31 March 2009

Mind and Body travel with you everywhere

No matter what you do and where you go, you have to take your mind and body with you. Whether your life is great or you are experiencing challenges, your journey will always include your mind and body.

Take time out of your 24 hr day to do something uplifting and enriching for your mind and body.

It does not matter what size you are, you truly need a sound mind and body.

Consider this:

Out of a 24 hr day, is it really too much to invest 1 hr a day to exercise your body, and have moments to reflect on how to manage stress and enrich your mind?

If the answer is YES, now consider this:

If you have put off taking care of yourself for so long (tomorrow, I plan to, next week, soon...) and suddenly get very sick or overly stressed, how much time do you think it will take to get well and happy???

Don't wait for something to happen.....

The key investment anyone can make, is to investment in themselves first! That will truly give you the biggest payoff for years to come!

30 March 2009

Ancient Chinese Secrets

Mealtimes seem to be as fleeting as blinking your eyes when you have children. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, beverages in between, day after day, and even to a professed chef like myself, I get my share of "kitchen hatred." Hatred? Don't blame me for that word choice. While sitting here and typing this blog, I drew a blank, and I asked the children out loud, "what is the word you use when you don't like something?" So there it is. Love it or leave it.

In my moments of despair with "kitchen hatred," I just don't feel enamored with cooking sometimes, and I refuse to succumb to the idea that I need to prove something to myself, or to the children by cooking anyway. Hints of guilt do slither into my thoughts about how it would be nutritionally ideal for me to make the effort and prepare a proper meal for the children, but I have taught myself creative ways to prepare quick meals using my technique called, "Ancient Chinese Secrets." These secrets are drawn on perhaps once or twice a month at most!

ACS has similarities to the old concept of the "bait and switch" dinner date meal ( I surely did this once in my lifetime) where you invite a guy over for dinner, purchase an already prepared meal, and transfer the creations to your own pots. The guy, whoever he is, is none the wiser and he thinks you are creatively talented! Warning, this can be quite expensive if you want to impress him with true gastronomical delights! However, if you are a mediocre cook at best, you may fare well on a moderate budget with simple selections. This way, if one day later on in the relationship you should find yourself in a precarious situation having to re-prove your chef skills, you may be able to reenact your previous performance. I just wonder if a man has ever pulled this number on a woman?

Anyhow, I decided that we would order some chinese food this evening since it can be delivered quickly. The children certainly enjoy the usual tasty "fattening" chinese dishes, but I had no intentions of starting the week off in that fashion. After careful thought, I went into the fridge, brought out some carrots, celery, onions and garlic. I quickly diced everything and put it in a pot to saute with a bit of olive oil, and then proceeded to call "Hunan Royal," to order Chicken Noodle soup, and steamed Chicken and Shrimp with Broccoli. The secret? Add my healthy organic fresh vegetables to the plain Chicken Noodle soup! The second most effortless meal creation next to the "bait and switch" date meal!

By the time the soup arrived, I added it to the pot of heaping veggies, and then served it up in our cute red Asian style bowls. The children enjoyed their soup, while benefiting from the added goodness! Better than that, they still professed their love to me and how they thought the soup was "amazing!"

Often, due to our very demanding lifestyles, we need to take shortcuts in order to make our situations ideal. Sometimes our moods dictate a need for an alternate solution in order to maintain an even keel. Avoid getting stressed out! For the betterment of our children's health, we can surely come up with ideas that offer the next best option when we can't offer them our preferred top quality efforts. These creative options will continue to reinforce to the children that you still place high priority on their health and happiness!

Enjoy creating your own "secrets!"

Twenty again

It's Monday, so I will be brief! You keep hearing it, 40 is the new 20. I heard it being discussed this morning on one of my favorite tv shows, "The Today Show!" So that means it's a FACT.

