Slow Down

Our fast pace of living takes its toil.  Anxiety rises as we try to answer all the demands that inundate us each day.  The world bombards us with information from the moment we get up to the moment we go to bed.  Most of our time “sleeping” is spent tossing and turning, running through the day’s events and planning the most efficient agenda for the next day.

Maybe it is time to slow down.  I wonder if we would feel more satisfied if we could spend an hour each day in silence?   Or if we spent a day each week away from the phone, the computer, tv, automobile and newspaper.

Create a cocoon.  Take a walk.  Eat simply.  Read.  Be with your family without distractions.  Be with yourself without distractions.

How difficult would it be to really sink into this quiet place?  Would it be hard to turn off the chatter, the “I should be doing this” in our heads?  Would we be more productive during the week?  Sleep better?  Hear our hearts desires?

I would like to try this as an experiment for three months.  Care to join me?  Even as I put that out there, I am trying to figure out where to squeeze it in.  It will take a conscious effort on my part to clear this space.  Will it be worth it?  Let’s see.

Here is the plan.  Slow down.  Take one day a week and step back.  No work is allowed.  No household chores (other than feeding yourself).  No errands.  No to do list.   Celebrate simplicity and calmness.  Let me know how it goes.

Defining ourselves

Let’s face it.  Life throws experiences at us every day.  When we let that experience define as a whole, we limit any potential for growth.  A blogger posted her bio.  A mum with kids, one on the way, her mother died unexpectedly, her brother committed suicide shortly after.  I felt her sadness and I also felt the darkness that permeated her life.  This experience as it was stated in her bio, not in a post, had become the way she saw herself.  I am not trying  to trivialize her tragedy.  The sadness of her loss must be with her every moment of her days.  I started thinking how experience defines who we are.

There are moments which have such huge impact on our lives.  There are small every day moments that may not have a instantaneous impact but still molds our spirit.  What types of events have a stronger impact on how we see ourselves?

Certain events in my life have defined who I was for a period of time.  A serious relationship ended by the discovery of an affair, a long illness, giving birth.  Though these events defined me completely during those periods, they eventually became a part of my life experiences.  Wisdom earned to draw upon when I need strength and perspective.

What defines us seems to be not just the event, small or large but how long we process it and move forward.  Some are better at this then others  (Think about a woman in an abusive relationship who leaves that one to venture into another).  Some have less dramatic defining events to add  to their experiences than others.

The most important thing to realize is that defining yourself must be an evolving process.  We are not single faceted.  We are more than just our profession, life circumstances or personality traits.  We are all a little bit of everything.  Defining ourselves in a limited manner only limits our possibilities.  The world does that to us as it is, why should we do it to ourselves as well?

A Little Inspiration from Nature

Thanks!

I will keep this short and sweet.

Thanks for -

• My kids
• My hubby
• Estelle
• Ginger
• my family
• new learning experiences
• Mr. Putters
• my awesome friends

The Passion to Create

I recently rediscovered new joy and satisfaction in the power of creation. Lately I am finding myself driven to create.  A conversation with my daughter sends my imagination on a wild ride or a new idea pops into my head and I obsess about it until I get it down on paper.  It is a powerful feeling and it makes me feel alive.

My free time is limited but I am making a new business happen.   When I find the energy to create, even if it is small and uncomplicated, I find happiness.  Sharing this creativity inspires me further and I shuffle my time  in order to bring my ideas into fruition. Life is so much more satisfying when I am inspired. Inspiration takes on  many forms and the creative possibilities are infinite.

There are so many ways to get inspired. Slow down for a moment,  take a walk on the beach or in the forest and really breathe. Meditation, reading a good book  or surrounding yourself with interesting people can stimulate creativity. Without it, life just becomes mundane and routine. Reconnect with your creative side and discover your passion.  You never know where it might lead.

Nutrition Nature’s Way

My daughter came  home the other day with a coloring book on nutrition from the county health department.  Her first question was  “why do they say I shouldn’t drink whole milk? I thought whole milk is good for you.”  It really made me look at all the mixed messages she will be receiving concerning healthy eating and exercise.

We have fallen victims to the nation’s very persuasive marketing of diet and exercise fads. I remember being talked into trying this awful diet where all you ate was watermelon for the first week. Sure I lost weight (which I of course I  gained back as quickly as I lost it) but I felt terrible and I still thought I didn’t look as gorgeous as my friend and no diet could change that. I’ve tried Atkins, vegetarianism, low-fat,  and starvation.  I’ve worked out at the gym, did pilates, yoga, aerobic classes and put hundreds of miles on my running shoes. I was so obsessed was I with running 7 days a  week that I went running in 120 degree heat in the middle of the day because it was the only time I could fit it in! Can we say heat stroke?

So I began the journey towards discovering the true way to be healthy.  I have read and formulated reasons why one thing is better than another, tested recipes, threw everything out the window and I always come back to the same thing….eat good clean whole foods, move your body daily, drink lots of water, get plenty of sleep…that’s it.   Not revolutionary nor is it a quick fix but I feel great and am well on my way to wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans after multiple kids.

