Thoughts on Life, Work & Music

I started reading this book, The 4-Hour Work Week. I read a review over at The Simple Dollar and got a copy from the library. The young man who wrote it (younger than me, at least!) is obviously quite entrepreneurial, and his methods definitely wouldn't work for everyone, but there is a lot of meat to be taken from it. I've started taking some notes & jotting down some ideas.

One of the ways I'm simplifying my life is by clearing out the inboxes of my various e-mail accounts, as well as trying to reply right away when I can. My main e-mail account now has 36 e-mails waiting to be replied to rather than the 150+ it usually has. Now I have 2 more accounts to clean out.

I'm not sure if some of my new blog friends know that I'm a singer/songwriter. I don't have a professional CD, but in the past had a CD made of a concert. I also, in the past couple of years, did rough recordings of 2 newer songs, "You" & "You Know Me". I already have about 10 songs written for another project. The drummer from church said we should get some studio time and record some of the songs, which I'd love to do. So one of my goals for the next 6 months is to record at least a few of the songs for my next CD project, which will be called "You". That's one of the things the book has reminded me that I'd like to do.

Simplify Your Life

I'm reading this great little book.

I originally thought I read about it over at The Simple Dollar, but after trying to find it, I rrealized I'm pretty sure I heard about it over at Zen Habits, a blog I occasionally read after The Simple Dollar reviewed the eBook, Zen to Done.



It's called "Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things that Really Matter" by Elaine St. James, and I finally figured out where I found it: at this Zen Habits blog post.

Some of my favorites points so far:
Stop Buying Clothes that Need to be Dry-cleaned (#9)
Reduce the Clutter in your Life (#1)
Keep the Plants Outdoors (#13) (we can't seem to keep houseplants alive anyway)
Drive a Simple Car (#20) Done!
Don't Answer the Phone Just Because It's Ringing (#30)

Isn't that last one hard? Especially in the age of cell phones. It seems as if people expect you to answer at all times just because it's a cell phone.

It's a good book. See if your library has it.

In Defense of Food

I'm reading "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan.



It's quite interesting, and he's really bringing me back! Remember Snackwell's?



I don't know if anyone of you bought into the whole "fat-free is better" belief system, but I sure did! Remember when you could get fat-free everything? I remember that even Taco Bell had fat-free & low-fat cheese for awhile. Anyway, you should pick up a copy of the book from the library if you can (I had to wait a couple of months for it; it's quite popular!). It goes into all the theories behind "nutritionism" and why so much of what we believe about food today in America isn't really based on fact, but rather bad science and politics.

Speaking of food, Trader Joe's has this roasted plaintain chips that are amazing! I don't know if they're new or I just never noticed them, but they are good!

MIA in Blogland

Good morning! I hope you're starting off your day with a quality cup of coffe or tea. I recently developed a craving for americanos (espresso with water added). Since we have a relatively nice espresso maker, I'm enjoying a mostly decaf americano as I write this.

I've been slightly missing in blogland. I've been reading more (check out my books in the right navigation), working on my website, going for more walks, and playing with the baby more. I was getting tired of the baby constantly crawling under my computer desk and trying to climb up into my lap, and my reading life has benefited greatly!

I did, however, just get one of these:


Mine is white. Now the baby just tries to climb on to the futon we have in our office & hit the buttons of the Asus while I'm trying to type :)

I'm going to make a concerted effort to try & update this more, so check back soon!