And It Comes To A Close 02/28/2010
Happy Sunday Everyone! My family and I are just getting ready to watch the Closing Olympic ceremonies. If any of you are currently breastfeeding, about to start, or just plain curious about it; you can follow the link and check out a post I wrote on ModernMom titled: Breastfeeding and Meditation  Also, for all of you fellow bloggers out there, if you have any blogging advice for beginners you can share, please comment and I will pass it along. Have a wonderful close to your weekend! With ♥, Wendy Irene  1 Comment Only Moments 02/27/2010
This creative writing is dedicated to 2 truly amazing women. One about to embark on a life changing journey. The other, the oldest friendship outside of my family I carry with me to this day. A friendship that has grown with me, nurtured me, pushed and inspired me creatively in ways I would never have known. Both have my heart, and my gratitude. Only Moments  I love how your hat hangs here next to mine, she said. It makes me smile. In that case I will leave it right here next to yours when I am gone. What’s the point? She said. When you’re away I am not going to feel like smiling. Yes you will, he said. You’ll focus. Enough of that crazy talk, she said. It makes me annoyed. In fact, she said. The whole thing annoys me. It down right hurts me! You don’t get it, she said. I’m MAD! MAD that this is happening. MAD that all I want to do is spend time with you, and I am not going to get to do that. MAD that you brought this on us. And she back peddled. Maybe I did not mean that, she said. Maybe it is just the hurt talking. And now I’m even more annoyed for feeling bad about what I said! I don’t deserve this, she said as she walked off to the corner and stared at the wall. Of course you don’t, he said. You deserve to be happy. Don’t you get it? She said. You’re what makes me happy. Being WITH you makes me happy. And now I feel like you are taking that away from me. Like your choices, however valid they may be, are taking that away from me. You know? He said. I wish I had a magic potion to take the hurt away. To make you smile ALL the time. I wish my love, so deep, so much larger than myself, could take every ounce of hurt, every ounce of unhappiness, and carry it far away. So far away neither of us could feel this pain again. You know though darling? He said. I won’t REALLY be gone. Oh GREAT! She said. More of the crazy talk. I guess I am going to have to work on my telepathy. She said in a very sarcastic tone. If I am ever going to be able to talk to you. Talk to you when I want to talk to you. Talk to you when I NEED to talk to you. We are made of the same matter, he said. No matter where our particles go they’ll always act in unison. Our love is one in the same. No matter how split apart we are our love will always be joined. In the Divine Matrix we are always connected. No distance could ever change that, he said. It is bigger than us. And you know? He said again. There is a gift in all of this. Oh really? She said sarcastically. Yes, he said. You’ll grow in a way you never knew possible. You’ll grow in a way most will never know, but so many already do. Your strength, our bond, they will be forces nothing can reckon with. Well if that is the gift, she said. I DON’T want it! You may not know it now but the growth that will happen, the insight and knowledge you’ll gain will be something you’ll treasure. Something you would never trade. That is so cliché. She said and rolled her eyes. The next day she went to her favorite bookstore alone, and bought every book on telepathy she could find. And in such a small store that wasn’t very many. With the books in her lap, she sat and slowly but quickly sipped her coffee, frozen in concentration. When she returned home, Together they picked a song. A song only they knew. A song only for them. A song she would listen to repeatedly for 365 days, 8760 hours, 525600 minutes, 31536000 seconds. A song, THEIR song, which would get her through the moments. Moments where emotion flushed through. Moments to focus. Moments of happiness, moments of sadness, moments of hurt and moments of memories ...but they were all moments of love. Credit: · The term Divine Matrix comes from the book The Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden. www.legallyfittowed.blogspot.com www.thoughtspunctuated.blogspot.com When You Need a Treat 02/26/2010
From what I can tell many of us know firsthand the difficulty in picking a good food choice when those two trying times hit: the late afternoon crash (3:30ish) for me, and the late night I want something sweet! What can you do about it? You need a plan! You when the urge hits and one way or another you are going to end up putting some sort of treat in your body. When denying is not the right answer for you, because being happy is important, leading to the conclusion that completely denying yourself works against that. The best way to balance the I want to be happy in the moment with a treat, and be happy in the long run with my food choices is to have a thought out plan for when those moments hit. This is the treat I indulge in: A square of dark chocolate.  