The power of thought

It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts.
Robert H. Schuller 




Fascinating to think about. There has been a massive amount written about how our thoughts produce our circumstances. Check out tut.com for some great insights on how your thoughts become your reality!

Book Clubs

When I was invited to join my first book club, just the thought of the commitment of finishing a book I didn't pick sounded daunting. Fortunately, I squashed that thought and gladly and gratefully accepted the invitation. Today, I am a member of two book clubs and thoroughly enjoy them both! One meets in the evening and the other meets at lunch.

One book club began as an investment club almost 20 years ago. I wasn't a member when the women were working on investments but many of the current members were! The other reading club I actually started after talking to some friends about a book I had read. They had read the same book and we loved our brief discussion about it in the grocery isle and wished we had more time!  A few days later I contacted them with the idea of starting a book club and suggested they each invite a friend or two. We've been meeting for a few years now and our method of discussing and choosing books has evolved quite nicely.

There are many ways to structure a successful book club and as with most things in life, one size DOES NOT fit all.

 The club that meets in the evening rotates among each member's home every month with the hostess providing the drinks. This particular group serves wine, soda and water and each member brings an appetizer while one person is assigned a dessert. We have chosen categories each month so we are sure to cover many genres. (Ex. Biography, mystery, action, classics, etc.) People bring suggestions to fit the particular genre. February is Wild Card month so the suggestions were broad and exciting! We usually discuss the book by reading questions from the back of the work or questions obtained online.

As I am writing this, it sounds like we are stiff and formal but it is really just a format to follow. The discussions are invariably stimulating and the community is friendly and entertaining. Sometimes the discussion of the book can be related to popular culture. We were all quite amused when we realized that our discussion kept veering back to the recent episode of "Downton Abby."

Looking forward to March's selection. 

                                         




The group that meets at noon operates much differently. It was voted that we meet every other month. It works best for us if one person chooses the book, lunch location and leads that month's discussion. We go alphabetically so there is plenty of time to decide what book the group will read. We usually meet at a restaurant but our newest member has invited us to her house for lunch when it is her choice.

There are so many wonderful things about a book club but a few of my favorites are the different perspectives on a piece of writing, the friendship and laughter and the fact that I am reading and enjoying books that I would have never been interested in opening! If you are not a member of a book club but enjoy reading, take the plunge! Start your own book club. It has been so rewarding! Happy Reading!

Thought Substitution

Abe Lincoln is credited with saying, "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be." Sometimes just a little easier said than done. We are bombarded with thoughts all day long and it isn't what is happening that makes us happy or unhappy, it is the thought we assign to the event. Think about that... I'm sure you can think of a time when something happened that was upsetting to you , yet when it happened to a friend, he wasn't phased. We experience happiness or unhappiness through the lenses of our thoughts.

So how can we train ourselves not to think negative thoughts? The bad news is, thoughts are going to keep passing through your consciousness. The question is how many are you going to invite to stay?  Having less than positive thoughts is normal but dwelling on the negative can be very destructive. If you want to change a thought pattern, try substituting a negative thought for a positive one. This may take some practice but it is worth the effort if your goal is happiness. If you can't substitute the negative thought with a positive alternative, try to break down the offending idea into a slightly better thought. For example, "This traffic is stopped dead. If I'm late to work it will throw off my entire schedule" could be softened to " This traffic is stopped, I'll make a grocery list while I have a minute." It may sound outrageous at first blush but, with practice, it will change your attitude about many things. It has the potential to make any day more positive and productive.  Since you can't think two thoughts at once, the brighter thought (no matter how trivial) when practiced intentionally will help you make up your mind to be happy. Now for the good news; Like attracts like. Somehow it works!

Delicious Cream Free Soup

This recipe is an adaptation from the Fit for Life Kitchen by Marilyn Diamond. I have only made the Broccoli cream soup but it is fantastic and perfect to warm up for lunch, dinner or a snack. The taste and consistency is equal to a cream soup but the recipe calls for calcium-rich tahini to achieve the same effect without the calories. Healthy and tasty.  Definitely worth a try!

Ingredients

1 small to medium onion (chopped)
1 medium garlic clove (diced)
1 celery stalk (chopped)
2 TBSP EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 heads chopped broccoli (about 4 cups)
5 cups water
1 Cup chicken broth
2 TBS tahini

optional toppings to taste
ground pepper
croutons
cheddar cheese

1. Bring water and chicken broth to boil in a separate pot that is easy to transfer.

2. In a soup pot, heat oil and add onion, garlic and celery. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Add broccoli and continue cooking for about a minute.

3. Add boiling liquid to vegetables and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and continue cooking for 8-10 minutes until veggies are tender.

