Quiet Mind.....

                 I've recently been thinking about making time to get back into meditating again. Life can get so overwhelmingly busy at times that we forget to make time for the most important things. In the past year and a half I have had a couple of great streaks with meditation and can honestly say it has benefited me in countless ways. The word benefited, something that promotes or enhances well-being; an advantage...well that should say it all. I would set aside 20 minutes in the morning, right after the children would leave for school, and 20 minutes late at night, which is sure to guarantee you a blissful slumber!

               I've always been very aware of my strong intuition, which at times is so strong that I can actually feel my husband's mind racing just by sitting besidee him. So why not quiet our minds? With meditation, your thinking mind becomes quiet. You stop focusing on the stressors of your day or your life’s problems, as well as solving these problems. You just let that voice in your head be quiet, which is easier said than done. For example, start thinking about nothing now. (It’s OK; I’ll wait.) If you’re not practiced at quieting your mind, it probably didn’t take long before thoughts crept in right? Well I never said it doesn't take practice.

               With time, maintaining a quiet mind and focus on the present can lead to an altered level of consciousness that isn’t a sleeping state but isn’t quite your average wakeful state, either. Meditation increases brain activity in an area of the brain associated with happiness and positive thoughts and emotions, and some evidence shows that regular practice brings prolonged positive changes in these areas. The same goes for the different techniques of meditation, guided or not? Although I may think of myself as a very patient and calm person, I tend to do much better with guided mediation. I recommend The Silva Technique! You can actually download the app right to your cell phone. It has been very handy for me.

            In the end, quieting our minds can only be beneficial to us, and who doesn't want to live a happier, stress free life? Plus it doesn't hurt that meditating twice a day for 20 minutes over a long period of time, can actually add 10 years to you life.....something to think about, but of course when you're not meditating ; )

                                                  Om.......

                                          I don't use stones, but I do meditate with a single focus...

                                         Find a beautiful a serene place to spend time with yourself...

                                                                                                
                                                                                  Namaste.....

               

Going green.............

       I am proud to say that I have recently made some major lifestyle changes that I am very proud of. I started the gym again, with the best gym partner ever, my hubby. Boy does he ever whip my butt into shape! We both quit smoking, which has been attempted before, but I'm sure that it will happen this time. Lastly, made some changes to our eating habits. We have never really ate "bad" but it doesn't hurt to do anything that betters your quality of life right?

       My household consists of five, and every meal is homemade, by yours truly. It sure does help that cooking is one of my passions! We are cutting down on carbs, switching to brown everything, cut our caffeine intake, loading up on H2O, sticking to strictly red meat, fish and poultry and a daily smoothie routine.

But I have recently come across this new juicing craze and I have always been big on my veggies and who doesn't love fruit? The rest of my household, how should I put this? Are not as adventurous as me with food. The V8 in the fridge, only for me. The beet and orange salad, only for me. The ceviche mixto, A mixture of white fish, scallops, shrimp and calamari, uncooked, but marinaded in lemon and lime juice for hours, yes you guessed it, only for me. Don't get me wrong I have managed to introduce them to many things I'm sure they would have never attemtpted to taste and will forever try to open their palates to new things!

     But back to this juice thing. Smoothies are a great way of getting your fruit intake, but how about veggies? My daughter will only eat, corn, lettuce, asaparagus and broccoli! Anything else is blended into a creamy soup. So I've come across a tasty way of getting the most nutrients and potency of your greens in a creamy, fresh smoothie. My first attempt, not so good! It was the ginger that did me in. I'm a big fan of ginger, but only in lotions and perfumes. Definitely not in my drinks.

       It's obvious that the healthiest juices are the ones that contain greens. Green leafy vegetables contain the most vitamins and nutrients, and you’ll feel almost instantly better after drinking a green juice! I know I did! I will post the original recipe and the non-ginger recipe at the end of my post.

       Typically you're supposed to do this for five days to cleanse your body of toxins, shed unwanted pounds and get your energy levels up. Not to mention the benefits to your skin, that beautiful glow you'll have. In my case, I can't afford to lose any weight and I'm strictly doing this for all the other benefits, plus still eating, but trying to limit myself to salads, soups, fresh vegetables and fruits and tons and tons of good old H20, which if you can grab yourself a few gallons of alkaline 9.5 ph water, all the better! So here we are ladies, the recipe.


