A little of this and that....

I accidentally dove into the "Spring cleaning" mode today. It wasn't my intention to do this the day before Easter, but it just turned out that way! Isn't it funny how you just plan on doing a couple loads of laundry... then notice there's cat hair all over the couch, and the bathtub needs to be cleaned and all the mirrors could use some Windex. Next thing you know, it's been 4 hours vacuuming and scrubbing while listening to Pandora. I am finally on my couch with the best cup of loose leaf green tea. I discovered lots of new artists on Pandora today (being sure to "like" them all), and paid extra special attention to the little knick knacks I keep around my apartment. My furry friends even provided me with a couple photo ops. I think it's so cool to stop and sit and just dive into a deeper zone about something that I've done or seen countless times, maybe even with the same people, in the same places, over and over again. Maybe these photos will have that make more sense.... Enjoy!

My fav loose leaf tea from World Market in my fav SF mug

(I've had this mug for probably 10 years and it comes to every new place with me)!

I look at this gorgeous painting that my little brother made for me, everyday. It's the town in San Diego I moved to right after college. I grew up going to this beach and now my little man does the same. This sits on my window in my kitchen, I love it dearly!

Yummy broccoli salad I made during my cleaning break. You can find the recipe here.

My Good Friday view:)

John 3:16

St. Patrick's Day and Green Beer with girlfriends.

Drinkin' whiskey like a real man.

I cherish park days, especially with my buddy. We get on the best tangents about life and all that it encompasses. ;-)

Stopping to really soak up the street art in 'the Mish'. 

AKA: one of our favorite hoods in SF, the Mission District.

I love this. And only until we can make the right changes within ourselves, can we radiate off to others in the best possible way.

Being reminded of Bay to Breakers 2012 and looking forward to May 2013!!!

I met Trisha only a couple months ago and I feel like I grew up with her.

Thankful for new friendships...!

My 28th makes me smile.

(And being covered in birthday panties. Best. Girlfriends. Eva.)

Spring Cleaning made me find this little gem. I would like to point out that a) I am a real blonde, or at least I was at one point & b) my dad was 27 in this photo. What a freakin' stud.

Warms my heart and gets me thinking:

I am noticing a park trend here:) 

Park days with my beautiful girlfriends are some of my favorite days of my life!!!

Naked bike ride around the city. 

It was interesting to observe, as you can probably imagine. 

*This is the clean version.

#nothinginSFsurprisesmeanymore 

Just when I think there's not a single person who loves San Francisco as much as I do...

I find Allison. :)

Happy March Madness!

Cocktailing for a cause with these beauties.

Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

One of my sweet kitties. Not choosing favorites but I just think she's stunning.

I love how her eyes match my room.

Such pretty orchids from a neighbor.

"Earth laughs in flowers." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I think I'm spotting a 'dad trend' too. 

My rock, my everything. I love him. Plain and simple.

Well, there you have it. A little slice of my life in the best city on earth!

Happy Easter everyone!!!!

The Glowing Green Smoothie

For those of you who know me, know that I try to be super aware of the foods I eat and what I put into my body. Why age sooner than we need to? ;-) (My occasional In-N-Out burger and whiskey on the weekends wouldn't prove this! But I can't be perfect). I'm highly against processed foods and keep canned foods to an absolute minimum. With that being said, this smoothie, is unreal and I'm so excited to share it. Today was the second Sunday I have come home to make it, and it makes 3 servings so I had 1 tonight and I'll take the others to work the next couple days. This is literally the equivalent of an entire salad with added fruits in just a simple drink. I am in love and it tastes sooo good. The best part is that this can be made in your blender, not your juicer. More and more people are straying away from juicers because the skin is thrown out. The skin is actually the healthiest part of the fruit/veggie! Blending is great because you get every ounce of the produce, with nothing being thrown out or wasted. A VITAMIX would be ideal for this and when I can afford one, I will definitely be purchasing!

Here's what you'll need: (I modified this from the original recipe)

~2 cups of water

~a handful of organic spinach

~a handful of organic romaine

~juice of half organic lemon

~1 organic banana

~1 organic apple

~1 organic pear

~3 sticks of organic celery

Blend the lettuce and water first.

