Self-love and Positive Thinking

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to have the weekend off work and I hope all of you are able to enjoy it too and get everything done you want accomplished. It was a late start to my Saturday morning, I was finally able to sleep until 9:30! All this week I've been wide awake since 6 am when my husband gets up for work, not fun since my shift is 3-11:30. Anyways, this morning felt refreshing and I am trying to convince my husband to workout with me at the gym when he leaves his job. I did some reading on MCM (which I totally recommend) and prepared myself for today with some guided meditation. I'm really trying to start my day off right with some reflecting, focusing on positive mantras and prayer. I remind myself of these mantras throughout the day and focus on shifting my perception of negative thoughts into positive ones.

I saw this hung up in several places at work yesterday and thought it was absolutely perfect. Work can be extremely stressful and really affect us emotionally but by showing it, everyone around you gets affected.  Being negative does not help yourself or others. We must always look into the bright side of every situation. We work to help others and create an awesome impact. If everyone tries to shift their perspective into positive energy, the workplace can be a comforting and supporting place to be. 

Studies show positive emotions contribute to better health and longer life and is stronger than that of linking obesity to reduced longevity. Optimism and positive emotion provide protection against cardiovascular disease and slows progression of heart disease. It reduces the risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack by 50 percent. (Harvard School of Public Health) This was shared by a co-worker through a positive email to all staff. Thanks Melanie!

I found the "Ten thoughts on Happiness" on Sweet Ordinary Life's blog. It's so important to remind ourselves of the simple things that make us happy and to treat ourselves to them. Self-love is empowering and without achieving this, we are unable to make others happy.

Banish all negative self-talk and doubt that your ego presents you. They are false illusions, you are fearless and relentless. Treat your body to good health, stay strong and work hard. You deserve it and are worth it.

Healthy Chick's blog post focuses on 10 mantras to break free of diet obsessed living. Sometimes we focus too much on diets and over exercising that we forget to take good care of our bodies emotionally. Instead of treating ourselves with wholesome foods, we look at sugar free products and assume they must be best. We forget the food pyramid and the importance of taking vitamins. We may focus on losing weight but have no energy. Honor your bodies and exercise to feel amazing afterward, whether it be yoga, pilates, running, etc. Pick the right workout for you!

A nice healthy chicken ceasar salad and veggie juice made me feel great after lunch yesterday.

P57 is a whole body workout and I feel so amazing afterwards.

Ginger prefers yoga.

She also enjoys making my workouts harder. When doing planks and pushups she hangs out on top of me chewing her toys!

Loving every moment with this crazy puggle.

So I hope you all enjoyed this post, have a great weekend! I'm looking forward to having Championship Sunday at our house tomorrow. I need to do some cleaning and grocery shopping at some point today. I must attend to Ginger now, she is pounding on the blinds and I know she wants me to walk with her but its sooo windy outside. Take care everyone. XOXO

Fear No More

Another week into the new year, happy Monday once again! My weekend was great, I worked half of it but I had a nice Saturday. It was one of our friend's 40th surprise birthday party. There was great food, great friends, dancing, and the playoffs were on at the bar. 

Yesterday I trained for the postpartum side of the maternity ward at work. I enjoyed learning the mother-baby component and I have a great preceptor to guide me. I still can't believe how much there is to learn in obstetrics. It's stimulation overload at times. I remind myself when I feel overwhelmed that I am new and it'll take quite some time to feel comfortable on my own. 

Fear of failure is top on my list. I always strive to be the best nurse I can be but I expect to learn quickly and be on top of every detail. I leave work analyzing and I do the same before I return back. I project my day without knowing how it's going to pan out. It's important to train your mind to shift your perception of fear into love. Fear is an illusion, it is not real. We let our egos overcome us and rule our day. Love is the ultimate creation and we all bare this truth. Here are some awesome quotes to remind ourselves daily. 

Marianne Williamson- internationally acclaimed spiritual author and lecturer

I hope you all have a blessed week and get all your goals accomplished. Today is double workout Monday for me, so I must get to it! Also, who's excited about the Pats vs. Ravens game? I think we've got this, I'm looking forward to next Sunday!

lmao...

Go Pats!

Weekend Inspiration

I hope everyone had a fabulous week! Here's a few quotes I loved to see and would like to share with you. Have a great weekend and remember to enjoy every moment. Fill your life with happiness and love because that's who we all are inside. Xo

P.S. I hope everyone is sticking with their New Year Resolutions. Don't quit, whatever your goals are, you want them badly and deserve them... So push yourself and work hard!

