Sound barrier.

Alright kiddos- I did something super nutso last week. I up an quit my job. This is not the one I had mentioned last year, but in March I had begun a new job that I was very excited about. For various reasons, it was a big NOPE and here I am. I am not the type to do such a thing and I actually surprised myself. With jobs, I'm the kind of gal who will stay around and whimper for three years before making a move (I'm sure y'all noticed that over the years).

I should feel more afraid than I do. The hubs and I aren't swimming in cash like Scrooge McDuck or anything. However, I have a few options that I am working part-time from home on and hopefully a little something extra on the side to boost our income until the hubs graduates and gets a good welding job.

I learned some interesting things over the past few days. Some I'm proud of and others I don't really know what to do with. One of my biggest fears is that we will be unable to pay our bills. Instead of letting that thought consume me, I'm working on a plan to make this ish work, y'all.

Remember this post? Well, I did.

Thanks to this newfound cavern of opportunity and terror, I will most likely be posting a lot more. Hopefully!

It's been a weird year and my head is still spinning big time, but the air feels fresher, that squirrel in my gut doesn't seem to be digging around as much and I feel inspired. I had forgotten what that actually felt like and it has been a long time coming. I truly believe if I work hard enough and stay positive and be mindful of our lifestyle/expenses etc....I can do this.

My mama always says when a plane is about to break the sound barrier it quakes, rattles and it feels like it's about to explode all around you. Then it breaks the sound barrier and it's smooth and quiet again. Boom, y'all. BOOM!

I have big ideas and I want them to step out of the ether of my mind and manifest "in real life". I am fortunate to have friends and family who love and support and encourage me. So, here goes! Wish me luck. I want to believe I can do it, to truly make it happen.

I'll swing by again soon to give you more soul high-fives!

-L

February Yoga Challenge - What I learned

Image.

Last month I decided to try the 30 day yoga challenge. Every night before bed I would devote time to practicing a pose of choice. This one and this one (5th pose in the series) in particular were working for me.

In conjunction with that I have made it a practice since Christmas to do some basic stretches every day when I wake up and before/after my daily jogs. Here is what I discovered:

1. That awful feeling of being inflexible when you first start goes away after a week of doing it every day. Now my body craves my daily forward fold. No lie, kids!

2. I did 26 days of yoga, as the last for days I fell off the wagon due to some major shifts in my personal life. However, as soon as I did, I experienced sciatica pain from hell! My body had grown accustomed to being stretched and cared for every day. Woah. Lesson learned.

3. The floor bow pose (second mentioned above) really intimidated me. The first time I did it, I couldn't hold it for more than 10 seconds at a time. By the end of the month I could hold it a full minute like no big deal. It felt good and powerful.

4. I didn't see any results physically per se, but I could feel it in my body. It didn't feel like drudgery as much as normal daily care for my body. However, if I had committed to doing a full series of poses every day, I know I would see tone.

As with the hydration challenge, I am keeping this as a part of my daily life now. It feels good and my body appreciates the extra care.

As for March- it's Meditation March for me. Every day I'm taking a ten-minute meditation (more if I crave it...don't laugh you really begin to crave the peace of mind). Care to join me?

P.S. This made me laugh.

Today's post is brought to you by H2O!

January azalea. photo by moi.

Good morning, friends! This year I decided to take a challenge every month of the year. January's was to stay as hydrated as possible. I had read that it can improve your skin, give you more energy, help you lose weight etc. etc. so, I gave it a try!

It is recommended for women to drink around 2.2 liters of water/fluids per day. That equals nearly 75 ounces. All in all, I drank an average of 95 ounces a day which is over that recommended amount; however I was still thirsty so I kept on drinking. A few days I only had 50-60 ounces and I woke up with bad headaches the next morning.

It took discipline to keep up with how many ounces of water I drank a day. Though, after a few days it became a game to keep track and ended up helping me with my memory a bit. By doing that, I automatically drank more water and less caffeine and alcohol. In fact, I think I only had one or two cups of caffeine the entire month and haven't had any since (with no headaches or withdrawals from it).

I also found that no matter how much water I drank, if I had a glass of wine I felt like crap the next day. I can be an idiot sometimes, therefore it took me a few tries before I figured it out. My body has completely gotten used to and prefers water. That's quite a capital benefit! I also stopped craving my evening glass of wine as I did before. I saved about $40 on that alone!

My skin does look better, so my mom says. But I didn't see the changes as much as I had hoped. I think it's because we had a fluke cold spell and the air in my house is dry and hot. I can tell though, on the days that I don't have any wine in particular that my skin is far more glowing and clear. As if I have a soft-focus lens on my face- sweet!! The days I have wine or go below my comfortable threshold of water intake, my skin looks a little dingy and the redness around my nose and cheeks comes back. You would think vanity would be my game changer...but sometimes I'm a bit thick.

