Centered

I love when science and spirituality match up.  It makes me happy, and lets me feel validated that my meditative time is valuable.  There are many studies that show the benefits of meditation on the brain, and over all well-being.  It's not just an ancient religious practice.  The benefits are real.

Over the past several years, I have volunteered in a religious education program in the summer.  My kids attend, and I have always taught the second grade class. During that first year, as I was going through the curriculum to get my plans done, I noticed that contemplative prayer and meditation was mentioned several times in the manual as a "note to the teacher", but it wasn't explored in depth {like I would've wanted it to be} in the kids part of the book. 

This kind of bothered me, as no matter what religion you are, or what you believe, the effects of meditation on the mind and body are amazing and measurable.  Check out this Harvard study where the results are rock solid.  The book based on a different study is one that you won't be able to put down...at least I couldn't.  It's explained in a very relaxed way and you don't need a degree in astrophysics to understand it.  

The lack of focus on meditative practice made me start trolling the Internet for resources on how to teach meditation to children.  I found this book, Journey to the Heart, and fell in love with it.  I have used it in my class ever since, and now the entire program uses it too.  They recommend that the meditation take 6 minutes.  But when you're in the 2nd grade class, that feels like eternity, so I start with one minute.  I mean, really, can you think of the last time your kids actually sat still and quiet for 6 minutes?!  I can't.  It can be done though...start with 1 minute, then add 30 seconds each time you try it.  It gets easier each time you do it. 

This book offers a god-centered meditation, but you can take the "religious" aspect out of it if its to be used in a public school type forum. I'm not saying teach religion in school, but spirituality is a fundamental need so why not give kids the toolbox full of strategies? Maybe that's another post...

Meditation offers kids something they actually need in their lives...they just don't know it yet.  I realize that my students may not decide to do this each day after my class ends this week, but I do hope down the road, when they hear the term meditation, or centering prayer, they remember this class and that teacher I used to have who did this with us. 

After my last summer-class meditation, I asked the children what they thought of it. Some kids said they liked it because it was quiet, some kids said it was okay, but one boy had a very specific response. One that I found to be really insightful. He said, "I didn't like it when we got quiet, I liked it better during class when there was noise, cause when the room got quiet the noise in my head got really loud and I didn't like that".
 

That was a really grown up observation. I explained that THAT was precisely what meditation allows you to experience. The noise in our heads is really loud, and the only way to quiet it is to sit in that uncomfortable quiet space and become an observer. Pretty big concept for kids. Sit in the quiet, and hear the noise in your head, and see it move through your mind like a TV episode.  Or like you've tuned into a radio station. Observe it, but don't feel like you have to interact with it. Have a seat and just watch. Listen. Don't fight the noise, just keep observing. Say that sacred word to yourself which is what YOU are directing. That is the point~YOU are not your thoughts running through your mind. YOU are the observer. I know, it's heavy for 2nd grade. But kids can handle it. 

Athletes do it before major events, successful professional people in business do it as well. As far as I'm concerned, meditation is a life skill that should be taught in school, and practiced everyday.

As someone who didn't learn meditation until adulthood, I see how it could've been a useful tool for me through the years, even through college when prepping for exams. My routine of all-nighters with mountain dew really didn't cut it. 

So try it for yourself, or try it with your kids.  Unplug them for 5 minutes.  When I started on the first day with my class they acted like 1 minute was an eternity...by day 8 they were silent for almost 10 minutes.  Not even fidgeting. 

Set the expectation, and your kids will rise up to meet you.

Promise.

Have a great day!

PS-I don't get any kick back from anywhere for you reading these books, just my own personal favorites...

{Jenn}

Lemon Sesame Crackers

I've already mentioned here how I love the Thrive books, and how the recipes have become staples in our house.  But I've also told you I don't follow directions very well... So here is a recipe for an easy cracker, that works as a snack, or something to have with a salad for some crunch.

The original recipe is called "Lemon Rooibos Cracker", but I didn't have all of the ingredients that it called for on hand. I'm all about sort of following the gist of the recipe, but using what I do have in the pantry.  A trip to the grocery store is just too far...and my kids would just complain, I'm sure you know how much fun that would be. 

Here is my version of the crackers based on what I had on hand, and the next time  it will probably change again. These crackers hold up very well in an open container in the fridge. when I'm craving a slightly salty snack with some crunch, it's easy to reach for one of these, and be satisfied. 

Original recipe:
(from Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life)

1/4 c almonds
1/4 c pecans
1/4 c sesame seeds
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1Tbs lemon zest
1 Tbs coconut oil
1 tsp ground rooibos
1/2 tsp agave nectar
Sea salt to taste

Makes 2 servings.

