A recipe.

I haven’t been blogging much. Maybe you’ve missed my digestion of thoughts or mini-motivational speeches. Well, I’m back with something a little different. A recipe.

Why am I giving you a recipe? Because it’s a way to update you on life, share with you my love of cooking, and maybe motivate you to try something new.

Tonight, I made a “beefed” up version of cauliflower mash. With low carb, low calorie trends on all of the latest recipe sites, I’m sure most are aware of cauliflower mash as an alternative to mashed potatoes. Boil the cauliflower. Throw it in a food processor with whatever you want, salt pepper garlic butter milk whatever. Voila, it’s just like mashed potatoes – even my dad eats it.

Well here come my update – my diet has changed a lot. Sort of. I’m not a cow hugging vegan, but my diet has definitely become a lot more green.
The majority of my meals now are plant-based – smoothies, salads, kale, spinach, chia, some hemp, yum.
I eat a lot less. If you know me – this is a huge statement. I have always been that person that has a bottomless stomach. But that isn’t the case anymore. I get full by eating two or three small meals a day, with little to no meat or hearty proteins (beans and nuts). My fridge is about 50% greens (kale, spinach, parsley, romaine sometimes), veggies, (peppers, carrots, mushrooms, cauliflower, spaghetti squash), some fruit (maybe half an apple, pear or orange a day), some grain (rice and oats mostly, or a yummy croissant at a good coffee shop). Oh and while I mentioned coffee, I seem to drink about 90% tea these days – tulsi tea to be specific. I drink a ton of water.
Why am I sharing this with you? (Here comes the mini-motivation) My diet  and food is a very important subject to me. I cook, my friends cook, when I travel I explore food, I grew up with a baking mother and grandmother, my sister taught me the adventure of homemade cooking, my college roommate and I made ingredients and all of our meals from scratch. Food is my passion.
But just as important as it is to me, I am a simple cook. About 75% of my meals can be prepared in less than 20 minutes with an average of 4 ingredients, 6 if you include spices. Getting in the kitchen and creating food that your tastebuds are asking for is empowering and a great way to express yourself creatively. Listening to your stomach and making what looks and feels good is such a great way to nurture and love yourself. When we go to a restaurant we often experience a large disconnect.
First, most restaurants lack that love. Where are your ingredients coming from? Is the restaurant actually creating dishes with the consumers health and well-being in mind? Is the food fresh?
Second, when you read a menu, you instantly put your stomach and appetite into a box. You force your body to decide what it wants based on someone else’s agenda (whoever created the menu).
Getting in the kitchen allows you to fully express what your body wants and needs. You can ensure the freshness and quality of the ingredients, especially if you also grow your own ingredients or know the farmer. This brings me to my next update on life.

I got a job! Four months ago I journaled in my diary about my dream to travel, teach yoga, and work on a farm. Starting in May, I will be doing just that! I got a job working on an organic family farm that grows fruits and vegetables, and that raises and processes livestock for CSA shares, farmers’ markets, and local schools! During harvest season I’ll be busy in the fields, and in the winter, I will be teaching yoga to the community! I am so grateful for my journey these past few months. I have found strength and opportunity by letting go of fear and unnecessary habits in my life. Leaving behind many possessions (both physical and mental) I have gained space for learning, new relationships, and new adventures!

So here is my recipe for “Beefed” Up Cauliflower Mash

1. Make this cool appetizer of Bruschetta when you don’t have basil bread or mozzeralla.
   It’s cucumber, tomato, and swiss. If you want to substitute the swiss for avocado or chopped pistachio – definitely do it!
   
