Family - Guest Blog

Todays blogger is a sorority sister and friend.

She is someone I admire and always have.

She has a beautiful family & loving husband who clearly adores her!

I am so happy that she is happy!

----

When my dear college friend and sorority sister, La Tache, asked me to guest blog for her about family, I thought, easy! If you read my blogs (aogdaily.com, babygomers.com), or follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, you know how much I am obsessed with my little family. But what made me take pause about this particular topic was what family I would be referring to. Yes, I have my own family (mother, father, stepdad, brother - well brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.), but when I think of the word "family" the first thing I always go to is my husband and children.
Growing up family had a very different meaning for me that it does now. I have always had a lot of people to love me and take care of me, but things changed a lot when I was a kid and I was often around adults. What I wanted more than anything as a kid was siblings! Someone to play with, share with, empathize with and yes even argue with. When I was a couple months shy of my 10th birthday, I finally got my wish and my mom had my baby brother. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother a lot and I cherish our relationship, but 10 years is a big age difference! By the time he started middle school I was moved out and in college. We never really had the sibling relationship that I had envisioned when I was a young kid.

When Justin and my relationship began to get serious, many many years ago, we started sharing our visions of what a future family would look like. I knew one thing for sure; that because I was an only child for so long, I knew I wanted my children to have siblings. Siblings close enough in age that they could grow up together, but not so close that I was having babies every year! Haha. I also knew that I wanted a large family. I wanted my kids to have the crazy, busy, fun, close family that I had always wanted. Luckily, Justin, who is one of three kids agreed that a large family was what he wanted too. Seeing Justin and his brother and sister and how close they were/are really affirmed my belief that a large family is really what I wanted. We also knew that if we wanted three or four children that we'd have to start in our twenties. Luckily, when we were 25 and 23 years old, we were unexpectedly surprised to find out that our journey to having a large family was about to begin! You can read more about that here. I am so glad that we started so young because after my first pregnancy I was like, 'man, this is hard! I don't think I can do this two or three more times!' Luckily, time passed and we were able to spread the age gap between Belle and the next one three years, still leaving us plenty of time for more kids. In late summer of 2011, we were so excited to find out that baby #2 was on it's way. One step closer to the large family we envisioned.

I always pictured myself with a gaggle of little girls, but I knew right away when I was pregnant with #2 that it was going to be a boy. I thought I would be disappointed to confirm the news, but once the ultrasound technician said the words out loud, I couldn't help but cry tears of joy. A boy! You can read more about that  day here. Now we have one of each so it won't matter what gender any of our other kids are because we will eventually experience it all.

When I tell people that I want three or four kids, I often get looks like 'are you crazy?!' Just casually saying, 'eventually when we have more kids', people respond, 'oh, you want more?'. I guess now-a-days it's most common to wait until your thirties to start a family and one or two kids is about the norm, but for me, I have always envisioned myself surrounded by children, in a big, loud, crazy, hectic family. Besides, the more kids we have, the greater the chance of at least one of them being super successful and taking care of me and Justin in our old age, right? Ha!

But in all seriousness, I think the reason that I want a large family is because it's always been my dream to give my children the family that I had always wished for as a kid. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change anything about how I was raised and my extended family is very important to me, but there's something about a large, loving, stable household that has always appealed to me and I am so excited that we are right in the middle of making that dream come true, because for me, there's nothing more important than family.

our little family in it's current form: a family of four

Leisure - Guest Post

Todays Blogger is my longest life friend. We met at a tennis camp.

We quickly became best friends and have stayed close ever since.

Through high school with our girls sleepovers and college with our phone dates and now after college with our monthly lunches this gal means the world to me.

oh, and where did she find these pictures?!

----

La Tache seems to find the most meaningful and inspirational quotes, and as a guest blogger I tried to

follow suit so I typed “leisure” into a quote database website and WOAH - I did not expect it to be that

hard. Quotes saying: leisure is for the lazy, leisure is reached at retirement, fill leisure with duties and

work, leisure leads to philosophy…. Basically, enough to make me very confused….

