10 minutes and everything changes

Prior to 4pm, I had be writing....

I'm not stressed. Or annoyed.

Coronavirus is here, and yet, I know I'd much rather be on my regular routine, complaining about meal-prepping and all the adulting I have to do on my limited weekends, and then heading back to school on Monday like nothing was wrong.

Tuesday was supposed to be our half day for PD because in Illinois  it's a voting day. We were out at noon, and then we had tentatively planned to go get a green beer in honor of St. Patty's day.

But none of that is happening.

Today I watched mass on LiveStream, instead of seated in church.

Today I went for a walk and hardly saw anyone. (Also locked myself out, thankful for my best friend who saved the day!)

Tomorrow I'll go in to work for four hours help teachers get some options set up for e-learning, and then I'll be back at home.

There will be no green beer on Tuesday.

Probably won't see many of my friends face-to-face for the next two weeks.

But I'm not feeling angry or annoyed or stressed. Maybe we should look at this as a time to slow down. Maybe there are some ways in which we can heal with this abundance of time. Now we are blessed with time for other priorities, that book we've been meaning to read, that closet we've been meaning to clean. Maybe we need to make that call to a loved one, or send that text. Or write a letter. Remember snail mail?!

Some things just won't happen this year, and that's okay. But big picture? Our health is our greatest wealth, and even if I'm not a part of the demographic that is most at risk, I will stay inside and away from others because we are actually far more connected than it may feel today and for the next two weeks.
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Around 4:30 pm, our governor closed all restaurants and bars effective tomorrow and my mom called worried and sh*t got real. But for now, I must rest, so more on that, tomorrow.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Ain't got time for that

So, the Coronavirus.

I don't have TV, I rarely see the news. I certainly do not watch any cable news.

Today when talking to my stepmom, she asked me how things were down here (I'm in Chicago, she's in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) related to Coronavirus. I told her, "Fine? I am not letting that stress me out."

Like is this a fear thing? Is this a distraction from some other thing thing? I'm not sure. But I did see this video by a Naturopathic Doctor I really admire and respect and she was making the case that there are bacteria and viruses fungus and tons of other things that can make us sick out in the world at all times, so we should not shirk responsibility for our health, but instead take responsibility for building our immune systems. Then she gave a bunch of tips:

1. Get movement every day.

2. Get outside to get Vitamin D and also...

3. Supplement with Vitamin D-3, A, and Zinc. She says in her practice she has yet to meet someone who has enough Vitamin D in their systems from natural means - you have to supplement!

4. Say no to sugar. In her words, it's like sandpaper to our insides because its SOOO INFLAMMATORY. 

5. Drink water & eat whole foods.

Wanna know what else I'd like to add? Avoid stress. It also weakens the immune system (reference) and I got no time for that.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Is it just me?

In our district we have a Health and Wellness committee. We create opportunities for students and staff to be mindful about health and wellness. Some of these events include a fun run for staff, student workout clubs, book clubs for staff, Biggest Loser competitions, and we have a health and wellness fair every spring. This year's fair was last night.

My job at the fair was to welcome the community vendors and show them where their table was. In return for being a vendor, they had to donate a prize to be raffled off to students.

As the vendors entered our building, I welcomed them, and escorted them to their spot. Once we arrived there, I would then ask, "Did you have a raffle prize to donate?"

So there was someone from a public health department of some capacity. We got to their table and I asked for their raffle prize.

You know a diaper cake that moms-to-be sometimes get at baby showers? Okay, picture that. Made of candy. At a HEALTH and WELLNESS FAIR.

Check out my former years slicing here. Find me on Instagram here. And twitter, here.

Living between Black and White

Yesterday, I commented on this post on Instagram:

My comment was about how BECAUSE of INTUITIVE EATING, I come back to Arbonne's protein, fizz, and detox tea, and the recipes I've learned through them after a few days of eating all the foods I wanted to eat. I was fully expecting the crowd to debate me a bit, but I actually had quite a few people like my comment and then reply in agreement.

Except then my comment and like 9 replies were deleted, so one other girls asked why. The owner of the account mentioned that there are people struggling with disordered thinking around food and that their account was a safe space free from people promoting their MLM products. I get that. Except we didn't promote them, instead, were just carrying on a debate about detox. Also want to point out that the owner of the account used #arbonne in her original post, so, that just felt a little confusing. I understand that she was definitely not promoting arbonne, but she obviously wanted us to see it, but why, if you're not going to hold a debate about it? Seemed unfair, but oh well.

One part of one of the comments I made was about black and white thinking - that we can believe in intuitive eating AND healthy habits that can be found elsewhere, even from a company that is MLM. Like everything else, there's a huge grey area!

One of my very good friends recently started following #intuitiveeating on Instagram. If I had to sum up what I have found this to mean is that food is not our enemy; we should follow our instincts with eating - like if we are hungry, or craving something specific we should just have it; and we should work to be body positive no matter where we are on our on our journey with our health. Intuitive eating also rallies against diet culture, detoxing, cleansing, and processes along those lines.

As many of you know, I am also a consultant with Arbonne, so I've been working on making all this fit together. I have been asking myself, "Is Arbonne intuitive eating? Do we promote diet culture?"  Our program, called 30 Days to Healthy Living (30DHL) is an elimination diet for 30 days... so maybe? I went on to ask myself, "Am I part of this problem?"