2. Start bringing a big pot of salted water to a boil for the cauliflower, and prepare a medium pot for steaming with steam basket. If you have one of those layered steam pots, use that. You can boil the cauliflower and steam the mushrooms at the same time with a lot less dishes!
3. Grab your ingredients (for two meal servings, or four side servings)
   • Cauliflower, 1 head cut in big chunks
   • Mushrooms, about 10 baby bellas
   • Leek, thinly slice the whole thing – even the greens!
   • Carrot – thinly slice the whole thing – thinner the better
   • Pepper
   • Parsley, to garnish
4. When you water is boiling, add the cauliflower. Boil on medium-high for about 7 minutes. Steam the mushrooms at the same time.
5. After 7 minutes, place the mushrooms, cauliflower, and a big pinch of pepper into a blender or food processor. Let is sit there.
6. Begin to steam the leek and carrot. While that is steaming for 2-4 minutes, pulse the cauliflower and mushrooms. You’re not done blending so leave it nice and chunky.
7. Add the carrots and about 70% of the leek to the blender. Pulse until it’s the consistency you like your mashed potatoes.
8. Pour into a bowl and stir in the remaining leek. Garnish with parsley!
   Blended meals are great for digestion and help us get a lot of nutrients without a ton of extra work for our body – hence why soups are really beneficial when we are sick. This blend has vitamin Bs, vitamin C, fiber, iron, protein, and it took about 15 minutes to make.
   Enjoy!

Sending my love and hope you have fun in the kitchen!

Summing it up

Hey all,
It’s been a while. I’ve been really busy surviving the cold northern weather, working a job, cooking homemade meals, studying for yoga teacher training, and attending more yoga classes than I thought possible.
But I am so glad to be able to sit and write to you now.
A little update on my life – if you missed the news, I moved from Florida to Minnesota in January. It’s cold. I have elected to bike or bus as much as possible, because there’s a train rail and TONS of bike trails to use for commuting. But adjusting to the cold has been a big change for me. I think I’m getting the hang of it.
Nutrition is something very important to me, and I have been eating all homemade meals for the past couple of weeks. I want to reflect and encourage you to try to add more homemade meals in your diet if you don’t already do so. Knowing what goes in your food is really empowering! You may say, “I don’t know how to cook,” or, “I don’t have the right recipes”. Well, what foods do you like? Cook those foods, and something delicious will result. Also, GOOGLE is the best companion chef in the entire world.
When you know what food, what ingredients, you are putting in your body. You can become more mindful of how much food you consume and the quality of the ingredients (how much salt and oil does that restaurant use?!)
Now that I am done with my nutrition rant, yoga has been so busy but absolutely transforming. I took this step very spontaneously 2.5 months ago. I told my boss I was quitting, I got rid of most of my possessions, I drove 1500 miles in a 20 yr old car, and moved in with my dad and stepmom. For what? The idea that yoga will transform and provide me with a new life. I was sick of the cycle: I was monotonous and needed to change. So change I did. I sought out what I had dreamed of doing. I did it with faith that life goes on and things will work out.
A beautiful friend/mentor often gave me these words: “What’s going to happen? Are you going to die?” If death is something that scares you, I’m here to tell you, more often than not,  you won’t die from the decisions you make.

What is that idea that you dream about achieving?

Take the next step, and grow a little.
After that first blossom, you will only continue to grow and move forward and become a bouquet of life and love.
Sending you love and joy.

How do you clean your car?

Hey guys! How do you clean your car?
Well, I do it involuntarily by having someone break into my car, and steal everything out of it! Then, if you need to clean the outside, live in a cold area, so when it mists the precipitation turns tk ices and you scrape it ALL of in freezing weather, at night.
My car got broken into.
I’m safe, and that is what I am grateful for.
My car was not stolen, so I still have transportation around town. Again, something I am grateful for.

Some people might think, wow she moves and all of this stuff happens – but don’t be so quick to generalize – at least I’m not allowing myself to. I used to drive my car maybe 10 miles a week…now that I’ve moved my situation requires me to drive a lot more, nearly 100 miles. So the opportunity for misfortune to occur is inescapable.
Negativity is part of life. It creates balance.
I send you love. I pour out my love today, in hopes that you receive it and share it with others. So over time, we all can have more positivity, and less negativity inside of us.