4. Pour soup in a bowl to cool. Remove 1/2 cup of broth from soup and stir remaining soup to cool it. Place tahini and 1/2 broth in a blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

5. Place 3/4 soup in blender and liquify into a cream. Pour it back into original soup pot. Place remaining 1/4 soup mixture in blender and pulse a few times allowing it to remain lumpy and full of texture. Add it to the soup pot with the creamed mixture.

6. Reheat soup to a medium heat and stir in the tahini mixture. Be careful not to let it boil. Add pepper to taste. Top with cheddar cheese and croutons. Yummy!

PS... It sounds like many steps but it really is not! Read through the directions and get a feel for what comes next. It makes quite a bit so you will have a healthy treat for a few days to heat up as the weather gets cooler! If you would prefer cauliflower, asparagus, carrot, squash or any other veggie, Go For It!

                                                           

Comfort zone

I really connect with this diagram because it reminds me of the saying, "Do something that scares you everyday. Another way of saying the same thing is "do something outside of your comfort zone everyday."The everyday advice is difficult but I do try to step out of my circle as often as possible. My latest endeavor (aside from my "turn and burn" to Miami as explained in the last post) has been acting classes. There is no correct interpretation of stepping outside the comfort zone. It can be a something you've been wanting to try. A new athletic endeavor, scuba diving, painting, mentoring children, cooking, gardening, hypnosis, a new career... use your imagination. The magic is everywhere. Don't miss it!! If you have something you've done outside of your comfort zone, post it on the comment section. I look forward to hearing from you!

What an Adventure!

My daughter is interested in the entertainment industry and she booked a small job in Miami this week. The details arrive about 24 hrs before the call time so I knew we needed a hotel in Miami, I just didn't know where. Miami is a big place (really???) and the traffic is brutal (as is the parking) so my main goal was to find a place very close so she could be on time for her 6am call time. (Fortunately it was changed to 8am at 9pm the night before.) Can you feel my anxiety yet??

I had a map and an address of home base so I employed my good friends Mary and Valerie, both who had experience with negotiating Miami, to come to my aid. Val was actually in Miami when I called for her advice and Mary was assisting with the tiny map provided to help make sure we ended up in a safe area. We had a few options but settled on a hotel that was within walking distance of the shoot. The website looked great and the price was really good. They admitted to doing a little renovation so I thought they may be slightly discounting the price. Mary, Val and I all felt we had done our due diligence so I was happily on my way.

Looks good, right?

                                   

My daughter and I arrived in downtown Miami about 11pm. We circled the block and could not find the hotel! No one answered the phone so we immediately thought we had been scammed! On the third round, someone answered and told us to look for the UHAUL truck. We could unload our bags and then go to a public lot to park! HMMMM....

Not so good

Needs some work

                       

Looks better the next morning but definitely not ready!

Fortunately, there was a Holiday Inn on the next block that had a vacancy. We ended up having a great time and my daughter had a wonderful experience. The TV series will be out this summer and we will have a fun story to tell! Optimism at its Best! Have a great day.

The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power

If you have been visiting this blog you have probably noticed that I love quotes. Somehow they summarize for me big ideas that can be reminders of a truth in a few words. I picked up a book several years ago that I read from at least once a week; The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power by Vernon Howard. I have never read it in its entirety but it is one of those books that I can open at any page and glean something interesting. I was sharing this book with a group of like-minded friends and opened it at random. The idea imparted was not a short quote but several thoughts suggesting that self discovery is the way to true happiness. One friend hoped I would put it on my blog so here it is!

     Change yourself, rather than working to change others.
     Place the inner man in control of the outer.
     Abandon the false before seeking the true.
     Be loving and you will be loved.
     Attend to the reason why you felt hurt, not to those who hurt you.
     Set inner integrity before good works.
     Place thinking before speaking.
     Be a real person, then a social person.
     Understand yourself, then try to know others.
     Set self-awareness before self-gratification.
     Destroy negative attitudes, not negative conditions.
     Place small efforts before great determinations.

                                                  


For me, these 12 statements warrant further investigation. I may try to choose one to focus on weekly. (It may take more than a week to gain insight but flexibility is the key to any spiritual undertaking!) Happy Hunting!

For more information on Vernon Howard visit www.anewlife.org

Body, Mind, Spirit

I know you've heard this before but I need to remind myself that for true health, I have to nurture and care for my body, mind and spirit. Of the three, our culture gives us an endless supply of information to care for our body. The latest diet, the best eye cream, workout regimes, holistic and traditional medicine, etc.  It may be necessary to focus on one area more intensely on occasion but it is important not to neglect any aspect of our health. 

