If you've ever been to Jamaica, you've probably heard one of the locals' favorite sayings: everything is everything.  

On my last trip to this beautiful Caribbean island, I set out to discover exactly what "everything is everything" means. After a while, I came to the conclusion that everyone interprets this unique expression in his or her own way.  

So then I began to consider what it means to me personally. As I measured all that is important in my world, it became obvious that it was all about family, love and passion.

Passion is poignant emotion that is rich and powerful. Finding passion , is challenging because it involves separating ourselves from our busy chaotic lives.  It requires disconnecting ourselves from feelings that pollute our brains (and usually are not important) and connecting with our inner selves, listening to our intuition and reaching for the stars.

Finding your passion means that you are willing to fail, in hopes that eventually you will succeed. It also means that you are ready to express yourself without any boundaries set before you. Finding your passion can be a lifetime goal, but once you attain it, your life will be more affluent and satisfying.

Finding passion is not always a comfortable experience. We can't just walk into a store and buy it, like some expensive trinket. Instead, it's more like throwing ourselves into the ocean without knowing how to swim.  

Many of us avoid taking the plunge. We turn away from what's obvious in fear of failure. We convince ourselves that it's too late, too soon or too risky, and we come up with as many excuses as necessary to avoid disappointment.  

Then we spend years looking for our "lost passion," berating ourselves for not pursuing it until it's too late.

Let Go of the "Yeah, Buts"

The next time your passion manifests itself, try this:  

When the excuses start coming up and you hear yourself say, "Yeah, but?." ask yourself if you are willing to take a chance here and now.  

Whether it's the novel you always wanted to write, the painting you always wanted to paint, the skydiving lessons you always wanted to take (but never quite got around to taking) or simply adopting that puppy you've always wanted, are you finally willing to do something about it?

Take a chance! After all, this might be the answer to all of your dreams. And it's all within reach, just sitting there waiting for you to reach out and grab it.

To help find your passion, set some time aside just for you. Take several deep breaths, relax your mind, and then ask yourself the following questions:

?What is the most important thing to you on this planet?

?What brings you joy?

?What excites you?

?What are the things in your life that you find enjoyable?

?What did you always want to do and never had the time?

?If you had all the time and finances to do what you want, what would you do?

?If you were invited on Oprah as a guest, what would you talk about?

?Is there something that you were born to do?

?Is there something you already love doing? Do you have a hobby, or something you loved doing as a child, but never considered it as a possibility?  

As the New Year approaches, let's make it a point to do some soul searching and be a bit more adventurous and spontaneous about our goals and dreams.  

Let's not leave for tomorrow what we can do today. Our dreams are as close as we hold them to us. So let's start this New Year with a list of goals and a plan of action on how to implement them.

Here's to our success!

What makes a family? I ponder the question often, but not because I don’t know the answer. On the contrary, the answer was embedded in my mind by my parents long ago, and that’s why I try very hard to pass this knowledge on to my children so that they not only know the meaning of the word family, but will also recognize its significance.

Family is the most vital aspect of our childhood; every experience that we share with each family member plays a role that will forever be implanted in our subconscious and somehow manifest in our lives for years to come.

Since we don’t get to choose our family, they come in all different shapes and sizes.  Most can attest to a crazy aunt, a loud uncle, a cousin that is hard to bear, or a grandma that lost a screw or two.  But all in all, even under the worst circumstance, family unites us and makes us whole.

 

On our last family reunion, I was watching my niece and nephew mingling with my children. The four-year-old precautious child ran around hugging and kissing her ‘cousins’ (a new word that she recently learned and loved). Her cousins, who are much older, took time to play with her and obliged to her every whim while she happily sang and showered them with gratitude kisses. Taking their age difference into consideration, it was obvious that the cousins play time would be kept to a minimum. As our week progressed, it was apparent to everyone that these few hours she spent with them on a daily basis made a world of a diffrence to her as it did to them.  Her brother, who is just short of being ten, had a blast with the ‘big kids,’ regarding himself as their peer because he got to play in a different league. It was amusing to watch how he tried to be more mature and conspicuous in order to blend in among them.

Every night at dinner, it was fun to see everyone gather around and tell stories of the past year. It was a precious thing to watch our kids taking care of their grandparents and taking charge over making dinner plans. Our fifteen-year-old suddenly looked eighteen and my husband and I once again had an eye opener over the realization that our college age kids now had a life of their own; they are all working their way up the ladder, learning and building their lives, and we don’t have many years left to hover over them.

