Reviews « Accidentally Angela

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘Reviews’

A Few Traits of Successful People

23 Nov

Have you ever wondered why some people just seem blessed from birth, while others struggle to survive? I have as well, and during a recent meeting I picked up a few traits that successful people have in common from the discussion. The guest speaker had gathered her information from several different sources, and found most of these traits on everyone’s list. As you are reading, look for areas you are accomplished in as well as areas you could work on. I was surprised by a few of these as well, maybe you will be too.

1. Successful people are positive people.

2. They aren’t critical of others, don’t sit around pointing out how others have failed.

3. They don’t get a reputation for talking behind people’s backs. Now isn’t THAT refreshing!

4. They don’t complain. They are doers.

5. They smile a lot and build relationships, help others solve their problems.

6. Successful people aren’t finger-pointers. If there is a problem, they look for the solution instead of the blame. They don’t worry about who’s fault it was to begin with, instead they begin to work out the problem and give the responsible party the opportunity to see it isn’t as big a deal as it could be, and they will usually jump in and become part of the solution. Sometimes things just go wrong too, no one is to blame, many times though people can get so caught up in trying to blame someone they never get the problem solved.

7. Successful people are responsible people.

8. They are excited about opportunities. “You miss EVERY shot you don’t take.” Wayne Gretzky I may have missed a few, but I’m taking a new shot right now!

9. Successful people can apologize. They take responsibility for their mistakes and actually say, “I’m sorry, what can I do to fix the situation?”

10. They are slow to make decisions, but quick to tweak if a problem occurs.

11. Successful people believe in the power of networking and they do it regularly.

12. They are optimistic and persistent, can be very focused and not easily distracted. Look! There’s a squirrel!

13. They do less things, but they do them well.

14. Open minded, looking for new ideas while maintaining current responsibilities.

15. They embrace change. I really need to work on this one.

16. Successful people take advantage of advances in technology. I’m trying to figure Twitter out, really I am!

17. They forgive themselves for mistakes. That’s a trait we can all work on I’m sure.

18. They take their supplements. No really, they do. They look for ways to improve their performance, energy and attention span.

19. They learn to avoid energy drainers, whether it’s certain people, situations or activities. If it slows their enthusiasm down, they learn to delegate these things to others.

20. To be successful we need to learn to be kind to ourselves when we are falling behind. Kicking ourselves around because we didn’t do everything perfectly is counter productive to true accomplishment.

21. Successful people learn to listen to their own body. When it tells them they are tired, they schedule a break or make time to rest.

22. Successful people also honor their core values. Learn what these are for you and avoid situations that compromise those values.

23. Women don’t take up enough space. Successful women learn how to stand out in the crowd, being true to themselves and their beliefs. It’s not easy in today’s world of constant compromise, but work towards being the one that can enjoy leading, and do it well and with integrity. Men should do this as well, but there are many more successful men in this world to date than successful women. We can do it! Stay true to yourself!

24. Following that point, women talk differently than men and use different body language as well when communicating. Aggressive personalities may see the common head nod a woman gives in communication as acquiescence, when we just think that we are agreeing with a point. Women, if you are in the business world, hold yourself tall and strong, believe in yourself and find others that believe in you as well, to help encourage you to continue standing tall and strong even on the bad days.

25. Successful people don’t fidget. They are confident, and walk with that air. They don’t act superior, just confident. There is a difference.

So, which of these traits do you see in yourself, and which would you like to grow in? I’ve mentioned a couple I need to work on as we went along with the list, please share your challenges with me in the comments. I would love to hear from you! Now get out there and have a successful week! Thanks, Angela

6 Comments

Posted in lists, overcoming

The War Of Art: Beyond Resistance – Higher Realm

17 Nov

We have already discussed the first 2 sections of the book, Resistance:Defining the Enemy and Combating Resistance: Turning Pro. This third and final section talks about the muses and identifies the cause of Resistance through the Self and the Ego. Muses, angels, demons, geniuses, an input from the collective unconsciousness, all these Pressfield calls our allies, “equal and opposite powers…counterpoised against [Resistance].” These allies join us when we make the shift from being an amateur to a professional.

