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Two women with passion: LadyFi and Annabel Candy

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I like to think of my blog as a community of friends who care about one another, so before Christmas, I decided to offer support to two women who are passionate about what they do.

1). Fiona Hugosson-Miller or LadyFi, to those of you who are familiar with her beautiful photography. I purchased one of Fiona’s prints which is called: Soul Food. You can see Fiona’s matted print on my living room wall. To view her work, please click on Red Bubble button at the bottom of her blog.

Soul Food by Fiona Hugosson-Miller

I asked Fiona to describe “Soul Food.”

“It was taken on the evening of May 28 2010 at about 8.45 pm, so no doubt I ran out to take this shot in my dressing gown!

After a long winter, it was so lovely to see the sky in all its glory again. This jetty is just one minute from our house and I can peek out of the kitchen window or my daughter’s bedroom to see the lake. Naturally I saw the sky lit up like a stained glass window so ran outside and took a few shots of this miraculous sky. So, it was a spontaneous photo shoot if you like – as are most of my shots.

I used my Canon 500D for the shot and was shooting on a large aperture to let in the light: f/5.6 – the shutter speed was: 1/250.

I didn’t take that many pictures but stood gazing at the sunset for ages. I felt inspired and nourished, which is why I called the shot: Soul Food.”

2). Annabel Candy from GetintheHotSpot.

I mentioned Annabel Candy in one of my previous posts.

I’m wearing Getinthehotspot T-shirt to support Annabel Candy’s wonderful blog.

Annabel is a Gutsy business woman. As she puts it: “I delved into the sordid world of shameless self-promotion. Why? Mainly because I’m not good at it and it scares me. You see, I work hard to promote my blog and do stuff that scares me, so practicing the fine art of shameless self-promotion seemed like a good way to combine those two things.”

I found Annabel’s, “Successful Blogging in Twelve Simple Steps,” to be extremely helpful and am still learning as I read each chapter and case study. I decided to support her blog by wearing her logo for inspiration.

Here’s to a year full of passion and inspiration. What is yours?

Should you give presents at this time of year?

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Pine tree from Flickr

In December last year, I wrote about my challenges of buying gifts for my husband. 

Now, only a week away from Christmas, I’d like to talk about the concept of buying Christmas presents.
With only five days left before Christmas, I have nothing to give my three sons, 23, 20 and 16. Clothes don’t interest them, or perhaps I should say, they don’t seem to appreciate clothes the way most women would.Whenever, I ask, “What would you like for Christmas?” they say, “Nothing.”

A few weeks ago, my oldest son mentioned a Kindle. He then ended up using his birthday money from Grandma, and bought his own.

My middle son ordered his own present on e-bay with money he’s been saving since Kindergarten, (yes, he’s great at saving money from Grandpa and Grandma since birth.)

My youngest son says he wants nothing more than for us to allow him to enlist in the Army and attend West Point.  (I’m not going to touch this subject right now.)

I know I should be grateful they don’t ask for presents, and part of me likes to believe that our year of frugal living in Belize shifted their attitudes towards acquiring less, however, this does bring out the “guilt factor” of having a tree with nothing underneath it.

Mega-blogger, in terms of having 200,000 subscribers, Leo Babauta has a blog post on, “The Case Against Buying Christmas Presents,”
When I read Leo’s comment, “I don’t love Christmas shopping, or the over consumption, frenzied malls, consumer debt, environmental waste, wasted time wrapping, and over-accumulation of needless stuff that goes with it,” I could relate. As Leo says, “Giving is great, but buying is not the solution.”
I sense a shift in the overall tone and message of the world economy. With a 14 trillion dollar debt in the U.S., people will have to keep working until they’re 69, before social security kicks in. I wonder how long before the population realizes we cannot keep living a “pretend” life of over-consumerism, and recognize the need to live more frugally, the way Leo Babauta, advocates.
So this Christmas I shall bake, cook, have parties, listen to my boys, give them hugs when they want them, and perhaps, if they’re lucky, knit a scarf they can use in the cold weather of Michigan, and New Mexico. I shall also buy a black T-shirt from a blogger I admire: Annabel Candy, “GetintheHotspot,” and some beautiful postcards based on the nature photography of my blogger friend LadyFi in Sweden. Finally I shall give a gift of sight to a child through the Fred Hollows Foundation.

What are you doing for your family, friends and the world this Christmas?

I’m in love with Annabel Candy and Chris Guillebeau

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I cannot hide my feelings any longer; I’m in love with two bloggers, one male and one female. Okay, so perhaps “in love” is a little too strong, but I feel connected, to these two people because of their passion for what they do, their authenticity, and the fact that I get goosebumps when I read their posts, and listen to their words on various podcasts.

So who are these two bloggers:

  1. Chris Guillebeau: The Art on Non-Conformity
  2. Annabel Candy: GetintheHotSpot

First of all, he’s real, he’s humble, he connects with people old and young, he’s open-minded, his motto: “live your life the way you want and help other people at the same time,” resonates with me. He’s a world traveler, he’s lived four years in Africa helping people, he’s young and energetic, and he asks the questions all of us are interested in, but rarely take the time to answer:


1) What do you really want to get out of Life?
2). What can you offer the world that no one else can?

As Chris says, “These questions are deceptively simple. It takes some people 10 minutes to get their own answers, and other people take years to figure out.”

In his book, The Art of Non-Conformity, Chris offers a ton of fascinating, yet simple ways of thinking about motivation and your life. One is his radical goal-setting, (pages 32-35,) where he gives help on setting One-Year, Five-Year, and Lifetime goals. For those of you who may be asking, “”Who am I to Tell You All This?” Chris says, “Let’s be clear about something: I adhere to a guru-free philosophy, and I don’t claim to have all the answers.”  

I can relate to Annabel as a woman who has lived in Africa, the UK, Costa Rica for Annabel, Belize for me, and has three children. Despite similarities in travel, Annabel is also authentic and has a strong desire to help people live their dreams. She writes about empowerment, blogging, Internet marketing, and entrepreneurship.
I recommend Annabel’s podcast where she talks about helping bloggers, especially small business owners, and writers, photographers and musicians who wish to improve their blogs. A few helpful tips she offers are:

  • Each line should have 80 characters or less, or it’s too difficult to read.
  • Stick with blogging for at least a year. You will start seeing the benefits.

Annabel always offers great content on her posts, and has a new e-book on Successful Blogging in 12 simple steps to help you become a successful blogger.

I am volunteering at Chris Guillebeau’s book tour on December 10th in Los Angeles. Can’t wait to meet him and everyone else attending. Hope to see you there.

 

Here is your chance to share the names and links of up to two bloggers who inspire you, make you feel connected, or simply entertain you and you cannot wait for their next post.

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