10 of marc & angel's best life hacks.

i guess i'm way behind the self-improvement-blog curve,
but i just discovered marc & angel,
a too-cute california couple blogging with the maybe-overinflated,
yet-aspirational mission: "to inspire."

marc & angel hack life is a self-described
"personal development" blog featuring posts on,
well, lifehacks, as well as productivity, health, wealth,
technology & overall happiness.

what captured my attention is the quintessential
blog-post-title format marc & angel invariably use;
i think you'll see what i mean once you peruse
my personal picks for a marc & angel sampler:

:: 30 things to start doing for yourself
:: 30 things to stop doing to yourself
:: 40 extraordinary things happening right now
:: 50 questions that will free your mind
:: 30 challenges for 30 days of growth
:: 60 ways to make life simple again
:: 12 things happy people do differently
:: 10 simple truths smart people forget
:: 10 commandments for a good life
:: the 30 most satisfying simple pleasures life has to offer

thanks, angel & marc [give that girl a little top billing!] –
extremely inspirational!


image source: tara winona @ etsy.com.

'tis the season.

on one hand, i,
like you, i suspect,
loathe when it
begins to look a lot
like christmas
even before hallowe'en.

on the other hand,
i much prefer to
get a jump on the holidays earlier
rather than
have the holidays
jumping up & down on my skull later.

which is how i became
a christmas binder person.

yep. each year about this time
i begin putting my binder together,
complete with tabbed & pocketed dividers
[this week | priorities | gifts | home |
eats | cards | traditions | new year]
& printable forms to complete,
courtesy of my christmas binder guru,
cynthia ewer of organizedchristmas.com.

i discovered the "oc" about five years ago,
& began following ewer's christmas countdown plan.
the countdown begins six weeks before december 1,
& ends on 12.1, in order to give you the whole
month of december to just enjoy the holiday season
[or, in my case, to give me the whole
month of december to complete the countdown stuff
i haven't quite gotten around to just yet].

over the years, i've shaped the countdown
to fit my family's holiday
[gift closet inventory? yes.
"black friday" holiday sales planner? uh, no.],
but i still follow the basic countdown.

each week has a theme －
get organized | reality check | gifts & giving |
get cooking | decorate | celebrate －
with accompanying checklists, printable forms
& tip-filled, thought-provoking articles to read.

the site is delightfully comprehensive,
which is one of my favorite things about it －
stuff doesn't slip through the cracks of
i-can't-remember-everything-with-these-
jingle-bells-ringing-in-my-ears ...

& my other favorite thing about
organizedchristmas.com?
it's *f.r.e.e.*
yep, checklists, forms, articles －
the whole holiday tamale
is available for the sampling,
&, if you likey, then help yourself
to the santa-fied organizational smorgasbord.

so, how do you keep it all organized during
the most wonderful time of the year?
& if your answer is some sort of snort
of preposterocity, then you might want to
join me, &
embrace the binder.

think pink:
paul ecke ranch & north carolina state university's horticulture department are working together to develop a pink poinsettia which will bloom earlier in the season － in october rather than december － to help honor & promote breast-cancer awareness month. click here to read all about it.


image sources: the container store, nature & flower wallpaper

living the o life.

OK, so everybody knows I'm an unabashed Oprahphile. But writer/performer/director/yoga teacher/Chicagoan Robyn Okrant has kicked my O-bsession up a notch, living her "best life" according to Oprah's abundant advice for a full year and writing a book about it, Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk.

In a recent online article for wowowow, The Women On the Web, Okrant reveals the top ten most important lessons she learned during her O time, including:

Stop using the word "just" to describe yourself. My sister does this whenever she leaves me a voicemail － "It's just me," － and to my sweet husband's credit, he's the one who noticed and winced at it first. You're something special (this means you, Nini!), so if you've got to use it, then say, "I'm just amazing!"

Build up men. According to Oprah, "The truth is, men do need to be made to feel like they're winners. They need to be built up." According to Okrant, "Instead of being insulted by my stream of compliments, ego-boosting and gratitude, the men in my life seemed happier, more amenable to change and more relaxed." Worthwhile effort? Worth a try ...

Be conscious of waste. "Ask yourself, 'What can I do without?'" If you're interested in decluttering your life, then this is a good question to ask both before and after you acquire more, more, more.

Be nice. Okrant clarifies: Be genuinely nice.

Support other women rather than criticizing them. Quoth Okrant, "My gut response was defensiveness and finger-pointing: I even judged Oprah for judging me for being too judgmental." She eventually recognizes many of us have a bad habit of criticizing other women's choices and priorities, and realizes the woman she's most critical of is herself. Hmmm, sound familiar?