In the second section, he heavily stresses professionalism. He states the most important thing about art is work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.

“When we sit down day after day and keep grinding…The muse takes note of our dedication. She approves…we becomes like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come.”

Following this simple but powerful truth, Pressfield talks about the day he finished his first book. He finally wrote, The End. He received this sage advice from his friend Paul: “Good for you. Start the next one today.” In my words: don’t stop now, you finally have a work ethic that is producing your art.

Now: Ego and Self, and the battle between the two. Resistance has its seat in Ego. The Ego is that part of the psyche that believes in material existence, is concerned with its own preservation and comfort, with stasis and the physical, material world. The Ego likes things the way they are. It likes to be in control.

The Self, according to Pressfield, is where we grow from. This is where our dreams and ideas come from. When we meditate or pray, this is the part of ourselves we are seeking. Self is our deepest being.

Why does the Ego hate the self? According to Pressfield, its …”…because when we seat our consciousness in the Self, we put the ego out of business.” The Ego hates it when the creator sits down to create, whether it’s a book, a painting or an exercise routine. Ego hates to lose control, and tries to cripple Self. It hates creators because they are pathfinders to the future.

Pressfield ends the book with a simple call to action: listen to your Self and take action in order to find out what you were meant to do. Once you figure it out, do it like a professional. If you don’t explore and utilize your gifts, you hurt yourself and everyone around you. If you do, great; you’re sharing your gifts with the world.

Pressfield uses humor and a confident, competent demeanor in what he shares. He’s been there and done this, and wants to share the rewarding fruit he has to show for it, to encourage us to seek that fruit for ourselves. He wants us to be able to overcome our enemy, Resistance, and flourish with our own muses.

We all encounter Resistance in one form or another (fear of failure, fear of success, procrastination, avoidance, distraction, etc.). This book is an extremely easy read, and was very encouraging to me personally. I would highly recommend it for anyone facing any new project in their life. You will be surprised by the things this book reveals to you, and you will also see yourself represented in more than one situation Pressfield shares. Steven Pressfield defines the enemy, offers a strategy for overcoming it and shows us the beautiful fruit we can have as a result of our labor: A completed work, a job well done. Eventually success. It all started for him when he was finally able to write: The End.

2 Comments

Posted in Review, Writing

The War Of Art: Combating Resistance – Turning Pro

16 Nov

Today we continue my review and discussion of Steven Pressman’s book, The War of Art. Yesterday we discussed Defining Our Enemy, Resistance. Today we discuss the attributes of a pro versus an amateur. According to Pressfield, there’s no mystery about turning pro. You just make the decision and by an act of your will it is so. By turning pro, Pressfield is talking about the ideal of becoming a professional, a mindset. You make a decision to sit down and do your craft, or exercise, or whatever, NO MATTER WHAT. No matter what tries to distract you and stop you, you keep going until the day is done. You are professional in your dedication and behavior. “An amateur plays for fun, a professional for keeps.” The amateur lets a cold or minor distractions stop him. The professional knows he needs to do the work, and then get better. The amateur thinks he can quit anytime it gets tough and go back to something else. The professional doesn’t want to quit every time he hits a problem, he has discipline and determination to steady him.

Turning pro means basically to prepare a work discipline and follow it. To paraphrase Pressfield’s definition: A pro shows up every day no matter what, stays on the job all day, and is in it for the long haul. For the pro, the stakes are high. Pros accept payment for their work (even if they don’t always make an income). Pros also master the technique of their work, have a sense of humor about their jobs, and receive real-world praise or blame. He explains the hangovers and colds and other things as excuses we use to deflect ourselves from our purpose and from fulfilling our call. An added benefit, if you really love what you do, you will be like a child who looks up from their activities to be surprised to find that it’s time for supper.

Also, Pressfield makes a point that we are not to get our identity from the thing we are trying to create. You are still you. Your work should be work, not you. Aside from your calling, your life’s work, you should have an identity that stands alone. If you only have an identity in whatever you are trying to create, you leave yourself vulnerable to the attacks that will come. You will take it all personally and it should never be that way. Your work is what is being attacked, and you should be able to stand back and defend it objectively. Do not over invest your emotional well being in your success or failure. I think this is a common mistake made.

