Link Gems

{image:  found via kind over matter, originally uploaded by Sarah Wynn}

I just finished a 7 week blogging course and wanted to give a shout out to my fellow classmates.  There were 200 people in this course from all over the world.  It was hard to select  only 5 out of 199 blogs so I decided I needed a criteria.

1.) Never had the chance to  interact in our virtual class (kind of hard with 199 people to interact)

2.) Ease of navigation of their blog

3.)  Simple header, template with soft colors

4.) More importantly, they had meaningful information to me or at least I learned something from the author of the blog

If you have a moment, please stop by and say hi to these folks.  Here are my 5 favorite blog gems in my virtual class:

Lilie Green - Lilie’s dreamy blog about travelling, photography, and jewelry art

Simply Blogged – Leaca from Alaska where she posts her Alaska-inspired photography and decorating ideas

Art Asana – Eliza is an artist and yogini studying Yoga and Creativity at Lesley College. Interesting combination. I am intrigued.  Each Monday, Eliza post a creative Monday meditation along with her art work. I find her blog to be a source of inspiration for me.

Alkaline Sisters – This blog is owned by two sisters, Julie and Yvonne and is about leading a health conscious life by eating more alkaline rich foods

Jardino – Janine’s blog is about her passion for gardening and leading a natural lifestyle.

Make Under My Life

I have been on the path to self-discovery for the past four years. Sometimes, life gets in the way and many times been interrupted by the fast, hurried life I lead. This year, 2010, I took a vow to slow down, look at my life, find my purpose (which I cannot seem to pin down), do things that I want to do, and spend time with meaningful people.  I think I found my purpose in life four years ago, but it seems too broad and I need to narrow it down. I am having a hard time, no matter how much time I spend with myself and I am getting impatient. I know I need to be more patient with myself. My purpose will be revealed to me at the right moment.

I realized it is my outer world that is distracting me.  It’s distracting me from revealing my purpose in my life.  Our apartment is cluttered with papers, books, magazines, office supplies, art supplies, clothes, shoes, and other paraphernalia.  No wonder I do not feel calm in my living room. No wonder I always feel distracted or tense after spending a few minutes there. No wonder it is hard for me to write.  No wonder it is hard for me to see my vision.

Inspired by Jess from Makeunder My Life, I am on a simplicity project for the next few months. I will be making under my life and writing about it and my lessons learned.  I have been living in the surrounding New York area for nine years. I moved around a lot and with each move, my possessions keeps growing. I moved from a studio apartment in midtown Manhattan (fully furnished) to a spacious one bedroom apartment in Riverdale to a smaller one bedroom in Astoria, Queens.  When I moved from my fully furnished studio apartment to my spacious one bedroom, no furniture apartment, I ended up buying furniture that fits the apartment, which means,  I bought lots of big sized  furniture like a queens sized bed, sectional sofa, two dining tables (one for the kitchen and one for the dining room), dressers, bookcases, and huge television stand. Imagine all of those furniture along with my boyfriend’s furniture too in a 900 square foot one bedroom apartment.

With each move I made, I did get rid of things. But, I realized even though I am getting rid of ten bags of clothes, I tend to buy another ten bags of clothes. You see, it is a vicious cycle. I never really get rid of anything, it just gets replaced.  And that cycle stops now.  I am on a path to simplicity and will only buy things that I need or absolutely love.  So,  come join me each week as I apply Jess’ principles as I make under my life.

Health Tips – Week 10

March is National Nutrition Month

Eating right:

1.)  Make half your grains whole.  Choose whole-grain foods, such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal, brown rice, and low fat popcorn instead of white bread or white rice.

2.)  Vary your veggies.  Go dark green and orange with your vegetables – eat spinach, broccoli, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

3.)  Focus on fruits.  Eat them with meals and as a snack.  Choose fresh, canned, or dried.  Go easy on the fruit juice – contains lots of sugar.

4.)  Get your calcium – rich foods.  To build strong bones serve low fat and fat-free milk and other milk products several times a day.

5.)  Go lean with protein. Eat lean or low fat meat, chicken, turkey, and fish.  Also, if possible eat more dry beans and peas.  Add chick peas, nuts, seeds to a salad; pinto beans to a burrito; or kidney beans to soup.

{image:  found in Flickr by Pink Sherbet Photography}

Unravelling E-course

I know, I know. I cannot seem to stop taking e-courses. But, they all look so good. Unravelling is the next e-course that I am taking with Susannah Conway and starts today. I will be on another learning journey, this time with a camera in my hand and a journal.  This class is about looking at the world through my perspective with my camera and journaling my inner thoughts.   Sounds interesting, huh. I will be posting my photos in my Flickr account, so feel free to stop by.  If you are also another unraveller, please stop by my comment section and introduce yourself. I love meeting new people!

{image:  Unravelling, Susannah Conway}

Indulge Yourself

Take time out for yourself today,  re-charge.  I like to re-charge using all of my sense. Above are some of my favorite things.

Farewell Blogging Your Way Friends

I have been taking a blogging course, taught by Holly Becker of Decor 8 and Leslie Shewring.  of  A Creative Mint for the past seven weeks and this is my final week for my class. I learned so much about blogging, but more importantly about taking pictures, organizing my pictures, colors and so much more. As you can see, my blog has undergone some changes, most specifically the template, header, tag line, and category clean up.  It is a work in progress.

