One Wish...

I have the unfortunate habit of waking up in the middle of the night.  You know, oh say around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and for the life of me cannot get back to sleep no matter what I do!  Sadly, when I do find that sleep again it is time for me to wake up and get on with the day.  ~sigh~  It really wears you out, you know?

Lately I've found that watching those swirly light patterns you get behind your eyelids strangely relaxing. {Please tell me I'm not the only one who sees these sorts of things!  Sometimes they're dots that move around, or swirly shadows or something.  You see them too, right?  Ok, good!  Just checking!}  So I just close my eyes and watch and somehow it clears my mind!  So the other night I was doing this while trying to get back to sleep when all of a sudden ... I was being spoken to ...

A gentle voice asked me ... 

"What is it you truly want?"

and without hesitation,
I answered ...

"Sleep".

Next thing I knew 

I was waking up to my alarm 

and the sun was rising. 

Then it hit me.

What???

Sleep???

I'm asked by what could be The Divine

what I truly want

and I ask for sleep???

Really???

Instead of asking for the chance just to be

a stay~home mom instead of

a work~at~home mom

or

to lose this stubborn baby weight

that just will not come off 

no matter what I do

or

to know what my divine purpose is

I ask for sleep???

Hopefully The Divine just smiled

as the wise old parent does

and patted my soul on the head and said,

"Yes, you really are tired.  

Rest your weary soul.

We can discuss this later."

I'm sure He knows that what I asked for

in the moment isn't

necessarily what I truly desire

in the grander scheme of things

~ after all, He knows the desires of my heart.

Or maybe my greatest wish after all, really is sleep!

If you were granted one wish

what would it be?

You already know mine!

photo via

Lunch Bunch: Easy Dinner Ideas

This is turning out to be rather interesting.  This months Lunch Bunch is all about easy dinner ideas you can pull from when you just don't want to cook anything.  And the funny thing {to me} is that I really don't want to cook anything lately, and I'm even having a hard time trying to get this post finished, because frankly, I'm just not in the mood.  It must be the weather.  All the rain is beginning to affect me I think!

So!  In reality, I probably really need this post!  So without further adieu {or is it ado in this case?  See?  I'm stalling again!}, let's get to some of my favorite easy dinner ideas:

Pastas are always easy.  It just takes a few minutes to cook the noodles and it can be as simple as noodles and heating up sauce if you really want.  Here is one of my favorite pasta versions:

My Version of Olive Garden's

Capellini Pomodoro

Angel hair pasta {or spaghetti}
4-5 fresh tomatoes, chopped {or drain a can of diced stewed tomatoes if you're super short on time and don't want to take the time to chop your own}
1 clove garlic, minced
Basil, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil


Cook angel hair pasta {or spaghetti}.  Add tomatoes to cooked pasta and add 1 minced clove of garlic and sprinkle enough basil to pepper it nicely.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Mix together well into cooked pasta.

This pasta is an intuitive recipe for me and very forgiving.  Not a lot of measuring, or exact ingredients.  I just sort of wing it.  If you want more tomatoes {or less}, add them {or subtract them}. Open a bag of salad and you're ready to go!  {See?  I don't even want to take the time to wash my salad sometimes!  Pre-washed and cut can be a lifesaver!}

Let Someone Else Cook

Another easy dinner idea is to let someone else do the cooking for you!  No, I don't mean run out and grab a fast food hamburger or anything!  I mean, run to the store and grab a whole roasted chicken from the deli!  Then all you have to do is heat up some frozen veggies on the side to round it out.  Easy peasy!

Let's see, what else?

Dinner salads!  

 Like I said above,
Pre-washed and cut salad mixes are genius!
Here are two of my favorites!

Southwestern Salad

Salad:

1-2 cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Shredded or diced chicken, optional

Shredded cheddar cheese

Diced tomatoes

1-2 bags chopped romaine lettuce

1/2 bag of crushed tortilla chips

Ranch Dressing:   {do not use a bottled ranch for this salad ~ trust me!  It will taste all wrong if you do!}

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp onion salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried parsley

Combine dressing ingredients and mix well.  Combine everything in a bowl, cover with ranch dressing and mix well to coat.  

Again, the amounts are more to taste rather than specific amounts.  This is also a very forgiving recipe.  The ingredient list looks longer than I like when I'm not in the mood to cook, but it really doesn't take much time to throw this one together.  I like the crunchiness the crushed tortilla chips give to this recipe.    

