Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life!

So, I was thinking this morning, why do people clean in the spring? Why isn't it Winter cleaning, instead of spring cleaning? I mean, we are stuck in the house, with crappy weather and nothing to do. Why would we want to clean in the spring when the weather has finally become nice and we can go outside and do stuff?

So, as the weather has finally turned cold and rainy in this Southern State, I thought I would share with you my favorite way to start a new year!

I have eluded to the practice (if you want to call it that?) of Feng Shui, but I never felt comfortable enough to share it with you. Some people think it is a religion, which it most certainly is not! Others think it is a science, which again, it is not. It is mearly a way of thinking. A postivie spin on life, if you will?

The book, "Move your stuff, change your life" by Karen Rauch Carter absolutely changed my life. For the better!

I was 20 years old. I had moved in with a roommate who turned out to be a dud, my finances were in shambles, I was working 2 jobs and didn't have a dime. I had to move back in with my parents, and I decided, I had to get away from this State. It had to be the state. I never liked it anyway and the only thing that was here were my parents, and they would love me wherever I was. So... I threw a dart and it landed on Florida. "Aaaahhh, the peaceful, serene beach. Perfect," I thought!

I would stay with my parents until my 21st birthday and gather as much money as I could! I would go down previous to moving and get an apartment, a job, and register for school. It would be awesome! I just knew in my heart, it was the right thing to do.

One day at work, a friend of mine told me about this book. I love books, so as soon as my shift was done, I headed over to the nearest book store.

I read the book in two days. It was funny, informative, and best of all, sounded easy.

That night, I went to the drug store, gathered my supplies and started to work...

You see, the concept of the book is to get rid of the clutter in your life and think about things in a positive way, and things in your life will respond. For example: If you want more money, you focus the ch'i (which is energy in Chinese - pronounced "chee") on your money corner.

Lord knows I needed money, so I amped it up. I did everything it said to do. I put purple in that corner, added a Jade plant, and put Monopoly money so the universe really gets the idea.

Then for the love corner, it said to put pink and red (the colors for love) in that area. And add things that remind you of love.

I put pictures of my family, my parents, my grandparents, and all the red and pink construction paper my drawers would hold!! All the things that reminded me of great love. If I was going to find love, I wanted it to last, not to be some short romance.

I mean, I did everything. My room was my personal Feng Shui, peaceful, serene palace!

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I kid you not, the next thing I knew, I had enough money to travel to FL. I put a deposit on an apt., I registered for school, and I found a job. I was all set!

Then my 21st birthday arrived. I had money to go out, I was happy, and I just felt free. Free of clutter, free of anything. I had a big dinner with all my friends. It was a blast! That night, I also met a guy. Well, I guess he had been there all along, but never in that way. He whispered in my ear he had a gift, so I followed him to his car. He handed me a card (a pink card - my fav!) and inside was a $100 spa gift card. WOW!! I thought! This is too generous!

That night I also noticed there were sparks with that guy. Maybe there was something here? Naaah, I thought! It was just the excitement of the night, just the alcohol. 15 days later, I was about a week away from moving, when that guy called me up. We had been spending a lot of time together since my birthday, but I tried not to get too involved, because I was moving away. I knew I had feelings, but I was scared. Scared because I was moving and scared it wasn't reciprocated. You all know how that goes!

So on the phone, on that very night, he said to me, "You can't leave!"

"Why?" I said

"Because... I love you!"

And that my friends, is how Hubs and I began...

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I believe in my heart it is because I changed my life for the better. Decided to do things for me, for once. Decided I was worth every effort I put into myself! I don't believe that things would have ended up the same way, had I not found this book.

If you're in a rut, or you just want to better your life. I feel, this is an amazing addition to any book collection! Hope you enjoy!

What is your favorite or life changing book?

The Shack by William P. Young

I started reading this book that a friend suggested and so far it is pretty interesting. I heard this quote and it resinated with my heart. Hope you enjoy...

I suppose that since most of our hurts come through relationships so will our healing, and I know that grace rarely makes sense for those looking in from the outside.

Books!

