Month: February 2012

Roatan Time.

Our luggage managed to get to Roatan a day after we did, and we were told that the luggage would be delivered at 2:30pm. 2:30 came and went, and at 5 we decided we should do something. A quick drive to the airport, and there was our luggage sitting in the office. They had intended to deliver it the next morning at 10:30! I guess Roatan time is different than what we are used to. Everything here can happen, manana (tomorrow, or the next day…) The point is, there is no rushing on this island. Where we are from, time is money and there is always a rush to get things done. We rely on things being on time so that we can get everything we need to done. Rush, rush. Stay on time!

It is interesting to have the pace of your life slowed down to the crawl of a hermit crab. Certainly not what we are used to, but it is a change that I could get used to.

Ryan and I are trading off sleep in days on our vacation, and this morning was my turn. I had the best sleep, and I woke up feeling refreshed. The sun was shining when I got up, and the kids were already in the pool. It felt like it was at least 11 am. To my surprise, when I looked at the clock it was 8:00 am! Poor Ryan… the girls were up at 6 am with the sun! But time is all relative, and it is a matter of perspective. It really didn’t matter what time it was, I felt great.

And waking up on a Monday morning without the rush of my usual busy lifestyle feels amazing.

Take some time, even if it is 5 minutes, to refresh yourself and your body. Stop the hustle bustle in your own body by savoring 5 minutes of calm and peace. Rushing all the time in your life causing an increase in adrenaline, which is a fight or flight response. This can make you feel more stressed all the time, even when you’re not! Take a break, breathe, relax and refresh. Namaste!

Bathing Suits

I have a new bathing suit, and now that our luggage is here (woo hoo!) I get to sport this new suit every day. I just loooove it. The colors are great and it makes me feel like a million bucks. I mentioned out loud the idea that “a new bathing suit can make you feel like a million bucks”. We are vacationing with my dad, and his response was interesting. He made the comment that no matter what body type you have, and no matter what your bathing suit looks like, if you walk with confidence when you have it on, everyone will take notice. Keep your head up, shoulders back, suck your tummy in, look around with interest at everything, keep your arms by your side, and smile. It is all about how you handle yourself that gets you noticed, not what you are wearing or how your body looks. But you will be more willing to walk with that confidence if what you are wearing something that makes you feel good.

It’s not what you wear, but how you wear it. Feel confident about your body and yourself, and then let the world know that you are amazing. Have a wonderful day!

Adventures in Roatan, Day 1.

Today marks the first day of our well-deserved family holiday in Roatan, Honduras. Yesterday, my 4 year old, Payton and I practiced running around the house with her backpack on, pretending that we were going to miss our flight. I wanted to make sure that she could handle carrying that bag by herself, and she did great!

Our vacation this morning started with a 3 am alarm, which one never minds when it means that you are off to somewhere special. The morning in Calgary was spectacular, and watching the sunrise as we took off into the air for Houston was spectacular. Interestingly, a freak lightning storm delayed our arrival, and we landed in Houston with mere minutes to spare to catch our flight to Roatan. Good thing Payton and I had practiced! We had to run like we have never run before to make that flight… but we ended up making it. Our luggage, however, did not make that flight! We are all praying that our swim suits and clothes show up tomorrow.

The swarm of bats dining at the hummingbird feeder and the sound of the waves crashing made me somewhat forget that I may be wearing the same set of clothes for a couple of days. And hey, I may just get a chance to buy another new bathing suit… (and one for Ryan, and Trinity and Kayley and Payton…) Who needs clothes anyway?

It’s all in the perspective. Enjoy every moment of every day. Most events that seem stressful are really laughable afterwards. Laugh at them while they are happening, and it will remove a lot of the stress. Cheers from Roatan!

Reward Yourself

You work hard everyday, so make sure you reward yourself often with small things, and occasionally with larger things. Give yourself small rewards on a weekly basis at minimum. Daily would be a interesting goal. Reward yourself in BIG ways at least once per year.

Small rewards can be things like:

  • a bath with some aroma therapy and a locked door
  • a dark chocolate bar, a bottle of wine and your favorite book for an hour (or more…)
  • a yoga class
  • a sporting event
  • coffee with a friend
  • buying yourself a new plant, or some flowers
  • 5 minutes of meditation

Big Rewards are things like:

  • Trips or Vacations
  • Shopping for Shoes, Clothes, Purses
  • An item you’ve been wanting for a while… hot tub, lamborghini, motorbike,  house
  • Spa Weekend

You put in effort everyday in your life, and you deserve to be rewarded for those efforts.  If you take responsibility for rewarding yourself when you have done good things, you will build confidence in yourself and you will not need to look externally for rewards.  This will improve your outlook on everything, and when you have something to look forward to, you will be more motivated to put the effort in.  And the more effort you put in, the more you will be able to reward yourself.  Cool, huh?

Have a wonderful day.  Namaste.

Cooincidence?

I am required to volunteer once a month at my daughters preschool, which I love.  If I cannot do my scheduled shift, it is my responsibility to find someone to switch with me.  Recently, I needed to swap a shift in February.  I have a class list at home, but I was pressed for time and wanted to take some action right away.  There is a communication book that the parents write in if they need to communicate with the teachers, so I thought I would just write it in there and hope that one of the moms would be able to cover it off, and that they would chance to look at the book (most of us only ever look at it if need to write something in it, never otherwise).

A few days later, one of the moms came up to me and said, “Hey.  I was wondering if you would be able to swap volunteer days with me…I am not able to make it on my scheduled day”.

She had not even seen the note in the book, and she did not know that I was looking for someone to swap with also.  Ha ha! Thank you Universe!

We ended up swapping out days, and both of us walked away happy and knowing that a piece of our lives had just been handled.  Oh yeah.

And all I had to do was write it down.  I put it out there to the Universe, and then just went with the flow.

Start questioning the cooincidences that happen in your life, and try to track what you did to make that happen.  When things work, keep doing them.  You are in control.  Namaste.