BE YOU (tiful)
This is a tulip, fully, wide open and exposed before it falls in the next day or two. I love the colors and its vulnerability. I also liked it’s beauty compared to the clean laundry piles surrounding the flowers.
“You have within you more love than you could ever understand. ” – Rumi
nAMaste
Luckily my feelings of being anxious and lost went away today. That didn’t take long. I think it’s important to feel what we feel and to acknowledge the bad feelings too so that we can realize and process them and let them go as fast as possible because who wants to be anxious and lost? That is never my intention but sometimes life just is and that’s okay too.
I found my happiness at midnight and throughout the day, when I received a message from Juliana that she had landed safely. I could finally sleep but I kept waking up wondering if she had texted again and how she was doing.
I found happiness by volunteering with my PEO group and admiring the sunshine and natural beauty of the Redwood trees in Portola Valley. I enjoyed spending time with women and sharing lunch together.
Isn’t this the most beautiful and peaceful place? I want to come back here again.
I felt alive again and cleaned my house and got things organized for the weekend. It really makes me happy when clutter is gone and my space is neat. Seriously, it’s the simple things that make me happy.
Juliana FaceTimed with me when she woke up and SnapChatted throughout the afternoon. I was so giddy to see her face and to hear her voice!!
My sisters both called today and we had time to catch up and I got to talk with my mom too. Since they don’t live close by, I was thankful for our cell phones and time to connect because I love them and need them!
Jeff came home from work and the boys both had events, so we went out to dinner together, which was a great way to the end the day and crazy week with my best friend.
Found my happiness again.
Life is good. Thank you for sharing this life journey together. Have a wonderful weekend, filled with time for you, time to relax, time to exercise, and time to just be.
nAMaste BeLoveRs!
xoxo
Chase died 6 months ago today and I remember the foggy day and paying attention to the clouds.
Today I couldn’t stop watching the clouds again and their beauty. It rained off and on today and was windy and the cloud formations were stunning.
I even saw a rainbow.
I think the rainbow offers light and hope and peace.
I wish for peace for my cousin and our family and for you.
Love and light.
nAMaste BeLoveRs
xo
My family is weird. Our tradition is to not have a tradition. We carry some traditions, but we are not wedded to any.
We do what we love and we are happy. Our family does not live close to us, so we don’t feel a sense of obligation to be together. We come together when we want and that’s a pretty cool thing.
Today is Easter and we celebrated at home! Yay, for being home.
Charlie loves the holidays and we were up by 6:30 am to see if the Easter bunny came.
We still partook in the Easter tradition of waking up early to see if the baskets were filled and the eggs hidden throughout the house and yard. The Easter bunny did not disappoint!
However, the big kids were wishing to have slept in.
We made bagels with lox and toppings for breakfast and then we headed out to church at 9am.
It was an early start to the day, but felt good to be out and about early this morning. I loved hearing the message of how Jesus rose from the dead, and how his mother Mary suffered by his grave and weeped. She represents all women, especially those who have lost a child. And she provides hope and love for us all that one day, all will be well.
After church, our family decided to be weird and I loved it. Jeff and the boys went to an Earthquakes soccer game with friends and I prepared an untraditional Easter feast, to be prepared whenever everyone came home again.
We made yakitori, rice, seaweed salad, broccoli and mini wontons. Doesn’t that just sound delicious? None of us were in the mood for another ham.
Juliana and I had the time of our lives. We saw on Instagram that Yoga Girl, Rachel Brathen, was hosting a top secret yoga class and only 40 people would be able to attend. We thought we had no chance, but we emailed the secret contact and were chosen to be the guests!!
We were so happy and hurried up at home so that we could make the late afternoon drive to the East Bay. I had met the instructor @OGYogini at the end of class yesterday in San Francisco, and when she saw me today, she gave me a big hug and told me she was glad I was there. I love our little world. I loved seeing Rachel again and sharing yoga with Juliana. We enjoyed the car ride together, just the two of us alone and then the yoga experience.
I loved that the guys got to go out and play and Juliana and I got to be out together too, and then we all came back together again to have a late dinner all together again.
It was a perfectly imperfect and weird Easter. We went with the flow and did what we enjoyed and everyone was happy.
Life is good.
Life is beautiful.
Life is what we make it.
Take time to dream and to make time for what you love and take good care of wonderful you!
nAMaste BeLoveRs. You are loved!!
xoxo
Juliana and Jessica and I met her tonight and I am in love! She’s kind of like a big deal and has written a New York Times Bestseller. Rachel Brathen, you’re my girl crush!!
I don’t remember when we first met, or why – I’m guessing someone shared a photo or something on Facebook and then I started following her years ago on Instagram. She has a BOGA Yoga board just like me, so she’s really RAD!
She has used social media to build a huge following and now has a best seller book. How cool is that?
She reminds me of Jessica Herrin, from Stella & Dot, using social media to build her empire. She could totally build one if she wanted to and I have a feeing she just might. I’m loving watching her journey and seeing where she goes and what she builds.
She was in Mountain View tonight for a book signing and we had front row seats where I could see her eyes sparkle.
She speaks from the heart and is authentic and real and patient and kind. I loved how she lovingly answered questions from the sold out crowd and how she made people happy.
I asked her how she took care of herself, after sharing so much of herself freely with the world and traveling everywhere. She said she makes appointments for herself to do her own yoga practice, meditations, acupuncture, dates with her husband, etc, and drinks a lot of wine. She is my twin!! Can you see why I love her?