You, Inc. – Pressman also brings up the benefits of making yourself a corporation. Even if you only think of yourself in this way it can reinforce the idea of professionalism in your work because it separates the artist-doing-the-work from the consciousness-running-the-show. I love his idea of having status meetings with himself. In corporate America, we have a status meeting every Monday morning, decide on a plan of action and who will take care of what part of that plan, then divvy out the assignments, type it up and distribute it to the various participants. He has one of those meetings with himself every Monday. He sits down and goes over his assignments, decides when to be responsible for what, and types it up and distributes it to himself. Sometimes as Joe-blow he is too intimidated to go out and pimp himself, but as Joe-blow Inc, he enjoys the pimping. He’s not him anymore. He’s Me, Inc.

Join me tomorrow for the final conclusions of the third portion of this book, Beyond Resistance – Higher Realm. Until then, Angela

3 Comments

Posted in Review, Writing

The War Of Art: Resistance – Defining the Enemy

15 Nov

I recently put a discussion of this book together for our networking group and will be sharing my notes and ideas over the next 3 days. So, with out further ado, let’s jump to it!

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu coined the famous phrase ‘know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.’

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield launches into a similar discussion, In the first section we will discover our enemy: Resistance. The second section discusses our means for combat: Turning Pro. In the third and final section we will see that the battle is between our Self and our Ego.

Resistance – Defining the Enemy

This is the first of 3 sections Pressfield shares with us on what he considers to be the enemy of the creator. Resistance is an internal force, the ‘enemy within.’ Defined as self-sabotage, resistance usually manifests as avoidance, procrastination, or inaction caused by fear which creates paralysis. Resistance, according to Pressfield, is invisible, insidious, implacable, internal, impersonal and universal. He elaborates on each of these adjectives (and more), unafraid to use a clever metaphor or simile to illustrate a point. For example, in the section ‘Resistance is infallible, Pressfield writes:

“Like a magnetized needle floating on a surface of oil, Resistance will unfailingly point to true North-meaning that calling or action it most wants to stop us from doing.”

Pressfield goes on to point out Resistance in its many guises: the way peers may be recruited as allies of Resistance when an artist starts to conquer Resistance; the people around her “begin acting strange…they are trying to sabotage her” because they are experiencing Resistance of their own. They may begin to feel guilty for not trying to reach their own potential To make themselves feel better, they pressure her either directly or indirectly to backslide. In my case, I have a couple of people who point out how hard I work, don’t I need to take some me time? That sort of thing….

Resistance also encourages the artist’s tendency to quit at 99%, procrastinating work in order to not face completion of their work. Completion opens our work up to our peers for review and examination of others. He states that Resistance has no power of its own, only power it receives from our fear.

Any one reading it will be able to identify where Resistance has dug it’s claws in at one time or another with many of his examples and definitions.

I want to point out that nowhere in his book does Pressfield address the Resistance we also face via the internet, email, Facebook, etc. In one section he mentions completely missing Watergate because he was too busy writing. Apparently he is able to focus on his work so strongly these things that distract many of us have no appeal to him.

In tomorrow’s post we will be: Combating Resistance – Turning Pro. See you then! Angela

No Comments

Posted in Review, Writing

Writing Wells Running Dry?

01 Oct

This is a review of a book I recently found, The Memoir Project by Marion Roach Smith. I have been looking for ideas and inspiration to help get me back in my posting groove. I found this book at the library, and thought I was checking out a book that might give me some ideas to use for posts, but what I found was much more useful. Marion Roach Smith has in my opinion written a very helpful how-to book. Writing a memoir is just the example she uses, but as she also points out her storytelling technique can be used for really any form of writing. I am intrigued. The following are a few excerpts and ideas that I have picked up so far.

