Since I’ve been on a bit of a personal financial lockdown (i.e. trying not to spend too much money), I was astounded to find out that I had more money in my accounts than I thought I did.  I couldn’t figure out why until I got to the office on Tuesday and saw an email from accounting saying that they paid out my 2011 sick leave.  Sweet!  More money in the bank? 

Well, for now, there is.  But that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some extra purchases made.  My first stop was to find a new rug for the office, because the one I purchased, doesn’t match at all with the decor.  I kept thinking while I was in Ottawa, I need to order the gray rug like I originally planned.

Well…a little search at Home Decorators Collection for a new rug…and I found an Eggplant jute rug that would match the room PERFECTLY!

3’x5′ Rug, $18.99 (comes in 4 colors)

Not a bad price, right?  I think after shipping and tax it was around $30.  Plus, I used Ebates, so I got an additional 3.5% back.

I purchased the dragonfly rug last week, laid it down before I started packing for Canada, took one look at it and thought…this is so not going to work.  Surita doesn’t even like it.  She’s liked everything we’ve done so far…this rug was a NO on her part (who knew the cat had taste).  I may end up moving the rug into the living room or the kitchen.

My next purchase was actually travel related…but very important.  On my Goodbye USA bucket list, I have “See Constantine Maroulis.”  Well, as you know on this site, I’ve seen Constantine…a few times.  But for some strange reason I feel like I need to see him again and again.  Odd thing is…I can’t call myself a fan of Constantine’s…I just really enjoy his work.  He’s one of those artists that make you feel what he’s doing…that passion for what he does.  He kind of invokes a little nostalgia from my rock and roll days.  It’s like I can safely revisit my 20s without getting my heart shattered all over the place.  He just makes me remember the things that I loved about those days…the part where passion for what you’re doing IS everything.  He reminds me of how I got to where I am today.

So I booked my ticket to see him in The Toxic Avenger the musical…in Houston, Texas. 

I’ve been reading the reviews and articles for it ever since he started rehearsing.  The behind-the-scenes looks reminded me of how much fun I used to have when I was acting once upon a dream.

So I’m off to Houston next weekend to see Constantine in his latest musical.  BUT of more important news, I found out while I was in Ottawa that there will be a Jekyll & Hyde revival on Broadway.  That really made my doctor’s 12-18 month medical lockdown worth staying in the country for.  But alas, even better news…Constantine plays the lead in my all-time favorite musical.  And yes, I know every word to every song. 

I’m beginning to think that Constantine and I share the same soul or something…they say that in each new lifetime your soul splits…well, if you’ve had a few lifetimes, that’s a lot of splits.  Thus, another reason why I’m going down memory lane…not only was Jekyll & Hyde my favorite musical…it was also the music that was in my music binder at voice school.  In other words, those were the songs I rehearsed and sang in voice school…back in my 20s. 

In a way, I keep looking at Constantine as if he’s living that dream that I walked away from all those years ago when that rockstar broke my heart.  I walked away from the ‘expected to head to Broadway,’ the ‘rocker life’ and everything that went into being an actress/singer.  I walked away from it all.  It’s what happens when someone shatters your dream for you.  So in a way, I feel like I’m living vicariously through Constantine.  He’s living that life I had always dreamed of living. 

Why HIM and not anyone else? 

See him sometime.  It’s that passion he puts into it.  It’s a lot like the passion I have when I talk about living the dream.  It’s 100% genuine.

So with theatre tickets comes hotel reservations and plane tickets to Houston, Texas for the final weekend of The Toxic Avenger (next weekend).  I think I’ll be all over the country when Constantine takes the role of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, that is, before it hits Broadway.  The show will be on the road first.

If anything I’ve learned from recent Constantine events…book him when you know for a fact that he’s performing.  The whole Ghost thing…I was really upset he didn’t get the role, but eh…he got something way better…Jekyll & Hyde.  I’d take seeing that show every night of the week over Ghost. 

What makes J&H so special?  “This is The Moment” and “Someone Like You” defined me in my 20s.  I remember hearing my instructor tell me, “You sing that like a young Barbra Streisand.”  Those songs helped pit me at the top of the school.  Why?  Because the songs defined who I was and still am…someone looking to find their dreams.

So between booking a trip to Houston and shopping for a new rug…that’s it for shopping this week.  I am trying to decide on my next handbag.  Maybe I’ll purchase one in Houston, because I did not buy one in Ottawa (even though I’ve been scouring The Bay’s website looking for the bag I saw in their store). 

This weekend, I’m in Philadelphia (Jagr’s groin better be okay…just saying).  Thanks to all the Philly tweeps and media who keep emailing me and tweeting me about Jagr’s comings and goings…I find it funny that he is the only hockey player that fans/media constantly update me on.  I think Russ Cohen just finds the whole ‘synchronicity’ thing hilarious…and he covers the Flyers.

So for the next week and a half, I’ll be researching Houston to figure out what to do while I’m there.  I’m thinking ‘antiqueing’ will be on my main agenda when not at The Toxic Avenger. 

Oh, and since I’m on medical lockdown in this country for the next 12-18 months (doctor will not let me permanently leave the USA for Africa)…I’m coming up with my very own USA bucket list.  I’ll be posting it up soon…

For most hockey ladies, we are kind of in love with this show called “Supernatural.”  Sam and Dean…now add hottie for the last few seasons, Castiel (the fallen angel)…we are just eye candied up every winter.

I recently got my brother hooked on this show over the holidays.  While we were in Target, I saw that Season 6 had just come out on DVD.  I grabbed it, was looking at the back of the cover reading it when this Target employee walks by, stops, shrieks at the top of her lungs, “OH MY GAWD! IS THAT THE NEWEST DVD OF SUPERNATURAL?”  I replied, “Yes.”  She shrieked again, grabbed a copy and ran off with it.

My brother had no idea what this was about.  He just thought it was some chick flick.  Oh, little did he know this was the type of show that was right up our alley.  Hell, we talk about apocalypses and angels and demons all of the time.  Yeah, these are the private conversations that we have had our entire life that no one would understand but Sam and Dean themselves.

When we got to the final episode of Season Six, Castiel proclaimed himself GOD and demanded that Sam, Dean and Bobby bow before him or suffer the wrath of GOD.  And then it kind of ended.  My brother yelled, “WHAT?  This can’t be how it ends!” 

Yep…he’s a Supernatural freak now.

Well, I couldn’t wait until the next DVD, so I started watching the show online…only to find out that they killed off Castiel.  How the hell do they kill off Castiel?  I mean, HOW!?!?

So a little Googling just now and I found out Castiel is coming back!  He’ll be back in Episode 17.  Hallelujah!  Castiel LIVES! 

Because following @MishaCollins (the guy who plays Castiel) isn’t enough…I need to see him as eye candy on Supernatural…and that season when he was in 24…that was pleasant, too. 

I’m very happy to see him back on Supernatural.  I’m still laughing at that episode where the boys go into a different dimension and Sam and Dean are playing the actors that play them in the show.  They walk up to Misha Collins, thinking he’s Castiel, and start asking for help on how to get back to their dimension.  What was funny was that Misha exclaims he’s tweeting what happened!  Then he tweets it…he really tweeted it.  I started laughing hysterically, because I turned to my brother and said, “OMG!  He really did tweet that, because I remember him tweeting that months ago on Twitter!” 

Speaking of hockey and Misha…I wonder what this Boston native and former White House intern would have to say about Tim Thomas snubbing the Presidential Office today.  I don’t think his praise would be up there.

As the days pass into this new year of 2012, I’ve been making all of my plans (especially the financial ones) to make the big jump across the pond.  In a weird synchronistic movement of the universe around me, Jaromir Jagr says he wants to re-sign in Philly for next season.  Ok…word probably got to him that it’s not this year the Flyers win the Cup, it’s next year.

A few hours later, I’m sitting in my doctor’s office in the worst pain I’ve ever had in my life only to hear my doctor tell me that she doesn’t advise leaving for Africa just yet.  At the least, a year.  She tells me this to drive the point across about my health.  The test results are really that bad. 

$320 of ‘uninsurable costs’ later, I realize that the pain meds don’t work.  The pain keeps getting worse.  I’m sitting in my bed at 4AM begging the cat to remove herself from my lap because I’m in so much pain, I can’t move. 

