Fun and Mental Changes

Thank you Nalamom! Your pen bouquet turned out AMAZING!!! It made my heart swell to see that someone read my Thief post and was inspired! And when I say inspired.... WOW! This bouquet is way better than the one I did. Now I'm inspired to do a spring bouquet. So basically what I'm saying is, I'm stealin this one too... hahahaha. You got the flowers from Michaels you said? Well folks, I guess I gotta run to Michaels! But I wanted to take a second to show everyone Nalamom's handy work. This is absolutely beautiful. Nalamom: "It will just be nice to know where I can get a pen!" Fittertwit: "And it's beautiful too! You're so crafty!" Nalamom: "Na-uh!" **To purchase a custom ordered Flower Pen Bouquet for a friend, loved one, or just yourself (to open your chi..hahaha) feel free to visit Fittertwit Made by Hand Crafts Store. Nalamom and I would LOVE to get a bouquet out to you! OOO, just in time for Mother's Day! :) Resource Sponsor...

I did a really fun blog post with my personal workout playlist and since that post have received some suggested playlist songs. I loved them so much they were immediately added! Here they are: Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart (DUH!!! Why didn't I think of this one before??? THIS is the song to make you sweat!!!) Outkast - BOB (another really great song to get your heart pumping. There is just something about this singer... his voice just sounds fun! I feel like I'm really having fun when I hear this song for some reason) Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. (Ok, this one is a WOW! There's something magical about hearing "feel good" over and over while you're working out. I almost feel like I'm reprogramming myself.. what! What's up?) ACDC - Thunderstruck (this is another one that I just kind of have to ask myself why I didn't remember how completely awesome this song is! Songs like this always make me feel strong when I hear them!) Greenday - American Idiot ...

Every one of us has at least one story, some of us have many. Something incredible that has happened to us that we can either see as very bad and hurtful, or we can see beyond the pain to what it really is. The only good picture I can paint for this blog is that of childbirth. A child is conceived and the mother goes through 9 months (give or take) of discomfort that culminates in a great deal of pain to finally bring a child into the world. This blessing was always there (inside the womb) but the right pieces came together and it finally "materialized"! Mom cries tears of joy forgetting the immeasurable pain she just went through and the 9 month road that got her there. Suddenly it's all worth it; suddenly she is not a victim of the pain, but rather, received the most amazing blessing from it. Will you hear that story from every mother? The answer, sadly, is no. For some people it is very hard to get past what "has happened to them" no matter what miraculous bl...

Wow... I haven't done a nail care post in quite some time! Mainly because I've been working to get a garden up and running and because of that, I've kept my nails super short. I miss them! But after having a conversation with a girl friend who developed a suspicious fungal infection after a manicure, I decided I needed to share a brilliant discovery I found a couple of years ago. Ever have the concern that a nail technician hasn't REALLY cleaned their implements? Would you like to do professional-like manicures at home but don't have the tools? I found the "cutest" little kit to fix both! It's called the Cutie Kit ! This little kit is perfect for having the right tools at home as well as compact enough to travel with you to your nail salon. The kit comes with professional nippers, cuticle pusher, clipper, buffer, file, brush, pumice sponge and toe separators. The best part is that you can be sure that your personal implements have not been used on anyo...

One of my favorite blogs is The Raw Chef Blog by Russell James. For my birthday, my sister got me his e-recipe book filled with Tai inspired recipes. Last night: I am currently working on crepes and I gotta say that so far they are AMAZING!!! I ate the remaining batter from the blender pitcher and it was sooo yummy... um, raw. hahaha! I can picture the batter as some sort of sauce for a fruit salad maybe??? It was really that good just the way it was. This delicious batter is 2 Zucchini peeled, 1 1/2 C. of mango chunks, 1 T. lemon juice, 1 T. vanilla extract, 4 T. Amaretto flavored agave nectar, 2/3 C. flax meal that I blended in my Vitamix until it formed a slightly thick pancake-like batter. I spread the crepes to about a quarter of an inch thick on my plastic, non-stick dehydrator sheets and set the dehydrator to 105 degrees for about 4 hours. I removed the crepes from the plastic sheets and flipped them on to the dehydrator tray mesh. Because I had to go to bed, I slipped the tr...