Oh darn, this one broke a little bigger than a square. I guess I am going to have to eat it. J This is not a new idea for a lot of you, but for me it has only recently entered my diet. I used to hate dark chocolate. Surprising, right? I guess it just wasn’t sweet enough for me. To this day if I make chocolate chip cookies my favorite chips to use are the milk chocolate ones. Now, I ♥dark chocolate. I go for a high percentage cacao bar because it has less sugar. If you want to cut down on the number of trips to the store Lindt makes great Extra Fine Dark Chocolate bars that are available in numerous grocery stores. Sometimes I even come across their 90% cacao bar, and really enjoy that one. My advice for any of you out there that are like me and prefer sweeter chocolates, start slow and work your way up to a higher % cacao. Think of it like an acquired taste similar to wine. You may not have started out loving wine with your first sip, but over time you start to acquire a taste for it. Having a square of dark chocolate really makes you feel like you are having a very indulgent treat. For me the dark chocolate leaves me satisfied. If you need something more than just one square of chocolate, and you are looking for a substitute for that afternoon soda. Here is what I love to have.  A tea steeped in milk. My favorite tea to steep in warm milk is chai tea. It is kind of like a pseudo chai tea latte without the sugar. My first choice is skim milk because there are already fats in the chocolate. Most of the time I drink tea with water but I use milk when I need a treat. Warm milk really fills me up leaving me satisfied as well. Depending on how hungry I am I might do half water/half milk or mostly water with a little milk. Most often I split these 2 treats up, one for the afternoon crash, and one for late night when the kids are in bed. Next, my favorite substitute for when I feel like eating chips.  For me when I get a craving for chips it is usually because I am hungry and have waited too long to eat, creating a carb craving. Instead of eating chips I adore a piece of whole wheat Naan bread with hummus. Red roasted pepper hummus is my latest favorite. Amy’s comment, a fellow ModernMom member that I can oh so strongly relate to from a couple of days ago gave me the idea to share my treat battle plan with you. A Mom of 4, her blog shares tips she has picked up along the way that I really enjoy. Let’s end on a little moment of happiness, shall we? IT’S FRIDAY! Have a fantastic weekend, my friends! What are your favorite foods to combat those sweet treat/soda/chip cravings? Ways to Give Love – Support 02/25/2010
For a fun change of pace with the post for today on ways to give love I decided to do something different. To read the post please follow the link here. Putting today’s post on ModernMom seemed fitting as they were my inspiration in writing it. It is my small way of giving love through support. When it comes to support, my favorite website is ModernMom. They not only support other Moms, they also encourage and listen to them. ModernMomencourages their members to contribute, come together and support each other. This makes ModernMom a truly special and unique place to be a part of. If you have a blog you can share it with others who might be interested in it, or you can start one there and share your experiences with others. It is a wonderful place to be a part of a loving, supportive community. Most sites would not allow or encourage this freedom, and I think they deserve much appreciation for the support they are giving. Life can be challenging, especially while raising children. Supporting one another, like what ModernMomdoes and encourages, makes life more spectacular. By the way, I have to say you definitely don’t have to be a Mom to enjoy this site. There is lots of great information on the site that I think all kinds of people would enjoy, male or female. It just has an emphasis on supporting Moms, and we all know how needed and valuable that support is. I first heard about ModernMom on one of my favorite shows The Doctors. It is a show that I try to record and fit into my day in one way or another as often as possible. In case you are wondering, yes I am behind the times and still use a VCR to record. J Watching The Doctors makes me happy. Their genuine concern for helping and empowering others to take hold of their health, and live happy balanced lives, combined with the tremendous support an encouragement that ModernMom gives its readers is an incredible combination if you ask me! I can’t help but hope to see more of their work together in the future. If you can, please take a moment to check out ModernMom and my post there. You can find me in the community section in the group Moms with Blogs. I would love to hear from you, and please know you do not have to be a Mom with a Blog to join, it is open to everyone! There you can find information on other great blogs as well. Have a wonderful day, and thank you for your support! Wendy Irene Feel Good with Food 02/24/2010
