how can i deal with stress – Be That Girl Now

Can Anyone Cook Dinner? I put Sandi Richard’s New Cookbook to the Test.

I have been using Sandi Richard’s line of Meal Planning Cookbooks for over 10 years now. I am a raving fan! I buy every one of her books because they have taught me how to meal plan, her meals are easy, delicious, and healthy and even my husband can follow the recipes!

Her newest cookbook is entitled Anyone Can Cook Dinner
I decided to put Sandi’s book title promise to the test in my own home with my 8 year old daughter Trinity.

We used Sandi’s printable grocery list to purchase all of the items for our week of dinners. It is so nice to know that you have everything on hand for 5 healthy meals!

I let Trinity choose what she wanted to make out of the 5 meals.

I will admit, I was nervous. Was my daughter ready to cook? When is the right time to start showing your kids how to cook? It was time to see what she could do.

Trinity’s dinner choice…Tuna Tetrazzini with Corn & Peas.

Trinity read over the recipe. First thing Sandi tells you to do is take out all of the tools you will need, which are nicely detailed under the equipment list. Trinity did as she was instructed and pulled everything out.

Next, Trinity gathered up all of the ingredients as instructed and laid them out on the counter.

She followed the easy step by step instructions to prepare one of her first real meals by herself.

I was in the kitchen the entire time just for support and to answer any questions. I was pleasantly surprised!

Trinity excelled at cooking! She was so excited to embark on this cooking adventure, and I could tell how proud she was of herself. Just that fact that I was turning over the kitchen to her made her smile!

While the dinner was in the oven, Trinity set the table and even prepared a menu for our family to show what we were having.

It was amazing to watch my little girl succeed in the kitchen. As parents, I think we forget that it is our job to teach our kids how to be INDEPENDENT of us. An essential skill that we all need is cooking! It is amazing to see what skills children can learn in the kitchen…math, preparedness, cleanliness, healthiness…the list goes on!

It is time for us to stop doing everything ourselves, and let our children LEARN!

Sandi Richard has done it again! She is not only helping families get back to eating together, she is helping families learn to cook together! Give yourself permission to ask for help in the kitchen and you’ll create an amazing change in your family dynamics. Life is all about teamwork. Start introducing your children to the kitchen and cooking as early as you can. There is always something you can get your children doing…pulling out equipment, ingredients, washing and cutting vegetables, or just watching you and chatting with you about each others day.

Unlock the kitchen and let your children and your husbands in! Make it easy for them to prepare dinner by having everything on hand to prepare a meal, along with an easy to follow, no fail recipe. Plan meals as a family, and dinner will be a lot more fun. Reduce your stress by knowing what you are having for dinner tomorrow, and prepare for tomorrow’s dinner before you go to bed. It is not hard, especially when you use one of Sandi’s cookbooks. I truly believe ANYONE CAN COOK DINNER, if they are given the proper tools.

Thanks Sandi. Getting back to basics is easier than I thought it would be. With 3 daughters, I’m hoping to be sipping my wine while I watch my dinner being prepared. They cook, they clean! Win-win!

You Gotta Fight!

When the going gets tough, take the advice of the Beastie Boys and “Fight for your right to PARTY!”

No matter what your life is filled with right now, add some fun, even if you don’t feel like you can, or should! Fight with yourself and win! Give yourself permission to TAKE the time and enjoy your life, even when you feel like there is just “no time for fun”. All work and no play will add up to a meltdown of unhappiness. Fun is a stress reliever. Smiling and laughing increases your positivity, which will add energy and vitality to your life and propel you forward.

This week, I have been invited to attend an event called “Bull Bustin'” with my Unky. While I am feeling overwhelmed in other areas of my life, I am making time to hang with my Unky and enjoy some good ‘ole Stampede fun. Living in Calgary, we get used to all kinds of “rodeo-themed” events during our world famous Calgary Stampede. This annual event is aptly termed “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”, and is something I think everyone should have on their bucket list to attend. Free pancake breakfasts all around town for 10 days straight, a license to party any time of the day, and a city dressed to the nines in jeans with over-sized belt buckles, cowboy boots and hats will have you shouting “Yee Haw” until the fireworks go off each night.

Let yourself have a little fun each week. (not too much, though, or you’ll regret it!) Let go of any guilt you may have about allowing yourself this time. It is essential for your well-being. Namaste.

Success Law: Grab a Thread.

Things will happen in your life that upset you. Things will happen that do not feel right, and don’t feel good. Situations will come up that are unexpected, scary, and hard to deal with. One of the hardest things to learn in this life is to let go of your negative feelings about things and situations. Life will get hard and things will always change. You can measure your own success by how quickly you can change the emotion of a situation from negative to positive.

