The craziest thing I have done in a long time is jump off this cliff and cruise down this slope strapped into my snowboard. So this is the scenario…Breckenridge, Colorado, Saturday Feb 28, roughly 10am, 30 degrees (perfect snowboarding temp), bright Colorado sunshine, almost 13,000 ft above sea level, chairlift to the top of the mountain, hike another 20 minutes straight up to the top of the world (literally I was eye level with all the tallest mountains in the surrounding area), buckle in and GET CRAZY!!!! When it was all said and done i wished I got more than just a couple pictures for those of you who cannot fathom what this is all about. So I got by Blackberry out once I successfully made it to the bottom and took that picture of where I came from. Then I painted on there the orange to show you the crazy chute I went down, the “Lake Chutes” for those of you who have been to Breckenridge. My happiest place is anywhere strapped to my snowboard…this particular run was the craziest.
"YOU"RE WELCOME AMERICA"
Hilarious! I was in New York City over this past weekend for a friend’s wedding and though I am over the romantic-ness of NYC, I still enjoy three things that are uniquely New York; Central Park, Broadway shows, and the cuisine! Have you ever had risotto tater tots? Amazing! Anyways I was surprised on Saturday and taken to the show which I had no idea what we were going to see. In the cab on the way there, I was playing the game ’20 Questions’ and was able to narrow it down to a male comedian. The theater district is really packed during the evening shows and the cab had to drop us off about 3 blocks from the theater and walk the rest of the way. When I turned the corner and saw the above billboard, you can imagine my thrill to be going to see Will Ferrell! I had no idea he even did stand-up anymore. His show is called “You’re Welcome America” and it is 1.5 hours of him as George W Bush, recapping this term in office. For a taste of the humor…the show started with a helicopter sound and smoke and Will being lowered down from the ceiling tandem with a paratrooper as if being dropped off in the middle of NYC. That was his entrance and being in the 4th row, the whole show was a riot! He does George W Bush so well that at one point, it really felt like his true farewell speech, which brought me to a moment of gratitude for our new president and what he has in store for America! Thanks Will!
EMOTIONAL HEALING
I have been working with a wonderful new practice member over these past two weeks. We had an interesting connection from the first day we met and it has continued to become more and more interesting. I love when people come in and ask me questions and share their experience. So this woman was in yesterday and she said “This is emotional”. And I asked “What is emotional?” Her reply was “This healing process and getting better thing…it’s emotional”. And my conversation went a little bit like this…When we have excessive stress, our bodies hunker down and try to protect us, out of the need for survival. If that stress, which can be physical, chemical or emotional, continues to bombard our system, the areas that the body is protecting cannot handle it and they begin to “check out”. One of the areas that the body is first to protect is our heart. So when we begin to interrupt that pattern with the chiropractic adjustment and positive thinking, we begin to peel away the layers that protect the heart. When this happens, the areas that were “checked out” begin to “check back in” and when the layers that protect the heart get peeled away, in a safe environment and in a nurturing way, people often break down in tears in the adjusting table. That is ok and happens frequently here at the Cafe of LIFE. Not only do we begin to “feel better” overall, we also begin to “feel better (feel things better, easier)”. And the people in our lives, especially close loved ones, pick up on the fact they can get to your heart easier and life is better. And there is not much more to life than that. So open your heart and enjoy your Valentine’s week !!
FEELS LIKE SPRING
On days like today, it sure feels like spring. Of course, those of us who have been in Michigan for a while know that this kind of weather will come and go for a few weeks, sometimes months before spring will actually be here in full force. Spring is such a wonderful season when everything comes back to life, the sunshine and flowers makes it feel so good and in the process spirits are lifted. We tend to leave some deep cleaning of the house to that time as we know that a good one time over gets the spring started well. So have you ever considered that maybe that was a good thing to do for the body too? Have you ever considered doing a detoxification or cleanse for your body and health and didn’t really know where to start? I have teamed up with a Holistic Nutritional Counselor for “SPRING CLEANING OF THE BODY”. This is a 28 day guided program to detoxify and cleanse away the build-up that occurs over the years. Connect with me if you would like more informtion on the process and we will help you get started clearing those cobwebs inside! Here’s to a few more weeks of winter and more importantly, here’s to hoping we have a healthy and wonderful SPRING!!!!! I love when it feels like spring!!!
I HAD NO IDEA…
…that labs snore! I am actually laughing out loud right now at Choco as he is curled up and snoring away. It is hilarious! I know that bulldogs, and really heavy dogs snore but I would have never imagined that my chocolate dog would do that. I am not going to be able to sleep if he is going to be that loud but I had to share and also share a picture of him in his bed. You can see he is laying there and his bed has an orange towel on it. Now, Choco always has to have something in his mouth. He is not a chewer but he has to be able to carry something around. It must be a comfort thing. So when I opened the door for him to come in, he frantically runs around the garage searching for a bone or something to bring with him. This time he couldn’t find one and when that is the case, he always grabs the first thing in sight on his way in. So this time it was a wash cloth which is also in the picture. He marched around the house all evening with a wash cloth and when he holds it and looks up at me, it looks like he is asking if there is anything for him to help me clean. I will try to get a picture of that to share at some point. He keeps me entertained that is for sure!
