There is no other way to say this. Parenting is a beautiful but brutal endeavor.  Sure, there are the great moments. The moments we all share with the world. Photos go up on social media for all to admire. They show the profound love we feel for our offspring. There are heart moving milestones such as birthdays, times of success like graduations and seconds of just living in joy like a first bike ride. These moments carry us to tomorrow, but as parents, we all know these snapshots are like shooting stars. They are brief and momentary. Most of our parenting is spent tinkering and working just to keep our stars shining brightly in the sky.

I want to be clear about the love I have for my children. It is intertwined with my being. Like strands of rope braided together, my kids make up the strength that lives inside of me. It keeps me going in this crazy world. I would never say my little beings are my everything. That statement would imply my children are somehow separate from me. They are a part of me at every turn, and I am a part of them. Our spirit, being, souls, whatever we call it, are bound together for eternity.

That must be why they drive me mad.

That must be why they make me yell at them after asking them twenty times to place shoes on their feet.

That must be why they challenge my patience and understanding every day.

That must be why they leave the sink running, so it overflows and damages the floor.

That must be why they fed the dog a whole plate of lemon bars when I was in the shower.

That must be why when I say,  "Hurry up we are late for school!"; they become slow as sloths.

That must be why I am exhausted all the time.

That must be why they make me question if I am a good parent but more importantly a great human being.

It doesn't matter how much we love our children. At every turn, someone tells us we are doing this parenting thing wrong. Someone is pushing back and showing us we are not enough. We don't have the right skills, expertise or education to grow our children into productive members of society.

Just ask our kids.

In their actions, they silently writing us notes in the margins: 

"I'm not going to pick up my room EVER!" Margin note: You just haven't told me in the RIGHT way how to pick up my room.

"I can't stop screaming and throwing a tantrum inside this store!" Margin note: You apparently should be reading yet another book on parenting.

"Grandma is way more fun than you, Mom." Margin note: You should talk to Grandma about how to love me. She does it right.

As parents, we feel our kids challenge our abilities. More than anyone, the doubt kids provide begins to fray the strand of us. The line that ties us together becomes weak, and the rope starts to fall apart. We then begin to see the challenge of parenting is that it requires an extensive examination into the human condition. In this process, we realize we might be flawed and lack the power needed to make our kids whole. We come to the realization we are not superhuman.

Or are we?

I was talking to my friend and fellow alumni from the altMBA program, Dr. Robert Zeitlin. Beside his warm, generous, positivity personality, Dr. Robert wrote a thoughtful and short book called "Laugh More, Yell Less: A Guide to Raising Kick-Ass Kid." As Positive Psychologist he believes that each of us contains a unique set of superpowers. As parents, if we take some time to recognize these powers, we can use them as a tool box for parenting. It's an interesting idea. 

"You bring a lifetime of valuable experiences to your job as a parent. You may think that all the mistakes you made are worthless, but you’re wrong. Everything that happened in your life made you who you are. Every success, failure, and misstep has value in this mission."

- Dr. Robert Zeitlin

What if as parents, we are enough including our flaws? In fact, what if we contain all the superpowers needed to make our kids superpowered too? 

I'm going to throw on my cape and read more up on my superpowers. How about all you Super Parents out there? What are your superpowers?

With gratitude Super Humans of today and tomorrow.

The week can carry on at an unbearable speed like a sloth running a marathon. It's blurry, exhaustingly slow and feels like the finish line is twenty-six miles too long. We can pick up our heads on Wednesday only to realize we have so many miles to go before we can plop down and have a break. However, when we make it to the day of the week that calls for a celebration, Friday, we should party.

Pull out a glass of wine, put on the Netflix and take some time to find gratitude in the day that was made to help us give up on the week.

Let's say thank goodness it's Friday.

Until tomorrow Weekend Warriors.

We all know food is good but what makes food taste amazing? A corndog baked in our oven at home doesn't hold a candle to a corndog consumed at the county fair. We can munch on store bought cookies that are like cardboard in comparison to mama's fresh baked chocolate chip delights. The fresh loaf of baguette from the grocery store pales in comparison to the warm buttery goodness stuffed in our mouths on the cobblestone streets of Paris. 

When my husband was in high school, he took a class in home economics. When his friend Tony and him made a recipe as part of their homework, they listed "love" as one of the ingredients. Consequently, a deduction of points was taken from their final grade because "love isn't an ingredient."

