I’ve been having having a lot of fun playing around and creating Subway art lately. The sky is the limit and it’s fast and easy! Here’s one of my first tries, I’ll be sure to post more.
Be the Change…
March 5, 2012 By
This is one of my favorite quotes. It really is simple, but has profound meaning. It actually took me some time and experience to even understand the impact of this message. Sometimes we feel like we wish people in our lives (or the world) would act a certain way or be a certain way. It can be frustrating. We wish and we hope certain people would change and it doesn’t happen.
The empowerment occurs when you embrace the knowledge that the change begins with you. You can’t change people, they have to change themselves. When you let that go, it’s liberating! All you have control over is yourself.
Organizing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Turns Pretty
March 4, 2012 By
I love the thought of being completely organized at home. It’s really exciting, but when it comes down to it I find it hard to commit to taking my precious down time to clean a closet – you know what I mean? I’m a coach, so I know full well that I’m making excuses, but I just don’t make it happen.
I went back to work full time last year which was a bit of an adjustment. Even while I was home with my daughter for 10 years, I was always working part time and running my own business. So, working wasn’t necessarily an adjustment, but working out of the home, full time and a generous commute was.
Luckily, I have an incredibly supportive husband who basically jumped in and did everything that needed to get done. We hired back a cleaning service, but he does everything else; laundry, getting my daughter to school (making her lunch), toting her around, the yard work and on and on. (YES! I really do know how supremely lucky I am!) It makes my life so much easier right now to know that I can come home at the end of a long day and we can all just spend quality time together.
So, I know my house is clean (our cleaning service is amazing!), but I have these nagging projects that I just never seem to do. I mean, I would much rather have fun with my family on the weekends or my days off than clean a closet. I’m sure you can relate!
Anyway, one of my good friends recently started selling for Thirty One Gifts. I had heard of Thirty One a little over a year ago and was always very curious. I had a party with my friend last month and became instantly hooked!
Of course, I love purses, so one of my favorite items is the skirted purse. Isn’t it super cute?!
I am really picky when it comes to handbags, but have to say that I am in love with this one! It’s the perfect size for what I need to carry, but is not too heavy which can often be the case with some of my bags.
I absolutely love this bag’s fashion versatility. These two bags have the very same base, the covers (and cute flower pins) simply cover a plain black bag. They easily switch out with a hook and eye attachment in less than a minute. I love different looks (easily) and this totally fits the bill! Ok, so I digress – back onto the topic of organization…
Beyond the cute fashion stuff, Thirty One offers many great products to use for organizing and a funny thing happened after I got my order, I was motivated to organize!
One Sunday morning, my husband and I opened the doors under the kitchen sink and started to dump things. (I guess I should have taken a before picture, but I’m sure you can probably imagine what it looked like). Needless to say, I was beyond excited that 1) We actually took the time to do this project (which was literally 20 minutes) and 2) It looks so pretty! I mean, who gets excited to open the cabinets under the kitchen sink? Well, now I do!
This little success has me totally motivated to continue with these little projects throughout the house. So, here is another…
As a hostess, I was able to purchase a hostess exclusive. I went right for the XXL Utility Tote, because, at an incredibly reduced price of $40 I thought it was a super deal – although I had no idea what I was going to do with it!
I decided to use it to organize my yarns and projects for all of my crochet. The first picture shows all of my projects, scraps, and yarns and the other shows them neatly stored in the bottom of my *newly* organized hall closet! I love this piece so much that I put together another small catalog show to get another. The second will be used to organize scarves, hats, and gloves. I can’t wait to get it and keep organizing!
Ok, so that’s it for now (I’ll post more pictures as I continue to organize!)
The moral of the story – whatever motivates you to get it done – just go with it! I felt such a sense of accomplishment and energetic relief to work through my blocks and get things done!
Reflection:
What kind of blocks are you experiencing in your life? What’s holding you back? What can you do to break through?
Passion, Purpose, & the Power of Positivity
January 22, 2012 By
How do you show up in your life each day?
I show up big, bold, and ready to rock. Do I have bad days? Sure I do, but they don’t have me.
When my husband and I started kicking around the idea of me ‘going back to work’ a year and a half ago, it was exciting, yet scary for me. Now, I wasn’t scared because of what you would think the normal reasons would be. I was scared because I knew I needed to align my passion and my purpose where ever I was working. How would I find this? I really didn’t know.
I knew managing social media for an insurance company wouldn’t fuel my fire or my passion. Quite the opposite, I knew it would dull my light.
Through my journey, I just believed. I was picky. I didn’t send out a lot of resumes or apply for a lot of jobs (actually only four). When my answer showed up one day, it was like a gift from the universe. I knew I had my answer and I ultimately manifested the very thing that I wanted. A job that I love, working for a company that I believed in so passionately. It really was a dream come true! My passion and my purpose were aligned with my work. I far exceeded my goal and was ready to take on new ones in this new chapter of my life.
