Yesterday I had a conversation with a son who needed to get something and I was telling him a less-expensive place to purchase it. He said, "It's not the money, it's just finding the time to go make the purchase."
This got me to thinking about the excuses we all make. With some people, it's time, others it is money.
Larry H. Miller was one of the wealthiest businessmen in Salt Lake, owner of the Utah Jazz and numerous car dealerships. Yet a few years ago he died in his fifties of complications of diabetes. People who knew him said, "He never took the time to take care of himself." He had plenty of money for medical care, but neglected getting it due to being too busy. Diabetes is one of those illnesses where you MUST take proper care of yourself, with diet, exercise and regular medical care or it will kill you.
Think of all the joys in life we neglect because of "no time" or "no money." I have learned that those are nothing more than convenient excuses. There are ways and means to accomplish goals without an abundance of either. Sometimes it takes creative thinking, sometimes asking for help from others, sometimes just focus and determination.
Your comments on my last post about Simple Pleasures shared many ways to be happy, and most of them did not require much time or money. Anyone who thinks they don't have enough time or money for whatever should go back and read those comments.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Simple Pleasures
Today I am thinking about simple pleasures, those activities that aren't necessary to keep life functioning, but that are essential for daily happiness. When we moved from California to Utah 21 years ago, I missed the simple pleasures of taking my kids to the parks and to the beaches. People said, "Oh, the mountains are awesome." But it just didn't feel the same.
Now we have moved again (still in Utah but down the road a ways) and I am missing the simple pleasures of my life in our old neighborhood. Good friends, our backyard garden oasis, fruit trees, the sound of birds waking us up and putting us to sleep at night. On top of that, my mom died this year and I miss the simple pleasure of our weekly phone calls. My husband and I are on a strict diet essential for our health and I miss the joy of drinking massive quantities of diet Coke while I write. Silly, isn't it? I have everything I need, but I am looking for some new simple pleasures to replace the ones that I've lost.
Got any ideas for me? What simple pleasures do you most enjoy?
Now we have moved again (still in Utah but down the road a ways) and I am missing the simple pleasures of my life in our old neighborhood. Good friends, our backyard garden oasis, fruit trees, the sound of birds waking us up and putting us to sleep at night. On top of that, my mom died this year and I miss the simple pleasure of our weekly phone calls. My husband and I are on a strict diet essential for our health and I miss the joy of drinking massive quantities of diet Coke while I write. Silly, isn't it? I have everything I need, but I am looking for some new simple pleasures to replace the ones that I've lost.
Got any ideas for me? What simple pleasures do you most enjoy?
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Use it up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without
In my novel Uncut Diamonds, the main characters, Marcie and Shawn McGill, experience some rough times. It is the seventies, when the U.S. had one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. Marcie has to get resourceful to make ends meet, and she gets ideas and motivation from the writings of her grandmother, who was a farm wife in Nebraska during the Great Depression.
Many people talk about the poor economy right now, but believe me, it isn't anything like what we experienced in the seventies. *I sound so old when I say that* Still, along with many currently trying to spend less is the recycle, reuse, going green-type mentality that brings back some of the frugal practices of days past.
Like this awesome dress my friend made out of two T-shirts:
She took a red and a blue T-shirt, cut and sewed and came up with a cute jersey dress to wear to our Fourth of July BBQ.
The T-shirts were given to her, she gets a lot of them from her job and so snip/snip voila!
Cute dress: Cost $00.00
Many people talk about the poor economy right now, but believe me, it isn't anything like what we experienced in the seventies. *I sound so old when I say that* Still, along with many currently trying to spend less is the recycle, reuse, going green-type mentality that brings back some of the frugal practices of days past.
Like this awesome dress my friend made out of two T-shirts:
She took a red and a blue T-shirt, cut and sewed and came up with a cute jersey dress to wear to our Fourth of July BBQ.
The T-shirts were given to her, she gets a lot of them from her job and so snip/snip voila!
Cute dress: Cost $00.00
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Enjoying Summer
Summer is finally here in the Rocky Mountain West. We are settled into our new home, which I love because there are pathways, parks and even a lake, making it very inviting for a reluctant walker such as myself.
My husband and I are following the HCG diet plan, that's our huge project for the summer-- to get ourselves back in shape. So far he has lost 15 lbs, and I've lost 8, after the first three weeks on the plan. Today I even got him to walk a little ways with me. We stalled this week because it turns out that some things we thought were okay actually had sugar in them.
I'm also writing a lot as well as editing. My blogging activities are really taking a hit. But I think that's happening with a lot of people. Summer is time for being outdoors, holding barbecues, traveling someplace new, planting flowers, and just chillin' by the open window feeling the cool morning breeze. I love summer.
My husband and I are following the HCG diet plan, that's our huge project for the summer-- to get ourselves back in shape. So far he has lost 15 lbs, and I've lost 8, after the first three weeks on the plan. Today I even got him to walk a little ways with me. We stalled this week because it turns out that some things we thought were okay actually had sugar in them.
I'm also writing a lot as well as editing. My blogging activities are really taking a hit. But I think that's happening with a lot of people. Summer is time for being outdoors, holding barbecues, traveling someplace new, planting flowers, and just chillin' by the open window feeling the cool morning breeze. I love summer.
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