'Mergency Monday

Really? Seriously? A blizzard on October 30th? Whatever happened to global warming? While I’m all about cool weather, I’m certainly not ready to give up my beloved autumn yet!!! I was training someone at the gym Saturday morning and looked up at one of the skylights, thinking “Boy, they have got to clean these things – you can’t even see out of them for the dirt!” Then it hit me – that ain’t dirt, honey, that’s SNOW!!!! Even in my safe little Subaru, I found myself fish-tailing and skidding on the slushy, icy roads which hadn’t yet been plowed. Always an adventure!

Because it hit so quickly and caused so many trees to lose limbs because of the weight of the snow on the leaf-laden branches, many people here in the Northeast have lost power. I’m blessed to not have been counted in that group, but it certainly made me think about getting caught in this kind of emergency. So today, I think we all need to exercise our preparedness muscles. Below I’ve listed links to three areas with information on preparing for a winter storm for your home and car, and a supply list for your homes.

Home: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/beforestorm/preparehome.asp
Car: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/beforestorm/preparecar.asp
Supplies: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/beforestorm/supplylists.asp

These are all from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, where you can also download free checklists, as well as “Extreme Cold”, a prevention guide to promote your personal health and safety. Additionally, if you surf around this website you can find emergency preparedness information for specific hazards other than winter weather (chemical emergencies, outbreaks, natural disasters, etc.). I highly recommend you carve out a few minutes this week to read it over. Being prepared could literally save your life.

I wish you all warmer weather this week, beautiful and vibrant fall colors again, and let’s hold off on the snow for awhile, shall we? Can it just snow on all the ski slopes, and then guarantee a White Christmas by snowing lightly on Christmas Eve?????

Blessings,

Linda

Fabulous "Feed a Cold" Food Friday

Hi again, me here still battling my cold. It’s one of those silly little “really, I’m fine” colds, the kind that give you a hint of a fever, a cloud in your head (and believe me, when you’re past middle-aged naturally blonde, this is especially troublesome), and relegates you to keeping a Puffs tissue up your sweater sleeve at all times like my Grandma used to do. Yes, it’s come to this, just shoot me now! The words alluring and fetching aren’t exactly my moniker today!

Now when I’m a bit under the weather I’m ALL about healthy comfort foods. I decided to pamper myself – which, by the way, I think you should do for yourself. Don’t wait for someone else; baby yourself sometimes by buying some flowers for youself, etc. You don’t need a hair color commercial to tell you YOU'RE WORTH IT! I digress…

I got into my car, completely soaking in this remarkable autumn day resplendent with gorgeous New Jersey trees turning every shade of simply amazing - dazzlingly sunshine that warmed my skin, and skies so blue it just took your breath away. I drove my little sniffling self over to my very FAVORITE market in the world – WHOLE FOODS! Ah yes, a foodie’s mecca for sure. The doors opened, the scents wrapped around my body and hugged me, the angels sang… okay, it was musak, what can I say? I made a bee-line towards the soups, and ahhhhh (ooo, there goes those angels again), I found a new soup! Being a serious soup aficionado, I practically giggled. Hey, I’m sick; people do weird things between sneezes. It was a vegetarian veggie soup with collard greens and curry. Perfect! Just the thing to clear out my aching head!

Pushing my little WF basket (they are sooo cute), I scurried over to the wall of wonder (i.e., the place where they stash all the bakery goodies). Did they have it? Could it be? YES! YES! Lavender tea cakes!

People began to stare as I did my best Meg Ryan “When Harry Met Sally” deli scene imitation – if you haven’t seen it, I assume you are from another planet, so stop reading now and just go rent it! I got one, two, yes THREE cakes (no, two for friends, I share), and then decided to take it all to another level – I got a steaming cup of chai tea. I know, it makes you want to weep, doesn’t it?

So here I sit, sharing this warm and fuzzy lunch with you, already feeling a bit less foggy and achy. I encourage you to exercise your taste buds today and find some fabulously healthy and tasty food – feed your body and your soul! Bon appetite (she exclaims in her best Julie Child voice)!

Blessings,
Linda

Thyroid Thursday

I often use the adjectives busy and tired as my answer when asked the question, “How are you?” On a good day, I tell them I’m peachy. If it’s an outstanding day, I might say, “If I were any better I’d be twins!” On a particularly tired day, you may hear me quip, “If I was any more tired, I’d be comatose!” Today is a tired day – it’s a seasonably cool day, somewhat grey and rainy. I’m fighting hard against an annoying little cold, and working at staying in the moment and getting done what I need done so I can go home soon and change into some warm sweats, then crawl under the covers with a bowl of warm soup and a good book.

The thing is, I basically know why I’m tired – too busy, not enough sleep, fighting a cold. Nothing life-changing or earth-shattering, just your average day – with an easy fix of just cutting back on my activities and getting more sleep. Overall, I’m very healthy and EXTREMELY blessed. But what about when you’re tired day after day after day, and you just don’t know why??? My dear friend Monica sent me a very good article from Women’s Day magazine on just that – why am I always tired? She, like several of my other friends, have had issues with thyroid disease, and/or have had their thyroid removed. Now you may have heard the thyroid blamed for not be able to lose weight, or for being tired. But what is it, and why all the bad press?

Here’s some info I retrieved from www.webmd.com:

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits low on the front of the neck. Your thyroid lies below your Adam’s apple, along the front of the windpipe. Brownish-red in color, the thyroid is rich with blood vessels. Nerves important for voice quality also pass through the thyroid. The thyroid secretes several hormones. The main hormone is thyroxine, also called T4. Thyroid hormones act throughout the body, influencing metabolism, growth and development, and body temperature. During infancy and childhood, adequate thyroid hormone is crucial for brain development.

And from the article from Women’s Day, they explain:

Your thyroid gland plays a crucial role in regulating just about everything, including your heart rate, metabolism, muscles and mood. If your thyroid is underactive (hypothyroidism), it’s not making enough thyroid hormone, so your body starts pumping out extra thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which makes your TSH levels high. Insufficient amounts of thyroid hormone can cause symptoms like weight gain, fatigue, chills, and dry skin, hair and nails. On the other hand, when your thyroid is making too much thyroid hormone, you’ve got an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), which causes weight loss, insomnia and anxiety.

Who knew this little bit of your body had such power??? If you are tired all the time with no explanation, please be sure to go see your regular doctor or endocrinologist. I encourage you to exercise your brain today, and read this article from Woman’s Day entitled, “The Surprising Reason You’re Always Tired.” (Click on the title to go to the article). It might give you some surprising answers!

