Five Things

A Week of Five Giveaways!

What better way than to bring a little life to a cold, dreary January than to have a week of giveaways? For the next five days, I'll be offering a number (five, to be exact!) of fun and fabulous prizes. Today we've got...

A Year in the Life!

This fabulous eBook, written by the ladies of Write.Click.Scrapbook and published by Ella Publishing Co. is replete with gorgeous layouts and page ideas for scrapping your year in 24 simple pages! At $6.99, it's a steal. I'm giving away a free copy... all you have to do is leave me a comment tell me what you'd like to see more of here on Five Things. Contest will close Monday night at midnight, as we've got a full slate of prizes for the week. Ready, set, go!

More One Little Word Projects

These are so fabulous, I have to keep sharing!

From Rebecca, who says, "I made a simple little digiscrap "Layout" (for lack of a better term) and posted it on my blog and printed it out to put on my desk!":

 

Karen made this adorable mini-album about her word for 2010: Intention. See the rest of the book on her blog.
 

I was cruising around the web and discovered this beauty on ScrapYoga's blog. Her word is PRACTICE:

Nanciquilts put hers in the banner on her blog (click over to see -- I couldn't figure out how to copy).
 
Erin created this GORGEOUS canvas... she's so multi-talented I may have to pull my hair a little bit:

 
What have you done with your One Little Word?  

5 Reasons You Need a Retreat

1. You're tired.

2. You're overwhelmed.

3. You don't know what comes next.

4. You're scared about the future.

5. You're excited about the future but you don't know how to act on your dreams (Put me in this category!)

"Retreat..." Aah! The very word brings to mind mountain cabin escapes, seaside massages, and long evenings in the bathtub, my only company a tubful of bubbles!

But I've got something even better to tell you about: The Virtual Retreat from my darling friend Jennifer Louden.

If you don't know Jen, you should. An Oprah guest, Body+Soul columnist, and author of a series of best-selling books, Jen is the queen of self-comfort, literally! Her site, comfortqueen.com, is a host of strategies, tools, and must-haves for women who desire to create a more self-determined, authentic, joyful life (and who doesn't want that?).

Jen has put together a weekend-long virtual retreat that will allow you to touch base with your truest self, recharge, and kick 2010 off with unbelievable energy. And the best part? You don't have to leave your house! The entire weekend is conducted virtually -- and it's recorded so you can revisit the lessons you've learned over and over again.

I am so NOT a "woo-woo" New Age person, who believes in chakras and Tarot readings. And Jen isn't anything like that. Though she may ask you to get in touch with your body, or examine your "shadow comforts," it's all very real and very grounded. And her guests are nothing short of amazing:

Patti Digh, author of Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally

Hiro Boga, expert in creative entrepreneurship

Gail Goodwin, motivational and inspirational wonder woman

Christina Baldwin, author of Life's Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest

Bill Baren, productivity expert and personal coach

And many more!

The retreat takes place the weekend of Feb. 12-14 (and you can revisit the retreat as many times as you would like!).

Check it out here. Watch Jen's video and see if you think this might be the right thing for you to do. And let me know if you sign up -- I'll "be" there!

Untitled from jennifer louden on Vimeo.

Scrapbookers Help Haiti

 

Please excuse how tired I look. This is the day I went to the gym at 5AM (and the employee didn't show up to unlock it). I was a wee bit exhausted!

5 DIY Bulletin Boards

Now that we're settled (more or less!) in our new house, we're working on ORGANIZATION. Actually, I'm always working on organization! But right now, it's front and center. And one thing we are greatly in need of is a bulletin board to serve as our family control center. (I have some twisted notion that by creating a place for all our stuff, that our stuff will actually migrate -- and stay! -- where it's supposed to!). 

Here are some fab bulletin boards that would be easy to make and customize:

1. Wine Cork Board.

 

I don't even want to think about the amount of wine one would have to consume to make this. We drink MAYBE one bottle a year -- and most of that is for cooking! (I admit, I'm a screw-top kind of girl...). All the same, if I could get Gary Vaynerchuk to help me out, I'd be making this just for the texture and coolness of it. Head on over to Apartment Therapy for step-by-step photos and instructions. 

2. Family-Size Spectacle.

 

If I had any sort of carpentry skills, and if I had any idea what homasote* is, I'd be whipping up one of these. I SO WANT ONE. Look for details at Woman's Day. 

