Thoughts for Thursday:

  

It's been a while since my last post.  I've been super busy finishing my school of massage (I am now a "holistic massage practitioner"), starting a new job that i love ( you can check it out here www.soultosoulspa.com ) planning and throwing my daughter's 6th birthday party, and comforting my daughter through the stomach flu.  My plate's been a little full.
But I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  I actually feel like I am nearing the end of this tunnel I've been in for a while.  And it feels great.
Here are some quotes that have inspired me along this journey.
I hope they inspire you too.

I Feel It All

With only weeks away, I find myself on the fast track to my 30th birthday. I look forward this new time in my life with a bubbling excitement and promises of hope.  Because when I look back over the past few years I have really waded through some muddy waters, and pulled myself out of some treacherous trenches.  Went through a divorce, but came out the woman I needed to be for both myself and my daughter.  Found my footholds out of sinking sand and fix my eyes on a hopeful horizon.  Lost the physical presence of my dad, and although I am steal skimming the surface of the deep waters that loosing a parent floods ones life with, I appreciate, love, and miss him.  

In the midst of all of this, I really had to dig deep and find confidence, faith, and strength.  I am definitely, positively, without a doubt certain that I don't have it all figured out and know there is still volumes upon volumes to learn from life.  There is definitely still a lot to refine and some ugly inside I need to weed out.   But, I am thankful for all that I've gone through, the good and the bad.  

So, 30's...bring it.  I'm ready for you.

This song I love by an artist I admire with lyrics that move me sums this blog blurb up quite well....

Thoughts for Thursday:

As a mother, there is not greater call to duty then to raise a woman of love, strength, character, influence, joy, passion.  The job description is an endless in length, but equally as endless in fulfillment and satisfaction.  And, as the task is great and sometimes overwhelming, it is important to find people, other mothers, friends, quotes, wisdom and insight to put into my life and practice so I can better raise my daughter. 
What are some inspiring quotes or wisdom you've put in your tool bag along the road of motherhood?

Spring into Sunday

I love Sunday's.  I love how it feels like a clean slate, a new beginning, a brand new start to a new week.  This is the day I map out my week in my planner, start a new diet (if ever so inclined or needed), detox, make new goals in my journal, so on and so forth (you get the picture).

Yes, Sunday-it's the day. (They even wrote a catchy song about it in the 80's.)

With Spring just freshly arriving by stormy and dramatic entrance and the ever amazing "Supermoon" on the eve of the first day of spring, this Sunday beckons to be noticed and noted.  The change of Season, from Winter to Spring, is a natural shift in nature happens today and the Spring Equinox begins. 

The sun rises earlier and sets later, plants sprout, winds soften, new growth everywhere. While I welcome the changes in nature, I also see the need for changes in my own life. And so I want my own life to mirror the changes nature makes.  What a better time than the Spring Equinox, from Winter to Spring. 

And so, today I set my intentions for Spring.  My version of mental and spiritual Spring cleaning. 

Do you have any goals, intentions, changes, or new beginnings you want to make?  I challenge you to write them down and hang them up somewhere to remind yourself of them.  

 ~ Spring Intentions~

~ Teach mu daughter how to be a loving, kind, thoughtful, strong, independent, inspired, truthful, nurturing, respectful woman. 

~Constantly seek inspiration and personal growth.  Pursue that which motivates me and don't let my self-doubt and fear get in the way of my dreams and the goals I want to reach in my life. 

~Refine and hone my yoga practice.  Carry and practice my yoga outside of class as well.  Be healthy and find new ways to move my body. 

~ Love and encourage others, especially close friends and family.  Give back, reciprocate, grow the love.

~New beginnings.  New growth.  New life.  New love.  New joy.  

Thoughts for Thursday:

the situation: and i'm not talkin' 'bout that jersey shore show.

I was awakened this morning by some serious thunder action.  I'm not going to lie,  I'm not a fan of loud noises, much less unpredictable bolts of white hot electricity striking down randomly.  Some enjoy this force of nature.  Me-not so much.  

Anyway, it ended up to be a perfect alarm clock to my day-I needed to wake, have some quiet meditation time, pray, and ground myself.  Without going in to specific details-today was a big day.  I had an appointment that I both feared and found empowering.  (For those of you who know what I'm talking about, this makes sense.  But for those readers that are intentionally aloof, just go with the broad picture I'm trying to paint.)

I admit, I haven't been the most disciplined at reading the Bible, meditating, praying.  I've been busy.  So busy, in fact, that my yoga practice has become sporadic instead of routine.  Life is in transition and I'm just rolling with it.  Convicted and guilt stricken, but roll with me here.

Anyway, back to the thunder storm meditation session...

