How late is too late?

Remember me?

Wannabe author, salad eater, Yogini and diary-obsessed 34 and-a-half-year old French teacher?

Many moons ago I was somewhat regularly blogging in this, my self-appointed column on life according to me, and TRULY enjoying that I could publish something that someone other than me could read. I have thought about writing a new post many, many times since my last one about Yoga at the Beach -- and here I am at the end of October wondering how time has passed me by without writing a new post?!?!? I love writing-- so what happened? Where are the posts?

Not to say that I have moved away from writing and my other passions-- the summer produced 157 pages of my first novel--- and I'll rejoin that draft now that school is figured out. I am teaching Yoga twice a week to a class of keen beginner students and a class of hard-core athletes and practitioners-- and I love sharing that passion and meeting such amazing folks at the studio. I'm still hooked on journaling, big walks, tea sipping, red wine and healthy but yummy recipe creations. But I am soooo late on blogging that today I ask you the following.

In life, what is most true?
a) 'It's never too late' (a rather kind and forgiving mantra-- granny's words)
b) 'Too little too late' (crantankerous school marm or cynical dumpee's line....)
c) 'Better late than never' (eternal optimist who gets walked all over?)

I ask you, my phantom readers-- when does "I haven't ____ in so long" turn in to "It's too late to ______ now"? When is it too late to send a 'Thank you" card? When is it too late to start planning your finances for retirement? When is too late to start pilates again after surrendering to a jiggly midsection? When is it too late to call your friend Loulou who is expecting a baby soon and whose pregnancy you feel like you just learned about, to say 'hi and how are you'? When is it too late to say 'I'm sorry I was an asshole to you, Bingo, way back when--I was just insecure and stupid-- can you forgive me"? When is it too late to get to know your parents as people, as opposed to only as your parents?

I observe that rethinking of lateness is ubiquitous. Blockbuster Video had to alter their 'no late fees' plan, likely because people's libraries of videos grew while Blockbuster's shelves thinned out. Ages ago, smart workplaces instilled 'flexible work weeks'-- assuming that productivity would increase, but maybe it was just a pain in the butt trying to chase down all of the late employees to slap them on the wrist for being late. You don't have to be on time to watch tv because your PVR will be ready when you are. The economy could be in the state it is for ages because we're so late catching up on things we financed ages ago-- and will get a tax credit for renovating our homes with or without the available funds if we so choose. Why answer the phone when caller i.d. will tell you who to call back later, or not at all?

I have to believe that it's never too late to start again-- and smile today because it's never too late to post a new thought on your blog!

Salad Girl's tip of the post:
Set a timer for five minutes and list all the things you used to love doing but don't now do because it's been ages. Then choose one and do it!

The dangers of writing a novel

Greetings from my back yard office!

I have been delighting in the summer time "schedule" of a teacher. I still make five salads a week and love them so much for my lunch, but have recently discovered that Cumin is a cooling spice in Ayurveda, and my dosha imbalance suggests that I need more of a warming spice. So I have switched up my usual dressing to include turmeric. Oh, the things that can be learned when you have time. I am pondering whether the less than desirable conditions of being a French teacher who pushes a cart around from room to room are worth surviving when you get to have July and August. Today I feel like yes, but ask me in late August, or November, or late May and I'm sure I'll be singing a very different tune. In the meantime, for you non-teachers, don't hate us for having this time off. People like me savor every day, make nice meals for their husband, and love up their projects.

I have been enjoying writing my first novel. It's been in the works in my dreams for a long time, and pressing in my mind more recently. My fingers can't type fast enough, and I am playing fun games to trick myself in to writing with commitment, such as letting my favourite writers write "through" me, racing against a timer, pressing "Shuffle songs" on my iPod to find a hidden message in whatever song comes up, and treating myself to rewards like Soy Chai lattes or a new sparkly jelly roll pen when I reach my goals.

Will you read my book one day? It's light and cute and maybe even a bit inspiring.

Here are my thoughts on the negative side of being a writer:
1. Everything that happens to you gets catalogued, either in writing or in your mind, as a possible event, place or person for your book.
2. There is a constant feeling of “I should be writing…” when you are doing anything—even sleeping.
3. Everything around you becomes incredibly interesting—books, old letters, googling how to make soy yogurt, checking the weather.
4. You know what they say about the best laid plans…… you can plan and plan to write, but your commitment to your plans will be tested unbelievably every time you open your laptop. Your friend who you haven’t talked to in ages calls, a neighbor stops in and talks for half an hour with you, the car “check engine” light comes on, there’s a leak in the kitchen and you need to meet the plumber, Biography is doing a show on someone that fascinates you, etc etc.
5. Your secrets about the way you've always felt about people and their decisions cannot be kept secret any longer—the truth comes out in your words that you write. Will your family and friends forgive you?
6. You are constantly scared that what you are writing has been said already, or is unbelievable or naive.


Salad Girl's tip of the post: Try my new salad dressing concoction, which I have called
"Love Potion Number Nine"
Blend some strawberries (SO deliciously in season and sweet for another week where I live) and frozen orange juice concentrate, and add a bit of ginger root. To this puree, add some balsamic vinegar, some olive oil, and the bizarre combination of black pepper, half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper. We ate this over romaine lettuce, and sliced red, orange and yellow peppers... it was so peculiar yet so very yummy. xo

Yoga At the Beach

Dear reader,

Just wanted to share with you something that I am really excited about!

As my title indicates, I have a new project underway: Yoga at the Beach. I decided to put my Yoga teaching career back on track this summer since I have the time and energy, and at the urging of my good friend, Loulou, I am teaching once a week at Centennial Beach in Barrie! She encouraged me to get started and I am so glad. Special shout out to you, Loulou, for kicking my behind and getting my 7am class started.

Basically, I made up a flier and a cost for four sessions, and handed them out where it made sense-- at work, to my ultimate Frisbee teammates, to some neighbours. And I posted them at my chiropractor's office, at the osteopath's, the grocery store and some coffee shops. It's been so much fun getting people's phone calls, and even more fun was going down to the beach yesterday at 6:30 am to meet my students.

I want you to know how beautiful the waterfront is at 6:30 am. It had been a long time since I pulled myself out of bed to go somewhere immediately-- so I started practicing these past few weeks, to prepare for yesterday's Yoga teaching appointment. I never would have known how amazing the beach is at that time if I hadn't been down-- and you won't either if you don't go. The sky is amazing, and the water is so calm. The world feels so quiet and untapped. You have no idea until you get yourself there-- and even if you have already done this, it is different every single time! Trust me.

The people that you see are enough to get you there! In Barrie, and I would imagine anywhere else, the eclectic group of individuals out is the stuff of a great movie or novel: Dedicated dog owners, giving their dogs such joy by the water as they (the human, although maybe also the dog????) mentally prepare for the day ahead. The serene meditators. The Mom and Daughter combos pumping their arms into power walk. The type A business man getting ready for his fall marathon. The deadlocked rock star on his Rollerblades stopping at the lake for a workout and some sunlight before going to bed and then waking up in time for the next night's (or is it day's?) gig. Pairs of friends who are out running, likely having success here at this hour because they promised each other to meet up and who could bail on a friend expecting you at 6:30 in the morning? The widow who can't sleep in anymore because the bed feels strange without him, and coming to the lake has been her new thing.