But teacher Ms. Grumpy Pants was wrong.

Love is an ingredient.

Love is what turns food from good to "let's make this recipe forever."

Food holds memories together in every culture and space. It is a substantial atom of humanity and recipes are the scrumptious bond that unites us all. Babcia's handcrafted mushroom soup is a perfect mountain song as it calls families together. Warm braided challah bread is magnetic in its appeal to draw neighbors over for a slice. The BBQ that Uncle Horacio slowly smokes over 4th of July weekend makes friends appear out of the woodwork. 

Recipes are biographies of people and places where we share our gratitude for each other. We often wait for just the right time or holiday to make that ever special dish. However, what if today we picked a recipe, the beloved one, and just made it? 

Today, I searched through my recipes trying to locate just the right one to try. Growing up in Midwest, most of the recipes collected over the years contain either strawberry jello or a healthy cup of thigh growing mayonnaise, sometimes both. There was the chocolate Texas sheet cake recipe that a co-worker passed on to me years ago and a rhubarb coffee cake recipe artfully handwritten by my grandmother. Digging deeper and deeper into the family cookbooks and recipe boxes didn't turn up anything interesting.

I then thought about my husband's grandma who had recently returned to Warsaw Poland after living in the United States for forty plus years. My husband often would reminisce about how she was the best blueberry pierogi, maker. He would often talk nostalgically about summertime and how he would pick a pint of fresh blueberries. He would then beg her to slave for hours in the kitchen to make him a few little pierogi gems. 

I did a little internet research and made a blueberry batch today. When my husband took the first bite, the room filled with joy as the pierogi transported him back to summertime when he was eight-years-old. My daughter then got to take her first bite and melted with delight. We added a new recipe to our immediate family's cookbook, and the joy and gratitude felt on a humdrum Tuesday united a generation before us and behind us.

The recipe for blueberry pierogi can be found here on "My Polish Kitchen."

With Gratitude. Until tomorrow friends.

Great friends are pillars in our lives. They carry us across the finish line when we can't take another step in this hard race called life. They are the first to hold our hands when parents go, and partners leave. They call us when we lose our job, and our bank account is empty. They go out of the way to make us feel like we are important and worthy of feeling loved in this world. 

The older I get, the more I realize friends come and go in our lives. The friends that hold our hands today might be traveling the world tomorrow. The friends that call us to check in might find themselves with families in which to tend. Friends that once slept on our couch are now deeply entrenched in their career. Many think of friendship as a wooden door. The door is either open or closed. Best friends forever is a permanent law that rules the universe. Friends must always remain as close as the skin on our bones. We want friendships to be as tight as the knit on a fisherman's sweater.  

However, as life moves along, it has become apparent that being lucky enough to encounter friendship is like floating in a warm summer pool. Good people drift by, and we soak in the summer rays together. One day the wind pushes us apart, and we begin to float. As the winds become bigger, they push us further away. It's important to note that we never say goodbye. We explore different parts of the pool. Sometimes we drift closer and sometimes further away.

Some might think this idea is sad. We might think friendship should be the act of clinging to each other until the end. A different perspective might be, open ourselves up to whoever drifts by as it will bring on so much more joy. Letting go of friends as they drift away will bring on so much more compassion. As the pool gets larger, the connections become greater, and we can then resign ourselves to the brevity of it all. Only then will we find gratitude in the fact that nothing is concrete and that friendship like a warm summer day isn't endless but as wide as life itself.

With gratitude friends.

We work on things that have significant meaning to us. We strive to get to the end to taste the sweetness of victory. Whether it's running a marathon, raising children, getting a degree, or selling a start-up, there is a tremendous pull to get things complete and done. We look forward to the end as it is the point where we can eat the pudding and savory each bite. It is the moment we cross the finish line, ship our kids off to a life of their own, get our diploma or sell or business for an enormous profit that brings joy to our lives.

Or is it?

Perhaps just like life, waiting to enjoy something until the end only brings us pain.

The idea of finding joy, in the method, holds true for anything in our lives. The harder the process, the more we grow. It's the journey that fills us up and makes life delicious. It's the people we meet along the way, and the moments leading up to the finally where true gratitude resides. Perhaps, stopping to savor the moments before we sit down to eat our pudding will ensure gratitude and joy even in the end?

I'm going to try. How about you?

Until tomorrow friends.

