A lesson in patience...

My new, OTHER blog is gone! Yikes! My friend and I were working on a collaborative project called Ditching the Cart, and our blog was new and fresh, and hopeful for a great start! We were pretty confused and sad to see it gone but as it turns out, it was created on the very day blogger had some issues.  So it vanished.

In light of that, Blogger has been so attentive, and gracious to work so hard to restore things, but until it's up and running again, we must wait...

Patience is never a lesson that I think anyone finds fun. I really cannot think of a lesson in patience that was pleasant or easy. This, obviously is very low on the grandscale of lessons in patience. My three year old son, on any given day can test my patience far more effectively than any dissappearing blog will ever do. But moreso than a lesson in patience is the lesson in letting go.

Much of what we might become impatient about is really a lesson in flexibility and non-attachment in disguise. When I am impatient with my son, it's usually because I am trying to get him to do something that I feel fits in my scenario of a perfect day, or perfect behavior, or an acceptable response. When I am impatient about something I am doing not turning out right, it's usually because I am projecting onto the task an image of how I want things to be.

So in addition to remaining patient, what helps patience along is the act of letting go, of taking it easy, of not being so attached to things turning out exactly how you want them to be.

For today, I'm going to take this time to be patient, attempt to release any preconceived notions I have about timing and how I want this project up and running, and go with the mindset of everything turning out as it should. Of everything happening for a reason, and realizing that all things have their own time to grow in their own way. Blogs, gardens, and children too..

For what it's worth, this disappearing blog is happening for a reason, and whatever lesson I can glean from that is only a good thing, even if I didn't imagine it that way.

Find Me A Deserted Island. And Fast.

Self-indulgent or smart? Or both?

Whenever I think about self-care, part of me feels the tiniest bit guilty for all the people in the world that suffered before the emergence of self-care. Then I take part in it, and that guilt just melts away, and I'm reminded that it's a notion that is decadent, necessary, and evolved.

Especially today, moreso than other days.

I have been knee-deep in projects lately. I have my artwork business. Lisa Grady Designs. 2 shops on ETSY born from that. I am a stay at home mom. I have 2 new sites, Ditching the Cart, about simplifying, still in the making, the blog that goes with that, and the other heartfelt project, www.theopenheartproject.com, about giving back, its blog, and finally, my work on teaandbrahmi - along with the blog, which you are reading...

All of it I love, but it takes its toll every now and then. Here is the now and then. And today I paid...

What a totally rotten day. Well, it wasn't ALL bad. Most of it was, then it got easier, then harder, then it got great. Because I figured it out. But not without going through a little hell, and not without help.For some reason, be it the moon, the black weather we've been getting, my poor diet these past couple days, or just another lesson, I was in a terrible, unwaveringly bad mood. And I stay home with my boy, so what that means is I have to be the emotional & physical cruise director for a three-year-old with a serious play agenda. I have to be the funtime friend, superduper toddler chef, homemaker, and mommy happy-face for 12 straight hours, which on most days is my favorite thing to do.


But not today. 


My wonderful friend who lives 8 hours away saved me a bit. I called her up. Ranting. Complaining. Lighting hell on fire with my mood. She assured me we have these moments, these days. I know we do. I know it! "But how am I supposed to get some time if I need it? AND I NEED IT!!!! WHEN DO I GET NAGGING STUFF DONE? 8 PM AT NIGHT AFTER I PUT THE BOY TO BED WHEN I AM AT HALF-THROTTLE, and 90% SPENT?!"


I prayed. I prayed more. I journaled. I cried. I talked. I ate. I prayed more...


The day dragged on. Six o clock came. My husband's train was late. More irritation. But then the comfort came. The only thing I needed. I talked more, and it came out. Sure I talked earlier, but I was not as far along in my misery at noon as I was at six o'clock.And I said, "You know, I just need to have some time to work on my projects that aren't work! When was the last time I read a book that wasn't an herbal reference, natural health, or energy healing book? When did I last do something that was just for fun!?" 


That's how it hit me. I was working working working working working.....It wasn't just about "me" time, but about time when I wasn't doing work. Doing my artwork business, taking care of my boy, the house. Of everything else.  I was thinking, Personal Downtime. Not dinner with family, or an outing with the kids. Just, plain, non-work, non-social time.  Did I say it enough ways yet?