My version: (I literally jotted it down as I went along)...

Lemon Sesame Crackers
1 c walnuts
1 c sesame seeds
1 teabag of yerba mate
2 tsp Agave nectar
1 tsp chia seed
2 Tbs coconut oil
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lemon

Makes almost 40 crackers.
*adding or omitting the yerba mate is not a deal breaker for this recipie

Pulse.  Press.  Bake.  Eat....

*To be more specific....

Step 1: scrape the zest from one lemon, and squeeze the juice of it into the food processor. 
 

Step 2: grab the Yerba mate, and cut open 1 tea bag. Empty into the food processor. {what the heck is Yerba Mate? I'll explain below}. 

Step 3: add the walnuts, sesame seeds, agave syrup, chia seeds and pulse until it forms a paste. 

 

Step 4: spread mixture on a cookie sheet, and press it down as flat as you can. I just used the heel of my hand {you could use a rolling pin}. Score the crackers with a pizza cutter before baking. 

 

Step 5: Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the crackers look browned. I used my pink sea salt grinder to sprinkle a little salt over the top as soon as they came out of the oven.  I took these out at 18 minutes to be exact.

Enjoy! They have a nice hint of lemon, and taste great.  Store them in an open container in the fridge. I hope you give them a try.

 

*What is Yerba Mate? It's in more than a few recipes from the Thrive books, which is how I was introduced to it. It's actually a 'tea' from South America, which is made by steeping the leaves of the plant in hot, but not boiling water.  It contains a natural caffeine which varies in strength which is determined if it's a male or female plant. In this case, the female plants are a little less 'high strung' as it's the males with the higher caffeine content.

 

There are many benefits to yerba mate, some of which are high antioxidants, help in digestion, and a natural boost without the let-down usually associated with most 'caffeine fixes'.  Of course, as with anything there are risks to any long term love affair with anything herbal.  There is plenty to read on the topic. 

 

I added this to my crackers because I had it on hand, but you can use it or not without affecting the flavor of the crackers.  Read more about yerba mate here and here. 

 

 

 

Have a great day!

{Jenn}

Promise

"What brings you in today?"

"I'm wanting to have a body scan...just to get an idea if there's anything that needs to be watched"

"Have you been having any problems?"   

"No, but I promised a friend that I'd come and get checked out. She passed away recently from skin cancer. So I'm here now". 

And then I fell apart. 

Like the kind of crying where the tears can't stop coming.  And it turns into the ugly cry. The one where you instinctively cover your face, it's so bad...

I thought I cried all the tears I had when Kim passed, but I guess I was wrong. Maybe it was sitting in a clinical setting that made it worse. 

I remember years ago, when my OBGYN told me the best way to care for my new baby was to take care of myself.  But things happen.  Appointments for us get cancelled, or never get made because we "don't have the time".  Or because the kids are so high up on the list that we get pushed way down, eventually forgotten about. 

Until your friend dies. 

And she leaves a young family, and friends who are sick over her passing.  And then you make the appointment and you GO. 

Let me be your person.  Promise me you will go and get checked.  Even as little as 5 sunburns in a lifetime puts you at risk for skin cancer.  I don't have to know you to know its better that you go and get checked out. 

Promise me. Make the appointment. Go. 

Have a great day, and take care of yourself!

{Jenn}

The Rabbit Hole...

When Alice fell down that rabbit hole, she didn't lose her physical self, she lost her mind, and later realized it was all a dream.  When dimentia and Alzheimer's takes hold of a person, it starts out the same, then takes everything. 

Stop and think about this for a minute.

What happened 5 minutes ago literally only exists in your mind. 

Funny how important those past 5 minutes become when you realize your loved one, dear friend, or partner has lost the ability to recall them.  

I have taken my oldest daughter to visit a dear friend who is living with the debilitating  effects of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.   On more than one occasion during our most recent visit,  I had to step away from their interaction together because I was so overwhelmed with emotion.  The compassion my ten year old showed was nothing other than a gift. I was amazed at her intuitiveness, and how she just seemed to know how to focus on the touch, feel or sound of things with my friend.  At one point, she took my daughters hand, looked straight at her, and said, "My buddy".  Then she retreated back inside of herself.  Making soothing, repetive sounds, and hand motions.  We sat together, listening to ocean sounds on a sound machine, and talked to her about a beach trip we took together once.  I imagine she was there in her mind.

Don't worry that your kids might be scared or worried about seeing others in a compromised state. They are stronger than us grown ups give them credit for. They have a capacity to love others and see past a disease. Straight through it. 

