Sustaining Real Life

A homemade bookmark turned out to be an artist's business card, so I ended up on Annie Clavel's website. Her digital watercolors on  yupo  paper muse on consciousness, dreaming, and mathematics. Her Glances of Women  body of work touched me as I seek connection, self-care, and gratitude.  What drives you? What first three words do you see? I See You Women typically act as the financial conscience of the family. We scrimp and save, then dig deep for the unexpected emergencies and baby shower gifts. Is it no wonder that necessity is the mother of invention? Is this why we sign up for Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University ? Is this why Elizabeth Warren teaches the 50-30-20 budget rule ? Is this why we rely on the grace of God and additional smart work to even afford an annual vacation?  Is this why women choose to create additional income from their home-based businesses?  Or alternatively, like artist Annie Clavel, utilize her talents and set up her own sh...

On this morning's local news program, Jason Mraz performed Hearing  Double . He sang each lyric twice and the song included the phrase... Tell tell me me what what you're you're thinkin' thinkin' with with no no delay delay (delay, delay, delay, delay) Continually professing his love for a girl, he asks for a response. Similarly, I ask my family members for their thoughts. On my end, I compete against wireless earbuds and endless entertainment from their Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify, and TikTok accounts. My choice words that secure reaction are "Breakfast (lunch or dinner) is ready!" Connection is Tricky The big "C" is a two-way street. I started writing this blog out of a need to share this moment in time, then for my family to reference when I'm gone. Joshua Becker published his  Busyness is Lazyness article in the recent  The Epoch Times ' sample edition. He had bumped into a friend battling cancer, regretting not having checked in w...

Halfway through our half-decade courtship, I watched my now husband clean the shower stall in my rental apartment. It had never sparkled until after he donned his yellow gloves and face mask and proceeded to scrub the living daylights out of that bathroom. The unfortunate thing is this room connected the bedroom to the kitchen-living areas and the apartment quickly filled with cough-inducing, eye-watering fumes!  I have to marry this man; he cleans whenever I avoid the chore. I just need to get him better product!   Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) At the start of Autumn, I enjoy a 31-day Clutter Cleanse habit in our home. I start by getting rid of expired medications, foodstuffs, and body care products from our cupboards and drawers.  CPG for self-care includes everything that touches your skin from toothpaste, soap bars, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, facial cleanser, toner, moisturizer, lotion, foundation, color cosmetics, mascara, nutritional supplements, protein sha...

WHY ATTEMPT SUSTAINABILITY? In a YouTube video, Simon Sinek teaches "Start with Why?" in motivating ourselves before starting a project.  My Sentinel >  Consul (ESFJ)  personality is the observant and judging type. I am practical and focused on order, security, and stability. These are what drive me towards minimalism.  I read Elaine St. James' book  Inner Simplicity  where she wrote: the decision to do fewer things and have less stuff is not from self-denial but from the wisdom that comes by taking the time to figure out what is important to us, and in letting go of all the rest Blogging One's Thoughts General design layout.   A simple frame allowed me to highlight quotes, to post images, to embed videos from YouTube , to insert web links and tables. Web host .  Google hosted my content for free. Smore  and Wix can support likewise. Brainstorm ideas.   Similar to mind-mapping our ideas for a Toastmaster speech, online tools li...

Clothing Excess I keep hearing Jennifer Garner tout Capital One 's corporate slogan "What's in your wallet?" Beyond the brand, I admit I like having cash leftover in mine . Known for her frugality, I recall my mom's financial advice, "It's not what you make, it's what you keep." Spending less may mean no more retail therapy and window shopping for fast fashion. The decluttering inspiration started from binge-watching Marie Kondo's  Tidying Up Netflix  television series,   then reading her  book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up .  Having reduced my book collection to half, it was time for the clothing category.  Her  Konmari method suggests   we question joy as we hold, hang, or fold each item. In her book Overdressed , Elizabeth L. Cline lamented "I have enough clothing to open a store." Revealing middle-class  hyperconsumerism , my overflowing bedroom closet  created this embarrassing mountain of clothes. Goodness truth, Eli...