                                                    

                       

 A good source of information for new and traditional information is Prevention magazine. From workout tips to meditation exercises and recipes, they cover all three disciplines with informative and documented articles. It's easy to read AND reasonably priced at about 99 cents per issue with a subscription. Let 2013 be your healthiest year yet! 

www.prevention.com

                          

The Forgotten Garden

I know it is January and not time for those perfect ''beach reads" but I just finished a page turner. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is entertaining and a New York Times best seller. It is a mystery that spans three generations. I loved it (even though I did make a flow chart to keep up with the key characters and their relationships.) Bottom line is if you are looking for a book you won't want to put down, this could very well be a contender. Happy reading!

Coincidence or Clue?

One of my habits is to pay attention to any idea, thought or observation that is presented to me three times in a short period of time. If I'm aware enough to register the phenomenon, in my experience, it is usually the Universe trying to get my attention. A few days ago I was looking for a scrap piece of paper and noticed a quote I had written down some time ago. Later in the day I saw the same quote on a card in a gift shop and the next morning I was reading a book that used the quote. Bingo!



"Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it,
  believe in it. Make your mental blue print, and
  begin to build."

Robert Collier

Several years back in a lecture I heard, Deepak Chopra called this the "probability amplitude." What was the probability that I would be presented with something out of the ordinary several times in a brief period? Did it exceed the probability amplitude?

Pay attention to things that come your way. Is it coincidence or clues from the Universe? I choose the latter.  For more thoughts on the subject, see www.chopra.com/coincidences

                                                       

                                                                   

Pot Roast time!

Even if the weather isn't cold, the days are shorter and it is darker sooner. A little planning will give you a tasty, easy dinner of hearty pot roast. It is perfect in a slow cooker or a dutch oven.  An added bonus is your house will smell welcoming and wonderful as it is cooking.

Pre heat oven to 300 degrees
1 pkg beef shoulder (package may say pot roast)
1 box beef broth
1- 2 cups water
small pkg baby carrots
potatoes (Your choice. I used small multicolored potatoes)
1large onion
2 tsp used coffee grounds
salt and pepper
2 tsp canola oil
2 tsp ketchup


Oil bottom of dutch oven. Season meat with salt, pepper, and coffee grounds. Brown seasoned beef on both sides. Add 1/2 box of beef broth and 1 cup water. Place in preheated oven. Cook for 2 hours. Check water level. Add water if needed. Increase temperature to 350 degrees. Add ketchup to meat (it's ok if you add it to liquid also.) Cook for another hour. Check liquid level. Add carrots, potatoes and onion chopped into bite size pieces. Add remaining broth and water to cover vegetables. Cook for another hour until vegetables are tender. Serve in bowls with crusty bread. You may have enough for a second meal and the good news is it is even better as leftovers! Enjoy!

Delicious!

                                                           

Pillows!

My daughter rekindled a beloved hobby of mine this holiday. I love to sew and she wanted to make some pillows to freshen up her neutral couch.  I dusted off my sewing machine and started making a pattern from tissue paper. She bought some designer fabric and we had a blast making some incredible pillows. It was fun to be creative and have a great finished product in no time. If you have a beige or neutral couch, chair or room fresh, bright pillows can give it a whole new look!

There are many websites that give basic sewing tutorials. Check out sewmamasew.com for one. We really dove into this project and made 11 pillows!

New Year's Day tradition

It seems that many of our traditions revolve around food, and it is usually food we only make on those occasions. We have our favorite Thanksgiving items, our Christmas fare and then our New Year's Day menu.

January 1st is a fun, casual day when we watch football, and entertain friends who drop by for a traditional meal.  The core fare includes ham, greens, hopping john (black-eyed peas and rice), corn pone and curried fruit. This year we opted for spoon bread (a sweet corn bread recipe) instead of corn pone and added some macaroni and cheese, pasta salad and a green salad.

Several of the dishes have traditional meanings and we insist everyone at least have a bite! Greens signify prosperity, hopping john for good luck and corn bread (or something gold like macaroni and cheese) for lots of money in the coming year. It is always delicious and the symbolism of the food is always a great topic of conversation for our northern friends (haven't served grits yet.)




Amazing Collard Greens


Bunch Collard Greens
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup onions
2 cloves garlic
olive oil (1/4 cup)
brown sugar (To taste. 1/4 cup very sweet. 2 tablespoons to cut bitterness)

Cook bacon in large dutch oven. Don't overcook. Remove before done. Wash greens, pat dry, tear into small pieces. Add to bacon drippings. Drizzle olive oil onto greens. Add bacon and sugar. Saute greens. Cover and let cook for up to 1 hour or until tender. Yummy! Enjoy!

greens for green

                                         

mac n cheese for gold