I had the pleasure of meeting an incredible man this weekend. A man who had lost his wife suddenly in the last few weeks. Knowing of his loss, but not knowing him, I expected to meet a broken, sad man. I was wrong. The man I met was a pillar of strength, positivity, and calmness. His smile and his energy said it all. He had made peace with the loss. He had let go of the sadness, and was enjoying every moment of the life that he still vibrantly had, and wanted to shared with everyone around him. His strength made me realize that the recent emotional turmoil I was going through based on a recent change in my own life was simply unnecessary.

Every problem that arises in your life is actually an opportunity. Focus on seeing the positive outcomes of every situation as quickly as possible, and you will be able to turn your negative feelings into positive ones. Do not get stuck in a black hole of self pity. Things happen. You have the ability to control how you react to the situations.

Do not take things personally. EVER. You are amazing. You have the power, the stamina, the strength and the determination to achieve everything you think about. So make sure you think about great things.

Let go of the negative emotion. Grab onto the little threads of positivity all around you and start knitting yourself something. Perhaps you will start with a pair of slippers. Soon, you will have knitted a blanket of positivity that you can wrap yourself and your family in. If you keep pulling in the positive strings, and continue creating positivity, you will be changing the world, one thread at a time.

It’s OK to feel happy, even when bad things happen. Challenge yourself to see the good in EVERY situation. Namaste.

How can I build Confidence? Treat Yourself.

You work hard. You need to take the time to relax and unwind. Treating yourself to this time will help you create your amazing future even faster!

It is easy to just go, go, go, and then just keep going! If you’re not doing, you’re not achieving, right? Wrong. You have got to take a breather once in a while and get your strength back, and keep your focus on track. Today, take a 20 minute break from “doing”, and focus on “thinking”.

Here are a few ways that you can restore yourself and regain your mental focus.

Take a long bath or a shower, by yourself.
Lock yourself in your bedroom and just sit on the bed quietly. Bring your journal, just in case.
Do yoga.
Do a small meditation and focus only on your breathing. Concentrate on visualize what you want for yourself.
Go out to the garden, or in your yard, and sit for 20 minutes without doing any work. Just enjoy what you have created.
Sit on your porch and do nothing but enjoy everything around you. You may also choose to sit on your couch if you live in Calgary, and it is still freezing in May!
Get up 20 minutes earlier than normal and just sit and have a coffee or tea before anyone else gets up. Enjoy the quiet and the lack of doing. Look out your windows and notice what is happening around you. You may just see a sunrise, some wildlife, or another thing that makes you wonder about your neighbor.

Start treating yourself to 20 minutes of “no do” time every week. Remind yourself that taking this 20 minutes is a huge part of creating your success. You will connect with yourself in ways that you have forgotten, and you will begin creating your future faster. Find true happiness in treating yourself each week. Make it important and do not justify it to anyone. If you are going to pick one thing to do to change your life, this has to be it. Find 20 minutes each week and start expanding yourself. Experience the joy of being with you, for you. Namaste.

Hide-and-Seek

Look at your life, and what you have created around you. Somewhere in your life there is a place that has the ability to heal you, and propel you. This place was designed by you, for you. No matter what your circumstance is right now, that space is there waiting for you. It is right there for the taking, but its power may be invisible to you. Your job is to find that place now, and use it.

For me, the front porch of our home has turned into my sanctuary. When I sit there, I feel totally at peace with myself, and with the Universe. I feel calm and my mind is clear. After 5 or 10 minutes in this space, I always feel rejuvenated and refreshed. If I am feeling emotional, this space allows me to feel those feelings intensely, while encouraging me to let go of those feelings fairly quickly. In this space, I can dream easily of where I want to be because my mind is quiet and free. Taking 5 or 10 minutes each day to focus on your dreams in the most important time you can give yourself, and it will create the largest results. Focusing on the result is the key. The “getting there” will happen if you focus on the goal.

Your goal is to find your sweet spot. Wherever that spot is for you. You will know it is right by how you feel when you are there…calm and free. Ask the Universe out loud to help you find your sweet spot, and you will be amazed at what is revealed. The spot is there…it is waiting for you. Change your life by finding it and then physically force yourself there as often as you can. Clear your mind of the daily grind and open up your soul to your dreams. Help yourself dream more easily and start creating more quickly. You will also rapidly increase your health just by taking 5 minutes each day to breath and let the thoughts of the day go. A game of hide-and-seek has begun. Report back to me at tina@bethatgirlnow.com!

