Up To The Surface

This was just a little exercise I created for myself, after doing some reading about learning to appreciate the life I have. I thought back and identified times when I remember being truly happy and can still feel that warm, fuzzy feeling of exhilaration when I think about those times now. In those moments, I had experienced joy. Now I want to keep this list for myself for when I am feeling down, to remind me.   Moments In My Life I’m Positive I experienced Joy Age six: I got to crawl on hands and knees through a maze of brightly colored plastic tunnels, dodge obstacles and plummet down a spiraling slide into a ball pit at the indoor playground. Every year until I was maybe 11 or so: Mayfaire By the Lake came to town and I got to spend the afternoon doing arts and crafts in the children’s activity tent, eat kettle corn and drink ice cold lemonade. My 9 th birthday: I woke up to discover that my mom and dad had purchased a huge life-sized gold...

This past week, there's been alot of serious, heated discussion between my husband and I about being frugal and making cutbacks on this and that, so we can move forward... It got me thinking about my closet again. I'm a great bargain hunter and I can find trendy pieces for very little and still look fashionable. But what if I had an empty closet and only a few hundred dollars to start over? What are the necessary basics? Every day, life events happen to people that cause them to need to start over. Hurricanes, fires, unexpected moves, very dramatic weight gain or loss. If you're a woman in her 20's or 30's, where would you begin when it comes to your wardrobe?   Here's my guide to closet basics 101.  Everyday outfits: - one black and one white tee - -one black and one white tank top- -one or two pair of jeans- -one pair of denim or solid colored shorts- -one black cardigan - -one black belt - Work and church: -one basic black or grey pen...

These days, most of the clothes in my closet don't last more than two years. my style is constantly evolving. I can sell clothes for cash or trade them for other gently-used clothes. I receive free clothes from friends or buy some at a good deal and to make the addition of new pieces  fair, I phase out and donate other clothes. There are also casualties. The clothes that were more cheaply made than I bargained for and they started to come apart too soon. Aside from a handful of formal dresses that I save for a special occasion, almost everything else  gets replaced anywhere from six months to two years after it arrives. The blouses and tank tops are among the most frequently replaced items. There are some shorts, jeans and outwear that have survived for three years.  Despite the high rate of turnover in my closet, there are a handful of what I call "old faithfuls". They are colder weather clothes. Year after year, they stay in rotation and get worn regu...

2016 has been blessed so far. New car for my husband, good deal on it. A little bit of new direction and incentive at work.  Health improved Turned blonde