Monthly Archives: December 2012

Ten Things I Loved In December

Posted on by
4

Taking time each month to reflect on the good stuff has done wonders for my ability to actually stop and notice the good stuff. I’m truly thankful for Rosie’s inspiration.

Ten Things I Loved In December

Things I/We Did

1.      Celebrated our tiny girl’s 2nd birthday. She is growing up! I know, I know, enjoy it while I can. But I really felt like she was one FOREVER, so I am happy to report she has made it to two. Love this girl with my whole heart and at least part of yours.

2.      Reconnected with friends from junior high.    A couple of times a year for the past few years a group of us from Juan Crespi Junior Hugh School get together for some reminiscing and general wacky good times. This time was family fun day in our home town – El Sob#1 – for burgers at The Original Red Onion and playing at Cheese Park.

3.     Celebrated good news on the legal and health fronts.

4.    Visited the Sacramento Zoo on Christmas Eve. We have a family tradition!

zoo xmas eve

5.     Reveled in the brilliance that is Yoga for Holiday Stress with Madeleine Lohman at It’s All Yoga. People, I have shared in the past that I am not really friends with the holiday season. However, since starting this yearly tradition {three years running!}, I now have a new found affection for the holiday season.

The secret, it would seem, is to make friends with the season and do the seasonal things that makes you smile. Not your mom, not your crazy sister — you.

Who knew?

6.    Played in the California State Capitol Building and danced in front of the state menorah and Christmas tree. The running, jumping and testing the acoustics in the Capitol happened spontaneously, but man, that was the most fun I’d ever had in there.

7.    Purged closets, drawers and baskets. I absolutely love getting rid of stuff. Especially other people’s stuff. Good thing I have a little kid and can go through her stuff. The husband is less excited about me getting rid of his stuff, but I’m working on it.

In all seriousness, I asked for permission to get rid of anything I wanted for Christmas.

He did not bite.

This time.

Not to worry, friends! My birthday is right around the corner and I think I’ll ask again.

On The Plate

8.     Daily green smoothies. I am in the midst of a 5 week Holiday Wellness Challenge with Nikki over at Mindful Moms Holistics

9.     Burger, fries and onion rings at The Original Red Onion. {burp!}

On The Bookshelf 

10.      Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – by JK Rowling. I previously believed I had no interest in these books. Two teacher friends convinced me to give it a try and I absolutely loved it! I’ve already reserved the second book and watched the movie.

+++++

So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

+++++

My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. Now I’ve been inspired to pause and notice the good stuff each month.

Saturday Senses

Posted on by
Reply

A way to capture the spirit of each week…

zoo xmas eve

{image source –alicia herrera}

tasting :: chive ricotta nut cheese, jojos from trader joe’s, grilled goat cheese sandwiches, creamy vegan garlicy pasta with sauteed broccoli.

hearing ::  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! baby…walk…..

smelling :: blueberry waffles.

seeing ::  new family traditions take hold.

feeling :: content and quite frankly a little surprised. who knew doing the holiday season your own {super mellow} way would make such a difference?

wishing/hoping :: has a safe new year’s eve.

What about you?

What are your senses this Saturday?

Looking back, how was your week?

Leave a comment and tell me all about it. I’d seriously love to hear about your week. Now’s not the time to be shy.

This weekly tradition inspired by Pink of Perfection’s Five Sense Friday.

Don’t forget to click the links!

How I Overcame the Holiday Humbug In 7 Steps

Posted on by
3

image source: we heart it

I have a long history of hating the holidays. All of them, but especially the ones the last six weeks of the year.

Yes, even as a kid.

Maybe it was the high expectations for fun or the knowing one side of your family was disappointed because you were with the other or the shuttling from place to place to place…

In any case,  the holidays used to fill me with dread and a heavier dose of SAD than the average gal.

That is until recently.

Three years ago, I signed up for a Yoga for Holiday Stress workshop at It’s All Yoga with my good friend, Madeleine. I thought if nothing else, I will have a nice day of yoga with one of my favorite teachers, but what I ended up with was nothing short of revolutionary.

The best take away from Madeleine’s workshop: if the holidays get you down, find new traditions that make your heart sing.

New Holiday Traditions Maybe You’d Like to Try:

1.    Take a yearly workshop in December – mine is yoga, but maybe yours is cooking, crafting or reading. Do something fun for yourself either with a friend or on your own. You may even make new friends there.