Where to look.

Years ago, when I was taking my motorcycle training, I learned a most important lesson. Everyone in the class lined up on their bikes single file at the bottom of a small hill. Our exercise was to drive up the little hill, turn around tightly at the top and then drive back down the hill. Sounds pretty straightforward. But it wasn’t for me. I would get to the top of the hill, try to turn, and I would drop my bike. Each time I would pick up my bike, feel frustrated and then I would drive down the hill. By the tenth time, I was in tears. I was tired from lifting my motorbike back up, and I was embarrassed that everyone in the class was watching me bite it time after time.

So what was I doing wrong? I kept going where I was looking, which was at the ground! My instructor told me to look where I wanted to go…not where I didn’t want to go!

I distinctly remember successfully completing the task for the first time. When I got to the top of the hill, I forced myself to whip my head around and look down the hill, instead of worrying about the ground. With my body following my lead, I eased my bike around that tight corner and cruised my way to victory at the bottom of the hill. Everyone cheered, including me.

You have got to look where you want to go in life, and sometimes you have to force yourself to do this as it is not an easy thing. Keep your focus on what you do want, and really try hard not to think about, or get caught up in, what you don’t want. Consciously remind yourself of this small lesson everyday, stay focused on your dreams even in the hardest moments and you’ll be cruising your way to success. Have a prosperous and fabulous week. Follow me on facebook @bethatbooks to get inspired daily and find out the latest Be That news!

Let Go.

Throughout our lives, we take things on because we think that these things will fulfill us. We may end up spending our time doing things we don’t really want to do because we feel obliged. We may be hanging onto certain objects because we feel obliged, or emotional about them. I would encourage you today to think about how you fill your time, and how you fill the spaces you live in. Choose to let go of something today that is just no longer fitting in your life, whether it is a thing, or an activity. Releasing yourself from the emotional ties that you have to certain things in your life is an incredibly freeing experience, and one that will open you up to the possibility that less is always more. Give yourself more by letting go. Freedom is yours for the taking.

The Great Exchange.

This morning, our three daughters were up early and Ryan and I were desperate for a half hour more of sleep. So, I asked my oldest daughter to help us by getting breakfast for herself and her younger sisters. A blissful half an hour later, we walked into the kitchen to find cereal all over the floor, and our kids dining on a crazy oatmeal concoction laced with chocolate chips, honey and marshmallows out of soggy paper muffin cups. The kids were happy, and high on sugar. The kitchen was a disaster. Ryan and I eventually felt like it was a fair payment for the extra sleep.

Remember that nothing is FREE in this life, and in order to get, you must be willing to give. This is the great exchange. Realizing the inevitability of this exchange can change your perspective on everything that happens in your life. So, what are you willing to do, or give up, to get what you want? It is always your choice, and in your control. Have a fantastic week!

An easy, effective assignment.

Grab a garbage bag and take a walk through your home. Open up closets, look under the beds, and inside drawers. Pick 5 things that you no longer need or want, or that just no longer have a spot in your life anymore.

Choose things like shoes you no longer wear, old jackets, boardgames, old make up or hair products, books, toys or something out of your kitchen. It may be your favorite jeans… the ones that you can’t even wear out of the house anymore because they are so worn out.
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As you put things into your garbage bag, let go of any feelings you have associated with those items. Say “thanks for being there for me, but I need to move on”.

Be sure to find at least 5 items, and feel free to get rid of more (but don’t spend all day on this).

This task should take less than 10 minutes, if you walk fast and make quick decisions. It’s only 5 things. No excuses. Just go do it now.

Look through the garbage bag and decide what you are going to do with your 5 items. If the item is garbage (not reusable), put it there now. Decide if you want to donate, or sell, the remaining items that are still usable. Put the items you intend to donate into your car so you can drop them off on your next outing. If you plan to sell some items, decide how you are going to do that and then do it. Take pictures of your items and upload them to Kijijji, or decide on a date for your next garage sale. If you think trying to sell the items will be a hassle, just donate. You will be making someone’s life better. By doing this exercise, you will also be making your own life better. Reducing the amount of stuff you have in your life can increase your efficiency and reduce your stress. Namaste.

Get what you want…or at least what you need.

I want to inspire you today with two of my favorite music quotes.

“Oh, you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.”

-Rolling Stones

Followed by….

“All you need is love, love. Love is all you need’

-Beatles

Take some time today to consider what you have in your life right now. Are you constantly chasing what you want when in actuality you already have everything you need? Embrace the love that exists all around you and allow yourself to feel supported and content. Namaste.