HungryForLife

Mapping my way

Me and Mom made Vision Boards or Life Maps—we shared, connected, and thoroughly enjoyed our time together!

Mom's theme was joy and happiness:

I've been reading Take Time for Your Life as part of the Self Care Salon with Stacy Brice so self-care was my theme:

top portion

 center section

the end!

Cheryl Richardson suggests these steps:

Review your Life Map and ask yourself the following questions:

• What have I learned about myself from looking at my Life Map?
• Do I see any patterns?
• Does anything on my Life Map surprise me?
• If I knew that all of the images and this Life Map would come in to my life, would I be OK with that?
• Who do I need to become in order to fulfill the intentions on my Life Map?
• Based on my Life Map, what quality will I commit to developing this year?

Wanna bite?

From the couch Jeff said to me, "Do you wanna bite of my apple?"

Distracted, sitting at my desk, I replied, "No thanks honey, but thank you."

A little while later, "Are you sure you don't want a bit of my apple? It's really good!"

"Uh, nah, not right now, thanks. "

Later, I found this on my desk:

What a perfect apple.

Me an artist?

I have followed Patti Digh’s blog and Tweets since I discovered Life as a Verb and gave copies of the book to our maven and CVO and her right hand and COO at AssistU's Community recognition Awards in 2008.

When I missed Patti at a book signing a few hours away from me in Florida she responded via Twitter! I was able to order personalized signed copies as Christmas gifts directly from her. Patti rocks!

I have dabbled in photography and desktop publishing over the years and consider myself a creative person but not a visual artist. Yet when Patti announced the opportunity to create artwork for her upcoming book Creative is a Verb I didn’t hesitate to volunteer.

In the meantime a side project was conceived from a Twitter post she wrote that folks loved and Four-Word Self-Help will be birthed this fall. Patti needed art fast and her devotees produced—fast. My prompt was, “Give up toxic people.”

I decided I would stretch myself and trust my creative urges. I gave myself one day to find and edit the perfect photo and here’s my contribution! My experience was fresh, fun, funky, & fabulous! Yes, this is my head in  a bookcase (don't ask!) with some cool Adobe effects added.

What art lives inside you?

Live the questions

I’ve felt inundated with questions these past few months. I’m an answer gal and want solutions and the fix—especially the more I experience mom’s dementia and her daily challenges. Questions like, “Why?” have arisen. Or “How do I do this?” And the tough ones to admit “Will this happen to me?”

Living the Law of Attraction I find that wise words appear for me every time I’m open and ready and this quote shared by Gayle  (thanks Gayle!) was exactly what I was open to receiving:

Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, as if they were locked rooms, or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Ancora Imparo

I’ve been Honoré’s Virtual Assistant for just over three years. I met her through my past ideal client Antonette Artiz—thank you AA for introducing us and seeing the fit!

Our partnership has been a dynamic, open, collaborative, fun-filled, continuous learning journey! Our partnership has been all about relationship. Relationship is what a VA client partnership is built on. Relationship is what makes working together exciting and challenging. Relationship is the mold that visions are made from. Relationship is the essential ingredient for success—however you define it!

Honoré retired last week. And although our relationship as client and VA has come to its conclusion a whole new door of opportunity has opened—a new relationship based on a journey of friendship, creative collaboration, inspiration, and learning. Always learning. Here’s to Honoré and her personal quote from Michelangelo, “Ancora Imparo” or “I am still learning.” Honoré, what a priceless gift you’ve given to me and so many others! Thank you.

I am immensely honored and grateful to have worked with ideal clients like Honoré and Antonette—I’m touched deeply by their words of gratitude and appreciation: Honoré's post Vugs! and Antonette's post Sharing Good News. These relationships are why I do what I do and love it so much!

Traveling lite

Prior to my weight loss journey I used to eat out often and to excess. Now I find that I’d rather cook, which is a revelation! When I do feel like a splurge I eat fried shrimp or lasagna—foods I don’t cook at home. Yes, I still eat my favs but not often and I don’t overeat when I do have them. I’ve learned that a little goes a long way; a few bites or tastes can often satisfy a craving.

Obviously fast food restaurants don’t work for my eating preferences: nutritious, fresh, organic whenever possible, and unprocessed. Subway is one of the few food chains that meet several of my priorities and I enjoy veggies on honey oat bread weekly.