Anyhow, Yoga at the Beach is underway and it was the BEST thing to be able to say: "As you inhale, bend the knees and step the right foot away from the water". I had grown so used to saying "away from the mirror", which inevitably makes students check themselves out in the mirror for bodily imperfections. As my small class of students lay back in savasana (final relaxation), I felt such glee at what we had done.

Looking forward to next Wednesday. Local folks, hope you will join us! Wednesdays in July and August, 7am-8am, on Centennial Beach-- next to the Lifeguard chair closest to downtown Barrie. Bring your own mat and wear layers.

Namaste!

Salad Girl's tip of the post: You guessed it: Get out of bed and get outside! Next to the water is so powerful, but anywhere-- a forest, a cheerful neighbourhood, even meandering your downtown office building's blocks at an early morning hour can be amazing. You won't regret it.

Lessons from saying goodbye

Hello again!

It has been a while since I blogged, and it's good to be back at the page again. I do write today a bit sadly, however, because in one week, I said goodbye to two good friends.

I didn't really understand what "Larger than Life" was until we moved to Barrie and met my neighbour and good friend, Bingo-- who was truly larger than life! A tall and boisterous man from Florida, who forever was inviting anyone around to have a chat and a beer, died in his sleep at the age of 62 after a cancer surgery while recovering at home.

And anyone who has had a pet knows how much of a role they play in your life-- as loyal friends, family members-- in fact, I could argue, perfect siblings. In the same week that Bingo died, I was with my sister, Loulou, as she put her beloved dog of twelve years down.

It is with much sadness that I was a part of saying goodbye to both of them. As a Yoga teacher, I have come to accept the notion that all things in life are meant to be a teacher to us. As a reader of my blog, it is likely clear to you that I am quite a list maker. So today's post is a list of lessons that both Bingo and Loulou have taught me in my time of knowing them.

Top lessons from Bingo
1. Get to know your neighbours. They have ended up on your street because the universe works in mysterious ways to bring us together-- so get to know them. That's why you're neighbours!
2. Be generous. There is no need to keep everything to yourself. We're here to share.
3. Make others feel beautiful. You make their day when you do so.
4. Politics matter. Take interest, and have an opinion for yourself.
5. No matter how busy you think you are, you always have time to talk to others. So stop and chat a while-- there is so much to be learned from our small chats.
6. Do everything with music that you love on in the background.
7. If you love to eat it, screw whether it is good for you or not-- just enjoy. There must be health in the joy that a certain food brings you that surpasses the nutrional value in it!

Top lessons from Loulou the dog:
1. Wake up each day, excited for what is about to happen.
2. Go with the flow—the details of where you end up don’t matter too much if you have the bare necessities with you.
3. Have all of the daily essentials for self care: lots of sleep, a good walk, just enough to eat, plenty of water, companionship and a good poop.
4. When you see someone you love, let them know it in your body language and on your face.
5. Life is all about the simple things that have cannot be bought—friendships, love, a yummy snack, a long walk in nature, being curious of what is out there around you, a back rub from someone you love.
6. When something gets under your skin, just shake it off.
7. Loyalty is an exemplary character trait. Be loyal to those you love.
8. Just be yourself—and allow yourself to be vulnerable. In taking the risk of being vulnerable, we can truly achieve intimacy, trust and closeness.
9. Don’t follow instructions if they do not align with your truest wishes.
10. Nothing is so awful in the world that it cannot be made much better by taking a nap.

Salad girl's tip of the post: When you have to say goodbye to someone, write them a letter to thank them for all they have taught you. This activity can be done much later than at the time if their death, and can be a repeat activity.

Girl, Interrupted

Oh dear. I was trying to decide what my topic would be this morning, when my topic found me. Something mildly mortifying just happened to me.

I returned last night, quite late, from Quebec City, where I had been a chaperon to the grade eight students from my school for their grad trip. A great week! Excellent 14-year olds' behaviour, fun tour guide, an opportunity to shop a bit at Simon's, night caps with great colleagues and beautiful weather, all of which involved no lesson planning or performance on my part. One point in the tally for teaching vs not teaching!

In any event, I returned home exhausted and welcomed my empty home and some 'me' time all weekend (husband due back from Ireland on Monday-- I miss him so much!). Rose at ten this morning and curled up on the couch with the cats in my jammies and some tea and the PVR'd Bachelorette when..... the doorbell rang. Assuming it was the Jehovahs or the chocolate covered almond people, I ignored it. Another ring. Peering out the window, I saw the car of our good friend from ultimate Frisbee, Bingo.

Bingo on my doorstep induced a mild state of panic, and I must explain why. Bingo is the guy who is just so. Just soooooo--- the nicest. The most athletic. The handiest and most resourceful worker. The hardest working person on the planet, perhaps. The most organized individual I have ever met. Always the winner at Board Games that involve brain skills. When we go to Bingo and his wife's house for dinner, their house is just so. Tidy, well decorated, spotless, fresh smelling, and very homemade with care for detail and love-- the food, the craftsmanship of the handiwork, the garden design, and so on.

Looking around my house, there were cat whiskers and dust bunnies, my unpacked and strewn luggage from last night's arrival on the floor, a sad looking plant that needed watering and likely a musty and cattish scent from having been an empty home with closed windows for five days. Looking at me, though I didn't have time to do so, revealed a bra less girl in her ratty PJ's, sleep-filled eyes, unbrushed teeth, messy hair, and even a hint of crusty leftover eye makeup under the eyes.

It turns out that he was here to borrow tools to build a deck. (A deck that will be just so, to be sure). As I lead him in to the garage and then the basement, two areas of the house that really could appear in one of those TV shows that the experts come and excavate and transform in to a mecca of organization and beauty, my feelings of embarrassment quickly went through shame, inadequacy, anger at my husband for being the garage dweller and user. Bingo politely found the tools, amidst navigating empty beer bottles, a garden hose, and some cat vomit that I swear was not on the carpet when I fed them this morning. s per usual, he was always maintaining great conversation and kind words. And off he went to build his deck, while I returned to my crap TV, slovenly couch set up and caffeinated beverage.

Opening the door and immediately rifling through my apologies and explanations to Bingo as to why I, and the front entrance of my home, was in such a sorry looking state, I had to wonder why I cared so much. Are my feelings about his judgment of me? Or are they about my judgment of myself? Here I am, a 34 year old woman with a fine life, and in this brief visit with Bingo, I felt like an insecure grade eight girl trying to keep up with the other kids on the dance floor Thursday night in Quebec city: awkward, and embarrassed by my appearance, my body, my outfit, my possessions, my place in society.

I would say that I vowed to get cleaning and primping in case another visitor should appear, but the truth is, I watched the end of the Bachelorette and might now dive in to a book that will segue in to a salad and a nap. My confession has made me feel much better, anonymous reader-- so thank you for reading! And Bingo, please see past the outer appearance, to the part of me that is just so-- the intentions, the dreaminess and the longing to be a good girl.