The quotes shared really struck a note with me. Flannery O’Connor said that anyone who survives childhood has enough material to write for the rest of her life. You need to learn how to dig among your stuff to get what you need. I have been more of a raker than a digger. Reading this book makes digging sound a whole lot more interesting. William Maxwell, the fiction editor of the New Yorker for 40+ years, believed that to write, all you need is to remember the slam of your childhood home’s screen door. Write about what you know. It’s like Dorothy’s ruby-red shoes, you’ve had it on you all the time. It’s what you’re doing with those details that’s the problem. A memoir should not be a volume of facts about your life, you don’t need to share the color of the paint on the door that slams and whether or not it is a glass or screen door. Share the memory the slam triggers, not a description of the door.

Another point shared is what Ernest Hemingway taught us in the last century: what you leave out of the story is perhaps more important than what you put in. It does me no good to know someone’s height, weight and eye color if those details do not drive the story forward. Again, writing a memoir does not require studious and accurate facts.

To write with intent, the author adds that you must also, “Be hospitable.” You must create an atmosphere you can sit down and write in regularly. Prepare a clean writing area and use it, regularly. This is not the place for your past due taxes, bills or other distracting things that weigh on you. This is a place that is well lit, maybe with that cute little lamp you bought on Ebay. It is also, as stated before, to be clean. I have read this from several other tipsters as well, Darren Rowse from ProBlogger for one. Then, at a designated regular time each day, report for work. Create an environment that helps you write, not distracts you from it.

This is my new assignment. I have my lovely new sewing desk, but apparently this has not been the place for me to sit down to write. But I do have a nice nook beside it that if I clean it up and keep it clean I could use. I think I will be doing that shortly.

Marion Roach Smith also suggests a tip from her husband that I really like: buy a small pack of inexpensive spiral pocket notebooks. Start taking in your landscape, wherever you are, make a note of ideas while they are fresh in your mind. Turn the notebook sideways to jot down ideas about the why and where. Turn it vertically to report the who, what, when and where of a topic. These simple triggers help you connect with those screen door slams and childhood survival skills, they become your triggers to connect with the idea and bring it back to life in an article, blog post, etc. We have all had memory triggers hit us with various things: scents and smells, taste and touch. Maybe the way someone holds their head when they are speaking to us. Using the notebooks in the way described can trigger us when writing out the ideas as well.

Writing a memoir is about telling the truth. Whose truth? We won’t remember most things that happened to us the way our sister or our aunt will. Powerful phrases to use are: “Here’s how I see it,” or “Here’s how I felt,” or “Here’s how it happened to me.” Make no claim that yours is the only version of the truth. It is just your version. Roach Smith uses examples of Emily Dickinson’s poetry to explain her definition of writing your truth. Basically, tell your memoir from your point of view, not trying to claim that yours in the only view there is.

I would highly recommend this book. It has a way of jogging things loose and giving you ideas beyond what you would expect. I’ll let you know if I learn anything else.

On an unrelated side note, today is one of several binary calendar days we are having this year: 10/01/11. Since I am dating Binary Man, I thought I would mention it. Thanks, Angela

No Comments

Posted in Writing

Gibbs Rules

05 Jul

Rules, rules, ya gotta know the rules….Gibbs lives by them and the rest of his team are suppose to as well. I am a HUGE fan of NCIS on CBS. I have watched it from the beginning, all 120 years of it. No, seriously, all in all this will be the 9th season for the show. I have some fun information from it to share with you today. Agent Gibbs (the yummy Mark Harmon) has a set of rules he not only works by, but lives by. He expects the agents on his team to work and live by them while they are with him too. We eventually found out the original rules came from his deceased wife.

If you’ve never watched the show, give it a try! It has a lot of humor in it, some thought provoking episodes as well as a mystery to solve. Check out this link for a list of the quirky characters, they all are top raters for me but I especially love Abby Sciuto, the forensic specialist. Ducky is great, Gibbs is wonderful, Tony is fun and smart, McGee is the McGeek of the group plus the lovely and deadly Ziva David from Israel. Check them all out when you can, in the meantime, learn the rules! We have not learned all of them as of yet, but below is the most current list I could put together.

Gibbs rules:

Rule #1: Never let suspects sit together.

