Source http://www.theminimalists.com/christmas/
By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus · Follow: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
It’s Christmas Day. Little Andy tears off wrapping paper to reveal Optimus Prime. He smiles as the large robot toy comes to life with flashes and beeps. Andy’s parents’ expressions, however, are more pained grimaces than smiles.
A few minutes later, Andy discards the toy and begins unwrapping the rest of his presents, extracting each box from under the tree, one by one—some long, some tall, some heavy, some light. Each box reveals a new toy; each shred of wrapping paper, a flash of happiness.
An hour later, however, little Andy is crying hysterically. Based on his fits, this has undoubtedly been the Worst. Christmas. Ever. Sure, Andrew received many of the things on his list—but he’s far more concerned with what he didn’t receive. The toys in front of him simply…
Source http://www.theminimalists.com/christmas/
By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus · Follow: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
It’s Christmas Day. Little Andy tears off wrapping paper to reveal Optimus Prime. He smiles as the large robot toy comes to life with flashes and beeps. Andy’s parents’ expressions, however, are more pained grimaces than smiles.
A few minutes later, Andy discards the toy and begins unwrapping the rest of his presents, extracting each box from under the tree, one by one—some long, some tall, some heavy, some light. Each box reveals a new toy; each shred of wrapping paper, a flash of happiness.
An hour later, however, little Andy is crying hysterically. Based on his fits, this has undoubtedly been the Worst. Christmas. Ever. Sure, Andrew received many of the things on his list—but he’s far more concerned with what he didn’t receive. The toys in front of him simply…
Source http://www.livelifeactive.com/2016/12/20/diy-salt-dough-paw-print-ornament/
I have been all about some Pinterest and DIY adventures lately. My latest goal was to find an easy way to make an ornament with my dog’s name on it for her first Christmas. I started searching Pinterest and found out about the fabulous world of Salt Dough (apparently I’ve been hiding under a rock for my whole life and have never heard of this amazingly easy stuff!). I figured salt dough would be the cheapest and easiest way to make an ornament for my little Macy this year.
So lets rewind a second…my little Mace face is about 10 months old now. Remember how little she used to be? OMG she looked like a little teddy bear. She’s gone from this…..

to a 50 lb full-blown-teenager-dog now! I feel like such a mom saying this but “they grow so fast!“.
Anyways….back to my DIY Salt Dough Paw Print Ornament creation….here are the instructions on how to make an adorable and EASY paw print ornament out of ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Ingredients for salt dough:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup tap water
That’s ALL you need to make this clay / dough at home. Simple, right?!?!
I ended up us…
Source http://www.livelifeactive.com/2016/12/20/diy-salt-dough-paw-print-ornament/
I have been all about some Pinterest and DIY adventures lately. My latest goal was to find an easy way to make an ornament with my dog’s name on it for her first Christmas. I started searching Pinterest and found out about the fabulous world of Salt Dough (apparently I’ve been hiding under a rock for my whole life and have never heard of this amazingly easy stuff!). I figured salt dough would be the cheapest and easiest way to make an ornament for my little Macy this year.
So lets rewind a second…my little Mace face is about 10 months old now. Remember how little she used to be? OMG she looked like a little teddy bear. She’s gone from this…..

to a 50 lb full-blown-teenager-dog now! I feel like such a mom saying this but “they grow so fast!“.
Anyways….back to my DIY Salt Dough Paw Print Ornament creation….here are the instructions on how to make an adorable and EASY paw print ornament out of ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Ingredients for salt dough:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup tap water
That’s ALL you need to make this clay / dough at home. Simple, right?!?!
I ended up us…
Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/jf7GVlfOB0Q/

“Vulnerability is about having the courage to show up and be seen.” ~Brene Brown
When I was twenty-seven someone told me I had old looking skin.
Up until I heard this comment, I had never given much thought to my skin. Ever since, however, it’s been the only thing I see when I look in the mirror.
Lately, I have been diving deeper into the inner areas of my life that still need further integration. Making themselves most apparent as top priorities are self-love and acceptance.
A good friend recently told me that she has started to look at herself in the mirror every day and say “I love you,” and really mean it.
She said when she first started this exercise, all she could see was the line that was between her eyebrows. Her one flaw.
Before my friend mentioned this line in her face, I had never really noticed it.
My friend has big, beautiful, blue eyes, and those are all I see every time I talk to her.
This conversation was quite eye opening. It made me admit that I do the same thing.
The only things I see in the mirror are the lines in my face, and I think, “maybe I need to get a facelift.”
I am committed…
Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/jf7GVlfOB0Q/