When I would get bored, I drank decaffeinated berry tea and that would push me to get past the "boredom wall". The boredom wall is this thing I have in my mind where I start to crave things that aren't super great for me such as booze, sugar, convenience foods etc. because I'm bored. I used to give in to it almost daily. This experiment helped immensely in realizing when I had approached a boredom wall and what I could do to get past it. Surprisingly, by buckling down in those moments and drinking more water or decaf tea, the wall would almost always disappear with the cravings. I found that having little mandarin oranges around helped a lot too, due to the water in the fruit, but also the sugar (hello hypoglycemia!).

Results: drinking more water makes me feel awesome, save money, make better choices and look better.

Would I do it again? Heck yeah! In fact, I've kept it going and am currently on Day 39. It feels good, y'all! I highly recommend it.

Would you consider doing monthly challenges with me too? I'd love to know! February is all about yoga!

-Lu

An idea!

PL

Lately I've been thinking about something...

I've mentioned the negativity detox last week. I've been doing sort of okay with that (could be better and will be). I've been thinking I should do a real full body detox. Not a cleanse, not just a good long soak (though both of those sound appealing), but a real-life detox top to bottom, from the rooter to the tooter, so to speak. 

Lately, I've just been thinking about how good it would feel to focus on one part of me at a time and just devote time to care for it. For example, a week of intentionally caring for my skin intensely, or my liver etc. Does that sound insane?

I already care for myself pretty well, but I could definitely do better. I don't really "treat" myself the way I'd really like to, either. Plus there are so many awesome ideas on Pinterest for DIY spa crafts! So, and bear with me here, I thought I'd cull together six treatments/detoxes/etc. to try focused on one area at a time for a week to a week and a half at a time. I know some will stick and help me to maintain long term self-care. Here are some of the things I want to research to work on.

*Lungs

*Skin

*Eyes

*Liver

*Hands & Feet

*Muscles

*Heart

*Digestive Tract

*Mind

*Sinuses

*Throat/Voice/Esophagus

What do you think? Think you'd want to try to focus on caring for your body in such a manner? I think no matter what you do, as long as you care for your body, your body (mind and spirit) will show its appreciation. 

Stay tuned on what I end up doing! I hope you have a truly wonderful day, buds!

And now for something completely different!

A few months ago (probably around the beginning of Autumn), I kept noticing a product pop up on my Pinterest. It was a face mask that the "pinners" claimed did all kinds of wonderful for the skin. After seeing it week after week, I started getting curious. I have an odd focus like that. It takes a while to get my attention but when it does, I'm a terrier about finding out about it. And so I did!

The product is called GlamGlow and it's a face mask. All the pictures made the users of it look like their faces were robin's eggs. Pale blue and freckled. I was intrigued. I have done enough damage to my skin in my 20's, I kept thinking now would be the best time to try it out and see if it could aid some of the issues I was aggravated by (enlarged pores).

Well, as things go, I have a tendency to put my needs (or wants in this situation) on hold while I find a million excuses to put whatever it was I was wanting or needing on the back burner. Then a few weeks ago, I'd just had it. I found myself scrolling through before and after pictures of people who used the product and promptly put the clay purifying mask in my online shopping basket...where it stayed for another two weeks before I pulled the trigger.

The package arrived two days later and inside the label, it greeted me with "Hello Sexy" (printed on the inside)...which snarky as I am, I kinda liked. I used it for the first time last Wednesday (and though I probably shouldn't use it more than once a week, I had to use it again when my mom and I did makeshift facials while we were at the beach). And let me tell you what, y'all...my skin looks friggin' awesome.

Ew, right?! But morbidly wonderful...

At first I was scared it was going to burn my skin because it had a lot of different acids in it and my skin is hyper-sensitive, but it didn't. The tingling lasts for a few minutes and then fades away as it dries and sure enough...I looked like a robin's egg. But you know what? My skin has responded to the mask better and better every single time I've used it. Sure a little bump crops up as my pores clean out here and there but unlike how they were before the mask; they depart very quickly and my skin is just...glowy! I super highly recommend it.

Next on the list? Every thing they make! The hydration mask in particular! Ooh lala!

P.S. It's waaaaay cheaper from Amazon, get it here! And this is completely an unsponsored post.

Think you'll try it? I'd love to know! Have a wonderful day, y'all!

Post-birthday care, cleanse and detoxification!

29 Dogs Who Made Huge Mistakes.

Now that the birthday festivities are over, I'm taking my last day off (for a while) to get organized for the week ahead. I was all over the place this weekend, not minding my budget as much as I should and indulging in all kinds of wonderful treats. Nothing too out there, no record-breaking in the booze department, no Nutella-slathered craziness. Just...more indulgence than usual. I don't feel (too) bad about it, I'm just glad I have a day to recover!

In that vein, here are some other "recovery" tips and what-nots to aid in getting one back on their feet after a weekend of debauchery and fun! Just because you fell so far off the wagon you can't see it down the road anymore, doesn't mean you can't dust yourself off and start taking good care of yourself again. Right?! Right!

