Life in OM

Life in OM: Moving House (or Cleaning it)

 

Have you seen that show Hoarders?  I haven't watched it but the advertisements make my skin crawl. I honestly don't know how people live with tons of crap.

In the past 10 years I have moved 6 times- the 6th time this past week. It's not really a conscious decision to keep moving but it just happened to work out that way. With each move I found I was throwing more stuff out and moving less and less. At that point in my life,  I was practicing non-attachment and didn't even know it.

Now I'm not saying go out and get rid of all of your things but every 6 or 12 months take inventory of what you have and decide if it's something you need or is it just taking up space.

Clutter makes your life and your space messy and complicated. You know that great feeling you have after cleaning out your closet- that's how it feels when your surroundings are clean, simple and organized.

Here are a few tips for keeping things uncomplicated:

Books, DVD's, CD's or any other kind of Media- Lord of the Rings was so cool when it first came out but four years later How to Speak Elvish is just not getting that much face time. So if you haven't picked it up in a year or you've lost interest in it, sell it.  Amazon makes it so simple to sell your unwanted items and you can make quite a few dollars doing it.

Clothes- I used to be one of those people that kept everything. It either belonged to the school of one day I'll fit into it or I'll hold on to it just in case I need a bigger size. Living in the present moment is not just about your mental state, it's also about your wardrobe.  If it doesn't fit and it hasn't in a year get rid of it.  If you owned it when you were 18- bin it. If you look at it and cannot understand for the life of you why you bought it, say goodbye.  But don't throw your clothes or shoes out. Put them in bags and donate them. There are drop off bins everywhere and there is always someone who could use them.

Furniture: Is it old, ratty or a horrifying shade of hot pink?  Do you have TV's from the black and white era?  Is your garage full of bikes that never get ridden? Throw away the old stuff and give what's in decent shape to goodwill.

Cleaning house is really about taking stock of your life. Where are you now?  How different are you from the person you were 2, 3 or 5 years ago. The past is gone and letting go of it also means letting go of the physical clutter that comes with it. 

Remember you are not tossing away the memorable stuff just the junk that you've been carrying with you. Take a moment to really look around your home  - what are the things you really need versus the stuff that's just taking up space.

I thought I had really made progress in 10 years and I still had 25 bags of donations and trash this time around. Not to mention I have sold over $500 in books, cd's and dvd's I no longer use.

You don't have to trash your whole house but see if there are little steps you can start to take to simplify your life. Remember once you de-clutter the physical,  the mental is soon to follow!

Life in OM: Healthy Changes to Your Diet

 

After twenty years of fighting with my weight and trying every diet under the sun, I finally feel like I have a handle on my eating habits.

My grandfather summed it up once by telling me that I needed to find an eating level. Well, I found mine so I thought I would share a few things I learned along the way.

Plan Ahead: plan meals, snacks and shopping lists so you're not just shoving food in when your starving.

Don't Eat Out: stay home and cook the food yourself that way you control the ingredients and the portion size.
 
Know Your Portions: until you know what a cup, tablespoon and ounce are use measuring cups, spoons and a scale.

Drink water: cut down on sugar, diet and caffeinated drinks.

Be Mindful: eat slowly and turn off the TV and the computer.

Eat: 3 meals a day (and one snack) every 3 to 4 hours and don't skip meals.

Healthy Snacks: get rid of those 100 calorie snack packs for a natural snack (apple with almond butter; hummus and carrots).

Beware of Fat Free Foods: they can have tons of sugar, cut down the portion and go for reduced or full fat.
 
Avoid Unhealthy Ingredients: don't eat anything if it has more than 5 ingredients or you can't pronounce them or if you don't know what they are. (hydrogenated = bad)

Know Your Food:  read labels and be aware of serving sizes. That drink might be 50 calories but if there are 4 servings in it, that bottle is 200 calories.

Avoid Processed Sugar: instead of juice have a piece of fruit; use raw or turbinated sugar instead of the white kind, avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup.

Balance Your Meals: try to eat a healthy carb, lean protein and good fat at each meal

Not All Carbs are Bad!: eat your fruits, veggies and whole grains (in moderation) daily.

Not All Fat is Bad!: eat nuts, avocado, and olive oil in moderation.

Know Your BMR: learn how many calories you need to live, by knowing your Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the amount of calories you need to live if you sat on the couch all day. If you're trying to lose weight you may want to reduce this amount but never go below 1200.

Track Your Calories: I know this part really stinks but in the beginning you do need to learn how much you can eat so you don't overeat. Once you know what 1300 or 1400 calories looks like each day then you don't have to be so meticulous. Try http://www.livestrong.com/myplate.