The abrupt awakening,while the weather was intimidating and dramatic couldn't have been more of a mirror image of the situation.   Nerves and worry billowed through my spirit like the wind that threw the hail on my window.  Doubt and fear stuck my confidence like the thunder that came rolling in and out of the early morning atmosphere.  The anticipation of the situation not only mirrored the weather this morning, but rather, the weather magnified the situation I was battling with inside.

Yesterday I gave a therapeutic massage to a dear friend.  She told me she felt the need to have a morning devotional with her girls and wasn't on any specific devotional routine, so she just chose the Proverbs 15 since it was the 15th of the month.  Remembering this, I chose to start at the same place.  Proverbs 16.  I was craving wisdom and solid ground as the situation I was about to enter at 9 am came closer and closer.

Suddenly, like the break in the thunder, peace and tranquility met me in the sage pages of Proverbs.  And, just like the early morning rid itself from the antagonizing and turbulent thunder storm and torrential downpour (I'm not exaggerating either-you HumCo folk know what I'm sayin'.  It was quite a storm this morning.), a peace came over me and soothed my soul.  The verses I read brought peace and assurance as I thought about the situation I was going to face head on to day. 

And now, hours after, the sun found it's way to grace the day and seem like the storm this morning was another day.  The situation came with great force but dissapated just like this mornings sun. 

Peace.

Serenity.

Truth.

Growth.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
   and he will establish your plans.

  The LORD works out everything to its proper end—
   even the wicked for a day of disaster. 

Gracious words are a honeycomb,
   sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

  There is a way that appears to be right,
   but in the end it leads to death.

Tunes for Tuesday

~A Mellow Musical Interlude for you Tuesday~

Thoughts for Thursday:

I'm In Love....with Red Velvet

As most of you know, I love to cook.   But more specifically I love to bake.  And, I am slightly obsessed with cupcakes.  I love experimenting with flavors and perfecting a recipe.  I love finding new concoctions like matcha flavored, or filling a perfect vanilla flavored cupcake with lemon curd.  I love whipping up the most amazing frosting to top off an already perfect baby cake with flavors like brown sugar vanilla, or a rich chocolate ganache, or to spice up a perfect cream cheese frosting with a citrus zest!  I love cupcakes.

Last night I made the ever-amazing Red Velvet!  I love these beautiful and elegant cupcakes.  They are the fanciful cupcake: rich, decadent, and beautiful.  I think the secret to a rich and moist red velvet cake lies somewhere in the buttermilk and sifted cake flour.  Oh, and the un-godly amount of vegetable oil.  The sexy and sumptuous red cake is sharply contrasted with the bright white and equally as bright in flavor with the tangy cream cheese frosting resting gracefully on top.  But anything with cream cheese in it and I'm in love.   Perfection.  It's even more perfect that calories don't count when you find the perfect recipe. (Although the previous sentence is not scientifically proven, I've trained my brain to convince my metabolism of this and I'm pretty sure it works...to a certain degree. But please do not quote me.)

This is the recipe that you write in your cookbook... in ink...possibly laminated as red food dye is unforgiving and hard to tame.  Just remember to choose carefully you who share it with as this cupcake has some serious thunder most will want to steal.

But, I'll share the recipie, only because I think that everyone needs to make this, especially if you're looking for love...in the form of food.

Red Velvet Cupcake Love

Ingredients

Makes 24

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam and makes you feel like a mad scientist!!!); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds or completely combined.
4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• about 4 cups of confectioners sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon pure madagasgar vanilla extract

Directions

1. Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time or until desired consistency is achieved., and then vanilla; mix until smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat until smooth.

*this glorious recipe is adapted from the Martha Stewart Cupcake recipe book.

March's Mantra

"No one can depress you.

No one can make you anxious. 

No one can hurt your feelings.  

No one can make you anything other than  what you allow inside."

Easier said than done, I know.  Believe me, I know.

But oh, so true.

I'll be honest, and for those of you who know me it won't come as a surprise but, I tend wear my heart of my sleeve.  I take things personally.  I feel it all-I am easily affected. Shocker, I know.  I can so easily get tossed and tumbled by the crashing waves and  to ride that roller emotional roller coaster we somehow end up on.

I first read this quote about 5 years ago.  I read it during a time in my life when internal strength was hard to come by, and I felt like I was hanging on to that proverbial thread.  

Over the years, it really stuck like glue to the walls of my mind.  It reminds me that I can either be tossed and tumbled by the waves, or pop up on my surf board use that force to get me back to shore.  It challenges me to simply not get on that roller coaster.  

And believe me, this is something I remind myself constantly.  It is a mantra that I still attain to fully grasp and practice.  But a good one, nonetheless.  

And so, I share it with you and hope it might bring encouragement your way.  And I hope it brings you freedom in your thoughts.