In honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 I spent today filling up my cup with creative joy.

As Americans, we don’t ever want to forget such a tragic time in our history as 9/11.  For the creative person that often means we create some kind of memorial that can be in the form of a painting, sculpture, quilt, music, photography, crafting, etc. Really, the sky is the limit.

I decided ten years ago that my memorial project would be a crocheted flag afghan.  I know better (then and now) to start projects like this because they take me forever.  I get burned out and have to put it down for long periods of time.  For whatever the reason I thought that this time would be different, like every other bigger type of project that gets me going.

My girlfriends, the afghan was no different even if it was in honor of 9/11. I actually finished the crocheting part probably about a year ago and only had the loose ends to finish off.  The problem was that there were LOTS of loose ends and I kept putting it off.

So today was the day and I would honor the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by finishing my project.  Perfect!  It felt good working on it and it felt great finishing it!  And it is beautiful!  Even my guys are happy that it is done.

If I may interject here, I know many of you are probably saying I just don’t have time to be creative. I know because I say it too.  In all honesty, we don’t have time not to.

Life always has stress factors in it including crises like 9/11.  For that reason it is important that we do activities that de-stress us and playing with our creative bent will indeed help!  When we de-stress even through our creativity, our energy changes, our body chemistry changes, and it puts us in a completely different place allowing us to see life from a different place.

Creativity is a win/win, which is why it is included in our self-nurture 30-day challenge.  It impacts us in body, mind, and spirit.

How can you include creativity in your self-nurture practice?

In honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, what small memorial  project can you create?

God Bless America!

This moment in time …  mmmm.  Sometimes you don’t realize how much you need something until you get it.

Today my family and some of our friends went to Kennywood Amusement Park for the day.  To their disappointment I did not go.  I felt like I had disappointed everyone, but I knew in my spirit that I needed to stay home.  I knew that being in the midst of lots and lots of people with all kinds of craziness would only add to the stress I was already feeling.  Oh, I’m sure in the end I would have had a good time, but again, it is not what this girl needed today.

Me before alone time!

I have spent the afternoon and evening by myself having what I call alone time.  It took me awhile to unwind and de-stress but suddenly it hit me.  Oh my goodness!  I so need this time and space to just “be”.

Me after alone time!

As the day has progressed the tensions and stress and all the things that made me feel irritated and uptight have slowly faded away.  Even though I have worked today at home, I have still been able to unwind and de-stress with soft music in the background and beautiful weather filling me with happiness.  I’ve been able to breathe and think without interruption.  It sure feels good!

Do you ever feel like you need time alone to just “be”?  Actually, I am a person who requires alone time to recharge and rejuvenate in my body, mind, and spirit.  It’s strange that I haven’t recognized the need, but sometimes life gets crazy with one thing after another to where I miss the signals.  This sure explains a lot of my behavior lately.

So, I am making a commitment to myself to be more aware of this very important need that I have … alone time, space, time to just “be”.

With that, I encourage you to create more awareness around what you need and then honor that need.  What might that look like for you?  You know me, I love your comments so please do share!

*Pictures provided by Home Sweet Home Pet Sitters

Girlfriend, I love chocolate just like most other women I know.

Today I decided to make a very healthy Chocolate Mousse for a treat. (Recipe below) It turned out that when I was ready for this yummy dessert, I was the only one in the house.  My guys were all off watching the Steelers win (yay!) elsewhere leaving me at home alone, which by the way, I didn’t mind at all.

So while I had the Steelers game on I decided to turn something ordinary into something extra-ordinary turning dessert into a self-nurture activity.

I could have plopped this lovely chocolate dessert into a bowl and woofed it down, but I didn’t.  Instead I used one of my cute tea for one sets accompanying the Chocolate Mousse with fresh fruit and Peppermint Herbal Tea, and I also used a tray lined with a pretty napkin.  It truly was not much effort at all, but it was one that was special.  We treat company special, why not treat ourselves special, right?

I am reminded of a note that I keep on my dream board that says, “Treating myself like a special object will make me strong.”  Anytime we treat ourselves special we are making ourselves stronger because we are sending a message to our inner self that says we ARE special and valuable causing our spirit to lift and hopefully soar!