But the more I follow along, the more I am finding that Arbonne's goals are in line with #intuitiveeating. It just takes some work on the front end for each individual person to find the specific things that trigger their individual bodies.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is highly addictive, acidic, allergenic, and inflammatory. Foods that contain gluten, caffeine, alcohol, sugar, dairy, and soy may not be in our best interest to be eating ALL THE TIME. With Arbonne, we omit those ingredients for 30 days, and then add them back one at a time afterwards to find out what ingredients are particularly triggering for each individual person who tries our program out. It's not that you can't have foods with those ingredients after your 30 days, just that you will be able to notice how different ingredients trigger you. Case in point for me: eating a TON of my dad's pizza (it's sooo good!) and then having to lay down for like 3 hours because I totally overdid it and my stomach was telling me so. Those moments of noticing is intuitive eating.

The goals of 30DHL are to promote health in many ways: better sleep, clearer skin, no head fog, more energy, less headaches and migraines, better digestion, and supporting organs of elimination just to name a few. Weight loss is also an effect for many who complete our program. 30DHL is built for individuals to find healthy habits that work for them. Our program is about being nourished, it's not a quick-fix weight loss strategy that makes crazy promises and ends after 30 days.

I've read countless books that echo the goals of our program: Body Love (Leveque), How to Make Disease Disappear (Chattergee), Medical Medium (William), and It starts with Food (Hartwig) to name a few. Furthermore, Dr. Tanda Cook, Naturopathic Doctor, also recommends the habits our program teaches.

And that's just it: we are habits-based and our goals are to help individuals find habits to last a lifetime. Learn about probiotics and then take them daily to aid digestive processes. Take a shot of Greens Balance in the morning because most people do not have the time to get all the servings of veggies our microbiomes truly need. Add a detox tea that will deliver nutrition to your liver so it can function AT IT'S BEST rather than being bogged down trying to process an excess of  inflammatory ingredients that don't  serve us. Turns out that Cheryl from the meme above is  right - that the functionality of our liver can be enhanced by nourishing it in the proper way. (See Medical Medium's book for more on that.)

It was intuitive eating that led me back to supplements that add health to my body after all that pizza. It's intuitive eating that has my body craving our vegan protein shakes. It's intuitive eating that says, "Go ahead, and have that ice cream, because you're fully aware that dairy is a trigger for you, and you are in fact choosing it's effects." 

I'm really curious to know your thoughts. How am I doing with this intuitive eating thing? Am I getting close to understanding it? Can I live in the grey area between that and 30DHL? I've never felt better about my appearance and how I feel on the inside, so something's working here!

Leave a note in the comments, let's keep this conversation going. And EB, I'm most interested in hearing your thoughts on this one, friend!

Be well everyone!

Recreational Drug Use

I'm not talking about weed. Or ecstasy for that matter.

I'm talking sugar.

The Standard American Diet is full of it. A typical day in my eating life of the yore could have gone like this: cereal for breakfast, or a bagel and OJ. A granola bar would have been an excellent morning snack. Lunch consisted of a PBJ, some pretzels, and a yogurt. Or a Lean Cuisine. I'd be hungry again around 2:30 or 3:00 so I'd reach for, oh, I don't know, a Zone Bar? Some Cheeze-its? For dinner it was pasta with garlic bread. Eating every 3 hours or so, and I was usually still hungry, cranky, sleepy, and irritated.

Can you see all the sugar there? Or the carbs that digest into glucose, which is the same thing?

Dr. Mark Hymann, in the video on this blog, referred to sugar as a recreational drug. The Standard American Diet has us eating too many carbs, including too much pop and other sugary drinks, and too much processed food. (80% of processed food has added sugar!) We are eating this way, and we shouldn't be, and he feels so strongly about sugar, he says it should be consumed only very sparingly. Let me show you what happens when you eat a day's worth of food like the one I mentioned above:

(Side note: I'm pretty sure I got this right, but it's all super new to me, so if you find an error, please tell me!)

Your body wants to maintain an equilibrium, called homeostasis. A constant temperature and balanced blood sugar levels are examples of this. If you eat a bowl of Lucky Charms and a side of toast for breakfast, you get that super quick surge of energy from the sugar. But the body does not like for blood sugar to be high, so the pancreas releases insulin to ferry the sugar from the blood, and sends it one of three places: the liver, the muscles, or fat cells.

As the insulin goes to work, your blood sugar levels don't just go to normal range, they crash way below normal. This crash signals your brain that you're hungry again, and the hormones coursing through your system leave you craving those same sugars it just removed from the blood. You reach for the granola bar and then the whole cycle repeats itself for the second time that day.

This is where we've been misled about dieting and calorie counting or carb counting or counting whatever. We shouldn't be counting anything. We shouldn't be eating every three hours. Instead, we should just be eating those nutrients that will satiate us and keep our blood sugar in normal range. When you eat that way, you can have three meals a day and be good to go.