When will you find the time in an already stuffed full calendar you ask? I started saying no to things that weren’t working for me any longer (or never had and I had been doing them because of tradition or other people’s expectations). Once I started saying no, I was able to find time to do activities that made me happy.

Was it uncomfortable at first? Oh, yes! Disappointing people isn’t my strong suit, however, the trade off ended up being worth it.

2.   Listen to holiday music that doesn’t make you cringe – mine is the Do They Know It’s Christmas (best.song.ever) station on Pandora. They played lots of Wham’s Last Christmas and Bruce Springsteen and Bing Crosby and Elvis. Even the Waitresses made the cut. Now when little Ruby hears Christmas music she pumps her little fist in the air and dances along.

As cute as you might expect.

3.   Make a different kind of tree each year – seems like a lot of work I know, but knowing my little monkey will climb anything and every thing the idea of putting a tree in my house just seemed completely nuts. Plus I’m less into the 3D tree than most. Don’t get me wrong, I like looking at them a lot – in public places and at your house…. kinda like how I love other people’s dogs.

4.   Saying no to shopping – what???? I know. But hear me out.We have a really small house and we’re trying to keep the clutter monster from eating us alive, so not bringing more gear into the house ourselves helps toward that end.

The Hubs and the Girl’s birthdays are in December so those two are presented up right before Christmas. We usually make a present of some sort of the grandparents (which requires us to get our act together way before December) and we decided years ago to forgo presents for each other so we can have less stress and get better birthday gifts. We see it as a win, win. Plus our girl is tiny right now and doesn’t really get the present thing, so…. we’ll check in later on this business. But just know, for now, it totally works for us.

5.      Saying yes to experiences – the zoo on Christmas Eve morning, White Christmas on the big screen, walking around midtown looking at Christmas lights. I’m hoping to add seeing the Nutcracker and ice skating once little girl is a bigger girl. I figure we are saving lots of time cutting out baking, shopping, and wrapping, so we might as well have fun.

6.     Healthy eating and walking daily – this one is new this year and I feel so much better because of it. Every morning this month I’ve been drinking warm lemon water as soon as I get up (before !) and drinking either a green smoothie or vegetable soup to start the day with lots of vitamins and fiber. What a huge difference this has made! I don’t know about you, but when I start my day in a healthful/intentional way, that’s usually how my day goes. I think I’ll keep it up after the holidays.

7.    Stay mindful. Or at least keep coming back to the moment. This is a good practice all year long. Most moments are pretty darn good, if I’m leaving the past and future where they belong. A mindful practice can look like a formal meditation sit, but usually looks more like a nature walk in the early morning or washing dishes for the thousandth time.

Tell me about the holiday traditions and winter activities that you love. I’m always interested in adding new fun winter activities to our calendar.

Saturday Senses

Posted on by
Reply

A way to capture the spirit of each week…

{image source — we heart it }

tasting :: old-fashioned vegetable soup, sprouted wheat bagels, dairy free chocolate chip cookies, grammy and girls dairy free oatmeal cranberry cookies and chada thai with friends.

hearing ::  little girl sing/hum happy birthday to herself all week.

smelling :: cookies baking and soup simmering.

seeing ::  family and friends come together to celebrate ruby’s birthday and huge piles of stuff go into the donation pile.

feeling :: like i have a 2 year old boss.

wishing/hoping :: everyone has the christmas of their own dreams while making their own traditions.

What about you?

What are your senses this Saturday?

Looking back, how was your week?

Leave a comment and tell me all about it. I’d seriously love to hear about your week. Now’s not the time to be shy.

This weekly tradition inspired by Pink of Perfection’s Five Sense Friday.

Don’t forget to click the links!

Saturday Senses

Posted on by
Reply

A way to capture the spirit of each week…

{image source — we heart it }

tasting :: burger/fries/onion ring/xmas cookies combo, roasted butternut squash pasta bake, daily green smoothies, hot lemon water before breakfast, earl grey tea in the bath.

hearing ::  the waiting by tom petty on repeat in my head.

smelling :: bergamot in the tea and the bath.

seeing :: how this restorative yoga business really helps deal with stress. {for real. try it. even one pose a day makes a HUGE difference}

feeling :: grateful and loved.

wishing/hoping :: my little family members very happy birthdays.