This meal is beyond delicious, healthy, and what was for dinner last night. This is my Rosemary Chicken with Quinoa and Asparagus. I brush the asparagus with EVOO and dust with sea salt and pepper. I fix the quinoa per the package instructions and then added 1 Tbsp. beef base, onion, cilantro (from my garden!) and diced bell pepper. The chicken is fixed per the recipe from Eating For Life which just happens to be my all time favorite cookbook. The recipe in the book called for cous-cous, but I HATE cous-cous. However, I LOVE quinoa (which has the consistency of cous-cous, but with much more protein), so I always make that instead with this chicken recipe. I found out that I love quinoa cooked AND raw. It actually makes a terrific salad once it's been sprouted. Wonderful stuff. I'll have to fix that and post the instructions next week (from my Raw Food Real World recipe book). Stay tuned for that! In the meantime, I recommend clicking on the link for the cookbook and checking ...

The Magic Bullet has yet to fail me!!! I LOVE it! I whipped up this ultra healthy mousse in seconds, and the mint came straight from the garden. Yay! Here's how I made it. Danielle's Heavenly Mousse 1 small container of low fat vanilla yogurt (I prefer Yoplait Light) 2 heaping tablespoons of Knudson Free cottage cheese 1 tablespoon of Amaretto flavored Agave Nectar 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon 2-3 peeled and pitted organic figs (optional) In Magic Bullet container combine above ingredients. Attach flat whipping blade and mix until mousse has formed (about 45 seconds). That's it. If you are using figs (which will create a thicker mouse after it sets in the fridge and will require longer blending time), be sure that they are room temperature before blending. Blend with chopping blade, remove and attach flat whipping blade until smooth. Allow to set in fridge at least 30 minutes before serving. This thing is quick and incredibly yummy! Here is the pic of the ingredients I used. Cl...

Inspiration comes from the darndest places. I have a new friend on Twitter who seriously makes me laugh. She is someone that I have never met in person, but we have an awful lot in common... (clearly the same sense of humor)! She and I both love to scrapbook and love to tweet . I would not have thought of this, but in my gratitude for meeting someone I otherwise would never have had the chance to talk to, Twitter is really filling a communication void. It's bringing back the fine art of "pen pal- ing " that died out many years ago and making it lightening fast. It's also enabling people to maintain "pen pal" relationships simultaneously with multiple people. I will call it "highly efficient pen pal- ing ". I wonder if inmates are utilizing Twitter? Dang! Where the heck did THAT thought come from??? Anyway, it has been a source of major education for me already. But.... *** Just a little warning! I think that Twitter is blowing up faster than they...

Ms. California, what can I say.... I LOVE YOU!!! The Miss USA pageant contestant, Carrie Prejean, answered a question regarding same sex marriage at the pageant last Sunday. She was polite, honest and most importantly BIBLICALLY CORRECT! I love how she mentioned the freedom of choice before stating that she was raised with values that same sex marriage was wrong. I have always said, "God has given everyone free will, who am I to take it away." But Ms. Prejean DID have a responsibility to share what is right. I think she was brilliant! But I'm not writing this post to dredge up what happened last weekend as so many blogs are. I'm writing to inform anyone who is reading this post where Ms. Prejean's beliefs stem and to encourage her to keep speaking out. Leviticus 18:22 says "you shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." For such a straight forward scripture, you'd think it was one of Jesus' infamous parables based on how so...

