A New Day Has Dawned

~ debsthoughts

Hold on for One More Day

Beautiful Sunrise

The sky was on fire this morning when I first looked out the window. A new day has dawned. It’s such a blessing to be able to roll over in bed and catch a glimpse of a beautiful sunrise. To see the incredible range of colors early this November day seems harmonious and calm, although I’m having trouble holding on to the feeling. But it is a new day and feelings, both good and bad, are fleeting. They don’t control me. And for that I am grateful. On Saturday, four days after the 2020 election, most networks ‘called’ the election for Biden/Harris. An hour before, one of my daughters reminded us of the Wilson Phillips song, Hold On (for one more day). So my daughters and I listened to the song from our respective homes and it was profound. We only had to wait one more hour for the news we’d hoped for.

The Stock Market is Happy Today

Colorful Clouds

I’d like to think the stock market skyrocketed this morning because of the spectacular sunrise, but I know better. It was more likely triggered by the news from Pfizer this morning that their Covid-19 vaccine is showing positive outcomes. There is also the chance the financial markets are pleased with the election results, but that could be wishful thinking on my part. I personally won’t rest completely until January 20th, 2021, at noon Eastern time. Until then I will continue to hold on for one more day and look for beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Of course, we can all rest assured that someone else will take credit for a great economy, even if it has nothing to do with him. (I prefer not to use his name. If you find that disrespectful, well, you are allowed to have your own fleeting feelings.)

Seventy-Two Days

Only seventy-two days remain until a new day will dawn for a new administration to start the truly difficult job of leading a very broken country in the middle of a pandemic.

Speaking of broken countries, last night we watched the movie, The Trial of the Chicago 7. For those who are old enough to recall the violence at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, these were some difficult times for our country. There was certainly a Dejavu aspect of watching this movie. What goes around comes around. Hold on for one more day. Because there’s nothing new under the sun. Although, 1968 offered plenty of turmoil, at least there wasn’t also a pandemic to deal with.

Speaking of Pandemics

Sunset

Covid-19 has taken its toll on far too many humans. In my region numbers are skyrocketing. While one close friend tested negative yesterday, another friend lost his father today. These are trying times indeed.

Hold on to that hope one more day. If you miss the sunrise, as I do on most days, watch for the sunset. Sometimes it’s worth stopping what you’re doing, forget the schedule, get outside and go see and simply stare at something astounding, like the sky changing colors.

For most of us a new day will dawn tomorrow. Let’s hold on for one more day if we are able. Let’s hold on to the best of the fleeting feelings, like joy and love. Allow the rest to fall away – which may require some conscious inhaling and exhaling. Breathe in, breathe out, repeat.

The Count Goes On (and on, and on)

~ debsthoughts

The Vote Counting Continues

Rika using body language to communicate.

My dog, Rika, is helping to count the votes. She just needs me to take off my sock – you know, because toe counting makes it easier. She is pretty clever and she did get me off the couch, but it was her intimidating stare, not the paw-pressure, that did it.

Look Up!

I still cannot tolerate listening to all the possible outcomes of this election. I kind of wish I could stick my head in the sand until the counting is over. However, this is no time to choose to be in denial, folks. This is really happening: Millions of manual handwritten mail in and early drop off votes must be manually counted. We can’t rush the process. We must be optimistic. Whatever that means to each of us, we must be that. For me it means remembering to look up, because even on the worst political days, this is beautiful.

Where We Are Right Now (it’s a nail-biter)

It’s a nail-biter alright. Or, if you prefer, it’s a frisbee-biter. If you’d like to see where we are right now, here is a map of current votes counted per state, as of about one hour ago, by NPR.

If this frisbee was sanitized I’d give it a go myself. It seems to pacify Rika when she’s overly excited. Her stare is unnerving though. I think one of us needs a sedative.

Reflections

One day, way off in the future of this country, all the votes will have been counted. Americans will have time to reflect on an election gone bad due to a global pandemic and a crime family that cheated its way into the White House.

This year has been horrible for far too many innocent people. Surprisingly, the blue wave did not occur. Too many in this country are willing to believe conspiracy theories being shouted and tweeted by the president himself. It’s disgusting to contemplate how many Americans are still eager to vote for a person who promises walls to protect them, but instead builds walls to protect himself from the people.

