my luggage scale.

One of the smartest little tools I ever purchased was a luggage scale.  I am not a "pack light" kind of girl.  I like to have the things I need and enjoy with me when I travel... so I have a wonderfully large suitcase. 

Tip #1:  Ideally, and whenever possible, I fly Southwest so I do not pay any luggage fees.

Tip #2: Whenever I fly (paying for luggage or not) I get my money's worth by taking the entire 50 lbs - without going over and paying the extra fees.  This is where the luggage scale comes in!  If by some fluke I still have some extra needed weight to hit the 50 (or 49.5) mark, I add a bottle of wine (wrapped in bubble wrap and plastic) or bottled water - both items that save $ on the other end.

Tip #3: I only buy luggage from LLBean because they stand behind their products.  I have had numerous pieces replaced, and that gets my vote.

it's a new day DAWN-ing.

I only use Dawn dish soap because nothing cuts the grease like Dawn.  It is, or was, hard on the hands, but have you tried the new Dawn with Olay?  My favorite is the Tropical Shea Butter scent.  This wonderful new product comes with a warning:  You are going to want to wash dishes at every possible opportunity.

out with the old, in with the new.

Have you located your favorite place to "recycle" items in your home and closet?  I just dropped off three bags of what has become not useful or beautiful to me anymore at my favorite spot.  The point is that the adage "one man's junk is another man's treasure" has much truth to it.   I can feel great clearly out stuff that has lost its value to me while thinking that someone out there in the world might really love to have it.  What a win-win situation.  And isn't it a huge treat when dresser drawers are not crammed full, and drawers look less hectic? 

I am also motivated to regularly clear out "stuff" because I put the money I get back in an envelope labeled JCrew.  It is fun to "splurge" on something special with my secret envelope.

Susan Branch says "Have nothing in your home that you do not believe to be beautiful or know to be useful."

my desk chair.

Yes.  I sit on an exercise ball at my desk.  Over in the corner I have a rather darling pink & white Pottery Barn desk chair, but it is not what I sit on when I have hours of computer time ahead of me.  I work with an amazing massage therapist at The Little House Day Spa.  I happened to mention to her some time ago that the only time I feel any serious pain is when I stand up after sitting at my computer for a long time.  That is when she recommended that I try sitting on an exercise ball.  The ball "chair" forces you to sit up straighter and you automatically hold your core muscles a little tighter.

I headed straight to a sporting goods store and purchased the size that related to the height of a desk chair (when my weight is on top of it.)  I noticed an immediate difference.  And I did not roll off the ball uncontrollably as I anticipated.  For whatever reason, this past week I started using my desk chair again... until the stiffness drove me back to my handy dandy ball.  Besides, it is fun having playground equipment in your office.



it's a nifty thrifty Christmas.

We decided to cut back on the amount of money we spent on Christmas gifts this year.  We were motivated for several reasons, but this challenge has turned out to be a blast.  I still made many wonderful gifts through my Creative Memories business (custom calendars and personalized boxes of note cards) and Mike will still be baking his wonderful bread. 
But eight people on our gift list are in for a wonderful treat. Over a two week period I went to our local resale shop called Nifty Thrifty and did the bulk of my holiday shopping.  And not only that, I told myself there would be a $10 limit for each person.  The photos below show the amazing "finds".  Each photo shows the collection of items I grouped for each lucky recipient.  For real, all are now wrapped and under the tree --- and the combined price tag was under $80.

This adventure made me feel nifty... and thrifty.

dare to be unconventional.

I got the idea for this post when I was raking leaves at the new house with the first snow fall.  I meant to get the leaves picked up earlier this fall.  It just never happened.  I heard that 'snow was coming' so I popped out of bed on Saturday morning and started trimming back the peonies.  I had not worked for 15 minutes when the first fluffy flakes began to fall. I kept thinking to myself 'I hope nobody sees me out here or they will think I am crazy'... But then I realized that I was loving every minute of feeling the big snowflakes hit my face and felt like I was intimately involved in the sacred changing of the seasons.  I felt like I was participating in an exhilarating outdoor winter sport, staying warm and toasty in the cold with the aggressive physical raking and filling the pickup with my bounty.  At the end of the morning I was hoping I can rake leaves at first snowfall next year too!

In honor of this splendid event, I decided I would make a little list of other unconventional things we should try - and ENJOY:

Sleep until noon.


Send Christmas Cards two months late.
(I have had people thank me for this because they said they actually have time to read & enjoy it then. ha.)


Don't attend every single sporting event your kids are in.
(Use the time to bless your whole family by working on your family photos or planning a special meal.)


Grill in the middle of a snow storm.


Spend a fraction of what you usually do at Christmas by being clever.

I can recommend ALL of the above from personal experience.  Dare to do it differently.

how to be a lady.

Daughter Emily told me about a charming book she has been reading to the girls in her junior high classroom. As soon as I could get my hands on a copy of How To Be a Lady by Candice Simpson-Giles, I have been reading it to the girls at the dinner table.  The author shares common sense wisdom for everything from carrying a purse, to setting a table and etiquette on a date. The girls are listening, and so are Mike and I.


Most of the helpful instruction is given in one or two sentence blurbs like: "A lady never asks her friends in need what she can do for them.  It is better for a lady to respond to a need she sees than to expect a friend to come up with a job for her."  Or "A lady knows how to make and accept an apology."

This week I let the girls pick a section to read and they happened to select "How to Deal with Divorced Friends."  I appreciated the wisdom so much that I wanted to share the whole section:

Candace Simpson-Giles says "A lady regrets seeing any loving relationship break up, especially if she considers both persons to be her friends.  However, her regret is for their pain, not for her own.  She does not take sides in the marital strife; she does not carry tales back and forth between opposing camps.             If her friends are recently divorced, a lady does not attempt to put them in situations - a small dinner party, for example - where they will be forced to encounter each other.   She tries to maintain communication with both parties, but she understands that she is now friends with two people, not a couple.   Maintaining these friendships may require twice as much effort - and twice as much time.             After a reasonable amount of time has passed, however, a lady may feel free to include both friends in the same event, especially when a good many other people are involved.   To forestall any anxiety, though, she is thoughtful enough to make sure both parties are informed ahead of time.  She also makes sure that her guest list includes other single people, so that the divorced person does not feel like a fifth wheel."

Such lovely advice.  I am happy to print this because I am sorry to say that I have learned that people need some help to be graceful in these circumstances.  Mother Rabbit also wants to salute her friends that have known how to manage this delicate place with love and grace.