These Destination Dinners International Recipe Kits might even get me in the kitchen...

"Recipe Kits are easy to make gifts that share culture through food. Each kit beautifully displays the pre-measured hard to find spices, sauces and dried items as well as step-by-step instructions, a shopping list for fresh ingredients and fun facts and trivia about the destination you are 'traveling' to."  -Destination Dinners website 

From the What's Your Dosha? website:

"According to Ayurveda, each of us has a unique mix of three mind/body principles which creates our specific mental and physical characteristics. These three principles are called 'doshas'. Most of us have one or two doshas which are most lively in our nature, with the remaining one(s) less significant."

Take the quiz and see where you are.  To get a bit more of a personal perspective on how this is useful, read this blog entry by the marvelous Marianne. 

Spa parties?  Eco Home Services?  An Eco Living Blog?  GreenBless EcoSpa is where it's at!! 

This is a wonderful article from - you guessed it - Oprah.com!  And a few more...

The Five Things Happy People Do

The Secrets of a Happy Marriage

Celebrate You!

Is there anything she says that isn't inspiring? 

I had the wonderful fortune of being part of an event at my favorite Santa Monica gift shop, Hey Kookla, in January of this year which was centered around a book signing with Mariel Hemingway, who was promoting her book Healthy Living from the Inside Out.  Not only was the event fun, inspiring and actually energizing (most of the time shows wear me out), but it was also a pleasure meeting Ms. Hemingway and being able to talk a tiny bit about El Floridita in Havana, where a statue of Ernest Hemingway - her grandfather - has a permanent place at the bar.  Her book is centered around four main topics - Food, Exercise, Home and - I love this - Silence. 

I did not buy her book that day just because she was there; I bought it because this woman is gorgeous!  Energetic, exuding radiance, and absolutely naturally beautiful.  To see her in person is to believe that what she has to say is valuable, helpful and meaningful.   

Because LA can use as much green as it can get.  From the Homegrown website:

"Homegrown designs and maintains organic kitchen gardens for private residences throughout Los Angeles, from window boxes to multiple raised beds.  Our emphasis is on growing delicious, healthy food." 

This looks like an insanely fun way to stay in shape.  I have to say I was a mad hula hooper at Burning Man in 2003 and I just might have to bring a little Burning Man into my living room. 

If I am remembering correctly, I think I first met the divine Sunny Schlenger in 2006, and since we first connected she is someone I have come to rely on for guidance, wisdom and grounding.  Even though we do not talk very often, the conversations we have always stay with me, giving me food for thought and wise insights into whatever particular part of my journey I am in the midst of.  She has two wonderfully inspiring books - How to be Organized in Spite of Yourself and Organizing for the Spirit.  I know a new book is in the works and I can't wait to dive into that when it is published.  Until that arrives, you can keep up with her latest endeavors & ideas here.

[January 25, 2008]

Happy New Year Sunny! Like me, I know you are very excited to be in one place after a serious moving project last year. How are you settling in?
Deeply. Very deeply. It’s wonderful not to be running back and forth constantly. I love nesting and Sedona is a marvelous place to nest.

Tell everyone about the work you do.
These days I’m combining organizing and coaching to assist clients who are going through life transitions, i.e., helping them to “re-size” their lives to the core things that matter to them at this moment in time. Too many people, I’ve found, have outgrown the systems they were using and need to look at their lives from a fresh perspective – especially if they’re going through challenges and changes that affect their environments (e.g., growing a business, moving, living/working with different people). 

Tell me about the space you have created just for you in your new home – the space you go to in order to be with your thoughts and your creativity. What makes it all yours?
Ah, I can tell that this question comes from someone who knows the value of personal space! For me, my own space makes everything else possible. This knowledge may have originated when my parents decided that they didn’t want the responsibility of a house any longer, and we moved to an apartment the summer before I entered college. The new apartment had only 2 bedrooms instead of 3, and since my brother was still in high school at the time, I was given the den to use whenever I came home from college. Most of my belongings that I didn’t take to college were stored in the hall closet. This set-up might have worked OK for someone else, but my creativity felt all locked up with my stuff in the closet. I moved out as soon as I could. Now I know exactly what I need in order to function happily and productively. My room has warm colors and lots of books and music. The things I have around me make me smile, relax, or feel inspired. And of course it’s organized to match the way I function. (This doesn’t mean it’s always neat, however!)