*Morning Green Smoothie. I make a version of this at least once a day to get my fruits and veggies in one fell swoop. The key is to keep the ratio 2 fruits to 1 veggie so it tastes awesome and not salad-y. I'm about to go downstairs and whip one up for myself! I like it because even if you ate hot wings and pizza for three days (ahem), and you do this one thing- you feel awesome for it and it snowballs into overall better care for oneself.

*Drink too much? I'm adding this one early since Mardi Gras is in a week. Here's a super yummy "mocktail" to cleanse your liver. Take it easy on your livers (and kidneys), guys! Drink more water while you're at it, okay?!

*Ten easy yoga poses that promote detoxing and the cleansing of the body!

*Here's another easy one: Five Daily Detox Routines.

*I've heard several times that dry-brushing does more than make your skin pretty. It's also an important tool in cleansing your lymphatic system as well as your overall circulatory health and your body's ability to remove toxins. It's the cheapest and easiest thing on this list apart from just drinking water! Check out this information on it. I'm convinced and will be giving it a go today!

*Give reflexology a try. I've been interested in it for ages, but have never done it. After looking over these reflexology charts I had to laugh because two of my chronic areas of pain are correlated to places on my feet where I've broken bones that have never healed correctly. Regardless of whether you believe it works or not, give it a try. At least your tired feet will have a little massage by the end of it.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

They say it's MY BIRTHDAY!!

Every day, y'all.

It's my birthday too! Yeah, so I kinda love my birthday. Der.

It's like New Year's one month and one week later. It's a time filled with hearts and red and pink and purple and the seductive whispers of spring and delightfully cold fluffy-cloud days!

I love my life and I love celebrating my birthday. I'm 33 this year. When my mother was 33 she had an awkward kid in junior high. When my grandmother was 33, she had three kids ranging from elementary school to high school. My great-grandmother had four kids in elementary school. Geeeesh.

If I'm lucky, I'll get some health insurance this year. I'm pretty low maintenance y'all, but still, I can't help but think about who I am and where I am and the life I envision for myself. It looks a hell of a lot different than my life looks now. But it's still there in the ether and in the meantime, my life in the non-ether is peacefully rad.

Anyway... all of this is to say, you don't have to wait for your birthday to celebrate the wonder of your  everyday life. You don't have to wait until the calendar pages sweep off the wall dramatically like in a movie. Just take the time to love your life. Love it's weird eccentricities. Love its swoops and gut-flipping loopty-loops.

Just love it, because it's what you have and it's worth loving.

It's worth looking at for a moment or two or a lifetime. Celebrate!

*sniff*

Look human.

Normally I'd do a nice long list of happies, funs & pretties on such a pretty Friday as this! However, I'm sick as a dog and will not be doing anything other than snoozing and having a Peaky Blinders marathon. Knockout sleep ahoy!!!

The Quest Begins

Every year I read the amount of books for the age I am that year (awkward sentence translation: I'm 32 right now and I'm reading 32 books this year). Earlier this year I read an awesome book my mom gave me (this one). Well, it was mostly awesome- some of it was a little "I'm a middle aged, well-to-do ex-patriot living in France" (three things I most certainly am not/am not doing) but the rest of it was really great advice on the French mentality behind skincare, hair care, style and diet/exercise. It's had quite the affect on me. Particularly investing in a quality hair cut/style. 

You see, *dramatic sigh*, I had the best hairstylist, Meghan, a few years ago. I met her literally five minutes after a break up and she proceeded to give me the cutest and most flattering, easy-to-manage haircut that I kept for four years until the hubs and I moved away in 2011. Well, we've been back for three years now and I haven't been able to reconnect with her...until this week. 

Y'all I'm gonna get my groove back!!! I'm so excited and now I'm trying to find the right hairstyle for me in this point of my life.

I want it to reflect my personality (quirky, wash-and-go low maintenance, and a little rock and roll hippie). I want to look sophisticated now that I'm in my 30's, but also a bit young, a bit more hot and a dash edgy (don't want to feel like I've lost that, you know?!). So, y'all- help a chick out, here are some options I'm looking at, give me your insights if you have any! 

Facts: my hair is stick straight, but will do interesting things if layered correctly. It is baby fine, but for the handful of  badass silvery greys coming in that are crazy cat lady kinky (and I weirdly love it).

Here are the options:

#1. That hot toddy at the top of the page. It's kind of French, a little rock and roll, and a lot lady badass, with a chic spin. It's closer to the length I have right now too.

#2. Similar but a teeny bit longer and more layered. I like this one because it's kind of wispy and Chrissy Hynde-y and I LOVE me some Chrissy Hynde!

#3. The Charlotte. I've missed my long hair since I cut off 11 inches (!) in January, even though long hair can be such a pain in the ass. This would be something I'm working toward, but it's so damn sexy, right?!

What do y'all think? I'd love to know. And while I'm at it, I love the idea of taking care of yourself in this regard. It isn't trite or superficial to care for yourself and to feel confident. What do you do to care/make yourself feel confident?

I hope you have a truly wonderful day!

Thoughts on Mistakes (Repeating/Learning from etc.)

