Time Saving Tip 101

I found a time-saving tip when I wasn't even looking for it. I thought I would pass along my newfound wealth ...

I rarely wear make-up these days so when I dabbed on some eyeliner and eyebrow pencil before I went to work on Saturday morning, I completely forgot to wash it off at the end of the day.

I woke up Sunday morning, knowing I had to 'rinse and repeat' the day prior. Off to work I must go.

Since I was leaving the house once again I thought that I should make the effort to make my eyes look like part of my face.

I looked into the mirror and my eyes and eyebrows still had a faint tinge of eyeliner and eyebrow pencil leftover from the day prior.

"Good enough!" I thought to myself and happily skipped out the door. Saving myself five precious minutes at home on a weekend morning.

Time saving tip:

• Apply make-up once. 
• Forget to wash it off. 
• You don't have to apply make-up a second time (that is, unless you really want to).
• And face it ... I really don't want to!
• Let your inner beauty shine and forget about that stuff that comes from a jar!

Spring is Coming! Spring is Coming!

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.  

~Hal Borland

The seasons of the year mirror the seasons of our lives. The dormancy of winter. The new growth that comes in the spring. A summer to bloom and ripen. A fall to 'reap that which we have sewn'.

I am definitely coming out of a winter-of-my-life. There were many chinooks, blue skies and sunny cold days within the cold season. But it was definitely winter.

It feels as though the wait for spring has been endless. It poked its nose out several times but winter had a tight foothold and didn't give up without a fight. Lately, I have started planting seeds again. I have been watering and nurturing them. I can feel things stirring underneath the surface. New life is on its way.

I know that the 'summer' which follows spring will be busy. As it was, the year I planted a garden. I enjoyed watching the seeds that I planted grow into food-bearing plants. I was so proud of my garden as it grew. It looked so 'cute' and enjoyable when it was young. That was, until the weeds and slugs found their way into our garden space. Summer = work and dealing with the 'weeds' that grow along the way.

The harvest of the fall is also a labor intensive phase of the four seasons. But once the crop is in, you can sit back and appreciate the fruits of your labor. The growing season is over. Thanksgiving has come and you can lay your produce out on the table and nourish yourself and those around you.

I have planted several different kinds of seeds. Some will bloom early; others much later. I do believe that I have created a 'rotating crop' of goals and aspirations. Hopefully planting one seed will encourage another to grow.

I hope for some lazy, hazy days of summer along the way to sit back and soak up the sunshine that is my life.

I hope for cloudy, rainy days where I can hunker down and tend to that which needs to be tended. Whether that is a deadline, friends & family or simply sit still and tend to myself.

I hope for seasons within the seasons to give me an opportunity to rest and revive myself along the way. Because face it ... no one season is all good or all bad.

Crystal clear winter days are a sight to behold. There is beauty within a time of frigid dormancy.

The muck and guck and messiness of spring is necessary to get us where we need to be. There is dirt and mire to endure before the world starts to bloom.

Summer may be the season we wish for perfect weather to grow those crops or accompany us on a holiday, a camping weekend or a summer wedding. It may be too hot. Or too windy. Or too rainy. But it is summer all the same. Weather happens. And we will endure. We always do.

Fall is a season ripe in beautiful colors. It is summer's last hoorah as leaves turn to various shades of red, yellow, pink and orange before they fall and coat the ground to insulate the earth for the winter that is on its way. The moment the trees start to turn, we know that winter is on its way. It is time to reap what you have sewn and dole it out ever-so-gradually over the winter months to come.

But for now, I am going to sit back and focus on the Springtime of My Life which has returned. I'm going to sit back and water those seeds which I have planted and enjoy the summer before the harvest. I am going to park myself in a sunbeam and soak up the rays of sunshine.

Spring is coming! Spring is coming!! I am so ready for you this year ...

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.  

~Doug Larson

It Just Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

Saturday morning bliss 

 My two favorite cats + Gilmore Girls + Saturday Morning Coffee = Perfection

Need I say more?

Resisting Change

Have you ever noticed how an ill fitting undergarment can wreak havoc with how you feel on the inside no matter how you look on the outside?

That is 'me' in a nutshell. I need to feel good from the inside out. I want the outside layers to reflect that which is going on within. I do not obsess over my appearance. It is all about a feeling.