Imagine how advantageous such a thought can be? I have a lifetime ahead to do wonderful, awesome, mind blowing things now, stuff that I thought "I was getting too old to do." I'm wondering if this aura of feeling young again is analogous to the feeling of winning lotto? Yesterday I was 44, but today I am 24 which equals, yesterday I was poor, and today I am rich! Woo hoo!

Oh my, so when did I give birth to my two angels? Let's not focus on that mere technicality. They are here in all their glory, brightening up my life and giving me even more reason to embrace my new found youth! Gotta strive to keep up with them and all the wonderful surprises and challenges, good and bad, that they have in store for me over the next 13 to 25 years or more.

Consider I truly know a lot more now than I did 20 years ago, and that can only enhance my life, right? The information and "stuff" we have at our fingertips today is amazing and we are able to readjust our mindsets and toss aside the false belief that we are headed to middle age.

People always make comments about their little girls like, "she is 6 going on 16," referring to the attitudes they possess. Some even further age their princesses to "6 going on 26 or 36!" Wow. Is there a reversal thing/mommy-daughter swap thingy happening here? Well, if my daughter is aging fast, and I am getting younger, I guess we will meet in the middle somewhere! And Miles will follow along as best as he can with these two odd aged ladies in his life!

Whatever is happening, triggered by forces greater than any of us, ride it out by creating a harmonious balance between you and whoever or whatever is significant in your life!

Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia! Loved it!

All that said, I have to tell you all that I am embracing my 24! Saturday at the Girl Scout/Daisy "dance party," Nia and I danced together at the end when they invited moms to dance with their daughters 2 1/2 hours into the dance. For 2 1/2 hours there was an unspoken rule that no mother was allowed to get on the dance floor, and it drove me crazy as I sat in my seat tapping my toes to some groovy hits, old and new. I was anxious to get out there just because I love to dance and I wanted to dance with MY daughter! I dipped her and spinned her and she loved it. Then we did the electric slide followed by some fancy footwork to the tune of "Dancing Queen." How cool is it that my 6 and 3/4 year old loves dancing to "Dancing Queen?" I'm truly looking good ..... for now :)

29 March 2009

Believe in yourself always!

Many of us have almost a lifetime of negative beliefs that we can't seem to shed about ourselves, and much of it may have been programmed into our conscious and subconscious minds by our families, or maybe even some friends, teachers, co-workers.

Isn't that sad ???

Well, it's time to dispel those old lies you have carried around with you, and start to trust yourself and commit to new habits and try new things. Create a new you! If you are haunted by ugly demons that have prevented you from achieving some of the things you have always desired, it's time to realize that those demons are kept in your head only by YOU!

Throw out that dirty self-defeating 4 letter word... it is the epitomy of profanity -- CAN'T.

You really CAN do a lot of things and it just requires you to get passed the fear. A fear is not reality. It is just something someone came up with to give people the ability to fall short. I personally think it was dreamt up by some conniving creep who wanted to climb to the top by stepping on the heads and shoulders of other innocent and very capable folks!

Try for 10 mins, then keep increasing your time spent and realize that your true effort put forth will produce nothing but good feelings in your mind, body and soul.

Here's a little tale that I have to tell about myself... and keep in mind, I have many tales....

I am a single mother, taking care of my household all by myself. I try to fix things myself and save some money in the process! Months ago, I noticed my garage door was making some funny noises. I lived with it for a few weeks, until one morning while pulling the car out, I went to hit the remote to shut the door, and the door was opening back up instead of closing completely. Great! The children were in the back seat anxious to get to school but concerned about the garage (well more so concerned about me and how I would solve the dilemma). Miles said, "Mommy you are going to have to get someone to fix it... you should call Daddy!" For those of you who know me well, you know this was not an option at all... ever! So I kept hitting the remote to get the door to close, and eventually it shut down, but brought down some wires with it that were now hanging noticeably outside the door. How embarrassing!!!