Jay Gatsby ala Baz Lurhman's The Great Gatsby.

I spent too much money two weekends ago going out to eat several nights in a row. I was really upset with myself for being so lazy it affected my budget (greatly). I beat myself up and spent the entire week being very budget conscious (not extreme austerity, but careful). Guess what I did this weekend? I repeated the same mistakes again! Even though I didn't necessarily want to, I sure was quick to justify it! Now part of that was for social reasons and my husband's cabin fever. However, I have been so upset with myself for doing it again. I could have justified one dinner, but four?! I'm not Jay Gatsby, for crying out loud!

It got me thinking about the cycles of behavior that happen for a lot of us (well, I'm speaking directly about myself but perhaps you can relate). In other times in my life I was making far bigger mistakes than I am making now, and somehow was able to forgive myself because I knew I was struggling, growing, climbing and clawing my way up to a better existence. But why couldn't I forgive myself for two weekends of budget blow outs? What was the difference?

All I can gather is that perhaps, this was far more controllable a mistake to manage. There were no reasons other than laziness and cabin fever to speak of. I had the ability to say no every time I said yes. That's on me. It's also something that I've been so proud of lately- money management. That's why I'm so mad I could spit, I reckon. I let myself down and sabotaged my financial goals. Of course then, my mind wandered a bit to other cycles in my life that are totally controllable that I keep on repeating, the other "sabotages". Some big things, some microscopic. I chose a beer when I could have had tea and kept in tune with my health and fitness goals, for example.

 I simply do not want to repeat mistakes over and over again (I recognize that I'm a human and humans have a tendency to do that, but I want to cut as much out as is feasible). I don't want to sabotage my future goals for whatever reason I can come up with at any given moment. I want to stay true to my goals and make it happen. It's part of that "no one is going to swoop in and save me" thing.

So, this is what I'm going to do this week:

*I'm creating an adjusted grocery budget for the rest of the week so I can make delicious meals at home (and in advance) so there isn't another excuse to go out.

*Every day I keep to it, I'll transfer $20 to a separate checking account.

*At the end of the week (the tempting time for us to go out and do stuff), I'll use that money and that money only for a fun lunch or dinner with the hubs.

*I'm also going to start stashing $50 from every paycheck for the holidays. I work retail and I'm always exhausted/grumpy when it rolls around, this will be one less thing I can bitch about.

*No extraneous spending for the next week. No tchotchkes or smoothies, no candles or clothes. Nada. I've got plenty.


What are your goals? Have you ever found yourself accidentally sabotaging your goals? What do you do to keep yourself focused on your goals and not let your feelings/laziness/obligations etc. get in the way? I'd love to know!

I hope you have a truly wonderful day, y'all. Be kind to yourself!

Love Yo'self!

My super up-close coffee scrub.

It Thursday, y'all! A good day to turn that amazing outward positive focus inward for a minute. You have to refuel your positivity, love and kindness reserves pretty regularly too, you know! Now, usually I post a bunch of fun self-care recipes and goodies here, but this week I'm doing something a teeny bit different. This week I tried one of the many recipes I've hoarded for homemade skin care products. I found this coffee scrub and decided (because I had all the ingredients in my pantry- otherwise I apparently can't be bothered) to try to duplicate it at home.

It just looks like a cup of old coffee grounds, but it's so much more!

It was awesome, if not a little messy. I don't know (or care really) about it's cellulite-banishing claims or whether it really works in that department. However, it does leave your skin feeling incredibly tingly and soft and smelling amazing.

I felt like I was brewing some artisanal hipster coffee brew though. Tub-infused lady coffee. Ew. You could make some money in Japan with that methinks. Ew again. I'll totally make this again though, it made me feel magnificently scrubbed and smooth and moisturized and it is a unisex scent so even the manliest of dudes can try it.

Give it a whirl, y'all! It took five minutes to make and the duration of a quick shower to use (preferred over an actual tubby soak because, ew ew ew!) and bada-bing, bada-boom- you've given yourself a lovely little pick-me-up.

Take the time to care for yourself today. Even if its just ten minutes. Ten minutes can be spared, I promise! It's simply ten less checks of the FaceTube, the Tweeter or whatever else you kids are doing online these days. You deserve the attention and the time, so does your psyche and- in this case, your skin.

I hope you have a truly wonderful day, y'all!

Thoughts on Loving Yourself & A Bizarro Scenario

Usually I let Thursday and Friday's posts get a bit frothy because we're inching tantalizingly close to the weekend, however today I just wanted to chat.

I don't know about y'all, but I am pretty damn hard on myself. I come by it honestly, and sometimes it has served me well. There have been times I knew I was better than a crap job, or crap friendship, or crap relationship. There are times that little voice said I really should be closer to a 4.0 GPA than I was (and I got there).  I held myself to a standard.

This voice, however, this one that tells me to push harder, be better, kinder, gentler, eat better, exercise more, not to bitch so much, get more sleep, yadda yadda yadda...It can get dark. It can be a real destroyer.

