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Sunday Gratitude 3
Posted by: | CommentsAnother Sunday, another week to be grateful for.
Inspired by my Twitter friend Michelle’s (@RiteHereNow) writing prompt:
My taxes being done! Thanks to Celia!
My FitBit and my friend ChefAmy who got me started with it so we could go on virtual walks together.
All the wonderful, creative, energetic and inspiring entrepreneurial women who took the time to walk with me this week.
My mom.
Marilyn – Vision Art Studio
Celia – Graterol Consulting
Betsy – Little Fluffy Clouds
Lissa – Mind Over Medicine
Diane – Diane Fischler
Maria – Small Change Blog
Wildflowers popping up all over Marin County.
What are you grateful for?
Pope Positivity
Posted by: | Comments
So… we have a new Pope.
Habemus Papam!
First of all, I question my statement above. Why did I write “we” have a new pope? I am not Catholic. I was not even raised Catholic.
I guess I say “we” because this person called The Pope has a lot of influence over the society “we” live in.
I have felt a range of emotions since I heard about the new Pope.
I felt hopeful when I heard he…
- was an intellectual Jesuit.
- was the first Pope from South America.
- practices what he preaches about acting the way Jesus would.
- believes in social justice.
- lives in an apartment and prepares his own meals.
- gave up his chauffeur and instead takes the bus.
- took the name Francis, the namesake of my favorite city San Francisco.
Then I did what probably millions of other people did, I googled him. That is when my heart sank. The first thing I read was, “He has described same-sex marriage as the work of the devil and a “destructive attack on God’s plan.” He has also said that gay adoption is a form of discrimination against children.”
You might say, well what did you expect, a Pope who supported marriage equality? No, I did not expect a Pope who supported marriage equality but I was hoping for one who wasn’t actively preaching and working against it. (Dear World, can we please get over this issue and move on? Is my (gay) marriage really hurting the sanctity of yours? Thanks, Sally)
Then when I think about all of the child abuse that has occurred and been covered up by the leaders of this religion, I get sad. I hope this Pope will be strong enough to face the problem, acknowledge it, deal with it and hopefully put an END to it.
But… instead of focusing on the negative I am making an effort to focus on the positive.
Every Catholic I know (and I know a lot!), I like. They don’t push their religion or spirituality on me. If they have issues with my marriage, they don’t tell me. If I directly ask them how they feel about a controversial issue like my marriage they say it is not for them to decide only God knows. Many of them are doing beautiful things to help others. Yes, even though the Catholic church has done many heinous things in the name of religion and their God, they have also produced a lot of wonderful, loving, giving people.
My hope is this new leader will carry on in his support of social justice and his heart will continue to open with a focus on responsibility, justice, forgiveness, love and servitude rather than on judgement, control and coverups.
#popehope
*Pope image borrowed from abcnews.com
Sunday Gratitude 2
Posted by: | CommentsInspired by my Twitter friend Michelle’s (@RiteHereNow) writing prompt: I am grateful for…
12 Random Things from Southern California to Northern California I am grateful for…
My friends and family in Southern California.
Newport Beach – I love walking on that boardwalk.
Old friends.
(@Katpm saved this bottle of champagne I gave her 21 years ago!)
Mi Casa Restaurant. (You have to have grown up in OC to understand this love.)
Dog friends.
Creative mailboxes.
My mom taking a whirlwind 36 hour adventure with me this weekend. Started in So Cal, drove through the snowy Grapevine to No Cal, saw the Bay Bridge lights, attended a Vision Book workshop , then flew back to So Cal.
Here’s a shot of the snow off of Hwy 5 that my mom took while I was driving.
The Bay Bridge lights. (Live cam here < Thanks @DannySkarka)
My friends and family in Northern California.
Stinson Beach – I love walking on that beach.
New friends.
Home.
Biggest mistake businesses make on Twitter
Posted by: | CommentsThe biggest mistake businesses make on Twitter is: ignorance – not knowing about checking their @ messages.
Dear Businesses on Twitter,
You may be ignoring your customers and potential customers and not even be aware of it! I see this happen all the time!
