During the holidays, I ran across this simplicity project called Project333. Basically, you choose 33 pieces for your wardrobe that you will wear for 3 months. In my quest to simplify my life, I knew I had to give this a try. I am so serious about committing to this, I started a board on Pinterest with all kinds of great ideas. How about you join me? I found one other person in Cincinnati who is going to give it a go.

This year, I want to read. A lot. I asked for book recommendations and received an amazing and diverse list of books. I am sharing here in case you want to explore new books and genres you are not used to reading. First book I plan to read is The Shack. I was told this book is amazing. I have to thank my friends on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for the great suggestions.

1. It Happened On the Way to War: A Marine’s Path to Peace

by Rye Barcott

1. Ahabs Wife Or the StarGazer by Sena Jeter Nusland
2. Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete by William C. Rhoden
3. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
4. Joy For Beginners by Erica Bauermeister
5. Women Who Run with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
6. Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by JR Ward
7. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles  by Steven Pressfield
8. Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters. by Michael Bungay Stanier
9. Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky
10. Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living (Shambhala Library) by Pema Chodron
11. Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination by Hugh MacLeod
12. Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything by Geneen Roth
13. Lost and Found: Unexpected Revelations About Food and Money by Geneen Roth
14. A Different Kind of Luxury: Japanese Lessons in Simple Living and Inner Abundance by Andy Couturier
15. The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman’s Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine by Sue Monk Kidd
16. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
17.  A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
18. The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks
19. remembered rapture: the writer at work by Bell Hooks
20. The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks
21. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris and Ian Falconer
22. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
23. Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel by Jeannette Walls
24. The Shack by William P. Young
25. Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons
26. The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning
27. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
28. The Passage: A Novel by Justin Cronin
29. The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan
30. Robopocalypse: A Novel by Daniel H. Wilson
31. The Scarlet Dagger (The Red Sector Chronicles, #1) by Krystle Jones
32. Who Fears Death? by Nnedi Okorafor
33. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel  by Lisa See
34. One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp
35. Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue
36. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
37. We Need to Talk About Kevin tie-in: A Novel by Lionel Shriver
38. The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
39. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
40. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
41. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
42. Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel by Arthur Golden
43. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
44. The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
45. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
46. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
47.  Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
48. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
49.  Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

It has been raining for two days straight and it is cold and windy. It is the kind of weather where all you want to do is curl up with a blanket and eat warm, fresh baked cookies. I feel like doing all the things I have neglected doing this year to nurture and take care of myself. And, you know what? There is absolutely nothing wrong with it and everything RIGHT with it.

What I love about the new crispness in the air is how it immediately makes me think of things I find comforting.

• A cup of hot peach green tea
• Snuggling with a loved one under the covers
• Warm, comfort clothes
• Brisk walks in my favorite park.
• A slower pace to the weekends
• Homemade baked goods, daily
• Knitting and crochet
• Warm socks
• The smell of Fall in the air
• The last festivals of the year
• Multiple batches of chocolate chip cookies
• Sharing my love with people who touch my heart

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There is still time to sign up for the art journal workshop, Life is the Art. I am so excited to kick this off September 12. You have until September 11 to sign up for the workshop. We will be cultivating a daily art practice and I am going to share some of my favorite techniques, prompts and journaling concepts with the class. Won’t you join us? It is going to be a wonderful adventure.

Happiness is internal.

If you want more of it, you must open your heart and embrace it fully.

Happiness is not external.

It is no one’s responsibility to make you happy.

It is yours.

When you finally understand that only you can make you happy, life changes.

Your mind opens, your heart is more accepting and you see the world differently.

Life becomes simple.

Happiness is uncomplicated and without stress.

You control the intensity of it.

You control its place in your life.

Spending time with some of my favorite people.

Frequent visits to the yogurt place for my favorite pineapple sorbet and popping bobas.

Dreaming my future into reality.

Tasty drinks on a hot, sizzling day.

Carefree summer hair.

For the first time in a long time, I have given myself permission to rest, relax and let my day lead me where it will. I am a planner. I write things with the best intention to do exactly what I planned, only to have my entire day dictated by the needs of others. Before, it would have stressed me out, now, I welcome the change and I have learned to embrace it. Change is what keeps life exciting. Don’t you think?

