Wheat grass is my caffeine

As you know I usually add Amazing Grass Wheat Grass powder to my green smoothies. I admit, when I don't drink a green smoothie, I don't drink my wheat grass. Lately, I've been consuming daily protein shakes and drinking my green smoothie concoctions with less frequency. 

Recently, I opened my cabinet and saw my canister of wheat grass hiding in the back behind my vitamins. I pulled it out, opened it, poured a scoop in a glass of water, mixed well and chugged. I don't mind the taste of wheat grass, but I will tell you it's definitely an acquired taste. If you're new to wheat grass in the powder form, I suggest mixing it with juice or in a green smoothie until you can drink it with just water. HOWEVER, in my experience, I didn't feel the same boost when I mixed it with other ingredients. I feel the energy results much faster when I drink it with water only. 

A few minutes later, I happily felt a nice surge in my energy levels. It seemed like my morning mood which was very sluggish a few minutes prior suddenly picked up and the early morning fog dissipated. 

my daily energy boost!

Woohoo! I was ready to start my day! 

I'm not a coffee drinker (don't like the taste) so I always felt like I was left out of the daily morning coffee jolt that so many other people experience. I tried drinking tea in the morning, but it never gave me that boost I was looking for.

Well, my friends, I have finally discovered a natural, non caffeinated jolt that is good for you! Now I mix up a glass of wheat grass every morning after I drink a mug of warm water with fresh lemon juice. I even started to drink a glass before I hit the gym if I go in the afternoon. 

I don't drink it for the taste, I drink it for the results. If you haven't experienced the grass, I highly suggest giving it a go! I've only tried the Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass powder which you can find in Whole Foods or online. 

Bottoms up!

beHealthy 

It's the little things that matter...

Like your nails.

A simple way you can keep your look fun and fresh is to change your nail polish color...often. I consider myself to be a "maid in waiting." 

What am I waiting for? 

The advice given to me by my BFF was to stay calm and keep my nails done in the meantime. 

Such simple advice but it really does make a difference! It takes the focus off my ringless finger and on to my beautiful manicured nails. 

After receiving that advice, I started to take time to get a weekly manicure. Yes, I spend money every week getting my nails done (which of course, is added to the budget). Not only do I enjoy the weekly  change to my look, I enjoy the time spent at my favorite nail salon, Top Art Nail Salon, in Cherry Hill, NJ. For $13, I sit in a heated seat, enjoy a luxurious hand and arm massage and their signature neck and shoulder massage while my nails dry. They usually have the Food Network on the big screen tv and I spend that time zoning out watching mindless tv and chatting with the nail techs who I all know by name. 

Ahh...the nail salon. 

source

It's my weekly indulgence. My time to pamper myself and enjoy some downtime. I always leave feeling refreshed, relaxed and feeling like I need a nap. 

In my quest to find a healthier less toxic nail polish, I stumbled across a subscription company called Julep. Each month they will send you two complimentary colors based on your color profile style wrapped up in a pretty little box. Not only are the colors amazing, the polish is non-toxic. In addition to your polish, you get another beauty product freebie and a cute inspirational card. I like to post my favorites on my vision board at my desk. These are the two colors I received in my December box based on my Maven Style, Classic with a Twist. 

Cute, right?

One thing I love about this company is the C-level team are WOMEN. Jane Park,  is the owner and CEO and Kate MacDonald is the Chief Experience Officer and COO (I want that title one day!)

Besides having beautiful packaging and an awesome brand, I love the mission and the core values of the company. It's not just about nail polish. Check out some of their core values:

• We practice gratitude
• We find joy in being scrappy

Who wouldn't want to support a forward thinking company like this?

So yes, you can see, I'm a big fan of Julep and I think you should be as well. 

See what Julep has to offer!

It's important to take care of yourself and practice what we health coaches call "self care." If you're not taking care of yourself, it's hard to take care of all the other areas in your life. 

