A gift idea to quench your thirst: Fruit Infusion Pitcher

For my birthday I was lucky enough to spend time with some of my friends in a last-minute sort of get together. As much as I say I do not enjoy celebrating my birthday, I am always filled with joy at seeing the smiling faces of my friends, being surrounded by their presence and hearing birthday shout-outs from near and far.
So, thank you to all of my friends. I love you so much.

Aside from that little holla, I came on to share a favorite new addition to our home: the amazing fruit infusion pitcher. I know, pretty simple, but SWEET!



Although Jay and I are really trying to take a look at what we have and actually purge--rather than acquire new, we still registered for some items at a store in Stillwater called The Chef's Gallery. This above pitcher was one of the items we put on our list and my sister bought it for me for my birthday. Thanks Lyndi!

Regardless I wanted to share this note, not because I advocate consuming more things, but because I really find this item to be useful, practical and good for your health. The clean and artful display of the fruit or whatever you put in there really gets you to enjoy drinking water and it makes you drink more water--that is certainly true. I know I am constantly in the bathroom now because I have had more than enough :)

On that note, be sure to enjoy this product in moderation, folks! There is such a thing as drinking too much water.

5 Healthy Christmas Gift Ideas

Back by popular request, I am generating another "healthy Christmas list." I am sharing these items because I think they are inspiring, great ideas.

Number One:
Clutter Busting. Most people in America have an issue with accumulating and grasping stuff. The last thing we need is another thing to add to the pile. We don't need all of the clutter we surround ourselves with and what a better gift to ourselves or to our loved ones than to encourage eliminating that extra weight this holiday. The less we are attached to this "stuff," the easier we can move about the world and realize our goals and be the people we want to be.

Another tip: If you are an environmentalist buying for an eco-friend consider purchasing this book (or any book) used and online. They will be appreciative of your thoughtfulness.

Number Two:
Arm warmers. I don't know about you, but with the arrival of winter, it's gotten colder in the house. Since we do not blast our heat (in honor of saving money and saving energy), I find myself bundling up.

Help your loved ones stay warm and healthy this season with a pair of arm warmers. They are useful and a cute way to bundle up. Because I have sensitive skin, I would personally opt for arm warmers that are made of bamboo or organic materials. Etsy is a great place to find all sorts of arm warmers or anything really, and you can buy them directly from the artists.

Another tip: Feeling creative and have extra time? You can make arm warmers out of an old pair of tights or socks that have a hole in them (maybe consider keeping these for yourself) or you can make them easily out of a new pair of tall socks (better for your friends). Check out this helpful video if you feel like doing-it-yourself.

Number Three:
Quotable mugs. Do you have a friend who is less than enthusiastic about their job? Brighten up their work day with a quotable mug. The power of the messages we tell ourselves affects our health and overall outlook on life.

Another tip: Too many mugs? A water bottle may be another useful gift. My favorite brand of water bottles for health purposes is the Klean Kanteen. You can buy these online or at your local co-op.

Number Four:
Give the gift of education. Giving is one of the main ingredients to being a happy and healthy person, and one of the most invaluable gifts we can give is education.

Purchase a community education class for a friend or a workshop in an area of interest that inspires your friend/family. "Education" could range from a crafting class, a wine tasting class, a nutrition class, a cooking class or something really technical or academic, like a bookeeping class or a writing course. The possibilities here are endless.

Another tip: Do you want to be socially conscious in your gift giving? Instead of giving your family and friends a voucher for a class, make a donation in honor of your friend/family and give the gift of education to a person in need.

After reading Three Cups of Tea, I did this for my mother 2 years ago. Because she was a teacher and she didn't need more "stuff," I made a $40 donation on her behalf to support one teacher's annual salary in Afghanistan. If you would like to give to a different cause, there are many non-profit organizations that offer similar holiday gifts that can make a difference.

Number Five:
Your time. In this day and age when everyone is moving a mile a minute, giving somebody your time is the greatest gift of all.

Be creative, maybe make a menu of the person's favorite restaurant and give some dates that you are free and consider taking them out to dinner. Or if you enjoy cooking, make a menu of a few possible meals you can cook and have them R.S.V.P. to a private home-cooked meal put on by you.

Another tip: Your time doesn't have to be given away in dinner dates. Consider other alternative "things to do." You could give movie tickets, tickets to a concert or a speaker (my friend was gifted tickets to go hear the Dalai Lama speak), the science museum ,etc. Just make sure you follow through and set up the date.