After twenty minutes, I finally make my way to the bathroom for any kind of medicine that will relieve the pain so I can go back to sleep.  I find some Tylenol Precise and rub that over the inflamed area and then try to sleep on the couch.  It relieves most of the pain for the next 45 minutes before the pain returns again.

This has been my week.  It all started with doing something so intuitively stupid that it’s accumulated in some of the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime. 

Since my surgery back in 2008, I’ve regarded raw onions as a ‘death wish.’  I don’t know why I ever thought that, because I had eaten raw onions before the surgery and was just fine.  But after the surgery, I took one look at raw onions on my salad and thought…I would have to be insane to even attempt to eat a raw onion.

Ends up my intuition wasn’t joking about that raw onion.  I thought, since it’s been 3 years since the surgery, maybe I’ll be okay.  WRONG.  The second it hit my stomach, my stomach started reeling in pain shooting through my body like an electrical storm.  By that evening, the pain had centered right behind my stomach and into the back, along the spine.  Which ironically, is the exact spot on the opposite side of my back from where I had three tumors removed in 2005. 

I’ve always talked about test results coming back in either the yellow or red categories in the past.  This incident sent it barreling straight into the red abyss. 

Lesson learned…really listen to your intuition.

Granted, the situation has probably been around for some time and was just sent over the edge with this incident.  I don’t know, but after each test they administered yesterday, I was reeling in even more pain than I was before. 

When the doctor looked at the results, she relayed onto me how dangerous the situation really was…thus, the reason why she has put a medical stopper on me heading to Africa permanently.  She’s thinking this will go another 12-18 months. 

While we sat there discussing the issues, she was getting more and more pissed at me because she didn’t think I was reacting like the ‘oh my god, this is horrible, my life is over…’ kind of stance.  Instead, I just sat there taking in the normal blah, blah, blahs I’ve been hearing for the past three years…the ‘it’s nothing new’ kind of news.  I started talking about what I was going to do next in my adventure.

Life is always divided by those who take the negative and embrace it.  There are others who just look at the positives in life and move forward.  If you focus too much on dying, you’ll miss out on living.

How we perceive this lifetime also determines how we’ll live.  Sure, I could sit there and start crying because I’m in the red zone again.  I’ve sat there and cried in an examination room before.  Or, I could just say…whatever…there’s nothing new about this…just give me my prescription and I’ll go.

Imagine my surprise that no pain medication worked.  You know what did work?  Tai chi and meditation.  It worked so quickly…I began to wonder if all of the issues plaguing my body are actually a result of environmental stressors? 

I imagined that pain in my body to be a ball of pain, and I pushed that negative energy out of my body and into the universe as love.  I did this same movement three to four times and then centered again.  I opened my eyes and realized that 75% of the pain was gone.  What was left were just a few aches that could be cured with a small dose of ibuprofen. 

And here I was looking at this expensive ass bottle of medicine seeing that it could really damage my stomach, but if it would stop the pain, I’d take it….only to find out that for FREE, I could have just done some basic meditative tai chi and released that horrific pain from my body.

I guess there is truth to the saying that the best things in life are for free, while everything else, you have to pay for.

Believe it or not, I look at all of this as a lesson.  Here’s why…

Last week, I saw a package come in for my neighbor.  I thought I would be nice and take it up to him and leave it at his door.  I didn’t tell him that I did it.  I was just doing it out of kindness since he’s come over before to fix a lot of things in my apartment.

Last night, I came home and found a large, heavy box in front of my door.  It was the supplies I ordered for the photos.  In my condition, there was no way I could have brought that package upstairs on my own.  One of my neighbors had repaid that same kindness that I had bestowed to one of my neighbors.  All I had to do was just push the box into my apartment.

The lesson learned is that when you do an act of kindness, wanting nothing in return, you’ll find that kindness is returned when you need it the most. 

It also shows that remembering to remain positive, even when the dire of situations is placed before you can determine how you are living.  You can either live for death or live to live.  That’s why I travel all of the time.  There’s a lot of things I want to see and do before this body craps out on me.  I actually don’t tell my doctors that I’m traveling, because they would forbid me from doing so.  This last big trip through Europe and Africa…I was actually ill through most of it.  The worst days were in Paris and Zug.  I wasn’t able to get out and explore the area like I wanted to.  I ended up sick in bed the day I was supposed to visit the Eiffel Tower and L’Arche de Triomphe.  I headed to Zug the next day and just crashed in bed at the hotel the second I got there and only got up to go to the arena.  I spent one afternoon looking around, but that just ended up making things worse, so I headed back and slept it off.

In Morocco…I was sick, but acting like I wasn’t. 

There are good days and bad days.  When it’s bad, it’s bad.  Good days are the days I can get out of bed.  This week though, I took one look in the mirror and saw the color had left my face.  I was waking up in the middle of the night, sweating…and it’s the middle of winter.  Pain isn’t supposed to be like this.

I live like I don’t have a tomorrow.  I’ve had this drilled into my head for the last 7 years, since I was first diagnosed with cancer.  Then I was reminded again 3 years ago when I was told it returned and in a bad way.  Then I was reminded yesterday…you have to do what you’ve set out to do. 

Remaining positive, meditation, more yoga…those are my current prescriptions.  Doing acts of kindness towards others…that is also my main focus.  My horoscopes keep saying that I need to learn to start relying on other people right now, because I can’t do everything on my own anymore.

I thought about that this morning when it took me 20 minutes to get out of bed.  I kept thinking that I really needed a nurse or someone there to stand in front of me, push the cat off of me, and help me stand up.  I’ve known that this day was approaching.  I was warned about it happening after I had the first surgery.  You’re always preparing for that day, but when that day finally arrives, you can’t help but think how unprepared you are. 

I’ll need someone around for those bad days.  I kept thinking this morning…what I wouldn’t give to be laying out in the sand dunes right now, letting the Sahara ease my pain.  Hell, what I wouldn’t give to push someone out of bed and tell him to help me.  Instead, I was left in tears this morning, trying to convince the cat that she needed to remove herself from my lap because I couldn’t do it myself, feeling the pain sharpen and twist up and down my body, and trying not to scream because it hurt so bad.  It’s kind of sad that one of the reasons for wanting to get married is for these moments when I need to rely on someone else to help me.

Learning how defenseless you can be, you leave your pride at the door.  For someone who is so independent and strong, this time around I can’t do this on my own.  It’s different.  And one thing I’m learning is to ask for help when I need it…to do acts of kindness when I don’t need help…and maybe the universe will answer my prayers knowing when I really need help so I don’t have to ask for it.

On the train, I’ve had to tell people not to touch me because it’s like I can feel the weight of their body on me…and it’s too much for me to bear anymore.  I think that’s my life in a nutshell. 

I’ve spent these past few days trying to practice going back into past lifetimes to understand why the doctors can’t accurately diagnose what’s wrong with my body.  The things my past has shown me are all points where I’ve taken on endeavours to help those who can’t help themselves.  I’ve shouldered their weight…stood up to the injustices to protect the weak…and carried the world upon my shoulders.  Each doorway showed that characteristic in me…which is exactly who I am today.  I think this lifetime is the accumulation of all of those burdens that belong to others.  It’s proving  that I can’t carry anymore of the weight.  There is a tipping point where I’m about to crumble beneath its weight. 

This lifetime was meant to release it all and let people fight their own injustices.  To teach others to stand up when someone is about to be treated wrongly.

Back a few years ago, I stood up to a man that was getting ready to hit an 80 year old woman in a grocery store.  I was with my cop boyfriend at the time, waiting to checkout.  This guy, in his 30s or 40s, decided to cut in front of the woman and acted like he had a right to do it when she protested.

He turned around and made like he was getting ready to punch her.  I got in front of her, pushed her behind me and told him that if he was going to hit someone, he was going to have to hit me.  He told me to get out of the way.  I answered, “NO!” 

At this point, the entire busy checkout area had gone silent.  Even the cashiers had stopped ringing up any items.  You could hear someone calling for security.  Another person was on their phone calling the police.

The man told me to get out of the way again.  His beef was with the old lady.  I told him he was going to have to go through me if he wanted to get to her.  By then, several others had pushed the little old lady towards the back of the store. 

