I have come across some really great blogs lately that I’m trying to find time to read. Some days, I need this more than others. I am so great at giving others advice (well, I’d like to think I am!). I am not so great at heeding my own advice!
I do like my life complicated, but I do let it get to me sometimes. The biggest problem I have with the complexity of life is setting priorities. That’s a tricky thing for me. I want to be everything to everyone all the time. And I can’t do that. Then I get frustrated.
So…I’m constantly on the lookout for ideas on how to set these priorities. I have read so many books and so many articles. They are too numerous to even count!
I guess what I need to remember is that I just need to keep trying. Life is Learning, so as long as I keep doing that, I’m still on the right track!
www.mnmlist.com – I really like these ideas from Leo Babauta on basically living with the bare essentials.
http://zenhabits.net – another Leo Babauta blog about being productive, yet still living the simple life. I really like this one too. A lot of great ideas
I am following these on twitter too so that I can be constantly reminded to simplify my life! Yeah, using twitter to simplify – constant distraction. hmmmmm. Need to rethink that one to evaluate if it simplifies my life, or complicates it!
Good Witch Bad Witch – a don’t know how I stumbled on this today, but thought it looked pretty good. Humorous and helpful at the same time. Experienced life coaches. I thought I’d subscribe to this one too – I’ll see how it turns out!
And I continue to receive emails from FlyLady – there is always great stuff coming from her about how to get my home (and in turn my life…) back!
I’m sure as I go on, I’ll find more stuff to read and try to glean some advice from. I’ll keep you posted!
Of course, this time of year always makes me think about what I’m especially thankful for. It also makes me think about all those things that I take for granted. There’s that guilt-trip again!
I am thankful for my family. I got to spend Saturday afternoon/evening with my siblings and my dad here at my house. We just talked and laughed (and ate and ate)! I really enjoy getting together with my sisters and brother and their spouses and kids. Mom isn’t here this year, she’s off to Texas with my daughter enjoying a stay at her sister’s house! Fun!
Dad is always quiet when he sits with us as a large group. It was always that way growing up around the dinner table too. We’d all be talking at once about a million different things. He would just sit and listen. Occasionally, he would pipe in with his vast knowledge on every subject or remind us to eat our dinner. I wonder if he sat there on Saturday night reminiscing about all those dinner time conversations and about how the four of us grew up so fast. I am so blessed to have wonderful parents who still to this day encourage us and teach us – and those conversations still happen around a dinner table.
My Dad has always been a very patient man. He is always teaching and seems to know absolutely everything. Often, if I need an answer or if my kids want to know something I don’t know, I’ll say, “Go ask Papa”. And he always has an answer for them and always takes the time to show them how to do something. They all adore him, as do the four of us. I am so thankful for my dad – the patient teacher.
My Mom didn’t have to be my mom – she chose to. I am so very thankful for that. She decided to marry this man with four kids! You would never know that she didn’t give birth to us because to her, and to us, we are her children. She has always pushed us to be our best. All four of us are great parents/spouses and successful people who contribute to society in all kinds of ways. This is what I am thankful for – my mom who to this day, still pushes us to be our best, and loves us even though she didn’t have to.
Of course, I am extremely thankful for the amazing husband and gorgeous children (no bias there!) that I have been blessed with. I have bragged about my husband before on this blog! I am so thankful for him. He has stuck by me when I didn’t think anyone would. My children are so awesome! My daughter is so much like me – always creating something and she has such a beautiful soul. She is just so precious! My boys – they are so much alike. Quiet, steady and full of imagination. They have such caring hearts too. Their gentleness will make them wonderful men some day.
I am thankful for my friends. I used to think that I’d never find a “kindred spirit”. I just never seemed to fit in. Then I met the wonderful person that I refer to as my “best friend”. She understands me like no one else ever has. She listens to me go on and on, never judges me, just lets me talk it out. She is always there when I need her. One of my greatest and fondest memories of walking for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer two years ago was all the time we got to have together on our training walks. So many days of our lives were spent talking as we walked and walked. I do miss that time that we had together. When we are able to spend time together, it seems like we solve all the problems of the world! That we can do anything. And, I believe we can!
There is a saying that goes something like this: “Friends are the family that you get to choose”. As an adult, we get to select the people that we want to spend time with. I have so many women who I consider to be “close friends”. Every woman needs to have “girlfriends” that lift her spirit, laugh with her, cry with her, care for her and her family, and just be there for her. We have a special bond, us “girls” – and I am so thankful to have so many that I care about and I know care about me.
I am thankful for my life. I have blogged often about this. I believe that I am truly blessed. Too often, I let “things” get in the way of me living my life. I am trying very hard to stop doing this. My life is full of wonderful people and every day there are little miracles that prove to me that life is worth living. I am surrounded by people that love me in a world that is absolutely incredible! Too often we blink and miss it. I am trying to take the time and slow down and be thankful everyday for all that life has brought me.
I give thanks everyday for all that I have. Most of all, for my family and my friends. And also for the chance to live my life and pass it on to my children.
The VaultCrypt is one of the ransomware threats that have begun to rely heavily on free codes to encrypt data on the victim’s computer. Such code is the GnuPG privacy software.
GnuPG (GNU Privacy Guard, also known as GPG) is a tool used to encrypt your data, and it includes its own key management system. In fact, the philosophy behind GNU is exactly that – to produce and offer non-proprietary software. Users are simply free to download and modify GNU software in any way they want.
The VaultCrypt uses GnuPG to encrypt files quite effectively and although it’s not as complex as its siblings CryptoLocker and CryptoWall, it is just as dangerous as in addition to using free codes, VaultCrypt also uses Windows batch files and a sophisticated payment site.
The ransomware originated in Russia, but it’s quickly spreading to English-speaking countries despite the fact it’s not fully ready to target these countries just yet.
VaultCrypt does not stop at encrypting your data like a typical ransomware. It continues with downloading additional malware solely to collect your login data from websites you have visited.
And, although there is a possibility to safely decrypt your files as VaultCrypt leaves an open door for file recovery, the process is not guaranteed.