The pandemic has put a wrench in our politics because the current man-in-charge has intentionally politicized it and used it as a campaign message. Remember back in February when he called it a ‘Democratic hoax?’ “He has weaponized the word “hoax” throughout his presidency, using it to belittle and discredit former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference as well as his impeachment trial.” -NBC News Feb. 28, 2020

It’s Thursday and the count goes on, and on, and on. The count will soon be over and I am certain all of us, here and abroad, will gladly welcome calm, still waters where we can reflect on these intensely emotional times. But let’s not forget. Let’s continue to mourn lives lost during this pandemic. And let’s not forget the freedoms this administration has so desperately tried to rip away from us. Reflection is good. Awareness is good. In the meantime, keep counting those votes and remember to look up occasionally.

Count ALL the Votes because All Votes Count

~ debsthoughts

Traits of Great Leaders (on the Farm)

All votes must be counted, regardless what the guy, pretending to be a leader, says. Count ALL the votes. Every. Single. One. I’m not watching the election results play out; instead, I’m appreciating all the beauty of farm life in my own backyard. I still believe goodness WILL prevail; but the fact that this election was not an immediate landslide election for Biden is mind-boggling. However, ALL votes must be counted. Nearly one hundred million early paper ballots received across the nation, will take time to count. A great leader understands the process.

Farm Life Joy Number One

Rika, Border Collie Extraordinaire

Rika has a ‘Border Collie’ personality. She is different – all her doggy friends say so. Her intelligence is mind boggling. She can move mountains with her quiet, intense stare. She’d make a great leader because she can count all the votes.

Farm Life Joy Number Two

New egg

I adore raising egg laying chickens. I love my hens almost as much as I love my horses (the horses didn’t make it into this farm life joys post. Weird that a couple of eggs did, right?). The egg on the right is a first egg from a young hen. Our first egg from the new flock. I usually refer to this as the $500 egg. Because lots of time and money goes into getting to this point. The hen who laid this is leading her flock by example.

Farm Life Joy Number Three

My Rusty boy, Rusty the Magnificent, Best Cat in the Whole Wide World – are some of his names. He found me in the woods. He trotted right up, meowing and purring. He was tiny, hungry, loaded with fleas and worms. But today he is healthy and king of his jungle – loving and ferocious. He is a great leader. Just ask the other cats.

Farm Life Joy Number Four

There are so many joys living on this farm, too many to list here. But I am extremely grateful for my family and friends who make me laugh on a regular basis. And, by the way, I’m fine. Everything is fine. Joy number four: Laughter.

Traits of a Great Leader

  • Ability to count all the votes
  • Lead by example
  • Seek a balance of love and ferociousness
  • Appreciate humor and remember to laugh

A Free and Fair Election

~ debsthoughts

A Free and Fair Election is what the American people deserve, however, will it happen? Your guess is as good as mine. But a free and fair election is what democracy is built on. So a free and fair election is what we are counting on today — election day, 2020.

Optimism

I woke up feeling optimistic; I admit, this is unusual for me lately. I’m going to listen to my gut today and rejoice over the possibility that the ugly, horrible, immoral humans occupying the People’s House will soon be somewhere/anywhere else. If they lose they will not lose with dignity, that’s for sure. There will be lies (obviously) and conspiracy theories from them and the far right extremists. I pray there will not be violence, but if there is, it will be the current president’s responsibility. And since he only knows how to pour gasoline on the fiery chaos that he alone creates, it won’t be pretty. But this is:

Peak Fall Colors

The Pandemic Politicized

Fall in Michigan has provided intense color and beauty. While natural disasters are occurring far and wide, including political strife around every turn, no one expected 2020 to bring a global pandemic as well. I had a horrible gut feeling way back on New Year’s Eve 2019 that 2020 would be very difficult from a political standpoint, not knowing a pandemic was on the horizon. However, the current president and his cronies have politicized the pandemic and are now pretending like it’s over, even though the numbers of cases and deaths are on the rise. The majority of us accept the fact that nothing the president says is likely to be true, but far too many of his loyal supporters do. That has been perhaps the most disheartening thing to witness during these trying times. Critical thinking skills are lacking in far too many people.