Learning a lesson

A cop car pulled up beside me while I was on the freeway the other day. Then he slowed down and got behind me. Instantly, I knew I was doomed.
I’m a safe driver. I obey the speed limit, my phone is put away (because I do not use my phone while driving), and all of my tags are up to date. However, I don’t wear my seatbelt. I know what you’re thinking…”Jennifer, that is so mindless. You are much smarter than that. You could die.”
Let me share something with you, and I’m sorry if this is harsh. I don’t wear my seatbelt for personal experience reasons,  so I mostly don’t care what you have to say — I usually don’t wear my seatbelt. When do I wear it?  When I feel unsafe, and driving long distances.
So the cop pulls me over. STOP. BREAK. PAUSE THE STORY. Now, I realize why I am being pulled over, so I correct my action that is “breaking the law”. Why do I fix my behavior, because I am not neglecting my seatbelt out of defiance, I am not trying to disobey the law or dishonor authority.
Officer So-and-so came up to my window. We go through the motions of license and registration, 10 minutes later he says, “I HAD TO write you a citation for not wearing your seatbelt…have a good day.”
Sorry Officer So-and-so, but BULLSHIT. You did not have to do anything other than ensure my safety and educate me as a citizen. Which you did when you made it aware of my not wearing my seatbelt, and then my proceeding to put on my seatbelt. Lesson learned of my expectation.
Why am I writing about this?
I am not trying to stomp my feet and say I don’t deserve this, because I do. I chose to break the law, fully aware of the consequences.
I just wish more people, including Officer So-and-so, acknowledged other people’s perspectives before quickly jumping to conclusions and treating every interaction as a standard procedure.
That is why I was upset. The quick judgement and administration of a fine and a smudge on my clean record left me feeling like someone that was actually a criminal or the text-and-driver that was actually putting people in danger.

Remember, we are each individual human beings. Every time you walk by, speak to, listen to a other person talk, you are listening to one new individual that has a different story than all the people before. Let this be an opportunity to learn something new with ever interaction in your life. Get out of the habit of generalizing or jumping to conclusions.
Remember that tiny word, perspective.
Challenge yourself to acknowledge and understand someone else’s perspective.

Wishing you Love & Joy throughout the day.

Ice skating rinks and candy stores

From the title, you might think I’ve been acting like a child – and, today, I have been!

Today was the first day in a long time that I haven’t had something I needed to do. Whether it was a job interview, grocery shopping, working at the gym, cleaning at the yoga studio, cleaning at the house, cooking, or something, I have been pretty busy.

Today was the first day I had nothing — absolutely nothing — that needed to be done. So I went to hot yoga. And then I explored.

I could have gone to a museum, because there a lot of them in St. Paul. I could have gone to a park, because there are a lot of those too. But instead, I went ice skating!

In downtown St. Paul, there is an outdoor Ice skating rink sponsored by Wells Fargo. So when you show your Wells Fargo card, you can rent ice skates for free!!!!
Instantly, I turned into a child. I was gliding, and dancing, and I was the only one on the ice. I’m sure I looked like a fool – a twenty-something girl becoming a ballerina in the middle of the city on a Friday afternoon…and I had a blast.
After my ice skating performance to the zero people watching, I asked the attendant in the warming house if she had any suggestions for things to do in walking distance. I found it kind of strange that her only suggestion in all of the area was, “Oh! Go check out the candy shop around the corner!” As odd as it sounded, I took the advice and made my way to Candyland, the candy shop.

