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Oct 2008

Stepping Lightly v2.0

On our quest of living simply and stepping lightly, I have been drawn to my home and my family. DH and I have taken the time to enjoy each other’s company more instead of resorting to a form of technology all of the time when we get “bored.” What a joy it has been!

Some nights, we had been known to just take our plates and sit in front of our computers *bag over head*. I can’t believe I even admit that, but I guess it’s not much different than some families that do the same thing but sit in front of the TV. We have taken our dinners back to the table, and what a great time we’ve had chatted over a good homecooked meal. Last night we discussed religion vs. spirituality and how we want to raise our little Sprout amongst it all.

We have used our evenings to work together on the house together. The other night, we worked in our garage for a few hours and now it is organized, things we didn’t need are no longer there, and it’s all ready for a vehicle to fit in it this winter. During that time, we had a lot of time to talk about what we want to keep and what we need to keep and why these things are important to us. It’s so fun to be on the same page about our home and making it a simple and peaceful place to be.

I think I have also manifested ways of staying at home and not rushing around outside of my home. Yesterday, I had planned to go to the high school to pick up some paperwork before rushing home to get dinner on and leaving again for the Tolle group. But I had a soft tire, and instead had to call for an appointment for my tire which couldn’t happen until today and it is right next to the high school. So, I will combine that trip and do both of those tasks today and WITH James.

How are you spending time with those you love?

Picture courtesy of ~ http://www.4simpleimprovements.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/simplehome.jpg.w300h300.jpg

Category: Decluttering, Stepping Lightly Leave a Comment

Oct 2008

Quiet time before work time

Jennie

Do you ever get lost in the hustle and bustle of it all? You’re stressed, you’re overworked, and all you want is a few minutes to yourself to breathe….

That was me this morning before I even rolled out of bed. I had a vivid dream (thanks pregnancy) but a vivid dream that wasn’t filled with rainbows and butterflies. It was a scary dream. One where I woke up with real tears streaming down my face and I was gasping for breath between sobs. So after holding DH for a little while and getting comfort there, I went straight into the library and sat on the floor to meditate.

It only took a few minutes of sitting and breathing and saying “Here and Now” and “I am present” before I was grounded again. Then I was ready to start my day.

Meditating or praying before starting my day really makes things go much smoother (or at least they appear to because I have a better perspective).

For more WFMW ideas, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

Category: Spirituality, Works for me Wednesday 3 Comments

Oct 2008

Reiki Self-Treatment 1

Jennie

On Saturday, I started my journey of Reiki Certification. As many of you know, I already did a weekend training where I became attuned and practiced on others. But in order to get my full certification, I must complete some other steps. Included in those steps is giving myself treatments and journaling about them.

I have been giving myself impromtu treatments since the attunement, but I have failed to journal them. In the next month, I would like to have at least my treatments complete.

This session, since it was planned, kind of felt odd to me. Like I didn’t know where to begin. I had been feeling healthy and wasn’t drawn to a particular thing to send energy to, so I used the deck of cards that was given to me in my kit. I shuffled them up and spread them on the floor. The one I had picked said, “Listen to the meditation of protection.” It was about a 25 minute long meditation and it didn’t encouraged or discourage Reiki treatment during it.

Being 5 months pregnant, I did not do this treatment on my back which felt sort of odd to me. But I laid on my side with a pillow for support and comfort. I was drawn to give energy at my lower back, my heart, my crown, and my forehead. Near the end of the meditation, I believe I was somewhere else. I was not conscious of the things around me or of my thoughts, but I wasn’t asleep either. It reminded me a lot of my experience with Yoga Nidra while at the yoga retreat 2 summers ago.

I found the experience to be perfect to get me back on track with my Reiki practice, and so amazing that the Universe (once again) blessed me with exactly what I needed.

Picture courtesy of ~ http://www.lighthousetherapies.com/reikihands.jpg

Category: Spirituality 2 Comments

Oct 2008

Meal Plan Monday

Jennie

So I’m a day late (and a dollar short), but I’m still planning my menus. I was just too exhausted to post yesterday as I was still recovering from the Alanis concert the night before.

Monday ~ Frozen pizza before we completely cleaned and organized the garage.