We took my friend her favorite treat, a frosty from Wendy's, and it was the sweetest couple of hours just sitting, being with her. I know her soul knows ours. She welled up a few times looking at us.  Her mind has betrayed her, but her soul has not. She knew us. She didn't have to say a word. 

Sometimes the hardest trips are the best ones, and shine a light on the capacity for caring you didn't even know existed.  It's powerful to be in the midst of a situation where grief, deep fear, and lonliness exists alongside beauty, caring and deep love.  How can something be terrifying and beautiful at the same time?  I really can't explain it, it just is.  Better to focus on the beauty, and finding the way into that special persons soul, becuase the alternative, the fear, is too much for any of us to bear alone.  I wouldn't want to be left alone just because it "appeared" that I couldn't understand anymore.  I would want you to keep reaching me in different ways, never giving up.

Believe it or not, there was humor {in a kind way} in her new home. While we were sitting with my friend, a man was sitting at a table next to us, waiting for a snack to be brought to him.  I could hear him crunching on something, so I looked over.  He was gobbling up sweet and low packets off of the table.  I (lovingly) said, "Don't do that!",  and he cracked up.  The staff member had her back turned for about two seconds, and like a kid sneaking cookies from the jar, he took advantage of the opportunity for a treat.  She moved them away, and went to get juice and gingerbread for him.  He looked over at me, slowly sneaked his hand across the table reaching as far as he could and shoved another one in his mouth.  "Hey!",   I called over to him, "Don't do that!".  He had the cutest michevious grin on his face, how could I not giggle a bit?  He cracked himself up. 

A few minutes later, a woman in an armchair told me I looked exactly like her daughter, but asked when I became black {I'm not} ?  I just agreed with her, and she told me I'd start being funny in about 4 months {good to know}.  We laughed, she patted my hand and told me something about going outside, and buying real estate.  In her mind it all made sense.  

Smiling, and laughing along with the different residents all in their own different stages of their disease was just another way to deal with what was all around me.  

In those moments, they were happy, cracking up, enjoying the visits, and the sugar packs....

At one point, the woman in the armchair stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "Thank you so much for coming here today.  It means so much that you came".  Whether she thought I was her daughter, or her neighbor, or whomever....she seemed to have a moment of clarity. Either way, I'll take it.

We enjoyed them too, and we'll be back for more.  

Visit someone who could use a visitor...❤

Have a great day today!

{Jenn}

What "Drives" Me...

It's been 5  months since I became involved with Rodan+Fields. What I love about the business is how it gives me the freedom to work around my kids schedules, and honestly, I can make this business whatever I want it to be~ a casual shoe account or a salary replacing one. It's up to me.  I'm in the process of moving from the shoe account/day-trips-with-the-kids account to the significant salary one....it's exciting, and extremely motivating.

I'm an avid reader, and on a recent trip to the library, I picked up the book, Drive, by Daniel H. Pink.  

I didn't realize until I got into the book that it described exactly what working my Rodan and Fields business is for me. 

He describes motivation in business as a carrot and stick enterprise, until some super smart researchers realized that lasting motivation, in any circumstance, was rooted in intrinsic motivation. Companies that offered these particular aspects had the highest productivity, and greatest success. I couldn't help but think of R+F and that this is precisely why I think it is so enormously successful. 

Here's what Daniel says are the three most important aspects to having a highly successful anything:

1. Autonomy

2. Mastery

3. Purpose

Autonomy

Being self directed, and having the ability to determine:

     1.The task you need to accomplish

     2.The time that you need to devote to the task, as well as when it gets done

     3.The technique in which you carry out your goals

I couldn't help but notice that having autonomy in my business with R+F is exactly what makes it so appealing. I have total control of my task, time, and technique. I can answer questions by email, make phone calls, chat about what I'm doing while at a school function... Or not. It's entirely up to me. No one is asking me if I got something done or giving me a deadline. I set my own goals. And I reach them based on what I determine is the best way to do so. And I never miss a thing with my daughters. Because of the way we conduct business, it doesn't even feel like I'm working. I'm sharing an opportunity.  I'm promoting an amazing product with clinical results that proves our products do what they're intended to do for your skin.

Although I'm self-directed, I'm part of a larger community of consultants {nurses, lawyers, moms, pharmaceutical employees....} who want nothing more than to see each other succeed.  If I have a question about a product, policy, or anything.....I merely put it out there, and in minutes I have answers from consultants all over the country.  It's very empowering to be part of such a supportive organization.  You do not find that in many work-life situations.  And my experience is not unique.  It's how we operate.