That voice has told me that my writing isn't good enough. The one thing that makes me happier than anything. It tells me that I should be further along in my career, that I should have more money saved and less debt. This voice has compared my accomplishments, or lack thereof, to others'. That voice that says I'm getting old or I'm a bad Mama to my dogs, that I haven't had babies yet or this or that. That voice I hear all the bloody time.

I'm a smart girl. Woman now I guess, if you want to get technical about it. I am smart enough to know all of this comes from a lot of places. There are the outside influences, of course. However, it's the inner ones I want to grab by the ear and sit the hell down for a good talking to. This is what I want to say to that Little Shit Voice:

------------------------------------------------
Me: Hey, you little shit. Yeah, you- the one who whispers stuff into my ears while I sleep and wakes me at three a.m. to review every bad life choice I've ever made. I know the things you tell me already, I don't need your crappy reminders."

LSV (Little Shit Voice): But you could be so much better if you just weren't so awful.

Me: I'm not awful.

LSV: You can be.

Me: Everyone can be. It's called being a human.

LSV: But you need to be better than that.

Me: Better than human? Um...like Wonder Woman?

LSV: You can always be better. I think you are lazy. I think all the bad things that people have said about you and all the things they say behind your back are true. You know you aren't as special as you think. Just think of all the horrible things you have said and done in your life! All the time you've wasted! All the stupid choices!!!

Me: Trust me, I have. But, those things aren't all of me. I know I'm good- because I work at being good every day. I know I have a lot of love to give because I try to show it every day. I know what it feels like to have your day made brighter by a stranger, so I try to do that for others.

LSV: Blah blah blah. It's not enough.

Me: I love myself more than you hate me.

LSV: But...

Me: No matter what you say, I still love myself more than you hate me. And you shouldn't hate me anyway- you're a piece of me. You are fear and regret and hurt feelings. You are insecurity and pain and so much loss. You are the pieces of my heart that broke off over the years. It's okay to feel all of it, but please don't turn it to vinegar and try to poison me. I can't let it pour out of me, it could spillover and hurt someone else. I can't do that. It hurts enough inside.

LSV: But...

Me: But nothing. I'll never get better if you keep tripping me up. Life is too short for this nonsense. I'm strong as shit. I've been through so much garbage and yes, I created some of it. But, I have a big heart always keen to love more. I want to make the world a more beautiful and positive place than it was when I got here. You get me?! I love myself more than you can ever hate me. You hear me , Little Shit Voice? Hello? Hey- where'd you go?
-------------------------------------------------------------

Weird, right? I know it seems nuts to type out and publicly post a fake dialogue between your inner voices. I really get that. I don't care though. I didn't know what my insides were going to say until I typed them out. I surprised and impressed myself a little actually. Who knew my positive inner voice had such ovarian fortitude?!

What would your inner voices say if given a chance for dialogue? Be honest. It can be pretty harsh. Would you tell your critic to go screw off and leave you alone? Would you coddle that inner cattle prod? I know I have in the past. I know many who do. They always seem unhappy.

Sometimes it seems easier to hate yourself than to stand proudly up for yourself. It may be easier to slump than stand up straight, but trust me- it's worth the fight. It's worth the tears and the sweat and the scraped knuckles.

Stand up for the good, sweet, loving, kind, badass individual that is you. Stand up and fight for him/her. Every damn day. All day. Know you are worth the love, even if you feel it from nowhere else but inside of you. Know that even if you don't see it or feel it all around you yet, it is out there and it will find you and wonderfully encompass you if you let it. It's all around us and its radiating from inside the hearts and spirits of everyday people fighting and scraping against the voices and odds and poisons too. Just like you.

Love on, and love hard y'all. Start inside. Start today, this very moment. I promise I'm right here with you.

I truly hope you have a wonderful day!

Love Yo'Self!

I don't know about y'all, but I need some TLC this week. I'm taking steps every day to care for myself better but I find I could still do better, especially at the tail end of a stressful week. Thursdays are all about self-care around here, so here are some fun little things to try to perhaps calm your nerves and your weary bones.

* Dinner tea to help you digest.

*It's important to laugh!

*Honey Lavender Bath Melts. That sounds incredible. I am particularly obsessed with these little buggers. I can't wait to try them!

*Oooh! And a skin nourishing bath tea from Little Green Dot. I'm kind of loving this web site these days.

*I would give just about anything to have this green tea scrub, and a spa tech to scrub me down with it. TMI? So sorry.

*DIY All-in-one balm. Sounds incredible!

I hope you have a truly wonderful day!


Image courtesy of Happy Money Saver

Yummy Sanctuaries Part Deux

Some people thoroughly dislike cooking. I find it helps clear my mind. I love creating something tangible from all the ingredients. I zone out a bit and revel in the creativity and delicious aromas. There is something meditative about all the chopping and sautéing and simmering. The melding of flavors and creating of something new and exciting or classically comforting. It brings me joy. Today, check out these yummy sanctuaries and create one for yourself. Perhaps a favorite childhood recipe or something exotic and spicy! Try to take some time to really enjoy the process of feeding your body. It's a beautiful thing.

