I am SO not a morning eater. Or a midday eater for that matter. I get busy doing my life and skip eating more times than not. I am trying to get a handle on upping my intake and specifically my protein since I work out and walk so much. I prefer to eat my meals so smoothies are a no go for me.
I have made these many times and always tweak them a little each time depending on my mood. Sometimes I add ham or bacon and sometimes I go with all veggie.
These are so easy and keep nice in the fridge for the week. Whip them up on a Sunday and you’re good for the week!
BASE:
12 large eggs
½ cup milk
2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
2 TBSP fresh basil, chopped (or other herb)
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
Veggies*:
1 cup broccoli, cut into teeny tiny florets
1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped small
¼-1/2 cup onion, diced fine
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and veins removed, diced fine (optional)
Add-ins (optional):
1½ cups cheddar, gruyere, mozzarella, or other cheese, divided
1 lb. bacon, sausage, or other meat, fully cooked
INSTRUCTIONS:
If using meat (bacon, sausage, etc.), cook it fully first. Set it aside to cool, then cut into small pieces.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., and thoroughly grease (butter, coconut oil, or non-stick spray) a muffin tin. (NOTE: I recommend using a non stick muffin pan or silicone mold even easier removal.)
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Get all your veggies diced up and ready to go. Optionally, you can saute your onion with a bit of olive oil to soften it up and take away some of its bite. Set aside and allow to cool.
Add all the veggies to the bowl with the egg mixture, and stir to combine. Stir in half of the cheese, and all of the meat, if using.
Using an ice-cream scoop or ¼ cup measure, scoop the mixture into the prepared muffin pan. Fill to about ¼ inch from the top, then sprinkle a small amount of reserved cheese over each. Place in the oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is fully set and the cheese has just started to turn golden on top.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before running a butterknife around each muffin, and gently removing from the pan. Enjoy while warm, or let cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. Leftovers can be reheated for several seconds in the microwave (time will vary depending on your microwave), or a few minutes in a preheated oven or toaster oven.
If you’ve been following me you may have seen that I have chosen to put a little effort into being vulnerable this year. Looking at me from the distance – or sometimes even for those close to me – I appear to be unstoppable, strong, creative, successful, determined, and without a doubt a true overcomer. That is all true.
You may have also seen that I also opted to explore vulnerability in my life this year and dip my toes into a little “emotional exposure” as Brené Brown so eloquently says. Well, emotional exposure was proving to begin with a big bang.
Fear and uncertainity started to show up in big ways as soon as I declared I was ready to look vulnerability in the eye. It is one thing to feel these things, but I have a tendency to keep those big emotions to myself so the exposing of them was almost was big as feeling them.
So to be really open and honest, I have been fighting my way from slipping down into the depths of huge feelings of fear like I have never been over the last few weeks. Seems that since the declarative statement of what I was willing to improve in my life, vulnerability said “let’s just see how you can handle real big feelings”.
Thinking I am in complete readiness for my upcoming major hip overhaul, suddenly I was overcome with fear. Big time terror day after day. Waking up in the night fear. Shaking fear. Pit of the stomach fear. Gripping fear.
I told myself over and over that people get hip replacements all the time and yes most people do fine. But that is not a blanket statement my mind easily accepted. Of course we also hear about the 82 year old grandma who gets a new hip and is at the social club within a week which can make for some serious unhealthy comparison.
The fear began to battle comparison and I was questioning myself more than I ever have. Would my body and dysfunctional immune system accept the new hip? How much would my life be changed? How much will I have to rely on others to help me? How much time would I be away from work? Would I still be in pain? Would I ever be able to practice yoga the way I do? Will I get another blood clot? Will I get an infection? What if…? What if …? But what if…..? Over and over and over and over.