Some of us fixate on perfect bodies. The media mesmerizes us with things to buy and things to make us look better, younger and more perfect. Society tells us joy can be purchased with a new handbag, going to the gym at 4 am or applying a $140 anti-aging cream. However, who sells things to help our soul? No one because we love ourselves and all our imperfections.

Wait, do we?

Well, we should because we are all beautiful works of art. We are stunning, masterful, breathing, self-healing, sculptures that sprint around every day with the power to change things. We have the ability to sculpt the art around us, but that requires loving ourselves. It compels us to find gratitude for ourselves and every single one of us who walk the planet.

For me, that's a hard pill to swallow. I am the first person to pick on myself in the morning and the last person to tell myself I'm not good enough at night. What if 15 times today, we simply repeat "I shine."

Does the day end more joyful? Do we feel gratitude for ourselves?

Let's try.

Until tomorrow friends.

If we want to find gratitude in the world around us, we have to ask ourselves a fundamental question.

What is important in our lives?

In this money driven metric society that bombards us, let's stop for a moment and reframe the question.

If compassion were a currency, what or where would we spend our money?

This question provides a whole different way of looking at our lives. I would spend my compassion coin on my children. While I contain a universe full of gratitude for their two beautiful souls, I also lack compassion when it comes to things that require patience. For example, when I need to repeat myself twenty times, so shoes slip on and we get out the door on time. At that moment, I need to dig deep into my pocket and pull out my coin purse full of compassion currency. It will pay for an extra round of patience. Only then will I find true gratitude in the moment.

How will you spend your compassion currency today?

Until tomorrow friends. 

We can often humdrum around looking for the good in our lives, at least I do. Someone asked me today "How is 40?" I replied with "I'd rather be 20," but in hindsight, that was a terrible response. My birthday weekend contained laughter and a big celebration with amazing friends and family. None of the people I celebrated with this weekend were around when I was in my 20's. My life wouldn't have been the same without them. It made be realize I need to work on one thing in my 40's:

Gratitude.

Sure things aren't perfect, and the wrinkles are appearing faster than zucchini on a summer vine. However, life is good, sweet and full. It brought me to the question of why can't we point out the good stuff? Why don't we spend more time cultivating things in our lives that bring joy? Maybe the key to a full life is finding compassion for ourselves and then others? 

I hear cultivating gratitude is important as it is the driver of compassion. Compassion is what we need to connect each of us together every day. A wise man once told me compassion turns into joy.

Each day this week I'll be posting one thing where I find gratitude. 

Follow along and let me know "Where do you find gratitude in your life?"

Until tomorrow friends.

Are you a mom? No? Well, keep reading anyway because everyone needs to know why every mom on this planet is tired. In fact, we are exhausted, pooped, spent, weary, tired-tired, drained and finished. We would like nothing more than to curl up in a deprivation room to sleep for a week. It's overwhelming being a mom. The other day I was talking to someone who didn't have children. They offered up how they pattern their day for success. It went something like this:

• 6:15 - 7:00 Meditation & Shower
• 7:00 - 7:30 Breakfast (Protein focused)
• 7:30 - 8:30 Listen to Podcast
• 8:30 - 11 am Creative time. Work.
• 11am - 1pm Lunch & Collaboration
• 1 - 2 pm Go for a nice walk /Go for a run
• 2 - 4pm Email & Accounting
• 4 - 5 pm Focused Learning By Course Work
• 6 - 7 pm Dinner & Drinks with friends
• 7 - 9 pm Catching the latest documentary or art film
• 9 pm Bedtime

First, it took me at least 15 minutes to understand this list. It was as if someone handed me a pooping purple unicorn. From a mom's point of view, it's the finest piece of fiction I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Let me say I don't doubt the person who wrote the list does what is on the list. I'm not calling them I liar; I'm just in awe someone has time to do all the things on the list and write the list and email the list. After the bullet points had soaked themselves into my mush of cerebral cortex, I murmured under my breath "God bless this person."

The bullet point that seemed the most unrealistic was the last bullet point: "9 pm bedtime." The last time I went to bed at 9 pm was the year 2011 when I was hauling around a human inside my womb. That was six years ago. Plus, bullet point person most likely acquires a whole night of interrupted sleep. They probably snooze for eight hours without someone getting right in their face at 4:35 am demanding a freshly made breakfast burrito and a few episodes of a desperately loved cartoon about a pack of wild dogs who pull together to save the world all supervised by a mayor who is in love with a chicken.