Okay, I’m off to take more Vitamin C and make a steaming hot cup of organic lemon echinacea tea… ah…ah… ah-CHOO! Oops, bless me!

Blessings,
Linda

Wild Woman Wednesday

Wild women are warm, generous and wonderful. Recently I was leading a group session and I asked the women what some of their goals were – not geared completely on physical/health goals, but life goals. After all, we are multi-faceted and multi-dimensional treasures, just like diamonds! One woman stated a goal I have never heard before in all my coaching time. I’ll call her Jane Doe, because if I gave her a shout out like I’d love to do, she would be terribly embarrassed (but you know who you are, dearie!). Anyway, Jane said, “I want to be able to give 100% of my undivided attention to each person who comes into my path.” W…O…W… this is her gift to each person she meets in order that they feel loved and special.

I gotta tell you, I was completely blown away. In this hamster-wheel world of pursuing Olympic speed multi-tasking madness (which, by the way, is proving not to be such a great idea after all), Jane has found a better way – a simple act which almost stops time itself, like a bubble surrounding Jane and the person to whom she is giving this beautiful offering of herself. I can personally attest to how warm and cared for I feel whenever I’m around Jane. I always look forward to being with her, and always come away feeling happier and blessed.

On my drive home that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I began to examine my interaction with others, and realized how lacking I was in giving someone my full time/attention. I may be listening, but often I’m doing something at the same time, my eyes are looking around, or I’m mentally elsewhere planning what I’m going to do next. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not a complete oaf, but I became painfully aware of my scatteredness/duplicity in listening skills. Jane’s goal was inspirational, and got under my skin.

So… the next morning I vowed to make the same kind of commitment, to run towards the same goal as Jane. That’s the nice thing about positive, inspiration goals – they can be shared! I have begun to stop what I am doing when someone comes to see me and I give them my full, exclusive, unbroken attention. I turn towards them, focus on them, meet their eyes and listen. I avoid thinking of what I’m going to say in response to whatever they’re saying, I put down whatever I’m doing, and I’m just fully there for them. To me this is one of the simplest, loving acts I can give to another human being. My time and my attention.

I invite you to consider flexing your focus muscles, wild women, and fully give yourself into the conversation with the people you meet today. Stop… and listen… and gift them with the experience of walking away being a blessed person because they have been with you. After all, you are an amazing, warm, and wonderful wild woman!!

Blessings,
Linda

Tricky Tame It Tuesday

Today I’d like to pass along an article from Women’s Health Magazine Online that has some great ideas on tricks that will help you to tame your appetite. I have to laugh at the name of the hormone that causes us to be hungry – ghrelin. I think of it more as my hunger GREMLIN! Visually, it sort of reminds me of the little fuzzy orange creature used in the Weight Watchers ads! It lines part of the stomach and certain cells of the pancreas that stimulates hunger. Ghrelin levels increase before meals and decrease after meals. It’s the counterpart of the hormone leptin, which induces satiation (fullness). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin)

About the potatoes… I recommend avoiding white sugar, white flour, white bread, white potatoes, etc. as much as possible. So while overall the whole potatoes trick is a good idea, I’d opt with substituting sweet potatoes, as long as you have no medical reason/allergic reaction to sweet potatoes. But again, that’s just my two cents!

So exercise your creative hunger-busting muscles, ladies, and enjoy!

Blessings,
Linda


Healthy Appetite Suppressant Tricks
(from Women’s Health Magazine Online by Loren Chidoni)
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/appetite-control

Rise and Shine with Protein
Nutritionists are always raving about lean protein, and for good reason: It keeps you fuller than other nutrients and takes your body more time to digest and absorb. But what you may not realize is that when you eat it also matters. A Purdue University study found that eating lean protein (such as Canadian bacon, egg whites, or low-fat yogurt) at breakfast keeps you satisfied longer than if you were to consume it at other times of the day. "Try to get at least one ounce (or 30 grams) of protein at breakfast," recommends Joan Salge Blake, R.D., a clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University.

Chow on Potatoes
The no-carb craze made spuds out to be dietary villains, but these starches actually have appetite-slaying superpowers. They contain a special type of starch that resists digestive enzymes. Because potatoes take a while to break down, they stay in your intestine longer, delaying the onset of hunger pangs, says Katherine Beals, Ph.D., R.D., a clinical associate professor of nutrition at the University of Utah. Have a baked potato with dinner (a medium spud is only about 100 calories) or better yet, try potato salad made with vinegar instead of fattening mayo; chilling cooked potatoes increases their hunger-busting abilities. Of course, potatoes cooked in a vat of oil (think French fries and chips) are still bad for your bottom line.

Embrace a Little Fat
Trimming all the fat from your diet can backfire. Oleic acid, an unsaturated fat found in olive oil, nuts, and avocados, helps quash hunger, according to a study in the journal Cell Metabolism. During digestion, it's converted into a compound that indirectly triggers hunger-curbing signals to your brain. Just watch your portions, warns Sari Greaves, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Unsaturated fats should make up about 20 percent of your total calorie intake. Greaves suggests snacking on two tablespoons of natural peanut butter, an ounce of nuts, or a quarter of an avocado.

Get Sweaty
Hitting the gym not only burns calories but also helps you consume fewer of them. A study published in the American Journal of Physiology found that 60 minutes of high-intensity cardio can reduce appetite for up to two hours afterward. "Aerobic exercise lowers ghrelin levels and increases the amount of an appetite-suppressing hormone in your body," says study author David Stensel, Ph.D. To maximize the hunger-dampening effect, make your cardio workout more intense by adding intervals (short bursts of speed with periods of rest in between).

Gobble Up Grapefruit
Grapefruit diets went out of style with Jane Fonda aerobic videos, but this citrus is staging a comeback. In a study at the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, people who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost an average of 3.6 pounds in three months. According to Ken Fujioka, M.D., the study's principal researcher, these yellow-orange orbs lower your post-meal levels of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar and fat metabolism.

Chew on This
A University of Rhode Island study found that people who chewed gum for one hour in the morning consumed 67 fewer calories at lunch and didn't compensate by eating more food later in the day. "One theory is that chewing stimulates nerves in the jaw that are connected to the brain region responsible for satiety," explains study author Kathleen Melanson, Ph.D., R.D., an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Rhode Island. So pop a piece of sugarless—chewing it can keep the munchies at bay and burn 11 calories an hour. (Hey, it's better than nothing!)

