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

I hate to write a negative sounding post but…

…I DESPISE selfish people.

I don't think that I have any room for you in my life.

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 ~