So, relying on my analytic nature, I defaulted to the very wise Merriam-Webster: “Leisure: freedom

provided by the cessation of activities; especially, time free from work or duties”. The broad definition

explains why each person’s view of leisure is so different. And while leisure could lead to laziness or

stress, I do think that it is important for all of us to take time for ourselves.

La Tache, you are always dependable, responsible and supportive of others, and even though it will take

surgery and a lot of medication, you deserve some time of leisure. I hope that you are able to relax and

enjoy this time to reflect on the accomplishments that you have achieved, to enjoy the life that you have

created for yourself and to be excited for the many adventures that you will have in the future.

I wish you a safe and speedy recovery. And if laughter is the best medicine, here are a few gems of the

past:

Leisure - Guest Blogger

Today's blogger is a great friend that I met here in Los Angeles.

She is fun & kind and I absolutely enjoy her company!

I am glad we met each other so we can be allies in this big city!

----  

“Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never

be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

As a twenty-something woman still trying to figure out what I want to do in life, I don’t necessarily let

my past or present job define who I am. I’m not sure I’ll ever be the type of person who is known for

what I do professionally, but rather for the things I do in my life outside of work. My leisure time, and

the things I fill it with, paint a much more colorful picture of the things that make my life beautiful.

My greatest desire in life is to spend as much time as possible traveling and seeing the world. I’m a

firm believer that travel teaches you more than you can ever learn in a classroom or a cubicle. I’ve

been fortunate to already have some amazing trips stamped in my passport, including my study abroad

experience in college.

Venice, Italy

I also love to make time for exercise - there’s nothing better than a good sweat session. My current

activity of choice is boot camp – I think I’m addicted! I also made a resolution this year to get into yoga,

and I love going for a run on the beach. One of my absolute favorite things about living in Los Angeles

is having the Santa Monica Mountains in my backyard. There are so many great hiking trails where you

can get away from the craziness of the city and enjoy some fresh air (for FREE!). The Eagle Rock trail at

Topanga Canyon is a lovely spot!

Hiking in Topanga Canyon

Lastly, I like spending my free time trying new things - restaurants, recipes, museums, concerts and

more! I get so much pleasure out of eating at a hole-in-the-wall Argentinean restaurant, seeing a local

unknown band perform live, and attempting to make a meal with ingredients I’ve never used before.

As a girl who loves adventure, these are some of the easiest ways to add a little excitement to everyday

life.

Hotel Café, Hollywood – great place for live music

I encourage everyone reading this to cherish their leisure time and do the things that bring you joy to

your life!

A big thank you to La Tache for letting me contribute my thoughts to her wonderful blog! Wishing you a

speedy recovery and lots of leisure time. J

Detox - Guest Post

From the last week of October or Halloween, through the New Year we over-indulge in alcohol, caffeine, sugar, fried food, lower quality cheap party food and baked goods and we leave often exercise by the wayside.  That is equal to nine plus weeks of having our routines turned upside down.  By now, we likely have no energy, aren’t sleeping well, are bloated, and probably a bit moody. So of course, we go on a strict diet and renounce everything we like and begin a rigid, regimented diet protocol…until it becomes too hard.

Consider this; Overindulgence and renunciation are essentially the same thing and they will always create cravings for one another. One way to permanently defeat this vicious cycle is take an interest in learning how to upgrade your food, so that you can still eat foods you enjoy and you don’t feel like you have to deny yourself. There are tons of healthy foods out there that taste fantastic and that can be great substitutes for similar foods, which deplete our health.  Think about swapping white potatoes for sweet, white pasta for brown rice pasta, olive oil for vegetable, and making some of your favorite “junk” food from scratch at home. Cooking at home will always be more healthy than take out or anything that comes from a box.  Practice one new food item a week and before you know it, you’ll have a myriad of new favorite foods right at your fingertips.  

Ok, maybe this is all good advice but you’re looking for some serious post-holiday tips to really help you hit that reset button. Not to worry, I’ve got your back girlfriend!!

