Have you ever been to a book store and a book just jumps out at you?  Well, that happens to me quite often and yesterday provided me with a fabulous book called “The Power of Flow.”

What’s really fun is that it talks about the very thing of books jumping out at you, thinking of someone and then they call you, or other ways synchronicity weaves itself into our lives.

What excites me the most is finally finding a book that expresses how I live my life… with grace, ease and joy!  There is always room for expansion, so I feel like this book will also help me bring more of this into my life.

Flow is the natural, effortless unfolding of our life in a way that moves us toward wholeness and harmony.

Sounds pretty great, doesn’t it?

You are invited on this journey with me.  Would you like to be my “Flow Partner” and read it with me?

I have so many “flow” stories to share with you…one being our experience in moving to Hawaii, so keep your eyes open for that in the future.  So many of our friends were able to witness that first hand!  Something as magical as that is possible for us all.

Enjoy!

Lavender Lemonade
——————————————————————————–
Recipe By: The Way of the Happy Woman
Serving Size: 4

This refreshing tonic won’t sap your energy during the midafternoon heat.  For a  more festive version use sparking, rather than spring water.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup lavender, dried
2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup agave
8 lemons
5 cups cool water

Directions:

1. Place lavender in a bowl, and pour the boiling water over it. Steep for 10 minutes. Strain out the lavender and discard it.

2. Mix agave into the hot lavender water. 

3. Juice the lemons in a pitcher, and add the cool water and hot lavender water.

4. Refrigerate for about an hour, or serve right away over ice.

Eating Local in Hawaii is easy!

It is hard to believe that it has only been a week since we moved to Hawaii.  So much has happened and while we are living in a hotel, I feel home.

Before I go into some fun details, I have to tell you that I love this place more than I thought I could.  And for many of you, you know how much I was excited to be here so that is saying a lot!  The people are extremely friendly and the lifestyle is really laid back.  Canada prepared us well!

For once in my life I feel like I have access to everything my heart wants… beautiful sunny days, walking distance to the beach, shops, starbucks, vegan restaurants, vegetarian grocery stores, book stores, yoga, running paths, active & healthy community, friendly people, and more yet to be discovered. In a short driving distance you can be in the mountains, or at a secluded beach and smaller communities.  I really feel like I am in paradise.

We have spent a majority of the first week looking for a place to live.  The very first place we fell in love with, but it was a condo and was way too small.  Plus it wouldn’t allow for us to keep the garage furniture and tools, etc. So, we looked on.  I can’t remember how many homes we looked at but we were very discouraged in the kinds of homes we were seeing.  Nothing compared to the first condo.  So, guess what!? After looking at our wish list, we realized that the condo would provide everything plus more.  Realizing that we really wanted a “maintenance free” living experience and to simplify, it didn’t make sense to have all the garage items to fix things.  We are both in a good place emotionally to let go of even more stuff so we can live in this beautiful condo.  Anyone want a lawnmower?  At this point we are waiting to hear back about the offer that we put in July 3rd.

Click here to see more about the condo facility.

Click here to see the unit we want to buy.

Besides looking for our future home, we have been loving Whole Foods and Down To Earth which are both amazing grocery stores here.  We have actually eaten a lot of meals at their deli, too!  Down to Earth is a local chain that is all vegetarian.

The other big news is that we finally got iPhones!!  We have been waiting several years to have these.  DeWayne is using it more than he ever thought and I love knowing that I have freedom to be wherever I want to be and connect with my friends.  Let me know if you need our new phone numbers.

And in a few minutes, I will be attending my first networking meeting as a sub for our realtor.  I wasn’t expecting to get started this soon promoting SendOutCards, but I am going with the flow!  I will be her sub for the month of July.  It will be a great way for me to meet other people and connect, which is what I love doing!

The park across the street from our condo!

Now that the house hunting is over, we are going to be able to relax and really take in what Hawaii has to offer.  On our agenda is a hike in the mountains, taking a surfing class, learn how to do the standup board, go to a couple yoga classes, going to a vegan potluck, and explore other amazing restaurants.  I’m sure I will get my bookstore fix, too!

