♥ Monday Mood Modifier ♥

Having trouble getting your week started??? Feeling overwhelmed with your work load for the next 5 days????

Try taking the scenic route to or from work today! I was introduced to a new "scenic route" leading to our community this past week. I discovered within minutes of driving along this road through "Harmony Grove" and "Elfin Forest" (yep those are real names) that I felt a sense of calm come over me. The green rolling hills, babbling creeks, quaint farmhouses (along with beautiful mansions), orchards and horses were enough to transpose me to back to my memorable childhood trips to Colorado. I rated my mood at a whopping "3 out of 10" at the beginning of the drive and by the end of the drive it crept up to a "7 out of 10". Not bad, huh?? To add to the fun, it is rumored that this area is very "spiritual" and possibly even haunted if you believe in that sort of thing. I don't think I will be doing this drive at night :)!

Here are a couple of pictures of this lovely area:

(Image via http://www.whereweride.com/mountain-bike/california/san-diego/elfin-forest/Default.aspx)

(Image via http://www.san-diego-beaches-and-adventures.com/elfin-forest.html)

Happy Monday!!!

Toes in the Water, @$$ in the Sand...

"I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand. Life is good today, Life is good today!!!"- Toes by Zac Brown Band

(Image via traveltalkteach)

(Image via traveltalkteach)

These pictures were taken at one of my favorite beaches in the world...♥Manuel Antonio Beach♥ in Costa Rica. I will be making the adventure back to my home away from home in the beginning of April!

Get out of your house today and enjoy the sunshine! A friend came down from Northern California picked me up in a convertible with the top down and dragged me to the beach. We kicked off our shoes and took a long walk down the beach. There is nothing more grounding and calming then digging your toes into the sand and feeling the water rush over your feet and legs. If you don't live near the beach then find a lake or a pond. You won't regret it!

Happy Saturday!!!

Mandatory Marley...

This song came on at just the right time today! I can't help but smile when I hear this song!

Bob Marley "Three Little Birds"

It makes me miss the old "Mandatory Marley" or Bob Marley songs everyday at 4:20 on 91.1 a local radio station in San Diego. I believe I am among the few Bob Marley fans that does not use marijuana and simply finds the music relaxing and calming. It brings me back to the long rides down the Mexican and Central American coastline in our 1984 suburban (the burb) when we were on "the burb adventure". If you are interested in hearing more about this adventure check out my old travel blog....
http://theburbadventure.blogspot.com/

Our Master Bedroom...

The joy that comes with capturing just the look you imagined in your head is a beautiful thing. I often defer to my friend Kate at http://travelmoonblog.blogspot.com/ or my graffic designer sister-in-law when it comes to design ideas and inspirations; however, this time around I can proudly say that I captured just the look I was going for on my own (or mostly). After the canvas of the photo from our honeymoon in Greece (see http://traveltalkteach.blogspot.com/2011/01/tap-into-your-creative-side.html) arrived in the mail I was momentarily disappointed that it was a bit too small for the spot in the living room where I intended it would hang. Within a few minutes I found the perfect home for the canvas right above our bed. Here are some before and after photos of our nearly complete master bedroom. All that is left is a shelf or dresser under the TV and replacing the 3 inch baseboards with 5 inch baseboards.

Before with hideous olive green and red walls:

After with a little paint, window coverings and some furniture :):

(ALL photos via traveltalkteach)

Isn't it amazing what a little paint can do??? The paint is from Dunn Edwards and the darker accent wall behind the bed is "wooded acre" while the rest of the walls are "almond latte". The decor comes from a variety of places including Pottery Barn, World Market, Pier One, Homegood's, Marshall's and Ross. The shutters and woven wood shades were done by the lovely Deb at Blind Love. The canvas was from a wonderful site called canvas pop....check out their website for more sizes and styles... http://www.canvaspop.com/. The zebra stand will be removed once we find a dresser or shelf for under the TV and if you look really closely you will see my OBSESSION (http://traveltalkteach.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-new-best-friend.html) in the corner of the room :)

Happy Hump Day...Wednesday that is!!! :)

♥ Monday Mood Modifier ♥ (on Tuesday...oops)

As I was struggling to get through my own Monday Madness, I turned to one of the most beneficial stress and anxiety relievers. BREATHING...

The story goes like this...you have a stressful day at work and then you get in your car and the whole bottom of the car feels like it is going to fall off. The perform service light comes on and you call your husband for assistance. He says take it to the mechanic and have them look at it. You are a female and have no idea what "camber", "ball joint" or a "lower control arm" is and you know you will be ripped off simply because you are a female at the mechanic. Panic sets in and you don't have the energy to face this stressful task. As you are driving the frustration begins to build but there seems to be nothing you can do. WRONG!!! You can practice you breathing techniques and this is exactly what I did. Here is a simple yet physiologically necessary way to calm yourself when situations like this come up in your life.

