“The Level” from Fluidstance – I want one!

Posted by random olio

Every once in a while I crave something I cannot have. My sister sent me a link to this Fast Company article for: The Level. I want one. Be sure to read the Fast Company article for a full background on The Level. But, here is the gist: it is like a skateboard that you stand on at your standing desk, or wherever you might be. It is a balance board that means that you use your core all day long. At this time the Indiegogo effort to raise money for The Level shows that they are sold out. So unless a bunch of us want to go in together to get a group volume we have to wait until they sell normally. Bummer. I think this could actually make me focus differently when I stand at my desk (the few times I am actually at my desk during the day).

I have a standing desk, which I love. I can decide if I want to stand or sit in my tall chair. Often I stand and I enjoy it. I have had a dilemma for quite some time that I am sitting at a computer (whether at my desk or later at night on much couch) and I want to do what I can to reverse the effects of my ever turning in shoulders. I try to stretch more and more when I feel the pain and weight in my shoulders. I should probably schedule more massages and take better care of my back, shoulders, and neck. But, as many of us are, I am negligent, and find that scheduling a massage is time-consuming. It should not be, but somehow it is. For example, I have a gift certificate I got about 9 months ago and expires in March. Which means I have not had a massage in that amount of time, yet somehow I never get around to scheduling the time to release all the tension in my body.

Every time I get a massage I say I need to do it more often, and yet I still do not. Maybe I should schedule it for Valentine’s Day and go pamper myself. Why not? Right? Do you take the time to pamper yourself? If so, what do you do? Hopefully, it does not just involve chocolate, but something that allows you to truly relax and release the stress in your body. Whether it is on a day-to-day basis at work, after work, or on the weekends. We all have to find a way to release the tightness, heaviness, and stress.

I look forward to “The Level” being for sale again. I think I might actually purchase it.

“This Girl Can”

Posted by random olio

Somehow my dad instilled in us that we could do whatever we put our mind to and it started with trying. While much of my childhood reminds me of how much we failed my dad, there were definitely moments that he instilled positive reinforcement that we were capable and we had to put one leg in front of the other and go. A blog post from the early days of my blog brings back memories of my dad, titled: “The I CAN.” I cannot say that I exhibited a strong sense of believing in those days that anything was possible. Over the years of health challenges and other issues, mixed with the raw and real reality that somehow I have always had just what I needed, these past few years I have a newfound zeal for doing anything and everything possible to suck the life out of every day.

In my mid twenties to early thirties I went through a tough medical challenge. While I do not really care to share the details, I will tell you that when I got through it I looked at life with a new lens. Yes, I jumped into life head, feet, and whole body first. I was finally able to make it through my day without my body crashing at 2 pm. I could run (at first slowly). I could sweat again. This video makes me happy because I hope women of all shapes and sizes feel the same way. Due to my health challenges I had gained over 40 pounds so I can attest to what it felt like to start moving again. Take a peek at the video.

Inspired? It is from the UK group “This Girl Can.” I hope that all girls, women, ladies (whatever you want to be called) feel they can move, sweat, and do what they want. It feels good to jump, dive, swim, run, bike, and move. Bring it. Go. Be. Move fast. Sweat it all out.

Random recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Posted by random olio

I am a fan of tortilla soup. After seeing the movie, Tortilla Soup, I became quickly interested in trying tortilla soup. Can you believe I had never had it before watching that movie? Now I am addicted. It has been a while since we have made some at home. For a long time we made it religiously. Recently I found a crock pot version and thought it might be even easier than the version we made in the past.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup (Cooking Classy)

2 1/2 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth (4 1/2 cups)
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
4 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic crusher
2 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground coriander
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

For serving:
tortilla strips or tortilla chips
shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
diced avocado, diced roma tomatoes, sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Pour chicken broth and diced tomatoes into a slow cooker. Add onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken breasts then cover with lid and cook on LOW heat 6 hours, or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken and shred, then return to slow cooker along with black beans, corn, cilantro and lime juice, stir. Allow to cook until heated through.

Serve warm with tortilla strips and cheese and other optional ingredients.

Note: We did not have raw chicken breasts, we had Trader Joes pre-cooked chicken breasts. Near the end of cooking we shredded them up and mixed in. You could probably use rotisserie chicken in the same way.

I will just say that I had two full bowls. Between Chris and I, we ate the entire crock pot. Oops. Probably too much to have in one night, but it was oh so good.

Chilling PSA to air during the Super Bowl

Posted by random olio

Over the years I have become more of a fan of football and the plethora of other sports Chris enjoys watching. I usually half-watch/multi-task. Depending on the game I can actually get sucked in and I always watch the Super Bowl. I watch it for the game and I watch it for the one time of year that I actually watch commercials. Some commercials are well crafted and make you laugh and some make you cry. Rarely do you see a commercial that gives you the chills.

This quick commercial gave me the chills. It is actually a PSA for sexual assault and domestic violence. While I have heard for years that Super Bowl Sunday is the one night of the year that has the most domestic violence calls (alcohol, football, aggression, a losing team), the statistics I found online go both ways. Some say that is true and others say it is a hoax. Whether or not it is the worst night of the year, I stand triumphant that NoMore.org is airing this spot to address domestic violence during the Super Bowl.

Chilling, is it not? To think that this is an actual 911 call and the woman was savvy enough to think to call 911 and pretend to order a pizza. You can even hear the man in the background saying “make sure you get a large.” A bit creepy. Not a happy ad, but one that will hopefully make people think about these real issues. GoDaddy, and Pepsi and all the other companies have nothing on this ad.

Your energy footprint

Posted by random olio

Maybe it was all those years I was a Girl Scout, or all the times I played in the back of the room during my brother’s Boy Scout meetings, or maybe all the Boy Scout camping trips I had to tag along on, but I have a strong inclination to leave a place better than I found it. Growing up I thought about it in the way of cleaning up after yourself, but over time that evolved to the energy you leave behind. I have frequently shared excerpts from the “Daily Om” newsletter I receive, and this one particularly resonated with me in regards to your energy footprint. It is from the Daily Om titled: “Blessing Space: Leaving a Positive Footprint.”

“Physical space acts like a sponge, absorbing the radiant of all who pass through it. And, more likely than not, the spaces we move through each day have seen many people come and go. We have no way of knowing whether the energy footprints left behind by those who preceded us will invigorate us or drain us. Yet we can control the energy footprint we leave behind for others. In blessing each space we enter, we orchestrate a subtle energy shift that affects not only our own experiences in that space but also the experiences of the individuals who will enter the space after us. While we may never see the effects our blessing has had, we can take comfort in the fact that we have provided grace for those that follow after us.”

Whether or not we leave a blessing matters, but so does what we leave behind. Toxic is the word I often use for certain people who suck the life out of a room, or the atmosphere. Their energy footprint drags you down, takes the life out of a situation, and often zap your energy. How we approach a situation, and how we manage our energy matters in every situation. There are times when I have to adjust the energy I exude because my intuition tells me that calmness and poise is more needed in the moment then my spewing energy. As the Daily Om states, we often never know how our energy affects the space, but we can know if we go into each moment being conscious of how best to handle the situation we are usually on the right track to bless rather than damage the energy flow.

Are you aware of what energy you bring to the moments of your day?