Make your fire shine bright, it's already in you... Just believe in it....

<3

Ginny and Me, her priceless love when I get home from work. #Happiness #jadorelavie

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and shared it with your loved ones. I had a fun weekend with my husband spent with friends and family. Saturday, we met up with my old "suitemate" and great friend from college and her boyfriend Dale. Even though we don't get together as often as we'd like, when we do hang out it's like old times and we have so much to talk about. We were suppose to go ice skating with them on that frigid night but it turned out the Zamboni was non-functional so we opted for drinks and dinner at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill. This restaurant had a great laid back atmosphere filled with country music, BBQ food and lots of beer.

Nati and I at Toby Keith's

It's awesome to have friends like Nati who have similar goals in fitness and healthy eating. She loves the blogging world like I do and is always spicing up her fitness routine and trying cool new healthy recipes. She also is very inspirational and positive, the type of person you look forward to sharing all the good news and the one who will help you stand tall through all the bad news. We made a plan to run our half marathon together this year, this will be her second and my first. I'm excited!
Sunday, my husband and I went to church and I found the sermon very synchronized with what I have been reading. If you missed out, I'm referring to "Spirit Junkie" by Gabrielle Bernstein. Gabby helps you to change your perception about fear into love. It's about connecting to your inner guide and replacing darkness with light. "We are one, in light and love." The sermon in mass was about the three wise men who visited baby Jesus in Bethlehem, who used the bright star in the sky to guide them on their journey. The priest reminded us all that we too have this bright star within us that we must follow to reach our destination in life. It's amazing how the lessons in my book come to real life just as it said they would. I am glad to finish "Spirit Junkie" today and to be able to move on to Gabby's new book "May Cause Miracles", a continuation and detailed plan necessary to change your vision and life. Heather@fortheloveofkale has started a book club both online and in person for "May Cause Miracles" starting next week. I look forward to reading everyone's input and stories.

                                                     Thought this was a cute way of preparing to meditate, something I've enjoyed doing since reading Gabby's books.

We also took down our tree on Sunday afternoon being the twelfth and last day of Christmas. It was sad saying goodbye to the remnants of this past Christmas. In another way it was refreshing to know it only marks the start of another awesome year to look forward to.

                                                                Me unraveling the tree beads

Today was Wellness Monday for me and Ginger. I woke up at 5am which I never do and hit MBB for an amazing workout and then the gym for a 5k run and more weightlifting, pushups, and planks. I must say today was probably my greatest workout to date. Then I brought Ginger to the vet for her shots and physical. I almost wanted to cry when I saw how scared she was when they clipped her nails, the poor thing was traumatized. She seemed content when we got back home and she got to snuggle on the couch with all my blankets.

Then, I had lunch consisting of ham, turkey and spinach on a pumpkin 100 calorie bagel, a boiled egg, and my new favorite green veggie juice.

Delicious!

After lunch I spent time with mom, dad and the two crazy animals (Ginger and Prince, my other baby). I also had my annual doctor's appointment this afternoon and I feel great knowing I'm very physically healthy. I just need to work on being more healthy mentally. It's a daily battle but with gratitude, forgiveness, and love it will happen. Here's a quote from Gabby's new book that I loved from it's first page: "Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make, not a place you must find."-Wayne Dyer. I'll leave you with the 7 rules to life I find inspirational. Have a beautiful week everyone! 

New Year Motivation

Let's start off with some motivational quotes to get you up and moving!

P57 January Challenge

Start the new year with a bang and let Physique 57 help you get into shape! I love P57's monthly challenges. Here is January's, are you ready?! Follow P57 on Facebook for more tips, tools, and inspiration. Buy the DVD sets here.

The Total Money Makeover

Books to Read:


"According to a USA Today article about debt, 78% of Baby Boomers have mortgage debt, 59% have credit card debt, and 56% have car payments. It takes a lot of will, discipline, courage and help to slay the debt monster. But it can be done. Imagine how much you could put toward retirement if you just didn't have a stinking car payment? This is how the wealthy really build their wealth. Debt is dumb. Welcome to the real world!" (Dave Ramsey) 

Dave Ramsey is a financial advisor with 17 years of financial teaching experience who sets forth a plan consisting of 7 organized steps to beat and become free of debt. His knowledgable lectures and common sense teaching is worth your time. You can hear his lectures and inspiring stories from people who have completed his plan here or through iHeartRadio.

