Mandala Monday

This week's mandala is ready to download here. Let's put it to good use.

Before you start watching the election results tomorrow night, please print off two or three or a dozen copies of this mandala. Set them aside for the moment. You'll come back to them a little later. Now draw yourself and slip into a nice, hot bath. You're casting a vote for yourself right now. Take five, ten, maybe fifteen minutes just to breathe and know that, regardless of the outcome, you are going to be just fine.

Now make yourself something warm and comforting to drink. If you can find something nourishing on which to nibble, that's good too. No, please put that gallon of ice cream back in the freezer. We're not going there this week ... at least not yet. *wink* Last but not least, go fetch the mandalas that you printed and your crayons, markers, and pencils. It's time to color.

Then and only then should you even think about turning on the television. Keep it low. Find the mute button and experiment. And should you decide to keep the television turned off altogether so that you can color in peace, all the better.

Blessings and happy coloring!

Magic Beans and Money

Three years ago, almost to the day, my husband was unexpectedly laid off from his job. It took him two years, almost to the day, to gain permanent full-time employment. In between, we took each day as it came with the money that we had available, but there were waves of fear and frustration that kept us both awake at night.

Needless to say, the past year that he has been back to work has been a relief and we are filled with tremendous gratitude. Mostly because we’ve changed. Originally out of necessity, but it stuck. We now think before we spend. And we now work together every month to craft a budget.

Yeah. I said it. That dirty word. Budget.

And so begins the post wherein I gush about a program called YNAB Pro. Not because I get a kickback from doing so ... but because I love it. It isn’t so much a program as a system. Maybe even a way of life. It is simple. It is affordable. And it has the potential to change your life for the better. Promise.

My husband and I have been using YNAB Pro since April and budgeting our income for the first time in almost 17 years of marriage. We are no longer living paycheck to paycheck. We are planning ahead for Murphy visits, so that we don’t get caught by surprise. For example, last week, we were able to pay cash for a $3600 repair to our sewer line which, otherwise, would have been applied to our home equity line of credit before we knew better. We are paying down our debt and we are setting goals. I swear to you that the sky is bluer, food tastes better, and we sleep like babies. It’s really that good.

I hesitated about posting this, since it is a bit off-topic for this blog. But I have talked with more and more people lately who are trying struggling to get a handle on their spending in these uncertain times. They just don’t know where to start. If this is you, please, give YNAB a try. At least check it out. It may very well be the best $49.95 investment that you’ve ever made ... and you are so worth it!

This is Not a Trick

When I started wire-wrapping crystal and gemstone pendants five years ago, it wasn't so much because I felt compelled to make jewelry. To be honest, I just loved the rocks. To see them. To touch them. They make me feel like a kid again. Memories flood back of my first rock collection ... a dozen different stones glued to a card with their names ... purchased at a gift shop in Gatlinburg on a family vacation in the 70s.

Taking the Melody classes and becoming a Master Crystologist gave me a greater appreciation for what these treasures may be able to offer us. And then I found myself compelled to become a matchmaker, of sorts ... to present the crystals and gemstones in such a way that they could be attracted to those who would enjoy and benefit from their beauty and energies. Alas, a wrapper was born.

I know. I know. If you're not into it, this sounds very woo-woo, very weird. "What can a rock around my neck do for me?" you ask. Well, that depends entirely on you and how you feel about it. Personally, anytime that I'm willing to suspend my disbelief and and keep an open mind, miracles happen.

Now don't go thinking that I'm promising miracles. I'm not. I can't. Those kinds of things are between you and something WAY bigger than me. I'm just doing my best to be a helper.

So, on that note, I just want to let you know that this helper has reduced the I-AMulets in the shop to their wholesale prices. I don't know for how long. Hopefully, until they all find homes. They can't work their magic if they are sitting softly in their jewel boxes in my workshop. They are supposed to be out in the world, being worn, being loved. So I invite you to explore the shop and see if any beckon you. There has never been a better time.

Happy Halloween!

So S.A.D.

'Tis this season. I don't know why, but mid-September it starts to set in ... seasonal affective disorder. I have to take certain steps to keep it in check until it starts to wane in March. From this vantage point, with most of the leaves still on the trees, it feels like a long haul until spring. But I am so thankful for all that I've learned over the years ... what works for me and what doesn't. There so many ways to feel better!

For the last couple of years, I have used a lightbox (NatureBright SunTouch Plus Light and Ion Therapy Lamp) in the morning and evening (about 30 minutes each ... sometimes longer on the gloomiest days) through the S.A.D. months. I can't recommend it enough. Just be aware that you will need to adjust when and how long to use it in order to achieve the best results, but I noticed an improvement almost right away. Without it, I swear I'd sleep and weep at least a quarter of the year away.

Now I've added coloring to my lightbox time and I'm LOVING this mandala coloring book (Mind Ware Stained Glass Spinlights Coloring Book) right now. And it always helps to have Karen Drucker on the iPod. I feel like a million bucks when it's time to get back up and back to business.

Believe it or not, I'm almost looking forward to this winter! Okay, not so much. But I think that winter and I can at least call a truce.

Wishcasting

Tansy and Garrett are wishing that they could get outside to chase the squirrels that taunt them.

What are you wishing for?

Mandala Monday

Right on time and ready to download here ... happy coloring!

Mandala Monday

Ready to download here, friends. Happy coloring!