If you haven’t discovered her yet, check her out for inspiration!
Instagram: @yoga_girl
Website: http://rachelbrathen.com
Thank you Rachel for signing my book and for the hug and photo together. I love that you brought along your husband and Ringo and your friends and photographer. They all seem so proud and supportive of you too. You are beautiful inside and out.
You made my day and I wish you well!
nAMaste
More of my loves came to see me today from far away and I am the happiest girl! And I’m tired because we stayed up into the morning laughing and sharing stories.
Life is good with Besties in your life!
TGIF!! Have a great weekend!
This is my love. He asked me out on a date tonight in the middle of the week. We both are always busy and when his meeting got cancelled tonight, he texted to see if I wanted to go out with him instead.
I happily said yes. I love surprises and don’t care what they are. I just love to be loved and I’m so glad he chose me!!
We went to one of our favorite little Japanese restaurants and then walked around the downtown, enjoying seeing all the people outside having a good time on a warm night and stopped in at a fun, packed Irish pub.
I am thankful that he loves me and I love him.
Life is good!
I am now the old mom with BIG kids.
When did this happen? I see it. I know it. But it’s still hard to believe and I love this stage and I love my kids and danced around the kitchen in my jammies this morning, singing to them, “All you need is love.” I know they think I’m crazy yet luckily they laughed and thought I was funny and little do they know how much I adore them. I am so in love with my teens and almost tween and love this stage of life. I know they’ll be leaving soon and I am enjoying every minute with them, so be it.
I read the BEST parenting article today by one of my favorite authors, Jen Hatmaker, that made me cry. Check her out here:
You’ll cry too, because she’s funny, real, authentic, and totally gets this parenting thing like no one else. And she loves women too, just like me and wants to lift each other up and support one another and buy each other wine and high five each other at Target when the littles are throwing temper tantrums.I love her and so does everyone else. She gets life and is really funny.
I love being a mom. It’s what I always wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be financially independent, knowing I could take care of myself and my family if I had to, and then I wanted to stay at home and raise our babies. Here I am. Living the dream. I love what I do, despite the stress and chaos and craziness that surrounds me some days.
I love being in the car with them and their friends and taking them to and from – most days! Last week, was another story, but today I was good. I took Juliana to her ortho appointment and then we went to get a bubble tea and fried snacks because that sounded like fun to them after school. I didn’t want to be busy. I wanted to soak them in and spoil them while I can. I always struggle with that – not wanting to spoil them and wanting to spoil them at the same time. They were thankful and we had fun together.
When we came home, Juliana was busy tutoring a little girl so Charlie and I went to hide away in his “apartment.” We sat on his couch and ate our snacks and played Mastermind together, which brought back memories for me when my dad and I used to play together. We are usually running around with way too much to do, and yet today we slowed down and just played. Can I even tell you how sweet this was? I am so thankful that Juliana needed a quiet house and that Charlie and I got to hide away together for an hour.
I know I’m writing a lot – but seriously, I really do like and enjoy my kids and today was one of those BIG FEELINGS days. We were at a funeral on Friday, and at a Special Needs Brunch on Sunday and I am still missing Chase every day and am fully aware that life is fleeting and messy so while it’s good, I plan to love on them and live it up every day while I can.
Charlie made me cry tonight when he decided to make dinner for himself and Christian. He wanted special plates to make the meal look fancy. We cooked tempura shrimp and he molded rice in little cups to neatly place on the special plates. He placed the shrimp in a star pattern and used a brush to place the sauce decoratively on the plate. He was so proud of himself and served his brother in his room, while he studied. He was like a little, proud, Master Chef, Jr. I loved this connection and loved that they share this bond together.
This old mom is content. Life is good and IS what you make it to be and I’m okay with things changing and aging. I am living it up today and everyday and loving this one life right now. And you? Are you living it up and loving it out wherever you are right now?
Namaste.
We went to a celebration of life today and this was the message.
Be sure to tell someone you love that you love them.
Wishing you peace in understanding and in misunderstandings.
Namaste.
We said goodbye to Akie today, with tears in my eyes. Juliana called me a sap. I just loved having her with me and sharing this experience together and I miss her already.
It was such a joy to have her stay with our family. We all loved sharing stories and laughter and bonding together. She was absolutely delightful and we all enjoyed her company in different ways.
Our family bonded through this shared experience too. I admired how Juliana was a little mother to Akie, making sure she was happy and entertained and understood. She was patient and kind and loving and unselfish and I loved watching her be the best hostess, even giving up her room for her.
Charlie made welcome signs and presented her with a handmade goodbye card that he translated into Japanese and English, all on his own. He played kendamas and war with her and loved having her with us.
Christian always stopped by her room when he came home, greeting her and asking about her day. He joined us when he could and was warm and welcoming when he was busy.
Jeff had fun translating words into English, Dutch, German and Japanese, seeing the patterns and making connections. He was there to greet her when she arrived, took her to see San Francisco, the Redwoods and Santa Cruz, and was there to say goodbye at the end too.
We all had a special connection with her and for this I am grateful. I loved how she enjoyed small bowls of soup, rice with sprinkled toppings, and long bath rituals. She was polite, kind, friendly, curious, warm and genuinely happy. When she left, I asked if I could hug her and she reached out to give me a hug with a smile. I loved her!
Our family shared an awesome experience and shared our life with a stranger who became like a daughter and sister.
I highly recommend hosting a foreign exchange student. There are so many benefits to both the hosts and the student and it makes the world a little smaller, after all.
Life is good.
here i am 