smoomie and a bet

So far, January is kicking my butt.  In 2013 we have 13 tradeshows (we had TWO when I first started working for them five years ago).  Nearly one-third of those 13 shows are in the month of January.

We finished up the Atlanta show two weeks ago - although I left a few days early and flew to Las Vegas to finish the set up for that showroom.  Tomorrow morning I fly to New York where both companies are showing and then I fly directly to Las Vegas for the final show of the month.

In between shows, I've been trying to spend as much time as I can with my little boy.  When I came home from Atlanta, we were playing with his trucks.  He held up one of his trucks and said, "check it out, it's really awesome!"

I'm not sure where he learns this stuff - probably at daycare since there are a few older kids, but it cracked me up. 

We've also been enjoying green "smoomies" as Ryan calls them.  My friend Amy invited me to hear the Green Smoothie Girl speak a few weeks ago and we've been drinking them down ever since.  I love that Ryan is drinking several servings of fruits and veggies every day - no more battling to get him to eat his greens!

And in case you were wondering, I'm still off sugar.  It's January 23rd today which means I am 23 days off sugar.

But ask me again if I'm still off sugar on February 2nd after I get home from New York and Las Vegas.  And by the way, that includes spending my 47th (yikes!) birthday in New York. 

$100 bucks says my answer will be yes.  And yes, that is an actual bet.  If you ask me on February 2nd if I am still off sugar and my answer is NO, I will pay you $100.

How's THAT for incentive?

See y'all on Feb 2nd!

net net

I just arrived in Atlanta today for the show at AmericasMart Atlanta.  It was a busy day with flying, getting to my hotel, rushing down to the showroom (which looks fabulous by the way) and helping get things set up for opening day tomorrow.  Finally at 8pm I was DONE.  I was tired and I needed to be fed.  But before I headed to my hotel, I decided to run across the street to CVS to pick up a few things.

While I was wandering the aisles, I passed a woman with a little girl in a stroller.  The little girl looked to be about 5 years old and she was sitting very quietly.  Her mom was saying things (a bit loudly) like, "I know you're hungry, but I don't have any money to buy you any food" and "stop complaining about being hungry, I can't do anything about it."  Here's the thing.  The little girl wasn't saying a thing.  I was standing right next to her and would have heard her if she had.

Immediately I started a mental debate.  This woman obviously wanted to me to hear what she was saying and I couldn't decide what to do.  I normally wouldn't hesitate to buy this adorable little girl a meal, but I started making some snap judgments.  The mom bought two huge cans of Arizona Ice Tea instead of food for her daughter and if I'm being completely honest, I made the horrible judgment that from her appearance, the mom definitely wasn't starving.  But it really bothered that she bought what she did if her little girl really was starving.

Then they were in the check out line in front of me and I continued my internal debate.  I really thought the mom was playing an act so while I debated myself as to what to do, she finalized her purchase and walked out of the store.  Minutes later, I walked out myself and there they were sitting on a bench outside the store.  As I walked by, she said again, "I know you're hungry...."  I continued walking.

And then I couldn't take it.  I turned around and asked her if her little grl was hungry and if I could buy her something to eat.  The woman said, "yes" and that I could take her into the store and she would wait her with my suitcase.  I politely said "that's ok" and then asked the little girl if she wanted to go buy something to eat.

She looked up at me and nodded her head.  I asked her what her name was and she said "Net Net" (her mom later told me it was short for Antoinette).

She wanted chips, pudding and other snacks.  I bought her a ham & cheese sandwich, a bottle of milk, lunchables, raisins and a box of Special K protein bars that had chocolate in them.

I really had to control myself and try not to judge this mother.  I was shocked that she would tell a total stranger to take her daughter into the store (I guess there was only one entrance so I couldn't take off with her, but still...).

As I returned Net Net to her mother, she thanked me over and over.  She explained that they just arrived from Ohio and times are really hard.  Her husband's family is from here but they said they couldn't stay with them.  Her husband is off "who knows where" doing "his thing" and she was just praying for some help when I came along.

