Eat Play Love

Have you ever sat down in a dimly lit room, after the house becomes eerily quiet and realize that ideas you once believed simply no longer apply to your life? I once believed a shared history could make a friendship; a friendship entrenched in such deep ways that it would always be a part of my life. Many times over the years, I allowed myself to feel hurt and encumbered by people. People I led myself to believe were in my life with good intentions, coming from a place of wholeheartedness, and trueness, but the rays of goodness never could quite outshine an inescapable heaviness. Sometimes the heaviness is recognized rather quickly and other times it can take years to see the light.  In an utmost moment of clarity, I found myself caught completely off guard. I was simply sitting in my favorite chair, my feet kicked up on the ottoman, I was enjoying a gentle sip of hot tea from the ceramic mug that was warming my hands, and the truth began to speak like whispers in my mind. I grappled

I'm not sure if you remember in January when I posted a video explaining the single best thing you could do for your health? If not, go watch this , and then come back. Well, I really took that video to heart. I made it a point to go out and walk every single day for at least 30 minutes, but I found it was difficult to navigate the sidewalks that were ice packed especially in the dark. I typically find my window of opportunity to work out at night after dinner and the weather was getting me down. Let's face it, weather is an excuse. I don't make excuses anymore, so I needed to figure out Plan B. I was casually chatting up a friend about how I need to join a gym because I was sick of walking outside in the winter and just the right person overheard me. On the spot I was offered a trade situation, 7 hours of my time, for a membership at my neighborhood gym. I couldn't say no! Thank you universe! Introduce the treadmill to my life... Even though for years and

I'm so happy J captured this moment on the hill because I have a feeling that it's fleeting. Sj is a great teacher, I'm proud of her! In proper cheeky fashion, G kinda has to let it rip a bit at the end. Soon enough they'll be racing each other down the hill.

After finishing the cleanse, my husband decided he was going to continue staying wheat free. While I have returned to some foods with wheat, for the most part I've replaced everyday go to items with wheat free alternatives. For example I have a corn tortilla in the morning instead of toast with an egg. I just prefer how I feel eating limited amounts of wheat/gluten and I notice I am not as bloated come the day's end. As many of you already know, in our house we have a Pizza Friday tradition. It's been in my family for close to 50 years. I make the dough every week for our pizza, but J has been longing for a wheat free alternative. Today I picked up two cornmeal pizza crusts at Whole Foods only to arrive home and learn the first ingredient was wheat flour. I was frustrated. While searching for gluten free pizza crust recipes, I was really turned off by the ingredients and complex list of items you need to make it. Immediately I searched Elana's Pantry to see if sh

While my absence was hardly planned, I was definitely not on a beach sipping fruity cocktails being delivered by sun kissed cabana boys. Instead, life just happened. A cold virus moved through our house, started with one, went to another, then me, then onto J. Somewhere in there we also had a stomach bug, which I had a few days later complete with a fever for like 12 hours and woke up the next day, fine. Very odd. The only one to escape that bug has been J. Fingers crossed for him, he's spared the stomach bug. When everyone was doing well enough that I did not have to monitor them after bedtime, I have been escaping to the gym. Yes, me at a gym! I know it sounds odd to say, but I'm loving the ability to walk out the door and work out in a controlled environment. I was so set on "hiking everyday", but the cold and wind and ice were getting tiresome. I wasn't able to workout at a pace I wanted to because I was navigating the icy trails. I'm doing a trade at th