I wish I could say January plodded along, but in fact, it has felt like it's flown by!
We are very busy these days and I've been loving watching movies and cooking on my downtime!
The Feng Shui and shopping my own closet are going very well and Mercury is finally out of retrograde so things can quiet down.
While I have not visited any online shopping sites, I do get the odd email, some with pictures and I assume others are in the January blahs because in a two day period I got two emails about how I need to embrace the bright pink lip!
Apparently, the year of the nude year (there was a year? how did I miss that?) has passed and now we must all love pink.
Fortunately, I do.
Bright pink is fun.
It makes one think of robust health and is one of my favourite Valentine colours.
My favourite hot pink lipsticks/pencils belong to Nars:
Funny Face
And Yu:
I wholeheartedly endorse a little pink this time of year. It, and pink champagne, cure all that ails one.
Of course, the lipstick would be in the frugal category, the pink champagne, not so much.
Since I have all of the above in the house, I think I will follow the lead of the pinterest picture below and put all my pink books together. I think it would be swell to see them all together and might tide me over until my peonies are in bloom again!
Just the idea makes me happy!
Hmmm - it seems like those blogger emails were onto something with their pink lipsticks!
Hope you are enjoying the winter weather and thinking warm thoughts!
xoxo Wendy
I was thinking about retirement today for two reasons:
1 - Grace Coddington has decided at age 74 that she doesn't want to be tied solely to Vogue anymore, but wishes to do other, varied, things;
and
2) Stan Lee. I was thinking of 90 year old Stan because he is still SO active in the Marvel Universe of comics, movies, TV shows and products.
In so many traditional occupations, there is an expectation that an individual "retires" from their work around age 60 or 65.
This is not necessarily the case in the entertainment business, where in-demand talent can work on for decades past their peers in more traditional work places - think Betty White, George Burns, and so on.
Lots of people are thrilled to retire. Now is the time for them to pursue long-buried hobbies (that can now potentially turn into careers), travel, spend more time with their families.
And yet I am intrigued by those who work until the day they die. My great-grandfather worked at his boot factory well into his eighties. Granted, those were the days before pensions, but still, from what I have been told, he loved what he did and going to work made him feel valued and valuable.
I once read a study that said the earlier you retire the longer you live. that no longer seems to be borne out by the facts.
There is research now that indicates people who love what they do may in fact live longer.
The best decision I ever made was to leave my job. Personally, I was so young I do not consider it a retirement but a career transition.
My new job, writing between 30 and 40 hours a week, thrills me. The worst days writing are better than my best days working at my old job (even though I sometimes loved that job very much!)
I guess the key to all things in life is to find something you love and DO IT. Do it hard and with purpose and embrace it.
I hope to live to be a very old lady and I hope to be working the whole way there. Perhaps it won't be 30 or 40 hours a week, but it will be something, and it will make me happy.
Something to think about!
And for those of you on the east coast - hope you are all dug out!
This week Oxfam released a report that contained the startling statistic that the 62 wealthiest people on this planet have a combined wealth equivalent to the poorest 4 billion.
Scarier still, that wealth is getting more and more concentrated: in 2010 388 people had the combined wealth of the poorest 4 billion. What happened to the poor 322 who fell off that list? they are likely licking their hurt feelings on a yacht somewhere...
If you don't find those numbers scary, well this isn't the post for you... :-)
What exactly does this mean? Well it tells me that we have a lot of individuals whose personal net worth is the equivalent to many countries' GDP.
It also tells me that many of us are making these rich people even richer. The richest on the list is CEO of the luxury brand that makes your favourite Louis Vuittons and other over-priced items coveted by many (though many say the quality isn't what it used to be - I wouldn't know).
It's hard to imagine needing that many billions. I mean, surely 1 billion is plenty enough for the average person. Perhaps the other billions might be shared to raise the quality of life for the other 4,000,000?
And really, once you have that much money, you are, in effect, a person-state yourself. No need for you to vote; you are probably able to buy whatever political favours might be required for your particular business.
What is most disturbing, apart from this obscenity of wealth, is that the wealth of the poorest 4,000,000 actually dropped by 41% from 2010 to today. Thus the rich truly are getting richer and the poor? Well things were horrific before and they're getting hellish now.
Unlike we taxpayers, many of these wealthy individuals have their money in off-shore accounts, perfect tax dodges. Imagine what some of that money REALLY circulating could do.
Research has shown that every increase in the minimum wage or welfare rates has a direct and positive impact on our economy. Every time we lift someone out of poverty we reduce child abuse, spousal abuse, we improve mental and physical health, and we make our communities safer.
Some of these billionaires are giving it all away - hello Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg - but not enough. And it is clear that those who are doing so are making a tremendous difference.
This can't go on forever. The history of this planet is people getting fed up and doing something when things get too out of balance. We all have a responsibility towards our fellow man.
And yes, if you're wondering, this has helped me keep my "no shopping" for awhile vow very easily. :0(
It's worth reading about. And it's important. It effects us all, even if we don't realize it!
And yes, I promise next topic will be much lighter, but this was too important not to talk about.
Sorry I was incommunicado the past couple of weeks - my son was home from University and I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.
And now it is the end of the first week of January and I am desperately trying to catch up with everything!
I don't know about you, but every time I take down the Christmas tree and decorations - and you know how many I have - I feel an overwhelming desire to purge and bring order to my universe after the chaos and gluttony of the holiday season.
And as is my wont, that typically includes everything in my life - clothing, body, space.
I am about to turn 53, I am about to have my first book published, I am doing things in my life that make me happy and am surrounding myself with people in my life that are of a like mind and all is good, except...
I need to get back into shape. That isn't just weight loss, it's getting stronger. To help me on that journey, Barry bought me a fitbit for Christmas - I love it!
I am back doing my yoga regularly, lifting weight again, meditating daily and walking, walking, walking. I am not snacking. I have already lost 3 pounds and I feel great!
I have also, on top of everything else I've been reading, feng shuing the whole house. Do any of you use feng shui techniques to help the energy in your space?
Last fall I took an online course from Kate Northrup about Feng Shui and loved it. Her course focuses mostly on the wealth and prosperity sections of the bagua map, but I wanted the whole meal deal, so followed up and read a great book by Terah Kathryn Collins that Kate recommends and since then have been going room by room to make the changes.
I need to keep that good energy flowing in our house! I am nowhere near done, but each room I do gives me a real sense of peace. While I liked the konmari method, it was a bit too Spartan for my tastes. Feng Shui help you focus energy to feel content and prosperous in all areas of your life. Everyone's approach will be slightly different and there's nothing wrong with that.
In particular, I wanted to focus on the health and family and career areas and have been making my own little shrines and removing things that have bad energy.
More than ever, I feel that the transition I have been undergoing these last few years is finally slowing down and I am where and with whom I ought to be. It is a lovely feeling and one I want to cultivate! I will let you know if the Feng Shui helps!
And am vowing to buy nothing superfluous clothing-wise this year. I really have too many clothes as it is, and I am getting off the hamster wheel of shopping in 2016, less about my pocket book and more about being more frugal and leaving a smaller footprint on the planet. I will keep you posted on that!
Finally, today is David Bowie's birthday AND the release date of his newest album! We love David in this house. In fact, we danced to his wonderful song, Wild is the Wind at our wedding many years ago.
So maybe that's where I'll end. Who knows where the winds of life will take us this year? I can't wait to see!