Don't Eat After 8pm: Let your body really break it's fast in the morning by not eating too late. Your metabolisim slows down at night so let it rest.

Get Rid of the Scale: pay attention to how you feel. Incessant weighing is unhealthy and you want a lifestyle change not a quick fix.

Live a Little: splurge once a month if you're really craving something. We only have one life and if you feel like having a piece of cheesecake or a Ben and Jerry's ice cream do it! Just don't do it every week.

Move: (more on this in my next post)

Life in OM: New Years Goals

 

 

Well it's taken me a while to get back into the swing of things after my two week break in Sedona. Things just move at a much slower pace there and it was a bit of a shock being back in DC.

Now that it's the new year I thought I would take some time to write down my goals for the year. 2010 is going to be challenging for me but I also have loads to look forward to.

Goals for 2010:

1. Live every moment to the max with my soon to be navy hubby before he goes off to England and Afghanistan for 10 months.

2. After surgery last year and losing some of my fitness, committing to a 5 times a week fitness routine.

3. Get back to the basics with my diet. If the earth didn't produce it, I'm not eating it.

4. Get my website online.

5. Get my online business started.

6. Create my own yoga channel.

7. Keep posting on my blog

8. Oh yeah- plan a beautiful small wedding with the help of my wonderful mother.

I already started with eating healthfully and the exercise. We found a wonderful program that incorporated cardio, yoga and weights that is totally kicking my butt. It also helps to have my fiancée doing it with me.

This will hopefully get the body in good shape for our two week Caribbean vacation before he leaves.

Once I'm in DC on my own for a bit, I'll really get a chance to switch gears and focus on my website and business.

So that's the 2010 plan. It's great to write down goals at the beginning of the year and even more throughout. But it's also important to remember that goals are never set in stone and sometimes the journey creates completely new goals you never imagined.

It's a good road map but it's ok if you take some detours or even get lost for a while.

Happy New Year!

Life in OM: And So This Is Christmas...

 
  
  

This time of year means so many different things to so many people. Maybe it's a time for sharing cheer with your friends or giving something back to those in need.

For me, Christmas has always been about family.

No matter where I have lived over the years, I always make my way home for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day with my loved ones.

There have been additions over the years that have added greatly to our lives and there have been gaping holes left by those who have passed on.

Those spaces have been filled with the wonderful memories my grandfather left behind and Christmas is certainly one of the times I feel his presence most strongly.

It's a time to reminisce and find joy in conversation, food and tradition. To sit around the table for hours, eating together dishes that are older than a few of us combined- recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation with love and family in mind.

It's a time to remember and look to the future at the same time. To share happy tears and a feeling of hope. All the while basking in a feeling of contentment in the present moment.  There are not too many times during the year we can share all of those experiences at once.

It's a time to look at those around you with appreciation and cherish the time that you have, share gifts and share ourselves.

At it's most basic, you know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you look at that lighted tree or that fireplace with stockings hung above it- yeah that's what Christmas with family feels like.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

What does Christmas mean for you?

Happy Holidays to all!!

 

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge, Dec 11, "The Best Place" #best09

December 11 The best place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?

(The best date ever because it's my birthday today!)

My best place this year was a newly discovered English pub in Kensington called Earl's Court Tavern. Many a night we found ourselves in this warm, cozy pub having a cider and a traditional ploughman's and fish and chips.

It's a beloved memory of England and it felt like my neighborhood. When we were there it meant we were relaxing and taking some time to just enjoy each other's company before we started out on a fresh new day of our vacation.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge, Dec 9, "Challenge" #best09

 

December 9  Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

 

This year has been an extremely turbulent one for me. My fiancee's military orders kept changing from staying in this country to moving abroad what felt like weekly.

I would catch myself hoping one thing would happen and then being bitterly disappointed when the exact opposite occurred, only to have to change again in a month.

Keeping a level head, being objective and calm was very difficult and it was by far my greatest challenge.

I had to learn to let go and not get wrapped up in the future but focus on the present moment. I had to learn to not have expectations but just deal with what happened as it came into my life.

I became much less stressed and upset as I accepted that life is full of change and most of it is completely out of my control. I can only live each moment to the fullest every single day and that is what I intend to do.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge, Dec 8 "Moment of Peace", #best09

December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

 My moment of peace is my daily meditation. As my physical yoga practice has decreased due to injury this year my meditation practice has taken off.

 I light my Tunisian jasmine candle, sit at my makeshift tv table filled with Buddha's, Ganesha, mala beads, stones with  inscriptions of love and peace, and an OM. 

 It's a place where I let go of everything and find a sense of stillness. The warmth, the smell of the candle focuses me. I close my eyes and relax into my breath. If I'm feeling anxious or stressed I start with some alternate nostril breathing, mental or physical.

