It’s Sunday today, a day to rest and regroup. Did you visit or create any sacred space to breathe and to feel alive, to express gratitude and to just Be wonderful YOU?
This is your space right now.
I hope you have a wonderful day and week ahead and enjoy the magic of this one beautiful life you’re living!
nAMaste
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
Welome to another year of living happily ever after, AKA Happy New Year! Life is always changing and is unpredictable, just like the weather and the seasons and I hope that you discover joy in every moment that comes your way this year.
I discovered joy in the snow this first week of the new year and am thankful that my son wanted to go skiing for Christmas. I don’t like to be cold and am uncomfortable in the snow. Despite these facts, I chose to go anyway and to be outside, and to even ski. Even though I resisted at first and complained a little about being cold and wet, I still found reasons to celebrate and to enjoy the moments and was filled with gratitude and joy!
Life is good and I wish you love, joy, and happiness every day. Happy New Year!
xo Adriana
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
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
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
It’s 5:00ish here – it’s happy hour! Are you feeling happy?
How was your day? I have a little break between work and play and wanted to check in as I was thinking of it being 5:00 and it being happy hour, even when I was home cooking and cleaning. It made me think of our definition of happy hour and how often we celebrate “it.”
We can and should celebrate happy hour every day, and it doesn’t just have to be at 5:00 with a drink in your hand.
Maybe your happy hour is when you first wake up in the morning and the house is still quiet.
I think I’ve had several happy hours today. Mine started when Jeff brought me a cup of coffee while I was still in bed. This ritual makes me really happy. My cat wanted to sit with me and stay warm and who was I to deny him his happiness? I am a giver like that, and just had to stay a few minutes longer.
Maybe your happy hour is when you’re running or working out. I didn’t choose to spend a happy hour working out today, although I thought about it. I got in the groove of work and just kept going. Some days are like that.
I actually really love working, and most of the hours are happily spent doing what I’m doing, feeling creative, solving problems and helping others. Do you enjoy your daily work? I think if we are going to be spending several hours a day working, that we should be enjoying this part of our journey too.
What about after work? What do you love?
Today I enjoyed being prepared to make a recipe that I had chosen this weekend and got to use the grill. I don’t know why this made me happy, but I think it’s because it intimidates me a little and makes me uncomfortable. After using the grill and making sure the patties were each at 160 degrees, without a flame or burn, I felt strangely proud and like I conquered the all powerful grill. I am happy that I have a meal ready for everyone when they come home from their long days. Feeding my family makes me incredibly happy. Such a basic need, and one that I truly love.
And now, this happy (partial ) hour of connecting and writing is done… I have more to do, to create more happily ever moments before the day is done.
Join me by enjoying whatever you choose to do next and we’ll celebrate happy hour together!
Cheers!
Adriana
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!
I was laughing my head off and Charlie grabbed my phone to take videos.
This was a fun, morning, pajama jam session! Thank you Charlie for sharing your passion with us. You made my day.
How was your day? What moment did you really enjoy? Hope you have a good week. xo
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
I picked up the phone today and called a friend. She didn’t answer and usually I would hang up, but today I left a message and I Am happy that I did.
I told her that I would be near her house this afternoon and would love to drop by and see her, if her schedule was open at all. Lucky for me, she noticed that I called, checked her message and called me back, right as I was getting ready to go out again and we were able to connect.
She invited Jeff and I to her house and we enjoyed an hour or so together, chit chatting and catching up right at dinner time and before her PTA meeting and between our kids’ soccer practice and polo matches. While we were talking, she whipped up fish tacos for her family and insisted that we eat with her and that she had plenty.
I can’t tell you (well, actually I guess I am sharing right now) how cool this moment was. This was living happily ever after right now, and saying yes, and not being too busy, or too tired or too anything (even though we are). We showed up, sat around the table and enjoyed each other’s company in the middle of the day on a Tuesday. I loved this, can you tell?
Thank you Susanne! You made my day.
If you’re thinking of a friend, try calling them. They just might make your day and dinner. xoxo
P.S. Thank you Charlie for inspiring me to write tonight and asking me what made me happy today.
here i am 
