What about this?

“Enough birds,” my mom says. “What?” I confusedly reply. “Enough birds,” she reiterates. “Okay,” I say as her meaning sinks in. My mom thinks I’ve posted too many photos of birds in my blog recently. Admittedly, I have become a bit bird crazy. Today’s photo of a Black-chinned Hummingbird is one that took great patience and a little luck to capture, so I have to share it! But I’ll try to give the little creatures a rest and aim my camera elsewhere for a little while . . . .

#1 -A Giving Challenge
“Give one thing away each day for 29 days. Share your stories about how it impacts your life to focus on giving. Join the 29-Day Giving Challenge today. Why? Because to see our world change, we have to do something to change our world. Plus, the best way to attract abundance into your life is to be in a perpetual state of giving and gratitude. Be an important part of the global giving movement that inspires more generosity on our planet.” These are the words on the 29-Day Giving Challenge: Changing Lives One Gift at a Time website that I learned about at a workshop I attended last weekend. Take on the challenge and see if your life doesn’t change!

#2 – Great Quotes and Great Images
Many of my favorite inspirational quotes have been paired up with some great photo images or artwork on the Present Outlook site. Check them out and print some up.

#3 – Get Organized!
According to the National Association of Professional Organizers, January is the official Get Organized Month.

As I sit here in my office, I am surrounded by piles of junk. I impulsively decided to clean my study yesterday. Cleaning and organizing are my favorite forms of procrastination! After spending half a day pulling everything off the bookshelves to sort and dust, I now have a bigger mess than I had before. What to do? Well, right now I’m procrastinating by writing this post instead of choosing to clean up my newly-created mess. It’s a vicious cycle, isn’t it?

If mail clutter seems to be taking over your living quarters, then here’s a tip from a book I found yesterday while cleaning. Sheree Bykofsky author of 500 Terrific Ideas for Organizing Everything says, “Never let your mail sit around. Read your mail as soon as it arrives and sort each envelope into the following categories: pay, answer, file, dump. Then do it. Be selective about what you choose to file; think about whether you’ll ever need to locate that paper again, and if you do, will you really be able to find it? Your time is too valuable to spend constantly filing; and your home shouldn’t resemble the archives of the Library of Congress.”

#4 – Got Lemons?
Got lemons? Do what I do when I’ve got lots of lemons. I freeze some of them, so I can enjoy their flavor throughout the year. One way I like to freeze them is in round slices. After washing the lemons, I slice them with a sharp knife into thin rounds. Then I place the slices in a single layer on a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. After the slices are frozen solid, I transfer them to a freezer-safe container, alternating layers of wax paper and lemon slices. When I have company over and want to serve them a refreshing pitcher of water, I just reach into my freezer and grab a couple of frozen lemon slices and toss them into the water. I also keep lime slices, quartered orange slices, cucumber slices, and melon chunks in my freezer just for that purpose, too!

# 5 – How Do You Say Thank You?
How do you say “thank you” for sunshine or health . . . for clear days or gentle rains . . . for happiness, joy or love? You say it by sharing what you have. You say it by making the world a better place in which to live.
~Thomas D. Willhite~

May you experience joy this weekend!