Take a Break From Reality (TV)
I know I’ve talked (raved!) about Spiritual Cinema Circle
in the past but I felt compelled to mention it again. SCC is a monthly subscription to inspirational and spiritual
films. Each DVD includes three short films and one feature film. Every
month I look forward to receiving the DVD in the mail. I plan time to
sit down (sans kids) to watch the short films on one night and the feature on
another night. This gives me time to watch the discussion after each film.
I’m very excited about a new series they launched called Encounters: Portraits of Inspiring Lives.
The August DVD featured an interview with Jack Canfield followed by a short presentation
where he takes viewers through some exercises to get in touch with what brings
them joy in each area of their lives. Encounters
will feature a different personal growth expert every other month in the
Circle.
If you haven’t experienced the Spiritual Cinema Circle, give it a try for
free here.
Time to Eat – A Weekly Time Saving Tip and Recipe
I love to eat out but it is expensive! Go to restaurant.com
to buy $25 gift certificates for just $10. Another
cannot be used on the same visit. So, you are getting $25 off your
second visit.
From the May issue of Everyday Food Magazine
8 oz dried, wide and flat rice noodles
2 T dark-brown sugar
2 T fresh lime juice plus wedges for serving
3 T soy sauce (we use Bragg Liquid Aminos)
2 tsp vegetable oil (we use olive oil)
3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly
sliced
1 garlic glove, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten (optional)
½ cup fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts
Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain, in
small bowl, whisk brown sugar, lime juice and soy sauce.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add
scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30
seconds. Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with a rubber spatula, until eggs
are almost set, about 30 seconds. Transfer egg mixture to a plate. Add noodles
and soy-sauce mixture to skillet; cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are
soft and coated with sauce, about 1 minute. Add egg mixture and toss to coat,
breaking eggs up gently. Serve noodles with lime wedges, topped with cilantro
and peanuts. Find this recipe online here.
We added Chicken to this recipe. We used a teriyaki marinade
and grilled it, sliced it and added it at the end.
Time to Eat – A Weekly Time Saving Tip and Recipe
This week’s tip: If you have kids at home during the summer,
set up a schedule and structure to your day similar to how your kids’ school
day is organized.
My kids are usually home with me 2 days a week during the
summer. On those days we schedule our activities with frequent breaks, similar
to my daughter's 1st grade school schedule. This included school work that her
teacher sent home for the summer. It’s so important to keep kids active in math
and reading during the summer since so much is forgotten during that time.
We
have limited T.V. and computer time, reading, journaling, art, outside time,
snack time and “choice time” where she gets to choose what she wants to do. We
also schedule our lunch together and have quiet time during her brother’s nap
so she can read or play quietly in her room. This allows me some time to catch
up on work, personal business or household chores. She enjoys the variety of
activities and that I am engaged with her throughout the day. We also make
weekly trips to the library and plan other “field trips”. I’ve noticed a huge
difference in her behavior because of this schedule. My daughter thrives on
structure. She needs the routine and change in activities to keep her active
both mentally and physically. This reduces boredom and the inevitable meltdown.
Feta salad
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ c. chopped grape, cherry or Roma tomatoes
2 c. cooked white rice
1 (4-oz.) pkg. crumbled feta cheese
½ c. chopped celery
½ c. chopped green onion
½ c. Italian dressing
Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
31 Days of Fun: Day 11 – Cooking and Eating
I have been eating Gluten and Dairy Free for about a month (with the rare exception of some extra sharp cheddar or bleu cheese). A girl can't give up everything! Oh, how I love cheese. I don't eat processed foods and have eliminated almost all sugar. I have also been eating the "Weight and Wellness Way". I eat protein, good carbs (which includes vegetables) and healthy fats at every meal and snack. It's been fun to try new foods and recipes. The best part is when something so good for you tastes so amazing. To me, food is fun!
Movie Review: The Shift with Dr. Wayne Dyer
Dr. Wayne Dyer is a legend in the self help genre. He is a
world renowned author and speaker who has written over 30 books. This is his
first film and hopefully not his last.
In The Shift, a
movie within a movie, Dr. Dyer plays himself. He is working with a film crew to
create a movie about a change in consciousness called The Shift. The concept of
The Shift is that we start out our lives based in our egos. Our focus is on achievement
and acquiring things. In “the afternoon of our lives”, as Dr. Dyer calls it, we
often experience a shift. Our thinking and priorities change from “What can I get?”
to “How can I serve?”
While Dr. Dyer interacts with his film crew and creates his
film, we see three other stories unfold. While there is minimal contact between
these characters, we feel a connection. They are all shifting to focus on what
truly matters. The Shift is set at Asilomar, an amazing resort in
Kerr.
The movie was the feature film in the November 2009 Spiritual Cinema Circle. It is available from Hay House and Amazon.
Book Review: Getting Organized in the Google Era
I just finished reading “Getting Organized in the Google
Era”. It was written by Douglas Merrill, the former Chief Information Officer of
Google. Merrill has a Ph.D. in cognitive science. He offers a lot of
information about how our brains works and the way we think to determine why we
are disorganized. Basically, our lack of organizing skills is not our fault.
Our brains just weren’t meant to deal with all of the information we try to handle. Merrill shares many interesting and often
humorous stories. Stories, he says, are a great way to help us remember things.
He focuses on 21 principles of organizing. He covers some of
the basics like avoid multitasking, group similar task and break big projects
into smaller ones. He also challenges us to think outside of the traditional
“get organized” box by sharing that he avoids filing and keeps piles on his
desk. He relies on the search function instead of taking the time to set up
separate folders on his computer and in his cloud.
Throughout the book he tells us that his way is not the only
way and it may not be right for everyone. It does offer a new perspective on
organizing and I can say that I have implemented several of his concepts into
my own system.