Squeeze that lemon... the old fashion way ;-)

Add in the goods. 

Drink UP!

Stay young and ENJOY:)

xoxo, Jackie 

Happy Friday!

As I'm about to head out the door to walk to my yoga class this morning, I was reading "Becoming a Woman of Simplicity" and wanted to write a quick post. The book quoted Randy Pausch, the 45 year old professor who delivered "The Last Lecture" before his death of pancreatic cancer. He said this: "Things we spend time on inherently take time away from other things. So constantly ask, Is this the best and highest use of my time?"I couldn't have stumbled upon this at a better time. We should ask ourselves this question every day and prayerfully consider how to use our time wisely. For those of you reading, I hope you have a HAPPY FRIDAY... It is St. Patrick's Day after all.  :) And with that, I leave you with a photo of the most beautiful drive I have ever taken in my entire life:

The Dingle Peninsula, Ireland

The 7 Year Life Cycle

"Life is a process of growing and outgrowing,

and what fits snugly today, be it an idea, attitude,

or belief, may be entirely the wrong size tomorrow."

~Sally Brompton

I encourage you to read that quote a couple more times before reading this post today. I had a patient yesterday who struck such a chord with me that I had to tell all my girlfriends about it at happy hour last night and felt compelled to research then write about it this morning. 

I have been cleaning this particular woman's teeth for nearly 2 years now. She's in her late 60's but has the energy and aura about her of someone in their 30's. I always get extra excited when I see her name on the schedule. When she takes a seat we start catching up on the last 6 months of our life and updating each other on everything we have been doing.( I typically run late with her so I have to be mindful of our talks and timing! hehe). She then asks me if I'm familiar with the idea of the 7 Year Life Cycle. I had never heard of it so she explains it the best she can in the small amount of time we have left. This morning I started googling and wow, does it make a world of sense. I'll try to sum it up the best I can!

"There is a natural release of energy every seven years which encourages us to move forward and make changes. It is the soul's demand to be seen as an individual not as a collective."

In other words, there is a spark within us every 7 years that is yearning to dig deeper into our individuality and stray away from the way we think we should be whether it be in the eyes of our parents, our peers, our teachers, or our partners. We are gradually influenced by others during the course of our life and there comes a time where we will want to break free of the way "it should be". If the need to seek our individuality is ignored or stuffed away somewhere then resentment, hurt, anger and other negative feelings have the chance of following us down the years of life. Each description is meant to be focused on finishing the end of that particular cycle:

1-7: When we are this age we are pliable and must accept that what is said is so. Eventually, young kids will start to use the word "No" in order to show their aggressiveness. By age 7, kids are able to put a rationale to the word no. "No, because..."

7-14: Ahhh think back to middle school years. I think they were some of the toughest for me because kids at that age can be cruel and we were so worried about what everyone thought about us. Teenagers can be looked at as pesty, but in reality they are just trying to find their identities. They are being shaped and molded by those around them and deep inside they are seeking for the individuality we all possess. This is the stage that is preparing us for adulthood. 

I should mention here that there is an aggressiveness through the cycles. We all want to find that individuality and what our point, if you will, of being on this earth really is. If we shove these feelings aside and try to ignore them, they will build on top of the next life cycle, giving you even more weight to deal with in the coming years. 

14-21: High school into college years. Another tough set of years because again, we are told to be and act a certain way. Even if we aren't 100% confident (I mean, who is at this age?), we do things anyway that maybe we don't feel good about doing. But we are worried about what society and others will think of us. At 21, we are ready to cut ties from our parents and move to be solely on our own. I realize this has changed in the recession especially, more and more people are moving in with their parents for financial support etc. But this is referring more to the emotional aspect. We are in the "Don't tell me, I already know" mind frame.

21-28: The greatest realization of adulthood occurs at 28! 28 is when we begin to integrate with the rest of the world and with the "Ok world, what have you got to give me?" approach. Opportunities start to come into our lives and we have a serious moment of thinking about the windows of opportunity that stand before us. Which road do we go? What do we want? At 28, whether you are single or in a relationship, we are still searching for our true identity. We may pick up new hobbies or interests or even decide to conquer this world solo for the time being because we know we have the rest of our lives to be selfless and depended on. We have a desire to do new things and head in new directions. 