Want an even easier ranch dressing for this salad?  Then just use the dry buttermilk ranch dressing packets you can buy at the store ~ just don't use a pre-made bottled ranch dressing, I'm begging you!  Just don't do it! 

Apple Tomatillo Dinner Slaw

Salad:

1-2 bags premixed coleslaw {without dressing in it}

2-3 apples, chopped in pieces

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Diced chicken, optional

Dressing:

1 pkg dry buttermilk ranch dressing

3 tomatillos

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup cilantro

1 clove garlic

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix salad ingredients together in a large bowl.  Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend.  It will thicken gradually.  Pour dressing over salad to coat it, and mix well.

This salad looks like it has a lot of ingredients too, but it is super fast because you just throw the dressing in the blender and let the blender do the work.  You don't even need to chop the cilantro before throwing it in, just measure it and push the start button!  The hardest part of this recipe is chopping the apples!  Love that!

~ ~ ~

Ok, that's about all I've got right now besides grilled cheese sandwiches and popping a can of tomato soup open!  So now it's your turn ~ help a girl out!  Meet me in the comments and tell me your favorite easy don't want to cook dinner ideas!  Please!  I'm begging you!  :D

Just A Quick Little Note

I know the Lunch Bunch post was supposed to go up today, but I've been gone most of the day, doing this {among other things!}:

The weather was so gorgeous we decided to hike up Waterfall Canyon today. It was so worth it!  And since then I've been going non~stop all day long and am now completely exhausted!  I will throw the post up tomorrow or Monday for those who want to contribute anything!

Have you done anything fun this weekend?

What Put ~B. Into Near Bliss?

Sorry about that cliff hanger yesterday.  

But what I am about to show you 

just seemed to deserve its own post.

The thing that put me 

almost over the edge in bliss 

the other day were these:

These

eat~out~of~the~bowl, 

to~die~for 

{and healthy}

MACAROONS!!!

 They are super easy to make

here is how:

Macaroons

If you can't find some of these ingredients,

then check your local health food store

or specialty supermarket!

2 cups shredded, unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup raw unsalted, unroasted almonds {ground into a powder in your blender}

2/3 cup agave nectar 

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp pure vanilla

1/8 tsp sea salt

Combine everything in a bowl.  Scoop out in spoonfuls and squeeze them in your hands to form a tight little ball, then flatten them out and place on either a teflex dehydrator sheet or cookie sheet.  If you are dehydrating them, then dehydrate for 6-8 hours at 115 degrees.  If you are baking them in the oven, then bake them for about 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees, but watch to be sure you don't burn them and adjust the time if necessary.

Oh the blissful yumminess!!!

{Sorry, I really kinda like macaroons}

On a side note, this month's Lunch Bunch will go live tomorrow over here.  I am making this completely virtual now because my local friends and I are having a hard time coordinating our schedules to make this work.  So! If you have something to contribute, please either post it on your own blog to link up or put it in the comments for everyone to see {and this includes YOU my local friends!  Don't just tell me the next time you see me!  I want you to start commenting too so that everyone can enjoy your contributions too}!  :D

This months focus is:

Easy Dinner Ideas ~ 

What do you make that is healthy 

when you are short on time 

or just don't feel like cooking?

Tell us tomorrow!

Now go forth and prepare

something delicious {and easy} to share! 

Not Always Pollyanna!

So by nature I'm typically a happy go lucky sort of person. Does that mean I am always happy?  Nope.  In fact I have had periods of my life where I have suffered some pretty extreme bouts of depression.

And then sometimes I literally feel the weight of the world on my shoulders.  In fact, just last week I struggled to stay positive as I took in all the devastation of the recent tornadoes and flooding here in the U.S.  Add to this the recent troubles Japan has been facing after the earthquake and tsunami and I was really struggling.  My heart hurts for all the people affected by all these natural disasters! 

For some of us {aka me!}, watching the news is really not a good thing for my mental health.  I like to stay informed sure, but so much of the news is just depressing and my soul really needs light and hope as much as my body needs food and air!

The video I linked to yesterday of Carol discussing my type spoke a little about what my type of nature needs in order to stay light, happy, and hopeful.  These are some of the things I have learned over the years to help me cope when I'm feeling down or beginning to feel depressed ~ so here are some of the things I have been doing over the last few weeks to feed my soul and keep my spirits up.