Of course, I admit I would cherish the thought that the pandemic is no big deal, that the worst is behind us, that a fully tested, proven safe, and peer-reviewed vaccine is coming soon. I’d also like to believe I’m still 30 years old and have my whole life ahead of me to take any career path I desire. But I choose to be a realist and not live in daily denial, even when it’s really hard.

Goodbye Leaves, is it a Sign?

Peak fall colors have become a memory. November 3rd is here and I think it’s a sign that the leaves are nearly gone. Perhaps a new leader will be overwhelmingly voted into power today. Imagine . . .

Fall leaves disappearing

Leaves, going going…gone.

A Country in Need of Healing

This country needs time for healing. There has been a lot of human suffering since this administration took control of the People’s House. Lots of emotional and physical suffering has occurred and will continue for a long while. If the polling is accurate at all, Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States. If he, and his stellar choice of a VP candidate, win this historic campaign, they will have their work cut out for them. The damage done has been astronomical and will take years to clean up and make right again. Especially the racial divisions that have risen to the surface under 45’s racist team of ‘advisers.’

First Order of Business – Dealing with the Pandemic

The racial divide has brought out the worst of the worst in us, and that will be a difficult challenge for a new administration to take on. But the first challenge is saving American lives, which will not be easy by any means. It will require a national mandate that we know will not go over well with the covid-deniers in our midst. If only we’d had a national plan back in January, we could already be on the other side of the worst of it. Potentially hundreds of thousands of lives might have been saved.

Praying for a Peaceful Transition of Power

But these are empty words. All that matters today is #VOTE. I pray for a peaceful transition of power. I pray for red states, like Texas and Florida to turn blue as an historic sign that goodness will prevail in America. There will be evil in this world, however, it should not be leading our country. And it, like the leaves of Fall, will soon be . . . going, going, gone. I feel it in my gut.

How to Care for Others While Surviving a Pandemic

~ debsthoughts

March 13th, 2020 was the day the Covid19 virus officially became a pandemic. Schools closed immediately with little notice to children, parents, or teachers. We are in our seventh week of staying at home except for occasional food or essentials shopping trips. I’m one of millions of sewers making masks. I do this because I am able and because it feels like something helpful and worthwhile during a time that I feel anxious most days. Wearing even a fabric handmade mask feels comforting even though we know they are not the best form of protection.

This virus is new and scientists are doing what scientists do – they are studying and researching and testing to discover what makes it tick. Unfortunately, a few months of research does not provide enough understanding to develop vaccines or cures. This much is known: It is highly contagious and spreading fastest when large groups of people are in close proximity to one another. Therefore, staying at home is wise. It’s not good for the economy though. But neither is masses dying in a short period of time.

People everywhere are exhausted and tired of staying home. We all want to return to some sense of normal. The economy is suffering greatly and business owners are going broke. Which means much of the population is also going broke. So, what are our options? Get mad? Say, ‘Screw it! I’m not wearing a mask! I’m done with this nonsense!’ Protest and call it ‘marshal law?’ Ignore all the experts’ advice? Believe it’s all a hoax?

I’m seeing people do all those things and it is extremely disturbing. Listening to a president who suggests bazaar made-up treatments/cures, like injecting disinfectants to ‘clean’ the insides of a sick person is terrifying. It’s terrifying because people need something to cling to and some will believe the mad man’s insane ravings. Please don’t.

Since March 13th our world and society as we know it has vanished. Are these the end times? Some choose to believe it is. Some of those same people are complaining a lot about hoaxes and fake news. I do wonder if they truly believe God created Fox News as the only truth they can trust. It really boils down to folks wanting to believe something so badly, they align themselves with a source that agrees with their bias – confirmation bias. It’s natural and we all have one. The trick is to recognize it and notice when you feel it. Here’s an example: People deeply want to believe this virus is nothing but the flu, is not nearly as contagious as we’ve been told, or is purely a hoax, voila! Lucky for them their news source of choice just confirmed it!

But there are indisputable facts. This is a brand new virus, undiscovered till recently, with unknown characteristics. It’s not ‘just the flu.’ This thing causes its victims to essentially suffocate and die alone. But the unknowns are many: Is the incubation period truly 14 days? Is it an airborne disease? Is it possible that some of our immune systems already know how to beat it? Is ‘herd immunity’ occurring? We just don’t know because it’s too early to tell.