Funny Embarrassing Stories Others have told me (**sources shall remain anonymous for their protection):
1. farting loudly during Yoga class in downward facing dog while the teacher was adjusting you.
2. clogging the toilet at a new boyfriend's family cottage with a big poop and no access to a plunger.
3. playing with the neighbour's kids on their play set and breaking the slide when you tried to go down it.
4. going to your dad's new girlfriend's house for dinner and barfing in your mouth because you were so grossed out by her home and cooking.
5. being drunk at a university party and falling on your way out, chipping your two front teeth.
6. walking back to the dinner table on a first Internet date with the bottom of your skirt tucked in to your underwear

Salad Girl's tip of the post: It's an oldie, but a goodie-- tell others about your most embarrassing moments. I think I may have just peed my pants remembering all of these ones!

You can't HANDLE the truth!

For some reason, the issue of telling the truth has been following me all around this week.

As I watch others struggle with the decision of whether to be honest or not, and face my own investments in others when deciding how honest to be, I am wondering if honesty is always the best policy. And I am wondering, too, why we act like we want people to tell us their honest opinion, when really, it's scary letting someone else have the power to tell us what we don't want to say to ourselves---- I made a mistake. I was wrong. I am being foolish. I do need to change. I need to accept that someone can't change. I am being unreasonable. -- and the list goes on.

Is a friend asking your opinion because s/he wants to hear the truth or because she wants confirmation against what she most doubts and fears?

'Truth' is a very charged concept. We learn from very early on that we must tell the truth to our parents. A fictional boy had to tell the truth, or everyone would be on to him from one look at his growingly long nose. We learn that "The truth shall set you free", and that "'Tis a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive". On the other hand, many would argue that a little white lie can save someone's feelings. We learn that people like us when we are supportive, encouraging, positive, cheerleaders. And the truth teller gets coined rather negatively as cynical, or outspoken, or blunt.

This week, I say, poor, poor, Pinocchio. Maybe the poor guy just wanted to save his friendships, or back someone up who needed a boost, and maybe he didn't want to sound judgmental of others' decisions when he's no expert in their dilemmas' domain.

The truth is, I have opinions about what many people surrounding me have been consulting me about this week. I fear that I am tiptoeing around people I love, and worrying about them on the side, because I'm telling them what I think they want to hear. After all, I am a good girl-- I work with children and I eat salads every day! I don't want to rock boats or burst bubbles or be a naysayer. But I am not following the path towards honesty, and I am concerned for the decisions and attitudes around me and feeling a bit clairvoyant......

I think that giving someone the chance of getting back together after a breakup is going to lead lead you to further heartache. When somebody hasn't met your dreams and expectations the first serious and long-term time around, they are going to let you down again. I observe that people settle back in to the patterns of the original relationship the second time around anyway. We all get scared that there isn't anything better out there, but I am positive that we are all SO worthy of every little hope and desire we have!!!!! If something bombed out before, you'd better be very careful if you choose to go back for seconds.

I think getting engaged is a big deal, and if you are asking me if it's right for you, you are not ready. It's the biggest commitment of your life in the works-- half the world can't make it through because it's freaking hard, so why rush yourself in to it? I think that moving in together should be way more fun than work and stress. I'm not saying that it will always be peaches and cream-- but the spirit of fun and adventure should be WAY more a part of the moving in phase than the getting-used-to-the-way-you-do-things growing pains. I think that if you are fearing you are rushing things, you are! You have all the time in the world to get married and move in-- so why not enjoy the ride when the timing is right? What exactly is your rush all about?

I think if your dog is really suffering, you need to go through with putting her suffering to an end. She has been loyal and kind to you as long as you have had her, and it's going to kill you to let her go, but if it's time, it's time. She's stood by you, and it's time to stand by her. You'll get through-- eveything passes and your grief will too. You owe it to yourself to take care of yourself, but you owe this to her. Be strong.

And, Tanner, on the Bachelorette, I think you should tell Jillian exactly who has a girlfriend at home if you know-- you opened the can of worms, and you need to seal it up. Who could trust you now? You're a big coward for not being honest that you ratted someone out at the rose ceremony.

(Ok--- as I said-- it's a post about honesty-- so I confess-- I LOVE watching the Bachelorette... it is very contrary to the constant effort to better myself and get wiser but oh dear--- I do love it. )


I have to report to you, that I don't feel more free or less tangled after telling the truth here. I hope if you are reading this that you a) forgive me for my bluntness and b) think about what I have said.


Salad Girl's tip of the post: Be honest with yourself: how much untruth are you telling? And how much of it is to yourself?

It's all right to cry.....

Have you ever thought about how weird crying is?

I did today when I was weeping in my car, a habit that I seem to be quite unable to break, of late, while driving home from work. I am quite aware that my tears are not being caused by anything outside of myself and my frustrations with my day job.... but sometimes they just keep coming down. The tears, like all else, always pass, but today, I turned my frown upside down by thinking about the fact that crying is pretty f'd up. Salty water that comes from our eyes when we are upset, overjoyed, afraid, inspired.... ? Really, what a bizarre thing for we humans, and only we humans, to do!

Please let me clarify that I am not wacko--at least not completely--I'm just a cryer. Some people can't cry, I can't stop myself. I have been told that it's endearing, a useful tool for release, a sign that I am comfortable with my emotions, healthy. I would tell you that I enjoy a good cry, but the truth is, crying is a real pain in my ass. There is nothing cute about being an adult cry baby.

Friends and family members have an uncanny sixth sense to read my crying 'aura' before I even know that the tears are on their way. In fact, people who don't even know me are hardly able to say 'Are you okay, ma'am?' without mysteriously opening the floodgates. I have been told by stern relations that I need to grow a thicker skin, or settle down and knock it off-- but I swear to you that it's beyond my control! Would I ever like to be the Butta-cup that sucks it up if I could!

Crying is a real drag, to be sure, when it is not evident what the trigger is. Crying is inconvenient when you need to work, especially if your job involves teaching or performing for others. It's a waste of a chance to be happy. Aside from the annoyance factor, the crying hangover that next day is dreadful-- headaches and sleepiness abound. The thick phlegm that can come out of facial cavities while crying is unladylike and disgusting. Puffy eyes are unstoppable with the best of creams or coldest of cucumber slices-- and forget about eye-makeup-applying on swollen lids. I have searched passionately for mascara that can hold on to my blond lashes for dear life when weepiness calls. (**Note to all cryers: Revlon Luxurious Lengths has great staying power and conveniently, it washes off with soap and water!)

To all of you non-cryers out there, a psychologist would likely say to you that you had better have an outlet for the repressed emotions you must have stockpiled. But as a veritable faucet, I say kudos to you. Allow me to cry all of you a river.

Some a propos lyrics, from Marlo Thomas' forever-inspiring film, Free to be you and Me
sniff.. sniff... a tear!

It's All Right to Cry
by Carol Hall, Performed by Rosey Grier

It's all right to cry, crying gets the sad out of you
It's all right to cry, it might make you feel better.
Raindrops from your eyes, washing all the mad out of you
Raindrops from your eyes, it's gonna make you feel better

It's all right to feel things though the feelings may be strange
Feelings are such real things and they change and change and change
Sad 'n' grumpy, down in the dumpy
Snuggly, hugly, mean 'n' ugly
Sloppy, slappy, hoppy, happy
Change and change and change

It's all right to know, feelings come and feelings go
It's all right to cry, it might make you feel better

What's in an age?