Until next time…

Enjoy a simple holiday!

With the holiday season upon us, I realized that while everyone’s life becomes hectic and stressful, mine becomes even more peaceful and relaxing.

I realize that  you may not be able to make a lot of changes this holiday season, however I felt that sharing my experience and providing different suggestions may help you to be mindful about what you want to create for next year.

My story

Over ten years ago was my first holiday away from family.  My hubby and I decided to celebrate our one year anniversary on a cruise, which happened to fall over the Christmas season.  It was really hard for me to separate myself from my family, but I was also very excited for something new.

At some point we decided to buy gifts for everyone on our trip.  We spent our entire time at one of our port days looking for the perfect gifts.  We were exhausted AND we didn’t get to take in any of the activities that were planned because we were busy shopping. So needless to say, I don’t remember much about the place we visited and we only had 3 port days.

When we got home the real job began by getting everything ready to be mailed.  I had to take it to a special packaging place because of things being fragile, odd shaped, and heavy.  Unfortunately, we didn’t take all of that into consideration when we were shopping.  The packaging and the shipping came to an outrageous amount that was more than the actual gifts we were sending.  I couldn’t believe it.

Looking back I wish we would have just enjoyed our trip and bypassed gifts all together.

Another story relates to holiday cards.  Keeping in touch with friends have always been important to me and holiday cards was something that I just did year to year.  It probably took me several weeks to do my cards because I hand wrote personal messages in every card.  It felt wasteful and meaningless for me to just sign my name.  One year I realized I was sending over 90 cards and the list was only going to grow.  It was another moment of amazement.  It had become a job and I no longer enjoyed it.

Both of these stories allowed me the opportunity to give myself permission to do something different and explore what I really wanted my holiday seasons to be for me.

Then I took appropriate action based on what I wanted, communicated it with my family and was consistent with my actions.  I also have allowed myself to be open and evolve so my holiday season can reflect what I want and need as I evolve as a person.  Now I take into account how the holiday season impacts the environment, which wasn’t a factor several years ago.

As you read this, I encourage you to give yourself permission to do things differently (or the same), explore what you enjoy and don’t enjoy about the holiday season, take appropriate actions to make it more enjoyable, communicate and be consistent with family and friends, and then allow your holidays to evolve.

Before we begin I want to share a few holiday statistics with you.

Reasons to Simplify

• 5 MILLION of extra tons of trash is produced in the U.S. each year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
• It takes an average of 4 months for a credit card user to pay off holiday bills.
• The holiday season these days seems less a time of tradition, family and faith than a consumerist binge. And the hidden financial, environmental, and human costs of the commercialization of the holidays are now coming to light: 96% of 8-to-12-year-olds included a big screen TV on their 1997 holiday wish list. But 73% of parents would like to limit their children’s TV watching.
• The day on which holiday sales peak varies depending upon which day of the week Christmas falls upon, but the highest sales day is usually either the last Saturday before Christmas or December 23

This last one tells me there is a lot of last minute, pressured, stressful shopping going on!

1- Making a List and Checking it Twice

What do you love about the holiday season?

What stresses you out about the holiday season?

Solutions to reduce the stressors are:

2- Gift Giving Solutions

This is a pretty important topic.  Not only can it be challenging to find the right gift for a person, we know from personal experience gifts themselves can become clutter.  AND the they often come with strings attached with some sort of expectation of having it displayed, worn, or kept no matter what.

The following gift suggestions will help alleviate a lot of the pressure, while making it more enjoyable for the giver and receiver.

