Showing posts with label mantra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mantra. Show all posts

Friday, April 22, 2011

don't worry...it's friday!


don't worry be happy...

why worry if you pray, why pray if you worry...

worry is interest on a debt you may never have to pay...

worry is meditation on a bad outcome...

being a new mom and not working has created a whole new level of worry for me. will we have enough money to cover the bills? is beatrice getting everything she needs? what if the car breaks down? what if, what if, what if...

people have said all the above sayings about "worry" to me before, but today someone said to me worry is meditation on a bad outcome, right before i was about to go to yoga. to meditate...and it really made perfect sense...i spend time meditating not necessarily to control the outcome, i know i can't do that, but to let go of worry and to invite love & light into our lives. so why do i go home and sit up at night worrying, meditating on a bad outcome? of course worry will creep into my thoughts now and again, but i have tools to keep it at bay--prayer, meditation, and the knowledge that the universe will take care of us. i just have to remember to use them.

it's patty's birthday this weekend, so we're having a potluck brunch at the house. it will be the first "event" we're having at the house since beatrice was born...

so have a wonderful, safe, happy weekend and don't worry!

{photo credit: spread the love on etsy. i bought this print for beatrice's nursery!}

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

blog spring cleaning


i've been doing a little spring cleaning on the old blog and i've removed some of the prop 8 badges...not that i'm any less political, but i honestly just felt like the blog needed a bit of cleaning.  it was a bit messy for my taste!  all of the political sites are still here, they are just listed on the "political action" list to your left.

while the personal is political, it honestly pained me a little bit to see those badges everyday as a reminder of such a rough time...and i want to keep the focus on moving forward and living a simple, green, loving married life.  i'm still every bit as political and i'll continue to post news and action items, i just don't want the fight to define my life.  

again, it really highlights the ironic thing about the whole prop 8 debate:  had we been granted the right to marry, we all would have continued to live, love, and blog about our lives. but it is the prop 8 supporters who really pushed the issue onto the national stage.  i'm nervous about the california supreme court decision {90 days...really?}, but i have faith that no matter what, patty and i will remain steady happy. 

Thursday, March 5, 2009

blessing in disguise: oona update


today we got to visit oona in the hospital.  she's still very drugged out and has a tube that drains fluid from her lungs.  she's being very well taken care of and is walking a bit on her own.  we hope to have her home before the weekend.

at the hospital, we were able to meet with her surgeon.  turns out the chicken bones and emergency surgery may have been a blessing in disguise.  the doctor did a biopsy on the lung he removed and it was riddled with cancer.  he said that it was hard to say whether the bones or the cancer caused the lung damage.  basically, if he hadn't have found the bones and done the emergency surgery, she probably would have died in a few weeks.  the cancer would have collapsed her lung and she would have died...

we still don't know how much cancer is in her remaining lung, but he said it was in good shape {he doesn't want to open her up again and we agree with him} . if we're lucky, she'll be with us for at least another year.  emergency surgery and almost as much money as we spent on our wedding is worth having oona around a bit longer.  

at this point, we know about the cancer and like ruby, we probably will opt not to do any invasive cancer treatments to prolong her life...our job, like always,  is to keep her safe, pain-free and loved.

{photo of oona and patty by me}

Friday, February 27, 2009

happy friday

happy friday.  have a great weekend.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

something new: freedom to marry week blog carnival


in celebration of freedom to marry week, i'm participating in the other mother's blog carnival. day 2 post is "something new."

today is a new day. every morning i wake up, i am grateful for the new day and i ask the universe to help me guide me today and to help me be more loving. to be more loving towards everyone i encounter and to start my day from a loving place. each day is new and so every morning, i repeat the same ritual. it helps me stay centered throughout my day and to be more loving to everyone--including the person driving the car that cuts me off on the way to work, or the guy in line who is rude to me.

freedom to marry is ultimately freedom to love. and for me, that's loving not just my spouse, patty, but everyone i encounter. and to love those who don't want to allow me to have the freedom to marry.

each new day, there are several things i read and meditate on. i don't know who wrote this, so unfortunately i can't give them credit. someone sent it to me in one of those email chains, but i love it. it sums up my philosophy in life, the things i try to do to remain {steady happy} and loving every new day. i thought i'd share with you:

1. take a 10-30 minute walk every day. and while you walk, smile. it is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. talk to god about what is going on in your life. buy a lock if you have to.