Confirmation bias is innate and in all of us. God gave each of us a brain to critically examine information. Some of us are more inclined than others to practice critical thinking. It’s natural for each of us to lean toward information that aligns with our desires and beliefs. It also boils down to living in denial, ironically. Deny all truths that do not agree with our beliefs, even if it isn’t logical because it makes us feel better. Don’t we all want to feel better? It’s not helpful though, in the long run. Especially when it divides groups of people, even family and friends. Pointing fingers at each other when we disagree and shouting ‘fake news’ will get society nowhere fast.

I’m tired of all this too. We all are. Like it or not, we ARE all in this together. We are in it for the long haul, until we understand more about this virus and its characteristic behavior. Listen to the experts. Stay home. Wear a mask when you’re not home. These are ways we can express love and show respect for one another. To not shake hands, to not hug right now, these are not signs of fear, they are signs of caring for others. Let’s do that. Let’s care more for each other while taking care of ourselves. And remember to breathe and look up.

3 Simple Breathing Techniques for ‘Weathering the Storm’

~ debsthoughts

A few days ago I wrote 5 Steps to BEing Calm. In it I emphasized the importance of practicing meditation as a method for stress reduction. Meditation is simply being still for a period of time while focusing on one’s breath. What is the point of that? Isn’t breathing kind of . . . normal?

What if I forget to breathe?

I remember a time my elderly father asked me, “Deb, what happens if a person forgets to breathe?” We both laughed at the silliness of the question and I teased him saying he needn’t worry because he would pass out and begin to breath again, if he forgot. As I think back on those days when Dad lived with me, he worried a lot. He worried about dying, about having his daughter care for him, about being a burden. Apparently, he even worried about breathing.

Breathing: It’s good for our health

Worry is something I’m familiar with. I often say I come from a long line of worriers. The thing about habitual worriers is we aren’t consciously aware of our breathing. We are breathing, of course, but we are not doing the best job of it. I am certain my dad would catch himself either holding his breath or taking shallow quick breaths, perhaps to the point of an anxiety attack, like so many others, including me. Which is probably why he came to me to ask the question about breathing.

So what’s the big deal about breathing? Aren’t we all doing it all the time? We are. However, it’s amazing what we can learn about ourselves if we start paying attention to things like our breath.


3 breathing techniques to ‘weather the storm’:

  1. Awareness: Pay attention to your breath throughout the day. Is your breathing generally shallow? Fast or slow? Of course this will depend on activity level. Becoming aware of how we breath in various circumstances is the very first step. Think about your breathing throughout the day.
  2. Deep Breathing Exercise: Sit down in a comfortable position (commit to 5 minutes). Take a deep breath in through the nose and release it through your mouth with a sigh. Inhale slowly, feeling the breath go in through the nostrils and follow it into your chest, belly, or deeper. Now slowly exhale through the nose, completely and fully, emptying your lungs. Repeat, slowly inhaling deeper, if possible, pause, then exhale slowly and deeply. Pause briefly before inhaling again. Now breath normally, however it feels natural to you. How do you feel? Tense? Nervous? Calm? Silly? There’s no right answer, this is about how you being aware of how you feel.
  3. Counting Breath Exercise: Find a comfortable place to sit quietly (commit to 5 minutes). Close your eyes if you wish. Take a deep breath in through the nose and release it with an open mouth audible sigh. Now do it again. Close your eyes and breathe normally – inhale, exhale, however it feels natural to you for a few breaths. gradually inhale through the nose deeper, feel the breath entering the nostrils, flowing into the throat and deeper, into your belly if that feels comfortable. Exhale slowly and purposely through the nose. Next inhale while counting 1, 2, 3, pause. Exhale for a count of 3. Continue this for five or six additional breaths. Then allow yourself to breath normally and evaluate how you feel.

These techniques are simple and easy. While breathing is something we all do all the time, without thinking, I believe if we put some thought and focus into practicing and paying attention, it can help us to weather any storm life deals us.

May we all breathe easier – with practice.

