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.

Photo Booth Fun

I absolutely get a kick out of these every time. I love being silly and watching my family and friends be crazy, wild and free too. It’s good for my soul.

 Thank you R&D for hosting a fun and festive Christmas party this past weekend. We definitely lived it up!  

   
    
    
    
    
I hope you get a laugh out of our silliness too and make time to play with your beloveds.
xo namaste

 

Play for Teens and InBetweens and Adults Too

When was the last time you stopped to play? Do you play anymore? I still play nearly every day but for not enough time, that’s for sure. I’m still goofy, but probably not as goofy as I used to be. 😉

Being creative and playing are so important for all of us, yet somehow we forget when we get all grown up and stuff. This life stuff and school stuff puts so many demands on us. Let us never forget to let out the steam and to lighten up.

I got to thinking about this topic while we discussed and I defended the craziness of the Stanford (Marching) Band (SMB) at dinner last night. If you’ve ever seen the SMB, you’ll know what I’m talking about.  They are just plain silly and playful and are the mirror opposite of what their school represents. They are the epitome of yin and yang.  They don’t follow the normal rules. Actually, they were behaving badly and have been recently banned from performing at away games for this upcoming season for violating school policies. I’m all for fun and games and being silly and lightening up a bit, but I do still believe in being respectful and following the rules. Here are a couple of links to stories about the history of the irreverence of the band and the recent trouble they’ve gotten into:

Scatter Band 

Stanford Band Behaving Badly

Lsjumb_scatteringSource: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lsjumb_scattering.jpg

Another playful thing that people are talking about are coloring books for adults.

Have you heard about this latest rage? Well, I don’t know if it’s a rage, but “The Secret Garden” is on the Amazon best seller list lately, so there must be a demand for tehse adult coloring pages.  We need time to relax and make pretty things just because we can.  I love it and even have one, with new markers too, thanks to my sister!  I think we need to get off our electronic devices too and play and color again.

Here’s a link to a recent story about adult coloring books:

Adult Coloring Books

Another connection I noticed recently is that adults who are needing to and wanting to celebrate life and to go outside and play at places such as the recent Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco. Grown people are dressing up and laughing and playing and talking to strangers, dressed up strangely themselves, and they’re happy and maybe drunk too. But they need to go outside and dress up and run and to laugh with their friends.   Here is a link to the wikipedia about the infamous race:

Bay to Breakers

I thought I was done with my list but two more ideas popped up and these are the Muddy Buddy races and Burning Man. Adults are needing to play in the dirt and sunshine with their friends and they want to be out in nature, dressing up and being free to celebrate living with no expectations of who they are supposed to be, for a weekend in the dessert.  This is fascinating to me.

Here is a link to a Muddy Buddy Race:  Muddy Buddy

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photo credit: IMG_1526 via photopin (license)

And here is one to Burning Man:  Burning Man

Dillon Bracken attends the Burning Man 2014 "Caravansary" arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, August 30, 2014. Over 65,000 people from all over the world have gathered at the sold out festival to spend a week in the remote desert cut off from much of the outside world to experience art, music and the unique community that develops. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart (UNITED STATES - Tags: SOCIETY) FOR USE WITH BURNING MAN RELATED REPORTING ONLY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS

Dillon Bracken attends the Burning Man 2014 “Caravansary” arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, August 30, 2014. Over 65,000 people from all over the world have gathered at the sold out festival to spend a week in the remote desert cut off from much of the outside world to experience art, music and the unique community that develops. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart (UNITED STATES – Tags: SOCIETY) FOR USE WITH BURNING MAN RELATED REPORTING ONLY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS  Source: http://burningman.org/

Have you been to any of these events or colored in a book lately? What do you like to do to play and feel alive?

Play is good.

Life is good.

nAMaste BEloveRs  xoxo

Your Temple

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.”

IMG_5906Isn’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

Play

Did you play today?

I danced around my kitchen and teased my husband. Does that count?

I chose to watch my kids play at the ice rink with friends this morning.

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I loved that all three wanted to be on the ice together because as they get older, their interests are sometimes different. I loved watching them have fun.

After ice skating, we went to see Jessie in her Little Mermaid play. I love the theater and seeing talented kids perform. It takes so much work to make it all look easy and I appreciate this.

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I was anxious today because Charlie is getting ready to go to sleep away science camp and I was helping him pack and clean his room. I can’t believe my baby is leaving me already and he’s off to middle school this fall. After we finished packing and cleaning, he wanted to play with me. Who am I to resist? I am thankful that he wants to play with me still and I want to soak in all his sweetness.

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I know these years go by quickly – all the wise women have told me so. So even when I’m frustrated and tired, I still choose to play.

Life is good.

Hope you got some rest and play in your day, today.

Princess in Shining Armor

Today I got to be the Princess in Shining Armor. I like that title. Just don’t tell my minivan, because I’m pretending!
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Here I Am, stuck in Silicon Valley gridlock at 10 am.

Jeff’s car broke down on the highway and luckily I had “nothing” to do today and could be there for the rescue. It’s so great to be needed, or to at least feel useful.

I’m sure he could have handled it on his own, but we made an adventure out of it. In the morning, I just dropped him off because he had an important day at the office. In the evening, the kids and I had time to drive back up together in the carpool lane to rescue our Prince Charming and take him out to dinner. At least that’s the story that played out in my head. The Prince could easily have taken the train or caught a ride with a friend, but this story had a much happier ending my way and we lived happily ever after. The End.

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GGG – Day 9 – Play

“Life is more fun if you play games.”
Roald Dahl, My Uncle Oswald

Gratitude Gift Giving – Day 9 – Play

How do you play?

Do you play everyday and what do you play?

Do you find joy in addition to your work and responsibilities? I do and hope you do too, every day. It makes life more enjoyable that way!

Today I played tennis with Julie for 90 minutes in the warm sunshine. We rallied back and forth, sharing conversation and tips and just enjoyed playing together. We tried new techniques and shared ideas about how to improve our serves, our shots and our accuracy. We laughed, we played our long, competitive set, and we shook hands when the match was over. We both felt thankful that we had time to ourselves before getting on with our daily work, feeling fulfilled and satisfied. I think play releases stress and is an important part of our days. Thank you Julie for playing with me.

After my tennis game, we went to watch Charlie play his soccer match. I liked seeing him playing with his team and having fun too.

Tonight I was lucky to get to play again. Tracy invited a few girlfriends over to play some games and to just hang out together. I LOVE playing board games and cards but typically don’t take the time to do this, unless I’m on vacation. Isn’t that silly?  Thank you Tracy for this great idea. I had a great time and can’t wait to play again.

We played a really fun, creative and artistic game called Dixit. It gave us time to think and strategize and share and chat and guess and hold secrets and then discover the correct answers. There was a sense of friendly competition and it was fun to learn how everyone thinks differently and to discover their choices. If you’re interested in checking it out, the game is available for sale on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-5511302-Dixit-International-Version/dp/B001OH9EDW

Make time to play… it keeps you young and happy!

“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

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This was the next game we were about to play before it was time for me to leave to do my “job” sharing this story.