Personal Peace with Why

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Hiya;

Kristin and I started our morning looking at our Why’s. This might sound strange but we find as multi-passionate entrepreneurs and creators that it is easy to get swept up in the momentum of “Yes” energy. Every now and then it helps us to check in with our soul energy. These moments rarely mean big shifts. They usually feel like a date with our friends, Ideas.

We started with why–Norwex? Honesty because we love: the products, everything the company stands for, and green cleaning. Norwex ✔️’s the boxes: plain, simple, and full of soulful-yes energy.

Why–Music? Because the seismic sound of our mother’s body is one of our first human experiences. Music calms, energizes, and connects us emotionally, physically, and spiritually; throw in some Reiki and we heal timelines and lifetimes of experiences.

Why–Poetry? Because poetry, like music, is the language of the soul. And I personally love to create with this medium. If we didn’t publish another poetry book I would still write poetry.

Why–Hello Caregiving? Caregiving, like music and poetry, is a vocation for us. We could no more refuse to be caregivers then we could refuse to take our next breath. It wasn’t part of the plan when we created Content X Design, but caregiving, creating, and publishing caregiver materials has enriched our lives in ways we could never have imagined.

And speaking of caregiving, we are less than two weeks away from having a table at the Heartland Caregiving Convention. It has been a long time since we have had a table at a caregiver event. Because of that we are hyper-focused on our caregiver publications right now. We might even have an activity book to show for it. Kristin has been pouring herself into the final touches of A Handyman’s Special: An Activity Book for People Who Love to Fix Things. At this rate there’s a good chance we will have a copy on the table.

Thank you for being in our lives. It helps knowing there is someone on the other end, hopeful nodding your own head as you think about your whys. Do your ‘whys’ bring you peace?

In love, light, and yes energy,
Delaina and Kristin

Sometimes Self Care

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Hiya:

Kristin and I are putting more effort into our self care. The caregiver hat is hard for us to take off. And I’m not really convinced that we need too. Afterall, it’s not that big of a deal to help someone get groceries, or to make handmade maracas so residents can play along with a handpan or other little things that are easy for us and not so easy for someone else. But sometimes when the needs of others are high we find it difficult to create space for our own well being.

 Small steps, that is how we are doing it. Sometimes we add, sometimes we subtract. Sometimes self care means going to bed early; sometimes it’s binging a great show (hello Karen Pirie;) sometimes it’s as simple as nurturing our faces with lux-feeling skin care products (hello Norwex).

What are you doing this week to take care of yourself?

 In love, light, and self care,
Delaina and Kristin

Community and Family

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Hiya;

This morning we went to Prairie Elder Care for their Fall Festival. Kristin donated her crochet masterpieces: Worry Worms, Chickens, Scarves (some are fleece cut by her mom). Delaina played handpans. A couple of small business owners brought goods to sell. We all got a chance to bid on art created by the residents.  Everyone had a great time eating donuts and drinking cider. 

Prairie Elder Care is a small home concept for those living with dementia. The original owners, the new owners, everyone that works, even the volunteers understand that community helps families thrive. It really is a farm with garden plots hosting a range of vegetables, berries, herbs, and flowers. And yes there are a few farm animals too, hence the crochet chickens and worms.

They get a lot of things right at PEC. And they were there for us when we needed them and in many ways they are still. After all, grief doesn’t just dissolve when the celebrations of life are over. Probably because we never stop celebrating the life of a loved one.

Thank you PEC for welcoming us into your family and letting us remain part of your community.

In love, light, and gratitude,
Delaina and Kristin

A Caregiver Boost

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Hiya;

Happy Wednesday! We hope you are doing good, treating yourself well, and enjoying nature. It was cooler in Kansas yesterday so we spent some time outside. Also millions of birds are migrating and they are very vocal. The symphony is delightful. A hawk also brought us great delight by chilling in our backyard Monday. And the full moon made the stars shine bright Monday morning.



With the Heartland Caregiver’s Conference fast approaching,  we are busy plumping up our Hello Caregiving YouTube channel @HelloCaregiving. Over at our Etsy shop, we have been stocking our virtual shelves with more printables that help caregivers keep their loved ones engaged. And yesterday, Delaina released a poetry reading of “As a Caregiver, I Learn to Lie Better,” from the poetry collections Paper Birds on her YouTube channel. She even talks about the value of “compassionate deceptions.”

How are you doing? What has delighted you so far this week?

In love, light, and caregiving,
Delaina and Kristin

Saturday Markets

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Hiya;

We hope your day is going well and you can enjoy the sunshine or whatever your weather is like. We have pale blues skies and it is a warm October day.

We love Saturday’s they are built for small business, farmer’s markets and charity car washes. If we had a stall in a Farmer’s Market today, here are the three things we would be thrilled to share with you.

1. Our anthology Paper Birds is celebrating its 6 month book launch birthday. It is hard to believe that it’s been a half a year since our Paper Birds left the nest. Thank you to you all for your support and helping us make this dream a reality. You have made four poets from two continents very happy.

