Fun Friday!

I love it when function and form meet fun! I really really wanted a Flip video camera for my birthday. Instead my husband upgraded my iPhone (1st generation) to the new iPhone 3G S. LOVE IT! Not only does my new iPhone have a fast Internet connection, it also has enough room to fit my whole music library (enough songs to last me 7.2 days and growing), my teleseminar/audio learning library AND (this is the cherry on top for me!) it has a video camera feature!

It may not be HD, but it’s good enough to create videos and watch them on TV. After schelping around a diaper bag for 2 years I swore that I’d never carry that much stuff again! So when a gadget pares down the number of items that I need to carry…I’m on it!  How cool is it to have the Internet, music and learning libraries, games, my wedding video, mini movie my hubby made of Natalia, email, camera AND video camera in my purse all in one little compact package! It makes life EASY and FUN!

Different Perspective

I’ve found in the last few weeks that I’ve been getting restless with the Ezines that I’ve been receiving and wanting more from the blogs that I subscribe to. It’s not the author’s fault. I’ve been reading many of the ezines and blogs for more than 1 year and since I’ve slowed things down this summer I’ve discovered that there’s more to me than business and spirituality (those 2 seem to be my blog and ezine subscriptions dominant themes). In fact, I learned a lot about where my head has been in the last few years by taking a fresh look at my subscriptions.

So I’ve decided to go out of my comfort zone and add a couple of blogs that I wouldn’t have considered reading before…for whatever reason. One blog that I discovered and have been enjoying is Stephanie Klien’s Greek Tragedy. Especially today’s post. I can totally relate to the mom clothing thing!   I’ve also taken a break from all but 2 of the ezines I’ve been subscribing to.

One of the ezines I decided to subscribe is Daily Candy. Its fun and frilly. No I wouldn’t buy or do half of what is written about. But that’s kinda the point. It takes me to a different place to gather a different perspective and keeps life interesting.

What have you been reading? I’d love to hear about it!

Saying YES! Part Two

After seeing the effect that saying YES has had on me personally and professionally I started applying it to my family and over the last few weeks I’ve seen a huge change.

When we were on vacation in Yosemite I said YES to my girls as much as I safely could (I drew the line at certain activities like riding bikes through a parking lot on their own). They wanted to get wet in the stream…I said YES and went in with them. They wanted to climb to the bottom of the waterfall…I said YES, they wanted to climb a huge rock…I said YES. And something wonderful happened…when I said NO I didn’t get the flak I usually get. My girls got along better…they had a great vacation!

Even before vacation I started saying YES to going to the pool in the middle of the day. When we came home they were content to entertain themselves. They gave me the space I needed to complete my work. It’s been easier…there’s that word again! It seems so counter-intuitive to say YES when your plate is full and we’re taught to say NO. But I turned it around and started saying YES to myself and my priorities (my girls, husband, etc) and found that my plate didn’t overflow. I just naturally avoided situations that didn’t fit.

Of course it’s all new and exciting AND the biggest challenge for me is to continue saying YES to YES : D

Fun Friday!

I went to Whole Foods this morning. That’s what I did for self care today.

I’ve worked in marketing in both the corporate and entrepreneurial world. I’m intrigued by why I buy certain products or brands and have thought about it enough to know what marketing works with me and what won’t. I can tell you with absolute certainty that Whole Foods is the perfect marketing storm for me.

Whole Foods and I have had a long and profitable (for Whole Foods) love affair.  It goes back 15 years. I can still remember the first time I stepped into one.

It was on a Saturday in 1994, we were in Mill Valley, CA and my ex-husband told me he was taking me to a grocery store that he discovered through a co-worker.  I thought cool!

Little did I know.  We walked in and I was visually hit with an explosion of colorful perfectly stacked fresh veggies. My knees went weak and I drew a quick breath in to steady myself. I had never seen such perfection in a produce department before. I knew at that moment I had found my nirvana. And let out a yelp of pure joy.

This may sound over the top. My family can tell you it is not. Over the years I have had to limit myself to one or two visits per month and to keep it under $50. One year when my mom and I took my daughter who was one at the time camping, we stopped at Whole Foods to do our shopping for the trip. It was the yummiest camping trip I’ve ever been on!

What do I buy that I can’t get from any other store? Well, nothing.

See I’m all about different cultures, natural beauty, health and nurturing. Whole Foods has all those elements down cold. The packaging and presentation of their goods is gorgeous. Doesn’t matter if it’s the meat or produce department, cheese or cleaning supplies. Their products are healthy, varied and I feel nurtured by the food that I eat from there.

Brian knew I loved all things food related and when I heard that a Whole Foods was going to open up near us…I was beside myself. He didn’t get it. He thought I was off my rocker.  After it opened and he went on a couple of shopping trips with me…he can see why it appeals to me but he’s not a convert. My girls know. They say it’s my version of Toys R Us

Everyone needs something to feed their soul. My soul feeding also just happens to feed my tummy.

Happy Birthday too Me!

Today’s my birthday and I’m off celebrating…at the water park. The girls are in day camp, the puppy is off to the vet to get fixed (poor guy!) and my husband and I are off to the water park. We’re going to spend the day going down waterslides and swiming in the wave pool….I can’t wait!

To quote Norman Vincent Peale:

“Live your life and forget your age.”

Amen!