10 blissful things I plan to do this year.

1. Go to bed before 10 every night..
2. Read 50 pages a day.
3. Drink more herbal teas.
4. Wake up early each day.
5. Meditate for 15 minutes each day.
6. Spend more time outdoors.
7. Find one surprising thing in each day.
8. Create more beauty in my world.
9. Take more photos.
10. Listen to great music.

Paring down

I am starting my minimalist adventure in a few days.

I am doing it because I feel that a relocation is in the cards and I want to be prepared.

I realize that I only need things I use on a daily basis, while the rest of it is just taking up space.

I plan on both selling and freecycling my stuff.

I also want to train myself to use this laptop for journaling. This is going to be difficult, because I adore using pen and paper which takes up a lot of boxes!

I am thinking of posting photos of the items I am relinquishing and writing a short paragraph about it. This feels like good therapy to me.

Right now, the whole idea sounds like fun to me. We'll see how it unfolds.

10 things I did today.

I read 50 pages of The Red Tent.

Created 2 bracelets and 3 pajama necklaces.

Cooked a three-course dinner.

Tidied my work desk.

Admired my Christmas tree.

Decorated the breakfast table.

Took a nap.

Made stovetop cocoa with cinnamon.

Watched a movie on Netflix.

Wrote two pages in my journal.

Sharing for the fun of it.

When it comes to sharing, there is nothing I enjoy more than to share material objects or my knowledge and expertise with others. It feels exhilarating to me.

I’ve been teaching the girls next door to cook from scratch. Together, we have the greatest fun. I think of us as cooking up fun on a weekly basis.

Thinking up unique ways to share is a fun pastime of mine. Acting on impulse is the best feeling of all. It surprises both the receiver and I. Mostly, I am surprised at how good it feels to see the other person’s reaction.

Short story podcasts

Today I had the distinct pleasure of listening to a series of short story podcasts from The New Yorker. It was absolutely delightful to hear some of my favourite authors reading other favourite authors! Ah what fun this was! I downloaded them to my ipod from the itunes store. There is a brief discussion at the end of each story.

Chasing happiness

Today I chased happiness for the fun of it. First I stayed in bed until I had finished reading a book I started last night. My mate kept me fueled with delicious café lattes.

When I did rise out of bed, it was noon and I was hungry for homemade French bread. This was followed by the inspiration to bake French bread and cook chicken gumbo with spicy Andouille sausage. I promptly got dressed in my work out clothes and proceeded to knead the bread dough in the mixer, while checking for the ingredients for the gumbo. Oops no okra, but no worries, hubby offered to run to the store that is 25 minutes each way. While he is gone, I worked out for an hour, which was very energizing. Next I showered, played Christmas music on the Apple TV - cool radio stations there - while I chopped and chopped all the ingredients for the gumbo.

While the gumbo was simmering, I watched Blindside, which was the most inspiring movie I’ve seen this week. The food was absolutely delicious and reminded me of Mr. B’s bistro in N.O. I’ve got to return there for a foodie reunion with myself.

After the fun I had today, I’ve decided to make chasing happiness my official goal because the rewards are priceless. I love the feelings of joy, inspiration, eagerness and glee that courses through my veins when I focus on doing what makes me happy.

Not bothering.

“Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.”

-Winnie the Pooh

I am struck by this quote because I have that attitude of 'not bothering' down pat.

When I cannot relate to some dire situation which I have no control over, I truly can't hear the person I am listening to.