Good morning!

Arose very early this morning (too much Australian Shiraz last night, I think!), but getting up early on a Saturday isn't so bad. It does prolong the best day of the week-- particularly if it is the Saturday of a long weekend! Happy Birthday Queen Victoria! I am so glad you were born. xoxox

Celebrating this woman's birthday kicks off our summer movement each year, doesn't it? The Victoria Day weekend has brought all of us Ontarians to cottages or campsites to drink a lot of beer and get a lot of black fly bites-- some years clad in tuques and some years in bikinis. She kinda started the modern-day monarchy, and she has a whole era named after her. Not bad, Vicky! I do hope she isn't cross with the carrying-ons of we, the common people under her ubiquitous reign.

Upon wondering how many candles would be on Queen Victoria's made-from-scratch birthday cake this year, I Wikipedia'd her and learned she was born in 1819-- so 190 candles! How many barbecue lighters would it take to light that many candles? And what would Victoria think about these phenomena of Wikipedia, or barbecue lighters, or barbecues, for that matter?

I have never understood why people get sad or shameful about birthdays and age. My mother gets very upset when her age is revealed. Me, I could tattoo my age on my forehead. My mom would say "That's because you're young, dear", but I disagree. I think every year brings us closer to figuring out what we are all about, and that is something worth celebrating publicly! Maybe I'll feel differently one day, but I really doubt it. Desiring to be younger than I am seems like a waste of time-- like a surrender to life having to deteriorate in certain ways now that a certain time has passed. I have to believe that the best is always yet to come, and may this optimism serve me well, and dare I say, prevent wrinkles!

Things that make me recognize that I am clearly 34:

1. Too many glasses of wine wake me up early as opposed to make me sleep in.
2. The easy-listening radio station actually appeals to me more than my former favourite alternative one, which just sounds loud and angry sometimes!
3. It's harder to count the number of girlfriends who aren't pregnant or on maternity leave than the number who are.
4. I have learned the meaning of terms like "electrolysis", "muffin top", and "Co Enzyme Q10"
5. I have grown curious about my spiritual side, whereas it used to be a source of humour.
6. A rainy Saturday prevents me from working in the garden.
7. That McDonald's has created the 'Big Mac wrap' kinda turns my stomach.

Happy Birthday, Queen Victoria and may the best be yet to come to all of us.

homemade salad dressings

Greetings salad-eating friends,

As the sun shines and warms up the earth to get the veggies growing, I am tempted to write today all about eating from Mother Earth, and not from a box or jar or can. I'll save you from my preachings, but in all honesty, when you look at all of the visible growth at this time of year springing up from the ground, are you not tempted to just make a big salad?

When I was in University I had a roommate who found my eating and snacking habits quite entertaining. She always laughed at my bizarre concoctions (ie, toast with garlic and honey), but often enjoyed them too when offered a bite. And now, at work, my friends always ask what is in my salad dressing because it smells so good. So today, I publish to the world my very first exercise in Recipe Writing:

Salad Girl's Devilishly Delicious but Healthy Dressing
1.Start with a glass jar (reused Salad dressing bottles (ie. Renee's) are best, but a mason or jam jar will do), and scoop two big tablespoons of orange juice concentrate-- in the frozen state.
2. Add two big tablespoons of Dijon Mustard. (the grainy kind is fun, but regular works well too)
3. Add two tablespoons of cumin. Great for digestion!
4. Add equal parts of Sesame Oil (always makes me think of Big Bird) and Olive Oil-- two amazing oils for your skin (maybe a quarter cup of each?)
5. Add Balsamic Vinegar to total your oil total (so maybe a half cup?)
6. Pepper it liberally and then shake it up.

YUM!-- on salads or on brown rice with chick peas and chopped coriander and sunflower seeds (weird but trust me....) I am certainly no expert in food, but I love this blend and people I serve it to seem to also..........

Fun add-ons-- try one or a couple until you love the tastes:

• Oregano (said to be good for vitality and longevity),
• Turmeric (powerful cancer-fighter)
• Apple Cider Vinegar (great for detoxing your digestive organs)
• Grated Ginger root (excellent immune booster).
• Blended Raspberries (frozen or fresh)-- very cheerful-- and it's yummy to add a bit of agave nectar or maple syrup to complement the tartness.
• Blended figs or dates.

Salad Girl's tip of the post: Stop buying ready-made dressings. They are full of sugar and salt and other crappy additives, and you can save yourself oodles or grocery dollars and digestive efforts by making them yourself! I have had so much fun experimenting and think you will too! Post your discoveries here or share them with your colleagues.... get the conversations started!

A few of my favourtie things

Hola!

If you are reading this post, bear with me, as I am working these days at overcoming my fears when it comes to my writing. I've mentioned before that I love to write and dream of writing books, and there are days when I am raring to go and others when I think I am living in a dream world. So, today, following some advice from my beloved and ever-growing self-help library, I will write what I am passionate about! The words just flow when you describe something you love, know what I mean?

My favourite things

1. My cat (Yes, I fear I am turning in to a crazy cat lady!). She is so cute. She is a genetic freak-- a calico cat, which means a patchwork of colours-- and weird shapes. I got her at the humane society on a bit of a whim when I had a broken heart and a big hangover one Saturday ten years ago. I am so glad I did; she makes me smile every single time I see her. She likes company on her own time and terms, and she is so bitchy but so loving. Kinda like me!
2. My laptop. I love that it is mine and customized for me, portable and ready to go. It is very pink and purple and green, and cheerful and full of more of my favourite things-- yoga classes (so many good classes to be found for free in podcasts!), recipes, writer's blogs, magazine articles, novels and chapters in the fetal stage, photos, music... you probably feel the same way about yours but I love this machine!
3. A daily salad. Lots of veggies and a yummy dressing and something that crunches on top-- sunflower seeds or almonds or soy nuts. SO full of life force-- I feel so well after eating one.
4. My journal. I've carried on about it before, but I don;t know what I would do without it. Like the perfect friend that you can tell all your woes and excitements to, and who somehow has the perfect advice or joke for you-- which is wacky because it really means that all the answers you need to know are somewhere in your head already. I am almost finished volume 9. AT the end of each volume, I am now writing down my top lessons in life that I learned during the days of the volume. Holy crap am I getting smart!
5. My geriatric-type of pillow. My chiropractor recommended it for my writer's neck. You put water in the bottom part of it and then the top is pillowy and delightful; you basically can alter the height of it as you need to. I sleep so much better with it. It weighs a million pounds but I take it everywhere. My husband is hooked on one, too!
6. My neti pot. This thing is ridiculous but I don't know how I used to breath without it-- it looks like a teapot and you fill it with warm water and a pinch of salt. You put the spout up one nostril and the solution runs through your nose and rinses out the other nostril. Then you repeat on the other side. Pretty disgusting and bizarro-- but it clears you right out! Ba bye allergens and snottiness. Buy one at the health food store.... you won't regret it!
7. Pineapple. It tastes so good. Like candy!
8. Uttanasana. In Yoga practice, this is just basically a forward fold or touching your toes like your phys ed teacher had you do in grade six. Stand tall with straight legs and hands at your heart centre. Inhale and extend your arms up and over your head, and as you exhale, swan dive forward and reach the crown of your head towards your toes. Inhale and lengthen the spine, exhale and fold. Perk your sit bones towards the sky. You can dangle the arms (keep your shoulders drawn down the back), or cross your arms and have fingers in the nooks of your elbows like a rag doll. Don't force anything-- just let your back body open up as it's ready. Hang out for five deep breaths through the nose or for up to five minutes. Then inhale and reverse swan dive up, arms over head, and exhale the palms back to your heart centre. SO nice on the back and hamstrings.
9. Really long walks. I love spying on people's gardens, decor, choice of colours for their outer homes. Or my other favourite is going to a forest path-- we are blessed with so many of them near Barrie-- and hiking up and down hills, looking in the ponds and observing the abundance and variety in nature-- all four seasons, there is such a natural wonderland out there.
10. Hot baths. Nothing in the world cannot be cured or made better by a long soak in the tub. I love a bath bomb in mine, or a j-cloth with oats bundled with an elastic, or a couple of chamomile tea bags while the tub fills. With a book is nice, or a glass of vino quite delightful. Soaking in hot water... Is it a throw back to being in the womb?
11. Tea and an oatmeal raisin cookie. Yummy.