Passing by theaters and performing arts centers I found the side street where I found Candyland. From the outside, it looks cute, but didn’t strike me as anything worthy of the excited suggestion I had received. However, when I opened the doors and was overwhelmed with a watering mouth and childlike excitement as I found myself in a Mr. Roger’s style Willy Wonka chocolate factory!
The store wasn’t big at all, but to your left was the candyman making chocolates, straight ahead were trays and racks of truffles, and chocolate barks, and other chocolate treats, and then to your right was a candy stand with fruit treats, trail mixes, jelly beans, and gummies. Finally, closest to the cash register on your right was the popcorn! The popcorn was fresh popped, seasoned, and bagged! With the little bit of space to form a line to order I got behind five patrons as I tried to decide what I was going to choose.
I tried to decide between chocolate barks, covered pretzels, truffles, sweet candies, spiced candies…there were so many great options. Someone got in line behind me, and then many more followed. The gentleman behind me commented how busy it was, so I asked if it was usually like this. He said there is always some sort of line, but this is rather on the busier side. But he stated it correctly when he said, “Nobody minds waiting for something as delicious as fresh candy!” I asked him and the person behind what their recommendations were and Person A said the Almond bark – almonds and white chocolate, and Person B said the Chicago Mix popcorn – a bag of popcorn with all three flavors of seasoned, rich cheddar, and caramel! When it was my turn I some of each of the fellows’ suggestions, and I was back to seeing some new sites in town.

Today has been such a fun day. I ate candy for lunch and ice skated! I am really having a great time in my new home.
Earlier this week I took my bike for a spin! There are a lot of great trails, throughout the Twin Cities, that keep cyclists away from dangerous, busy traffic. On my bike ride home, I biked alongside three prancing deer!

 

The journey has been beautiful, and exciting, and full of great lessons.
I have had to make some tough decisions, and also push myself to stay active and explore the unknown.
When facing the unknown, I remind myself of the four agreements:
1. Be impeccable with your word (What do I actually want? Or, what am I actually trying to accomplish?)
2. Don’t take anything personally. (The interactions I get to experience in my life become my decision of how I want to develop or not develop them. This is my journey, and my environment and interactions are tools toward “success”.)
3. Don’t make assumptions. (Especially in a new town, like myself, ask a lot of questions about everything and anything.)
4. Always do your best. (Never let yourself be disappointed in yourself. If you don’t like something, change it – do something different.)

There is no messing up in life if you are enjoying what you are doing. Like eating candy for lunch!

Being a sponge in a snowy city

It seemed like as soon as I touched my feet in the Minnesota snow and got my new bed made, I packed my bags and boarded a truck with my dad.  The trip was such a great experience, as I got to see what my dad really does for a living, see his hard work, and witness the process that goes in to supplying our country with the food and supplies we buy every day in our grocery stores. I witnessed sites across the nation so beautiful that I lost my breath, and I found myself dreaming of the opportunity to explore them. I also had a much needed moment to ground myself – to refuel myself, so when I arrived back in the Twin Cities I had the energy and mindset to explore without fear. Of course, I forgot that the cold weather would play a role in my “fearless” exploration because I would have to find a way to not freeze as I sought out new experiences in the -10 degree weather.

Since I’ve been back for three days, I have had the opportunity to watch a Vikings game (they lost), go grocery shopping at a new grocery store, take a new route to the yoga studio every day, and I found a dentist! Each event, though they sound uneventful, have actually been very beneficial experiences that have resulted in so much growth! Starting with the grocery store…

I arrived at Mississippi Market yesterday to pick up a supply of organic veggies and other fresh items. Mississippi Market is the local co-op food store in town, and it was here that I found a copy of Natural Awakening! If you’re not familiar with Natural Awakening, it is a local publication that is throughout the country, and it features articles about natural health as well as an EVENTS CALENDAR!! I found out that a winter carnival is coming up this month, as well as took note on a couple parks to check out.

After grocery shopping, I took a new route home. I actually got lost, as I found myself struggling to cross the Mississippi River to “my side of town”, and unable to find an on-ramp to the freeway. I eventually found a familiar street and just took the long way home. BUT, I was proud of myself for recognizing something familiar and trusting my instincts to follow the route. Plus, I passed an Italian Bakery that is now on my to-do list. It was also during this time that I learned the importance of windshield wiper fluid, as I drove while it was snowing! Windshield wipe fluid is not just for lovebugs, it is for the salt that completely covers your windshield as it sprays up from the car’s tires in front of you!

