3 Quotes Making A Difference in My Life This Week

1. "You are how you move." Tracy Anderson

I've never been one to buy fitness magazines, but I picked up the latest issue of Fitness Rx for Women because Tracy Anderson, trainer for Gwyn Paltrow and the like, is featured on the cover. She says in the article that she doesn't believe in body types. No pear shape or apple shape, etc. She says that you are how you move. Swimmers have swimmer's bodies. Dancers have dancer's bodies. Runners have runner's bodies.

Wow. This is so obvious but it's very empowering. It also explains most succinctly why I have sitter's body. Or reader's body. Or both. Either way, it's good to think about as I move around {or don't} on any given day. With my work, there's lots of driving, writing, reading, computer time...all sitting. I start to feel like Prudence in Once Upon A Potty.
She sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat
and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and
sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and...

Not complaining, just putting pieces together.What I love about it is that it shows just how powerful these things we tell ourselves can be. I've thought a million times: this is just my body type. What if that's just another lie I have told myself? Sure, it would seem that my shape is what it is, but if anyone is going to re-write this little script running in my head, it's got to be me. Particularly since the script is about the only thing that has been running consistently.

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2. "If it can be done, you can do it. It's a matter of choice." Marian Robinson

Loved this interview with Marian Robinson (the first lady's mom) said about parenting: "We wanted them to have the feeling they can try anything. The saying was, 'If it can be done, you can do it.' It's a matter of choice."

I love that. How many times have I discounted myself before I began. This is more than saying to your children that they can be astronauts. It's telling them to look at what is possible and choosing -active voice- to do the work it takes to get there.

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3. "Your home is the airport for your life." -Peter Walsh

So true. The runway is looking better around here, but I still have some work to do in baggage claim.

Coming Up For Air

-I've started writing several posts for this blog in one sitting and scheduling the publish dates so that there should be new material even on days when I'm away for work. Plus, it is such a gift when I check bloglines and see that I have a new post that I've forgotten about. A little piece of sanity back.

-The 29 gifts in 29 days project is so much fun and so easy. Give it a shot if you have the slightest interest.

-I'm in love with Bento boxes and have had the most fun searching for the perfect one for each of us to use for our lunches.

-Why is it that some hotel rooms are so peaceful? The good ones have figured out how we live and also, how to have closed storage and clean surfaces. I am working on creating more of that in my home. It has become a bit of an obsession.

After doing some research and finding this great post: zen habits: a guide to creating a minimalist home, my new project it to ask myself in every room and every drawer, "what is essential?"

I love the suggestion in this article that, "the key is to remove the unnecessary stuff." It is a life philosophy.

I have trouble keeping my head above water in the small house. Putting things away and cleaning is a full time job for all of us. My husband is even more diligent about it than I am, and still, so much of our time is spent trying to find homes for things loose about the house. I think I have figured out the problem. We have no storage space and yet, I'm keeping things as though I do.
No more.

It is so so liberating.

What's more, I realized that I was "storing" every emotion that I associate with each object as well. Freeing up space is literally helping me feel there is room for more good things to come into our lives.

Dorktown Revisited

Just discovered that Organize.com has a special tab called She that lists items for sale based on areas of interest for the following categories:
The Career Girl
The Hostess
The Traveler
She is Creative
and so on.
I must be Every Woman like Chaka Khan, because I identified with every category and found stuff I loved in each. Enjoy.

20.

These bookshelves have me looking at every nook in the house as a potential library. For more of the photos, click the bookshelves link above.



So beautiful! It's like Shakespeare & Co. Books meets Dwell Magazine.

Photo Logo

Thanks to the creative genius at Pixel By Pixel, my little photography business has a new logo.

I'm so excited. The graphic artist came up with several delightful designs. I wanted something very simple and clean though because I'm still defining the scope of the business. I wanted something reflective of newspaper print because I prefer photojournalism. They did a beautiful job. If you are starting your own business, I would highly recommend one of their small business packages.

A Quick Clean-Up Idea

Some dear friends of ours have a new sweet little 4 month old baby. We are all in love with her.

The daddy came up with what he calls, "The Dirty Thirty" where the first 30 minutes that he is home in the evening, he runs around the house to pick up and clean as fast as he can.

I love this concept. It compartmentalizes what we all dread and limits the time so you can move on when it's over.

We try to throw in a load of laundry any time the tv is turned on. Now, if only my Tivo were connected to the treadmill - or even better, my computer- so that these devices would only operate under the power of me exercising.

Bouquets of Sharpened Pencils

"Don't you love New York in the Fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would buy you a bouquet of sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms" Tom Hanks as Joe Fox in You've Got Mail. Or me, to you.

And on that note, check out See Jane Work.

What more can be said? I mean, stylish organization tools? It's like crack rock for the compulsive. I love every product and have already put the 8 day planner to use from Bob's Your Uncle and I love it.

Organizing for the Type A

Organize Magazine Editor-in-Chief Joyce Dorny was kind to leave a comment a few posts back and I must tell you that I have read and re-read the premiere issue of Organize a few times now and have cruised their interactive site a good bit and I am so excited about this magazine.



I'm the first to admit that I am a label making, borderline OCD, alphabetizing, categorizing nut, so it's probably no surprise that this magazine would be a fave** but as such, I've picked up lots of these kinds of publications in the past and this one is truly unique. Here's why:

First, Joyce has started this magazine from the ground up and is the mother of 1-2-3-4-5-6, I repeat SIX children, so she must be the Zen master of organization. She brings humility and the genuine, real world experience to the conversation that has been missing. Other organization guides would have me hire a maid and build expensive-can't-move-with-me built-in-shelves in every room. Can't do it. Next. But Organize had some tangible, do-able advice on any budget without the condescension. And the ads are sparse but relevant.