*I just looked it up: "Homasote is a wallboard made from recycled paper pulp. It can be purchased at home-improvement stores; ask to have it cut to size for you at the store, or use a circular saw or table saw to cut at home." So now you know.

3. Floral Delight.

 

This one makes me happy just looking at it! I would hate to cover it up with announcements from the school about head lice and overdue utility bills, though. Spotted at etsy, but I'm thinking I could do this.

4. Scrappy Goodness.

 

I fell in love with this one from Brenda Walton. The designer used scrapbook papers to jazz it up. (Scrapbook papers? What a concept! I think I have some of those lying around...)

5. Vintage Thrift.

Ummmm... LOVE!! How simple and easy? (At least it looks simple and easy.) Check out the details here on Gogoabigail's blog.  

Your turn: What do YOU do for corralling paperwork? Do you have a bulletin board? Drawers? What? (photos are always fab.) 

 

 

5 Stops on my Search for the World's Best Vacuum

We needed a new vacuum - not earth-shattering, surely. But all the same, it was an investment. As we'd had our previous Hoover since we got married in 1995, I figured shelling out a couple of hundred bucks for a new picker-upper was justified. We've just moved into a new house, and I want to keep it looking good.

So the search began. In the old days, a mom might take the question of the World's Best Vacuum to her neighbor over the backyard fence. But seeing as A. It's the middle of January and backyard chats are few and far between and B. I don't know my backyard neighbors yet, I took my query to the 21st century equivalent of the coffee klatch: Twitter and Facebook. (As much as I've claimed to dislike Twitter, I must admit it's perfect for situations like this -- wide reach with no real emotional interaction).

In a matter of minutes, I had a a few dozen more responses, including ones from a Dyson dealer. Here were the frontrunners:

 1. The Dyson Animal. This one came highly favored by those with (wait for it!) animals. It's known for sucking up the hair and dander that comes with four-legged friends. Susan summarized the love of the Dyson Animal with, "Three dogs that shed all year long haven't killed it yet!" But I can't justify the $599 pricetag if I don't even have shedding animals.

  

2. The Yellow Dyson. This Dyson was about $200 cheaper than The Animal, but still was highly recommended. I was tempted... but the $300+ hit to my wallet still gave me heart palpitations (not the good kind!).

 

3. The Eureka Big Boss. Several people recommended the Big Boss from Eureka... but I couldn't find it anywhere! The picture above is the Eureka Boss Capture Upright... not nearly the same, but maybe the Big Boss isn't made anymore? This one is green (a plus!) but refurbished (ick) at less than $100 (hurrah, but not worth the risk).

 

4. Dyson DC24 Ball All-Floors Upright Vacuum Cleaner . Virtually everyone who has a Dyson loves it. There were a few comments about some people having trouble, but most people were happy with their purchase. I looked at the new "ball" technology while I was at the store, but I just couldn't get into it. Plus the ball gets all ratty-looking, and I have to ask if it's just a gimmick or is it really necessary? For $400, I wasn't going to be the guinea pig!

5. Shark Navigator Upright Bagless Vacuum Cleaner. I love the bagless, and I love the uprights (I also considered canisters, but after trying them out at the store, I couldn't get into them). Kim told me on Twitter that the Shark is built on the same technology as the Dyson, but at a fraction of the price ($188 on Amazon, $199 at Bed, Bath & Beyond -- minus a 20% coupon).

So I came home from Bed, Bath & Beyond with my new Shark Navigator. I put it together in a matter of minutes, and was soon whizzing it all through the house, sucking up errant pine needles and dust bunnies. As I posted on Twitter, I vacuumed my living room rug and... EWWW! What is all that crud? Despite the goop I'm picking up, vacuuming my stairs has to be the most fun I've had in weeks! (Yes, I live a very sheltered life...)

In sum, the Navigator is light, compact, sturdy, easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and efficient. And if I have trouble with it, the Shark headquarters are only about 5 miles away. I figure I can dump it on their doorstep and make them fix it for me. :)

Tell me - what kind of vacuum do you have? Love or hate? 

  

Purging - Tips from a Reader

One of my readers, Kelli, commented that her family gives away 25% of their possessions every fall. Of course I was immediately intrigued and sent her five (!!) questions. Here are her very thoughtful answers on downsizing your possessions:

Here are my questions and Kelli's responses:

1. How and when did this tradition start?
I started purging as soon as I moved out of my parent's home. It was something my Mom had us do as children so it was easy for me to continue it.

