Through The Tulips Words of 'Wiz'dom

August 24, 2011

Get Up and Go

Filed under: Health/ Fitness,Life,Life's Little Hiccups — gardener @ 9:01 am

There is this old saying that says- “My get up and go has got up and went.” I always thought that was funny until I realized recently that is exactly how I feel. I’ve actually given it quite a bit of thought as to why I seem to be so motivated for some things, and yet others (like exercise) seem to be like pulling teeth to get me motivated to do.

It finally hit me earlier today that I think the reason is because my mind has been so busy with constant thoughts that I really am tired mentally and it’s making me too tired to consider exercise. Ok- I do ‘consider’ it- but that’s about as far as it goes. I am going to try to figure out a way around this and adapt the catch phrase- ‘just do it’. If it works for Nike- it should work for me. I know I’ll feel much better- both mentally and physically and my body will thank me.

Now to put those words into practice.

Mindful

Filed under: Health/ Fitness — gardener @ 8:45 am

I’ve been trying to be somewhat more mindful of what I eat and how much I eat so that I can start shedding the rest of these pounds that I’ve been wrestling with for the past couple of years.    I know that my body is changing- that’s what the body does when it starts going through perimenopause and that coupled with this unsatiable sweet tooth that I seem to have is a combination for disaster if I don’t stay on my toes.

So- as I type this- I have boneless skinless chicken breast baking in the oven, some broccoli on the stove ready to steam and a few potatoes ready to be cooked.   I may have a few potatoes, but the bulk of my dinner is going to be broccoli and chicken.   

I will be the first to admit that lately I have been less than mindful about what I eat.  I do ok for a while, but my biggest problem is evening snacking-  It’s something I’ve struggled with for years- and something I may always struggle with if I don’t remain conscious in every choice that I make.

I have found that eating well and exercise are what I consider to be safe diet pills without actually having a pill formula. One thing is for sure- getting off track and out of the habit makes it very hard to start again. I’m getting there though- one baby step at a time.

August 18, 2011

Being Grateful

Filed under: Gratitude,Life — gardener @ 10:23 am

Today I have been thinking about all the good things in my life and I know that there are many. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have bad days- or that nothing frustrating or even bad ever happens to me, because it does. It just means that I try to see things from a perspective of gratitude and happiness and even when thingsi seem to be a little crazy- I know there are lessons to be learned if I’m willing to be open to receive and see them.

So today- I’m sharing a few of the things I’m grateful for. I like to look back on these things from time to time and reflect. If you’ve never tried taking a moment to think about the things in your life that you’re grateful for- I highly recommend it. It could make a huge difference in your life.

My Gratitude List for August 18, 2011.

Today I’m grateful for:

  • Coming home and finding a package in the mail.   A suprise from a new and already, very dear friend. 
  • Having my first cupcake order- that I will create and deliver tomorrow.  Today I started some of the prep-work.   It’s an exciting time.
  • The fact that very soon my parents will be coming over for a visit and we have many adventures and travels planned.  It’s going to be so fun.
  • The crispness in the air that can only symbol that fall is on its way.
  • Sleeping late after having a really hard time sleeping as of late.

August 17, 2011

Cooling Off

Filed under: Life,Seasons — gardener @ 1:25 pm

I’ve noticed the past couple of days that when the evenings roll around that things are changing. It isn’t that the temps are really any cooler, because they aren’t- but there is this certain crispness to the evening air that tells me it won’t be long before fall has arrived.

I love this time of the year- there is something about it that not only makes me smile, but it triggers memories of days in my childhood- days of happy times- of my brother and I jumping in the freshly raked leaves that dad spent all day raking. SO many memories- they make me smile.

I have spent some time sitting outside watching the sun go down this week and I can only imagine in the days to come there will be more of that- I am looking forward to it and hopefully having things slow down a little before they kick off to great busyness.

I guess you could say that in some ways this is the calm before the storm- but this is a storm I’ll welcome with open arms.

August 11, 2011

Evaluating Priorities

Filed under: Home,Life — gardener @ 3:06 pm

For a while now, I’ve been thinking about how it doesn’t seem that there are enough hours in the day for me to get everything accomplished that I’d like to get done. Lately my ‘to do’ list seems to be growing faster than it depletes, so I know that there’s only on thing that I can do and that is change my priority list.

I haven’t been sleeping well, so I know that I’m going to need to start going to bed earlier (instead of staying up crazy hours trying to get things done and then taking a long time to unwind afterwards), and also getting up earlier. This will allow me time to work out in the mornings (so that nothing can come between me and the time with myself) and then more time in the afternoons and late morning to get other things done- along with the other everyday tasks that need to be done.

I need to become more organized and I guess prioritizing is going to have to be at the top of that list..