3. when you wake up in the morning, complete the following statement: "my purpose is to ___ today. i am thankful for ___.

4. eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. drink green tea and plenty of water. eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6. try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. don't take yourself so seriously. no one else does.

12. you are not so important that you have to win every argument. agree to disagree.

13. make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. don't compare your life to others. you have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. no one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. frame every so-called disaster with these words: "in five years, will this matter?"

17. forgive everyone for everything.

18. what other people think of you is none of your business.

19. god heals everything--but you have to ask.

20. however good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. your job won't take care of you when you are in need. your friends will. stay in touch!

22. envy is a waste of time. you already have all you need.

23. each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: "i am thankful for ___. today i accomplished ___.

24. remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. when you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. you'll be smiling before you know it.

photo credit here.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

married life: {budgeting}

historically, i haven't been very good about budgeting.  in my professional life, no problem.  but when it comes to my personal finances, i've really just hoped for the best, then worried.  i worried a lot.  well, i don't really have any resolutions per se this year, i don't want to set up too many expectations and i really just want to live one day at a time.  we also really want to seriously start saving to buy a house.  it's not easy to save in los angeles for me and it's not easy to find an affordable house.  but i really want to start managing my finances better, one day at a time.  i also really wanted to let go of all my worrying about money.  and i felt like if i knew how much i spent, i can make a better budget and be more aware of how much money we have. and if i have a better handle on it, i don't worry so much.  the "what if's" aren't as powerful.

so, although i'm unemployed, i signed up to meet with a financial planner.  i met with her last week and she sent me home with lots of homework.  figure out my expenses, my assets, etc.  rather than dwell and get depressed, i started right away.  earlier in the year, i had signed up for mint.com, then forgot all about it.  i never checked anything on it.  but in order to do my homework from the planner (and to start thinking about taxes!), i logged back on to mint.  

i have to say, it's been great.  yes, you do have to give your bank passwords, so i was a bit hesitant, but i've read a lot of reviews about it and it seems secure.  frankly, so much of our lives are online now, that a breach could really come from anywhere, so i decided to trust and use the program and it's been really helpful.

each transaction is automatically assigned to a category, which i can easily track. since january, i've been going on everyday as part of my daily online presence.  check email, check blogs, update mint. it just knows that target is "shopping," but if i want to add a label, a tag, or get more specific, i can.  


once i labeled my transactions, i can see my spending patterns.  they have great color coded graphs, which i love.  it's so much easier for me to get an idea of what i'm spending if it's
 in a nice visual picture!  i can click on the "food" portion of the pie and it will break it down in smaller increments:  "groceries" vs. "restaurants" for example.  and once in "groceries," i can click on a specific vendor.  that's where i really learned a lot and started to think about our spending patterns.  i was shocked--really shocked--at how much we spent at whole foods.  we had gotten lazy and did a lot of our shopping at whole foods and it really adds up!  it's made me so much more aware of where we are spending.  i try to eat well, as organically and locally as possible, and if i want to eat locally, i can go to the farmers markets.  much more local and
 WAY cheaper than whole foods!  plus, i really don't want to support whole foods management, as the owner is very republican and a big pal of george w. bush.  so analyzing our spending patterns has really helped me get back in touch with my values.  put my money where my mouth is.



lastly, i've created a budget that i'm working from.  they created one for me based on our monthly spending patterns, but i adjusted their "suggested" budget.  and the tracking is very simple and visual, which i love.

so, today i managed my money.  tomorrow isn't here yet, so i'm not going to worry about it. steady happy, one day at a time.

Friday, October 24, 2008

so very happy


i've seen this artist around the blog world, but i thought i'd share.  her work is so sweet & inspiring.  i love this one...it reminds me of what abe lincoln once said, "people are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  to me, that means i have a choice to be happy.  and with all this crazy prop 8 back and forth--it's hard not to take it personally and feel the stress.  so i'm going to be happy today.  check out studio mela on etsy for more sweet art.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

steady happy

steady happy was a mantra i learned in yoga & it's something i like to apply to everyday married life & it's a mantra i often recited while wedding planning.  it reminds me to stay calm, easy does it, remain positive, stay focused and do the footwork & let go of the results.  i often recited this when i started to stress out about minor wedding details.  it helps me remember what's important...so i've changed the blog name.  not sure what that does to links to the old name, but hopefully you will find me.