Giving a Gold Star

Yes, I will admit, I am one of those.

I didn't really realize until reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin that I am a person who is achievement based. I know that I have a very strong type-A personality and I know that I am a perfectionist but I didn't know that on top of that I needed to have a pat on the back for work well done.

After a lot of the self reflection I have been doing lately, I decided to start GIVING gold stars instead of  wanting them. I have found that when I am always wanting them I feel empty and discouraged. Just giving gold stars, or even compliments to complete strangers has filled my cup and helped me release that feeling of needing them myself. It has taken my focus off of waiting for them and replaced it with a new focus of helping others get their gold stars.

You never know what someone else may be feeling, what they are thinking and you can't ever judge a book by it's cover. Giving someone a compliment or even just saying "hello" to a stranger could really be the highlight of their day and be that gold star they might be waiting for.

Do it. Make a change and give a gold star. You never know... giving one or two may actually be just what your day needed too.

Stay Healthy,
Rene

Happy: 12 Things Happy People do Differently

I have been doing a lot of soul searching as of late; reading, meditating more, making goals and committing to them, etc... I am creating my own happiness and am always looking for more words of wisdom to help me a long the way. 

I saw this article on Huffington Post {via a friend share on Facebook} and immediately fell in love with it. It describes so much of what I feel, think and believe. I have been practicing most of these in my own life but now moving forward I want to REALLY practice them. Make them part of my daily disciplines. 

1. Express gratitude. -- When you appreciate what you have, what you have appreciates in value. Kinda cool right? So basically, being grateful for the goodness that is already evident in your life will bring you a deeper sense of happiness. And that's without having to go out and buy anything. It makes sense. We're gonna have a hard time ever being happy if we aren't thankful for what we already have.
2. Cultivate optimism. -- Winners have the ability to manufacture their own optimism. No matter what the situation, the successful diva is the chick who will always find a way to put an optimistic spin on it. She knows failure only as an opportunity to grow and learn a new lesson from life. People who think optimistically see the world as a place packed with endless opportunities, especially in trying times [3].
3. Avoid over-thinking and social comparison. -- Comparing yourself to someone else can be poisonous. If we're somehow "better" than the person that we're comparing ourselves to, it gives us an unhealthy sense of superiority. Our ego inflates -- KABOOM -- our inner Kanye West comes out! If we're "worse" than the person that we're comparing ourselves to, we usually discredit the hard work that we've done and dismiss all the progress that we've made. What I've found is that the majority of the time this type of social comparison doesn't stem from a healthy place. If you feel called to compare yourself to something, compare yourself to an earlier version of yourself.
4. Practice acts of kindness. -- Performing an act of kindness releases serotonin in your brain. (Serotonin is a substance that has TREMENDOUS health benefits, including making us feel more blissful.) Selflessly helping someone is a super powerful way to feel good inside. What's even cooler about this kindness kick is that not only will you feel better, but so will people watching the act of kindness. How extraordinary is that? A side note is that the job of most anti-depressants is to release more serotonin. Move over Pfizer, kindness is kicking ass and taking names.
5. Nurture social relationships. -- The happiest people on the planet are the ones who have deep, meaningful relationships. Did you know studies show that people's mortality rates are DOUBLED when they're lonely? WHOA! There's a warm fuzzy feeling that comes from having an active circle of good friends who you can share your experiences with. We feel connected and a part of something more meaningful than our lonesome existence.
6. Develop strategies for coping. -- How you respond to the "craptastic" moments is what shapes your character. Sometimes crap happens -- it's inevitable. Forrest Gump knows the deal. It can be hard to come up with creative solutions in the moment when manure is making its way up toward the fan. It helps to have healthy strategies for coping pre-rehearsed, on-call, and in your arsenal at your disposal.
7. Learn to forgive. -- Harboring feelings of hatred is horrible for your well-being.You see, your mind doesn't know the difference between past and present emotion. When you "hate" someone, and you're continuously thinking about it, those negative emotions are toxic for your well-being. You put yourself in a state of suckerism (technical term) and it stays with you throughout your day.
8. Increase flow experiences. -- Flow is a state in which it feels like time stands still. It's when you're so focused on what you're doing that you become one with the task. Action and awareness are merged. You're not hungry, sleepy, or emotional. You're just completely engaged in the activity that you're doing. Nothing is distracting you or competing for your focus.
9. Savor life's joys. -- Deep happiness cannot exist without slowing down to enjoy the joy. It's easy in a world of wild stimuli and omnipresent movement to forget to embrace life's enjoyable experiences. When we neglect to appreciate, we rob the moment of its magic. It's the simple things in life that can be the most rewarding if we remember to fully experience them.
10. Commit to your goals. -- Being wholeheartedly dedicated to doing something comes fully-equipped with an ineffable force. Magical things start happening when we commit ourselves to doing whatever it takes to get somewhere. When you're fully committed to doing something, you have no choice but to do that thing. Counter-intuitively, having no option -- where you can't change your mind -- subconsciously makes humans happier because they know part of their purpose.
11. Practice spirituality. -- When we practice spirituality or religion, we recognize that life is bigger than us. We surrender the silly idea that we are the mightiest thing ever. It enables us to connect to the source of all creation and embrace a connectedness with everything that exists. Some of the most accomplished people I know feel that they're here doing work they're "called to do."
12. Take care of your body. -- Taking care of your body is crucial to being the happiest person you can be. If you don't have your physical energy in good shape, then your mental energy (your focus), your emotional energy (your feelings), and your spiritual energy (your purpose) will all be negatively affected [4]. Did you know that studies conducted on people who were clinically depressed showed that consistent exercise raises happiness levels just as much as Zoloft? Not only that, but here's the double whammy... Six months later, the people who participated in exercise were less likely to relapse because they had a higher sense of self-accomplishment and self-worth.