In Body Love, Kelly LeVeque suggests instead we create meals around these four macronutrients, the Fab4:

Green and fibrous carbohydrates
Purpose: promotes gut health by feeding the beneficial bacteria, adds all the essential vitamins and minerals we need, removes toxins from the body
Green carbohydrates, think: Organic veggies deep in color (have as much as you want!)
Fibrous Carbohydrates, think: fruit, whole grains (including oatmeal, pasta, and whole-grain breads, rice, wheat, seeds and nuts, starchy veggies such as potatoes, corn, and squash, and beans, lentils, and peas (should be a small portion of your meal)

Protein
Purpose: cell and tissue growth, signals to your brain you're full
Think: Grass fed beef, free range chicken, wild caught fish, eggs, a protein powder with a full amino-acid complex (Arbonne's!), quinoa, buckwheat, chickpeas

Fat
Purpose: brain functioning, hormone production and balance, immune protection, slows digestion
Think: Wild caught fatty fish, avocados, the oils: olive, coconut, or a clean butter, and nuts, chia seeds

LeVeque says, "When the body doesn't get sufficient amounts of these food sources, or the foods come in a form that has been modified by chemicals or is low in nutrients, the body adjust in a number of negative ways, most of which lead to weight gain and inflammation." (p. 18)

Basically, if you are not eating that way most of the time, your body is probably in a constant state of inflammation, which means your organs are working OVERTIME, ALL THE TIME to correct everything back as close to homeostasis as possible. This chronic inflammation manifests as a variety of symptoms: acne, psoriasis, weight gain, poor sleep, migraines, PMS, brain fog, etc etc. If left untreated, ask LeVeque goes on to say, "Your body might turn on itself and develop diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer" (p. 19).

You guys, knowledge is power, and I'm so glad I learned all of this! Now, I know if I'm going to reach for that donut, I will be aware of the crash that will follow shortly thereafter, and I will have some kind of Fab 4 meal or shake or snack nearby to stop the cycle from repeating. It's not that we can never indulge, it's just that we have to know how to respond when we do decide to have that treat.

Optimal blood sugar levels, created by eating #Fab4 at each meal

I'll be back again soon with another post on some of my favorite Fab 4 smoothie recipes. Some people say that a protein shake isn't a real meal, but I disagree. Mine are packed with vegan protein, spinach, avocado oil, fiber, and some fruit to sweeten it up. We're talking 5-6 hours of no hunger and no cravings because your blood sugar is set to a normal range. That's a win in my book!

If you don't want to wait, here are a few things you can do now:


1. Contact me about Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living (30DHL). Our program is built around balancing blood sugar, creating optimal gut health, and eating clean, all of which will lead to reducing inflammation in the body and releasing those symptoms mentioned above!

2. Get a copy of Body Love and read for yourself.

3. Watch Fed Up on iTunes, I watched it last night, $3.99 rental.

Thoughts? I'd love to hear from you! Have you completed a 30DHL? Read Body Love or watched Fed Up? Were you already aware of this blood sugar situation or is this new? Please leave a comment with your feedback!

Be well, friends!

Miracle Morning

Happy Monday Friends! Awesome to be home today on a snowy Monday, three day weekend. On deck today are all the chores I didn't do yet, like laundry, more meal prep for the week, planning out some things for school tomorrow, and getting paperwrok in line for my taxes tomorrow night. BUUUTTT, that stuff isn't fun, so instead I'm listening to Ariana Grande and blogging :-) Today I'm going to share a routine that is all about self care and putting yourself first. If you want to earn some of those self-care reward stickers, read on!

Today, like all my other days, I got up and started with Miracle Morning. This is a habit I've been working on since January and it's making such a difference in my life. It gets my mind set straight before any of the stressors of life enter. Let me tell you what it involves, and then tell you what I'm finding.

Six steps, order then as you wish, but remember "SAVERS" as an acronym to get all the benefits.

Silence
I'm talking meditation, prayer, breathing. Just be. Work on calming the mind and your thoughts so you can learn to be more fully present. I use the Calm app for this which has awesome, daily 10 minute meditations. If you're a teacher you can get a free account, just go here. No matter how you choose to do so, find some quiet silence to begin your day.

Affirmations
Tell yourself some encouraging words to live out your life's purpose. Think in terms of gratitude! Every day, I write down five things I'm thankful for as a way to affirm the good things that have already come into my life. When you get in the habit of looking for things you are thankful for, you start to see more and more of that as you go about your day.

Vision
To start with this, you need to get your goals down. They can be yearly goals, or goals for a 3-5 year plan, or even 10 years. Some people make vision boards as such a way to visualize them. Once you know your goals, you will write them every morning in present tense. Mine start out like this:

10 dreams I made happen (this is a la Rachel Hollis and her Start Today Journal, currently sold out, but pop to that link to get your name on the list!) Okay so in my journal, this Vision part looks like this:

10 dreams I made happen 
1. I have impeccable health, in mind, body, and spirit.
2. I have $10K in savings.

and they go on like that, all 10, written every day. By hand writing them, you spend a little bit of time on each, and if you have a vision board, have that close so you can visualize. Law of Attraction. It's the thing!

Exercise
Not a whole production, either. Just five minutes to get your blood flowing. I set my timer for 5 min and do the following, mostly yoga:

Sun A flow a few times
High Plank
Down Dog
Sleeping Pigeon
Pushups
Supine Twist
Happy Baby

No matter what you choose, just get five minutes of movement in to get your day going. While you're doing that, you can work on calming the mind. If you have a hard time with that, focus on deep  breathing.

Reading
Read some cool stuff to fill up your mind with positivity. I love The Book of Awakening for this. It's a day book with short passages each day to inspire you. Sometimes they inspire you to let stuff go. Sometimes they inspire you to reconsider some limiting beliefs. Sometimes they reaffirm a belief you hold. Sometimes it's poetry, sometimes its a quote, sometimes it pushes your thinking. No matter what, it's good stuff to begin a day and get you thinking.