What slowing down has taught me is:

You accomplish more when you are rested and not running around like a chicken with your head cut off.

You can focus on what is really important and remove distractions from your life.

You discover activities you enjoy doing and the desire to pursue them becomes more than a passing dream.

You remember how wonderful it feels to wake up to giggling children instead of an alarm clock.

Life runs so much smoother when you follow your heart.

I could go on and on about what I have learned in the past few weeks, but I will use the next few post to share the goings on in my life as of late. I could not be happier than I am right now standing in the middle of uncertainty. Because I have learned that worry has no place in my life and choosing to live with joy has been the best decision I ever made.

One of the best things I did from my list was start vlogging. Sweet Mercy! I had no idea how much fun this would be. So much so, I have people asking when I am doing the next one so they can be a part of it. Plus, my son keeps telling me I need to load his movies to YouTube so he can be a star. That cracks me up, but I love that my children are bold and adventurous. Speaking of vlogs, here is my latest one. It was a guest spot for Jenny on the Spot and I had a blast creating it.

Since I have this vlogging thing down, I am tackling something more challenging…Spanish and swimming. This is going to be one exciting summer, that’s for sure.

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. ~Alexander Graham Bell

I am a living witness that when you finally close a door, lock it and throw away the key forever, the next door appears. I have been enjoying my exploration of what’s behind the next door very much. I have no regrets about leaving everything that happened in the past exactly where it is. I can look back on those experiences as life lessons that helped me grow.

“Right now” living is my daily goal. I made major life decisions about a week ago and I can not tell you all the wonderful things and people that have appeared in my life in the past twelve days. Every day, I have been pleasantly surprised. For all of this to happen, I had to make a few changes. My attitude and my expectations.

Your attitude is the only thing you have control over. We choose every single day what kind of mood or attitude we are going to carry throughout the day and, this is key. It is no one’s fault when you have a funky attitude. It is YOUR responsibility to check yourself, own your mess and fix your attitude. I don’t have a funky attitude, but I was allowing other people’s hot mess attitudes to affect mine. I’ve had to block bad vibes so I could maintain a positive attitude and remain in “right now” living.

Second thing I changed was my expectations. I expect one thing from people, respect, but I also understand that some people can’t show or give me what they don’t have for themselves. Now, I am more forgiving and understanding. I have not lowered my expectations, but I have learned to accept people as they are and meet them where they are. Would it hurt any of us to show a little compassion to the hardest people to love? Honestly, what makes you think you are so lovable? At some point in our lives, we have all been that hard person to love and get along with.  And, there was someone there who showed you kindness when you did not deserve it.

I do believe the quality of your opportunities are dependent upon your attitude and how you treat people. If you expect great things, they will eventually come your way if you are patient. You have to choose to be aware and see even the smallest blessing in every situation and person that touches you. So, if you are holding grudges or harboring resentment, let it go. Finally close the door on that mess and step forward into the right now. The view from here is ten times better. I promise.

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

When I was a teenager, I was an avid letter writer. I had pen pals all over the country and quite a few overseas. What I enjoyed most about exchanging letters was connecting with new people and sharing glimpses of our lives through written word. It was exciting to come home and find between three and five letters (I’m telling you, I was a serious letter writer!) daily. As email became more popular, my snail mail slowly transitioned to electronic mail. While I have a great appreciation and enjoy receiving handwritten letters, I find I keep in closer contact with my family and friends through daily email exchanges.

A girlfriend and I share daily “check-in” messages. We encourage each other to choose a good day and attitude over a bad one first thing in the morning. It sets the tone for the day and we remind each other that we always have a choice how we react to our circumstances and situations. My mother and I have started exchanging daily message. I truly appreciate this because I know my momma is always there for me. She keeps it real, she sets me straight and she doesn’t allow me to have pity parties or get down on myself. That’s my momma. Encouraging and motivating any time I need it.

I wouldn’t trade the way I keep in touch with my friends and family for anything. I love being able to share pictures and messages with them instantaneously. Technology takes all of the excuses out of staying connected and is a great motivator for reaching out and sharing a word with someone who really needs it. Connecting…it is so important to me.

