So, I made a wish that I could get these curtains, but at $248 a panel, my inner frugalista told me to  "keep dreaming"!! Well, dreams do come true, because Anthropologie is having a SALE!! Just $99-$108 per panel...

I went to buy a cake pan, but LuLu saw the giant cupcake mold and squeeled, "Mommy- LOOOOOOOK! It's so awesome! Aunt Danielle will love it!!!" Ok, her excitement was enough to sell me on the giant cupcake mold, and I started imagining all I could do the decorate it beautifully. In my mind, I was Martha Stewart - delicately placing little sugar pearls over a robin's egg blue icing. In reality, I don't even know where to find little sugar pearls??

So, we got the giant cupcake mold and headed to the grocery to pick up ingredients to bake the cake. There were no cute decorative toppings (other than spider man made out of sugar), and certainly no robin's egg blue icings.

But, yet I again was faced with options- cake mix or make it from scratch? frosting in a can? in a jar? homemade? chocolate cake with white icing? white cake with pink icing? chocolate with pink? LuLu and Little Man were screaming for the pink cake mix, so I took 2 boxes of the mix and I then headed over to buy flour and dark baker's cocoa to make a dark chocolate cake from scratch.

With ingredients and kids in tow, we went home to bake this giant cupcake. How hard could it be? Make a batter, pour it in the mold, bake, cool, ice...simple, right? I set up the man with coloring books and a Mickey in the background. Figured he'd be busy and Lu and I could focus on the baking.

The giant cupcake mold came with little instruction- just said follow the baking instructions on your cake box. The pink cake box gave times for your standard pans, but no mention of how long to bake a cupcake 25 times the size of a regular one????

30 minutes. Not done. 40 minutes. Not done. 50 minutes. Almost done. 55 minutes...the Little Man is now covered in magic marker, and toy boxes have been dumped all over my living room. Flour on the floor. Egg on the counter. Sink full of batter-covered dishes, mixers, spoons, and still no cake.

I put the toothpick in, it seemed to come out clean. "I'll clean while it cools."

My husband's a chef, and he would have been MORTIFIED at the sight of my kitchen. He's mastered the art of keeping it neat as you go. So, the 3 of us put a full court press on picking up the house. It was back to normal, kids clean and bellies full, time to ice this giant cupcake.

LuLu was beyond excited, and the kids huddled around me as I removed it from the mold.

F-L-O-P

And then, the tears. Not from my children- from ME!!! I couldn't believe the cupcake flopped, and my 4-year old daughter had to talk me off the ledge.

"Mommy, it's ok. You tried really hard. We can just make another one. It will be better next time!"

Huh. She had a point. Tears stopped, we danced around the kitchen singing "If at first you don't succeed, try try again!!" And we ate the crumbly cake, which still tasted delicious.

In the morning, I got up early to tackle the giant cupcake mold again, and it came out just fine. In fact, it tasted even better because I was able to use the dark chocolate!!

I've had many clients "clueless" as to why they weren't seeing or feeling changes physically, but when we examined exactly what they were taking in, time after time, it has come down to portion!! I once had a client consume (unknowingly) 2000 calories in just soup- darn coconut milk. I myself was stunned to find out years ago that my regular breakfast of plain greek yogurt mixed with pure vanilla extract and topped with berries and granola was actually over 600 calories!! After that wake up call, measuring became a must for me.

The thing is, measuring out portions can take time, make a mess, add more dishes to the dishwasher - alright, I get it! But, you know I'm a "No Excuses!" person, so when I heard about the Measure Up Bowls, I was beyond excited to share with my favorite blog readers!

First off, they were created by a woman named Heather Harvey; she's just like us, and she was just trying to be healthy, and realized dieting was NOT the answer. She opted for a true lifestyle change, and measuring her portions helped her lose 80 pounds in 11 months! Second, they are simple to use in your everyday life. Third, they come in 2 convenient sizes. So for those things you eat less of, you can use the smaller bowl so it feels like more- NEVER forget the importance of the psyche!

Part-skim ricotta cheese, for example is tasty but a bit calorie dense, so a 1/2 cup portion mixed with dark baker's cocoa, pure coconut extract, and a pinch of stevia or raw sugar is the perfect snack for just under 200 calories! Without measuring, you can easily pile in a cup to a cup and a half and not even realize it...

It was genuine excitement for the Verizon advertisement that flew above our house, and it was absolutely priceless.

Just moments before the hubby and I were going over our to-do list for the following week and talking about the work that needs to get done in the house, mostly decorating stuff, but work none the less. The kids dancing around over the blimp blew all that "work" chatter into the water and we got up and danced right along with them.

I often feel blessed to be able to experience the world through the eyes of LuLu and Little Man. Like, their reaction when a flower pops up from the soil they've been watering, seeing a butterfly, dumping water from bucket to bucket, beating an egg - all of these things are a wonder to them, and it makes me wonder when and why we tend not to always see them the same as life happens. I mean, it IS amazing to watch a butterfly and the colors are just gorgeous, and there's even a simplistic beauty of water flowing from each glass, the brightness of the egg yolk and how it stays so perfectly round when it is first cracked.

Life is miraculous and I realize how to many people the simple things in life often "lose their luster", unknowingly, just because it's familiar. Think about it- even in relationships, after the "honeymoon" period, most couples fall into the rut of task-doing, sharing chores, not that these things aren't important, but often the "romance" takes second place to who is dropping off the dry cleaning. And, in work or business, the first day on the job  the new gal is gung-ho over it and years later she gets into "greener grass" mode, thinking it would have been nice to go down a different road. Or that home that you rushed to put a bid in on, that car that drove like butter now 30k overdue for an oil change - once the "newness" wears off why is it easy to forget what was once so incredible?