You see this isn’t a classic case of having bone on bone joint issue or severe arthritis. My joint is in perfect health and every doctor who has looked at the images scratches their head and wonders if that will address the pain. I have had three grueling tissue repairs on this previous hip and I still have a tremendous amount of pain and inflammation so the theory with my beloved surgeon whom I trust with my life is to remove the joint and closely surrounding tissue and give my body a clean, new joint which may greatly reduce my constant pain. The word “may” started to feel really scary as the days for closer.
I begged for silent moments of clarity. I pleaded with my conscious to give me insights. I walked and screamed at the sky to help me.
Is living in pain an option? Absolutely. Is enduring torturous fear an option? Hell no.
As I navigated this very unusual emotion over the course of the last few weeks I was startled at the physical changes that were occurring in my body. I am an incredibly steady and stable woman so to feel such intensity in an unfamiliar emotion was taking a toll. I had a racing heart all hours of the day, eating was incredibly hard, I felt like I had adrenaline running 24/7 through my veins, and I was experiencing deep pain in my belly every time I thought about laying on that stainless steel table for the 4th time. Of course the turmoil in my solar plexus was my first indication that my gut was telling me to listen. As the days ticked off I had more and more gut instinct knowing.
In my yogic thinking world what I was experiencing was a complete mind/body interaction where my intuition, or gut instinct, which is essentially our solar plexus where decisions are made and our personal power is being stoked like a fire. Feeling my personal power escape my body while making a life altering decision was sending my body into real time horror.
What if I chose to not listen to the language my body was speaking? What if I opted to ignore the screaming inside my body to pause and ask more questions? Despite the four second opinions there was still so much uncertainty about if this was truly the right direction to take, and yet my instinct knew it was not.
The moment that I stepped into my personal power and reclaimed clarity, it all stopped. I felt lighter. I felt myself gather up all that I know and feel about myself and feel empowered with clarity and much needed hope. A conversation with my surgeon late in the day where he reassured me that it was indeed a good decision to wait validated for me what I already knew.
I think we all have the capacity to know what our bodies need. We may not know the details to a solution like a complex surgery or diagnosis, but we do know when something feels off. We do know when our personal power is being threatened. We do know when we are right.
Vulnerability knocked on my door hard these first thirteen days of the year. But I welcomed her as a messenger and proudly reached out to a handful of safe people to pour my heart out. I revealed my fears and uncertainties. I spoke my vulnerability.
And when I did, sure enough clarity overtook fear.
I learned so much over the last few weeks about the subtle and not so subtle ways our body speaks to us, and that when we don’t feel something is right, to listen and then talk about it. Our voice is powerful and like anything, the more we do it the easier it becomes.
The hip surgery is on hold. Maybe forever but for sure in the near future. I am going to focus on the needs of my body that are determined with certainty like a quick knee scope, addressing some back issues with natural options and getting even healthier and stronger than I am—mind, body and spirit. Maybe the ol’ hip will calm itself down and all will be well.
I recently shared my strengths according to Gallup Strengths Finder and am still digging into that theme a bit. I loved learning my too strengths, but I was also fascinated to learn my bottom ones also. Competition is the second to the bottom strength! This means competition is pretty irrelevant to me and my life.
Competition is very low in my skill set personally and professionally. That is not a good thing or a bad thing, it just reinforces my top strengths. I highly recommend taking the strengths finder test if your curious how it impacts your personal and business life.
I did some digging on competition and found some fascinating thing. Harvard business review says this about competition-
While it can sometimes be productive, too often it is actually destructive to your overall goals. That’s why people who don’t have as much of a heart to compete have advantages in life and the opportunity to be more successful.
Non competing individuals are more motivated than most of the people around them.
Here is why:
•They aren’t as ego-driven. People who compete often do so in large part to satisfy their egos. If you don’t have the heart to compete, then most likely you don’t have a big ego.
•They’re less stressed. Competition in life adds a lot of unneeded frustration. If you’re not obsessed with competing, you’re largely free of that stress. That frustration is an almost overwhelmingly negative influence on your sense of self.