2. We have been using Norwex products in our home for a decade and now we are consultants. Our favorite Norwex products are: The Mop, Microfiber Kitchen clothes (less paper towels), window cloths, the deodorant, and our soft plush bathrobes. This month we will be testing the face clothes and the laundry soap. We will let your know. 

3. Our Etsy shop has a new spooktacular offering, a Halloween Countdown sheet (two varieties orange or pink). This countdown calendar includes a QR code to Spotify playlist we created full of Vintage Spooky Music from the 1920-40’s with a few exceptions. This playlist is great for the sandwich caregiver household with classics for all ages (‘cause it’s really not that spooky).

When you go to your local Farmer’s Market, which stalls do you stop at first?

Have a great week!

In love, light, and Market Day,
Kristin and Delaina

Ripples in Blue – A Soundology and haiku for Inner Peace

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Hiya;

This morning when the air was still cool the cotton ball clouds rolled across the sky. And I could not resist taking a handpan out and playing under the ripples in blue above me.

ripples in blue
I want to name each cloud Peace
–formations in light

Kristin and I hope you take some time today to rest in the nest of your heart.
In love, light, and sound,
Delaina and Kristin

Nourish Your Soul

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Hello;
Kristin and I hope you find delight today in simple and magnificent ways. That you celebrate your breath. That the warm touch of the sun on your cheek makes you feel all the more alive. That you dress your soul in gratitude for all of your emotions. That when you see the world today: you see your value, light, and love on the tips of butterfly wings.

You are what the world needs now. You, just as you are. Eager and ready to live today in each moment. You are powerful and enough to touch someone’s life in the perfect way. Everything is possible because you dare to be, create, and share. Today is a canvas for your creative-divine art. And we can’t wait to see what you manifest through the magic of you.

Personally this week we have been in caregiver mode, taking care of family while also preparing for two local caregiving events. We are taking care of ourselves: listening to music, meditating, playing with our own creations and finding inspiration in the offerings of others.

Here are some of our favorites:


Inner Light music
Laughter Yoga with Dr. Kataria
Indigo by Ellen Bass

Enjoy, and thank you for sharing your magic.

In love, light, and breath
Delaina and Kristin

Self-Care Saturday & Sunday Too

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Hello!

Make today a Self-Care Saturday. Turn your nurturing vibes inward and claim space for your health and well-being.

Inspiration. We love a good quote and will sometimes search the internet for motivating words when we need a little inspiration. One quote we love is written by Kamand Kojouri. “Forget your voice, sing! Forget your feet, dance! Forget your life, live! Forget yourself, and be!” The quote encourages us to let go of self-judgments and celebrate life. We turned this quote into a printable poster and made it available on our Etsy shop.

Music. Music is a great way to breath in calm and exhale stress. To help you settle into your soul and tune into chill Sunday Vibes which are also Self-Care Vibes. Here is a video Delaina created earlier this year.

Coloring. You might have noticed that we love the calming effects coloring offers. We have published sixteen coloring books that use the meditative magic of mandalas. And we have also created smaller printable coloring pages bundles available at Etsy and our Fourthwall shop.

 In love, light, and self-care,
Delaina and Kristin

Please let us know what you do to show yourself some care and what your favorite self-care tool is.

A Poetry Reading by Delaina J. Miller

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Checking In

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Hello Friends;

It seems like it’s been ages since our last connection but in reality it’s only been three days. But I guess with all the things happening in the world and in our lives it feels like a lot has happened in three days. Am I right?

Puppy for cuteness only. We would not gift a caregiver a puppy.

Anyway, we have signed up as sponsors for the Heartland Caregiver Convention hosted by Sandwiched KC. The event is November 1st. Here is the registration page if you are in the area and would like to attend. We plan to donate a gift basket to the event. What would you like to see in the gift basket? Hello Caregiving swag, large print books, coloring books, activity sheets, maybe a CD (does anyone, besides us, even listen to CD’s anymore?). What makes or breaks a great gift basket in your opinion?

Besides our little announcement and “gift basket poll” we really just wanted to check in on you, say hiya, and drop a little encouragement into your day.

 Delaina shared a post that someone created and it has us thinking about value. The post is a quote attributed to Kobi Simmons talks about the price of a bottle of water. The cost rises depending on where you are: a supermarket, the movies, an airplane; you get the idea. And goes on to say that if you don’t feel valued maybe you are in the wrong place.

 Delaina is playing the submission game again. AKA, writing poetry, editing poetry, submitting poetry, waiting to hear if the poetry was good enough for said journal to publish it. And that’s just it right? She is not really waiting to hear if the poem is “good enough.” She is waiting to hear if the poem is a good fit with the journal. That is the thing right? It’s not about quality as much as it is about placement. It’s about finding the right place for the poem.

The same is true no matter what any of us bring into the world. Our words, art, talents, and contributions are valuable. They are what the world needs now because we are here to create them. Be true to you, tune into your intention, and find your playground. We believe in you. We know there is value in your creations. And we know that you are what the world needs now, because just like water, you are valuable.

Okay, that is us for now. Meanwhile let us know what you think we should put in our gift basket and let us know if you have found your playground.

 In love, light, and gratitude,
 Delaina and Kristin