One Fine Day

Get Cooking! So yesterday's indulgence we will leave alone and start fresh today! So tonight for dinner your challenge is to cook the freshest, cleanest recipe you can find that still seems delicious to you!  There are so many delicious recipes out there that contain nothing but the best ingredients you just have to find them! Make sure your recipe contains everything from scratch, nothing from a box, and everything delicious!!  Not only will you physically feel great, but you will feel so accomplished that you created this master piece. Herbs de Provence Chicken over a Warm Farro, Mozzarella, and Tomato Jumble My recipe tonight will be from a Hello Fresh recipe that I received over the weekend! I have been cooking these about 3 times a week and absolutely love them! I save the recipe cards for a later date and just grab the ingredients from my grocery store. I have been loving this lately! Sure, I am capable of going to the store and getting my o...

Treat yourself!: Happy Sunday beautiful people! We live in a world that's has requirements for everything including what is in the norm of what is appropriate to eat. I know for me when I want something that I know isn't the healthiest for me my first thought is "oh I shouldn't" knowing that I usually don't eat like this and in moderation there is nothing wrong with it!  So today, indulge in something you have been wanting for a while whether it is ice cream, a big cheeseburger, or a plate of French Fries. Do it today without hesitation and without feeling guilty! We deserve to relax with a pint of Ben and Jerrys once in a while right!?!  Tomorrow's challenge will be totally different so no worries on feeling too bad about yourself, we will turn it around tomorrow. AND, you shouldn't feel bad about this! Taking a break from a diet, a lifestyle, or whatever it may be is mentally healthy!  Love yourself, treat yourself, and enjoy your Sunday 💓☀️...

Declutter your life: Letting go of physical clutter around you gives you the opportunity to declutter the mind, body, and soul.  For today's challenge, I suggest getting rid of 1 item per day until the end of this challenge for a total of 15 items. As the days go on, let the items become more challenging, sentimental, larger etc. For example- today get rid of an old candle, mascara, picture frame that you never used or are just keeping around because you feel like you have to (I am a hoarder I know..) as the days go on let it be clothing items, small home decor, etc. Then when we get to day 15 of this and ultimately day 30.. it will feel really good to have some things out of your way and also the ability to declutter without hesitation might become a habit; I don't know about you but I need that!  It's better to find items that you can donate than to throw away because someone else could really be in need of your old stuff! But like I said today I will probably get rid of ...

Be Kind. Be Grateful. Stay Humble. Be Thankful.  This is a gathering of words that just fell to me one day and it just explained everything I need to remind myself and want others to remember daily.  We often forget how great we have it due to certain circumstances.  So this quote could ^ mean a lot to you. Either make you feel humbled or anger you. Sometimes we feel like our lives are tough, terrible, and can't get much worse. And in all honesty there have been times that I have been there; trauma, abuse, struggle I get it. But - there are others who always have it worse. People saying that to you or saying that in general is never to downplay your situation, it is to let you know it can only go up from here and it can only get better; it will be okay.  On your worst day, don't let it succumb you, overpower you, or allow your willpower to go out the window, you can do this. Allowing defeat into your day or life allows these obstacles to stand in our way! Keep it goi...

There is only one strong, courageous, and beautiful YOU!  I want to introduce something I want to start doing and think everyone should as well!   Everyday jot down in your journal (the one we started on day 9 )  three things you LOVE about yourself. This could be characteristics you hold, attributes, physical traits, or anything you can think of! Whenever you feel down, worthless, or just in a mood you can look back at these comments you made about yourself as a little self reminder of how great you are! Keep on loving YOU!

Inspire Someone I know it sounds sort of cliche, but do it!  Inspire someone. It could be the simplest task you do today, but impact someone the most, including you! Inspiring someone doesn't have to be something huge or extravagant, it can be so effortless you might not even know you are doing it! But I want you to know you are doing it because I want both parties to feel the effects from the inspiration.  It could be referring someone to an inspirational blog, article, or podcast. It could be something as uninvolved as telling someone something they do well and that they should keep on doing it!  I have had friends people feel that they are not worthy and get a lot of self hate which causes them to back out of things that they are so amazing at doing!Inspire, Inspire, inspire and spread self love; you might not realize how much it can improve someones day or someones life just by letting them know how great they are.  Kindness, inspirati...

