Save some dough, do it from scratch!

I met Connie a few weeks ago in Lake Geneva. This lady has the goods on making things from scratch. Her book is written like she's standing in your kitchen helping you along the way. She's a busy woman (author, actress, speaker, trainer, AND gourmet chef), so don't think you can't do make your own from scratch just because you're working!

In June, she was highlighted in the Chicago Sun Times. "If you can't stand the expense, get back in the kitchen!" GREAT tips for stretching your bucks in the kitchen! Here are just a few:

Learn, re-learn or resume cooking from scratch while foregoing more expensive convenience foods and dining out.

Change drinking habits: Switch from bottled water and/or soda pop to tap water and brew your own coffee and tea, foregoing stops at specialty coffee/tea shops.

"Plan, plan, plan."

Cut up your own carrot and celery sticks rather than buying pre-cut carrots and celery; chop your own onions rather than buying frozen chopped onions; chop your own garlic; grate your own cheese.

Toast day-old bread for breadcrumbs.

Make your own granola and pizza.

And one of my favorites... make your own birthday cake rather than spending a ton at the bakery.

To see the whole article, drop me a line and I'll pass it along.

Click here for more about Connie and her new book, Scratch That: Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings.

For all you heroes out there...

"Your life is not little, and your playing small doesn't serve the world. Your living large, on the other hand -- your being your true self despite fear, fatigue, doubt, and opposition -- will serve the world more than you can imagine. In fact, it may help save it. And saving the world, after all, is what all heroes (including you) are here to do."

Martha Beck, in O Magazine

Where could you be bigger in your life?

Love Generously - Zit for Brains

So I’ve been wracking my brain (which is under the weather anyway) to understand the concept of loving generously. What does it mean to me?

Is it about gifts? What kind of gifts? Gifts of the heart? Things we do for one another? Is it about “things” at all? What is generosity anyhow? It is freely giving what you have and while still remaining comfortable? Or is it about sacrifice and giving even if it means a temporary state of lack?

Pretty ponderous.

I’ve been quiet on The Chest because I couldn’t think of anything outrageously thoughtful or uplifting to bring to you. Not very real of me, I’m afraid. I’d be the first person to tell a friend that we love each other for our reality. We love the guts – good, bad and ugly. That’s what it is to love generously. You love even when you’re not sure how, even when you’re unsure if you can. Even when it’s scary.

So I have something to get “on my chest” in this case. (I’ve been “off” The Chest for too long!) Here’s what up.

You know how you feel the day after a baby (or neighbor, or work) has kept you up all night? Function is difficult, temper is short, thoughts don’t connect, memory fails, your inner monologue fails and you find yourself saying things that would otherwise be filtered. You know in your heart that going back to bed would be the best bet, but you can’t do that because you have a home and business to run. This is what the last month has felt like for me.

I gave my husband permission to call me “zit for brains.” I have an 8mm cyst on my brain (pineal gland to be precise) and we’re trying to remain humorous about it until we know what happens next. The pineal gland controls melatonin, so among other things, I get tired quickly. I’ve been under care for a while trying to diagnose what’s going on and this was found somewhat by accident. My chiropractor believes I may have adrenal fatigue syndrome which could account for the many symptoms I’ve had in the recent past. The cyst may or may not be a part of that.

Surgery is possible, but not eminent at this point. (If you put your finger in the middle of your forehead and go in about an inch or two, that’s where the pineal gland is. They’d go in through the nose (or “snort holes” as my daughter calls them…) so at least there would be no cracking of the melon.) We should know more next month after a visit to an endocrinologist and a neurologist.

For now, we wait. (And dream up ways to find it funny.)

Part of my silence about this has been about fear. What will my clients and others think about a coach with a zit on her brain? Will they trust me? So, to be sure, I have the following very much under control:
• Honesty (my inner monologue is pretty gone!)
• An intense focus on what matters
• A desire to keep things moving forward

Loving generously is, among other things, being real, being honest, sharing one's whole self. Perhaps the zit is a gift. Here, here’s permission to uncork your inner monologue and just say what’s really going on in there.

What’s going on in your head? How do you love generously?

My Own Personal Energy Crisis

I’m an energy girl.

When I was a kid, my folks had window shades that blocked out most of the morning, but any tiny ray of light that squeaked around the shade made it right into my eyes. They’d fling open and I’d have my feet on the floor in a nanosecond, ready to begin a new day.

Since this was typically NOT the time the rest of the household was moving, it was not looked at as “a gift.” As I got older, though, being a morning person had its merits.

Recently, I’ve been experiencing some health challenges which have made getting out of bed, and waking in general, a huge challenge. Cheerful is somewhat off the table until a cup of coffee is in the mama.

This shift is tough to take, for me as well as for those who must endure me prior to 8am. I’ve tried to run during the bewitching moments so that no one else suffers. Hard to hoist the kiester.

Gas prices what they are, perhaps I'm just following the trend.

Anyone have some great ideas for this energy girl to solve her current personal energy crisis?

How do you wake ready to start the day? What's your current mantra?