Too Much

As I am still tackling my room organization project, I have been faced with a question: How did I accumulate all this stuff? And why?

I long for a clean, uncluttered, organized, beautiful life. I crave it. But getting there is a process. A chore. An OVERWHELMING task. I ask myself Will I get through it all? Will I ever get to the bottom of the mess? How can I stay focused in all of it? I know it is overwhelming my brain trying to deal with all of it and it makes me feel physically DRAINED. Any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Until next time...

Inspiring Rooms

Organization for inspiration!

I did it! I have FINALLY undertaken the very daunting task of cleaning out and reorganizing my room. It has been on my mind but I kept putting it off. Tonight I started shoveling out and it felt so good!

Getting Inspired

It was a busy and stressful week and weekend. I am trying to decompress from it all and get inspired again, to be able to see the beauty in life and feel peaceful. One thing that enables me to do that is getting creative. I have recently discovered that I love making beautiful things and that inspires me. Recently I have started a card ministry to my church and have really enjoyed making my own cards.

On the dawn of Inauguration 2009

I have many thoughts and feelings. It is exciting to be a part of history. I remember when I was a young child and people said We would never have an African American president and now we will. It is evidence that things change, life evolves. I feel strange as we are moving into a new era. It is not easy to embrace change, going into the unknown. In times like this I look for a strong anchor. Something to hold fast to when I feel like the waves are crashing up against me. I look towards the light of my faith to guide me in these changing and hard times, and most of all, I must hold fast to who God has made me and hold fast to what I know is true.

HANS HOFMANN:
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.

Today's Inspiration

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined.
Henry David Thoreau

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Word Resolutions for the year

I saw this on another site and thought I would adopt it too. Instead of making resolutions that don't stick, focus on one thing and change that. I decided to do one word to focus on for that month.

Here is my year of words: Simplicity,Fabulous,Hope, Inspire, Growth, Renew, Celebrate, Success, Focus, Gratitude, Abundance, Believe

January 15, 2009

I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and a devotion to the things you want to see happen. - Frank Lloyd Wright

January 13, 2009 Inspiration

It is always good to know, if only in passing, charming human beings. It refreshes one like flowers and woods and clear brooks.
George Eliot

Thought for the day

All men seek one goal: success or happiness. The only way to achieve true success is to express yourself completely in service to society. First, have a definite, clear, practical ideal--a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends--wisdom, money, material and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.
Author: Aristotle

Inspiration from the One-Minute Writer

This year I made a resolution to write more. I really enjoy it. But I know in order to cultivate something you have to practice it. So I found the One- Minute Writer Blog (great blog BTW!), that gives you writing prompts to get you started. I will try to do this daily for content ideas until I can begin thinking on my own : )

Today's prompt was:
Can money buy happiness?

January 8, 2009

Yesterday I had a Fabulous day ! I went shopping for new skincare products and found the Fountain of Youth! It is an all natural skin care line made with Dead Sea salts and minerals and after one application I can tell the difference. I renewed my commitment to myself this year that I would be proactive in taking care of me. I do well with taking care of everyone else as I am a nurse, but had not ever made myself a priority. Since I have begun to do so last October I feel so much better and as a consequence the quality of my relationships has improved! Here is the website to the products I bought: www.seacret.com Check it out! You will be impressed!

Inspiration for January 7, 2009

Inspirational quote of the day

Set priorities for your goals. A major part of successful living lies in the ability to put first things first. Indeed, the reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.
—Unknown Author

January 6,2009

Hello there! Been a few days of craziness in my new year! I have been offline due to suffering with tendonitis in my right forearm. I never knew pain until now...i just want it to GO AWAY! But I am learning alot about my body and reactions to pain that I am sure will benefit me in the long run.