Scribbling
Scribbling, a synonym for Writing so the "SAVERS" acronym works. Get to some writing. Sometimes you don't even know what ideas of yours are lurking beneath the surface because you need to take time to write, and in doing so, things come out unexpectedly that really illuminate where you are in life.

So that's it!

Like I mentioned earlier, I've been practicing this for about six weeks. I wake up at 5:00 and get to this first thing. My routine is as follows:

1. Write five things I'm thankful for (Affirmations)
2. Write the 10 dreams I made happen (Visualizing)
3. Read a bit
4. Write a bit
5. Exercise flow
6. Meditate

If I have to wash my hair, I usually do the exercise part first, hop in the shower, and then let my hair air dry a bit while I work though the rest.

If I'm running late, I do the meditation in the evening.

Sometimes I miss a day, or sometimes I miss the meditation.

I can tell you that my days are way better when I have this practice happening. I am in a happier mood, I see all the good in things, I am much more calm and collected in my moments of anxiety throughout my day. I've learned to slow down in those stressful moments - significantly. This practice will really make a difference for you if you can get up and get though the early-morning grind.

I have a little something for you! The little cheat-cheat picture at left is available here for you to download and print in case you'd like to have a reference point to get started.

Do you already practice Miracle Morning? The person who taught me is Faith, you should totally follow her if you're on Instagram! Thank you, Faith, for the inspiration and great habits you bring into my life!

And, connect with me on Instagram, too, if you're not already! I'd love to have you tag me in some awesome routines like this that set up some awesome self care! Or, leave a comment and let's hear what you're up to!

#Arbonne30 completed and sustainable!

A few years ago (2012, damn, that was a long time ago!) I competed a Whole 30. This is a program that is a jump start to the Paleo lifestyle. It's an elimination diet. With this program you eliminate dairy, alcohol, grains, legumes, added sugar, Carrageen, Sulfites, and MSG, and "junk" food. What you eat on a Whole30 is veggies, fruit, unprocessed meats, seafood, eggs, nuts & seeds, (some) oils & ghee, and coffee. (Reference)

When I completed that program all those years ago, I lost 6 pounds. You can read about my month-end reflection at this link.

Since then I've tried many things, and most recently it was Arbonne's 30 Days to Healthy Living and Beyond. Our program is also an elimination diet for 30 days but our philosophy is a bit different. We eliminate all things that are acidic, allergenic, or addictive. These foods cause inflammation in our bodies, and lead to poor health and eventually disease. Arbonne's mission is to add health to our lives, and we do that by eating clean, whole foods, and supplementing them with products that support our bodies. More on that in a bit.

Before I dive in a bit more about Arbonne's philosophy and why I have such belief in it, I have to tell you that with Arbonne30, I lost 13.1 lbs in four weeks! That is double what I did in four weeks of the Whole30. DOUBLE. And that's just the scale victory. I had a lot of other non-scale victories, too, like:

• No more cravings
• Eating WAAAAYYY less, but never really feeling hungry
• No head fog after too many carbs
• No headaches from caffeine
• Way more energy
• Clear and glowing skin!
• Clothes fit better (actually pulled out some old pants that hadn't fit in a while)
• Happier - you guys, generally speaking, I'm a happy person, but the past few weeks I've been extra happy. It's kinda crazy!

So, what sets Arbonne apart? This image is a nice summary:

Arbonne is focused on a few things:

1. Whole Foods Eating - we shop whole foods (think: 1 ingredient)  that are organic, cage-free, or grass fed
2. Avoiding inflammatory, addictive, and triggering foods, specifically gluten, dairy, sugar, soy, caffeine, and alcohol, which trigger the immune system and cause inflammation
3. Focus on the importance of absorbing our foods - Our supplements are nutrient dense and not depleting. They are meant to help your organs absorb all the nutrients you take in with each meal

Our philosophy is to guide people into a whole foods way of eating. We give people the tools to put down the inflammatory foods, and also create a lifestyle which is totally sustainable.

Another HUGE difference with Arbonne is that we created supplements to add helath to our bodies and support our organs of elimination - our liver, GI track, skin, and lungs. These organs help our bodies expel what it doesn't need, so, being the smarties they are in our Research and Development department, Arbonne developed products to optimize the work of our elimination organs:

• Detox Tea - replaces coffee and helps our liver work it's best. For example, milk thistle supports detox pathways in the liver. Peppermint (tastes great!) and has an affinity for the GI Tract. (And there's like 5 more - watch the linked video, our Dr. Tanda Cook, Naturopathic Physician and Arbonne Independent Consultant.)
• Digestion Plus - We need beneficial bacteria in our diets because they help us break down and absorb our food. You guys, I've learned: we are not what we eat but WHAT WE ABSORB. Let that sink in. We are what we absorb. So, if you do not have enough bacteria to break down and absorb the nutrition you're eating, you're not getting the benefits of all that kale and raw nut butter and free range chicken! Additionally, serotonin, the feel-good hormone, is produced in our GI tract, and needs these enzymes to produce at good levels. Perhaps this is the reaosn for my excessive happiness? :-) :-)
• Fizz Sticks - These replace pop and coffee (which are acidic, and sugared) but have so many benefits. They are a clean energy source and way more ALKALINE-forming. They taste awesome and have B Vitamins which help us out with stress. They contain chromium, which helps balance our blood sugar. WINNING!

And there are more, including Fiber Boost, Vegan Protein, and a 7 day cleanse.

