The "Busy" Season

This is an interesting article written about "busy-ness" A fellow yogi posted it a few days again and I just recently made the time to read it. It's worth a read, and a thought, and perhaps a challenge to yourself....

If you ask me to describe what my day is like with a 9.5 month old at home I would have said "BUSY!" He's keeping me on my toes like never before. Getting into everything and everywhere and when I'm not making a frantic run to keep his hands out of the toilet, diaper bin, or garbage can... I'm probably trying to make enough food to keep up with his insatiable teenager-esque appetite (read: this 9 month old BABY ate two cottage cheese pancakes, a mandarin orange, and a piece of watermelon for breakfast!)

But perhaps upon reflection busy is not the right word. Maybe I should be responding to the question "How's your day/life been?" and actually responding about the day rather than a general feeling.

I'm gonna try this for a month too. Time to open up the vocabulary vault. Stay away from generics like "busy," "crazy," "fine," & "good" and actually take a mindful approach to describing life.

Reusable Advent Calendar

'Tis the Season! 

I LOVE Christmas. The sights, sounds, and smells. The cozy feeling of settling in front of a fire with a warm mug of tea, (hot chocolate with Baileys...)  The business of downtown streets with shoppers looking for that perfect gift. I know, I know, who really likes the business... but I must admit I do. I don't particularly love the traffic that goes along with it, but thethe hustle and bustle on the sides walks I do enjoy. I love getting cozied up in sweaters, scarves, and boots. It's a lovely time of year.

I also love the anticipation. The waiting. The enjoying of every day leading up to the BIG one. So what follows is a DIY Re-fillable Advent Calendar.

Supplies Needed:

24 wooden clothes pins

1 - 1 x 6 x 4ft plank of wood

Wood Glue

Sandpaper

Number Stamps - (I used ones I had made out of corks. You can find the post for that here: DIY Stamps)

Red & White Paint 

Sparkles, Glitter, Ribbons, etc

Instructions:

Step 1 - Paint all your clothespins. I pinned them onto an old box so I could do the sides and everything all in one go. Don't worry about the backs you'll be gluing them down later. I did a mix of all red, white with sparkles, and plain wood with little snowflake punch outs.

Step 2 - Paint your board & let that dry completely dry (a few hours depending on the type of paint) I used some leftover house paint which actually dried super fast. I needed two coats to get a nice matte finish.

Step 3 - Finish off your board by added your number stamps and possibly some distressing with sandpaper if you like that look. With a 4 ft board I spaced my numbers a little less than 2 inches apart to get a nice even spacing. It's worth it to measure and mark this off to get it even. Otherwise you'll end up with a wonky looking board

Step 4 - Glue on your pins. Plain old wood glue works like a charm here. Make sure your pins paint is completely dry before gluing. And again, marking off your spacing will help keeps things looking neat.

Step 5 - Fill with treats of your choice. Chocolates, small gifts, notes, letters, or even spell out the advent story in 24 days to read aloud each day (Find a link for that story here: Advent Story)

Merry Christmas!!