Why aren't you doing that NOW?

This may seem like a strange interest or passion to have, but I am extremely passionate about relationships. I love coaching with people around relationships. I love exploring what is going on for them and where they're troubled. I love helping them align their core values and expectations with their actions so they are building the relationships they want. When asked to discern my core values during my life coaching training back in 2010, I knew immediately that relationships was at the top of the list. It has been my whole life. I am one of those people that bends over backwards for others, who is loyal to a fault at times, and who treasures the connections I build with other people.

Relationships are hard for a lot of people. Getting along with family members, building a healthy romantic relationship with another individual, and maintaining friendships all take work. They require care, time, effort, and most importantly - TWO people. One person cannot be bearing the weight or eventually they'll collapse. And the relationship typically collapses with them. I've had numerous relationships collapse in my life. Some I've let collapse because they were not healthy or weren't giving me what I needed, and others collapsed because the other person decided they weren't getting what they needed. It doesn't necessarily mean there was wrong-doing involved or that one person was to blame, it simply means that the needs and/or values didn't line up between the two individuals.

Yesterday, I underwent another value exercise at a workshop. Relationships was still at the top of my core value list. Part of this exercise was to find other descriptive value words that spoke to your definition of a particular value - since one word can mean so many different things to different people. I chose 'relationships' as my core value and grouped with it the words 'connection, family, friends, community, and loyalty.' Many other people in the group also chose family or relationships as a core value. While there are a lot of us out there who say we value family and relationships, there are a lot of us not honoring or living out that value. We were asked the question, "If you found out that you had 6 months to live, what would you do with your remaining days?" A lot of people answered, "Spend more time with family and friends." My thoughts were affirmed aloud by the workshop facilitator, "Why aren't you already doing that NOW?"

People tend to fill up their schedules with all sorts of activities, myself included sometimes. We get too busy to be available to our so-called loved ones and the people that matter. We work ourselves into the ground and trade our precious time and energy for green paper. We spend most of our time trying to earn a living, rather than actually living life.

Massaging my passions into reality

I've been losing sleep.
Not due to stress or tension, but to excitement. Ever had that happen? You know, when sleeping is tough because you can't seem to shut off the brainstorming and creative juices and the passion of what you're about to embark on? Despite the lack of sleep, I feel rejuvenated and more alive than ever. How is that possible, you wonder? I've connected to my passions, that's how!

Through blogging and an online business focusing program I've been doing this month, I've put a lot of time and thought into connecting my passions and interests. In doing so, I've come alive with energy to do the work I was meant to do!

One of my many passions that I haven't written about yet is massage therapy. It is time I bring that to the forefront since it has been a love of mine since middle school. I was lucky to have been raised in a household where my dad would sometimes give backrubs to me and my siblings while watching TV after dinner. They were hard and painful, but felt great when he was done! Thus, my siblings and I started exchanging backrubs in bed at night. We'd trade 5 minutes for 5 minutes since our little hands didn't last that long back then. It didn't take long for me to realize that I was the only one who actually enjoyed giving the backrub as much as I enjoyed receiving it. I continued to give backrubs to other family members and friends at school. My godfather/uncle supported my interest and gave me oils and massage books as gifts for Christmas or birthdays. Soon, I was in high demand at family reunions!

When I got to high school, I continued teaching myself a variety of massage techniques. I fell in love with human anatomy and biology. I started researching massage therapy training programs to attend after graduation. Most of them were 9 months or 12 months long and cost $9,000 - $12,000. I had saved money for college my whole life and was really excited about being able to afford a massage therapy program.

Now, my parents had other ideas. A lot of discussion was had about the viability of massage as a career, and to make a long story short, I ended up in a 4 year college setting. I continued to do massage throughout college and eventually starting running a "business" out of my dorm room during my sophomore year. When I went abroad to Thailand during my junior year, I treated myself to a 3 day Thai massage training and loved it. My interest in massage was not dwindling. Upon my return, I purchased a table on Ebay and had it delivered to my residence hall. I learned proper draping techniques, researched oils/lotions, and was able to offer better quality massages out of my dorm. I also ran for homecoming queen with the slogan "She'll Rub You the Right Way" and offered free massages on the campus mall every day of Homecoming week to promote myself. As fate would have it, I connected with the electrology institute in Eau Claire and was hired on as the massage specialist during my senior year. I had my own room at that building where all of my materials were provided for me. I was given DVD training in swedish, deep tissue, prenatal, sports, and hot stone massages. It was like a dream come true.

