The Genealogy Checklist, a part of the Bucket List series, is now available as an ebook. It is $7.99 on Apple and Kindle. And on Kindle if you buy the print book you get the ebook version for $2.99. So you can have it to read and an ebook to travel or to use at graveyards and libraries.

It joins Kicking the Bucket List book. It is also $7.99 on Apple and Kindle but it does not have the “special price” for a print and an ebook.

These are two really good books to start out the new year. Do your genealogy and get your affairs in order.

Barbe Awalt

I took a break. Too much to do for the holidays and who wanted to read my stuff when there is Christmas? So happy New Year to you! As we had a dusting of snow last night, it makes me happy!

When the New Year came I started putting together a bag for Goodwill. I am finding things I really don’t use any more!

I hit me that this is just what Kicking the Bucket book says to do. Rather than a resolution – do a bag! They recommend other things in the book: a will, put all your “information” in one place, write an obit, get things appraised, are among only a few items. What better to do when you are snowed in? I know it made me feel better!

Barbe Awalt

So you got a Bucket List book as a gift – thank you! But want to give it painlessly but with flair. No problem: Try these ideas – they work with any Bucket List book:
1. Throw it in a bag with tons of holiday candy. Done and fun!
2. Combine it with the many candy cane popcorns. Don’t take the popcorn out of the bag – it is greasy and will do no good to the book!
3. Make an in-front-of-the-fire gift. Wine or hot chocolate, pine cone starters and a match, and if you go all out an inexpensive throw blanket.
4. For the Personal Bucket List book put in a pen, post its, and a New Mexico passport.
5. The Genealogy Bucket List book is similar – pen, post its, pad of list paper, and any family histories you may have.
6. The Santa Fe and New Mexico Bucket List books can have a map, a pad, and anything else local to throw in and enjoy on a trip.
7. The Green Chile Cheeseburger Bucket List book needs a gift coupon to a place in the book and a can of Hatch Green Chiles.
8. Space Buffs can have Space Ice Cream, Star Trek Cards, or frankly anything space in the bag.
9. Cowboy is easy too – toy figurines of cowboys, Cowboy bandages, or cowboy socks!
10. Kicking the Bucket List is easy – a pad, sticky notes, marker, a map of Goodwill donation boxes, and obits!
11. The Christmas Bucket List book can have candy canes, ornaments, tinsel, holiday recipes and the dreaded fruitcake in a bag!

Have fun and the receiver will too!

Barbe Awalt

The stress of finding a fun gift! But never fear if you have run out of ideas give a Bucket List book. If you can’t find the right gift you can never go wrong with the Personal Bucket List book – they write their own list! Or Kicking the Bucket List book addresses end of life matters in a fun way – we are all going to die. Though not a Bucket List book per se, The Basic Genealogy Checklist would appeal to almost anyone. Of course the spirit of the season is the Christmas Bucket List book. Combine it with a candy cane and you are golden or red and green!

Remember, books make great gifts, they are easy to wrap or throw in a bag, simple to ship, and THEY DON’T BREAK!

Barbe Awalt

Go to nmsantos.com for four GREAT deals for gift giving OR yourself!

3 Bucket Books for $36 – 25% OFF!
OR
An Albuquerque Deal with the Balloon Bucket Book for $39 – 40% off!
And two other deals for kids books and Don Bullis’ History Books.

Award Winners and worth a look.

Deals only good until January 1, 2017 and postage is extra. Shop from the comfort from your lounge chair!

Barbe Awalt

Gail Rubin and I, brave Bucket List book authors, will be at Page 1 in Albuquerque, 3:30pm today. We will be with Ross Van Dusen. He has written 4 kids books and has a new one out – Lyle Got Stuck in a Tree.

Poor Ross – such an underachiever! He is only the Best Book Children’s Book Winner in the 2016 10th Anniversary NM & AZ Book Awards and a Gold Medalist in the 2016 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. Come to think about it, Gail is a past Best Book Winner too!

Maybe I am the underachiever – I have only won a bunch of Winners in the category. I will have to try harder.

Barbe Awalt

Kicking the Bucket List has been very popular with both people who want to downsize and family or friends SUGGESTING downsizing. It is a gift that can start a conversation. Order on Amazon HERE

The Cowboy Bucket List book is for those cowboys or almost cowboys who need a little spur to get going. Order on Amazon HERE

- Barbe Awalt

Gail Rubin will be signing her new Kicking the Bucket List book at Bookworks TODAY! Sunday, October 30, at 3pm. Bookworks is on Rio Grande Blvd. in Dietz Farm, North Valley.

Come say hi to Gail and wear your best spooky attire – but no clowns please! Get a jump on your gifts for the holidays at the cool stores in the strip mall. You may need last minute things for Halloween too!

- Barbe Awalt

Gail Rubin brought up an interesting thing at her talk at the NM Book Co-op. She spoke about inheriting your parent’s stuff and what to do with it.