I got back home and my imagination got the best of me. I started thinking the worse! Why? Because that is what we women do! We started to rationalize the whole thing. It's part of a conspiracy to bring me down, get me to hire someone to come and fix it because I am a mere woman and I don't have a clue. With that, I left the car on the driveway and used my keys to get back into the house. I fretted for a while thinking the door was going to fall down on my driveway should I try to open the door again.

Hours went by and it was time to go and get the children from school. When we arrived back home, I felt a sudden surge of "I CAN" feelings flow through my body and mind. I think it was the children's presence that enabled me to call upon that "Mommy is Supermom" mindset that I relied on through many events in our lives. It perhaps was truly the resonating sound of my son's words, "call Daddy!" Nooooooooooo! I turned around in the seat of my car, and said to them calmly, "children, I am going to need your help. I would like you to be patient, and also listen to me clearly. If the garage door falls on me, please call 911." They looked at me with true innocent fear in their eyes. Miles asked, "Mommy, what are you going to do?" I answered, "I am going to try to fix the garage problem myself."

My heart was racing but I had to do this. I pressed the garage door opener an
d the door opened. The wires were getting even more tangled in the door as it went up. Gasp!.... take a deep breath. I took the children out of the car, and let them in the house but told them to stay close by. I went back into the garage, and started to investigate where these wires were coming from. It appeared that the wires were not part of the garage door at all.... I think. I decided I would try to get these wires untangled from the garage door, a task that was not so simple since every time the door went up or down, the wires were in between the slots of the door. I also did not want to further disturb the wires and make them fall down completely. Yikes!

I needed a ladder, but all I had was a mini ladder which did not do much for me considering I am only 5'2". Whatever. This had to get done or else I would not sleep that night. I went into the house and asked who wanted to help me, and Nia quickly jumped up. Could I rely on my 6 year old to do the right thing? We'll see. I took her into the garage and I told her, "please, I just need you to press this button every time I tell you to."

I got on my stool and yelled, "Press!", pulled some wires here, "Press!", pulled again..."Press!"..... heart racing and racing, all the while I was on my tiptoes stretching and pulling, fearing that I would fall off the little ladder. I really needed a second pair of hands. I acted fast, and got the wires inside the garage, and finally had Nia close the door. Though my job was not completely done, I felt incredibly triumphant in those short 10 minutes, and I thought I was going to throw up my heart since it was beating so fast. I thanked Nia and she felt good about doing a good job.

Now I had about 4 or so heavy rows of wires just hanging. I certainly could not leave it that way, so I had to get nails and reattach them to the wall above the garage door where they belonged. I ran and got big nails, the hammer, and jumped back on the ladder. Consider that small ladder was truly not ideal, I really needed to be up another 3 feet to do this comfortably. I was barely able to reach up, holding the wires and the nails AND the hammer, but I was going to SUCCEED. I grunted loudly...I reached...I hammered!!!! And I grunted... and I was sweating with my heart continuing to race like crazy. The children came running into the garage, worried and asking, "Mommy are you ok??!" I yelled, "YES ! YES!!" I finally finished, and the sense of relief that swept through my body was truly amazing!!! "I did it! I did it!" I yelled to the children, "You see?? I fixed it... I did it!" They said, "Mommy... you really are Supermom!"

You never know what you can do unless you TRY! Especially if you know in your heart that the last thing you want to do (at your children's suggestion) is call your ex-husband to help you even if it's free help! :)

You can do a lot of things... just put your mind to it.... for whatever reason you have.... you can do it!


Here is a shot of the old trusty ladder, and the area in my garage with the wires I had to hoist back up!

28 March 2009

KISS

Remember that acronym from grade school? Keep it Simple Stupid, or more politically correct Keep it Short and Simple, it's still relevant after all these years. How possible is this in light of the new generational "dictionary" of texting codes? Communication ease is intimidating to say the least. Get back to basics!

