Gratitude. Day 3.

Today I am the most grateful

for a few moments of laughter: 

uncontrollable, eyes leaking, leaning on my knees, 

genuine laughter. 

This picture is not from today,

but when I think of laughter, I think of this photo.

Today I had many things for which to be grateful: waking up in an city where bombs do not explode; a car that is not only reliable but downright cushy (I used the heated seat today); 2 full minutes of perfect behavior by 23 kindergartners completely absorbed in the reading of a good book by a great teacher; tickets for Madonna's show tonight; my amazing husband; good friends - the list seems endless. But that laughter, it made my gratitude for all of these good things in my life absolutely shine.

Gratitude. Day 2.

Today, I am grateful
for Lisa

Lisa believes in Angels. Lisa loves all things Disney. Lisa radiates Joy.
I am not like Lisa.
I will be more like Lisa.
No, I don't think I'll ever believe in angels or enjoy a trip to Disneyland.
I will radiate JOY.

I have been spending roughly 40 hours a year with Lisa for the last few years. She always greets me with a smile and a hug. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we do not. She is my massage therapist and, now, my friend. Over the years, I've seen Lisa grow and she's seen me grow, too. She's several steps ahead of me, always, but never judges my progress. She's seen me in some of my darkest moments - moments that I manage to hide from most people, but couldn't hide from her. She's heard about all of my best moments, because I can't wait to tell her things that others might see as bragging, but she thinks I deserve the abundance that is my life. Can you imagine?

My idea of posting gratitude daily on Facebook came from seeing Lisa's posts, which lately seem to be full of gratitude. I was suspicious that she was making a concerted effort to post her gratitude every day, but she had never mentioned it to me in person. When I saw other friends posting about 30 day projects they were beginning for October, I decided I wanted to have a 30 day project, too. I thought about what I want to accomplish in October, and it was, once again, still, to be happier - more content - less mopey - less moody - less ashamed - more confident... you know, I want to radiate joy. In several of the books about the preceding topics that I've read in my quest for personal peace, the idea of expressing gratitude daily was listed as one of the best ways to increase the "feel good" in life. I tried a few times, writing 5 items before bed each night in a special journal. Five items first thing in the morning, to get the day of to a good start - that one lasted 4 days - I have proof; I just pulled the a little blank book, dated October 14, 2009, from my nightstand drawer. (Funny thing, the third item on the first day reads, "massage appt. today.") The quote on the inside cover is "She is a gatherer: moonlight, found wishes, moments of gratitude." It's the sweetest little blank book. It's not the book's fault that I only used it four times. I want this time to be different. I want to follow through. I want to see if this works! So, today, during my massage, I asked Lisa about her posts and she told me that she committed to 90 days of expressing gratitude and that she feels amazing, that I definitely should try it. Since she started the project, multiple people have told her that her positivity is astounding. Then, she told me that she's seen me change so much already, that I've used the physical issues I've faced to learn and grow. Then, she transferred some energy from the angels to me.

Her encouragement means so much; today, I am grateful for Lisa (and her angels). Thank you, Lisa.


"Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary." —Margaret Cousins

October 2012 Gratitude - Day 1

Today, I am grateful for 

the heat of the sun on my back.

October is my favorite month and I've decided to celebrate it by blogging about gratitude. I haven't given this much thought yet; it will be interesting to see how this idea develops throughout the month and how it affects my mood. In the past, I've tried writing down 5 things for which I am grateful each day before going to sleep and that lasted a week or two at most. I'm hoping that doing it publicly will keep me going a bit longer. For now, I'm just committing to one thing each day; maybe I'll build up to 5 by next month. 

So, for today, let's kick this off with a link to another blog: You're just minutes from happiness

On Work

Thinking PEACE on Memorial Day

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

More about Tacoma Food Co-Op

I recently wrote about Tacoma Food Co-op. If you are interested in more information, but missed the last coffee talk, no worries, there is another one coming up this Thursday evening. Or you can get a lot of information on their website.  


The co-op could use your* involvement! Join us!

Thursday, May 19, 6pm – 7pm

Bluebeard Coffee, 2201 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA 98403

*Bloom in Health would like to sponsor the membership of a few Gritty Tacomans who are willing to invest time and enthusiasm in TFC. Please send an e-mail to Bloom in Health (or comment below if you are comfortable doing so) telling us why and how you would like invest in our community via the co-op, as well as a brief description of the financial circumstances that do not enable you to invest cash in the co-op at this time.