What's Your Vision? So for today/yesterday's challenge (since I slacked hard), I want us all to create a vision board! It is a proven fact that visualizing things you hope and dream of can be a great exercise of the mind.  I am sure we all have heard of the the book "The Secret" based on the law of attraction: Manifesting what you put out into the universe is what you will attract.“The law of attraction is forming your entire life experience and it is doing that through your thoughts. When you are visualizing, you are emitting a powerful frequency out into the Universe.” The Secret.  Creating a vision board does not need to be solely based on material things or exact things you want, it can be; it can be whatever you make of it. It can be feelings that you wish you attract into your life for the future. It is all up to what you envision for your life.  We are sort of creating a time capsule for our older selves... What did we want for ou...

HAPPY SUNDAY: Sunday's are my favorite time of week; I usually take is easy, go to dinner at my father's house, and of course now watch Game of Thrones!! Basically, totally relaxation compared to the rest of my week. So for today loves, I suggest you do just that- nothing.  Make today as simple as possible and spend it with people you love. Don't over stimulate yourself, because you have a whole week ahead of you.  Oh, and get ready for tomorrow's challenge, it is one of my favorites!! But let's not project, do nothing today my lovely people and enjoy every minute of it. 

Journal Away: Sometimes you may feel frustrated, stressed, or just want to get something off your chest but there isn't anyone there at that present moment to do so. This is when you turn to your journal; a place where you can get your most intimate details of your life out, on paper, and explain it how you want to.  Do you ever try to explain something verbally and it just doesn't come out right? (my life) Well when you write something down, you have the time to process and decide how you are going to explain it.  Don't get me wrong, you do not need to journal just when things are going wrong; you should journal about anything and everything. For example, you could journal how you feel in that present moment, how your day went, what you experienced that day, what you want for your life, or things you dream about.  I started journaling by the recommendation of my partner when I was going through a really depressive time in my life. He told me to do it every...

A Little Bit Further Than You've Gone Before For as long as I can remember I have been a Dead Head. Growing up, the hallways of my home you could always hear the voices of Jerry Garcia or Bobby Weir. I attended my first show in 2005, it was a Bob Weir and Ratdog show and I think I was either in 8th or 9th grade. That is when my tour began. I traveled to any and every show I could; with friends, alone, with my parents- it didn't matter I had to go. The music just took over. There is a saying in the Dead community -"If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand." You either love them or you don't, but if you have ever been to any type of Grateful Dead show you will surly understand. The enthusiasm, energy, and love that surrounds you is incredible. In December 2012 I packed my bags and headed to San Francisco, alone. I couldn't miss the opportunity to see Further in San Fran for a three day New Years Eve show. I hopped on a red eye and off I went. I met...

Daily Reminder. Sometimes we all need that little reminder that everything is okay/great/wonderful/-all the above. Let's be real here, sometimes it isn't always rainbows and sunshine and we all need to remember that in the end everything that is meant to be, will be.  In the meantime, whether it is an amazing day, average day, or a really shitty day it is nice to have something we can visualize and have a reminder that everything is great.  This can be a picture on your desk at work, a quote on your mirror, a beautiful picture/quote for your phone background, or like I have here these adorable bracelets stamped into daily reminders.  My blessed bracelet was a gift given to me by my cousin as a "push present." So now everyday I look at it I remember how blessed I am every day and to have my baby boy in my life.  My Bodhi bracelet I purchased off etsy at  Stamped World . I decided to go with "Bodhi" because this means "awakened...

Happy Friday Eve! For those of you who work a Monday- Friday job; you're almost done!  So for today the theme is nostalgia; we want to bring it back a little bit.  Whatever this means to you whether it is baking an old family recipe, listening to old songs, watching your favorite childhood movie, or calling an old friend- do it! Usually these nostalgic memories will bring you joy and happiness.  Smelling the cookies baking in your home that your grandmother used to bake every Sunday may give you a sense of security and genuine love.  For me, today I listened to all of my old favorite music from the 90/00s and jammed hard to some Hanson! It made me feel young again with no sense of responsibility. For once I forgot about my list of to-dos and the long trail of emails I will tend to tomorrow at work.  So, what is your nostalgic break from reality today? 

Take A Break Happy Hump Day! It is the middle of the week, you have half of the work week behind you; keep on truckin!  But sometimes you need to just stop, take a break, and take a moment for yourself. From work, from life, from anything/everything. It doesn't have to be something extreme, just something to distract your mind for the time being.  Here is this awesome/cute list I saw on pinterest that I had to share! Take a few moments today for yourself and take a break from reality.