Well, life brought about many changes again and I found myself leaving my college town after graduation and moving home. I didn't lose sight of my desire to relax and heal people, and still offered massages out of my home as soon as I'd moved out of my parents' house. It was always on the back burner, but still simmering.

Now that I've moved into my own 2 bedroom apartment, I found myself with the freedom to make massage more of a priority. I turned one of the bedrooms into my fulltime massage room (as you can see above) and put a lot of thought into the colors, layout, energy, and feel of the room. I looooove spending time in that room. :)

The simmering seems to have come to a boil, finally. As I am creating a business to empower and strengthen women through accessing their inner stillness, I see coaching and massage as perfect compliments to doula services. I believe my clients will find a mommy-to-be package of prenatal massages, birth planning, and coaching to be beyond helpful in getting them the birth experience they want.

Here's my picketing sign: "Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby"

I haven't written in a while... because I'm really freaking busy with all my cookie jars!

I just got back from my Doula Workshop down in the cities. I was in an intro class from 8am-5pm on Friday, a breastfeeding class from 5-9pm that night, then in class from 7:30am-5:30pm on Saturday with reading homework that night, and class again from 7:30-4:30pm today. I am so incredibly overwhelmed with information and emotional stories and a deep passion for this work that I'm wide awake and exhausted simultaneously.

I've only told this to two people in my life: I'm pretty sure I was born to be an activist of sorts - to really step up and fight for something. You know, a REAL activist. Not like the hippies in the 70's with the posterboard signs stabled to wooden stakes, marching around in protest of something or other, and camping out with picnic lunches on the lawn in front of some important landmark. (Not to say that wasn't helpful, but not what I'm going for.)

I was meant to be an activist for empowering women, particularly those in labor. I truly believe that the experience of pregnancy and birth have a profound, lifelong effect on not only the mother but also on the baby. A mother's self-esteem, confidence, feminism, intuition, and primal instincts are all worn on her sleeve during this phase of her life. A baby's initial experience affects his/her temperament, sense of security and trust, and view of the world.

I intend to get a doula program implemented in the St. Cloud Hospital. I want women in the community to know what their options are for labor and to have a voice in getting the birth experience they want. I hope to shift the paradigm of birth being seen as a medical operation to a beautiful, natural process. Women's bodies were designed to reproduce and no technology can replace that. (disclaimer: obviously in the event of high-risk pregnancies, medical advancements are wonderful for saving the lives of mothers and babies.)

At the very least, I want to get a community doula program started - to lead educational programs, volunteer with low-income and single women, and advocate for a shift in the birthing world. At the very most, I want to design and build a birthing center, separate from the hospital, to offer natural birthing options (water births, movement/postures, etc.) with midwives, doulas, and nurses. I am not sure how I can achieve this yet, but I am going to figure it out. I have to.

I remember being voted "Most Likely to Change the World" in high school and I graduated thinking, "Well, great, thanks for THAT burden..." When it hits you in the deepest place of your soul, though, it sure doesn't feel like a burden.

Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink

Today, I used my dishwasher for the first time.

Groundbreaking news, I know. I even updated my facebook status to reflect the big news. I moved into this apartment at the beginning of 2012, and it included a dishwasher. Selling point for many, right? Especially if you don't pay for water! Well... I don't use dishwashers. I like washing my dishes. It's therapeutic. I also believe I use less water than a typical dishwasher (my apartment doesn't have a fancy schmancy high-efficiency one) doing dishes the way my mom taught me. I may not have to pay for the water, but I am passionate about reducing, reusing, and recycling what I can, when I can. I'll likely blog on ways to integrate the infamous 3 R's into your lifestyle in a variety of ways over the next month, but today we'll start with reducing water usage.

Did you know that less than 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh water? Nearly 97% of the Earth’s water is in the oceans and not suitable for human consumption. Of that 3% that IS suitable, only about 0.3% is found in rivers and lakes, which is where most of the water you and I use everyday exists. “Thus, rivers and lakes that supply fresh surface water for human uses only constitute about 0.007 percent of total water” (taken from http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html. Feel free to read more about how fascinating water is!) Clean, accessible water is quickly becoming more of an urgent matter than it has ever been, and we Americans seem to be oblivious to how wasteful our water habits are. On average, an American uses 100 gallons of water each DAY. That’s roughly 6 gallons of water PER WAKING HOUR.

