As you know, I've been on a bit of a soul safari these last few months and it's been sooo fun to choose my own adventure again.
Part of that adventure has been working on and writing a new book about my depression (and overcoming it) plus how YOU can live better.
Although I was never a cheerleader in High School, I find I flock to that cheerleader role now. I have that deep desire to help others succeed... which why I started Happy Herbivore, the meal plans... and now this new chapter :)
I'm almost finished with my upcoming book... you can pre-order and read some details here.
One of the lessons in my new book is about saying no and eliminating... It's about recognizing that sometimes you have to say no to make room for future yeses.
It's not a matter of finding more time, or even delegating, but eliminating.
As I was writing that chapter, and looking at my absurdly long to do list, I faced my own truth. I said to myself, "Lindsay you can't do it all" but more importantly, "You don't want to."
I thought about what mattered to me the most. What it was that I enjoyed the most... I thought about my ideal day (another chapter in the book) and it became so clear to me what had to be my "give" in "something's gotta give."
Otherwise, if I continued trying to do it all, the wrong thing would be my give. Something else would suffer... be it my health, my happiness, my relationships with others... or my work. (s a perfectionist I'd rather do one thing really well, than do five crappy jobs.)
It was so hard to make this decision but, after 7+ years of blogging, I'm going to retire. Well, not completely. I just won't be blogging every day.
I'll still blog, but less frequently.
The last few months it's been a struggle to find things to write about... and I think that's part of why this decision, while difficult, feels so right. Maybe I HAVE covered it all...
I don't want to turn out crappy content (I'm always preaching to my business students... quality trumps quantity!) and I don't want to recycle things over and over, either.
If you're looking for more minimalist ideas and projects, check out my minimalist books.
If you have a question about cooking or the plant-based lifestyle, I guarantee it's covered in my new Guide.
The search bar is also probably the most underutilized feature on this blog, too -- enjoy seven years of archives :)
OH! and I am completely redesigning this website and the meal plans website -- and those radically awesome changes will be here soon. (P.S. we also just upgraded and changed the meal plans!)
SO. MUCH. CHANGE.
So what will the new blog look like? We'll still have a Herbie of the Week story each week, but they will appear on Monday, instead of Thursday.
The meal plans will still debut here on Wednesday, and we'll also have posts scattered throughout the week as the spirit moves me or guest posts come in from the community. I want solid, useful, helpful posts like the post about #MakingItWork.
As for France (!)
Most of you know that Scott and I live pretty nomadically. A few years ago we had a moment of honesty and realized that we would never be happy in one place long-term and made the world our home. We've lived in many wonderful places, met many wonderful people, and have had many wonderful experiences.
Our lifestyle isn't for everyone, but it's absolutely for us. A reminder that you can't shove a square peg in a round hole, and that no matter how bad you or someone else wants you to be round when you're square, you're still square... fly that freak flag! (Otherwise you'll just be miserable). You can never be happy when you're living your life for someone else.
Overall, I find the European lifestyle is very healthy for me. I slow the heck down when I'm there, which is helpful in my constant battle against OCD and depression.
But while I fancy the ex-pat lifestyle, my very American husband tires of it after a few weeks. He starts missing baseball, air conditioning, and speaking in English, so our middle ground involves living part of the year in America and part of the year in Europe. (You might recall we spent a good portion of our winter in Switzerland and Belgium).
So with a little luck that my husband's family is stationed in Germany, and two couples we are friends with are getting married *in* France, AND one of my cookbooks is also being translated into French, it was all too easy for me to convince my family to move to Europe for the summer.
While I'll be primarily living in France, I'm sure I'll hop on the train to visit some of my other favorite places, too... and I'll share my pictures and updates with all of my Herbies <3
AND to sort of come back from all my rambling... if I'm running off to go live the sweet life... no time like the present to E. eliminate.
Au revoir!
