To Thine Own Princess Self Be True

Royal Wedding Day around the globe....One report says that 2 billion people watched.  That blows me away.  But what blows me away even more is that the newly wed Princess/Duchess/Future Queen was so wonderfully, beautifully in her own skin.  Never mind the gorgeous dress, her grace and beauty started so deep down.  She just seems to be someone who is to her own self very true. 

The good news is that when you are not true to yourself, you will get all kinds of signs to get you back on track....like I did today.  I came home late last night after three extremely hard and long days of a business trip where I had to keep my mind sharp and my spirit up and sociable from dawn each day until late at night -- with no downtime for myself.  I had no choice and had to push through it.  I pushed, but when I woke up this morning and was finally off the adrenaline rush that kept me going those three days, I nearly collapsed.  I think my brain literally turned the lights completely off in some of its rooms. 

So, what happened?  My body couldn't function.  I was trying to fix the little doggie barrier between the living room and my office that had clearly come down while I was away, and somehow this heavy metal thing with sharp edges went flying into me -- gouging my shin into a bloody swollen mess.  This jab caused me to fall flat on my face and land on top of said gouging gate -- but not before I had -- on the way down to flat on face --knocked my head very hard on the bottom corner of the half door (I have one of those split doors that leads from my office into the back yard).  The bump is huge and rose in a cartoon-like way, i.e., fast, colorful, and revealing stars.

I cleaned myself up and thought to myself "Maybe I should NOT go to the gym today since my brain's coordination quadrant is clearly down."  Sounds so reasonable.  But, later in the afternoon when I thought I was going to perish from exhaustion and knew I needed to get more done, my non-Princess self said  "I didn't get to work out more than 50 minutes total over 3 days!  I really need to get to the gym PLUS I know I'll feel better afterwards!"  The hope of feeling better got me.  So, I got myself together and got in the car to go to the gym.

Dead battery.

God speaks in mysterious languages.  Hit hard on head (as if with frying pan). Stabbed in leg to thwart movement.  Dead battery.

I actually knew my battery was going to be dead.  Some weird electronic quirk happened in my car so that two of the four screens in my car dashboard would not shut down when I turned the car off.  I tried everything I could for 45 minutes but had to give up, and submit to the fact that my car would be dead today.  Well, by late afternoon it was quite deadish. 

Ironically, or perhaps not so ironically, I had the car towed to my mechanic who could not replicate the issue.  It's like God literally made this flukey weird thing that has never happened before happen so I would not go to the gym today.

Suffice it to say I'll be resting all weekend.  To mine own self and body I shall be true. 

Lazy Ass Car Wash

Part of this will sound unlazy, like this part: at 6 a.m. tomorrow I'll be parking my car for three days at LAX, so why in hell would it matter that my car is rain-stained and icky looking?  It finally stopped threatening rain yesterday, Easter, so I thought I'll wait until I'm back and my car is good and filthy from having been at LAX for three days. 

But, I just literally couldn't bear it another minute.  In our book "The Lazy Woman's Guide to Just About Everything" we have a whole section on PROCRASTINATION, and in it we make a very important point -- if putting something off is causing you stress, then DO NOT PUT IT OFF -- make it a priority.  If it lessens the stress, then go for it, procrastinate the hell out of it!

In this case, even though I was waiting for the weather to shift before washing my car, like most of LA, it wasn't really me procrastinating, it was me not wanting to waste a shiny car at a parking lot! 

But, I got home from the gym, and was hot and sweaty, so I ran in the house, got a bucket full of clean rags, ran out, and sprayed a really hard jet spray on every inch of the car.  That took about 2.5 minutes -- seriously no more than 2.5 minutes.  I whipped around that car.

Then, I put a bunch of rags in each hand and whipped around the car two times, and dried every inch.  It literally looks like it was professionally washed and this whole process took no more than SIX MINUTES.

I call this a Lazy Woman Victory for Mankind.  And, I saved money which is also a Lazy Woman passion.  Why waste money.  This will definitely be my every-other-wash technique.  Every other, I'll have it done so they do the vacuuming, etc. for me -- something I have no interest in doing.  And, that too is Lazy -- I pick my cleaning battles.

Lazy Victory.  Yummmm.