• Don’t flush as often. The toilet alone uses, on average, 27% of the household water. Use the motto “If it’s brown, flush it down. If it’s yellow, let it mellow.”
• Fix leaky faucets immediately (12.7% of water usage is just from leaks). At 1 drip per second, a faucet can leak 3,000 gallons per year.
• Use cold water for laundry as often as possible – hot water only for really dirty clothes.
• While you’re at it, make sure you do full loads in the washer (or dishwasher) or set the machine to ‘small load’ to use less water.
• Invest in a good shower head and other efficient appliances if you can afford to do so (washer, faucets, toilets, humidifier, etc).
• Shower every other day unless necessary. Most people do not get THAT dirty each and every day to require a daily shower. It has simply become a habit rather than a requirement. My other suggestion is to take what’s called an “army shower.” I learned about these while I was studying abroad in Thailand and had to pay for my hot water. An army shower is basically a shower where you turn on water to get wet, then turn it off while you lather up your body with soap and your hair with shampoo. Then, turn the water back on to rinse off. It saves water and money by not using your water heater as much.
• Don’t run the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving. This is just silly.
• Don’t pre-rinse dishes. Excel Energy reports this is simply a waste and doesn’t accomplish anything. Dishwashers do not need your pre-rinsing help (whether they’re a machine or human dishwashers!)
• Or, rather than use a dishwasher, try filling the sink with 2 inches of water to do dishes. When you rinse a dish, accumulate the water in your sink rather than running it down the other drain. Do the least dirty dishes first, and when you’ve got a sink full of more water, soak the tougher dishes. Don’t wash each dish with running water and a soaped-up scrub brush. Again, this is just silly.
• Peel and clean vegetables and fruits in a dish of water rather than running water.

I got the statistics from these sites:  http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html, http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pubs/indoor.html and

http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/water_trivia_facts.cfm. You are welcome to read more if you're interested!

Oh, and I unloaded the dishwasher only to find that it did a crappy job. So much for saving time and water... I'll have to wash half of them by hand again.

Wedding season is here... break out the henna designs!

The wedding I attended this past weekend brought one of my other interests to the forefront. Henna tattoos! Why you ask? Well, historically, henna art was part of the Indian wedding ceremony for the bride. At what we might call a bridal shower, the Indian bride would have both of her hands decorated in elaborate, intricate designs with henna. The new bride would not be expected to engage in "hand work" (i.e. dishes, cooking, cleaning, manual labor) until the tattoo had worn off (typically around 2 weeks).

Henna tattoos last anywhere from 1-3 weeks depending on the body part tattooed and the quality of care. Hands and feet dye the best and with application of essential oil, the tattoo will remain darker longer. Henna designs on the inside of the wrist, belly, or shoulder blades are usually much lighter and may only last a week. This is because of the thickness of the skin. The less you scrub or exfoliate the area will also make the tattoo last longer, as you're not removing layers of skin. Avoiding water in the first 24 hours of getting a tattoo is also important for getting the richest color.

You might be asking, how does henna work? Henna is a powder made by crushing the leaves of a henna plant. When the plant powder is mixed with an acidic liquid (like coffee, lemon juice, or tea) to form a toothpaste like substance, it has the potential to dye a person's skin or hair. The natural color of the plant is released due to the acidity. The green-colored goop is then put into an applicator bottle or bag with a fine tip so intricate designs can be done. After about 20 minutes, the henna mixture has dried and caked on the skin and will begin to flake off. The longer you can keep the green paste on your body the darker it will stain. As it begins to come off, you'll see an orange tattoo left on your skin in place of the paste. (You can see this above in the peacock design on my client's foot. The dark part is the henna paste still needing to flake off, and the orange parts are the resulting tattoo.) The henna tattoo will deepen and darken to a brown color over the next 24-36 hours.

