It's been a week since I left. 
I'm still dragging. 
Haggard, beat up, depleted.
Dear Nursing, I'm out.
Fare thee well!
First things first - piece Self back together. 
I need Sun, Lemon Water, a Journal, some Sleep. 

Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind.  To be happy, rest like a great tree in the midst of them all.

Often attributed to the Buddha, this is a beautiful piece of advice.  It aligns with my new understanding that All belongs to The Divine anyway.  When I do some great work in my profession, when I make a mistake, when things "go my way," or when a desire remains unfulfilled - it's all just another Act in this great Divine Musical.

So if I continually offer myself to serve a Divine Plan;  if I align my Heart with The Divine (keep my vibration high) then I get to dance through the Musical, all the while feeling awe and revelry at this human experience. 

Thank you, author Tosha Silver, for teaching me how to align each and every day with my Beloved Divine.

Home at last.  Completed two twelve's in a row at work during which I trained a brand new nurse and gave 100% to my patients.  I feel satisfied and content.  But the coolest thing that happened today is I walked right up to a random Eight of Hearts card on the floor of my nursing unit.  It was tucked ino a shady alcove, face down, amidst the blood pressure machines.  Clearly, an unusual finding on a hospital unit.  And clearly, it was meant for me.

I've been working with tarot cards lately, you see.  The Eight of Hearts translates to the Eight of Cups in Tarot.  Here' the card's meaning:  "The Eight of Cups indicates that it is time to ask yourself what you can do to bring a deeper satisfaction and joy to your life beyond the obvious pursuit of material satisfaction and/or physical enjoyment. You are seeking deeper meaning to life and focusing in on your personal truth. You want to escape from the ‘rat race’ and pursue deeper, more spiritual goals at this time. You are willing to let go of your material possessions in favor of something more meaningful. Thus, the Eight of Cups is often reflective of the start of a journey of discovery, particularly on a spiritual level (Biddy Tarot)."

Just a week ago on New Year's Eve, I had a Revelation in which I realized that every minute of my Life can be spent deepening and widening my connection to The Divine.  I can yoga, meditate, pray, receive Sun, exercise, eat right, love, laugh, read, and experience - all the things that connect me to The Mother.  And while some of these practices can't be done at work, I realized that work is a wonderful place to practice Grace, Love, Patience and Compassion.  My entire Life, therefore, can be devoted to the Spiritual Path. 

And so this "random" card - this message - confirms my Spiritual Quest.  I am awake.  I am ready.  I am listening, Divine.  Tell me what I need to know.  Show me your Plan.  Use me any way that you wish.  I am Yours.  May I be a conduit for your Love, Your Grace, Your Compassion, Your Divine Light and Energy. 

2 cucumbers
6 fat stalks of celery
2 huge handfuls spinach
1 avocado
2 pears
blackberries

Sounds like the fixings for a gigantic, fresh and healthy salad, right?  But who has time to eat that much produce?  You'd be munching all day!

Instead, I blended these items together to make two huge gorgeous smoothies.  I filled up two large mason jars, closed 'em airtight, and then took them to work for my breakfast and lunch. 

I recently started a new experiment:  I've been studying up on natural treatments for, and prevention of cancer.  I've been thinking about how cancer cells thrive on sugar, and that perhaps I should cut back on the huge amounts of fruit I've been eating. 

So instead of fruit-heavy smoothies, I'm trying veg-heavy smoothies. 

I was curious if the veg smoothies would supply me with enough energy for a twelve-hour shift on my feet.  Friends, I was not disappointed!  I felt fresh, energetic, alert and happy!  Now I've got to say, I found it rather unbelievable that these smoothies could hold me all day...

I've heard it said before that when our cells are well-nourished - when they've been given a variety of high quality vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals such as carotenes, flavonoids, etc - we don't feel as hungry.  (I can now verify this by experience).  It's when our cells are starving for those all-important nutrients, that they send out the hungry signal!  We can easily fill up on a super sized meal, but if it's devoid of nutrients, and if our cells are chronically undernourished from eating a Standard American Diet, they're soon going to cry out for more nutrition.  The fact is, we stay hungry when we're not properly nourished.

After a great day at work, my dinner was a romaine salad with bell peppers, tomatoes, chives, and purple cabbage, along with a delicious portabello sandwich, stuffed with lettuce, sprouts, tomato and pepperocini.  And for dessert, fresh cut pineapple.  So good.

I'll keep you posted on what it's like to eat fresh veg juices and smoothies all day, followed by robust veg-based dinners.  So far, so good!  I hope you are having a beautiful, beautiful day!

Hello there!  I hope you've had an awesome day.  My day was quite full and I'm ready for a good rest.  But first, let me tell you about the delicious, nutritious food I ate on this Tuesday.  I started with a small cup of organic french roast coffee, and later a carrot/celery/orange juice.  I enjoyed my usual High from this delicious elixir, which I made using my new Champion 2000+ juicer.