•They’re calmer. A sense of calm comes over those who don’t endlessly think about how they’re going to get ahead in races of all kinds.
•They wish success on others. The person who doesn’t obsess about competition often wants others to find success as well as themselves. What’s so great about that is how success begets success.
•They believe success can be shared. Competitions are almost always win-lose situations. People who don’t want competition in their lives tend to believe in win-win scenarios. Instead of looking for ways they can outsmart their opponent, they search for methods to team up with them and overcome whatever obstacle that they face together instead of apart. By doing that, they double the chance for success.
•They have inner peace. Obsession is unhealthy, whereas peace is just around the corner once you remove competition from the equation. By focusing on improving yourself instead of beating others, you are well on your way to the inner peace everyone craves, even if some of them don’t know it.
I’m telling you, learning about your strengths can lead to so much understanding in your relationships and professional life. I am so grateful I know these things about myself because I am able to see that I am unique and while others around me may be fed by competition I don’t have to try to fit in. I can be me and I can support them as they are then. Cool, huh?
Seriously? Lotion in a bar form? YES! These glide over your skin making your body feel (and smell) amazing. Using all natural ingredients you eliminate toxic junk from going into your body. Remember our skin absorbs EVERYTHING you put on it so those store bought bottles lotion contain lots of stuff that can be harmful over time for our bodies.
Making these is quick, easy AND fun. Plus, they make awesome gifts!
Ingredients
1/2 cup beeswax
½ cup coconut oil
½ cup cocoa butter
1 teaspoon vitamin E oil
15 drops of doTERRA essential oil
Recommended essential oils: my favorites are Citrus Bliss, Peppermint, Lavender.
Directions:
Measure all ingredients, except for essential oils, in large glass jar.
Place jar in saucepan with one to one and a half inches of boiling water.
Stir ingredients until combined.
Once melted, remove from heat. Let rest three minutes.
Add essential oils and stir or swirl jar.
Pour mixture into silicone mold.
Massage lotion bar on skin for moisture.
Wrap in a fun paper and tie with twine for a cute gift.
These are so fun! You can find the molds in my Amazon shop listed below and if you check out this handy ebook you can learn more about essential oils and how you can get the most pure and potent in your home.
Gratitude is the #1 way to shift out of low frequency emotions like fear, grief, shame and lack… and into high frequency emotions like joy, peace, trust and love. Gratitude produces dopamine! Dopamine is our brain’s pleasure chemical. The more we think positive, grateful thoughts, the healthier and happier we feel. Amazing, eh?
What if you started saying 5 DIFFERENT things you’re grateful for every single day. Try it! it has changed my life!
Gratitude. Gratitude. Gratitude.
I hope you enjoy this diffuser blend today and I invite each of you to pause for a moment, and recognize all that is GOOD!
Gratitude Essential Oil Blend
• Siberian fir; breaking negative emotional and spiritual patterns
• Frankincense; raise awareness, shine your bright light
• Grapefruit; appreciate who you are
• Wild Orange; abundance and bright future, gladness to the heart
• Geranium; heart opening, realize security in what you do have
• Clove; instills power, sense of protection, integrity
Amber chips—A fossilized tree resin, amber radiates laughter, vitality, and courage. This stone holds the protective energy of our beloved trees, the guardians of Earth. Radiating the golden ray, amber shines light on new paths as obstacles become the stepping stones of growth. Amplifying one’s life force and physical drive to fulfill one’s destiny of simply being human. Amber is a powerful healer and cleanser of the body, mind and spirit. It also cleanses the environment. Amber draws disease from the body, healing and renewing the nervous system and balancing the right and left parts of the brain. It absorbs pain and negative energy, helping to alleviate stress. Amber clears depression, stimulates the intellect and promotes self-confidence and creative self-expression. It encourages decision-making, spontaneity and brings wisdom, balance and patience.
