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!

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!!!

IT IS FRIGID OUT THERE!!!

It’s Wednesday again! I love Wednesdays because it is the day just before Thursday and everyone knows how much I love Thursdays!!! This is my early morning, and though I am never crazy about getting up as early as Wednesday requires me to, it is nice to get up and moving….except for this morning. I mean 6:00 my alarm goes off and one of the first things I do is check the weather and begin preparing what I am going to wear for the day. -4degrees!!!! Now as many of you know, I lived in Alaska for 3.5 years. It was a wonderful place and I really look forward to going back to visit at some point soon. There was a time while I was there that it was -40degrees for an entire month, without a break. Everything is relative, so at the time I could make that ok because other parts of the state were -100 degrees!!! That is crazy cold!! So on mornings like this, people say to me…”well you should be used to this, you lived in Alaska”. Ok, I understand their logic however I left there 8 years ago, and lived in the south for 4 years too. So any of the thick blood that was developed when I was up there was thinnned out when I was in the south. Also, my theory is that we are given only so much heat-making power for our bodies in a lifetime and I shivered while living there for almost the entire time and used all of those heat reserves up. So this morning, at 6am and -4 degrees…the puppy was not going to get his walk. I did let him out to go to the bathroom, just so you know, but then right back inside we went.

DANCING….

So I attended a really cool event last night. My best friend is an amazing person, and amazing at what she does. Recently she set up the major sponsor’s display for the “Dancing With The Stars” Tour that is happening right now. The Tour has 38 dates all over the country in a 2 month time period. Anyways because she set up the display, she was given a few tickets to the Detroit event which happened last night. Yesterday was a busy day with snowboarding in the morning, kayak practice in the afternoon but what is one more event when I had been running all day anyways. So I made my way down to Joe Louis Arena for a 7:30pm show last night. By intermission I was completely awe struck and inspired at the same time. The dancers did an amazing job of putting on this show. Whoever created and directed the show really knows how to work the crowd. These dancers are such incredible athletes. They all put out so much energy that evening and to think they are doing 38 shows in about 60 days and all of them at that level of energy is totally amazing. I asked my friend if after she saw some of the rehearsals, if she went back to her hotel room to see what moves she could come up with on her own (because that is exactly what I would have done). She said no, however I do not completely believe her as it is human nature to just WANT TO DANCE!

A NIGHT

Many evenings after work, I spend over at the yoga studio in Holly (thanks Kathryn for creating such an amazing space and for making it so close and accessible). The nights I attend yoga I get home at 8:30 so in essense, if I choose to got to yoga in the evening, the night is basically over. I get out of work at 6:30 every night so I have very limited time to make much happen. This evening I thought I would go to yoga and then come home and eat and clean my house, do laundry, unpack my suitcases (yes I have already been home 5, almost 6, days) and get things straightened up around here. Some of you know that I just got a 2 year old chocolate lab a month ago. He is such a blast and how could you possibly not fall in love with him with a face like that. So he was looking at me with his eyes and bringing toys to me (which a luggage tag was his toy of choice this evening) so I layed down on the floor next to him and he wanted to wrestle. 1 hour later I realized I hadnt gotten anything done and now it was too late to start. I did manage to eat, however my house is still a mess, there are still piles of laundry, and no vacuuming has been done and it was all so worth it. I was never a dog person before a month ago. I wanted a change in my life and people thought I was nuts. Choco brings so much joy to my days. We argue a lot, I always win, but in the end of the day, he is way more important than dealing with laundry detergent and vacuum bags…at least for today anyways.