Hoppy Easter.

This Easter I spent this holy day with my incredible little family: My mom, Glen, David, Noah and his sweet girlfriend Lyndsey. 

Glen and my Mom made the best feast to celebrate, and after we played an unholy game of Cards Against Humanity. 

BEFORE: 

[Cheese plate, tossed salad, filet mignon, balsamic mushrooms, grilled asparagus, funeral potatoes (Noah's fave), roasted sweet potato, and deviled eggs.]

AFTER: 

David was beyond stoked to see the Easter bunny brought us a chocolate egg. He is so freaking adorable.

My beautiful Easter tulips from David's Mother: 

It was not our usual Easter spent with the extended fam (Grandma was out of town), and we didn't dye any eggs this year, but it was beyond perfect spending the day at home with the people I love most. 

rockstar status.

Among the many perks of dating a rockstar, one of my favorites is being on the top of the list:

& getting to go home with him after ;)

Check out A Lily Gray!

be still my soul.

I recently have been trying to get more involved with meditation, especially with all the stress from nursing school. I found this little meditation exercise for beginners I quite like, & I thought I would share it with you guys.

It is called "Counting Backward" from: Yoga The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness
by Erich Schiffmann.

"In this exercise you will be counting backward from fifty to zero, synchronizing the counting with your breathing. You'll count the even numbers as you exhale and the odd numbers as you inhale.
Sit with your back straight and your eyes closed. If you can sit comfortably on the floor, do so, Otherwise, use a chair. Be comfortable.
Begin by breathing in gently, fully. As you exhale mentally say "fifty." As you breathe in again, mentally say "forty-nine," exhale "forty-eight,"inhale "forty-seven," exhale "forty-six".. and so on.
Count backwards on both the in-breath and the out-breath until you reach "twenty," then count only on exhales. Silently count "twenty" as you exhale. Then, instead of counting "nineteen" on the in-breath, do nothing, just inhale. With the next exhalation count "nineteen" and so on until you reach zero.
When you reach zero, stop counting, but stay aware of the natural flow of breath in exactly the same way as when you were counting. Watch the breath as though you were going to count, but don't count. As you do this, practice sitting absolutely still. But don't hold yourself still. Simply be so relaxed that no movements occur.
Be very aware of how you feel as you do this-how peaceful, energized, calm. Notice how pleasantly alert you are, how serene, fearless, at ease. Familiarize yourself with this feeling, with the feeling-tone of being centered and at peace, and rest here another two or three minutes. Absorb the stillness. then prepare yourself, open your eyes, and return. This will take six or seven minutes.
As you do this exercise, breathe normally. Do not do deep breathing or control the breath in any way. This is important. You are learning not to be in control. You are learning to get out of the way. Therefore, rather than controlling the breath, allow it to flow freely in and out at its own natural pace. Yet, stay aware of the breath. Keep track of the numbers. As the breath comes in, count. As the breath goes out, count. And when you reach zero, stay aware of the breath nonverbally. There should be no strain in your breathing as you do this. Keep it soft and easy.
As you count backward, you may be more aware than usual of your mind darting rapidly from one object of attention to another. You may be unusually aware of sounds, physical sensations, or thoughts. You may lose count altogether. None of this matters. All of these things are evidence that the technique is working. You're becoming more aware.
The value of this technique lies in its ability to help you notice where your attention is moment to moment, what's in your mind, and the contents of your consciousness. The counting is not only a centering device and a way of developing concentration, of training your mind to focus, it also acts as a backdrop on which your thoughts become very apparent.
For now, however, do not do anything with the various thoughts or sensations that arise. Simply be aware of them and continue counting. Gradually become more aware, more quiet within yourself, and increasingly dynamically still. As you immerse yourself in your stillness-and this is something that improves with each attempt- you will experience an unexpected and immensly satisfying sense of contentment and ease."

Feel the peace.

Join our team!

In May 2012, my friend Lauren and I signed up to run the Race for the Cure for our freaking amazing boss Vikki. It has become our little tradition to run every year since... Last year in addition, I also ran for my sweet friend Gabrielle.
This year it is hitting a little closer to home. I am making my own team in support of my beautiful mommy Jami. Please join our team: "Boobs, Sweat and Tears" and RUN or WALK in honor of my beautiful mom, or anyone you know who has fought like a girl and isn't simply surviving, but THRIVING. (race is 5/9/15 @ 0800)
Because thanks to all the research, education and advanced medicine out there: "the breast is yet to come".

You need one of these!!

I found this amazing item on Pinterest, and bought the red edition here from amazon.


I finally tried it a few nights ago! I made a simple spaghetti dish with two small zucchini and a butternut squash. I sliced all three of them up, and let them sit for 10 minutes, soaking them with a paper towel once or twice.

I sauteed them until they were soft, and added this Amy's low sodium for the spaghetti sauce. This is also what I use for my favorite broccoli slaw "antipasta"

Holy freaking awesome. I cannot wait to use this more often with other veggies.
Plus, it has practically no carbs!

a little taste of heaven.

One of my most favorite breakfast snacks everrrr.
I put some of my favorite Greek yogurt in a jar,
[I currently use Greek God's honey vanilla, but I'm thinking of trying out Voskos].
Before I leave my house for the day, I add my favorite frozen fruit.
[I personally love raspberries].
& then I top it off with my favorite crunch-- granola & flax seeds for me. :)


I absolutely LOVE this, especially early when it is still a little frozen, yum YUM!

Try it & let me know what you think?

Quick thought.

I just saw something someone posted; they just got back from a week long vacation in California-- including a trip to Disneyland.. And the caption was: "What a great trip, how exhausting."

Funny thing is tho, your vacation you are looking forward to.. 

- it will be here and over before you know it..

As much as you are loving your first day, with that whole week off ahead of you..

- suddenly it's time to pack up & head home. 

#Enjoythenow. 

That moment you are in--right now. The one that you are wasting your time reading my silly little pointless blog...

I challange you to go outside and live.

Slow your breath down, and focus on this present moment... 

How does it feel to lie/sit down?

 How does your inhales & exhales feel? 

What is in the sky/on the ceiling?

 What can you do to push all your stressors away? 

#BREATHE.  

INNNNNNNNNN

& 

OUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

Pause to take it all in.