Reconnect with nature. Accepting and relating to the world around us helps keep us present. And presence is a gift, to ourselves and others around us.

So, has Oprah or another guru ever influenced you with a jewel of wisdom? Do share. :)


image source: apartment therapy

ten tips for lifelong connection.

A list to print and tuck into your wallet from the Slow Family Living blog. Co-blogger Bernadette Noll outlines the big life lesson she learned from her mom － how to make pausing and connecting more than a great idea, how to take it beyond the theoretical:

It is possible, if we put the pieces in place now: the rituals, the practices, the conversations, the pauses, the all-important SEEING of each other － it is possible to build a sustainable connection. Quite possible indeed.

Here are a few of the very tangible things [my 84-year-old mom] did and continues to do in the name of connection:

1. Write letters, send postcards every chance you get. Keep stamps in your wallet so that whenever you think of someone, you can jot them a quick note.

2. Talk it through.

3. Say sorry. Even when you’re not really sure what you’re sorry for. Be sorry there was strife. In the name of peace and love.

4. Forgive. And forget. And move on.

5. Give people a second chance. More if they’re family. And if they’re your children, give them endless chances.

6. Ask people questions about themselves. Your family and friends, and also people you meet on the street. Whether you’re at the grocery counter or the bank or the gas station, talk to people about their life.

7. Listen to the answers.

8. Make the connection when you think of making the connection. When you think of calling someone, call them right then.

9. Have extra beds for guests. Or cots. Or sleeping bags. And lots and lots of blankets.

10. If you have to choose between order and quiet or mess and noise, go for the mess and noise. It might make you a little crazy, but there’s plenty of time for order and quiet when you get old.

it's the time for the season of being.

Another New York Times piece about slow parenting . . . it must be an extraordinary movement if supersonic-speed NYC's main news source repeatedly covers it, despite the fact that it contains the word "slow"!

This fascinating article by Lisa Belkin briefly outlines the history of parenting trends over the past century or so, from diehard discipline to being buddies and everything in-between. Her conclusion is simple and profound: regardless of current, past or future trends, parents' quest to not screw up continues ad infinitum.

But my favorite part of the piece is the headline: Let the Kid Be. As a self-confessed Type A Control Freak Perfectionist, this is my biggest challenge as a mom, no contest. I incessantly urge my children to just "be you," which is all fine and dandy as long as being themselves translates into being happy and successful. The hard part, of course, is letting them be them when it means them being wrong, frustrated, disappointed, or simply a failure at something － for the moment, anyway.

I'm working on it. And I think summertime lightens the load for me a little, with its distinct lack of grades, homework, standardized testing, tardy slips and school bells. Summertime is the season of being. God bless it.

When I find myself in times of trouble

Mother Mary comes to me

speaking words of wisdom,

"Let [them] be."

Ah, I believe I've discovered my summertime anthem . . .

slow down, folks!

I do my best to listen to whatever it is The Universe is trying to tell me — preferably before it reaches the "brick bat" stage (ouch).

So when I received the link to this post from the New York Times parenting blog, Motherlode, not once, not twice, but three times last week from three different sources, I figured I had better a) read it, b) pass it on, and c) try to live it a little more. In brief, it's an e-Q&A with author Carl Honoré, father of the Slow movement, specifically about something called "Slow parenting."

I've been tuned in — on and off, actually, since slow is not my natural speed — to the Slow Parenting thang for some time, thanks to body+soul and other like-minded publications, as well as hometown resource slowfamilyliving.com. Honoré — author of The Power of Slow, In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed, and most recently, Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting — provides some gems about the basis of the Slow movement and how it applies to parenting overall and in relation to our ebbing economy.

A few of my fave excerpts from the e-interview:

"'Slow' in this context doesn't mean doing everything at a snail's pace. It means doing everything at the right speed. It implies quality over quantity, real and meaningful human connections, being present and in the moment.

"To me, Slow parenting is about bringing balance into the home. Slow parents give their children plenty of time and space to explore the world on their own terms. They keep the family schedule under control so that everyone has enough downtime to rest, reflect and just hang out together. They accept that bending over backwards to give children the best of everything may not always be the best policy.

"Slow parents understand that childrearing should not be a cross between a competitive sport and product development. It's not a project; it's a journey.

"In these belt-tightening times, and after a period of wild and reckless spending, maybe people will begin to rediscover the simple pleasures in life. For families, that means spending time together that doesn't revolve around buying stuff, following a schedule or building the perfect resume.