1. Start by making yourself comfortable. This can be done anywhere, however if possible I recommend laying down on your back. If not then try to sit up straight with both feet on the ground.

2. Exhale completely through your mouth, saying "relax" in you head or aloud as you exhale

3. Inhale deeply through your nose to the mental count of 4 with your mouth closed

4. Hold your breathe to a count of 6

5. Exhale completely through your mouth to a mental count of 8

6. This is one cycle. Try to complete at least 3 cycles or as many as needed until you start to feel your body relax.

SOUNDS SIMPLE...IT IS!!!

Happy Tuesday!

(photo via traveltalkteach)

Just a little eye candy to help you through the breathing exercise. Sometimes it helps to imagine yourself on a beautiful beach as you practice your breathing. This photo was taken a year ago on a fabulous trip to the Caribbean. This is Trunk Bay on the stunning island of St. John.

Jucuzzi, Wine, Sunset and Friends.....

This combination is a recipe for stress relief!!! A friend surprised us and came down from Newport Beach for the night. After putting him to work on building a new shed for our backyard :), we treated him to an amazing rib/abalone dinner and some bonding times in the jacuzzi.

Try it sometime!!! If you don't drink then simply have a glass of water or tea.

We are blessed with some beautiful sunsets right in our backyard...

(Photo via traveltalkteach)

(Photo via traveltalkteach)

(Photo via traveltalkteach)

PS. This last photo highlights San Clemente Island in the background if you can overlook the power lines :)

Everytime I hear that song, I go back...

Keeping with my music therapy theme I have decided to create an "I go back" journal to capture songs that take me back to beautifully momentous occasions in my life. To start off this journey I am going to start with my sis-in-law's favorite Kenny Chesney song called "I go back" describing just this...how songs take you back to certain memories in your life. Keeping with the idea of lifting mood, try to only include songs in your journal that take you back to happy and joyful times! Thanks for joining me in my journey and please share your "I go back" journal with me in the comments section below!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Kenny Chesney "I go back" reminds me of my sister-in-law and all my favorite songs that remind me of joyful memories!

Fugee's "Killing me softly" takes me back to the river cruise dance on the 8th grade Washington DC trip, when hormones were raging among all :)

K-Ci and Jojo "All my life"- My first dance with my husband and all high school dances

The Band "The Weight"- Freshman year UCSB  Francisco Torres Dorm, roomie Meg :)

OAR "Crazy Game of Poker"- College days...Sigma Nu frat parties

Elton John "Sorry seems to be the hardest word"- Driving the great ocean road in the 'mom van' with my Australia girls and Doug

Kenny Chesney "Got a little crazy"- Panama with my sister and brother-in-law



Bob Marley and the Wailers "High Tide or Low Tide"- Costa Rica and our Wedding

The Black Eyed Peas "Tonight is going to be a good night"- My bachelorette in New Orleans/ Wedding Events

Aaron Nazrul (Boom Booms) "When the night"- Costa Rica 2009 driving around in the little rental with Adam

♥ These are just a few that came to mind as I sat here. I will be adding to my "I go back" journal as time goes by ♥

Feeling Stressed Out and Anxious Today????

GO FOR A HIKE!!! The "fight or flight" stress response is often caused by perceived threats of danger that leave you ready to jump out of your own skin. As you are boiling in your own adrenaline and cortisol you are most likely sitting on the couch or laying in bed ruminating over uncontrollable situations. Do what nature has designed as a natural stress reliever...EXERCISE! You don't need to run a marathon, simply get off your bottom and go for a walk, do some yoga, or why not combine a little exercise in nature and go for a hike!

To be honest, I HATE exercising with a passion but I know that I need to do it to manage my anxiety and stress levels. In order to make the task a bit more manageable I decided to make 2010 a year of hiking. I started off the year with numerous hikes to Iron Mountain, Mt. Woodson, Cowles Mountain and Sunset Trail in order to train for the strenuous hike 22 miles round trip to the top of Mt. Whitney. Mt. Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 ft. Located at the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, Mt. Whitney is by far one of the most physically challenging tasks I have ever completed. I can't recommend this hike enough! The pure beauty mixed with strenuous and challenging weather and terrain makes for a rewarding journey. Start training now and if you are interested make sure you get your application in between 2/1/11 and 3/15/11 for the lottery for a hiking permit. They only allow 60 hiking permits per day. Feel free to ask me any questions about training if you are interested! Here is the website to apply for the permits....
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5125183.pdf

Here she is in all her glory....Mt. Whitney

Photo via http://www.astronomynotes.com/nature/shoffner/MtWhitney-rwb.jpg

We started at 3:00 am in the rain so we needed our headlights and poncho's :)

Photo via traveltalkteach

Sunrise a few hours into our hike!