Excerpt taken from an article on HuffingtonPost.com, you can read the full article here.

Start a Local Moms Blog in Your City!!

I hope you’ve noticed how much I have loved being a writer for East Valley Moms Blog. It has been such a great opportunity to develop my writing, play a part in connecting moms in our city, and to get to know the other women on our fabulous team. 

East Valley Moms Blog is an amazing resource for moms in the East Valley area and we are passionate about what we do! I’m proud to be part of something that is making a positive influence on both our beautiful city here AND on a national level! Did you know East Valley Moms Blog has over 30 Sister Sites around the country? 

These 30+ Sister Sites make up City Moms Blog Network. Each site is written and run by local moms, for local moms. They provide parenting information unique to their community, and to make things even more fun, they each throw fabulous events to get moms in their cities out on the town. 

This network of locally focused moms blogs has empowered women all over the country to start their own businesses. When someone joins City Moms Blog Network as a Sister Site owner, they are joining a family that is eager to encourage and support one another. Sister Sites are provided with assistance in the startup phase, ongoing education and resources for continued support, and a community of fellow site owners eager to share best practices.

With the help of City Moms Blog Network, these Sister Site owners are able to become entrepreneurs (mompreneurs) and local influencers, all while doing something they love and are passionate about. I have loved watching the founders of East Valley Moms Blog grow it into what it is today, and I am thankful and proud of the part I am playing in that!

Is there a City Moms Blog Network Sister Site in your area? City Moms Blog Network is currently looking for Sister Site owners in 25 specific cities in California, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington. If you or someone you know might be interested in impacting moms in your community like East Valley Moms Blog is, jump at this opportunity to join CMBN with your own Sister Site. These ladies are passionate about what they do and would love to partner with YOU to do the same! 

xo,

Rene

Loving Yourself, Realization, and Taking Responsibility

**This is somewhat of a rant, vent, blur of words...don't judge**

My goals for the month of September shifted. Dramatically. The more I started reading again and running {which is another topic} I started to self reflect more. I went back to my counselor a couple of weeks ago after not seeing her for almost a year and a half. During that hour talking with her, I came to a lot of realizations, without even knowing it. 