I have a couple henna events coming up this summer. I will be downtown St. Cloud on the evening of June 6th for the "Downtown Walk-About." There will be all sorts of vendors and fun things to see, so please come out and support the downtown area! The following month, I'll be in St. Joseph. My church does an annual 4th of July bazaar to raise money and I have done henna at this celebration for the past five years to help raise funds. I work on the evening of the 3rd from 6-10pm and most of the day on the 4th. People of all ages enjoy this activity and love showing the tattoo off to friends and family.
I also enjoy doing private henna tattooing for birthdays, bachelorette parties, sports teams, dance groups, and many other special events. I worked with a belly dancing troupe in the area to prepare them for a performance last year, and one of those women also hired me this past Fall to do an entire body piece for a fire dance she was doing. It was spectacular to say the least! I've also had the joy of working with my sister's friend during her pregnancy to design a henna belly she loved.

Henna can also be used to naturally dye the hair with red and brown tones. I haven't tried this yet, but there is a ton of information on the internet to help you do it. Henna art is a wonderful way to adorn the body and accent a special event or moment in your life, without the permanency of a real tattoo. It is harmless to your health and naturally beautiful!

Ordination Explanation

I'm attending a wedding today for my cousin. I love weddings. They're always so much fun and everyone at them is typically in a cheerful mood. Weddings are a ceremony of tradition and ritual for most, but with our ever changing culture and society, there are a lot of nontraditional weddings happening out there. I happen to be a fan of nontraditional weddings. For example, I married my little sister. As in, I officiated the intimate outdoor wedding ceremony for her and her husband. I'll be officiating another wedding this summer.

I got ordained online back in June of 2011 when two close friends of mine asked me via email (they were teaching English in China at the time) if I would be interested in officiating their wedding in July 2012. I was deeply honored and excited about this opportunity. I went online and did some research on how I could do this. I found a site run by the American Marriage Ministries where you can get ordained. They ask that you take it seriously, of course, and only charge you to purchase printed credentials, marriage certificates, or a wallet ID. I'm sure many of you think it's a scam but I paid only $30 to get the paperwork I needed. Then, I simply brought my credentials to the county courthouse to have them put on file. Some of you might think this is a terrible sacrilegious act that's destroying the structure of marriage as we know it, but let me explain.

Often times a couple comes from different religious upbringings. Other times, a couple might not have any religious affiliation, yet still feel spiritually connected. These couples may find it difficult to find someone to perform their wedding who isn't a court judge. I see my role as an officiant to offer couples like these the chance to have elements of spirituality and sacredness incorporated in their wedding ceremony, without the boundaries of a religious tradition that doesn't mean anything to either partner. The ceremony can now be tailored to suit the two people whose union is being celebrated in a way they will remember and cherish forever.

Elephant mania

I said I would explain the elephants, so here's the story...

As a 7th grader, I was really excited about working for my uncle at the MN State Fair. I had never been to the fair before and I was also going to be earning money working in a fun environment! I was also scheduled to help the weekend before to get setup done. The first day of setup was spent getting the infrastructure in place - shelving, tables, signage, lights, table coverings - and then breaking open the boxes and boxes of wood handicrafts. I unpacked boxes of carved wooden animals in all varieties: cats, fishing animals, turtles, fish, and of course, ELEPHANTS! Something inside me fell in love (I know, I fall in love easily, leave me alone).

Once the long 12 days of the Fair were over and I received my paycheck, I inquired about purchasing some of the wooden elephant statues. My uncle graciously let me pick out a number of carvings and charged me a mere fifty dollars. Thus began the collection. Soon, friends and family members were bringing me back elephant statues from places they'd visited (like South Africa, Panama, and various zoos) and giving my elephant related gifts for birthdays. You name it, I probably have it in elephant style. I now own the following items with elephants on them:
- lamps (as depicted in a previous post)
- a white porcelain table
- silk bedsheet set
- wicker basket
- bookends
- wooden vanity
- underwear/socks/skirts/hoodie/other clothing
- magnets
- cookie jars
- teapots
- kleenex box cover
- candle holders and carved candles
- statues and many other trinkets
- jewelry (jade pendant, earrings)
- purses/bags
- and a tattoo... :)
- and probably a lot more I'm not thinking of now

When I reached college, I realized how silly it was to answer people with "I don't know, just always have" when asked about why I loved elephants. I started learning about them... and was even more fascinated than I was before! Did you know: They are the only creature with knees that can't jump (thank god! but they can swim) and they have a crazy long gestation period of 22 months - the longest of any land animal! There are tons of other cool factoids you can research if you're interested, with regards to their tusks, teeth, and thick skin.

