2012 CHERYL'S YEAR IN REVIEW

This year has been a very busy year packed into 12 small months! Huge! I started the year off In Colorado working at Primrose Preschool and loving my job and ended the year living in California and working for a company called “I DO” MG! I moved from Colorado because I felt a calling to California. I did not know why I had a calling to come back to the home of my growing up years except that my children were there and I needed to be near them! Here are some of my highlights and low lights! I was made Teacher of the month last spring in CO and it was a honor to be recognized as my work with the kids mattered so much to me. I reached the second to the last weight loss goal of 135 from 190 a few years ago. Yea! Size six zipped right up thanks to my coaches and Debi being one of them who sent email just when I needed it. Dance your pants off! I started taking dance lessons and loved it. Learned to Cha Cha and line dance and swing (Move those hips! Great self esteem booster! I plan on more lessons in my future! Did a few 5 mile climbs! Yea, I climbed the Rocky Mountains! Still want to score new hiking boots! Then the MOVE. When I first moved to California I let my stinky mindset just run away with my brain. I was negative, fear filled and became what I said I would never become again “A Victim” and even though I was full of the knowledge of what NOT to do and how to have a healthy mindset. I simply choose to run with the negative. I ended up gaining ten pounds or so and feeling awful. What does a healthy California / Colorado girl do? She picks herself up and she simply changes back to the healthy person with a positive mindset and hangs with good healthy people and fuels her body to win! She moves a hour each day (walking or jogging) and she does this in ONE WEEK! Yes, six months of being in a room sad and icky and all it took was ONE week because I had the tools from my life coaches! In Calif I have river rafted for the first time, went on a very small (2 seats) air plane with NO roof, walked around the whole of San Francisco on foot and spent time with all my kids! (Now i know I was meant to spend time with my grown babies and to see that they are fab so im free to go now and be FAB) Now I have a great job and great future ahead and I am happy and full of faith. Yes, Life is good! 2013 COME AND GET ME!

1 MORE THING!!

Today I was listening to a video from http://www.mojocoach.com and Debi was talking about how we can do 1 thing each day to improve our life. JUST 1 THING in a few areas. Or just do 1 of them…. If you omit soda from your diet and you add 1 glass of water each day you could loose weight in just a few weeks time. How about giving your kids 1 extra hug or word of encouragement each day, look at your spouse in the eyes for 1 min each day and tell them you love them with your eyes, lift your weights 1 extra time when you think you are all done, walk or run 1 extra block each day…make 1 phone call to a loved one or old friend each day or week! and on and on…….Take 1 negative thought each day and replace it with a positive thought….. My plan is to keep eating gluten free and to get back on my vegan eating MORE RAW food each day and to post recipes here. Keep looking out….

Faith...What is faith? I just Googled it and got the following: Complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Faith.....wow...... The fires this week in Colorado Springs which has been my home for the last five years before two weeks ago I moved to California, have rocked my world. I have been weepy and have had a sad feeling all week for the people that have lost their homes and for my friends that were scared and had to leave their homes. I have heard from them all and none of them have had fire damage! I am so grateful that they were spared! Faith.....You know...I lost alot of faith in the last two months. I had some people that judged me unfairly in the name of their religion and brought up the past and do some pretty nasty things to me and I just said "no more" and went anti religion for the last few months. In moving back to California and seeing the miracles in my life, my three kids and then the fire thing...I have began to find a new faith! A few people have said to me "wow, you got out of Colorado in time"...and I have said "I would rather be there helping.....and yet today I have had to relook my spiritual path as I am a very spiritual person and have alot of intuition and yes faith. I have to see it for what it was. I fled Colorado Springs because of the real fire that was coming and because I believe that a personal fire was coming and I was led out! I was out of work and out of money and there you go. Did my higher power take me out of Colorado because of the fire? No.....He took me out because of the emotional fire that was coming and he has a great plan for me in California. A grand great life ahead of me.... Do I see it now? NOOOO Faith.... Where am I with religion? or God. I am praying again. I am believing in God and the universe and the ability for direction and to know that there is a plan and its good. Am I a Christian? No.....I am a child of the universe and Its good and I do not need to label myself. Is my faith renewed? Yes....yea....

VANITY AT ALL COSTS?