Once I feel the tension leave my body I move back to my regular breathing.

I set my timer for at least 10 minutes but I revel in the times I can sit for 20 or 30. If I'm in a bad mood it leaves me, stressed I find calm, distracted I am able to refocus.

I literally crave these moments of peace and I savor every second.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge, #best09

I stumbled across this fabulous blog challenge and thought it would be a great way to look back on my year and see all I've done. It's been an amazing year for me so I am looking forward to doing this. If you are interested in doing this challenge please click on the photo above, it will take you directly to Gwen Bell's blog.

It started on Dec 1, so I am a few days behind but I am going to play catch up with this post.

December 1 Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?

My two week trip to England and France in October was best with Las Vegas and New York a close runner’s up.

December 2 Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?

It’s a tie between a restaurant in Paris, France and a restaurant at Paris, Las Vegas. In May,  I had a delightful French meal with my boyfriend at the Eiffel Tower restaurant in Las Vegas. It was so different because our seats faced each other and out the window so we could watch the Bellagio fountains at night. In Paris, after I got engaged at the Eiffel Tower I had my first meal with my fiancée at a small French restaurant on a quiet street off the Champs Elysees. Both were unforgettable.

December 3 Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.

What comes to mind is that story that was super popular this year of the two young men who raised a lion and once he was too big to handle they released it to a reservation in Africa. When they went back to see the lion years later he recognized them both with hugs and kisses. I have quite a soft spot for animals and it proved that love goes a long way and is not easily forgotten – one of the many reasons why I personally am a vegetarian.

December 4 Book. What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?

Pema Chodren, Comfortable With Uncertainty. Everyone should own a copy. Pema speaks to your soul in simple and logical ways that just make sense. She holds amazing wisdom.

December 5 Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?

There's been so many of these this year but it had to be the night I got engaged at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was just magic and I am so lucky to have met a wonderful man who would do all of that for me.

December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?

Sadie Nardini is a NY yoga teacher I was introduced to earlier this year. She wrote a book and accompanying workshop called Road Trip Guide to the Soul. She's very real and down to earth. Her book is very useful for someone who is trying to figure out which direction to take their life and follow their passion

December 7 Blog find of the year. That gem of a blog you can't believe you didn't know about until this year.

This is probably not the normal response but my blog find of the year was my own. I started writing this blog on wellness, yoga and everyday wisdom. I've been pleased with the positive response I have gotten with it so far and I am looking forward to growing it over the next year.

Life in OM: Random Goodness

This has been a manic week so I am taking a moment to savor the good things in my life:

Red Velvet Cheesecake at Magnolia Bakery in NYC. (I will be back Dec 12!!)

A long lazy stroll in the sunshine with my honey - whether it's from the Arc du Triomphe to the Louvre in Paris or around Dupont Circle.

Having my Mom and her hubby support me and my fiancée during an excruciating Marine Corps Marathon.

Catching a glimpse of my Gramp's glasses and remembering exactly how he used to greet me in them, right down to his voice.

Doing sun salutations in the quiet of my new yoga room.

Laying in bed at night listening to my  beloved dog and fiancée snore away.

Anticipating a wonderful Christmas with my whole family.

Watching the first snowflakes fall.

Seeing my sweet yellow lab with snow all over his nose.

Reading on the couch, fire going and Christmas tree lit.

Yummy Sunday Dinner.

 

Life in OM: I'll Be Happy When...

 

 

I'll be happy when I'm rich.

I'll be happy when I've lost 20 pounds.

I'll be happy when I find someone and get married.

I'll be happy when I've had kids.

I'll be happy when said kids go to college.

I'll be happy when I get a better job.

I'll be happy when I go on vacation.

I'll be happy when I get a new car.

I'll be happy when I've finished school.

I'll be happy when I move away from here.

 

See a pattern here?

Basing your happiness on some external source that might happen is a waste of your energy and only leads to disappointment.

Why disappointment? As soon as you achieve whatever you thought it was that would make you happy, you realize you're still unhappy. So you move on to the next thing that will guarantee happiness and that doesn't work either.

It doesn't matter where you go or what you achieve,  if you don't know to look for happiness within,  you are always going to be relentlessly searching for it.

It's a vicious cycle that many of us end up in for most of our lives

Happiness comes from within. Do you see the glass half full or half empty?

Each of us has many things to be grateful for. Even if your situation is bleak there is always something to be thankful for.

We are all complete beings as we are and we all have the means to be happy- it's just a choice.

During this week of giving thanks,  have gratitude for all that you have,  rather than chasing after things that you think will make your life better.

Hopefully, it will put a smile on your face and true happiness in your heart.

Happy Thanksgiving!!