So here I am, writing away, drinking my wine, hearing the boys downstairs going on about something on Caillou, and doing some serious damage to my clean living room with some blocks. And I am making progress. On myself. On the world, and I am relieved. It's just what I needed. And I am thanking God for answering my prayers. And thanking my husband for understanding. And grateful I live in a time when taking an hour or two for yourself is not unheard of. I am blessed. I am happy. Truly happy.


What do you need? Do you know? If you do, go find it, and if not, rant and pray until you figure it out. Then post it here. I would love to hear about it. 

My living simple Blog

www.ditchingthecart.blogspot.com

check it out! Its a compilation of this blog, and a collaborative blog, with a focus on reducing consumerism, living more simply, a movement toward DIY and homesteading, and making conscious lifestyle choices to live more meaningfully! I welcome your following!

Kombucha!

Maybe I am wayyy behind the times...but finally, today, I tried Kombucha!
And wow! How delicious! But my real reason was not because I thought it might be yummy, but because my intuition was steering me that way, and some little nagging voice, over that past week or so, has been buzzing in my head to give it a shot!

Because I am throwing this out there and just want to get it posted for all those people who have thought of trying it but just haven't yet, I will list more later but here is an incredible website that illustrates some of the greater benefits of Kombucha, articulately and with clarity.

As the page illustrates, benefits have been seen with arthritis, immune support, cardiovascular concerns, cancer, and many more...Do your body a favor and check out the page...

http://www.anahatabalance.com/teakombucha2.html

Enjoy!!!

Follow Your Heart

I am one of those people who can be enticed by the new and exciting. If the stone is unturned, I want to be the one to turn it! That said, it gets mighty tough sifting through what I want to do, need to do, feel like I have to do.

Until recently, I saw this as a total character flaw. I saw it as flighty. Undedicated. Unfocused. Uncommitted. Flaky. And shallow. You can imagine how heavy I felt, walking around, feeling that way about myself for 38 years, and carrying it around. DANG! Strong back muscles!

Until recently, I thought I was a complete failure, having never stuck to anything. Having felt that anything I did or was to do, was going to end up half-finished, barely started, or not seen through. Total drag.

I had heard the statement "Follow Your Heart" and carried it like a little totem affirmation, thinking, "One day, I will be able to do it, all my answers will be solved, I will know who I am, and life will be blessedly simple." But that never really happened.

Then, one day, I read a blog post by The Daily Love, with a feature from Your Joyologist, and there it was... "I don't know what I am doing - I just do it," she said. 

YES!

YES YES YES!!!

That is ME! THAT IS TOTALLY ME!!!

At that point I realized, I was okay. And not just okay, I was super-great! I was just looking at it all wrong...It was the positive spin on my personality. Finally. Finally, a way of looking at that aspect of myself that wasn't shed in a negative light.

At that point I fully realized, I just am who I am, I do what I do, and I HAVE been following my heart, and I AM doing what I love. Sure, to others, it may seem as if I am onto something new all the time, flitting from one project to another, but it's not they that have to live in this skin. It's me, and I love who I am. I LOVE diving in. I love trying new things! I LOVE BEING ME!

So, whoever you are out there, if you are feeling lost, or feeling like you don't know what to do, or don't feel like you know who you are, don't despair. Just follow your heart. And put it out there that it's the only thing you want to do. Your heart and all it has to tell will be revealed to you. Tune in. It's a part of you and it's trying to lead the way. Let it! I promise it will be fun!

Happiness, and Other Things on My To Do List

Happy. I have so much to say about this, but I will start here, because I just have to get this out today...Happiness is not true happiness if you are only happy when you are being distracted, or things are going perfect.

No.

Happiness is finding joy despite the vast level of irritating and upsetting things around you. Happiness is DECIDING you are going to be happy, even if your day is rotten, or someone you know is on your nerves.

It means spending your day focusing on the positive, rather than finding the error or fault in every situation. If you are looking for the rotten in everything, rotten is what you will find. And if you always find rotten, miserable is what you will be. Now just as much as you can find the rotten in life, you can also find the good. If you look for good, what do you think you will find?

Are you one of those people that becomes irritated by REALLY HAPPY people? If so, this is for you. All those people you see out there that you might think are "disgustingly happy" are really just doing one simple thing: They are deciding that they don't have time for being miserable and sad. And if those disgustingly happy people bother you, it will ease you to spend less time looking at their behavior, and turn inward to see why it bothers you. This might feel stark, but from my experience, when I meet people becoming irritated with really happy, expressive people, the problem usually lies in the person who is irritated.

