Sunday, May 30, 2010

Quotes To Inspire

"If you start focusing on what you have, and what you are grateful for, you will begin to see more."

-- Oprah Winfrey
"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
-- Albert Einstein

"In every human being there is both garbage and gold, it is up to us to chose what we pay attention to."
-- Werner Erhard

"I missed 100% of the shots that I never took."
-- Michael Jordan

"Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary."
-- Margaret Cousins

"Celebrate what you want to see more of."
-- Tom Peters

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."
-- Eric Hoffer

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
-- Melody Beattie Author

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
--William Arthur Ward 1921-1997, Author, Pastor and Teacher

"There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread."
-- Mother Teresa

"A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success."
-- Anonymous

"The key to true success and fulfillment in life is our ability to genuinely appreciate ourselves, our lives, and those around us."
-- Mike Robbins

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well."
-- Voltaire

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."
-- e.e. Cummings

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right."
-- Henry Ford

"Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune."
-- Sam Walton

"If you wish your merit to be known, acknowledge

that of other people."
-- Oriental Proverb

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
-- Marcel Proust

"I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among men the greatest asset I possess. The way to develop the best that is in a man is by appreciation and encouragement."
-- Charles Schwab

"We must BE the CHANGE we wish to see in the world."
-- Gandhi

"We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims."
-- Buckminster Fuller
"If everyone is moving forward together, then the success takes care of itself"
-- John Wooden

"We have no morally persuasive power with those who can feel our underlying contempt for them."

-- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost."
-- Martha Graham

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I can live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.
Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

-- George Bernard Shaw
'
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?'

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about you shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.


It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."


-- Marianne Williamson

The Art Of Allowing.

Hello!
I lieu of my food filled posts, I wanted to post this article I read on Oprah.com . It's about the 'Art of Allowing', which I've recently immersed myself in (viaMichael J Losier, Joe Vitale, Debbie  Ford, Katie Byron etc). It's about opening yourself up to receive all the things you want and accept things as they are. This article was written for Oprah.com by Mike Robbins:

THE ART OF ALLOWING IN 3 STEPS

Allowing, however, is an essential aspect of life and growth, as well as of your success and fulfillment. The first aspect of allowing has to do with accepting things as they are. As author and teacher Byron Katie says, "When you argue with reality, you lose—but only 100 percent of the time."



When you're able to allow people, things and situations to be as they are—without judging them, trying to fix them or wanting to change them—you begin to tap into the immense power of allowing. Ironically and somewhat paradoxically, when you truly allow things and people to be exactly as they are, you open up a space for real change and transformation to occur (if that is what you want).


The deeper aspect of allowing has to do with trusting, being patient and having faith that what you want to manifest, create and experience can and will show up in your life as it is meant to. In other words, it's an ability to allow things to happen and materialize, without you having to manipulate, dominate or control other people or situations to make them happen. If you have a tendency to be a control-freak at times, this can be incredibly challenging.


The paradox that exists with allowing runs deep within you. Perhaps you were taught and believe "if it is to be, it's up to me." And while there is truth and wisdom in this philosophy, feeling as though you have to work hard, run fast, keep up and make everything happen in your life is exhausting and insatiable. No matter how hard you work, what you try to fix or all of the changes you intend to make, if you don't learn, practice and ultimately master the art of allowing, true success and fulfillment will always elude you. Action is important, but you also have to learn to balance it out with your ability to allow.
 
Allowing takes faith, patience and trust—three things that are essential for your own peace of mind and well-being, but often are not things we focus on, learn about or are encouraged to practice in our intense, fast-paced, results-oriented culture. Allowing is truly an art and is something that often goes against the grain and runs contrary to societal norms and pressures. It has to do with remembering, as the well-known saying goes, "We're human beings, not human doings."



Here are a few things to think about and practice as you enhance your capacity and ability to allow with more ease in your life.


1. Ask yourself how you relate to the concept of allowing. Take some inventory of your own relationship with this idea. How do you feel about it? How comfortable are you allowing things and people to be as they are, as well as allowing things to manifest with ease in your life? This is something you may understand, but may not practice. Tell yourself the truth about how you relate to allowing, and notice how this impacts your life one way or another.




2. Pay attention to what you focus on in regard to your biggest goals and aspirations. In terms of the biggest goals, dreams and aspirations in your life right now, how much of your attention and energy are focused on doing, and how much are focused on allowing? While both doing and allowing are important, most people put a disproportionate amount of attention on action. Increasing your focus on allowing and ultimately receiving can be a magical, relaxing and incredibly effective way for you to relate to your goals and dreams. This is often one of the big missing pieces in your desire not only for success, but—more important—for fulfillment.


3. Create an allowing practice. This is a simple practice you can do daily (like prayer, meditation, quiet reflection or affirmation) when you put your attention and awareness on allowing: accepting things as they are; trusting things are working out as they are meant to; believing the feelings, experiences, accomplishments and outcomes you desire are on their way; and allowing yourself to receive these gifts and blessings with ease and gratitude. You may need to reach out to others for support, guidance and feedback about creating or deepening an allowing practice that will work for you, but doing this is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself (as well as those around you).


