February 19, 2015

These Three Things Make A Humble Heart...


FAITH
HAPPINESS
GRATITUDE

I have spent many nights laying in bed trying to sleep but my mind and heart race to make sense of the day and life in general. I need closure with everything. I analyze things over and over until I'm ready to let go... It's no surprise I'm a writer.

In my young adult years I wrote in a journal almost every night. I'd start off with a piece of random verse. It was a code of thoughts pertaining to events and circumstance around me with an eloquent twist that proved to be a magical instant journey for the soul. I'd follow those paragraphs with a journal entry written in plain english. Venting my heart to the ruled lines of spiral notebooks, while tears rolled down my cheeks staining the pages. I have about six notebooks filled. I compiled the paragraph sized poetic pros in a manuscript that is over one hundred pages in length. For a girl who never finishes anything, I sure have a lot to work with...

One day I saw a female doctor on Oprah who discussed a lot of cool things regarding women's health; specifically, women in menopausal years -which I am not. But her advice on feeling one's best was a hundred percent true! I wish I could remember her name, but I am at a loss. I apologize for that. Because her best advice changed my bedtime journal ritual.

She explained that each night we have the opportunity to harness the energy of the day for the best. To obtain freedom and negate worry. It's also the perfect time to practice gratitude. Send it all out to the universe. Let it go. And be grateful...

Now I write just three things:

  1. What I really, really, really want...
  2. What the happiest part of my day was...
  3. What I am most thankful for...


Daily Blessings/Prayer Journal



I've been writing bedtime prayers and considering the things in life that are positive more often for over five years now. Some nights I am too tired to physically write them down because I've forgotten and am already curled up in bed. So, those nights I go over the day and ask for blessings in the manner of these three statements in my head.

It helps me sleep better. I believe in myself and my dreams more. And it makes me view the day through a positive lens instead of whining with teenaged angst. Overall, it's changed my life because it helps open my heart.

If you're trying to create a bigger sense of joy throughout the day, then you should give this a try. Write down these three things at night before you go to sleep. If you already have some sort of bedtime ritual that helps settle your mind while giving thanks to the universe, than leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you!


Blessings,

OXO
Angélique

February 5, 2015

The Many Hats I Wear... Writer, Blogger & Technology Guru!


Okay, so that's the only picture I have of myself in a hat. And it's not the greatest quality, but you get the idea. ;)

I've been dealing with some interesting setbacks lately. My computer is outdated. It still works, I just can't use any new programs because it's not compatible with the latest software. I'm doing alright trying to figure out some of the tech things to my blog. And I understand my computer more than I used to because running a blog efficiently requires probing your computers potential. But a new computer will make my photos and graphics more vibrant! So, I'm saving up for that.

Recently, I learned about URL's, RSS's, CSS & HTML (just a teensy bit). It's pretty fricken awesome! So, I know the reason my recent blog posts weren't updating on Bloglovin & Google. Ya see, a while back I ventured away from Blogger because I couldn't figure out how to create individual Pages/Tabs and I thought maybe Wordpress would be more helpful. NOT! OMG! If you're a beginning blogger do yourself the favour and stick with Blogger until you're confidant with code (computer jargon).

Wordpress will not allow you to personalize any of the free templates either. Which was a total bummer after spending hours setting up my account. Not fair! Personally, I don't want to pay for a platform until I've got an established following. And, when I started blogging, my blog's focus was still in it's infancy.

One day, Blogger emailed me advising that they'd made their Pages more easy to find and use. Exciting! I came back and managed to bring my domain with me (all by myself). With the help of tutorials I found on the internet, of course. From the Pages menu I learned to navigate my Dashboard more accurately. The only good thing about Wordpress is that after signing up I was able to purchase my domain, www.easygoodness.com. Blogger didn't have the option to purchase domains when I started Easy Goodness. I came back to Blogger and I dedicated myself to poking around and understanding what goes on behind the scenes. I've managed to learn a lot in less than a year. My registered domain will be up for renewal in March.

