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There are only a few hours left in 2013 and I’m so proud of me for having stuck with Blogher’s NaBloPoMo December. I started this journey with a Gratitude post and I am ending on that note as well.

I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR TODAY.

I got to feel the sun on my skin. I made peace with the past. I cried. I lit a candle for all that was and for all that is yet to come. I lived to see today. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring and in this moment I am whole and happy.

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much. – Jim Rohn

As I sit here toasting all that went down in 2013, I keep asking myself…if the life I’m creating by the choices I’m making propelling me towards my best self? I think I stuck to the Manifesto I created for 2013. I walked in Truth and now my heart is bigger, busted wide open and ready even more Love. I am a better version of me and I truly love the woman I am growing into. As I think about those choices that led me to this moment and with a full heart, I set my intention for MORE in 2014. I want:

More of what counts.

More of what is important to me. The people I love. I plan to tell them every chance I get. Starting with the family lime we usually have on New Year’s Day. I am so lucky to still have the chance to tell them.

More Writing.

After writing inconsistently for most of the year because I’m lazy for all kinds of reasons, I finally turned things around by successfully completing this month’s NaBloPoMo challenge. I am proud to say I wrote/posted in this space every day for December. *throws confetti* Thank you for reading!

More Travel.

This year I visited New York City, D.C., Virginia, Grenada and St Vincent. I have been bitten by the travel bug hard. I am craving new experiences. So next year, I plan to go much further, I already have four trips planned and I am super excited about them!

More time with my Cohort of Awesome.

I haven’t been very good at keep in touch with my family and friends who live afar…this is anybody who does not live in my neighbourhood. I know, I know! Thankfully my sister and brother live within a few blocks of me. My sister is the family whisperer though. She knows everything that’s happening with everybody. While I don’t think I can get to her level of social prowess, in 2014 I plan to do better than I’ve done this year. These are the people who make this journey of mine worthwhile. I need to make sure they know I appreciate them.

More self-care.

You know how when you fly on an airplane, the flight attendant instructs you to put your oxygen mask on first, before helping others? Do you know why this is an important rule for ensuring survival? You put on your oxygen mask first, because if you run out of oxygen, you can’t help anyone else with their mask. I had a massage last week and when the masseuse got to my shoulders and neck we both could feel the knots. It was p a i n f u l. She immediately said to me that this is my health I’m playing with. Why was I carrying so much stress? If something happens to me…because I allowed stress to make me sick, guess what…I can’t help anybody and life will go on without me. I CHOOSE to be here to celebrate life in 2014. Bring on those massages!

The biggest lesson I’ve learned this year is that Happiness is not a destination, it’s a journey and it’s one that you begin from within. It is simply doing the things every single day that move you closer to your best possible self.

Happy New Year to all of you. I wish you only the best.

Light & Love.

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I’m participating in BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo Challenge for the month of December:

NaBloPoMo_MoreLess

You can read some awesome entries here: NaBloPoMo December

I want less…

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein

I gave my microwave to a close friend who was moving into her first apartment a few months ago. Instead of replacing it, I got a toaster oven instead. What would have taken 2 minutes in the microwave now takes 15 minutes…and I couldn’t be happier. We live in an instant gratification” age and the fact that I have to spend a little time waiting for something to toast or warm up is teaching me patience. In 2014 I want less haste.

My apartment is just the right size for me. I have just enough space to teach me the difference between wants and needs. I am learning to only buy/keep only the things that bring me pleasure and to say no to the non-essentials. In 2014 I want less of the unnecessary.

On vacation in October, I had chocolate cake and it made me sick. I threw up every last bite. It definitely didn’t taste as good the second time around. I had no choice but to finally admit it to myself…chocolate makes me sick. Yes…sometimes all the world’s problems can be solved with a piece of dark chocolate…but it’s not worth the migraines and nausea anymore. I need to find a less painful way to solve the world’s problems. In 2014 I want less chocolate and sugar.

I was at a wedding on Saturday. It was the union of two young people I grew up with. The ceremony was held in the church we all grew up in. The church I stopped going to after mummy died…because it held too many memories. Since her funeral, my sister and brother got married there, we also had Luke’s farewell Mass there as well. It’s a mixture of happy and sad. But something happened to me during the wedding ceremony of my friends. The church felt like home. And I missed the community. I want a church community where everybody knows my name… In 2014 I want less just-a-face-in-the-crowd kinda worship.

“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” – Socrates

As 2013 is slips away, what would you like less of in 2014?

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I’m participating in BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo Challenge for the month of December:

NaBloPoMo_MoreLess

You can read some awesome entries here: NaBloPoMo December

How sweet it is…

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

Strawberry & Mascarpone Tart
courtesy my sister-in-law

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I’m participating in BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo Challenge for the month of December:

NaBloPoMo_MoreLess

You can read some awesome entries here: NaBloPoMo December

UNPACKED

According to 1000 Awesome Things…”packed boxes are ghosts.”

When I moved into my apartment over two years ago I unpacked everything except 5 large cardboard boxes. I’ve been delaying unpacking these last few things because there was a part of me that felt if I unpacked ALL the boxes then this “new” space would not really be temporary. I felt that if I unpacked everything then it means that I have really moved on. I’ve truly said goodbye to my childhood.

All this time I have had these 5 boxes in my tiny kitchen and lived with them…they became part of the room. Inside they held my mother’s things: Crockery, bowls, glasses…the first prize I ever won at a school sports day. Until now I just could not face unpacking them…it was 3 parts I don’t want to unpack mummy’s things and 1 part laziness.

Biggest surprise: I did not cry. Not even when I removed the wrapping on her prized CorningWare bowls. Instead, as I carefully washed them I remembered the meals we used to prepare in them and I thought about the ones I have yet to create. I look forward to using them. No ghosts here.

Today’s prompt asks whether you’re doing the holidays larger or smaller this year? While I don’t have that much Christmas spirit…no decorations or lights or even a tree…I guess I’m doing Christmas on a larger scale (for me) this year. Unpacking my mother’s things and handling that as well as I did, has shown me that I have made some major progress in my journey with grief. I also cleaned more than I did last year and the year before that…that’s for damn sure. My aching shoulders are testament to how much cleaning has been going on. I’m not even completely finished too. I’m on break right now…

So as I sit and type this in my kitchen/living room I cannot help but note that my apartment feels lighter because those boxes are gone.

I realize too that despite how tired I am right now…I feel lighter because I’m moving forward.

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I’m participating in BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo Challenge for the month of December:

NaBloPoMo_MoreLess

You can read some awesome entries here: NaBloPoMo December

Oh Christmas Tree

Today’s NaBloPoMo prompt asks: Which is better — a small Christmas tree or a large Christmas tree?

I say, it’s not the height of your Christmas Tree that matters…it’s the light and love in your heart that you share with the world around you that counts. The better question is: How BIG is your heart?

Today’s post is really short because I’ve been bitten by the “cleaning bug” and I have LOTS to do before Wednesday. I hope as you go about the business of getting your home prepared for the holiday that you also prepare your heart as well.

p.s. I think this song is perfect for getting into that merry cleaning spirit! Enjoy.

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I’m participating in BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo Challenge for the month of December:

NaBloPoMo_MoreLess

You can read some awesome entries here: NaBloPoMo December