Thursday, October 14, 2010

balasana

aka Child's Pose


*google images*

Benefits;

~ extremely restorative
~ gently stretches your thighs, hips & ankles
~ relieves neck & backaches
{particularly if performed with head & torso supported}
~ is known to calm down the brain, relieve stress & fatigue



are you surprised?

really? noooooo you aren't.
it's the Irish in me. the impatient, indecisive Irish.
yeah yeah, another blog re-do.

i think it's my favourite, after Rocketgirl of course.
for now.... ;)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

2 more sleeps!!!

Excited! Nervous!
Just sayin'!

PS. Bless all the hard workers who freed the Chilean miners!
So moving & amazing to watch!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

3 sleeps left!

Pinch me!  Pinch me!
3 sleeps left til my Yoga Retreat in Beautiful Shuswap Lake!

I have been looking forward to this weekend of
PURE BLISS
with Padma & her signature workshop for months!

"This October, refresh your inner strength and spend a weekend practicing wonderfully revitalizing yoga and meditation with us. We'll be exploring yoga philosophy about bliss and peace in life. Learn about the subtle energies of the body, the koshas and doshas, and practice ancient purification techniques from the classical Yoga Sutras. You'll come away completely replenished and full of knowledge of how you can maintain this excellent feeling every day. Practices will include meditation, yoga and philosophy, yogic psychology, and exercises to clear, align, and strengthen the praan or subtle life force in you."

Got my mat ready, my journal, a new Chopra book...

P I N C H   M E !!!!!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here we are...well, here I am.  Another middle of the night post.  3 little hours separate me from my patients and my days off. The end of those 3 little hours also marks the end of my posting here on the unit. {tiny happy dance} It's a super tough unit to work on, but with super amazing staff, however...returning to casual status at the hospital will afford me a bit more of a "life" and I am looking forward to that!

Thanksgiving is upon us, one of my favourite holidays. Why? I'll admit, it's the food. Ok & family.  In our family, Thanksgiving is just me, the hubby & the kids.  No extended family.  Just us.  Pj's all day, food all day, movies all day, MNF & MLB {go phillies! go rays! show NY who's boss!}, & coffee all day ending with a perfect little holiday feast cooked by yours truly.

What am I thankful for this year? Always so much; my perfect children who give me SO MUCH joy everyday, my very wonderful & supportive husband who lets me be me and keeps me in line {OY!}. I am so thankful that he loves all three of us beyond measure. I am thankful, although it has been the most difficult part of my days as of late, that I have the privilege to be a nurse, I have a fantastic & rewarding job.  I am thankful for my family, and my amazing extended family, Roy & Rosy too.  I am thankful that we are in a position to educate, feed, clothe and provide not only basic necessities, but can afford little luxuries for our family when others have not so much.  I am lastly ever so thankful for my friends.  Words cannot express how grateful I am to have the friends that I do.  I love my new found buddies in Blogland , & The Trifecta is one of my greatest joys {even tho they have forced me on prior occasions into cardmaking ;) }. My list is so much longer than this, and truth be told, I am not just thankful for these people & things on this weekend only...I am thankful on a daily basis for all of the above.  What are you thankful for? 

I hope this weekend finds you all in good company, in good health & well fed!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Happiness is...

Coming home after a very terrible , long,
frustrating 12 hour work day
to a wonderful dinner. 
And I don't just mean any dinner...
I mean roast
with all the trimmings. 
 Thank you dear husband.
You are a doll.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

bored

yes. bored. trying to kick this cold before my set...i go back to work tomorrow.
bored. so i figured i'd play around with a blog re-do...having minimal success. meh.

still having VERY LIMITED success these days quieting my mind on my mat. yoga used to be so....calming...i must have lots of "stuff" to work thru...my mind is busier than ever during my practice.

coffee.  back to the blog redo.  have a terrific tuesday!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Meatless Monday

I was blog-hopping avec my coffee this morning, I came across a recipe site for a worldwide initiative if you will called, Meatless Mondays.