So, what happened with my RSS feed, you might ask? Well, I had the brilliant idea to add the Wordpress URL into my Bloggers settings with the hopes that it would revert anyone who typed in easygoodness without the world wide web (www.) predecessor. For some reason typing just easygoodness brings you to http://easygoodness, in Wordpress which states Nothing Found. Since I put that URL in my Blogger settings (with the hope it would link the Wordpress site to my domain) I disrupted my URL and that created errors in my RSS feed... Pretty smart thinking, eh? :)

I had an epiphany when I connected the dates of my missing posts on Bloglovin and Google to around the time I had the idea to put the bogus URL where it didn't belong. lol... I'm impressed with myself for being persistent enough to discover a solution. Well, I came up with a theory which was successful in the end. I removed the bogus URL and my RSS feed was back! I have a well deserved feeling of relief & satisfaction.

I often get down on myself before I try. Which is exactly the reason I've started/abandoned three blogs since 2008. I've been working on this one, Easy Goodness since 2012... However, I only recently started posting frequently. With purpose. I used to give up too easily. Now, I want "This Something" from the bottom of my heart. More than I've wanted anything before. Blogging brings all of my potential together in one place. It's a forum in which my callings are answered. I really want to know my blog as well as possible. It's a relationship I'm creating here. Between me and my audience. And in a way, a relationship with my best self. After all, publishing my endeavours unveils a point of no return. It helps me to follow through.

I owe a shout out to Dana Fox from Dana Fox Creatives. I found two of her blogs and in merely days I've learned things I never expected I'd ever come across. In fact I thought I'd have to hire someone to help me with such simple details. In the future I may consult with graphic designers but I'd prefer to figure it out for myself for now. Dana shares her creative side on -Wonder Forest- and nails the perfect blogging/tech tutorials on I can build a blog. If you guys are interested in starting a blog, or if you already have one of your own I highly recommend you head over to both of Dana's blogs and read everything that suits your fancy. She's also a fellow Canadian who lives in Ontario (the same province I live in). Which is super exciting for me. I look forward to meeting her one day. In fact, I'd love to meet all my blogging idols.

I have one blogging friend whom I work with. She's the first blogger friend I have in the real (not virtual) world! Stephanie from Crochetapy. Her blog is pretty neat. She shares all her crafty projects from crochet to knitting and lots of photos of the world as she sees it. Her crafting nature has reawakened mine. And I am thankful for that.

Each of my blogging idols offers advice and amazing energy to lift your spirits. Their words resonate through me and I hear their voices in my daily life. It's amazing how reading a quick blog post can totally make your day! Or change your perspective entirely. It's like a nugget of inspired information from a wise sage. For the time being I have a list in the sidebar that will link you to my favourite bloggers. I aspire to be a successful blogger like them one day. You should take the time to visit their blogs. Who knows? You might just find the answers to the things on your mind...

Happiness is definitely an attitude!

Life has offered me some wonderful changes these last few months, and I couldn't be more grateful! For one thing, my application for the apartment I really wanted was approved. I am moving to the east side in March. It's a little scary but it's almost perfect too! I have to give up some things I own in order to fit into the smaller square footage. But it's so worth it. The new apartment has a pool and a sauna. And, a dishwasher in each unit! My body will benefit from swimming/water activity because it does wonders for fibromyalgia pain. And the sauna will warm/soothe my sore muscles and sweat out toxins.

Having a dishwasher will help me be more productive. My greatest challenge when it comes to getting crafty in my kitchen is that I don't like washing dishes by hand. No one does, right? Well, if I didn't already have arthritis I wouldn't mind so much. But my hands start cramping after just a few minutes. My fingers, knuckles, palms and wrists suffer from burning aches twenty-four hours a day. They get strained from basic use. Saving my hands from the extra pain of dishes will give me more "hands on time" towards projects! Yay!

I've been purging the excess and packing up a life I created in this apartment. I'm looking forward to my new beginning. And it's just in time for spring! I hope you're ready to follow along.

OXO
Angélique

February 3, 2015

Claiming My Blog on Bloglovin...

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12831043/?claim=hxtfynq9y3x">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>


Hey guys!

I'm still learning how to work things on the blog. Recently, I came across a blog that offers tutorials on layout and template design. So that's pretty cool. Things are shaking up around here!

I am having trouble claiming my blog on bloglovin... I don't know what the problem is. I've claimed it at least three times and it hasn't updated since my first posts of the month. Ironically, now that I am sharing on a weekly count the main blog sharing/reading site acts finicky. Fingers crossed it works this time! :) Oy! lol

Check out my bloglovin feed here and follow me please. It only takes a minute. And, I'd really appreciate it.


- ADB -