1.  Some serious prayer and mediation.  I am a religious person.  This centers me.  I needed to spend time with my Creator to recenter myself and to remember the grand Plan of Salvation!  And I needed to send prayers and good energy to those who were suffering.

2.  But I also needed some fun and lightness.   Here are two things that made me laugh soo hard!

First, this college skit for all the
Jane Austen lovers out there {swoon!}:

{My husband and I laughed so hard at this one!
We even tried to talk like that for a few minutes!

Favorite part? The chest bump!}

And this one on ~ Zumba for men:

{Favorite part? Watch the two guys in purple shirts!

Hey, funny thing!  They are the same two 

from the James Austen clip!}

And 3.  I have to take action.  In the past, my daughter and niece have made sanitation kits for our favorite humanitarian organization to distribute.   This time my daughter and I are working on coordinating a quilting project for those in need who are affected by natural disasters.  A blanket or quilt can be a real comfort for children and those in these types of situations as well as something handy to help keep warm.  We are still working on all the details, but it feels good to do something!

I am a person who must dwell in happiness.  I just have to.  And I have to see the bright side.  And sometimes it is hard.   So for me, it's a mental health thing!

But do you want to know what put me almost over the edge in bliss yesterday?

Stay tuned, because I'm going to show you tomorrow!

~ ~ ~

What do you do to keep your spirits up?

My Experience With Dressing Your Truth {thus far}

I mentioned yesterday that I am so glad I took the leap into the Dressing Your Truth world ~ I really am!  I love that the system is based on your true nature as a woman and is very supportive and honoring about each woman's divine natures and abilities and gifts to the world {which are different for each of the types}.

I am classified as a Type 1.  You can watch a little about Carol discussing my nature type here.  {By the way, Carol is a Type 3}:



So her system is set up to teach you how to dress your nature in a way that will support your innate nature {or personality}.  It is really quite unique in it's fashion approach in this regard.  But I have to say, since beginning to dress this way I finally feel like I am coming home to myself!  And it has been quite liberating!

I feel like Dressing Your Truth has really helped me pull my authentic self together.  The authentic self portion was always the element that I felt was missing from so many style guides.  One persons list of essential items isn't going to be the same for everyone.  For some, the prescribed items will just look plain ol' silly {or dare I say, wrong!} on them!  I mean, you've seen people dressed in certain ways I'm sure that really just don't seem to jive with the person somehow.  No matter how hard they try, some people just cannot pull off certain looks without looking like an imposter.  It was always hard for me to put my finger on what that was and why.   And now I'm beginning to understand it.

I feel like I am finally creating the signature style that I have always wanted.  One that feels completely like me and not someone else's fashion ideal of what is or isn't considered the right way to dress.  And after all, isn't that what chicness is all about?   Knowing and honoring your own unique self and style?!


So my question today:

What is chic?  Is chic everybody looking the same?  Is chic a certain prescribed look?  A feeling?  An ideal?  Is it reserved only for people who wear certain brands or labels?  Or is chic a well put together expression of your authentic self?  Isn't that what je ne sais quoi is?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!  What does it mean to you?

Polyvore

I have been having a lot of fun on Polyvore lately.  Have you checked it out yet?  You can play around with outfit ideas {like I did before I purchased the pink pants ~ which saves you money btw!} and come up with all sorts of ideas you might not have thought of otherwise.  It is a great style refining tool!

Did you know I have a little icon right over here

<---

On my left sidebar

Where you can check out 

all my latest and greatest

outfit ideas that fit within

 my Dressing Your Truth type

{which I am loving btw!  
I'm so glad I took the leap!}

My personal style leans toward

clean cut
classic lines
and preppy styles!

I am trying to come up with ideas
that are things I would actually wear
like this:

Sunshine On My Shoulder by B.Yourself featuring rain boots

or this Ode to Carla Bruni

in the Contrex ad:

Here is my version:

Ode to Carla Bruni by B.Yourself featuring twist earrings

Here's the real ad if you want to see it:

See? Water is sexy my friends!

Ok, ok, enough with all this water discussion.

Let's bring this back around to fashion.

Carla Bruni's outfit is totally Type 1!

{well, actually mine is a little closer to a true Type 1!

My DYT friends will understand. Hi gals!}

~ ~  ~

Are you on Polyvore? 

Let's be friends!

Add me {B. Yourself} as a contact

so I can check out all the

fun ideas you are coming up with too!