The thing is, our spirit, our essence, our "being" wants us to see everything as amazing, just as we did when we were children. It can be that the experiences we have may change the way we view the world, but if we connect back to who we were born to be, let go of the past without judgment, and truly BE in this moment, eyes open wider, and we see things as if for the first time.

Share with me what is amazing to you in this moment. For me, in this moment, I feel it is incredible that my fingers can touch a keyboard and the letters are appearing on a screen where anyone, anywhere in the world with the internet can read them!

Tension In = Tension Out: Be Careful What You are Tuning Into
The Average American spends between 500 and 1000 hours a year behind the wheel!! And, roughly 80% of that time we have the radio on! The thing is if we are tuning in to talk radio or music that is less than soothing, we in turn become “worked up”. This can lead to horn honking, stress, even miscommunications at work and/or with loved ones. Since we are walking magnets, we literally become what we listen to. Turn on something that makes you smile, laugh, or just relax- you’ll quickly see your mood lighten and shoulders loosen!

Practice Presence Behind the Wheel
Driving is a mundane task that easily lends itself to a wandering mind. How many times can you actually remember the drive- the exact make and model of the car in front of you, the fine details of what was on your path? Most of the time drivers are bored, and are thinking about something that just happened, worrying about the future, replaying conversations with friends- the list goes on and on. Studies show, however, that people who are in the “present moment” have lower blood pressure, less stress, and an experience overall greater joy in life! Use your drive time to re-connect with the present moment, fully experience it! You’ll soon notice your senses sharpen, your memory is stronger, and your stress level lower simply by practicing presence!

Rev Your Engine- Rev Your Metabolism!
87% of cell phone owners admit to using their cell phone while driving. But, we all know the dangers that poses! A simple way to make use of your drive time without being distracted is to BREATHE. Study after study shows the correlation between proper breathing and overall health, even revving up our metabolisms! Yet, most of us just don’t breathe properly! I mean, we don't take deep breaths and sometimes we take in only enough oxygen to "just get by"!! So, breathing is obviously a necessity, but check this out, just a few more facts:
- Yawning or sighing is a sign you're not getting enough oxygen!
- When you don't get enough oxygen, it affects your brain!
- Breathing properly has been shown to decrease anxiety disorders and depression!!!
- Breathing helps the metabolism (hence HEALTHY BURNING MACHINE)!!
- Deep breathing helps with digestion and digestive problems...enough said- breathe deep!
- Shallow breathing affects our mood, making us grumpy!!

So, when you start your engine, start breathing. Take deep breaths and enjoy the ride!

Would I fall off? Would I be able to break? turn? avoid parked cars? Would a car not see me? Would I be able to go down hill? up hill?

I took a few minutes to introduce myself to the bike; road it gingerly up and down my block ON THE SIDEWALK. My neighbor saw me and smiled. I felt like I was 8 years old again, on my bike for the very first time- cautious, slow, using my feet to slow down.

The next morning I woke up ready to really face my fears and ride that bike on the road. Little man just woke up, Michael was drinking his morning coffee, Lulu was still asleep.

"I'll be right back, hon. I'm just going to ride up and down the street for five minutes. I want to get my bearings."

My husband laughed. Just the day before he road up and down along the beach for almost 2 hours. "Ok, babe," he said. "Have fun!"

Onto the street. Hmmm. It wasn't so bad. I picked up speed - kind of exhilarating. I biked around my neighborhood, wind in my hair, sun on my face, "Woo hoo!" I actually shouted OUT LOUD. A lady was walking her dog, and she laughed out loud. I waved - one hand even off the wheel!

A few blocks away from us homes are set on the water. It's just beautiful, very little traffic, serene. I biked up and down, back and forth, smiling the entire time. It was over 40 minutes, and I could have gone longer, but figured my Lulu would be waking up soon and wanted to give her a good morning kiss.

I walked in the door singing.

~ Winston Churchill

What will you give today? A smile, an ear, a hand, a compliment?

I know there are days where we can be on "auto pilot" with our own to-do lists piling up, but when we step outside of ourselves, our lives open up to so much more. Problems seem smaller, stress disintegrates, shoulders loosen, happiness comes from the inside-out.

Make a choice today to be present, and 'give something' to every person you encounter. Heck if you're really feeling generous, you can buy the coffee for the person in line behind you at Dunkin Donuts! 

I'd love to know how it changed your day!

But, do we really need to be dressed UP and ON all of the time? What about just being? Just being at peace. ..Just being in the moment…Just being ok with holey sweats sometimes and a cute ensemble other times? My stylish friends are probably cringing- and yelling at this blog saying "there is never a time for holey sweats!". Of course, I agree it's not the best way to dress, but I do I think it's all about balance and inner light. Do we really need to judge ourselves as “positive” or “negative”, can’t we just “be”?

In the moment that I noticed my outfit, I felt myself being affected by the way I looked on the outside and moving towards a funk. I almost didn’t even want to make eye contact! But, then, I realized there’s nothing worse than a sour puss, regardless of what I was wearing or how sloppy I was feeling, so I walked into 7-11, smiled at the cashier, complimented a woman on her broach, and was on my way back home to run around the yard with my kiddies – energized and excited even in my horrible outfit.