After going home and getting the groceries put away (which I realized isn’t necessary since your trunk serves as a freezer at about 10 degrees), I went to the dentist! Shannon was my dental assistant who cleaned my teeth, and she was outstanding! Not only do my teeth look/feel great, but when she found out I was new to town, she started writing me a list of things to do in town. As she scraped away the plaque, she was asking the different people in the office where their favorite restaurants were, and what their favorite activities are. I learned that Minnesotans go “up north” in the summer (I laughed out loud). “Up north” means the drive an hour to Lake Superior and stay in cabins for the summer. I also decided I will soon be trying cross-country skiing, apparently that’s what summer runners do in the winter time. I left the office with a welcome travel mug, and a list of new places to go!

I have also started practicing at my yoga studio. This has given me the opportunity to hear the stories and minds of some of my peers and their lives in the Twin Cities, as well as their journeys that brought them to yoga. When I am there, I feel a great sense of community as each of us are living our own journeys with yoga as a central point for all of us. As we come together and meet new people here, I am reminded of, and refueled with, the strength and fresh mindedness I need to have every day. Every moment on my mat has been more energy to explore and see new things in this town!

So, like a sponge, I am sopping up all of the information, experiences, and new activities I can find! And, I am having a blast.

I start my job tomorrow!

I wish you peace in the present, so you have energy to move forward.

With love,
Jennifer

Love your cracker

“Unconditional Love, this is accepting ‘what is’ instead of demanding what ‘should be’.”

  —J.B. Riebel

In my own life there is one quality I constantly come back to as the the “thing” I need to work on, acceptance.
Let me clarify that I do not mean being passive or not caring about what is best, but accepting situations for what they are, accepting people’s ability for what it seems, accepting people’s intentions for what they say they are, accepting the reality of the present.
At the end of the day a cracker can not turn a into a plate of spaghetti, that is, reality is nothing more/less/different than what is actually happening. In each moment we should be grateful for the experience of what is happening in the present; someone doing you a favor, getting to go to lunch with a friend, or having your boss give you feedback on your job, whatever the event that is actually occurring. When we try to manipulate a situation into some thing it is not, two things generally happen, and neither are pleasant. One result is you let yourself down by getting your hopes high for something that won’t happen in the future, like having expectations of someone without actually communicating those expectations (“I assumed you were going to make dinner since you got off of work first”). Another result of not experiencing the present with a true perspective is we act without intention, which can later upset someone else by giving them false expectations that you cannot fulfill (promising to spend time with your friend when you know you actually have too much on your plate already).
As life’s events are seen with a realistic and honest perspective,  we gain love for our reality. We appreciate what is given to us, because we can stop always wanting more. Our reality becomes our journey, our experience. Going back to my analogy that makes it obvious I’ve been hungry all day…
If you accept that a cracker is what you will eat and stop thinking spaghetti is coming, then the cracker is what you can enjoy. The spaghetti is no longer something you feel should happen because you have accepted your reality of that crispy, square, tasty cracker. Once you accept what is actually realistic, you can then love it. Once you love yourself honestly, you can love others honestly because your perspective is clear and realistic.

Know that you are doing a great job, you are not messing up.
Learn what you need to do to keep loving the life you live.
Venture forward on the journey, grow.

Enjoy the journey, love your life, and eat a cracker — I am.

Actually, I am eating a brownie sundae in California.

Enjoying the view, but wanting more.

My cross-country truck ride with dad has taken us to Nevada, so far. After Minnesota was South Dakota, home of the best billboards I’ve ever seen, Wyoming, home of a ton of wind and no trees, Utah, home of a lot of dried out, or frozen over, or cold lakes with a bunch of mountains in the background, and now Nevada which is snowy with a lot of deep snow. During the ride I have been sending myself a post card from each state with a list of different things I want to come back and do – visit Mt Rushmore, hike the badlands, get lost in the mountains through Wyoming, ski in Utah, don’t bother stopping in Nevada (at least so far). It’s a nice momento, as well as a way to keep track of the neat ideas I have on the road. I can’ wait to come back and explore all of the different sites I’ve seen.