Since I have been doing nothing but sitting around and waiting. I thought I would share with you some good books I have read recently.

I don't know if it is my attention span or my quest for knowledge, but I like to read about 2 - 3 books at a time. Usually one fun one, then a peaceful one, and then one educational one.

So... I just read "The Family Fortune: a novel." I thought it was pretty good. Very slow in the beginning and it took me a while to get into it, but once it got going, I couldn't put it down. It ended beautifully and I closed it with a smile on my face. To me, that is a great way to end a book.

I am also reading "The Calm Technique: Meditation with magic or mysticism." For years I have been dying to get into meditation, but someway or another I just haven't been able to put my mind to it. *Wow... that was the worst pun ever!! Anyway, I know I need to calm my brain and I would love to find that stress free 10 minutes in a day, but I can never seem to do it. I try and try and nothing happens. Maybe, again because I am Gemini, my brain flutters in 12 different directions all at once. Yesterday, while reading the book, I tried to do an excercise where you try to think about an egg (ONLY an egg, not the price of eggs, not hens, not farms, not anything but an egg) for 2 min. Yeah... that went about as well as me not trying to think about Brady being born. It was pittiful. I think I lasted... 2 seconds. I thought about everything but the damn egg. I think I even started thinking about Diesel fuel and why it is so expensive and that is why eggs are so expensive and... ugh. It was truly pittiful. However, the book walks you through this calm like state and (supposedly) it is going to teach me how to be quiet for at least 10 minutes of the day.

And finally the 3rd book I am reading is "Parenting with Dignity," by Mac Bledsoe (if you follow football, yes, that is Drew Bledsoe's father). This book, so far, has taught me so much! It has some brilliant ideas about parenting, about people, and about children. I would suggest, the MOMENT you get pregnant, you buy this book. I know Brady isn't here yet, but I do know that when he arrives, I will have a better understanding of how to raise him to the best of my ability.

With that said... are there any books that you all are reading that would be good for me to read? I need a new fun one.

Wordless Wednesday...

2 beautiful quotes, from 2 very different and beautiful books!

"Your job, then, should you chose to accept it, is to keep searching for the metaphors, rituals and teachers that will help you move ever closer to divinity. The Yogic scriptures say that God responds to the sacred prayers and worship - just so long as those prayers are sincere. People follow different paths, staright or crooked, according to their temperament, depending on which they consdier best, or most appropriate - and all reach You, just as rivers enter the ocean."

~ Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert

"Kids, I want you two to remember something: This little fellow is not yours; he is just on loan to you for 18 years!"

At that moment, we had no idea what Dr. Cobb meant.

Think of your child's life like a mortgage. Every day he will make a payment. By age nine, he will be half owner of his life: And by age 9 he better be making half of his own big decisions!

You both have a pretty clear understanding of how much authority you'll have in the life of your child when he is two years old, don't you?

Well, sir, we haven't thought that far ahead. We're kind of operating by crisis managment. First a feeding, then a dirty diaper, then a nap, then another diaper, then another feeding and so on.

Okay, I'm going to run through a list for you, and you tell me which things you feel you should be in control of when your son is two years old. Will you decide what time he gets up and what time he goes to bed?

Yes.

Will you be in charge of who he plays with?

Yes, of course.

Will you establish the boundaries of the play area?

Yes!!

Well kids, I want you to remember the list of things you feel you should bein charge of when he is two. I want you to look at it often! Those are the things he should be in control of by the time he turns 16!

At age 2 he only own two eighteenths of his life. But every day he makes another payment. By age 16, he owns the same majority of his mortgage that you owned when he was 2!"

~Parenting with Dignity

Mac Bledsoe

Quotes!

So my dad gave me The Kite Runner to read, while cooped up in this house with this basketball belly. I think it is a movie, but I am not sure.

You see, I am one of those people that would highlight each and every meaningful quote should I be allowed. I don't though, simply for the fact that someone might want to read it later, and they may not find it as interesting. Anyhoo, so I found this quote and I love it so much!

"Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors." ~ The Kite Runner

On that note, I thought I would leave you with another briliant quote. This time from an author you may not have heard of....