Take a Whiff
Smelling food can trick your brain into thinking you've eaten. One study found that people who inhaled a peppermint scent every two hours ate 2,700 fewer calories per week than they normally did—that's nearly a one-pound loss! Banana, green apple, and vanilla had similar effects in other studies. And the more often you sniff these aromas, the more weight you'll lose, says Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. Stash some vanilla-scented candles in your snack drawer or cupboards. And if you tend to eat when stressed, hold your left nostril closed and sniff through the right one to activate the side of your brain where emotions are processed. It could help reduce your anxiety and your appetite.

Mindful Monday

In the craziness of life, it’s very easy to get caught up in the “dailies” and have very little time for ourselves. When that miracle moment happens and a few spare minutes appear (and disappear) as fast as the dew on the morning grass, we either collapse in front of the TV, or get caught up doing chores, tasks, and other things because we feel guilty if we’re not constantly busy. It’s hard to justify any time spent on self.

To that end, our minds can easily be satisfied with grabbing the quick magazine article, a talk show radio clip, a blog blurb (yes, even this one), or falling into a coma and just sitting staring off into the distance, wondering whatever happened to your brain! Critical thinking, truly deep thinking, is left for the think-tank brain-bank few in the back halls of some dusty library. I know, you may be thinking, “Critical thinking??? Are you kidding?? I can barely think about what’s happening in an hour, let alone strain my brain on anything else!”

When was the last time you read a classic novel (Danielle Steel doesn’t count), or poetry, or picked up a book on something you really wanted to study? I admit it, I often have to keep a dictionary near me when I really want to dig into something that makes me think hard and long, and I can only do a few pages at a time. Are you feeding your brain fast food junk reading, instead of giving it a regular healthy dose of super-brain food? Your brain will get flabby and tired!

Consider flexing your brain and finding a serious, take-one-delicious-morsel-bite of each word book. If you are an e-reader fan, there are all kinds of classics that are FREE for the asking. Upload one of those, and read a page when you’re in line, or at the doctor’s office, or waiting in the car for your kids… it’s only a page here and there, but before you know it, you will have feasted and your brain will be sharper, brighter and satisfied. Believe me, you’ll hunger for more. There’s something wonderful about snuggling down on an autumn evening in a comfy chair or sofa corner with a good book. Bon appetite!

Blessings,
Linda

Flatten ‘Em Friday

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. It just so happens I went for my annual mammogram today, or as I lovingly refer to it, the “oh great now I look like a walking ad for IHOP” day. I wore a bright pink hoodie just for the occasion, and a bright pink bra. After all, I’m all about saving the girls fashionably!

I am blessed to go to the Robert Wood Johnson Women’s Center for “the annual”, which is a very comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. I’m actually a friend of one of the technicians who performs the procedures, which is a bit weird – having a familiar face doing the pushing and prodding and plopping and placing… I felt as if I needed to be at least taken out for dinner afterwards! But Liz is a very sweet and soft-spoken dear-hearted woman – exactly the personality you need for “The Big M”. I mean, really, do you want a perfect stranger to ask you to tape two ball bearings in the most strategic of places and then ever-so-gently help you embrace the cold, hard steel that is about to turn your orbs into plates? Lunch anyone? Surely you can imagine my fear of forgetting to remove my new Lady Gaga-ish accessories and getting in an accident! I just imagine the EMTs tearing off my top to do some sort of electro-plated “CLEAR” maneuver, only to say, “Okay, get the paddles, and OHH MY!!!! What do we have here?” It’s not pretty.

Speaking of not pretty, I’ve finally realized that the reason they call them Ta-Tas is because as the years progress and they move ever-southward, you just wave goodbye to what once was right “up there” and, with a tear in your eye, exclaim, ‘Ta-Ta, girls!” And let me tell you, once the procedure was done my poor bubalas were now boo-boo-las! Can someone plueezzee explain to me why we must go through this yearly schmooshing when we can figure out how to put a man on the moon? We still haven’t invented a more comfortable way to screen women for breast cancer? Don’t even get me started on how quickly the inspiration would come if men had to… ah-hem… take their little orbs and place them between two stainless steel bricks as someone said, “Oh, let me know if that’s too tight…” Sorry, boys, with all due respect, bend over and cough doesn’t even BEGIN to equalize the discomfort factor, okay? As my friend Pam says, ‘nuff said!

However, truth be told, it wasn’t bad at all, and when I think about my dear friends who have lost one or both breasts to cancer, or their lives, this is the smallest of prices to pay for my health and “the girls”. It makes you think, doesn’t it? And being the wild woman I am, I have resolved that should I ever be faced with the unthinkable, I will go through reconstructive surgery so that I will remain, as Christina Applegate so beautifully said it, “perky for life!”

So please, dear sisters, be sure to get your annual mammogram, and encourage every woman you know to do the same. Take them, go together, make a day of it and afterwards have lunch and toast the Ta-Tas! YOU’RE WORTH IT! (Oh yeah, remember to remove the ball bearings.) Well, I'm off with my hot pink duct tape to go try and craft two slings for the boo-boo-las!

Blessings,
Linda

For further information on breast cancer and mammograms, please visit this website: http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/

Think About It Thursday

In this morning’s email, I received an ad from Rodale Press (publishers of Prevention Magazine, books, etc.) offering me a “breakthrough” book that would rev up my metabolism to beat a menopause belly and turbocharge my weight loss to burn calories 2.5x faster! What made me want to throw my teacup at the monitor was the picture here. The flat-bellied model used for the ad looked to be all of 25 on her worst day, with “perky” girls and a belly that makes me wonder if she’d ever given birth. Not one smidgen of cellulite, just a lovely young woman – operative phrase YOUNG WOMAN.

Really? Seriously? Are you kidding me? I’m going to buy a book on menopause that features this person as our role model? She’s young enough to be my DAUGHTER! Hot flashes? Mood swings? Honey, she’s never seen a hot flash in her life, and her mood swings are probably because of cramps or PMS – and you expect me to believe she’s menopausal? I may be past menopausal, Rodale, but I’d have to be on the other side of Alzheimer’s to believe this!!! You have lost ALL credibility with me.

Now I realize that I’m ranting and raving here, but I believe it is warranted indignation. Have you noticed how bold the lies have become to women both young and “seasoned” in advertising lately? The models used on the majority of ads for miracle-wrinkle-reducing creams are generally WELL under 30, and have you become aware that most of the mascara ads have models who are wearing at least 1-2 pair of false eyelashes? C’mon now, even a 10-year-old can see that lie!