Last week I got up and just before I got my tired bod in the shower I looked in the mirror and there it was..NO NO NO....The top of my blonde hair was a dark blonde mousy streak / or the dreaded roots. I was going to Sallys and playing kitchen beautician and doing a good job of it I might add because one of my girlipoos told me how and its cheap to do my own bleach / sun streaks etc. Yet, that is not the point of what im going to write about here. Vanity? Maybe. I have that streak of dirty blonde and little GREY hairs. Not many mind you (see denial here) and for that im most grateful to the universe! Yet I have a few around my ears and I am not ready to deal with that. :) and yet I just said it here for the world to read "CHERYL HAS LITTLE GREY HAIRS" There universe...Bla ....nanny nanny nanny...You can not bother me now that im in acceptance mode! Ok...Now what? Most of my girlies say "Go to Sallys again silly" ..... The last time I put that bleach on my head it burned my scalp and burned my eyes and the burn was not a real burn just a feeling and yet it made me feel like I was nuts to do this to my body. The stink and ammonia in my nose was just dreadful and felt so TOXIC! I eat organic, 99 percent vegan 99 percent of the time! I use things like organic healthy dish soap to clean and wash my clothes in and only put minerals on my face now and then I go and put this toxic and i mean TOXIC nasties on my head near my brain for vanity? And ladies I have done a survey and talked to men and they do not like / and I mean almost all of them / like 99 percent do not like hair dye and they do not like lip stick. Dont write me and tell me about your man who loves your sexy red lips because I said 99 percent! :) And 99 percent hate and I mean hate with a capital H ....Hair dye...and they do not mind grey and love that you look they they do because they are not going to Sallys and dying their hair. So we are doing it for ourselves...and the men who do not realize we dye and bleach our locks... So now what for this girliepoo with the vanity issues? Well I have not made a decision. I do know i will not dye my hair in anyones house again and expose them to toxic stinks! So if i do then i have to dye in the garage :) see how this will be a pain? I do not hang around people who would even let me be toxic around them. Here are my choices: 1. Let it all grow out and be mousy and grey streaks around ears: NOT......NO....... 2. Use peroxide on roots to keep it a bit sunny...doing that now and it wont help grey but its ok as long as its a bit lighter. Warning: test this out as some become a nice orange. 3. Use the sun and lemons. I may do this next week .... 4. Use a natural product from whole foods and go darker. Like a henna? Any other Idels will appriciated. In saying all this I have seen alot of ladies natural that are my age and they are simply beautiful. I do know that I will give this all up maybe at retirement? maybe not....... Or ....I may cave and back at Sallys this California Girl goes!

Personal Style

Personal Style
by mscheryl60
I have been thinking alot lately about clothing and how it defines us. I am in the process of finding my own personal style and with a limited budget and alot of excitement!.

Thrift stores can be the answer! I see some women who wear the same theme always. Sporty polo shorts and jeans or shorts or the lady who wears floral prints and pinks and pastels! I love that about them! I do have a style that I cling too and that is just ok as its me! I like to change up my look for the occasion and mood! I even have a cute little black leather skirt that needs to be worn someday.

The last two years have been a discovery journey for me and I decided to only do what I love and that means clothing and food and my house decor.You can find your authentic style by taking a small trip to a mall or thrift store and you do not have to buy a thing! I went through a book called "Simple Abundance" a few years ago and what the author suggested is to take a trip to the mall and just spend a few hours on a discovery journey. What calls out to you? What colors do YOU love! Go to a art store or better go to a paint store and get color pallets and see what colors call out to you! For me its black and deep reds and whites and cobalt blues and on and on....:) I do not care for yellows and oranges and browns! They not pleasing to MY OWN eyes.

I have decided to make every day count when I get dressed. I am going to start slow as my budget needs to be observed and to get dressed up even when I go run errands. Recently I was out and did not take time to make my hair look its best and did not put on my perfume etc and a man I was interested in called me to come see him and I had to go right to his office and from that day on I have decided to dress as if he may call at any time and he may! In saying that why not get dressed up just for ourselves! Why not make our homes pretty and soft to our own eyes?

A girl needs to have a few outfits at all times for any occasion ready and I for one need to take my own advice. A little black dress and shoes and a purse? You are then set for anything that may happen in the evening! A nice pair of jeans that look nice and fit! A few cute tops in the colors you LOVE! A few winter sweaters! A office jacket / blazer and a blouse and skirt or slacks! A super cute pare of flats, a nice pair of winter boots and cute little flip flops! They are so cheap / like 2 dollars that you throw them away when they get old! How about a vintage dress with hells to match, A long flowing hippy shirt (what ever floats your boat) ....and on and on......Oh yea..and one more! The dreaded bathing suit. YES.....they have all sizes. I for one need to get on this …..Then you are set and if someone asks you to a pool party you are set and do not have to go out getting any old thing.

One of my favorite looks was this little black knitted vest that buttoned down the front and was long and had this cute little beige undershirt to go under it. With it came a little silk calico paisley print pleated skirt that was mini / just above my knee. I wore black tights and black boots with it. I felt so pretty in that outfit!

The point is that getting dressed is a art and we are the artists and our own bodies are the canvas! We need to create with style and color and and let our inner beauty shine!

MEAN WHAT YOU SAY AND DONT SAY IT MEAN

SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY AND DON'T SAY IT MEAN...WOW...That is what Carolyn has been telling me for years now and somehow I missed the boat yesterday. Or the last few days. What I did was delcair to the world and to my friends and yea to the man that is interested in me with a huge stinky.... "I hate Valentines Day" :) Yes.....some of you are going to say "Cheryl, What in the heck were you thinking"?