I read the articles, applauding the great idea and all the benefits behind it...& then i saw today's submitted recipe by a celebrity endorser.  Um, ya, GORDON RAMSAY! Those of you who know me, know how much I LOVE Gordy!

Inspired by his recipes and the Meatless Monday campaign, I'm doin' it too!  I'm sticking with my foolhardy meatless Indian meal...home made roti, basmati rice and chana masala.

MMMMMMM!  What's on your Meatless Monday menu??


Thursday, September 30, 2010

Pledge for Peace

When all people of CONSCIENCE
do MORE
 than we are currently doing to
create peace
and nonviolence,
our collective actions will
GREATLY TRANSFORM
the world in which we live.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Oooch, Ouch!

So tell me, what do YOU think of when you hear the word "garland"?

I think of Christmas, ribbons, lace, pretty things you know?
Girlie happy things.

Enter Malasana. Aka Garland Pose.
Aka, pose from hell.
There's nothing lacey or happy about it.
And for the very first time EVER,
I am faced with not really being able to do a pose.
True story.

I can rock alotta poses you know.
And I can hardly walk today.

Malasana. Don't tick her off!


Monday, September 27, 2010

a borrowed quote with many thanks from "The Devil Wears Prana..."

"When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe,
there can be no doubt.
But that is not what great ships are built for."

{Clarissa Pinkola-Estes}

Sunday, September 26, 2010

i coud have scurvy

maybe it's not scurvy.
i still think i am dying.

i blame my youngest child.
and September.
this ALWAYS happens in September.

my skin is crawling.
my head is pounding.
i can't stop shivering. and sweating.
ew.
my nose is red & raw.

i had plans mr. illness.
you screwed me out of a sunny summer day yesterday,
a night out last night,
a glorious 1/2 day on fantastic unit @ work,
and an afternoon party.

i miss the boys.
sniff.


Friday, September 24, 2010

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Are you ready for some Yoga???

Sun Salutation
(surya namaskar)

Surya Namaskar, aka the Sun Salutation, is a series of 12 postures performed in a single, graceful flow. Each movement is coordinated with the breath. Inhale as you extend or stretch, and exhale as you fold or contract. The Sun Salutation builds strength and increases flexibility, it activates digestion, ventilates the lungs thereby oxygenating the body and calms the mind!

For the series below, a single round consists of two complete sequences: one for the right side of the body and the other for the left.  {do you know that some yogis practice 108 sun salutations?? oooh another good future post!}

Now get on your mat & let's go!


1. Mountain Pose. Begin by standing in Mountain pose, feet about hip width apart, hands at your heart. Take several deep breaths. In thru your nose, out thru your nose.





2. Hands up, a gentle back bend, face to the sun! On your next inhale, in one sweeping movement, raise your arms up overhead and gently arch back as far as feels comfortable and safe.





3. Head to knees.   As you exhale, bend forward, bending the knees if necessary, and bring your hands to rest beside your feet. Hang your head loosely.  No tension!


 



4. Lunge. Inhale and step the right leg back.  Neck straight, heart raised & forward.






5. Plank {abs people! abs!}  Exhale and step the left leg back into plank position. Hold the position and inhale.  Contract those abs! Oooh shaky!






6. Stick. Exhale and lower yourself as if coming down from a push up. Keep your elbows tucked in tight to your sides, neck in alignment with your spine.






7. Cobra. Inhale and stretch forward and up, bending at the waist. Your hands should be resting lightly on the floor, not pushing you up. Raise just your chest off the floor for low cobra, extend your arms for high cobra. Be mindful of your back!



 


8. Downward facing dog. Exhale, push into child's pose, lift from the hips and push back and up.



 


  
9. Lunge. Inhale and step the right foot forward.






10. Head to knees. Exhale, bring the left foot forward and step into head-to-knee position.





11. Hands up, stretch it out, let the sun warm you.
Inhale and rise slowly, rag doll, one vertebrae at a time, extending your arms overhead.  Be good to your back during this gentle back bend.