“Truth in advertising” has always been a phrase that goes along with “the check is in the mail” line of integrity. But some days it just rises up and slaps you. We want to stay as youthful and beautiful as we can be at any age, and I want to rep my age well. I want to be fabulous in my 50’s, sensational in my 60’s, sexier-than-ever in my 70’s, and on… and on… and on…!!! I plan on being the most bodacious (and smartest and most interesting and charming) 100-something in the nursing home! But keep it real, Madison Avenue, allow me to have dignity and grace and not try to compete with your insidious fabrications using some 20-something little smooth faced and smooth-fanny model! Women of ALL ages are gorgeous and amazing and sexy right this minute and many of us wouldn’t trade what we have/know now for going back to our 20s. Sure, the signs of aging aren’t something I look at in the mirror and sing out, “Oh goodie, look! Another wrinkle – yippee!!!” I admit there are days I want to take duct tape to lift up what has been going south for years. Yes, it’s a bit disheartening when what once would past “the pencil test” now can hide a can of cat food!!! But overall, I’m thankful I made it here, and I’m blessed to be healthy, and I’m doing everything I can to stay that way, and to be AUDICIOUS in the process!!!.

So, wild women, the next time you notice one of these bold-faced reDUNKulous advertisements, don’t just boycott the product, but exercise your cheeky courageous WILD WOMAN muscles and write the manufacturer and complain. For all women everywhere!!! You want good advertising for baby boomers – use a REAL woman! And if this hits a nerve with you, I would LOVE to read your feedback, so please comment!

Blessings,

Linda

Wild Woman Wednesday

Wild women are cool, calm and collected… yeah right, when we’re asleep! Most of the time we’re running around, planning, juggling, hangin’ with friends, rockin’ with the fam, working, going to school, religious activities/worship, parties, dancing, laughing… and STRESSING!!!!!!!

Oooohhh, yeah, that would be us, yes, girls?!?!? Too many commitments, too many things to do, too many variables, too little time and energy. Its part of life, it happens, but what can we do about it?

Rise up and exercise your “manage that stress” muscle! Just today I gave a seminar on stress management, so who better to share it with than my wild women buddies here in nutshell form.

What Is Stress
1 -- Eustress (positive stress), caused by happy things like vacation, new job, buying a home, etc. It motivates, energizes, and is usually short term.
2 – Distress (negative stress) caused by biggies (death, divorce, job loss) to everyday stressors (financial problems, work issues, relational conflicts), and can be both long and short term.

Stress and Your Body
Can you spell wreaks havoc? Yes, the “fight or flight” hormones kick into gear, producing glucose and fat and all kinds of nasties which can raise your blood glucose levels (look out, diabetes), and negatively impact every body system. This is NOT a good thing.

How Can You Reduce Stress?
1 – Body Awareness: be aware of how your body feels when it begins (nervous, sweaty palms, body tension, shallow breathing) so you can immediately use stress management methods to nip it in the bud.
2 – Breathing exercises – try inhaling slowly/deeply through your nose for a count of five, hold for a count of five, and then release the breathe slowly through your nose for a final count of five. Repeat several times.
3 – Progressive Relaxation – progressively from toes to the top of your head squeeze/tighten your muscles, then release.
4 – Meditate/Prayer/Forgiveness: focus on something that makes you happy, quietly sit in the park and enjoy nature, pray anywhere/anytime. Also, let go of those grudges and the negative stuff you’ve been hanging on to for all this time! Release, and then relax!
5 – Refute Irrational Ideas (or as I call it, Projecting). For example, you could think: “I’m late for work, the boss is gonna fire me, then I won’t be able to pay the mortgage, I’ll lose my home, and I’ll wind up homeless on the street!” Or you could think “Really? Seriously? Maybe I’ll just be a few minutes late, and it might not even be a big thing. If the boss mentions it, I’ll apologize, and try to plan a little better tomorrow morning.” BIG difference in outcome, yes? Just think about the worst thing that could feasibly happen and then get to the reality of the situation.
6 – Exercise & Nutrition (no big surprise here) – eat clean and balanced meals, drink lots of water, work out regularly.
7 - LAUGH! Even if you fake it your body won't know it, and those endorphins will start swimming around tickling you from the inside out and making you feel all kinds of good. Even better, get with some friends and laugh over a good movie, or just sit and grab a cuppa and enjoy!

Overall, just remember – each day you have the power of CHOICE and you can choose to react, or you can choose to respond. It’s your choice… – you have the power to enrich your life and manage your stress head on -- you are a WILD WOMAN! And by the way, if you find that all this doesn't help you manage stress effectively no matter how hard you try, get some professional help -- ain't NO SHAME and I've been there, done that, got the tee shirt, and am feeling much better, thank you very much!

Now go out there and tackle your day with a delicious vengeance!

Blessings,

Linda

Thirsty Tuesday

Water is the most wonderful elixir you can put into your body as far as I’m concerned. Water lubricates the salivary juices so that we can swallow. It transports nutrients through the body and lubricates around tissues to absorb shock, especially protecting the brain, eyes and spinal cord. Water also regulates body temperature by storing heat in the body and using evaporation of sweat for cooling. Without it, a person dehydrates. Signs of dehydration include dry mouth, warm skin, sleepiness, cramps, headaches and dizziness. Severe dehydration can cause fainting, heart failure, convulsions and even death! Roughly 70 percent of an adult’s body is made up of water, and at birth an infant’s body is approximately 80% water. Drinking too much water too quickly (usually during periods of intense athletic performance) can cause water intoxication, but a healthy person can drink about three gallons (48 cups) of water a day.

Now while I’m not advocating 48 cups of water a day (would people hear my body slosh, slosh, slosh as I ran past them to the bathroom every five minutes?), what I am saying is that drinking enough water can do amazingly good things for your body. It will flush out toxins, help you eliminate easier, keep you from getting excessively dry skin, stimulate the immune system, and lower incidences of urinary tract infections. Drinking a good amount of water could lower your risks of a heart attack. A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.

So exercise your thirst quencher muscles, ladies, and drink your water! It's the closest thing we have to the fountain of youth!


1. “The Importance of Water and Human Health,” Water Education, FreeDrinkingWater.com. http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education/water-health.htm.

Money & Minestrone Monday

Here’s to a new week, happy readers! Hope you had a great weekend. Let’s start the week off right by discussing saving money and eating well!

