Transform

"Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." - William Arthur Ward

Found this quote on a blog I came across yesterday... Awesomely Awake.  It is filled with inspiration for us all, I can't wait to start receiving posts in my email box!  

Ideals

The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty and truth.  The trite subjects of human efforts, possessions, outward success, luxury have always seemed to me contemptible.  -Albert Einstein

Act

"The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service."  -Henry Wandsworth Longfellow

It's mid december and time for me to start thinking about my Christmas shopping.  Every year I am torn about what to do, if anything, for gifts.  This year I have found multiple websites where my purchases will not only make wonderful gifts for all my family and friends but will also give to those in great need.  Check out the links on your left under FOR A BETTER WORLD  My favorite, One Hope Wine.  I am impressed by how much of the proceeds go to the actually charities!  Since almost everyone on my list enjoys wine, this will make the perfect gift and help others in need.

Stumble Upon

"Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it.  I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down." - Charles F. Kettering

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Gather Your Gifts

"Sometimes it rains on sunny days.  The sparkling sun-christened drops create a charming sight.  With out-stretched arms and open hands, supplicate the skies and gather your gifts.  Welcome each drop that falls from the heavens.  The sun showers justice and mercy, gain and loss.  Be grateful.  Be patient.  Wait for the next good thing to come, knowing that it will, knowing that the bad will pass - knowing that there is no darkness, only the absence of light."  -Noelle Carmelier, From the book If Tree's Could Talk by Carol Doemel.

Gratitude

"What is life?  It is the flash of a firefly in the night.  It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.  It is in the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself at sunset." - Crowfoot Blackfeet

For me, life is a precious gift.  Gratitude for this life I have been given is my saving grace.  I need nothing other than this.

Old Friend

"But then fall comes, kicking summer out on it's treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed.  It settles in the way an old friend would settle into your favorite chair and takes out it's pipe and lights it and then fills the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since he last saw you." -Stephen King, 'Salem's Lot

New Day

"Tomorrow is a new day.  You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

You're always only a moment away from the living the life you want to live.  And there's nothing like a good nights sleep to help refresh your spirit.  Jai MAA!  

Courage

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are" - E.E. Cummings

Have the courage to be your authentic self.  Love yourself fully, unconditionally.

Desire

"I arrise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." - E.B. White

Pickled Peppers

"We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are." -Adelle Davis

The first of many pickling adventures!  I am so excited that I actually preserved something and can't wait to try it again.  I used Alton Browns pickling method but switched up the recipe slightly based on the ingredients I had on hand.  I tried a few {before sending the jar to the fridge for the pickling magic to happen} and THEY ARE AWESOME!  Up next... Cucumbers!  

Pathways

"You only are where you are and you can't be anywhere else." -Ryan Murphy

Appreciate who you are, and where you are, as you journey to your best path.  Breath deeply, often.   

Impact

"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds.  A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship , and he who plants kindness gathers love."  -Saint Basil

Some days I find myself wondering why.  Why do I put so much thought and effort into living minimally?  Is it worth it?  I do believe that no act, no matter how small, is worthless.  I will most likely never know if I am making a positive impact on the world and the people in it.  Still, I will continue to live minimally and try and inspire others to do the same.  

"New" Toys

My children LIVE for getting new toys.  About once a month, we gather up all the toys in our house that we have outgrown and take them to our local Goodwill store.  They can then pick 1 "new" toy to bring home.  Yesterday my son hit the jackpot, a gently used, fully functioning, Fisher Price castle.  He has been playing with it non-stop.  I am hoping that the kids are learning to indulge in their wants of "things" in an environmentally responsible way.  It feels good supporting our local Goodwill, too.

If Tree's Could Talk

If Trees Could Talk by Carol Doemel

Book Description:The industries, politics, and policies of an emerging nation shape the Karlson family in both the 1800 and 1900s and set into motion a chain of events that will rewrite their history for decades to come. A novel of mystery, suspense, and revelation. Wisconsin, early 1900s. The yearning to know an absent mother sets Sunny Karlson on a path of discovery that leads to disturbing revelations. As she seeks to unravel her parents’ past, a startling tale of intersecting lives, ever circling and overlapping, leads to all the missing pieces. Past and present weave together to create a compelling story of friendship, betrayal, and love—and of sojourns to scary places. Set in the beauty of Wisconsin landscapes, the story spans generations, telling the big story that only trees can tell—heartrending, humorous, and wholly satisfying.

I fell in love with this book from the first page.  Full of beautiful and inspiring quotes, characters and settings.  

Clothes

Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or do Without.

This will be my motto regarding clothing for the next 3 months.  My goal is to not buy a single piece of clothing for the entire summer.  This blog pretty much sums up my reasons for it.  Another great blog about not buying clothing, as well as living minimally, can be found here.   

Useful, Beautiful.

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." 

- William Morris

Here is another quote that I absolutely love.  As a recovering compulsive shopper and former pack rat, I had accumulated way to much stuff over the years.  This quote has very simply helped me to decide weather an item in my home stays, or goes.  Keeping my old stuff out of landfills is a must, so if it couldn't be sold on Craigs List, or it wasn't something that could go to Goodwill, then it went up on Freecycle.  Check It Out.  People will come to your house and pick up almost anything!  Half used toiletries and unwanted (but still edible) food are quick to go!  If you're not comfortable with them coming to your house, have them meet you at a busy parking lot out in public.  You don't even have to come face to face with the person you are giving your stuff to.  Just email them to come pick it up on your curb at a designated time.  Here is a great "How To" page about Freecycling.

Simply Live

"Live simply so others may simply live." -Mother Theresa

This is quite possibly my favorite quote.  A gentle reminder that the world is much bigger than my immediate surroundings.  That the things I do in my world have an impact on the whole.  A challenge and reminder to slow down and let only the essential into my life.  Some more information about living simply can be found at We Live Simply.

Choice

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

Everyday we choose what to fill the world with.  What are you contributing?

Stuff

Studies are in, consumerism is bad for our planet.  Check out this fascinating video: The Story of Stuff.  I viewed it for the first time about 3 years ago.  It completely changed the way I view "things".