It doesn't take much. Find a nail salon or a product you love and enjoy it.

beBeautiful

Lose weight at work

This morning I saw personal trainer and fitness mogul, Jillian Michaels, on the Today show. One of her fitness tips that I recently started to implement is to STAND more during the day. If you have a sit-on-your-butt-all-day-job like I do, you can burn twice as many calories by standing. 

I'm all about burning more calories, but standing more can improve your overall health and well being. Standing more during the day can:

• increase your heart rate 
• burn more calories
• lower your blood glucose levels (this is really important after lunch)

On JustStand.org, I read that the American Medical Association (AMA) agrees that sitting for extended periods of time can be bad for personal health. Their newly adopted policy recommends business organizations offer sitting alternatives, including standing desks. 

I looked into purchasing a standing desk, but they are expensive and not that cute. I tried standing at my kitchen island, but it's not really high enough for me to properly work for hours at a time.

One day my boyfriend suggested I try using my ironing board as a standing desk. Eureka! It's adjustable, it's flat, it's wide enough to hold my laptop and mouse. I tried it and it works perfectly! The best part is I can store it away when not in use. 

My standing work space at home.

I declare, I will not suffer from  Sitting Disease! Neither should you! Get up off of your duff during the day. 

source

JustStand.org has some great cures for the sitting disease. I encourage you to check them out and if you're on a budget (like me), pull out the old ironing board. Whatever you do, just STAND!

beHealthy
beFit
beCreative

The Ultimate Decluttering Day

Happy New Year folks!

I thought this would be a good time to give an update on Project Declutter which I started in December. If you haven't already decided to declutter areas of your life, now is the perfect time to do so! 

Yesterday, I had a major day of cleaning, tossing old and unused goods and organizing the left overs. I had a little New Year's Eve party at my place so my morning started with post-party clean up. On a mission to clear the junk and let brand new energy flow through my home, I had 3 or 4 bags of trash filled up with useless stuff by the end of the day. What exactly did I do?

In the kitchen

• gave away all the left over party food 
• threw away non-perishable food in the cabinets that I haven't touched in years
• removed all the stuff I had stored on top of the refrigerator and put it in a cabinet (away from sight)
• tossed glasses and other random utensils that I don't use or have too many of

In the bathroom

• scrubbed the floor (this was long over due)
• washed the shower curtain liner and bath mats
• tossed old make up
• washed my make up brushes

In the bedroom

• I washed all bedding, including the pillows and mattress pad
• cleared out and reorganized two storage cabinets I had at the foot of the bed. Instead of housing a catch all for random stuff, they now hold all my old journals

In my home office

• went through and organized those random piles of paper I had laying around
• disinfected my desk, chair, laptops and mice
• cleared out my file cabinet and tossed all paperwork from an old business that is no longer in existence
• organized my book shelf and reorganized it
• I DELETED ALL OLD EMAILS PRIOR TO DECEMBER 1, 2013 ON ALL EMAIL ACCOUNTS - this was huge. I'm not sure if I will regret it or not, but it sure does feel good not to look at all those emails. Going forward, I will continue to unsubscribe to newsletters etc. that I do not read.

In the closet

• I continued to toss old and worn clothes/shoes. This is an ongoing task for me. There is no need for me to hold on to underwear that has holes in it! 

Once my home was clean and clear, I felt like I could sit down and work on my Desire Map. I started reading The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul on vacation last week in Florida. 

Yesterday, I started to do the work and get down to my nitty gritty core desired feelings. I spent about 2 hours working on the first few exercises! Whew! I'm looking forward to continuing with the process this weekend. This book comes highly recommended by a number of people that I admire and I can't wait to drill down to my core desires even further. The premise of the book is once you're clear on how I want to feel vs. what you want to accomplish, you'll be able to increase your levels of joy and happiness in life. 

January 1 represents a new beginning for us. Why not move into 2014 differently than when you ended 2013? 

-beSpiritual

-beOrganized