The circadian rhythm, also known as your internal body clock, is responsible for making you feel alert and sleepy throughout the day. Ideally, you should feel most alert early in the morning and sleepy as it becomes darker and later in the day.
The circadian rhythm is the reason why teenagers find it difficult to go to bed and wake up early, because their melatonin is released later than adults and children, so they’re awake later. Jet lag and shift work also interfere with the natural body clock as well as long and irregular hours.
Get ready to hack your circadian rhythm for sleep:
•Go to bed and get up at the same time every day and diffuse trees and flowers • When you wake up, take a morning walk and get some sunlight on your face • Try a sunlight alarm clock that wakes you up with light • Pop citrus and mint oils in your diffuser to start waking up your senses
The number one reason people give for not using essential oils is because they are expensive. Here is the deal—a drop is a considered a “dose”. A typical bottle has 250 drops (doses).
Lavender—9 cents to sleep well for over half a year….plus amazing skin benefits for burns or cuts. Oh, and anxious feelings—a drop.
Melaleuca—8 cents a drop will give you amazing skin cleansing, germ removal and if you put a few more drops into a spray bottle with water you just made an awesome household cleaner.
Peppermint—9 cents a drop and you can ditch the Tylenol for your headaches and fevers. One drop equals 28 cups of peppermint tea. You’ll be getting digestive support for a long time with this one.
Lemon—4 cents. Yep, 4 cents to detox your body, clean you house, brighten your mood and just basically feel amazing.
Breathe—8 cents a drop to breathe easier going into the winter season. Congestion and coughs will be much easier for 8 cents a drop. You know that Vick’s stuff is full of yucky chemicals right?
Drop=dose. It literally costs you pennies.The initial investment is so worth it.
This is my absolute favorite starter kit. There are others to choose from though!!
Plus until the end of the month, I am tossing in a bonus oil, plus my usual amazing welcome package! Yay! Let’s do this!
Over the course of the last eighteen years I have gone from being roughly 100 pounds heavier and oblivious of my health to obsessing on every calorie and every step.
And I mean every calorie and every step.
Both extremes were missing a huge and important aspect of health—joy and contentment.
When I was heavy I was so toxic in my mind, body and sprit that I spent my day just surviving. In that season of my life I was a really young mom, one kiddo with a significant and challenging disability, a marriage that was empty and I was consumed with giving to my family, not myself. I had no concept of balance.
When I was exercise and food obsessed I was equally toxic. I would log every crumb that passed my lips and I walked around my living room late at night countless times to reach my step goal. I overdid my body to the point of big time injuries and I completely lost joy in eating delicious foods and the nature around me while exercising.
Again, no joy, no contentment and no balance.
Now, I am free. I measure my happiness not by the size of my pants or the number on the scale. And I am working hard to not measure it by the steps on my watch—this is still a struggle for me.
I am working to measure it with the internal state of bliss I feel most days and by the purpose that I have discovered and the light that I share.
That is contentment and wellness of the mind, body and spirit.
The full moon is traditionally known as the time of letting go…of releasing what is no longer serving your highest good.
It’s a good time to ask yourself where do you feel constricted? Where do you feel bound? Where do you feel obligated? Where do you long for freedom?
With freedom comes joy. And joy is the ultimate goal, right?!
Sit quietly today… ask where you need to release responsibility that you’ve been carrying that really isn’t yours to carry. This could mean stepping out of drama between friends or co-workers. This could mean letting go of volunteer positions or projects you said yes to out of obligation.
Another question to ask is where is an area can I take better responsibility in order to receive the freedom I desire? This could mean de-cluttering your home or making freezer meals to free up mental and emotional space to play and be spontaneous with your family. Or this could mean really getting focused on the income producing activities in your business so that you can enjoy the travel you crave.
Remember… “Whatever is on your plate got there because you said yes to it.” Danielle LaPorte (Desire Map)
This blend is packed with clarity and releasing emotions.