• Gift of Time–(baby/pet sitting, help with a project, teach a skill you may have, make a meal)
• Gift of Activity/vacation (yoga, concerts, photography class,
• Locally made gifts–may require some research, but you could find some amazing products
• Hand delivered gifts (reduce online/catalog shopping)
• Themes–(hand made; under $5; only stocking stuffers, games or puzzles, etc.)
• Gift of Service (house cleaning, massage, landscaping,
• Wish Lists
• Gifts from your home–alarm clocks, cookbooks, toys, books, picture frames etc.
• Gift cards (iTunes, Netflix, Bookstores, coffee shops, movies, etc.)
• Ten Green Toys for the Holiday (http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/shopunshop/10GreenToys.cfm)
• No Gifts
• Give them permission to let go of the gift when it no longer serves them.

3- Gift Wrapping

Americans spend close to $3 billion per year on wrapping paper!  So, instead how about using old maps, cloth napkins, reusable cloth bags, newsprint to wrap your gifts, hide gift for a scavenger hunt?

4- Greeting Cards

• Divide list: odd & even years
• Combine your letters and cards in one
• Address labels
• SimplifyMyCards.com- This is the service I use for my cards. It is easy, fast, inexpensive and personalized cards.
• Don’t do cards at all

5- Decorating

• Try having a decoration party to put up and to take down the decorations.
• Have a different symbol each year as the focus.
• Only decorate one room.
• Organize your decorations based on the room of the house they will be displayed and take a picture so anyone can decorate your space.
• Keep in mind decorations should bring you joy when you look at them; if they don’t, it is time to pass them along to someone else who will enjoy them.
• Go enjoy other places that are decorated all out for the holiday season.  We just spent the weekend at a resort that had huge decorated trees and holiday lights everywhere.

6- TV Freedom.

• Turn the TV off during the holiday season.
• Reserve time with the TV to show holiday movies that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

7- Hire it done

• Cleaning before and after the party
• Local cooks to make dessert or main meal
• Outdoor decorations

8- Social Events

• Pick one or two to attend
• As host, have only a dessert and drinks instead of meal

9- Financial Abundance

• Explore how much you have spent during the holiday season (plane tickets, gifts, food, decorations, etc.)
• Create a holiday savings account and place money in it each month.

10- Tree

• Plant a tree
• Use an outdoor tree to decorate
• Treecycling 101
• Picking the Greenest Tree

11- Organize?

Having a more cheery holiday doesn’t automatically come with being more organized.  The key is this: the less you have, the less you expect, and the less you commit to will allow you to be more organized and in the process feel more peace and cheer with the holidays.

12-Communication

• Know what you want and why
• Share in advance with your family and friends so they have time to process what you are sharing
• Be prepared for different responses
• Be consistent
• Be open to include other’s ideas to make them feel a part of the new tradition

Have a Green Holiday

How can you contribute to a more eco-friendly holiday by taking the following into consideration?

• Gift wrap
• Trees
• Ornaments
• Energy
• Cards
• Gift Giving

Okay…now what?

List at least one thing you are going to do differently to create the holiday you want.

What is your next step?

Resources to Simplify Your Holiday

These resources have helped me along my simplicity journey.

Story of Stuff Great video that will inspire you to have less stuff in your life.

Holiday Survival Kit by NewDream.org

Recycle Trees, and other holiday items

www.SimplifyMyCards.com

Ten Green Toys for the Holiday

Skipping Christmas by Jon Grisham. A fun little story to get you thinking about your own holiday rituals.

“Simplify Your Christmas” by Elaine St. James.  The tips and ideas can be applied to every holiday.

May your holidays be filled with peace, love, and simple abundance!

Simple Living is Beautiful.

I often find it fun to see where our inspiration takes us when we allow ourselves to be guided.  One morning last week, I felt compelled to re-read  ”Simplify Your Life” by Elaine St. James in one sitting.  Because I have been on this simplifying journey for quite some time, I enjoyed seeing how far I have come.  But what I REALLY enjoyed was seeing a few areas I can still simplify even more.

Some of the things on the list will be for our future home(s) and experiences, but I wrote them down so I can be mindful of the transition. Plus I can now let go f the book and pass it along to a friend who is also looking at ways to simplify her life.

So, here are the things I want to bring into my life.