New Year, New You...

As 2012 comes to an end, we look back at all our accomplishments, failures, good memories and not so good memories.  We reminisce and analyze them in order to create goals for the new year, our plan is to use our past experiences as tools to improve ourselves in the areas we are lacking. I hope everyone had an excellent year overall, despite all the tragedy and despair our world has faced. We can look at the movie theater shooting in Colorado and the school shooting in Connecticut as the unpredictability of life and the short length of it. We must live in each day, in the present and love one another without judgment, jealousy, and resentment. We also must trust that our re-elected president will do as he promised to his best ability. It is out of our control, the way we perceive things and love one another makes all the difference. I summoned up a list of my goals for the new year last night as I enjoyed a nice glass of red wine and Portuguese cheese and crackers, my favorite snack after I get home from work. I broke them into categories. They are as follow:

2013 Goals

Positive Energy- Get rid of all the negativity and stay away from negative people.
Career- Learn and obtain the experience. Look into prenatal fitness instruction and get more involved in education.
Fitness- Get as fit and strong as possible. Run a half marathon.
Diet- Eat a little healthier and incorporate more veggies and vegan/organic products.
Bake- Baking makes me happy so keep on doing it.
Religion- Be more compassionate and influential, listen to the ways of God and practice them.
Family- Start one.
Friends- Make time and plan frequent get-togethers. Make sure those friends are the positive ones.

My favorite red wine: Apothic Red: California Red Wine

Some inspirational New Year's quotes:

I started reading Gabrielle Bernstein's book Spirit Junkie last night. I have to say I'm in love with it already. This book is very inspiring and motivational. My biggest barrier in my life is ridding myself of fear. Fear overcomes me in large waves and is very difficult to control. This book teaches you how to shift your perception and replace fear with love and happiness. Gabrielle really breaks it down to language easily understood and her teachings come from A Course In Miracles. "A Course in Miracles is a complete self-study spiritual thought system. As a three-volume curriculum consisting of a Text, Workbook for Students, and Manual for Teachers, it teaches that the way to universal love and peace—or remembering God—is by undoing guilt through forgiving others." (http://acim.org/AboutACIM/index.html) This course is next on my list for the new year.

 



I have already started my process of incorporating healthy foods into my diet. Today I made spinach and kale ravioli (the actual ravioli is made from spinach) filled with goat cheese. It was surprisingly good. I added some olive oil and veggie chunky tomato sauce. I also started to routinely take my vitamins on a daily basis which consist of a women's multivitamin, vitamin D3 2000 IU, a probiotic, and fish oil supplement.

Here's a photo of me in my new Lululemon gear my husband bought for me for Christmas. I have no excuse but to work out harder with this expensive workout outfit.

I am so grateful and blessed to have gone through another year with success and fulfillment. I reached my goal to become a maternity nurse, I was extremely motivated to do the nursing I have always wanted to do. I had persistence to push for the job I wanted by hassling Human Resources and the unit manager and by joining AWHONN. 

I also pushed myself to run long distances and participate in several races. My longest race is 5 miles and my longest run is 8 miles. I plan to push myself further to do a half marathon in 2013. I notice great changes in my body since I have been dedicated to working out and I plan to continue. 

I would also love to start a family in 2013 or be preparing for one. This will be a huge step and change in my marriage, it won't be only about me, my husband, and my dog! I look forward to welcoming a precious miracle in our lives.

Right now, Ginger will do even with her alcoholic habits. She is such a lush!

Our first big snowfall of the Winter. You can't deny that cute face, I don't know what I would do without her.

That's my little story about 2012 and my goals for the new year. I hope everyone is safe tonight, please NO drinking and driving whatever you do. Have fun and start off the new year on the right foot. I had planned to do the Hangover Classic 5k Road Race followed by the Polar Bear Plunge but it's suppose to be only 35 degrees and there's still lots of snow on the ground! Right now its 34 degrees and i'm freezing inside my house with my heat set at 67. My feet and legs are ice cold even with my furry boots and knee high socks on! So, no I will not be participating in that event tomorrow but I plan to have a nice indoor lunch/dinner with the family instead. Til the New Year, enjoy and God Bless. XOXO