life beyond the well…


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Note to Self: On Vacation.

Dear Erin,

You need that vacation.  You need that time to unplug, to veg out, to read books endlessly, to watch HGTV on repeat, to laugh and love Preacherman, to live without being tied to your Outlook Calendar and the endless demands that create a home in the dungeon known as your work email account.

You need it. And it doesn’t make you weak to acknowledge that. You are a better woman, a better wife, a better steppie, a better friend, a better employee when you have taken the time to recharge your battery and make sure that you are overflowing with the things that really make your heart full.

You are not your work. Your work is what you do, it is not who you are. And while what you do is important, who you are matters more.  Are you taking the time to develop who you are so that you can be the best you for the people who need you and are there for you before 8am and after 5pm?  Are you making sure that you’ve put aside some time in your schedule for the things that you enjoy? What are you reading for pleasure? When was the last time you decorated your planner? Have you downloaded the many ideas in your brain into your blog?

Take the vacation. Self-care is not selfish, it’s necessary. Reflect, rest, rejuvenate- and then when it’s time to go back to life as usual, you’ll return as a better, stronger, healthier you.

Those people that you do life with deserve to have the best you.  And you deserve to be the best you.

Love,

You

 


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Book Review: Living Well Spending Less

I saw this book floating around on Facebook for a while, and I can admit that I was intrigued.  And then, when I had the opportunity to review it, I was excited.

I consider myself to be a reformed shopaholic.  Or maybe, a reformed saleaholic.  I’ve never met a sale that I didn’t like.  It’s how I go to Target with a list that only has 3 things on it, and leave with 7 items.  I know that I’m not alone there.  So, I snagged this book hoping to acquire a few more strategies to deal with my “saleaholism”.

Living Well Spending Less is not just about budgeting and money saving strategies.  It helps to deal with issues of the heart that contribute to spending.  The author, Ruth Soukup describes living well as being more about who we are than what we have.  I appreciate the candidness and transparency with which she shared her own struggles with spending and how it affected her family and marriage.  But more than that, I appreciated the thoughtful words of wisdom and applicable advice (i.e.: she doesn’t just tell you to budget, but provides different suggestions on how to do so).

This book reads well and I would definitely recommend it to anyone- especially those of you who are interested in improving your finances.  You’ll enjoy it!

Be encouraged! Peace and Blessings

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are mine.