Check out the video below. It is one of my favorites and makes me laugh every time I see it. I believe laughter is the best medicine for any situation and this video literally has me in stitches every time I see it. I hope you love it as much as I do.

For a while, I was on the daily blogging kick. I always had something to write about. Lately, it isn’t that I don’t have something to say, it just seems what I do have to say seems rather insignificant to me. I’m not one for speaking just to hear myself talk. Anyone can do that and contribute absolutely nothing to the world. Life being as short as it is, I’d like to offer something that inspires someone or encourages them.

I gave someone a compliment recently and they thanked me and told me they were surprised by it. Seems people don’t give out compliments anymore without a motive or expectation. I let them know what I speak is genuine and real with no expectations. I accept people as they are, the good and the bad because I am not perfection myself. Now, I wasn’t always an accepting person, but I have learned judging people brings it right back on you. And, most times, when you are judging others, it is because you see something you don’t like in them that is really in you.

Maybe, instead of judging someone because they don’t do or think they way you do, you can practice some acceptance. Complete and total acceptance. After all, isn’t that what you would want someone to do for you?

If it were possible to live off of Strawberry Shortcake and not end up the size of a house, I would seriously consider doing it. Having this for dessert after Sunday dinner marks the change of the seasons from warm comfort food to light and easy food. More sunshine, time outdoors and baseball seem to put most people in a pretty good mood. I admit, I have major spring fever and would love, LoVe, LOVE to be planning a trip somewhere in the out of doors where I can sit and breath in the fresh air without a care in the world…eating shortcake.

This will happen soon. Very soon, in fact. The tides are changing and I feel yet another major change coming my way. I can not help but be excited by being in a state of unknown and complete trust. Sometimes, you have to get to that point where you stop trying to control ever little detail of your life and just go with the flow. What is the best that can happen? I can dream up a few things. In fact, I can dream up 101 good things.

I wish you an amazing day full of wonder, hope and fulfilled dreams.

An amazing day for me does not have anything to do with receiving something or doing something out of the ordinary. Today was great simply because it was. My eldest daughter put her culinary skills to use and fixed an excellent dinner. The weather was darn near ideal for kite flying and the sun was out most of the day. Amazing how a day of great weather can change your whole outlook on life.

The past few weeks, I have been assisting a friend in preparing to campaign for Leukemia & Lymphoma Man of the Year. This is an annual competition where candidates nation-wide compete for the titles LLS Man and Woman of the Year both locally and nationally by raising funds for the Society. I had the honor of attending the kick-off for the Cincinnati chapter last Friday and was deeply moved by the stories the families of the Boy & Girl of the Year shared about how blood cancer has affected their children and their family. As I moved around the room that evening, I spoke with many people either competing for the title or helping someone to do so and hearing how they had some kind of connection that drew them to assist the LLS with fund raising. I can tell you my heart was truly filled that evening not only because of the children we are raising funds in honor of, but also because of the ten dedicated men and women and their teams that are coming together for the next ten weeks to raise funds for blood cancer research. I ask that you consider donating to Jeremy’s campaign (we have a very aggressive goal), and help us win this title by raising the most funds.

Funny. I created this quote well over a year ago when I was at a rather low point in my current journey. I did it because I wanted something positive to focus on when my circumstances, at the time, gave me little to no hope that things would improve. Now, over a year later, I am in a better place. I am still going through the journey, which continues to be full uncertainty, but there is a difference…I am filled with an abundance of hope for my future. It is not because of anyone or anything, exactly. The change for me has all been internal. I am learning to not focus on what I see with my physical eyes, but to believe for the things I want to come into my life. I am no longer afraid to express myself or own who I am. I no longer apologize for being me and I refuse to change who I am for another person. I am enough. Always have been.

I have this tiny journal with multiple pages like the one above, with little sayings I created. I enjoy a good quote and often use other people’s to get my point across. With this journal, I decided to come up with my own quotes. They are closer to expressing what is on my mind and in my heart than someone else’s words. My own words are significant and worthy. I am more mindful now of using my own voice to express myself first before using another person’s words. Often times, those quotes are taken out of context and you lose the full meaning of why they said what they said. We all have gifts and talents to share. The challenge is discovering, embracing and finally sharing them with confidence and courage.

May you be a joyful inspiration to others today.