But wait, there's more still. Our program offers a 30 day private facebook group that delivers education around everything we do, topics including: 

• Gluten
• Gut Health
• Elimination Organs
• Soluble and insoluble fiber
• Balancing Blood Sugar & pH
• Truth about Olive Oils - which are good quality and those that aren't
• Meal planning, including 4 weeks of compliant recipes (that are delicious!)

The list goes ON and ON and ON.

That Facebook group is important for the education, but also the community. It's great to see people's results, have them cheer you on from the sidelines, and have a group to be there together when you are struggling, too!

At the end of the day, I'm not settling. I'm not settling for feeling or looking poorly, not settling for anything less than health and wellness, and from a business standpoint, I'm not settling on a teacher's salary that cannot deliver the things in my life that I want and need.

I share Arbonne because I BELIEVE in their philosophy and what they do, and I get that this company is a vehicle to financial and time freedom. 

So what did I learn in 30 days with Arbonne?

1. You can restrict the American Diet and not feel bad. You can go to a baby shower and have the veggies, salad, fruit salad, and meat minus bread, and still be happy. It's just food, not love. (Friends reference, anyone?) It's okay to let it go.

2. When the scale won't move and you've only "cheated" with a Lara Bar and some fruit, you better start counting your calories and make sure you've gotten enough so your body does not think it's going into starvation mode and store fats, rather than releasing them. My week four my scale was exactly the same as week three until the last day when I added more nutrition. The last day of the week? Down another 1.2 lbs!

3. When you do this kind of program, do so with a friend! There are currently three of us that work together, and we each make different recipes and swap them around for variety. We work together, cheer one another on, and are there to support one another. 

4. Yes you can! Yes you can complete this challenge and actually continue going. I'm planning on continuing for another four weeks, with one cheat meal around Fat Tuesday. With the education and recipes, this program is meant to take you beyond the 30 days, and you most certainly can.

5. It's affordable. Many people skoff at eating organic and grass fed, but if you spend your money there, prepare food at home, and use the supplements as they are meant to be (and in a pinch), it all comes out in the wash. You can afford this. (For perspective, I'm a single teacher living alone on the north side of chicago and I can afford it. You can too.)

6. It's not all just easy and rainbows and puppies. Anything worth doing takes discipline. You will need discipline, especially getting through the first week or two while you are detoxing yourself. The supports are put in place for your success with this program, and yes you can accomplish it. (Nod to my brother-in-law for reminding me of this and inspiring my One Word for 2018: Steadfast.)

7. Working out: In January I did eleven sessions of yoga. That's it. This challenge takes place in the kitchen and is focused the way we are nourishing our bodies, but the yoga? That's helpful too, for physical and emotional well being.

8. From a business standpoint: Lead by example. ALWAYS lead by example. People are talking to me about what I'm doing because they look at me and I look better and I'm happier. If you want your business to flourish, you have to get disciplined about your work.

Want to know more, including taking a look at my before and after photos? Head over to my Private Facebook Group (click Join Group) to check those out. You'll also get a feel for what Arbonne is all about. In this group I share about health and wellness, well being and happiness, and keep my shoppers up-to-date with the new promotions and incentives that Arbonne offers. I'd love to see you over there learning along with us!

Wishing you health and wellness this month and beyond!

Live Free

As you all know, I'm a teacher, and I love what I do.
I love teaching kids.
I love creating readers and writers out of them.
I love being around people all the time, especially middle school teachers, who, like the kids we teach, are a unique tribe of people themselves.

But I'm also passionate about so many other things.

Mindfulness.
Health and wellness.
Open lines of communication.
Taking time to take care of yourself.
Seeing the world.
Experiencing new cultures.
New outfits, with the perfect accessories.
Puppies.

The list could really go on and on.

Except I'm kinda stuck, because my teaching career can only afford me so much in the way of financing the life I dream about.

I don't want to be two days out from payday asking a friend if we can grab a coffee instead of lunch because my checking account has taken a hit. Or saying no to another friend's trip to Europe because I'm buried in some credit card debt.

I'd love financial freedom.

I don't want to be so exhausted from teaching that I do not do what I need to do for myself, which is work out after work. And I really hate that alarm going off at 5:30am every morning calling me from my peaceful slumber into a cold (litearlly - it's like 10 below in Chicago the past few days) world.

I'd love time freedom.

I certainly do not want toxins in my daily care products. If I am going to get myself toxic, I'd rather do that with a bottle of wine and a friend than with my shampoo and mascara.

I'd love freedom from toxic chemicals that infiltrate the products we use on a daily basis.

As much as I love teaching, it just won't give me certain freedoms I desire. That's why I said yes to Arbonne about a year and a half ago.

Now, in my free time, I get to teach others about health and wellness, how it means more than just what we're eating and how often we exercise.

I get to share the joy of our culture and community with anyone who is interested, and introduce them to a whole bunch of women who are all my new friends now!

Let's get a coffee and talk more about it! I'd love to show you how you can create a willable asset for your family and loved ones by simply changing where you shop... and get a whole crew of new friends as a result! Just drop me a message and I'll reach out!

And until then, be well, friends!

Create an Amazing Day in 5 Steps

I woke up this morning a bit before my alarm. That's no surprise, I usually do. I actually had about 20 minutes before I had to get out of bed, and as I was laying there, I could feel how tense my my shoulders were. I started thinking about the Sun A flow from Yoga, but the without really thinking further I reached for my phone to open up social media, like I usually do. (This is a serious addition I'm not particularly fond of, but that's a blog for another day.)