This activity is one you will want to add to your self-nurture practice.  It is so simple to turn something ordinary like eating a snack into something extra-ordinary.  It not only lifts the spirit, but it also can help you to de-stress especially when you allow yourself to be “in the moment”.

Note that I rarely spend a lot of money on something like a tea for one set.  These types of things I typically stumble upon either on sale or at resale shops.  You don’t have to spend  a lot of money on stepping up your experience a notch or two.

By the way, this recipe and activity is great for Valentine’s Day!

Did you catch at the beginning that I said I made a “healthy” Chocolate Mouse?  The ingredients will surprise you!

Chocolate Mousse

(From Lifestyle for Health Cookbook by Dr. Cheryl Townsley)

2 pkgs. Mori Nu “lite” Tofu, firm

1 to 1 1/2 cups Sunspire chocolate chips – or carob chips (I use a 12 oz bag)

1/4 cups honey – or sweetner

2 to 4 tbs. milk – or milk substitute

2 tsp vanilla

1.  Melt chips being careful to not scorch them.  2.  Blend tofu, honey, milk and vanilla in blender until smooth.  3.  Blend melted chips into tofu in blender until smooth.  4.  Chill mixture until firm.  Store in refrigerator and use within five days.

Note:  It needs to be chilled and set for best flavor.

So many people come to The Wonder Woman Challenge website looking for help in the area of stress.  I believe that stress is the root of all dis-ease and stress seems to rule so many of us.  So what does that tell you about our health condition?!

Today I am going to discuss stress in a very simple way and give you a little challenge.  Then in the next couple of days I will address weight loss, because weight loss is another big topic for so many of you who visit this site.

Are you ready? …

Winter!  The winter season is really helping me with stress!

Tell me … are you loving winter as much as I am or at least as much as I have this week?  I don’t know why, but for some reason I have fallen in love with the beauty of winter.

As I wrote in my recent article, Journey Into Winter With January’s Fresh Start, I am simply spellbound by the stillness and peace that this winter has been offering me and I don’t want the spell to be broken.  I told a friend on Facebook the other day that I am not only spellbound, but I have romanticized this whole beautiful winter thing.

You have heard me so say many times that it is the simple things in life that can offer us the most joy.  For example, a couple of days I go I made a crockpot of split pea soup.  Tonight I sat by a blazing fire eating the yummiest bowl of spit pea & ham soup with warm homemade cornbread all while it was freezing cold and snowing outside.  It was so fulfilling, I mean really fulfilling in body, mind and spirit.  It was self-nurture totally defined by the simplicity of the moment, noticing and observing, turning the ordinary into something extra-ordinary, and allowing the winter moment to melt away my stress.

My question to you is this. How can you turn to the beauty of winter to help you de-stress?  How can you incorporate the winter season into your self-nurture practice?

Please don’t let winter pass you by no matter what part of the country you may live in … or world for that matter.  This season has it’s own unique expression of beauty to offer to you.  Let it speak to you, let it embrace you, let it de-stress you, let it fill your cup with joy, peace, and stillness that no other season can.

As beautiful as the Christmas season is, it can be stressful.  No matter how organized you are, no matter how many lists you are checking off twice, Christmas stress can still creep up on you and bite you in the behind.

For that reason I highly recommend that you create a sacred space to de-stress.  If you have created a sacred space to heal as Georgie Holbrook and I shared about in a teleconference call, then creating a sacred space to de-stress should not be foreign to you.

It is very simple.  Choose a place in your home that brings you peace and joy.  It can be an entire room or it can be a corner nook.  You don’t want to create more work for yourself so if your home is a bit overwhelming right now, please choose a little nook that you can clean up quickly.  Be sure to add candles and whatever else that will bring you peace and tranquility.  You will also want it to have holiday cheer so add some simple decorations.

I am sharing with you one of my favorite spots in my home.  My guest room is what I call the happy room.  It is bright and cheery and always feels calming and safe.  I added a simple little lit Christmas tree, a poinsettia, and window candles, which all gives the room a beautiful peaceful glow.