Back on September 26th, in my blog called "Map Your Month Monday", we talked about setting goals, and one of those goals was to try and save $100 during October. Well, that would mean saving about $3.22 a day, and if you have been keeping up with that goal, today you should have the tidy little sum of $54.74 set aside for a rainy day! Not bad! And if you haven’t been doing that yet, you can start today. If you can put away $3.57 between now and October 31st, that will be $50 more than you had today. Not bad, considering Christmas is only 68 days away, and how great would it be to have some set-aside funds to pay for those gifts instead of going into debt by charging your holidays? If you could put aside $5/day between now and December 3rd (the first Saturday in December), you will have almost $250 to use for holiday gift-giving. Who knew?

Also, wouldn’t it be nice to save some time and money in the kitchen? Here’s a great recipe I found on the Prevention Magazine website that costs about $2 per serving. Not only that, but you make it in a slow cooker (so you can have it cooking while you’re out running errands or at the office), and the third hat trick winner of this recipe is that you can freeze it and make a put-aside meal for later. There is a wonderful site called “Organized Christmas” (which I highly recommend, just click on those words to go there), and one of the things they suggest is to start putting aside meals in the freezer so that during the crazy days of December, you will have a load of inexpensive, ready-made homemade meals to serve your family, so you will have less time scrambling for meals, and more time to just relax and enjoy your holidays.

Wild women, it’s time to exercise your planning muscles today – go forth and get cookin’ and savin’!!!

Blessings,
Linda

P.S. Please be sure to share this blog site along to your friends!!!

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Classic Minestrone Soup

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 8 hrs 0 mins
Total Time: 8 hrs 20 mins
Serves: 10
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Come home to this hearty Italian Minestrone soup simmering in your crock pot. This well-rounded meal is low on calories and fat. Canned beans and frozen spinach add convenience, along with fiber and protein. Sub in whole wheat pasta to add even more fiber.
Ingredients
2 cans (14.5 oz each) low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15.5 oz) cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 pkg (12 oz) rotini pasta
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes
6 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
Directions
1. Place broth, beans, tomatoes, carrots, scallions, and Italian seasoning in 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir to combine. 2. Cover. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. 3. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Add pasta and spinach to cooker and stir to combine. 4. Cover. Cook 15 to 20 more minutes, or until heated through.


Nutritional Facts per serving

CALORIES 257.1 CAL
FAT 1.4 G
SATURATED FAT 0.3 G
SODIUM 369.5 MG
CARBOHYDRATES 48.1 G
TOTAL SUGARS 7.1 G
DIETARY FIBER 8.3 G
PROTEIN 12.3 G

Forgiveness Friday

The dictionary definitions of the word forgive is:

verb (used with object)

1. to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
2. to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
3. to grant pardon to (a person).
4. to cease to feel resentment against: to forgive one's enemies.
5. to cancel an indebtedness or liability of: to forgive the interest owed on a loan.

There are many reasons why people choose to forgive or not forgive, but what I want to do today is to shed light on the physical and emotional reasons why it is important to forgive.

Anger triggers the body to act in the “fight or flight” response. Your adrenal glands go into high gear, your stomach tightens, and often you hold your body muscles tighter. Your stress level increases. When these habits linger, you can wind up with tension in your muscles, headaches, digestive issues, rapid heartbeat, irregular heartbeat, and high blood pressure. You may find it hard to focus, think clearly, and rest. It drains you of energy and joy.

In an article by Dr. Katherine Piderman of the Mayo Clinic, she says, “forgiveness is a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. The act that hurt or offended you may always remain a part of your life, but forgiveness can lessen its grip on you and help you focus on other, positive parts of your life…It doesn’t mean you deny the other person’s responsibility for hurting you, and it doesn’t minimize or justify the wrong. Forgiveness brings a kind of peace that helps you go on with life.

I have heard an explanation that “acid destroys the container in which it is held.” I look at unforgiveness that way – in the end, who does it hurt the most? You. It brings no rest, no satisfaction, no peace.

With that being said, what I’d like to suggest today is that you exercise forgiveness. I know it can be horrifically difficult and painful. Just try. Take a deep breath, and let it go as much as is possible for you today. Some forgiveness is a process – it’s not just a simple shrug of the shoulders and a quick, “Okay, I’m done!” It’s a daily forgiveness, releasing it over and over, little by little, until one day you realize you have nothing more left to release. Give yourself permission to liberate that which has held you captive for so long. Free yourself. Open those fists wide so that you hands will be open to accept all the blessings and joy life can hold.

It’s a process. Take the first step – start the journey today.

Blessings,

Linda

Tighten Up Thursday

I love me my comfy clothes. There just isn’t anything like coming home after a long day and slipping into either my easy-breezy “house clothes” (as my Mom calls them). You know, the “I can answer the front door without embarrassment but still be really relaxed” clothes. Then later in the evening I breath a deep sigh as I slip into my jammies and soft slippers. Ahhh….

However… one of the worst things you can wear regularly is a garment with an elastic waist. Yes, yoga and workout pants are fine… in the gym or on the workout floor. But you shouldn’t live in them. Why? Because one of a girl’s best friends is her belt or her button and/or zipper waistline. They won’t lie to you. C’mon now, you know what I’m talking about here! Every single one of us has experienced that moment of sheer horror when we go to zipper those jeans and realize, without even one glance into a full-view mirror, that something isn’t right (and don’t even try to use the lame excuse “Well, they must have shrunk in the dryer!”)!!! Yes, say it with me, wild women, the dreaded “MUFFIN TOP!” Noooooooooo!!!!!!! Seriously, if you had been wearing belted, fitted waistlines all along, would you REALLY be struggling with this issue? I think not...

The truth is, when a garment waistline expands, chances are you’ll be tempted to overeat, and YOUR waistline will expand. Wearing a belt forces you to be honest with yourself - it's like a measuring tape around your waist alll day long, keeping you real. It tightens up an outfit and makes you look better. In fact, I’ve often heard it recommended that you belt your outfits for a more slimming overall appearance. And isn’t it a great moment when you’ve been eating healthy and working out, and you can actually take that belt DOWN a notch? It’s one of those happy little "YES!!!" moments in life for all your hard work.

So take a deep breath, exercise those core muscles, and BELT IT! Minds were meant to be expanded, not waistlines!

Blessings,

Linda

Wild Woman Wednesday

Wild women are resourceful, and love to look fabulous and save money! One of the classes I enjoy teaching is “The Secret Spa in Your Kitchen”. I’m also, as you know, obsessed with all things pumpkin. So today I’m going to have you exercise your “I’m a pampered pumpkin wild woman” muscles! I have two home treats for your wild woman body that are as fancy as you can get in the spa, but for pennies! Lovin' those home spa treatments!