To get this detox train rolling, we’ve got to talk about coffee or caffeine first thing in the morning.  What coffee or other caffeinated beverages do first thing in the morning are raise cortisol levels, you know,  the stress hormone, the one we have always heard makes us fat. Well, here’s why, cortisol ultimately causes cravings for sweets, like those inherit, genetic; I’m going to win type of craving for sweets. Cortisol is also guilty of robbing our body of precious B vitamins. B vitamins are eleven members of what's known as the vitamin B complex are critical nutrients for all things mind-related: mood, memory, even migraines benefit from the B vitamins. In the right amounts, the B's can quell anxiety, lift depression, ease PMS (wohoo, you feel me girls- and boys), and boost your energy. Some B vitamins help cells burn fats and glucose for energy. Others help make neurotransmitters like serotonin (the feel good hormone). And some B's assist with the production and repair of DNA. You can see how key it is that we not rob our bodies of these precious vitamins, particularly when we are resetting after the holidays.  A much better start in the morning is some hot lemon water, especially when we are wanting to detox.  To bump it up a notch add a pinch of cayenne. This will cleanse and alkalize your system.

Next, we want to have a well-balanced breakfast to get our metabolism going and the liver working well. We must eat a breakfast containing healthy fat and protein within an hour of waking (even if you are not hungry). This will help reset your metabolism and feed your stress hormones. Waking up hungry signals a healthy liver, while being turned off by food upon waking is a sign of a sluggish liver. Your liver is your main detox organ so it’s imperative we’ve got it running on all cylinders. Skipping breakfast slows down our metabolism and our darling detox organ. A sluggish liver will make it very hard to lose or maintain weight, as well as stay healthy during cold and flu season.

What if you’re a busy girl and don’t have time for breakfast? Try a handful of raw nuts with a banana or a perfect food bar. It doesn’t get any easy or more portable than that, so no whining. Eat your breakfast!! My raw cereal is fabulously delicious and you can even make it the night before so it’s all ready when you’re time pressed in the morning:

 http://melissa-schollaert.healthcoach1.integrativenutrition.com/melissas-raw-breakfast-cereal

Ok, so you’ve had your lemon water and are well fed. What’s next? Well lovely, greens, greens, greens! Why do you need to be so green you ask, well for starters green vegetables are the foods most missing in modern diets and you need some color! Learning to cook and eat greens is essential to creating you most vibrant health. When you nourish yourself with greens, you will naturally crowd out the foods that make you sick, fat or detract from your best possible health. Greens strengthen the blood and respiratory system. One of my favorite greens factoids is that they clear congestion, which is so vital this time of the year when everyone’s all sniffly and feeling icky.  In Asian medicine, greens are related to the liver, emotional stability and creativity. Here’s what I’ve found with greens, if they’re made to taste well, you’ll always likely reach for them, your body will literally crave them. Try my collard wraps for lunch http://melissa-schollaert.healthcoach1.integrativenutrition.com/raw-mediterranean-collard-wrap-zucchini-hummus and get a double dose of greens! Add some sprouts for an extra nutritional bonus. 

Green drinks are also an easy way to get those life giving greens down the hatch. My favorite is the Evolution Green line. Try the sweet greens first and graduate up to essential greens. Most importantly when juice shopping, make sure it’s organic and cold pressed.  

Last stop on our post-Holiday reset tour, healthy carbs. Carbs you say….what, no, I couldn’t. Yes, you can and must!! It is important to make sure you are eating 3 or more servings of complex carbohydrates daily. That includes beans, whole grains like brown rice and root vegetables like sweet potatoes. This will slow down the release of glucose in your system and give you the necessary B vitamins that the holiday free-for-all stripped away. Sugar cravings fall away on their own like this instead of you having to “muscle through it”. Try my ultra-tasty sweet potato fries:

  http://melissa-schollaert.healthcoach1.integrativenutrition.com/sweet-potato-fries-5  

If you’re in the mood for something extra sweet, serve ‘em up with a dash of Ceylon cinnamon and sea salt. Mmm!