If we have parents, they have given us things; some things that do not work any longer. They can’t part with them and think if they give it to us they are off the hook emotionally. The problem is, we don’t want it! So get rid of it! We do not have an emotional attachment to the things.

Now, not to say all things from parents are white elephants or bad. I have gotten some great stuff from my mother but some of the things she has given me over many years, are not so hot. I still have a card written by my grandmother that is nice. It doesn’t say anything important but I remember her when I read it. We have to remember the things given to us have the best intentions but still…….

Maybe we need to downsize and get rid of things before we are plowed under from things from our parents. Start now!

Gail also gave some stats about how unprepared we are. Gotta get on that!

- Barbe Awalt

Gail Rubin will be featured at Bookworks in Albuquerque, on Rio Grande Blvd., Sunday, October 30, from 3-5pm.

Gail REALLY wanted that day to roll out her new book. Why? Because October 30, is Create A Great Funeral Day!

Get a jump on holiday buying by getting books for everyone on your list at Bookworks while you are there. Books make the best gift. They don’t break, can work for others long past one person reading them, and they can be funny and useful. And you know kids need a good book for a holiday gift. Forget the underwear – you can get that in the White Sale in February! Get Kicking the Bucket List book – we all can use it!


- Barbe Awalt

Gail Rubin will be the featured speaker at the NM Book Co-op lunch at Golden Corral in Albuquerque near Cliff’s on Friday, October 28. Meeting starts at noon but people start coming for lunch as early as 11am.

Gail will be talking about how her new book and books in general give authors a leg up and portray them as “experts.” Gail has an impressive resume and has made a name for herself as the Doyenne of Death. This is her month!

Gail’s message is important above and beyond the whole Halloween thing. We are all going to die so get ready for it and do it your way. Dying is a mind-set. It doesn’t have to be scary. It is an event that will happen to everyone.

Being an author of a book can get you on TV, radio, in papers, magazines, and potentially speaking to groups that may lead to back-of-the-room sales on your books. The name of the game is getting your name and reputation out there.

If you come to the lunch there is no fee to attend and it is open to everyone BUT you must pay for your own buffet lunch and buffets offer something for everyone.


- Barbe Awalt

Such a coincidence! #33 is “Write Your Family History.” It just so happens that one of our books next year will be on that topic by Henrietta Martinez Christmas and Paul Rhetts. The advantage of writing it down is you can give it to other family members. They may not be interested in their family history now but just wait!

You can also use the Personal Bucket List books for members of your family to do that very thing. Who knows, a gift to a family member can be re-gifted to another family member when the research is done.
That is also in Gail Rubin’s Kicking the Bucket List book. Re-gift with a purpose! Re-gift with some family pictures!

- Barbe Awalt

It is no secret that I love libraries. I always have used them; as a student in Cockeysville, Maryland, I used my library a lot. As a book publisher, libraries are my best friend.

Gail Rubin has in her book that if you have a lot of extra books, donate them to a library. They will do two things with your donation: circulate any books they want or need, and sell them in their used book events. The money raised goes toward library programs. You do not have a say on which option they will take. When you donate books you say goodbye to them. But either way, they help your library.

AND you are helped because you have reduced the books in your collection. Do you actually read or need all those books?

To find out what library to donate to, find out if they like local books. Libraries should have a good collection of local books – that is one of the topics people want to use. Local books may have a different perspective on local matters.

This is a good time to find out about your libraries. This year there are a couple of library bond on the ballot in New Mexico. Usually, libraries are one of the first things cut when there are money problems despite the fact that library usage is up. Support you local library and downsize your books!

- Barbe Awalt

The very first item in the Kicking the Bucket List book is “Release Your Attachments.” This is an important way to start off and get into a mind-set that makes you more productive and frankly, healthier.

How many times have we said, “I am going to wear that dress – it is so beautiful – but I just can’t find the occasion.” Or, “I want a knick-knack I see. I don’t have a use for it but I just can’t leave it in a store.” Or just keeping things because I will deal with them tomorrow or it is expected I keep things given to me. Or my problem – it is on sale!

Enough! You can’t take anything with you to the greater beyond and if you move to a smaller place, do you really want to pack those things and take them? We all have too much – clothes, trinkets, books, shoes, papers, files, electronic stuff that has no use, and the list goes on and on. There is something to be said for the Tiny House Movement. It forces you to downsize. It forces you to decide what is important.

Sure, if a stuffed toy from your childhood is important, keep it. But maybe the twenty other stuffed toys are not really needed. The saying – “If you haven’t worn or used it in two years, it has to go.” - is true. What haven’t you used? As we get older, simple is best!


- Barbe Awalt

The week before Halloween couldn’t be a better week for Kicking the Bucket. It is a time to think about death and all the things you want to do to get ready. Face it – we all have to go sometime!

