Rise Up

Posted in connection, Gratitude, intention, positive living, rooted, simple living, tree pose by adrianahartley

Rise up with your arms, your heart, your head, your eyes, your thoughts.

Inhale. Close your eyes and pause. Exhale.

Bring your hands to your heart center, with palms touching each other. Feel the earth beneath your feet, as you are rooted in love. Feel the sun shine on your face.

Take this moment to feel gratitude for your breath and being alive. Think about someone else that you appreciate and wish them well, in your mind.

Enjoy this moment with whatever feelings arise as this is part of our journey.

Namaste and Happy Memorial Day, honoring those who have served others and have died and gone before us, with love and gratitude.

💛

27Feb2019

Be Giving

Posted in belovers, connection, Cooking, food, Friends, Gratitude, simple living, work life balance, working mom by adrianahartley

“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.

18Jan2018

Happy New Year 2018

Posted in belovers, connection, family, food, happily ever after, intention, joy, simple living, work life balance, working mom by adrianahartley

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.

28Mar2017

The Little Things

Posted in connection, Cooking, family, food, Gratitude, happily ever after, intention, Love, motherhood, simple living, Uncategorized, work life balance, working mom by adrianahartley

I’ve missed writing and think about it often, wondering what I would write if I chose to write each night I think about writing but don’t actually begin.

I’ve enjoyed the gift of time from not writing and also miss the days of continuity and focusing on what went well each day when I was writing. That yin and yang thing is always present and there are trade offs, aren’t there?

The little thing that caught my attention today was making the kids’ lunches again. I used to make their lunches, then Jeff made their lunches, and then they made their lunches, you know, practicing growing up and being responsible for taking care of themselves. When we had our Japanese exchange student with us earlier this month, I was making breakfasts, lunches and dinners for everyone, including my BIG kids. After Kohei left, I kinda carried on and continued making lunches, gave up breakfasts and still make dinners. I realized I actually love making their lunches and the connection this creates, providing for them this way. I love that it makes them happy and takes a little bit of the burden away from their busy mornings, even if they could do it for themselves. I love when Juliana texts me during the day to say how much she enjoyed what was prepared for her, or shares her gratitude and a moment of thought, connection, love.

I love the little things.

25Jan2017

Listen

Posted in belovers, connection, Gratitude, happily ever after, intention, love and light, namaste, nature, one love, simple living, work life balance by adrianahartley

It’s a great time for listening.

namaste BeLoveRs

16Jan2017

Be Human

Posted in connection, family, Friends, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, love and light, namaste, one love, positive living, rooted, simple living by adrianahartley

I love us. I love all of us.

I think civil rights is about loving all of us and treating each other with dignity and respect, whether we want to or not, whether we agree or disagree, whether we are the same or different in a myriad of ways. It’s like the yin and yang thing and we can practice together being human and celebrating one another and learning from each other.

This MLK day gives us the opportunity to hold hands and to lift each other up again, and to listen to one another, especially with all the fear and anxiety that swirls around our society. We’re okay, you and me and them too. Keep seeing the good and loving one another. The light in me acknowledges the light in you.

Namaste

15Dec2016

Don’t Dwell in the Hell

Posted in belovers, connection, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, joy, positive living, simple living, Uncategorized by adrianahartley

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

27Nov2016

Thankful

Posted in connection, exercise, family, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, memories, motherhood, moving, nature, parenting, positive living, simple living, work life balance by adrianahartley

This was the highlight of my day. My kids came out for a hike with me, even though some thought this was a horrible idea. I wanted us to get out for some fresh air, to move our bodies and to share conversation along the way, away from other distractions. There was some complaining and whining at the beginning and I kept focused on being grateful and patient, thankful that we were all together enjoying the crisp, fresh air and muddy puddles. I loved watching them taking pictures, bird watching and deer and squirrel watching too. They laughed and danced and ran up and down the hills, teasing each other too.

This was a great way to end our Thanksgiving holiday break. I am thankful for my family, near and far, for traveling and being together sharing meals and conversation and chaos, and for being back home again.

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday, making memories and celebrating with those you love and like!

nAMaste

20Nov2016

Family Practice

Posted in belovers, connection, family, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, Love, motherhood, parenting, positive living, rooted, simple living, working mom by adrianahartley

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

16Oct2016

Observing

Posted in connection, family, fear, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, joy, Love, motherhood, parenting, positive living, simple living, spark joy by adrianahartley

The rain came and it was a perfect day to nestle inside. I was thankful for the rain and for choosing to slow down and to let the day unfold.

I was looking through recipes in the family room and heard Charlie playing on his drums. I came to his room and invited myself in to listen and observe, which I normally don’t do. I’m usually telling him to close his door and complaining that it’s too loud.

He smiled and I think he enjoyed my company, even though he was confused when I told him I was excited for his performance. He asked, “what performance?” Obviously, because he was just playing to play. I was joking, but I was happy to just sit and watch him play, and to be present in this moment with him, with no expectations. He had his headphones on and no one was telling him to be quiet or to close his door and we all let him play freely. He played and jammed and I smiled.

Soon Juliana came in to listen as well. She say me enjoying him and she soon wanted to play too. My little cutie let her in and tried to teach her a little rhythm and my heart was full.

I noticed how much fun they were having and it made me want to play too, even though I have no rhythm at all and was a little fearful to even try. He told me which drum to hit on which count and then praised my drumming attempt. We switched spots and it was really cool!