Minnesooooooota

• Minnesooooota
• Bomber hat
• Meat raffle
• Hot dish
• Cheese curds
• Baaag
• What do all of these have in common?

Apparently, they are unique to MN. Before you Wisconsinites get your undies in a bundle about cheese curds coming from Wisconsin, hear me out. If you read last week's blog you knew that Jessie and I had a friend coming to town. Now from the moment she stepped off the plane the last time she came to visit, she proceeded to make non stop fun of the way we talk. But this is not the first time this has happened. I'm sure if you have had visitors from outside the midwest, you know they are shocked at how we talk here in Minnesooooota.

The best part was, I couldn't stop hearing it and I couldn't stop saying oooohhhh. It's just something I and Minnesotans do. But all of the things listed above, were unique to my born Oklahoman, school in Missouri, now living in Denver friend. But when you think about it, what a great life we have in MN. We talk with a great funny accent, we wear bomber hats, we have meat raffles, we eat cheese curds and hot dish, and so so many more things.

But the real lesson here is that you have to able to laugh at yourself. I could have easily been so upset about her making fun (in good humor) of the way I talk. But it is way more enjoyable to laugh with and to point it out EVERY time someone says any word with the long vowel sound. It happens about every 30 seconds. No matter how serious life gets, there is always a time and a place to laugh at ourselves. Laugh at the way we talk, what we eat, what we wear, or anything else. Humor and laughter bring a lightness to your life.

Science proves it's good for your health to be able to laugh at yourself. 

http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/09/why-laughing-at-yourself-may-be-good-for-you-first-ever-study/

What can you laugh at about yourself?? What can you share with others that is humorous about you? 

This weekend also reminded me that the company of good friends is so fun and vital to life. We did so many things: Crashed Ice, ran the Frozen 10k in freezing temperatures, went to the Winter Carnival ice and snow sculptures, danced in Rice Park with the Winter Carnival dancers, went to a Swarm game, shopped at the mall, went on the high ropes course at the Mall of America, played video games at Chatterbox, went to the best MN store in Northeast "I Like You" and ate so much good MN food. But most of all, we just spent time hanging together.

What can you explore in your own town or neighborhood? One of my all time favorite quotes "Life is for living, for reaching out for new experiences" eleanor roosevelt

Find something new this week, spend time with a good friend, and take time to laugh at yourself. I know we laughed A LOT.

Here are a few of the fun pics from this weekend.

Have a great week. It's a high of 1 degree tomorrow. Stay warm.

Baby it's Cold Outside

Some people wonder why any one in their right mind would live in Minnesota? We had a high of -10 the other day, then a low of -25, a wind chill advisory, icy sidewalks, bitter cold cutting wind that just slices you through when you walk outside and takes your breath away. And it's illegal to idle your car to warm it up on the street...I'm in big trouble. 

Even my dog has to wear a coat and she's not happy....

But as easy as it is to complain..and I HAVE complained, I have to remind myself I could live anywhere I want to.....but I live here and for good reason.

Today a good friend is coming to visit from Denver. She texted me last week and asked "how much of my winter clothes do I need to bring?" My answer...EVERYTHING.

We have the biggest and best Minnesota experience weekend and of course, even though it's bitterly cold, most of these are outside.

Tomorrow night: Crashed Ice. Jessie and I and our friends Chris and Scott went to this event last year in St Paul and it was incredible. 

Then there's the Winter Carnival and the Securian Winter Run. Two more winter traditions in the North Land. Snow sculptures, ice sculptures, winter running, parades, amazing. 

There will also be my favorite (indoor) winter sport...Minnesota Swarm Lacrosse. We stumbled onto this sport when we moved here and have been season ticket holders ever since. It's the right mix of hockey, basketball, and many other sports. 

And this weekend there will be a new experience of the Ice Castles at the Mall of America. Where else does this happen??

http://www.mallofamerica.com/events/feature/ice-castles

Other things to do this weekend to show the glory of Minnesota: Juicy Lucy's (if you don't know what this is, you have never been here), Caribou Coffee (native of MN), tubing at Buck Hill, and spending time outside.