Now, I am not trying to dole out a big dose of Pollyanna. I know life isn't a walk in the park. We all have disappointment and bad things do happen. We WILL be sad at times, really mad. Totally depressed at others. But it's not all bad, and feeling that way is okay, when the situation permits, as long as it's not a pattern. If it ends up becoming a pattern, it's time to take a step back and examine your thinking, to start.

When you are feeling rotten, the first thing you should tell yourself is that life may be tough right now, but life is not bad. In fact, it's more than not all bad. It's pretty awesome most of the time. And if you have a really bad situation, try to find the good. Try to see the lesson, if little else. Maybe not when you are in it, but when it's over, I guess for no better analogy, treat the situation like compost: Rotten makes good. Rotten vegetables turn around and make good soil - and very little urges me grow more than a tough situation. Same thing, I guess...Simplistic, but then, I am striving for more simple in my life too, along with happy.

On the whole, I strive to choose happy, but then those days come up when you just aren't. My action plan is to take a step back, and calm down. Then be grateful. But if those things don't work, and I find myself dragging myself down, I call on my husband. He always says one thing to me. "When you feel bad, it's easy to see that everything is bad, but in reality it's just how you are choosing to look at it." Then lots of hugs. That works too...Because we are all people who need other people, and if I cannot fix something myself, I seek to others to offer insight. I draw on a few select family and friends to lift me up. It's what we humans do, and it's really easy to forget that we cannot handle everything on our own. We all need each other...

So really, turn the bad thought into a good one. Find the good. Even if you despite the situation today, find one good, positive thought.

Then find another. And another.

If you have to, post them on your wall. On your fridge. In your car. I put mine on my hand. I write them right on there. I also have a tiny little notebook that I keep with me. I write down my coincidences and good things...it helps.

New Recipe Post! French Toast Oatmeal...

FRENCH TOAST OATMEAL!

Need a break from bread?

Try this...

This is not an exact recipe. I just sort of throw stuff in. That is the beauty of oatmeal. You put in as much or as little of the yummy stuff to suit your taste. Here's mine...

Old Fashioned Oatmeal made in the pan

Flaxseed

Maple Syrup, or for less sugar, maple extract

Blackstrap Molasses

A little vanilla

Cinnamon

A bit of powdered clove

Honey or Truvia

Yummy-yum yum...

More to come....You can find this also posted on my recipes page.

Face it, and Change!

I don't know what you celebrate, but in our house, we celebrate Easter. The chocolate bunnies, hidden eggs. Peeps. Family. Church. The whole deal. This year, I gave up Facebook. I found I was spending so much time on it, and I was being so lazy with my time management, that I figured, I needed to lighten the load, so to speak.

At first, it was total torture! I never knew what my friends were doing. I was missing out on news! I was missing posts! Surely this was more isolation than giving up something that was not serving me well...That's what I was telling myself anyway. In truth, I used Facebook to lure me in when I was feeling weak about what to do next, or feeling like I needed to do SOMETHING, but WHAT?!

"Geez. Didn't make a list today. Well, let me just plop down in this chair and check my Facebook real quick...This situation is bugging me...log on. Check Facebook. Post something, forget about it..."

It was becoming a crutch rather than an asset in a lot of ways. It was my lure from indecision, or discomfort...

And we all have those things. Something that we turn to when we are at a loss. Need a distraction. Maybe it's food. TV. Exercise. Books. The computer. You see where I am going.

The Lenten sacrifice is about giving up something you love, something that tempts you, or something you really could do without. And then on Easter, it's about re-birth. How can you be renewed in faith and in spirit to live better?

So what happened? Yesterday, I logged onto Facebook. Ahhh... all my friends were there. I really missed them so much. And the first thing I did was change my profile picture. Then I posted. A little while later, I was back on it. Checking....and it occured to me. This behavior. Did I just give it up then go back to my old ways? I so did.

So I made a deal with myself. Use it, but use it well. Not as a crutch. Go see my friends. Enjoy their company. But don't use it in lieu of doing that thing, whatever it may be, that I might be avoiding. Or putting off, or that brings me to indecision.

Facebook is not life. It is a PART of life. It is a part of my life, and it needs to stay in the space I keep for it. I am striving to simplify my life, so I have time for all the amazing things I want to try and all the beauty and fun that life is filled with!

