Less is More

Want to buy a house for $50K? Well you can right here in the DC Metro area. It's true and it's unreal all at the same time. Everywhere you look these days houses are going into foreclosure, being abandoned and just taking six months or more to sell at prices lower than the appraised tax value.

House flipping has naturally taken a hit as well. With our most recent flip we sold it not in our regular fast pace of less than a week or even less than 24 hours but it took two months, two price drops and accepting an offer that made us little profit. It's disheartening at best but it is a sign of the times.

Reading the Washington Post fashion section in the Sunday Source this past weekend it became clear that even in that realm things are taking a hit. Designers are not offering up a lot of new things this season either. What was in style last summer or a spring must-have is the same this year. Gladiator sandals, patent shoes and bags, chunky jewelry and bright, bold colors are in again. Stores are reluctant to put new items on their shelves that most likely will not move as we have less and less disposable income.

While this can all seem quite depressing, especially if you are trying to sell or keep your home (a whole other issue not related to this post), I have found that it can also be a time of reflection. While consumerism is down due to lack of funds (what are you doing with your economic stimulus check? Let me guess. Paying bills?) it helps to realize that sometimes we need that step back to think about how we essentially need to consume less. Less is more. Those with more are statistically proven to not be any happier than those who consume or have less. Some people are even taking this time to buy nothing. While the 'Story of Stuff' has been making the rounds on YouTube it certainly warrants another look. We are indeed a nation of consumers and it is scary.

I'll step off my tiny soap box now and let you think about this for a second. Maybe if you are not of the mind to not buy anything for one whole month maybe try to just buy and consume less. OK, back on the box. Use less gas by eating out less. Sit down with our families more. Only buy what is on our list at Target this week. I know that is a tough one for everyone including yours truly. Try it for a day, a week, or a month and see where it gets you. Our wallets will be fatter and I can bet that our hearts will be a bit lighter too. It could be a great Project Life Change idea and something fun for the whole family.

I'm off the box now. And I don't feel like making my Target run today after all. I do however feel like going to the library and taking a walk with my kid.

Earth Hour- TONIGHT! Are you Ready?

Maybe you have heard of it, maybe you haven't but tonight all over the world between 8-9 p.m. we are powering down. For one solid hour there will be no lights on in my house. Just candlelight.

Earth Hour is a great way for your whole family to get involved and learn about conservation. While T.D. will be in bed by that point, the dog and I will sitting quietly.

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour was created by WWF in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including the US flagships–Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

We invite everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time)–whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.

What will you do when the lights are off? We have lots of ideas.

Join people all around the world in showing that you care about our planet and want to play a part in helping to fight climate change. Don’t forget to sign up and let us know you want to join Earth Hour.

One hour, America. Earth Hour. Turn out for Earth Hour!

What Would You Do With One Extra Day?

Today should be the last day of the month, but we are in a leap year. Think of tomorrow as our bonus day! For most of us it will be life as usual (wake up, wipe kiddie snot, work, wipe more snot, sleep, repeat), but think of this- If you could have one extra day to do something, anything- what would you do? Would you spend time with family and friends? Would you rather spend the time cleaning the house or tackling projects around your home?

Yahoo! polled over 2,000 people and found these results-

80% chose doing something fun like hanging out with family/friends, going on some wild excursion or shopping

63% said they might work, do some sort of organizing around the house or clean the garage

40% would do some online clean up, like cleaning their email box, their many online profiles or back up computer files


I spoke with Heather Cabot, the Web Life editor for Yahoo!, who is an expert on the Internet lifestyle. She is also the busy mother of twins and founder of the cool site The Well Mom to see if I could garner some tips on streamlining our lives on and offline. Through her I learned three easy tips to help manage my life on the web.





1. Bacon- Not the Oscar Meyer type either, but the email you opt in for when you subscribe to a newsletter or website. Remember that cute pair of shoes you bought online? You probably subscribed to the stores newsletter without even knowing it. Take ten minutes and unsubscribe to these newsletters as you get them in your inbox. If you are like me, Bacon stresses you out. You feel you have to read it but do not have the time and it clogs your inbox.

2. Social Networking- It can be a lot of work keeping up all those profiles, poking your friends and uploading pictures onto all those different networking sites. Re-evaluate why you are on these sites. Is it the networking for work or fun? Pick a professional one and a fun one and work from there. There is no need to be everywhere at once. Clean up your profile on these two sites and in the long run, you will save time.

3. Be mindful and opt out of things- Be selective of where you spend your time online each day and how much time you are actually online. It is all about balance.

Heather also suggested doing tasks like banking in one place. You can put all your credit cards, bank statements and more on one site these days. Check out safe websites like Wesabe and Mint that can show you where your money is going and how to budget efficiently.