In my perfect world, I would have drawers full of all-of-the-same-style of socks, camisoles, lingerie items, pajamas, jeans and cardigans in slightly varying 'shades of black and navy blue'.

I would have a closet full of different colored, very similar styled tops, with enough styles to accommodate all four of the seasons and a slight variance for dress-wear verses casual-wear. They would all be styles that fit and camouflage my aging, changing body. The colors would reflect my 'best self' and season.

I could accessorize the above wardrobe with a small bit of silver or gold to dress up my look when I feel the need for sparkle.

I would add a purse and shoes exactly the same as the ones I am presently utilizing (because I know where everything is and because they are comfortable).

I am giddy with excitement each and every time I go into my favorite purse and baggage store and find out that they still stock my favorite purse (it is crazy that it is cheaper to buy a new purse, than it is to fix the old one).

I despise it when the Wranglers and Levi Straus' of the world change up their style of jeans and no longer stock the ones that fit me.

If Dr. Scholls discontinues the only-shoe-that-I-can-wear, I may have to go barefoot.

But the world changes and new brands of jeans must be bought, and must-have items need to be replenished...

This past month has brought too much 'new' into my old, comfortable life. New jeans (BLECH!!), new printer (I'm sorta pleased with that one), new coffee pot and the possiblity of needing a new computer to boot.

I like to keep-what-works in my world. Jeans that fit, obsolete items that still serve their purpose, jobs that I know, friendships that grow with me and a life that simply fits right.

I love the comfort of living a life where I wake up in the morning and think that I know what to expect within the day ahead. I don't need it to be beautiful and modern. I simply want comfort, ease and familiarity.

The world outside of my doors has enough surprises for me. I feel better equipped to deal with the unexpected ... when I don't spend time fretting about the little stuff.

The feeling within myself, my home, my family, my friends and my work starts within. As I add layers onto that feeling I simply want 'comfort' on top of that solid foundation.

But most of all? At the very core of all of that ease and familiarity? Is a body that does what you expect and want it to do.

A sore toe reminds me that I am lucky that my feet work. An ache in my back reminds me that I could hurt like this every day. A finicky thumb reminds me that the rest of my fingers and hands are in perfect running order. Crickedy joints remind me to respect that which moves in my body.

The comfortable clothes that hide the body that takes me where I want and need to go are only window dressing. The comfort and ease that I long for penetrates beyond the surface.

The more things change ... the more I wish for them to remain the same.

Banked Time

Can I please cash in some of the sleep-hours that I have logged over the course of the past four years now? The days are no longer long enough to contain all that I want to do.

Isn't that about the best problem a person can have? Not enough hours in the day.

Not enough time to do all that must-be-done, plus all that you want-to-do, plus time to bring people into your day, plus time-to-yourself, plus time to sleep at the end of all of that.

It is an equation that shifts and change throughout our days and our life. The ratio of must-do-items verses want-to-do-activities (with enough time left over to sleep).

I have been keeping uncharacteristically late hours this past little while. At first, I was giddy with myself thinking "This is what I used to do all of the time! I can still do this!!" Then morning came. And I felt like I had been hit by a freight train.

Though I was a bit of a train wreck the next morning, as the fog lifted and my brain woke up I felt the spark that kept me awake the night prior. It ignited, I hopped out of bed (well, let's just use that word "hop" lightly ... I don't seem to 'hop' anywhere too speedily these days) and was eager to continue where I last left off. Or grab my first cup of coffee. Whichever came first.

I laid in bed this morning thinking of the day that I have ahead of me today. Where can I bank some sleep so that I can enjoy this day to the fullest without having that hit-by-a-freight-train hangover tomorrow morning? So I hit the snooze button on the alarm clock for an extra hour. Does a wakeful sleep in ten minute increments count? I think so. Because my brain woke up fully alert and ready to go. My body followed.

I have a busy day on my agenda. Will I have time to pick up that milk and coffee that have been on my list for the past five days? Tune in tomorrow and find out!

It feels good to be back ...

Famous Last Words

"My calendar is pretty empty. I know I must get milk sometime within the next five days or so but that is about the extent of my social calendar. Oh, and I must donate blood the week after that. Busy month for me!"

Those are the words that I typed when I replied to my cousin's email at 6:52 on Saturday evening. Less than 48 hours later, I seem to have my week booked up. How in the world did this happen?