Easter Inspiration

I was being particularly LAZY on Monday.  It was raining and I just didn't feel like driving.  Well, my loss.  I missed Marianne Williamson's amazing evening.  Luckily they taped it.  Lucky, lucky me...and you, if you find her as inspiring as I do:

http://www.marianne.com/passover-easter-audio.htm

May you be having a stress-free, love-filled holiday weekend.

Trina meet Tina -- This is my MIRACLE Day!

It's a wonderful day!  I knew it was going to be good because I woke up remembering my Tina Fey dream (see blog post below this one!), but I had no idea that today would be the day that my "Weight Goal Dress" would FIT!  I bought this Trina Turk lovely Spring dress in January to shrink into.  I had never been to Nordstrom Rack before and delightfully this gorgeous thing was sitting on the rack waiting for me at $19.97!

It's a Size 4, but I knew it was a big 4, more like a 6.  And, I knew that when I met my goal weight I'd fit into it, and today I thought "Hey, let's try that on!"

Thanks to Marianne WIlliamson's "A Course in Weight Loss" I actually know that I am actually not at my goal weight.  I'm at just two pounds past what previously was my "This is as good as it gets" weight.  I am still happily losing, and I'm doing it with lots of grace and ease -- again thanks to Marianne in major part!

Now, off to have a wonderful baked potato and salad, another delightful moment in my Tina/Trina Day of Miracles.

Tina Fey Helped Me Clean My Kitchen

Blessed I was to see Tina Fey and Steve Martin on Tuesday night.  Even though it was the Nokia Theatre at LA Live, because it was just the two of them having a chat on the stage, it felt like I was just watching them in my living room.  The friend I was with didn't want to stay for book signing so I didn't get to meet her.  I was a little sad about that, and Tina must have felt it because she came over for a cup of cocoa last night.

Yes, indeed, she came over for a cup of cocoa in my dream.  But, the coolest thing she did was reveal to me that all this cleaning I've been doing, organizing, getting rid of old stuff, clearing out of every nook and cranny....well, the kitchen cabinet that has the cocoa in it, Tina very sweetly pointed out, was in need of cleaning and organizing. 

So, as soon as I could this morning I opened that cabinet, and took care of it.  She also pointed out -- when in search of something to go with the cocoa -- that there were two other kitchen cabinets that could use my attention.  So, those I'll be handling this evening.

I'm so lucky to have a "dream friend" like Tina Fey to have a late night cocoa with, and to just have that kind of relationship where when she points out my flaws she does it with such love and support.  Tina only wants the best for me!

And, what am I always saying as one of my Lazy Woman anthems -- get help!  Enlist support wherever and whenever you can. Or swap support.  I'm expecting a "dream call for support" from Tina any night now.  I'll probably end up babysitting...not my fave, but anything for a "dream friend."

Spring Cleaning = Jewels Uncovered

I am thrilled by my instincts at the end of this relationship. I am cleaning out the old, getting rid of the past that no longer serves me.  Clothes that I haven't worn in ages, that don't fit, that I know I will never wear again -- it all goes!  Everything that doesn't work -- it's out!  Every closet, every corner of the garage, every cabinet. 

I'm cleaning and clearing to invite new, vibrant, loving, beautiful energy --- and a man -- to come in.  In clearing out the clutter, fluff and excess I am uncovering jewels of many sorts-- pieces of clothing that I adore that I forgot about (what a clear sign of having too much, eh?) -- and books like the Rumi book I re-found.   Another gem of a book unveiled was one I read in the early 90's - Harville Hendrix's "Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples." 

I know, I know, I'm not in a couple anymore, but man this is one bad ass book.  I re-read half of it very quickly this weekend.  It all started flooding back.  I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever struggled in a relationship.  And, honestly, who hasn't ever had a struggle, eh?  

What I get from this book every time I read it is the reminder that I grow so much more as a  person when I am in relationship.  Relationships are the grains of sand to my pearl....polishing me, making me better, looking deeper, doing better, being better.  Relationships are God's offering to us to heal more deeply than, well, just about anything else. 

And, when both people are willing to look at their childhood wounds, they each have the most extraordinary opportunity to pour love on each other's wounds --yes, it stings, sometimes it hurts deeply, but in the end it is soothing, nurturing and heart-opening. 
Harville quotes Jung who said it so eloquently:  "Seldom or never does a marriage develop into an individual relationship smoothly without crisis.  There is no birth of consciousness without pain."  But on the other side of the pain is unbelievable freedom and the deepest, most fulfilling love. 