Self reflection is important, almost as important as meditation. Who we are and who we see ourselves as is what keeps us going, gets us through happy moments and sad. The more I dove into myself, I was finding that I've gotten a little lost over the past two years, since tiny human was born. I've been taking time for myself, but was I loving myself? Am I able to get up in the morning, as happy as I may be and say, "I love who I am and who I am growing to be"? 

No, I could not. 

I realized that at some point I had gotten wrapped up in materialistic things again and wasn't focusing on the more important virtues. Yes, I eat healthy and I exercise but I also splurge and sometimes over-exercise {which really does NO good whatsoever}. I was worried about what we had planned for the upcoming weekend, what my hair looked like and if my outfit was cute enough. 

I realized that I don't know people as well as I thought I did. 

I realized that I am surrounded by a lot of negative people who don't love themselves enough to live a healthy lifestyle. They are so wrapped up in cosmetic and materialistic properties that their health isn't even a priority. With this realization, I have learned that I don't really want to be surrounded by people who don't treat their health as a priority. I want to be around people who are going to be dancing with me when I'm eighty years old, and traveling to Maui when we're 85. 

I realized I have a huge love for kale {random} and that making it a daily discipline to eat it at least once a day isn't that hard. 

Each day in September I am loving myself more and more. I am feeling free and happy and more in love with my husband than ever. I like to blame the fact that I am taking responsibility for my actions, thoughts, priorities and am moving forward instead of standing still. Despite my small hip injury {i hate that word} I am still getting exercise. I am changing my diet and I have new daily practices. I'm hoping that once I get everything more organized I can start blogging about it in a better fashion. 

I am remembering every day that health is wealth and you can't be healthy until you start with loving yourself and taking the responsibility that only YOU are capable of. 

Stay Healthy, 

Rene

Teenager, Toddler & a Starving Momma

I eat pretty much the same thing everyday for breakfast. It's either egg whites and plain oatmeal OR my yummy RVL shake {I always prefer this one, since it tastes like eating cake}. As you know from previous posts, I love breakfast. It has always been one of my favorite meals and if I could just eat breakfast all the time I would be happy. French Toast, pancakes, muffins, donuts {yes, I said donuts}, omelets, berries, ok... you get the point.

So my teenager is taking a Culinary Arts class in high-school this year as one of his electives. We figured we'd let him take a "fun" elective class for his Freshman year and he can follow through with his three years of a foreign language his Sophomore, Junior & Senior year. So far, I am loving this culinary arts class. At back to school night we had the pleasure of meeting his teacher, who is a total hoot, and she shared with us that by the end of the year, they would be required to cook at least one full dinner meal a week. SCORE!

This week in class they made some breakfast concoction that my son said was fabulous and he wanted to cook it for me. That would be AWESOME! Of course I went to Safeway yesterday and bought him the necessary ingredients that I did not have on hand {such as chorizo}. I have been waiting for this morning of yummy breakfast that my son is cooking for me, all week.

I am a pretty early riser, usually up by 7am on the weekend since my toddler is usually up by then. When I am not doing a fasted cardio workout first thing in the morning, I need to eat pretty close to waking. Like, within 30 minutes or I get shaky. Need my protein!!!

I am thinking that I needed to coordinate this a little better with the teenager who likes to sleep until mid-morning and is also feeling under the weather. I woke up this morning, mouth watering for eggs and pepper-jack cheese with chorizo {which I haven't eaten in over two years, so we'll see what my stomach thinks of that}. But, here I sit at 8:30am, starving.

While waiting, I decided to make some blueberry muffins that I had in the pantry for the toddler. Thinking I'd have eggs to eat I wouldn't want one...

I was wrong. Do you see how yummy they look?

Yes, I ate one. And I'm still waiting patiently for my eggs, as I sit here with a growling tummy. It makes me remember being a teenager and sleeping in until 10am on the weekends without a care in the world. No job {at the age of 14} and no responsibilities other than laundry and cleaning bathrooms. No thought in the world that my parents may be waiting for me to get up and make them breakfast.

Oh to be 14 again...

Public Pool Adventure

Summer has arrived. The heat, more heat, and even more heat. I find that if I don't look at the weather reports, it doesn't seem as bad. To me, anything over 100 degrees feels the same. Hot.