He started to stare me down like if I didn’t get out of his way, he would kill me.  I looked back at him even more forcefully and I said, “NO!” again.  He would have to go through me.  That’s when someone came up behind me and said, “And me.”  Another person said, “Me too.”  10-15 more people joined in.  The guy looked around noticing that he was outnumbered.

I told him to take his things and check out.  Get the hell out of the store.  He tried to stare me down again before I gave him that one look that has been known to put the fear of God into anyone’s heart.  He backed off immediately and started to quickly have the lady ring his items up.

He spent the next five minutes trying to plead his case to me like he was the victim here, not the little old lady.  I stood next to him and put the old lady’s stuff on the conveyor belt and told him to shut up. 

People kept looking at the two of us like, she is going to kill him if he doesn’t back off.  He kept whimpering like he was the victim there…not the bully anymore.

He finally walked out of the store, but I knew he’d be waiting for the little old lady, so we helped her get her things together, packed up her groceries, put it back in her cart for her, and then walked out with her. 

Like I knew he would…he was sitting there waiting for her.  By then, the guy noticed that my boyfriend was an off-duty cop (he had his jacket on over his uniform).  He went up to him and tried to plead his case that he was the innocent one, not the old lady.  I took one look at the guy like I was about to set him on fire with one look, and he exclaimed, “You’re crazy!”  He jumped on his bike and pedaled out of the lot like a bat out of hell. 

Two patrolmen pulled up a minute later, while we were trying to hail a cab for the old lady.  They saw my boyfriend and asked what had happened.  He relayed the story onto them, looked at me and then laughed.  He said, “One thing’s for sure, never piss this lady off.  She’ll put the fear of God into you.” 

The cops went in to do their routine investigation of the matter.  In the meantime, we had loaded the groceries into a cab for the lady, I even paid for her cab ride home.  We put her in the car and then headed to our car. 

As we were pulling out, one of the cops waved us down.  He came over to my window and said, “I have to shake your hand.  What you did in there…I wish there were more people like you out there.”  He told us that everyone that saw what happened told them that girl stood up to that guy and scared the hell out of him. 

Apparently, that’s just my character.  It’s what I do.  My boyfriend laughed as we drove off.  He said, “I am never going to piss you off again.  Whoo wee…did you scare the hell out of that guy!”‘

He then said he now understood what my brother was talking about…never piss his sister off because by some act of God, you or someone you know that is close to you will die.  That is…depending on the degree of how mad I am.  He said he thought my brother was joking about the ‘act of God.’  But until he saw the ‘putting the fear of God’ into another man just by looking at him…he said, he would never piss me off again.

In each lifetime, I have been this kind of person…always protecting the weak…shouldering the responsibility.  I think in this lifetime, the body has had enough.  So from here on out, I think it’s time I let the weight of the world fall off of me.  I think that’s why I want to sit in the Sahara so much right now…so I can just be free of the weight of the world I’ve been carrying.  I just want to be free and stand on my own again.  The only way I can do that is to stop shouldering all of the work on my own.  I need to finally learn to enlist help from here on out in all walks of life.  My body can’t take on anymore. 

That’s what the universe has been telling me…that it’s okay to take help from others, especially when you don’t ask for it. 

 

 

Reality finally settled in…or shall I say, the reality also known as DOUBT has settled in.  A few months ago, I knew it would happen.  It was inevitable. 

Being back in a first world country where people put too much emphasis on things that don’t really matter…this is the same world that is so lost, they don’t know how to live…I knew that it would finally envelop me.

I decided to do what I always do when I start to feel like maybe I’m not making the right decision…I decided to take a moment and listen to what the universe was telling me.  I looked for any sign that could possibly be thrown my way, only to remind myself that I should not block off my entire life to just one dream…I had to be open to possibilities…including the impossible being made possible.

That’s when I noticed a book in the bookstore last week: “Aleph” by Paulo Coelho.  I should have known that Paulo would tell me what I already knew…after all, re-reading “The Alchemist” reminded me that I had found my own adventure in life in Morocco.

There comes a time, even in the most spiritual beings on earth, that we can become lost.  We stop hearing God talking to us.  We can’t connect with God the way that we used to.  We have trouble staying focused on the things that matter…like remaining positive and doing all of those good karmic actions. 

In essence, we become human once again, disconnected from our Father…not knowing if we want to go back to him.

We start to make the wrong decisions.  We distance ourselves from the good things in life and start focusing on the drama of the world.  We let bad stuff get to us and bother us.  We judge others.  We become a part of this dying world…not knowing if we want to be saved from the whirlpool that is spiraling us out of control and dragging us down to the bottom of the ocean.  We don’t know if we want to be saved or helped out of the water and into calmer seas. 

Yep…even the best of us who are so connected with God feels this way sometimes.  Surprise, surprise…what I’m feeling now, that is Coelho’s latest book.  It’s about being stuck in that moment of routines and disconnectedness from God.  It’s about feeling like you don’t have the answers…or maybe everything you believe to be true is all a piece of crap. 

Maybe it was all just a momentary happiness…a moment where we dipped into the pool of magic and made the impossible a reality.  What if it doesn’t last? 

What if I’m making a mistake changing my life?  This is where fear settles in.

You start to think of the dreams you had all throughout your life, trying to find some meaning in it all.  There are those strong predictions that happened…and you’re left thinking…’what does it all mean?’ 

You see that one dream is unfolding, while another is also unfolding…and the two are very different from each other.  It’s as if I’m stuck at a crossroads trying to decide which path would be the best path for me.  This is where I kick myself for keeping my options open in life.

Then there’s the Aleph.  Have you ever met someone in this lifetime that you remember from previous lifetimes?  I have.

I think we both sensed it the first time we saw each other.  It was as if a magnet was pulling us to each other, but we had to keep backing away from it.  People around us always sensed the pull.  They saw it.  It was too powerful to say it didn’t exist.

You start to think ‘why?’  Why show that person now?  It wasn’t meant to be in this lifetime.  Why show that person now? 

Remembering the laughter from lifetimes ago, being able to still taste the first kiss, to remembering moments from a long time ago…worlds away from you both now…you both start to realize how you were both in love before this lifetime.  The souls remember.  They don’t forget.  It’s because the souls remember, it creates conflict in the present.

Yet, it is in this lifetime that you remember…that amazing love was not meant to be in this lifetime…but you do remember how powerful it once was.

Going down one road, you see the dreams you made into reality.  You see the world you’ve been dreaming about for years.  It’s like you can put your hand through that veil separating reality from dreams and push it to the side to make it real. 

It’s setting foot on the city’s cobblestones and feeling like you are home once again, in a land you’ve never been to before.  It’s falling in love with the city, the people and the country that you feel that you are destined to live there and be happy for the rest of your life.  It’s as if you are living in that dream, preparing for that day that this really will be your home.

It’s no coincidence you felt that there…or even the fact you wound up visiting the place not just once, but three times.  That is the reality of that dream.

Did your soul dance with his?  Yes, it did.  And then you let him go…  Yet, he eventually came back.

 Then you remember the dreams of living in a riad in Morocco, watching the sun setting over the mountains while you sat on the rooftop of your home, enjoying dinner with your family.  It was pure happiness.

Then there’s that life that you live in New York City as a hockey writer.  You enjoy that world of arts, literature, and fashion.  You actually really enjoy that life New York City has offered to you.  Why give up a life that you love?

Which adventure do you choose?

You listen to your heart.

Today, the adventure has already begun.  It’s not towards love or romance.  My journey is taking me towards the passions of life…as in the things in life that I am passionate about.

At the same time, I have to remind myself not to lose sense of myself.  I don’t have to lose everything to become someone new.  I just have to take with me the things that have defined me since 2007.  I planted the seed and buried the roots deep so that when I finally emerged from the soil, I could branch out in every which direction I could.  Before I could do that, I had to build a solid foundation deep within myself.

Miracles do not happen overnight…neither do dreams.  Dreams change.  One minute you could be an astronaut.  The next day you could be President of the United States.  The next day, you could be a famous writer.  Life is meant to make every dream you can dream come true.

Over this three-day weekend, I had a lot of time to think about the crossroads and the journeys ahead.  One road leads to Africa.  The other road leads to Europe.  Then there’s always the option of staying right where I am.

For once, I didn’t think about those roads.  I just thought about what I wanted in this very moment.  I chose happiness.

