Our Exchange Student

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We are very lucky to be hosting an exchange student who is so wonderful.

She is very curious and polite and happy and knows what she likes and doesn’t. She is engaging and helpful and has become part of our family in just a few short days.

We are all going out of our way to make her time here a great experience.

Today I took her to the Paris Baguette after school to pick out a treat, as she loves cakes and baked goods. I loved watching her genuinely love all the displays and tasting the samples.

She picked a Royal Pudding served in a small glass jar that I had never seen before.

After an afternoon snack, she got ready to go to a ballet class with one of Juliana’s friends. I dropped her off at the friend’s house and they took her to the class and brought her home. At first, she was nervous to go on her own and I was luckily able to reassure her that she would have a good time and that she was safe. I, too, was nervous to leave her as I felt like she was my child and I was responsible for her well being. I trusted the family and was so honored that they were going through the trouble to share this experience with her, as she is a ballerina in Japan.

She had a wonderful time and was very happy when she returned home. The American girls also enjoyed her company and thought she was a very good dancer with great form. I am thankful for good friends and our community and that Akie had a good experience.

For dinner tonight, I made a spiral glazed ham, homemade mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed broccoli and cauliflower with hollandaise sauce, and traditional Japanese rice!! She loves rice and I love to serve it for her with every meal, to provide a taste of home. The cool connection I noticed tonight, was that the rest of my family also enjoyed rice with their dinner. Akie has rubbed off on us and I love it.

At school today, Akie learned to play the card game, War. After dinner Charlie found a deck of cards and they played together. Juliana and Charlie and Akie also did a round of the cup song, that she learned last week, passing the cups between them as they played. This was very cool to watch.

I am so happy she is here and am going to miss her when she leaves. I am thankful that Juliana was curious about hosting an exchange student and that we all agreed to go on this journey together.

Love this life.

Namaste

6Mar2015

Your Temple

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What if we loved ourselves so much that we treated US like WE were really important and a priority? If we, ourselves, were a temple, would we change what we do and eat and practice each day? Would we develop and practice rituals that celebrate our bodies? I think some of us might already and more of us should.

This is my friend, Pili. She was wearing this shirt today that sparkled and caught my attention and made me think. If you can’t see the picture, her shirt reads: “Love your body. Respect your temple.”

Isn’t she smart? She’s also very fit and focused and loving and giving and faithful. I admire her in so many ways.

She has been on the Paleo food system for quite awhile now and works out regularly. She balances raising 4 kids, volunteering at our school and at her church and always has a smile on her face. I’m sure she does a 101 other things too, but I’ll let her share more on those things. Oh, and she just got a dog. Is that a sign? I hope not. Pili has a beautiful soul and I think her eyes shine. Don’t they say the eyes are the windows to your soul? Take a look at hers. She’s got it going on!

So back to her shirt. I told her I loved her shirt and asked her if I could take a picture of it, and her in it, and of course, she humbly said yes. And then I asked if I could write about her tonight, and she kindly and quickly obliged with another, happy “Sure!”

I think if more of us loved our bodies and ourselves for just being who we are, where we are right now, we could create a lot more happiness in this world. I think this is so doable.

How do you treat your body as a temple? How do you treat your skin? How do you treat your face? How do you treat your stomach and muscles? How do you care for your brain and your heart? Do you drink enough water? How about sleep? Are your hands and feet rested?

What if we had a whole body workout routine that cared for our entire temple? Would you sign up? I know I would.

Maybe we can frame all that we do everyday with our temple in mind and make us a priority. Kind of a cool thought, right?

If I were to set up rituals and make my body a temple, I would:

– Wash my face and moisturize every day and night.

– Eat whole foods and skip sugar

– Drink more water and less alcohol

– Exercise daily for 2 hours – one hour of strength and one hour of fitness

– Stop biting my nails

– Do yoga every day

– Go to the beach and put my feet in the water. Sometimes paddle. Sometimes swim. Sometimes sit.

– Read

– Wear comfortable clothes

– Get massages

– Put my feet up

– Get manicures and pedicures and facials weekly

– Keep good posture

– Call my mom

– Call my sisters

– Love on my friends and family near and far

– Reach out in love – connect – touch – chat – help others

– Write

– Play and laugh

– Think and learn something new everyday

– Meditate and sit still and quiet my mind

– Stay organized and clutter free

– Practice and repeat

What would be on your list? What’s already on your list? We should make our lists!! What are we waiting for?
My list is so doable. I just have to set up the habits and practices and make my temple a priority. Who’s with me?