Please "like" Bloom in Health on Facebook here.

Individualized Nutrition for My Body and Brain

I haven't been feeling great since mid April after I returned from my visit to Philly. When I don't feel great, I don't feel like writing. I'm writing now because I feel very unproductive and like I don't deserve to to take up space unless I do something today. I usually write out of inspiration or because I want to share some information that I think is important. Today, I write out of a pretty dark place and I guess my only goal is to feel a bit of accomplishment and to let my friends that share my issues with depression, food issues, and/or digestive issues know that they aren't alone. 

Last Friday, I got the results of my food intolerance blood test and had quite a few surprises. The list of foods that my body does not tolerate is longer than I'd hoped and includes some of my favorite foods. Thankfully there is a list of foods that my body likes and I can eat off of that list until I start feeling good. Then, I can slowly reintroduce some of my favorite foods and see how I feel. I've been eating a fairly restricted diet (but 'cheating' fairly regularly) for the last several months. Some of the foods that my doctor and I thought were safe are actually not good for me, such as avocado, rice, vanilla, cherrries, pineapple, spinach, cabbage, lettuces, and turkey. It will be interesting to see what happens when I get them out of my system. I'm also more allergic than the average person to molds. And I'm intolerant of  a few food colorings. More on that some other time.

Good news is that I don't have a problem with Candida Albicans or the entire family of nightshades. So I can add back in more fruit and spicy peppers (as long as it doesn't give me heartburn). 

So, here is my list:

Severe Intolerance: apricot, avocado, clam, corn, halibut, psyllium, walnut.

Moderate Intolerance: banana, bay leaf, cabbage, carrot, coconut, cow's milk, garlic, green pea, hops, iceberg lettuce, lime, orange, peach, pineapple, sardine, sole, spinach, tuna, wheat, (plus, because of gluten: barley, malt, rye and oats)

Mild Intolerance: artichoke, asparagus, beet, black pepper, blueberry, buckwheat, cane sugar, caraway, cherry, clove, date, duck, egg yolk, honeydew melon, kiwi, lemon, lobster, mustard, olive, onion, parsley, plum, rice, safflower, sesame, string bean, sunflower, thyme, tomato, trout, turkey, vanilla, white potato.

Acceptable Foods

• Vegetables/Legumes: black-eyed peas, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, celery, chick pea, cucumber, eggplant, green pepper, kidney bean, lentil bean, lima bean, mushroom, navy bean, pinto bean, radish, soybean, squash (yellow), sweet potato, turnip.
• Fruits: apple, blackberry cantaloupe, cranberry, fig, grape, grapefruit, mango, papaya, pear, pumpkin, raspberry, strawberry, watermelon.
• Meat: beef, chicken, lamb, pork, veal.
• Dairy: egg white, goat's milk
• Seafood: bass, codfish, crab, haddock, herring, oyster, salmon, scallop, shrimp snapper, tilapia.
• Grains: millet, tapioca.
• Herbs/Spices: basil, cayenne, cinnamon, cumin, dill, ginger, mint, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, sage.
• Nuts/Oils and Misc: almond, baker's yeast, beet sugar, blk/green tea, brewer's yeast, carob, cashew, cocoa, coffee, cottonseed, flaxseed, HFCS, hazelnut, honey, peanut, pecan, pistachio.

I still have some confusion since there are things for which I was not tested that I'd like to eat, like kale (can't have cabbage but can have broccoli, so what about kale?).  They didn't test for quinoa or amaranth, but my doctor said to go ahead and eat them since they are gluten free. I'm a little nervous about quinoa though, because it is related to spinach and beets - both are on my bad list. We also discussed oats and I'll eat the gluten free kind.  Also, I think that some of the foods on the acceptable list might give me heartburn, so I'd have to cut those. 

I'll let you know how it goes. Today is DAY 1, since I ate whatever I wanted over the weekend because of two special events. No wonder I feel like crapola today. 

DAY 1

Breakfast: Egg Whites

Snack: Juice of crenshaw melon (not on my list, but I already had it here - hoping it is okay) and strawberries

Lunch: Leftover special chili (beef, pureed red pepper, acceptable spices) Delicious. Thank you , Rick!

Dinner? Probably left over pork, amaranth, and broccoli. 

Sorry for the lack of eloquence and/or enthusiasm, but hopefully that will change over the next month.