The fall still strikes me as a season of fresh starts. Are you the same? 
The whole back-to-school atmosphere of late August makes me think of fresh yellow No. 2 pencils and a brand-new box of Crayola’s.
In fact, I do have a new pack of watercolor brush pens. They are so fun to use and allow for better blending of colors, unlike my usual markers. I’ve taken up adult coloring opportunities once more and have even dabbled in some free-hand drawing. It’s a part of my device-free going to bed routine.
After taking 28 days of vacation out of town to reconnect and refresh – my physical and emotional fatigue, grief, and jet lag have taken a toll. Spending 15 minutes with my new watercolor brush pens takes me away from those blue electronic screens, and completely relaxes my mind and body in preparation for a restful night.
If sleep is eluding you, if you just cannot unplug your mind, bring out
those crayons, pens, pencils, or brushes to help disconnect and calm yourself for sleep.
Speaking of going on vacation and the start of school, do you remember those composition assignments that are often assigned?
“What I did during summer vacation?”
As regular readers already know, it’s been two or three years since I’ve had any kind of time off. It was pure bliss to reconnect with friends I hadn’t seen for forty years in Sacramento, California. Then I flew to the Big Island of Hawaii where I basked in paradise at my daughter’s home. I hope you have had some type of time away from your normal schedule. It’s so healing to just walk away from it all – even for just a few days.
However, we cannot save our “reset” time for just two weeks each year. There needs to be more stimulating, yet relaxing, time plugged into our weekly lives – other than another Hallmark movie. Getting together with a few friends to play a board game may be just the trick you need for a mid-week time of de-stressing.
I remember our daughter doing this through college, medical school, and residency. She would have a few friends over and play a board game to socialize and relieve stress. We played board games, cards, and dominoes, with our kids when they were younger; but the habit 
stopped there for me except for playing Uno with the grandkids.
Well, after several rounds of Rummikub one evening this week, I’m – shall we say – back in the game! I had forgotten how much fun it was to laugh over a game. It was the crowning jewel to the day. If you are trying to expand your social circle, or to reach out to another person, an evening of playing board games is non-threatening and almost guaranteed to be a good laugh.
Along with all this laughter and positive attitude, I am finding a need
to reset myself. Other than the obvious changes that come with grief and widowhood, my body is clamoring for some attention. Too many good habits have gone by the wayside as caregiver stress mounted for over two years.
Are you feeling the pains of back-sliding from healthful habits? We’re all in the same boat. For whatever the reason, we need to stop and press reset. This fall season of fresh beginnings seems an ideal time to refocus on personal well-being.
Like the classroom instruction starting up all around us, we would do well to remember how learning happens. Teachers guide young minds to learn one concept at a time. When that concept is mastered through practice and application, the next concept is introduced. Children put all of those concepts together to create a bigger whole. Learn the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes. Put those letters together to form words and then sentences. Eventually, books are read.
What do you want to accomplish for yourself? Lose weight? Cut out soda? Exercise more? Write a book? Start a business? Go back to school?
Remember the children? They didn’t start with Moby Dick, they started with letters. One letter at a time. Even before writing letters, they had to learn how to hold the pencil!
I’m feeling the same way about losing the weight and flab that have crept on these last two years. The reset button has been pushed, folks.
Silver Sneakers Aerobics class attendance has been ramped up from once a week to twice!
Daily one-minute planks have resumed each morning. Confession: 
my public foodtalk4you Facebook quest to keep up planks during vacation traveling was a dismal failure; but they were replaced by a lot of walking, and even heavy yard work.
Today, I just started keeping a food and exercise journal. Nothing like logging in every bite and sip I take! This creates a lot of personal accountability and has already encouraged me to do an extra round of planks and squats and to drink extra water.
Everything that has been shared about journaling for goals is true. The effect is immediate. The desire to improve is fleshed out in action through this simple accountability tool. Grab a piece of paper and write down your daily progress for a personal goal.
Take things a step further by liking our foodtalk4you Facebook page where you will see the picture of my little journal entry. Please make a comment below that picture to share your goals. Check in 
periodically with an update as to your progress or share some difficulties. We’re in this together to help and cheer each other on to success!
Time to start putting together my dinner salad consisting of sliced grilled chicken on a bed of mixed greens topped with freshly sautéed green beans and corn kernels, pear chunks, blueberries, carrots, and blue cheese crumbles. All topped off with a simple balsamic vinaigrette.
Starting over –
Deidre
drop of water floating along…sometimes at a lazy trickle over pebbles … sometimes on top of a leaf scurrying along a fast stream …sometimes rushing along in the swift currents of a raging river. We ride alongside other drops in an ever-
changing scene. Some drops are carried away from us at a faster pace, but with the ebb and flow of currents we may once again float along with them as neighbors.
Bone health is a topic foremost on my mind as I will share my efforts to move that bone density scan from osteopenia/osteoarthritis to normal bone density. Hint: There’s a lot more exercise happening and collagen consumption going on.
This fall, I will also be writing the last chapters of my next book, Toolkit for Caregivers. It is a project I hope to share with others on a grand scale. There will be presentations nationwide for caregivers who need tips, hints, and practical how-to ideas for taking
care of someone who is confined to a hospital bed at home. The need for this supportive and encouraging information is great, and I feel “called” to help others walking that path.
you at the end of summer and early fall. Until then, I am listening to my body, mind, and soul and am entering into a period not of inactivity but of calm. My transition into flying solo has actually been full of activity but has lacked nature’s touch.