12. Mountain. Exhale, and slowly, bring your hands to your heart into prayer position. Take a few breaths.  




Now, repeat the entire sequence, stepping this time with the left leg and you will be done one full Sun Salutation!

On days when you think you have no time for yoga or exercise at all, do a few rounds of the Sun Salutation. I promise you'll feel the difference!  You will be lean & strong and have peace in your mind in no time!  It's my favourite!

So, did you do it?

Do you feel warm & limber? Peaceful?
Strong like you can do anything? 
 Happy Thursday Yogi's!
Namaste.



Wednesday, September 22, 2010

"your blog is out of date"

Ya ya ya...tell me somethin' i DON'T know!
Mental block? Creative differences...with myself?
Tired? nothing witty to say? lazy? Lazy! That's it!

Ok, so what have I been up to...

Yoga classes are back in session at Unison Yoga. WOOT!
I dragged Ms. Cupcake with me for this set....
I think she likes it! She rocks the Eagle pose, & I'm secretly happy that her downward facing dog sucks as much as mine does! ;) I joke!

I have 7 shifts left on the Unit I work on...secretly happy again...& after that, the world...um, the hospital is my oyster.

Less than a month til my Yoga weekend getaway!  BLISS!!! {i still have to pinch myself!}

Next week is the Evening of Art Fundraiser for The Shanti Uganda Society. SO PUMPED!!!  I am just loving working with this organization...truly amazing!

The boys are good, the dogs are good, the husband is, well isn't that just another blog post in itself!  I kid! I kid!

What else...mmm, two things left for you....

1) A lovely quote;                             
    
"I live in possibility."
~ Emily Dickinson


2) I have started my Christmas shopping!

And now I believe that this makes me officially....UPDATED!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Honour the pain within you...

So, one of my fave yoga teachers, she always spouts some fancy comforting line at the end of class; honour the light within you etc etc.

I'm pretty sure that after last nights very lovely class, there is no light inside. That bright white light she always talks about during savasana, it's more like a white searing pain today!

It hasn't been THAT long since I was on my mat....

Funny thing about that...there was some giggling & joking about who HASN'T been on their mat while the studio was on "vacation".  You could easily tell by the curly ends of their mats! I felt pretty proud that my mat was perfectly flat on the floor...I mean heck...I re-rolled it the night before so it WOULD lay flat...HAHAHAHAHA! Purely for purpose & function, not for the looks of awe I received last night for being the yogini who surely must have practised all summer! WINK!


Namaste! 


Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I might pee!

I cannot even contain myself!
I C A N N O T even contain my glee!

With my husband's encouragement & bank account {wink!}
I am registered for a Yoga Retreat in the Shuswap with PADMA!!!!

SHREEEEEEEEEEIK!

Padma! Can you believe it???? The one & only.

Padma is a world renowned Yogini, she even lived & studied with her guru for 10 years in the Himalayas!
She is the author of many  books,
has hosted her own TV programs &  radio programs,
and is responsible for the development of many learning &
education programs locally in Vancouver
and the world alike. Oh the list is endless!
{ps, she teaches yoga to Freida Pinto,
Uma Thurman and Charlize Theron...just sayin'}

And little ole me....I get to spend a Friday to Sunday doing
yoga classes, meditation classes,
ayurveda & stress mgmt workshops,
eating wonderful vegetarian food
& all blissfully away from the family
{i mean i will be crying the whole time}
 in beautiful lovely serene Shuswap Lake.

In all honesty,
I am looking SO forward to a total yogic weekend,
 just for me,
totally just yoga, peace & balance. 

I wasn't kiddin' when I said I might pee.


Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Transform Your Life

"Something we were withholding made us weak,
until we found it was ourselves."
~ Robert Frost ~


Today's Assignment:

See what you are willing to give yourself to. 
It doesn't have to be something big.
Wholeheartedness is a process and a habit.

Friday, September 3, 2010

What to do first???

If I had an ENDLESS supply of
MoNeY...
well, I would not know where to begin!
Money 4 everyone!

But since this is the REAL world....
and $$$ is limited...
I need to prioritize my wants...
{this is of course after all the necessary needs}

Yoga teacher training?
Registered Holistic Nutritionist?
Breastfeeding Coach?
just to name a few...

One thing at a time...
Perhaps I do not need limitless cash,
but limitless...

~ PATIENCE ~

Thursday, September 2, 2010

September is National Yoga Month!

~10 Reasons to practice Yoga~

1. STRESS RELIEF: Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging relaxation, yoga helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Related benefits include lowering blood pressure and heart rate,
improving digestion and boosting the immune system as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.

2. PAIN RELIEF: Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga asanas (postures), meditation or a combination of the two, reduced pain for people with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and hypertension as well as arthritis, back and neck pain, and other chronic conditions. Some practitioners report that even emotional pain can be eased through the practice of yoga.

3. BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung function, trigger the body’s relaxation response and increase the amount of oxygen available to the body.

4. FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps to improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing aches and pains. Many people can’t touch their toes during their first yoga class. Gradually they begin to use the correct
muscles. Over time, the ligaments, tendons and muscles lengthen, increasing elasticity, making more poses possible.  Yoga also helps to improve body alignment resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint and muscle problems.

5. INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asanas (postures) use every muscle in the body, helping to increase strength literally from head to toe. And, while these postures strengthen the body, they also provide an additional benefit of helping to relieve muscular tension.

6. WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga (even less vigorous styles) can aid weight control efforts by reducing the cortisol levels as well as by burning excess calories and reducing stress. Yoga also encourages healthy eating habits and
provides a heightened sense of well-being and self-esteem.

7. IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps to improve circulation and, as a result of various poses, more efficiently moves oxygenated blood to the body’s cells.

8. CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING: Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardiovascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.

9. FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware and to help create mind body health. It opens the way to improved concentration, coordination, reaction time and memory.

10. INNER PEACE: The meditative aspects of yoga help many to reach a deeper, more spiritual and more satisfying place in their lives. Many who begin to practice for other reasons have reported this to be a key reason that yoga has become an essential part of their daily lives.

{Text courtesy of Yoga Alliance}

 

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Welcome September!

Somebody shoot me!  Back to school shopping is sucking the life right out of me!

It's not the supplies, it's the clothes, and the desire of the little men in my life to "look cool"  I really want my children to be the kind that don't care...I want them to understand that it doesn't really matter what other people think.  Having said that, we all know what other people think DOES matter to some extent, and when you are 9 & 12, it TOTALLY matters what other people think!  I get that...I do...sigh...

I'm getting right giddy for Unison to be up & running again...hands down the best yoga classes I have been to...ready to work on my cobra, and my downward dog.  Giddy to lay still in savasana pose and work on my meditation skills...

My very VERY smart & beautiful sister in law said something today that made me laugh..."whoever said what doesn't kill you will make you stronger was a real asshole"  I think she has a point...I hate hearing stuff like that myself, but I do believe it.  I have learned in the past few weeks that through thick & think, crap & crappier, nothing killed me, and hopefully I will come out a bit better, a bit tougher & a bit wiser for it.  I am starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel....{big satisfactory exhale}

On a {sad for some, but not for me} side note, The Amazing Adventures of Rocketgirl was put to bed last night.  Nothing more to comment on that so DON'T ASK if you know what's good for you!? ;)

Lastly, I lost something. Actually, 7 of them somethings, and I'm pretty happy about it!  heehee!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

the brief guide to life

I read, that the following quote of only 5 words make up the shortest guide to life...