Ok , yes, I'm a thief. But look how cute this is! I couldn't resist. Actually, what you see in the pic is what I made after going to the public library and asking to borrow a pen. It wasn't until this horrible red flower (I swear it was the size of one of my throw pillows) was placed in my hand that I noticed someone actually took the time to wrap the ugly thing with green tape to make the stem. Huh, pretty! While this horribly gaudy pen was meant to be that way so that no one would WANT to steal it... what would it look like if made to be pretty and match the decor of your home? And it would serve the same purpose: to keep the pens in their place. I mean, that would be an awesome house warming gift too! This little gem guarantees that I NEVER have to go in search of a pen again!!! I totally stole the idea! Pen Bouquet What I got from the dollar store: Retractable pens (refillable kind) Brown mini pot that matched my decor Pretty silk flowers (with thin wire stems) Dry be...

I talk quite a bit about organizing, because I believe that organizing has made me the happy person you don't see today (because this is a blog, get it?). It started when I wanted to decorate my house and began learning about Feng Shui. Now, I'm an Aries and I'm a redhead and stereotypically (and quite literally) I am NOT an organized person. Yes, this is all very true! But that's the beauty of organization... it is 100% learned. To date, I have never heard of the organizing gene. Some of us are a little more predisposed to "getting it" though, and I was not one of them. I spent many years frazzled because of disorganization. I would never have known that was the reason if I hadn't spent time organizing the things in my life. It is through that process that I felt the release of frustration.... I actually felt problems get solved. In a previous post , I talk about the problem with clothing in my bedroom. My husband and I argued over missing articles of cl...

I am a lover of Stephen Colbert and the Colbert Report, but unfortunately not today!!! After listening to Elizabeth Warren talk about financial regulations that affected Stewart (on The Daily Show ) enough to tout that her spiel was financial chicken soup, I watched the Stephen Colbert Show where he then proceeded to "define" what the very "regulations" will probably look like. This is what we could and should expect from our government; The Word Of The Day: Have Your Cake And Eat It Too . Don't get me wrong... the show was brilliant and I so agree with the views Stephen "doesn't" support, but it reminded me that the current condition of our government will not provide real resolution for the current circumstances and that I really should just buckle myself in for the economy to get far worse. It is only when the pain of change exceeds the pain of staying the same that our economy will turn around. With the current state of government corruption...

You know... for someone that I SERIOUSLY dismissed as a "reality star", Kim Kardashian is really turning out to be a celebrity in my eyes. She's "turning the tide" and I LOVE IT. I'm totally obsessed with seeing what she will do or say next... it's an illness. I know that actors are kind of down on reality stars because they get paid for simply having a camera crew follow them around, but if actors would have taken time to connect with "real people" beyond the glitz of Hollywood, reality stars wouldn't be so successfully winning our hearts. You see, while actors have to watch what they say and how they say it for fear of alienating the next gig, reality stars are paid for the very opposite. And I'm so tired of seeing the Hollywood fakes! The "Putting Real In Reality" is what I think Kim Kardashian has tapped into. I think she's realizing that she's getting paid for just being herself and she's starting to loosen u...

Today's post isn't just about a topic I've learned about. This topic is about something that I've experienced in my life and know that I know. Want to know how fun it is to be wrong? Better yet, do you want to know the sheer bliss of letting someone else be right? Let me describe it to you. There is an absolute joy with allowing someone else to be right. As much as YOU want to be right, picture the other person that you're engaged with hearing that wonderful phrase from you, "You know what? I think you're right." You will see the other person's whole countenance change, their faces often light up and they smile an approving smile. Nothing beats watching that emotional evolution. For much of my childhood years I was told that I was stupid and made to feel very insignificant. I never understood, growing up, that would create an insatiable need to be right. It would be many years before I discovered that I didn't want people to think I was stupid...

How's My Soul Lookin ? Blurred! hahahaha ! That's only because I cropped and then blew it up, but I did this for a purpose. What does it mean, "the eyes are a window to the soul?" Can someone please tell me where that came from? I am looking and looking and cannot see anything but an eyeball... hahahaha . Maybe I'll see something if I'm looking into both eyes? Maybe that's it; you need to see both! Nope, still nothin !

