happiness
There are small moments of the day that are quiet. In that stillness, you can choose to let your mind run at top speed. Or, you can choose to relax and breathe into the space. Notice it. Take it in. Be present. Let it expand until it fills the room, fills your heart.
It’s how I bend time.
Kooky, huh? But it works. My days are “full” of lovely moments: nursing my sleepy son, sitting with my eyes shut and sun shining on my face, sipping hot tea, listening to the birds outside.
In reality, it probably adds up to all of 10 minutes, tops. But nevermind. They are exquisite. The rest of the day, I let all the annoying, stressful nonsense fly by.
Yes, I’m learning to appreciate the simple things.
Like a simple dish of beans, cabbage and potatoes.
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January 8th, 2012 | beans, happiness, recipe, self care, stress relief, vegetarian | 6 Comments »
This past New Year’s Eve wasn’t quite the drunken, push-your-sorority-sister-home-in-a-shopping-cart type evening I remember from, say, 1999.
It was more of an early affair this year, punctuated by baby’s bedtime and a glass of wine for mom. My husband and I sat on the couch and talked about our favorite parts of 2011. I asked him, what was the best book you read? He thought through the many books he’d gone through, finally choosing one.
He asked me, what about you? What’s the best book you read?
This was an easier question because in 2011 I proudly finished not one, but TWO books. Holy moly, between all the new mama chaos and confusion and sleep deprivation I am proud to say I read two full books cover to cover.
And between them, this was my favorite: How to Get a Grip by Matthew Kimberley
I bought this book because Matthew somehow found me (via Twitter?) after my appearance in Lemonade. And he’s one hell of a hilarious dude, mixing good ol’ smarts and friendliness with a mouth any mother would want to wash out with soap. So he became a friend – a friend who lives in Malta of all places, as if I have any clue where that is – and a friend who published a book. All things considered, I had to read this book so I must have been one of the first 5 Americans who ordered it.
I was going through a fairly rough period.
This book made me laugh.
And laugh.
And shake my head and chuckle and get some friggen perspective on the shit in my life.
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January 3rd, 2012 | book review, happiness | 46 Comments »
Man alive. 2011 was a year I’ll never forget. For those of you who have been following along – thank you, thank you, thank you. For your presence, support, and continuity through a string of changes in my life and business.
Ain’t it funny how much can change, yet inside we’re still the same people?
My husband and I talked about it, and after a really chaotic year we are going to just stay put. Yeah. This year needs to be about stillness. Inertia. Just a wee bit. Gathering ourselves, catching our breath. Watching Danny grow and absorbing it all.
Are you a resolution maker? Regardless, everyone can benefit from a clean slate in different areas of life. A fresh start. Here are a bunch of different ways to go about it. Do something that will feel good, something that makes your heart sing a little zippy tune.
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December 30th, 2011 | detoxify, happiness, self care | 7 Comments »
I’ve been reminding and reminding my clients to take time for themselves over the holidays. To not overdo it. To step away from work. To keep it simple.
There’s a saying, “We teach what we need to learn.” It’s so unbelievably true.
In honor of my own restful holidays, this post has been magically pre-programmed to shoot out to the Universe while I am hopefully relaxing with my family and eating something nourishing and simple, like this:
Sweet Potato, Beans & Apples
2 cups uncooked mung beans or lentils
2-3 sweet potatoes, washed and diced (skin left on)
2 peeled and diced carrots
1 onion
1 cup vegetable broth, divided into 2 half cups
2 apples, washed and sliced (skin left on)
1 tsp. dried thyme
approx. 1/2 tsp. salt & 1/4 tsp. pepper
Cook mung beans or lentils by bringing them to a boil with 4 cups of water. Reduce heat and simmer until tender.
Meanwhile, sauté in a pan drizzled with a couple tablespoons of oil over med-high heat: the chopped onion, diced sweet potatoes & diced carrots with salt, pepper & thyme. Cook about 8 minutes. Add 1/2 cup vegetable broth, cover. Reduce to medium heat and cover. Cook about 5 minutes or until carrots and sweet potatoes are tender.
Add mung beans or lentils to sweet potato mixture with the remaining 1/2 cup broth and cover. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Spoon into center of a plate and place fresh cut apple slices around edge of plate.
This dish is high in protein from the beans or lentils – there is no need to add meat. You can add a green salad as a side and this is a complete, satisfying meal. This makes at least 4 generous servings.
Thank you to Joni at Healthybodypeacefulsoul.com for the recipe.
December 27th, 2011 | beans, happiness, recipe, vegan, vegetarian, winter | 2 Comments »
1. Make a BLT for dinner
Yeah, sounds like crap diner food but check this bad boy out, and remember – bacon fat is naturally occurring and the kind of fat your body needs. Canola oil reused 80 times for restaurant french fries is not.
A Healthier BLT
2 slices whole grain bread
3 pieces bacon (mine comes from a local farm with excellent animal raising practices)
1 handful arugula
1-2 slices tomato
1 smear of mayo
Optional: 1 slice organic cheese
Cook a whole pound of bacon and keep leftovers in the fridge. That makes life easier too. Assemble your sandwich and enjoy, guilt free.