"This transition will be hard, because we are all so marinated in the idea that we have to push, polish and protect our kids with superhuman zeal, that we have to strain every sinew in our bodies and stretch every dollar we earn to the breaking point, to give them the best of everything and make them the best at everything. But with time, I think many parents will feel relieved that they have been liberated from the tyranny of supplying the perfect childhood."

I find the notion that we shouldn't be trying to give our children the best of everything fascinating and refreshing . . . and you??

good advice for not-so-good times.

from author and speaker Mimi Doe, the woman behind Spiritual Parenting:

Don't let the fear that currently enfolds our world seep into your heart.

Rather than reading the newspaper or watching the evening news,
try reading inspiring books, watching incredible talks at www.TED.com, or creating simple evenings with your family.

Find ways to keep joy alive in your household even though you may be worried about your job or your savings may be depleted.
Trust that this is a time rich with opportunity for you and for your family, and that you are in the right place at the right time.

one little word 2009.

Among my favorite blogs to frequent is {A} by scrapbooking celebrity (yes, Virginia, there is such a creature) Ali Edwards. Not only do I love Ali's approach to scrapbooking, but also her approach to life. I'm continually awed by her dedication to living an authentically creative and subsequently beautiful, meaningful life.

My favorite thing about Ali is she is all about the story. She's got an incredible eye for design and an amazing way with words, and perpetually promotes telling your story through the coupling of images and language. Hence, scrapbooking!

Anyway, a couple of years ago, she introduced me to the concept of "one little word" － adopting a single word to serve as a sort of life theme for the year. Here's how Ali explains it:

The idea behind the one little word concept is to give yourself something to focus on throughout the year. As I stated in my newsletter back in January 2007, "A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can sharp and biting, or rich and soft and slow."

I first boarded the One Little Word bandwagon two years ago, the year I turned 40. My word was embrace. It was my mantra as I dove into a new decade of life. I embraced where and who I was wholeheartedly. It was a great year.

Last year, my word was rest, something I aspire to but rarely practice. It was my mantra as I steamrolled through the year like it was steep and slick, losing traction until it was driving me rather than the other way around. Eventually, I crashed and burned. It was a bust.

So while I am not saying OLW will change your life this year, I am saying it can. And it's definitely an interesting experiment, whichever way it goes.

So, having mulled it over for a month, I've finally chosen my 2009 OLW: Connect.

This year, I want to connect. Connect with myself. Connect with my creativity. Connect with my instincts. Connect with my spirit. Connect with my husband. Connect with my kids. Connect with my work. Connect with the family, friends and colleagues who energize and inspire and move me. Connect with the moment. Connect the dots. Connect the ends to complete the circles.

Not touch base. Not ring up. Not plug in.
Something a little more human. Something a little more real.
A connection.

It's my mantra. Time will tell.

So, what's your One Little Word for 2009? Do tell.

A couple of slices of wisdom pie to share from two other amazing women － remarkable reminders, both:

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, on being "superwoman:"
Life is a marathon. You can have and be all the things you want to be and have. Just do it over a lifetime. Don't try to do them all at once, because you can't. If you try to, then everyone around you will suffer－ most of all, you.

Anne Lamott, on the zen approach to writing and life:
My older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write, which was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder and said, "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird."

something to think about.

Time is not money.

Time is life.

Spend wisely.

smile, breathe & go slowly.

Ah, the sounds-simple rules of living a Zen existence from Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh.

For folks who desire a little more detail and direction, one of my favorite blogs, Zen Habits, has a neat little piece titled "12 Essential Rules to Live More Like a Zen Monk" － and I don't know about you, but my crazybusymommywriter life can always use more Zen-monkedness (not to be confused with Zen-monkiness, notes my husband across the kitchen table . . . which may be even rarer, as a Zen-practicing monkey seems highly unlikely, really). But I digress . . .

Anyway, here are blogger Leo Babauta's absolute do-Zen:
1. Do one thing at a time.
2. Do it slowly and deliberately.
3. Do it completely.
4. Do less.
5. Put space between things.
6. Develop rituals.
7. Designate time for certain things.
8. Devote time to sitting.
9. Smile and serve others.
10. Make cleaning and cooking become meditations.
11. Think about what is necessary.
12. Live simply.

If your life is like mine, then you'll want to be careful not to incorporate too much simplification too quickly － not being familiar with the feeling, you might accidentally oversimplify and put yourself into a coma or something.

Just choose one rule to follow, just for today. Number one is a good first step － mash the multitasking monster and today, try doing one thing at a time. You may be surprised at how it feels － you might even remember to smile, breathe or go slowly. :)