Chose your company wisely. Surrounding yourself with people who bring you joy is important. It not only brings positivity to your life but it also brings balance. There are going to be days you aren't feeling so great and you need to have some people in your life that make things worth the while. So today, get together or just give someone a call you haven't seen in a while that brings you positive energy. It doesn't have to be someone you haven't talked to in years ( or it can be ) or it can be someone you just saw a few weeks ago. Get a little positivity life refresher from someone who matters.

Try Making Your Night Stress Free: So my commute from work is a good 35 minutes and there are 2 ways to get home. One highway is shorter in distance while the other is a little bit longer. Personally, I take the one that takes me a little longer to get home for a few different reasons.  The shorter distant highway is so extremely congested and gets backed up almost every single day. Since I get back into the city area around 5pm, it is straight mayhem and I want nothing to do with it. Also, it smells like pollution, gas, and huge tractor trailors and no one wants to look, smell, or listen to all that chaos after dealing with what I had to all day or even if you have a care free job.  I chose to drive for a little longer on a highway that never has traffic, more scenic views, and I never find myself verbally or mentally cursing at the person in front of me.  It Is So Much More Relaxing. I can completely tell the difference of what way I went home w...

How We Can Make Our Days That Much Better We all get into our ways and have what we think is a morning routine. Hit snooze three times, have just enough time to shower, and grab a granola bar as we run out the door. You may not think so at the time- but that has a HUGE impact on your day. I will be the first to admit I am the WORST at this. I not only hit snooze 3 times, but I also pre set 3 alarms every night!! SO, instead of doing that - let us do this new routine together and start tomorrow fresh on day 4 of our #30dayselflovechallenge ; and it's Monday! Set one alarm and don't hit snooze (okay maybe 2 just in case; it is our first try!) let me know how it goes!

#30dayselflovechallenge FREE YOURSELF! Okay so maybe that's a little melodramatic, but seriously- free yourself from all of those unwanted emails! UNSUBSCRIBE! Take a half hour out of your day today and go through your email account(s) and get rid of all of those stores you have subscribed to in the past to get that additional 10% off or those insurance companies that you don't even go through anymore. It becomes a nucance to have such a flood of unwanted information in your inbox. Do it! It will feel good! And stay tuned for later on- tips and tricks how to start your Monday off right!

#30dayselflovechallenge Day 2 I posted on instagram @enlightendaily. Basically day two was all about treating yourself to something you normally wouldn't! We all deserve to be a little selfish once in a while and I think it is important to go outside of the box and have a little fun. Yesterday I went to a yoga class at a studio I had never been to before and I went and chopped all of my hair off! It was nice, refreshing, and felt so relaxing to just focus on me for a few hours. Baby free, work free, house duties free- just me. Sometimes finances come into play here and that can be challenging but you do it have to spend a fortune to do something nice for yourself. Go to the dollar store and get a new nail color! Or find a free yoga class being offered somewhere! The point is, think outside of the box, do something different, and do it for you!

Why I Decided on Self Love From 2012-2015 I worked at a private practice orthopedic office as a medical scribe. This was a job that paid pretty well, it was fun, and I met my life long best friend there who was the x-ray technician. All in all, I had it made there- I was young, had a great boss and worked with my best friend.  My best friend who worked there was super into fitness; she was in competitions, religiously worked out, and meal prepped every Sunday. As best friends do, they show you their ways on certain things. So I started picking up on these habits and wanted her to teach me more! She started showing me how to meal prep, what exercises to do, and would go to the gym with me and show me some new machines to use. At this time in my life I was about a size 4, 130/5 lbs and wasn't too worried about weight, or I shouldn't have been, it was more of a lifestyle/maintenance sort of thing.  I could see the changes in my body and I loved it! I started working ou...

What's Your Mantra? A mantra is said to be a sacred utterance, phrase, word, or sound that can be said or repeated during meditation. This mantra is supposed to aid in concentration, confidence, and empowerment.  I believe, as well as many, that using a mantra daily that is cultivated to you can be life changing. Looking in the mirror every day and saying something as simple as "I am beautiful. I am strong. I am enough." before you start your day can make one hell of a difference...  So... Day 1 of the Self Love Challenge is to come up with your own mantra that you will use for the next 30 days. This will be a word or phrase that you will say out loud to yourself daily, before you begin your day! Share your mantra and spread the love! xoxo