Point number one to recognize, moms don't get enough quality sleep. Write that down, please. 

Second, bullet point set for 1 pm - 2 am made me spit out my coffee. Who has time to "Go for a nice walk/Go for a run" in the middle of the day? The most running I do is running after a 4-year-old to make sure his pants don't fall off. Besides making sure clothing says on, and sensitive body parts stay hidden, we have to encourage, develop, and grow our families into productive organisms of society. We also need to physically carry our children wherever we go. Every day we run to the next stop and spot. Our time isn't spent on "me time" but everyone "just stay live time." 

Point number two, recognize moms spend our time making everyone complete. It's physically and emotionally draining. 

The bullet points for "Lunch & Collaboration" and "Dinner & Drinks with Friends" need to be clarified. Are the bullet points saying this person eats a full and balanced meal without interruption? Let me just mention for the past six years I have been buying organic fruit and vegetables for the entire family. Someone told me that in order for my family not to grow horns, I had to feed everyone $5 pints of organic strawberries grown on a farm one mile from the Pacific ocean. My kids love to eat the entire pint in one sitting while I stare on. It came to my attention although most of my life savings are used to buy to fresh produce, I rarely eat any of the perfect groceries I bring home.

Last point, mom is most likely malnourished. Buy her a fruit salad.

And then make her this smoothie because it's good for her and it might give her a bit of a jump start. More importantly, every mom is doing a hard job raising the next members of society every day with little to no time to care for themselves and they are tired. Very, very tired.

Mother Lover Smoothie

• 8oz coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1 cup frozen organic blueberries
• 1 packet of frozen acai berry smoothie pack
• 8 oz Health-Ade Kombucha Ginger-Lemon flavor

Step 1: In a microwave safe bowl, heat the coconut oil in the microwave for 15 seconds or until it becomes a liquid. Stir in the turmeric and black pepper.  

Step 2: Place the mixture in a blender. Add the coconut milk, honey, blueberries, smoothie pack and Kombucha. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately and with an hour set aside for a nap for mom.

The last bullet point should be:

• Make it a point to take care of every mom in your life today and every day. Forever and always. They are divine.

Until tomorrow Mother Lovers.

It's just around the corner. Hopefully, we have placed an order for the biggest bunch of flowers money can buy, made the reservations for a delightful Sunday meal or shipped out a thoughtful handmade card to celebrate a woman or the women that make our lives better. Moms do so much. It's a hard job being a mom, and at times it can be pretty thankless. That's why it's important to stop if we haven't started the Mother's Day planning, do it today. Make this Mother's Day the biggest, best WOW moment for any woman who has done it all for us and continues to do it all for us every day.

Just in case you need a card to tell mom how terrific she is. Here is a FREE card for download.  

Until tomorrow Mom Lovers.

This post contains affiliate links.

Every year, we try to find something to make the moms in our lives feel extra special. Mothers do so much for us. We are not just talking about our personal mamas. We are talking about ALL the women in our lives that help us every single day. Thank goodness for the mom down the street that picks up our kids when we are running late. Thank heavens for the mom that drops off meds when we are too sick to go to the store. Bless the mom that brings us wine when we are losing our minds. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the mom that reminds us to take care of ourselves.

Every mom on this planet has come to a moment where self-care needs to be first on the list of things to do. However, sometimes the power of a mother's unconditional love is so overwhelming that we forget that we need to love ourselves too.

My friend Natascha and I were talking the other day about how moms, including us, need to take care of ourselves. She is a firm believer in holistic care or caring for the body as well as the emotional side of one's being.

And women alive! Being a mom requires the need for lots emotional support and well-being.

That's why Natascha is an advocate for using essential oils. She feels they are effective, accessible, easy to use, affordable and most importantly help support emotions so our bodies can work at optimal levels. Stress can wreak havoc on our bodies and manifest itself in many ways including aches, pains, eczema, foggy thinking, sluggish movement, depression, tiredness, and sleepless nights.

Natascha invited me to test out some of the dōTERRA oils she recommends. It was a lovely few hours experimenting and learning. Some oils may help calm and energize. Some oils may help to purify and clarify. Some oils may help to clear breathing and support digestion. It was interesting to hear how each of the oils could offer a level of support in some way and how she uses these oils to create something important in her life.