Fun gift/Craft Idea Warhol-esque Pet Art

Above is my friend Baxter, the cockerspaniel son of my friends, Jacci and Karen. This project was their Christmas present from Jay and me this year.

Borrowed this cute idea from my friend Katie. She made a great one of her dog, Howard. Basically all you need for this project is a good photo of your dog and then a photo editing program (the one that goes with your camera). Play with the photo by increasing the contrast and highlighting different colors. Do this for four or six or as many photos/colors you want to use. Then go to Snapfish.com and upload the altered photos to a photo album. Here you can make calendars, coffee mugs, or whatever your little heart desires. In this crafting project you will want to select the collage format. Choose the pictures you want to use (in this case I had 6 photos selected that I edited beforehand), and then place your order! It literally took a day to process my order and print at the site I selected---I picked mine up at Staples. Last grab yourself a coupon to Michaels and get yourself a nice frame :)

Artsy, creative, affordable, thoughtful, and fun! You could do this with family members. I am thinking for the parentals I will do one of our family come Mother's or Father's day.

A Healthy Christmas List...

After spending some time with my boyfriend's family and hearing about their amazon wishlists (to get gift ideas for them for this Christmas),I decided to start one of my own for fun. I have to say that I enjoyed what felt like a pseudo-shopping experience. I think I have about 15 items on my public wishlist and maybe about 10 more on my private wishlist. I wanted to share some of my favorite finds for this holiday season.

I'd like to preface this short list by saying that initially I felt kind of bad making a wishlist and all, considering I feel as though I have all I need in life to lead a good life and should not ask for more...however I must say, of course I had an enjoyable time realizing there are so many cool things out there that could add even more quality to my life (dare I say) ;) And as I have been compiling my list I found that many of my gifts could be generalized to be health-centered, which makes sense. One of the greatest gifts in life is good health, so here is what I found that I think could benefit people open to the idea of taking better care of themselves.


A Zenergy Chime


This cool little chime is yes, a chime, but its name suggests its cooler than just any ol' chime, right? This little guy can be used in a session (so if I continue to ever pursue something along the lines of a holistic health practitioner or a health coach I could begin my sessions with this ring. It could also be used for opening and closing meditation ceremonies (which I will be doing come next February for class!) Or as I found suggested on Amazon (through customer reviews), it could be a good resource for a sort of quieting/dismissal/announcement in a classroom setting. As this month marks my first month of teaching Spanish language in an after-school program, I can't help but think such a gem might make class time more special.

Music to Inspire Positive Thinking by John Herbmann


So I am not going to go into a novel on each of these items, I think this one is pretty self-explanatory, and I believe there are other ones out there that are relaxation, stress-relief and creativity inspiring, but I just thought that this CD would be a good one to wake up to in the morning and one worth a try.

Coloring Mandalas book by Susan F. Fincher


Everybody needs to color, or as my Foundations of Holistic Health and Wellness class would call it, "make marks on paper." Art is something that is so important to maintaining good health and balance in your life. As cheesy as that may sound or as unartistic as you may feel, we all must take some time to express ourselves through this medium (and it can be in many forms). I happen to want to re-explore coloring and inspire myself to take some time to breathe and relax in my day. This is also something I am looking at as an activity to do with my little (and future children). We can color a mandala together and keep it somewhere safe and accessible, so when we are having a bad day we can look at the mandala and remember what is really important in life.

The Artists Way book


As taken from amazon.com's review:

With the basic principle that creative expression is the natural direction of life, Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan lead you through a comprehensive twelve-week program to recover your creativity from a variety of blocks, including limiting beliefs, fear, self-sabotage, jealousy, guilt, addictions, and other inhibiting forces, replacing them with artistic confidence and productivity.

This book links creativity to spirituality by showing how to connect with the creative energies of the universe, and has, in the four years since its publication, spawned a remarkable number of support groups for artists dedicated to practicing the exercises it contains.

So...I could go on with more details showing you this cool teapot I found or talking about hand blenders and their amazing clean-up/convenience, or the 100% silk pillowcases I have been asking for ever since I was young, but I am not going to continue, I think you get the idea and can start making your own lists this Christmas. By thinking about what you really want can shed light onto what kind of gift you might find valuable in giving to another person. I just wanted to share a few items on my list with the theme of health and healing since it has been my life lately. If you have other requests or questions about books, essential oils, natural beauty products, etc. I may have some knowledge to share from my program, so please feel free to ask. Otherwise just enjoy this list for what it is worth to you and have fun making your own.

Have a healthy day today!