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For those who are tired of the clutter and stress but need help getting started in the right direction. This package includes everything Audrey has ever published, recorded or filmed. Audrey will even autograph the books before it ships! 

Value: $221 

Our Price: $123.99  

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December 2013

The holiday season is once again here. I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and are looking forward to Christmas or Hanukkah.

This month's issue is dedicated to you having less stress over the next few weeks. I'm including some de-stressing tips as well as some practical tips to help you stay organized and on top of life.

I've shared this before, but one of the things I do every year is to dedicate one day in December as my Annual Pajama Day. I highly recommend this to everyone. I will spend the entire day in my PJ's, ignore my email and computer, and rest and relax while sipping on hot tea and perhaps watching movies or reading a good book. You can be assured that there will be chocolate involved as well.  If you're interested in some new PJ 's, check out www.pajamagram.com. It's one of my favorite sites this time of year!

I truly wish you and your family the Merriest of Christmas' and the most blessed holiday season.

Safe travels and Merry Memory Making!

 

  

  

 

I keep hearing about the detrimental effects of stress on our health, so this year I'm keeping things real and as low-stress as possible. Here are some of the things I'm doing:

• Keeping my decorating to an all-time minimum. This has been harder than I first imagined but I'm sticking to the simplicity because it just makes sense for us this year. I am not hosting any gatherings this year, including our own family's Christmas celebration so I'm forgoing the tree and a lot of the other decorations. And I've decided that's okay!
• This year I plan to send our Christmas letter via email. It will save so much time, plus the cost of postage and represents the day and age we live in. I will print it and snail-mail it to the elderly loved ones that do not have email.
• Like last year, I will do almost all of my shopping online. Nothing like seeing the UPS man delivering my goods without having to fight traffic and crowds.
• Because I want to have more room in my schedule for volunteering this Christmas season, I'm limiting the number of social gatherings I'm attending this year. The trade-off will be an easy one that allows time to devote to others in need.
• We're doing a name exchange with one side of the family that involves 15 people. Purchases are limited to $20 which will make things simple and stress-free. To make it even more fun, we're using www.Elfster.com to manage the exchange. It handles the drawing of names so no one knows who got whom, allows for anonymous communication to one another and even allows you to post a wish list of things you'd like to receive. And best of all, it's free!
• We are making a 14-hour road trip to see relatives and typically do it in one stretch. This year we're breaking it up between 2 days of travel and visiting friends along the way. I think it'll be more relaxing and definitely not as exhausting. 

• Store tapered candles in paper towel tubes. Just wrap in paper towels before inserting.
• Before putting your lights away, test each strand, replacing burned out bulbs. Wrap neatly around a square piece of cardboard (mine is about 9"x9"), making a notch in the cardboard to slide the end of the strand through. In a small plastic bag store the extra fuses and bulbs and keep with the strand of lights.
• For those who decorate with an artificial tree, store the tree skirt in the tree box along with the extension cord and the electrical timer as well.
• Before storing your seasonal décor, sort through all items, purging those that are either broken, old or that you don't plan on using again.
• Use a wine bottle box to store precious ornaments, statues and other knick-knacks.  These boxes are quite strong and hold up year after year.
• When storing items, keep things together that go together. For example, everything that typically goes on your fireplace mantle, store in the same bin. Everything that goes on the piano should stay together in a bin.  That way it's easy and fast to decorate next year. And if it helps, take a picture of how things were decorated this year and tuck the picture in the storage bin.
• For outdoor items such as lights or items you use in planters, store these together in a box that you either keep in your garage or somewhere else that is easily accessible as you'll no doubt want to get at these in well before the other decorations.

This is my annual reminder to run a credit check. With identity theft out of control, this is a simple way to make sure no one has opened accounts or taken out loans in your name.

Please remember that www.annualcreditreport.com is the only authorized website to provide free annual credit reports and that none of the additional services offered at this site are necessary to retrieve your free report.

When requesting your information online, you will need to identify your state and then click "request report". Complete all required fields and select the credit bureau you would like to access and follow each step.  You will then have access to view and print your credit report.   

I recommend choosing to save the .pdf version that is offered as well as printing it out for later review. If you want your credit score, you will be given the option to purchase.

Disclaimer: Not responsible for experiences of sheer panic, fear, tears or hyperventilation!