 Recently, I have been thinking about how big of a difference eating certain foods helps me to feel better. Vegetables and fruit especially make me feel good. Physically I feel good after, as well as mentally. Sometimes you get a little kick of happiness when you feel proud of your choice, because it isn’t always easy. You definitely feel better overall when you are happy with how your food intake went for the day. When you eat certain foods that you crave, that are not necessarily nutritious, it can be awesome while eating it, but afterwards it doesn’t have the best effect on you. Like most people, I go in and out of keeping my diet mostly healthy, and there are times I need motivation and to be reminded. This is great about the blog. I can go back and re-read what I already know but sometimes lose track of. Vegetables especially make me happy in the long run, and I have a few ways that work for me to make sure I get enough of them in my diet. Although I try to eat vegetables or fruit with every meal, I find if I dedicate one main meal to being mostly all vegetables it really helps me to get my servings in. For me that meal is lunch. I love to have big salads at lunch. Often times with leftover veggies on top from dinner the night before. When I have pre-made hard boiled eggs in the fridge I love to add that to my salad for some protein with staying power. Days that I am hungrier I will add some left over pasta noodles or a side of bread. But the large meal that I eat at lunch consists mostly of veggies. Now I find if I miss a day of having a big veggie packed salad for lunch, I actually miss it and don’t feel as good. It works well for me to do it this way. Even though I eat vegetables at dinner, I feel good having had a big healthy dose of them at lunch. Also eating a large meal of vegetables helps me with my weakest time of the day, late afternoon! When I have a sugar craving that is usually when it happens for me. Eating a large meal in the middle of the day is definitely not the best option for everyone, but it really helps me push through that late afternoon crash. Another good way to sneak more veggies into your kid’s diets is with smoothies. I used to do this all the time with my son. He had no idea. Now he is old enough to be on to me. The last time he caught me putting spinach in his smoothie, he said “Mom leaves don’t go in smoothes!” However, you can at the very least get lots of fruit in. The smoothies I make for my kids usually consist of fruits, yogurt, and milk. It is great on the go too if you know they are going to get hungry. If you put it in a straw Sippy cup than it is not as messy as some other foods are in the car or stroller. Muesli is a food I just added into my diet for breakfast. I decided to try it out when I saw Jen say that it scored higher on the NuVal scale than oatmeal. As it turns out, I like it a lot better than oatmeal.  Here is my favorite way to make it: Muesli Breakfast Ingredients: ½ cup Muesli (the one I have tried and like is Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli) ½ banana sliced ¼ cup frozen mixed berries (you could definitely use fresh, but I keep a stock of frozen in the freezer for winter) ½ cup water 1 heaping Tablespoon natural peanut butter Directions: In a bowl mix all of the ingredients, except peanut butter. Cook on stove top until water is absorbed, or microwave for 3 minutes. While still hot stir in the scoop of peanut butter so it melts into the mixture. Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy! The protein in the natural peanut butter is what I believe keeps me full longer. When I don’t add it I get hungry much faster. You could replace the peanut butter with other nut butters, eggs, or sources of protein as well and still accomplish the staying power. I love how this breakfast is a great way to get healthy carbs, fruit, and protein all in one quick meal that is filling. Do you have any food suggestions that make you feel particularly good after eating? Happiness = Simplicity 02/23/2010
 Keep it simple is my new motto. How many times have you become overwhelmed with details? Those details can bog you down, and keep you from accomplishing things, even little things. Have you ever wanted to start a project but you don’t or you can’t get through it because you make it more and more complex? This happens to me sometimes. It can even happen with the silliest of things. I need to vacuum but I really should move the furniture and get behind because it is getting dusty, so I will do it when I have more time and do a better job. Only to find the day passes, when if you just kept it simple it would be much better than not doing it at all. How about I need to respond to an email, but I have so much to catch them up on I will do it later when I have more time, and the days roll by. Even a simple email or phone call to let someone know you care would have been much better than pushing it back to an unknown future date. So many times we make things much more complex than they need to be. Having a hard time deciding which direction to go in? Make the decision that will keep life simple. Happiness really does come from the simple things. Just do it is another good thing to keep in mind. If the day comes when you have more time you can always improve it. Don’t keep waiting because you are making it too complicated. I definitely struggle with this sometimes. Keeping things simple makes life flow better, and leaves you in a more peaceful state of mind. Of course there is always an exception to the rule, but make it rare, and remember simple is better than not at all, and things may just come out better that way. Simple, Peaceful, Happiness What is something you could simplify in your life?