As far as workouts go, this one is pretty challenging and so fun. You'd think for the effort you put forth for this one, it would require thousands of dollars in workout equipment... something that most people would shy away from in this economy. But no, this workout is effective and can be done at home with items you probably have around the house. You need a chair, a floor (duh!) and a rubber ball. That's it!!!! High yield from a seriously low investment! Not surprising coming from "America's Girl Friend" Kelly Ripa. I was sifting through old Shape issues and ran across these six exercises that give a total body workout. It doesn't take a lot of time and you can REALLY feel these exercises working (watch out for the tricep can can... wow!).

Every year I do the Master Cleanse and I love it. Along with being able to credit this cleanse with creating a cleaner me, it also can be credited with removing refined sugar from my diet... which is huge. So when I read one80.com's blog post on Maple Syrup , I sat up and paid attention. Note: REAL maple syrup should not be confused with pancake syrup, although tastes very good on them!!! In fact, the only sweeteners that I use are maple syrup and agave nectar. Maple syrup is one of those magical ingredients that sweetens AND nourishes. Unlike refined sugar , maple syrup feeds the body and promotes healing. Maple syrup is one of the ingredients used to make the lemonade that you consume while on the Master Cleanse... along with cayenne, lemon and water. Yes, I said cayenne. Any culinary guru can tell you that sweet and spicy works very well together and this lemonade is no exception (it doesn't hurt that cayenne promotes healing as well... wink, wink). In fact, the taste of t...

I was out of town over the Easter holiday and I came back to a chocolaty , decadent blog post at one of my favorite blog sites, The Sunny Raw Kitchen! The blog post is called Super Caramel Chocolate Tarts and it looks AMAZING! This recipe brought to mind a recipe that I've been making for a few years and is my version of Snickers. I would peel as many dates as I could stand to peel and put them into a bowl and mash with a smidge of cold water (to keep it all from sticking, but not to much, because the dates need to be handled). Someone once said that dates are nature's caramel... love it. I would then form the 'caramel' into little bite size rectangles and roll them in crushed peanuts and set in the fridge to harden slightly. While those are in the fridge, I would take about a cup of carob powder, 1/4- 1/2 cup of honey and a splash of cold water and heat the mixture stirring constantly until I have a chocolaty syrup. I would then take the cold 'caramel' and p...

Wow, this ended up being a long blog series on Feng Shui. I didn't realize what a process I had been through. I did want to finalize this whole thing with my previous mention of color and one's color palette. It is true that color affects our moods which is why it plays such an important role in Feng Shui and can actually make your home feel like you're on vacation at a 5 star resort. Easterners just found it out sooner than Westerners did! Hahahahaha! There's a surprise! But in figuring out how to decorate your home, where does one start? Let's head back to the notes in my notebook. I first researched colors and moods . Understanding what colors inspired what feelings was a major help for me. I then took a trip to a model home center to look around and check out pre-selected color palettes to see which ones made me feel the best. Model home centers (if you have one near you) are a great tool for this because they usually have counter/carpet/wood color packages alre...

Ok , so I understood Feng Shui and I also realized that to put it into practice involved digging in and REALLY organizing. Everything needed to have a home, by that I mean no more mail piling up on the dining room table, no more clothes all over the floor, no more not being able to find the scissors because they were always put someplace different. No more clutter! All that might seem inconsequential , but it isn't. It's those little stresses that break you after having to keep it together for the big stuff during the day. It's all these little things that I believe are responsible for the saying, "you always hurt the one's you love". I think that we deal with very stressful situations with people we cannot possibly vent with and then come home to our family. The slightest stress ("why can I never find the scissors?!?") set us off. Instead of coming home with a load of stress to find the scissors exactly where you expected to find them and being a...