It is so easy to complain about the cold, but these are just a few of the glorious MN events that are available because it's COLD here. 

I'm excited to put on my cute boots, big huge ugly purple Barney coat, bomber hat, 5 sets of mittens and gloves, hand and feet warmers, my favorite scarf, and go out there and be cold while experiencing what MN has to offer.

But......it never hurts to have a winter vacation planned. I am heading to the warm land of AZ in a month. Every one needs a getaway.

Stay warm, drink coffee, eat soup, spend time with friends, and enjoy what your environment has to offer instead of wanting to be somewhere else.

Kittens

I love dogs. They are man's best friend, they are loyal, they love you all the time, but those sneaky cats are out there making a difference and teaching us life lessons. Today's blog starts with the best you tube video. Watch it and you will see. It is called "kittens inspired by kittens"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtX8nswnUKU

No matter how many times I watch this video, I laugh and laugh. I remember being this little girl using my imagination and living in my creative mind. I picked up a book and made voices for characters, read the book to myself or to my parents.  I can almost feel how this little girl feels while she's reading. This video reminds me of being a child and how wonderful it really is.  As adults we seem to need the reminder to laugh, live creatively, and to explore.  Let's all take some time to live like this little girl. 

Share that kitten video with everyone you know so you have the opportunity to laugh often.

And then there's another cat - PETE the Cat.  It is the most wonderful "kid" book. But it teaches us adults a great lesson. Pete has white shoes and he steps in all sorts of stuff but he says no matter what he steps in, "he just keeps walking along, singing his song, because it's all good"

No matter what happens to him, he lives by the motto "IT'S ALL GOOD" 

This week live like a child and a cat. Laugh often and remember "it's all good" Plus cats spend most of the day sleeping, so you should also take a glorious nap!

Have a great week and stay warm.

I Said I Would Never Do It

A lot of us have things in our life we said we would never do. 
For me one of these things was to do a DETOX. I strongly dislike the word detox and frankly I didn't think I had the discipline or focus to do it. So to cover up my lack of discipline, I just said I did not believe in them. 

Well it is the first of the year, the time when lots of people start to feel like they need/want a detox to start their year off right. Now rather than completely dismiss the idea, I decided to become a role model and do the DETOX with several of my clients. 

We discussed a lot of things about a detox and the main thing that bothered me was actually the word. Detox sounds temporary to me and that is where most people go astray. They detox for a week or two and then go right back to their old eating habits. So my classes and I thought about some new names and decided on KICKSTART plan. So from now on I am going to call it the kickstart plan.

Here is the link to the kickstart plan if you want to read about it before I tell you about my experience. http://experiencelife.com/article/the-ultrasimple-slimdown/

This kickstart involves staying off wheat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, coffee, sugar, anything processed. So basically...you eat nothing ;) It's not that bad at all. And what I realized initially was this is not far from how I try to eat when I'm really focused.  But this is only because about six months ago after doing a food sensitivity test I stayed away from most dairy, all wheat, and minimal sugar. But if you had asked me to do the kickstart plan six months ago I would have told you that it was impossible because it involved cutting out all the foods I normally ate.

The kickstart plan involves a shake. Now I normally make shakes so I though this wouldn't be so bad. But I always put in whey protein and since whey is a dairy product I had to go search out hemp or rice protein.  I took myself to Whole Foods.  I have a huge aversion to Whole Foods. I feel intimidated, I feel out of place, I feel like I don't know what I'm doing, and I feel like everyone is healthier than me. But I managed to put those feelings aside and march right in.  I found the protein powder aisle and looked around. After much debate I ended up with hemp protein powder.

Monday morning rolls around and I make my protein shake. Ingredients:

• Almond milk
• Frozen strawberries
• Spinach
• Hemp protein (4 tbsps)
• Flax seed meal (2 tbsps)
• Dynamic greens (a vegetable detox powder)
• Blend

I take this awful dirty looking smoothie to work. I sip on it for 2 hours because it tastes just like it looks. I even had my dietician friend Alicia come smell it and taste it. She confirmed: worst thing she's ever tasted.  I suffer through this smoothie for two days before I realize a missing ingredient. WATER

Once I added water, I was golden! Smoothie was manageable and somewhat tasty. Still a little gritty. 