Mastery

Being engaged in the pursuit of getting better and better at the task at hand. As Daniel points out, it requires that you understand that your abilities are not finite, but 'infinitely improvable'. 

R+F has set a business development library for us as consultants. We were not born understanding the skin care business, and the doctors don't expect that we were. There are trainings for every product, as well as anything related to the business you could imagine. We also have a nurses call line, where anyone can call in and ask questions related to products, skin concerns, and the like. 

It's a constant learning environment, and maybe that's what keeps it so intriguing. It's probably what makes me 'fall down the rabbit hole' when I'm digging into a product training document. It's easy to get lost when you are engaged in something challenging and interesting. 

Purpose

Help my family

Help fund charitable efforts

Help other people get amazing skin

Help other women realize their dreams through owning their own business

Pink describes the purpose motive within organizations as:

"...expressing itself in three ways: in goals that use profit to reach purpose, in words that emphasize more than self interest, and the policies that allow people to pursue purpose on their own terms. This move to accompany profit maximization with purpose maximization has the potential to rejuvenate our businesses and remake our world". 

My purpose for entering into this business is first and foremost, to help my family financially while not taking myself out of all the fun life moments. Since I gave up my full time teaching job when I had my first daughter, we have made significant sacrifices to make our "one salary life" work. It hasn't always been easy. We have been getting by, but not getting ahead. 

I knew by joining R+F, I could leverage a global brand that has instant legitimacy, with clinically proven products, created by the doctors.  I loved that they had already been in the #1 position in high-end department stores like Nordstrom's, and had a corporate dream team to help us expand our brand in the USA, and eventually around the world.  They give back to our communities, and have a special foundation called Prescription for Change which seeks out specific programs to support which serve individuals and families in the most dire need of assistance.

Now that I'm involved with the business, I see all of the other aspects where my R+F income can be a boost. Every Christmas I have a particular special 'good deed' that I carry out on Christmas Eve. I won't get into it, but it benefits two special families each year. I am looking forward to Christmas Eve this year, knowing I am planning to (at least) double what I normally carry out. The holidays are tight, I am not going to lie. One of my daughters birthdays falls right around Christmas....(choke, choke).  You can imagine there isn't that much room for the "other" category which my secret gifts reside in.  This year, R+F will fund that "other" category, quite easily, without touching my family's finances. 

I also have a goal of making enough extra income to get to Madrid, Spain, to see my long-ago host sister, Patricia.  She lived with me in high school and I would LOVE to see her again, and meet her beautiful family.  Email is a great way to keep up with each other, but an in-person visit would be amazing.

If that isn't motivating, then I don't know what is...

If this business seems intriguing to you, contact me, and I would be glad to give you any information you need to make the decision that is right for you. If you are anywhere in the United States, I can launch you into this business via Skype and get you up and running towards your goals. 

If you are in Canada, we are coming to you in January 2014. To say that this is an unmatched opportunity would be an understatement! As a potential Consultant, you already have the benefit of seeing how this company has exploded into the USA at-home skin care market, and how the company supports us.  It's like you've gotten a glimpse of your future, and it's growth potential that is unlimited....! 

We will be a global company in the next 3-5 years. This is only the beginning. Think about your connections. Think about who they know. Think about how you can be the one who helps change people's lives, while changing their skin for the better. 

I am a new person because of it. 

Have a great day!

{Jenn}

DIY Silouette Painting

So my husband and I started talking about projects that needed to be handled around the house.  Believe me, our kids bedrooms were not on this list.  Yet within two days we were planning the "re-do" of our youngest daughters bedroom.  I can only guess that she played subliminal messages through the night until we relented, because I really don't know how this happened.  Anyway, it's nearly done.  It looks awesome.  

I wanted to create a large art piece for her room with special meaning.  I am not an artist really, I just try...really hard....to replicate cool things I see/like/want to buy because it's cheaper that way.  I saw this post and got inspired.  The way I created my daughters painting was totally different than their process, but it has a similar result.  I'll show you my steps, and maybe you'll get inspired too. 

 

I figured if I screwed it up really bad, I could paint the canvas white and start over, or wrap it in pretty fabric and call it a day.  Plus, I had a coupon, and the large canvases were on sale.  Score!

 

First, I picked up a giant canvas at the craft store, it's 30x40". 

 

Then I looked through about a hundred pictures of our late Weimaraner, Augen, as he would be the subject matter for the piece.  I tried to trace over some of his photographs because I am not a natural born Picasso, and I have a tendancy to screw up proportions.  Like, really bad.

