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| News from Regina | |
| The Zen Organizer Community |
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| Volume 5 Number Three | June, 2008 |
| Seminars and more on "One Year" Go Green! My life has (happily) gone to the dogs... | |
 My new book 'One Year to an Organized Life' takes you through basic home and office projects. Each is scheduled at the perfect time of year. For instance, what better time than January to take a look at Time Managment? It's also the perfect month to organize the heart of the home aka your kitchen. In February as our thoughts turn to love, it's important to remember that love starts at home. If you don't nurture yourself, how will you have anything to give to others? And how better to begin that journey than with a bedroom that can only be described as a sanctuary? Some months you will be able to do catch up work in the event you have fallen behind. For example, if you aren't traveling or moving than July and August are true kick back months for you! I've also organized the months based on a 4 week cycle. Since each quarter in the year has 13 weeks, you get a one week bonus every 3 months. Doesn't that sound like an easy way to traverse the year? If you would like to come and hear me speak about my book and the world of getting organized, here are some places around the country I will be conducting seminars in the months to come. I would be delighted to autograph your book and answer any questions you might have. Sunday, July 20, 2008 Unity Church of Christianity Houston Texas 2929 Unity Drive Houston, Texas 77057 1:30 to 4:30 in the sancturay Cost: $25.00 "One Year to an Organized Life" will be in the church bookstore for purchase. __________________________________________ Friday, August 15,2008 Center for Spiritual Living International Place 4801 Spring Valley Rd., Suite 115 Dallas, TX 75244 Phone: 972 866-9988 7pm to 9pm Understand the philosophy behind Zen Organizing and how it can help you transform your life. and Saturday, August 16, 2008 10am to 1pm A workshop presented in conjunction with the previous night's talk: learn the how to's of the organizing process. Each talk is $25.00 if purchased separately; the total for both is $40.00 _______________________________________________ Sunday, September 14, 2008 Spirit Works Burbank, California Time and details to be announced. ______________________________________________ Saturday, November 1, 2008 Cordelia Knott Center for Wellness Orange, California This seminar will be geared to helping you have a sane holiday season. It will be taught in conjunction with Ariel Joseph Towne, the Feng Shui Guy. Time and details TBA. |
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Go Green! I came up with some ways to 'go green' while you are getting organized. Here are 5 responsible ways to Eliminate this month . . . and always. 1. Have a 'Product Swap Party.' We all try out a new shampoo or a color of nail polish or a fragrance and then think: "What did I have in mind here?" Call you friends together and find new and happy homes for your 'mistakes.' 2. Fearlessly face your linen closet and remove all the tattered, torn, stained or out of date sheets and towels. Take them to your local vet or animal hospital. They always need these items. 3. Do you fly first class a lot? Do you frequently stay in hotels that provide bath product samples? Start saving them to be donated to your local womens shelter. If you work for a large corporation, invite everyone to join you. Establish a central drop site for products. 4. Are old electronics clogging your office? Call your local school district and see if they need what you have. Call a charity like Goodwill that repairs broken items for re-sale. Or call the manufacturer and see if they have a recycling program. Most large corporations do! 5. Do you shop at stores that wrap your purchases in tissue paper? Use that paper to keep your purses 'plumped up' on the shelf. Not only will they not fall into each other creating a visual and literal mess, you'll be preserving their shape for years of additional enjoyment. You gotta love a guy who makes you laugh. I am doing volunteer work with Golden Retriever Rescue in Los Angeles. This is one of the ways I have chosen to honor my late golden whose beautiful face is shown above. Golden Retriever Rescue has an adoption fair once a month. The second time I came to help, I was early. I went over to the first dog to arrive and thought I would team up with him and see if I could get him adopted. I touched him and I knew. I wasn't going to 'work the crowd' for this boy. He was mine. He had been found starving to death on the street. The shelter called the Rescue with the hope they would go against the odds and adopt him. My boy was so weak from hunger he could not stand and could barely walk. He rear end was simply a bag of bones held together with skin. He's old and has ground down most of his teeth. He just wasn't a golden anyone would want to adopt. He was marked for death in 3 days. Golden Retriever Rescue took him and he had one month with a foster mom before we met. This angelic woman got him to swim every day and built up his strength. In him I saw the Spirit of God. I call him Spirit. He is gaining weight and strength every day. He is also messy and hysterically funny. This old boy has saved and enriched my life well beyond my ability to express in words. He has also taught me that age doesn't matter. It's the quality of the time you have with anyone you love that matters not the length of time. That's a big lesson for a little guy who was down to 47 pounds! If you have recently lost a treasured animal companion, my heart goes out to you. I hope in time you will consider taking in one of the thousands of animals left alone and abandoned each day. Someone asked me if Spirit replaced Katie. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I could barely speak. They are different and unique beings. No one will ever replace Katie. And surely no dog will ever make me laugh as much as Spirit. Every relationship we have teaches and enriches us. The fact they are unique is what makes being alive such a beautiful journey. In Loving Memory Almost 13 and a half years ago, I got a call from my dear friend, Kieran, saying I should come and meet her new dog. A puppy. A golden retriever. I drove to Costa Mesa. Everyone knows I love dogs. This one was particularly sweet and enchanting. We were having coffee on Balboa Island when I looked down at this little red ball of fur and knew she was mine. I also knew that no matter how much it hurt when she died, I would pay any price to have her in my life. She was 3 months old. For the next several months I visited her whenever I could. Her name then was Maggie. I'd call and say: "Put Maggie out in the backyard...I'm coming to see her." I would assure Kieran that although this was my dog, it was OK that she had her...as long as visitation rights remained open. In November, just before Maggie turned one, a call came that Kieran was returning to England to live. Maggie couldn't survive 6 months in quarantine. Did I want my dog? I said 'Yes!' I think it was just 2 days later that she came to me. And thus began an adventure that changed my life forever. And ended Wednesday morning, April 19th when she slipped back into Eternity...returning home to the gracious God who shared her with me. All of her life with me, I told Katie that one day God had called her over and let her see me. He asked if she'd like to come live with me, help me and teach me. "And you said 'yes,' boo boo Girl!' And now He has called her home. To those of you who knew Katie, I thank you for the wonderful contribution you made to her life. She had more friends than I did...and certainly more loving boyfriends! To those who only heard about her, I thank you for being so kind to me, a totally besotted dog owner. It's odd to type those words. She wasn't a dog to me. She was my best friend...and perhaps the child I never had. I will not see her like again. My heart feels as if it will break in my chest. I am comforted by the words Rod Carew said at his daughter's funeral: "I will never be angry with God for taking Michele. I will spend the rest of my life being grateful for the time we had her." Me too, Rod. Me too. |
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