The key is both people have to want to look at the cages the past has built to get to the freedom.  Huge honkin' key. 

So, I'm on the road to taking down the cages around my own heart, so I can draw that guy in who has taken down his cages.

It's a brave new world...sparkling with jewels.

Lazily Dealing with the Death of a Relationship

I have been recently committed to clearing out the old to make room for new abundant, loving energy to sweep into my life.   One of my projects is my garage.  Today, the task at hand was to go through about 20 boxes of books, with the intention of donating most of them to the local library.  It's LIBRARY WEEK so I think most local libraries are accepting donations for the next few weeks. 

One of the divine books that I found that I will be keeping is a book of Rumi poems.  I'm keeping all my Rumi books, and I'm delighted to have refound them to bring them in the house.  I sat down with one for a few minutes because there is nothing more nourishing to me during a breakup than Rumi.  And, since I just found out that the betrayal that caused my breakup was even more profound than I had imagined, I was drinking this Rumi in like it was a magic elixir.  And it was.

During this breakup I have been having pretty regular messages from my dad who passed away a year and a half ago. I feel like he is holding my hand walking me through healing my heart, preparing me for the biggest, greatest love of my life -- a man who will hold my heart and my love and cherish it.  I know my dad is getting him ready to bring to me. 

So, this poem I found spoke to me on many levels today - the death of my father and my relationship.   If you -- or anyone you know -- is dealing with a death of a person, a relationship...you may want to share this with them.  And, isn't it something that it is titled "911"...

911

Rumi - Translated by Coleman Barks

On the day I die, when I'm being

carried toward the grave, don't weep.

Don't say "He's gone! He's gone!"

Death has nothing to do with going away.

The sun sets and the moon sets,

but they're not gone.  Death

is a coming together.

The tomb looks like a prison.

but it's really release

into Union.

The human seed goes down in the ground

like a bucket into the well where Joseph is.

It grows and comes up full

of some unimagined beauty.

Your mouth closes here

and immediately opens

with a shout of joy there.

Lazy Yummies + Lazy Losing = WWgasm Bliss!

Just weighed in and I'm down 15.2 pounds!!!!!!!!!!  Woooohooooo!  I'm particularly excited because I'm not eating my feelings through my heartbreaking break-up (two breaks in one sentence! OY!). 

But, I'm even more excited because I am literally feeling no denial.  First, because of Marianne Williamson's "Course in Weight Loss" I have truly reconfigured my relationship with food.  I don't go to it for comfort anymore.  Once in a while I get a chocolate craving, and I ask myself what's going on, and let myself have it -- no matter what's going on.  If I want it, I want it.  But, I only have a little bit and I'm completely satiated. 

I'm really taking care of my cravings.  The other day while at Pilates class, I smelled what I thought were freshly grilling pancakes.  I remembered there was a Weight Watchers recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes that looked awesome, but I couldn't find the recipe online on the way to Trader Joe's, so I picked up their Multigrain Pancake Mix. It turns out two five inch pancakes are only 4 points.  Oh joy!  Oh joy!

I took out the Trader Joe's Superfruit All Fruit Preserves, put one tablespoon on a plate, put it in the microwave and it makes a wonderful syrup.  So two pancakes with "syrup" is only 5 points.  I made a regular batch and used it over 3 days to make my pancake treats.  

If you don't take care of your cravings and find alternatives for yourself, you won't stick to it.   That's EXACTLY what the Hungry Girl says too.  She has come up with 100's of recipes for comfort foods, snack foods, YUM foods galore that are weight-LOSS friendly while making you feel very full and satisfied. 

Again -- if you are on a weight loss journey -- run, walk, skip to a bookstore or toodle your fingers over to amazon.com to get one of the Hungry Girl books.  Her website: hungry-girl.com.

WE CAN DO IT!!!!

Weight Watcher Foodies ALERT: "Hungry Girl 300 Under 300" is here!

Hear Ye Foodies! Hear Ye Weight Watchers Peeps!   Run, don't walk -- or perhaps walk briskly with weights in your hands -- to your nearest independent bookseller to buy yourself a copy of "Hungry Girl 300 Under 300."  (Or, move your fingers briskly to Amazon, but I always want to encourage everyone going to local bookstores first!)