1. Have no lawn, or at least a small one.  Right now we have a very natural setting.  I want to make sure this is something we find in our future homes.
2. Move to a smaller home.
3. Share meals out.
4. Take vacations at home.  We did that this Thanksgiving and really enjoyed ourselves!
5. Reduce the needs for goods/services.
6. Go take a walk.
7. Get up an hour earlier.  I find that I am really good with this for a week, and then I slide into sleeping in, because I can.
8. Be in bed by 9:00 one night a week.
9. Slow down to posted speed limit.
10. Review life regularly to keep it simple.
11. Rent rather than own.  I know we are ready for a home-ownership break, so the next place we move may be a rental.  We will see how we like that experience.
12. Simple wardrobe.
13. Let go of all skin care and nutritional products.  This has proven to be more freeing than I ever imagined.  Don’t worry, I am being very mindful of the food I am eating, so I know I am getting what I need (wink.) While I realize this would not make it simple for others, it has definitely made my life more simple and natural.

So, how do you see yourself simplifying your life? Maybe it is letting go of unused items, turning off the TV, do yoga, learn to meditate, work less, or something else I mentioned above.

Whatever you decide, it is important to remember it is a process and a learning experience.  In my opinion, it is definitely worth it.  I love the simple life I have defined for myself.

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people istheir impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you.

Consider this:

Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don’t follow anyone who’s not going anywhere.

With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it. Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along theroad of life. Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.

“A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.”

The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate – for the good and the bad.

Note: Be not mistaken. This is applicable to family as well as friends. Yes…do love, appreciate and be thankful for your family, forthey will always be your family no matter what. Just know that they are human first and though they are family to you, they may be a friend to someone else and will fit somewhere in the criteria above.

“In Prosperity Our Friends Know Us. In Adversity We Know Our friends. Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them. If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude”.

Colin Powell
American Statesman and Four Star General in the United States Army

Wouldn’t it be nice to be the one that always remembers other people’s birthdays?

If this sounds appealing to you, there are several ways you can make this happen.

You can…

1. Keep your birthday list visible on your refrigerator, inside your pantry, or bathroom mirror.
2. Buy a birthday book that will list everyone’s birthdays each month.
3. Create a tickler system where you buy all your cards each month and place a birthday card in the day you want to mail it.

Or better yet, you can do what I do and use www.simplifymycards.com.

Not only do I have access to all the cards at my fingertips, I am also reminded of someone’s birthday 7 days before!  AND I can even send a gift with the real greeting card!

Since using this service, I have sometimes been the ONLY person who has sent an actual greeting card to my friends on their birthday.  And many times, my cards arrive ON their special day.

To me, there is no easier way to keep track of people’s birthdays and sending them a fun card. It’s simple, fun, inexpensive and it WORKS!

It feels good knowing I am the person in someone’s life who always remembers their birthday.

Want to know what it feels like? Simply visit www.simplifymycards.com and send a card to someone who has a birthday coming up.  It’s my gift to you!

P.S. My birthday is July 17th. (I couldn’t resist!)

As crazy as that is, I am just going with it….

Recently I have changed most of my passwords to reflect positive messages I want to remind myself of every day.  I love getting that extra dose  of inspiration and nice reminders so much, that I had to share the idea with you!

Examples of some great inspiring passwords (to get your creative juices flowing) are…

• Iamabundant
• santosha (sanskrit for contentment)
• thisismyyear
• behappy
• iamhealthy
• focusfocusfocus

As much as I would love to know your inspirational passwords, it is probably best not to share them here… just in case.  But, it would be great to know if you do this and what a difference it makes in your life.

This is such a simple thing we can do to remind us of what we want in our life.  Mine makes me smile every time.

Well, I did it.  I have made the transition from being an organizing coach to unlimited possibilities.

It is an exciting and new place for me.

Right now, I envision myself writing about living green, simplifying, creating financial freedom, and living in the flow.

I am sure there will be other topics, too. Right now I just want my creative juices to flow without being confined to one topic.

So if you are up for the adventure with me, I would love to share!