Photo via traveltalkteach

Photo via traveltalkteach

Hiking through the snow (later there was hail as big as marbles and snow covering the switchbacks, which meant we had to make our own trail)

Photo via traveltalkteach

Photo via traveltalkteach

 All 7 of us made it!!! 11 miles up...now we have another 11 miles down :(

Photo via traveltalkteach

We signed our names in the book at the top! 14,505 ft left a few of us a little drunk/silly from the altitude which is why someone wrote Nicole Clark (who is that, ha)

Photo via traveltalkteach

 I ran into one of my Iron Mt. hiking buddies...what a small world!

Photo via traveltalkteach

Hope this post inspires you to get off the couch and start training!

This is why I love music therapy...

After a long three days at work with the full moon in FULL force I was pleased to find this adorably uplifting music video about one of my favorite country band's posted on my facebook page by my sister-in-law. If you are having a rough time in life take a moment to watch this video...it will surely put a smile on your face even if you don't like country music!

Here is another one of my favorites by Sugerland....

♥ Monday Mood Modifier ♥

(Images via traveltalkteach)

The weather has FINALLY shifted from record lows and endless days of rain to beautiful sunny 80 degree weather here in San Diego. Get off the couch or away from your drab cubicle and enjoy a breathtaking sunset. There is nothing quite like a beautiful sunset to lift your mood! If you are not blessed to live in a place like sunny San Diego, try your best to get out in nature for at least 15 minutes a day. You not only deserve it but you NEED to treat yourself to at least 15 minutes of "me" time a day! Happy Monday!!! 

The images above were taken from a little neighborhood overlooking Cardiff Reef in Encinitas, CA

Tap into your creative side...

Ever feel like you are at a standstill in life and you feel somewhat bored and unfulfilled? This happens to me from time to time and this is when I remember to tap into my creative side. I was raised thinking that I was not any good at the 'arts' so I never took any art, drama or choir classes  (I was an athlete and a scholar). Maybe this was a blessing in hindsight because I certainly can't carry a tune, tell a lie without getting red in the face or draw/paint to save my life :) ; however, I do believe that EVERYONE has the ability to tap into their creative side. For me this creative side is fulfilled through photography. I am not a "good" or even a "fair" photographer but I do LOVE to take a lot of photos. In the recent years I got a SLR camera and I mess around shooting nature and surf photography from time to time. I have decided to only use photos that I have taken to decorate the walls of our new home. Most recently I took a photo that I had taken on our honeymoon in Greece and made it into a canvas to hang in our living room. I cropped the photo to make it look like a panoramic shot. It is supposed to arrive on Thursday and I can't wait! The photo posted above is the one I used. I will post pictures of the canvas when it arrives.

Canvas was made via the website http://www.canvaspop.com/ check it out for more sizes and styles!

My new best friend!!!

Have you ever stumbled across something and thought “this is truly a lifesaver!!!!”? Well for me this particular lifesaver was a Christmas gift from my husband… the ROOMBA by iRobot! In our busy lives of working full-time, chasing after kids, maintaining a social life and saving the world (none of which I am currently doing, ha) a product such as the roomba is quite handy. As I sit here and type I am currently listening to my “obsession” doing all my vacuuming for me. Press the clean button and off it goes. We have it set to come on at 10am every morning so when I return from work the house is spic ‘N span. When the little guy is about to run out of batteries he knows to go back to his home “docking station” to re-charge. These are things we dreamed of as little kids when they asked what cool inventions would be out in the 2000’s, ha! Words such as AMAZING, GLORIOUS and UNREAL cannot even capture the beauty of this product! I am in love. Hope you enjoy the video…oh and even more importantly…Happy Friday!

Here is the website if you are interested in buying one! The price is a bit steep ($260 at Costco) but well worth it!

http://www.irobot.com/

♥ Retail Therapy ♥

Thank you Nordstroms Rack for making my day!!! I did a little “retail therapy” today in order to calm my anxiety related to my dreaded library day tomorrow. Due to the recent home purchase I am constantly reminded by my husband that we need to watch our spending. Although I am not a big spender or high-end shopper anyone that knows me well knows that I LOVE finding a good deal! Thanks to the $100 bill stocking stuffer from my parents I was able to purchase a “want” rather than a “need”. As I wandered around the local shopping mall I discovered a Nordstroms Rack. As I walked in these JIMMY CHOO sunglasses were calling my name (yes this is the Jimmy Choo that we so lovingly adore after years of hearing about their fabulous shoes on Sex in the City). I was stunned when I saw the price…$89 orignally priced at $250. SOLD! 