Love yoga? Love nature? Love goats? Well, then I have the perfect little adventure for you.  Go-ga; Goat Yoga! Back in May of this year my friends and I saw on www.syracuse.com that goat yoga was coming our way. For a while before this had popped in our news feed, other cute videos of goat yoga from all over the country had flooded our social media pages.  It showed rooms filled with people in gentle yoga poses with little baby goats running and jumping all over; how could you not radiate positive vibes with that going on?  So when this surfaced coming our way, we had to hop on it! We scheduled our date for July 10th and anticipated its coming.  You may think well what is the point of this? I do yoga to concentrate and be conscious of my body and mind. I love goats but I don't know how to do yoga, should I go? So many questions may have been asked and are still being asked to this day when people see that I have attended and all the answers are, ...

Every night we like to take my son Gray out for a walk. He loves anything to do with the outdoors. For the last week it has been raining every single day and night so our out door activities have been pretty limited, even though he wouldn't mind being in the rain I wasn't having it.  Finally yesterday it was a beautiful day, THANK YOU! So naturally we take a walk around our neighborhood. Every puddle he swishes his feet in and jumps around. We approach a giant puddle and Gray goes running full force and disappears! This puddle must have been at least 2 feet deep. We panic for a moment about to dive in and all of a sudden he pops his head up from the water with the biggest smile I have ever seen. Neighbors started coming out watching him, and probably judging us as parents, but let kids be kids.  If they want to swim in a 2 foot puddle let them!  How can you say no to that smile?  Of course posting this on my personal FB account I had s...

For as long as I can remember I have been obsessed with true crime. But it wasn't always appropriate or in the norm to share your love of serial killer documentaries or how many "I Survived" episodes you have watched. My Favorite Murder, the podcast starring Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark aired January 13, 2016 the first pod called, "My Firstest Murder." Since the start of this podcast an entire community has began and my sense, and thousands of others sense of feeling inappropriate is totally out the window. All of us "Murderinos" as we now like to refer to ourselves, realize there are so many people out there who.... love murder. I know that sounds awful but if you are a murderino you know exactly what I am trying to say. To break it down, Karen and Georgia are two comedians who discuss a murder they chose, weekly. They do research on a particular murder, kidnap, or just terrifying story and give the raw details while remaining hyster...

When you bring a child into this world or your career takes over, other aspects of life like your relationship, may suffer or get tossed to the back burner. It is important to always stay connected to your partner and always remember to date them. These dates do not have to be some extravagant dinner that costs you an arm and a leg. For me, just spending the time together is what really matters.  Here are a my top 10 date nights that will hardly cost you money, if any at all. Hiking -  A fun, free, and adventurous date can be spent together and with nature. Here in upstate NY we have so many beautiful spots to take a nice walk on trails, hike up mountains, or jump in some waterfalls. If it is a first date this would be a great opportunity to open up and get to know each other.  Bike Riding- Renting bikes or roller blades at the parkway is another cheap yet fun way to spend a few hours together. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, you're also getting a great wor...

For my job I commute about 35 minutes each way. I usually get back into town around 5/5:30pm. This gives me enough time to make dinner, play with my son, and then get him ready for bed. I do not even get enough time in the day to spend with him, my partner, and I essentially have lost a lot of "me" time which comes with being a mom.  One thing that I really always enjoyed doing was rolling out my mat; my yoga mat. My practice seriously suffered after having my son because I almost felt guilty taking that time after work away from him, or time on the weekends when we actually had real time to spend together.  I have netflix, hulu, and fios that has yoga videos available, but it just wasn't the same. Then I found oneOeight and it completely changed my practice.  Rachel Brathen, better known as Yoga Girl is the founder of this amazing website. She is a well known yogi in the community. She also just started her first Po...

So I thought I would start my first post about my journey into motherhood. You hear from so many people that pregnancy is such a beautiful and joyful experience, LIARS; at least from my perspective. No one tells you about all of the disgusting, painful, and moody things you are going to go through. The only things that were ever shared with me in the early weeks was: the pregnancy glow, food cravings, and a few labor stories. If only someone were to tell me what to really expect. Of course I had the food cravings! Who doesn't? My personal cravings were green beans, mashed potatoes, and smores- that's how I gained 50lbs. On average you are supposed to gain between 25-30lbs during your pregnancy and I just completely went overboard. This also took a huge toll on me. My moodiness was to say it softly, intense. To this day I look at that person that I was and despise the fact that regardless of the situation and hormones involved, that I succumbed to that. There was one time my ...