meal planning made simple

*This post contains affiliate links. I did not receive payment from eMeals or Groupon. I simply want to share my personal experiences and thoughts.*

I am touching base today to begin a progression of posts on digital tools that are helping to simplify our lives.

I love to cook and used to love the process of meal planning. Once our second child arrived, I have found it difficult to make the time that I used to ensuring our meals are filled with the types of food that we love and are made of our favorite ingredients. Even when I did have more time I struggled sometimes to find new ideas and especially different side dishes to match our main courses.

…and then I met eMeals! What attracted me most to this tool is that it generates my meals and shopping list for me (print or app). Also, I can delete the items I already have in my pantry, adding staples and other items to it, as needed. Continue reading

pods, luminaries and life is good

While I was not asked to write or paid to write this blog post, it does contain affiliate links. All posts via intentionista will contain honest thoughts on all topics. 

Have you ever thought to your self, “Now that’s the business I would have started if I would have started a business?” Between my husband and I (with thanks to our weekly wine nights), we have at least a hundred of them. When we dream about business ideas, they seem to fall into three categories…first, there’s the business you came up with only to find out someone else already started it… For example, when we first started dating, David got really excited about this idea he had for a portable storage unit. The poor guy was absolutely crushed to see this in front of someone’s house… Continue reading

Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living

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“Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu

Just as we were preparing to embark on a lower-level remodel I came across Tsh Oxenrider’s book, Organized Simplicity. It was yet another book that jumped off the shelf just when I needed it to. It is complete with the concepts, tools and resources that I needed to take a hard look at the “stuff” that filled my house. And not just look at it, but evaluate it with tender discernment and intentionality. Like many, we have spent years acquiring gadgets, toys, books, clothes and household goods. We believed that these items would make our lives easier, simpler, and fuller. Continue reading

we are enough

Understand Abundance

You may have seen my post on facebook where I shared that I received Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly in the mail. I’m certain that I’ll be writing about it soon. It’s that good.

I’ve only just begun the book but the first chapter is rooted in a topic that, as a leader and a fundraiser, I spent a lot of time absorbing. Continue reading

will you or won’t you?

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I don’t ever want to be a vegetable. I’m not ready to die. I certainly don’t want to lose my husband. Honestly, I don’t even want to ever think about such things. Imagining any of them is too painful and it’s much easier if I don’t. Until I think about what would happen if I didn’t. And so I do… Continue reading

ignorance really is bliss

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For the last four years, I have been on what I like to call a journey of awakening. Growing, emerging and doing my best to look at life with my eyes wide open. I have learned that being awake to your world can be invigorating, rewarding and fun…but it can also be difficult and painful… Continue reading