It doesn't matter.

#9. Today I'm grateful for the deeper insight to understand and accept that I can't control the thoughts, actions or behavior of others and it really doesn't matter.

The Sunsets in Los Angeles

#8. Today I'm grateful for the sunsets in Los Angeles.

Where does your garden grow?

Spent a few hours on Sunday gardening at my friend Ron Finley's house. He has turned his lawn into a beautiful edible food garden. I learned a lot about composting and planting with the hopes of applying even a bit of his knowledge to my own garden. I would ultimately like to create a sustainable food garden of my own. It's physically challenging and artistic and creative and therapeutic all at the same time. The most important lesson being that the best way to learn how to grow food is to just do it and see what happens through trial & error. I think that lesson applies to most of life actually.

#7. Today I'm grateful for the blessing of friends who are willing to do, teach, learn & share their kknowledge... From dirt to dirt. :)

In our house, we do love.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon transitioning our house out of our Christmas season decor. It's always surreal for me to watch the holiday ornaments collected over the years disappear for the year and there's a seemingly big whole in the living room where the Christmas tree lives for a month. It was an easy process & we got it done in one afternoon... just in time for friends to come over for a nice dinner & a movie.

#6. Today I'm grateful for the many lovely holiday traditions that we've kept in our home over the years.

Nothing as planned...

Do you ever have one of those days where everything you intended to do doesn't happen as you planned? That was my day 2 days ago. Nothing big or significantly bad, just nothing according to plan. At some point, you have to stop fighting the universe, say clearly this isn't meant to be right now, take a break and start again later.

For me, I finally called it a night and went to bed. And then a funny thing happened as I woke up yesterday. As soon as I let go, practiced flexibility and went with the flow of what wasn't working as planned, everything fell right back into place.

Yesterday was a great day. I unexpectedly reconnected with friends from out of town that I hadn't seen in month. Everything was last minute & unplanned... And it was perfect.

So #4, yesterday I was grateful for a new day and a chance to begin again. #5. Today I'm grateful for spontaneous unplanned moments with friends.

I can change.

Today I'm grateful that I can change.

I can change my mind.

I can change my attitude.

I can change my perspective.

I can change my habits.

I can change my body.

I can change my experience.

I can change my future.

2013. #3 ~A World Butterfly

Goals are dreams with deadlines.

Goals are dreams with deadlines. ~ Diana Scharf Hunt

#2 Today I am grateful to stay focused on the tasks that will ensure I meet my larger goal objectives by creating and keeping deadlines for myself.

The older I get, time seems to slip by faster and faster. Sometimes I have felt like hours have gone by and I know I was busy but I'm really not sure where the time went. Knowing that I have a tendency to become easily distracted, this year I'd like to improve upon setting and keeping deadlines to ensure success. As I wrote down my 2013 goals last week, I added deadlines to completing each project.

When I break down my long term goals into daily tasks, one way to ensure I am staying focused on meeting my deadlines is to set timers for each task. At home as I awake in the morning and my coffee is brewing, I spend that time cleaning the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, wiping down the counters and tidying that area. By the time the coffee is brewed 10 minutes later, I have a nice clean space ready for preparing my meals for the day. I then sit down with my coffee and spend the next 30 minutes planning my day. I know from past experience that if I don't do this daily, my highest priority items will not be my focus and I'll continue to wonder where the time went.

While working, I set a timer to stay focused on each project. For example, a daily goal is to spend 1 hour a day on research and collecting data for an idea that I've wanted to implement for a while but haven't made time to do so as of yet. I now set a timer. When the timer ends, I move on to a different task. This helps me stay productive and organized while handling multiple priorities and obligations and keeps me from getting sidetracked by distractions.

As a recommendation, I really like this great egg timer project by David LeMieux. It's a great tool to stay focused on a task for a set period of time. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I do. :)

2013. A Year of Gratitude

#1, As I reflect on 2012 and make plans for the new year, I am humbled by my blessings. Today I'm grateful for many beautiful experiences with family & friends in the past year & look forward to 2013. :)

St. Lazaros Shelter

I had the honor of being invited to the St. Lazaros Shelter (a safe haven for the homeless in Downtown L.A.) yesterday for a post-Thanksgiving donation drive sponsored by UNFUCK THE WORLD. 

The invitation: "With winter just around the corner, they desperately need warm clothes, shoes, blankets, non perishable food, bottled water, feminine hygiene products, condoms, underwear (women's and men's), towels, sheets, toilet paper - anything will help and will be greatly appreciated. Of course you are also welcome to write a check ... :-)

You can stop by anytime, any day; Rey's store at the corner of 7th Street & San Julian is open 24/7."

Please consider donating to this worthy cause.

Thank you.

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