Pistachios and Feng Shui

Well, I believe I am on the letter P and that works for me because I have been chomping down pistachios like there is no tomorrow this morning! How does one stop once one starts? I am sitting here waiting for a repairman for my ice maker and reading a wonderful book entitled "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui" by Karen Kingston. Matti mentioned it to me a while back and said it has helped her so much in organizing her little 400 sq. ft. home in Hawaii. Anyway, I picked it up from my local library and started reading it and... low and behold, I think I ate half the bucket of nuts! I especially love the peppered ones from Costco:) Unfortunately, they haunt me when they are in my cupboard so I try to resist them most of the time.

That brings me to the Feng Shui book and Matti you are so right! I would like to highly recommend it to everyone I know...but especially the clutter-aholics out there. I consider myself to be pretty organized and actually cleared out a lot of stuff when I moved here, but after reading this book I know there is more work for me to do! It truly was so freeing to clean out many of my long hoarded "treasures" last year, but according to Ms. Kingston, "You are connected to everything you own by fine strands of energy. When your home is filled with things that you love or use well it becomes an incredible source of support and nourishment for you. Clutter, on the other hand, drags your energy down, and the longer you keep it, the more it will affect you. When you get rid of everything that has no real meaning or significance for you, you literally feel lighter in body, mind and spirit." She goes on to say that this can become a major culprit in depression, overeating and poor health. (Do you suppose that includes pistachios:) She describes those "strands of energy" as a tangled bowl of spaghetti when we allow the clutter to build up in our homes. She says this sort of "build up" in our home is literally clogging up our progression and our ability to move on in life. She also explains why we keep clutter and how to stay clutter free. That's certainly going to be my goal! Anyway it is an easy read and a fascinating one as well, so you may want to check it out;-)

By the way, does anyone know a cure for pistachio-aholics???

Oooops I skipped a day...

I just realized yesterday went right by me and I did not post on my blog...So I guess I will have to make it up on another day. My letter today is "O" for optimism...as in lifting our fragile inner spirits.

This morning I taught a class on interior design to some gals and as it is my passion, I had a really fun time doing it. I sure hope they enjoyed themselves as well. In any event, as I was talking about creating illusions and dreamscapes with the use of lines, color, shape and form it occurred to me that we sometimes do the same with ourselves. I believe sometimes we create "outer shells" around ourselves in the hope that we don't get "discovered". Let's face it, every day we are bombarded with media blips telling us who we should be, what we should look like, where we should be seen, etc., etc. The real test comes when we go home at the end of the day and look at the woman in the mirror. Do you really love and appreciate that one staring back at you? I know I am sometimes very hard on her and do not always give her the benefit of the doubt but instead continually deflate her with self destructive talk and unnecessary comparisons.

In this day of smoke and mirrors and cosmetic "lifts"...are we losing out on knowing and appreciating the beautiful Heavenly spirit living within our bodily shells? Our Heavenly Father sent us here as a beloved daughter to learn and grow so we can return to Him even stronger and more polished than when we left. Returning home with a damaged spirit should not be an option, especially if we are the one most responsible for its condition. I hereby resolve to do all I can to uplift that woman in the mirror. I promise to give her a little more slack, more positive strokes and uplifting thoughts to help her be the best she can possibly be;-)

Nests

About a month ago I commented on a dove that had built a nest in a wire basket on my back patio. Well after her two little young ones hatched and flew off on their own, low and behold along comes another and uses the nest for her eggs! Maybe this is common in the dove world I am not sure but it surprised me to look up at the nest and see another mama sitting there so patiently.

Well we now have two more babies that have hatched and they are equally as cute as the first ones. Mother nature continually amazes me!

In addition to the doves, I have discovered a larger nest in the large potted palm tree by the pool. The pot has been overflowing with cascades of petunias so I was about to trim them back when low and behold I was attacked by a large black bird flying up into my face. What a surprise that was!

Anyway, I guess the birds have decided to turn the back yard into a birdie nursery...and, truthfully I am loving every moment of it;-)

Mmmmmmmmmm....

M is the letter for my post today....and I am going to talk about monkeys;-) Not the cute ones with the long tails that swing from vine to vine at the zoo. No I mean the ones that have strangleholds around our necks that we carry on our backs!

It is a concept I learn many years ago in a time-management class and it has stayed with me through the years. We all do it from time to time and we all have them sooner or later. Some of us are real champs at it...or is that chimp chumps! They are those things on our "to-do" list that never quite get done...but, hopefully "one of these daze"! Well I am deciding today to get rid of all those irritating "monkeys" that do nothing but continually cause me stress. Things like that pile of mailers that might have a good coupon to clip if I just had time to go though it, or that fabric I bought several years ago waiting to be used in a craft project, that dress in my closet that needs altering and is probably out of date now anyway, or that file in my desk drawer marked "miscellaneous", that old thrift store find that needs some paint and updating (but not sure where I would put it if I did fix it), all those recipes I clipped and will "someday" organize, and I know there are several more...ugh! Enough already!!! It's a wonder I can even stand up straight with all those monkeys clamoring for position...

Anyway...this gal will be walking taller the next time you see her..."look mom, no more monkeys"!:)

Love the Youth of our Church

This was our monthly fast Sunday and so that meant sharing personal testimonies at church today. I love testimony meetings, in fact, that was the very first LDS meeting I ever attended. There is something special about hearing a person share the deep and tender feelings of their heart. I believe that it is a true bonding experience and really helps to bring us closer together. It was especially good today because our young men and women just returned from a trip to the new Gila Temple open house and shared some of their spiritual experiences with us. It was so great to hear these young people stand up one by one and boldly proclaim their love of the Savior and their testimony of the divinity of temple work with all of us. I am always amazed at the strength of their convictions...it is awesome! I sometimes wonder who is leading and who is following;-)

Isn't it wonderful to know that our future is in the hands of such powerful spirits as these...

Kudos to you...

Good grief...I cannot believe it, but it is 2:00 AM and I cannot sleep so here I am blogging...I missed my Saturday post so guess I will catch up on it now.

I am on the letter "K" and that is another tuff one for me. How about kudos? Kudos to my faithful and wonderful friends who continually stand by me no matter what. You know who you are; the one who overlooks those times when I am not at my best, yet finds ways to love me anyway? The one who reads my sometimes uninspiring blogs, yet sends little notes of encouragement, invites me to sit with them in Relief Society, waves to me when I am out on my walks, remembers my special days, calls me up for a lunch date. The one who leaves me an occasional note on my Facebook page, calls to check up on me when you notice I missed a church meeting, sends me reminders for book club, shares a recipe, or even better yet, brings me a sample of a new recipe:) and so many other sweet and thoughtful things...you make such a difference in my day and my life.

I hope I am that kind of friend to you too...and thanks so much for being there for me!