Sustaining Real Life

OPTIMISM  Big overwhelming optimistic momentum (B.O.O.M.) is a lyrical miracle put forth by Clay Clark in his podcast . Clark featured Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech to inspire for developments ahead. Yes, and I wore a lipcolor labeled  Optimist at every Wednesday Sharp Toastmaster Club Zoom meeting these past six months. Yesterday, the VP of Education and I received our President's Distinguished Club award at a Morgan Run Resort breakfast.  Though we can chalk up this accomplishment, a re you, like me, still trying to dig out of your COViD blues?  I'd like to call out Simon Sinek's  a bit of optimism podcast featuring Brene Brown from six months ago... Was that not a ping-pong conversation requiring a full night's sleep to handle? Simon asked why negative emotion is more real to us than positivism. Double Doors to Throw Open I just booked three days in Kauai. It's time to experience some Hawaii Meats and again shoo chickens away from Costco grounds... ha ...

Apparently, a friend's Siri called me by mistake this morning which led to a phone conversation long-overdue. Just-in-time though, I was able to refer her crib set donation to Silent Voices . This social service organization started as a ministry by Horizon Christian Fellowship to serve those struggling with unplanned pregnancies with both durable goods and counseling.  Building resilience is important because it is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.  The American Psychological Association (APA) defines it as " the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress—such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors." Strong Women I admire strong women and seek out their stories.  Sheryl Roush speaks out against abuse when introducing herself in public speeches. Her book "Heart of a Toastmaster" is an anthology of stories I enjoy.  Ann C...

Despite California's recent return to purple-tier restrictions, I look forward to celebrating   Small Business Saturday  on November 28.  I woke up to entrepreneurship when Pasadena Community College started offering courses in 2008. I think small businesses like Teri Johnson's Keeping It Personal and Megan Kristel's  The Well Dressed Life  thrive because they operate on the founders' personal values. Dare to Lead On November 11, Jimmy Fallon interviewed my favorite researcher  Brene Brown . She believes skill sets that make the best leaders include: Being able to rumble with vulnerability Learning to behave to our values Building trust for team-building Resetting after disappointments More women become entrepreneurs out of a need for financial stability and community connection. Nothing unsettles us more than being handed a box to contain our belongings while being ushered out of corporate offices. We love referring others to our favorite plumbers, skinca...

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 Art and Math  series 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 shop...

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...

From the movie Funny Girl , won't you agree Barbara's Streisand's rendition of Second Hand Rose remains a classic treat? The song was a daughter's celebration of items worn from her dad's thrift shop.   Fuel Economy Our 2008 Jetta got a Soapy Joe's car wash as part of my birthday gift. My loyal steed's odometer reads 205,070 miles. Still a great runabout car, its fuel economy is 34 miles to the gallon (mpg).  It recently kissed a light fixture at Mission Bay Sportcenter and is begging for a tire rotation. I think it deserves new tires for Christmas, just saying!   One daughter is set on obtaining her driver's permit this month and she had practiced at a local community college empty parking lot on her dad's 2009 Passat. Having racked up 230,000 miles on its original engine, we bid it farewell last December as the service bay manager said they can no longer resuscitate. We just bought a 2016 model from the same dealership because, in its April 2020 i...

I didn't just hear about the  backyard chicken trend, I have friends that post about their chick-growing shenanigans on Facebook. Though dismissed before as an upscale doyenne, we now recognize Martha Stewart was cutting edge. Fast forward, have you seen her recent pool pic ? Yes, that Martha with her Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy Chickens at Home !  I am not a natural homemaker and serving three square meals a day remains a family survival challenge. Saving Time and Money Early in my marriage, I was taught to both inventory my pantry ingredients and plan meals for the week. This saved money when limited to once-a-week grocery runs. This also saved time ensuring nutritious meals were the reward for each hectic day of work and school, instead of last-minute, fast food fails.  I learned to laugh alongside chef Jeff Smith,  The Frugal Gourmet,  rather than stress to Martha's perfection.  My version of the domestic goddess relies on:  Recipes torn from ...

Empathy is a Virtue  I was whittling down my bookshelves for donation to Goodwill Industries when I encountered The Billionaire Who Wasn't, a  biography of Anonymous Donor (AD).  AD was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to a blue-collar Irish-American family during the Depression.  After Air Force service in the Korean War, he made his fortune as co-founder of the Duty-Free Shoppers Group , which pioneered the concept of luxury goods shopping at half the price. By 1988, Charles Francis Feeney was hailed by  Forbes Magazine  as the twenty-fourth richest American businessman alive. But secretly, Feeney had already transferred all his wealth to his foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies .  "I see little reason to delay giving when so much good can be achieved through supporting worthwhile causes today." He remained a frugal man while confronted with unimaginable wealth: Introduces himself simply as Chuck ,  travels economy class, and owns neither a house n...

Wake Up Call Sixteen-year-old activist Greta Thunberg was selected youngest  2019's Person of the Year . US news magazine Time declared that for the better, she has done the most to influence climate crisis events. What started as her skipping school to protest the Swedish Parliament in August 2018 led to her scathing speech at the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019:  "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering, people are dying." April 22, 2020, i n the midst of COViD shutdown, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day was celebrated by our young digital citizens with 24 At-Home Hours of Action . Two months later on June 5, 2020, "The Mighty Earth (themed)" World Environment Day was also the day my daughter Amanda obtained her diploma from Otay Ranch High School.  Amanda developed the habit of carrying a Pathwater aluminum bottle to forgo her use of plastic water bottles. Despit...