on, there was no stopping me. I started reading books about simplicity, and the simplicity movement. I found MY people!! Folks who wanted the world to slow down, and then take a long deep breath and appreciate the things they had in life as opposed to striving for more stuff. Walden by Henry DavidThoreau is the ultimate simplicity manual. Truly. Written in 1845. A wonderful visionary.
Fast forward to now - 10 years later. I have been re-reading these favourites just to see how far I've come. My interest is still in the simplicity movement but am also very keen on organizing my life - the things in it and ME! Hellen Buttigieg's book "Organizing Outside the Box: Conquer Clutter Using Your Natural Learning Style" will help you do just that in a very comfortable and practical way. I mean you've enjoyed Hellen's show NEAT on HGTV for years so you know she's wonderful at helping others and she can help you too! Trust me on this one! http://www.amazon.ca/Organizing-Outside-Box-Conquer-Learning/dp/192664509X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259944872&sr=8-1 Makes a fabulous Christmas or Hanukkah gift! Just saying.
Ok, so you're saying, hey Linda, what about Christmas? Oh yes, the most wonderful time of the year! Well the real theme of the simplicity movement has to do with appreciating what you have in your life and celebrating the positives. So for this holiday season (uh-huh, just 20 sleeps!), please embrace the traditions that make your heart sing and let go of everything else that stresses you or only adds more unhappy memories. We don't need that in our lives. There is so much that we can't control in this world so let's just hold onto what is good and fabulous and fun! That's my mantra.
Thanks for the visit today and we'll get again on Saturday. Have a terrific Friday!
Linda
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