Hiatus & Blog Improvements: Your Input Sought!

Greetings, my Better Lifers!  I hope you are enjoying each and every day.

My days have been a flurry of Discovery Day celebrations, family visits to the island, my Stateside visit and requisite errands, upcoming friend visits to the island and more.  

In addition to the usual "island busy,"  I've also been working more on freelance writing projects and having fun developing some exciting possibilities in that arena.  As part of upgrading my focus on writing projects, and after 8 delightful months of blogging with you all, I want to make some improvements to this blog as well.

So . . . please excuse me while the blog goes on a temporary hiatus.  During this time, I will be transferring it to a different host, reformatting, making it more user-friendly to newcomers trying to wade through the many posts, addressing other technical details and generally retooling it to better serve you and to open us to broader possibilities in the future.  I'm very excited about this!

Plus, don't worry, we won't be disconnected during this period!  I'll still be available to you on Facebook, Twitter and email.  Especially on Facebook, we have a nice Better Life community developing, and it will be fun to have some group discussions there.

Moreover, I would REALLY LOVE to hear from each and every one of you with your feedback to the blog so far:  What do you like about it?  What bores you or turns you off?  What would you like to see more of?  Do you follow the blog because you like island details, or because you daydream about your own career/geographic change, or because you enjoy the inspirational/Better Life philosophy, or to keep up with me personally, or . . . ?  

Truly, my goal is to tailor this blog to you while remaining true to my own Better Life and writings.  Please share your thoughts with me and the Better Life community by posting a comment to our Facebook page.  If you prefer a more private medium, please offer your feedback, comments and suggestions to me by email at choosingthebetterlife@gmail.com

Thank you in advance for your comments!  I'll post status updates to Facebook and will look forward to talking to you all soon.  Meanwhile, take care, smile and have a great few weeks!

Wow! A Better Life Profile

Well, Better Lifers, here's another first.  A delightful blog has published a profile about me and Choosing the Better Life!  I am amazed, honored and extremely humbled.

You may recall that I recently wrote a book review for two lovely women, Lois and Victoria, discussing their newly published book, A Little Book About Something Much Bigger.  We first "met" via Twitter (@LittleBookAbout).  Part of why we connected online initially was our shared beliefs in living from a place of gratitude, following those inner nudgings, and otherwise living by Choosing the Better Life kinds of principles.  

Lois and Victoria developed those themes even further and highlight them in their blog post.  Thank you for being part of this Better Life journey!

Regatta Photo Tour

My Dearest Better Lifers, thanks for your patience as I get caught up after a whirlwind regatta!

As you know, I've had Regatta Fever and have been posting Champion Sailboat Journals, Sailing Videos Clips and more.  Finally, I have sifted through more than 600 personal photographs of the race week to cull them to a far-more-manageable 59 to share with you.  These pics capture the essence of an incredible week.  Of course, NOTHING can convey the excitement, adrenaline, pride and sheer pleasure of being there, but I hope to give you a taste.

Just one picture of many you'll see in the Facebook photo journal.

Better Life Facebook fans got a sneak peek of the pictures.  (Join us by going to the Blog's Facebook page and click to "Like" the Facebook Page!)  It seemed an easier way to post so many photos, and I also wanted to give an early preview treat to those of you who follow the Blog on Facebook and Twitter.

So, today's blog post is a compilation of photo journal excerpts from the race week for you.  All pictures have captions accompanying them, which you'll see if you open the photos individually.  Start your photo tour here! (via www.facebook.com/IslandBlog)

Now that Regatta has officially come to a close, I am back to island living:  going out for junkanoo drums and chicken souse during election celebration; mopping up from floods after three solid days of rain; battling the mosquitoes that are on the attack after the rains; pulling ticks off my little island dog; cleaning house; cooking meals; doing laundry; catching up on emails and writing projects; dealing with taxes, doctors, health insurance, bill-paying, family requests and the usual "life stuff" that follows us to every corner of the world; catching up with friends near and far; planning summer activities for local children; and always, always, always taking time to admire the peaceful surroundings and remind myself how lucky I am and to keep Choosing the Better Life every single day!  

Have a great weekend, friends.

Weekend Unplugged

Dear Readers, I hope you've been having a wonderful, Better-Life kind of week!  I definitely have.  I've been relishing being back home:  nesting, organizing closets, cooking, laundry, catching up on my "lists," seeing friends, eating fish and lobster (lobster season is now closed but people keep some frozen to have on hand), boat rides, fishing (nothing caught, but still fun), snuggle time with Angel, planning some summer activities with the local kids, working on freelance writing project proposals, enjoying the night's bright sky as the moon nears full, going for walks and so much more good island living!

The morning seems abuzz with extra excitement today - boats racing back and forth among the islands carrying people to work, golf carts and trucks rumbling along the roads.  After today's work day, the holiday commences.  Most people will be off-work tomorrow and Monday for the Easter holiday.  Everyone seems to be looking forward to a long weekend.

That includes me!  I plan to celebrate by . . . unplugging from the computer!  I know I've mentioned here before that I try to keep some boundaries with the computer - primarily on evenings and weekends - to preserve the simple island life and not get overly sucked into the internet at all hours.  I haven't been as disciplined lately because I'm having so much fun blogging with you and connecting with interesting folks on Facebook and Twitter about the Better Life.  But, for this weekend, it's back to basics!

So, as of this afternoon, I'm going to sign off until early next week.  I encourage you to do (somewhat of) the same and enjoy the simple pleasures of your lives - time with significant others, children, family; reading a good book; going for a walk; getting together with friends you may not have had time for lately; spending some time celebrating the holiday in church/synagogue or in quiet meditation by yourself in a peaceful setting.  Happy Easter, have a good Passover, enjoy your long weekend and keep Choosing the Better Life every day for yourself!

Happy holiday weekend!