Start Each Day with a Grateful Heart!

I dislike the days where I wake up and am cranky for no reason whatsoever.

(No, I'm not having a day like this today ~ but I did have a couple of them recently.)

On days like this, I can't seem to get out of my own way.  I gripe; I sulk; I'm resentful.  I am exactly the kind of person I avoid like the plague.  And then the guilt piles on...because I'm so darned blessed in so many ways - how DARE I feel otherwise?  How DARE I not be overflowing with gratitude at every single second of every single day?

Because I am human.  That's why. 

Let's face it...life can be super challenging!  It can get anyone down at times. It can feel like defeat before my feet have even hit the bedroom carpet.

Pep talk time! Because ain't nobody got time for pity parties.

...even if you have to force it, initially.  Check off all the good things in your life; surround yourself with good people and watch the day get better!

My life is amazing and wonderful.  It's full of amazing and wonderful people - including me.  I may not be everyone's cup of tea but that's why tea comes in so many flavors - so we can find the ones we like and enjoy them. :)

I live a very full and busy life doing exactly what I love. That's not even just my career, but in my personal life, too.

I choose what to fill my life with.

I choose the people I want around me and I choose who to give my energy to.  I choose "my tribe."

I choose to focus on the good in people.  

I choose to pass on the things and behaviors of others that don't enrich me.   

I choose to try and be a good example.

And then there's the reassurance that I'm okay.  You're okay.  We're all okay.  Chill.

Even on the days where I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything, I'm still a person of value.  I'm still loved, needed, and noticed.  And you are, too.  Knowing these things on those stressed out, no-win kind of days is so encouraging!

Part of being "unapologetically alive" is not being sorry about who you are and what you bring to the table.  It's about being secure in your spirit and being okay with those who aren't on the same wavelength.  It's about owning your mistakes and not letting them stop you - instead, learning from them.  It's about taking that bad day and forcing it to be a better one, even if the success is small.  It's about choosing to seek gratefulness through the storm. 

Why is homemade ranch dressing so inspiring?

About a month ago, I was in a huge cooking slump.  I was so tired of the same old, same old...I had zero mental energy to really search for new recipes; I didn't even know where to start.  

Then my birthday came and I received two beautiful cookbooks from a friend.  Very little energy is used to flip through pages and I simply soaked up different ideas and inspiration.  Not only that, I learned how to cook delicious vegetarian and vegan meals!  This is completely out of my element!  But it's just what I needed to find my love of cooking once again.

What I find super fascinating about these lifestyles is that, while it does take extra time to prepare, the dishes are just bursting with flavor.  There are many different ingredients to each recipe I've replicated which, at times, feels a bit tedious.  But...each ingredient is a vital piece to the flavor puzzle and when I sit down to eat, it's so worth it.

What I love:

• I feel inspired again!

• My food-related Pinterest boards are filling up!

• I'm saving quite a bit of money with cutting out much of my meat eating!

• I feel fabulous!

• AND - I'm noticing a lot less food waste.  This is super important to me.

What is challenging:

• It is a lot of work!  It's not as easy to whip up a vegetarian/vegan meal as it is for me to whip up a goulash.  That's just because I'm not as used to it, so this will fade with time.

• My husband's a bit resistant because it's out of his comfort zone.  But I feel it is impolite to complain when dinner is being made for you, so whoever is cooking is the one in charge in my house!  (And the cook doesn't take care of the dishes, either.)

• Planning!  I don't like to waste, so it does take extra creativity and some research to use leftover unfamiliar ingredients and turn them into other usable things!  Thank goodness for Pinterest, because that lead me to the Silken Tofu Ranch Dressing I created the other day with leftover tofu in my fridge.  

One of the easiest things EVER to make! You just put all the ingredients in your blender and BOOM!

Delicious dressing ~ pleasing to the eyes and the belly :)

So, if you're in a rut - get a cookbook that's completely out of your comfort zone and give it a shot.  Whether you ask your friends to recommend one for you, you head to your local library, you start following the boards of people who eat very differently from you on Pinterest - shaking up your eating routines can really be eye-opening and a LOT of fun!  I know I find such enjoyment and fulfillment tinkering around in my kitchen lately.

It's like my love of crafts leaked into the kitchen and I ain't even mad about it! :)

The Freedom to Say...No.

The holidays are coming up and I think everyone's feeling the crunch!

Holiday parties with family, friends, co-workers, shopping for - or in my case, creating - Christmas gifts for my friends and family.  The days feel shorter and more jam-packed and when I lay down at the end of the day, I'm asleep pretty much as soon as my head hits the pillow.

This time of year is magical.

And what's also magical is that I have the ability to say yes AND no to things.

So this weekend, I said no to a lot.  I said no to two fitness classes I had planned on attending because my body clearly needed a rest.  I said no to going out Saturday night, mostly because of finances but also because I simply didn't want to be at a bar.  I said no to leaving my house Sunday. 

I said YES to spending a lot of time in my kitchen cooking delicious foods. 

Wild Rice and Broccoli Salad with Edamame and Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chickpeas

(Check out that soul food - without sacrificing any souls!)

I said YES to completing two Christmas present projects.

A stuffed stegosaurus for my great niece and/or nephew.

I said YES to silly movies on Netflix while crafting. I said YES to household chores and Dave Matthews Band radio on Pandora.  I said YES to enjoying the snow as it fell yesterday morning.  I said YES to spending a couple of hours at the Christmas Tree Shoppe.  I said YES to a homemade tofu fudgesickle. 

Basically, I said YES to the things I needed to nurture my spirit! And I think around the holiday time, it's easy to forget that we have the ability to do that.

We can pick and choose where we spend our energy.  If we have nothing left to give, it's so important to really scale back and take the time we need for ourselves.  This is exactly what I did this weekend.

"There's no such thing as being too busy. If you really want something, you will make the time for it."

It was simply time!

I used to be a very active blogger and, well...other things in life got in the way, I became distracted and a blog was viewed as just ONE. MORE. THING to manage.

Life has settled and I'm ready now.  I've been missing it pretty hardcore the past couple of weeks; writing has always felt like home to me. 

So, here I sit on a snowy Monday morning with a dog in my lap, rockin' my bedhead...unapologetically alive. 

Ever since an old friend shouted that at me, drunkenly in a bar, it has stuck with me.  I'm unapologetically alive -  I do what I love, I face challenges and conquer them (even if I don't necessarily succeed), I know what I stand for, I know my worth.

I can only hope that you enjoy my newest foray into blogging ~ that it can inspire you, motivate you, but most of all ~ simply make you feel good about YOU :)