This book is a whole lot of Google! It really appears to me
to be as much a Google How-To manual and Google advertisement as it is an
organizing book. What did I expect from a book called “Getting Organized in the
Google Era”, written by the former CIO of Google?
Merrill explains that he doesn’t use or recommend Google
tools because he worked there. He believes they are the best for what they do
and they continue to improve. He does offer many other options for the concepts her recommends.
Even if you’re not sold on cloud computing or Google tools,
I think it’s a good read with a lot of great resources and ideas. By far my
favorite principle in the book is that “work-life balance” is just not
possible. Merrill says “Integrate work with life instead of trying to balance
the two.” That is just plain brilliant!
31 Days of Clearning: Day 29 – Clearning with Kids
Mya and I clearned her room last
weekend. Our main goal was to go through her toys and find items to donate to
Family and Children’s Service supply drive. We also needed to tackle the mound of papers that had accumulated on her desk.
Mya is an artist. She loves to draw, color and paint. It’s often difficult for
her to part with her artwork.
We started with the desk. I
asked her to go through every paper on her desk and decide if she would keep it
or recycle it. I had to keep reminding her that we needed to quickly decide on
what to do with the papers. She was often distracted and would start playing
with other toys. I just kept bringing her back to the task at hand. Fortunately,
when we were done, the recycle pile was much larger that the keep file. We took
the papers she wanted to keep and put them in a binder.
Next, we went through her
dress up clothes, jewelry and purses. She kept a few things but donated most of
it. Then we went through some other toys and games. It was fairly easy for her
to part with things because she knew they were going to kids who needed them.
We ended up with 3 bags to donate, 1 bag of garbage and 1 bag of recycling.
Recently we started to teach
Mya about saving money and donating to charity. We set up Dave Ramsey’s
Financial Peace Jr. system.
for certain task around the house. If she completes the tasks, she gets a
weekly “commission”. Dave Ramsey uses the word commission instead of allowance
so kids get a sense of earning the money. She gets to decide how much money she
spends, saves and donates. It is completely up to her how much goes into each
envelope but she is required to put something into the charity envelope. She
also gets to decide to what charity she wants to give. On Thursday, we will use the money she has saved for charity and purchase a few more items on the
Family and Children’s Service supply drive list. Then we’ll deliver the items
to their
office.
The learning in the
clearning – This was a great opportunity to teach Mya about giving and saving.
I’m sad to say it’s not something that I learned about until I was much older. One of the
joys of being a parent is to be able to pass on your values and help shape your
child into a responsible, resourceful adult. So far, so good.
31 Days of Clearning: Day 13 – My clearning journey so far
I've had a very productive month so far on my clearning journey. Since March 1, I have clearned:
My bedroom, my vanity, my jewelry box, Max's bedroom including his closet, toys and drawers, the coat closet, the silverware drawer, my sewing box, the medicine cabinet, the bathroom cupboards, drawers and closet.
I usually clearn every 6 months or so. I never called it clearning but I did it just the same. What amazes me is what accumulates in 6 months and what I thought was valuable 6 months ago is now not. I"m sure when I do my fall clearning I'll once again be amazed at what I held onto.
Next up, Mya's room. Now there is a project! I'm excited though, because she will be helping me and we will use this opportunity to teach her about clearning and about giving some of her things to people in need. I do love the learning in clearning.
31 Days of Clearning: Day 4 – Letting Go of Your Stuff
If you have ever seen the show Hoarders on A&E, you know that there are psychological and emotional issues involved with stuff. Many of the people featured on the show have had some kind of loss or trauma that triggered or compounded their hoarding behaviors. While most people are not hoarders to the degree we see on the show, holding on to stuff is a significant problem for a lot of people.
Some of the reasons people won’t let go are:
1. I
love it
2. I
might need it someday
3. It
was a special gift
4. It
was expensive
While you go on your Clearning journey this month there may be things you
come across that are difficult to part with. There may be an emotional attachment
or guilt involved with parting with it. The fact is that there is just not
enough room in your life or your home for everything. Focus on surrounding
yourself with things you truly need and love.
The Basic Rules:
1. If
you don’t love it, get rid of it.
2. If
you haven’t used it in a year, you probably don’t need it. Get rid of it.
3. If
you use it and need it, keep it.
4. If
you love it and have the space for it, keep it.
5. If
you love it and don’t have the space for it, create a box called re-gift/rotate.
Every so often, take out the box and either rotate an item back onto a shelf by
taking something else away or re-gift an item in the box to someone special.
A friend or professional organizer can be a great support in your journey as
well. Sometimes having someone help you who is not attached to your stuff can
give you a different perspective.
31 Days of Clearning: Day 3 – Staying in the Present Moment
One of my favorite books is Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance. I've been reading it, off and on, for the last 10 years. It's a daybook so there is a beautifully written, inspirational passage for each day of the year. I picked it up last night and read the March 1 passage about restoring serenity to your daily endeavors. Sarah described a woman who "will begin to brush her teeth only to leave the bathroom to start making her bed while she is still foaming at the mouth". She saw the unmade bed and before she could rinse her mouth, she had moved on to the next task. I'm embarrassed to say that I am guilty of the same odd, compulsive behaviors. I often have to remind myself to finish what I'm doing before moving on to the next task.
In our crazy lives, with constant distractions and commitments, it can be difficult to stay on track. This applies to every aspect of our lives, not just work. Staying in the present moment when your child is reading a book – really listening and interacting instead of daydreaming about what tasks have to get done before you can collapse into bed.
Awareness is key to overcoming this obstacle. When you find yourself becoming distracted, acknowledge it and bring yourself back. It takes practice but like any new habit, with time it becomes easier.