Natascha gifted us this lovely Morning Mama Body Scrub recipe. This DIY scrub makes the skin feel amazing. More importantly, it will make any mom create a moment to pause and take care of herself. This recipe smells lovely, is easy to make and is a simple DIY gift for Mother's Day and beyond.

Morning Mama! Body Scrub*

• 1 cup organic sugar (fine or granulated)

• 1/4 cup organic coconut oil

• 2 tablespoons of Vitamin E oil {affiliate link}

• 7 drops of doTerra essential Spearmint oil

• 7 drops of doTerra essential Rosemary oil

• 7 drops of doTerra essential Wild Orange oil

• A heavy duty glass or plastic jar (think recycled but use an appropriate plastic jar. Not all plastic is suitable for essential oil use.) 

• A ribbon and FREE downloadable tag here

*Sensitivity to the scrub or an allergic reaction could occur. Discontinue use if a reaction occurs. Remember to use caution and care when bathing or showering with any scrub.

Step 1: Place sugar and coconut oil in a bowl and combine. Add the Vitamin E Oil and the dōTERRA oils and stir well.

Step 2: Add the scrub to the jar and decorate with the tag and ribbon. There will be plenty of essential oil to make many more jars of body scrub. 

Thanks to Natascha, this delightful scrub offers any mom a moment of self-care for her body, mind, and spirit. If you would like to learn more about essential oils contact Natascha here:

Natascha Puchner-Doppler

npuchner@gmail.com

mydoterra.com/npd

Until tomorrow Mama friends.

It's hard to see it in ourselves. It's the part of us that makes us human and divine. We never think the human part is the brilliant part of us. It's too close to imperfect to be good enough to share. The wrinkles get hidden away with a quick fix. The misspelling and grammar are quickly corrected. The pressed shirt is worn to present our personality as crisp and effortless. Money is thrown at a bigger and better education hoping we will seem worthy and smart. We file toenails and pluck eyebrows. We suck into suits and parade in high heels. There are the self-help books, we read and the diets we attempt. Why are we constantly trying to cover, fix and hide our imperfections? We are all human.

We can't see ourselves for what we have become, and we don't want to let failed expectations become apparent to others. We spend a lot of energy picking the right parts to display to the world. We have convinced ourselves they don't need to be interesting and real. We tell ourselves fitting in is easier than being ourselves. We place more emphasis on impressing than being. However, as humans, we fail a lot, and failure is human. It is the brilliant part of us.

We spend most of our days grooming ourselves to be brilliant. What if being is the part of us that is the most brilliant?

Shine bright friends. Until tomorrow.

Sometimes we just need to celebrate. There is nothing that makes a celebration more of a party than a cake. Nope, not cupcakes, a plate of brownies or a pan of rice crispy treats. What honors life in a perfect way is a sugary, frosted layered of sweet goodness. However, sometimes cake gets a bad wrap. It's proper and formal. It requires a lot of fuss and maintenance. It is the diva of the dessert world. However, here are 5 ways make a cak, even more, festive and more fun.

1. Eat Cake With Your Hands.
2. Eat Cake While Drinking A Margarita.
3. Eat Cake While Dancing.
4. Eat Cake With A Friend.
5. Eat Cake While Singing A Song From Cake.

Let's get down to celebrating.

See you tomorrow Party Goers.

I'm done with 40, and I haven't even turned 40 yet. 

Most people sail through their 40th birthday with flying colors. They don't have a mid-life crisis or a mental meltdown. However, it can happen to any of us at any age. We get trapped by our expectations on what life could be, and what we believe it should be. One day It suddenly becomes unclear of the position of our life, and everything is gray, muddy and unfocused.

We have friends who try to help by peppering us with questions and offering us suggestions on how to gracefully glide into 40. They keep telling us the world is still our oyster.

But what if the world is our oyster and we allergic?

Perhaps we need to look for the pearl.

Until tomorrow friends.

Yesterday was the 1st of May or the day some of the world sets aside to celebrate spring. When I was a kid my mom, and I would make a May Day basket every year. May Day baskets have fallen out of popularity since the get-off-my-lawn privacy has infiltrated our lives. However, at one time May Day baskets were a sweet little way to celebrate life. 

When I was a kid, my mom and I would pull out the construction paper and make a cone shaped vase. We would then go out to her garden and pick a bunch of perfect flowers. After hopping into the old blue pick-up truck, we would tip toe over to our neighbor's house. I'd jump out of the truck and sneak up slowly to Carol's door, set the flowers on her step, knock and run! 