Dutch Oven Chicken Pot Pie

~ debsthoughts

Do you love chicken pot pie like I do? It’s not that hard to make from scratch. Don’t worry if you don’t have a Dutch oven, it can be done in any oven safe pot, you’ll just have to use option #2 to cook your crust. And don’t worry if you are not a pie crust maker, also like me. I’ve gotcha covered. PS: It’s got a quarter cup of heavy cream – not a lot in a recipe this size, but feel free to modify with whole milk instead (I’m sure reduced fat milk would also work).

Dutch Oven Pot Pie (Print Recipe)

Note: This recipe calls for frozen puff pastry. I could not find it in my local grocery store so I substituted a rolled fresh pie crust from the refrigerator section, near the refrigerator biscuits. I provide both options below.

1 (9 ½ by 9 inch) sheet puff pastry, thawed OR **store bought pie crust (see note below)

4 tablespoons butter

3 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved and cut into ½ inch pieces, washed thoroughly

4 carrots, cut into ½ inch pieces

Salt and pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 – 2 teaspoons tomato paste

3 cups chicken broth, or more as needed

¼ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 bay leaves

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 egg lightly beaten

1 pound asparagus, cut on bias into 1 inch lengths or broccoli as preferred

1 cup of riced cauliflower (optional)

1 cup frozen baby peas

Hot sauce

**Note for Option 2 Ready-made Pie Crust:

Pie crust for pot pie

I used rolled fresh pie dough from the refrigerated section of grocery store. The one I found had no hydrogenated fats and was made from real ingredients – if you prefer to whip up your own favorite pie crust that would work great too. **My cast iron Dutch oven lid was not the right setup for what this recipe called for, so as an alternative, I simply placed my pie dough into a glass pie plate, poked a few holes in it with a fork and baked it alongside my Dutch oven for about 15 minutes.

Instructions for Puff Pastry:

Cut sheet of parchment paper to match outline of Dutch oven lid and place on flat surface. Roll puff pastry sheet into 15 by 11 inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. With either a pizza cutter or knife, cut pastry widthwise into 10 strips 1 ½ inches wide.

Space half the strips evenly across the parchment circle. To weave strips: Fold back every other strip almost completely. Lay additional strips in opposite direction, repeat with remaining strips to create lattice pattern. Or layer the strips however you like – get creative! Trim edges around circle. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare filling.

Filling:

Adjust oven rack to accommodate your Dutch oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

On top of stove, melt butter in Dutch oven. Add leeks, carrots, and about a half teaspoonful of salt and cook for approximately 5 minutes.

Pot Pie Veggies

Stir in flour, garlic, and tomato paste.

Slowly stir in broth while stirring to smooth out lumps. Stir in cream, soy sauce, and bay leaves. Stir in raw chicken (cut into 1 inch pieces), return to simmer, turn off heat.

For Option 1 Puff Pastry Crust:

Cover Dutch oven with inverted lid and place parchment paper with pastry on lid. Brush with egg and sprinkle with salt.

Transfer pot to oven and bake until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 25-30 minutes, rotating pot halfway through baking.

Remove pot from oven. Transfer parchment with pastry to wire rack. Remove lid and discard bay leaves. Stir your desired vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) into filling and return to oven for 5 minutes. Stir in frozen peas right before serving.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Set pastry on top of filling and serve with hot sauce to taste.

For Option 2 Pie Crust:

Chicken pot pie

Unroll pie crust and place in glass pie dish, brush with egg, sprinkle with salt, and bake alongside filling for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove and cut wedges using a knife or pizza cutter. Set wedges on top of filling in serving bowls. Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Indian Summer: a Christmas Letter

~ debsthoughts

The calendar tells me it is indeed December, even though my brain cannot comprehend how fast the year has gone. We are content with the warmish temperatures lately – highs in the 40s – in our corner of Michigan. It’s like an Indian summer around here, finally. By the way, I discovered Indian summer has two meanings:

  1. a period of unusually dry, warm weather occurring in late autumn.
  2. a period of happiness or success occurring late in life.

As I write this we are mere minutes away from waving good-bye to autumn and welcoming (with mostly open arms) the official start of winter. The second definition of Indian summer reminds me that periods of happiness and success are something to be cherished. The trick is what we do with those moments in between.

We are having a lot of fun living this farm adventure. I’ve taken to sharing pictures of our animals on social media because they’re funny creatures – all of them. There’s a lot we can learn from watching animal behavior, whether in nature or in our back yards. The way they interact with each other and with us can be comical and it can be frightening too.