 I have received wonderful comments that make my day, bring a smile to my face, and both motivate and inspire me. I want to take a moment to say thank you! I love hearing from you. Hearing what you are thinking, how a post relates in your life, or its meaning to you. Your thoughts are very significant to me and I truly appreciate it. It is fun to see people from different parts of the world be united in our desire to make the most of our lives in the happiest way we can. The acknowledgement that giving love and creating happiness are very important to us opens the door to allowing that in our lives. Thank you to all of you for reading, for the energy you give me, for your words of encouragement, and for inspiring me with your stories. Your support has enormous value to me. Today’s Way to Give Love comes from you, what you have taught me and I would like to pass it on. I truly believe the more love we put out there; the more that enters our lives. All of you and your support are an example of that for me. As different ways to give love come to me I would like to share. Way to Give Love Take a moment to tell someone you appreciate what they have done or their work. The next time you see someone’s work that you adore, whether it be a stranger or your child take a moment and let them know. If you see someone perform an act of kindest that stands out to you in some way, take that moment and make it truly meaningful by pointing it out to them that you appreciate what they are doing. If you see someone’s work and it makes you smile, or you have an appreciation for their talent, tell them. There have been lots of times I appreciated something but kept it to myself. Recently in my life I have decided when I some across something that is meaningful to me I should take the time to let the person know my appreciation for what they do. Putting your positive reception out there is a way you can give love, and in the process you may create a little piece of happiness for another as well as yourself. From past experience I may not have expressed my love or appreciation for something because I was afraid of feeling silly, or what the other person might think. The response you get may surprise and delight you, but know in your heart no matter the response, you are giving love and that is something to be proud of, something there can never be too much of. Go ahead, smile and take a risk in creating happiness, you have it in you, and I think you will be glad you did! Do you have an experience where you pushed aside the nervousness of being embarrassed in order to express your appreciation? My Special Reminder 02/21/2010
Sometimes you need a reminder. A reminder to pick something up, get something done, to remember that certain something you just don’t want to forget. I have a sweet little reminder that is more beautiful than a string tied to a finger or pen across the palm of your hand. My special reminder comes in the form of a silver necklace with a heart.  I have given this beautiful reminder a name – Give Love. My Give Love necklace hangs around my neck and in those moments of stress, or frustration, or a time when I need to glance around the room and be reminded of what makes me happy. This special heart does that for me. This symbol of giving love, reminds me of the person I want to be, what I know I have inside me. A person who gives love in all situations, especially the tough ones. This necklace reminds me to choose to give love in the moments when you could either laugh or cry, because your emotions overwhelm you. A reminder to choose to give love, instead of anger in those moments your children or loved ones upset you. And as a Mom I have had a few of those J. Not only is this necklace special to me because it reminds me of what I want to remember most, to give love. It is also special because it was created by an inspirational friend Aly. Aly is a busy Mom who didn’t let fear stop her in taking a risk to create her own happiness. She stopped her former career, went back to school to pursue her dreams and do what she loves, create beautiful pieces of jewelry that hold special meaning for others. She works very hard, and has created many amazing pieces that I have seen firsthand touch other’s hearts with special meaning for them.  Photo Credit: Aly Dahl Designs www.silverfingerprints.ca Tokens of reminder have long been used to remember things as little as picking up bread on the way home, or returning a movie. But what about those big very important things we want to remember most. A reminder to be the person we want to be. A reminder to be true to ourselves and not let obstacles get in the way of that. I always want to be reminded to give love in every situation, and now around my neck is my special little reminder, that I also love to look at. To see more of Aly’s beautiful work you can catch her at: www.alydahl.com & www.silverfingerprints.ca Do you carry tokens of reminder around with you?
Create a Wonderful Day 02/19/2010
 Recently, in a communication with Sara Westbrook, a very talented Canadian singer, song writer and motivational speaker, she ended her note with “Create a wonderful day!” Sara has a wonderful positive message that she sends through her dazzling array of talents. As soon as I read that I knew for sure we were on the same page with the message we wanted to send, and I truly appreciated her ingenuity. Sara embodies a ‘Conscious Thinker’, and it shines through in her writing and music. I encourage you to check out her website here. One thing I adore about both writing and music is that you can take the lyrics or words and interpret them in way that has meaning for you. You may learn something new in the process. It is a fun adventure to delve into musical lyrics, and can be a wonderful escape. Need a break from your day to day routine? Try creating stories behind lyrics to songs you enjoy. In fact, I think in the future when my creative juices are bubbling I will share a post with a fictional story behind the lyrics to a song. Create a wonderful day really struck a chord with me because it brilliantly sums up how I feel about happiness. You have the power to create your own happiness. It is easy to lose sight of that. What an amazing and wonderful power to have, which is so important to fully understand and appreciate! You can choose what makes you happy. You can choose how you respond to things, and how you are going to see the world. Next time something you would normally view as negative rolls around, take a moment and think about how you can turn it around, or see it differently. The more you do it, the easier it becomes and you can be surrounded by happiness. Think of it like a happiness muscle that needs to be strengthened with hard work. When you put the effort in to make your own happiness muscle strong the rewards are limitless, because your dreams are a reality. Most of what we seek and want in life is centered on what we think will make us happy. I can’t stress enough the importance of differentiating between impulsive happiness and deep down soulful happiness. As human beings we all have impulses, or things that we think might make us happy at the moment, but contradict what happiness truly means for us. Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference, but is very important to recognize, and keep that consciousness at the forefront in making decisions. When you choose to see happiness everywhere and look through a positive lens, you realize your biggest dreams have come true. They are a reality here and now. Happiness being the overall goal is a part of you now, and can be the biggest part of your life if you simply let it be. Those small moments when you feel at peace, when a smile creeps across your face, when you know you are surrounded by beauty. Those magical moments are your dreams come true. You are an immensely powerful person, with all the love and beauty of the universe already in you. All you need to do is let it out, and see the world in just the way that makes sense for you. Create a Wonderful Weekend! *~* Thank you Sara*~* Take an invigorating breath, a big look around, and tell me what do you see right now that is beautiful to you?