2. How do you calculate what is 25%? Is it 25% of everything, or do they have to give away 25% of their shirts, 25% of their books, etc.?
Calculating about 25% can be tricky when you start, especially if you have a lot of stuff. For younger children, it's easy to have them set aside a specific number of toys to give away. You can scan their collection and provide a reasonable number.

For older children, such as my 14 year old, I give him several boxes and tell him they need to be filled with giveaway items. As he has gotten older and his treasures have gotten smaller (think video games vs. castle sets) the boxes have also gotten smaller.

For myself, I have a good idea of what I've collected over the past year and feel good about what I'm willing to part with. If you are just starting the process, it may be good to start with a specific category, such as books or clothes. I try to purge 25% of all my stuff because there are some categories I don't want to trim down, like books.

3. What has been the result of this process on your household, possessions-wise, and emotions-wise?
Emotionally it has been very positive in the end. There have been moments when one of my children didn't want to choose any of their beloved toys but then they are filled with pride when they see how happy they've made another person.

Possession-wise, it's hard for me to see if there is a difference. It's something I've done all my life and so I have nothing to compare it to.

4. What do you do with the belongings?
We give our items to local survival centers. My family was homeless a few years ago and several organizations (even those I had previously donated to, both materially and financially) wouldn't help us because before I lost my job I made enough to not be considered low-income. The local survival center helps anyone who asks and they provided us with food, clothing and accommodations. I'm happy I'm once again in a place to give back.

There have been moments when we selectively give items to someone specific. The past few months, my son's best friend has been coming to our house to type his schoolwork on one of our computers. We have several computers in the house and one wasn't being used very often so my son asked if he could give it to his friend. Granted, it's not part of the normally scheduled purging but we'll let it count come August :o)

5. Any hints on parting with possessions?
The best advice I have is to pack everything that you are going to give away into boxes and put them in your basement or attic. Then, a month later, actually get rid of the stuff. If you realize during that month that you cannot live without something that, in the excitement of purging you thought you could live without, then take it out of the box. This isn't about making you miserable and blindly getting rid of stuff. If you love it, keep it. If you don't, learn to live without it. If you can't, then perhaps you love it more then you thought :o)

Hope this helps!

And another quote I love related to the collection of stuff...

"No one goes to Hades with all their immense wealth"-Theognis

The best things in life aren't material and remembering what's really important to you can help you part with the stuff.

Thank you, Kelli, for your insightful and open-hearted comments. You have definitely inspired me to let go of more STUFF!

5 Reasons for my Massive Change

 Image from 416style 

If you haven't heard the news already, let me be the first to tell you: I have chosen to leave my position as CEO of Ella Publishing. As you can imagine, this is a big change for me -- and one that has kept me up at night more than the mouse situation in our old house (and you know that's a lot!). Because I don't want to avoid the elephant in the room (haha!), and because you're 5000 of my closest friends, I wanted to give you the story behind the story. Here's why I'm now business card-less:

1. Parenting. Starting a new business is like having a baby. And when you already have three kids (four, counting the hubby) at home, it can be near-impossible to balance it all. Online companies are 24/7 endeavors, with no time off for good behavior (in fact, the better you are, the more you have to work!). With my kids at the ages they're at, they still need me, thank goodness. I don't want to skip this time, spending it on the computer and plopping my kids in front of the TV so I can answer one more email (at least, not on a daily basis!). I want to soak in this time and enjoy it fully. 

2. Pocket Change. When Angie and I started planning Ella (almost a year ago!), I had no clue I was moving to Boston. We were happy and settled in California, and life was good. Then my husband got transferred, the economy tanked, and we ran into unexpected expenses (private school, anyone?). The need for a regular paycheck has become more pressing (in other words, critical!). While the potential is there, the regular salary is not. 

3. Personality. I always thought I'd be a good consultant -- someone who swoops in, tells a company how to do things, gets them started, and then swoops out. I adore analysis and strategy and planning... and I'm not so hot about the follow-through. Once things are up and running, well... let's just say, I have a short attention span. 

4. Passion. I'm a writer, first and foremost. I can "do" the financial projections and the reporting and the details of the back end of running a business, but the whole time, I'm thinking about the next thing I'm going to write. Now I will actually have time to write those blog posts, articles, books, and essays I've been dreaming up (she says as she spends the evening on the couch watching 13 Going on 30 with her girls)!

