Healing Essential Oils

Essential Oils are actually essential to natural healing and health! Check out this infographic on this link here to find all the benefits and uses for essential oils. I use a couple drops of lavender or pepper in an Epsom salt & baking soda bath to soothe my muscles and calm my mind. Start this relaxing habit and I'll guarantee that you will have more joy-filled days!

Gratefulgivings for Happiness and Positivity

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow, and we all so much to be thankful for. A popular exercise on social media has been to list at least 5 things that we are grateful for everyday, for a set amount of time.

Instead of a one time exercise, let's make this an everyday occurrence. Replace moaning and complaining, criticizing and judging, negativity and anxiety, with gratefulness and thankfulness, joyfulness and acceptance, positivity and energy.

What can you add to your list of gratefulgivings? Start a shift in your attitude and thinking with this mindset, guided by this link here, and you will find yourself with more joy-filled days!

Love Where You're At

Sometimes things don't happen like you planned it or wished for, but then you come to the acceptance that where you are at and what's happening is where you're supposed to be. So after almost 3 months on the market, we decided to take our house off the market...maybe we'll relist it in the spring, or maybe just stay.

While looking for homes in our target locations, there were a couple that fit the bill, but with our home not selling, I began thinking of the reality of the situation. As much as I wanted to downsize and live closer to the downtown/midtown area, there are certain luxuries that I enjoy. Features such as a walk-in closet, a spa-like master bathroom (I really do use that big tub!), a living area for our baby grand, and a garage to actually put our cars in (because it really can get cold up here in NorCal!). The charm of a smaller, older home would mean compromises in these areas, so maybe I really wasn't ready to let them go yet.

As I was pondering these things, I read this article here entitled, "10 Reasons You Don't Have the Home You Want". The first reason, "You're Disorganized", screamed out at me, because even though I had started the process, I am honestly a long way from a well-organized home. I considered that perhaps, I needed to take care of that first. Maybe this was fate's way of telling me to slow down, to appreciate what I had, that I needed to give my home some TLC, and this was not the right time to leave.

So with a renewed sense of purpose, I am embracing my lovely home, aka Chateau L'Acob, and making it the home we want at this time in our joy-filled lives!

Kombucha...What's That?

Like most healthy things, my kids introduced me to Kombucha, which is a naturally carbonated, fermented blackened tea that has had many beneficial health claims. Among these claims includes improved digestive function, increased energy, boosted immune function, and weight loss and management.

Read these articles on Kombucha's benefits here and here, and if you're adventurous, here's a how-to recipe here! Speak to your doctor first, but it probably is a healthy replacement for a soda habit, giving you a joy-filled substitute!

Craving: Apple Fritter Doughnuts

The photo of the apple fritter I posted this morning on the Facebook page spurred a lot of likes and comments. I hadn't had an apple fritter in forever, when my dentist office offered me donuts at my last appointment. I refused the donuts, until they showed me the box where there it was...a beautiful, glazed apple fritter! Of course I succumbed, and have been craving one ever since! So I decided to find a recipe, and found one on this link here. I may try to make it from scratch, but then again, I may just find that donut shop my dentist went to!

The Importance of Flexibility

Those of you that follow my blog know that one of my favorite ways of stretching is with yoga, especially Yin Yoga. If you are one who does not practice yoga or if you're short on time, this link here gives you a fast 10-minute daily stretch routine.

Next to cardiovascular exercise and strength training, stretching is the forgotten third pillar of fitness. It has been proven to prevent injury, improve athletic performance, prevent aging conditions, such as arthritis, improve circulation and blood flow to muscles, even lower the risk of cardiovascular disease! So get stretching and bring more space and joy into your life!

Procrastination & Organization

I love being organized, but I'm such a procrastinator! Ever since we put our house on the market and staged our home, my plan was to continue with this house purge. Well, I'm still needing to go through the closets, kitchen, and garage! If we get an offer soon, I'm going to have to kick it up into high gear. So in order to best use my time as well as let go of items, I found this article on how to minimize (aka how to get rid of stuff!). This home organization article here is also going to help me get and stay organized when we move into our new home. Wish us luck with our house sale so we can start our downsized, minimalistic joy-filled life!