Back To Basics with Darla Shine

I am blessed to know Darla Shine, author of Happy Housewives. Darla is a woman who stands up for what she believes in. She is one to tell you what no one else dares say. She is bold, beautiful and funny! Her theme on Happy Housewives Club for the month of May is “Back to Basics”. I think it a fantastic reminder for all of us to take a step back from the stress, activity and materialism that has filled our days. Here she reminds us of what it is like to go Back to Basics:

“Get back home. Get back in the kitchen. Play with your children. Pray with
your family. Entertain. Invite friends and family over. Bring back Sunday
family dinners. Spend less. Cook more. Buy on sale. Use coupons. Make more from
scratch. Be creative with leftovers. Make your own cleaning products. Hang your
laundry on a line. Iced tea on the porch. Lemonade stands. Longer skirts.
Less Diva. More classic. Less cleavage. Thank you notes. A call to say hello. Take up a hobby. Talk to your neighbor. Bake an apple pie. Help an old lady. Learn how to make preserves. Go to church on Sunday. Scrub your floor on your hands and knees. Go bike riding. Take long walks with your hubby hand in hand. Eat more nuts and berries. Eat
less. Volunteer. Plant a tree. Take your children to a farm. Pick your own
strawberries. Go fishing. Go camping. Shut off the air conditioning and open the
windows. Hang your laundry on a line. Use vinegar not bleach. Use soap not
antibacterial gel. Teach your children to waltz and cha-cha. Make a roast. Bring
your hubby a martini at the end of the day. Wear an apron. Wear lipstick and high heals (my favorite!). Shut off the TV. Read a book. Play scrabble. Take a milk bath. Say hello to the cashier. Talk to the butcher. Take omega 3 instead of antidepressants. Drink Kefir instead of taking antacids. Sell your pie. Faux paint a dresser. Use egg yolk for a facial. Drive less. Book your children less. Save more. Stop using credit cards. Go green. Try alternative healing. Cook for your family. Keep a beautiful home. Be a beautiful woman. Contribute to your community. Thank God for all you have.

Think like our mother’s did. They had so much less but lived so much better. Less stress all the way around. They knew how to stretch a dollar. I think their generation was a lot more secure than ours. They knew each other. The community was stronger. Their children were safe. We have a lot more pressure. A lot more stress.

Mother’s Day reminds us all of how it used to be. When we were young everything was different. So what has changed? Society or us? I say it’s time for us all to stop the craziness. We are over booked and over stressed. We go over board on every level. We buy our children expensive electronics and pine for the latest designer bag. We
are over the top. One in three women have breast implants and the average size
asked for now, at least a D. Skirts get shorter and girls are losing their virginity at age 11. Our children are being bombarded by the media. We have to worry about predators, pedophiles, abductors, and drug dealers….”- Darla Shine

With summer approaching soon, let’s stop to think about the activities we will do while our kids are out of school. Will we rush them from camp to sports to piano? Will we enroll them in summer tutoring programs to “keep them on track”? OR will we help them with their first lemonade stand? Will we run through the sprinklers, make homemade popsicles, and put on puppet shows? The choice is yours but the Back to Basics campaign sounds pretty fabulous to me! What do you think?

To hear more from Darla, listen to her weekly radio show, view her website or read her book, Happy Housewives.

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