It has been a pleasure spending some time with you friends! I hope these tips will help you reset and renew in this already quickly moving New Year.  I am always here to support you, so if you’d like to talk about your health and how I can support you to finally reach your personal goals, please simply email me at: realnutritiousliving@yahoo.com or call 916-792-4281 An initial consult is always free and at no obligation.

I wish you a happy and healthy 2013!

Don’t forget to “like” our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/realnutritiousliving

Let’s connect on twitter too! https://twitter.com/realnutritious

Like Pix? We’re on Instagram: http://instagram.com/realnutritiousliving

Ok…almost done we just can’t leave out Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realnl/

“Spread love wherever you go, let no one ever come to you without leaving happier”- Mother Teresa

Joy - Guest Blogger

The following Blog post was written by one of my greatest & most favorite college friends.

I remember walking into our Freshmen Comm class, seeing this beautiful, kind & friendly looking lady sitting at a table for two so I decided to take this opportunity to sit next to her and make a new friend.

We were both Freshmen, so why not, right?!

Well it turned out that she and I had gone to the same elementary school and were in the same 4th grade class!

What a trip/small world right?!

Well since then we have been friends and our friendship has grown into such a strong and loving friendship. I am so grateful for her!

And today happens to be her 26th birthday!
Happy Birthday Beautiful!

---

I think they best way to enjoy life is to find the things that bring you joy.

Although, making big plans for awesome trips to the happiest or most romantic

places on earth can be a great way to find joy in your life… but unless you have an

endless budget it might not be the best idea to only rely on the big joyous trips. It

can be a better idea to find joy in the little things in life.

Such as flavorful foods….At first I was thinking of fatty foods; such as Cookies,

Cakes, Pies and Ice Cream. But as I was thinking more about it there is an endless

list of meals that have a lot of flavor and are healthy at the same time.

My partner loves to tell the story of when a music teacher asked her class what

equals the sound of joy. A determined little boy raised his hand and replied with

his answer that it is the sound of a dog's tail as it hits the wall when they first

greet you.

A good exercise session is wonderfully joyful. Reaching your goals, with your

health, at your job, and in life is exciting and joyous.

A smile is a universal sign of joy. However, I think a face with a smile that used to

have a frown on it is so much more joyous…

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”

― E.E. Cummings

I think sometimes it can be difficult to enjoy the little things in life, but doing so

will make life more enJOYable every day.

Happy February!

Happy February!

Wishing this month will bring love, hugs & kisses!

Happiness - Guest Post

Today's guest blogger is one of my greatest friends from high school.
She and I have been through a lot together.
We get each other!
She is passionate, kind, & beautiful and I'm lucky & proud to call her my friend!

----

Happiness is knowing your God-given purpose and value on this earth. 

1) Purpose can bring happiness.

The human race is full of thinkers, designers, explorers, joke-tellers, artists, teachers, engineers, manual workers, and so on...(it is also full of drug dealers, alcoholics, murderers, etc., but we won't get into that now…haha). The gist is, we are all made to create or do something, and we each have a choice how to use that ability.

I went to Ireland on vacation this past summer, and I had a great time. Though, nearing the end of the trip, I was very ready to go home. I thought that I was crazy for thinking that I wanted to go home. Here I was in Ireland; I was seeing a beautiful countryside that some people dream of seeing their whole life! Yet, there was valuable purpose missing in my trip. Now don't get me wrong, vacations are great and can be very purposeful, but part of me wanted to get back to "real life" and accomplish things. That is because I find a level of purpose in what I do. 

Likewise, I believe La Tache has found purpose in this blog. She has found one of her gifts and this is an avenue in which she outlets that gift. She is sharing her life, her stories, and her beautiful pictures! By doing so, she is bringing happiness to others and herself. I bet if I asked her, she would say that blogging, overall, brings her happiness. Therefore, her purpose (blogging) is bringing her happiness.

I have heard the saying that "work is just a means to an end", and that "we work to live", and in in a literal monetary sense, I would agree. However, overall, I think our outlook is backwards. More so, I believe We LIVE TO WORK (create). We are "working beings" created to produce good things on this earth, but some just choose to produce bad things or nothing at all.