So in the spirit of Spring, renewal and shedding of old habits, find the nagging thing you know you must change to move on, and dare yourself to change it, then be amazed at joy you find on the other side.

Big Rocks, Little Rocks

It was just a rotten morning today. Seriously. Rotten. I mean, everything I touched just fell apart or set out to give me a splitting headache!

I dropped things, items I was printing were not printing right, when I tried to concentrate, my son needed me...crackers. Then water. Then to attend his party with Lightning McQueen and the entire train crew from Chuggington.

Then the printer spat out misaligned envelopes. The phone rang. Again. My tea tasted bad. I couldn't find my son's shoes. My son was in a bad mood too...

Sitting on the stair, head in hands, it was all I could do to not scream! Then Jack, my son comes over. Three years old. He puts one hand on my hands, the other on my shoulder, and says, "Mommy, you don't have to be frustrated. You don't have to be frustrated." And he wrapped his arms around me and gave me the tightest hug he could.

It's so amazing to me still, how this little person can have such power to melt my anger, put a smile to my face, make my day brighter, more meaningful. Just amazing. And at that moment, I realized that nothing else mattered.

I don't deserve this little treasure I have been blessed with, but nonetheless, he is still mine. What a gift. What an amazing gift...

It is so easy to forget what's important. We blaze through our days, on fire, full of lists and to-do's. Making appointments, rushing around, being important and needed and great contributors to our society, to the human race. We rush about doing the tiny details to hold it all together, so the rest of our days run smoothly. Only most times, they don't. We barely cram in dinner, we tear through our mornings in a huff, barrel through our evenings - first throw our bag down, check email, yank some chicken out of the fridge, put it in a pan, do dinner, clean up, kiss our kids goodnight, stumble down to the TV to turn off our brains, flop into bed, then do it all over. Sometimes we are so keyed up, we take a pill to sleep. Sometimes we drink wine. Sometimes we take stronger things...

We shop shop shop shop shop. We have to. So many things to do, and take care of, and each of those things needs a thing at the store to go with the thing.

We buy premade food, just to make life simple. But it's far from that. Just take a look at the ingredients. Not so simple...

This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I bet you see where I'm going with this. My week was crazy. By Friday, I was wound like a top. I wanted the ride to stop so I could get off, but it doesn't stop. I cannot change the rhythm of the world, but I can change mine. This morning, and this week, I was not doing a very good job of remembering that.

I don't know where I heard this. Maybe it was Wayne Dyer. Maybe someone else. Not sure. But here's the idea. You have a glass jar, and in it first, you fit in all the big things. Family, Friends, Work, Health. Big rocks. Then all the rest are the little things. The little pebbles. Projects, vacations, etc...I really wish I could remember how that analogy goes. It's a great one. If you find it, let me know, but the idea is that if you put the big things in first, then the little pebbles fit in the spaces left over. It all works out...

So really, it's about knowing what my priorities are, sticking to those, then filling in as I can, with all the other little things...Like that. Further, it's about consciously choosing that I will be happy despite things going wrong. These upsets, snags and detours do not determine who I am or how I feel. If I am frustrated, as Jack pointed out, it is simply because I am choosing to be frustrated. Oh that statement was so loaded with meaning...

"You don't have to be frustrated." You don't have to be overscheduling yourself (which was part of the reason all these things were going wrong) and then, if things don't go the way you like, you don't have to take it personally.

The trouble is remembering that this is how it's supposed to go. Being mindful of what's important, and conciously making choices that are always in alignment with those priorities...Somehow God always helps me out with that one. Always there with the good reminders. Often it's Jack, too. Saying something so simple and appropriate for his age, and yet, equally appropriate for mine...

Which leads me to keeping it simple. But that's a topic for another post....

So I hope this is a good reminder to keep the big stuff big, and the little stuff little. It all balances out...

SOAP NUTS!!!!!!!

Where have I BEEN!? Under a ROCK?!

Why have I not heard of this until now?! SOAP NUTS! SERIOUSLY!

HOW AMAZING!!! NO MORE YUCKY CHEMICAL-LY LAUNDRY DETERGENT!

HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!

Can you detect a bit of excitement here? I found this today. How, I do not know...OH! RIGHT! I was researching beeswax! Anyway.

Here I am poking around this cool website when I found Soap Nuts.