2. Ditch the Seventh Generation products that suck
Sorry, I want to save the earth and all, but first I have to save my sanity. I gave those Seventh Generation trashbags a fair shake and they were horribly leaky, needed to be doubled, still leaked…ugh! The dishwasher detergent? Left gross residue all over my dishes. I know, I know, I’ll probably go to hell for saying this, but if it’s not working, don’t torture yourself by sticking to ideals. Buy the Cascade or the Hefty bags and be done with it. Use the energy you just saved for some other, more agreeable arrangement with Mother Earth.
3. Hang out with people who make you feel good
Yes, this makes your life easier. I promise. The more I surround myself with lovely, positive people, the better I feel and the smoother everything becomes. It is simply easier to avoid people who make you feel like garbage, if at all possible. Like I need to tell you that?
4. Move forward
Take a lesson from my new crawler. He could only go backwards for a few weeks, leaving him half stuck under the furniture and mad. Now that he can motor forward, life is good. Are you insisting on rehashing the past? On drowning yourself in what should have been, what could have been? Stop. Move forward. What’s next? (In Danny’s case, usually an electrical outlet I haven’t yet babyproofed.)
5. Breathe
You’ve made it this far in life. You must be doing something right. I bet you’re going to be ok. So breathe, will ya? In this moment, you are safe, you have a decent internet connection and you have excellent taste in blogs. So relax, inhale, exhale. Repeat.
November 29th, 2011 | happiness, quick and easy, recipe | 8 Comments »
Two months ago I wrote about postpartum depression because…I just had to. The experience was very real for me and I’m grateful for all the women who sent support and their own stories in reply. What an amazing bunch of comments. Thank you! This whole baby-making thing isn’t for the faint of heart, huh?
It’s only fitting that I follow up now that I’m back on my feet and feeling normal again. Because I am.
Yay!
I swear, writing that post and connecting with other women who have felt/are feeling the same way did wonders for me. If you are or know someone struggling with PPD, the support and understanding of others is huge. Send them my way. Seriously. I’m not 100% sure where the line is between “Exhausted, overwhelmed and emotional new mom” and “Postpartum depression” but frankly I don’t care. The diagnosis doesn’t matter too much. Getting help does.
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September 27th, 2011 | baby, happiness, self care | 21 Comments »
This past weekend we ate out a lot. There’s a feeling of victory if we successfully get to a restaurant – almost as if doing so automatically equals fun and relaxation. It says, “We might be new parents but, see, we still live in the real world!”
Funny thing is we probably eat out more now than we ever did, pre-baby. Friday was sushi for lunch and happy hour chicken fingers. Saturday was over-the-counter empanadas for lunch and full on Mexican dinner. Sunday was crepes for brunch. Oy.
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August 23rd, 2011 | beans, happiness, quick and easy, recipe, vegan, vegetarian | 4 Comments »
Heather Kistilentz had long brown hair, a round face and freckles. I have no idea how to spell her last name, but nevermind. She was my best friend in 3rd grade. I’m not sure what that meant…we must have played together on the weekends? Hung out during recess? I remember listening to George Michael and Salt-n-Pepa together. It made me feel awesome to have a best friend. My very own!
Then Heather’s family moved away.
I wonder if today’s 3rd graders use email to stay in touch? Is there an elementary school Facebook? I hope not. It was sort of a lesson that needed to be learned early on, about the way people come and go in life and how to move on and meet new friends.
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August 16th, 2011 | family, happiness, self care | 7 Comments »
Extraordinary things happen in life that we take for granted. I remember staring for hours at my engagement ring, watching it flicker prisms across the room. Now I often forget it’s there. It’s still the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.
Max proposed to me in front of my whole family at Thanksgiving dinner. The bottle of Dom he bought to celebrate was empty, sealed and packaged but empty, making for an even more memorable engagement story. (Yes, the store refunded his money.) I didn’t care a bit. I couldn’t sleep that night, I was so filled with excitement. Someone LOVES me this much?? I’m going to be a BRIDE? I kept touching my ring, worried it would fall off.
Extraordinary for sure.
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August 2nd, 2011 | Boston, family, happiness | 8 Comments »
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Sleep is a weird, weird thing. Think about it. We spend more time sleeping than practically anything else in our entire life. Yet you might just casually ask your partner, “How’d ya sleep?”
I’m considering it a ton lately. Obsessing, perhaps. Yes, definitely. Nighttime sleep is total luck of the draw. The other night I had just fallen asleep when our town set off their late 4th of July fireworks. Another night it was a thunderstorm. And just when it settles down and my eyes flutter shut, the baby monitor wails.
Luckily, Danny is now sleeping a bit more at night. I’m able to occasionally get my snooze on and have real dreams. It’s heaven. I don’t take one moment for granted. And it’s my most prized possession, in need of heavy protection. Whether it’s a new baby or a week of final exams or what-have-you, I’m sure you can relate on some level.
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July 18th, 2011 | happiness, self care | 7 Comments »