I have been so busy over the past few weeks and really haven't made the time to sit down and write. I've been handwriting, just haven't made it a point to type it up. Between my toddler, my teenager, my husband, workouts, cooking, cleaning, Monavie, swimming and whatever else we might be doing I've been busy.

Today, the toddler and I ventured out the Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center. I had been looking forward to it for a few weeks now, tagging along with my "bff's" for one of their children's birthday.

We lathered up before we left the house, since I knew it'd already be 100 degrees by the time we got there at 10am, loaded up the car and headed out on our new adventure to the "water park".

Travis isn't always the easiest traveler. He's impatient, stubborn, strong willed and TWO. Grocery store trips aren't even fun most days. I was feeling very optimistic about his mood for today's excursion since he loves water. We've been swimming every day, going to the splash pads often and the kid would be happy with a hose if I let him play with it all day. So, yes, I was feeling optimistic.

As we started playing in the water, Travis was very timid. Not like he is at home. He was very overwhelmed by the loud music, screaming, laughing and chattering children and the very large bucket of water that dumps from atop the play structure. He's used to swimming with his arm floaties and they are not allowed at the pool so we had to get a life-vest for him. He wasn't so sure about that...

Needless to say, it wasn't a fun trip for me.

Travis was overstimulated, I was moody because he wasn't having fun and I wasn't able to talk with my friends. Travis didn't want to share the small water spout in the splash pad area and I was getting the evil eye from two different parents. Really? Can't we all just get along? He's TWO! He's just learning to share, and he's finally happy and now you are going to make me piss him off? That's when I knew it was best if we just left.

Moral of my story is... always leave the house with a smile and a positive attitude. You never know when you'll need that extra happiness and positivity to get you through a very minor tough time. Had I left the house grumpy today, expecting it to go bad, it would have been a lot worse. I keep my chin up and at least now I know he prefers the private pool in our backyard, for now.

Five More Days.

It is so hard for me to believe that my little type-A personality baby is going to be two years old in just five days.

Exactly two years ago today, I was scheduling a pedicure for the following day, packing my bags and walking, walking, walking. I remember it all clearly, and can't believe that it was so long ago. Seems like it was just yesterday.

He is amazing, just like his brother. Smart, funny, active and sociable! Everywhere we go, he's raising his hand waving and saying, "hi!" to everyone in his sight. He gets quite confused when the occasional passerby doesn't say "hi" back. I guess I've just learned that some people just don't get kids, like kids or want to be around kids. Others get so ecstatic when he waves, complimenting me on my friendly little boy and proceed to carry on a conversation with him. It's quite refreshing.

He's come around so well... he's sleeping better, eating better and is just, well, happy. No complaints from me. If he's grumpy, it usually means it is because he's tired, hungry or thirsty! Such a difference from the first year of his little life.

On the other branch of the tree... Joey has five days of school left. It's silly that he has to go back for two days AFTER the Memorial Weekend Holiday, but whatever. Once he's done he'll be an official Freshman. Crazy. I remember him turning two and running around with his "gee-kee" (pacifier). Time flies... and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Blessed, thankful and overcoming life's obstacles.

The boys are healthy, Paul and I are healthy and we are enjoying life. That is how it should be. For everyone.

I hear so many people complain daily about this or that, and don't get me wrong, I was there. I get it. But... there is happier, healthier life. Why wouldn't you want to live that way? Things I ponder... Hoping I can help inspire others to want to live happier and healthier!!

Was feeling a little crafty

Friends and family that know me well, know that I don't do a lot of crafts. I wish I did, but I don't. I don't have that creative eye or mind for making gifts, doing projects or making art to hang around my house.

While browsing Pinterest one day, I came across a pin that I thought would be fun to make for an upcoming graduation party we planned on attending. THAT is my kind of crafting. Seeing someone else's project and adding my own touch to it, making it my own. I guess you could say they inspire me!! 

Here is the pin that I saw on Pinterest 

Here is what I managed to put together, using the basic idea of a "Liquor Bouquet". 