What’s not to love about pumpkins? Check out the nutritional facts for one cup of pumpkin puree:
• Calories: 80
• Carbohydrates: 19 gram
• Cholesterol: 0
• Fat: less than 1 gram
• Potassium: 588 milligrams
• Protein: 2.4 grams
• Vitamin A: 310% of RDA
• Vitamin C: 20% of RDA

Pumpkin contains anti-oxidant vitamins A (helps to heal skin) and C (anti-oxidant properties), zinc, and alpha-hydroxy acids. They’re great for your whole body! The pumpkin enzyme can sooth and protect your skin. As with all recipes (internal and external) use at your own risk, as you may have certain sensitivities or allergies.

Soothing Pumpkin Masque

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon honey (a natural humectant – draws moisture to your skin)
½ tablespoon olive oil
A pinch of cinnamon or pumpkie pie spice

Mix ingredients together in a small bowl. To prepare skin for masque, gently exfoliate (rub skin with) a handful of steel cut oatmeal (not instant), but this is optional. Rinse with warm water, pat dry, then apply masque. Lie back for ten minutes with your feet up, slap some cuke slices on your eyes, put on some soothing music, and chill. When done, gently wash face with warm water to remove all traces of the natural masque ingredients. Pat dry, and look glowingly fabulous the rest of the day.

Pumpkin Brown Sugar Scrub

Ingredients:
½ cup pumpkin puree
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
A pinch of cinnamon or pumpkie pie spice

Mix ingredients together in a small unbreakable bowl. You’ll want to do this in your shower/tub, but BE CAREFUL because it can get VERY SLIPPERY!!! You may want to put down a rubber mat or a big towel – again, you are fully 100% responsible for your own safety here. Stand in the shower and GENTLY begin applying the mixture to arms, legs, feet, elbows, knees, and anywhere that IS NOT COVERED BY A BATHING SUIT. I wouldn’t recommend sugar scrubbing those delicate areas – let’s not get too wild! I don’t recommend using this on your face, either. One your body is buffed to glowing perfection, go ahead and do your general shower routine, rising off very well so you won’t have any sticky residue left over. CAREFULLY step out of the shower/tub, pat dry, and enjoy having smooth and lovely skin. Please note – you can also use this mixture daily on your hands. Scoop a tablespoon into your hands, and begin washing hands just with mixture. Add a bit of your favorite liquid soap, lather up, rinse off with warm water, and apply your favorite hand lotion. Perfect for beautiful autumn/winter hands! I recommend mixing up a fresh batch each time, since the brown sugar will liquefy in the puree/honey mix.

Blessings,
Linda

Fat Tuesday

No, it's not time for Lent! I'm just calling today's post "Fat Tuesday" because I wanted to pass along information I received after reading an email I received from the "Eat this, Not That!" article in Men's Health Magazine. Yes, I do keep up with men's health as well! Occasionally we all spend time eating out at restaurants, and so this is a warning of what NOT to eat when you go to some of these local eateries.


The Fattiest Foods in America

6. FAT OFFENDER #6: A BURGER : Ruby Tuesday Triple Prime Bacon Cheddar Burger 1,333 calories, 101 g fat, 1,892 mg sodium

New rule: The more syllables in a menu item's name, the more fat there's likely to be in the dish. Less than 3 percent of the beef produced in this country earns the USDA's "prime" rating, and that's not a bad thing. Prime beef, as it turns out, is the fattiest beef you can sink your teeth into. If you really want a burger, you're better off heading elsewhere. Not one of Ruby's has fewer than 700 calories. Go with the Plain Grilled Top Sirloin and earn all the beefy protein without the superfluous calories.

Eat This Instead!
Plain Grilled Top Sirloin 290 calories, 12 g fat, 420 mg sodium

5. FAT OFFENDER #5: A STEAK: Chili’s Flame-Grilled Ribeye with broccoli and mashed potatoes 1,460 calories, 106 g fat (44 g saturated), 3,700 mg sodium

For a healthy diet, the USDA recommends you cap your daily saturated fat intake at 20 grams. This meal more than doubles that, and it's only 12 ounces of meat. Sure, ribeye is a notoriously fatty cut, but it's primarily the bath of butter that pushes this steak's fat count to such unhealthy heights. Switch to the Guiltless Grill Classic Sirloin and save an astounding 1,090 calories.

Eat This Instead!
Guiltless Grill Classic Sirloin with steamed veggies 370 calories, 9 g fat (4 g saturated), 3,680 mg sodium

4. FAT OFFENDER #4: MEXICAN FOOD: Chili’s Bacon Ranch Chicken Quesadilla 1,650 calories, 107 g fat (39 g saturated), 3,450 mg sodium

Traditional Mexican food is big on seasoning and light on cheese, but with this quesadilla, Chili's takes a different approach. Trying to appease palates primed for indulgence, the restaurant layers on the fat in four ways: cheese, ranch, bacon, and sour cream. Go with the Margarita Grilled Chicken and you'll cut the overall fat content by more than 80 percent.

Eat This Instead!
Margarita Grilled Chicken 550 calories, 14 g fat (4 g saturated), 1,870 mg sodium

3. FAT OFFENDER #3: A 'HEALTHY' SALAD: IHOP Chicken and Spinach Salad 1,600 calories, 118 g fat (32 g saturated), 2,340 mg sodium

Chicken? Good. Spinach? Good. IHOP’s Chicken and Spinach Salad—downright deplorable. You'll need to i-hop for four hours to burn it off. This salad is exactly what makes restaurant food so questionable and potentially unhealthy. The name makes it sound like a paragon of nutritious eating, yet the numbers reveal it to be just the opposite. The chicken here is actually fried chicken, and the spinach is little more than a small bed for bacon and cheddar cheese. You could snarf down six pancake short stacks and still take in less fat. Save yourself the waistline damage and opt for the Simple & Fit Simply Chicken Sandwich instead.

Eat This Instead!
Simply Chicken Sandwich with fresh fruit, side salad, and reduced-fat Italian dressing 565 calories, 12.5 g fat (3.5 g saturated), 1,085 mg sodium

2. FAT OFFENDER #2: 'HEALTHY' FISH: Applebee’s New England Fish & Chips 1,930 calories, 138 g fat (24 g saturated), 3,180 mg sodium

The American Heart Association recommends eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids at least twice a week. By doing so, you lower your risk of such chronic diseases as heart disease and cancer. But if you prepare fish by deep frying it in a tub of bubbling fat—like Applebee's does with this artery-clogging monstrosity—you reverse all those benefits. Opt for Applebee's Garlic Herb Salmon instead. It offers 109 fewer grams of fat, nearly two-thirds fewer calories, and a heap of flavor that will still leave you satiated.