That ‘pecking order’ thing – it’s real, and not just with chickens. Rusty, the cat, is in charge of the other cats. Dixie, (our Black Beauty) is the boss of Zima. Lily, the lamb, is mostly in charge of her three siblings. While Rika, the wonder dog, is the boss of all the animals except the young rooster (who is currently undergoing ‘training’ to become a gentlemen, or else). It’s fascinating how they figure out their place in the flock or herd and they never worry about tomorrow. Animals know how to live in the moment.

To the casual observer it may appear to be complete peace on earth over here, but we know better – there is conflict and chaos all around us. You probably know what I mean.

Caring for livestock brings us silly moments of happiness and occasional feelings of success. I’ll take it.  When all are fed and watered, we do feel successful. But a kink in the hose or an unexpected rooster attack can ruin the day if we let it. Which means we must grab hold of, and be thankful for, all those little Indian summer moments. Those moments in between though, we should really practice a little gratitude for them too. Without them we might take for granted the lovely Indian summer moments.

It’s nice when the grandkids visit because they all want to help with chores. Although Owen is 12 and more interested in driving the Kawasaki Mule than gathering eggs. Olivia is 9 and leaps, pirouettes, and splits her way from point A to point B. Morgan is also 9 and does back-bends, and flip-overs across the yard, while dribbling a basketball. Ella is 6 and is happy as can be to kick a soccer ball everywhere she goes. And Charlotte is 2 and . . . well, she tries ALL the above with gusto (except for the driving part, of course).

Come to think of it they don’t really help that much with chores on their visits, but those visits are definitely part of our Indian summer moments.

May all your moments be filled with love and joy and gratitude.

5 Steps to BEing Calm

~ debsthoughts ~ 2 Comments

For many of us the daily challenges we face can feel like too much to handle on some days. Modern medicine tells us we must learn to reduce the stress in our lives. We’re told to just calm down, relax, chill! If you’re like me those suggestions are not helpful. So how do we start?

I recently started a daily practice of meditating for ten minutes. Only ten minutes, y’all! And it’s helping my overall emotional and physical well-being. It may seem daunting to BEgin but that’s all it takes. And in the end, learning to just BE is one of the most important things we can do for self-care.

Here are my 5 steps to BEing calm:

  1. BEgin today. Don’t wait any longer. There’s no right or wrong way to meditate. It’s basically sitting still and breathing. You are already breathing so now all you have to do is sit still and just BE for ten minutes. It can be anywhere, preferably where you can BE alone but even if you can’t, you can still BE still and breathe, anywhere. Sitting in a chair, on the floor, with legs crossed or straight out in front, are all perfectly fine. BE comfortable.
  2. Use a phone app if you can. I am using one called Calm and another called HeadSpace. I tried both with free trials and ended up purchasing a subscription to each. These are great tools to help us get started because they guide us through the ten minutes, reminding us to focus on our breath and walk us through relaxing and just BEing. These apps also have tools for helping us sleep with relaxing sounds in the background. You don’t NEED an app to meditate but I have found it excellent for a beginner like me. 
  3. Light a candle or incense if you are so inclined. These are not mandatory but I find it helpful to set the mood relaxation relaxation.
  4. Set reminders to practice at whatever time of day works best for you. Experts say first thing in the morning is best, but I grab my ten minutes when it’s convenient for me – usually in the middle of the day. 
  5. BEgin. There’s no better time than now. The benefits of this short daily practice are immense and cannot be denied. Just ten minutes a day of BEing still, calming the mind, and breathing deeply with awareness of the breath, can reap huge health benefits both physically and emotionally. Now keep it up because before long this new habit will be something you look forward to every single day.

Experiencing Daily Joy

~ debsthoughts ~ 1 Comment

About a month ago something triggered my need for renewed self-care. That something was awareness. It was an awareness, an opening of my heart, knowing I can do better and feel better for a more healthful, relaxing and joyful life. But how?

I’ve never practiced yoga or meditation on a regular basis even though I have had a clear understanding of their benefits, both physically and emotionally for a very long while. I’m no expert. Which is exactly why I now believe this is a perfect time to share my new journey into this self-care adventure. Continue reading →