As I said good-bye, I realized that I didn't have any place to judge this woman.  Maybe I had been played.  Maybe not.  But as for Net Net, she sure did look hungry.  As I walked away, the thought popped into my mind that this mom on the streets was doing the best she could with what she had.  And it wasn't for me to judge where her "best" fell on the spectrum.  It was her BEST.

I'm not all that proud of the thoughts that went through my head tonight and how long it took me to decide whether or not to buy a little girl some food.  Tonight, MY best certainly didn't include the judgments I made.  My best didn't include the $20 bucks I spent on food for Net Net. I spent more than that last week at the movie theatre.

But for little Net Net's sake, I'm glad some sense finally crept into my thick skull.  I'm glad I had the thought "you will not be able to sleep tonight if you walk away from that hungry little girl."

Later, I walked into my hotel room, ordered room service and began to write this blog.  I still might not be able to sleep tonight. But at least Net Net and her mom (yes, I bought her mom a sandwich too - very big of me...) have a bit of food in their tummies tonight.

And tomorrow, I am going to try to be a little bit better.  In fact, I am going to try to be just like little Net Net's mom and do what she's doing....her best.

kale chips

I know I'm probably the last person on earth to jump on the kale bandwagon, but that's my style.  I made kale chips yesterday and I'm hooked.  More than a sweet tooth, I have a salty tooth.  These satisfy that craving for all things crunchy and salty. 

I tried a recipe from Tastefully Julie's website and click here for the Kale Chips link.  But basically, you just get kale (Tony picked up a package of organic baby kale), wash it, dry it thoroughly, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the kale in a ziploc bag, shake, shake, shake, lay it out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle some sea salt and bake for 20 minutes at 300.

Tastefully Julie's recipe has a lot more detail and hints so definitely check her site.  Plus, she has a nice printable recipe.  The picture above is from her site - she used the curly kind, but mine were flat because they were baby kale.  I'd heed her advice on using just a touch of salt though - mine were way too salty.

But I still LOVE them and love that I've found an easy and healthy snack.

my new years happy place

When I was in my late teens, I started driving down to the beach on Ocean Avenue in Carmel.  It soon became a tradition for me to drive down there sometime around New Years day, all by myself, for some alone time. 

There is a little bakery on Ocean Avenue and I would stop on my walk down to the ocean for some steamed milk with a hint of vanilla and a warm pretzel.  I would continue on my little walk down to the beach and then I would just sit, think, meditate, pray and ponder.  I continued my tradition for years - all through my college years and any of the years that I lived in the Bay Area.

I miss that place.  I've gone back there since I've lived in Utah and I took Tony with me a couple of years ago.  It still had that magical feel, but there was something about going by myself around the New Year.  It was a place for me to reflect about my recent past and where I would be in my near future.

It was the site of epiphanies, tears, happiness, joy and sadness.  But most of all, it was a place where I made decisions.  It was a place of goals, dreams and hopes.  For some reason, I find that I need an event or location (like a beautiful beach) to inspire hope and change.  I love New Years day.  I love the feeling of a new beginning and new possibilities.  And I suppose I also like the feeling of ending the old year.

For whatever reason, I haven't been able to arrive at that mental place where I need to be to make some goals.  Maybe it's because I don't have a place of serenity where I have an hour (or even a few minutes) to myself to ponder and become inspired.  But whatever the reason, I don't have a complete set of goals.  I do have ONE however.  Well, maybe two.

ONE:  My annual goal to become healthier.  I'm off sugar...again.  January 1st was day one.  I'm taking it one day at a time.  Tonight I'm going to a Green Smoothie Girl conference with a friend.  I've been thinking about Green Smoothies quite a bit lately and doing a bit of research.  Ryan likes the banana/almond milk "smoomie" that I make for him, so I'm thinking I might be able to get some green vegetables into him in smoomie form.

TWO:  Enjoy life more.  I've been working way too much and my 2013 workload isn't looking to good.  So I'm going to have to take advantage of moments from time to time and schedule some real vacations away from work.

I've got some other ideas swirling around my mind, but that's all they are doing right now - swirling.

Anybody have any inspiration, goals, ideas out there?