What about you?

What are your senses this Saturday?

Looking back, how was your week?

Leave a comment and tell me all about it. I’d seriously love to hear about your week. Now’s not the time to be shy.

This weekly tradition inspired by Pink of Perfection’s Five Sense Friday.

Don’t forget to click the links!

43 Things December Update

Posted on by
4

Um, hello end of the year. Where did you come from?

Since my birthday is about three months away, I decided I better take a look at what is left on my birthday list. It’s a good thing I did because I have more than half the list still to do!

The List:

1. Take my birthday (March 20th) off – no work, no obligations – just fun.

2. Take an anti-gravity yoga class. – I researched a found a place fairly close to home with regular beginning classes on Saturday mornings. Seems do-able still.

3. Road trip to Portland with Ruby. Revised to plane trip to Portland  July 2012

4. Take Ruby to see live music. June 2012

5. Read 43 books. – Good lord, I have a LOT of reading to do. Seems do-able-ish.

6. Put my feet in the ocean with Ruby. January 2012

7. Pick berries. – I doubt I can do this before my birthday in March, but I think it’s going on the Life List. I ate myself sick on u-pick cherries when I was little and I want Ruby to have the same opportunity. Do you have a favorite u-pick place in Northern California?

8. Go on retreat. November 2012

9. Teach an active yoga class. – I need to schedule myself on the It’s All Yoga Free Friday calendar. Will you come to my class?

10. Go to the movies by myself. {Yep, I’ve never done this. I have, however, gone to a rock show on my own so don’t feel too sorry for me.} – I did it! Several times! Movies seen in my own company: The Artist, Chimpanzee, Friends with Kids, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I am totally sold.

11. Attend a service at a Universal Unitarian church. – Must schedule soon. Still do-able.

12. Explore the Taiwanese culture in Sacramento. – Working on what this looks like. Will definitely be on the Life List.

13. Learn 10 words/phrases in Mandarin. – I have three for sure. Still working on it. Also on the Life List.

14. Run a 5K. – Um, yeah. I need to download that Couch to 5K app STAT. This also may be on the Life List.

15. Write a fan letter. Two! I wrote two! – August 2012 and October 2012. I highly recommend this activity. It’s a feel good, win-win.

16. Rent a house at the coast or in the mountains. – Scheduled cabin visit in January. Do-able.

17. Teach a class on social media and blogging to teachers. – Going on the Life List. I’m too far out of work mode for this to happen any time soon.

18. Sleep outside. – Let’s be real. I missed the opportunity this year. I’m thinking Life List.

19. Do a swim workout. – Le sigh… I quit my fantastic gym, so no more pool…

20. Watch my first students graduate from high school. –  Scheduled for June 2013

21. Spend a week away from the Internet. – Strikes terror in my heart. So it sounds like I need to get this one on the books – STAT.

22. See a play. – Looking at a show in January and have enlisted a friend. Seems do-able.

23. Go to a sing along at the Crest. – Scheduling nightmare in progress. Seems do-able.

24. Take a photography class.  September 2012

25. Take a cooking class. – Investigating several options – Seems do-able.

26. Take a private yoga class. – Currently scheduling. – Seems do-able.

27. Actually make something I’ve pinned on Pinterest.  11/27/11 – post

28. Go to the ballet. – Investigating several options. – Seems do-able.

29. Have a family portrait taken. – Scheduling now. Seems do-able. Or as much as a very active toddler will allow.

30. Watch a movie outside in the backyard. – Too cold. Maybe next spring or summer.

31. Take Ruby on a hike. Babies are ridiculous. They really just want you to carry them. — July  2012

32. Help a friend start a blog. – I’m going to have to go retro on this one. See comments below.

33. Build an outdoor shower. – Consider it moved to the Life List.

34. Make a wall of bookshelves in the dining room. — November 2012 – now to just make them pretty….

35. Redesign the entryway and make it pretty and useful. — In progress.

36. Start a mom/play group in Midtown. — I’m not sure I need this any more. I think I’ve found my peeps one at a time.

37. Teach a class at my gym. — No more gym….

38. Organize the pantry. And I didn’t even take pictures. Just know, one of the best things I ever did. — September 2012

39. Get rid of all the shoes I don’t wear because they are uncomfortable. — April 2012

40. Take a nap in a hammock. — What!?!? How did this not happen this past summer? Oh, I have a toddler. Moving to the Life List now.