Rule #1: Never screw over your partner. This rule supersedes all other rules. (for whatever reasons there are two number 1 rules)

Rule #2: Always wear gloves at a crime scene

Rule #3: Don’t believe what you’re told. Double check.

Rule #3: Never be unreachable. (again, for whatever reason there are two number 3′s…)

Rule #4: The best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person – if you must. There is no third best

Rule # 5: You don’t waste good

Rule #6: Never apologize – it’s a sign of weakness. (but Gibbs also said that its ok to say you’re sorry to a friend.)

Rule #7: Always be specific when you lie.

Rule #8: Never take anything for granted.

Rule #9: Never go anywhere without a knife.

Abby’s rule #9, “Always keep a spare” (Said while pulling a spare Caf-Pow from her fridge.)

Rule #10: Never get personally involved in the case.

Rule #11: When the job is done, walk away.

Rule #12: Never date a coworker.

Rule #13: Never, ever involve a lawyer

Rule #15: Always work as a team.

Rule #16: If someone thinks they have the upper hand, break it.

Rule #18: It’s better to seek forgiveness than ask permission.

Rule #22: Never, ever bother Gibbs in interrogation.

Rule #23: Never mess with a Marine’s (or Angela’s) coffee if you want to live.

Rule #27: Two ways to follow: first way – they never notice you, second way – they only notice you.

Rule # 35: Always watch the watchers.

Rule #38: Your case, your lead.

Rule #39: There is no such thing as coincidence, but we do believe in bad luck.

According to Abby, the 40′s are used for emergency only!

Rule #40: If you think someone is out to get you, they are.

Rule #44: First things first, hide the women and children.

Rule #45: “Left a mess I’ve got to clean up” – I’m not exactly sure on the actual rule, but that’s what Gibbs said (in the episode Rule 51)

Rule #51: Sometimes you are wrong.

Per Gibbs: A slap to the face is an insult. A slap to the back of the head is a wake up call. So Tony, get ready for your Gibb’s smack. It’s on the way! For a wonderful clip watch this Hit the Head montage. The list also contains a nice set of clips, Gibbs Rules. Check it out too. I like their Rule #50.

Boyfriend, reminding me of the rules: “Rule #44: First things first, hide the women and children. Now, sweetie, where am I going to hide you?”

My reply: “Rule #51, Sometimes you are wrong. You would be wrong to try and hide me.”

Hope you enjoy this as much as I have! Have a wonderful day! Angela

No Comments

Posted in humor, lists, NCIS

Deep Fried Me?

29 Jun

Double covered smothered capped extra sauced anything.
Pizza with double toppings, extra cheese, extra sauce anyone?
Can I upsize that for you for just fifty cents more? Large fry, extra large fry, biggie drink, the gulper?
Cheese fries with double cheese, extra chili and throw those peppers on there too why doncha!

Anything labeled, “Double smothered and covered” can’t be good for you.
But boy oh boy dies it make us wanna eat it!

Fried foods. They taste so good. Fried chicken, fried okra, deep fried mac and cheese wedges, deep fried pickles (I’ve had these. They are tasty, strange, but tasty), deep fried cookie dough, deep fried eggs called Scotch Eggs, deep fried cheesecake or how about a deep fried cheeseburger? Then there’s always deep fried candy bars or deep fried Twinkies, there’s even deep fried Coca Cola. Basically you can roll anything you can think of in a batter and deep fry it and we the people will eat it. Healthy choices, right?

Then we have your eternally tasty chocolate covered bacon, dipped or rolled in toppings of your choice such as
sea salt, pistchios or almonds, or how about bacon bits? Yum, er, huh?

Do you ever see anybody order double lettuce and tomato?
(Well, double tomato, yes. My friend Steph. She is the tomato queen ).

Can you give me extra salad with that? Or have you ever been asked, “Would you like extra lettuce with that?” Hmmmmm, no you say? But they will ask if you want extra cheese or double meat? Hmmmmmm…..