Eat This Instead!
Applebee’s Garlic Herb Salmon 690 calories, 29 g fat (8 g saturated), 1,460 mg sodium

1. FAT OFFENDER #1: PASTA: Cheesecake Factory Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken 2,300 calories, 103 g saturated fat, 1,517 mg sodium

Cheesecake Factory prefers to keep its nutritional stats hidden, but a law in California forced it to reveal saturated fat. Total fat is still a mystery, but this meal breaks through the 100-gram ceiling on saturated fat alone! The culprits here are the oversized portion and the thick, fat-riddled alfredo sauce. The typical restaurant recipe for this sauce relies on some combination of cream, butter, oil, and cheese, and there's no reason to believe that Cheesecake's version strays from the norm. Unfortunately, the chain offers no single pasta dish with fewer than 1,100 calories, so keep yourself safe by sticking to the new Skinnylicious menu.

Eat This Instead!
Skinnylicious Herb-Crusted Salmon 570 calories, 9 g saturated fat, 687 mg sodium

You can find this article online at:
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/fattiest-foods-america

Monday Mourning

Admit it, girlfriends, weekends tend to be the time when it’s easiest for us to choose less optimal healthy foods for our bodies. So many celebrations happen during the Friday-Saturday-Sunday timeframe: weddings, family get-togethers, happy hours, to say nothing of tailgating parties, Sunday football feed-fests, hot cocoa on the soccer sidelines, and all kinds of good things. Yes, good things, because you know I don’t believe it limiting your food choices -- it’s more portion control and fitting those choices into your daily calorie allowance. The trouble is, we do tend to overdo it a bit on the weekends, and then we’re faced with the dreaded Monday morning weigh-in, where we’ve discovered we’ve put on 2-3 pounds in the same amount of days! The phrase “beached whale” comes to our minds (because we are always so unduly hard on ourselves) and we feel bloated, sluggish and defeated. While it's certainly not the end of the world, it often is discouraging and tempts us to say, “Oh well, I blew it over the weekend, I guess I just will wait to get back on track for November. Oops – there we go down that slippery slope, kicked it the butt by Monday Mourning!!. Hang on, you have positive options!!

For those of us (me included) who are in Monday Mourning, instead of giving up, get back on track by eating especially “clean” on Monday. Stick with primarily fruits, veggies, and water, and let your body clean out all the junk from the weekend. For breakfast, have a big fruit salad (diabetics, watch those sugars), or maybe just some plain oatmeal with some blueberries and strawberries. At lunchtime, have a bahonkin' salad with kidney beans or chick peas for protein. At dinner, steam up a ton of veggies and serve over brown rice (1/2 cup brown rice is one portion, by the way). Most veggies are practically free food, so you can fill up. For mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, bring raw veggies and graze away, maybe have a banana mid-morning with a few walnuts or almonds, and mid-afternoon have an apple with a tablespoon of organic peanut butter on it. Keep it light, keep it clean, and watch your portions. And hydrate, hydrate, hydrate with water!

While I’m not a vegetarian or vegan, I do tend to keep my diet fairly light. I don’t often eat red meat, and the bulk of my meat tends to be chicken or fish. However, this weekend I made a huge amount of meat sauce to go with my baked ziti dinner, and wound up eating the meat sauce/ziti yesterday as well as leftovers. You know the old phrase, “Don’t let it go to waste”? Well, remember, eating those leftovers can make it go to WAIST – YOURS! This morning I was up two pounds from Saturday. It happens. Don’t let it define your day or week. Just take positive, healthy steps to get back on track. Dig into that delish salad for lunch – join me, won’t you?

Exercise your body cleanse/back on track choices!


Blessings,

Linda

Thirsty Thursday

In a previous post I spoke about watching our liquid calorie intake – those calories that add up from calorie-laden drinks like those ever-popular lattes at our favorite coffee haunts! Well, in honor of Thirsty Thursday, let me share with you a particularly deeeelishious and low-cal, almost fat-free spicy pumpkin latte recipe that I just discovered on a great new site called Skinny Taste!

Not only does this website offer all kinds of great recipes with beautiful step-by-step photographs, they are featuring (put your seatbelts on, fellow pumpkin-obsessed wild women), “SKINNY PUMPKIN MADNESS”!!!! Whew -- I’m all verklempt! Okay, I’m back now… From pumpkin lattes, to pumpkin butter, to what I perceive as to die for pumpkin cupcakes with pumpkin spiced cream cheese frosting (at only 121.1 calories each with 2.8 grams of fat), I am doing the happy dance in my own little heavenly pumpkin patch brain!!!

Be sure to visit Gina’s recipes at www.skinnytaste.com, and comment here if you try any of her recipes. I can guarantee you I’ll be baking those cupcakes this weekend – for quality control purposes only, of course. The sacrifices I make for my readers….

Passionate pumpkin blessings to all!

(all recipes and photographs from Skinny Taste website)

************************************************************

Skinny Pumpkin Spiced Latte
Gina's Skinny Recipes
Servings: 2 • Serving Size: 1 latte • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 115.6 • Fat: 0.4 g • Protein: 6.6 g • Carb: 20.8 g • Fiber: 0.7 g

1 1/2 cups fat free milk
2 tbsp pumpkin butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp sugar or sugar substitute (to taste)
1/4 cup of espresso (or 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee works)
fat free whipped topping
pumpkin pie spice for topping

In a small pan combine milk, pumpkin butter and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until boiling. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth (or whisk well with a wire whisk)

Pour into two mugs, add the hot espresso and top with fat free whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin pie spice on top

Wild Woman Wednesday

Wild women are creative! We aren’t all poets or artists or sculptors, but think outside that box and rip up those labels –we are ALL original, imaginative, resourceful, innovative, and productive in a thousand different areas of life. Let’s face it girls, wild women kick serious booty! You can’t tell me that a woman who makes meal after meal for her family isn’t innovative in resources and culinary skills! Then there’s the woman who sweats bullets to pay the bills and manage her budget – that’s financial wizardry. And let’s not forget that we all do a full-blown juggling act with our daily schedules – well, that’s just pure poetry in motion!