Then the part where you should take you time {but I didn't}.  Draw a grid over your favorite image.  To do this correctly, you should draw the grid neatly, and at the same 1" or whatever scale you choose for consistency.  You can see I really didn't do that, but, ahem, I was trying to be an "artiste".  Basically I drew my lines crooked, and at random intervals....I didn't mean to, really...  Oh well.  You get the idea.  It still gave me a 'framework' to follow.

Here I was attempting to draw a loose "grid" on the canvas.  There is an excellent book called, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain which taught me this method to draw something even when you really don't have talent naturally.  Hard to see, I know, but I was trying to draw lightly on the canvas, so it would be easy to erase later.

A little more of a close up of the canvas with most of my sketch drawn, erased, re-worked, and drawn again.  It helps when you can stay in that state of "flow", like when you're completely tuned into what you are doing.  Of course I was interrupted 75 times by my girls, asking, "Mom, what are you doing?  Can I help?  Are you drawing?  What is this/that?  When are you going to do MY room?".  You know, the usual, non-stop barrage of questions {which I wouldn't give up for the world, but I'm still going to complain a little}.

Here is the canvas, with pencil lines for the grid erased since I was pretty happy with my sketch.  I carefully {like held my breath carefully} took a paint brush, and using the accent wall color in the bedroom, painted just up to the pencil line all around the sketched image.  It took a little while.  I did not want this part to get screwed up.

Then I went back and added more paint to the canvas.  I used a mini roller to fill in the big spaces of the canvas, and various sized paintbrushes to get in the nooks and crannies.  To alleviate any roller lines, or brush lines I didn't like, I painted quickly in x's on the canvas.  It blends nicer that way, I think.

A close up of his head, and the detail of his ear.  I debated for awhile whether or not to highlight the ear, but I'm glad I did.  I like the look of it.

Another shot of the front of body...getting those nubs on his lower legs really make it look like him.  Kind of funny the things you notice that make it your dog.

 

 Here is the final, finished result in her bedroom.  I think it looks pretty good.  My littlest gasped when she saw the final result, so that was really fun to see.  The proportions are a little off, I think, but she hasn't noticed, and maybe that just needs to be what I'm "known for" with my art.  Ha.

I share this with you, because sometimes it's easy to say, "Oh, I can't do that" because you think you're not talented enough, or you 'don't know how to do that'.  Honestly, get on Youtube, or Google a question like, "how do I paint a silhouette" , or just pick up a paintbrush.  What's the worst thing that could happen? 

 

Um, nothing....

 

No one will go hungry if your painting stinks.  So give it a go, and you might just surprise yourself.  Besides, your kids will think you're really cool for doing it.  Promise.

I think our Augen-boy would approve. 

 

Have a great day!

 

{Jenn}

Morning Inspiration

I love watching Super Soul Sunday, because I usually don't know much about the guests backstory, which makes it even more interesting. 

India Arie was amazing to listen to. Of course I knew she was a musician, but I didn't know much about her life. She's a prayerful and meditative person which resonated with me, and she shared a personal, human experience so many of us can identify with~especially as women.

How we focus on what we think others want for us, and maybe live our lives out if alignment with what possibilities are really there waiting for us to fully realize.

To bring herself out of the spiral of living the life others had projected onto her, India asked herself a question:

"If I knew I was 100% worthy of _______, what would I do?"

Great question. One that could give some clarity during those times when our minds are racing. When we feel stuck. When nothing is feeling "right".

So, is unworthiness a part of you? Do you have that inner voice that asks constantly, "Are you good enough for this? You have never done this before, why are you even going to try?". I know I have a voice that sometimes plays on an endless loop. That voice really needs to shut up.

Asking the question might do just that. 

I ask myself constantly, how can I ensure that my three daughters don't grow up developing that voice in their heads that speaks nothing but bullshit? 

Allow yourself to value yourself over what other people say/feel about you. Maybe that's the biggest piece to remember. Maybe that's what happens the older we get...because at this point, I really don't care who likes me and who doesn't. It's okay. I don't need to please everyone all the time anymore, and I am a better person for it.

If I can teach my girls that part, the voice will hopefully just say, "Go for it. Try it. Paint it. Run it. Climb it. Sing it. Learn it...because you ARE worthy of everything that follows". 

Boom. 

The three of them will be Mommies someday, and pass that new recording along to their own children. It's my job to make sure I set the tape straight. Right now. 

No pressure, right?

Surrender. Unblock yourself. Go with the flow. You're worth it. 

Have a great day!

{Jenn}