Could we get a side of berries with that? Yes we do occasionally ask for a side of fruit to go with our double extra large smothered topped food. Is that so we feel like at least we made one healthy choice for ourselves, so we feel a little less guilty about all the others? Could it be that fruit is sweet, and maybe the sweetness appeals to our sweet tooth some as well? After we consume said fruit we always feel healthier. “Whadya mean my cholesterol is high? I have fruit for breakfast everyday!” …. failing to mention the double smothered biscuit with sausage or bacon they consume four times a week…. . Selective disclosure maybe?

You’ve probably all heard of Super Size Me. It is a documentary made in 2004 by a guy who only ate McDonalds for a month. His MickeyD diet didn’t do him any favors. It’s actually pretty disgusting to watch, but was also a very graphic point that a lot of fast food is really bad for you. If you haven’t seen it, I think it would be a great education for you. It was for me.

There are healthier diets out there. We all have to choose those diets ourselves over the tasty and convenient trash that is marketed to us. I have used different diets and achieved some good results. Unfortunately I still eat too much. Period. So I’ve gained the weight back that I kept off for so long. Le sigh, I guess I need to stay away from those fried pickles huh? I hope we all choose a healthier route for ourselves. Have fun with dinner ok? Let’s see, MickeyD’s or Chic-Fil-a? Can I get fries with that?

No Comments

Posted in Food!, humor

April 22, Earth Day

22 Apr

Odd personal note about Earth Day: I know about 7 people that this is also their birthday. Go figure. I’m a New Year’s Eve birthday girl myself, so I know that sometimes holiday birthdays can be tricky…but so far the folks I know with an Earth Day birthday are older than the actual holiday itself. How many of you remember the first Earth Day? It was April 22, 1970. I was 11 years old. I don’t remember much about it until I was a teenager, and by the time I was in high school it was a well known day. I love to recycle and re-purpose/reuse things so this is one of my favorite holidays. One of the strangest suggestions came from an aunt of mine, she told me how to use toilet paper twice. Easy. You blow your nose on it before you wipe your tushie. Lol! Not a practice most of us would use, but very practical if you think about it.

Do a Google search and you will find thousands of Green Websites. I have rounded up a few here (some that I use, some I have just found) for your surfing enjoyment. I think we will go for my standard list of 10.

1. Terracycle: Outsmart Waste – Tom Szaky wrote the book on this, literally: Revolution In A Bottle. A very interesting read and a website and philosophy dedicated to taking problem waste and recreating it into useful items. I heart Terracycle.

2. Greenopolis: Get rewarded for recycling. Check out the website and look for them on Facebook. They have some interesting green discussions going on too.

3. BigGreenHead: Green blogs, green info, and green fun! An interesting website to surf and have fun with. Also has info on their local activities, which those of us not in the area would not be able to participate in, but still has some great info for green fans.

4. New Dress A Day : This started out as one woman’s idea to save on her wardrobe budget for a year. How did she do this? By re-purposing lots and lots of things from thrift stores and yard sales on the cheap. One day at a time. Some very neat ideas for any of us that can hold a pair of scissors and some needles and thread. Wonder if the mom who made her daughter’s prom dress out of starburst wrappers got the idea here or from Terracycle? Hmmmmmm…

5. Green Top Sites: The ranking comes from most visits to individual sites, not best ideas per se. Lots and lots of sites are suggested, so you should be able to satiate a large amount of green searches here.

6. Time Magazine: Surprise! Time magazine has a large selection of green articles and information. Somewhere out there is also a list of the top 15 green websites they recommend. I found that information through:

7. Treehugger: Wow! Lots and lots of information, articles, suggestions, polls, you name it! Too much to list here, go check ‘em out already!

8. Daily Fuel Economy Tip: Practical tips to save you money at the pump and increase your mileage. Who can’t use help with that right now? Found them via number 9:

9. A Lighter Footstep: Per their about page: “A healthier family. A cleaner planet. Making the most of your weekly budget. That’s greener living. Welcome to Lighter Footstep, where we believe that big changes happen a step at a time. And no matter where you are on the journey toward a lighter, more Earth-friendly lifestyle, we’re here to help along the way.”