"Smile, breathe & go slowly"
Thích Nhất Hạnh
(buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet & peace activist)


If you need something a little more comprehensive, try the brief guide to life...

less TV, more reading
less shopping, more outdoors
less clutter, more space
less rush, more slowness
less consuming, more creating
less junk, more real food
less busywork, more impact
less driving, more walking
less noise, more solitude
less focus on the future, more on the present
less work, more play
less worry, more smiles
breathe

Easy peasy lemon squeezy???

Friday, August 27, 2010

What have YOU been up to?

Hello friends!

It's been quite some time since I did a good ole fashioned blog post!  Busy times.  It's funny how life sneaks up on you, the passing of time is impossible to keep track of!

I've been busy diving head-on into my Treasurer role for The Shanti Uganda Society.  I am blown away with how inspirational all the Board members & volunteers are.  And I have NEVER been more amazed and inspired by the women we are working with in Uganda (fingers crossed for a trip over in January 2012).

September is mere days away, (what the heck?!) I JUST started on the back-to-school shopping for the boys.  I love fall.  It is easily my most favourite season.  Wind, leaves, cozy sweaters...I am SUPER PUMPED that my lovely friend Tracy has started up her Yoga studio again...Unison Yoga...classes back in session Sept 13. HALLELUJAH!!!!!

TLC is finished with summer brides (phew), work is busy & home life is crazy...now let me leave you with this neat little quote I came across...something to think about;

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."
~ Eric Hoffer ~

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!


Wednesday, August 25, 2010

An Argument for Self-Love

Another WONDERFUL re-post from Already Pretty.
 Enjoy! I sure did!

So many women default to self-loathing. Or, at the very least, self-neutrality. Pride is a sin, after all, and it’s more socially acceptable to trash-talk your own body than it is to praise it. Our society has conflated humility with self-deprecation, which makes open acknowledgment of your own beauty, power, and worth absolutely taboo.

But there are so many reasons to cultivate self-love, so many reasons to let go of loathing. I talk a lot about how to love yourself here, but today let’s talk about why.

Hating yourself and loathing your body sucks up energy. LOTS of energy. If you can diminish or eradicate those circular thought patterns, you’ll liberate that energy for other tasks, goals, and ruminations. I promise you’ll be amazed at how invigorated you feel once you’ve cast off that incessant fretting.

Happiness is important, but serenity is vital. And it can feel impossible to achieve when you’re busily judging yourself. Because even when the more immediate worries clear out, self-loathing is still there, whirring busily in the background and keeping you agitated. Make it stop, and serenity is within reach. Learn to love yourself, and happiness follows close behind.

Acceptance of your own beauty opens you up to a more diverse beauty ideal. Once you acknowledge that yes, indeed, you are a gorgeous, luminous creature, other equally gorgeous and luminous creatures appear all around you. Seeing beauty in others begins with recognizing it within yourself.

Self-loathing often goes hand-in-hand with self-deprecation, which puts other people at a distance. It’s not your job to make everyone in the world comfortable with you, of course. But the more comfortable you are with yourself, the easier you are to talk to, relate to, love.

When you’re trapped by your own self-hatred, it can make simple tasks seem impossible. It can fool you into believing that you’re not capable or strong, or that you couldn’t possibly put forth the effort required to meet your goals. Yes, hating your body affects your confidence in other areas of life and diminishes your overall self-worth. Letting go of that negativity allows you to reclaim the power to act and achieve. When you love yourself, you value yourself, and you act accordingly.

People love you. They do, and they always will. But in the end, you must be your own champion. The only person who can truly teach the world about your marvelous, sensual, graceful, unique, lovely, and undeniably beautiful self is YOU. When you believe you’re beautiful, the world believes right along with you.

Loving yourself is hard. It’s work. It’s never-ending and there are a thousand forces working against your success. But believe me when I say it is worth the effort. You are worth the effort. Put that effort forth and you will be dazzled by the world of opportunity that unfolds before you.