This is the official recipe:

6 Kale Leaves
1 Cucumber (with skin)
2 Green Apples (with skin)
4 Celery Stalks
1/2 Lemon
Piece of Ginger

Modified recipe:

handful spinach
3 stalks of kale
2 golden delicious apples
small handful parsley
1 lemon
1 cucumber

*TIP for those of you who don't own a juicer, the same juice can be made in a smoothie blender, just add ice and bottled or filtered water.


    And for those of you who are in the gym as well, I found a tastier way to use up any leftover juice. Just add a whole banana and 2 scoops of Whey Protein to this! Simply delicious! Enjoy : )

     

                                                              

                                   Namaste....



 

A Vintage Drive In Movie Party

                 The day is fast approaching, when my once so little Junior turns 11! We have been tossing ideas back and forth and I think we've finally decided on something together. A vintage themed Drive-In Movie in our backyard! Why not? The weather has been great in South Florida and by the end of the upcoming month, even more so. Complete with giant outdoor movie screen, fresh, buttered popcorn, steamed hot dogs, soda pop and a tasty concessions table of all that necessary sweetness...candy of course!

                 I came across this website that rents inflatable outdoor movie screens! How great is that? Just toss some cozy blankets and pillows out on the grass and watch a great family movie under the stars and in the privacy of our own backyard. Not that hectic two hour max party place rentals kind of birthday, which may I add, I absolutely dread! Nope, just a laid back, cozy and relaxed atmosphere! Some of the younger ones may actually fall asleep, what a treat for the moms ; )


                      Here are some ideas I came across.........


                                           Love the Vinatge concession signs!

                                                     Fresh, buttered popcorn..............

                                                   Tasty treats ready made................

                                                         Popcorn bags...................

                                                        Concession table decor!

                                           Loving the vintage Coca Cola box!

                                                     

                                            Party Favor ideas in red and aqua?

               

Are you ready for some......food?

Ah, Superbowl Sunday, and that only means one thing to me, food! If it was only up to me, it would be very gourmet, but I do live with some seriously picky eaters! I've decided to lay out a kind of "tapas" spread that we could just pick at all day. Superbowl food screams fried, fatty, calories to me so I've come up with a few ideas to lighten the foods up. I will be taking full advantage of the beautiful and sunny 81 degree weather today and putting my BBQ grill to use. Another option is baking and broiling. So instead of those greasy, deep fried chicken wings that I adore, I will be sinking my teeth into juicy, grilled lemon herb chicken wings. Yes, I said it, absolutely no frying today! Even the onion rings will be baked? I know, I know, baked onion rings, oh the horror! But I am confident enough to believe that everything will be just as tasty, if not tastier, and the shear fact that they're healthier puts a smile on my face! So on the menu today is baked onion rings, grilled chicken wings, meatballs, mussels, baked spicy fries, zucchini chips, and mini pulled pork sliders. Go Super Bowl teams! What will you be munching on today?

                                         Nothing better than mussels, fries and a nice, cold beer!

                                         Thankfully my picky eaters enjoy zucchini chips!

                                         Mini Pulled Pork Sliders with a fresh and tasty slaw..

                                         Meatballs are always a hit, especially for the little ones ; )

                                         Ah yes, there they are, the unfried onion rings.........

                                       Grilled Lemon and Herb Chicken wings paired with a glass
                                       of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay......

Dreamy....

Although I live in a year round blissful summery climate, I've been really thinking of "Spring Cleaning" and redecorating! I'm looking to mix my two favorites, modern and vintage. Bringing in lots of fresh, calm colors and fabrics. Cozy, clean, open and fresh, to bring in the summer. My goal is to evoke memories of summer, like sipping a cold, icy lemonade, tanned skin against glimmery sand, seaglass tumbling around in crystal waves and driftwood half burnt from a summer night's beach bonfire. Here's some of my inspiration....

                                          The colors of sand and driftwood with a back drop of stormy skies...

                                         Creamy blooms and crips whites, with a splash of lemon

      And you can never go wrong with white, white and more white!

                                         Love the open feel of this kitchen and different shades of wood

                                                     Can a bathroom really be this sexy?

                                                         This backyard is breathtaking!