Seeing that Heather is the founder of The Well Mom, a website where women can learn about obtaining and maintaining a healthy balance in life, I asked her for some tips in that area as well. You do not have to be a mother to heed her advice either. Heather talked about the importance in “remembering to be present in all you do, to be really there in the moment. Don’t multi-task and be mindful.” Take time for yourself each day whether it doing something decadent like spa time or simply taking a shower alone or reading a magazine. Whatever it is you need to be a calmer, nicer you, do it! She even has a great checklist on her site called ‘the well mom checklist’. Post it on your fridge ladies! If you are a new mom, please read this list. It is important to ask for help too, she says. Being assertive and pro-active is very important in life, but especially when you have children. You cannot do it alone so do not be afraid to admit that and seek help when needed. Lastly, do not take yourself too seriously. Do not worry about things so much. Easier said than done I know. However, it is advice well taken. I could not agree more.

I really enjoyed talking with Heather. She is down to earth, funny and not at all intimidating like I thought she might be. I got a bit freaked out when I found out she was a former ABC News anchor and correspondent. Like most women though, once we found some common ground you could not shut us up. Thanks Heather, it was a pleasure speaking with you!

For more information about Heather Cabot, you can visit her here and here.

What would you do with one extra day?

She's Two- does she really need that party?

T.D. turns two on Sunday. It's T.D. the 2.0 version. As the date draws near I have begun to feel real anxiety about my lack of planning for her big day. There will be no party. Only cake. No balloons, no company invading our home for hours with little tykes to hurl cake around. We’ll take pictures as she blows out the candles, if she even does that and we’ll make a fuss, but that is all.

We thought about taking her to lunch but her favorite eatery, except Chick Fil A is closed on Sundays. We thought about a lot of things and came to the decision that we not only wouldn't go nuts on a party but we would not be buying her loads of presents. Christmas was only two months ago.

When I look at what we’ve bought her thus far for presents I feel like I’m looking at birthday gifts from the Depression- underpants, crayons, a book, and a pair of shoes.

Except during the Depression this would have been a cornucopia of presents.

H & I made this decision months ago. It is not so much taking the route of having an “un-birthday” or ignoring the day, but, she's two. We did the whole big birthday thing when she was one and while it was cute it was also a whole lot of planning for the adults. I don’t remember my second birthday except I know I had cake due to a photograph. T.D. won’t remember, I tell myself, so why go through all the fuss? The fuss is for us, the adults at this point, not the kids.

Do we make the fuss for others to show how much we care for our kids? To show how much we have and what we can do? That's not any party I want to go to.

When I discussed this point of view with others I got a lot of mixed reviews. Some people thought this was a wise idea because the more we do now as parents for these parties sets us up for our kids expecting and then demanding overblown, ridiculously expensive parties as they get older. Mtv's Sweet Sixteen anyone? Others disagreed and stated that we need to create these memories for later and they love hosting these events because they are fun. My inner anal planner loves this idea in theory until people start actually arriving at my door and I have to play hostess for a few hours. "You can't just ignore your kids birthday", people say. Still others felt that having something small with family is fine as long as we invite a few friends of T.D.'s over. Yeah, we're not going that route either.

Well what if we just have waffles for breakfast (a T.D. favorite), cake with dinner and invite no one but those of us who live in the house? Why is this a bad decision? Am I less of a parent because while I can afford to throw her some big party I choose not to? Am I depriving my child in this way? My thoughts are this, when she is old enough to understand what her birthday is then we'll go back to having parties (next year is my guess) but for now I think the Elmo underpants, cake with sprinkles and waffles for breakfast is how we are going to play it. At least I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

Riddle me this, aside from photos you might have seen of yourself, can you honestly say you remember your second birthday? I was apparently burned with scalding hot coffee on my arms right after I blew out the candles and I don't even recall that traumatizing event.

What the Hell are You Waiting for?

See sign above? Yup. Really nothing more needs to be said but sometimes I find myself in conversations with people who talk as if they have no control over their lives. It baffles me. I'm not saying I'm some life coach or guru of sorts. Far be it from me to dispense any real advice but uh... I'm about to. Why? Because when I hear people talk like this I get mad. Damn mad. So mad I think of this scene from Network.

Your life is your own. Yours. You have to live it as if each day were your last (that doesn't mean quit your job or rob a bank either). I know real pearls of wisdom right there. But seriously, if you are waiting for some big moment in your life to happen to make it all amazingly better (to bring romance into your life, adventure, fix your spouse, or even you) it is not going to happen unless you take action. Stop living passively and begin to live actively. Ask for what you want. Don't just wish! Demand it! Make it happen! Stop putting off things like dream trips for when you are old and retired and start saving and creating them today.

