Favorite Finds Of The Week

Here are some articles from across the globe for your reading pleasure. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did and are all having a great weekend!

Tips for Family Vacation Planning, Part 1: Deciding Where to Go – Mommy’s Idea Book  (This is part 1 of 4 be sure to click through the whole series. Amanda has done a very thorough job and there are even printable checklists…awesome!)

While vacations should be fun, exciting and memorable times for you and your family, they can be stressful if you have not planned well and budgeted in advance.Deciding where to go is the first step to any great vacation.Although you may have a few ideas in mind of where you would like to go, here are some things to think about before you make your final decision.

Spring Cleaning: Tips & Techniques – Simple Mom (The spring clean party starts this Monday and goes for 10 days. But don’t freak out Tsh purposely structured it this way to fit with real life, how great’s that?)

The Spring Cleaning Party starts this Monday, and I hope you’re all as ready as I am to start the spring cleaning process in your home!  Decluttering, cleaning, and organizing your living space will not only freshen up your home, it will lift your spirits and get you motivated to live more simply and fully.Here’s the general process of how this will work.

Are There Phases of Personal Development? – On Simplicity (Sara takes us through the stages of personal development. I hadn’t specifically broken my personal development journey down this way but it totally makes sense. Have a read and see if your journey is following a similar pattern?)

JD Roth has written (quite effectively) on the different stages of personal finance that we all seem to go through. I can’t help but wonder if there’s any correlation with personal development. Do we all go through phases or levels as we strive to reach personal development goals?  If we do, what would they look like?

How to Always Have Something Better to Talk About Than the Weather – Raptitude (David does a great job at breaking down social awkwardness and shedding some light on the mind of the shy. He also provides some suggestions on how to establish connections with people and carry on a conversation, without it being about the weather.)

Six years ago, when I lived in a snowy mountain village and paid my bills by cleaning high-end sinks and toilets, someone said something that prompted me to confront an uncomfortable truth about myself. A well-meaning coworker mentioned that she had been talking to another housekeeper about me.  Oh? “She said, ‘David is a such great guy to work with, it’s just that he’s just so quiet.‘” I don’t remember how I responded, but I assume I tried to disagree somehow, and went back to my work hoping nobody would ever say that to me again. Quiet.  As if I have nothing to say. I remember the rest of that day.  As I scrubbed luxury-suite shower stalls, I played out an imaginary rebuttal in my head:

One Year of Love - Porsidan (This is a truly inspiring story of how Jay made significant lifestyle changes, dropped nearly 100 pounds and turned his health around.)

So, I’m guessing that when you saw the title of this post, you thought it was going to be a relationship post. It is, in a way, but not like you might expect. This is a post about a year of self-love. No, not that kind of self love! I’m talking about the kind of self love where you take a good hard look at yourself, realize that something isn’t working, and so you change it. Specifically, this is about how I’ve lost nearly 100 pounds in the past year. In April of 2008, I went to the doctor for the first time in several, several years. I hate going to the doctor, and will avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately, it almost cost me my life.

21 Small, But Powerful Ways to Build A Happy Family – SHE-POWER (Kelly shares some great ideas about how to build a happy family. My favorite is #3 on her list Play music at home and dance around the lounge room.)

I’m organizing a 5th birthday party for Bunny right now. It’s going to have 40 people or so and a jumping castle and we’re taking over my father’s property, which has the room to host large gatherings. I had my wedding reception there and that was loads of fun, so hopefully this party will be just as successful. We haven’t thrown a party this big since his 1st birthday, so it’s a big deal. Add to that I am not the most domesticated woman in the world and you could say I am more than a little stressed.