Yesterday I was feeling the holiday stress so I grabbed my holiday novel (“The Christmas Letters”) and a cup of coffee and spent an hour reading in my happy room. =)  Oh my gosh!  It felt heavenly!  It is such a simple thing but I kid you not, the beautiful atmosphere and the time out for reading filled my cup with so much Christmas joy and peace.

And as a result I have had a much better day today feeling under control once again.

Don’t let your checklist of things to do steal your Christmas joy. Yes, you do have time to de-stress.  You don’t have time NOT to de-stress!  Why?  The more rested and well balanced you are the more you get done.  It is that simple.

Do yourself and your family a favor and stop right now for 15 minutes to create a sacred space to de-stress special for the holidays.  You and your family will be so thankful that you did!

Do you like to do holiday reading?

Some of you may be thinking, “Right! Like I have time!”  Well if that is you and you are wishing that you had time to read during the holiday season, I want to encourage you to make the time. 

Join me in The Wonder Woman Challenge Christmas Read.

But how, right?

Many women complain about not being able to enjoy the holidays because it is so much work.  Yes, it is a lot of work.  That is why in my last post and in a recent article at 21st Century Apothecary Holistic Magazine I have written about knowing what you are celebrating, simplifying, and practicing being in the moment.

Today I want to suggest to you that just because it is the holiday season, it does not mean we put ourselves on the bottom of list.  You are to still work on your self-nurture practice.  Busy times of high stress makes it even that much more important.

For example, today I committed to continuing my exercise routine throughout the holidays.   It is important to me.  My eating habits may not be perfect now, which by the way is ok, but I can still exercise.  It will help me  keep everything in check and help my body deal with the extra stress.  It’s a way to give myself the gift of love.

With that, I really do love to read holiday novels.  I rarely do, but this year I want it to be different.  I can sneak in 15 minutes here and there (and more when I can) to read a special heart warming Christmas story.

Picture it … the house is decorated for Christmas, candles are lit, fire in the fireplace (sometimes), and my homemade hot chocolate or mocha in a super fun holiday mug while reading a beautiful story.  Can it get any better than that!!  Even if it is only for 15 minutes a day it is worth it.  And if you have young kids at home simply time it when they are taking a nap.

Ok, this week I want to buy a holiday novel to do just what I described above.  You are going to join me, right?

So what shall we read? Please share your favorite Christmas novel below in the comment section to help give me and others some ideas.

And, let me know if you plan to participate in The Wonder Woman Christmas Read.

Happy reading & here’s to a more joy-filled Christmas celebration! =)

Related Posts & Articles:  Christmas: Less Stress, More Joy, Avoid the Holiday Meltdowns, Finding the Joy In Christmas

*Photo provided by: http://www.freechristmaswallpapers.net/wallpaper/Christmas-Tree-and-Fireplace/

The holidays are upon us … ready or not the beautiful Christmas season is here. My question to you is this. What do you want?

No, I am not asking you what you want “for” Christmas. I am asking you what do you want your Christmas celebration to be.

If you have your celebration defined, it helps take a lot of the stress away. As I wrote in an article for 21st Century Apothecary Holistic Magazine, we cannot do it all. We must wisely pick and choose being realistic as the holiday plays out.

With that, I suggest that you practice being in the moment, especially now. If you don’t, you will be ruled by your to-do list and miss out on all the beauty, joy, and peace this holiday season can offer if you allow it to.

Take moments out to notice things. Notice how beautiful the Christmas lights are when you are out and about and even in your own home. Notice the lovely aromas that we often only get to experience this time of year. Literally stop what you are doing to notice these things taking it all in for that moment. Allow the sites, sounds, and smells of the season to give you moments of joy, peace, and might I add miracles.

Truly, with this simple practice of noticing, you will be surprised in the difference it will make in your personal Christmas celebration.

This month I will be giving you hints and ideas on how to fill your Christmas celebration with more joy rather than stress. In other words, I will be giving you holiday self-nurture hints and ideas.

Merry Christmas!

Share with us below in the comment section how “being in the moment” is impacting your holidays season.

To read my full article at 21st Century Apothecary Holistic Magazine click here … “Finding The Joy In Christmas”

Holiday photo provided by http://www.williamshouse.com/christmas.html

The following was my facebook status update from this morning:

Sometimes our brains can run amok with too many thoughts & ideas that end up paralyzing us … especially during a time when we really need to be moving forward. Go do something different to change your energy like going for a walk. Let it all go for the time being and allow God, who is a God of order, to bring peace & clarity to you.