Carol never opened the door or peeked to see who was there. I always thought she didn't know who left the flowers and I was proud that I was so speedy with my delivery. Years later, Carol told my mom, every year she watched me deliver the flowers but wanted me to have a moment of thrill. She wanted me to enjoy the moment. 

Years later, I sent Carol a bouquet of flowers on May Day. This time she was surprised that I had remembered our May Day shenanigans. It's funny how things we create today can have an impact on the present and future. Little moments, we stop to enjoy, can forever change who we are and the connections we make. 

Until tomorrow Rosebud.

Day 152 - Hey! Recovering from a long weekend can be tough. It's hard to pull ourselves out of bed the morning after too many pieces of flag cake and the a big mound of BBQ ribs provided by yesterday's Memorial day picnic. Getting the week started on a Tuesday is kinda tough sometimes and the idea of hiding under the covers seems pretty appealing today.

Not to mention todays post is a total failure. I keep telling myself it just happens sometimes. In fact, we should fail more often than not but today's post ended up uncomfortable. It was suppose to be about styling a perfect photoshoot. For the record, styling isn't something that comes naturally to me. After four hours of shopping, beautifying and shooting photos, I ended up just laughing at the whole preposterous idea of today's creation. Let's just agree that I created less style and more mess today.

First, let me start by saying styling is a tough job. Making something or someone look amazing is hard work and it takes a special craft to make it look effortless. Check out some of these Instagram accounts: The Darling Detail, Food 52,  Ash Rose Conway and Oh Happy Day to get a sense of great styling. In the meantime, here are some lessons learned from my failure today.

Lesson #1: Hire a photographer. Don't try to use the automatic timer on the camera to take an interesting style photo. You will end up with this:

Lesson #2: Who are these style bloggers who take attractive selfie photos of themselves from above? Yes, thank you. I have captured a great out of focus photo of my feet. Very stylish.

Lesson #3: Plan your photoshoot and the location. Otherwise:

Lesson #4: Hire a real model. Otherwise you will be forced to use a photograph of your out of shape leg.

Lesson #5: Ignore pre-planning just throw random stuff on an unmade bed and don't worry about reflections.

Lesson #6: Styling is work.

Yep, you guessed it. Today's project is to style something and take a photo or in my case two-hundred and fourteen. Take extra time and attention to style the way your cereal sits in a bowl, the order your desk is organized or the pieces that make up your Tuesday morning outfit. Was it easy or hard to create style today? I need to get back to thinking about lessons learned and adding some more bronzer to my forehead. Until tomorrow, keep styling and watch out for those pesky reflections.

Day 151 - Hello! It's Memorial day here in America and today is a day to remember people lost. It's also a day to celebrate being with family. My brood decided to create memories today and take a trip to the sea shore together. It wasn't an especially beautiful day here. The sky was overcast some of us were a bit grumpy and the traffic turned from smooth sailing to snarled. It wasn't looking good to be a great day. In fact, I was about to turn the whole team around and go home when we decided to take a quick walk on the beach.

I was anticipating with the cranky environment brewing, the walk was going to last no more than five minutes. What I didn't anticipate was something magical was created when we went "see shelling." That is, we created a game to see who could find the most seashells. We also took time to see every shell and take a close look. It turned into a treasure hunt at the beach and created a day that will forever be one of the highlights of seeing my kids grow up. 

Today's project is to take time to create a new way to spend with family. Make up a game, bake a cake, go for a walk or make a phone call but create a new way to spend time together. When I say family, I mean friends too. Find a creative way to hang out and make memories. It's amazing how a simple creative idea can turn a potential bad moment into a great day and create forever lasting moments.

Enjoy the time together and keep looking for those "see shells." You know what they say, there is a pearl in every oyster. "Sea" you tomorrow beachcombers!

Day 150 - Greetings from the land of lemons. Yep, we have a lemon tree and boy is it full of fruit. Personally, I love everything about a lemon. They are delicious in just about anything. Lemons can be used to clean stuff and beautify the body inside and out. Who doesn't love a cup of hot water with lemon? Nothing says summer better than a glass of cold, sweet, tart lemonade. A bowl of lemons sitting out on a counter says home sweet home. In short, lemons are an amazing little fruit and make life lovely.