I have met so many wonderful people in my class. But, I am sure I will still keep in touch with them.  I saw so many beautiful blogs from my classmates that hopefully one day my blog will be just as beautiful.  If you are one of my classmates, please feel free to say hi or bye in the comment section.

Holly will be teaching the class again in September.  I highly recommend her class so keep an eye out for it. Holly’s class sells out very fast.

{image:  BYW, Holly Becker}

Fearless Fridays

{image:  image found via kind over matter, originally uploaded by Seven Worlds 16}

Welcome to my weekly series of fear. Today, I am writing about my fears and how I overcame them.

FEAR.  What is it?  Why does we let this emotion rule our lives? Why do we get numb from it?  Why does our breath get shallow, our heart rate beat faster, our skin gets clammy, our pupils dilate?  It is the “fight or flight response” from our brain. We are thinking about our fears so much, that we get physiologic symptoms.   The “fight or flight response”  is our body’s primitive, automatic and inborn response to a perceived threat, attack or harm to our survival.

According the Webster’s Dictionary, there are multiple  definitions of fear.  Here are the definitions.  Fear is:

(noun) a feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger

… a state or condition marked by this feeling   i.e  living in fear

…a feeling of disquiet or apprehension                i.e  a fear of looking foolish

…a reason for dread or apprehension                  i.e  being alone is my greatest fear

(verb) to be afraid or frightened of

…to be uneasy or apprehensive about

Fear is:   F (alse) E (xpectations) A (ppearing) R (eal)

Fear is:   false expectations appearing real.  Fear is  in our mind. Whatever our fear is, we blow it out of proportion.   What is it about fear that runs our lives? Or it ruins our lives.  Ever since I started life coaching, I hear more and more people talking about their fears.  And about how they want to do this or they want to do that.  But cannot because they are paralyzed by fear.

I heard about fear in life coaching school, people I coached, blogs I read. I see it everywhere.  I remember when I was young, I was willing to try anything. I learned how to roller skate, ride a bike, ski, ice skate., and many more.  I wasn’t afraid of breaking my bones or falling. Fast forward to the present moment. Now, forget it. I still know how to ride a book but riding my bike with traffic, scares the hell out of me!

Why was I so fearless as a kid, not not so much anymore?  Because I am thinking about all of the horrible stuff that can happen to me:  broken bones, ruptured body organ, big gash on my skin with blood spurting everywhere that I need stitches. I do not think I am afraid of  the act of riding my bike than I am afraid I will end up in the emergency room.

When I was younger, I enjoyed the moment.  I didn’t care about falling. Oh, and I fell. Lots of times. I still have the scabs to prove it.

We all have some kind of a fear. I used to think I was the only one, not until people started talking openly about their fears.  I used to have a fear of public speaking, but not anymore. How did I overcome my fear of public speaking? By doing it. I became a nursing instructor and lectured. I became a medical software trainer where I trained doctors, nurses, and ancillary staff about the electronic medical record. I was nervous but at least I got over my fear.

I used to have a fear of being in small spaces, but not anymore. I moved to New York City where everyone is on top of you.

I used to have the fear of elevators. Now, I cannot imagine not enjoying this convenience.  I learned breathing techniques to help me with my anxiety with closed spaces. And it works.

I used to have a fear of tunnels and driving inside one. I remember I used to get so anxious that my palms were sweaty every time I drove through one.  I quickly got over this fear during graduate school. In order for me to get to class, I needed to drive through the tunnel.  I visualized that I was driving in open space, instead of an enclosed tunnel and I drove very fast!

I took my fears and overcame them. Because I knew the more I kept running away from my fears, it would still be there every time.   I still have fears. It seemed like I got over one fear, a new one came.

What are your fears?  What is one small step you can do today to help you overcome your fear?

5 Ways to Wellness

1.)  Live with the 3 E’s – Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy

2.)  Make time to pray.

3.)  Play more games.

4.)  Read more books this year than you did in 2009.

5.)  Sit in silence for 10 minutes each day and do nothing.

{image:  Chapel S. Ignatius found via Flickr, originally uploaded by Elena Acin}

5 Ways to Healthy Living

1.)  Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a beggar.

2.)  Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and less food that are manufactured in plants.

3.)  Drink plenty of water.

4.)  Sleep for 7 hours.

5.)  Take a 30 minute walk daily and smile.

{image found via Flickr, originally uploaded by Pink Sherbert Photography}

My Wish

{image:  Stitched Words found via kind over matter, originally uploaded by acoates

It’s another Wishcasting Wednesday at Jamie Ridler’s Studio.  This week Jamie asks, “What do you wish you have time for?”  Was Jamie reading my mind? I wrote last week about giving myself permission to have time to do things that I want to do.

What do I wish I have time for?

I wish I have time for my creative projects. I signed up for Art Journal Love Letters at the Dirty Footprints Studio but I have not had the time to create any art journals that Connie has been teaching.

Time has been on my mind for the past three months. I feel like I do not have enough time but it is  because I do not manage my time well. I am guilty of accepting last minute invitations from friends, guilty of watching television (Olympics are only on for two weeks), and guilty of not saying No.  But this is all changing because I am also on the path to simplicity.  I have freed up activities that I no longer love.  This weekend I will spend time on Connie’s online art journaling workshop.