I'm the one with my knees behind his ears!

While in college, I made the decision to study abroad in Thailand. There were several key reasons for this choice of location, but their national animal being an elephant certainly didn't hurt. :) I got to visit an elephant conservation center and ride bareback on an elephant! (I am so thankful for the experience I had there, and if you care to hear more about it or ask questions, feel free to let me know. I'm going to continue gushing about elephants now, though.) Elephants have long been a sign of good luck (if their trunk is up) in many cultures but I learned that Asian cultures view elephants as a symbol of wisdom. They are creatures of incredible memory and intelligence - they can be taught to paint and play soccer! They also represent a strong sense of family and community since they travel in herds and stay close together. They have very distinct sounds which make up a much more elaborate form of communication than we originally understood. Some of these sounds are unique to an individual or to a family of elephants.

Having a tattoo of an elephant on my body for life is not just a silly symbol of a childhood collection, but it embodies my core values of wisdom, intelligence, and family. I will carry those values for the rest of my life and the conversation starter of why I have an elephant tattoo typically allows me to share that with others.

The art of contradiction

This afternoon I am headed to my little sister's house to help her set up for the large garage sale that happens in her neighborhood annually. Instead of putting out a lot of stuff she no longer needs, which she hasn't really accumulated yet, she is taking advantage of the foot traffic and hosting an art sale! She will be selling many of her paintings and drawings. She has invited my older sister to set up her pottery and me to bring over some homemade jewelry. I started making jewelry when I turned 16 and was allowed to get my ears pierced: I suddenly became obsessed with earrings! I received special jewelry making pliers for Christmas from my parents and began creating earrings to match every outfit I owned. Soon, I was creating jewelry for other friends and family members for dances and weddings, even designing my own prom jewelry to match the dress my mother had sewn for me. (I come from a pretty artistic family. I have four sisters and two brothers, all with their own unique artistic talents. They are potters/sculptors, sewing machine magicians, painters, illustrators, cartoonists, drawers, engineers, web designers, scrapbookers, etc.)

Couch was a fantastic find at the Habitat's ReStore and
tile end table was created by my artistic older sister. 

My artistic gift has always been putting colors together - whether it be with outfits or interior design or making jewelry. I love creating energy and evoking emotion through color combinations, space, arrangement, and accents. Throughout high school and college, I was frequently told how "put-together" I looked or what a cute matching ensemble I had. People told me I had my own style. When it came to decorating my itty-bitty dorm room, I was told the same thing: I had a unique style. My style is one of contradicting energies. I love to pair vibrant colors with soft, calming undertones, overtones or accents. For example, my living room area in my apartment currently has a muted maroon couch and deep mahogany and gold tones in the elephant lamps. I accented the couch with vibrant green and gold embroidered silk pillows. (I'll explain my elephant obsession in a different post.)

I believe the style I emanate from my living space and my presence creates a welcoming, relaxing space but with a robust flavor. Many of the people closest to me know how vibrant and loud my personality can be, but beneath that is an inner stillness and groundedness at my core. I love feeling surrounded by soothing tones, but not to the point of feeling sleepy or lazy. There's a delicate balance in combining seemingly opposing energies, but when done right, it's amazing what an environment can do for your mood.

Date night with Michael Smerconish

Last night I attended "An Evening with Michael Smerconish" at the Paramount Theatre. I had never heard the radio personality speak before, but my boyfriend is an avid fan. He'd purchased two VIP tickets to the event for us to enjoy appetizers and conversation with Michael before the actual presentation. I was very open to going to the event with little expectation. I was vaguely aware of Michael's general political stance and was under the impression that I didn't agree with him on a lot of issue. Nonetheless, I went along with a good attitude and wanted to hear what he had to say. To be entirely honest, I am so thrilled I went. I was blown away by Michael's charisma, humor, and last but certainly not least, his political pitch. I want to bottom line his message and main points because the real reason I'm writing this blog is only partially in regards to his message. He reiterated several times that he believes there is a strong correlation between the polarization of our news and media and the resulting polarization of our country. He champions compromise, unity, and finding similarities rather than focusing on the drama, conflict, and alienation promoted by other entertainers like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Matt Drudge. He is an independent, not a republican nor a democrat. He believes in discussing issues, not labeling and pigeon-holing people based on a platform or party.