The soap nut is actually a fruit. The tree bearing the soap nut fruit is native to and harvested from India and Nepal, then dehydrated and shipped to you. You throw it in a little mesh laundry sack with about 4 others and run about 5 loads, without needing a rinse cycle or fabric softener, and the saponin in these nuts clean your clothes! They come out fragrance free, soft and clean....

SERIOUSLY! Do you realize how this will simplify things, and make me feel SOOOO much better about the clothing I give to my child to wear! No rotten chemicals! Less water usage! Saving money! OH YAY!!!

Now help me tell the world already!!!

Go here and see for yourself!

The Indigo Earth Co.

Little Pink Houses for You and Me...

Aww, c'mon.

You know it...and now it's in your head!

Me too, though I don't mind though because I love John Mellencamp, and I love that song. But what I'm really getting at is the idea of community.

This morning, out of the blue, with no prefacing or context in which to put the question, I asked my son, "What's the theme for today?" And he said, "Going to people's houses."

From the mouths of babes....

So today's theme in the quest for sanity and more conscious living, is community.

We all know what it means when we see it posted on signs or in ads selling you something, but how does that apply in everyday life? And what does it mean to you? Getting to know your neighbors better? Adopting a greater sense of responsibility to your town? Checking in on those that are elderly? Having a block party? Or is your community in a larger sense? Your state, your country, or everyone on the globe?

It can grow as big as you let it. And let it, because we spend a great deal of our time with our faces plastered to our monitors, our fingers dashing speedily across our smartphones, and in exchange have sacrificed facetime, downtime, quality time. We have the world on our screens, but we also have the world outside our doors, and we are all aware that we are becoming increasingly isolate, amidst our world growing "smaller" via our digital age.

This week, step outside your comfort zone!

Try volunteering for the homeless shelter or food pantry.

Invite your neighbors over for dinner, if you know them.

Do you know your clerks in your stores? Ask their names!

Are there children in your neighborhood who want to babysit for you, or do yard work? Employ them! By doing so, you will be giving yourself a little rest, and giving THEM a chance to learn about responsibility AND community, in one turn.

Give the guy that lives on your street a ride to the bus stop when you see him running for his life to catch it!

Check in with your neighbors who are elderly and live alone. And why not bring over some home-cooked food? I bet they would love the gesture and the company.

And these are just ideas. I am sure you have a million more of them.

What does community mean to you?

Breathe...

I have a three year old.

Anyone who has, or knows a three-year-old knows that this is all I need to say.

We were shopping, and those listening ears have been LOADED with potatoes this week. Not one statement I uttered this week has been responded to, unless contained "cookies" or "play trucks" somwhere in there, and even if it did, I just KNOW all he heard was, "wah-wah wah-wah COOKIES wah-wah wah-wah PLAY TRUCKS."

So today, at the grocery store, potentially a fun excursion most weeks, I was at the end of my rope, which has been fraying rapidly as the week's progressed. I was on my fifth round of counting to three to "not run in the aisles," when I saw the oncoming woman and her carriage swiftly avoiding the pint-sized tornado barreling toward her, on a tear.

I looked at her with what must have been a completely exasperated look. I was ready to howl. I was seeing red and bottling it.

She responded, "Breathe...I have two. Been there, done that."

If she had not been ushered in haste toward me by my guardian angel, I would be surprised. She surely was sent, and at just the right time.

I believe nothing is by accident, and there are no coincidences, so I take any exchange like that to heart. And I did, to my son's benefit. I can't say the rest of the trip was a walk in the park, but it kept me from losing it. So when we think we cannot handle another stick on the pile...

BREATHE...

We can. We have the resolve. We CAN do whatever that thing is, whether it's getting through the workout, dealing with a co-worker, or keeping our cool with our little ones.

Breathe!

Siezing the Diet!

I swear.

I could write a book, illustrating every diet, in great detail, pros and cons fully listed, along with an excuse or reason for why I fell off of it.

They work for some. Not for me. I really, REALLY wish they did, but every person is different, and my world is gray without food. I am not even just talking junk here. I mean all of it.

Eggplant, broccoli, even brussels sprouts! Lima beans - yes! Creamed corn! Spinach!

I love ALL of it!

