Simply Abundant Living

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There’s a saying…getting old is no fun, but it’s better than the alternative. Of course, this is true…but there are so many aches and pains associated with aging that it can make it a difficult proposition to anticipate. Arthritis runs in my family. Both my grandmothers were crippled with it and I remember watching them suffer as they tried to use their hands when I was a young girl. Now, in my 40s, I admit I look at my hands (specifically my finger joints) with trepidation and dread when I think about what may lie ahead. Maybe it is high time I research joint health supplements to see what I can do to avoid the same pain and suffering my grandmothers experienced.

Everyone loves a good story…especially when the hero or heroine overcomes all obstacles and triumphs in the end. Perhaps this is why weight loss stories seem to strike such a cord with many people. Seeing others achieve success in the face of challenge can be incredibly motivating and encouraging. What I love best is seeing people learn that life after junk food is better than life WITH junk food. Poisoning your body is simply not worth the heartache and heath problems that accompany this battle.

Are you a vitamin taker? Looking for good prices? Check out www.vitamins.net for some interesting deals.

I admit that I am an on-again-off-again vitamin taker. For some reason I have trouble sticking to the vitamin habit and I’ve tried many techniques for reminding myself. Even putting vitamin bottles above the kitchen sink doesn’t seem to help me stick to it for long.

If you are a vitamin taker, how did you implement this habit and stick to it?

Have you taken a good look at your bookshelves lately? Do you have a…gasp…unsightly mess? Could it be time to take inventory and overhaul your bookshelves?

Here are some things to think about:

1. Decide what kind of bookshelves you need. Do you have books only on your shelves or do you have a collection of media and other items displayed on your shelves?
2. First thing to do is go through and remove everything that isn’t pretty or attractive. Tuck these things away somewhere else and do not display them on your bookshelves.
3. Make an interesting mix of what is left. Perhaps you have a collection of pictures, CDs, books (old and new) and display items. Find a few attractive containers to corral your CDs and other small items and allow these containers to add interest to your shelves.
4. Keep some free space on your bookshelves to avoid a cluttered look. Some experts recommend one-quarter of each shelf free to keep an attractive balance.
5. Place books both vertically and horizontally to add interest and variation to your shelves.
6. Add a few empty frames at the backs of the shelves to spice up your arrangements.
7. Don’t forget to add a few unexpected items, like pottery or striking statues.

I just happened upon a site today that offers some very interesting clearance savings. You even have a choice between shopping online or shopping at one of their 750 participating brick-and-mortars.

Shop for computers and accessories, home entertainment, audio players, cameras, cell phones…you name it. Some very good prices, from what I saw also. I’m a gadget person, so I had to check out the gadgets to see if they had anything interesting. I found a mini vacuum cleaner perfect for little touch-ups around a desk area that I thought looked handy. I also saw a USB-powered hand warmer. For someone with perpetually icy hands during the winter, this might just become mine…for $7.49, too!

Do you ever wander through the stores looking at the many decor items that you could add to your home? Do any of these items really *pull* you to purchase them? Do they feel like YOU? Or…do you get the feeling that these assorted items are generic and not really anything that truly represents YOU.

I was in Hobby Lobby this week…my first time ever in this store, believe it or not. I enjoyed the extensive array of everything crafty you could ever want or need under one roof (including fabric!). I was surprised to see the huge area of home decor items–was not expecting a section of this type in a crafting store, I guess. I couldn’t help myself…I did wander through, looking at all of the different pretty things for placing on shelves, tables, walls, etc. Nothing really PULLED at me, though and I did not purchase anything more than the felt I had been searching for in the first place.

It got me to thinking, too…how do you create a home that is uniquely yours?

1. If you are starting from scratch, go ahead and wander through a home decor store like that and purchase a few “starter pieces” to start building from.
2. Choose a color or a theme and start building slowly. For example, if country red is your passion and you want to build a bathroom around this color, start with a shower curtain or towels and then accessorize slowly incorporating your color throughout everything.
3. Choose one more complementary color and start adding this color in slowly to mix it up a little bit. Try using lighter and darker variations of your colors to mix it up even further.
4. Branch out your decor shopping to the unusual. Don’t be afraid to hit the estate sales, flea markets and rummage sales. You can find amazing and unusual items hiding in places like this.
5. Take your time. Don’t feel like you need to decorate your home in a week…or a month…or even a year! Make it an ongoing process that continues to evolve as you find new things that really PULL you.
6. Don’t buy anything that you do not truly LOVE.

This is the way to create your own unique style and create a home respite that is truly YOU.

I need a new kitchen faucet. It’s been a long time and after suffering with less than ideal sink situations, I am finally ready to spring for something like these beautiful Delta faucets I keep seeing in magazines. I would love something sleek and simple to adorn my sink and give me hot and cold water. I don’t think that’s too much to ask…now is it?

I purchase many things online out of convenience and thriftiness. Last week I was browsing, looking for an external DVD/CD drive for the kids’ laptop because they seem to have broken the internal one on their laptop. After much looking, reading, and researching (a must when you are purchasing electronics online), I finally found one that was reasonably priced and should have worked on their computer.

Well, it came and guess what…doesn’t work! Not only this, but the retailer is inaccessible – will not answer phones or emails. So…I contacted Amazon and thankfully I have recourse and protection from having purchased it through Amazon.

Moral of the story: Purchase from reputable dealers or through a website like Amazon that will enable you to recover your money in the event that something goes wrong with your transaction.

I landed on a website with some interesting pictures today. The premise was advertisements that makes you look twice. I did not see any insurance advertising photographs, but I did see some doozies. Let me share some of my favorites with you…I think you might like them too.

Isn’t this one cool? The message is to send someone a letter if you really want to touch someone. This one spoke to me particularly strongly, because I am a strong proponent of old-fashioned letter writing. I can appreciate the new techie twist to this old fashioned form of communication, and I liked this.

This one is for Denver Water. “Use Only What You Need”…this one particularly spoke to me also, as I believe in conservation. I also just though it plain cute!

What can I say? This one was just too cute not to include!

Have the seed catalogs started arriving yet? No? Well…they should begin to hit your mailboxes fast and furious soon. Seed companies know that we gardeners need something to dream about during the long months of hibernation.

Once you have a sizable stack, it’s time to grab a hot cuppa and snuggle down in a cozy chair to leaf through and dream a little. What better way to get new ideas and cement plans for the garden you will begin in a few short months.

As you page through the beautiful colors and spreads, notice that most catalogs give additional growing  information on disease resistance, new and improved hybrids, the length to maturity on vegetable crops and often the proper growing conditions for the plants. When you combine this useful information with your own experience in your own garden, you are in a great place to choose great flowers and vegetables for the upcoming growing season.

Try not to get too carried away and don’t order more than you can plant. Make a wish list and then sit on it for a few days. Go back to it and look at it again realistically to make sure what you plan is doable. You might just try a few new things each year, while sticking with the old favorites that grow well year after year.

It is never too early to start planning your upcoming garden. When you order seeds by mail, ordering early will ensure that you have your seeds when you need them.

Spring will be here before you know it…

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