Tuesday ~ Cabbage and kielbasa skillet with warm muffins for dessert

Wednesday ~ Spaghetti, garlic bread, salads

Thursday ~ Beef stew

Friday ~ Appetizer night (chikn nuggets, fries…)

Saturday ~ Happy Soup

Sunday ~ Leftovers or whatever you can find

For more meal plan ideas, visit Org Junkie!

Category: Meal Planning One Comment

Oct 2008

Starbucks Gingerbread Latte Recipe

Jennie

Since it has been getting colder outside, I have been wanting something warm to drink. I don’t want to drive somewhere to get a fancy drink, and I also don’t want to spend $3-5 per drink! So, I have found ways to make my favorites at home. Check out the pumpkin spice latte recipe too for another seasonal favorite.

Gingerbread Latte Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup espresso or strong coffee
8 ounces of steamed milk
1/4 cup gingerbread syrup

Directions:

Make gingerbread syrup by putting 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla in a small saucepan. Bring to boil on the stove and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. This will make enough to keep on hand, so once it’s cool store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Make your coffee or espresso and steam a cup of milk.
Put your coffee/espresso into your favorite cup, add 1/4 cup of gingerbread syrup, and lastly add the milk. Stir.
Garnish with whipped cream and nutmeg or cinnamon.

For more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Category: Frugal, Recipes 2 Comments

Oct 2008

Stepping Lightly v1.0

Jennie

Have you ever, in your life, kept running across phrases or people who bring you the same theme? Do you think it is coincidence or do you take it as a sign to begin questioning yourself and finding an answer?

It all started for me with Michele’s blog, and her newest venture about writing about her Simple Life. It all sounded so peaceful, so thankful, and yes so simple! Many people may think I have a simple life – I work from home and have all of the freedom in the world to do what I please, but do I relish in it? Not as much as I could. Do I take time to find simple, efficient, and frugal ways to handle my home? Not always. Do I take time to enjoy the present moment as I learned from Eckhart Tolle? Gosh, how I let that slip away so fast when something heated arises.

DH and I started reading Walden together about a week ago. We haven’t made it too far because we get about 1 page through it and we get inspired and talk for 30 minutes about the world, the economy, the state of people living beyond their means, and the state of our hurried and cluttered lives. He wants a simple life too!

The last straw was at the Tolle group last night, and as we were listening to his audio these words stood out to me. STEP LIGHTLY. Don’t walk with your burdens, don’t let things drag you down, live in the moment and enjoy the air you are breathing, your heart that is beating because the moment isn’t bad. It’s all you have.

I’ll be Stepping Lightly and blogging about it on Thursdays. Be sure to join me!

Photo courtesty of ~ http://zenhabits.net/fotos/20070905simpleliving.jpg

Category: Decluttering, Goals, Spirituality, Stepping Lightly 2 Comments

Oct 2008

Simplify your kitchen!

Jennie

At the end of August, I decided to start decluttering my house. One place I started was the kitchen. I had been fighting with my kitchen for awhile trying to keep it clean, and it finally dawned on me that I had too much STUFF!

So here are some things I did to simplify and declutter the kitchen ~

I went through all of the cupboards and donated (or gave to family) things I had duplicates of or didn’t use anymore. Nesting bowls went to my mom since she didn’t have any and I had THREE sets. See what I mean? I donated about 4 bags of goodies just from my kitchen alone.
I then organized my cupboards in a way that I could see everything that was in each one. Then when I went looking for something, it wouldn’t be so hard to find.
The pantry was reorganized to put like items together (pastas, canned veggies, baking items, spices, etc)
I cleaned my table so that it wouldn’t be a catch all anymore. I decorated it with a few nice things like a tablecloth and it certainly made my kitchen prettier and a lot easier to set the table for dinner.
One really tiny piece of advice I have for everyone is simplify everything for cooking you can. Last night, as I was spraying my muffin tin with non-stick spray I started complaining about putting the lid back on. It’s so hard to get on and off, and then the lightbulb went off. Do I need this lid?! No! I threw it away, and it sure will simplify the next time I use that spray.

For more WFMW, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

Category: Decluttering, Works for me Wednesday 6 Comments