At our last dinner together, a man came to our table and asked if we were Greek. I couldn’t contain my laughter. With everyone at our table hugging each other, cheering, arguing, debating, and yelling all at the same time, we did look like the “The Big Fat Greek Wedding.” As I looked at my kids, I knew by the spark in their eyes and the smiles on their faces that they all understood what makes a family and with that I turned to the man and said:

bq. No, we are not Greek, we are a family.

Wishing you all the very best this Holiday Season

Are you suffering from "Super Woman Syndrome?"  SWS is a common condition shared by many devoted women who are trying to take care of their family, home, and parents, all while achieving their goals and staying focused on their career.  

 

With the holiday season soon approaching, give yourself the most precious gift; a spa day. Just one hour a week is all you need to rejuvenate and re-connect with yourself with no distractions.

   

 

 

Plan Ahead: Spend Time With Yourself.

It is imperative to spend time alone to give yourself the foundation you need to reconnect with yourself. There is seldom enough time to fulfill our needs and desires. Your obligations to others should never interfere with your number one obligation to yourself.

Since most of us are very proficient in multi-tasking, we can easily combine spending time by ourselves for ourselves.

Yoga, walking, hiking, swimming, and biking fall into a category of solo projects; they give you an immediate ability to exercise your mind and body. You are totally free from all distractions, you can focus on your inner self.

An hour a week will do wonders for your mind and three times a week will take care of your physique.

Turn Your Bathroom Into A Spa

A spa bathroom lets you pamper yourself with little indulgences for a fraction of what you'd spend at the spa. To create your own spa bathroom, just think "relaxing" with calming candlelight, soothing scents, and big, fluffy towels. Then add a few personal touches to create your own retreat in the middle of a bustling household.

Take a Fabulous &  Relaxing Bath

One of our sorority sisters swears that one bath a day washes all of her problems away.

According to the bath lover, the best temperature for a your relaxing bath should be 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  This temperature has been proven to relax and loosen up your muscles, while stimulating your brain's calming chemicals.

And of course, adding natural essential oils, such as lavender or patchouli will aid you in the relaxation process.

ntly prior to getting into the bath tub will speed up the calming process.  Do not forget to dim the lights and turn on some soothing music.

 

Twenty to thirty minutes is more than enough to relax, but do not come out until you  lather massage oils  all over your body.  We all need just a bit more oils to hydrate our skin.

Clean, relaxed and hopefully happy, you are now ready for your PJs and a good night sleep.

And Just Before We Fall Into A Deep Sleep How About

 

A Good Book?

So you turned vegan and now what?  You have to sit there and invent recipes for your new diet.  Sure you can goggle around for any recipe, but what if you are a vegan with a twist?

Yep, that would be me, I’m vegan and yes - with a twist.

I can’t have any gluten, sugar, dairy, wheat or yeast. I’m limited to some minority of fruits so having a good tasteful meal requires some planning.

Not wanting to give up my new way of life, I spent an hour yesterday coming up with this concoction, it’s delicious, healthy and nutritious, AND it looks beautiful.

 

 

Hummus

1 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained

1/4 cup lemon juice

1tsp of crushed garlic

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup of sliced almonds

4 quartered red bell peppers

* salt to taste

* ground black pepper to taste

This is an easy recipe, the only work required is to prepare the peppers.

Wash and quarter the peppers, lay them out on the rack at 400 degrees, bake until the wrinkle, take them out cool and pill off the skin

 

Discard the skin, puree them in the blender, and add all of the above ingredients

Chill for 2 hours.

This can be served as a dip or a lunch dish.

For dip just place it in a bowl, garnish with parsley and lay out Blue Corn Chips

For Lunch

Take on Blue Corn Taco, add the dip as filling, add one piece of baked asparagus and some chopped tomatoes, serve with field greens.

The Journal of Food and Agriculture published a study analyzing the chemical composition of white and blue corn tortillas. To every ones surprise the white corn tortillas contained an average of 7 starch versus 68 starch contained in blue corn tortillas. Blue corn tortillas showed lower concentration of resistant starch. So when you opt for the tortilla chips reach for the blue and not white corn, Blue is Better!

In my previous blog (announcing Mother-in-Law Day on October 28), I suggested we all try to be a little more respectful of the women who brought our husbands into the world.  

Since then I have heard from several friends who agreed with my sentiment but said they found it hard to get along with, much less be respectful of, their mothers-in-law.

When your mother-in-law is being critical, demanding, judgmental or manipulative, it can be difficult to treat her kindly or even civilly.  However, she is the mother of your beloved husband.  And she's probably not going away anytime soon.  So it pays to find ways to enhance the relationship, even if you're the one doing all the work.