*Garlic & Thyme Quinoa Patties. Crunchy and yummy! I may have to make these this week.

*Edamame Hummus...Intrigued! I bet it's sweet. I'm going to have to try this one too! Would you try it?

*Chicken Avocado Lime Soup?! Yes, please!

*Zuchinni Crust Pizza. I cannot wait to find out what that tastes like!

*Because Autumn is on her way! Pumpkin Ravioli with Browned Butter Sage Sauce. Good grief, that sounds incredible.

*I love a galette. They're so easy and they make me feel far fancier than most other "easy" recipes do. Plus they're a real crowd-pleaser! Potato Galette with Wild Mushrooms!

I hope you have a truly wonderful day!

Image courtesy of STL Cooks.

Little Victories

Image from F2Images on Etsy.

Rabbit Rabbit, friends!* I hope y'all all got to have the day off today, and if you didn't- I feel your pain! But there are still victories to be celebrated, as is the plan every Monday here on P&PPS! So heeere we go!

*I incrementally bettered my fitness trek. Now there were many factors at play here: 1) PMS- I wanted fried chicken smeared in Nutella, but I didn't have it! 2) I doubled my small workout circuit I do every morning to make up for the small indulgences I did have (espresso frozen yogurt & movie popcorn because I went to see Ghostbusters in the theatre!). 3) I ate a lot of apples. 4) I got outside (in the summer?! what??!) and jogged a little. It all added up to me feeling a little feistier, a little more fit, and (embarrassing to admit) a little bit cuter. Quite frankly, I needed to feel all of it.

*I closed an old wound. If I'm particularly quiet around you, then that means I'm probably in my own world hashing out something completely unrelated to what's going on. That was my weekend, in a sense. Because I worked so much, my mind just kind of put my body on autopilot and went in to the ole mine to work some shit out. Thanks to some need inside of me that surpassed logic, I stitched up an old wound, slapped a band-aid on it, and made peace with a piece of the past. It's a big little victory.

*I chose not to be a butthole about working all weekend. I volunteered for Monday and sort of got hosed for the whole four day weekend; but I chose not to be mad, or grumpy or even bitch about it (okay, I bitched a little bit, but I tried really hard not to). I chose to have a good time at work with my associates and sell sell SELL some cardigans, even though I didn't get to spend as much time with my friends and family as I would have liked.

*I said no. In the old days, when someone would ask me out for a drink at 10 at night and I was tired or fighting a cold or had a really early day the next morning, I'd most likely still go. I didn't this week. I wanted to, but I let myself sleep instead. Did I miss my friend? Of course! But that 10 hours of sleep I got was much needed (and resulted in some wonderfully scandalous dreams!) And I know I'll get to spend some Q-time with my friend when I'm feeling a little better.

What were some of your little victories this week, friends? I'd love it if you shared some with me. Keep the positivity train chugging along!

I hope you have a truly wonderful day!

*It's good luck to say "Rabbit Rabbit" first thing in the morning when you wake up on the first of the month. It brings you good luck throughout the month. If you forget, you can say it backwards (Tibbar Tibbar) first thing to counteract any bad juju. You're little dose of Southern superstition for the day!

Love Yo'self!

Hello friends! It is Thursday- this week seems to be flying by! Well, Thursdays around here are all about self-care and self-love. Taking care of our vessels is paramount. I don't know why it is so hard to take care of ourselves sometimes. We go out of our way for others, yet neglect the one person we are on this planet with for our entire lives! It's bananas people! Total nonsense!

So, in honor of a dear friend who needs a good reminder (you know who you are!) and to remind all of us (myself included) that we must care for ourselves well, first and foremost, before we can truly help others (like the oxygen mask situation on a plane). Heeeere we go!

*The 10 things you must tell yourself today. I really like this one!

*I love this! Kindness meditation. It's so simple and even though it's for children, I think we could all take a page from this book and nurture kindness even in the subtlest of ways. Quite frankly I think we could all take some time and relearn the lessons of childhood so we can be better adults.

*I love a list and an infographic too! Five mantras for daily self-love. I felt particularly drawn to the Nourish, Powerful & Worthy ones. Good stuff!

*Self-love is asking yourself what you need- every day- and making sure you receive it. 
Dang! I really like that!!!

*Wow! This mother/daughter Ecard actually moved me. I didn't expect that from what are usually pretty funny, snarky little throwaways. Good on you, whomever made that one! It certainly does ring true, but I think we can dream bigger than just our children (ahem- since mine don't exist yet) and do this for everyone.

*Because PMS is a bitch, and so is menopause and Mondays and traffic and screaming kids and needy people at work and...anyway- a little something something to make you feel gooooooooooood.

And to my dear friend, let me gently remind you- you are capable of training your thoughts to be kinder toward yourself. The steps you take toward breaking unhealthy and dangerous cycles now, will  benefit you so incredibly much more as you get older (take it from me- 30 ain't no joke and neither will  be 40, 50, 60 or 90! But each year gets even more awesome to make up for it!) Every little thing you do to make your body healthy, happy, and balanced (physically, emotionally and spiritually) will only aid you further along in your life. I love you.