So, for the past 3 days, I have been miserable. That's not counting the other days over the past 10 years that I have tried to stuff myself into a diet plan that I can live with. Recently, I have been doing Jenny Craig, and it was working for me, but we have recently decided that we need to revise our budget, so we opted to change some things. This was one of them. Now, you must know, I have already been on 2 other different diets this year. This is not new for me. I am always onto some new diet, and that isn't what bothers me. It's the notion that I thought I could live with each of them, and tried them, but cannot.

So, it started with the herbs. That's usually the go to....Weightless tea kicked it off this time...And then, sipping tea, I just thought about how I eat... What do I think about during the day when I want food? What do I do when I am hungry? What do I reach for? Why I do that? How many calories should I consume to lose weight? I thought about food, and how I just don't want to live without any of it. After all those questions, I realized that I don't want to be a slave to my emotions when I step into the kitchen. When I go there, I want a plan. And thought I have already been though this before, this was time was different, only in the matter of one TEEEESY weensy little detail: I realized I spent my day mentally calculating how many calories I ate, or was about to eat. Round the clock. All day.

And I don't know why I didn't realize it until now but here comes the plan that emerged from this brand new insight: Divvy my daily calories round the clock: I broke it down into hours. I start the clock when I start eating and I stop when I get to 1200, which is my target caloric intake to lose weight. So if I follow my schedule of how many calories I should have only consumed by a certain time, I have until 9 PM to eat all my calories. I started with 7 AM, based on when I usually want to start eating, and 9 PM being the very latest I allow myself to eat, though I usually try to stop at 8 PM which I know is also too late, but given little details in my schedule, that's what it is...Anyway!

7 AM - 80 calories

8 AM - 160 calories (so by 8 AM, I should be in the ballpark of having consumed 160 calories.)

9 AM - 240 calories (and if you think of it, if you eat a breakfast, it, if you are trying to lose weight, should be somewhere in this range-at least for me. So my 7 AM meal of 240 calories should carry me to at least 9 AM.)

It's that simple. Maybe there are lots of people out there doing this - I have no idea - but this just seems very logical to me...

There are other rules too, including when to eat the carbs, how much fat I want to ideally consume, how much sugar I want (or don't want) in my diet...Though the diets and years, I have learned some things...They all apply...

So we will see. This first day, it's been awesome. And I think it works for me. I don't like to sit down and eat a lot, then go lots of hours without food. I like eating every three hours. It works well for me. On this page, you will find regular updates to this little self experiment on what I really don't consider a diet, and if it goes well, maybe it will work for others too!! Breaking it down, it's really just calorie counting, with a little help, and a little guidance. We'll see how it goes...

The Birth of a Blog

And there's so many out there! But I really, REALLY want to holler to the world, in the years I have been studying alternative therapies and herbalism, the things I've learned can help you on your way to a happier, more vibrant, exciting life.

Here you'll find herbal information, tips on remedies, and wellness practices toward improved health. To note, I believe our world would not turn without doctors. Many of them are in my family. I also believe that health starts with you. It begins with your thoughts, ends with your thoughts, and includes everything in between. That means what you feel, think, eat, do, say and believe all play a critical role in your health and happiness. This blog is here to help you with those things.

Your health is dependent upon the air you breathe, the soap you use, the clothing you wear, the exercise you take part in, the amount of self-care you give yourself. It is dependent upon the amount of sunlight you get, the quality of your drinking water, and your quality of life. It's dependent upon how you manage stress. How you sleep, how dark the room is, and how deeply you sleep. In addition to sleep you need rest. You need fun. You need good food for your belly, food for your mind, and food for your heart.

For all of those reasons, you will find this as a comprehensive resource, and a space for reflection on your health and the ways you contribute to wellness or disease in your life. Wow that sounds boring - But it ISN'T! You will find fun recipes for healthy dinners, bakery, treats for your tummy, and treats for your soul. You will find information about energetic medicine, ideas for healthier housekeeping, and even how to know what to look for in your beauty products!

This blog, is NOT however, about hardcore extreme alternative lifestyles and habits. While I really love the less beaten path, and consider myself on it, this blog is more about how to live in this world, but also making a concious effort toward wellness and balance. Believe me, I love Oreos just as much as that nine year old kid down the block. Maybe moreso. But Oreos, though eager to make their way into my everyday menu, have a place in my life, and their place is well-known to me. This is not about going off the deep end and banishing every aspect of your life that you enjoy, for the sake of healthfulness. This is about making your choices, knowing why you made them, and believing in your decision. It's about creating balance amisdst a world of chaos.

I hope you find it fun, useful and educational!