The rest of the kickstart plan is not so bad. Vegetables, brown rice, lean proteins. Lots of water and lots of time in the bathroom.

But what I have really learned so far is that I miss coffee and everything about it. This includes the smell, drinking a warm drink on a cold morning on the way to work, drinking it while chatting with friends in the cafe at work at 8am, and just knowing it's there. So many of our food habits, both good and bad, are just that - they are habits. They are routine and they are laced with emotion.  If you want to improve your health and wellness, take a look at your routines and habits.  I will go back to drinking coffee - that is for sure. But this kickstart made me aware of my habits and what affect they had on my life.  Here is a great article to help you with this concept. 

http://experiencelife.com/article/the-power-of-habit/

Have a great week everyone and by next week when I write my blog, I will do it with a huge cup of hot coffee!

What's the big deal?

People always ask me what I'm doing for New Year's Eve and for years my reply is that I am doing nothing. I am not really a fan of new years. I am not a bar scene or party person so why pretend for one night? I used to go to a friend's house for a game night but I hate to be on the road late with all the drunk drivers. So I have settled into this amazing routine of doing nothing.

This year I even said "what's the big deal...it's just another night and another day."  But as society has taught us...let's reflect, let's make resolutions, let's be a different person and lead a different life on January 1. AHHH!

I have read several blogs of both friends and people I do not know in the last couple of days. The trend is so interesting. People are choosing a WORD to represent their year.  The two I read that hit home are "abundance" and "plenty."  For me these two words have really represented my 2012. I came to this realization late in 2011 that I really do have abundance and plenty in my life. I have everything that I need. But do I have everything I want?

What stops us from getting everything we want in life?? Who is telling us to stop?? And why do we stop? Is it too hard? Is someone else telling us we can't? Is our history showing us the future? Do we not have a support system?? Is it guilt - the most useless emotion?

And so for the year 2013 I have two words for myself and I hope they will resonate with you as well.  Over Christmas my dad told me how much he admired my fearlessness. What? Me? Fearless? That's odd. But when I step back and reflect, I really have become fearless in many aspects of my life. I am honest with my thoughts and tell the people who need to hear them, I jump off buildings, I run races that scare me, even putting out this blog was a little scary. But the crazy part is.....it's only scary the first time you do something. 

So my second word is borrowed from Lifetime Fitness. Commitment. But for short...commit. My best example of both fear and commitment came the first time I went to Vegas when I decided to jump off the Stratosphere building. 

http://www.skyjumplasvegas.com/

Terrified. Me. Terrified. You put the harness on, chat with the friendly workers, ride the LONG elevator to the top of the 900 foot building, wait and watch other people do it. It was midnight when I did it the first time. When it was my turn, I went into the very mechanical room where they triple checked my harness, made jokes, and asked me if I was ready. I was doing so much self talk "okay, when they count 1, 2, you jump on 3!" So this very nice guy walked me out to the platform, hooked me up, and said "now walk to the edge" NOOOOO I said. But I inched my way out there, he counted down, and before I knew it (he nudged me off the edge) but then I was flying and could see the entire Vegas skyline and probably all the way to California. I screamed, I opened my arms as wide as I could and felt the wind in my hair. The MOST exhilarating, amazing, experience of my life.

Fast forward to this past December 2012. I go back to Vegas and decide to jump again, but this time during the day. What a different jump this was. I walked up, confident, not scared, a little scared, put my toes on the edge, and jumped on 3. The thing was.....it was only terrifying the first time. The second time I was an old pro.

So in 2013 think of being fearless and committed. This can mean something as simple as saying hi to someone for the first time, asking for what you want at work, taking charge of your health, making food you have never made, walking into a gym, taking piano lessons. Whatever you do this year....do it without fear and be committed. Remember - it's only terrifying the first time. And if nothing in life scares you.....find something!

This photo was not from Sky Jump from ziplining in Boot Leg Canyon, also in Vegas.