CHEERS TO YOU, SOUL SISTERS!
THERE ARE JUST CERTAIN PEOPLE
There are certain people in life that we come across and they are so familiar it seems you may have know them your entire life but maybe just met. Lana is that person to me. Her and I met a couple years back at week-long, life-transforming, seminar. We never really had a chance to get to know each other at that time and haven’t really taken the time up until this point. I have now spent a total of 6 days together from October 2008 until now. Lana is a chiropractor as well and has an amazing family practice in Sonoma County, CA (wine country). Our lives parallel in so many ways that at one point I was thinking “this is twlight zone-ish”. I mean our similarities stretch from life experiences to middle names to our passion for snowboarding to dog’s names and the list truly goes on and on. What I realize while raging on the mountain for 2 straight days with her by my side is that women need women. I have realized this in a few other circles in my life, one being the Cafe of LIFE Book Club, but that is a truly deep need. You see, I grew up with brothers, 3 of them to be exact, and because of this, I tend to have a lot of guy friends. I just know how to easily relate to guys and the way they think, etc, because of how I was raised. I was also a tomboy and had to continue to bust a move to keep up with them. As the years have passed, I have come to really appreciate the powerful connections I have made with some really strong women. There is a certain re-fueling that happens for me when I am around other women that does not happen anywhere else. And it isnt about gossip or gossipping or anything like that. It is mostly the fact that women have a way of looking at the world that is different than men. And it is not better or worse, just different and that difference is the refueling part. The conversations that I have had lately, with Lana, though many other, is that I have someone that stands shoulder to shoulder with me, shoulder to shoulder together to face the world and in those moments I feel like it is power in numbers. So I have never had a biological sister, but I want to say CHEERS! to you, my soul sisters!
A NEW "GIRL POWER" TEAM MEMBER
This is the sorest week in practice I have ever had. What on earth does that mean??? It means that my muscles are so sore, I am amazed they do anything at all. I spent the past weekend in Breckenridge, Colorado with 10 chiropractor friends of mine, to reconnect, discuss practices and play. On Friday and Saturday we snowboarded so hard, I am pretty sure that my entire body is full of lactic acid. (I have included a map of the mountain and the far upper right side where you see double black diamonds, there was the greatest powder to play in. Spent a lot of time up there). I will be spending a significant amount of time on the massage table this week to help work some of this out. That brings me to the real point of this blog…we have a new massage therapist on staff at the Cafe of LIFE. I am so excited to add yet another powerful woman to this already great team…actually what it really is is a GIRL POWER CORNER! The Cafe of LIFE is a team of 4 women however we share a small portion of our space with Simple, a healthfood store right next door to us and there are 2 or 3 (forgive me for not knowing if Tina is still part of the Simple team) women there. So much fun being part of the wellness revolution and having such wonderful support of women who really care and are each adding to this world in a special way. WELCOME KELLI!!!
Monday
Oh Monday. Have you ever had a terrible case of the “Mondays”? I woke up feeling exactly that way and just not motivated to get out of bed and do anything. It would have been a great day to just lay around and not do much of anything, which is not an option for me considering I have a practice that needs to be tended to. So I got up anyways, geared up for the cold and snow, and headed out to walk Choco this morning. There are a lot of activities that we do completely unconsciously and that could easily be one of them. He and I walk around a loop in my neighborhood that is 1/2 mile, just enough time to get the muscles stretched and moving and go to the bathroom. In that time, I chose to focus on gratitude and being grateful that I could even get up and out of bed, that I had clothes to keep me warm, that I had two feet and legs that work, that I had a roof over my head and a great job to go to everyday (and of course, the chocolate dog). Just that, combined with the fresh, crisp morning air, got me moving. There is no possible way that a life, driven and directed by gratitude, could get off path. Gratitude is powerful fuel and used in constructive ways can get you to any place you want to go. Enjoy your Monday!
CHOCO’S FIRST DAY AT WORK
I finally dared myself this morning to take Choco into work with me. I have been wanting to do this since I got him but he really needed time to settle in to being here in Fenton, and at home and all so I haven’t wanted to rock the boat much. So this morning, instead of our regular walk, I let him run and catch a frisbee and get some of his kicks out. Then he ate and jumped into the car when I was ready to go. This dog loves car rides more than life itself. He doesn’t care where we are going, just so long as he gets to ride in the car. So we grabbed a towel (he uses those for a bed) and a bone, and off we went. He is just hanging out in my office and only is allowed to come out when invited…not everyone loves dogs ya know. So he will remain back here with me and he is pretty content to do so, so far anyways. Loving having him here. He is going to be a great addition to the Cafe of LIFE crew!!!