I know life would be easier and more organized if we paid people to do lots of homeowner things for us like housekeeping and yard work. But what about those of us who budget with a different priority set, but still aspire to minimize the chaos? I'm hopeful that Organize Magazine will continue to offer some suggestions.

I have yet to assimilate the Little Tykes, Brio, Fisher Price mine field into the house. They are everywhere. I'm still polling girlfriends with small kiddos about how they are maintaining their sanity. Two girlfriends so far have suggested getting rid of as much stuff as possible and then initiating a separate container for every toy or group of toys. A home for everything. This is the seemingly unattainable goal, but I am willing to try. The Berenstain Bears and The Messy Room was my favorite book growing up because of that last page, with all of the labeled containers holding Brother and Sister Bear's toys. Even now, I get a warm, safe and comforting feeling just thinking about it.

**My favorite holiday tradition is re-organizing my loved ones' closets. Seriously.

Where Have You Gone Carrie Tuhy?

Paul Simon was on Charlie Rose this week --I know, I'm officially 200 years old. Not only am I watching Charlie Rose, but my other media go-to shows are on NPR. Oldsville-- and he said that our society is too focussed on the "empty calories" of celebrity culture. I am certainly guilty of consuming the empty calories of Pop Sugar, People, Hello!, etc., and of enjoying every cotton-candy bite. My challenge lately has been finding things that aren't empty calories.

My legal ethics professor used to say that all human beings are mimetic. I was dismissive of that idea at first. I'm an original, right? I don't imitate people. But, when it comes down to it, I'm always looking for role models, professional mentors, people who are living positive lives and balancing responsibilities. I'm watching this play out with my daughter right now as she is picking and choosing what things she wants to emulate from the various influences in her life. I'm starting to think that our obsession with celebrities is more of that pursuit: for role models of success.

As a type A personality, semi-OCD, compulsive organizer who loves magazines, the launch of Real Simple Magazine was very exciting to me. I was a charter subscriber and read every issue cover to cover. Those were the days when they ran articles on actual families who had found ways to live simpler, quieter, less chaotic, organized lives! It was the I Ching of organizing and time management filled with ideas for creating zen in your home and office. For me, there were role models in the articles. People who were living life in a positive, simple way. Where can I find that now? Now, Real Simple is filled with 3 page comparisons on different kinds of ketchup. Boo! What is this, Consumer Reports? A Pepsi Challenge? I've tried to find comfort in the pages of others: Domino? Blueprint? Martha? In the words of George Costanza, NO. NO. NO. They are lovely, but Pixie Sticks nonetheless.

I'm thrilled that Victoria is coming back in December, but that's not going to fill my need for somebody to give me tips on how to (absent amphetamines) find time to organize my day planner, car, office and kitchen drawer while packing a nutritious creative lunch, planning a relaxing family outing/neighborhood picnic with time to spare to evaluate storage solutions for my imaginary farmhouse.

In those golden years when Real Simple began, Carrie Tuhy was Managing Editor and her essays at the beginning of each issue were always worthy of tearing out and keeping in a journal. Her piece after 9/11 was more poignant than anything else I've read on the topic. The magazine ran stories then about large families and how to keep schedules for them, streamlining at work, groups of girlfriends re-uniting for simple dinner or getaway, finding ways to bring a neighborhood together, adding time to your day by organizing obligations, running a restaurant with friends, coping with loss in a proactive way. Stick-to-your-bones journalism. Now, there is Heinz v. Hunts. Seriously.

A New York Times article said Ms. Tuhy was replaced as editor because she had "management problems." Whatever these alleged problems were, I don't care. She's human. What was inspiring to me was that she had vision and could find stories of people who are trying to make it work and who were willing to share what was working for them. I don't need my role models to be perfect, just willing to share in a meaningful conversation.

Seaworthy Living

About once every 6 months or so, our 1300 square foot stone cottage starts to swell. You can almost see the house's pulse from the street. I re-arrange and re-organize and purge clutter and try to set up new play areas for my daughter's toys, the dog's toys, the cat's neuroses, my husband's books and my bags. And then, I start feeling antsy under the pressure, and before I know it, I'm wandering over to the local Realtor website of area listings.

Of the thousands of listings, there is usually only one that peaks my interest and then I obsess about it, decide that ultimately it won't work for some reason or another, and then re-commit to the cottage, promising to be a better resident, devoted to finding new creative solutions to the challenges of a small space. I have always dreamed of living at sea, and this is a nice trial run at togetherness. We just need those nautical cabinets in the house with latches to secure everything and clean off the surfaces.

A year ago, we found the perfect house for us and it sold within 5 hours of going on the market. But in retrospect, we were secretly relieved that it sold so fast, because if it hadn't, and we were actually confronted with all of that space, it would have been a difficult decision.

For all of the challenges of a small house, I am comforted that no one is ever alone in the cottage, that one load of laundry can make the entire house smell like clean cotton, that cooking in our kitchen is always done elbow to elbow. You can't stay mad at anyone in the cottage because, like being on a boat, there's just not space to walk away. Music is shared. Dancing is encouraged. Cuddles are sometimes accidental. But it's home.

I just have to remind myself, each time I feel an impluse to take on more of a mortgage, how wonderful it is to have a cozy English cottage that we can fill up with books and tea and brio trains.