Many of us try to bite off more than we can chew in an effort to live up to the expectations of some contrived image that we mistakenly believe we should emulate. The goal to strive for is the true goal that you aspire for, not someone else's blueprint. We are taught to be "planners" and follow a list of guidelines or suggestions on how to live our life. Do this! Do that! Don't do this! Don't do that! The end result for many is constant roadblocks and disappointment, and most of all huge dissatisfaction. There is that wavering feeling of failure and it can linger for years. How does the true success unfold to give a sense of hope?

Kissing is a almost a thing of the past when you consider the ideology of today's 21st century mindset. It's become an old-fashioned, passe activity that is constantly bypassed in an effort to get to the "prize." It can't be avoided though because it's the foundation that leads to learning about the simple values we have and what we will strive for!

There are no rules on how to
KISS other than realizing that your life gives you many hints on a daily basis. The short and simple is accepting truth, embracing the fact that each day your life sends you the messages and the answers. You should heed to those messages and realize they lead to something more... for YOU. There are no mysteries and no one is trying to make your life difficult. Simply avoid the negative, avoid the people and the things that try to drag you down or just divert you from whatever it is you need. Even in the midst of an unwanted mishap, you can choose to remember what your goal was for that day, and manuever around those little obstacles that are just playing with your mind.

Try it for a day and see what you come up with! Get up in the morning, and say to yourself, "
today I plan to KISS with purpose!" Toss aside that daily need to get drawn into worry, or someone else's plan that does not fit with your desires, and make one step toward a positive goal that is purposeful for your own good. At the end of the day, reflect on how you kissed, and you should have a feeling of satisfaction which will give you encouragement to do more kissing the next day!

Here is an example of how I will
KISS today!

I will be off this computer as soon as I finish this post, and get on with a great workout which will indeed set my mood for the day... a GREAT mood! Me! I come first!

From there, I will shower, do my hair up nicely, shower and groom my lovely daughter and we will attend the "Girl Scouts Mother/Daughter Brunch" and have a lovely time.

I fully accept the fact that in between all of that positive activity, my daughter, others, and unforeseen happenings, will try to sidetrack me and redirect my focus for today, BUT, I don't care. My goal is to head through the tunnel of uncertainty on this day, and come out of the other end, knowning that I still have me, my state of mind, my loves (my children and my desires), in tact.

Here's to great
KISSING!!!


It was a lovely breakfast! Girls everywhere, dancing, running, laughing...doing what girls do best! Let us never forget that!

27 March 2009

Welcome!


Hello, I am finally in the blogging world. I am so excited. This world was surely meant for me because I have been blogging throughout my entire life, just in a different setting. I loved writing as far back as I can remember, writing book reports, stories, love letters to boys I liked (that was so much fun), and long essay papers for school. I wrote about everything and even had many diaries which were destroyed in an effort to dissolve the past. Either way, it was all part of the process of transferring thoughts of all types onto paper and it was incredibly satisfying. Here we are years later (how many years later? -- don't ask) and I still enjoy mind to paper, or perhaps I should say, mind to screen exercises! Before I became the skilled typist that I am now, I also took great pride in showing off my lovely handwriting.

I shall try to come here as frequently as possible to share away to my heart's content since it's one of things I do best. Whenever I find out something wonderful, I can not keep it to myself, I have to let the world in on my discovery. If there are times that my "share" is nothing earth shattering, just move on to the next post and enjoy the future readings! A great saying to keep in the back of the mind is, "everything is not for everybody!" My motivation is to inspire and uplift, and truly avoid conversations that are debilitating and toxic because I see no need for us to be saddened any further. In an effort to pull your emotion strings, I do like to share some events that happen with my children which everyone knows has the ability to drag you around on an emotional rollercoaster. The end result will bring us back to goodness! Laughter is a must!

In between my lovely postings, I will be sharing my practice photog, such as the photo at the top of this post! I figured we can all follow my journey from being a very amateur photographer, to becoming a highly skilled professional photographer... however long that will take !

Feel good and Live well... or is it, Live good and Feel well ???? Do both in whatever order is comfortable for you!