Begin A Replenish Journal and A New Adventure

Earlier this week I mentioned the need to have a game plan to replenish yourself. For me this starts with a peek into my pamper journal.

Several year’s ago I took my teenager to lunch for our first weekly woman’s day. I let her know she had crossed a milestone and was becoming a young woman. That from now on we wouldn’t do just the same old girl’s day out. In truth I knew we had come to that point where it was time to really talk. Instead of making a series of lectures, I thought we would both get more out of the discussions if we celebrated the beginning of her journey into womanhood.

I had this idea to give her a special journal titled “What Every Woman Needs – Life’s Little Luxuries”. I’d list a few things and we would talk about them. Each week we added to the list. We even got other women involved. We started asking them if they could name things that every girl should have. Waitresses, bank tellers, people in line at the post office, teachers… Both of us got really into this and began inquiring everywhere we went. We kept our own notes, then each week we added items to the main list and talked about the important things. I began to transcribe my notes into a journal of my own.

Your Journal

When it comes to pampering and replenishing there are several actions that easily come to mind. Having your nails done. Taking a nap. Getting a massage. Participating in a hobby. Spending time with loved ones. Getting away for solitary quiet time. Shopping. Thinking of a few things is fairly easy. But if you do the same things over and over, they often lose their restorative value.

Start yourself a notebook or journal dedicated to Life’s Luxuries. Begin writing down things that you can do for yourself. List as many activities as you can. Give yourself a variety of things to choose from.

Also include items and ideas that mean something to you in some way. Here are a few examples from our list – a best friend, a comfortable bra, a signature color, a favorite vegging outfit, a good book, etc,

The guys can participate, too. Don’t get scared off just because I mentioned manicures and undergarments.

If you can, don’t just make this a check list. Try to write out more detail. What benefit do you receive? What feeling does this activity or item invoke? Is it attached to a memory or aspired ideal?

Keep this list separate from your diary and other journals. Your Pamper journal is for when you need an escape from the events in your day. For when you are looking to explore something different than your normal activities.

Our Journal

As you start getting to know the Laurel Plum Online website, you should discover that with most events I think there is a planning stage or thinking stage that I call Getting Started. Then there is the action stage I call Organizing Basics. Then there is a point where you take things to the next level. You improve on something already in place, you expand on an idea, you look at alternatives or you begin taking organizing to a creative/artistic level. I call all of these Second Steps. I would like your help to take the pampering journal to a Second Step.

I got so much from those little conversations from friends and strangers. I feel like a whole other world of possibilities and observations opened up for me. And it all started from a simple question. “What do you think every woman needs?”

From now on I would like to devote one day each week to the ideas behind this journal and better living. All of the posts will be about pampering, personal growth and awareness, hobbies to explore, and other ways to express ourselves creatively. Friday will be about exploration and encouragement of one another.

I am adding a category in the side bar under “Life Luxuries”. Some Fridays we will be more serious and introspective. Most Friday’s will just be fun or silly. I think this is a great opportunity for us to learn about ourselves and to teach each other.

For this to work, I will need lots of participation. If you would like to write a guest article, let me know. Tell us about your hobby. Tell us about your latest pampering. Let us know what you did this week that was clever or creative. Tell us a story about your favorite T-shirt. Let me know if of any way you would like to participate.

Even though this is a free for all day, it is not anything goes. There are a few rules I want to start out with.

Let’s keep the topics to at least PG-13.
Generally remember courtesy and respect for one another regardless of the topic.
Specifically, let’s not discuss politics and religion. I think both are very important to hold dear on an individual level. But, because they are both so personal, I have never witnessed a conversation on these topics where someone was not offended. This experiment is about inclusion not exclusion.

Update: re: rule number 3. – I have already had a question concerning a possible guest post. I want to revise my intentions for the rule. I would love to hear how being active in politics or in Church is replenishing to you. But please, lets not talk about the organized institutions. I would prefer you not mention specifics such as which political party/candidate or detailed denominational beliefs. /Update

I will also add a page called “Luxury List” where I will complile activities and items as they come up with a few links when available. We will add as we go. This will be an on-going activity on Laurel Plum Online so, in any comment section throughout the website feel free to add “Life Luxury – ” then your addition to the list and I’ll try to keep the main page updated.

Update: This project has seemed to fail. I introduced when there were only a small handful of people reading. I have taken down the Life Luxury Tab for now. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in doing a guest post of any kind. Hopefully I can revisit this project in the future. /Update