I Am Well. You Are Well.

Hello BeLoveDs. Happy Saturday during the time of Covid from my ShelterIn Place….my backyard yoga mat.

My ShelterIn Place

Everyone should have one…that place to go inside and dwell for a little while.

Think of this place as a gift from the present time, of a pandemic, and the call to shelter in place. Maybe the call is bigger than that? Maybe the call is to learn to slow down and find stillness from within.

This morning I enjoyed listening to Oprah talk about well being and focus on a zoom call posted on Facebook. I love technology. I rolled out my mat and listened while I flowed through my own practice and ended with the meditation that was shared at the end of the online meeting. What a gift! Thank you, Oprah for sharing your wellness journey.

My friend…I love when you stop by.
Be Well BeLoveDs.

My wish for you is to enjoy this day, as it unfolds. Stay well.

Namaste💛

Be Giving

“Be giving, forgiving, compassionate and loving.”

You gotta love a cup of tea that comes with an inspirational message.

Julie gave me this fun mug for my birthday and when I drink from it I think of her and smile. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. I brought her with me to work and it was like having my friend with me.

Speaking of my giving and loving friend, today she sent in a healthy breakfast for our bright and early team meeting. What a sweet and caring surprise. I love her and the breakfast parfait was quite a treat too. I am so lucky!

I am surrounded by giving and loving friends and family and they sure make life sweet. Last night Pat baked three different types of cookies for our PEO meeting to share with all of us. And today Sam took me out to lunch because he thought I needed to get out of the office. I want to be like them when I grow up! Or maybe I am practicing being like them, while I grow up.

Tonight Juliana and I baked Snickerdoodle cookies to share and give away. As she was packing up some up to take with her to share with her friend, she said that I had rubbed off on her. I smiled. Today was good.

Life. Full circle. Karma. Connection. Thankful.

I am content and can’t wait to share cookies and tea again tomorrow.

Namaste BeLoveRs.

xo

Happy New Year 2018

Hello BeLoveRs…how have you been?I’ve been feeling a strong desire to write again and I hope the feeling lasts.It’s been two and a half years since I changed my path and began working from home in a paid position and chose to slow down sharing my written story. This morning there was a quote shared by Gretchen Rubin that connected to my afternoon yesterday that inspired me to write today.“Who will free me from hurry, flurry, the feeling of a crowd pushing behind me, of being hustled and crushed? How can I regain even for a minute the feeling of ample leisure I had during my early, my creative years? Then I seldom felt fussed, or hurried. There was time for work, for play, for love, the confidence that if a task was not done at the appointed time, I easily could fit it into another hour. I used to take leisure for granted, as I did time itself.”

 Bernard Berenson, Sunset and Twilight, from the Diaries of 1947-1958Yesterday I lived. I worked. I helped. I danced. I served. I played. I felt content and uncomfortable and smiled and wanted to capture the moment and to remember to do it again. The feeling of being unrushed. The feeling of creating space to let in the unknown and unplanned was liberating. We followed his agenda to go to the new grocery and he lead the way. There was wine tasting when we walked in and samples of drizzled popcorn and mandarin orange slices. We played with the chilling station to see how it worked. We picked out steaks for dinner that he chose and potatoes for baking that he also thought were a good idea. We bought a crab because we didn’t know what to do with a crab and I want to learn something new related to cooking every week. The butcher cracked it open for us and wrapped it up and found us in the store to give it to us when it was ready. We looked at all the different types of teas and marveled at the salt and pepper grinders. It was a joyful experience. We rarely go shopping together anymore and I loved experiencing the simple shopping outing with him.When we got home, Charlie and I danced in the kitchen as he kept repeating a song verse all afternoon that was driving me a bit crazy. The verse went with a song and dance he learned at school. It all makes sense.So as you go through living your day today, I wish you the freedom to be and to enjoy the moments as they are and to see and feel them whatever they may be.Namaste.

Don’t Dwell in the Hell

This saying keeps coming up and making me smile so I thought I’d take a minute to share it with you.

Don’t dwell in the hell. This was my mantra after getting in an argument with my husband, being frustrated with the kids, after my Amazon order got lost,  and well, you get it. 

Stuff happens. People make you mad. Things get broken. People forget. Stuff goes missing. Things don’t get done. People disappoint. Holiday schedules make us crazy with more to do’s.

