Susan's Life Changing Journal

A New Decade 2010

2010-01-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

My son Marcus has been visiting this past month . I am so happy to have him here even for this short time and really enjoying his company.
The other major change in my life is the "Brain Integration Therapy" I went through in December up in Prescott. This is a trans formative new therapy capable of eliminating dyslexia and dissolving all the resulting psychological problems brought on by years of living with a learning disability. I have been literally given a new lease on life. I highly recommend this therapy to anyone ready to improve there quality of life.
Happy New Year!!!! Lets make it Great !!!! Lets all work together to make it a better world!!
YES WE CAN ! YES WE CAN!

positive thoughts for July and my birthday 2009

2009-07-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on the way home from the airport Vic and I stopped at the Town and Country farmers market . I just loved seeing all the beautiful fresh organic produce. I bought some wheatgrass green drinks and signed up for a bodytalk healing session. This turned out to be a very interesting process where I tried to relax and let my body talk to the practitioner. Heal any problems that might be blocking my best life . I am going back in two weeks and will have more to say in future posts.
I am hoping to get back on my healthy eating track now that my birthday is over and all our wonderful guests have gone home. I will be doing affirmations and get back with you soon.
Big love to all, may peace and joy find there way into your heart.

a beautiful day in June

2009-06-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

Our weather in phoenix this June has been unseasonably mild and we have enjoyed drinking ice tea out on our patio all month.
I have been transferred to another store this week and I am very glad to announce that I feel more relaxed and comfortable in my new working environment.
I am always open to incorporating healthy eating ideas into my lifestyle. Recently I've discovered green smoothies as a great summer pick me up.They are an easy way to get lots of antioxidants into my diet and keep my body more alkaline.
Here is my recipe:
any combination of
Kale, spinach, parsley
1- banana
1- wedge of watermelon
water
I fill my blender with lots of greens then the banana and a few cubs of watermelon to sweeten. Then add water and blend. Amazingly this drink tastes great and is very filling .
Have a great day full of energy and happiness .
Let peace of mind abound in your life .

my working out

2009-05-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

I joined LA Fitness a fitness center near our home at the first of the year to help me get into better shape and build up my energy and stamina. At first i tried to go after work but i lost interest and the club was very crowded at that time making it hard to get on to the equipment I wanted to use. I still wanted to keep my membership and use it but i just never made it over there. Then on the first of April I made a decision to get up a half hour earlier in the morning and go work out before work.Now I go several times a week and I feel much better and I have more energy. I have lost a little weight and have added more resistance and speed to my workout .

This is my one month workout anniversary. I am very pleased with my progression and plan to keep going. I also plan to make more possitive changes to improve my life.

two salads

2009-03-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

These are two of my all time favorite salads:
I make these all the time .they are fast and easy to make
Greek salad:
sliced tomatoes,red onion,cucumber, green bell peppers,kalamata olives and feta cheese
dressing:2/3 olive oil 1/3 lemon juice season salt and oregano to taste
toss
spring mix and fruit:
spring organic mixed lettuce , sliced strawberries and oranges ,cranraisins, kalamata olives and feta cheese, walnuts
dressing: equal parts olive oil,orange juice,rice vinegar
toss
Bon appetite

New Year Some New Lessons for 2009

2009-01-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

Life is so amazing and unpredictable!!! Could anyone have believed we would be inaugurating Barack Obama president tomorrow and the Arizona Cardinals would be going to the super bowl.
This year I am starting the year off so right I am really excited. I am welcoming in January this year as employee of the month in a beautiful store surrounded with great people to work with. I joined LA fitness at a very low rate and have a long term plan for fitness and weight loss that is practical and sustainable. I am now full time at work and for the first time in a long time I feel safe financially. Last year I started taking my thyroid medicine again and taking vitamins regularly. I set up a savings account and a regular deduction from my pay check.Now I have a lot more energy and I have not been sick this year, it also feels great to have a little nest egg set aside in case on emergencies. Making some small decisions to improve my life last year have paid off for me and I have added a few new ones already this year that I am looking forward to pursing and enjoying.Life is going good for me now thanks to some easy simple and smart decisions. Happy New Year everyone.

