Embracing Life

Today for Organize Me Monday, I'm starting a two-part piece on health.  Next week, I will focus on exercise, but today it's more total body/mental health. Many of these topics come from my somewhat recent interest in Chinese medicine, as well as focusing on a more holistic approach to taking care of myself. For example, winter is the season of stillness.  It's ruled by the water element.  Imagine stepping outside in January after a heavy snowfall.  Listen... what do you hear? If it's early morning, you may not even hear the birds chirping.  Rather, take in that silence. Focus on your footsteps. The crunch of snow underfoot. Take a deep breath, even though the air is so cold it shocks your lungs.  When it's really cold out, your body wants to be warm. So feed it with hot tea, warm soup, and tepid water. I've started that practice of drinking (mostly) warm drinks for the past two months, and it's developed into a nice habit.  No longer do I crave a ...

Welcome to week two of Organize Me Monday! This week, I'm focusing on cleaning.... Create a daily, weekly, and monthly list of what needs to be done.  In addition, add yearly things, such as specific things you do every spring, fall, etc.  Clean one room or do one specific daily item every day.  This will save you from spending your entire weekend cleaning. Use a multi-purpose cleaner, one that you can carry from room to room.  I am going to start making my own cleaner - All Purpose Wipes (these wipes work like Lysol wipes, but are homemade and healthier for your home) Buy some cotton fabric or reusable dish cloths Tightly fold or roll your reusable cloths and place in an air-tight container (a clean glass spaghetti jar works well). In a separate container, mix your favorite natural cleaning solution. Try these simple recipes:   1 Cup water, 1 Cup vinegar and 15 drops of Tea Tree Oil or Lemon Oil 2 Cups water, 1 Cup vin...

With the start of a new year, I'm starting a new feature on my blog:   This year, I'm committing to stressing less and running more. There is a lot more that goes into it, I'll blog in more detail at a later date. But today, with this being the first full week of 2014, I want to commit seeing if I can get just a little more organized to help with that "stress less" piece.  Week One: Organize Me With all the things that we do as mothers, our minds are filled to the brim with every little detail.  It's time to work through what is clutter and clear out our minds to make ourselves feel better.  What I already do: Keep a journal.  It doesn't have to be written in every day, but it's a good place to record thoughts, feelings, and general ideas about life.  Those things you don't want to forget.  Or those things that you need to just get out to feel better.  To add to this piece, I also have a separate book where I list (daily... which ...

One of the things I feel I need to focus on as a working mother of three children under five is my priorites.  Of course, my number one priority is my family.  And it will always be that way.  But sometimes I need to work on the other important things in my life.  Those things that seem to have fallen by the wayside after having three children in two years.  A question that has been coming up lately for me is:  "What do I want to accomplish with my life?"  Obviously the marriage, kids and family accomplishments have been huge, but I'm only 33 (right? I'm 33?) - there is a lot of life left for me.  Along with that question comes this one: "If I could do anything with my life, what would it be?" So as I look to answer those questions this year, I also need to focus on setting my priorities.  This week's goals are: Make a list of my top ten priorities/goals.  They need to reflect what is important to me.  I will keep the...

This week for Organize Me Monday, I am going to work on my cleaning schedule.  Steps I will take include: Create a daily, weekly, and monthly list of what needs to be done.  In addition, add yearly things, such as specific things you do every spring, fall, etc.  Clean one room or do one specific daily item every day.  This will save you from spending your entire weekend cleaning. Use a multi-purpose cleaner, one that you can carry from room to room.  I am going to start making my own cleaner - All Purpose Wipes (these wipes work like Lysol wipes, but are homemade and healthier for your home) Buy some cotton fabric or reuasble dish cloths Tightly fold or roll your reusable cloths and place in an air-tight container (a clean glass spaghetti jar works well). In a separate container, mix your favorite natural cleaning solution. Try these simple recipes:   1 Cup water, 1 Cup vinegar and 15 drops of Tea Tree Oil or Lemon Oil ...