Saturday, August 21, 2010

Happy New Year!

{ GOAL SETTING! }

Who says you have to wait for January 1st?

I have been thinking alot lately about goals...
and then stumbled across Valerie @ The Goal Diva

You know, "THEY" say;
goals should be updated, refreshed & reviewed often.

Written out on post-it's from nightshifts,
Starbucks napkins,
SOF sales slips...

Here are my few, well thought out, short term goals...

Practice yoga regularly
DAILY fitness regimen, be it walking, or the gym
{  shed a few? firm up }
Finish the master suite re-do

Here are a few of my long term goals...

Become a DONA International Certified Doula by 2011
Become a 500 hr Registered Yoga Alliance teacher by 2012
Become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist by 2012
Visit The Shanti Uganda Birthing House in Uganda by 2013

I'm holding me to these!
Feel free to poke & prod and make sure I'm not slacking!
And I will keep you posted too!


Friday, August 20, 2010

A Re-Post from "The Goal Diva"

What Does “Eat, Pray, Love” Have to do With Goal Setting?
by Valerie Taloni on 17. Aug, 2010 in How to Achieve Goals


ShareGoal Achievement: Choose Your Thoughts as Carefully as You Choose Your Clothes Each Day

Over the weekend, I went to see Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts. The movie was terrific and contains a considerable number of life lessons. In fact, I plan to add it to my Netflix list so I can watch it again when it comes out on DVD.

When Liz, the main character, spends time at an ashram in India, she becomes friends with Richard who is spending time at the ashram to sort out his life and forgive himself. Richard was forever sharing little bits of wisdom with Liz. At one point he said “Choose your thoughts as carefully as you choose your clothes each day.”

It’s a great piece of advice, though I’d suggest we need to choose our thoughts even more carefully than we choose our clothes. One small secret to goal setting and goal achievement is to watch your thoughts: what you think determines the actions you take, and the actions you take determine the results you get.

If you’re not getting the results you want and need, if you’re not making progress on your goals, check your thoughts. Do you have an inner voice that’s sabotaging you? Do negative thoughts keep showing up? The first step in eliminating those negative thoughts is to become aware of them. Often, just recognizing the negative voices in your head is enough to change them. If you have a negative thought that constantly surfaces and just won’t seem to go away, it will take more work to turn it around, but it can be done.

Here’s the bottom line, to achieve your goals, keep a check on your thoughts. Positive thoughts will go a long way toward goal achievement.

**thank you to Valerie for this amazing bit of wisdom...
check her out at The Goal Diva**


Bits of wordy goodness

"I live my life in my own way.
You can't go around being what everyone wants you to be,
living your life through other people's rules,
and still expect to be happy and have inner peace."

~Dr. Wayne Dyer~


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Brooding to PUMPED

Woke up from night shift....same old post night shift feeling.
BLAH!
and Poor Ms. Cupcake had lost her Mojo...

The heatwave is over **clapping**
So we decided to put on our sneaks and head out to
gorgeous Mill Lake!


One lovely jaunt around...
a nice breeze and I don't know about Ms.C
 but
I
 feel
 amazing!


Tonight's healthy meal was super wicked awesome wraps.

~
whole wheat wrap
homemade lemon pepper hummus
chicken with red peppers & onions
wild rice with portabello mushrooms
lettuce 
~

If you're blah, or mojo-less,
try all of the above!
Let me know if it works for you!


Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Next up...a rain dance!

Doing a little happy dance this morning.
Apparently this sweltering heat is coming to an end!

My happy dance continued as I read a few blogs.
Truly little bits of inspiration.
Not look at me, look at me,
No negativity (coughcough),
No trying to prove anything to anyone kind of posts.

Real, raw, inspiration.

So to those inspiring gals & man, I raise my cup of coffee,
{sugar-free...and I'm ok with that}
to you!