Tip: Check your @ messages daily.
What is an @ message? An @ message is when someone is talking to or about YOU on Twitter.
Imagine you are a business with a product. A product you want to sell more of. Now imagine you have an unhappy customer and this customer is talking all sorts of nonsense about your product on Twitter and all their friends join in the conversations. Within minutes there could be hundreds or even thousands of negative posts about your product! And you could be completely unaware of all this. If you, as a business would have responded to the original tweet apologizing, and offering to make good on the product issue the whole situation of a bunch of bad PR very likely would have been avoided.
Now imagine your customers absolutely love your product. They say good things about your company and your product regularly on Twitter. After awhile they notice you are ignoring their tweets and never thanking them for their praise. They may get their feelings hurt and no longer want to shout your praises.
As a business it is important to be in the conversation. This is true across all the social media platforms but if you are on Twitter let’s start with this one simple step. Check your @ messages regularly. Here is how:
Log on to Twitter.com. Along the very top you will see a menu that says: Home | @ Connect | # Discover | Me
Click on the @ Connect
This is where you see all the mentions of you!
Now reply to the individual tweets mentioning your business or product. (When you hover over the tweet, there is a little reply button to click on so you can reply to person who sent the tweet.)
Thank you,
PS. If this whole idea of social media for your business feels overwhelming or you just don’t have time to deal with it, we do offer trainings and support! Click here for more information.
Sunday Gratitude
Posted by: | CommentsInspired by my Twitter friend Michelle’s (@RiteHereNow) writing prompt:
I am thankful for…
Friends
Family
Forgiveness
and
Food!
Thankful for my hike with Twitter friend Maria (@alembic) yesterday in China Camp.
Thankful for the wonderful dinner shared with @ernestoadiaz and family last night. Also thankful for the opportunity to try new recipes. For instance, Mejillones con Chorizo prepared by Ernesto. This recipe will most likely show up on his new blog soon.
Thankful to my friends who have invited me to watch the Oscars with them tonight!
Thankful for my mom who is open to going on a last minute adventure with me next week. She’s coming up here for a whirlwind 24 hour trip to attend one of Marilyn’s vision book workshops.
Finally, thankful for forgiveness, for those people who have stuck with me through all the ups and downs and drama over the last 20+years.
Thank you.
Vision Board vs. Vision Book
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve all heard of vision boards thanks to the movie The Secret. I always liked the idea of a vision board to help me get more visually focused on my goals but what I did not like was the blatant display of what I wanted in life. It made me feel a bit vulnerable. I didn’t want my family and guests in my home to give their opinions of my visions. I wanted my visions to be MY visions and was not interested in other people’s criticism or opinion of them.
What I used to do was make mini vision boards on construction paper. This worked well for me because I could tuck them away in a folder of my desk and look at them in private without the peanut gallery having a say in my “woowoo” stuff. 
However, I have recently discovered something even BETTER and more FUN than my mini vision boards and they are called Vision Books! The vision book idea came from my friend Marilyn LoRusso who runs the Vision Book Art Workshops out of her home in Marin County, California. She leads us through creating vision books re-using old, hard cover novels, that we alter.
Here are two of my vision books:
Tucked inside those pages are my visions and dreams wrapped up in a pretty package. Marilyn’s workshops have been so successful she is now offering an online version of her workshops, it’s actually an 8 week vision book rainbow journey, as she calls it.
Oh and you don’t have to be “woowoo” to benefit from Marilyn’s workshops. Our local newspaper, the MarinIJ recently wrote a piece about the workshops. When I started taking the workshops I had no idea where I was going with my vision or what my vision even was. I just new I was ready for a change. A lot of wonderful things have changed in my life in the last year.
If you are feeling overwhelmed and unhappy with your life, it is time to give yourself a break and take care of yourself. Creating a vision book is one way of doing this.
Click here for information about the Online Vision Book Rainbow Journey.
Bok Choy: 5 minutes 5 ingredients
Posted by: | CommentsIngredients:
- Baby Bok Choy
- Olive oil
- Vegetable broth
- Soy sauce
- Ginger
Rinse bok choy.