I saw my office coming into being.  What I once thought was a doomed project from the get go all of a sudden became a realistic idea taking shape before my very eyes.  The big pile of crap all of a sudden became a small pile that is easily conquerable.

I realized that even in moments when we try to refill our karmic baskets, we start off small so that we do not become overwhelmed, only to find that later when the bigger karmic actions appear, we will have no fear and aim to tackle that action one small deed at a time.

I started to notice that the things I did over the weekend while I was listening to the universe all ended up showing me that I am making a dream into a reality…and they didn’t involve love, marriage, family or children.

It involved the gifts God had given to me. I spent a lot of time organizing my new dream from its new headquarters.  I spent hours on the computer uploading photos and preparing them for delivery for each project.  I created gifts and really started to imagine making a lot of new projects into a reality…and then I pressed CHECKOUT.

Someday projects became NOW projects. 

Someday I’ll try and go vegan…became countless hours in the kitchen trying out all new vegetarian recipes. 

While I was in the Library, I decided to check out a vegetarian cookbook and a bunch of Martha Stewart Living and Better Homes & Gardens magazines.  The librarian took one look at a potpie on the cover of Martha Stewart Living and said, “You must be a really good cook.”  I smiled and said, “I like a challenge.” 

You’ll be amazed at all of the different meals I constructed for the first time.  A homemade vegetarian tortilla soup is now at the top of my favorite winter soups…and I’d never made that before.  Pickled eggs?  Never tried it before…took one bite and it was heavenly!  Kale salad?  Never knew you could eat kale raw.  Not only did I try that, but I made my own salad dressing for the first time…and that salad became a WOW factor.  Most importantly, it will help boost my immune system during the cold/flu season.

In other words, cooking, re-decorating, working on the photos, reading, writing, etc. these are the things that make me happy.  They are the things that complete my NOW.  It’s putting the present into action for the future.  It’s building the foundation you need for whatever is coming in the future.

This blog changed because I wanted it to become a lifestyle blog that talks about everything that I’m learning, loving and experiencing.  It’s about sharing that world of happiness with others.

I didn’t spend this weekend thinking about whether I would head to Morocco or head to Europe.  I thought about what I wanted to do now that would bring me happiness.  The only thing I wanted to do was to put the new dream into play…but at the same time, I had to remind myself, don’t lose what you love already.  That means, I’m going to continue to write.

Last month, the universe started veering me in a new direction in writing.  That’s why the blog changed.  I started to meet people in the fashion industry.  I started to notice that talking about celebrities (non-hockey players) and photographing them, netted more interest on this site than hockey. 

The universe was showing me all along what the new path was…I just had to embrace it a little more.

I was telling someone recently that I wasn’t looking for love when I went to Morocco.  All I knew was that God wanted to show me something in Morocco and that’s why I went.  I know what I found there…an ending to my book (and ironically, the next story I’m writing).  God showed me a lot of things all throughout the country. 

But right when you have no idea what it was you were looking for, that’s when it hits.  Love will strike when you least expect it.  In “Aleph,” Coelho talks about how sometimes when you are searching for someone, you don’t realize that they’ve been searching for you, too.  Rumi once said that ever since he heard his first love story, he went searching for his love, only to realize how silly that was.  Lovers are in each other always. 

It’s like when you find the person you are meant to love, it seems so silly that you were looking for the other person, because you were in each other all along.  Your love was never lost or found.  They were always there inside of you.

Today, I’ve spent many moments in my mind, sitting at the top of a sand dune, watching the stars above me, telling Hamid, “Did you know that when you wish on a falling star, your wish is supposed to come true?”  To which he responds, “Really?” 

He then started to look frantically all over the sky for a shooting star, wanting to make a wish from his heart…not realizing he didn’t have to make that wish because it already came true.  But while his head was turned the other way, I saw a star shoot across the sky.  I exclaimed, “Oh!  I just saw one!”  He turned in the direction I was pointing only to be disappointed he didn’t get to see it, too. 

I realized that God did that for a reason.  The shooting star was a sign to me that a dream had come true.  I didn’t have to make anymore wishes.

Now, I sit here and think…was that just a dream?

If it was, it would make one hell of a story.

But the truth is, it is my story…and it’s been one hell of an amazing ride. 

So why do I doubt?  Why am I scared that I am changing everything I know for a world that is completely different than my own?  What if I was never supposed to leave NYC? 

What if…How am I…What am I…doesn’t matter anymore.

What matters is that I am focused on right now and all the days I have to live before the future arrives.  There are certain actions I have to put in place today, not tomorrow, in order to plant the seeds and build a strong foundation so that I can shoot up from the ground and branch out in every which direction.  That is the tree of life.  You can plant your roots deeply so that nothing can blow you over. 

If one branch falls, you still have many more that survive.  Even when a storm barrels through, if you are strong deep down to the core, no amount of bad weather can take you down. 

When the seasons change, you change as well.  Life is all about the changing of the seasons and how you can shed one life for a new one just by shedding your leaves in the winter, and budding new leaves in the spring.  It’s about living through the changes life has to offer and embracing it.

You always want to share the beauty of growth in life by making yourself beautiful through to your very core, because no one likes to bask in the beauty of a diseased and dying tree, that is rotted through to the core.  People enjoy the beauty of seeing a healthy tree thriving in the garden of life.

As you see the world change, you, too, must change as well.  A tree evolves when the world evolves.  Just as it changes according to the seasons, so too must your dreams.  For me, that means in business…when you see that one branch is falling, you must focus on the other branches of your life, because once that branch has fallen, it means nothing to the tree anymore.  What matters is what is left.

What’s left after doubt?  The now.  Doubt is about the future.  Right now, the heart and soul are in agreement…what I am doing right now is right for me.  My focus has to be on my happiness and the changes that must happen in order to bring enlightenment to the world.  Like bringing schools to children in Morocco…forcing bans on things that harm the world (like plastic bags that don’t break down and avoidable waste).

Each change begins here.  It begins in every single one of us.  When you start doing random acts of kindness, it is like doing a little bit here and there every single day…it starts to build where you do more and more as you see progress…and then you start to work on bigger projects, knowing how to tackle each action one little act at a time (because you know that everything takes time, it doesn’t always have to happen right now, it takes effort in the right direction to make a dream a reality). 

That goes for all walks of life, including diet and exercise.  Just committing to doing the act a little at a time works its way into something called PROGRESS.  After all, we all know, you can’t lose 100 pounds in 24 hours.  It takes one small step in the right direction.  You keep doing a little bit here and there until it starts to become a bigger bit here and there…and then one day you’ll see yourself taking shape.

So whatever the focus is…it should always be about the now and taking that right step in the right direction.  I’ll worry about what road that is later on…maybe I’ll just follow my own road and if one of the other two roads ends up veering into mine along the way and it becomes one big interstate, then we have a winner!  Until then, I’m just going to focus on the new road being paved ahead just for me.

Lesson #1 in 2012…never fall into routine. 

Lesson #2 in 2012…you don’t have to do a huge task all at once.  Just do a little at a time each and every day.

Lesson #3 in 2012…what are you doing now?  What is happening NOW is more important than what’s happening tomorrow.  Tomorrow is a dream not yet realized.  Right now, that is the moment you are living.  How do you choose to live it?  Do you choose to live dreaming about a different life?  Or do you choose to live the life you know you were meant to live.  Live in that dream NOW.

Re: Lesson #1 … Life can start to get really boring when you fall into a routine.  You start to lose a sense of yourself when you fall into routine.  You start to really get bored with life doing the same exact thing day in and day out.  You start to really hate your life when it becomes routine.

So shake things up a little bit. 

* Instead of reaching for the same exact items at the grocery store, pick up something exotic and different.  Try a kale salad instead of a romaine salad.  Try the olives from the olive bar, instead of buying them from a jar. 

* Take a different route to work.  Explore places you never knew were there before.  Who knows?  You might find a cute little bakery or coffee shop you never knew was there.

* Take a class.  Join a reading group.  Do something extraordinary with other people.  Learn something new and something different.

Re: Lesson #2 … Just because that huge pile isn’t getting any smaller, it doesn’t mean you should feel defeated before you even start.  The first obstacle is always getting started.