41. Host a baby shower. — July 2012

42. Take a photo every day {for a month}. REVISED 1/8/12. I’m thinking February.

43. Make the Book of Me into a book. – Hmmmmm…..

Interested in helping me get any of these items checked off my list? Leave me a note in the comments section.
 

Do you have a birthday/life list? Do you want some company on your adventures? Leave me a note in the comments.

Pretty self-explanatory, however if you’d like the whole reason for 43 instead of 42.
Wondering what this Life List business is all about? You can make one too…

 

Blogs I Love: 100 Days of Real Food

Posted on by
1

Blog I Love: 100 Days of Real Food

Who they are:

100 Day of Real Food‘s tag line – 1 Family, 2 Kids and 0 Processed Foods pretty much sums it up. A couple of years ago, Lisa – the mom behind the blog – read Michael Pollen’s In Defense of Food and had a major food epiphany and decided to change how her family ate for 100 days. They are still at it and she writes about how they keep their food real.

Why I love 100 Days of Real Food and what I learn from it:

I have been really interested in whole food and organics for the better part of a decade. I honestly can’t remember why I decided to start eating whole foods, maybe it was starting to really learn to cook and realizing how fulfilling it is to feed myself.  Also reading books like This Organic Life: Confessions of A Suburban Homesteader changed how I thought about where my food came from. After reading this book, I signed up for a CSA and began eating foods in season and grown close to home. And I started feeling better.

When I was studying to become a teacher, we got to work in school gardens with some of our students. It was pretty eye-opening how little students knew about where their food came from. That experience helped me to want to help others eat better.

One of the ways I teach students about food is sharing what I eat. This may sound weird, but I show my students my meals. I eat breakfast at school and show them my steel cut oats with cooked apples or yogurt with honey and real blueberries.  Sometimes we sit together at lunch time. They are so interested in what I’m eating. They usually say they’ve never heard of it or comment that it looks weird, but smells good. We talk about the importance of eating the rainbow. Not like eating every color Skittles (actual conversation), but to eat different colored fruits and vegetables. On my birthday, I bring treats: strawberries and vanilla wafers with whipped cream. Well, I don’t use the dairy anymore, but they love it.

I love food and now that I’m in change of feeding another human, I am even more concerned with the quality of said food. Plus with all my allergies, I’ve got to be pretty diligent about reading labels and keeping allergens out of my system.

I absolutely love reading about other people’s adventures in navigating the real food world.
Posts I find inspiring:

Real Food Tips: 7 Healthy Holiday Parties (for kids!) – as a teacher, I am thankful for posts like this one full of ideas on how not to sugar up the kiddos at school. I’ve already tried a couple of these ideas with great success (recycled trash crafts and board games with the teacher playing day) and I look forward to my return to the classroom to try more.

Real Food Tips: 10 Ways To Switch Up Your Kid’s Lunch – Kid’s lunch? What about MY lunch? Really, in all seriousness, use these ideas to make your own lunch better.

Real Food Tips: 10 Reasons To Cut Out Processed Foods – please know I still eat completely and utter like crap some of the time. On purpose. But 90% of the time, we are hitting up the whole foods.

Real Food Tips: 12 Ways to Keep It Cheap – Eating whole food can be expensive. Lisa has specific tips to help defray the cost. At this point my life, I’d rather spend money on quality food than medicine in the future. I’m that guy now.

Welcome to 100 Days of Real Food – where it all started and a 10-Day Pledge.

Lunch photos on Facebook – I very much want Lisa to make my lunch.

If you haven’t already, go check out 100 Days of Real Food and then tell me what you think.

What blogs do you love?

Saturday Senses

Posted on by
2

A way to capture the spirit of each week…

{image source — we heart it }

tasting :: coconut milk EGG NOG (!!!!!), green smoothies, warm lemon water before breakfast and cooked apples in steel cut oats.

hearing ::  ruby start singing all her favorite songs – finally.

smelling :: falafel pie baking.

seeing :: the inside of my eyelids. i totally fell asleep doing yoga this week. dude, i was tired.

feeling :: o.m.g. so. much. better.

wishing/hoping :: we (you, me) can stay healthy and sane for the rest of the holidays.