For one thing, it is simply because I am saying "YES" to life. Saying yes is better than the year I started saying no. Saying no took away the pleasure-factor immensely. But I believe that "NO" was where I needed to be to have the energy to push myself those very hard days.

Saying "YES" invigorates and depletes at the same time. I know that I have a high-need-for-solitude so I need to offset my yeses with equal time just-for-me.

Saying "NO" does exactly the same thing to me a lot of the time. The weekends where I cocoon myself from the world and do little more than nurture myself fill me up but they also deplete me of that spark that I feel when I am in the thick of living-a-full-and-balanced-life.

Therein lies the key. Balance. Perhaps that is why I have fallen into the 'party planner' role lately.

As The Planner, I get to pick and choose what I want to do and when I want to do it. I could not have started-what-I-started-last-week a year ago, two years ago or any-number-of-years-ago because I simply didn't have anything in me to give. I was empty and trying very hard to fill myself up.

When you are running on empty it is hard to run a marathon. When you look at the long road ahead of you and you cannot even see the end goal it is hard to focus on endurance. It is simply all about getting to the next filling station and hotel.

The important thing is to keep taking those forward steps. Even when they don't seem to be making a difference. They are. Even the time spent filling up and resting are giving you what you need to make it to the next step along the way. If you could live your life backwards you would know that each and every pit stop was essential.

Small, forward steps, rest stops, keeping hydrated and enjoying the journey are what it's all about.

It takes time to prepare and train for the marathons of life. We can't be running at top speed all of the time. It's hard on the body, mind and soul. Focus on endurance. There may be times when you need to sprint but you simply cannot keep up that pace all of the time.

Yes verses no. Run verses walk. Rest verses replenish. Balance.

I love my little life-as-I-know-it. The life where running out for milk and donating blood are the driving force of a week. It gives me time to say "YES! ... I will take in a dance class" and "YES! I am home and we will have a good visit while you are here" and "YES! I can do that for you" and "YES! Let's plan an adventure".

My calendar is still pretty empty. I like it that way. It gives me room to juggle priorities and put what needs to be nourished at the top of the pile.

But my empty calendar sure feels full...

If I Invite Them...

I'm living my 'Field of Dreams' life once again ...

January 12, 2010 I wrote this:

"If I open it (a daycare) ... they will come"

"If I write it (a book, a blog) ... they will read it"

"If I ask (invitations to family and friends) ... they will come"

"If I believe it (working from home) ... it will (eventually) succeed"

"If I am living my life to the fullest ... people will join me on my adventure"

I am learning that if you live your life with intention - if you say you are going to do something, believe that you can do whatever you set your sights on, steer your life in a direction where you can pursue your dreams ... anything is possible.

Sometimes all it takes is for one person to take a step and commit to a dream ... and you find many others will come into your life and walk with you through your own personal Field of Dreams.

January 15, 2014 I wrote this:

Something deep inside of me sparked yesterday when I made one brave decision. That decision was to make a plan and then invite people along for the ride.

I made a few moves in a familiar direction yesterday. It rekindled the spark that led me down the path that I travelled during those years where I felt fearless and was fuelled by following through on small ideas.

Today (March 10, 2014) I write this:

It never ceases to amaze me. The cycles of life. I have looked back upon my life 'a year ago today' or 'five years ago today' or 'any amount of years ago today' and so very, very often I find that I am repeating a pattern. Some of them are good. Some of them are not.

The good thing about looking back and seeing that I was in a bad 'space' X-amount of years ago today, is that I know that I dug myself out of that spot and life felt that much better once I overcame the crisis-of-the-moment.

I've been digging myself out of a spot I found myself in quite some time ago. I didn't consciously make the decision to repeat history but that is exactly what I have subconsciously done.

I have made plans. I have investigated 'adventures'. I have instigated gatherings. I have booked tickets and rooms and resorts and simply invited people along for the ride. Do you know what I have found? A lot of people were ready to be invited...

One week ago today, I had an idea. Seven days later, sixty two people (and the number is still growing) have joined me for the ride. I keep hearing that everyone was 'ready' for this but needed someone to start the ball rolling.

"If I invite them ... they will come"

It feels good to be back. I am walking in my Field of Dreams once again.