Ocean waves beckon. Stargazing beckons. Quiet forests beckon. I need to heed the call of nature and the deep desire to spend time with family.
and recipes with my readers escaped me. Earlier this year, I pushed through the pressing personal concerns surrounding me to nurture the creative process, but I have sort of let you down of late. Apologies.
windows. Why, even doing dishes is fun while glancing up to appreciate my own little Eden.
When there’s a song in your heart, you sing – right?
Have you noticed the paleo writers all seem to have a side hustle about “Keto” related? After writing how-to books, recipe books, and countless blogs, my favorite paleo gurus are now on the Ketogenic bandwagon. Their new book releases all sport Keto-friendly labels. Their latest products are “Keto-centric” as well- meaning, they are totally focused on low-carb, high-fat foods.
Friend: Sodium is another weight adder. I recently had a cheat day where lunch was a cheeseburger with chili cheese fries followed by Chinese for dinner. I woke up the next day 7 pounds heavier! Couldn’t believe it. Went back on the good diet and lost all that water weight in three days
world turn while watching the clouds above float by.
forests of Northern California was a holy experience. Quietly stepping into the ancient tabernacle of giant redwoods was life-changing! I return to that experience often to relive the awe and wonder of it. Presently, extended slow walks to the mailbox and some time spent on the back porch swing have to satisfy that deep need for now.
boat on the river or time sitting on one of our beautiful beaches satisfies many. Time to unplug from the rat race and reconnect to the REAL WORLD of nature.
The best indicator of longevity turned out to be the number of daily face-to-face connections we had. Smiling at people. Striking up brief conversations with strangers. Laughing about the human condition with someone while in line at the bank. Lamenting about the price of tomatoes with a fellow shopper. Little connections. With humans. Face-to-face.
Yours truly won one of the main door prizes! I had never heard of a Dash Caddie before, so the young inventor and his wife had to show and demonstrate it to me.
Caddie, which is a portable box that can mount into almost any golf cart or suction-cupped onto the dash of an RV or boat with ease.
signing up either here, on our site, or as the result of talking with me at a recent book signing, you will never miss a new post full of ideas on how to improve your health one bite, one breath, or one movement at a time.
We are always growing and changing. A good “stretch” in our comfort zones never fails to strengthen our souls.
than death – is public speaking?
One author used breathing techniques to help himself. He blew through his lips after each page he read, as if he were saying, “Whew, that’s over!” It was beautiful watching him grow and stretch! After a while, he looked up more at the crowd as he described the passion behind his story.
body. We expect our bodies to always be on duty for us, doing what we expect of them, expecting perfection.
may have some sense of a lack of fulfillment – or downright panic -with no added sugars. Dessert seems to be a thing of the past.
In the recipe section of Toolkit for Wellness, I included a few ideas to dress up these seeds into what I call a jam. If you add berries and cook them in on the stove, you can get a bowl of chia goodness (that will be prettier).
add creates the flavor. A small handful of dried fruit works well, too.
Sometimes my mind would drift to calm – worthy – flow … or other concepts that reflected my needs at the moment. We never shared our intentions … It was just something that helped us enrich our yoga experience, and something to carry with us as we walked out the door of the studio and back into the world.
Then, after ten days of being home bound due to snow and ice and a lack of caregivers for my husband, I was gratefully out and about once again, sitting at a favorite breakfast spot, sipping coffee. 
Yawning yet? 
expected to last 
life is NOT to kill you. Think about it. You are the host – their home – and they don’t want to burn down their home. What they want to do is MULTIPLY – pure and simple. Keep their species viable; alive and well. As long as you are alive, they are pretty happy feeding off of you.
These micro-organisms do all kinds of crazy things to stay alive. When conditions become unfavorable for their survival, for instance, some form spores. Spores are like time capsules full of DNA instructions and materials that – some day or century – when conditions once again become favorable to grow, multiply, and flourish, they will spring back to life. Presto!
Just count the 
You may have been extra careful washing your hands after hanging over the commode, puking your guts out, but now? How about after a round of diarrhea? Of course 
we get well! If the “stomach flu” is racing through your family or through your child’s classroom, it’s because of germ-filled poopy hands touching things. Those things get touched by those who, n
Well, how are we supposed to wash our hands you ask? I was waiting for that question. Let me cut and paste a segment from my up-coming book about tips for home caregivers of loved ones:
Scouring the house with Clorox wipes is helpful, but proper hand washing and not touching our faces will go a long ways in avoiding not becoming the next victim and in not spreading the bad news around to others.
Forget the New Year’s party hats. Where’s the chicken soup?
In a saucepan, assemble:
Sauté the onions, garlic, ginger, and lemon slices in butter and olive oil until onions are translucent.
There is nothing like Mama’s TLC and chicken soup, to be sure, but this comes in at a close second- especially if you are the source of your own TLC!
stomach that just ingested a bit of the divine … that is … a spoonful of Coconut Ganache.
For my one post this Holiday Season, let me share this little bit of Heaven. It will challenge you to dish out this goodness with all you meet. Spread the love and possibly heal a past hurt by sharing the healing “salve” of Coconut Ganache!