When you do work that you love and you believe in – it doesn’t feel like work, even on days when you are working hard and multitasking like crazy. When you work from this place, it becomes wildly contagious. Your energy is like a light for others. Now, it’s not something that you can see, but it’s something that you just feel.
You see, I am an optimist. I see the opportunity in every challenge. I always look for the lesson and the opportunity for me to grow in any situation.
So, how does passion and purpose show up and align in your life each day? Do you look for opportunities no matter how they appear in your life?
I Pin. Do You?
January 21, 2012 By
Okay, I am a self proclaimed social media junkie, but I’m pretty tried and true to just a few of them. Facebook being my favorite, with Twitter a close second. I don’t jump in to everything, but have to admit that I have become wildly addicted to Pinterest.
So, I pin. Do you?
Haven’t heard about Pinterest? Well, it’s like a virtual bulletin board of anything that you might find online. It’s an amazing way to organize recipes, crafts and all of your favorite things. It’s also incredibly viral. I love seeing what my friends have pinned so I can easily find new recipes or ideas. It’s also super easy to search key words to find new and exciting things around the web.
I love being able to easily organize anything I may find in categories that I create. I’ve been finding really great recipes, fun photos, great craft ideas and so much more. We’ve already made many recipes that I have found and I’ve really only be pinning for a little less than 2 weeks.
Right now you need to receive an invitation (let me know and I can send you one!) or request an invitation from Pinterest to join.
I highly recommend it, you will instantly fall in love!
All Hail to Kale!
January 8, 2012 By
Kale, hmmmm – either you’re saying…
Yeah - yum! or…
Oh no – ewwww! or…
What the heck is kale?
If your reaction was anything but the first, you are truly missing out!
Honestly, kale is not something I ever entertained eating up until about a year ago. I mean, it’s only purpose is really to dress your plate when you’re dining out, right?
Well, one of the many wonderful things I love about my job with Whole Foods Market is how much I learn each and everyday. As someone who has always been very health conscious and eats healthy, I thought I knew a lot about nutrition prior to starting my job early last year. Well, I was wrong – I can’t believe how much I have learned and continue to learn on a daily basis! It’s really exciting!
One of my favorite things that I have learned is the many different ways to prepare kale, which is one of the most nutrient dense vegetables with tons of health benefits.
I’ve written about kale before. I love to put it in a Green Smoothie (as I love to sneak greens in a smoothie any way I can). My favorite summertime smoothie is Pineapple, Ginger, and Kale. It’s super delicious and refreshing. Kale, in a smoothie, however is not what I would consider a starter green. Kale, in a smoothie, is definitely an acquired taste since it’s relatively strong. If you are new to smoothies I would suggest starting with Spinach or Chard as they are mild and practically tasteless when you add some fruit.
I also love to steam or sauté it. Many times I chop up some garlic and add to either chicken broth or vegetable broth (whichever I have on hand), cook up the garlic a bit and then put my kale in the pan, cover it and steam away. It’s super delicious, even my 10 year old loves it! There are many great recipes online, I found this Bobby Flay recipe last year that was also quite delicious.
Yesterday, I was looking to make a side dish or have a salad so I was googling looking for some interesting kale salad recipes, as I haven’t tried that preparation yet. As you can imagine, I stumbled upon many delicious recipes. I decided to try a Roasted Carrot, Avocado and Kale Salad from a blog called, Top of the Apple.
As always, I make modifications so here is my version. To see the original version (with delicious photos, click here).
Roasted Carrot, Avocado, & Kale Salad
serves 2 (generously – could be up to 4)
6 thin carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided (could even reduce a bit if necessary – also I used a Tuscan Herb infused oil that we love so experiment!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 head kale, coarsely chopped (about 6 cups)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco (I used Feta)
handful of edamame for each plate
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, sesame, and pumpkin seeds (we omitted the pine nuts)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a bowl, combine carrots, 1 tablespoon of the oil, salt, and cayenne; toss until carrots are completely coated. Spread on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, turn carrots, bake 15 minutes more. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine kale, remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, lemon juice and salt. With clean hands, firmly massage kale until tender and bright green, about 2 minutes. Add roasted carrots; toss gently. To serve, divide kale and carrots among two plates. Arrange avocado slices, toss on your edamame and top with cheese and your toasted nut/seed mixture.
I have to tell you – this recipe was AMAZING! My husband devoured it and was still talking about it this morning. I can’t wait to make it again! I would love to serve this with a delicious piece of salmon or some scallops – it makes for a super nutritious and tasty meal.
Spring Fever in January?
January 7, 2012 By
Today was absolutely glorious! My car registered 63 degrees at one point! I really got a case of Spring fever and it’s only early January.
We threw Faith’s bike in the back of the truck, loaded all the dogs in the car and headed up to the track to get some exercise and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. It was delightful!
Once we got back home, I decided to try out a new smoothie recipe I found recently, with my own adjustments, of course!