I’m a homebody and work from home so my food is only a room away. When I go out either thrift shopping with mom or running errands where I end up at the Y for my workout the smartest habit I’ve created is that of taking food with me. I may think I won't get hungry while I'm out but I know I will. I have the perfect oversized insulated lunch bag and fill it with bottled water, yogurt, granola, fruit, crackers, cereal, and a Weight Watchers treat. Traveling with mom invariably takes longer than I anticipate so I pack her favorites as well and if I know we’ll be gone over lunchtime I make our lunch as well as snacks so we can stop and enjoy a picnic.

Planning ahead takes time and commitment. It was a pain in the butt at first. The big picture is it saves both my health and money and is an act of extreme self care to think of and take action to meet my needs and support myself in this way. These little acts of self care and kindness have a big impact!

I’d love to hear how you practice extreme self care around how you eat.

It happened to us

Today, after a week with a miserable cold, I returned to the world of feeling human. I stopped thinking only of myself and turned my attention to those in need. My first response to the devastation in Haiti was to ask myself how I can help. Then I allowed doubt to seep in and chose not to act, “What difference can I make?”

Today I lit candles and spoke out loud a prayer for the people of Haiti both living and dead. I asked the Universe for healing, an end to pain and suffering, for survivors to find the strength and faith to go on, for opportunity and possibility to be born from the ashes of tragedy. Those two flickering candles of hope represent the flame of my love for humanity and my unwavering belief in our connectedness. This disaster happened to us.

I found five worthy organizations on this blog: Chris Sacca and donated ten bucks to each one. Thanks Patti for pointing the way.

How I can make a difference? Inspire you dear reader to take the time to pray; to contribute: financially, volunteer your time to fundraise, join a local relief group and brainstorm how you can help.

I do make a difference. So do you.

Blessings.

The place God calls you to...

Last week I listened to another I Can Do It seminar and the speaker was one of my favorite Hay House authors, Christiane Northrup, M.D.  Last year I listened to one of her CD’s The Power of Joy and found her quite funny and wise. I was looking forward to another dose of her unique humor and I was delighted to find her just as hysterical when talking about either a woman’s G-spot or the need for vitamin D via twenty minute daily sun baths. Wise, wonderful, and witty—what's not to love?

I took away this thought provoking quote and another magically rewarding coloring experience:

"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet." — Frederick Buechner (Wishful Thinking: A Seeker's ABC)

What's in a name?

Today is my baby’s birthday, she’s twenty-four. How did this little being that used to live inside of me become the amazing young woman I know today? I'm awed and honored. What a gift another soul gives you when you become a parent.

I reminisce and remember baby love on this day every year. It’s so easy for me to see that innocent free spirit of her childhood but I also see them hidden a little more each year as she becomes who she thinks she should be or who others expect her to be. I know it's a part of our human journey and have faith she'll stay true to herself.

This reminded me of my own inner child and how important it is to let her know she’s safe, loved, and still worthy of contributing to my life. Let your inner child shine! Today’s self care: experience unfettered joy, delight, and playfulness!

Before our bundle of love was born we had two girl names and two boy names picked out. We went with girl name number one and as soon as I saw her I knew it wasn’t a good fit, I didn’t know that about names before that moment. Does our name choose us? The first person in the delivery room to ask me her name said, “Oh my sister-in-law just named her baby that.” That isn’t what a brand new mom wants to hear—I wanted her name to original and unique. But I had chosen and said it out loud.

I had been moved from a midwives birth center to the hospital due to a prolonged labor and their rules were we had to stay five hours with a newborn. We were out of there on jello like legs the moment they’d let us go and gingerly motored our way home with our new treasure sound asleep in her little car seat.

The whole trip was surreal and then I said to my DH, who had endured every moment of labor with me: his hand in my vise like grip, “She doesn’t look like her name, I know it’s not right, are you okay with changing her name?” Smart hubby that he is he didn’t say he liked the first name better he said, “Anything for you.” And the next day he made the one hour trip back to Gainesville and endured the registrars withering gaze as he officially changed our daughter’s name to Brin Leah Allen.

Happy birthday Brin, you’ll always be our baby girl, thank you for blessing our lives with yours.

Excuses begone

Wednesday's self care: I had a sore throat and the sniffles so took it easy with work  tasks, although they seemed to take my mind off of how yucky I felt. I let my DH cook and wait on me. ;-)

Last night I was really tired but it was the first    I Can Do It Seminar with Wayne Dyer so I got out my Mandala coloring book and colored and listened for ninety minutes.

Here's what I took away from Wayne's conversation: What would my life look like if I couldn't use the excuse I've been using?