Today, grab some lemons. What can you create with them? I'll leave this creating project up to you today. Maybe it's a piece of artwork or a homemade lemon, gin and tonic? How about a lemon tart? A lemon photo still life? Make up a game with the lemons and call it lemon toss. Paint a room lemon yellow.

Well, whatever project you decide may it be sweet and sour. I've got to get back to sipping on some lemonade and enjoying the start of summer. See you tomorrow lemon heads!

Day 149 - Hey you. It's Saturday! Who wants to create something delicious? Me! Me! Me! How about something that involves lots of chocolate? Me! Me! Me! How about something healthy? (insert crickets noise here). Healthy? How can chocolate and health go hand in hand? Well, funny you should ask that question. If you are looking to create some indulgence with less guilt, I have a pretty delicious recipe to start Saturday.

This week has been full of creating in the kitchen and whipping up healthy food. I guess you could say I am working on creating a more healthy body and mind. Studies show that the food we eat plays a big part in our mental well being and chocolate can actually be a passive source of revenue. Ok, I lied about that last part but I bet you are paying attention now.

Maybe to get your attention more, let's remember the Chia Pet commercials from the 80's. Here is a refresher: 

It turns out chia seeds are great for selling novelty items at Walgreens and chia seeds are also a super food. That is to say, there is an incredible amount of nutrition packed into a tiny little seed. Chia seeds are high in fiber, magnesium and protein. Let's use these little super heroes today and whip up a batch of super dark chia seed chocolate mousse.

Ch-Ch-Chia Chocolate Mousse 

Makes 4 servings

• 1 cup coconut cream
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup coco powder
• Berries or other garnish (optional)

Step 1: In a bowl combine coconut cream, water, chia seeds, honey, vanilla and coco powder. Whisk till smooth. Pour into four individual bowls and cover. Let set for 10 min to overnight.

Step 2: Serve with berries or other garnish. Enjoy!

Well, what do you think about chia seeds? Drop me a note and let me know how you like the mousse. I need to get back to creating ways to combine eating chocolate and making money. See you tomorrow chia pets!

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Day 148 - Hola Everyone. TGIF. I usually reserve Friday night as the junk night. I  binge watch movies such as "San Andreas," which, by the way, is a cinematic tour de force. Oh! and I pig out on dark chocolate peanut butter cups.

However, there are no peanut butter cups in our house today. Someone in my family has decided to go on a slow carb diet. What is a slow carb diet? I don't want to tell you specifics because frankly I don't know. I can tell you a slow carb diet means there is no bread, no sugar and no fun happening in our house right now. I might as well cue up a war documentary for tonight's veg out time. I would be a perfect complement to living with someone who has pulled the plug on fun eating. It's admirable that said person is trying a slow carb diet so they live longer. However, what kind of dinner do you create for someone who eats a can of beans for breakfast?

Well, after some research on slow carb diets, it seems like green leaves are an acceptable slow carb item. In that case, salad is on the menu for tonight. Actually, this is a report on the dinner made last night with left overs for tonight. The best part of the salad was the delicious Venus Verde dressing which made us want to lick our plates clean.

Where did I get such an delicious and amazing recipe? Gwyneth Paltrow's Green Goddess dressing recipe is hands down one of the best salad dressing recipes ever created. It's spicy, herby and tangy. It works great as a veggie dip as well as dressing for salad. Since the weekend might hold a party or two, let's create a batch of this Green Goddess dressing which I have renamed Venus Verde. It turns out if you use the whole jalapeño, things go from Green Goddess to Venus Verde very quickly. However, the original Green Goddess recipe can be found in Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook: "IT'S ALL GOOD: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look And Feel Good"{affiliate link}

Venus Verde Dressing  

• 2/3 cup sheep's yogurt or greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 2 scallions, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup lime juice (2-3 limes)
• 1/2 jalapeño, roughly chopped 
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar

Step 1: Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Blend till smooth. Place in a air tight jar for up to one week.

Step 2: Enjoy this kick-in-the-pants dressing on ripe avocados, fresh corn and sliced tomatoes. Dress a full salad or give veggies a bath in green goodness. For the record, when I presented the salad to my kids, they looked at if someone had just handed them a plate of barf. They also both also started crying in unison. So this recipe isn't for everyone. Well, I'm off to cue up a war documentary and dream about peanut butter cups. See you tomorrow goddesses!