A random list, I realize, but the words truly did flow.

Have a wonderful day!

Salad girl's tip of the post: Make your own list! It's smile provoking and will prevent wrinkles.

wisdom from the unlikeliest places!

Beau and I watched "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" last night-- just loved it! Amidst the laugh-out-loud moments and wanting to visit Hawaii someday, there was a great little self-help tip for me.... they are everywhere if you look for them like I seem to.....

The beautiful dark haired girl said to the tall worryish guy who is trying to get over Sarah Marshall, "Hellooooo! Come out of your head! There is a whole world of more fun things out here in the world!!!".

I'm a fan of being in my head (and putting my head contents out there by bringing pen to paper, or talking about my inner world with friends...)-- but wanted to say that today, out of my head shall I go!

Salad Girl's Tip of the post:
Usable-wisdom moments are everywhere-- even dumb places. Remember them and add them like a bead to your necklace of wisdom. They're so fun to pull out when you are blue.

My Top Five Ahas from bizarre sources:

5. From the movie, Elf:
Store manager: Why are you smiling like that?
Buddy: I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite

4. "What makes us unique from the other animals is our ability to accessorize", Olympia Dukakis' character in Steel Magnolias

3. "You've got brains in your head and shoes in your feet". From Dr Seuss' O, the Places You'll Go

2. "This too, shall pass", from the hotel worker, talking to Julia Roberts when she is devastated and embarassed, in My Best Friend's Wedding

1. "You've really got to love yourself to get anything done in this world", Lucille Ball-- not sure when she said it but I LOVE this quote!

simple inspirations

It's a warm Saturday in Barrie and the world is looking a bit more green... Hope that spring has caught you too!

MY cat is purring at my feet and I am sipping Apple Cinnamon tea in bed. I am not sure which part is most yummy! I just finished a magazine that a darling friend put in my mailbox with a birthday card for me a few weeks ago. Such a "Yes!" girl, she is-- a favourite local LouLou!

The magazine's "Ten Thoughts on Whole Living" is calling to me this morning, as the onset of spring invites a chance to re-bloom. I am always amazed at the familiarity of spring each year, but also the somehow forgettable feelings of newness and starting again. So, today I will muse about two from the list of ten, findable at http://www.wholeliving.com/.


1. Make every effort to be gentle with yourself.
My to-do list mentality and Aries personality has me constantly in motion.... do do do. I bet the career-sharks and parents (and especially career-shark/parents) in this world must be unstoppable! My wise friend Loulou from Kingston said she's trying to do less and be more. Good words! Could my to-do list now also have the more fun counterpart, "Have-Done" list? May we all enjoy this spring's offerings of blooms, rather than trying to create them.


2. Aging well has less to do with what you avoid and more to do with what you embrace.
My 'aging-gracefully' regime holds a very popular spot on my to-do list-- and I am noticing they are all very mindful, but nonetheless, involve actions: eating lots of produce, avoiding boxed food items, getting out for big walks, wearing sunscreen, loyally buying Olay products (God Bless Olay Regenerist serum!), taking supplements, practicing Yoga, sleeping well, etc. I love all of these practices... but maybe the point is to fuel your emotional and spiritual passions amongst these physical choices. So, three little goals this spring are: add an idea to my novel's brainstorm board at least three times a week. Cuddle with the cats more. Tell people that I like when they cross my mind fleetingly. What micro-goals can you create this spring?

Happy Spring!

Salad Girl's tip of the post:

Add pumpkin seeds to your salad or cereal. They are so cute. And, they match the verdant energy of the world in spring. Like all of us, they are packed full of vitality, creative potential and beauty!

Grandmas who rock!

After the long weekend, a family one in my case, I choose today to muse about a special family member.

I must begin by saying that I love my family, recognize their quirks and love them in spite of them and am lucky enough to have a functional family unit compared to some of the crazy situations that I am well aware exist out there! I read once in a Yoga text book that you pick your family before you are born in to a new life. And as I grow wiser, I have found this idea comforting when my family drives me bonkers. I often think, "What is the lesson I was planning on learning when I chose you?" As my title today indicates, I have been thinking a lot about the amazing role that grandmothers play.

I might be biased because I adored my grandmother. And I got to enjoy her for 29 years of my life-- my eldest cousin was in her fifties when our grandmother died! She was a strong, stubborn worrywart with so much love and generosity. Wiser than Yoda and sharper than Rick Mercer-- zinging people with comments, in her broken English, like "Please talk more quietly dear-- I'm 92, not deaf". All of this, bundled in 4 foot 10 Slovakian immigrant frame, clad in a housedress, bearing only a grade four education. She moved to Canada with two small boys and later added two girls, ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Her highest-ranking job was working in a sewing factory in Toronto, her wisest business move was owning a triplex in a beautiful High Park area (cha-ching!), and her greatest investment was in her family.

OK. I hope I am not waxing cheesy Hallmark card on your here. But she was my initial self-help guru. She always said "Be you happy and be you healthy". How simple, and how ingenious is that? All you need. Happy. Healthy. There are many lessons that our grandmothers can teach us, so get to know yours! And if she is no longer in the living, learn all you can about her. What will you be like when you are a grandparent yourself?

I have figured out that one massive reason I chose this family for this life is my grandmother. Since you are reading this, I assure you that if you were to read my first novel, there will be one heck of a great grandma figure in there! Stay tuned...

Salad Girl's Tip of the Post:
When faced with a problem, annoying situation, or dilemma, embody your inner grandmother. What would your best advice be if you were yourself at age 80? It's fun to journal this one as a letter to yourself from your 80 year old self, or grandmother, but if you are not a diarist type, think about it. It's amazing what solutions can bubble up for you!

Top Five Grandmas who rock in the Media:
5. Estelle Geddy's character, Sophia Petrillo, on The Golden Girls. Lessons: Surround yourself with friends. Remember your past and learn from it. Make others laugh when you can.
4. Mona, on Who's the Boss? Lesson: Have fun. Get the pickle out of your butt, daughter.
3. Shirley McLean's character in In Her Shoes. Lesson: Forgive family mistakes.
2. Marilla Cuthbert in Ann of Green Gables (I know she wasn't a grandma, but she was older and wiser and she rocked anyway in Ann's fate....) Lesson: Get all your jobs done responsibly, but learn to let some flair and fun in.
1. Chloris Leachman's character in the movie Spanglish. Lesson: Calm down and have a drink!