“Vulnerability is about having the courage to show up and be seen.” ~Brene Brown
When I was twenty-seven someone told me I had old looking skin.
Up until I heard this comment, I had never given much thought to my skin. Ever since, however, it’s been the only thing I see when I look in the mirror.
Lately, I have been diving deeper into the inner areas of my life that still need further integration. Making themselves most apparent as top priorities are self-love and acceptance.
A good friend recently told me that she has started to look at herself in the mirror every day and say “I love you,” and really mean it.
She said when she first started this exercise, all she could see was the line that was between her eyebrows. Her one flaw.
Before my friend mentioned this line in her face, I had never really noticed it.
My friend has big, beautiful, blue eyes, and those are all I see every time I talk to her.
This conversation was quite eye opening. It made me admit that I do the same thing.
The only things I see in the mirror are the lines in my face, and I think, “maybe I need to get a facelift.”
I am committed…
Source http://refineryfitnesspdx.com/how-to-have-the-healthiest-gut-possible/
Our gut is comprised of trillions of microscopic organisms that live within our gastro-intestinal tract. These bacteria make up over 90% of the cells of our body. The health of these cells is vitally important to the overall health of our bodies. These cells need to exist in a delicate balance between “good” and ”bad” bacteria. When our bacteria balance gets disrupted, weight gain, depression, brain fog, headaches, skin rashes and anxiety can all appear. When our body is in balance, our healthy bacteria produces over 80% of our body’s serotonin, produces vitamins, digests our food, extracts the nutrients from food, help control our appetite, and regulates our metabolism. These tiny organisms are crucial for our survival! Unfortunately, today’s environment offers multiple assaults on these important microbes.
Items to Eliminate to Promote Gut Health
- BPA or bisphenol A: Research has shown, BPA, found mostly in plastics, can linings and on some cash register receipts, can disrupt hormone signaling and impair brain development in newborns. Other research has found that BPA can damage the intestines, leading to leaky gut. French scientists find that the gut “shows a very high sensitivity” to BPA, increasing intestinal inflammation. This inflammation leads to abdominal discomfort, chronic muscle pain, depressed immune function, and poor nutrient absorption.
- Cleaning and personal care products that contain so…
Source http://refineryfitnesspdx.com/how-to-have-the-healthiest-gut-possible/
Our gut is comprised of trillions of microscopic organisms that live within our gastro-intestinal tract. These bacteria make up over 90% of the cells of our body. The health of these cells is vitally important to the overall health of our bodies. These cells need to exist in a delicate balance between “good” and ”bad” bacteria. When our bacteria balance gets disrupted, weight gain, depression, brain fog, headaches, skin rashes and anxiety can all appear. When our body is in balance, our healthy bacteria produces over 80% of our body’s serotonin, produces vitamins, digests our food, extracts the nutrients from food, help control our appetite, and regulates our metabolism. These tiny organisms are crucial for our survival! Unfortunately, today’s environment offers multiple assaults on these important microbes.
Items to Eliminate to Promote Gut Health
- BPA or bisphenol A: Research has shown, BPA, found mostly in plastics, can linings and on some cash register receipts, can disrupt hormone signaling and impair brain development in newborns. Other research has found that BPA can damage the intestines, leading to leaky gut. French scientists find that the gut “shows a very high sensitivity” to BPA, increasing intestinal inflammation. This inflammation leads to abdominal discomfort, chronic muscle pain, depressed immune function, and poor nutrient absorption.
- Cleaning and personal care products that contain so…
Source http://www.sonima.com/meditation/mindful-living/search-for-meaning/
What am I looking for? What does this prepositional phrase mean? To look might be to seek or to examine or to hunt or to explore or to pursue or, perhaps, even to quest. The question implies a mission of sorts; not merely looking for your car keys or that little scrap of paper where you wrote that essential bit of information that now is eluding your grasp. No, this question is existential, karmic, soulful, infinite, eternal, celestial at best. It can also be frightening, damning, incriminating, provocative and infernal at the dire end of the spectrum. Really, what am I doing here? What is the purpose of my existence? Is there is no purpose? That conclusion is unbearable. To go on, we must believe that there is indeed a mission.
What is my mission then? I feel I must answer this before I can consider, in all aspects, the question of what I am looking for. As I approach having completed nearly 60 journeys around the sun, I am surprised, maybe a bit saddened, but also gladdened that there is no clear or simple or obvious answer to this question.
On the one hand, I would have expected, by age 58, to have found for what I am searching; that the mission would have been clearly defined by now, and perhaps all or mostly completed, leaving me to spiritually rest on the lifetime of laurels I have been amassing.
On the other hand, I would hope to always be renewing my mission, and therefore, my quests. Perhaps, the life well-lived is a s…
Source http://www.sonima.com/meditation/mindful-living/search-for-meaning/
What am I looking for? What does this prepositional phrase mean? To look might be to seek or to examine or to hunt or to explore or to pursue or, perhaps, even to quest. The question implies a mission of sorts; not merely looking for your car keys or that little scrap of paper where you wrote that essential bit of information that now is eluding your grasp. No, this question is existential, karmic, soulful, infinite, eternal, celestial at best. It can also be frightening, damning, incriminating, provocative and infernal at the dire end of the spectrum. Really, what am I doing here? What is the purpose of my existence? Is there is no purpose? That conclusion is unbearable. To go on, we must believe that there is indeed a mission.