Here are a few suggestions for developing a more positive relationship with your mother-in-law:

Have a sense of humor.  Think of it as a Reality TV and pretend that everyone is watching. Humor goes a long way toward defusing hostility in any relationship.  Besides, laughing makes you feel better.

Avoid criticism.  When it comes to mothers-in-law, criticism (no matter how well deserved) is not a good thing.  If your mother-in-law is "old school," giving criticism is part of her nature.  Receiving it, however, is not.  If she objects to the way you do something, don't retaliate with harsh words.  Instead, listen to her calmly then distract her by changing the topic.  If she persists, take her hand, look her in the eyes, and tell her that her son likes it this way and you want to make him happy because he's the best.

Turn a negative into a positive.  If "mom" starts in on the way you handle the children or clean the house, ask her, "What are the qualities you do like in me?"  This will get her thinking and will end the unpleasant situation.  She may even surprise you and come up with several things she likes about you.

Return the compliment.  There must be one or two things you like about your mother-in-law.  Reinforce the qualities that you admire in her and compliment her often.  You do this for your children, so why not your mother-in-law?

Schedule a "play date."  Make a date to spend some one-on-one time with her, preferably at some activity she wants to do.  Ask about her life, her career, what she wants to accomplish, and how you can help.

Have realistic expectations.  She's not your mother or your best friend.  She's your husband's mother, and she wants to be his best friend.  Accepting the relationship for what it is will help you see her point of view and make your life easier.

Remember, patience is the key.  It takes time to build (or rebuild) a relationship.  So be patient, lower your expectations of her, and remember that you both love the same man.

All the best,

Yana

Be Nice to Your Mother-in-Law

Did you know that October 28 is Mother-in-Law’s Day?

Most of us cringe at the thought of mother-in-law anything, much less having a day dedicated to her.  So it makes you wonder what greeting card company or marketing “genius” thought this one up.

On the other hand, maybe mothers-in-law have gotten a bad rap that they don’t deserve.

Granted, not all mother in laws are nice.  But most of them are not evil, either.

So maybe the problem is not so much our mothers-in-law but the unrealistic expectations we place on them, especially in regards to the role they play in our lives. 

We daughters-in-law expect a lot from the mothers of our husbands.  In fact, we often expect things from them that even our own mothers don’t deliver.  We blame them when they are not attentive, generous or kind enough, to name a few.  But even more, we often blame them for our own husbands!

Think about it.

Your husband might be the greatest guy on this planet.  But as soon as you have a little tiff, who do you get mad at more than the devil himself?  His mother!

Why?  Because she’s the one responsible for raising him in such a manner. And she’s the one who didn’t teach him how to treat you right.  So whenever your husband doesn’t live up to your standards, his mother becomes an easy and convenient target.  

My Turn to Be the “Beast”?

As my son grows into a man, I cringe at the thought of one day becoming a mother-in-law.   

The thought that I might be blamed for all his character traits and imperfections doesn’t bother me.  What does give me cause for concern is how I might act towards any girl who ends up marrying my son.   

Any time I see an attractive young woman making eyes at my son, she automatically becomes the enemy.  After all, we’re talking about my son here.  This is my sweet little boy with the golden heart.  This is the innocent waif who is always kind, caring, sincere and thoughtful.  This is my darling cherub who has the word “no” missing from his vocabulary.  

The thought that some pretty young girl might win his heart and take him away from me is sometimes more than I can bear. That feeling alone, I suspect, is enough to harden the heart of any future daughter-in-law who is just waiting to snatch my son away.

Ironically, I adore the young man my daughter is dating, and think he is a real sweetheart. I don’t envision any problems being his mother-in-law, so why does it bother me so much with my son?  I guess it’s the old double standard, only now the roles are reversed.

After so many years of marriage I look at my own mother-in-law as a dear person, someone who raised a beautiful son with all of the great qualities that I appreciate in my husband on a daily basis.   

I respect her for always being there for us but never interfering in our lives; for always being willing to offer advice, but never demanding that we follow it.  I admire her for never issuing judgment calls, or telling me how to do things.  And I hope that when I “grow up,” my daughter-in-law will be able to say as much about me.

As we embark on our journey to the next part of our lives, let’s reconsider our relationships with our mothers-in-law, even if they didn’t live up to our expectations.  Let’s take the time to recognize them for who they are, and thank them for giving us what they were able to give.

After all, one day will be in their shoes.