The reason I'm writing about this is because Michael answered the final question from an audience member with final comments that stuck with me. I'm going to attempt to paraphrase those remarks since I can't quote him exactly (I didn't record the speech). He pointed out that it is really difficult to get Independents and Moderates, who make up 40% of our voting population, to concern themselves with saving the country from political gridlock. Extremists and political nutcases are the ones passionate enough to show up at the primaries and to fundraise or donate to a polarized party. The vast majority of the American people don't fall in to the extreme right or extreme left and therefore won't step in to do much until IT HURTS ENOUGH. My questions to my fellow Americans: "When is enough enough? At what point are you and your family hurting enough in order to step up to the plate and do your part?" I encourage you to follow debates, research candidates, VOTE, and stay informed. No one person is to blame for the issues facing our country today. Be an adult, take responsibility, and get educated.

One final note. As I left, I shook Michael's hand and told him I'd never listened to his show before but I definitely will now. (In fact, I'm listening to a recording as I write this.) He replied, "Awesome, you'll be good for my demographics!" I'd strongly encourage you other 20-something females out there to give his show a listen. You are the future of voting... with your vote and the way in which you raise children to view politics... and thus, the future of our government. Take your role seriously.

My other coaching hat

I've already written about my role as an ultimate frisbee coach. Today, I am finally going to talk about my role as a life coach. For those of you who know me, this is my main cookie jar and you're probably wondering why it's taken me this long to write about it. To be honest... I didn't feel like it. I've been blogging about coaching on my website (www.innerechoescoaching.com/blog) and rise to the defensive whenever I answer questions about it. I realized I am consciously and constantly trying to convince those of you out there that coaching is really effective and that it should be utilized by everyone!!! I truly believe every single person would be happier and live more purposefully with a coach on their side.

Well, I'm done convincing. You can convince yourself. I am here to work with the people who already KNOW that the benefits of coaching are something they want.

So, now, I do feel like writing about life coaching. I am reminded why I chose this path today after a really great sample session with a young college student this morning. I am reminded how much I love looking at someone and seeing them for who they authentically are. I am reminded that I love pointing out their "spark" and encouraging them to build a fire. I am reminded that I love the look on someone's face when they are truly heard, seen, and appreciated.
I get to be curious about someone else's life, their values, their goals, and their vision. I get to converse, engage, and connect with humans on such a real and intimate level every day. I get to energize myself and others in the work I do. I get to wake up each day and LOVE what I do for a living. :)

I am deeply grounded in the fact that coaching allows me to be my full self. Off to another coaching session in 10 minutes!!!

Modern day babies

I found a notice in the mail upon return from Illinois this weekend. It said I had a parcel waiting for me at the post office since it wouldn't fit inside my tiny apartment mailbox. Seeing as it was 2am, I couldn't rush to the post office in excitement. I went to bed and when I woke up this morning, I still felt pretty exhausted from the weekend so I just lounged around for awhile in my plush white robe. There was an unexpected knock at the door at about 11am... without really thinking about my attire or disheveled hair, I opened the door to see the mailman with a small parcel for me. He handed over the package with his head turned away, avoiding eye contact. I said thank you cheerfully and he scurried away. What's wrong with answering the door in a robe?

As it turns out, the package contained one of the three books I'd ordered recently online: The Doula Book. I'm really excited to start reading it! No, I'm not pregnant. I am pursuing my Doula certification. For those of you out there who are unfamiliar with the term, a doula is an individual who supports the mother and father throughout pregnancy and delivery. Somewhat like a labor assistant, a doula will be there to assist the midwife or physician during delivery to ensure a more natural and enjoyable birthing experience.

Our culture has turned birth into a traumatic, excruciatingly painful endeavor. Many women don't even WANT to have babies simply because the thought of labor is so terrible. Our Christian paradigm has fed us with the notion that giving birth should be painful as a punishment to all women for Eve's folly. This is complete bullshit. There are many women currently discovering that birth can and SHOULD be an amazing, and sometimes orgasmic, experience. Delivering a baby is what nature designed our female bodies to do and we should take pride in our role as mothers. We should also stand up for our rights to deliver how we want to! We have slowly and unknowingly allowed the rigid health care system to overtake the birthing process.