What about you?

What are your senses this Saturday?

Looking back, how was your week?

Leave a comment and tell me all about it. I’d seriously love to hear about your week. Now’s not the time to be shy.

This weekly tradition inspired by Pink of Perfection’s Five Sense Friday.

Don’t forget to click the links!

Naps Are For Smarties

Posted on by
4

rest

You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner, and no halfway measure. Take off your clothes and get into bed. That’s what I always do. Don’t think you will be doing less work, because you sleep during the day. That’s a foolish notion held by people who have no imagination. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one – well, at least one and a half, I’m sure. When the war started, I had to sleep during the day because that was the only way I could cope with my responsibilities. — Winston Churchill

(Or you could always come take a restorative yoga class with me at It’s All Yoga and receive all the benefits of a nap – and more! – without actually falling asleep).

What’s your take on naps? Pro or anti? What are your napping best practices?

Ten Things I Loved In November

Posted on by
Reply

Taking time each month to reflect on the good stuff has done wonders for my ability to actually stop and notice the good stuff. I’m truly thankful for Rosie’s inspiration.

Ten Things I Loved In November

Things I/We Did

1.      Voted. Since the election is over, we can now start answering our phone again. Yes, we still have a land line and we are the only living humans without caller ID, so you understand why this is so exciting. I’m also really happy with the outcome of the election and feel pretty damn good about the people in my Facebook feed. Hardly a reason to defriend anyone.

cutest ballot holder ever

2.      Draped over a bolster for hours at a time at the One Day Emotional Restoration Retreat with Michelle at It’s All Yoga.  Laying down for a couple hours, without sleeping, fully supported by props? Totally underrated. People, get yourselves to a restorative yoga class STAT!

pausing is good.

3.     FairyTale Town – Built in the 50’s, the play areas are metal and pointy and not at all what I expected. I think I liked it more than the kid, so we’ll definitely be going back.

4.    Embraced the leaves changing.

the twins

5.     Visited the redwoods in our backyard at the UC Davis Arboretum. Holy moly tree huggers! These redwoods ground me in a way I never thought possible or at least thought was reserved only for the ocean. I’m glad I’ve decided to embrace nature instead of bourbon.

tree hugger

6.    Introduced Ruby to the chickens who roam free in Fair Oaks. To be honest, I just really needed a change of playground scenery and deciding to visit the chickens was a pretty easy choice. A 20 minute drive from home and some serious laughs. Little girl was perplexed by their very existence. It cracked me up because a lot of the chickens were taller than her.

chickens are king!

7.    Celebrated Thanksgiving on Wednesday instead of Thursday. Dude, talk about taking the pressure off. I highly recommend it for the holiday avoidant.

On The Plate

8.     Mandarin pineapple smoothie {3 seedless mandarins, a bunch of frozen pineapple chunks and a container or plain soy yogurt in the blender with a touch of honey.}

deliciousness

9.     Polenta with marinara, olives, spinach, artichoke hearts and Daiya.

On The Bookshelf 

10.      Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

+++++

So what are you loving lately? I’m always on the lookout for what is delicious in food, drink, fashion, and life. Leave me your favorites in the comments or write a post of your own and link back here.

+++++

My friend, Rosie Molinary, made a list and I loved hers so much I stole her idea. Now I’ve been inspired to pause and notice the good stuff each month.

Saturday Senses

Posted on by
Reply

A way to capture the spirit of each week…

https://i0.wp.com/data.whicdn.com/images/44756424/p28_large.jpg

{image source — we heart it }

tasting :: green smoothies, peanut butter honey toast, avocado everything and coffee cake.

hearing ::  countless episodes of joy the baker podcast and the phone ring off the hook.

smelling :: wet leaves.

seeing :: myself trying to control little things because i can’t control big things.

feeling :: anxious (then better) because of lots of hugs.

wishing/hoping :: i can remember that life isn’t in my control and to hold it loosely.

What about you?

What are your senses this Saturday?

Looking back, how was your week?

Leave a comment and tell me all about it. I’d seriously love to hear about your week. Now’s not the time to be shy.

This weekly tradition inspired by Pink of Perfection’s Five Sense Friday.

Don’t forget to click the links!