I am hosting a special event next week for a great organization—the Ronald McDonald House here is Southern Colorado. This is an amazing place for families whose children are in the hospital to come and have respite from the hospital setting to sleep/rest, take a hot shower, enjoyfresh baked cookies, and be loved on.
The people who work at this special place are coming to me for an evening of self care and I am so excited to share this special blend I crafted for them.
Check out this special blend I crafted for them:
Vetiver to stabilize our sense of safety and security in an often harsh world.
Wild Orange to remind us of abundance and our creative playful side.
Ginger to help us to feel empowered ans strong as have to sometimes stomach hard realities.
Rose to nurture the ever loving heart.
Peppermint to open up communication and help us speak clearly and effectively.
Lavender to assist in soothing and calming our active mind so that we can learn to foster our inner knowing.
Frankincense to hold our highest Truth as our guide.
I made the blend using three drops of each essential oil and topped it off with fractionated coconut oil in a 10ml bottle. When used along the spine and on pulse points this blend will bring balance to all those important energy centers.
Not sure which plant essential oil you need? Keep this handy chart tagged until you are familiar with which category does what. I tell people when they are learning to use essential oils is similar to learning to cook–in the beginning we need cookbooks and recipes but in time we become more confident and intuitively begin to know what we are doing. Essential oils are much the same. The more you use, the more you begin to know. Trusting yourself and listening to your body helps, too.
•when you have anything skin related, the FLORALS will help soothe and calm your skin’s irritants (burns, insect bites, cuts). FLORALS are also great for calming emotions and helping to reduce feelings of stress in the body and mind.
•when our bodies start to take on symptoms of an illness reach for your HERBS to help knock out the germs (thyme, oregano, basil, marjoram, etc). These powerhouses work so well at helping the body return to health. Many herbs produce soothing and renewing feelings.
• the constitutes in TREES helps to relieve uncomfortable aches in the muscles and joints (cypress, Siberian Fir, Douglas Fir, birch). Emotionally TREES are grounding and balancing.
•when you find yourself feeling low, just reach high up on the tree for a CITRUS and feel the immediate lift both energetically and emotionally. CITRUS = happiness, plus CITRUS oils are detoxifying and cleansing for the body.
Check out this handy guide to learn more about the basics of essential oil use.
Last fall I started to increase my daily steps from an average of 18,000 (ish) a day to above 20,000. By mid spring and early summer I was hitting more like 25,000 steps a DAY walking. Many days l topped 30,00 steps and sometimes that was multiple days in a row.
I sustained that number for nearly 10 months and I am realizing a couple things by walking that many steps per day.
1) it takes on average 2.5 hours a day of deliberate walking to sustain that amount. I love walking probably more than anyone but giving up over two hours a day of my work and family life to reach that goal has been a lot.
2) I feel the same whether I walk 15,000 steps or 23,000. My body literally feels the same. Is more always better?
3) I let several balls drop these last 10 months. Some of them needed to be dropped but others have felt the impact of me not having that extra hour to give. I try to work while I walk—listen to podcasts, plan lessons, write blogs posts but the truth is while I am excellent at multitasking, is multitasking excellent for me?
4) Other areas of my life have been left dry because of my lack of attention to them while I have focused on steps. Meal prep, social connection, down time to name a few. It’s basically really hard to work full time, commute hours at a time and still find 2-4 hours a day to walk two to four hours a day that and strength train multiple times a week.
I was planning to finish this year with the same tenacity but my heart is saying to let it go. My body has trimmed up and toned up. I am leaner than I have ever been in my adult life. But, it’s time to celebrate ten months of incredible dedication and now, stop. Breathe. Let it go. Release the grip. Walk when I want to walk. Unroll a yoga mat instead. Read a book. Sit.
I am so proud of my body. So proud of all she has overcome. I will never take for granted a mile or a even a step again.
