52,000 Fewer Calories This Year

Eating Healthy is a Choice

Eating healthy means different things to different people. I have been a vegetarian since 1998 but that doesn’t mean I have always eaten well. I used to joke that I was a cheese-itarian. Cheesy eggs for breakfast, grilled cheese for lunch and pizza for dinner would not have been unusual. I love it all! Fresh mozzarella, feta, cheddar, swiss, monterey jack. I am starting to drool just thinking about it. I seriously love cheese. Deep down I always knew that all that cheese was clogging my arteries and adding to my waistline but I could not help myself. Continue reading “52,000 Fewer Calories This Year”

Geese Fly South in the Winter… Right?

Last month, I was out walking my dog all bundled up against the January cold. Overhead I heard the familiar clatter of geese flying south. Actually I have no idea if they were flying south because I am directionally challenged… But that doesn’t matter because all of a sudden a few of them veered sharply off course and they reversed direction. There seemed to be no leader and small groups were soon flying in all different directions. The organized “V” pattern in which they normally fly became a giant doodle in the sky. I stopped and listened to the deafening noise overhead as the confusion unfolded. It was chaos! CHAOS! But geese really do fly south in the winter in a “V” shaped pattern. Within the chaos was order and I have no doubt that order was restored. formation-508038_1280

AHA… In order there can be chaos. And this is normal and ok! Continue reading “Geese Fly South in the Winter… Right?”

Make One Good Decision After Another

I am convinced that sometimes we struggle to choose between options for which there should be no struggle. We know the best option. We know it 100% from our fingers to our toes. We know which decisions will bring us closer toward our long term goals and happiness and which ones will simply make life easier in the moment. But life has a habit of getting in the way and some of us make a living out of complicating the simple things in life.

Continue reading “Make One Good Decision After Another”

Change a Little, Change a Lot

Back in August 2013, I had one of my AHA moments of insight which was “I can’t move the lake but I can move toward the lake.” See my post I Moved the Lake to hear more about this change! This AHA moment prompted me to essentially stop spending money in order to allow me to quit my job and move closer to the lake. I have made a lot of small changes over the last few years that have helped me to dramatically reduce my annual expenses.

In and of themselves these little changes don’t sound like much but the end result has had a huge impact on my life. When I compare some of my 2013 expenses to 2015 expenses this is what I find:

	2013 Monthly Expense	2015 Monthly Expense
Clothing	$50	$10
Car Insurance	$80	$50
Cable	$70	$0
Internet	$50	$15
Cell Phone	$75	$50

If I add up all of the small changes I made and look at the overall impact on my monthly and annual expenses the impact is huge. In 2013 my expenses were roughly $2600 per month or $31,200 per year. Currently my monthly expenses are $1650 per month or $19,800 per year. In just over 2 years, I have reduced my annual expenses by $11,400! What would you do with an extra $11,400? Continue reading “Change a Little, Change a Lot”

I Moved the Lake!

My family has this awesome cottage on one of the finger lakes in central New York. My dad tried selling real estate for a while and he sold one piece of property… to himself. It has been in my family since I was around 11 years old. The house is cozy, the view is spectacular and the lake is one of the cleanest in the country. 009

I spent most of my adult life living almost 7 hours away from the lake and only visiting for a few long weekends each year. My Little Blue Kayak and I love the lake! A few years ago I started longing for the lake and for my family and spent Continue reading “I Moved the Lake!”

Hello world!

I am launching this blog “My Little Blue Kayak” to remind myself to get outdoors, to quiet my mind and to listen to my AHA moments of insight. When I sit in my Little Blue Kayak in the middle of the lake I am in my HAPPY PLACE! I am inevitably calm and at peace with the world. As I return to shore and climb on the dock, my life has a habit of getting in my way and daily stress returns.

I can’t always physically jump in my kayak but I can always close my eyes, quiet my thoughts and breathe! I believe deep down we all know the right direction to go in order to improve our health, wealth and happiness but when life stresses us out we lose our way. Continue reading “Hello world!”