And, life is still beautiful when we choose not to stay on the frustration station.  Change the channel. Let go. Forgive. Be kind to yourself and others. Focus on the good stuff, in you, your loved ones, and in these moments. These are the days to create our happily ever after.

nAMaste BeLoveRs

Family Practice

The kids didn’t have water polo or soccer practice on this particular day. I had to run an errand at the mall and they decided they wanted to come with me. Both wanted to come along. I kinda wanted to go by myself. One wanted to come with just me and to leave the other behind. The other one insisted their homework was complete and that they really wanted to come along and to spend some time together. How could I resist?  But there was going to be some conflict. Isn’t there always a little conflict?

I decided to invite both to join me for some family practice time. We had to practice getting along and working together and figuring out how to get along without bugging each other.  Isn’t that what families are about?

They got in the car and I set the agenda, letting my captive audience know what to expect and requesting that they silence their electronic devices. Can you imagine no Snapchat? Tonight we were having a family practice night, instead of soccer practice or polo practice. Tonight we were going to practice listening and cooperating and being patient and kind. Boy, did we practice. And as you know, with practice, there is a lot of repetition.

We practiced several drills, such as choosing our words, taking turns, ignoring the endless snaps and texts that vied for our attention. We practiced patience and listening and not requesting everything we saw. We practiced waiting and not competing with each other. We practiced delaying gratification and not always getting what we want when we want it. We practiced not rolling our eyes and saying, “Gosh” all the time. We practiced holding hands, going with the flow, and putting our arms around each other. And we practiced breaking bread together.

All in all it was a good night, mixed with a little resistance along the way. I am thankful that my not so little ones wanted to join me on this night for some family togetherness and practicing all that is good.

After all, aren’t we all just practicing in this dress rehearsal called life?

What are you practicing with your family?  I wish you success, peace and love!

nAMaste, BeLoveRs.

Have a good week!  xoxo

 

One Love


Today I was validated. Over and over again. This is a great feeling, one that we all want, and I am thankful for the experience and this one beautiful life I’ve been given. Thanks mom and dad, for giving me this opportunity to live it up, to love this life and to laugh out loud!!

Today was chaotic and great.

I flowed. I loved. I was present. 

I enjoyed my family and friends and work and yoga. It doesn’t get much better than this.

My friend chose to come stay with me last night and left today, and before she left, she surprised me with this gift that I found on my desk after uber came to pick her up and take her to the airport, so that I could be at my kids’ sporting events.

During our short time together, I shared with her that I haven’t been blogging as much lately and that I’ve been sitting with the feeling of accepting this slower pace, and not quite giving it up and not quite sure the direction it would take. I have been blogging daily for 4 years and lately have slowed down and am figuring out what the future holds.

She gave me this gift of a journal and a sticker with my favorite thought, One Love. She gets me. She wants me to continue to write, even if I choose to write privately and she encouraged me to continue my passion and to consider writing children’s stories, based on the parenting practices we shared, and practice every day.

Thank you, Jen, for this gift and for the inspiration and spark and for choosing to come spend time with me! 

I love you!   One Love…let’s make America great, one moment at a time!! xoxo

Day 10: Summer

Happy 1st Day of Summer!

Today finally felt relaxing. Charlie went to camp, the big kids are in Mexico and I was able to work from home with limited interruptions and got a workout in too.

Tonight we had time to play a game together that Charlie picked out for me for my birthday, Pie Face. I love this kind of humor and laughed so hard!! 


Oh guys, take time to laugh really hard!! It’s so good for your soul and it makes other people laugh too!

I am thankful for my crazy peeps that laughed with me with whipped cream all over their faces and melted the stress away!

Happy 1st day of summer, BeLoveRs! Be free.

Day 9: Summer

Caravan 2016 – Mexico


Our high schoolers left first thing this morning with their caravan, heading to Mexico for the next week, on a mission trip to serve others and to work side by side with their peers and advisors. I am scared, excited, happy, proud, anxious, grateful, in awe, and mostly thankful. 


I am thankful that our church believes in our youth and provides opportunities for them to practice our values in a loving environment. I am thankful for the plethora of advisors and volunteers who are dedicated to loving and supporting our youth and who give up their time graciously to be an active part of their lives. This trip takes a lot of work and preparation and dedication on so many levels. It truly is amazing to feel the synergy and I am proud of my kids for choosing to participate and am thankful to be part of this community.

Please send your good thoughts and prayers to keep them safe.

Our future is bright, BeLoveRs.

Happy Father’s Day. 

xoxo