This past weekend, I celebrated my birthday looking out over the Pacific Ocean as a Peregrine Falcon spots a tasty morsel of food and flies with absolute precision to nab it. The best part was that this bird landed on my gloved fist so I could take a good close look at its beauty. Fortunately, … Continue reading ‘Rapt’ Up in the Experience
Meals and Memories
For as long as I can remember, my dad talked about his favorite restaurant. A local Mexican restaurant he discovered when he was still a bachelor. Once he got married and moved out the neighborhood, we didn't go there very often. But whenever we did go back to this place called El Cholo, he'd ask … Continue reading Meals and Memories
SCS: Celebrating Mother’s Day
For this Self-Care Sunday (SCS) I’m celebrating Mother’s Day by taking the day off and reposting an excerpt from an old blog I posted back in 2017. At the time, my daughter was 15 and I was adjusting to life with a high school student. Now I’m the mother of a college student, while I’m … Continue reading SCS: Celebrating Mother’s Day
Self-Care Sunday: Signs of Laughter
Happy World Laughter Day! 🥳 😆 The first Sunday in May is World Laughter Day, which was founded by Dr. Madan Kataria. He established the first World Laughter Day event in Mumbai, India on May 10, 1998. Dr. Kataria is a family doctor in India and the founder of the Laughter Yoga movement. He started … Continue reading Self-Care Sunday: Signs of Laughter
SCS: Gardening Therapy
It’s pretty common knowledge that being out in nature is good for our mental health. So why not take it a step further and get those hands dirty! Be engaged with nature, nurturing it instead of just observing it. This Self-Care Sunday is dedicated to my amateur gardening skills. I have a planter box in … Continue reading SCS: Gardening Therapy
Self-Care Sunday: Easter
This Easter weekend looks much different from Easter last year when we had to stay home and watch the service online. Now people can attend the events person! Saturday I was at church helping with the egg hunt. We had over 400 families show up for the event! Families still have limited options for what … Continue reading Self-Care Sunday: Easter
Self-Care Sunday: Doing Nothing! (almost)
Beginning last Friday, I started thinking of what my self-care would be this Sunday. Maybe gardening? I bought a basil plant with plans to buy some vegetables on Sunday morning. Didn’t happen. It’s a beautiful day, maybe a drive to the beach? Nope, didn’t happen. And then I thought, “Why do I have to do … Continue reading Self-Care Sunday: Doing Nothing! (almost)
Self-Care Sunday: Road to Redwoods
“There’s a redwood forest.” What? Did I hear my husband right? We live in Southern California, not Northern California where the famous Muir Wood redwood trees are located. He then went on to explain that a few redwood trees were planted in Carbon Canyon. So I decided this would be a perfect Self-Care Sunday get … Continue reading Self-Care Sunday: Road to Redwoods
Moment of Calm
As we head into the weekend, I want to offer this friendly reminder to take a moment for yourself. A moment to walk, meditate... whatever it takes to give you peace and perspective. I discovered this cute little bridge at the Niguel Botanical Garden. Your journey isn't over, so make the most of it!