And I love all y'all who read P&PPS. Take care of yourselves. I hope you have a truly wonderful day!

Thoughts on Crazy-Makers Part 1

Image courtesy of Anne Taintor.

We all have one (or more) in our lives. We may work with some, live with them, or even love them. Our crazy-makers. These are the folks that, although they may not mean for it, they create chaos around them wherever they go.  Their inner turmoil spills out and attaches itself to the nearest living things.

I've had many. From fair-weather friends to roommates; from relatives to boyfriends to bosses. In fact, not too long ago I had an encounter with a former crazy-maker whom I removed from my life many years ago. Long gone was my anger toward this person. I attempted civility, this person was genuinely trying to be nice. I kind of ruined that one, but it wasn't on purpose. You see, when this friend and I "broke up", so to speak, I fell into that big (and complicated) depression I've mentioned to you all before. That isn't the point though. The point is that when this person and I dispersed, I was overwhelmed with a phenomenally visceral rush of emotions. I had to leave where I was. I felt like I had to run. I couldn't control my sadness. It was bizarre. My body and spirit were trying to cope with things my brain hadn't caught up to yet. What does this have to do with crazy-makers? I'm getting there, hold your horses.

You see, in my case (many times past and present), I was very close to my crazy-maker. I loved this person. I laughed with them. We shared secrets and dreams. We were great friends. I trusted them deeply. When things went lopsided, I felt ripped apart. Like a little kid whose Christmas morning was burning down all around her. In my romantic life, things were better than ever. I'd just met and married the love of my life. However, every single other aspect of my life felt appallingly out of order and it felt like it was because of this person's single-handed ability to destroy everything around them.  I felt like I was collateral damage because of the decisions they made. It was a characteristic of their's we had discussed in varying degrees over the course of our friendship. A "center of the Universe" way of existing that could be harmful to others, almost always unintentionally. And I spent years being angry for the things directly corresponding to that crazy-maker of mine's actions. And in true victim mentally, attributed things to them that were not at all their fault. However I was sad and angry. I was struggling to find a job and was generally just pissed off at the selfish actions of this person that so deeply affected my life, my happiness. At that point, I'm pretty sure I was my mother's crazy-maker (sorry Mom!).

The point is, when I became overwhelmed that day, I cried. I cried in my car, I cried in a parking lot and tried to hold it together in the checkout line at the grocery store. I finally sat my pathetic ass down to write. That's how I figure out what's going on with me. I literally wrote "What is making me so upset?" I answered myself in bullet points. Why this visit brought up so much pain and anger and sadness and I realized that I was simply grieving. I was grieving a future I had imagined for myself. One that made me happier than I am now. I was grieving how happy I was before things went sour. I was young and hopeful and independent. I was taking care of business and feeling confident for the first time as an "adult". I had hope. Hope that I could make something of myself and be a partner with that person possibly in a career move. Bah. It's embarrassing to even write it down, it's sounds whiny!

I looked at this list. I examined it. I forced myself to look at it for a good, long time. Then turned the paper over and asked myself another question..."What can I do to make my life more of what I want?" The things that poured out from me after that, made me happy just to write them. Go to concerts, for example. Something I did regularly (I'm a music nut) back in the day. Something that brought me tremendous happiness and release. It's been years since I've procured tickets for myself to a show that I really really wanted to see. Other simple things came out too. Different activities I can do instead of holing up for a Netflix marathon like I have been during my darker days because I just need an escape from reality. The answers were so simple and again, I was embarrassed that depression put such a veil over my eyes. I couldn't fathom doing any of the things on this list even a few months before and now that I was beginning to crawl out of it and take responsibility for my own nonsense, it all flowed.

I laughed to (perhaps at) myself then. This crazy-maker was one not only because of their own personal and poisonous stuff, but also because I let them be. I let this person wreak havoc because I loved them and allowed them too. That shit's on me. Ooh, not a fun pill to take. But I learned that I can love someone but not allow them to have power over me. I learned (and am still learning) what their individual tornado sirens sound like and am working on building my own little spiritual and emotional storm shelter. I realized that sometimes I am my own worst crazy-maker. That's a big one. But what I'm most thrilled that I learned is that my personal peace is not dictated by anyone else but me. My body is a temple, not only physically but emotionally and spiritually; and you have got to keep that shit tight. Sweep up the dirt, push the boulders out of the way, pull the weeds, plant seeds of change, play some good damn music, clean the windows and let the sunshine in. Deep forgiveness is a big part of that. Forgive them, and forgive yourself.

We are our own peace-makers.

I hope you have a truly wonderful day.

Yummy Sanctuaries

Image courtesy of A Cozy Kitchen.