From a Harvard health letter, quoted in my Doula Book, it states that "Continuous support from a doula during labor provides physical and emotional benefits for mothers and health bonuses for their babies. With less medical interventions, fewer complications, and shorter hospital stays, there may be a financial savings as well." I truly believe our "advancements in health care" are not always advancements. The system in place at hospitals is not cozy, welcoming, natural, or intimate but rather sterile, pessimistic (assuming the worst), and facilitates separation of mom and baby. I won't even get into the number of Cesarean sections done in the US, or the amount of induced labors so it's more 'convenient' for the doctor, or the high infant mortality rate compared to other first-world countries. Just some more food for thought... I would encourage you to ask questions rather than blindly accept that this is just the way birth is in our world today.

On that note, I attended a presentation by a chiropractor a while back who reported that the vast majority of sublexations in the spine occur during birth from the absurd amount of pressure applied to an infant's neck when twisting and pulling to get the baby out of the birth canal. Disturbing! What makes us think we need to yank these babies out!? The wife of this chiropractor happens to be a doula and in the midst of her midwife training. I met with her in their home and was greeted by four smiling, healthy children. She told me of her first birthing experience in the hospital and how it convinced her to do home births with her future children.

My intro to birthing, certification workshop, and breastfeeding class are on Memorial Weekend. In addition to a lot of required reading and essay writing, I'll need to be present for at least three live births in order to complete my certification. I have a handful of possibilities this year since many of my cousins and female friends are pregnant! For the next decade, the two dozen closest women in my life (sisters, friends, cousins) are entering their prime birthing years. :) I am so thrilled about the idea of providing this service to the women I love.

Along with offering delivery support as a doula, I'm looking forward to combining my other skills of coaching and massage to offer an irresistible Mommy-To-Be care package of one-on-one coaching through pregnancy, prenatal and postpartum massage, and empowering support. Upon entering the modern world, who could provide a better environment for your baby than a mother who's grounded in herself, relaxed, prepared, confident, and overflowing with love?

The love of the game

One sunny, summer day many years ago I went to a pick-up ultimate game my brother and cousin coordinated. I met a boy there... And I fell in love.

I am still in love with the game to this day. I played ultimate through college and discovered a family away from home in my teammates. Those women have impacted my life in ways they can't imagine, and many of them are still some of my closest friends. Inspired by the unity and connection a sports team can create, I wanted to continue promoting that after I graduated. Moving back home didn't provide me with very many ultimate opportunities, but I made the effort to drive to the Twin Cities for Summer and Fall leagues for a couple years. It didn't seem to be quite enough though.

Last Fall, my aunt let me know that the local private high school needed a coach for the women's ultimate team. Her son, my cousin, plays for the men's team so she was well connected with the school. She gave my contact information to the coordinator who promptly called me to chat. I was thrilled at the idea, but needed to give it some thought due to the state of transition I was in. At the time, I was seriously considering moving to the cities by the end of the year. I was in a relationship I thought was going to be the last one I was ever in and I was taking a huge leap of faith in quitting my job and starting my own business as a life coach (more on that later). It was a lot to consider...

Well as fate would have it, some things just don't go according to plan. I haven't moved to the cities. I'm in a different relationship (and thrilled about it!). And I'm coaching ultimate. :)

I think back to the first couple days of practice when I met these smiling high school athletes. Some were well-seasoned and had solid throws down. Some were brand new, nervous, giggly, and adorable. They welcomed me eagerly. Over the next few weeks, we trained, developed plays, structured our defensive zone, practiced our throws, ran drills, and got to know each other. I hosted a team bonding night in my two bedroom apartment and had nearly a dozen high school women spend the night, tucked in two or three to a bed. :)

Well... here we are at the Centrals Tournament in Naperville, IL. The team has come a long way, taking 2nd place this weekend. With two losses on the record for the entire season thus far, I couldn't be prouder. But what I'm really proud of is the unity and connection I found in this team and with my fellow co-coach. Promoting and helping foster that "family" environment is something I absolutely love.