Some of the things I am personally doing:
Cut down on kitchen crap - #70
Minimize old medications - # 71
Evaluate your stuff - #93
Sit down with a certified financial planner -#38
Clear out the bathroom - #73
Reduce gift-wrap reserves - #75
Cut back on Christmas décor - #76
Recycle old paper files - #31

There is nothing that feels as good as ridding yourself of garbage, clutter, excess, or stuff you just haven’t used in about a million years. Do it! The weather is beautiful to open the windows and declutter!



- Barbe Awalt

Why is Kicking the Bucket important NOW? We are all getting older. That is a fact. Another fact is we will not live forever. And a third fact is we can’t take it with us.

With all of that in mind, we have too much stuff and we are not taking care of the business of dying. You might say thinking about dying is dark and ugly but we need to think of it as just another thing we have to do – like flu shots, taxes, and maybe New Year’s resolutions.

If we want something done right or done the way we want it done we have to do it ourselves. Take time to make a will so people you want to get certain things will get them. Do your own obit to say the things the way you want. It may make you happy to see what you have accomplished. It may scream to do a few more things that you haven’t done. Get things appraised. Values change in time – up or down. We need to know.

But above everything, clear out the excess! Too many books, records, films, clothes, jewelry, papers, and much more. Downsize NOW! And make sure important documents are together both for you to find fast in case of a problem or for loved ones to find.

This generation needs to get its’ act together. NOW! What time better than the end of the year?

By the way, Kicking the Bucket List is now available in paperback, Kindle and iBooks.

PAPERBACK: http://nmsantos.com/Bookstore/Kick-Bucket/Kick-Bucket.html

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Kicking-Bucket-List-Downsizing-Organizing/dp/1943681155/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AQ82CX4G2C4B3KVJ27GH

APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/kicking-the-bucket-list/id1167108702?mt=11


- Barbe Awalt

To say Gail Rubin is a go-getter is an understatement. She is dynamite. Here are just a few of her engagements so far!

October 18, 7pm Southwest Writers at New Life Presbyterian Church – 5540 Eubank NE, Alb.
October 34 &35, National Funeral Director Association Convention and Expo, 4pm at the Funeral Business Advisor Magazine Booth #2837, Philadelphia
October 28, New Mexico Book Co-op Lunch Meeting noon (but people come early to eat), Golden Corral 52007 San Mateo NE, Alb.
October 30, Bookworks, 3pm, signing of Kicking the Bucket, 4022 Rio Grande Blvd. Celebrate Create a Great Funeral Day!
November 7, OASIS Albuquerque, 10:30am, 3301 Menaul NE #18.
November 21, Professional Organizers of New Mexico 3pm (private)
December 4, Page One Books, 3:30 pm 5850 Eubank B-41, signing Kicking the Bucket
December 10, Treasure House Books, 1pm, Old Town Albuquerque, signing Kicking the Bucket

Whew!!!!!!!!

- Barbe Awalt

We are thrilled to announce that the newest Bucket List Book, Kicking The Bucket List, has arrived and author Gail Rubin saw it for the first time yesterday.

Gail has many speaking and TV appearances lined up! After Toastmasters today; she has the New Mexico Coalition on Aging on August 24, at Isleta Casino south of Albuquerque. She will knock them dead?!?!?!?!

Make sure to take advance of our Deal to buy Kicking The Bucket List book until August 31- SIGNED for $12@ plus shipping. Get your holiday shopping done early and relax OR use the time to start doing some of the things in Kicking The Bucket List!

— Barbe Awalt

To commemorate the arrival of Gail Rubin’s book, Kicking The Bucket List, we have a deal for you! Get a signed copy of the brand, new book at $12@ plus shipping. Shop now for the holidays! This deal is good from now until August 31, 2016. The book arrives tonight!

Let’s face it. We are all going to die at some point. We hope you live a very full and long life but you are going to die. Are you ready?

Have you downsized all the stuff you have accumulated? Have you written your obit so you have said what you want to get out to the public? Have you made arrangements for the things you want to go to family and friends? If your pets survive you, have you made arrangements for them? Have you had appraised all the art, property, jewelry, and other stuff you have? Have you made arrangements for your memorial service or funeral? Have you gotten your affairs in order?

Gail Rubin has written a new, Kicking The Bucket List book and she makes all the points in a funny and matter–of-fact way. Gail is the Doyenne of Death but it is a good thing. She is an expert on dying the way you want. She promotes everything in its place and ready.

You know the old saying – you can’t avoid taxes and dying? We hate taxes but we aren’t afraid of them. We just study, get our receipts ready, and file. The same goes for dying. You just have to be ready and not fear dying. And like Frank Sinatra said, Do It My Way!

You can read this Bucket List yourself and also give it as a gift. Give it with a journal so someone can make notes of what they have to and want to do. The Kicking The Bucket List will be out the first part of September and it is a good thing! It got me thinking and acting!

— Barbe Awalt