May health and happiness be with you during the Year of the Monkey.
Xin Nian Kuai Le!… Continue reading
life
Go Green: Make Zero Waste Drinks at Home
Each week I take my boys to story time at our local library. And every week at story time, I see lots of caregivers drinking their beverage of choice in a disposable cup from a local coffee shop.
Not only is this very expensive, but it’s also tough on the environment. I don’t know the exact price of a to-go coffee at a coffee shop as I haven’t been in one for years, but I’m certain it’s more than I spend at home for my organic, fair-trade beverage of choice.… Continue reading
Simplify Saturday: Don’t Shop Unless you Need Something
Some people shop recreationally. In fact, a lot of people shop recreationally. In all honesty, I was raised in a family of recreational window shoppers. While my family rarely had money to spend on extras, one of my mom’s favorite past times was (is!) window shopping.
However, I quickly left that by the wayside once I ventured out on my own.… Continue reading
You Know You’ve Given Away a Lot of Stuff When….
It’s no secret that I’ve been slowly working to simplify my life. Whether it’s decluttering my home, my schedule, or my mind, I’ve been seeking out ways to get rid of the superfluous so that I can focus on what’s truly meaningful and important to me.
While I’ve had a lot of discussions with my 6-year-old about our simplification efforts, and included him in a lot of our decluttering – especially when his possessions (see HERE), art (see HERE), or other items he’s concerned about are involved, I haven’t overtly directly discussed most of this with my 2-year-old.… Continue reading
Simplify Saturday: Cultivate Equanimity
Life sometimes throws difficult things our way. Unexpected events occur; at times these are pleasant and at other times they are not. We all face hardships in some form or another (for example, a litigious person may threaten you with an unwarranted lawsuit — see HERE). People around us will make mistakes and there will be instances when we will be negatively impacted by them.… Continue reading
A Rose by Any Other Name: Renaming Everyday Mindful Living
For the last few weeks I’ve been heavy in thought, about the current status of my website, about where I want to go with it, and – mostly – about its name.
You see, I received a letter from the lawyers representing the Mindful Living Network, LLC threatening to sue me for my use of the name Everyday Mindful Living.… Continue reading
Simplify Saturday: Know When to Take a Break
Our lives all have different seasons. Some seasons are busier than others. This true over the course of years. It is also true over the course of weeks.
You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting daily on my blog for the last couple of weeks. During this time, a several unexpected things have occurred. (I’ll post more about one big issue that arose in the coming week or two).… Continue reading
Happy Thanksgiving: Celebrating What We’re Thankful For
About two weeks ago my 6-year-old asked if we could bring in our holiday lights from the garage and hang them up around the house.
I responded, “Sweetie, Christmas isn’t for a long time yet. Why don’t we wait until the day after Thanksgiving to put them up. Let’s enjoy one holiday at a time.”
He quickly turned to me with astonishment flashing in his eyes and answered, “Mama, I don’t want to put lights up for Christmas right now.… Continue reading
Life: Welcoming our First Big Snowfall
This may not be our first snowfall of the season (our first snow was only a dusting; see HERE), but today we woke up to our first snowfall with more than a symbolic significance.
This morning when we looked out the windows, we saw several inches of snow. It blanketed the trees, covered the deck, and was plenty to spend multiple sessions playing in throughout the day.… Continue reading
Celebrating our First Snowfall of the Season
We’ve known that the first snowfall of the season could hit at any time for a while now. We’ve had it snow as early as September here at our Rocky Mountain home, so making it until early November without snow actually feels a bit luxurious.
Last month my 6-year-old excitedly asked if we could celebrate the first snowfall with sledding and making maple candy (recipe HERE).… Continue reading