I had the most delicious pleasure of meeting Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien who was signing her new cookbook -- top of the New York Times Bestseller List right out of the gate --"300 Under 300."  Lisa is delightful -- just like she appears on TV -- humble, sweet, and clearly loving her life spent inspiring women to enjoy scrumptious food while they lose weight.  Her cookbook is as light, fun and happy as she is in spirit. 

And, it's LAZY too -- really easy recipes, beautifully laid out so it's unbelievably easy to read and follow.  She has great tips, and cute little bits of inspiration dotting the pages.  It's laid out in such a way that your eye is drawn to read every little thing...like they are yummy candy jewels! 

It's so funny because I wasn't immediately drawn to this book since it's calorie counting, but it turns out that she has all the PointsPlus listed on her website for all her recipes.  Yippppeeeee!  Lisa actually partners with Weight Watchers, and blogs weekly on their site (never mind the fact that I never caught that!).  And, she even said at the book signing that she reveres WW more highly than other weight loss methods. 

My favorite thing about the lovely LIsa is she is a true foodie, who adores creating deliciousness in ever form, fulfilling all our greatest foodie dreams -- but with low cal alternatives.   She is a GENIUS! 

Check her out.  She loves you and all your crazy cravings and you will love her for fulfilling them!

Buon End-of-the Hungries Appetito to you!

Lazy Garage Clean-Up = Ask for Support!

I had a fairly miraculous day.  After break-ups, one of the depressing factors for me is the struggle to regain my social bearings.  I spent all my free time with my love, who was also my buddy, my best friend.  So, I've been feeling sorry for myself lately.  Most of my friends are married, others busy with kids, and others, well we've just fallen out of regular social contact. 

While I enjoy spending time with "me" I also wanted to have some fun this weekend, but had no plans.  As if angels were listening to my prayers yesterday, this morning I got a call inviting me to a last minute Dim Sum feast - yummalicious even for this vegetarian!  And, then I got a call from a friend who also wanted some company.  I made her a late lunch and she helped me clean out my garage.   

I swear I have angels listening to me because I knew I was going to clean my garage today but I was wishing I had someone to just sit and keep me company while I did it.  I always recommend getting a buddy to just even sit with you (if they aren't the helping kind) and just be company for you when you are doing something tough, stressful, or sad.  It's just easier!! 

I was so grateful she was willing to sit with me!   But, she never sat down once: she kicked my Lazy Ass!  And her helpful mantras of the day were exclamations of "You do NOT need that!"  "You will NEVER use that again!" or "That's a NO!"  I made huge progress with her there, and it was really absolutely stress-free.  It was actually fun to laugh at myself and all the crap I have in there!

I am a lucky lazy girl!  I needed support and I got it.  Sometimes you just gotta ask!

Lazy Peace o' Mind -- With a Little Help from Nature

 I am thrilled.  I just heard that a friend of mine took the advice that I posted last week on this blog.  She started taking Ignatia Amara and feels really great.  She was having a tendency toward anxious thoughts.  Ignatia Amara is for that (like the repetitive negative thoughts I was having after my breakup) and for grief (like my losing a great love).  If you know of anyone dealing with repetitive anxious thoughts as a result of a situation that they happen to be in -- or perhaps in the case of my friend (and possibly myself as well) -- is perimenopausal or menopausal, where hormone changes incite brain chemistry changes -- please tell them about this:



 And, if they are dealing with the level of grief I was dealing with -- loss of any kind, depression, extreme sadness, etc. -- please tell them about Sweet Chestnut, which I give due credit as well.  The Sweet Chestnut is a flower essence.  It is gentle, safe, and yet powerful.  I can't more highly recommend it:

Please pass this blog on to anyone who may need some support during a difficult emotional time.  I promise you gratitude will be coming your way.  I have a friend who got divorced last year and both she and her son are still very depressed.  I think she'll be taking my advice soon, and I can't wait to report her findings as well.

And, FYI, my symptoms shifted within hours, and within 24 hours, I was back on track -- no more repetitive anxious thoughts, no more of the exhaustion that comes from depression.

Peace, peace, peace...there is just no substitute for peace of mind.  Finding it lazily, well, that's just divine peace.