Celebrate this wonderful thing called life – bruises and pain and struggles included and acknowledged for what they are. And go on warrior. Keep moving. We’ve got this.

namaste

24Feb2015

Take it In

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I slowed down today and went outside to eat my favorite homemade salad that contained arugula, beets, goat cheese, toasted pine nuts and balsamic vinegar. I love these flavors mixed together so much. It tastes like heaven! I noticed that the flowers in my yard are all starting to bloom and little buds are forming. What initially called me out there were the little birds singing. ML asked me if I noticed the birds singing recently, which I hadn’t but today, the sliding glass door was open letting in fresh air and I heard their songs. Instead of eating quickly inside, I slowed down and went outside and took it all in. It was good.

Afterwards, I continued on with my work and soon picked up kids from school. Later in the day, my sister called and the sunlight was calling my name again. Instead of sitting on the porch, I decided to chat and walk around the block for some exercise and uninterrupted time while I watched the sun begin to fall. I love this type of lighting and the feeling of it’s warmth on my body. I picked some snippets of my favorite fragrances along the way and made myself a little bouquet. The jasmine and lavender smell so good and are very calming. Lavender is my favorite scent, followed by vanilla. What are your favorites? What did you take in today? Did anything slow you down today to help you enjoy the little things? I know we all have our big things and worries, but don’t forget… we just need to open our eyes to enjoy the little moments like birds chirping or a hug from a child despite it all. It’s all good.

I wish you well. xo

21Feb2015

Are You Happy?

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Happiness is “simple.” We just have to follow this little flow chart. I don’t think we should always expect to be happy though. Sometimes we need to wait until we’re ready to change again. I think being aware that we are unhappy is healthy too. We just have to decide how long we want to stay where we are.

If this was my own creation, I’d add another arrow leading from “Change Something” back up to the continuos happiness cycle, asking the question again after you change something to determine if that leads to happiness or not. Just because you change something does not necessarily lead to happiness again. I think we have to always be asking the questions and making decisions, every day. We’re never done.

The only thing that is constant is change.

Today I was happy having a mother daughter date with my teenager. I love that she wants to be with me and that I want to be with her. I love her company and watching her grow up, although today I wanted to slow down time. We both went to get haircuts together. Her hair is curlier than mine and we both had ours blown out and smoothed, the way only a hairdresser can make it shiny and sleek. Seeing her look so beautiful and grown up made me proud and awe struck again. She looked older and I think I looked a little younger, somehow. It’s weird to see me in her and her in me.

Celia made me think of parenthood this week with her FB post that said: “When you become a parent, you stop being the picture and become the frame.” Looking at Juliana today, I saw the picture developing and love my role as the loving boundary and frame.

I am happy.

20Feb2015

Friendvestments

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I am rich!!

I just got home from visiting one of my BFFs and my daughter said to me on the late car ride home, “Boy, you must really love her to drive an hour and a half to meet her.”

I acknowledged her wisdom and agreed with her. I told her that I was lucky enough to have friends that I love just being with and don’t care what we do. For example, as we were driving to go see my friend, she called me to say she had to stop at the car shop. I told her no worries and that I would meet her there. And so we did. Her kids all jumped in my car and I got to play with them while she finished her work. When she came back to my car, she gave me a hug and said she knew we were best friends when we could have fun just hanging out in the parking lot. I love that she was comfortable enough to go to the car dealer when she knew I was on my way to come see her and that she knew I would be perfectly fine with that.

This is life at its best. Friends helping friends. Friends sharing the journey. I love this life.

The rest of the day we enjoyed watching the kids play and catching up together like old friends do.

My favorite part of the day was when the mothers and daughters and furry babies sat on the couch together sharing stories. None of us wanted to leave.

Friendvestments. Jeff came up with this cool term when I was telling him about my wonderful day. It means time spent investing in building friendships, which provides the greatest returns of all.

I am rich!!

Thank you for my gifts, M!! xoxo

8Feb2015

My Rainy Day Sunshine

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It’s been raining here in California and we are so thankful. It poured all day and made us want to stay indoors and enjoy the sounds of the pitter patter on the sky lights. We need rain and I hope it continues falling all week.

