Let Your Life Bloom

Eat this cheesecake

Sweets have always been a special treat for me. Growing up, after every holiday, my Dad and I had a ritual where we would go to Long's and fill up a cart with holiday sale candy. Yes, a whole cart! The fun didn't stop there. We'd then hide it in different places in the house so my Mom wouldn't find it and try to feed us carrots instead. Months after my Dad died, my sister and I found a drawer full of Easter candy - so we stuffed our faces with Cadbury eggs and marshmallow peeps, crying, laughing, and chewing.

That's one of my favorite memories. Though, these days I feel sick just smelling the chemicals and processed ingredients from the candy aisle (in a non health food store). Luckily, there are many healthy alternatives that are made with recognizable, whole foods based ingredients that are incredibly delicious...and I have happily stumbled upon another example of that. 

Earth Cafe makes an amazing raw, vegan cheesecake in 9 flavors. I've already tried Rockin' Raspberry, Peach Passion, Cali Lemon, and Cherry Dream. It's not possible to pick a favorite.

The first person that can spot my error in this video wins a free session with me! Leave a comment noting it as well as your favorite healthy dessert. Cheers!

The treasure chest

Today happens to be the birthday of 3 people that I know. One of them is my friend Morgan, who I've been stumped on what to get. Birthdays have always been a big deal to me.  I like to do something different, creative. Something that will be remembered. One of the best way I've found to come up with ideas for this is by using my intuition. It always comes through, sometimes with the unexpected...

As you know, intuition speaks to us through recurring thoughts, images, synchronicity, and dreams. Whenever I thought about Morgan, I'd get a picture of a treasure chest. So, I went down to the arts and crafts store to buy a treasure chest. Then I used my intuition to guide me to the right items to put in it. Some of the items are quite odd. But I've learned that when intuition speaks, I listen and follow.

Morgan's birthday treasure chest includes:

Acrylic gems at the bottom (the jewels)

Reed's Ginger chews 

Chocolate coconut bar

Self-Care cards

Wood heart

Small silver angel

Fish magnet

Roll of toilet paper

Small toy horse

Journal with red orchid on it

***

I'm going to collage it, paint it, glitter it, and sticker it. The princess in me tends to come out when I make art. Random, I know. She'll remember it though. Isn't that what life is about, having something unique to reflect back on? That's what I'm going to tell her when she picks up that roll of toilet paper with a confused look on her face.

Make a treasure chest for yourself! What would you put in it?

Marvel at this body!

It was a tough choice of whether to post this on Movin' On Mondays or Fabulously Fun Fridays. I chose today because what this woman has done with her body is amazing. She has lived her passion, with an upbeat attitude that is an inspiration for all of us!

Dorothy Kloss is the oldest performing showgirl. The video below is from a few years ago. She is now 85, still performing, looks fabulous, and has the best energy. Check out what's possible! This video is a more current one, definitely worth watching, where you can see more of her dancing. More of her story can be found here.

This little light of mine

First, let me say this - May you be blessed with whatever you do or don't celebrate this time of year. May you be warm, nourished, cared for, connected with, and supported. If not from anywhere else, from here, and visiting my blog.

I chose this to share with you today because I want us all to shine our lights as much as we possibly can. It makes a huge difference when we do so. Tough choice to narrow down which one to post, so here are my other favorites: Here and here.

Enjoy!

Snack time!

As you know, I ♥ Twitter (follow me here). Yesterday, a Twitter friend @dietriffic asked about fun, healthy snacks to serve kids. I had to jump into the conversation given my background in health and prior career incarnation working with children (as a princess, lunch table teacher, camp counselor, "mommy, daddy, & me specialist," and more).

Kids love hands on, experiential, and tasty (you might notice they're not shy about their opinions). As a teacher, caregiver, or relative, we get the great task of making it fun and healthy. This benefits their health and has an immediate impact on their behavior. Many of the challenges adults face with kids can be easily remedied by changing what they eat.

Play BOOK!

Book! Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence along with these instructions in a note to your wall (blog, etc), and post your sentence in a comment here as well.

~~~
This fun idea was gifted to me by a friend that I've known for a long, long time. One that I reconnected with over Facebook after many years of being curious about what she was up to. I thought of her often, even more than others that had been in my life and gone separate ways. There are just some people that leave that kind of imprint on your life, she was one of them. Who are yours?
~~~

My 5th sentence was:
"But over time, she learned to overcome her old patterns and take greater responsibility for bringing more joy and satisfaction into her life."