I guess it’s time for me to at least attempt to become a morning person.

Wondering About Ted

Filed under: Life — gardener @ 3:02 pm

I was watching an old episode of Dr. Phil the other day and they were showing Ted Williams (if you haven’t heard of him- Google him and you can find out about him.) and how he was still struggling with addiction even after being pulled off the streets and basically being offered the brass ring for his great speaking voice.

Dr. Phil and his staff were great and offered to get him into one of the top notch inpatient rehab treatment centers and sadly he only accepted on his terms- which was to first go back to Ohio and then go to treatment. I haven’t heard anything about him in a while, so I wonder if he got the help that he needed to get his life on track. I hope so- he has so much potential and this was a chance of a lifetime.

August 7, 2011

Host a Tapas Dinner with Friends (101 in 1001 List)

Filed under: 101 in 1001 days,Food,Things I Love,Women — gardener @ 4:05 am

Things have been somewhat busy around here, so I’m a little behind in sharing here all of the things I’ve been able to check off my 101 in 1001 list- which you can find here.

Number 36 on my list was to host a tapas dinner with friends, so on July 30th- that’s exactly what I did.    My friend Bobbi and I were officially the hostesses with the mostess, but we had it at my home.  

It wasn’t tapas in the traditional Spanish manner- but it was more a mish-mash of everyone bring something to contribute in mini.     The idea was to have a lot of little things and mostly to laugh and have fun in the midst of friends.   

Since Bobbi and I were the ones hosting- we provided all the drinks- the tiny tapas containers to present the food and also we created quite a few goodies to add to what ended up being a huge table of food.

The picture to your right shows two of the the many things we had-   grilled shrimp with seaweed salad inside cucumber ‘baskets’.    I also made marinated chicken breast bites wrapped in bacon- and Bobbi made this delicious (colorful and spicy) mango salsa to go along with them. It was the perfect combination.

We ate Orange Cream Cupcakes-  Oreo Cheesecake bites- and some sinfully delicious Peanut Butter Brownies with Fudge that were to die for- literally.      We also had stuffed olives, grape truffles, cranberry cream cheese muffins, blueberry muffins, ham-cheese roll-ups,  roasted nuts in various flavors, veggies tray, zucchini rolls, zucchini bites, meatballs, curry chicken breast, dim sum and the list goes on and on.  You get the idea though-   There was a LOT of food!

It was a lot of fun and I do believe everyone else enjoyed themselves as well.   Some came early to help set everything up, and most everyone offered to help clean up,  which I thought was very sweet considering the huge mound of dishes that I had to do. 

I have new ideas for another party but that won’t be until the first of the year sometime- during the winter months when there isn’t much to do- but I’ll share more about that at another time.

August 5, 2011

Taking it All In

Filed under: Food for Thought,Gratitude — gardener @ 8:01 am

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle that has become my life- I find myself needing to pause and reflect. I look back and how I got here- and I think about how grateful I am for the opportunity. I don’t want to be someone who takes it for granted that I can just do what I want when I want- because I know that it’s a blessing and I am thankful.

I find myself at times- namely today feeling overwhelmed with all that I need to do, but yet I know that what I really need to do is to take the time to relax- think and just be grateful for the journey- For every opportunity that arises, for every obstacle, as they will serve to teach me.

Grateful- for the work- for the path- for knowing it was where I need to be- and grateful that I am open to learn from any mistakes that I make along the road- because I’m sure there will be some.

Sky’s the Limit

Filed under: Life — gardener @ 7:57 am

I’ve been doing a lot of ordering over the past few days for things for SCC. I’m excited about all the possibilities but Marcel said if I keep ordering, once everything arrives that we’re going to need a steel building to hold it all. Technically, I wouldn’t mind if that meant putting my kitchen in there too and allowing me complete peace and quiet to work and do my thing.

I have to keep reminding myself that it’s a small start and then we’ll go from there. They sky truly is the limit.

August 4, 2011

Whirlwind

Filed under: Food for Thought,Gratitude,Life — gardener @ 11:03 am

The past month has been somewhat of a blur to me- a lot of fun and a whirlwind of activities, all of which were great. This month- is not without celebration and definitely not without a few obstacles, but I welcome them all.

You see- in addition to planning a trip abroad with my family, I’ve also started a business. In case you’re wondering- it’s a cupcake business and I am looking forward to getting started- getting my site finished and seeing the fruits of my labor come together. I know it’s going to be a lot of work and a long up-hill battle, but I have no doubt in my mind that eventually it will all fit together- like the pieces of a puzzle.

I’ve been operating outside of my comfort zone so far this week and at some points it’s been wonderful and at others I’ve been scared to death. Not that there’s anything wrong with being scared, but I almost let the fear beat me. In the end, I didn’t and I’m so grateful for that.

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