I love food. I used to be more of a "eat to live" person but have steadily grown into a "lives to eat" type of gal over the years. I've mentioned before that Dionysus blessed me heartily with a love of good food and good drinks. Glazes, cocktails, sauces, round robust mushrooms exploding with flavor,  creamy melty cheeses, tangy pomegranate seeds popping in your mouth! Oh my goodness, I could go on (and on and on and on!)

The thing is, I work with a lot of people that do not have this relationship with food. It is simply sustenance. Well, I'm here to tell you sustenance doesn't have to be microwaved or boring. It can be fresh and delicious and give you the boost you need to make better choices for yourself as each opportunity presents itself. Feeding yourself is a spiritual act as well as a physical act. You are giving yourself fuel, energy and what you shove down that gullet of yours can determine what kind of energy you've got going on there.

So for this lovely Tuesday, here are some easy, cheap, healthy and fantastic meal and beverage ideas for you. I hope you can incorporate some into your week to perhaps give you a shove toward the positive.

*For these last weeks of summer, Blueberry Cucumber Salad with Feta and Lemon. I'd probably sub goat cheese because, well- goat cheese is my jam. Doesn't that sound so fresh and lovely?! Make a big batch and separate it into containers for easy-grab lunch sides. Particularly when you find yourself in a drab, windowless office for an extremely short lunch break...just me? Ha!

*I make this regularly and I love it. It's easy to make vegetarian too, if that's how you roll. Get it? Roll? Because it's on a roll! I crack myself up. But seriously, it's delicious.

*Roasted Grape Ricotta Crostinis with Rosemary and Pine Nuts. Oh de-lolly! That sounds magnificent. I'm making this this week! So damn easy, it's bananas!

*Growing up, I never had a healthy relationship with cauliflower. As I've delved more into luxuriously eating on the cheap, I've found that cauliflower is a bad ass. It is such a diverse vegetable. Sweet and nutty, just like me! These baked cauliflower bites look divine! Bake some of those up on a Sunday and have a popcorn shrimp-like situation all week long!

*Need a sweet treat? Check these beautiful bitches out. I'mma have to take all them, kthanks!

*Thirsty? Try this Cucumber Lemonade Mocktail.

*Or perhaps something a bit naughtier...

Do you have any healthy "quick-fixes" that you enjoy? I'd love to know! Share below!

I hope you have a truly wonderful day!

Love Yo'self!

Image courtesy of Wellness 360.

Well, how did you do last week? Did you try any of the DIY care recipes? I'm going to start using the baking soda face polish for sure. Everyone I've talked to about it seems to have tried it and loved it. Thursdays on PP&PS are all about self-care, and without further ado, more ideas on how we can care for our bodies and skin and spirits a little bit better this week. Anything you do that's a surefire self-love fix? I'd love to hear!

*Turmeric milk for colds, flu, & depression. I have to say, I'm intrigued. Especially because I spent the first part of the week in bed with a case of the "trying not to pukes" something that is going around my office. Ew.

*Fight human trafficking in your jammies. I love the Punjammies company. You can get a beautiful pair of pajama pants handmade by women who have been removed from forced prostitution and are taught a trade to make a living wage. Cosy and beautiful gift for you or your friends, and it helps a lot of women and their children. I want the Ratna full-length. Beautiful all the way around!

*I am definitely giving this a try this week. It sounds relaxing.

*Ginger Sugar Scrub for face and body. Oh that sounds so invigorating! Now if it came with a strong-handed massage therapist to apply it it would be even better!

*Because shimmying to sexy music is a great way to care for your body and have fun too!

*Meditation to help with depression. Nice to have in your back pocket for a rough patch.

I truly hope you have a wonderful day!

Love Yo'self

Self-care is something I need to work on. Considering how vain I can be sometimes, I certainly don't care for myself the way I should. Or, at the least, I could be doing better. I've removed the immediate bad guys from my list over the past year: excessive booze, cigarettes, and weirdly my beloved caffeine. But, in the clamor of daily life, I have neglected the things I used to hold dear. Skin care, healthy recipes, meditations, organization and the like.

So on Thursdays, I want to add some fun health and care suggestions, recipes, home remedies etc. to encourage caring for oneself as an act of kindness and generosity. I'm not using the terms associated with glamorous magazines and what-not or anything like that because, Ew. Instead, personal kindness is the name of the game. Our bodies are strong and capable of incredible feats every day. Let's honor them together in fun and creative ways. Here's a few suggestions for your Thursday!

* Five-minute post-work yoga. I do this every day before and after work and I love the quirky and sweet instructor. 

*DIY Greek Yogurt face mask. I can't wait to try this out. I bet it feels like chilly bliss.

*As a kid I always had bug-bite ridden legs in the summertime; this summer has been unintentionally nostalgic. Homemade Calamine Lotion!

*Intrigued, because I do love me some coconut oil. All-Natural Homemade Face Polish.

*A little reflexology for your tired tootsies. I need to massage my sinuses, liver and small intestines. Never thought I'd type that sentence. 

*A breathing exercise to help relieve anxiety. Exhaaaaaaale!

Have a truly wonderful day!