What is my mission then? I feel I must answer this before I can consider, in all aspects, the question of what I am looking for. As I approach having completed nearly 60 journeys around the sun, I am surprised, maybe a bit saddened, but also gladdened that there is no clear or simple or obvious answer to this question.
On the one hand, I would have expected, by age 58, to have found for what I am searching; that the mission would have been clearly defined by now, and perhaps all or mostly completed, leaving me to spiritually rest on the lifetime of laurels I have been amassing.
On the other hand, I would hope to always be renewing my mission, and therefore, my quests. Perhaps, the life well-lived is a s…
Source http://www.sonima.com/meditation/mindful-living/productivity-secrets/
When you work out regularly, you notice the benefit of rest days for allowing your body’s natural recovery processes—such as muscle repair, inflammation reduction, and hormonal rebalancing—to occur. After one or two recovery days, you feel rested, stronger and motivated for the workouts to come.
Neglect to rest and you risk burning out, or worse, “overtraining.”
But did you know that your body and mind can suffer overtraining-like effects as a result of overworking too? It’s true. According to an NPR study, 83 percent of Americans are presently stressed by their jobs, many of whom may be unaware of the extreme toll that stress is taking on their health.
Fatigue, body aches, lack of focus and irritability are some of the signs you’re not coping well with stress. Pushing through these symptoms isn’t getting you ahead; in fact, you’re risking serious long-term health consequences that will cost you—and your employer—dearly in terms of sick days and declining efficacy.
The good news is that you can excel at work while becoming more resilient to stress. The solution lies in managing your workday like a workout comprised of active periods and rest periods.
In athletics, this type of workout is called interval training. It allows y…
Source http://www.sonima.com/meditation/mindful-living/productivity-secrets/
When you work out regularly, you notice the benefit of rest days for allowing your body’s natural recovery processes—such as muscle repair, inflammation reduction, and hormonal rebalancing—to occur. After one or two recovery days, you feel rested, stronger and motivated for the workouts to come.
Neglect to rest and you risk burning out, or worse, “overtraining.”
But did you know that your body and mind can suffer overtraining-like effects as a result of overworking too? It’s true. According to an NPR study, 83 percent of Americans are presently stressed by their jobs, many of whom may be unaware of the extreme toll that stress is taking on their health.
Fatigue, body aches, lack of focus and irritability are some of the signs you’re not coping well with stress. Pushing through these symptoms isn’t getting you ahead; in fact, you’re risking serious long-term health consequences that will cost you—and your employer—dearly in terms of sick days and declining efficacy.
The good news is that you can excel at work while becoming more resilient to stress. The solution lies in managing your workday like a workout comprised of active periods and rest periods.
In athletics, this type of workout is called interval training. It allows y…
Source http://www.thefitbits.com/2016/11/inflatable-5k-santa-run.html
When the words ‘inflatable’ and ‘santa’ get combined with ‘5k’, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that it’s probably gonna be a LOT OF FUN.
And alright I know it’s still November but I also know that some people have already got their Christmas trees up, and Brighton’s Christmas lights are already in place so don’t look at me with your Bah Humbug vibes 🙂
<div c…
Source http://www.thefitbits.com/2016/11/inflatable-5k-santa-run.html
When the words ‘inflatable’ and ‘santa’ get combined with ‘5k’, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that it’s probably gonna be a LOT OF FUN.
And alright I know it’s still November but I also know that some people have already got their Christmas trees up, and Brighton’s Christmas lights are already in place so don’t look at me with your Bah Humbug vibes 🙂
<div c…
Source https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/is-seasonal-affective-disorder-a-real-thing-how-to-slay-the-sad-beast/
This is an article from mental health wizard and resident NF Family Rebel Correspondent, Dan Schmidt.
Brace yourself, it’s here.
Winter. Bigger jackets, colder mornings, mental health disorder subsets, shorter days, umbr- …wait… what was that last one? Umbrellas? No, no, the other one. Oh, you haven’t heard of SAD? Well, let me tell you all about this frosty behemoth.
Aside from being a really clever acronym, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder that, spoiler alert, has a seasonal pattern. It’s also known as winter depression, winter blues or seasonal depression. In a nutshell, SAD makes people with ‘normal’ mental health experience depressive symptoms at a specific time each year, most often winter.
SAD can a cruel, powerful, and damaging arctic foe. But armed with the right weapons, we can ward …
Source https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/is-seasonal-affective-disorder-a-real-thing-how-to-slay-the-sad-beast/
This is an article from mental health wizard and resident NF Family Rebel Correspondent, Dan Schmidt.
Brace yourself, it’s here.
Winter. Bigger jackets, colder mornings, mental health disorder subsets, shorter days, umbr- …wait… what was that last one? Umbrellas? No, no, the other one. Oh, you haven’t heard of SAD? Well, let me tell you all about this frosty behemoth.
Aside from being a really clever acronym, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder that, spoiler alert, has a seasonal pattern. It’s also known as winter depression, winter blues or seasonal depression. In a nutshell, SAD makes people with ‘normal’ mental health experience depressive symptoms at a specific time each year, most often winter.
SAD can a cruel, powerful, and damaging arctic foe. But armed with the right weapons, we can ward …
Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/wejgXXC1KoQ/

“Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.” ~Sonia Ricotti
It’s that time of year again. The fresh scent of an evergreen fills the house. Strains of “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells” permeate the airwaves. Once again, I unpack the fragile, ceramic Santa that I made as a gift for my mom when I was five. Suddenly, I’m transported back in time—for better or for worse.
The holidays should be joyous times filled with family and friends, but sometimes the very traditions that give meaning to this season also trigger old fears, hurts, and anxieties. (And if you’re prone to Season Affective Disorder (SAD), the lack of warmth and sunshine can zap your goodwill toward men, and women, too.)
Then last year—after lots of recovery and mindfulness practice—I determined to navigate the holidays in a healthier manner. I decided to accept the reality of my Christmas crazies and choose to respond differently when things (inevitably) became stressful.
Since I was so good at making lists of gifts to buy others and errands to run and obligations to fulfill, why not make a list of ways to manage my emotional well-being? If you’re like me and tend to succumb to the holiday crazies, these strategies may help maintain y…
Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/wejgXXC1KoQ/

“Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.” ~Sonia Ricotti
It’s that time of year again. The fresh scent of an evergreen fills the house. Strains of “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells” permeate the airwaves. Once again, I unpack the fragile, ceramic Santa that I made as a gift for my mom when I was five. Suddenly, I’m transported back in time—for better or for worse.
The holidays should be joyous times filled with family and friends, but sometimes the very traditions that give meaning to this season also trigger old fears, hurts, and anxieties. (And if you’re prone to Season Affective Disorder (SAD), the lack of warmth and sunshine can zap your goodwill toward men, and women, too.)
Then last year—after lots of recovery and mindfulness practice—I determined to navigate the holidays in a healthier manner. I decided to accept the reality of my Christmas crazies and choose to respond differently when things (inevitably) became stressful.
Since I was so good at making lists of gifts to buy others and errands to run and obligations to fulfill, why not make a list of ways to manage my emotional well-being? If you’re like me and tend to succumb to the holiday crazies, these strategies may help maintain y…
Source http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/12/19/504694918/meghli-lebanons-own-rice-pudding-welcomes-babies-including-jesus?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

In traditional Lebanese Christian homes, Christmas Eve dinner is not complete without this earthy and symbolic dish. But some fear traditions are fading in the wake of the country’s long civil war.
(Image credit: Amy E. Robertson)
…
Source http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/12/19/504694918/meghli-lebanons-own-rice-pudding-welcomes-babies-including-jesus?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

In traditional Lebanese Christian homes, Christmas Eve dinner is not complete without this earthy and symbolic dish. But some fear traditions are fading in the wake of the country’s long civil war.
(Image credit: Amy E. Robertson)
…