What organizing advice do you give others that you have the hardest time following yourself?
I tell people how important it is to make time to keep up with their filing, but that’s a tough one for me to do regularly. I think it has to do with creativity vs. detail work. I apparently like my clients’ detail work better than my own! Follow-up is not my favorite thing, but I do it because I don’t really have a workable system unless I follow-up and follow-through.

I have a funny habit of getting my studio in perfect order after I finish a new series of work or other project, even if I know I will tear it all apart the very next day…what is an organizational task you do to kind of re-boot your creative hard drive?
Christine, I’m with you on this one. When I’m in the middle of something I can tolerate chaos, but when I want to get back in control, my space has to reflect the serenity I need in order to think clearly and get in touch with “the spark”. If I still feel stuck after that, I’ll go to a website like Sparkletopia to get the creative juices flowing. (Thank you for creating such a beautiful one-stop re-charging station!)

Is there an area of your life or home where you are purposefully unorganized…maybe as a way to rebel against your title as Organizer Extraordinaire?
What’s funny about the title is that people are always apologizing to me for the state of their home or office, even when I’m on a social visit! The truth is that I don’t notice things like that unless I’m there professionally. As for my rebel mode (you know me too well it seems) I would have to say that I resist scheduling, except for appointments with other people. When I’m in my office, and experiencing “flow” (which happens much more than it used to), I naturally move from project to project and between administrative tasks. If I’m resisting something, I’ll set aside specific time for it, but otherwise I operate as the spirit moves me.

If you walked into the most unorganized space you’d ever seen, what would be the first thing you would do to get it in order?
Before I’d do anything, I’d have to learn whose space it was. I don’t believe that someone’s space can be organized separately from that person. I’d want to know about their needs, preferences, responsibilities and problems managing space or time. Solutions would be custom-tailored to the experiences of the person living or working there. Even in the area of organizational products, not all products work well for all people. For example, some clients function better with storage that keeps things visible, while others prefer out-of-sight.

To many people, I think the words “getting organized” are only applicable to things like our desks, our files and our closets. How can we use organizational skills in other areas of our lives, such as creative or spiritual?
Great question. This is actually the path I’m on at the present time – integrating the concepts I’ve developed, and am currently developing – into our creative and spiritual consciousness. I believe that everything in one’s life is connected, and it’s important to understand the connections in order to tap into the “higher self” we each have. This is not a “being neat” kind of organized. It’s having a larger, proactive view of your life that encourages moments of special awareness and insight and true comprehension of your personal power in relation to the larger world around you.

On your website, the link to your Personal Coaching information has an image with the words “If you could change one thing…” on it. If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?
I’d be able to find a restaurant that serves Fettucini Alfredo with no calories or unhealthy ingredients in it. Seriously though, if I could change one thing, I’d be less hard on myself. I’d remember all the positive things I’ve done instead of just focusing on what I haven’t gotten to yet. I’m working on it!  ☺

Thank you Sunny!! 

I am a tad worthless in the kitchen, but the idea of creating my very own cookbook actually sounds like fun.  Taste Book lets you do just that, from creating your own cover to adding personal photos and recipes.  Yum! 

Excerpt from the Zen Habits website, in an entry entitled "The Art of Doing Nothing":

"Sure, we all know how to do nothing. We all know how to lay around and waste time. But many of us are too busy to do it much, and when we do it, our minds are often on other things. We cannot relax and enjoy the nothingness.
Doing nothing can be a waste of time, or it can be an art form. Here’s how to become a master, and in the process, improve your life, melt away the stress and make yourself more productive when you actually do work."

There are so many resources here it is easy to get overwhelmed, but it is very well organized by categories such as Productivity & Organization, Finance & Family, Simplicity, Happiness and Health. 

I was once asked to write a blog entry about how I deal with adversity, and in my list of the most important things I do when confronted with adversity was get enough sleep, exercise and eat well.  Three very basic yet fundamentally important ingredients for living a balanced life whether things are great or you feel like the world is collapsing on top of you.  The truth is that you might sometimes feel overwhelmed simply because your body is not receiving the attention it needs.  Vital Juice Daily has tips and advice on Fitness, Healing, Nutrition, Beauty, Green Living and much more.  It is a very well organized, user-friendly website that I have started turning to for a dose of health-related inspiration.  Sign up for their daily emails and add it to your list of favorites and start taking better care of YOU!