"Water... it is like un-fermented beer. Mmm! Refreshing" ~ Hubs after learning from the doctor he had to drink more water and probably not so much beer.

Hope you all have a good Tuesday!

Eat, Pray, Love

As most of you know, I am an avid reader. I love cookbooks, I love love books - I love you Jackie Collins - but most of all, I love great books that make you think! This book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is one of those great books that really makes you think!

I am only on page 48, but already I have come across some amazing words! Yesterday, I found this awesome quote/passage/paragraph (who knows what to call it) that I thought we could all apply to our lives!

How this chapter begins is that she is getting a divorce from her husband, living in NY and (basically) dying to travel. On assignment from her magazine she gets sent to Bali, Indonesia. She is there to do a story on a yoga vacation, and while there she gets the opportunity to speak with a medicine man. The Yoga teacher says they can ask the man one question.

"So when the old man asked me in person what I really wanted, I found other, truer words.
"I want to have a lasting experience of God," I told him. "Sometimes I feel like I understand the divinity of this world, but then I lose it because I get distracted by my petty desires and fears. I want to be with God all the time. But I don't want to be a monk, or totally give up worldly pleasures. I guess what I want to learn is how to live in this world and enjoy its delights but also devote myself to God."
Ketut said he could answer my question with a picture. He showed me a sketch he'd drawn once during a meditation. It was an androgynous human figure, standing up, hands clasped in prayer. But this figure had four legs, and no head. Where the head should have been, there was only a wild foliage of ferns and flowers. There was a small, smiling face drawn over the heart.
"To find the balance you want," Ketut spoke through his translator, "this is what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth, that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead. That way, you will know God.""


This is how i feel about this book right now!!

To me, that is exactly how I want to live my life! Feet firmly on the ground so that I may appreciate the worldly pleasures, but not look through my head, look through my heart, so that I may always be with God. AMAZING!

Deceptively Delicious

Ok... all you Oprah buffs out there, you have GOT to check this cook book out. As you all know I am a very picky eater, but not like most picky eaters. I would so much rather eat a vegitable than any type of meat. The problem... my lovely husband is just the opposite. The man won't even eat eggs unless there is beacon or sausage present. In our 5 years together I have slowly but surely changed his eating habits... for the better. When I first met him he would cook me organic fish with a cream sherry sauce and Texas Toast. Lord knows it is good, I just can't eat like that all the time!

Now he is more likely to skip the carbs and eat some broccoli or cauliflower for dinner :) So this morning I was watching my tivo'd Oprah and saw Jessica Seinfelds book... Deceptively Delicious. This is the answer I hace been waiting for. I cannot wait to try these recipes. If you want the recipes I have posted some below or I just bought the book on Amazon for only $15 bucks! Seriously awesome!!

Chicken Nuggets (with Broccoli or Spinach or Sweet Potato or Beet)
Created by Jessica Seinfeld

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole-wheat, white or panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup broccoli or spinach or sweet potato or beet puree
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders, rinsed, dried and cut into small chunks 1/2 tsp. salt
Nonstick cooking spray
1 Tbsp. olive oil

In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, Parmesan, paprika, garlic and onion powder on the paper or foil and mix well with your fingers. In a shallow bowl, mix the vegetable puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture. Sprinkle the chicken chunks with the salt. Dip the chunks into the egg mixture and then toss them in the breadcrumbs until completely coated. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan, and cook until crisp and golden on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Then turn and cook until the chicken is cooked through, golden brown and crisp all over, 4 to 5 minutes longer. (Cut through a piece to check that it's cooked through.) Serve warm.

The key to the puree is on Oprah.com!

Macaroni and Cheese!

1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
Nonstick cooking spray
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup nonfat (skim) milk
1/2 cup butternut or cauliflower puree
1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (about 8 oz.)
4 oz. (almost 1/4 cup) reduced-fat or nonfat cream cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the macaroni and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander. While the macaroni is cooking, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vegetable puree, Cheddar, cream cheese and seasonings and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the macaroni and serve warm.