Substance of Living

I'm so happy to say that I am a BzzAgent and was able to sample Clairol's Age Defy Expert Collection in Light Brown. AARGH the gray hair! After coloring my hair I received responses and questions that prompted conversations such as: "Did you get your hair cut?"  "You look younger," and "What are you doing differently?"  When I explained that I colored my hair at home they were shocked that it wasn't professionally done.  In fact, my hair dresser complimented my hair color - that's saying A LOT! I feel younger with the gray hair hidden and I really like the softness and manageability. Gray in the new hair growth If you've never colored your hair or did so many years ago, this is a super easy product to use.  The smell is pleasant and the directions are easy to understand.  There are four individual packets inside each box marked 1, 2a, 2b, and 3.  Packet 1 is a pre-treatment to prepare your hair to fully accept the col...

Creating Your Destiny You can begin controlling your life's destiny today.  It doesn't matter where you are in your life, your career, or anything else as long as you begin believing in yourself today.  Sure, there will be slips down the slide but each time you will come back stronger and healthier.  Healthier in the belief that you are on the right path. So, remember that your destiny begins with your thoughts.  That means no more negative self-talk or putting yourself down because you made a mistake. Who was it that first said we must take care of ourselves before helping others ?  I'm sure I'm paraphrasing but if we don't take care of ourselves and get ourselves on the right path, who are we to help others?  Here's a prime example: If you are dirty from working outside and don't wash up or change your clothes before bathing your children, who are also dirty from being outside, won't you get them dirty all over again after they get out of the b...

I am so honored to introduce you to one of my favorite artists and people -- Kristen Monacell. To give you a little background before you meet her, Kristen is one of those super talented artists that seem to be able to do anything.  She can paint, create amazing outfits, and as you'll see her ability maintains its high standards of quality in her jewelry. Here's a little secret that she'll probably want to clobber me for telling and that is that she is a little on the shy side so today is extra special because she opens up with us. One afternoon Kristen and I were sitting in her studio and the idea came to me to interview her.  All we had was my phone as a recorder so I've typed our conversation rather than having you sit through the not-so-great sound quality. Kristen Monacell Kristen, thank you for this opportunity to record our conversation and share with my readers.  So let's see, where do we begin - that's a good word - we'll begin at...

Welcome to 2014! January is a time of newness.  We put away our holiday decorations and prepare ourselves for the future.  Many of us have resolutions, set annual goals or financial goals , create a visual board , or choose a word to help guide us through the new year. My word for last year was RELEASE .  I worked on letting go. Release my past.  Moving on and looking forward. Letting go of clothes that no longer belong in my closet whether they still have the price tag or not. Paired down my book collection. Released negativity. R elinquished control and allowed others to help. My word for this year is PASSION .  I want to wake every morning with a spring in my step and an eagerness to get out of bed and get my day started.  Doesn't that sound like a great goal - to be excited to greet every day?  I know we all have a passion in which our soul is trying to make us aware.  Are you living your passion? Each of us has a purpose an...

Minimalist Wardrobe When did my closet become no longer a place of respect for dresses, pants, shoes, tops, and become a dumping ground?  Somewhere along the line, I became a hoarder of clothes. It is time to finish the 7-7-7 Challenge and start it anew.  Hard earned money purchased all those items that are now sitting in my closet.  Seriously, with our move last year, I'd hoped to have completed this challenge. Thankfully there is still time in the year to act on this year's word - RELEASE . Not that I've mistreated my clothes, that's not it at all.  I don't wear them and that is neglect.  Every couple years it seems as though my tastes and lifestyle changes and yet clothes of the past remain.  That's not fair to the clothes. Do you still respect and love your clothes from two or more years ago?  Are they still your favorite go-to?  Does that dress that used to make you feel so slim, beautiful, and sexy still make you feel that...

A goal is a dream upon which one acts. The First Step in goal setting is to decide which dream you'd like to turn into a goal and eventually a reality.  Then figure out if this goal is: Short-Term - something that can be accomplished within a day or week Daily or Weekly To-Do List Intermediate - something that will take longer than a week but typically a couple months Canning or preserving items from your garden Long-Term - Buying a house or going on a dream vacation A daily To-Do list is a great way to keep each day organized as well as break down tasks to reach your goals.  To make a long-term goal managable, break it down into intermediate goals, then into short-term goals and then list each task on the daily To-Do list. Once you incorporate a daily To-Do list, guesstimate more time than you think a task will take.  Then mark down how long the task actually took.  This will help you more accurately schedule your time in the future. For example,...

Lower gas prices FREE quality education for all Food for everyone Shelter and healthcare for the homeless Safe homes for everyone No more homeless animals - all would be adopted into loving homes All the service men and women safely back home with their loved ones Employment for ALL Fiscally responsible governments YOUR smile What would you like to see today?  Please tell us in the comments below and allow others to help make it happen. Tweet this Post Please share me with your friends! Please forward this post to your friends or better yet share on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  THANKS!  Your comments and help in spreading the news about this site is ALWAYS appreciated!  Don't miss out on future articles. Have Substance of Living delivered directly to your inbox.

Homeless The woman who slouched down in the front seat of the bus distressed me.  Her hair was matted, her face dirty, and though it was a cold night outside, she was wearing only a flimsy cotton dress and a blanket through which she had torn holes for her arms. What should I do?   I wondered.  She was so obviously in need.  And at Christmastime too.  Wasn't there some shelter I could direct her to, some place where she'd get all the attention she required?  No, I finally reasoned, her problems were too much for me. As I pondered -- and rejected -- possible solutions to the woman's plight, the bus came to a stop.  A young man, poorly dressed but neat, rose to leave.  He had got out and the bus had started up again before I really noticed what he had done.  He had slipped off his black knit gloves and laid them on her lap. John R. Sisley, Jr. ______________________________________________ I copied this sto...

Source Hi Lord, its me.  We are getting older and things are getting bad here. Gas prices are too high, no jobs, food and heating costs too high. I know some have taken you out of our schools, government and even Christmas, but Lord I'm asking you to come back and re-bless us.   We really need you! There are more of us who want you than those who don't!    Thank You Lord, I love you.   "Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point."   This was anothe r wonderful email I received and couldn't resist sharing.  Please keep sending me your thoughts , jokes, qu otes, and of course stop by anytime to just say "hello". Please share me with your friends! Please forward this post to your friends or better yet share on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  THANKS!  Your comments and help in spreading the news about this site is ALWAYS appreciated!  Be sure to sign up to receive fu...

Today's post comes to us via an email received and I hope you enjoy the s weet stor y as muc h as I did.   A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her small daughter was very sick with a fever.  She left work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication.   S he got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car. She didn't know what to do .  S he called home and told the baby sitter what had happened.   The baby sitter told her that the fever was getting worse.  She said : "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door." The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been left on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time had locked their keys in their car.     She looked at the hanger and said : "I don't know how to use this." She bowed her head and asked God to sen...

Vision Boards are a visual To-Do list for your future.  It works with your subconscious to keep your goals in front of you and remind you of all you deserve.  You can be as specific as you'd like - what your wedding dress, cake, bridal party will look like or exactly how you'd like to furnish your each room in your home to a broader spectrum - a beautiful sunset on the beach to represent vacation or peace or strong words such as "Success". Creating a Vision Board is fun and can be done alone or gather some of your friends or colleagues and sit down.  You might create a Vision Board for your department and hang it in the conference room or lunch room.  Then watch how you turn your dreams into goals and create your future. There is a quote that goes something like " You must be able to visualize where you are going or you will never get anywhere. "  I guess that means that we must know our destination in order to get there or we will end up somewhere else...