I say this not because it is a new year, though it is a good time to put it all in perspective, but because as I draw closer to my one-year mark of trying to live my dream of being a writer I realize the milestones, achievements, failures and what I did to get here. What I sacrificed and won. It wasn't always easy or fun and sometimes it was downright petrifying filled with sweaty nights of no sleep and endless worry. BUT. It's been one of the best years of my life. I asked for it, I created it and I got it. I asked for support from my family and friends and I got it. I'm living my life authentically and it hasn't been as earth-shattering as I thought it would be either.

It is just change. Change is good. Change is needed. It isn't some life threatening illness or accident that should finally push you to evaluate your life. There is no big crescendo of music and sappy photo montage that will play before your eyes. Life doesn't work that way as much as we might want it too. Your life is in YOUR hands. If you want things to be different it is up to YOU to change them. Join a group, join a freakin' gym if that is all it is, volunteer, contribute to something that is greater than yourself. Change careers, change vacation plans, change your kitchen if that will help. Just stop being afraid, get off the bench and do something!

You only get one life. There are no re-dos. Please stop and think. Should you really be a passive watcher of your own life or should you be actively participating in it? It is a whole lot more exciting when you decide to participate.

And I'm spent...


*This post was brought to you by lots of expectorant and other assorted decongestants, cough supressants and caffiene. Also known as Mummy's sick bed.

**Poster by Linzie Hunter.

Continuing in the vein (OK that just sounds gross) of Project Life Change I'm not working today. The pull is strong and it means that tomorrow I will have to work doubly hard but I feel it is time for a day of rest.

I knew going into this work from home thing that in effect I would never actually leave work. Especially when I happen to leave my laptop on all the time and out in the open. It tempts me. Holding court on whatever surface it lands. Beckoning me like a siren to type more words. Blog one more thing. I will resist today and live in the day.

I'll take a walk with TD despite the fog rolling in off our almost completely dried up river. We will do some fun crafty project involving leaves I think and read lots of books. We might return some picture frames as well but at least I'm not glued to the screen and keyboard.

I hope that Project Life Change will work out well and eliminate things like this from further happening in our house.



I had no idea wood floors needed to be mowed. Duly noted.



Clearly it's October in our house as the home decor magazines are mixing with the Halloween costume accouterments. (Mind out of the gutter and Mom stop crying! That was from some ill-fated costume I wore one year as the Angel of Death. A whole other story for another day or blog)


No Mess Paints my ass. At least they are clear but four hair washings later and the goop still holds. Eesh.

Reduce the Crazy- Project Life Change

So there I was reading all about Project Life Change from some great bloggers and I thought, well what a swell idea but I've already done that. Remember? I quit my job back in January to stay home with T.D. and pursue my writing. A life long dream. What could be better than that?

Except for one thing.

It's called balance. Coupled with my inability to say no to a writing gig or almost anything else and I am swamped! Swamped with writing for free half the time too. Sure I get loads of free products and that's great! My friends think I'm the luckiest person for all that stuff that arrives daily at my front door. Except that they don't have to review it. I get bogged down in the boxes and using things and keeping such a tight schedule. I have stopped enjoying it. I want to do different things but I'm always ripping open some new item to review and it was starting to make me and our whole house a bit crazy.

"No T.D.! Don't play with that toy! Watch this DVD instead!"
"Don't you want to wear this new shirt? Come on! It's fun!
"Now let's find out what the streets are saying about that shirt! MUSH!"

Yeeeaaah. You get the drift.

So I made a pact with myself and with H. No more new stuff this year. What is on the books, which quite frankly has me to the end of the year, is it. Nothing else. All new stuff goes into next years review which will be down to two a week instead of three plus. It's just too much. So I'm learning to say no or actually, yes, but not until next year on some things. It's a relief. A big one.

It also frees up my time for things like, oh... actually communicating with my daughter and taking walks or going on play dates and not just busying her while I write up another piece. I can free my mind too and let the creative writer take over and there are things that are definitely brewing. Hearing about this Project Life Change initiative was just in time and what I needed. What my family needed. I needed to step back once again and reduce the busy/crazy and focus on what is truly important and the number one reason I'm home. My daughter.


Feel free to read more about the project here and look for me as a contributor there as well! I'm so excited about this website I can't even tell you! It's everything I love in one great space!


Oh yeah! While you are at it head on over to the review site over on the right hand sidebar. New stuff is up this week and Friday we are having a giveaway! One lucky reader will win the new Jen Lancaster book Bright Lights, Big Ass and some other fun items so stay tuned!