Instead of sighing and giving up before you even start, tackle the first mountain by saying to yourself that all you need to do is a little for now.  Just do a little here and there.  Keep reminding yourself that you’re going to do a little bit here and there each and every single day.

Soon, you’ll find that you are starting to accomplish something one day at a time, knowing that it doesn’t have to all be done at this very second.  You know that in time, it will be done.  You’ll find that as time goes along, you’ll devote more time and more energy to the project…when it starts to not look so overwhelming anymore.

As things come together, you’ll start to smile a little more, because you realize that you put a lot of work into it, and you didn’t let it overwhelm you.  You appreciate what you’ve done even more when you don’t start the project with negative feelings. 

By keeping your focus positive all throughout the task, you’ll find that all of that positive energy you put into it…makes you feel more wonderful about it when the project is completed.

Re: Lesson #3 … There are many people that don’t realize that life is going on RIGHT NOW, not tomorrow.  People get excited about things that will happen in the future, but forget that they could get excited about what’s happening right now. 

You can make plans for the future, but you should never forget that the most important time is now.  We live in this time, not in tomorrow’s time.  Eventually tomorrow becomes now.  But between now and then, there are plenty of days to live before then.

Mankind’s biggest mistake in life…is not living in this very moment.  Don’t let your life pass you by dreaming about a different life.  You could live that life now if you took the steps to make those dreams come true.

For those who know me…they know that I love Bauble Bar.  Thanks to their Buried Bauble Fridays, I’ve been able to amass a pretty large collection of baubles from my favorite jeweler.  Each Friday, somewhere on their site, they have a bauble for just $10. 

But if you want to get in on the Buried Bauble action from here on out…you need a clue!  Well, the only way you can get that clue now is if you’re on the Buried Bauble email list.  Only those on the email list are allowed to buy the Buried Bauble.  So if you’re not on it…you’re missing out on some great jewelry for a great price. 

How do you get on the email list?  CLICK HERE!

After you sign up, they’ll send you a referral code to send to all of your girlfriends so that they can get in on the Buried Bauble action. 

[Picture from BaubleBar.com, showcasing the Versaille Dye Glam Necklace from the Erickson Beamon + Bauble Bar collection.]

You’ll be amazed at how I’ve been spending my non-hockey time lately. This year, because it’s time to launch the other hobby of mine, I’ve been doing a lot of research into how to market my product in new ways. I’ve been taking cues from sites like ZeroPassiveIncome.com to get a better idea on how I’m going to not only make a little extra money this year, but also to have some money trickling in as I live in a new country.

In other words, I’ve been setting up my new business. 

Since I have thousands of photos in the wings ready to be turned into buyable pieces of artwork for the home, it means finding the right photo printing companies, researching DIY tricks of the trade in creating canvas art, and finding companies that will supply the frames and all the mod podge that I need.

So what suppliers have I found to create this piece into a canvas for little money?

For the 16×20 print of the photo above, I went to Snapfish. Why? Because they’ve sent superior products to me, capturing the essence exactly how I saw it…and in some cases…exactly how I created it.  It’s cheaper for me to go with a place like Snapfish to mass produce my photos, because there are times I’ll get the photo for a penny a piece.  That’s cheaper than printing the photo at home.

Shopping around for canvases, School Specialty has offered some great prices on pre-stretched canvases.

For the Mod Podge…people complain it’s so expensive!  Well, Ben Franklin.com offered me the lowest prices around.  I remember the store from when I was a kid, so it’s nice to see that they’re still around kicking in the digital age. 

As for the decorative paper (i.e. the surprise of the canvas), I decided to go with Paper Source.  They offered some of the most colorful and the most beautiful pieces around.  This is actually the splurge to upscale the canvas.  The paper is so delicate, it actually will add to the element of the canvas.

When I finish up the new office, you’ll get a sneak peek at some of the work that will be available for purchase.  This is just one arm of the business.  There are more arms…but for now…there’s a canvas in the works.

I saw this up on Pinterest and then thought…what a cool concept.

This concept was developed by the author Ann Voskamp, who wrote the book, “One Thousand Gifts.”  This project is taken from her website: A Holy Experience.

Whether you record this down in a journal or go on a photo frenzy…do something that will bring you joy this year and maybe at the end of the year you will find 1000 things that brought you joy in 2012.

1. ZeroPassiveIncome.com.  Want to know how someone in debt could all of a sudden turn their financial situation around in ways that you can’t even imagine?  I’m talking about a 12 month financial project to right your wrongs…and they’re doing this at the age of 25?  One of the Zero Passive Income Twitter accounts just started following me.  I took a look around at the owner’s website and I couldn’t believe what they had done to turn a deficit into a winning year.  It took them 12 months to do over the course of their financial journey.  They paid off school loans, car loans, etc. all in 12 months or less.  They were even able to raise their net worth from a deficit to a very positive plus that most 20 somethings do not have. 

The site itself is just an inspirational, kick in the butt, journey that one young couple undertook to turn around their financial lives and make a profit from it.  Their Alexa ratings for their site are in the six figures!  I don’t frequent too many sites with only six figures, so that should tell you something about their content.

I will say that one of their most recent articles from Christmas had me in tears.  As a Christmas present to his wife, they decided to go to Kmart and he had his wife pick one person that had a layaway balance that needed to be paid off.  Just two days before Christmas they paid the entire balance except for one little penny.  You want to talk about giving the best gift ever?  That’s a way to give someone a great Christmas…by giving to a complete stranger.

I highly recommend this blog. 

2.  Yummy Mummy.  With every New Year comes resolutions.  One of the greatest blogs out there right now on eating healthy and how to live a healthier life (including tips and recipes) is Yummy Mummy Kitchen. 

Not only is the author of the blog a Mommy…but she’s also a photographer, so you’ll find a lot of fresh and beautiful photos.  She’s 90% vegetarian…a concept I like.  I may adopt the 80% vegetarian mantra…meaning…I’ll be vegetarian 80% of the time.  The other 20% I reserve for chicken and fish.  😉

Check out her site, you’ll find a lot of amazing food recipes on there that are very vegan/vegetarian friendly.  It all looks good!  Mmmm.

3. Whole Living.  I found this site randomly while looking on Martha Stewart.com for recipes.  What I loved about it…I learned a few things about reducing food waste. 

Now, I waste food all of the time.  I hate that I do, but there are just some things I can’t eat.  I can eat a hot dog, but not the bun.  If I try something and my body doesn’t like it…it’s not like I can pass it off to some homeless guy, so the unwanted food goes in the trash. 

If it doesn’t go home in a take home bag…then it goes in the trash…especially when it’s Americanized portions. 

Well, just because my stomach is refusing the food, it doesn’t mean that I’m being eco-friendly.  In fact, wasting food ends up turning into methane gas as it rots in landfills.  That alone is one of the main concerns for vegans and vegetarians on why they are against the raising of cattle for food purposes. 

You can say that the one article changed my way of eating.  I just won’t ‘try’ things anymore.  I’ll also be splitting more of my meals with friends or giving my take home container to a homeless person.  Or better yet…order the side items, not the entree. 

Check out the site.  There’s a lot of interesting information on how to be a better eco-friendly consumer, as well as healthy recipes and fitness tips. 

Arm your new year’s resolutions with knowledge so that you can stay in the game!

I’m always looking out for artists and artwork…or even color schemes that I love and am thinking about incorporating into my home.  Would you believe that I found a Van Gogh reprint with drastically varying prices? 

I almost bought this reprint painted on canvas yesterday.  Funny how it’s up on Joss & Main today with a drastic discount attached.

The artwork in question is “Branches of An Almond Tree in Blossom” by Vincent Van Gogh:

Joss & Main has the $1,032.00 piece marked down to $270.95 for the next 3 days.

OR

You can buy it from Light In The Box for $69.99.

So this whole minimalist thing is hard to do…really it is…so I’ll have to find another way to reduce, reuse and recycle. 

In the meantime, let me flood your senses with some discoveries on my what’s next to buy list…

FOUND: Zara Dress for $49.99.

Zara is having their end of the season sale.  These prices are so good…even the fashionistos (the guys) will be shopping the Zara sale.  It’s a really good sale!

FOUND: Eiffel Tower Wall Stickers for $29.99.