In our house we having “growing” foods like whole milk, vegetables, fruit, meat and grains which we eat everyday. We watch our portions (only the adults),  eat our sweets in moderation (life is much sweeter with an afternoon indulgence of chocolate raisins) and enjoy a daily walk. We don’t follow FDA guidelines. If this is the way we should be eating, why is obesity on the rise? We follow Mother Nature’s guideline’s in our house. If we don’t recognize the ingredient on the label, then our body can’t recognize it as a food source. The closer our food is to it’s natural form, the more satisfied we will be and less likely we will be to over -indulge. If you can’t resist something, don’t let it into your house to begin with!   The kids really won’t die if they have carrots and ranch dip in their lunches rather than potato chips.

Ode to Nail Polish

It started out like a Monday.  The phone rang too early  and woke the baby.  My cherished twenty minutes of peace and quiet I pray for every morning – vanished.  The doorbell rang with some workmen needing me to move the car…..now….I’m still in my husband’s boxer shorts and an old ratty shirt.  My hair is every rat’s dream.  The kids wake up and it looks like a fighting day.  The day continues……

Yet suddenly, the tide changes.  The baby takes a nap.  The big kids disappear into their room completely engaged in their creation of la la land.  I glance at the laundry waiting in Mt. Everest proportions.  Should I?

I seize the moment, heat the wax,grab my favorite flaming red nail polish, disappear into my boudoir and set to work.  I emerge transformed.  Suddenly the day’s energy flows in a completely synergistic way.  The baby wakes refreshed.   The big kids are content and kinder to one another.  Dinner makes it into the crockpot.  I conquer the laundry which is Mt. Everest.

All this because my eyebrows no longer resemble fuzzy caterpillars and my toes are flaming red.  Isn’t life grand?

The Perfect Fall Party- the Pumpkin Party!

The first day of Autumn is here.  Where did the summer go?  The weather is feels different, the days are getting shorter and my thoughts turn to the planning of our annual Pumpkin Party.  Originally  we started doing this event as a way to rejoice in the changing of the season (which in Northern California is not really noticeable till the end of October) and to celebrate Halloween without all the gory costumes, hoopla and CANDY!  We had so much fun that it has now become a much anticipated tradition with our friends and family.

The basic ingredients for our fabulous Pumpkin Party are -

• One large pot of Pumpkin Stew (made once a year for this special day)
• Corn bread
• Beer , wine and apple cider

We usually have munchies that are orange or seasonal like – carrots, orange bell peppers, dip, tortilla chips and salsa, pumpkin shaped sugar cookies and my fave – candy corn!

All attendees are requested to show up in costume.  Decorations include scarecrows  (made with Grandad’s old paint clothes), spider webs, indian corn, gourds and any other fall ornamentation we run across.  Of course the most important accoutrement …..everyone must bring their own pumpkin for carving and showcasing in the Jack-o-Lantern extravaganza.

Other things are added or deleted depending on the year and the attendees.  We have had costume contests, apple bobbing, cookie decorating, made sugar skulls in honor of  Día de los Muertos and built straw bale forts.  This year the kids want to create a haunted house.  Hmmm.

But the main event is always the carving of the pumpkins which is done outdoors on long tables before the sun sets.  Than all attendees have huge bowl of stew, enjoy some good conversation and wait until dark.  Then we all head out doors and the lighting of the Jack-o-Lanterns begins.  We all ohh and ahhh over everyone’s masterpieces.  People use stencils but many do some incredible pumpkin art freehand.  It is quite inspiring.

The Pumpkin Party is an easy party to put together.  It easily adapts to different ages and works with a small number of people or a larger crowd.  It is a great way to enjoy the changing of the seasons and the company of family and good friends.

Happy Fall!

Hey Babe, Your Place or Mine?

Have you heard about the new bar scene?  Okay , not exactly bar scene but a new way to check out the latest meat on the market?  Apparently “dating”  has entered a new era.  Dating use to mean dinner, dancing, talking late into the night and getting to “know” each other.  Maybe if his breath didn’t stink or her laugh didn’t sound like nails on a chalkboard, you would have a meeting of minds or in other words do the horizontal tango.

Well, now we enter the age of internet dating.   You exchange a few emails, a picture,  set up a meeting at the local coffee shop, decide that his breathe doesn’t smell too bad and you only have to listen to her laugh of a few hours.  You head back to his/her place and wham bam thank you ma’am.

I think I am just too old fashioned.  I can’t imagine marketing myself on one these “dating” websites. looking for random sexual encounters with men I don’t know and more than likely don’t want to know.  Yet according an article in the August issue of Glamour magazine, these types of “dating” websites are becoming increasingly popular especially with women.

I can totally see the turn-on of doing something so daring, so risque, so casual; yet for me personally, I think I would only get so far and my brain would start yelling “STOP!”  This is so wrong.  What if this person is some kind of pervert.  Or worse.  Perhaps I just have an overactive imagination?

I  think the danger of letting an unknown person be so intimate with me would kill anything erotic about it.  What if I changed my mind?  Would I be raped?  Would he get angry and hit me? What if he lied or didn’t know about some funky STD?  Or god forbid the birth control failed and I got pregnant. Yikes.

It’s seems like these type of encounters would not be satisfying for long.  I would be longing for more.  I am not judging anyone who chooses this form of sexual fulfillment. I mean you go girl.  We earned the right to empower ourselves. but personally, I think I would rather just stick to my dildo.