Well, fortunately for me we moved into a rental house that was less than half the size of the ranch home we had just sold while we waited for our home's construction to complete. I say fortunately because I learned very quickly that as bad as you believe something is, it can get worse. There's nothing like floor to ceiling piles of boxes to block one's chi. That is how we lived for 8 months. I was aching for the space I thought I didn't have before. I wanted the doors and fences and dust... for just a second. Then something changed. I started dreaming of what the new home was going to be like. Because of this severe lack of space, I was able to actually see what the solutions to all of my complaints might be and kept a notebook of all my house design ideas. I thought about color schemes and did research on color and mood enhancement. I also researched home organization. You would be amazed what can be done in your home for virtually no money but save tons of time and ...

Feng Shui is the art of design where placement of objects like furniture and decor, even walls opens/releases an individual's chi or energy. Whew! That was a mouth full. Being that all matter is made up of energy and that energy attracts and detracts, it makes sense to me that Feng Shui is not only real but it works. But beyond the common sense (or maybe not so common. Are normal people as ga-ga for Quantum Physics as I am? I'm a weirdo) I have experienced the "flow" of Feng Shui and have experienced the clutter without. I'm baring my soul here people! Buckle in!! :) Mine and my husband's first house together was a ranch style home on an acre. Oh, it was nice... with a six car garage/workshop and an in-ground pool. There were stalls set up out back for livestock; by anyone's standards this house was NICE. Well, except mine. I don't mean to say that I didn't think the house was nice, more that it wasn't right for me. I just want to say that befo...

So I was doing a Bible study with my new ESV Bible that I got for Christmas and got to Matthew 17:21 and it wasn't there. The scriptures jumped from 20 to 22. What??? I called my sister (who loved my study Bible so much that she got one for herself) to ask her to check out that verse; it was missing from her Bible as well. What the heck??? I hit the panic switch! That Bible was my new favorite. I can't rely on a Bible MISSING scriptures. I was in shock that this Bible that had over 95 contributors to make it, had this big of an error in it. In my panic I began raving that I was going to call someone to get reimbursed for the Bible. Sure enough, my sister jumped on my panic train and added that she was going to burn hers. Ok, hang on a sec. Does every girl come equipped with a panic switch??? I'm laughing too hard to finish this post. My side is hurting.... hahahahahahaha! I was on the phone dialing the makers of the Bible when my sister saw the teeny tiny #4 footnote that ...

Well... fun for me anyway! :) I have been mulling over this particular post all week. It started with a Bible scripture that I could not find. The scripture was committed to memory, but I couldn't remember what book of the Bible to find it in. Dang it! And I really needed it during a discussion on Quantum Physics too. Since first learning about Quantum Physics I have been enthralled by it. I have always said that Quantum Physics is science discovering God! At the very root is the scientific proof that our world is not what we see. It is called Quantum Theory, however, in labs all over the world there is "living" proof that what we see and what actually is, are two very different things (at the atomic level... the core, as it were). Quantum Physicists have also proven that our thoughts are "things", measurable and quantifiable energy that alters at the atomic level. How can that NOT be exciting????!!!! So I'm in this discussion talking about thought waves ch...

Some time ago a family member stored a Total Gym at my house. I have a workout room with weight equipment and was easily able to accommodate the addition since the Total Gym basically folds down to nothing and stores standing up so it uses vertical space (smart!). It was missing a bolt, and if I fixed it and got it working again, I was free to use it. Well, I just repaired it and have been having a blast with it. Ever since my Magic Bullet discovery, I've really been rethinking the whole infomercial gig. There's more to these products than just a bunch of junk being sold sight unseen to gullible buyers. The infomercials have really come full circle and seem to be taking quite a bit more pride in selling products that really deliver benefits. What I am loving most about this Total Gym is the ability to do a pilates workout on it. I've only done a few reformer exercises, but it seems to do a really great job. I'm going to order a pilates DVD so that I get an entire at-h...