I just finished reading a very cool blog posting by Jonathan Fields, author of the book Uncertainty – Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel for Brilliance (2011). He writes about exercise being a powerful tool, and fuel, for creativity. He noted another book by Dr. John Ratey called Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (2008), who says that exercise has a “profound effect on your brain chemistry, physiology, and neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to literally rewire itself.” (Ratey, 2008) The article cites studies that found that people who exercised were less anxious, less depressed, less neurotic, more socially outgoing, and experienced significantly less anger and stress. He goes on to tell how aerobic exercise works in the brain to help transform the persistent uncertainty, fear, and anxiety that accompanies the quest to create something from a source of suffering into something less toxic, then potentially even into fuel.

His article wraps up by noting that exercise “makes us so much more productive and leads to such improved creativity, cognitive function, and mood that the time we need for doing it will open up and then some – making us so much happier and better at the art of creation, to boot.” (Fields, 2011).

Today I challenge you to work out for the next week and keep a small pad or journal and pen with you at all times (and put it on your night stand at night in case you wake up with ideas). Start thinking about problems to solve, issues to resolve, questions for which you need answers – let’s see what comes to mind. Even keep a journal/pen in the bathroom when you shower – because you wouldn’t want a good idea to go down the drain!

Be wild – exercise your brain by exercising!!!

Blessings,

Linda

Blog by Fields: http://www.fastcompany.com/1783263/the-creative-brain-on-exercise


Picture: "Six Women of Color" Illustration by Angela Hayden

Think About It Tuesday

One of the most interesting and satisfying components of being a life coach is that it is a holistic (or as I like to look at it, a “whole-istic”) practice. Together we look at all the parts of a person’s life – physical, emotional, relational, financial, spiritual – and the intrinsic pieces of ourselves – our dreams, goals, creativity, ambitions. Each woman’s life is like a sparkling multi-faceted diamond of untold treasure to explore and polish to bring out its best! That’s why in this blog you will find a variety of topics that hopefully will be of interest to the many parts of you! That being said, today I’d like to touch upon a topic that has been swirling around my brain recently. I suppose it could be considered in the realm of the financial world, because it probably is your most valuable commodity: your identity and privacy.

Let me preface this by saying that I am a child of the 60’s, and the old hippie in me still leans towards conspiracy theories and will probably always question authority. It’s a blessing and a curse, believe me! But lately the growing trend of “putting it all out there” on the internet, or “in the cloud” troubles me. Now I use some of these apps, and I do have certain things residing in that ominous “cloud”. I understand that it’s simply a linking of many servers all over the world, and it will enable you to keep your hard drive free of clutter – sort of like a storage unit in the sky with instant accessibility to all your stuff from home to on the road to your local coffee hangout. I know it works for many folks, and makes life easier, and that’s great. What concerns me is the information people are sending out there for storage (even though it’s encrypted six ways from Sunday, yada, yada, yada). We put all our banking, mortgage, credit card and stocks/savings data into a free application that allows us to keep all our financial worth in one spot, with up-to-the-minute balance accuracy. We store all our medical records in another free application. We store receipts, personal data and business documentation on another app. We even put all our passwords into one master app, which will then graciously generate new strong-as-steel passwords for us. We sigh a breath of relief that all this info is safe and secure, and now we have more room on our computers and phones for pictures and to play with digital birds with a ‘tude.

Somehow, to me it is akin to giving someone all my savings, my wallet and the key to my house, and then checking in with them when I want to spend something, or do something because they’ve said, “trust me.” Call me crazy (and believe me, it wouldn’t be the first time, or I’m sure the last), but shouldn’t we be a little more careful? Should we be handing over all the details of our lives to an unnamed, faceless “cloud”? As a coach, two of the words I use most with my clients are “mindful” and “intentional”. This comes to eating, exercising, and every area of life. Again, I use some of the apps I’ve mentioned, I love technology and am a self-confessed techno geek, and I know in this digital age much of our lives are accessible with just a keystroke anyway. All I’m saying is choose with thoughtful intentionality and mindfulness how much of your life you are giving away, from social network postings (do you REALLY want to tell the world you’re going on vacation next week – why not just leave your key taped to your front door with a welcome sign?), to your finances, to your resume, to anything. Use the technology wisely, sparingly, safely - you’re potentially giving away a lot of your personal power to strangers. Be careful of the priceless information that is part of who you are – a treasure.

Think about it…

Blessings,
Linda

Moody Monday

Once upon a time, when I was younger, there was a song by the Carpenters entitled “Rainy Days and Mondays (Always Get Me Down).” Oh, good grief, it’s not THAT long ago, just Google it! Sigh... Anyway, that was a double-header mood-monster – it’s Monday, and it’s rainy, so I’m going to feel blue, yucky, down, “down in the dumps” (as Grandmom used to say), got the blue meanies, whatever you call it, you know the feeling. Actually, I have to admit I love gray chilly days. I know, I should have been born in Seattle… but I digress…

The point I’m getting to is this – we choose what we do with our emotions. Now I’m not saying you always have to be cheery and put on your little fake happy mask. Not at all!!! Your emotions and feelings are YOUR emotions and feelings. Sometimes out of nowhere, you can have a wave of sadness and depression wash over you and totally blindside you. It’s hard to explain, you’re not even sure why, but it’s there as much as the nose on your face, and real, and it can actually be physically painful. And I’m not talking about necessary grieving over traumatic experiences, or depression brought on by bipolar disorder or any other medical condition, or PMS. I am the first one to say, if you are struggling, seek out professional help. If you can’t shake depression after several weeks, please – talk to someone and get assistance. I’ve been there and done that, and got the tee-shirt that says “I got help and I feel better!”

What I’m talking about is when we get up in the morning, and have something go wrong (like oversleeping, or getting cut off in traffic, or it’s raining out, or it’s Monday), and say to ourselves, “Well, that just ruined my whole day!” Did it? Did it really? Are you willing to give that much power to someone else, or to the weather? Okay, you had a momentary setback. Someone really ticked you off. Something crummy happened. Yes, it stinks. But… will you choose to allow that moment to victimize you all day long and ruin 8-16 hours of your life? Will you live that moment in your head over and over and over, like a stuck DVD? Or will you choose to override it, and move on? Will you move forward and choose to anticipate better things for yourself, and live your life in the moment?

Think about it. Meditate and pray over it. Journal it. Go sit in your car and primal scream until the windows fog up. That’s okay, it’s productive! Get up and walk, exercise, call a friend, do something for someone else. Breathe deep and release it. Then grab your life and your joy and move on, girl, because there is so much good ahead. Don’t’ live life in the rear view mirror. And if it is a rainy Monday, go out and lift your face into the rain like a wild woman, and splash in the puddles!

Blessings,

Linda