I posted that because I was so very stuck!  My brain was in a loop that was not allowing me to move forward and be productive… at all!  My stress level kept rising and fear was setting in … fear about all kinds of stuff.  You know how that goes.

I knew that I needed to do something to change things up … to change my energy as I say.  I needed to let go of everything so that I could not only feel at peace but also have clarity on what I needed to do next.

In other words, I needed to create a positive flow of energy once again.

Do you ever find yourself in a state like that?

My cat, Isabelle, often joins me on the porch. Today she watched me bounce. Do you see her in the corner on the table?

This is what I did:

1. EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique.  This is such an easy thing to do.  I have never taken a class nor have I gone to a practitioner.  What I know I learned from personal research.  I become very open as I tap and allow “whatever” to bubble up and then tap it away.  For more information about EFT you can go to:  http://www.eftuniverse.com/

1. Rebound – A rebounder is a mini trampoline that is fabulous!  It is important to purchase a quality rebounder as to not cause injury to yourself.  I bounced the day away!  Well, not really … I bounced for about 25 minutes.  The health benefits both physically and emotionally is enormous.

For that 25 minutes I worked every singe cell in my body and        made my lymph system very happy because it needs to be stimulated to keep it from becoming stagnant.  Rebounding is perfect for that!

I also rebounded out on my side porch as you can see from the picture so I was also able to be out in nature … an added bonus.

Between the EFT and Rebounding, my stress level has dropped significantly.  I am feeling a positive flow of energy that has opened me up to both giving and receiving in a way that has been playing out all day.

Whether it is rebounding, taking a walk, riding your bike, dancing, etc there are plenty of things that you can do that will help you bounce through your day.

What activities do you do that help you move forward when you are feeling stuck?  Please take a minute and share with us in the comment section below.

Here’s to bouncing!!

Shileen

I noticed she was very sluggish. She was having trouble fulfilling what was being asked, even small things. She would take what seemed like forever to do the simplest tasks, sometimes getting lost to the point where she would have to be saved.

I knew what was wrong. She was being overworked. Day after day she would have so many tasks going on all at the same time, juggling so much more than she could handle. But she continued to be pushed until she could not be pushed any further. Her productivity continued to decrease even though the workload not only continued, but also became more demanding.

Finally, I knew what needed to happen so I expressed to her that she really needed to shutdown for a bit and helped her to do so.

We all know how it is when we have been overworked, how hard it is to stop and unplug. It doesn’t happen right away. The mind and body still want to keep going. Things keep popping up to address that seem urgent in the moment, but really are not, so you just have to delete them from your mind … until that beautiful moment comes when you can finally rest and relax.

That is exactly what happened to her. I sat with her and watched and helped until she finally found her way to let it all go. I could almost hear her sigh of relief.

Turned out she really didn’t need much at all. It is amazing, really, how little it can take to restore only if we would give ourselves that privilege. Once she rested a bit, she woke up and was ready to get back at it … functioning her normal, productive way … feeling good about herself and her abilities to serve others.

Can you relate to this story? I certainly can!

The truth is, the “she” in this story is my computer! That is exactly what happened to my computer last night. We were both tired … ha ha. So as I laid down to do what I call a 15-minute power nap or the R & R Pose and I had my laptop beside me helping “her” to shut down, too. She was so lost with so many files, windows, and applications running that it took time for her to reboot. I had to force quit many applications before she could finally shut down and reset herself.

I feel like that sometimes don’t you, the need to reboot? Why do we push and push thinking there is no time to rest? We only become unproductive or at best less productive by doing so.

Let me tell you that by taking the time to rest and take care of ourselves afford us the ability to be more productive … always! And, we are less stressed, healthier, happier people … operating from a place of inspiration and joy.

So, I urge you, dear women of wonder, to reboot your operating system BEFORE you get lost in the shuffle of demands in your life.

If you have a “rebooting” story or thoughts to share, please do so in the comment section below.

And, by all means, if you need help in rebooting your operating system email me and I would be honored to assist you.