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I found this article timely, as I am really working on 'allowing'- it's been one of my daily affirmational words that I have been using for over a month now. It's funny that an article using that exact word was sent to my email just when I started 'slipping' in my positive thinking/attracting things into my life habit! What do you guys think?
Questions:
What do you want to work on in your life?
What do you want to 'allow' into your life?
How comfortable are you to receiving/allowing things to come into your life?
Do you ever put up resistance to letting 'good stuff in' (self sabotage)?

Here is 1 picture of todays' protein cake (this was times 4 and I ended up going through a whole carton of egg whites, Walden Farms Calorie Free Strawberry Spread, psyllium etc which remained unpictured)
Here is a good link:

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Weekend via pictures (aka mustard, mustard, book, mustard!)

This post is so long overdue! Weekend shenanigans! AKA mustard, mustard, salsa, book and MUSTARD!
This is kind of lame, but nevertheless...
I took a picture of these SUGAR FREE CANDIES I've been eyeing since I discovered them at this Killer Dollar Store about a year ago.
They literally have EVERYTHING! Fuzzy peach, worms, sour rings, sour worms, chocolate almonds, gummies etc. SO TEMPTING

I LOVE COSTCO!

Costco Vine Tomatoes! They looked amazing!
DIET MANGO!!! OMG SO GOOD!

These are my daily 2 bags of RADISHES


This wasn't the 'full' effect (the main salad was missing the top layer)! Sorry about the seasoning crusted bowl. SO GOOD!

I finished reading "THE SECRET DAUGHTER" within 2 days. I LOVED IT! Highly recommend reading this! I am now reading 'Half of a Yellow Sun" and am getting "I SHALL NOT HATE: A GAZA DOCTOR'S JOURNEY' this weekend!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

BEAUTIFUL ENCOURAGEMENT/ INSPIRATION LIFE WISDOM









I THOUGHT THIS WAS BEAUTIFUL AND HAD TO SHARE!









Thursday/Friday Recap in yummy pictures.

Hello Darlings!
Sorry for the  lack of posting! I have been taking pictures and literally got overwhelmed with the amount I need to share with you! Working with annoying co-worker was tense since last Friday's event. I made me think of Julie's post on 'Fake Smiles". A lot of silent air filled with irritation. Oh well... moving on...

I got to sample the new Probiotic Gum- The flavor literally lasts about 3seconds and they tell you to chew it for 5-10 minutes... Ugh..okay, it's like chewing a blob of unflavoured gum! That being said, the flavors (when they last for 3 seconds) are fantastic!

I rarely take pictures of my nightly (without fail) GG Scandinavian Bran Crispbread Messes, but I have a whole package EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT with my shake as dessert.







The trick is to crumble them into little pieces. Then drown them in ANY flavor of syrup you want (I use Davinci Sugar Free Syrups, Walden Farms Pancake Syrup, Walden Farm's Jam and Syrups, Starbucks SF syrups, Monin etc). I then add my Sweet and Low, cinnamon and a scoop of PGX granules per bowl (a 10 pack of crackers makes 10 bowls).

I then stir, stir, stir and add water etc as needed and pop it in the microwave for 1.4 minutes. You can also let it sit a bit and the PGX with 'congeal' or absorb the water. I always add some more fixings on top (Walden Farms Jam, Chocolate Dip, Peanut Butter, Protein Ice Cream etc). Excuse my ugly thumb! I dipped that piece into Walden Farm's Calorie Free Chocolate Dip. The rest have the Walden Farms Strawberry Jam, and are mixed with Davinci Sugar Free Kahlua Syrup, Davinci Blueberry Syrup, Coconut etc.

I have this with my nightly Protilife Protein Ice Cream/Shake concoction.
And YES, I do dip the GG Crispbread Crackers in their too and pour it on top of my GG MESS.




Friday Morning at the gym I savored every bite of my Cookie Batter/Fiber Mess made with
- PPES Whey Isoburst in French Vanilla (protein powder)
- Sweet and Low and Water.



And here is part 1 of my nightly dinner ( you cannot see the whole bag of Broccoli slaw, 340g of microwaved Cauliflower, 4 cans of Yellow and Green Wax Beans, 1 Tomato, Red Pepper, Green Onion and 300g mushrooms with a WHOLE 907g bag of Dole Chopped Romaine Lettuce)



This takes 2 HUGE mixing bowls, copious amount of seasoning and spices, Mustard, Salsa, and Kikkoman Low Sodium Soy Sauce (often a bit of Davinci Sugar Free syrups-pineapple, blueberry, huckleberry, raspberry, strawberry, coconut etc)


For the RECORD: I do PREFER Mann's Rainbow Salad Coleslaw over the Broccoli Slaw!
It has Cauliflower in it too and is easier to chew!


HAVE A WONDERFUL SATURDAY AND LONG WEEKEND!!!!!

I plan on doing a 'Supplements I use' type post soon! Is anyone interested in that? I am in the 'industry' so I do know about formula's, company's etc.