10. Grist: Looks like another “Wow!” I think. Per Time magazine: the Colbert Report of climate change, the Daily Show of deforestation, the Oprah of oil dependency — except with real reporting and analytical journalism. Also, Grist staffers have never had a dust-up with David Letterman. (Not yet.) The e-zine delivers news and news-you-can-use on pivotal topics — with…sometimes corny headlines…. Sounds like fun, looks like an awesome environmental website.

Hope you find some interesting topics, tips and facts in all these suggestions. I will be pouring over a few of them myself. Happy Earth Day everyone! Go recycle something already! Angela

3 Comments

Posted in Environment, Recycle

Places To Go, People To See…

17 Apr

I have a few new websites I have found, thanks to an idea from: afwifemomcrafter. She wrote a post about what tabs she had open after her weekend, and there are some really good things to share from that! Some of these are her finds, some are websites I like and use too, others are from friends. How about we start a list? Okie dokie, here we go….

1. Tagxedo turns words – famous speeches, news articles, slogans and themes, even your love letters — into a visually stunning tag cloud, words individually sized appropriately to highlight the frequencies of occurrence within the body of text. I haven’t used it yet, but I will be soon. I love the idea! I will share one after I make it .

2. Inkin’ & Thinkin’ - I love this site! This lady is uber creative. Her photos alone are worth a visit to her site. There are also crafty ideas, foody stuff and lots of inspiration I think to help you just soak for a while or to give you the ‘oomph’ to get up and do something yourself. I am really enjoying just hanging out here. Very interesting site.

3. Good Reads - I started using this site because I wanted some way to keep up with all the craft books I was reading, and writing them in a notebook like dear Daughter does wasn’t working for me. I didn’t want to ask her to start a notebook for me. Yeah, well…..I kept checking out books and would then get home and realize I had already read it….Dang! So this site helps me keep track of all of them. It also gives you the ability, if you want, to rate books 1 star – 5 star and write a review as well. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Did it help you or waste your time? There are others things you can use on the website as well, I just haven’t tapped into all of them yet.

4. Eat Your Books – not literally of course! This one comes from my friend Steph over at Kitchen Stuff I Love. Do you have lots of cookbooks but always seem to go to the web to search for a recipe instead of using your own? Well now you can use this website to search your OWN books, and start using them. The first five books are free, but the annual fee is currently around $25 for all your books. That’s like 2 bucks a month. So if you have lots of books like Steph you can really use it. Me, not so much. I think I own 2 cookbooks right now. But those of you with multiples could find it very handy.

5. Married With Luggage – This is the blog of a couple on a mission to redesign their lives to travel full time. Whether your dream is halfway around the world or in your own backyard, you’ll find information on goal-setting, living well, managing your money, and simplifying your life every week on this blog.” (their words) I say it’s fun to see where they are, how much they have spent and what problems they are overcoming or joys they are celebrating. It has been very interesting so far.

6. This is one I found through TheBlogFrog: House of Dough – This site has recipes, some craft ideas, funny pictures. The drawback is it is ad heavy, but still enjoyable. Lots of her ideas are quick and easy too.

7. Here are some great homemade gift ideas from Tip Junkie, just click on the name to check it out. The ideas were put together for teacher appreciation day, but you could make the things for yourself or anyone. This site has lots of good ideas for things like decorating, sewing, recipes, organization, etc. Check it out!

8. Evernote - Remember Everything! Online storage for everything, lists, pictures, projects. It’s like having an online assistant accessible to you anywhere you have internet access. I really like this one!

9. Sew Homegrown – Not all sewing things, lots of great ideas and tips here too. There are projects you can try too. There are natural health ideas, gift and home decor ideas too.

10. Party Time! The Hostess With the Mostess – that’s how it’s spelled folks, . Lots and lots and lots of party ideas. Theme parties for adults, theme parties for children, baby showers, holidays….you name it. I enjoy just looking through all the stuff, and pick up cute projects I can make just for me. Fun!

Alrighty! I think 10 is a nice round number to stop on. You have to check these out and let me know what you think. I will share some more later on. I really enjoyed putting this post together. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Talk to you soon, Angela

4 Comments

Posted in lists