And your sentence is...

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday. And I'll tell you what, if you like birthdays, as I do - get on social networks and sparkle your cool self. I already knew I loved Twitter and Facebook. Now, I love them even more. They added so much heartfelt joy to my life on this day. I'm incredibly grateful.

Have you ever had one of those moments where everything feels crystal clear? It rushes over you in a calm and powerful wave. That was my day today. See, most of you don't know that it was a long, windy, boulder filled, road blocked journey to get here.

I've always been hopeful, and generally positive. It was just underneath many layers of stuff. Sometimes thick, gooey, ugly, stuck stuff. It affected all areas of my life - health, relationships, money, career. And then, choice by choice, it unfolded. My life began to bloom.

I'm sharing this with you here for a few reasons:

1) It feels amazingly good to find oneself again. It's like discovering a treasure chest that I had both forgotten about and desperately searched for, for years.

2) There were so many times that I missed seeing, feeling, and acknowledging the support that I had around me. People, places, things, experiences were right there in the thin and thick of it. I was so busy being stuck and focusing on how much I didn't like what was going on that I often overlooked the obvious good things that were happening. Though I've become more aware of this as time went on, it wasn't until this morning that I was overcome with such a strong connection to life and how it supports me.

3) If you are in the shoes that I used to fill, the ones I still occasionally walk in, where all seems lost and there's always something not working - hang on. That feeling is just stuff. It may feel like you, but its not. You may seem stuck, but you're not.  There is a way back to you, choose it.

The way I got here from there was by taking care of myself. With food, with who was in my life, with where I worked. I began trusting myself more and believing in what I wanted rather than letting the trauma stories of the past run me. Essentially, I made a decision that I was worth more and that my contribution mattered.

That's how we make a difference - by being ourselves. Not our patterns, wounds, or fears. Choose you, even if you're scared or don't fully believe it's possible. I'm telling you, it is possible. I'm over here, waving at you to join me.

♥

So, I dedicate this post to you, as well as me - walking through the fire is better than staying there and getting burned. To our greatness. Happy birthday on whatever day you are born.

♥

All night long

Just because I am a child of the 80's, could not resist the tight leather pants, pastel colors, video set of yesteryear, choreography, and the side chorus of "Feel good, feel good." Here's your Saturday night dance party:

Queen of Cheese

For someone who is allergic to dairy, it might sound odd to have this title bestowed upon me. But since I'm the one doing it, I know where to find me if I get upset over it later. Tomorrow, I may be the queen of something else anyway. Often, according to my mate, I am the Queen of Non Sequitur. I'll take that too! It's ok for a lady to have more than one tiara.

As you know, I'm a firm believer in the funny, the magical, and (eh hem) am royalty. The next possible, obvious, step was as the Queen of Cheese. What does it mean? Ah, the infamous new age, human searching question. It means that I have choice, free will, to be who I want to be whenever I want to be. And if I'm feeling cheesy, why not be the queen of it?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for consistent messaging. You want to know who you're dealing with, especially when it comes to doing something significant like changing yourself/your life. Education counts. As does experience. But, for me, these questions are equally important - Do you like the person? Does the rapport feel comfortable? Do I feel better or worse after I interact with them?

The Top 10

When I was a kid, I loved to make lists. Lists of my favorite songs, toys, movies, books, friends, tv shows, and, well, the list could go on. Today, I'm making a new list, The Top 10...of the moment. Here it is:

1) An almost empty inbox

2) Books, in general, and in particular: Pronoia is the antidote to paranoia

3) The extra furry skin that hangs down from my cat's belly, swashing back and forth when she walks

4) Having people contact me with opportunities to speak, coach, and write

5) Coconut Bliss ice cream, Tahitian Vanilla flavor

6) Even if people don't agree on politics and environmental issues - change is in the air, more dialogue and solutions are happening as a result of what's been in place.

7) A breeze and cooler weather today

8) The watermelon that grows locally and the tasty one in our CSA box this week

9) Being healthy

10) The mini trampoline on my deck currently calling my name. I feel so retro when I jump on it. Need dolpin shorts and feathered hair asap.

What's your Top 10?