“Blessed are they who have the gift of friends, for it is one of God’s best gifts” ~ Thomas Hughes
I can’t quite believe it, but my daughter turned eight last week. When she was born everyone said “time will go so quickly, don’t forget to enjoy her”. They weren’t wrong. It just feels like yesterday I was stroking her precious cheeks, in teary awe at the beautiful creation before me.
At Christmastime in 1917, a speciality store in Kansas City, U.S.A. ran out of red, white, green, and holly embellished tissue sheets (sold as gift wrap).
The owners of the store were brothers, J.C. and Rollie Hall who improvised by bringing in French decorative ‘envelope lining paper’ from the manufacturing plant of their greeting cards. It sold out so quickly they decided to produce their own sheets, and this marked the beginning of the modern-day gift wrap industry.
“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value, and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. It requires a conscious decision because it is a countercultural lifestyle” ~ Joshua Becker
The other day, I realised something remarkable. For the better part of 12 months, I’ve had a considerable amount of freedom to do the things I love, despite the fact that it’s been my busiest year ever.
This isn’t a story about how I lost weight. And, it’s not a tale lamenting the reasons I’ve let myself go. Instead, it’s a blog about letting go of the weight of my body issues.
As I write this, I’m on guard. My (almost) eight year old daughter keeps looking over my shoulder, curious to read my screen.
It’s her at the centre of my thoughts.
Toilet paper. Not something I ever imagined blogging about, but on this occasion I can’t hold back.
Don’t worry. I’m not about to draw you into a scrunch or fold debate, or try and convince you there’s a right way to hang the roll (there is), I’m here to share that there’s a new kid in town, and it’s kicking butt.
A few years ago my best friend’s stepdad passed away. It was a sad and difficult time, but there was a silver lining – I was in New Zealand when it happened, and I was on hand to offer my love and support.
What came as surprise though, was that after all the years of knowing my best friend, I struggled to find the right way to comfort her in this situation.
Last year, right before Christmas I deactivated my Facebook account. It wasn’t unexpected.
Twelve months before that, I started simplifying many areas of my life through the philosophy of minimalism.
Part of that journey included decluttering my digital space, so I ‘unfollowed’ every single one of my Facebook friends, and systematically placed them into ‘Lists’. Continue reading
“If I waited for perfection I would never write a word” ~ Margaret Atwood
When I was a teenager, I unwittingly equated ‘being creative’ with ‘being an artist’. In my high-school classes there were kids so talented I felt like an imposter. I loved everything to do with art, but sadly, I felt I had no business being amongst such sublimely gifted individuals. Continue reading
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