Instead, I put my phone back down, got out of bed and decided I would do some yoga for fifteen minutes, rather than start my day on facebook.

I go into my living room and turn on a soft light and start the poses - mountain, stretching up high, letting my shoulders melt down my back, gentle backbend, back to mountain, forward fold...and slowly flowed through each movement. My hair got in the way, so I got a hair tie, came back, and worked on stretching through the sequence a few more times. I had 15 minutes, I could really get some good stretches in!

Instead, I worked on my yoga for like 4 passes through the sequence. In total, probably only 4 minutes had passed, and then I quit, laid on my couch and opened facebook. (Do you see? Addicted.)

But in this case, it's good because I found myself on a blog that had a podcast that I then listened to and it shared five things you can do to start your day off in such a great way that it will keep on being awesome the whole rest of the day. I got in the shower and turned up the volume, and here's what I learned. (Also: these are not my ideas, just passing them on from Tim Ferriss.) (Also: these are not rocket science, either, well maybe #3 is, but that's all.)

1. Make your bed.
Yeah, do that. It will be the first thing you accomplish that day and will set you up to start and finish a bunch more things. Tim mentioned a monk or something who was sharing about this, but also the military. They always start their day by making their beds. You don't even have to make your sheets all crisp and perfectly folded, either. Just get the sheet and blanket on good enough (especially if your bed is like mine, surrouneded by walls on three sides). And let me tell you, if you are someone who doesn't usually do this, you will be so happy when it's time to go to bed later that night!

2. Meditate.
I don't know as much about meditation as I do about bed-making, but what I do know is enough to say it's good for you. Meditation forces you to slow down. Do you know how fast our society goes? And how much we have to do in a single day? How much information we take in and process and then share back out? And even more crazy are our thoughts, the constant, incessant chatter on and on and on.....

Meditation creates a space for you to slow down and not have to problem solve or worry or analyze or stress. You slow down, take note of how your body is feeling at the moment, relax, and prepare for a great day ahead.

I have done most of my meditation in Hot Power Fusion at the yoga studio but have done some at home, too. There are a bunch of great apps you can get, too. Some free. My favorite is Headspace. Check it out and stick to a routine. Make meditation the second thing you accomplish every morning.

3. Hang upside down.
This one was new. I don't have a space to do this, but from what I remember, he was saying it's important to strech out your spine. I don't remember the details at all, so check out the podcast (#105), but I image some bendy or stretchy yoga could also do the trick.

4. Drink some tea.
He had some crazy concoction of a loose leaf teas and herbs he used for varying reasons, but I equate this to drinking warm lemon water. Detox yourself. Most of us drink a cup (or 8) of coffee every day, but starting with lemon water or some other kind of detoxifying tea would probably be better. Coffee is super acidic, and from what I've learned about pH balance, it's not good for us (especially if you put a sugared creamer in it like I do). Alternative: hot tea to detox and get your organs inside functioning properly before you get your day going.

5. Write Daily Pages.
I've said it before that writing is so helpful for my state of mind. The writing Tim suggests was writing in a private notebook for two purposes. First, to express gratitude for all that is amazing and happy in yoru life. We all know that it's the grateful people that are happy. His second reason is to write through all your anxieties. Put them down on the paper, let them be heard, and then you're ready to start your day. After all, you know you're going to encounter some jackass in your day (random or someone you always encounter) so instead of building up all that anxiety in your mind and carrying it with you, put it down on paper and let it go.

So there you have it friends. Make your bed, meditate, invert yourself, drink some detoxifying tea, and do some writing. He said even if you can knock out three of these you're off to an amazing start.

Tomorrow I'm going to make my bed and do the writing.

What will you try?

Or, what are you already doing?
Leave a comment below and keep the conversation going!

Fave Summer Products

Hey everyone! Happy Summer! Are you enjoying the long days relaxing on your porch with a cold beverage? I am (minus the porch I so desperately wish I had...future goals!)

My last post about my favorite Arbonne products was so well received, I wanted to do another one with my favorite products for summer! Check out a few of these that I've been using religiously and a few others I still haven't tried yet, but that are on my wish list!

Before we begin, you might be new here, so just want to share that with Arbonne, everything is pure, safe, and beneficial. Each product contains carefully selected, botanically based ingredients. Our products are rigorously tested. We're vigilant about the latest research regarding chemicals to ensure we're being mindful and cautious. Our products deliver results. As trailblazers, we must educate, empower, and inspire people to make better choices for the beauty, health, and wellness of their family and friends.

With that, let's go!

Awaken Rejuvenating Body Mist

from our Aromassentials line 

Not only is this a lovely lemony scent to wake you up in the morning, but it also serves as an awesome bug spray! I've been using it instead of Off and it's working like a charm. A friend took it to the woods in Wisconsin with great results, too!

Key ingredients: Awaken Essential Oil Blend which is a balance of lemon and coriander, clover extract, and ginseng extract.

Energy Fizz Sticks

from our nutrition line

I love, LOVE the fizz sticks. They are meant to break the coffee & pop addictions, but as someone who has been working out in the mornings now that it's warm, I usually find myself coming home and not wanting coffee. So, I make one of these and it's cold and refreshing and lightly caffeinated too. They come in pomegranate and citrus.