28-35: True emotional adulthood arrives. We are finally able to withstand being influenced by the attitudes of others. It is the opportunity to become free of the emotional stigma of the past and to let all of that go because your individuality and the person you are cannot be shaken anymore from outside influence (this is towards the end of this cycle around 35). You are probably deciding for the first time in your life, exactly that YOU want to do. You are finally separating those concepts which are really yours from those which belong to somebody else. 

"Every age, every cycle, has special things to be known, understood, and worked with. There is NO time in our lives that do not have validity! In each cycle there is a need for unfoldment and a release from pre conceived attitudes. It gives a freedom which permits major change in attitudes, in relationships, and in career."

35-42: The 42nd year is a polarity of the 28th year. The view is no longer, "World, what can you give me?" but instead "World, what have I got to give you?" It is the realization of all the growth we have been through and our ability to use this growth in the most productive way possible. Doubts tend to come up but they are not a negative thing. We ask ourselves whether we wish to maintain our life as it is or whether we are ready to make new changes. Doubt can be positive if it is leading you to be suspect of something in your life that is not good for you.

42-49: Doubt tends to follow us into this cycle and we look back at our life and ask ourselves "Where have I been and what have I done with my life?" We begin to wonder if it is too late and the truth is that it is never too late to do anything that makes you happy. We are able to let go of very small things that will make room for newer and bigger things. One may view this cycle as a last chance to be productive, show their ability, or to make a name for themselves. New hobbies or passions start to enter our minds. 

I am going to stop here because the first 7 cycles from age 7-49 are the spiraling of all the change within us. The cycles that come after this time are expansions of the same 7 spirals once again. We have been given everything we need to make changes in our life and to fulfill our personal goals--- provided that we listen to our inner selves and NOT the external forces/people/things that will try to mold us. This is obviously going to change from person to person. For example, if we are still raising a family in our 7th cycle, the ability to just pick up something new may not be feasible. So the urge may then trickle into the next cycle as long as the person does not let themselves believe that it is too late! It is never too late to follow what makes you happy!

The overall point to all of this is that there is a natural release of energy every seven years which encourages us to move forward and make changes. It helps to keep us from getting stuck in a rut, which I will admit is my absolute biggest fear of life. If we are able to flow with these cycles, we are able to find change less fearful. 

**When I look back at my own life and as I am coming to the end of the 4th cycle, I see a lot of sense in this theory. Although I wish when I was making changes to my life that it had not been at the expense of hurting others, I know that the experiences which were brought to me were needed. Decisions both right and wrong, are learning experiences. And sometimes a wrong decision ends up being the absolute right decision. We will have crossroads in our lives where we are forced to reevaluate and try to decide which route to take. I thank God daily for the growing ability He's giving me to make the healthier, happier, kinder and more compassionate decisions which will not only serve me but those around me. He keeps reminding me that His route is far better than mine. As I go through my life cycles, I know He is with me, guiding me through these transitions and it keeps me confident and far less fearful!

Xoxo,
Jackie

Words

So the English band, Mumford and Sons has been blowing up. After they won Album of the Year at the Grammy's, I read that their sales on iTunes sky rocketed. I am not a huge fan of the band mainly because I feel like every single song sounds exactly the same. And although Ben Lovett is insanely gorgeous to look at, I definitely wouldn't buy their album. With that being said, I am oddly obsessed with this video:

I mean, who would not want to be at this party.... at Red Rocks, in the middle of summer (guessing by the tank tops). And Ben's smile on the keyboard, omg. Ok, my point is that although I get soooo tired of these songs being overplayed on my local radio... these dudes have the best lyrics. I really hope they write their own songs or my dreams of their talent would be half way shattered because obviously they are talented musicians. So here are my favorite M&S lyrics:

"Hold me fast because I'm a hopeless wanderer."

"I will love with urgency not haste."

"Where you invest your love you invest your life."

"Grace in your heart, flowers in your hair."

"Lend me your eyes I can change what you see." (absolute favorite)