Why Pick a Word? Do you pick a word or phrase as a theme for the year? I don’t remember how long ago I started picking a theme word, but it might coincide with when I started using the Rituals for Living Dreambook and Planner. I love this planner so much. I really feel like it helps me stay focused on what is important and helps me make plans to achieve some things that might just fall under “that would be nice” or “someday” if I didn’t have a system for dreaming and planning. My theme word for 2019 was Read More
Tag: Non Fiction
2019 Annual Review, Decade Review, Turning Point
It’s the end of another year and the end of a decade. Last year I wrote my first Annual Review on the blog, and I am sticking to the same format this year with a little expansion for looking back at the decade as it draws to a close. As they say, this year has been a real humdinger. Right this moment I find myself in a sort of “grey space,” and in-between state. I’ve mentioned it before, and for now, it persists. This exercise will help me see that there is balance between the highs and the lows – Read More
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
I love the holidays. I love seeing my aunts, uncles, and cousins and being reminded how lucky I am to come from a big family. What I don’t love is coming down sick the day after Thanksgiving when my workload is insane and I really can’t take any time off. At least I don’t have to worry about spreading my disease when I’m the only one in the office. In an effort to ensure I am not spreading the plague, I went to see my doctor. In true doctor fashion, he asked me a lot of questions, but my favorite Read More
Third Quarter Review 2019
Well, y’all…. DANG. I complained that the first quarter was rough, then I said the second quarter kicked it up a notch. Now… How do I put this? The third quarter kicked my teeth in, then it poured a little gasoline over my head, lit a match, walked away until the flames died out, then came back with a wire-bristled brush and scrubbed at those burns until there was nothing left but blood and bones. How do you describe it when you have already had a rough year, your “summertime” depression refusing to pass, and one thing after another triggering Read More
Learning to Live
It’s back to school time here in beautiful Northwest Arkansas. This always seems like a good time for a fresh start. I think a new school year probably runs second only to New Year’s Day when it comes to people thinking about how they want to change their lives in the upcoming months. This is the first fall that neither of my kids are going to school. Kid #1 has graduated from college and #2 is taking a bit of a gap year. That doesn’t mean I didn’t peruse the Back to School aisles and get myself some new Staedtler Read More
Self Help Fest
In the first half of this year, I read 27 books. Twelve of those were non-fiction books that I think qualify as “self help.” Maybe a better way of describing these books is to say they are for my personal or professional development, but isn’t that just trying to put a spin on the fact that I am, in fact, trying to help my Self. I have always enjoyed this type of book ever since I read I’m Okay, You’re Okay in high school. I have seriously considered joining or starting a Self Help book club. Here are the books Read More
Epic Road Trip Adventure
When I chose the word ADVENTURE for my 2019 theme, this road trip was already in the works. Last year, I attended the Bright Line Eating Annual Family Reunion in San Diego all by myself. It was my first vacation alone, and while I loved spending time with my Bright Lifer roommate, it felt like a waste to pay for a nice room at a resort with all these amenities and not get to use them. I got the crazy idea in my head that my family could come with me and enjoy the resort. Naturally, we thought it would Read More
Second Quarter Review 2019
It’s the first of July, so we are officially at the halfway mark of 2019. This means it’s time to check in with our goals and themes for the year. My theme for the year is Adventure, and I tried to couch my goals in that theme. Let’s see how much progress I made in the second quarter. It feels like just the other day that I just wrote this post reviewing the first quarter…. Was it really three months ago? It was. So here’s my Q2 progress report. Mood I explained that the first three months were rough, so Read More
First Quarter Review 2019
It’s April, and that means we have moved into the second quarter of 2019. Spring is in the air, and it’s a good time to check how we are tracking on our 2019 goals. I love using my Rituals for Living Dreambook and Planner to plan my year, and it is conveniently formatted by quarters to help break your long-term projects into achievable tasks. You might recall that my focus for the year is ADVENTURE, and I planned to embody that word through three avenues: attitude, activity, and (of course) books. Let’s review each of these and I will give Read More
Nothing to Say
Speechless? ME? It will come as a surprise to most of my friends – and definitely to my family – for me to say that I have recently found myself more and more frequently at a loss for words. How do you write a blog when you don’t have anything to say this week? I believe you do this the same way you do most difficult things – you just do it anyway. Has Trina finally used up all the words? One of my book clubs is reading Vox soon. This is a book where women can only speak 100 Read More