Have you ever met a retired (and I mean truly retired) person who is grumpy, lonely, or bored? I certainly have! It could be a combination of many things, but I think one main reason is they feel as though they have lost their sense of purpose. They are no longer contributing to society, no longer working, creating, accomplishing, developing, etc., and that can be depressing! They may not of even liked what they did pre-retirement, but they were doing something, and that contributing something brings purpose, which can equate to happiness. 

2) Value can bring happiness.

There are 206 bones in the adult human body. Some bones support, some allow movement, some protect. Some are huge, some are tiny, but they all have wonderful and important value. Take the little toe for example; it seems pretty small, probably a little ugly and unimportant, but it helps greatly with our balance. Could we live without it? Yes, of course. Would the body be the same without it? No, very different and at a disadvantage. The body would function much better with all ten toes! Each has great value, and together, even more.

Sometimes we think that our minuscule life has little value, and that we are just the "little toe", but that is just false. The human body and the bone structure is proof that we have value, no matter how big or small we are.

With that said, I think we can get caught up scaling our value against whether or not we are a "little toe" or a "big femur bone". We tend to think our value comes from doing something "amazing" like discovering the cure for cancer. We can base our value on our salary level, or think, "well, that person is just a mechanic" (sorry to all those mechanics, I had to pick something). However, if we didn't have mechanics, we would all be walking to work! If we didn't have waste management employees, then we would all be in a world of poo (literally!). The point is, it doesn't necessarily matter what you do (especially since the latest study reports the average person has about 7 careers in their lifetime), but that you are doing it, and doing it well; with a great attitude and bettering the world and others. We will all do many things throughout our 100~ years, so the main importance is that we do it right. It would be silly and inefficient for the little toe to try and function as the femur bone, and vice versa…

We are all made in the image of God; and, in the beginning, what did God do? He created... it is no wonder why the human race is full of people who create too!  We all have unique gifts to share, and if we are able to find them and share them with others, I think we would all be a lot happier!

Therefore, True happiness, in my opinion, is knowing your purpose and value in life, and especially knowing the creator who gave it you.

By: Caitlin Lynch

January 13, 2013

Happiness - Guest Blogger

Today's guest blogger is a high school friend!

She writes over at Life as Griki about her life as a newlywed to her husband whom we also went to high school together! She writes about love and life!

Check it out!

---

Happiness is my husband.

I am so lucky to have him in my life and he makes everything better! We’re both

type A personalities and we have so much fun together. My favorite nights are the

ones where we snuggle up and watch a great movie (preferably although not usually

something with Julia Roberts or Meg Ryan). No outside distractions or influences,

just the two of us.

Happiness is California.

We’ve got California in our blood. Sunshine will always be better than snow. Fog is

the best way to cool off at night. Earthquakes are better than tornadoes (who really

wants to sit around in a closet all day waiting for a natural disaster to hit). And who

doesn’t love a great loaf of sourdough bread?

Happiness is our family and friends.

We don’t get to go home that often, so when we do it feels like a mad rush to try and

squeeze everyone we want to see in! And we’ve made some really great friends

through the Army. It’s nice to have people who can laugh about the chaos of our

daily life. Weekly walks, coffee dates, dinners with conversation cards, baking, video

games, and golfing are just a few of the things that remind us of all the people we

love in our life.

Happiness is our home.

I hate Clarksville. Tennessee is really pretty and we like Nashville, but two years

here is enough for us. But I love our apartment and will be so sad to leave when

we move! Thankfully, our furniture and things will all be coming with us so our

new place will basically look the same. But this is the first home we’ve ever shared

together and it feels like us. In the midst of this crazy Army life we’re living, our

apartment has always been the place where we can get away from it all. It’s calm

and peaceful. It’s beachy and screams California. It’s our space and that’s enough.

Happiness is all the little things.

I could be happy without the little things. But life is so much more fun with cozy

socks, warm blankets, puzzles, bucket lists, lazy days, homemade pizza, great books,

mango mojitos, and of course the San Francisco Giants.

What makes you happy?