After searching my whole house for my hot glue gun, I ran out to Target to purchase this one for $3.99. It worked perfectly! 

The bouquet can be easily customized, with mini wine bottles, more alcohol or even some little tasty treats too! Candy, cookies... 

I chose to only do a few different liquors, as we had gotten the graduate another gift as well. It seemed to be the perfect amount! 

I had a great helper who was supervising me from the couch. I was quite impressed that he didn't want to play with the hot glue gun! 

Once I got all of the liquor attached to the wooden dowels, I just placed them into the foam and arranged them like I would flowers. 

I used paper strips to cover the foam, it worked perfectly! I pressed them down in to the foam so they wouldn't just flop out.

I was quite pleased with how it turned out! The graduate and his parents both loved it as well! I could have easily added some little graduation caps or diploma scrolls, but I honestly ran out of time. (Yes, I was procrastinating)

Let me know what you think! 

Post Yoga Quinoa Salad

Friday is yoga day. I love yoga day because I get to stretch and hydrate my muscles. They are fatigued from cardio and circuit training all week. Usually, after a workout I come home and have a protein shake to curb my dinosaur like hunger that hits. On Yoga days, I like to cook more of my "normal" lunch foods. It's always a good day to make a quinoa (pronounced KEEN - WA) salad so that I have leftovers ready to be eating throughout the weekend. I made 1 C of quinoa as my base. It's so easy to make and a heck of a lot quicker than making brown rice or something like nasty Kraft Macaroni and Cheese!

All of the ingredients that I put into my Post-Yoga Quinoa were items that I already had on stock and I  had just picked some fresh kale from my garden this morning, perfect! Other items were a tomato, an avocado, 1/4 of a red onion, fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper and some cilantro to give it a little more flavor. 

I chopped everything up while my quinoa was cooking. Once it was nice and fluffy to my expectations I mixed everything together, seasoned with a small amount of salt & pepper, juice from one lemon and topped with freshly chopped cilantro. 

YUM!!

It was the perfect lunch to follow an amazing yoga flow class! I feel amazing and am ready for the weekend!

1 C Quinoa (cooked w/ 1 1/2 C Water)

1 Tomato

1 Avocado

1/4 of Red Onion

1 Lemon

Handful of Kale

Handful of Cilantro

Salt & Pepper to taste

**I'll post how I cook my quinoa in a different post!**

     

Really? Are you kidding me?

The weekend flew by, can't believe it is already Monday. Again. Didn't do much this weekend. Went to the apple store on Saturday and played with some of the computers. Was looking for some new headphones for Paul's iPhone but didn't really want to spend $130 on them. While he was looking at those and Joey was playing with iPhones, I fell in love. At first I thought I was in love with the Mac Mini but no.... it's the 20" monitor "iMac". Sigh.... someday.... I'm such a computer geek and I love multimedia applications and the Internet, really really really love the iMac. So...it's on my list of wants. Which is a long list. My dad used to tease me when I was younger because I always had a list of wants.... Maybe I should share it? OK, here goes...

• iMac
• New vacuum
• LoveSac
• Tiffany Necklace
• Bedroom Furniture
• Another tattoo
• (more) new sunglasses
• A new watch
• A new washer/dryer (front loader)

And really....it goes on and on and on....I'll stop there. I'm starting to sound spoiled or something. Maybe I'll just split it up and it won't sound so bad...

Had a lovely conversation with my ex husband yesterday. Very interesting. We don't talk. EVER. I mean, EVER! We don't get a long and I don't know that we ever will. We have been divorced for 5 years now. I'm not going to get into all of the juicy details of our "chat" but I will say that he offered to take my flying. Um, ya, let me think about that, NO! Are you kidding me? You and me in a small plane together? Alone? hahahahahahahahah...not even going to elaborate on that one. If you are reading and you know me well...you know why this is not a good idea! So, we'll just leave it at that. The end of the conversation did go a little something like this:

Joe , "See you don't hate me that much :)"

Me, "I wouldn't go as far as saying that...."

Until next time, which will most likely be later today when I blog about what I got Joey for his birthday, later....