I set here and ponder this fact of lack of judgement on my part with a tad of disappointment in myself and alot of humor. I really meant it or thought I meant it. Valentines day has been this big huge let down and so I put up a guard on my heart and shout to the world "I hate it" I even told the person that im interested in that Valentines day is "SINGLES AWARENESS DAY" and he did laugh (he thinks im funny sometimes because I am funny sometimes:) and yet I knew this was not the correct road to go down with this man as it is negative.

I will not go into my personal details. Lets just say that I put crappy Valentines into the Universe and guess what dear readers? Cheryl got what she wanted and what she put out there. Yea....

How did I handle it? I went out and bought a purse. ;) Like any California girl..When the going gets tough the tough go shopping. I did get it on sale with a gift certificate :)

Now where am I this morning. I am in my lifecoaches old saying "STOP AND START" I stopped hating Valentines day and started thinking that Its not true...Say what you mean and be honest. I hated how it was handled in my past for years and years and now I no longer have to do the ol hate thing. I had a great day with the kids yesterday and even a powerful day. We had the four year olds set in a circle and say what they love about the child next to them and a few little boys said "I love her and im getting married to her" that was so stinken cute :) How can hate even be on such a sweet day :) NOT...

I talked to each of my three beautiful Children yesterday :) I am blessed..beyond anything i could have imagined being a mother.

Off I go to another chapter in the Cheryl story...Life is good (MG)

Dancing!

I am sitting here in my beautiful living room watching the sun rise and the snow falling and its so peaceful and silent. Snow does not make noise that often :) I love Colorado at times like this. I am told that I am a odd one out when it comes to mornings because I always wake up smiling and ready to go and love my peaceful times like today. My life coach says im like Tiger the Tiger and that is true at times and especially in the mornings. I get my inspiration in the mornings and when I wake up all is good and life is great.

I have this writing assignment that is due today. I have to take two different random pictures off the internet and write about them and put them together as if they were separated at birth and just found each other again. So I am writing on my blog to get a writing inspiration.

I have been doing new things in life and will continue to do so! My new adventure last year was to learn to dance. I started with taking line dance classes and had fun with that and it taught me some basic steps of dance and it was a blast. I then moved on from that and found swing dance! I took my first class last night and had so much fun and was sad when the class ended! I will keep on taking classes and growing in this area as its a passion on mine. It takes me out of my comfort zone for sure! We danced to this sexy sultry slow blues song and it was so beautiful! More to tell later!

My other new area in my life is that I have gone VEGAN! I have been on a stall for about a year now at 145 and yea that is great and I feel fantastic and yet my goal is 125 so I have to reach it and for my small frame that is not too small and in fact I will not look skinny at 125. I was doing Paleo (meat and veg and fat and fruit) and my body did not respond to the meat and oil thing. I now eat lots of veggies and grains and beans and things like hummus and pita bread! I do not eat any animal products at all. No dairy and no eggs! I found this wonderful coconut yogurt and soy yogurt at Whole Foods as well as almond cheese! I am going to roast root veggies for next weeks snacks when i get hungry after work. My size 6 new jeans were falling off at work yesterday. Yea.....They run big so I have to be honest here and say I am a size 8 in all pants!

My other goal is to have a health / weight loss support group hosted in my house and am still thinking about when and how to do this. I want to do it on a Saturday morning.

Off to go write my assignment.

Life is good....

Eating Well

(The Picture is Erik and Deb making some great Hand made pasta...

I just got back from a visit with my grown kids and had a wonderful time with them and their partners. One thing that struck me about the visit is how Brandon said to me that it was so impressive that I eat as well as they do on my little income. I buy only the best food and drink and shop at happy places :) like Whole foods and Sunflower and Natural grocers. I eat better then many of the rich people in the USA and I do not spend that much more. People say to me they cant afford to eat healthy? What is the price of health?

I made decision to eat organic, grass fed foods when I can. I eat locally when I can and eat mainly Paleo. Meats, vegies and fruits, nuts and chocolate! Bit of dairy and a few good oils (olive, coconut and grass fed butter) and I use coconut sugar and local wildflower honey, I drink only the best on occasion. A glass of good red wine etc.....I only eat grains for special occasions (dining out somewhere special etc). If it tastes bad I do not eat it. I waste very little.

You can get flyers from the stores mentioned above and get deals. They had lobster tails at Sunflower for 4 dollars a pound this week! Their meat sales are amazing. Whole foods has the best apples and do have sales as well. I do prefer to spend 25 cents etc a pound more for a great apple that is not mealy. Farmers markets are another place to get good food as well as food co ops etc.

The point is that even on a very limited budget you can eat well and feed your family well. Costco has great values on organic foods in bulk as well...


Ok off to the gym.....:)