5. Purpose. I'm so lucky in that, while I do have some financial responsibility to my family, I don't have to report to a cubicle and be chained to a J-O-B in order to keep my family afloat. I want to spend my time doing that which I feel I was uniquely created to do. I feel like I owe it to my family to use the time away from them doing something I love. 

I hope this doesn't sound flaky. This has been a huge decision for me, one that I haven't entered into lightly. It's taken a lot of thought and a lot of prayer. I know it affects others besides me, but I also know that Ella is in good hands with Angie. And that each morning, I can greet the day with excitement about what's to come. And you can't beat that. 

One Little Word - More Ideas

I got some great comments in response to my post on One Little Word last week. Here are some of my favorites:

Kate created this gorgeous piece of art for her 2009 word:

 

She kept it near her desk throughout the year as a visual reminder of her word. She says, "This year myself, my husband and my son have chosen words, so I will do a bigger piece. And I will scrapbook this Awareness piece in the next couple of days with a page about the word and how it helped me."

Stephenie put together an AWESOME slideshow (in more ways than one!). Check it out on her blog (scroll down to 12/30). She inspired me so much that I'm working on my own slideshow!

 

Christina ordered this card for her 2010 word, Peace. She found it on Coolmompicks. She adds, "I'm also choosing a verse for each of the twelve months to have as a focus. January's is Col. 3:15: Let the peace of Christ control your heart."

J'adore this magnifique frame by Anne. (She is French so I get to drop sophisticated phrases in my blogging when I talk about her.)

 

What about you? Got any creative ideas?

  

5 Reasons 2010 Will Be Different

 

I've been thinking long and hard about the new year, new beginnings, and what I want from 2010. If you've followed me for any length of time, you probably figure I've got a list of resolutions a mile (or 5!) long. And you'd be right -- at least to start out with.

But as I made mental note after mental note of the things I wanted to change/become/do/create/have/give/reveal in 2010, I put the brakes on. After 40 years, I know myself, and I know I tend to, ahem, OVERDO it when it comes to taking on more than I can chew. So I decided to boil 2010's resolutions down to a simple FIVE THINGS I aspire for in the next 12 months.

In crafting these resolutions, I set some ground rules:

• I would select five (and only five) "major goals" for 2010 that covered a good range (not all health-related, for instance, or shoe-amassing-related).
• They would be goals I felt in my core -- not ones I selected for someone else, but for ME. Ones that made my heart cry "YES!" when I thought of them. (That allowed me to cross "Do a triathlon" off the list. It's worthy but it's not MY goal (thank goodness).
• I would pick items that could truly change my life (in small ways or in large ways) if I were to successfully undertake them for the next year.
• They would be in my control. (In other words, "Sell my mystery novel" wouldn't work because it implies someone is buying, and past efforts show that no one wants to buy my mystery novel.)
• They would be progress-oriented. (I didn't want goals that were all-or-nothing, but rather ones that would allow me to feel some level of success even if I didn't do them every day, or every week.)

So after pondering that list, and looking at my possible goals in light of my "One Little Word" for 2010 (Light), here's what I came up with:

1. Bible Study. I will join a women's Bible study fellowship. (Spirit)
2. Books. I will get rid of 50% of the books I own. (Material possessions)
3. Yoga. I will start doing a regular yoga practice - either in class or on my own. (Health)
4. Budget. I will track all expenditures according to the family's budget. (Financial)
5. Mom/Son Book Club. I will read a book a month from the list that Ben has created for me, and we'll spend time talking about the books. (Family)

Of course, there are a ton more I could add -- but these are the most important things to me this year, the goals I know in my gut I need NOW.

I'll be updating you on my progress on the first of each month. And these year-long goals won't take the place of my regular monthly goals (there may be some overlap, but I see the monthly goals as more tactical than strategic, if you know what I mean).

Note on finding myself: One thing I really strive for in my writing, goal-setting, and life is AUTHENTICITY... that resonance between the inner and outer world. It can be tough to figure out who I am, what I think, and then be brave enough to share that with the world! If you're working on those areas, too, I suggest you pop over to Jennifer Louden's blog and read her current series of blog posts on authenticity -- what it is and how to live a life full of it.

Jennifer is one of my dearest friends, my personal coach, and one of the wisest souls I've ever encounterd. Plus she's really fun! Jennifer runs a series of retreats throughout the year, including a virtual retreat coming up in a few weeks. I'll tell you more about that soon!

Want to play? What are your goals/resolutions/intentions for 2010?