This is the most amazing inexpensive makeover piece I’ve found.  It comes in a variety of colors, variety of patterns, and it’s easy to put up and remove.  You don’t even have to put it up on your wall…you can just put it up on canvas and hang like artwork.  I loved this idea and design so much, I ended up finding a little something for every single room.  It’s a new way to give your room more character.

FOUND: Piazza Sempione Cocoon Coat at Saks for $619.99.

Want to know a good way to help you figure out what coat to buy when you can’t decide?  Pin it on Pinterest.  You can tell by the number of repins and likes which one is the coat that everybody likes the most.  This one was the favorite.  Although, I’m more partial to the Armani…but I’m still shopping around.

 

FOUND: Bliss Sofa ($1199.00), Bliss Chair ($699.00) and Pillows ($59.00) from West Elm.

West Elm is so dangerous.  Went there to look at a few pillows, ended up finding new furniture to lust after.  And here I was getting ready to order this from Urban Outfitters for $699.

FOUND: A new discount invite only sale site just for the HOME!

Joss & Main is my new favorite discount invite only sale site.  I really love this place.  It has so much of what I’m looking for at prices that have me going…’are you serious?’  (because I know the retail and sale prices, these prices have those other retailers beat).  They definitely come in handy for those of us that are redecorating, remodeling or moving.  One of the sofas featured today is $649…and is very similar to one of the sofas I was considering from Urban Outfitters.  They had UO’s already urban chic prices beat.

FOUND: Gold Glitter Ballet Flats from Zara $29.99.

Oh, how could I leave out gold glitter ballet flats?  Always on my lust list…these are on sale at Zara.  Can’t wait to put them on my feet!

FOUND: Marc Jacobs Tote at Bloomingdales $112.80

I have a little obsession with the Marc Jacobs Tote.  I already have one.  This one I want.  I also had another tote sent to me from Saks for $40.  I just love the style and design.  You won’t believe how much stuff I can carry in one of these.  Retail is $188.  If you can land one for around $130 or less…you’ve landed a deal.  It’s the latest IT BAG in NYC.  I’ve seen several women carrying this bag around in various colors and patterns.

FOUND: Kate Spade Sparkler Missy $93.

There’s just something about gold and glitter and sparkly stuff.  $93 for a sparkling Kate Spade bag, why yes, please!  Ring me up!

FOUND: Kate Spade Baubles $64.

I really love this cuff.  It’s gold.  It’s sparkly and will match the flats and the purse.  So cute.  Also love the bow!

*******

So as you can see…there’s so much eye candy that I can’t decide what to get next.  Knowing me, I’ll just horde them all now…find a place for it all later…

Over a year ago, I found this bag that was just so cute, I had to own it.  It was perfect for me.  Little did I know that it was the same design as the $3,180 Fendi Peekaboo. 

My co-worker saw the bag and fell in love with the style…and ordered 2!  Afterwards, we found out our bag (which is legal, btw) is a cheaper version of the Fendi Peekaboo.

I noticed that there were a few hits to my site of people looking for a cheaper version of the Fendi Peekaboo…which is being carried around by celebrities…and most recently seen on Gossip Girl (a few times). 

So I’ll tell you where I got mine!

You can buy this one (which comes in Blue, Black, Red and Brown) from Handbag Heaven for $43.31.  I plan on picking up the blue one (I have the black already, but the one I have is no longer on the site).

I also plan on picking up 1…maybe all 3 of these from Handbag Heaven (comes in pewter, bronze and camel/tan:

All three are also $43.31.

As for quality…my co-worker had a problem with hers and returned it (she said it was excellent customer service), but had no problems with the other one.  I’ve had mine for over a year and it’s still in great condition.  The only thing I don’t like about it is that the bag keeps opening up…which is the same way the Fendi Peekaboo was designed.  So if you don’t mind this design ‘flaw’ (if you want to call it that), then go for it.  The price is a great price and from what I heard…the girls at Marie Claire were asking my co-worker if she bought it off the street because it looked like the real deal (and they know my co-worker would never spring $3,000 for a bag). 

Alas, it’s not made of goatskin…so consider this the vegetarian friendly version of the Peekaboo.

I’m a little behind in posting up a few things…like sponsorship ads, fashion points, product reviews and scenes from a few places I’ve headed off to this past month.  Not to mention all of the hockey stories I have to get out for Inside Hockey.  I admit, I probably could have done most of this stuff over the weekend, but instead I decided to make it a Gossip Girl Season 4 weekend. 

So now after my Gossip Girl marathon I have visions of Louis Vuitton bags and dreamy camel wool coats dancing in my mind.  What does that mean?  Well, I’ll definitely be shopping for my new coat.  It’s the middle of winter and the new spring/summer collection is already on the racks.  That means, that winter coats are on sale now.  I have my eye on an Armani Collezioni coat recently marked down from $2,095 to $837.99.  I’m hoping it will go down just a little bit more.

As for the office makeover…it’s finally coming together.  I discovered a few new ways to redo the desk I was going to give away.  Instead, I’m just going to use it as a projects desk.  All I’m going to say is that mod podge is on its way and a visit to Sherwin Williams to find a roll of the perfect wallpaper is on my list of things to do.  Thank goodness this coming weekend is a 3-day weekend for me! 

Beyond the 8 games and an All-Star weekend in Ottawa, there’s not much else I can fit into my schedule.  At least February I can book myself at Bliss Spa for Valentine’s Day (like I do every year).  I’ll need it after this first month of 2012.

 On my to do list: 1.  Find some new pillows for the office and a rug.  2. Take advantage of Snapfish’s 500 prints for a penny each.  3. Find wallpaper to modpodge on furniture. 4. Build bookcase #2.  5. Find a new coat.

Now, I do have a new coat that I picked up from Anthropologie’s Take an Extra 50% off sale.  I tried it on and my brother exclaimed that it was too big for me.  Funny, because it was a size smaller than what I would normally buy.  But either way, the coat is cute as a button.  I always love old style coats.  Old, as in 1940s-1960s classic styles.  They’re so Jackie O and classic.  That’s what I love about it. 

Right now, I’m just in the market for a Camel coat (or cape) from Saks because I’m looking for a certain ‘couture’ look.  What I mean by that is that the stitching and grade of fabric is of higher quality that will last my entire lifetime.  That’s what I’m looking for and I’m hoping to get a great deal on it now that Saks is pushing their winter products out and their spring/summer lines in (which I might add is so gorgeous…I almost did sommersaults in their Alice+Olivia department over Christmas). 

So there are major winter deals to be had.  My friends and I are waiting for the extra 60-75% off their already discounted prices at Lord & Taylor.  I’ve walked away with an entire Calvin Klein outfit for $13 before.  My kind of sale.  🙂  That sale should be coming up in the next week or two. 

 A little money saver idea: The best time to shop for next Christmas is the winter sale in January.  You’ll net some great discounts on winter clothing to wear now and some to give away next Christmas.  Great time to pick up some sweaters to wear now and give away later.

I’ll have more photos to share in the coming weeks.  So stay tuned…

 

I’d like to introduce you guys to my friend, Mike Martin.  He has a blog called DREAMER.  Isn’t he a cutie?  {You should hear him talk…one of the sexiest voices to ever grace a microphone.}

I’ve known Mike for…I guess this year it would be a decade.  Back then, he was a struggling musician just trying to get up on stage and play his heart out.  Well, that big guy ended up becoming a good friend over the years.  He was one of the founders of the not-for-profit Olive Branch Society (along with me and a few others).  We were just a group of musicians who got together and wanted to do something about creating peace in our world. 

Since I headed to the bigger lights, bigger city, OBS basically dissolved.  We took our projects elsewhere.  I became a writer…and well, Mike continued doing what he’s so passionate about doing…being that rocker, who’s a little bit country…and being that guy that is constantly trying to make a difference in this world…all the way in Muncie, Indiana (home of Ball State University).

Change always begins with yourself.  His blog aims to change people from the get go.  With that good change inside, you start to generate good works that you share with the world.  It’s basically the correct way in generating good karmic stability in the universe where everyone can prosper from its good tidings.

While reading Mike’s blog, I noticed he put up a picture of his bedroom.  Now, before I describe HIS bedroom…let me describe mine.  It’s got so much stuff in it that I am actually ordering new closets to be installed along the walls so that I can house my designer wardrobe, purses, accessories and jewelry without feeling so cluttered in (keep in mind that my closet is super tiny, so my wardrobe has kind of fallen out).  I’m making sure it’s nice enough to take with me when I move.