Exercise – What Works 02/18/2010
 First off, I want to say in terms of exercise, what works well for me is not best for everyone, and you should definitely go with what is right for you. That being said I thought I would share what works for me at this point in my life in case it helps motivate any of you. Some of this may sound redundant, especially to a lot of my wonderful friends; family and healthy lifestyle bloggers that help keep me motivated and already incorporate regular heart happy J exercise into their lives. My perspective comes more from the how to keep exercise a part of your life with young children, as well as my outlook on it mentally. For me, regular exercise is a mental game. Overcoming the mental side to exercise can be tough. It is very easy to make up excuses not to do it. I agree with the experts that say you need to make it a priority in your life. I believe this is true for all important aspects you want to incorporate in your life. Sometimes the list of things we want to make a part of our life is long, in which case I tell myself I don’t have to do all my interests at one time, and some can wait. The time I have with my children while they are young is a top priority for me. It makes me really happy. The fact that they just want to be near us in this time in their lives is amazing. When I feel like I am struggling accomplishing everything I want to do I remind myself of that. The time I have with them is a precious gift, even though it can be overwhelming at times. Exercise needs to stay in one of the top rankings in terms of priority. Not to mention it will hopefully help me live a longer life to enjoy more time with my family. It is easy for me to make up a million excuses, because like most of us I feel like I have a lot on my plate. However, staying healthy is more important than my excuses, which is why it can be a bit of a mental game. My motivation comes and goes in waves, like creativity does for me as well. There are times when exercise is a huge priority, and times when I am sick of it. This is how I deal with those times. Do what you love – this is a big one because it is true for most aspects in life. I have decided instead of forcing myself to do types of exercise I hate, sometimes because I want to be in better all around shape, that life is too short to make myself miserable. I want to be happy, even and especially with exercise. It keeps me motivated. For example if running isn’t your thing, but swimming makes you happy, stop forcing yourself to do things you hate, but make it a priority to go swim laps at the pool. If you have a favorite show that you love to watch, but don’t have time to exercise and watch it without going to bed really late or waking up extremely early, do an exercise you pull off while watching your favorite show. Lots of exercises can be done using your own body weight, and from home if travel time or leaving behind sleeping babies are issues. Watching your favorite show while exercising can be a great thing. Think of it as a reward. Do you love to dance? Do that. Prefer Yoga? That is great too! Can you read and exercise at the same time without feeling sick? Reward yourself by doing that. Sometimes keeping your mind distracted from the actual exercise is all it takes. Personally, I want to spend as little time doing things I don’t like as possible. Some things are a part of life, but try making them a very small part of life. If playing a sport is your favorite way to exercise, make the move to join a team or get out to the tennis court. Change it up – I get bored easily. Like I said before, for me it is all about keeping me mentally happy with exercise. It is essential for me to change up my exercise routine when I feel boredom coming on. If I don’t that is when the exercise gets dropped, which is not what I want to happen. Change up doing the things that you like. Maybe one day exercise in front of the TV, another day walk or run outside and yet another day play a sport or go swimming. Be flexible, because your mood changes. For me personally, I tend to stick with one way of exercising that is working for me at the time, and do it for a few weeks until I am bored, then switch it up. Don’t push too hard – You don’t have to be superwoman or man, unless of course that is what makes you happy. J I love the idea of having goals. For example setting a goal for how many days you would like to incorporate exercise and on which days. However, if you push too hard you may end up miserable, and that will make you quit because who wants to be miserable. If you don’t reach your goal, forgive yourself. You deserve it! Move forward and make a new set of goals for a new day. Placing stress on yourself by making yourself feel not good enough is bad for your health too. Avoid getting down on yourself if you aren’t accomplishing what you want to. Take a moment to recognize it, because suppressing your feelings isn’t good either, and decide you deserve better and move forward. Stay Positive - Lastly, when the negative self talk creeps in, block and erase it my chanting over and over again “you are beautiful and you are strong, both mentally and physically.” Keep doing that until you believe it, because that is the truth! Love yourself and the rest will fall into place... Healthy & Happy What is your favorite exercise?
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