Today is going to be a GOOD day.
Inhale:calm, Exhale:peace.


Monday, August 16, 2010

Sunday, August 15, 2010

A wise man that Mr. Rogers...


"You rarely have time for everything you want in this life,
so you need to make choices.
And hopefully
 your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are."

~ Fred Rogers ~

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A lesson

Let me tell you a little story about a nurse, who had a patient, we will call that patient "Faith".

Faith was a repeat visit to the hospital, in every few weeks for various ailments, age related, acute occurrences and the like.  Faith, she was a SPITFIRE of an old woman...just a few years from 100, and completely independent.  Truth be told, while she was completely adored her for her feisty ways, she did have the tendency to get on your last nerve & under your skin...when her call bell rang...she timed you...

Faith had such great stories.  From her childhood in Europe, to her first days in Canada, all her triumphs, trials & tribulations.  Children, grandchildren, heartache & happiness.  She had a pile of newspapers at her bed, written in a language that the nurse did not understand. 

This time was different, this time Faith just wasn't as feisty, the colour of her remarkably youthful skin was not as pink & rosy.  The call bell...noticeably quieter.  The nurse had mentioned to her colleagues, that something just didn't seem right. 

Faith rang several times early on during this particular shift..."Could you please sit for 5 minutes with me"  Finally, the nurse made some time, sensing the urgency in her voice barely audible through the oxygen mask.  Faith asked the nurse, "do you believe in God? do you believe in Jesus?"...taken aback, the nurse silently nodded her head in support, not really knowing what to say.  Faith begged the nurse to sit and hold her hands while she prayed. 

For 20 minutes that nurse held Faith's warm, dry, papery hands as Faith poured her heart out to God.  Thanking him for every single aspect of her life, begging him to take care of her children if the coming weeks procedure did not go well & thanking him for this nurse who was "so kind and always treated me as though I were her Grandma"

After the lengthy conversation to God, the nurse surprised even herself with her very profound answers to some of Faith's troublesome questions. Faith's worried eyes eventually settled, her breathing eventually settled and Faith said she felt much better & not so lonely and would maybe try to get some sleep.  The nurse helped Faith into bed, tucked her in tightly, and when Faith asked the nurse if she could kiss her on the cheek for being so kind and making time to listen to her, the nurse obliged.

With Faith tucked in, the nurse left the room and to her colleagues said, it's like she knows it's her time...

Less than an hour later, Faith was gone.  The nurse was left with chills and little goosebumps over the events that had transpired.  She was also left wondering just how much faith, Faith had...to be that much at peace.  The nurse was in awe that she could have that kind of calming effect and assist someone in their final moments to the point that they knew they could let go.  The nurse just could not get over the fact that Faith had so much faith and found that to be so truly inspiring & comforting.

The End

The nurse is still sorting out her lesson learned here...what lesson did you glean from this story?

RIP "Faith"

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

To Whom It May Concern...

Dear Yoga,

It has come to my attention that you & I have not crossed paths in at least two weeks.  I realize that you may find this somewhat disturbing and unacceptable.

Please know that I do plan to rectify the situation immediately. While my downward facing dog is surely to be abysmal, you can be rest assured that my eagle pose is, as always, nothing short of impressive.

I do hope to not have to write such a letter again, I appreciate your patience in this matter.

Namaste,

Monday, August 9, 2010

A nice start to Monday....

It's Award Day in Blogland!


My very very dear & sweet friend Ms. C
awarded me this!

I pass this on to some blogs I love...
some of my most favorite blogs are the same as hers...
some are not...
all are sweet, as is she.

Ta-daaaaaa to;


I really could give it to you all!
Please share with those in Blogland you love!

In other news, 
received a blog award today too!
She, Rocketgirl, is also me!
We received the "Versatile Blogger Award"

What a nice way to start my Monday!
Much love to Becky aka Ms.C

I leave you with this quote from Eden Ahbez

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn
is just to love and be loved in return."