Some other cool things to do with them: Fizztini, add some Malibu, mix them with our Herbal Detox Tea, or add them to the 7 day cleanse for a little more flavor.

Key ingredients: antioxidants and a botanical blend of green tea, ginseng, guarana, combined with B vitamins and  chromium which helps boost energy

Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30 for Body

from our Liquid Sunshine Line

Water-resistant mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide that creates a barrier between your skin and the sun. Protects from UVA/UVB rays. Super lightweight and non-greasy. 

Tried this out the other day for the first time at Lake Michigan and worked like a charm. Laid out for about an hour and a half before finally going into the lake, and I could tell it was still good to go even after splashing a little water on myself.

I also have the sunscreen for face and the chapstick, which tastes like coconuts. I'm nuts about it :-)

I haven't tried the Sunless Tanner yet, but I heard that mixed with the body firming cream, it's amazing, too! I will definitely be getting that out when I get the winter blues next February!

Renewing Body Gelée

from our SeaSource Detox Spa

This is one that I have tried a few times, but it's still on my to-buy list. It's a cool, refreshing gel that hydrates for soft, smooth-feeling skin. 

When I tried it, I had three bug bites. I put it on one but not the others just for comparisons sake. Here are the results after 36 hours:

Ridiculous, right? I can't even with this one, not sure why I haven't purchased it yet! So, this is just one use of this product. Here are some others that I'm going to try out after I get this for myself:

Sun burns

Bee stings, any bug bites

Headaches

Carpal tunnel

Fever reducer

Arthritis

Hot flashes

Let me know if you're interested - I'm not sure where you'd put it for hot flashes, but like for headaches, on your temples and back of your neck. I know some of you are already believers of this "magic blue jelly." What else are you doing with it?

Key Ingredients: sea kelp extract, ivy leaf extract, Japanese green tea extract

PhytoSport

from our Sports Nutrition Line

So this is one I *haven't tried yet, but was just talking about it last night with some friends. I'm running my first half marathon in September with my sister and so the other girls who are also runners were telling me how if you're going to be out running for an hour or more, this is a great product to use.

Three steps, and lots of carbs, key amino acids, electrolytes and more help support your workouts. After I get a hold of this and try it out, I'll be back with more details!

So what are you already using? Are you using any of these products any differently? Do you have questions? You can keep the conversation going in the comments section below!

And, if you're in Chicago and would like to join me, send me an email and I can let you know about a few events (one I'm hosting later this week!) that you could attend to learn more. You can reach me at hellogoodgoodlife@gmail.com :-)

Thanks for reading, and be well, friends!

Xx,

How to Spot a Great Teacher

This morning I went to my favorite Yoga class - Hot Power Fusion (HPF) at CorePower Yoga. Our teacher was amazeballs, and it got me to thinking about how you can really spot a great teacher. Here's my take.

1. Care for Students
First and foremost, great teachers show authentic care and concern for their students. They want them to achieve, and are there to help them though difficulties. When we began our session this morning, Terri told us that if we got stuck or didn't feel well, that we should stay in the studio so she could help us. Fast forward about 30 minutes when someone left: she told the rest of us to take a quick break and grab some water so she could check on the other student. I thought that action right there spoke volumes about the kind of teacher Terri is. At the heart of her work with us is a care for students.

Similarly, I've always believed in my work with students they will work harder for you and take more risks for you when they know you are on their side. Do some kids screw up? Absolutely. And they will definitely receive consequences for it. But it's *because we love them - rather than in spite of it - that they earn consequences for bad choices. I told a student once, "The day I stop asking and nagging and having the "talks" with you - that's the day you should worry." This was met with a middle school eye roll, but I just smiled to myself as I saw a bigger picture that this particular student couldn't quite envision just yet.

2. Thoughtful Planning
Great teachers also take time to plan thoughtfully for their sessions. One of the reasons I love HPF is that in the best classes, the teachers offer up an intention for our practice. They bring some kind of knowledge or wisdom to share with us that we can use to drive our practice for the day. Today, Terri brought the book You are a Badass: How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life. And then, as our eyes were closed and we were standing at the tops of our mats with our hands in prayer at our heart, she read to us about "sweeping out the self-doubt." Clearly that has stuck with me (and I have a new book to read).

And it wasn't just the reading, it was also the thoughtful planning of her music. There was noting haphazard about it. In the moments in the class when we were working hard, the music was faster and more up beat. When the class slowed down, so did the music, including a new version of Bulletproof that was amazing.

Thoughtful planning takes time and effort. The best teachers rehearse for their lessons, us writing teachers read the Calkins curriculum and make slides that we can use along with it to show students what we mean. We write memoirs along side our students so we see where they might get stuck.

Thoughtful planning takes time, but it really shows up on the execution of the lesson!

3. Specific Feedback
Another one - specific feedback. Teachers have to give great feedback so students can adjust their practice. In yoga, this takes on two forms, verbal cues and hands-on assists. When the teacher cues verbally, he or she will narrate what he or she sees and then give verbal cues to the whole group so everyone can adjust. Even more specific are hands-on adjusts, where the teacher will come over to someone and adjust their postures and positioning so that everyone can focus theirs more, and see exactly what the teacher means by watching!

As a classroom teacher, specific feedback is equally important. A long time ago, in my early years, I learned about how to 'SIP' kids - provide them with feedback that is specific, informative, and positive. Like Terri, in my class I might say something like, "Alright I see that Zach is ready to go - he has his notebook and pencil and is looking at me for more directions. Thanks, Zach!" That cue will let the other students know exactly what I'm looking for. Additionally, feedback takes on a written form as we read student writing, highlighting the things they did in such an awesome way, and also press them to think further by asking questions.