Heat pan with a small amount of olive oil. Add bok choy. Saute for a few minutes.
Add about a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth (if you don’t have any pre-made broth you can use a bouillon cube mixed with water).
Add grated fresh ginger and a splash of soy sauce. I found this great gluten free soy sauce. Let simmer until bok choy is soft.
Serve as a side dish with your meal.
Enjoy your bok choy!
You might also enjoy 7 Steps to Super Simple Kale Chips
How to opt out of receiving the Yellow Pages
Posted by: | CommentsIf you take a walk around Marin County today you will likely see phone books, covered in plastic, laying around the street, floating in gutters. I just did.
Instead of just walking straight to the recycling bin with my phone book, I decided to take the time to figure out how to opt out of receiving this dinosaur in the future.
I have to say Marin County Valley YellowPages is making an effort to be more environmental and they do offer an opt out Website address right on the front cover, however, I’d rather an opt in effort than and opt out but hey it’s a start.
10 not so simple steps to opt out of the Yellow Pages that have been delivered directly to your gutter without asking:
- Go to: www.yellowpagesoptout.com
- Enter your Zip code
- Fill out the form. (Not so pleased it is required to ‘register’ before opting out). Provide them with your full name, email, telephone number and home address.
- Log in to email to receive password and further instructions.
- Follow instructions in email back to Website to log in with your new random password. Log in.
- Click on blue button which reads, “Make Selections Now”.
- Adjust the quantity for each book offered to you to “none”
- Click on Save Changes button.
- Read opt out agreement and check box next to this statement: I have read and understand the above disclaimer.
- Click Confirm button.
Are you are a business owner wondering how the heck you will advertise your services without the phone book? Have you considered trying social media? If you need some support or training in how to use social media for your business, contact me for a consultation. I offer customized one on one trainings.
February Resolutions
Posted by: | Comments
January has come to an end! Have your resolutions stuck or did they also come to an end?
I believe February is a great time to set new resolutions! The gyms are less crowded. The hustle and bustle of the holidays are over. Routines are starting to set in again.
Since I spent most of January sick with the flu, I pretty much didn’t start any of my resolutions or new year plans.
Let’s review, I wrote this blog post Time For A Change at the end of December with my BIG plans for 2013.
Here were my plans:
- No more commuting to San Francisco day in and day out √ Oh hey! I can check this one off the list! 2/1/13 is my last official day working in San Francisco.
- Finish my book (committed to writing for 30 minutes a day for the next 30 days) I haven’t exactly been writing 30 minutes a day for the last 30 days but I have been writing and I did complete 1 more interview! And I created a brand new blog dedicated to this book!
- Post more on this blog √ 3 new blog posts and 1 new blog – not bad!
- Join CrossFit √ I did join Crossfit! I made it to 1 Intro session and 1 whole beginner session and then got the flu… this is the one resolution I will definitely pick back up in February. From my little introduction to CrossFit, I already LOVE it!
- Make the rest of my life the best of my life! √ Yes! So far, despite the flu 2013 has been a great year!
I am happy I reviewed my plan. I actually did accomplish a lot! This gives me hope. Here’s to a fun February to you all!
What are your February resolutions?
*Check mark image from http://icons.mysitemyway.com
Super Simple Kale Chip Recipe (7 Steps)
Posted by: | CommentsSince “How to prepare Kale Chips” is my number 1 blog post of ALL time I thought I would share my updated, super simplified kale chip recipe with you.
Easy, affordable kale chips!
Sally’s Super Simple Homemade Kale Chips
What you need:
Kale
a cookie sheet
oil (olive, coconut, grape, whatever)
garlic
salt
cayenne pepper
7 Easy steps to make tasty kale chips:
- preheat oven to 285º
- spray cookie sheet with oil
- remove stems from kale (rip them out, cut them out, whatever is easiest for you)
- pour a little oil onto kale and massage (squish) until it gets limp
- add a little garlic, salt, cayenne or your favorite spice
- spread out on cookie sheet
- bake 10-20 minutes
Tips:
check kale every 5 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn
cooking time varies based on age and dryness of kale.
Kale Chips