As for Mike’s room…his entire being is: a bed, a desk, 2 chairs and a coffee maker. 

I think I should send Mike an invitation to visit me in NYC and help me sort out my stuff before I ship it all to Morocco.  Just this last week, I acquired 5 new handbags.  Thank goodness they were all gifts…but you see where my clutter is going. 

And yes, I NEED every single one of those bags.  I might as well start renting out the ones I’m not using while I’m carrying around a different bag.

At any rate, Mike’s minimalist approach is something to think about as we go into this new year.  Practicing being frugal and not over-commercializing our homes with clutter that we just had to have…actually leads to a happier life, believe it or not.

In Morocco, I was astounded at how people needed nothing but food and water.  Like Mike says, they don’t even need shelter.  Nomads are happy just sleeping on the sand dunes, under the stars.  Some live in Berber tents or houses, but most are okay with not having a roof over their head.  They like having the stars as their ceiling.  They also need only 3-5 hours of sleep.  As Hamid told me, there’s something about the Sahara where you don’t need a lot of sleep.

They don’t need much in life.  Their focus is more on peace, happiness and soulful spirituality.  Mike may be a minimalist in Indiana, but the nomads definitely have him beat.  No bed, no chairs, no desks, and definitely no coffee maker.  Some of them have cell phones (which shocked me that the phone reception in the desert was superb).  But most…they’ve never even watched TV.

I’m not saying we, as Americans, should start a new minimalist movement, but we should start de-cluttering our worlds and filling our lives with things that are more important.  We also need to look for ways to save more, and spend less.

I just finished flipping through a book recently about how to be even more frugal than we are already.  Now, I’m a big supporter of thrift stores and libraries, especially since I love my flat screen TV (which my brother remarked last week that he was shocked that I bought a TV on my own without a man’s help…yes, I am that dumb when it comes to technology).  I love that I can check out free DVDs for a week from the library.  They always have the latest titles. 

While the author suggested various ways of saving more money, I also noticed that his way of being frugal was aimed more towards how to acquire more while saving money.  Really?  I’m a great shopper too…but let’s save more by spending less and acquiring less. 

Let’s try to bare down and get what we need out of the way first.  So my new resolution after New Year’s is to scale back, save more, de-clutter and start minimalizing my life.  After all, I’m already freaking out about how much stuff I have to pack up.

Here are a few tips to start you off this week.

1.  I’m a big fan of NO CABLE.  I haven’t had cable in years, because I prefer to watch movies and can get DVDs from the library for free.  There’s also a store in Manhattan called Book Off.  They sell used DVDs, CDs and books for next to nothing.  I picked up an armful of books and DVDs last night for only $33.  AN ARMFUL!

I also frequent the library’s seasonal book sale where members of the community donate their books/DVDs/CDs they no longer want or use (and can’t sell online).  Last time I was there, they had 2 bags of books for $1.  You can’t beat that price, especially if you bring in your own tote bag.

While GREEN websites suggest people buy the Nook or some sort of e-reader to cut back on the purchase of books, that doesn’t work for me.  I really won’t be able to use the product in Morocco.  I’d rather have the books in my hands…and what better way than to pick up castoffs from people in your community?  In a way, this is also a green initiative.  It’s recycling and reusing at its best.

As for Mike…his no cable/no TV approach was interesting.  He actually factored in how many hours you have to work just to have cable!  For some people, they have to work between 30-60 hours a year just to have cable at home.  It makes you question why you’re working to pay the cable company when you could be using that money for something else…as well as your time for something more productive and meaningful in life.

2.  FOOD.  If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you’re probably suffering from the same sticker shock that I’ve been experiencing at the cheapest place around to buy groceries.

For me, that cheap place is Target.  They are actually cheaper than Aldi.  How?  Because Target makes it their mission to make sure they are cheaper than any other food seller in the area.  If you find the product cheaper at another store, bring in the flyer or receipt to show them…they’ll not only match the price, but they’ll lower the price too.  That’s what I call a store I’ll keep coming back to.

My original go-to stores like the dollar stores…are not dollar stores anymore.  They’ve had to jack up their prices because of this economy.  Sometimes, Target is cheaper than the dollar stores. 

So for the staple items, I go to Target.  For the fresh meats and produce, I go to organic stores and markets. 

I’ve also tried the coupon route.  It’s best to use coupons at places that double or triple…or they have the product on sale.  I’ve netted a lot of stuff couponing…but I actually end up donating it to the local food pantry.

When you shop for food, try to pick up at least one extra bag of groceries to donate to your local food pantry.  Even if it’s just personal items from the drugstore…people need these items. 

I always end up with a closet full of bath soap from Christmas.  I donate this stuff because I probably go through 2-3 bottles a year.  Why keep 15 bottles?  Learn to share. 

For those asking how in the hell are they going to be able to afford buying a bag of groceries for someone else…it’s easier than you think.  You buy it when prices hit rock bottom.  When they discount canned veggies for 39 cents a can or Stove Top for 79 cents…why not just pick up an extra one for the bag.  I’m sure you have some sort of coupon, right?  If not, you could probably find one.

The rule of thumb is that when you give from your heart…that good karma that you give will also be returned to you.  Do it unselfishly as if you’re getting nothing in return…then one day it will come back to you in the most incredible ways.

3. There are also other ways to get free products, like using RecycleBank.com.  I actually earn points with them just to get coupons for cat food.  Surita likes that Fancy Feast…and that stuff is expensive.  The various offers they’ve had has allowed me to get a lot of free cans for her…all by clicking on various ads to learn more about how you can go green.

You can also earn more points with loyalty programs.  Since I buy a lot of Stonyfield products, you can enter in codes on their site to get free stuff, and print out coupons.

Loyalty programs are one of the best ways to earn free stuff.  BaubleBar, Disney Movie Rewards, and WB Insider Rewards are just a few places where you can earn free stuff just by buying their products…and in some instances, referring other people to buy.  They reward their customers by giving back to them and giving them a chance to earn rewards and free stuff as they go.  Trust me, it will always have you coming back.

4. Social Media.  Probably one of the smartest things I’ve ever done was follow Orbitz, the Travelocity Gnome and various airlines on Twitter and Facebook.  Why?  Well, last year, Orbitz paid for my airfare to Las Vegas, thanks to a promotion they had on Facebook and Twitter. 

I also scored a $100 travel certificate with Travelocity thanks to Twitter.  For this jetsetter, every single savings counts. 

I even scored tickets to Rebecca Minkoff’s fashion show during fashion week a few years back too…all thanks to social media.  And yeah…Minkoff gives away her most coveted purses all of the time through many of her social media contests. 

For those who weren’t using social media to their benefit…START.  You can score big by following various companies.  Like I said, I’ve won plenty thanks to Twitter and Facebook.

5. If you shop online, you better be using EBATES.  The biggest mistake any person shopping online can make is to not check on Ebates to see if you can earn cash back on your purchase.  It’s also a great spot to find additional coupon codes for the site you’re shopping.

Thanks to using Ebates in the last 6 months, I’ve netted a $10 Target gift card and $25 in cash back.  It’s not much, but I’m happy that I get a check in the mail when I’m not expecting it! 

The easiest way to do Ebates is to put everything in your cart and then head over to Ebates, log in, and find the referral link to the site you’re shopping.  After you connect back to the site where you were shopping, just checkout.  That way, you get through the shopping process faster and you know that you’re going to get cash back for your purchase. 

****

As for me, I’m making a 2012 resolution I did not make on New Year’s Eve.  I’m taking Mike up on his minimalist challenge.  I’m going to start scaling back and go even more frugal than I have been.  I don’t know…I love clothes and purses and Bauble Bar…so those are 3 habits that are going to be very difficult to break.  But considering I have a bigger dream that has to be fulfilled a few months before 2013 shows up, I have to start saving every which direction I can. 

This year, I’ll be showing you how I’m going to do that. 

A lot of you that come here know that I travel a lot, so I’ll share some of my tricks of the trade with you on how I get to live that dream of traveling all of the time.  It’s a matter of learning when to splurge and when to go on the cheap…and when, how and where to get the best deals.