Miserable Musings about Mondays that Motivate Mindfulness and Meditation

Ugh. Monday. I am guessing that all of us Monday to Friday’ers have some varying degree of disregard for Mondays—not exactly a rocket science statement by Salad Girl.

Today, rereading my posts, I am annoyed by my cheerful post entitled “I heart Saturdays”. The tone about Saturdays seems so hopeful, and foreign, as aggravation sits heavily on my head today. All because the weekend is over? What a sad statement on my moodiness...

Today’s post is about meditation. I am wondering a lot lately if people pay much attention to their thought patterns, because I sure do to mine. And I would like to bet that for many, it takes some sadness, a big flu, or a stressful event to spur some time to look inward. I am an expert on the workings of my mind. It could be my addiction to writing in my journal, but I trace it to Yoga and meditation. In Yoga practice, you choose to carve out some time to slow down ‘other life’ and quietly watch and observe the qualities of your thoughts while practicing asanas, or postures. I adore the flowing style of Yoga, called vinyasa, because linking the postures with inhalations and exhalations becomes like a dance and it amazes me what creativity, clarity, peace and joy comes to me while practicing, not to mention a good sweat and stretch. (note to self—practice more on Mondays!)

Yoga is just a physical form of meditation. I have to laugh when I say aloud “I meditate” because for ages I thought meditating was sitting cross legged with your eyes closed and emptying your brain. It can be, but I have learned that this is just one kind of meditation—the Mr Miyagi kind if you will. Meditating is thinking, and being mindful of your inner world. You can sit still if you like, you can go for a quiet walk or run without music, you can pick up your pet and cuddle with her, you can sneak a few minutes in your cubicle at work to breathe deeply, or you can soak in a bath tub and be with your thoughts. Focusing on your breath provides you with a means to streamline your thoughts. You can even try and just label the chatter in your mind “thinking”, and let it pass you by like a fluffy cloud. Mediation is allowing yourself to—well, be.

Interestingly, both Yoga and Meditation have the goal of bringing one in to the moment. Take a minute and think about it-- when are you truly in a moment? My random answers are: when you jump in a cold lake on a hot day, when tasting a delicious wine, when hugging someone you love for that first moment after you haven’t seen him or her in ages, the moment when a movie breaks your guards down and makes you cry, the first time you kiss a new love interest, when you know 100% the right answer on Jeopardy. Is there a way to harness the “in the moment”ness of these experiences?

Meditation makes you more focused and less stressed. It teaches you to watch your reactions when the going gets tough or someone pisses you off. It promotes energy, creativity and loving kindness. Try it and you will see what I am saying, as well as why the practice has been around for eons.

A word of warning, though: practice makes you know yourself. And it’s not always easy to be in close touch with your feelings—this is why denial and addiction are so attractive!

No last tips today.
But, today’s blog post is brought to you by:
1. Mediation—a great tool to deal with the fact that one must be in the moments that make up a Monday.
2. My middle finger, raised up high because I think you are number one, Monday!
3. And the letter M. (Oh, to relive the days when Mondays meant Sesame Street would be on again for five days.....)

To do lists

Bonjour!

When I decided to take the step towards my "author girl" dream (i.e., starting a blog, which I am calling my first self-publishing pursuit), I never really thought about the implications to my to-do list. I figured, start a blog, write for someone other than yourself (even if it's only my family and uber-supportive friends who read it).

Every time something pisses me off these days, I think, "Hah. I'll blog about this". Likewise for anything that is amusing me, or any big lessons I am learning in my self-help book-bingeing of late. PS-- This self-help stuff gets addictive when you hate your day job, let me tell you. I have a HUGE list of ideas to write about... but where are the posts?

I seem to be a very dedicated "To-do List" person. The back of an old envelope carries me through my week and I cannot stress enough how very efficient I have become. My mother always says she wishes she had my organization skills, and friends make fun of me for my dinosaur version of the Blackberry. But it works wonders and I think "What a good girl am I" as I get things crossed off.

My point today is simple: I fear my existence is turning in to my to-do lists. Are to-do lists running my life or am I running my life myself?

The yogis speak about samskaras, which are patterns of thinking that one adopts and develops, and in reading up on the concept, I am learning that they are generally a pretty crappy and restrictive pattern of thinking. My to-do list is stifling me and what gets squeezed out of it is the time to actively be in the moment, and enjoy a day's events, rather than rush through them. How many times do I think, "Call your parents. Call a friend. Take a nap. Sit with your pets who adore you" but refute the thoughts with "No time now". All this coming from a CHILDLESS person's brain, too!

So today, I ask the universe this.
In a world where efficiency and speediness and effectiveness are revered, and procrastination and relaxation are poo-pooed as laziness, are we missing the point? Would it be wiser to stop trying to take on the world, and instead let the world take on a piece of us?

Salad Girl's tip of the post:
Set your alarm a half-hour later than usual and let the world just deal. You'll get there when you get there! I'll put it on my list for tomorrow.....

By-laws

Greetings!

As the weather begins to cooperate with our ideas of being outside in the warmth of the sun, those wishing to be outside in a public place in Barrie with a smoke in their hand are out of luck. Two nights ago, the voting at City Council resulted in the decision to ban smoking in public places. This includes sidewalks and parks. Is Barrie ahead of the line of municipalities to create this ban, or are we a bit uptight about our health here?

I don't really care to bore you with my thoughts on this one. I get both sides. People who smoke need a place to smoke (but by the way, are you still smoking? Come on!!!) since you can't in restaurants or bars, where smokes and drinks kinda go hand in hand. People who don't smoke don't want to get the lung cancer without benefiting from a nic buzz. Blah blah blah. Like I said, I get both sides.

My point today, however, is that there are many annoying and inconsiderate things that are done in public that are just as worthy of by-laws as smoking bans. For instance, it is March 25th today-- and how many people still have Christmas decor up? On my walk yesterday, I saw lights, one of those bizarre mechanical reindeer--no longer grazing on a front lawn, mind you--- and further down the street there was a very creepy deflated gigantic Santa that was wrong in the first place! Sorry, boys and girls, Mommy and Daddy won't be putting up giant blow-up Santa next year because he got flattened by the snow storm and now that the weather is nice, the dog keeps lifting its leg on his remains.

Take your decor down by Feb 1st, or pay the fine I say.

How about zinging people who talk loudly during movies? I am not trying to sound like a grumpy old woman, but it is not cheap to attend a movie, and the topping for my popcorn is the price of gas-- so how about making it even more expensive to be a jerk at the theatre? I cannot think of a time a smoker would refuse to move away from you if you asked them to, but watch out for the stink eye you'll get if you ask loud movie watchers to shut it!

Watch your movie at home and talk all you want, or pay-as you-go, Motormouth.

Perhaps it is the Torontonian in me with some lingering road rage, but I know I speak for all of us when I include my dismay for drivers who wait in the left lane at a light but neglect to signal ahead of time that they need to turn left on the green. Maybe a by-law is impossible, but how about some public service messages to these people?

