Tag: come on get happy

Living differently.

Being on vacation in Roatan is amazing… and different. We are staying in a house, not a resort, so we are pretending that we live here. We are buying our own groceries and cooking all of our own food. Others have told me that this is a lot different than it is in North America, but I really did not believe them. Until now. The first noticeable difference is at the till and on the shelf. A bottle of wine costs 173 Lempira’s, which equals about 9 US dollars. And when your grocery bill totals 2000 it can seem a bit scary! (That’s about 100 US Dollars).

Everything that is not grown on the island has to be imported, so almost everything costs more here than it would at home. Due to the heat and humidity here, maintaining the freshness of food even in the grocery stores is an issue. The meat in the grocery stores looks very different than what we are used to, and I still cannot bring myself to buy it. You have to look carefully at expiry dates, and a lot of times the stuff you want to buy (like milk) may not be in stock when you choose to shop. Yesterday for breakfast, I was fully prepared to make pancakes with a yummy pancake mix that was in the cupboard. We had a bunch of bananas that had just been cut off a tree and I had mushed them up to add to the mix. When I opened the bag of pancake mix and looked inside to measure out a cup, the mix was crawling with tiny little bugs. I promptly threw the whole bag in the garbage and moved on something else. These little bugs are common place here, and I suppose one either gets used to them or you don’t eat certain foods. Today, I cooked up some Macaroni Noodles for lunch. When I opened the box and saw movement, I thought “oh, well. At least they are going into the boiling water.”. I dumped the noodles in, rinsed them well once they were done cooking, and we all ate our yummy lunch. A girl has gotta do what a girl’s gotta do for herself and her family. Rest assured that I may be sticking to more fruits and vegetables while we are here from now on, and I will be asking others who live here how to compensate for the interesting foods here.

For now, I have some counters to wipe off so the sugar ants don’t come. I am officially playing “Survivor Roatan” and I feel like I’m going to win!

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.

Friendship is a gift!

You can never be sure what the Universe will send your way, but one thing you can count on is that the Universe will send you exactly what you need, when you need it.

Interestingly, my book release party this weekend brought back into my life some people that I have missed dearly, and who I obviously need in my life right now. It also brought me in contact with some amazing new people.

True friendship is a gift that makes your heart swell to a size larger than it was before. A true friend adores you no matter what.   And although time may pass where a friend is not in your life, when that friend returns to your life, it is as if they were never gone.   I want to take this opportunity to welcome back to my life some true friends!

Have faith that the Universe will provide for you, and it will.  Have an amazing day!

Out with the Old, In with the New

A few weeks ago, I cleaned out my office thoroughly, did all of my filing and got my desk looking neat and sweet, and I pumped up the good energy of my desk using Feng Shui.  In just a few short weeks, I have moved out of that office, and yesterday I officially welcomed someone new to that office!  Gotta love that turn around!

Clear out the clutter in your life, keep things organized and do not hang onto too many things.  Keep it simple.  Let go of the old, unused, unwanted stuff in your home, and in your life, and you will immediately make room for new, exciting things.  Get ready for some change! Namaste.

Better a relationship in your life today!

Life gets so busy that we sometimes forget to take time to let the people we care about know how much they mean to us.  Make time today to show the people you love that you care about them, and are thinking about them.  Here are some ideas on how to let them know:

  • Send flowers and a meaningful card, or have flowers waiting for them when they come home (or bring them with you when you meet)
  • Send an e-card, or mail an actual card
  • Call them and tell them outright how you feel about them
  • Plan a date night
  • Cook their favorite dinner or dessert
  • Buy some rose petals and sprinkle them on the bed
  • Do something to make life easier for them, like washing their car or taking out the garbage / recycling
  • Put a note in their lunchbag, or on / under their pillow

It is amazing how good it feels to share with others.  And don’t forget about you! You should be the most important person in your life.  So be sure to do something nice for yourself today too.  Flowers are nice… Namaste.

Inspire yourself.

My inspiration program includes inspiring yourself.

It is easy to look to others for inspiration and motivation. Others can help to get you back on track, or help convince you that you are on the right path, or make you realize that you need to choose a new path. But you can become so reliant on that external motivation, that when it is removed, there is no longer anything pushing you to keep going. You have got to be able to inspire yourself. Here’s how.

Visualize yourself grabbing onto the little pilot light inside of you. See yourself lighting that pilot light, and see it burning brightly and warmly. Keep adding fuel to that fire so that it never goes out! There are a lot of different ways to add fuel to your fire. Here are a few of my favorites.

Talk nicely to yourself. You are capable of anything.
Reward yourself when you accomplish anything.
Don’t worry about what other people think. What you think about yourself, and the path you are on, is all that matters.
Take positive actions in your life. And avoid negative situations and negative people.
Get active. Do Yoga. Smile.

Inspire yourself everyday and you will start reaping the rewards. Namaste.

Don’t Back Down!

Tom Petty Sang it Best…

“Well I know what’s right, I got just one life
in a world that keeps on pushin me around
but I’ll stand my ground
…and I won’t back down”

This is your life, and you have control over it. When things stand in your way, don’t back down! Stand your ground! Keep trying, keep doing, keep moving! There is always a way around every obstacle… around it, through it, over it, or taking a detour away from it. Don’t get discouraged. Things may not always go the way you thought they would, but if you keep focused on the end goal, you’ll get there no matter what route you take. Namaste.