practical and meaningful

evernote

I am commited to figuring out what evernote can do for me.

I need more brain space. I need more space to work. I need more time to think.

Wish me luck!

unsubscribe...it's not personal

An ongoing purge I have been working on is to reduce the clutter in my email box and I have been systematically unsubscribing from most mailing lists. As I go thru the tedius steps to politely asked them to remove me from their mailing lists, I feel a pang of hesitation. I am very clear that I need to reduce the amount of unnecessary emails that fill my inbox - but we all have an innate need not to hurt anyone's feelings.  unsubscirbe...it's not personal. it is practical.

Happy New Year from Practical & Meaningful

Practically speaking, here are some resolutions for the new year.  Meaningfully speaking, here is what I loved most about last year. 

PRACTICAL Resolutions for 2012 - Tighten up my systems, simplify, & be more organized. Exercise regularly.  Take more photos. See more movies. Spend time with the people I love. Enjoy more music.

MEANINGFUL What I loved most about 2011 - My Think Days. our Valentine's Dinner Party. the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. My daughter singing at David's 40th birthday party. Bring your dogs and parents to ART CAMP day. Moving Crafty. Hiking the Stairs in Culver City. All the great press I got through HARO. Being a moMPreneur. The Egg Project. my TWEEN.  Going to PSV.

Practical and Meaningful. Resolution and Review. Action and Appreciation. Work and Play. Friendships and Friends. Places and Memories. Systems and Recall.  Happy New Year!

the in be tween

Our house and our lives are at this interesting intersection of in be tween.  Our daughter is eleven , and we have lived in our house for twelve years.  We are both in our tweens.

There are many things in our house that we have, that we have outgrown. Our daughter is ditching all her childhood things, and transforming her room into a shrine of who she is today. There is an accumilation of memories and trinkets that have to be sorted and then saved or discarded. There are kitchen gadgets that we do not use and therefore, we do not need.  There are clothes that do not fit.

I have spent the last 36 hours purging stuff from our house. Books, clothes, linens, gadgets, electronics, appliances, and furniture.  I have filled 22 large garbage bags of stuff to donate, distribute, give away, or throw away.  Every drawer, room, closet, space has been reduced.  It is a great way to start the new year.

Onward...........

loving is daunting but kind of nice too

As i pack up the warehouse near downtown Los Angeles where i have run my business for the past 5 years, I am feeling a little melancholy and so excited at the same time.  Consolidating and expanding. Moving to a space closer to the art studios in Hollywood - which will make my life more efficient and also expanding the business in new ways.

I text my husband today saying "loving is daunting but kind of nice too"....then realized I meant to say "moving is daunting but kind of nice too."

He reponded " I think it is also true of loving". Well said.  To new beginnings, a fresh start, shedding the old, and embarking on something new.

hiking the stairs in culver city

Every day I drop my daughter off at school and go hike the stairs and trails in the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook.

The view from the top is incredible.

It is an efficient way to get my cardio and constant exercize. I do it every day- rain or shine - and if I have time, I will go up and down a couple of times.

It is such a practical way for me to start my day! 

Bonus - Free parking and a drinking fountain and bathroom at the top of the hill!

purge before you splurge

The best way to curb unneccesary shopping (and to  "save" or "not spend" money) is to spend time going through your closets and drawers and purge what you no longer want or need BEFORE you go on a shopping spree. 

The process of doing this dulls the need to splurge.

                            -From Math for Life - my book on finances and money lessons

eyntkice

I am being interviewed on the local news today about my eyntkice - everything you need to know in case of emergency.  It is my log book of all the pertinent information anyone would need to know if I died tomorrow. Bank account info, life insurance info, trust info, log in info, contact info, investment info, family info - ETC.

Being practical and proactive with important information is not optional.  Are you up to date on everything? If not, take time this month and get your affairs in order. Check in with your family to make sure they have their affairs in order. Create your trust. Get life insurance. Be practical.

simplify

On a quest to make things work better, feel better, and mean more.

I am going to reduce commitments. I am going to partner with others. I will accomplish more, with less effort. I will create purpose. I will have some fun. I will hire a driver. I will refine systems. I will master my scanner and sort the files on my computer. I will be seen. I will simplify.

ICE for the people who handle your important information

IT is important to have the emergency contact info for your private vendors such as bookkeepers. If something was to happen to them, you want to know how to retreive your information from their files. Totally practical. Do you know where your stuff is and how to get it if something happens to your stuff keeper?