Help me get to work on time-- it takes one little click to warn us all to get over to the right......


Salad Girl's tip of the post:
Have you laughed 20 times today? To help prevent depression, we are all supposed to.
Create a list of by-laws you'd like your family members and fellow citizens to follow. (OK-- don't really do this, but it's pretty funny to make a list of all the annoying and stupid things people do all the time! )

Dear, dear diary,

I have mentioned it before, but I am a big fan of my journal. I think that the would-be writer in me has always written in a journal to keep my writing a constant and daily practice. When I arrived home from school for March Break on Friday and couldn't find my diary in my purse I was in a full-fledged tizzy. Part of me fearing the hands that would find it and discover this gateway in to my soul, the other part seriously concerned about how to start a new one in the meantime of finding the missing one. Journals are my constant companions, and to be out of order and without this full-time therapist on me, would just totally screw me up!

I decided to blog about journals today because I did something yesterday that floored me. I just finished reading Note to Self: on Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Samara O'Shea (FABULOUS) and I was stunned by this fellow journal-writer who reads hers over and over-- in fact, even bravely published excerpts from them in this book. So I took the leap and followed her lead and opened one: a full journal that I kept from 1997- 2001. In my hard-covered large-page book full of my sprawl, were my own accounts of years of being in University, teachers college, starting out a career and meeting the man I am now married to. I don't usually reread what I write in these books-- at least, not in a fell swoop like yesterday's.

Over the course of one afternoon, my emotions were all over the map. I was surprised-- did I really write this? Did I really have these feelings for that guy or this anger towards some event? I was embarrassed by my narcissism and whining-- do I sound like this to others? I was annoyed by me-- how has anyone ever been my roommate? I felt protective of my younger and more naive self-- my current self warning me as I read the daydreams and plans, Don't believe him, Tamara-- he was bad news all along and you should've known better...... I felt sad to think of all the time that I have spent worrying, or stressed, or hating my body. What a waste of time.

At the same time, I felt proud of my triumphs, and commended myself on some of the conclusions I was able to draw. It turns out that many of the dilemmas I am having about myself right now were there all along, and many words of wisdom that I still need were penned by none other than me. While journalling yesterday after re reading this old journal, I told myself to take my 23 year-old self's advice and stop taking myself so seriously. I felt bashful and giddy while reading about when I first met my husband, and read to him a few things I had written about him in those crazy days of infatuation. The look in his eyes after reading descriptions of him from over 8 years ago, is one that is now captured in the pages of yesterday's journal entry forever.

I don't imagine I will read the rest of them (there are 7 more) for a while-- even though my purpose in keeping them has always remained the same: writing for me, not an audience. But it is a very cool feeling to look at them on my shelf, the volumes that make up the life I live.

It turns out, by the way, that I had placed my journal on the coffee table before even putting my purse down. Phew!

Salad Girl's tips of the post:
Start a journal today if you don't keep one. Write every truth you can, without thinking about what people will think when they read it. If you do keep one, make sure your entries are well dated and include the time and place you are writing. Keep your journal on you at all times to sneak in a good write when you are given the gift of a delay at the dentist or on the subway or when a friend is late meeting you. Write with tea, with a glass of wine or with nothing at all but the honest question "How are you today?"

who are your "yes" people?

I can't actually remember who gave me the term " 'yes' people ", but I probably read it in some self-help book and have ever since noticed that in my life, there are " 'yes' people" and " 'no' people", and that in our lives, we need to have both kinds .

" 'Yes' people " are people who, when you share your ideas, opinions, dreams and complaints, understand your point. They may not personally agree with what you have shared, but they make you feel validated for having these thoughts. If you approach a " 'yes' person", you will undoubtedly walk away from your conversation with energy and confidence that you have every right to have the thoughts you are having if you doubted yourself before. This is a person that you crave talking to when you have something--happy or sad-- to share. This person serves as a cheerleader or a connector, but this is also a person who can gently call you on being overly-something (in my case, overly-emotional or overly-worry-wartish; in other cases, perhaps overly difficult or flighty). This person is a special kind of friend, or a colleague or family member, that you interact with and leaves you with good gut feelings.

For instance, your " 'yes' person" might say ""Your idea is awesome-- you could totally do that-- I LOVE IT! Keep me posted!". Or, "I think this is a bit like when Loulou ..x... and what ended up working for her was ..y....". Your " ' yes' person" may also say things like "It really sucks that Bingo made that comment to you, but you have to remember that Bingo is like that, and he's probably already forgotten that he said it and pissing someone else off now as we speak. Do we need to have a cup of tea, or a glass of wine?".

Otherwise said, she or he has the patience of Job dealing with you, but also cuts you off when you have had too many sips out of the self-doubt blues bottle. S/he can take your half-empty glass and fill it right up.

I am noticing lately that my piece of the world is also full of naysayers, and unfortunately, some of the worst culprits can be the people who care about us the most. Julia Cameron, author of "The Artist's Way", writes about people called our crazymakers. She speaks of the people that, when you meet them with any sort of positive feelings, they'll replace them with feelings of wanting to crawl back in bed, keep your mouth shut or scream. They, in contrast to your " 'yes' people", take your half-empty glass, knock it over and smash it to smithereens.

I think the world needs these people, too. Perhaps they keep order in the world and balance out over-dreamers who need a reality check. Their participation in our lives educates us on how to be compassionate, rise against adverse times, deal with difficult neighbours or be kind to our parents when they push our buttons. We need them-- but in a world where optimism keeps us healthy, we must really avoid surrounding ourselves with them, particular in blue or doubtful times.

Salad Girl's tip of the post:
Make your mental list of, or journal about, your " 'yes' people". In some way, thank them for their contribution to your life in words or by being that person right back to them.

the importance of great colleagues!

Bonjour!

We probably all feel this way today, those returning to work or with small children especially, I imagine.... I WANT THAT HOUR BACK! We will all enjoy the prolonged daylight hours, and spring must be on the way... blah blah blah-- but let's face it: it's always a crappy day-after when we lose the hour.

Being exhausted at work today and trying to focus my students (more like pulling teeth) reminded me about the importance of good colleagues. I feel so lucky to have friends at work. Aside from having fun chats in the staff room and exchanging the customary knowing glances when you overhear the wackier kids ask your buddy bizarre questions in the hall, it is so great to arrive to work and share stories from your weekend events.

Over the past two weekends, Monday morning at work has involved reminiscing about our fun together at kooky events. Two Fridays ago, a group of us put together a team and entered a Volleyball tournament, involving pitchers in between games. We got pretty good by game number four! And this past weekend, yet another group of played at my friend Bingo's house (no, his name is not really this, but from now on Bingo is all males and Loulou is all girls.... for everyone's personal safety and out of respect... and now I digress....). He had us over, young and less young, and each one of us brought beers from a different country. You had to sample the beer to earn the flag to wear on our clothes. It was hysterical! We all enjoyed the tour of the tall boys, and increasingly funny conversation.

Clearly, we ended up with a lot of drunken babble, pretty amazing Guitar Heros, late night cab rides and colossal hangovers-- but my point is simple: we had fun and had one extra reason to smile at one another today. Waking up to see my husband's and my chain of little flags on the fridge made me feel like a proud Brownie in my morning fog today.

