What a wonderful long weekend!

I am still in a state of bliss from my amazing weekend!

This weekend was filled with new friends that I just adore. I have been making so many wonderful new friends and feeling like I am on this incredible new journey in life. Everything feels different! I feel different! I feel like I have new energy and it is attracting the kind of friends I have always wanted. I am so grateful for all the work I have done over the last couple of years to get here. Exactly where I want to be!

I was able to go to a baseball game this weekend, have lunch with a good friend, attend an amazing BBQ, take a short nap, clean my room, plant more veggies in my garden, enjoy the sunshine, have korean food, have RAW food, read a very empowering book and the list goes on.

I wish every weekend was a three day relax fest like this weekend was! I am so grateful to everyone I was able to interact with this weekend and I wish we could have kept the party going!

One side note, I have never been one to walk away from difficult situations or people. I usually keep trying to work things out way past their experiation date but this weekend I realized that for once I am going to make the right choice. I am going to walk away and not engage with someone that is clearly very unhealthy. I have too many wonderful and positive things happening in my life right now and I just want to keep growing. This is a very healthy decision for me and I feel very strong about it. The Universe is showing me such love right now!

What I Am Dreaming About

This week has been filled with a longing to make some vision maps for my future. I have a vision of what I would like the rest of the year to be like and I need to put it into motion. I just need to actually carve out the time and create the space to put this vision onto paper.

For the most part my next six months includes continuing to put my health and well being on center stage. I want to continue the RAW Foods and working out routine. I would actually like to take it up a notch if possible.
I would like to have some stability in my job. I am not on my career path yet but I know I am getting closer. I just need something I can depend on for a year or so while I get healthier.
I would like to create a larger community of like minded people. I would like this to include men and women. I am finally starting to get serious about wanting to create a partnership with someone while also creating a strong community of people I can count on. It feels good to finally admit this to myself and others. For so long I lived as if I was an Island and did not need anyone but I now see how unhealthy this thought pattern is.
And finally, I would like to live in a clean and well organized living environment. I am not an organized person by any means. It just is not how I think. But as I get older I long to come home to a nice comfortable living environment. This means I must go through all of my personal belongings and clean house. I must release the past and move forward. This is a large undertaking and will require all summer to accomplish but I long for this so I must move forward.

This week I planted my 14 different heirloom tomatoes. I have been eating Arugula, Bib salads all week from my garden. I can't wait for a summer full of fresh tomatoes, basil and Arugula salads! Fresh corn season has hit Seattle and I am really enjoying adding that to my salads as well as a ripe Avocado. I think it's almost lunch time!

I have a new hero!

This week has been a wonderful week. I finally have my spark back! Not only have I had a week full of amazing events, I have also made time to go to the gym! I have not been able to do my laundary but I can do that this weekend.

Let's see where to start....

This week was my first but not my last Geek Girl event. This month it was hosted by Facebook at their sister office in Seattle. It was so amazing to be in a room full of other women in the Tech world. It made me wish I had majored in Computer Science when I was in school. It was a wonderful expereince to hear more about how facebook is built and how the company is run. I loved the fact they hire people not just for projects but because they are talented and then once they have gone through the boot camp session they can pick what projects they want to work on. Imagine a company hiring you just on wanting you to join the company and then allowing you to find out where your strengths are! Sounds divine.

Then last night I met the most amazing lady, Ani Phyo. She is a raw food author and eco lifestyle expert. I was lucky enough to be able to speak with her before the event and was so inspired when I found out she used to work in the Tech world. I felt like all evening she was sharing her story just to me and all about me. We have so many similarties in terms of career, interests and just life goals. I was really inspired by this talk and in awe of the fact she has been able to make a raw version of rice that when I first tried it I just assumed it was brown rice! The talk was at a wonderful resort on Lake Washington and it was a perfect sunny day. I can't wait to try some of her recipes from her new book, including my faborite Korean Food dishes. Over the last year I have been obessed with Korean food. I love all the Kim Chee and side dishes and was so excited when I heard that a large part of her new book is dedicated to these dishes.

I feel more inspired to keep moving forward on my RAW path way and to learn more. I would love to visit Ani in LA and just spend an afternoon talking with her about life. She would be a great mentor and friend.

Sunny Day!

It is finally sunny here!
I can't believe how a little sunshine can improve everything. I feel like a happy little busy bee.

Today I received word that I am going to the Vida Vegan Blogger Confernce this summer in Portland! Not only am I super excited to go to this wonderful event, but it is also my birthday weekend! I can't wait to finally meet all the wonderful people that write my favorite vegan and RAW food blogs. I also love Portland and am looking forward to a weekend away. This was such a great surprise. I needed a little pick me up and this email was just what I needed.