Feedback makes a difference as we learn!

4. Positivity
Another thing about great teachers is that they are positive. They're not just positive when giving feedback (although that is really important) but they are just positive people in general. I don't know about the Yoga Teaching World, but the education world can be really intense, and it's really easy to fall into those holes of negativity. It's really easy to get caught up in gossip and never smile. The best teachers? They remove themselves for negativity that drains their spirit and they keep on simling, remembering that teacher balance is so important, and that by doing something for themselves, they are in turn, making themselves better when they step in front of kids.

This morning, Terri was so positive, from the smile I got when I checked in at the front desk, to the eye contact in class, and the jokes about a certain posture potentially leading to a whole night's worth of sleep, and that maybe it might be a bunch of baloney, but we'll try it out anyways.

Positive teachers make their students want to return to their classrooms.

5. Ability to laugh at their mistakes
The last thing is that great teachers don't take themselves too seriously. They understand that there's *no way* for them to know everything or to do everything perfectly, and so when they screw up, they laugh it off and move on. They get that life it too short to worry about what someone else might be thinking about their actions - that kind of conversation in our minds only depletes our energy. One thing that master teachers excel at is constantly learning and growing and improving, and they don't let the little mistakes derail them from their greater purpose.

So - that's just what I was thinking in class today. I love Core Power Yoga and especially HPF, and I will definitely be returning to Terri's class... highly recommend!

What do you think? What else makes a great teacher?

Friday Faves a few hours late

I had a great week! Here's a few of my favorites, meant to be published on Friday to make the alliteration work, but coming live on Saturday morning :-)

1. Book Club Book
I finally have a great book club book after like five months of just ehhh books. We're reading The Nightengale and even thought it's just beginning, totally holding my interest. Holocaust story that flashes back and fourth between 1940 and present. Every chapter ending will have you staying for just one more!

2. Building Relationships at work
Few weeks ago in common plan, one teacher jokingly called me a buzzkill when I insisted we work to the #lastbell and finish up a rubric for book clubs. It's these little things - jokes with teachers who once were strangers and now are friends - that make my work as a coach so wonderful!

3. Yoga on friday night
Best Friday night ever? 6pm hot yoga, cool shower, and then reading myself to sleep as the rain comes down. In case you didn't know, I'm kinda introverted and after being with people all day, every day, I need quiet time to myself to unwind and recharge. Perfect way to do it!

4. Love Letters
Got a note from a friend at work and it reaffirmed why I do what I do to the Nth degree. In case you didn't know, besides being kind of introverted, I'm also a Words of Affirmation person, so a hand written letter or note is 100% the way to  my heart!

5. Friends who got my back
My best friends would lay down over hot coals and let me cross on their back if I asked. And then other times, they do things for me just because they care for me and know me so well. Thank you for being in my life when I need you, besties!

6. Laying down boundaries
Did you read my post the other day about boundaries? I wish I knew what I know now in my 20's, I would have been a totally different person. If you really want to care for yourself, let the people in your life know what is okay and what isn't. It's hard to do, but so worth it.

7. Writing Marathon
Took the bloggers to the park this week and we did a mini writing marathon, which involves writing for a short amount of time (10 minutes to begin) then a share, then increasing to 20 minutes, then a share, and then powering through a 30 minute writing session. The kids are awesome and have a few new stories to publish on their blogs this summer. Just love writing along side students - and my writing friends who are adults, too!

and I'll end with an awesome commencement address via spoken word poetry...

8. Harvard's Graduate School of Education Speech
I love this time of the year when great speeches get online and go viral because they are amazing writing. I hope one day, in my composition notebook or here on my blog, I'm able to weave such beautifully metaphoric writing into something so good it brings tears to the eyes of the people who read or listen to it. Enjoy this beautiful poetry! and thanks to my principal for Tweeting it to me!

Best part of your week? Please share!

up up & away

A few weeks ago I saw a video with Brené Brown and she was talking about boundaries. I've been thinking about it ever since for a lot of different reasons: I continue to reflect on my last relationship, I'm thinking about possibilities of new relationships too, and deciding what is and what isn't acceptable. I'm in relationships with lots of other people too - family and friends, colleagues at work. The more and more I think about boundaries, the more I'm coming to realize it's in my best interest do draw a line in the sand: One side is okay with me, the other side is not.

Before I go any further, take a few and check out her video:

I have learned so much from my friends, and one thing from Katie and drastically improved my life: Be honest and upfront when people piss you off, and then it's over.

So last year, when my ex brought up something that had been on his mind for months, years even, I totally understood what it felt like to be left in the dark, and I decided I didn't ever want to do that to someone because it wasn't fair. I am be honest with my family and friends and get things off my chest because I would want the same in return.

It's not easy to tell someone you care about (or maybe even someone you don't care about) things they are doing that are crossing the line. Talk about vulnerability - that's it right that. But the thing is that once you do, you feel lighter. Then, the other person knows where you stand and this really creates the space for self-love. They can choose to do what they want with the information, but then it's off your chest and I'm not even kidding when I tell you that you feel like a balloon, drifting up, up, up, so high above everything, feeling light and happy and having nothing bring you down.

Thank you, Brené for reminding me of this.

Your thoughts?