Fresh bread, hulu freebies, and blueberry smoothies

I am one of the few people I know still making bread from scratch, punching it down a couple times throughout the day as it rises, and then filling my quaint apartment building with the smell of freshly baked bread. To be honest, I make most of my food from scratch or from raw ingredients. I enjoy growing, harvesting, cooking, baking, decorating desserts, and inventing delicious concoctions. I typically alter most recipes I find (unless they're the tried-and-true ones passed around family members or from my talented Mom). I grew up in what I would consider a very spoiled household with regards to food. No, the food was not spoiled. I was blessed with parents who enjoy gardening and see the benefits of planting their own vegetables and fruits as well as raising some of their own meat. I didn't realize there was such a thing called "organic" or "natural" until I was in middle school and realized that most other families did not relate to food the way I did.

I am looking to plant my own herb garden in my little apartment soon - I'll write about it sometime this next week. It is currently planting season in Minnesota if you weren't aware of that. The farm I grew up on is in full swing and my parents are hurriedly trying to get plants in the garden. Oh by the way, my older sister is at home helping out and documenting a lot of the neat stuff happening at the family farm (including her personal endeavor to renovate the old barn and turn it into a community art center/studio). If you're interested in following that project, please visit my sister's site www.meyerfarmproject.com. It's extremely awesome. Trust me.

Back to food. I recently watched a documentary, complimentary of hulu, called The Future of Food. It was rather intriguing with very few scare tactics, in my opinion. Give it a watch. It got me thinking about the food that I DO purchase in a grocery store and how it's processed. This is not to say I have adopted an anti-eating-food-with-too-many-ingredients-I-can't-pronounce attitude. I still enjoy chips on occasion and things with sodium hexametaphosphate (it's in Tostito's queso dip). All I'm saying is that I'm more aware of the KINDS of food I'm putting into the only body I'll ever get, as well as how MUCH of that food I'm consuming.

On to the good stuff! Yesterday I made chicken and parsley dumpling soup. I borrowed an online dumpling recipe (and altered it slightly) and then made up the rest. Soup is something you can do that with. :) I used a half gallon of chicken broth with garlic, celery, onions, and shredded meat from a homegrown chicken that I had boiled down previously and froze. First, I sauteed diced celery, onions, carrots, and garlic with a little olive oil and 1 tsp Italian seasoning until the onions were almost translucent. Then I added the broth with meat and about 4 more cups of water with 4 chicken bouillon cubes. Once heated through, I threw in cubed potatoes and fresh Italian parsley. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, rosemary, basil, and a bay leaf. While this was heating to a boil, I mixed up the dumpling dough. I combined:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
dash of basil
1 egg beaten with 6 tbls milk (stir in until sticky dough forms)
Fold in 1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
Next, I dropped in the sticky dough in small spoonfuls into the soup. Cover and simmer for another 20 minutes. The dumplings tend to spread out and might clump together, this is ok - just separate them or chop them up before you serve. Mmmmm, delicious! My apartment neighbor thought so too. ;)

The other recipe I concocted this morning was a blueberry smoothie. Sounds easy right? Well, I'm not sure what I did wrong but it coagulated like yogurt after it sat for a second! Tasted great, but the texture was majorly weird. I added half pint fresh blueberries, strawberry yogurt, a splash of milk, 3 ice cubes, 1/2 cup homemade apple sauce, and about 3 spoonfuls of orange sherbet. I'll play around with smoothies some more, I've got another pint of blueberries to use!!!

Stay tuned for my next "interest" and how I keep it alive! Also, make sure to look for the upcoming blog on my herb garden of lemongrass, cilantro, basil, etc.

Attention all you Jack and Jill of all trades...

I was recently told in a 'laser coaching' moment that I had my hand in "too many cookie jars and I needed to get some focus, buckle down, and work hard." On a logical, pragmatic level, I understood and related to this criticism. While the feedback was duly noted, I went to bed that night brainstorming...
I decided to have my cookies AND eat them, too. I am determined to become successful while still tasting a variety of cookies all at the same time. I love chocolate chip cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, ginger snaps, oatmeal and butterscotch chip cookies, you get the idea. Who says I can't have all of them!? What kind of limitations am I allowing others to impose on my own versatility, dreams, and pursuits?

For those of you out there who are nodding along with resounding yes's, please join me in the movement of embracing our multifaceted personalities to see more, do more, learn more, and teach more about the plethora of interests we have.

In this blog, I am going to share my fascinating and diverse life choices and adventures with you all - through pictures, recipes, lyrics, poems, videos, and witty banter. Please enjoy, but most of all, please be inspired to pursue all you've ever wanted to.