We finally went outside around 2pm to watch Charlie’s basketball game. As we walked up to the gym, we saw this beautiful rainbow. I love rainbows and think they’re so magical. You have to be present to “win.”

After the game, we decided to have a coffee date. But lately we’ve been really into drinking bubble teas. If you want to know more about what these are, check them out on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea We can’t get enough of the tapioca pearls and love trying new flavors. We keep visiting the various tea shops around Silicon Valley, trying to find our favorite mix.

Today Juliana tried a peach tea. Jeff tried a green milk tea and I was in LOVe loVe with my genmai brown rice tea with extra tapioca pearls. The boys chose to go next door for a McFlurry and everyone was happy.

Because of the rain and because of my back pain, we are slowing down and I have to say I am loving the change. Would love for the pinched nerve to disappear, but hanging out together with my family and doing less is actually a beautiful thing.

Love this life. Love the rain. And love my little Miss Sunshine.

Hope you had a good weekend and that you’re rested and ready to move forward into next week.

24Jan2015

Being in the Moment

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I didn’t take any pictures today and instead just enjoyed the moments without feeling like I had to capture what was.

Instead, I just enjoyed the conversation, the scenery and just being.

I went for a hike with my BFF and although it was only 6+ miles, we probably could have gone 50 miles and not even noticed or felt tired. We were so happy to just be together out doing what we love and chatting and sharing and catching up that we hardly even noticed where we were.

I love these moments when time just passes by and you don’t even realize it because you are so content doing what you’re doing.

I was going to cook dinner tonight and then another friend dropped by, took off her shoes and decided to stay for awhile. I love when friends do this. I broke out the goat cheese from Harley Farms, some fresh red grapes and sliced the bread i picked up at the produce market today, and opened a bottle of my favorite Hess chardonnay to share with her. We sat together for over an hour and just caught up and enjoyed each other’s company, while our kids played outside.

I love this life. I love the simplicity of it all and just flowing with whatever comes my way.

Life is a miracle and I am loving it.

How was your Saturday?

6Jan2015

Here I Am

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Here I Am.

This blog is about Being. It is about being mindful and present and searching for the lessons, and gleaning the knowledge that is presented and sharing it in a way that is meaningful and hopefully repeatable.

It’s about experiencing life as it happens and capturing it’s essence, every day, never knowing what I will write about until the end, when the credits roll and I can sit back and reflect on what gifts were received.

It’s a great gift, actually. One for myself and one that I choose to share with you, hoping that you’ll take a moment too, to reflect on your own day, your own choices, your own results and find and label the good despite the chaos and struggles that we are presented. I hope that my life story might provide inspiration and ideas because I think we learn from each other and copy what we like in others. I hope you find something you like when you spend your time reading with me. Thank you for sharing this journey together.

I know that writing has changed my life. I just wonder if it’s the mindfulness and gratitude and taking time to reflect every day that actually has changed my life for the better, because I am focused on the positive aspects of life. Every day I take time to reflect on what went well and to try to see what I might do differently next time if things didn’t go as planned. This has taught me to accept what is and to try to adapt quickly and to be ok with what comes my way every day. It’s a practice, and I am not always successful, but this plan seems to be working for me. I wish this for everyone.

I am thankful for this life we have been given.

Live it up. Love it out. Laugh out loud.

Namaste.

28Dec2014

Movie Night

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Tonight we are all snuggled in together and watching a movie.

I love that we’re all home and just doing nothing but sitting in the same room.

It sometimes takes going away to appreciate the simplicity and comforts of home.

Life is good.

How do you like spending your vacation time?

We have another week off from school and I’m curious what we’ll do next, as we don’t have any definite plans. I think most of us are tired from being in the car all week, but who knows where our dreams will take us.

I hope you enjoy this last week of the year and I wish you enough.

Namaste.

28Nov2014

Black Friday

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How did you spend the day after Thanksgiving?

I had no desire to shop nor sit in traffic to compete with the masses of people wishing for a good deal.

Our family spent the day together just hanging out. Some watched football, some did craft projects and others read and played together. We visited with friends and neighbors too, and some went swimming and some went for a walk around the neighborhood. Of course there was plenty of eating too! My sister’s boyfriend brought over and prepared seafood to share that he had caught near Channel Islands. It was so good!