The terrain up in these parts of the United States is different than anything I’ve seen before. My camera is doing a horrible job of capturing the beauty, the depth of the land, and the different types of land you can experience in one view. My favorite area so far has been Wyoming – it is calling me for an adventure! You can look to your left and see rock formations, small valleys, and plains, and then on the right there will be a hilly farm with cows – furry cows. In Wyoming, I went through a town with a population of 4! Talk about isolation.

Through all of the states and mountainscapes I find myself yearning to just go and get lost in the vast land. To explore nature and live in the serenity of natural life, the purest form of life where there is no pressure or influence of the world, but only you, Alive.
I’ll be back. With a backpack of food and water, and a map, I’ll be back.

Do you have a dream or idea that seems outlandish or bizarre?
Why not try to make it happen?
Why is it actually that weird? Because no one has ever tried it before?
Oh well. What if you did?

Go for it!

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The Benchmark of a New Year

I do traditions, but I don’t do them traditionally. So when it was time to reflect on 2015 and look forward to 2016, I did but not in the typical list of things or goals. Why? Because change doesn’t come from checking off things on a to-do list. Change comes from living a lifestyle. From that lifestyle you can strengthen and grow certain characteristics of yourself which will lead to letting go of things and beginning others. And a lifestyle is not a list that begins on a certain day of the year, it is a progression that continues from the day you are born to every day you wake up.

So let me recap my progression through 2015, and tell you where I think it is leading me 2016. But again non-traditionally. Let me tell you from the focus of the best thing that happened in my life this past year, my nephew.

This is Levi. My nephew. He has been in my family since 2014, when my sister began the process of adopting him. This picture is from January 2015. He was 14 months old and standing and babbling a little. I learned that timing is an important element of life, and Levi crawled into my life at the right time, to show me that I was ready for change in my life. My sister (Levi’s mother), Melanie, is a strong, loving, passionate woman that I learn from every day. Her passion and love from the day she met Levi, drove her through sleepless nights and countless doctor visits to be rewarded by the stepping stones of seeing Levi grow. I saw my sister flourish and re-energize every morning she woke up to see Levi and every day when she came home from work to be greeted by his smile. My sister found passion, and I knew I would find satisfaction in my life if I found and pursued my passion. So it was then that I committed to my bike trip and pursuing the life I dreamed of — adventure and learning.

In April, Aunt Jenn forced Levi to overcome his fear of swimming. I learned that children usually have fear because they are unfamiliar, not because they have expectation of failure. Children don’t know what failure is, so the reason they don’t do something is because they aren’t sure how. Give a kid a book and they’ll look at it like any inanimate object with confusion, until you show them that books are meant to be read — then they will read every book they see. So Levi and I went to the beach. I showed him how Aunt Jenn loves  the water. And how I can sit with my toes in the water and then slowly move deeper until water is all around me like bathtime. Levi joined me on my lap and together we felt the water cover everything but our heads. Then we splashed together. Finally, over time and many visits to the beach, water was fun and not an unfamiliar thing. I learned that to overcome negative thoughts and doubt or fear, you have to identify what it is that is holding you back (lack of knowledge, previous bad experiences, fear of failure) and then overcome those thoughts with positive thoughts and trusting you are capable.

Levi also taught me to explore. At 18 months, he started to constantly explore everything. If there was a switch, a button, a door he would figure out how to turn it off/on, in/out, open/close. He showed me the only way to learn something is to try.

There comes a time in a toddler’s life when you an give them space. They start to explore on their own, discover without a ton of guidance, and they are able to communicate what they need more so you don’t have to constantly be on the lookout. Like this picture, I could take a picture of him sitting on a firetruck , without holding him, because he had reached a point of communication and understanding that moving would mean falling and when Aunt Jenn asks you to stay, you need to stay. It was at this time that I personally associated important of taking time for yourself and growth. I started to learn how important it was to have “me time” and I dedicated myself to a weekly yoga practice, biking practice, and started to see that keeping some simple habits in my life led to a better, happier, more productive me.

