aloha every day

aloha every day

Monday, May 28, 2012

Can you smell it?

...
Summer's coming!
I can smell it in the air, 
can you?

Do you know what that MEANS?
Think
think
think...

SALAD!
Lots of it!

Here are my two favorite salad dressing recipes for summertime:

1- Mix equal parts fat free greek yogurt (I like Fage) with your favorite salsa.  Then, pour it over a big bed of greens!  I also like to add corn, black beans, and (if I'm feeling rebellious) some crushed tortilla chips.  YUM!

2- The beautiful momma of one of my besties makes a lemon garlic dressing that is TO LIVE FOR!  I like to pour it over greens topped with various veggies, such as red peppers and carrots.  For a super-summer version, add some sliced strawberries...you won't regret it!
1/4 c. lemon juice, 1/2 c. EVOO, 1 tsp. salt, 3-4 crushed garlic cloves 
(mix it all together...makes enough for MANY salads)


aloha.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Balance

 Recently, the Hubs went on a week-long trip with his school,
and left me here, 
alone.
I don't fear being alone.
Actually, I am a loner at-heart.
Spending time alone always seems to balance my heart, soul, and mind,
and therein nourishes my relationships with others.
In having this thought,
"balance"
was at the heart of my meditations during my "alone week."

Balance was the frequent subject in ballet class...
a subject with which I constantly fought. 
"Find your balance, Lindsay!"
"You must balance before you can pirouette!"
"Engage your core and BALANCE!"
Perhaps my core was weak, I was top-heavy, or my anxieties over not balancing caused an imbalance.
Whichever was the case, 
I was horrible in regards to balance...
in dance class.

As an adult, balance has a refreshed meaning,
yet not entirely disconnected from dance.
"Find your balance, Lindsay!"
My balance now includes frequent trips to the ocean to calm my mind,
daily exercise to keep my body healthy and my feet on the ground,
and healthy eating for EVERY meal...I love vegetables!
 "You must balance before you can pirouette!"
If I haven't taken the steps above to balance my mind and body, the cyclical pirouette of daily life seems more challenging than it should be.  In dance terms, "I'll fall-out of my turn" if I haven't first practiced to balance.
"Engage your core and BALANCE!"
Engagement from the inside out...
...thinking before I speak
...planning before I leap
...knowing my intentions before completing an action...
  Strengthen the inside and the outer results will be pleasing.

One morning during my "alone week," I was sitting beside the ocean prior to going to work.
To start the day, especially at the shore, I like to do a "5-Senses Meditation."
On this particular day, I had stopped at a beach that is near to a train track.
As I was concentrating on my sense of smell, 
suddenly...
a train came whizzing behind me,
blowing it's HORN,
overstimulating my sense of sound,
and trumping my sense of smell.

I didn't feel particularly put-out by this occurrence, as I am thankful for the train and for it's horn.
I did begin thinking, however, about how easy it is in our culture and generation to trump our other senses with our sense of sight.
We happen to have become a screen-addicted society on the majority.  
How many "devices" do we own?
How many "devices" do our children own?
How many children take meds for ADHD, but have 5,000 devices to distract their attention from the direction of their life?
Just like that train, we are over-stimulating ourselves, and it is only when we take the time to be aware of "the now"
that we recognize the imbalance that has taken place.

Speaking of "the now", summer is here..in full-effect...and the plants are LOVING IT!
 A slightly voyeuristic view of our orchid...

 Jasmine...about to bloom!

The gardenia is OPENING!!
Welcome, summer!

aloha.

100th post

This is my 100th post!
I saved the sharing of a momentous occasion JUST for this posting.

Actually,
I lied.

I simply have not been blog-loving in the last few months, and
it is by pure coincidence that I am sharing a momentous occasion for this,
my 100th post.

A little ditty about this being my 100th post:
I began this blog in 2007 as a way to share pictures and stories with my family and friends.
At that time, I was living in Hawai'i and this blog,
originally titled
"Living la Vida Hawai'i"
was my format with which to distribute pictures and stories with whomever wanted to listen.
This was my first post:

Of course, 
I no longer live in Hawai'i...
insert sad face,
BUT (there's always a but),
I have kept my blog
BECAUSE
it has transformed into my way to recount the stories of my life
in a permanent and multi-media format. 

I used to scrapbook...kinda...
you know, 
tirelessly cut and glue realia from my life into another book, 
only to pull it out from time to time and reminisce.
To heck with it! 

I live in the digital age!
So here I am.
and here I stay.
Bloggin' away.

Okay...onward to my momentous occasion.
I turned THIRTY!
and it feels GREAT!
I feel like I now possess the "street cred" to be a successful professional...
problem is:
I'm not a professional anything right now...hahaha!
But, I AM thirty,
and I DO believe that to be an unspoken requirement to be taken seriously in interviews 
for the profession which I desire.

Here, then, are the photos of my MOMENTOUS OCCASION!
 The beautiful bowl given to me by my husband.  
Care of Heather Knight ceramics: http://elementclaystudio.blogspot.com/

 Super moon!

 Breakfast at The Mission.  I am ADDICTED to this place...

 Official Californians

 Mom and me

 Hubs and me...we're now the same age!

 My Bra, me, and Hubs


 California's version of Pipeline...well...

 At Islands restaurant for birthday dinner!

 The annual clown cone

The results of the annual clown cone...

Here's to thirty more!
aloha.