Later morning I made a smoothie of bananas, a huge handful of arugula, a couple dates and berries, and some ground flax seeds.  It was so incredibly delicious and literally zingged me full of energy.  I went out into the warm Sun and mowed, weedwacked, edged, trimmed, raked, swept and watered my front and back yard.  Awesome!

The smoothie was so amazing, I made another just like it (I've got a huge discounted bag of organic arugula I need to use!).  This time, I added nutritional yeast.  I usually add some greens powder, as well.  I started thinking about dinner and decided to make kale soup.  I love my kale soup.  With more Vitamin C in a cup of kale than an orange, and 133% of your daily Vitamin A requirement, it makes for a killer meal.  In preparation of the soup, I washed all kale leaves and then separated leaves from stems.

I took a minute to juice the kale stems and got a full glass of dark, deep green juice, chock-full of nutrients.  Together with the juice of an apple, this made for one super healthy green drink!

With my son away at camp, I had time to soak up some Sun.  I miss the kiddo, but wow, did it feel wonderful. (I've had a coupla interesting health experiences related to Sun - such as a 3-week rash clearing up after 20 minutes of direct Sunlight exposure.  I'm working on soaking up Sun more consistently and can't wait to see the effects this has!).

Later in the day it was time for kitchari soup, made by my husband over the weekend.  A staple comfort food in India, Kitchari's main ingredients are rice and mung beans, with tons of veggies and aromatic spices.  Mmmm, so good!

After soup, I got to help a friend paint her new home for the next four hours, all the while sipping a yummy kombucha.  I also got to chat with two other friends on the phone today.  So blessed to have wonderful people in my Life!

Back at the homestead, we ate my kale soup, along with portabello mushroom sandwiches for dinner.  These sandwiches, dressed with sprouts, avocado, tomato, lettuce and pepperocini's, are my latest obsession.  Just heavenly.

And what better way to end an excellent day than by walking in the dusk with my Love and my Pooch...With fuel like today's, the day will be Awesome, no matter what it brings.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and its Wonders.  Sweet Dreams, Friends!!!

Hi there!  I hope you're having a wonderful Saturday.  I've been doing lots of internet research, as somebody near and dear to me is experiencing a health crisis.  I've come across a few awesome health blog sites I'd like to share with you!  Here goes...

Jess Ainscough is healing her cancer with the Gerson Therapy.  Follow her awesome site here:  http://www.jessainscough.com/

Another cancer survivor, using natural therapy, Chris.  He's AMAZING!
http://www.chrisbeatcancer.com/

And of course, Kris Carr of Crazy Sexy  Cancer with her awesome pink hair!  http://kriscarr.com/

Check out this site, too.  Good stuff:  http://www.greendrinkdiaries.com/how-i-beat-cancer/

Find tons of awesome cancer survivors who used natural therapies, here:  http://incrediblehealingjournals.com/welcome-to-the-incredible-healing-journals/

I'm enjoying the inspiration of these smart, strong and brave individuals.  In the meantime,  kiss your loved ones.  Seize the day.  Life is too wonderful to miss!

This is my beautiful step daughter, Rosemary, basking in the morning sunlight.  Our morning began with carrot apple juice, 'a la Gerson Therapy.  Next I made a kale and cucumber juice blended with bananas, spinach, sprouts and avocado.  Can I get a "BooYeah!!!!"  The Power, the Energy that comes from Fruits and Vegetables is like no other!  And drinking juice while soaking up the sun is just spiritual.  I also got to bike ride with my son and walk my dog with family.

Life is delicious.  I am grateful.  Clean Eating is where it all begins...

It's here, it's here!  The Environmental Working Group's "2014 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce" which highlights the dirtiest and cleanest conventionally-raised produce.  http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/ 

Enter your email and zip code to receive the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen list in printable format.  Stick in wallet.  Read when shopping.  Eat clean.  Live happily ever after!!!

Hello Friends!  I'm settling in for the night and ready to write in my Food Journal. 

Each day I record what I eat and how I feel.  It's pretty reaffirming to write down - to see in black and white - what I put into my Body that day.  And then, how I functioned in the World on that particular fuel.

I make other health notes as well.  I might document how many steps I took in a day, how my mood fared, how much sleep I got, what kinds of activities I did, how much I accomplished, what supplements I took.  And when I'm working toward a specific goal, I often document the progress.

The Food Journal is an excellent tool for identifying trends.  When I start to see excessive snacking in my week, I know it's time to start ingesting more food - more calories.  If I'm regularly feeling poorly, I can scan the Journal for possible triggers - maybe gluten or sugar.  And when I'm not documenting my food at all, well then I'm usually well off the Path!

Because I love and need to write, I journal my thoughts right in there, too.  So it's a Whole Health Journal - Body, Mind and Soul. 

I so enjoy keeping a Journal and I'm curious to know how you document your health journey, or your thoughts.  Are you a strict daily documenter?  A casual journaler?  Do you organize your Life with your Journal?  Or is it your safe place to express?  I've kept a Journal on and off, most of my Life.  This is the first time, however, I've combined my personal writing with Health notes.  I love it!