When I left for my bike trip, I took this picture with me. Levi loves “momma” and “daddy” and he has the most exhilirating smile. He gave me motivation along the road because Levi really looks up to me, and like a sponge he soaks up everything he hears and sees. So Aunt Jenn on a bicycle means every bicycle he sees is an opportunity to talk/babble about “Aunt Jenn” and “Levi” riding on a “bicycle”. When Levi sees Aunt Jenn achieve her dreams, he knows that no dream or goal is too crazy to achieve. He sees the importance of eating fruits and veggies, and playing outside instead of sitting in front of a TV (unless it’s Wheel of Fortune). Levi has taught me to live the life I dream of because it will inspire others to do the same.

When I got back from my bike trip, I was re-energized and filled with a spirit of freedom and adventure. I remember being so excited to see my little man, but worried because I wasn’t sure if he would be as excited to see me. A lot had happened in the month I was gone. He was becoming more and more social, so what if I was no longer one of his main social figures? Well I had nothing to worry about because Levi was just as excited to see me!

This is Levi helping me in the kitchen. While I was mixing up some eggs for breakfast, Levi had went and gathered his stool, a bowl, and a “whisk” so he could join me to help cook breakfast. This was about the time in my life that I learned family should not be taken for granted, the important people in life will always be by your side, and worrying is just a waste of energy.

Toward the end of the year, I had a big decision to make. From all of the lessons I had learned throughout the year, and the lifestyle I had chosen of seizing opportunity and living a life of integrity and care for myself, I had to make the decision to let things go. I let go of a relationship, I let go of a job, I let go of a home. I did these to embrace my future. I see my upcoming year with a new career as I study yoga, a new social group as I move to a new city and spend my energy staying connected to family instead of other people, and I see travel and adventure ahead of me as I yearn for more knowledge. I don’t have specific goals for this year but I know that right now (so during this year) I will achieve a yoga teaching certification, I will learn to run and bike in the snow, I will live in a new city. And I plan to keep progressing as life continues forward. That is my New Year’s plan.

There isn’t a “right” way to live, or a “right” way to start the year. If you feel like putting a bowl on top of your head when you’re all done eating, do so…just remember for every action there is a reaction so you might not like the result if there is yogurt inside the bowl.

LIVE LIFE!

 

80,000 pounds

Yesterday, began my ten day trip of traveling the country with my dad.
Yesterday we spent the day driving around the outskirts of Minneapolis to pick up product from three different suppliers. Once we finished at the final pickup location, Dad pulled into a rest area, and we crawled into our bunk beds to rest and recharge for a full day of driving today.
This morning we began west to South Dakota. I downloaded an eBook that I can read to dad while we travel — usually he listens to audiobooks, but I can’t just sit and listen to something. We are reading a memoir by Floyd Paseman, A Spy’s Journey: A CIA Memoir. The first three chapters guided us to the South Dakota state line where we just finished lunch.

The journey has been beautiful so far.
There is a lot of snow lining the roads, and in some places there looks to be more than  two feet of snow! The interstate is lined with farmyard fencing on the countryside,  but at moments, the depths of snow cover all but the top 6 inches of the fence posts! That’s a lot of snow!
It is beautiful to see the earth rest and purify itself — to build itself strong for the upcoming year. It rests now so it can grow new life in spring,  flourish and live through summer, and harvest and provide food for us in autumn. This cycle reminds me of my goal of finding balance in every aspect of my life…balancing care for others with care for myself, balancing work with play, balancing health with treats…remembering that the best way to live my life, the best way to define those balances,  is by trusting and listening to myself. The only right way to live your life is by doing what is true to you.

As dad and I continue on the road today we’re tuning into the football bowl games, and eating pot roast for dinner that I’m currently cooking in the crock pot!

As the holiday season is closing, I hope you all got time with loved ones. I wish you prosperity in this upcoming year as we all work toward goals and encounter new opportunities.
Eventually I will write my cliche reflection of 2015 and goals for 2016 🙂

Live well.