Expanded life experiences

2008-08-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I watched the Beijing opening ceremony and enjoyed it so much. It was so heart warming to me to see so many countries throughout the world come together in a peaceful pursuit. I was so impressed by the thousands of great athletes marching around the beautiful birds nest stadium.
First of all I love the name birds nest for a stadium, second I love the theme for the 2008 olympics "one world one dream". I loved seeing the Chinese cheer for the American Team and I love that I feel so close to the Chinese people.
My son gave me the opportunity to comunicate with many chinese people on his web site. Plus reading his journal full of interesting life experiences in China was very eye opening. Through Marcus I have had so many worldly experiences meeting very kind helpful and interesting people in every journal entry.Now I am so looking forward to reading his experiences in Singapore.

Happy B-Day to me I am so Lucky

2008-07-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Yes I've passed another milestone on the road of life I am 58 now and so far have enjoyed every minute of it. For my birthday my sweet husband Victor and I spent the day in Scottsdale . I went on a major (for me) spending spree and bought myself a new purse some shoes and several new tops. Then we both went out to eat and had a very pleasent meal.
As fun as all this was what really set this day apart and made it so wonderful was the out pouring of love I recieved from my family.Calls and emails from every member of my immediate family full of love, good wishes and support. I Can't tell you how great hearing from everyone made me feel. There was such a genuine warm connection I felt from everyone even though we are so far apart and rarely get together.
How lucky am I to have such a caring family, supporting and encouraging me to live my best life.
This is what I am most greatful to have, a loving wonderful family.

grateful and happy

2008-06-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Happiness is really my true goal in life and I have a great new tool to help me -gratefulness.

I have written about happiness before and thought so much about pursuing happiness or finding happiness that it sometimes seemed like something outside myself that I strived to acheive like winning an award.

I have recently read some different thoughts on happiness that I found useful. The zen philosophy is that we must experience both happiness and misery in order to fully appreciate happiness . I have also read that happiness is always within us and that all we need to do is self accualization to find peace and contentment. I believe both of these ideas have merit .For a while in the evening I spent time thinking of three things that happened during the day that made me happy. Recently I started thinking of things I was grateful for.This idea works in the morning and or anytime during the day to give me a mental pick-me-up or happiness boost.
Periodically I think about so many things I have in life to be grateful for. This attitude always lifts my spirit brings happiness and amazes me at what a blessed life I live. I am so grateful for my wonderful family my good health and beautiful home. These thoughts give me internal power and strength to pursue my dreams. I was also born with many great gifts to be grateful for. The love of learning, love of music, art,literature, history and so many other interests. Being grateful has become a useful paneca for the stresses that come with everyday existence. Now I make a deeper more comitted effort to improving my attitudes and daily habbits . The result is a quantitatively better fuller happier life.

Hope some of these thoughts will inspire to happiness.

Salad season

2008-06-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty excited about all the new salads I have been creating. Yes almost every night I am in the kitchen whipping up a salad with a new twist. Tonights salad was another big hit.
Recipe: Summer salad (fat free dressing)
big bunch of baby spring mix
several splashes of white wine vinegar
several spashes of pomegranate juice
a hand full of each
1- sliced red onion
2-sliced strawberries
3-sliced canalope
4-walnut pieces
season salt to taste
I have also started making my own granola since it only takes minutes to make and I can control the ingredients and save money at the same time.
Recipe: Sugar free Tasty Granola
4 cups oatmeal
1/4 cup grape seed oil
1/3 cup natural apple sauce
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional-raisins, any dried fruit, nuts, seeds, or coconut
mix together in big bowl then spread out onto baking sheet with a liner
bake at 3:50 for 15 minutes
let cool and eat YUMMY
Hope you try some of these ideas and enjoy them.

heart health

2008-06-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

This February I went to the doctor to get back on my thyroid medication. He also checked my blood pressure and cholesterol. I knew I was over weight so I was not surprised when the test results showed my cholesterol was high . Now I am working to get my LDL down and my HDL up. I think it is a little more complicated to bring my good cholesterol up. My plan is to eat fats from vegetarian sources. Some good fat sources I have found are avocados, seeds, nuts, and flax. I love natural peanut butter and guacamole so eating this way is not a hardship. I have also cut way back on cheese and meat.I started taking fish oil ,red rice yeast and coq10 vitamin supplements and lost 10 pounds. I really want to be healthy and know that weight lose and exercise are the most important keys to good health.This is my new health plan for now. These practices may need some future tweaking but i am feeling happier and healthier already.