I leave you with this article from Real Simple: 7 Steps to De-Cluttering Your Home.

Ok…so blog challenges are always fun.  I’m borrowing this week’s challenge from Sometimes Blonde who borrowed it from Run With Me who borrowed it from Life and Times of Alison & Justin.

Current Book:  I’m kind of reading 3 books right now. 

The Rushdie book I bought last night and decided to carry it around with me to read on the commute.  It’s a paperback…and oddly enough, Rushdie reminds me of how I wrote stories in the 6th grade.  No wonder why my teacher was praising my writing back then and foresaw I’d end up being a writer.  This book is filled with adventure…and I’m just getting started on it.  I think it’s good to read Rushdie every now and again.  It reminds me what kind of writer I was and can be…the stuff that makes my professors and teachers exclaim to the class that there is a genuine writer in their midst…but it’s only when I write those kinds of stories…you know, the ones like Rushdie.  He reminds me that I need to get back to my roots.

The Son of Neptune is Riordan’s latest in the Percy Jackson stories from the Heroes of Olympus series.  I didn’t know this book was out until I saw it on the shelf at Target on Saturday.  Since it’s a little bulky and tough to carry around, it’s my bedside table book for now.

I started The Tiger’s Wife a couple of weeks ago, but had to go out and buy it after another patron put a hold on it from the library.  I wasn’t able to finish it in 2 weeks, so it’s another book I’ve been carrying around and reading when I can.

Current Playlist:  Adele.  She’s on repeat, especially “Someone Like You.”  I listen to it several times a day.

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Current Color:  Gray, white, purple and pink.  Those are the colors I’ve been focusing on as of late because that’s the color palette for my office I’m re-doing.

Current Drink:  I’m obsessed with water.  My obsession with water went into overdrive in Morocco.  I drank two liters of water every single day I was there.  I became even more obsessed with water when I didn’t have access to it.  That’s one major obsession issue I’ll have to deal with when I get to the desert!  Trust me, I may have to move next to the ocean if I can’t get over that obsession.

Current Food:  Pad Kee Mao.  It’s my favorite Thai dish.  If I could, I’d eat it probably every single day. 

Current Favorite Show: I don’t watch TV because I don’t have cable.  I’m reduced to watching the TV series when it hits DVD.  There are the obsessions: Supernatural, The Simpsons, Weeds, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, Californication, Glee, Dexter and Desperate Housewives.  One show I’ve truly come to love lately is Pretty Little Liars.

Current Needs: I currently need to detox my body from it’s sugar high.  I am currently on a NO SUGAR diet right now because my body seriously crashed yesterday from the sugar infused holidays.  My body needs just the basics right now.  I have so many liquids around me…it’s not funny.

Current Triumph: Realizing I’m good at what I do.  Someone I had just met told me that I was an excellent writer…that was why the Devils let me cover their team.  For years, I didn’t think anything of it, but to have a guy that had been in the business for 20 years tell me that I had achieved something he never could…that speaks highly of what I do.  I’m the type of person that just continues to do what they’re doing because they enjoy it, not because they’re looking for self gratification or acknowledgement.

But the true moment of realization that I was good at something didn’t settle in until I was looking at the photos that came in from Snapfish that I had developed from my trip to Morocco.  I kept looking at them thinking they were fake somehow…like I was taking credit for doing something that someone else had done.  I actually sat there looking at the photos and saying…wow…these are really good…like professional quality good…like stuff that makes me say, “Wow…I actually did this.”  That’s what a personal triumph is about…having that “Wow…I actually did this” moment.

It makes me realize that what I look for in a moment can be captured behind the lens…and a lot of times, I’m looking for a beauty in a moment.  If I can find it and capture it, that is my “Wow” moment…to me, that’s a personal triumph (especially if I can for once pat myself on the back at a job well done).

It still amazes me that I’ve become good at something, just because my editor told me back in 2007 to start taking photos and don’t stop.  I’ve now gotten good at it, because I fell in love with taking photos.  Trust me, in 2007…I was a horrible photographer.  It’s 4 years later, and I’m crying over a bunch of photos because they are just so beautiful…and I’m trying to tell myself that I took those photos…not someone else.

Current Bane of My Existence:  Tourists.  Live in NYC…you’ll understand.  The tour guides in Morocco thought it was hilarious how I reacted towards tourists.  If I saw a tourist group…I’d wait until they were gone or I wouldn’t go over to where they were.  My brother even remarked that there were no tourists in my photos.  I exclaimed, “That’s because I wait until they’re friggin gone before I take the photo!” 

Yeah…the guys in Morocco thought it was hilarious that I would wait until the tourists were gone…yet, I’m a tourist in Morocco.  They just found the irony to be hilarious.

Current Celebrity Crush:

Jang Dong-gun (from Warrior’s Way)

Wonder what my man looks like?  Why, he looks a lot like Oded Fehr.  Something about those desert nomads…even if it is one that looks like the one from the Mummy. 🙂

Ben Barnes…that’s all I’m going to say. 

Current #1 Blessing:  Finding Love.  You know how you go so long waiting for the love of your life…the one you’re going to spend the rest of your life with?  Then when you find that person (for me, I had to go to the most remote part of the world to find the perfect guy for me), it’s like you’ve known them all along.  I found love in the most random places in the world with the most random person I could find that is so different than me, but our souls are so alike.  That kind of happiness is a true blessing.

Current Indulgence:  Well, if you asked me over the weekend what that was…it was Oreos, cookies, chocolates, Twinkies, Cheetos, cupcakes, vodka infused gummies…yeah…this is why I’m detoxing right now. 

Current Outfit: Today, I’m wearing my brand new Josie Natori cashmere/silk top that was a gift from my boss.  Underneath, I have a black Banana Republic long-sleeeved tee and Gap black pants.  Accessories: Bauble Bar cuff and necklace.  Shoes: Gold Glitter Ballet Flats. 🙂 Bag of choice today: Marc by Marc Jacobs tote that was also a gift from my boss. 

Current Excitement: The Winter Classic begins this weekend. 🙂

Current Mood: Thinking about all of the things I have to do and get done in this very moment.

Current Favorite Holiday Decoration: This time of year…I love the smell of cinnamon.  Cinnamon pine cones and cinnamon candles. 

Current #1 Item on My Wish List: Well, it was a Marc Jacobs bag…until yesterday.  I think on my bucket list…it’s to go to Turkey!  Moving to Morocco will make it a little bit easier (and cheaper) to travel around Africa and Europe.  After all, tix from Paris to Casablanca were only 32 Euros each way.

Current New Year’s Resolution: Well, I have 10 of them up on Losing 100 Pounds of Unhappiness.  But for this site, I wanted to add:

• Smile More.
• Greet people first with a smile or a hello.
• Make effort to make others happy before you make yourself happy.
• Recycle/reuse more.
• Stop using plastic bags, etc.
• Be more green (greener than I am already).
• Finish everything that you start.  In other words, stop sabotaging yourself.  Finish what you started…and then start on something new.

And from Oprah.com…35 Little Acts of Kindness that are also part of my New Year’s Resolution…

 

Since I can’t sing for you…I’ll share some of my favorite Christmas melodies.

This first one is my ultimate favorite.  “White Christmas” sung by Bing Crosby.  Growing up, I was a huge fan of Bing Crosby, especially his Road to (fill in the blank) with Bob Hope.  I loved those two characters.  I remember watching “White Christmas” and just being so entranced with Bing Crosby’s voice.  He just melts me. 

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This carol always made me laugh growing up.  I’m sad they don’t still play it on the radio all of the time.  It’s the “12 Pains of Christmas.” 

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Speaking of childhood Christmas songs…here’s Alvin, Simon and Theodore.

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In recent years, this has become one of my favorites.  I think after spending so many Christmases alone, realizing the Christmases you can’t spend with the people that meant the world to you because they’ve passed on, Christmas just isn’t the same anymore…(Sorry…you have to go to Youtube for this video (just click on link in video). Apparently WB doesn’t like sharing this song…)

[youtube=http://youtu.be/nmGSHZYZ74c]

This last one is the song that gets me in the holiday spirit. [Love this church in Anaheim’s rendition.] [youtube=http://youtu.be/3sKmHiGOv70]

Happy Holidays, everyone!  I hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday!

Happy Merry Peace Love.

🙂

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