This morning I have been experimenting with RAW/Vegan breakfast options. I had some Chia breakfast cereal with Almond Milk. It was wonderful and super filling. I have been munching on veggies and raw nuts. I am finally starting to feel better and more grounded!

I am going to have to cut down on the running I am doing. I am having some issues with my spine and numbness so it pains me to cut back on my favorite activity but until I know that this is the root cause of my issues it is too risking for me to continue. Lucky for me I joined the gym a couple of weeks ago so I will just transfer to working out there doing things I know won't hurt my spine.

Returning to the RAW

Last week all the little stresses in life seem to wrap up within 24 hours to allow for me to return to life. Some parts of this completion were easy, some parts were hard but I managed to make it through the week and then collapse on the weekend.

I took this weekend off from life. I slept 12 hours on Friday night. I slept 10 hours on Saturday night. I stayed close to home and I did not see anybody. I just needed a weekend to decompress, clean my house and prepare to return to the RAW lifestyle. I was so mentally and physically exhausted I felt like a shell of myself all weekend.

Today I am in a very neutral place. I am happy because I spent the time yesterday to prepare an amazing day of RAW foods. I am going to really push for a RAW work week this week. I need to get back to that place of health. I felt amazing just a month ago when I was RAW 5 days out of the week. I also need to return to moving my body and taking better care of myself. I long for the feeling of getting smaller, waking up with an amazing amount of energy and the overall happiness that I felt all day long.

My job is ending in 6 weeks and I have a couple of things in the works. I am not stressed out or fearful of this transition. I am excited because I know the next thing is right around the corner. And until I know what path I should take I am happy to come into the office and do the work that has brought me joy over the last six months.

I did get a chance this weekend to visit the Vegan RAW cafe on Vashon, Pure. It was a wonderful sunny day and I just needed an Island adventure all alone to soothe my tired soul. After spending a couple of hours in the woods with Ahmi I stopped by Pure for a veggie juice. It was wonderful to see a Vegan cafe packed full of people. I wished I could have tried the RAW arugula Pizza but at that point all I craved was some veggie juice. I look forward to coming back to this cute cafe and trying more off their wonderful menu. It also inspired me to really think about 105degrees again.....

I am going to work on a vision map this week for myself that includes 105degrees. It's time to get serious about making this dream a reality!

*side note, 105degrees has changed it's name into Matthew Kenney Academy. He is the founder and visionary behind the school. I will need to remember this for future postings.

I was once

I was once the picture of a great work life balance!
I was able to get my job done without any mistakes. I was able to come home and really take care of myself. I had consent energy all day long and felt great.

I am no longer this person and it is making me very upset. Why would I agree easily to becoming so non-present in my life? Why do I associate success with becoming so busy I don't know if I am coming or going? Why are the little things slipping from my grasp?

I just decided this whole thing needs to end right now! I need my life back and I am no longer willing to give up my balance and peace for success. I have been making too many mistakes in all area's of my life to allow this to continue.

But the kicker is that not all of my decisions I have been making are up to me! My mother is moving away so I must spend time with her. My job is becoming more demanding so I must spend time on the weekend working on it......etc etc

At least it feels like I have no control over my time right now. And to top it off, it feels like everyone I know is coming out of the woodwork and wanting to spend time with me. So on top of being so busy I can't see straight, I am too busy to see people that I care about and I feel guilty for turning people away. Arghh!

I knew I would lose my balance a little bit but I had no idea the eye of the strom would hit all at once and that I would suddenly sell myself out by giving up my need for balance. I am my own worst enemy right now.

Need to get the happy back

I need to get my happy back!

These last few weeks have blown all my peace and balance right out the window. I am worn down, bordering on getting a cold, exhausted and I have lost my energy.

It's so strange to take a sudden turn for the worse. My back has been hurting for the first time in almost a year and I am just low grade right now about everything.

I do know several key factors on why this is happening. I have a job change coming up, my mother is moving to the East Coast next week and we have not seen the sun in what feels like months. Plus, I have been allowing for too many things to throw me off my routine in life.

So this week I am slowly going to work towards getting my balance back. I made the decision to not go after a job raise and change and instead to just remain where I am at because as soon as the idea of going after a higher level job came up my health went down hill fast. As soon as I made this decision it just felt right. I need balance before I can return to working towards my career. As weak as that might sound. I simply can not afford another health issue mentally or emotionally at this point.

This means that the next few weeks I will be taking life at a slower pace and trying to spend as much time outside in nature as I can. I will be putting my trust in the Universe and just trying to find my balance in life.