Miso based hot and sour soup

2008-05-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

saute chopped onions cabbage and mushrooms until tender . heat a big pinch of red miso in water and throw in some diced tofu . add a few squirts of rice vinegar or black vinegar and a couple drops of hot sauce and soy sauce to taste. Throw in part of the sauteed vegtables and stir. Its ready to eat. Yummy!!! You can save the rest of the sauteed vegys to mix with eggs or a salad or sandwich.
I am very interested in recipes that are anti-inflamitory.

A new season and some new thoughts

2007-05-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

It is now May in Phoenix the last of month of our beautiful spring. I have made some small but signifigent changes to our garden.I Added more variation and definition to the backyard and changed out some of the plants that died in the frost this winter. Now all the flowers are blooming and have grown and filled up our yard with lushness and color.I decided to buy my own mower and weedwacker and I am now our full time gardener and landscaper.As part of a money saving and excerise decision I dropped my gym membership and my lawn service and started mowing the lawn and gardening the yard myself. I am very happy with this decision. I enjoy yard work much more than running on a tread mill or eliptical machine and I have more control over how our lawn is manicured and maintained.My hair dresser Celia and sister Janet turned me on to “The power of Attraction” a very inspiring book and philosophy of life.This book has helped reinforce and direct my overall plan to think possitive about myself and my body and to improve my life. I am now over half way along on my weight goal .This is a prossess that is not just about weight but a complete life style change. I am improving my state of mind and my state of health while upgrading my carrier and energy level .The goal is to lift myself into a better happier life.I know that eating correctly and excerise are the keys to feeling better mentally and physically.Even my job has become more interesting and my home a more beautiful sancuary.I know these are both reflections of my decision to think possitive , make healthy choices and improve my life.Today I have finished a painting and taken a walk with Victor.I hope some of these ideas will inspire you.

Recent developments

2007-01-17T21:37:00.000-08:00

worked long and hard over the holiday season and although I started it off with high spirits and good motivation an avalache of work, a lack of sleep, and too many chances to over indulge in food and festivities took their toll. That seems to be the paradox of the holiday season.” It is the season to be jolly” but often turns out to be the season of to many excesses and stress. Companies need to make lots money this time of year to stay in business so employees are often worked longer hours. There are always company and family parties with mountains of rich foods and tasty treats everywhere you turn. Stress and over indulgence lead many people to become depressed or sick. My husband and I are not big party goers so luckly we avoided many of these opportunities to overeat. We went hiking on Christmas day then spent a quiet relaxing afternoon at home with our pets. I still let my healthy diet and excerise plan slide away for a few weeks. Then after New Years I was not sure I could get my motivation back.I know myself well enough to know that it is key for me to start any program or commitment with a successful attitude.I must feel capable of success .I need to be able to tell myself “I can do this” and believe it! I always need a trigger to motivate me. Unhappiness provided that motivation. I was stressed out at work and feeling out of sorts and very sluggish. I knew I had to do something to turn the tide and begin again. There were only two options. Let things get worse and feel horrible or take control of my health and get back on track. I started taking my vitamins again and bought healthy foods at the market. Now it is the middle of January and I have lost all the weight I put on over the holiday and I feel so much better. Today for the first time this year Vic and I went hiking and I am motivated again to eat healthy and get down to my target weight. This has been an interesting learning experience I guess I needed to go through.These are some of the changes I am now taking into account on my plan. I must not let myself get too hungry or push to hard to lose weight fast. I realize that for me slow and steady leads to a healthier weight loss that I can sustain.