I was dying to try this new recipe I found for a Cherry Chocolate Smoothie. Cherry and chocolate? Yum! I couldn’t think of anything better. Of course, I love to sneak my greens in a smoothie somehow – so I chose to add spinach since it doesn’t affect the taste.
Well, it was as good as if not better I thought – absolutely divine! I haven’t been adding fruit to my green smoothies lately, so this was a sweet treat. Here’s the recipe:
Cherry Chocolate with Sneaky Greens Smoothie
Serves 1
8 oz. of milk (for mine I used unsweetened vanilla coconut milk and for Faith’s we used skim – use the milk of your choice)
5 fresh strawberries (although the recipe called for 5 frozen, we had fresh)
1/2 cup of frozen cherries (oh so yummy!)
1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder (my favorite is Plant Fusion)
A handful of ice cubes (add more or less depending on your desired thickness)
A few handfuls of spinach
I used my favorite kitchen gadget, my vitamix to blend away. This smoothie was so delicious and is now a new favorite!
Have you ever tried a green smoothie? Start with spinach. I swear you won’t even taste it! Add blueberries or cherries to your smoothies and your kids won’t even know it’s there! Try it and let me know what you think!
Here’s the original recipe: Cherry Chocolate Smoothie – thanks for the inspiration!
Baby Steps to Success
January 4, 2012 By
Success is not instant, it’s achieved from an ongoing repeated process. It is attained by the small steps we take each and everyday – the good ones and the bad ones. Consistency, resiliency, tenacity.
A New Year and New Goals – Empower Yourself to Create Different Results
January 2, 2012 By
With each New Year comes the promise of a clean slate, an easy way to ‘start over’ and renew. We want to commit to those things that fell by the wayside in the year prior. We get excited and motivated, but after the glow of the holidays is gone – it’s back to our normal routine, the daily chaos sets in, we have good days and bad days and we lose site of that New Year promise.
Don’t beat yourself up, it happens – it’s life. How can you ensure that you have accountability and follow through with your inspired New Year’s Goals so that you can ultimately achieve the results you desire?
Grab yourself a notebook and take some time to reflect on the following:
1. Is your resolution realistic, specific and achievable? What about your strategy for achieving it? Simply saying, “I want to lose weight” isn’t specific enough.
- How much weight do you want to lose? Be really specific. Take that total amount and break it down even further, by the week or by the month – whatever makes sense for you.
- How do you want to change your diet? Go gluten free? Eliminate sugar? Or simply make sure you commit to your daily water in take.
- What is your plan for exercise? How often and what? Does Zumba make you happy, simple walks clear your mind? Make it fun for you to ensure you will stick with it.
The key is to be really specific and make your goals realistic. To say you are going to go from never working out to working out 7 days a week – 2 hours a day is probably not realistic. Remember, start small and commit – when you see results you will be truly empowered and can ramp up your goals even further.
2. How can you keep your goals top-of-mind? Write down your goals in a journal. Be sure to really reflect on how it would feel to achieve this goal. How would you physically feel? What would you look like? How would you feel emotionally? Visualize yourself in this space of achieving success!
Post-it notes are another fun and simple way to keep your goals (and encouraging thoughts top-of-mind). You can place these on the bathroom mirror, on the refrigerator, and in your car. The more repetition the better! Set reminders on your phone to keep yourself in check. When your goals are visible, you’re more likely to take action, follow through and hold yourself accountable.
3. How about accountability? This piece is HUGE, so do not leave it out! Who in your life can hold you accountable? This could be your spouse, a friend, a co-worker, or a coach.
Think about an NFL quarterback, he isn’t just out there on the field alone winning games. He studies, practices and works with numerous coaches and teammates.
An accountability partner can cheer with you when you have success, but then encourage you and empathize with you when you are down. This is a sounding board for you to express your challenges and struggles, but also share your successes.
4. Begin & End the Day with a Positive Mindset. Condition yourself to commit to re-affirming your goal before your feet even hit the floor for the day. Set the intention to create the results you desire each and everyday. How do you want to feel for the day? What thoughts do you want to have to help you achieve your goal?
On the flip side, end your day in a similar fashion, but celebrate your successes. Have a challenging day? Yeah! These are the days where we have the opportunity for the most growth. In the challenging times, really reflect on the positive that you can take from the situation and turn that challenge into an opportunity for growth. The lesson is there, I swear!
5. Be Flexible and Cut Yourself a Break. Give yourself permission to be flexible and tweak things as you go. It’s better to realize that you need to make change and adjust than to give up altogether.
A football team that goes into half time down 21 – 0 certainly doesn’t come out and not make half time adjustments. They get a ‘pep talk’ (ok a BIG one) and make the necessary adjustments. You can, too! It’s okay!
Seeing your New Year’s Goals through is absolutely possible! Just apply the above strategies: make it realistic, specific, and achievable, keep your goals top-of-mind, find an accountability partner, work on your mindset, and be flexible!
Put these into practice and you will be well on your way to your best year yet – full of success, growth, and satisfaction.
You can do it!