My mini black and white art gallery

What I am reading

Tim Gunn's Fashion Advice

Tim Gunn's 10 Essential Elements
Must-Have Basic Wardrobe Pieces for Any Woman
© Kelly Whitt

Sep 14, 2007

On Bravo's TV show Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, the star outlines a shopping list for clothing that make a good foundation for any woman's wardrobe.

The Ten Essential Wardrobe Elements as devised by Tim Gunn are practical pieces around which you can build your wardrobe. Tim Gunn is the star of a reality makeover television show on Bravo called Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. He became well known from Bravo's hit TV show Project Runway, where he counseled contestants on their stylish creations.

The Ten Elements are mostly classic pieces, but what's important is whether they fit you properly, are not outdated, and bring out your best features. The following is the shopping list of Tim Gunn's 10 essential items, with helpful hints from this article's author. If you would like more advice from Tim Gunn, read his book A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style or watch his show on the Bravo channel on Thursday nights.

Basic Black Dress - The basic black dress has been around for a long time. It is often called the "Little Black Dress", and it's true that shorter skirts on the basic black dress, when they hit you in the right place, can be more flattering than a long black dress.
Trench Coat - The trench coat is one of the pieces that is both classic and currently a hot fashion item. Most any store sells this piece now. It is great for fall and you can pick it up in a wide range of lengths.
Dress Pants - Although it doesn't say black, this is probably what you want to look for. Black is flattering on all figures and goes with everything.
Classic Shirt - The white shirt is a definite classic. But it can also come in many different styles to make it look trendy and not dated or like a man's piece of clothing. Find one that accentuates your best attributes and minimizes trouble spots. For example, if you have wide shoulders, stay away from large collars.
Jeans - Everyone has a pair of jeans, but does everyone have a pair of jeans that make them look great? The wider leg, low-rise jean style has been popular (and still is) but a narrower leg is coming back along with a higher waist, which eliminates the unflattering "muffin top" look.
Any Occasion Top - Find something you look great in that can look respectable under a jacket but bring on the fun after hours.
Skirt - If you need dress pants then you also need a skirt. A skirt is womanly and can be flirty or businesslike. Nowadays women do not wear many skirts or dresses, which makes a lot of them fall into a rut of dressing sloppily or like men. See number 8.
Day Dress - Women also are not wearing as many dresses anymore. It was certainly liberating to go from the '50s when women wore dresses every day to wearing more practical pants for gardening, exercising, and so forth. But the dress does not have to be abandoned altogether. They can be very flattering, and there is nothing wrong with "dressing up" for daytime.
Jacket - A jacket does not have to be masculine. Find one with a proper, fitted shape. Women's jackets should follow the silhouette of a woman's body and accent the hourglass curve at her waist. It is also a perfect piece to put with the skirt or dress pants, and white shirt. Or make it casual with a pair of jeans.
Sweatsuit Alternative - As mentioned before, women wear fewer skirts and dresses these days. But some women have taken casual to the extreme and spend days on end in sweatsuits. It is possible to be casual and comfortable without looking like a slob. Find a comfortable material (that's why this doesn't say jeans again – denim is not as comfortable as a nice soft cotton) that you would want to wear every day. It could be khakis, cords, a cotton dress, or much more.
Bonus: One Indulgent Trendy Item

(In the second season, the Jacket replaces the Blazer on Tim's list, and the Any Occasion Top replaces the Cashmere Sweater.)

Now comes the fun part. Go shopping! Use this list as a basic guide to forming your wardrobe. When you want to have fun with new styles and colors, try it in your accessories: purses, shoes, and jewelry.

What resolution will you not make this year because you know you'd probably break it?

I will not make resolutions in general. But just declarations of what I know I can do. I will not set myself up for failure, but instead lay the foundation for success.

Happy New Year's Day!

This year this is my motto. To live simply but richly, to spend more time investing in others and less in things that do not matter in the long run. To live creatively and love deeply and boldly, to take risks and to step out in the unknown. To learn more and worry less, to talk more to God and less to people who are involved with their own issues, to be less of what the world wants and to be more of me.