Some holiday thoughts

2006-12-21T07:14:00.000-08:00

One of the great pleasures of living in Arizona is the endless sunny days.I thrive on the big skys and sunny days that the desert povides. This time of year when the nights are long and the days short and cold it takes a little more effort to keep my spirits high. I really rely on my vitaimins and antioxidents even more than usual. I know that for me getting enough omega three oils and isoflavens in my diet are essential to my happiness factor.I also rely on lots on vitimin C this time of year to keep colds and other breathing problems away.
Yeasterday my husband Victor and I went shopping and spent the day enjoying all the Christmas decorations .We bought some presents and holiday food items then came home and put up our little Christmas tree. I really felt it was Christmas season for the first time with our little tree up.A couple of Christmas traditions that always ring in the holiday are the decorations and lights and the holiday music that I still enjoy after all the years.I would add that being with my family was always the greatest joy of the holidays for me in the past but now I have my little family of dogs and cats and my sweet husband. I appriciate the good life that I now have and am looking forward to a great holiday.Happy holidays to everyone that reads this post!

Happiness factors

2006-12-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

A lot of lifes satisfaction relies heavily on the happiness factor. The big question what really makes me happy.Many things can play into this but after concentrating every evening on three things that made me happy that day, I have realized that most of my happiness comes in the form of small daily accomlishments and quiet observations on the beauty of nature and life going on around me.I have filled my home with dogs and cats which have given me endless entertainment and love.Often I have picked small accomplishments like bill paying or closet cleaning as the things that gave me happiness. I have been suprised to find that I have not picked anything I bought or ate that made me happy. Sometimes I am happy because I was able to do something for someone else or happy that I did something that I put off .I am finding that my happiness comes from sources that I did not expect. I though that I would find more satisfaction in having new things .That has not been the case.This has been an interesting learning experience on my path of self accualization.
I still have my big goal of doing art fairs and paying off my bills. Maybe this is why I am not so happy about making purchases.I really want to be debt free.

An important goal to set for life

2006-12-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

I need to commend myself in my everyday life .Give thanks to everything around me and remember to see joy in daily life. I want to give thanks to my son Marcus who set up this web site for me to enjoy.Where I can save and share my ideas and experences.

A new day 11/29/06

2006-11-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I started a new habit.I read an email from my sister Karen about a happiness study.In the study people think of three experiences they had that day that made them happy then think of what they did that lead to that experience.When I went to bed I started thinking of three things that I was happy about that day and what was my part in creating that experience.Just remebering and concetrating on the best and happiest parts of my day was very satisfing and i found myself adding many more than three happy moments I had experienced that day. What agreat way to end each day . Concentrating on the good life in its simplest form each happy moment one at a time.I am so pleased that Karen turned me on to this great idea.
I hope you will now go out and have a great day one moment one experience at a time.

Welcome to my web site

2006-11-23T23:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new web site . What a great day to begin my journal since today is Thanksgiving an all inclusive nondenominational holiday devoted to thanking God for food. Thanksgiving is the one holiday most associated with a big meal and lots of food. I want to refocus my life style away from gluttany and toward a renewed interest in many of my favorite past interests and great joys in life like Art, Music, Literature crafts and gardening.Then add new interest like my four pets my home hiking and tennis. I would love to add travel and all manner of life explorations to this list of activities.
Starting with a possitive attitude I began my day with my husband Victor and our dog Zippy hiking Shaw Butte here in North Phoenix.It has taken us a few years to discover many of the unique hiking opportunities within a couple of miles of our home. We hiked a little over an hour and enjoyed the beautiful views on both sides of the butte.The great thing about hiking with our dog Zippy is that she really helps me to live in the moment. When she is there I am more likely to fully participate in all the experiences surrounding me.There is so much to enjoy.There is the beautiful mountain views the clear sky and all the interesting people and there pets that we meet as we hike and there is the scent of fresh air and warm breezes.. I believe in giving myself every opportunity that I can to get involved in my great nieghborhood and the beautiful weather Phoenix has to offer this time of year.