Parenting in this crazy new generation of technology and materialism!

http://www.nctimes.com/lifestyles/columnists/rosemond/article_f75a98eb-728e-57ad-b533-8ddb41d20847.html

My Aunt sent me an email today asking what I thought of this article on parenting. I do not personally know the psychologist who wrote this somewhat rigid article but for the most part I fully agree with his points. I think as parents it is hard to avoid getting caught up in the materialistic and technology challenging world that our youth experience on a daily basis. I am not a parent yet so maybe some of my viewpoints will change when I enter this wonderful stage of life; however, I would like to believe that I will stick to these “rules” when I become a parent. The one point I may slightly disagree with is number 1 because I do believe that children should be able to invite their friends to their birthday parties (although I do agree that extravagant parties are not necessary). Here is the email I wrote back to my aunt:

“I totally agree with this guy! I agree that he seems a bit cold but he has very valid points. Too many parents “revolve” around their children and don’t have a life for themselves (or totally let their marriage fall apart because of their over-focus on their children). I always tell parents that the best gift you can give your child is to show love and respect for the marital relationship. Children these days have too much control and not enough structure. They spend too much time playing video games, playing on the internet and text messaging rather than practicing their much needed communication skills in face to face relationships.”

"Love, Sex and Chocolate"

Tonight I am excited to announce that I will be attending “Love, Sex and Chocolate” a clinical case consultation with Dr. Sue Johnson. ‘Sue’ is my mentor or maybe “obsession” is a more fitting word. Apart from the name being especially enticing (who doesn’t want to hear about love and sex while they are drinking wine and eating chocolate?) Dr. Sue Johnson is by far the most interesting, entertaining and significant relationship therapist in the world! I will report back tomorrow with interesting tidbits about working with couples.

♥ Monday Mood Modifier ♥

Alarm clock goes off and you roll over and hit snooze…ugh it’s Monday! Need something to lift your mood? Try some music therapy! During my past six years of practicing therapy I have found music therapy to be one of the most effective forms of therapy to lift mood and reduce depressive symptoms. Simply put on a favorite “pick me up” song and head into the shower. Another suggestion is to make a mix on your Ipod or burn a CD of your favorite upbeat songs to start your Monday right. Sounds simple….IT IS!

This is one of my favorite pick-me-up songs by Kevin Miso, who is not only an incredible musician but also a good friend from my days at UCSB. My husband and I were ecstatic when he agreed to play at our wedding!!!
Check out more of his music at:

http://kevinmiso.com/home

Quick Mood Enhancer...

Ever have a day when you feel like nothing is going right??? I stumbled upon this quick mood enhancer as I was experiencing one of these days myself. It only takes a minute and lifts mood dramatically. Here’s how it works…rate your mood on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the worst you can be and 10 being the happiest). Then take a look at some old photos of an event or a trip that you enjoyed. After looking at the photos rate your mood again. I promise it will improve! Even if it only goes up from a 2 to a 3 that is an improvement and it is important to celebrate all improvements. Good luck and Happy Saturday!
The picture above is one of the many I came across as I used this simple mood enhancer to improve my day. It was from a trip I took to Fiji in 2003 with a few of my best girlfriends. This photo was taken at Wayalailai Resort which is on an island in the Yasawa Island chain. Gorgeous and budget friendly for those on a budget! Check out the link below for more info…
http://www.wayalailairesort.com/

Have you told your partner why you love them lately?

As a marriage and family therapist I educate clients about the importance of decreasing the negative and critical comments towards your partner and replacing them with positives. Sounds easy right?? It can be…but it takes practice! Take a look at the work of one of the most profound relationship experts, Dr. John Gottman’s, “6 predictors of marital happiness and success”, paying specific attention to the 5:1 ratio of positives to negatives.

http://www.drjanhoistad.com/docs/Gottman.pdf

I have to remind myself to do this in my marriage as well. So in light of the new year and stressful times with buying a house I sent my husband a list of the 10 reasons I love him. Corny but necessary. Here is my list (with a few of the more intimate details removed):

1.Your amazingly sexy good looks
2.Your humor
3.Your sense of adventure
4.Your brilliance
5.Your wittiness
6.Your ability to not take life too seriously
7.Your goofiness
8.Your ability to think outside of the box and fix/repair anything
9.Your lack of fear
10.Your willingness to hug me and calm me when I am stressed

Welcome!

I have decided to make the leap into the world of blogging. I hope you enjoy the journey through my somewhat scattered yet compassionate and loving mind. Through this blog I hope to reveal my love for TRAVEL and adventure, TALKING and connecting with fascinating people and TEACHING how to enjoy the simple things in life!