Salad Girl's tip of the post:
If you haven't yet, get to know your colleagues. These are the people that you see more than your family and no matter how different they may be from you, there are lessons to learn from them. Plan a pot luck lunch, a book swap, a clothing swap, a once-a-week walking group, something. If you are lucky like me, plan a new event with your pals-- boozy or not. I feel closer to these folks now, and, after all, our purpose in life is to connect with one another.
(One addtional tip: do try the beer from Lithuania. YUM!)

i heart saturdays!

Greetings!

It is a grey and mild Saturday noon hour and I just adore being in my pyjamas (reindeer decorated, but the softest flannel in my collection so keep Christmas with you all through the year, I say!) still at this hour. My morning has involved waking at 9:30 (sweet, sweet slumber), tea and a great book in bed followed by an un- abandoned journaling session, and a peanut butter and banana topped bagel. Does it get more blissful than this?

I just started "Note to Self: on Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits", by Samara O'Shea. What a treat! I am addicted to writing in my journal-- I keep it on me at all times. For me, it's a place to record, process, celebrate and bitch about the events of my days. I have been surviving and celebrating lately by keeping gratitude lists-- Oprah recommended this ages ago and I kinda liked it. This is a pursuit that I recommend highly to anyone-- but it has occurred to me lately that my gratitude lists are making me turn a blind eye to my dreams and true feelings.


I will use the example of my day job. I work in other teachers' classrooms each day to teach French. I have lovely colleagues and VERY kind students, who generally are OK with learning French, or at least polite about it if they hate the subject. I approach most days with a positive outlook, or I can create one for myself if I don't feel the love on the drive to work.

Here are the crappy parts: I push a cart around to each room with supplies for each class. That it is a fancy cart does not make this job seem any less degrading. Three classes I work in are set up as chaos, either because the teacher of the room doesn't get bothered by loud students, messes, no space to manoeuvre around, etc. It makes me CRAZY! The joy in keeping one's own classroom inviting and beautiful and inspiring has been removed from me. I work out of a dark office full of photocopy paper and I am constantly clock watching to make sure I am on time for the next class. Am I rushing because I am stressed or stressed because I am always in a rush?

On the other and less whiny hand, I don't have to work late to keep a room tidy or decorated. As I walk through the hallways, every student that knows me proudly beams "Bonjour!" to me. I don't generally deal with parents because, who cares-- it's just French. I can keep my marking minimal because the assessment is easy-- can they understand me (B), engage in coherent and spontaneous conversation in French with me (A) or do they answer "Merci beaucoup" when I ask them what they did for the weekend (C or D depending how many actual words exist in French...)? I make a great salary with holidays I will never have in any other type of job. And as my Auntie Margie says, "Every now and again, you will make a difference to one kid".

As I read my less whiny hand, I see the angel on my left shoulder, the gratitude list girl who always thinks it's best to look on the bright side. But slogging through the day to day pains of crashing in to things with my cart (I always make my husband push the grocery cart for this reason!), arriving to rooms full of students' crap everywhere, feeling like a babysitter instead of an educator-- I hear the devil on my right shoulder saying "stop the bullshit gratitude lists-- you deserve more than this! You're dying in this life-- write all the books you dream of, for crying out loud! Get your 'Yoga and Journaling' classes started! Your Salad Girl catering business plan is ingenious!".

Whether we listen to the little angel or the little man in red has been a forever compelling life path question, I know. I send my dilemma out to the world. How does one leave the comforts of a great salary, pension, holidays, blah blah blah, to carve out a life full of passion and dreams of nurturing others and creativity?

The good news for any of us juggling this question is that, to the Monday to Friday people, Saturdays will never lose their bliss. No dilemma so great as figuring out your destiny at 33 years old (34 in two weeks) cannot be made better nor more dream-filled, by reading a book that inspires you in bed, with tea and a PBB bagel in your flannel jammies.

Salad Girls Tips of the post:

1. Open your journal and write out your secrets! Release them on to the page-- it is more patient than people (as Anne Frank, the wisest thirteen year old, said)
2. Make gratitude lists, but counteract them with "badditude lists" of what is getting your goat.
3. Enjoy every Saturday you can in bed with good books and tea for as late as you can.
4. Face every day knowing that the next Saturday is only a few days away.

Namaste!

Salad Girl

a salad a day keeps the blues away....

Happy New Month!

I adore the first of each new month-- always seems like a great opportunity to set some goals, make new plans, check in with how far you have come along over the previous month. Maybe it's the teacher in me, but writing the new month in my diary or on the black board just floats my boat!

I love eating a big salad every day. My colleagues and my husband kinda laugh at me because every Sunday I make five salads for my lunches at school for the week-- and they don't vary very much. Spinach, yellow peppers, grape tomatoes, carrots, brocolis and chick peas or red kidney beans. I sometimes think I have a streak of the OCD-- if I can't make my salads, I get really blue. Making them on Monday would NOT be the same. The chopping, admiring the life force in each vegetable, dropping ingredients in the glad containers-- it's like a Sunday ritual-- a meditation-- an artistic creation that I crave as much as eating these things of beauty.

Every day, without fail, someone says "That looks so good...." and it is.

So here's my tip: try it. We all have been told that we should be eating our 5-10, and getting the rainbow of colours, and we all are busy people that don't have time to make a salad a day. We all also like a good poop each day, and we all answer "I'm fine-- but tired" when we are asked how we are. I can't suggest it enough-- make 5 salads for your lunches on a Sunday. You will feel good, energetic, cheerful. And you will only get your hands wet and cold once!

Give it a try and keep me posted on how you do. A salad a day is like a good chat with a good friend-- it just feels good.

On to my chopping board, this sunny Sunday afternoon. Happy March!
Salad Girl

My first "Micro-movement"

Hello! My name is Tamara, and I want to be honest from the beginning:

1. I eat a big salad everyday for lunch-- even when I have the flu or am hungover
2. I have the "perfect" job but really want to change careers
3. I am a Yogini (which means I practice yoga regularly and can teach it, though I don't seem to be lately)
4. I am a bit hooked on reading self-help books lately.
5. I have always wanted to write-- a book, a novel, a coloumn.... anything publishable.

I have been reading a lot of books by Sark lately (the colourful ones?) and decided it was time for a micromovement-- something small you do to get closer to your goals. My dreams of writing should fit in well with my careers as an elementary school teacher-- but I am a great procrastinator, apparently, and am scared of taking real risks (i.e., teaching Yoga, writing, changing my career because lately I am miserable at it, etc) and just never seem to get to it.

Sooooo.. here is my creative outlet. I hope you will read my new self-made column, brought to you from Barrie, Ontario, Canada. My blog will contain my trains of thought and musings about:

1. salads
2. health
3. trying to change your career and how many people tell you, "Just be grateful for what you have" and other expressions that make me want to vomit
4. Yoga
5. "aha" moments that I am having through my self-help education
6. what puzzles me about the world around me, and most bizarrely, the world inside my head.

Hope you will read along, and get in touch if you have things in common with me. Are you out there, salad-loving/would-be writers/self-help addict/yoginis/dreamers/job-haters, just like me?